With Baba (Akihiko Kuwata) acting as Kyowakai chairman and Sakota (Hideo Nakano) leading the Marugami-kai, both groups begin a new chapter. Kyowakai finalizes long-delayed executive appointments: Hayashida (Ehara Shu) replaces the retired Nakajima as Shikoku block leader, while Hirakawa (Hitomi Matsuda) becomes Tohoku block leader by Baba’s nomination, easing concerns from Himuro (Yasukaze Motomiya), Tamura (Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi), and Ueki (Daisuke Nagakura). While drinking in Kobe, Baba drunkenly orders Himuro and others to “crush Marugami,” and the remark quickly spreads to Marugami and investigators. Baba then orders a manhunt, but Hirakawa objects and questions why the “Adachi-kai,” a group of delinquent gangs that fled Kyowakai’s control and formed in Tohoku, had been ignored. After being calmed by Himuro, Hirakawa heads to Tohoku to handle the group himself—setting the stage for new tensions involving Baba, Hirakawa, and the Adachi-kai.
