Vagabond is the tale of one man's journey in seeking greatness by the sword—as a consequence, one is bound to pick up at least a few of these on the way.
- Musashi's rematch with Hozoin Inshun marks the point where he evolves from a strong but unrefined brute to someone approaching the beginnings of a true warrior. Compared to their last fight, Musashi enters this battle calm and aware, and not only bests Inshun in a battle of wills, but knocks him out with a single strike.Musashi: I can see through you! (To In'ei) Old man, I can see through Inshun!
- Inshun of course deserves credit for being the first to undisputedly defeat Musashi and make him flee, making him realize just how narrow his world had been until then.
- Yagyu Sekisushai manages to cow Musashi through nothing but his sheer presence (and backscratcher). Musashi, who had just fought his way through the Yagyu Estate's Elite Four with the aim of striking down Sekisushai, is left in awe and doubt over his convictions, having encountered firsthand the power to win a fight without even needing a weapon. Although their encounter was brief, Sekisushai comes to inhabit Musashi's mind alongside In'ei as a mental guardian of sorts, continuing to guide the young ronin in his travels.Yagyu Sekisushai: My sword is one with heaven and earth.
- Tragic as it is, Musashi and Seijuro's duel shows just how far Musashi has come in his journey to become invincible. Seijuro, peerless prodigy and the master of the Yoshioka School, who once slashed Musashi and his bokken so quickly he couldn't react, is cut in half by Musashi on New Year's Eve. In the course of a year, Musashi has evolved leaps and bounds beyond Denshichiro, with this event sealing the younger Yoshioka brother's fate.
- Musashi and Kojiro meet up through coincidence in the days leading up to Musashi's duel with Denshichiro. Although the two never draw their swords, only "playing" by swinging sticks at each other, their prowess is exemplified in their shared imagination: Kojiro severs Musashi's right arm, and Musashi answers by disemboweling Kojiro.
- Musashi's spirit is so strong that Kojiro unconsciously begins to draw his sword, sheathing it when he comes back to his senses. The two gradually develop a strong respect for one another, even "speaking" in spite of Kojiro's disability through their sword practice.
- Musashi's one-on-seventy battle against the Yoshioka school is several chapters of awesome; while admittedly only possible because the group of samurai is approaching him individually instead of attacking all at once, Musashi demonstrates just how far he's come and how high above everyone else his skill is by fighting "one on one, seventy times" and filling an entire field with their corpses. Doubly awesome is that instead of being an invincible combatant, he takes several gruesome injuries - including a large slash to his leg - and still keeps forging ahead until he's the last man standing. Even if his legendary duel is a long way off from this point, it's little wonder that he became a legend.
