In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi Sugimoto searches the wilderness of Hokkaido for a hoard of hidden gold. With only a cryptic map and a native Ainu girl to help him, Saichi must also deal with every murderous cutthroat, bandit and rogue who knows about the treasure!

The search for the tattooed convicts leads Sugimoto, Asirpa, and Shiraishi to the infamous Botaro the Pirate, a man with nearly superhuman swimming abilities. Tracking him down will test Sugimoto's claim of immortality! Meanwhile, a serial killer stalks the back alleys of Sapporo--but is he another escapee from Abashiri prison, or someone else? The murders attract the attention of Lieutenant Tsurumi and Hijikata, and a deadly confrontation is building--but this time, who is the hunter and who is the hunted?