The Nameless Samurai in the Final Battle

Every time I watch this film, I notice more and more. This time around, I especially noted the nameless Samurai guarding Ii Naosuke's Palanquin - the last one standing to face off against Niiro in the final scene. This particular nameless Samurai kills at least 3 of the main characters of the Tengu Faction (it may be up to 5, since two of them are killed by a sword off-screen that could have been the same Samurai). Anyway, I realized how unusual it is for a film to show a nameless character kill so many main characters. In fact, I think the nameless Samurai could have also killed Niiro at the end, had he not been so exhausted. He managed to cross swords with Niiro 4-5 times before Niiro overpowered him. The nameless Samurai would have saved Ii Naosuke, had it not been for Niiro. I find it interesting that the directors chose to have a nameless character on the battlefield who rivals Niiro in swordsmanship.

Has anyone else paid attention to Samurai I'm talking about? I have a screenshot of him here, although it's not very good.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/l_hunter8/samurai%20assassin.jpg