This manga adapts two films: Zatoichi's Vengeance (directed by Tokuzo Tanaka) and Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (directed by Kazuo Ikehiro). The Ballad of Zatoichi Zatoichi encounters a dying man who requests that he deliver a bag of money to "Taichi." Zatoichi is unaware of this person's identity, but upon arriving in a small town plagued by gangsters, he learns that "Taichi" is the man's young son. During his journey, he also meets a blind monk who causes Zatoichi to question his violent way of life. While attempting to assist the town, Zatoichi kills several gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He faces a decision: whether to remain and protect the town or to depart and continue his travels. Zatoichi's Pilgrimage After being ambushed in a small village terrorized by a gang of thieves, the legendary blind swordsman Zatoichi is compelled to kill a young man in self-defense. As fate would have it, his travels soon bring him to Okichi, a woman whom Zatoichi discovers is the sister of the young man whose life he took. In anger, Okichi attacks the blind swordsman, but her conscience prevails, and as she tends to his wounds, the two fall in love.