is a 1973 Japanese yakuza film directed by Kinji Fukasaku. It is the third film in a five-part series that Fukasaku made in a span of just two years, focusing on the events prior to a major war between Hiroshima yakuza in the early 1960s.
Plot
In September 1960, Fumio Sugihara, who is serving as the temporary boss of the Muraoka Family, is assassinated while walking with Hirono Family patriarch Shozo Hirono and Muraoka underboss Noburo Uchimoto. At Sugihara's funeral, one of the guests vomits on Sugihara's remains and hastily leaves the ceremony. The others know that the man, a yakuza from Kyushu, was beaten by Sugihara in an argument and probably vomited on purpose. Hirono and Muraoka Family officers Hiroshi Matsunaga and Akira Takeda ask Uchimoto, the sworn brother of the deceased, to punish the man for his act of disrespect, but he refuses, much to their anger.
Hirono beats one of his men, Saijo, for stealing before meeting with his adviser Kenichi Okubo, the man who oversaw his induction into the yakuza. Okubo explains that Hirono has to switch parole guarantors to avoid going back to jail, recommending Hirono's former boss Yoshio Yamamori, who he renounced loyalty to years earlier. Even after learning that Yamamori only suggested it because Boss Muraoka is retiring, Hirono reluctantly agrees to align his family with Yamamori's. He is subsequently approached by Uchimoto, who is aware of Hirono's friendship with Shinichi Iwai of the large Akashi Family in Kobe, for advice on which Akashi Family member would be willing to swear brotherhood with him; Uchimoto admits he only wants this so he can strengthen his claim to Muraoka's former position as boss. Hirono also takes a young delinquent named Takeshi Kuramoto into his family at the request of his mother and former school teacher after Kuramoto badly injures a drunken man who happens to be a yakuza associate.
That summer, Muraoka officer Soichi Eda is released from prison and he, Hirono, Uchimoto, Takeda, and Matsunaga all become sworn brothers. In June of the following year, thanks to Hirono's intervention, Uchimoto's request is approved and he swears an oath with Shigeo Aihara, who is a sworn brother of Akashi Family boss Tetsuo Akashi. This leaves only one viable rival to the Akashi's dominance in Japan, a yakuza clan based in Kobe known as the Shinwa Group. The Akashi Family and the Shinwa Group rally the various families sworn to them and begin fighting all across Japan, leaving countless yakuza dead or incarcerated as the battle quickly spills over into Hiroshima.
In a conversation with Hirono, Aihara reveals that Uchimoto is trying to swear loyalty to Boss Akashi despite having already done the same with Boss Muraoka, which violates yakuza traditions. Later that evening, Hirono learns from Matsunaga and Takeda that Muraoka is handing control of his family to Yamamori. Hirono, surprised, disagrees and challenges the decision. He is told that Boss Muraoka did so because he is upset with Uchimoto for swearing brotherhood with Aihara, wanting to keep the Akashi Family out of Hiroshima. The others console Hirono by noting that Yamamori's leadership will only be temporary. Uchimoto then walks in, yelling at Hirono because he mistakingly believes that he told the truth about him to Aihara. As a result, Uchimoto's ceremony to become a sworn brother with Boss Akashi has been put off indefinitely. Hirono calls Ushimoto a coward and a disappointment and storms off.
Two months later, Yamamori succeeds Boss Muraoka and merges the two families. Uchimoto is mocked for his cowardice at the after party, prompting him to burst into tears. After everyone else leaves, Uchimoto argues with Hirono, thinking he agreed to Yamamori as boss and kept the succession a secret from him. Uchimoto then threatens to destroy Yamamori and kill Hirono. He and his family use his role as mediator in a conflict between the Hamazaki and Komori Families of Iwakuni to begin a proxy war for control of the Yamamori Family. Yamamori sides with the Hamazaki Family because his underboss Masakichi Makihara is Boss Hamazaki's sworn brother, while Uchimoto backs the Komori Family. Uchimoto is able to settle the dispute on his terms, enhancing his prestige and paving the way for him to pledge loyalty to Boss Akashi. In response, Yamamori formalizes an alliance with the Shinwa Group.