During the Meiji 11th (1878), a peaceful wanderer called Himura Kenshin, formerly known as the Hitokiri Battōsai, arrives in Tokyo, where he meets Kamiya Kaoru whose swordsmanship school is in danger as a murderer from the city claims to be from that school. After investigating, Kenshin defeats the murderer using his sakabatō sword, which has a reversed blade, making it almost impossible to kill someone. When Kenshin decides to leave Tokyo, Kaoru offers him a place to live in her dojo. During his stay in the dojo, Kenshin rescues an orphan called Myōjin Yahiko from a group of yakuza and takes him to live and train in the dojo. A few days later, a fight merchant named Sagara Sanosuke is hired to attack Kenshin. The volume ends with a one-shot by Watsuki called Rurouni Meiji Swordsman Romantic Story.