Sakamoto says he’s done messing around—it’s time to fight for real. Boiled scoffs, asking if Sakamoto really thinks dropping a few pounds out of nowhere gives him a shot. He tells him to hurry up and fight already—his family’s in danger. But Sakamoto isn’t worried. He trusts his family. Before Boiled can even react, Sakamoto punches him straight into a wall, the impact shaking the ground.
Meanwhile, Obiguro tells Lu to stop running and attack her head-on. As she starts counting down, Lu lashes out with her hair. Shin yells at her to take the fight seriously. Obiguro knocks Lu to the ground with a devastating “Emperor Killing Style Karate Secret Technique: Heel Drop.” Shin shouts her name in panic. But instead of staying down, Lu bursts into laughter. Apparently, Shin screaming in that high-pitched voice is hilarious to her. Drunk but nimble, she dodges Obiguro’s next kick and counters, landing a hit by sidestepping and kissing Obiguro’s arm before she can throw a punch. Time resets, and Lu goes in again.
Can’t go against family rules
Obiguro demands that Lu fight to kill, but Lu refuses—that goes against her family’s rules. When Obiguro questions her, Lu firmly states that Shin, Taro, Aoi, and Hana are her family, the ones she stands by. Obiguro calls her an idiot, saying Sakamoto’s family is just three people. But Lu isn’t having it. She’s only been in Japan a short time, but she learned how to work the register like a pro. Hana even said she could be the lead employee! Furious, she yells at Obiguro for calling her stupid and throws a punch that stops just short of her face. Snapping out of her drunken state, Lu blinks and asks Shin where they are. Obiguro smirks, saying Lu’s got some nerve pulling her punches and pushing her this far. But she admits Lu did well—she likes strong people.
Back to Taro—he lands a brutal kick, and Boiled feels his consciousness slipping. This is it. This is Sakamoto, the greatest hitman of all time. Even in retirement, how is he still this strong? Desperate, Boiled hurls his bombs, but Taro catches them midair and crushes them like they’re nothing. He acknowledges Boiled’s strength but admits that back in the day, he used his own power to hurt people. Now, he’s chosen to use it to protect the ones he loves—that’s what makes him strong. As they clash, they crash into a Ferris wheel car. Boiled, battered but impressed, smirks. Yeah… Sakamoto really is the epitome of hard-boiled.
Aoi finds out about the bounty
Aoi Sakamoto woke up to find Shin and Lu knocked out beside her. As they groggily came to, she immediately asked where Sakamoto was. Meanwhile, Taro and Boiled stepped out of the Ferris wheel car. A park staff member checked if they were okay, but before she could say much, Boiled cut her off, saying it’s rude to ask an injured man how he got injured. Instead, she told him to pay for the damages. Boiled, still feeling the effects of the fight, admitted Sakamoto got him good and, with a smirk, promised not to mess with him again.
As Sakamoto quietly ate a bun, Boiled asked him to share. Without hesitation, Sakamoto handed over the one he was eating, explaining that the rest were saved for his family. But the moment turned tense when Boiled warned him about the bounty on his head. Aoi overheard, and just like that, Sakamoto, Shin, and Boiled found themselves in the hot seat, getting grilled by Aoi. Meanwhile, Hana, Lu, and Obiguro were off, blissfully unaware, about to buy cotton candy.
No lying, No secrets
With no way out, Sakamoto came clean about the bounty and how assassins had been coming after him nonstop. Aoi was furious that he had kept it from her. Boiled, trying to smooth things over, defended him, saying men weren’t exactly great at communication, and all Sakamoto wanted was for his family to enjoy a stress-free day at the park. Aoi wasn’t having it. She shot a glare at Boiled, warning him not to try killing Sakamoto again. He agreed immediately. Then, turning back to Taro, she reminded him of the family rule—no lying, no secrets. If he had a bounty, he needed to stop sulking and deal with it. After coming to an understanding, they all headed off to watch the parade.
Shin asked Taro what the plan was now. Simple—get the bounty lifted. But first, they needed intel. They turned to Boiled and Obiguro for details on the Dondenkai boss, but neither was helpful. That led them to a video rental shop, their next lead. When Sakamoto asked for the movie Dondenkai, the store owner casually told him to check the violence section. Shin, confused, asked what kind of place this was, and the owner explained—it was an information hub, selling intel in the form of movies.
Heading to Dondenkai Headquarters
After watching the film, the owner gave them an ominous warning: some old faces might show up. When they pressed for details, he simply said the movie wasn’t “out” yet. Taking the hint, Sakamoto, Shin, and Lu geared up and headed for Dondenkai headquarters. Stealth mission time. At the Dondenkai headquarters, two employees walk and chat about the bounty on Sakamoto, mentioning how Boiled was taken down by him—no easy feat. From the ceiling, Shin and Sakamoto watch. Shin lowers a rope, swiftly taking down one of them while the other is still walking. As the second guy turns, Sakamoto knocks him out. They shrug off their jackets, tossing them aside. Lu asks why, and Shin casually says he got bored of it.
Lu then asks where the boss is. Shin, frustrated, tells her she clearly didn’t pay attention to the movie. Then, he explains—the boss is on the top floor, and the only way up is the heavily guarded elevator. Lu asks how they’re getting up there. Shin suggests climbing the outside from the second floor, just like in the movie. They make it to the next floor. Shin peeks through the window. A guard inside opens it to check, and in that split second, the Sakamoto gang slips inside. As the guard turns back, Taro zaps him with a taser.
They move into the security room, where the monitors flicker with distorted images. Before the guard inside can react, they sneak up, knock him out, and tie him up. As they press forward, Sakamoto recalls something the video rental shop owner told him.
Five hours earlier—White Tower
While eating, Hyo asks Nagumo if it’s true he met Sakamoto. Nagumo, ever the liar, claims he hasn’t heard that name in years, irritating Hyo. Shishiba waves it off, saying it doesn’t matter since the master will be arriving soon. Hyo, unconvinced, pulls a knife on Nagumo—only for Nagumo to casually block it with a fork, telling him to save the knives for the main dish. Shishiba sighs, muttering about people who never learn to chill.
Osaragi warns Shishiba he might not want to eat the dish. In response, Shishiba calls the head chef over and stabs him with a knife, demanding to know why there were onions in the risotto.
Then, Iriya, the JAA’s communication coordinator, arrives, greeting them and noting what an honor it is to meet the full Order roster. Hyo quickly corrects him—it’s not the full roster. He asks where the other four members are. Shishiba says it’s normal for three of them, but Takamura’s absence is unusual. Nagumo shrugs, saying Takamura must be busy. Shishiba doesn’t buy it.
Iriya then announces their new assignment. An unknown killer has been wiping out association assassins—over 30 incidents, costing more than 300 million yen. The association wants this handled immediately, in the name of Order.
Meanwhile—back at the Dondenkai headquarters
Shin tells Taro something’s off—he can’t hear a single enemy. Lu worries his detector is broken again. Shin glares—he definitely heard that. They reach the entrance of the room. When they open the door, they find Nagumo sitting casually in a chair, surrounded by a pile of corpses. He greets Sakamoto like nothing happened.
Nagumo greets Sakamoto with a smirk, teasing that he got caught red-handed. Shin, confused, asks what he’s doing there. Casually, Nagumo drops a bombshell—he just wiped out the entire Dondenkai elite, including their boss, and now Sakamoto has to die too. Before anyone can react, he moves so fast that he catches Shin off guard, stabbing him in the throat with a knife. Turns out, it’s just a joke—Nagumo reveals the knife is fake, fooling everyone except Taro.
Sakamoto, unfazed, presses Nagumo on why he’s really there. Nagumo explains that he had some “business” with Dondenkai, but by the time he arrived, they were already dead. Taro isn’t buying it and demands more details. Nagumo reveals it was an investigation—someone had been massacring assassins, and the bodies were piling up. Shin shrugs it off, saying assassins getting killed isn’t exactly news. But Nagumo insists this is different—thirty groups with close ties to the JAA have been wiped out, over a thousand professional killers dead in just a few months. Someone is sending a message. Shin is skeptical, struggling to believe that a thousand deaths account for a quarter of the assassin industry.
The Order and ‘X’
Then Nagumo drops another piece of the puzzle—the killer leaves an X at every crime scene. They’ve been calling them “X,” aka Slur. Sakamoto asks if the Order is involved. Lu chimes in, saying she heard Tatsu mention something about them and asks who they are. Nagumo explains that the Order is the elite force of the assassin world, a squad dedicated to keeping things in check when chaos threatens the industry. Then, the biggest shock—Sakamoto was once a member of the Order. Lu is stunned, and Shin can’t believe he never knew.
Nagumo warns Sakamoto to keep an eye out for X. Shin argues that they’re not assassins anymore, so why should they care? Lu agrees, pointing out they have their hands full dealing with the bounty on their heads. But Nagumo makes a chilling connection—the killings started right when the bounty was placed.
Elsewhere, a mysterious man flips through a children’s illustration book. Around him, corpses litter the floor. Calmly, he draws an X on the wall.
Everyone must get stronger
Back at Sakamoto’s store, Shin sighs—after all that, they’re back to square one. Another assassin barges in, ready to attack. Annoyed, Shin complains about how many they’ve had to deal with today. Lu helps Hana press a button on the register, triggering a trap that sends a pile of guns crashing onto the assassin. Aoi sighs, frustrated that they still can’t remove the bounty, but at least they’ve been selling plenty of band-aids and gauze. Hana, ever kind, offers to put a band-aid on the injured killers.
Meanwhile, Sakamoto recalls Nagumo’s words—if he struggled against contenders like Boiled, he’s in trouble. His skills have dulled from his time away. He realizes that without knowing what they’re truly up against, the only option is to get stronger.
Determined, Sakamoto starts training—riding a bicycle to drop Hana off at school as part of his endurance work. Shin sharpens his mind-reading skills by assisting customers. And Lu? She remembers Shin once said she’s stronger when she’s drunk. Taking it a little too seriously, she decides to train by drinking—only to accidentally punch a customer, who, of course, turns out to be another assassin.
