Kenshin and Saitō Hajime meet him once in Shingetsu Village. Disappointed with Kenshin's mercy on his minions, Shishio abandons the village and calls the Ten Swords. Soon after, Shishio begins to proceed with his master plan. Shishio had planned to have the Ten Swords burn down Kyoto. However, Kenshin and Saitō find that the plan to burn down Kyoto was just a diversion, and the Shishio's real plan was to use a steel plated battleship, "Rengoku" ("Purgatory") that Hōji had purchased for him to attack Tokyo. Kenshin, Saitō, and Sagara Sanosuke pursue and intercept Shishio in a harbor not far from his target destroy the "Rengoku". Shishio arranges a duel to the death at Mount Hiei. Knowing that, Kenshin, Saitō, and Sanosuke travel there the next morning. While they were doing so, however, Shishio sent most of the Ten Swords out to kill Kenshin's friends at the Aoi-Ya, keeping only his strongest subordinates with him, and Aoshi. The members of the Ten Swords sent to the Aoi-Ya, however, are all defeated by Kenshin's allies.