 After ignoring requests from both clans to join them, he is given shelter by a woman named Ruriko, who takes care of her mute grandson Heihachi.Ruriko tells the gunman that many years ago, the town prospered in gold mining until both clans fought over the gold and drove away the population.The Heike-aligned sheriff tells the gunman that in the midst of the chaos, a Heike man named Akira married a Genji woman named Shizuka and lived peacefully with their son Heihachi, until Heike leader Kiyomori killed Akira in cold blood, rendering Heihachi mute from the trauma.