Hotarubi was brutally killed by the Koga ninja Saemon while he was disguised as Mino Nenki. Already weakened from a wound on her leg, after Hotarubi unmasks him she is no match for Saemon, who cuts off both of her arms to prevent her from summoning her butterflies and then stabs her through the chest. However, with an obvious sense of mercy and honor, he gives a slight nod to the dying Hotarubi when, delusional in her final moments, she pictured him as Yashamaru. Her body falls into a ravine, but she dies in peace and with a sad smile on her lips, believing that Yashamaru still lived on, despite the fact that he had been killed quite some time before.