In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.

The story of the role played by Japanese-American soldiers from Hawaii in the Korean War of the 1950s.

Rival bands of pirates try to get hold of a priceless treasure.

First sequel to "Story of Second Class Private".

During the era of Tokugawa Ieyasu, one night a carver named Fujijiro was murdered. Immediately launching an investigation, Denhichi, accompanied by Otoshi and Take, toured the entertainment houses of Ryogoku. There, they discovered a connection between an acrobat and the incident. On their way home, Otoshi unexpectedly encountered an old friend, Inosuke, nervously buying a dagger. Inosuke, a clerk at the Kashimaya store, was in love with Oko, a secret lover of Bunzaemon. Amidst this, Seihei, the head clerk, was murdered by someone, and a dagger belonging to Inosuke was found at the scene, leading Gohei to suspect Inosuke as the culprit. However, Otoshi was hiding Inosuke. Driven by Otoshi's plea and a professional instinct that Inosuke wasn't the perpetrator, Denhichi desperately searched for the real culprit.

Ginpei, in an act of desperation to get money for his gravely ill mother, was laughed at and ended up fighting with the companions of the castle patrol Matsunomura Genba, including Onimatsu. He was later reconciled by the family elder Ishikawa Yoriimo, who also gave him some money. Returning home happily, Ginpei found that his mother had already passed away. Okin, the daughter of a soba shop owner, comforted the heartbroken Ginpei, who in gratitude became affiliated with the Ishikawa household. Ginpei, a ruffian but ordinarily a quiet and honest man, became favored by Yoriimo's wife Chiyo and their child Harunosuke, and he began to accompany Yoriimo to the castle. Inside the castle, the family elder Otsuki Gyobu was in cahoots with Yoshitada's favorite concubine, Osada no Kata, and together with the treacherous Genba, they were plotting to establish Osada no Kata's child, Seinosuke, as the heir.

In the town of Izu known for its hot springs, Den Shichi from Kuromon Town sets off for a healing trip with his companion, a bamboo craftsman with a nose like a lion's snout, at a time when the town is under a tight security network due to a nearby gunpowder depot explosion. Staying at Tsuruya, Den Shichi and his group are investigated by officials whose behavior seems somewhat odd. That night, a man looking like a craftsman is murdered, and gunpowder residue is found at the scene, prompting Den Shichi to suspect that something is amiss.

In Marugame Domain of Shikoku, a low-ranking foot soldier named Tagami Genbachi was envied for marrying Tsuji, the most beautiful woman in the domain. However, due to a personal grudge held by Horikawa Gentazaemon, the swordsmanship instructor, Genbachi met an untimely and bitter death through foul means within the precincts of the Hachiman Shrine. Due to the domain's oppressive treatment of those of low status, Tsuji, now with her infant son Botaro, was dispossessed of her home and exiled.

Okazaki Domain samurai Inaba Gotaro accidentally killed a superior while trying to save his beloved geisha, Ko-en. On the run, they were rescued by the actor Nakamura Utaemon, but Ko-en was taken by the Hatamoto, Ono Issai. Gotaro, who fell off a cliff, was saved by the Dutch-trained doctor, Shibarai Ryokai, and his daughter Oume. While traveling to Edo, they met Utaemon in Mishima, who was suffering from a serious eye disease. Ryokai’s treatment saved Utaemon from blindness, and a strong friendship was formed among the three.

Watanabe Kazuma and Kawai Matagorō from the Bizen Okayama Ikeda clan were close friends, but they inevitably became enemies after Matagorō killed Kazuma's younger brother, Gentayū, and fled. Seeking assistance, Kazuma asked his brother-in-law, Araki Mataemon, for help, but Mataemon refused, saying that it was against the code for a brother to avenge another brother's death. On the other hand, the lord of the clan, Ikeda Tadao, ordered a search for Matagorō, who was found to be sheltered by the Hatamoto, including Andō Jiemon, in Edo. Tadao was furious but unable to act. Matagorō, in Edo, came to regret his birth as a samurai. He met and fell in love with Okō, a bathhouse maid. As the discord between the Hatamoto and the Ikeda clan deepened, Tadao died of illness. Seizing the opportunity to ease the conflict, the shogunate ordered the Ikeda clan to be succeeded by the young lord Katsugorō and to relocate to the Ikeda clan of Inshū Tottori. Meanwhile, Matagorō was exiled from Edo.