Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya) and Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi) return to Kobe, where the Kyowakai executives—still without a clear successor—expect Himuro to become the fourth chairman. Himuro refuses, causing unrest. After meeting Ueki, Himuro decides to respect Kawatani’s wishes and announces only his retirement. At the same time, the Marugami-kai appoints Sakota as chairman following Mita’s death. Meanwhile, Sunaga of the Keihin Alliance approaches Shinjo and Komiya again. Although the information reaches Himuro through Kuroiwa, Himuro rejects it, saying he does not want the Marugami-kai to split. Himuro admits he wanted to make Kawatani the number-one boss in Japan and to unite the yakuza world, but Tamura encourages him to be honest with his own feelings. Elsewhere, the Yamazaki Ichimon learns of Shinjo and Komiya and tries to handle things themselves. During this, retired Kyowakai member Nakajima appears, and his new business becomes the spark for a new conflict.
