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After the chief retainers are murdered, the Yamashiro lord does not report the mine to the government. Jubei Kibagami ( Kōichi Yamadera) and Shinkuro ( Jun'ichi Sugawara) are members of this ninja team. He orders his ninja team, led by Gemma Himuro ( Daisuke Gōri), to assassinate the chief retainers, claiming he would then report the mine to the government.
He also cannot go to the government first, because they would take the gold if they knew about the mine. The lord of the Yamashiro clan wants to have the gold for himself, but his forces are not strong enough, so he cannot act alone. Five years before the start of the film, the Yamashiro clan's chief retainers (vassal lords) dig gold out of a secret mine behind their lord's back.
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