
            In this second Lone Wolf and Cub movie, the disgraced former executioner, or Kogi Kaishakunin to the shogun, Ogami Itto is now living rough on the land with his three-year-old son Daigoro, travelling the countryside as a hired killer. Pushing his son in a baby cart, he stops at a bathhouse looking for a room and a bath, and is eagerly welcomed in by a young woman. However, the manager of the house sees Itto as a dirty vagabond and scolds the young woman for letting him in the house. Overhearing this, Itto goes to the baby cart and retrieves a bundle and hands it to the manager for safe keeping it is 500 gold pieces, earned from a recent job. The manager's tone quickly changes, but when he tries to wash Daigoro's feet, the boy kicks water at the old man and tromps across the floor, leaving wet footprints.Itto's activities are being watched by the Kurokawa spy clan of Shinobi-class ninja, which have fallen in with Itto's nemesis, the Shadow Yagyu. They report on his activities to Sayaka, head of Akari Yagyu clan of female assassins. But the Kurokawa are unsure that the women are up to the task of killing Itto. Sayaka laughs confidently and tells the Kurokawas' leader to send their best man into the room. She then orders the man to try and exit the room. He tries to do so by grappling onto the ceiling, but the female assassins set upon him and make short work of him, hacking off his ears, fingers, arms and legs, leaving the man a writhing heap of just a torso and head before he is finally finished off.Itto, meanwhile, is hired by a clan that specializes in making indigo dye and has a secret process. One of the clan plans to sell out the secret to the shogun. Itto must kill him. The turncoat will be escorted by the three Hidari brothers, each a master of a deadly weapon; the iron claw, the flying mace, and a pair of armored gloves.As he travels to his job, Itto encounters three groups of female assassins of the Akari clan. The first group is disguised as an acrobat troupe that turns deadly as their gymnastic moves are combined with blades and turned against Itto. He then encounters a pair of women who with blades on their straw hats that they throw at Itto as if they are Frisbees. Finally, some women washing vegetables by the river turn out to be assassins and the daikons they are washing are wielded as weapons. Itto kills them all.Then he meets Sayaka, who catches him, his son and the baby cart in a steel net. Itto cuts his way out of the net and engages in a sword duel with her. He delivers what should be a disabling blow to her ankles, but the woman fighter jumps straight up out of her kimono to reveal a fishnet body suit and then runs away, bizarrely jogging backwards.Next, the Kurokawa clan are waiting for Itto, who puts together his naginata (disguised as railing on the baby cart) and gives the baby cart a shove toward the waiting enemies. Daigoro, still in the baby cart then activates blades in the axles of the cart, which cut off the feet of several men. The battle that ensues between Itto and the Kurokawas is fierce and Itto is injured before he kills them all.Weary from the endless fighting, Itto struggles along the road and eventually finds shelter in a shack. Daigoro, seeing that his father needs his help, must do what he can. Unable to carry water in his tiny hands, Daigoro carries water from the river in the only vessel available his mouth. He spits the few drops he could carry between his father's parched lips. For food, Daigoro finds some rice cakes given as an offering to a Buddha statue and takes them for his father, leaving his vest in exchange. Itto recovers and finds that his son is missing. Daigoro has been taken by the Kurokawa and Sayaka, tied up and suspended over a water well. If Itto attacks, they will let go of the rope and Daigoro will plunge to his death. Daigoro lets his sandal drop into the well, giving Itto a gauge of how deep it is. He then makes his move as the rope unspools, stopping it just in time.Sayaka watches silently and makes no move to engage the swordsman, realizing his technique far outstrips her own and perhaps also out of a sense of honor for the devotion of the father to his child.Itto then finds himself aboard a ship, carrying the three Hidari brothers. Itto is met by several other members of the indigo-dye clan, who try to kill the Hidaris but are bloodily rebuffed. The clan then sets the ship on fire in an attempt to kill the Hidaris, but the three killers escape. Itto tosses Daigoro and the baby cart into the water, the cart proves itself by floating.Sayaka has followed Itto onto the ship and in the water, she tries to kill him, but is disarmed. Itto, with Daigoro and Sayaka, find shelter, but they are cold. Itto disrobes himself and Daigoro, then turns on Sayaka, tearing off her clothes. But he does not mean to rape her. Instead, he is seeking to get her out of her cold, wet clothes and cling to her while nude. "Three people are warmer than two," he explains. She thinks about taking his sword and killing him, but the cozy scene, with Daigoro sitting between them, playfully fondling her breast, makes her abandon the plan.The final showdown takes place on a vast area of sand dunes. The three Hidari brothers are at the head of a caravan of men carrying a palanquin with the indigo expert inside. The brother with the iron claw runs forward and thrusts his claw into the sand, which boils up with blood. There are men hiding in the sand. He digs his claw into the sand several times, each time creating a pool of blood and pulling up a hiding warrior by his head. The rest of the hidden men in the sand emerge and fight, but the Hidari brothers dispatch them all.Itto awaits, alone, at the top of a large dune. Each brother is dispatched in a high-pressure spray of blood, with the last brother dispatched in a lethal stroke along the throat, a cut that sprays blood in a fine mist, while making a sound like the "howling of the wind". The final slain Hidari brother comments such a fabled finishing stroke is referred to as "Mogaribue", and wishes he had heard the sound just once from the many people he has killed, but is instead hearing it from his own neck as his life slowly drains away.Itto approaches the palanquin with the traitorous indigo expert inside, finishing him off before gathering Daigoro and again setting off. The final scene shows them walking out of the desert and on a coastal trail, followed by Sayaka. Aware of her presence Itto stops the cart, looking straight ahead whilst holding out his dotanuki blade, as Sayaka wielding a katana is revealed behind him. Itto stands ominously still until he hears the sound of Sayaka dropping her sword; knowing that she can never defeat the master swordsman.
    

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx


            As the opening credits roll, an abbreviated version of Ogami Itto's (Tomisaburo Wakayama) past as Shogunate Decapitator and his wife's murder by ninja are seen, with Daigoro (Akihiro Tomikawa) providing the narration.Two hooded samurai attack Ogami while he is pushing a cart with Daigoro inside. Ogami fends off the attack of the first, breaking the samurai's sword and splitting his head. The second attacker jumps over the first, with the first still clasping Ogami's blade. Ogami pulls off a handrail from the cart and a blade comes out, transforming it into a spear. Ogami then uses the spear to impale the second attacker. As the first is dying, he reminds Ogami that he is marked for death.As Ogami and Daigoro sit by a roadside fire and eat their evening meal, Ogami remembers how he offered the infant Daigoro the life-death choice: either Ogami's sword (which would mean that Daigoro would join him on his mission of vengeance against the Shogun) or Daigoro's ball (which would mean that Daigoro would be killed, so that he could be with his mother in heaven). Daigoro chooses the sword. The next day, the Shogun's officials bring Ogami the Shogun's orders: either swear eternal loyalty or commit suicide with Daigoro. Ogami decides to fight his way to freedom with Daigoro, only to have his path blocked by the Shogun and his men. The Shogun challenges Ogami to fight Kurando (the Shogun's son) in a duel; if Ogami wins, he wins his freedom. Ogami accepts, and eventually cuts off Kurando's head.Ogami and Daigoro journey on, never stopping in one place for very long as the Shogun's ninjas are always following them. As they wander, Daigoro recalls how Lord Bizen (Taketoshi Naito) and his men were given orders to kill him. Even though Bizen's men are wearing chain mail beneath their robes, Ogami's skill and blade are too powerful. Ogami lures Lord Bizen into the middle of a stream and uses an underwater sword-slash technique to kill him. Ogami sees the Shogun watching from a distance and he swears to the Shogun that he will destroy him and all of his ninjas.The Supreme Ninja (Kayo Matsuo) receives orders from the Shogun to kill Ogami and Daigoro. Lord Kurogawa (Akiji Kobayashi) doesn't believe the Supreme Ninja's women are up to the task, so she proves otherwise by ordering her ninjas to kill Junai (Kurogawa's strongest ninja).Ogami and Daigoro meet secretly with a client to discuss a business proposition. Ogami is offered the task of killing Lord Kiru (the Shogun's brother), and in return he will receive ten pieces of gold. Ogami accepts the mission and is told that Lord Kiru is being escorted by a three-brother team known as the 'Masters of Death.'During Ogami and Daigoro's journey to find Lord Kiru, they are attacked several times by The Supreme Ninja's women. Ogami kills them each time. Ogami finally faces the Supreme Ninja herself. She attacks Ogami with a weighted net that contains fishhooks, but Ogami cuts himself free and the Supreme Ninja flees by running away backward.Ogami and Daigoro keep on traveling, but they now come face-to-face with Lord Kurogawa's entire ninja force. Pushing Daigoro in his cart to safety, Ogami uses the spear blades in the cart's handrails to attack. All but two of the ninja are cut down, but Ogami is left wounded. He manages to push Daigoro to the safety of a deserted hut before collapsing from loss of blood. Daigoro goes in search of water for his father, finally bringing it back in his mouth, then takes some food offerings from a roadside shrine, leaving his jacket in honorable exchange.The Supreme Ninja meets with Lord Kurogawa to report her failure but Lord Kurogawa has another plan: to strike at Ogami through Daigoro.Later that night, Daigoro is lured outside the hut by the sound of a woman singing. Waking up to find Daigoro gone, Ogami searches for his son. He finds Daigoro is a prisoner of Lord Kurogawa and the Supreme Ninja. Daigoro is tied up and suspended over a deep well. Kurogawa demands that Ogami surrender or he will drop Daigoro down the well. Ogami refuses, so Kurogawa and his men attack. Kurogawa lets go of the rope suspending Daigoro over the well, but Ogami manages to stamp his foot down on the rope and kill Kurogawa (and his two ninjas) at the same time. Ignoring the Supreme Ninja, who has not moved throughout the fight, Ogami carefully pulls Daigoro up to safety. Instead of killing the Supreme Ninja, Ogami walks away with Daigoro.Ogami and Daigoro board a ship which is carrying the 'Masters of Death' to their rendezvous with Lord Kiru. Also on board is the Supreme Ninja. During the night, the remaining rebels start a fire on board the ship. In the ensuing inferno, the 'Masters of Death' tell Ogami that they recognize him, but that they will not attack him as long as he makes no move against them. Ogami agrees to their terms and they leave him. The companionway is blocked by flames, so he cuts through the deck planking. Ogami then puts Daigoro in his cart and throws them both overboard to safety. The Supreme Ninja attacks Ogami from underwater but he overpowers her. Getting Daigoro, himself and the Supreme Ninja to shore and to the shelter of a fisherman's hut, he strips all three of them naked and gathers them close together, telling the Supreme Ninja that they must share their body heat or die. The Supreme Ninja doesn't understand why he would save her and realizes she cannot kill Ogami or his son. The next day, Ogami and Daigoro leave her there, knowing that she will have to return to the Shogun, report her failure and commit suicide.The 'Masters of Death' escort Lord Kiru and his entourage through a desert area, where they are attacked by a rebel force concealed under the sand. The 'Masters of Death' then fight off and kill all of the rebels. Lord Kiru is taken to safety. However, they haven't gone far before they see Daigoro standing in their way. He points to Ogami, who is waiting. The 'Masters of Death' finally face off against Ogami, but one by one they are cut down and killed. Ogami then chases after Lord Kiru's procession, driving off the guards. Lord Kiru protests that he is the Shogun's brother, but Ogami tells Kiru that the "Shogun means nothing" to him. Ogami then kills Lord Kiru with his sword.As he and his father walk away from the carnage, Daigoro looks back one last time and says via voice-over, "I guess I wish it was different ... but a wish is only a wish".
    

Shogun Assassin


            
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