This is the story of a general (Toshiro Mifune) and a princess (Misa Uehara) who have to travel through hostile territory in wartime to get to a safer place. Along the way they encounter two peasants, Taheri (Minoru Chiaki) and Matakishi (Kamatari Fujiwara), who then travel with them for safety. Eventually the general realizes the peasants aren't very trustworthy and have agreed to travel with them mostly because they hope to steal the princess's treasure. But he doesn't chase them off or hurt them for the sake of the princess and his sense of honor. The opening of the story is told from the point of view of the peasants, so the audience realizes they are untrustworthy before the general and the princess do. On their way to the hidden fortress they pick up a fifth traveler, a farmer's daughter who is kept by slave traders, and the princess insists her freedom be purchased and she be brought along.