Azumi 2: Death or Love picks up soon after where Azumi leaves off. Azumi and Nagara are the only two left of the original five assassins who set out to eliminate the warlords that would force their country into a civil war. Their last target is Sanada Masayuki, a lord who has a dangerous ally in war, a woman with a lustful appetite for bloodshed. Azumi and Nagara are injured during a chase, and after taking cover for a night, Azumi goes off to buy food. She runs across a group of bandits robbing the restaurant patrons, and is shocked when she comes face-to-face with their leader Ginkaku—a perfect likeness for Nachi, the childhood friend with whom she shared a special relationship and whose memory has haunted her since she was forced to slay him at the opening of the mission.
Azumi returns to Nagara to find a group of warriors representing the Tokugawa advisor, Nankobo Tenkai, who have come to bring the two to him. Though they are relieved of their duties, Azumi and Nagara are determined to complete the mission for which their comrades fell, and kill Sanada. A young female ninja named Kozue offers her services, and together the group travels to Kudayama where Sanada resides.
Along the way, Azumi finds herself in a struggle between the mission she has devoted her life to and the sudden awareness of an existence free from the burdens of an assassin. Nagara takes notice of her growing feelings for Ginkaku, and at Kozue's urging, pushes Azumi to leave the mission. But alone with Kozue, Nagara doesn't realize that some allies are not who they appear to be. The mission will not be carried out without Azumi…
