Ryoko materializes on board Ryo-Ohki and shows Ayeka the bloody headband of Tenchi's. She vows that she will kill Kagato at all costs and rams the Souja with Ryo-Ohki.
On Earth Sasami runs towards Funaho crying and shouting for Tenchi not to die. When she gets to the tree she starts to chant "From heaven to the ocean, ocean to the earth and earth back to heaven, show me the path engraved by the light." She floats in the air and turns incorporeal. Her form enters Funaho, Yosho's (Tenchi's grandfather's) space tree.
On the Souja Ryoko, Ayeka and Mihoshi start down their separate paths to find Kagato. Ryoko tells them that all paths will lead to him. Each of the girls battle large figures shapes as heads and each defeat them in their own style.
Meanwhile, Kagato is in his chapel on Souja and he starts to play the huge pipe organ awaiting the confrontation with the girls.
Out in space, Azaka and Kamidake (Ayeka's guardians) have formed a protective barrier around what is left of Tenchi which amounts just his head and chest. Light Hawk Wings open behind the two guardians and Tsunami appears and merges with Tenchi forming a cocoon which then disappears.
Back on board the Souja Ryoko blasts a hole in a wall and steps through. The wall in front of her begins to open up and before she starts off toward it Ayeka joins her and they go together. Mihoshi turns up a little later and drops her control cube. It somehow opens a doorway into a reversed area of the ship and she appears to be a reflection.
Ryoko and Ayeka enter the chapel. Ayeka attacks first and is thrown back easily by Kagato. Ryoko's attack has a better effect and, as Kagato stumbles, she appears behind him and drives her light sword though his neck. He dissolves and, too late, she discovers that that was only Kagato's shadow. Kagato grabs her and turns her to stone. He then levitates Ayeka towards him and says that she will now show him the secrets of Tsunami Unit.
Meanwhile, in the reverse world, Mihoshi activates an alarm and two large snakes awaken behind her. She fires on them with her battle suit and freezes them but they start to break out. She fumbles with her control cube and somehow manages to free a captive figure behind her. The person awakens and stops the snakes dead. She then raises Ryoko out of the floor and de-stones her. She reveals that she is Ryoko's mother, Washu. She created Ryo-Ohki, the Souja and she used her ova to create Ryoko. She also explains about the reverse world and that there is only a one-way door. You can enter but as long as Kagato is alive you cannot leave. She tells Ryoko things that she couldn't possibly know about her feelings for Tenchi and thus explains that, as Ryoko and Ryo-Ohki are connected, so too are she and Ryoko. Ryoko leaves to go battle Kagato and Washu explains (or tries to anyway) to Mihoshi that she had only called Ryoko's astral body over to the reverse world and that is why she could leave.
Ayeka finds herself naked and facing Yosho. Yosho wants to know the secret of how she and her family control the trees and what the master key (Tenchi's sword) can do. He also wants to know about Tsunami. When he makes the mistake of saying "your relatives", she knows that this in not real and awakens. Kagato is about to zap Ayeka when Ryoko drives a light dagger through his arm.
Tenchi awakens with a new body and sees a woman standing in front of him. She explains that she is Tsunami the Ship of Jurai in human form and that Sasami is her owner. She tells Tenchi that she can detect Ryo-oh's key nearby and that it is inside the Souja. She also explains that she cannot take Tenchi there to help and that he will have to go alone.
Ryoko and Kagato fight as, in the reverse world, Washu tries her hardest to explain why there is no way out to Mihoshi. Ayeka recovers enough to seal up Kagato. Washu opens a window to the other side so they can watch and she starts to do a cheerleader routine. Ryoko and Kagato fight and Washu has trouble with why Ryoko doesn't defeat him since she is more powerful. When she realizes that it is because of Ayeka, she uses Mihoshi's control cube to pull Ayeka into the reverse world. Ryoko is now free to use her full power except that Kagato uses the Souja to siphon the power of Ryoko's gems into the ship.
Since Ayeka is not giving him the information he wants he fires upon the Earth and draws out Tsunami which generates the Ten Wings of the Light Hawk. Tsunami fires upon the Souja. The power of Tsunami astounds Kagato but he is confidant that when the full power of the gems is Souja's he will be able to control Tsunami. He picks Ryoko off the ground and suddenly his arm explodes. Tenchi has arrived.
Tenchi's leg is caught in the portal that brought him there. Azaka and Kamidake appear to stall Kagato while he frees himself. Tenchi attacks Kagato and Kagato seems to easily defeat Tenchi. He knows that the power from Tsunami is cut off and that the master key (Tenchi's sword) cannot control that power. Kagato uses the gems that are Ryoko's and the gems in the hilt of Tenchi's sword to call Tsunami. It looks like failure on the part of Tenchi and Sasami cries that she is scared as Tsunami is pulled towards the Souja.
Tenchi looks on as he admits that he cannot use the sword to protect them. He then remembers what Tsunami told him about not relying on the sword. He should trust in his own power. Tenchi stands in defiance and Kagato prepares to destroy him. Tenchi drops the sword and Kagato blasts him. Through the smoke there appears the Light Hawk Wings and Kagato realizes that Tenchi is forming them with his own powers. He transforms the Wings into a Light Hawk sword and Kagato and Tenchi rush each other. Kagato turns and congratulates Tsunami and the irony. The boy Tenchi that has the same name as the master key. As he starts to dissipate he says, "You've won boy."
Washu, Mihoshi and Ayeka return from the reverse world and Ryoko makes a big deal about giving Tenchi the first hug. She ends up being the last and as she starts to get mad, the Souja splits in two and blows up.
Apparently they all made it out alive as we see things back to what passes for normal at the Tenchi household.