Ryuji Hoshikawa (played by Ken'ichi Endô), the leader of the Hoshikawa group and an executive of the Saito group, a branch of the Asahikawa Sekine Association, grew increasingly distrustful of the group's leader, Shigezo Saito (played by Johnny Okura), after being removed from his role as acting head of the Saito group. As a result, he abandoned his parent organization and his family, ultimately accepting the ceremonial sake cup from Tetsuya Kishimori (played by Kentaro Shimizu), the leader of the Kishimori group, which belongs to the massive Kinjokai organization based in the Kanto region.