The Ordeal of the Sword Heroes, Volume 3

At a silent mountain waterfall, a feared ascetic encounters figures he takes for ghosts. The meeting exposes the truth behind two coveted scrolls and the lives caught in their pursuit. Elsewhere, rival ambitions lead toward rebellion, while a wandering community offers a different future.

Hakama Hirotarō must choose between his swords and the woman he loves. Omachi confronts family loss and an unfulfilled longing, and the powerful Lord of Kii explains how a treasure legend grew out of his own designs. The story closes with departures, reconciliations, and letters from a new life in the mountains.

Kunieda Shirō (1887–1943) brings his 1926 adventure to an unconventional conclusion, combining melodrama and broad comedy with religious argument and a defense of useful work.