The shogunate orders the Shinsengumi to move their headquarters to the Fushimi Magistrate's Office to combat the Satsuma and Choshu factions. A few days later, Kondo is shot on his way back from attending a war council, leaving him on the verge of death. The news makes Okita drag himself, weakened by his illness, to Sannan's rooms. Day by day, the battle with the Satsuma-Choshu forces grows fiercer, and the Shinsengumi is made to feel the disadvantage of their inferior numbers. Amidst all of this, Hijikata comes to a decision.