Magobei Wakizaka is a samurai for the Sabai clan. A nearby island, Sado, Niigata, boasts a rich gold mine which provides plentiful riches for the Tokugawa clan. When one of the gold ships sink, the local fishermen recover some of the gold, intending to return it to the Tokugawa clan. However, Magobei's clan master, Rokugo Tatewaki, takes the gold and slaughters the fishermen so they cannot report the gold stolen. Magobei is appalled. He promises not to report Rokugo to the Tokugawa shogunate in exchange for Rokugo's promise to never do so again.