Taiga Saejima

Taiga "18-Counts" Saejima (18 November 1965-) was a Japanese yakuza who served as patriarch of the Tojo-kai's Saejima-gumi from 2010. Born in Osaka, Saejima joined the yakuza to raise funds for his sister's kidney transplant, and he was imprisoned in 1985 after carrying out the famed "Ueno Seiwa Hit", in which was alleged to have killed 18 members of the rival Uenoseiwa-kai. He was sentenced to death, but he escaped from the secretive Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2 in March 2010 after learning from his fellow prisoner Goh Hamazaki that Goro Majima - his sworn brother, whom he believed had betrayed him by not showing up for the Ueno Seiwa job - was alive an well and now the patriarch of the Majima-gumi. Over the course of his week on the run, Saejima allied with Kazuma Kiryu, Masayoshi Tanimura, and Shun Akiyama to protect his sister Yasuko from the Ueno Seiwa and bring to justice the conspirators behind the 2010 Tokyo gang war that claimed his sister's life. Afterwards, Saejima was given his own family, although he returned to prison from 2010 to 2012 to cleanse himself of all past sins and ready himself to become Captain of the Tojo Clan. He was later rearrested after escaping from prison with the help of Shigeki Baba, although, rather than serving the last four months of his sentence, he was imprisoned from 2012 until 2017. After the disbanding of the Tojo Clan in 2019, he became a fisherman.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Taiga Saejima was born in Osaka, Japan in 1965. At a young age, his parents divorced, and he was raised by his father, who remarried to the mother of Yasuko, Taiga's younger stepsister-to-be. He initially hoped to become an elementary school teacher before Yasuko lost her mother at the age of 12, and he and Yasuko were taken in by distant relatives. Both children felt they were a burden on their surrogate family and eventually left, struggling financially on their own. After Yasuko came to be in need of a kidney transplant, the 15-year-old Saejima traveled to Osaka to find his stepfather, a low-ranking member of the Omi Alliance yakuza, who refused to donate his kidney without being paid for it. With few options left, Saejima turned to a life of petty crime in Tokyo to help finance the operation. He soon met the high-ranking Tojo-kai gangster Hideki Sasai, who heard of Saejima's struggles after beating him in a street fight and offered him a place in his family in exchange for the funds for Yasuko's procedure. Taiga and Yasuko promptly moved to Kabukicho, where Saejima became a rising star in the Sasai-gumi. During this time, he befriended Goro Majima of the Shimano-gumi, and the two became oath brothers.

The Ueno Seiwa hit[]

On 20 April 1985, Saejima was tasked with assassinating key members of the rival Uenoseiwa-kai in a ramen shop alongside Majima. Majima gave Saejima six handguns for the job, and he decided not to tell his stepsister of his and Majima's inevitable imprisonment, which could result in a life sentence or even hanging. On 21 April, Saejima carried out the hit, although Majima never arrived; unbeknownst to Saejima, he had been detained by Kazuo Shibata, who was in league with Ueno Seiwa captain Isao Katsuragi; Shibata had secretly supplied Saejima with guns carrying rubber bullets supplied by corrupt policeman Junji Sugiuchi, enabling Katsuragi - who would thus survive Saejima's shooting to stage his own "protection" of Yoshiharu Ueno after shooting the men left unconscious by the rubber bullets. Saejima carried out the shooting with a cool head, taking a bullet to the shoulder and mistaking the splashes of ramen soup for the blood that never poured from his victims. By 6:05 PM, Saejima turned himself in to the police, while Katsuragi went on to execute all of his fellow Ueno Seiwa gangsters before Ueno woke up and found Katsuragi protectively draping himself over him. While Saejima was sent to the Tokyo Penitentiary and received the death penalty a few months later, Ueno made Katsuragi his captain, and Shibata brokered a peace between the Tojo and the Ueno Seiwa that ensured that he was given command of his own family, the Shibata-gumi; Hideki Sasai went into hiding after realizing that he had been set up by Shibata, causing his family's disbandment.

Escape from prison[]

On 1 March 2010, after 25 years of awaiting his execution, Saejima was suddenly issued a transfer order to Okinawa Penitentiary No. 2, a privately-run, government-contracted secret prison located on Okinawa. Upon arrival, Saejima got into a cafeteria fight with some inmates who used to belong to the Ueno Seiwa Clan and who still hated him for the hit in 1985; they overheard Yutaka Gotō's realization that he was eating with the legendary Saejima. Saejima took down Masahiko Takahashi and his fellow Ueno Seiwa henchmen before the cruel prison guard-captain Masato Saito took him to solitary confinement and tortured him. Saejima's fellow prisoner Goh Hamazaki bribed the warden Jun'ichi Kondō to halt Saejima's torture, preventing him from becoming the fourth prisoner to be murdered by Saito.

Hamazaki was then let into the room, where he had a private meeting with Saejima. Hamazaki revealed that he was also a Tojo Clan member and was one of the "big boys" until he wound up in the prison a year earlier, having previously had his own family. He then revealed that the penitentiary did not officially exist, as it was a privately funded high-security prison built under government contract; the only reason it existed was to make yakuza like them disappear, no questions asked. He then told Saejima that he had a plan to escape, and he needed Saejima's brute strength to help him. Saejima initially refused, but he changed his mind when Hamazaki informed him that the Sasai-gumi was disbanded after the hit, Sasai mysteriously disappeared soon after, the Ueno Seiwa was still active, and Majima - whom Saejima believed had betrayed him - had his own family in the Tojo Clan. Over the next few days, Hamazaki and Saejima gathered what they needed for their escape. Hamazaki had a cell key copied for Saejima, and he asked him to find a grappling hook. Renta Kamiyama agreed to help Saejima's escape if he brought him the necessary materials; he acquired a chain from the prisoner Shoichi Kataoka in exchange for a cigarette that he bummed from Juzo Ozaki, and he acquired a pitchfork from Akikazu Kawana after convincing him to bring it back from his farming duty. Kamiyama fashioned these parts into a grappling hook that was stashed under a sewer grate in the yard, and Saejima and Hamazaki planned their escape for the following night.

That night, Hamazaki - dressed as a guard - and Saejima escaped their cells with their keys. Saejima held off the prison guards as Hamazaki made his way to the warden's office to steal an incriminating ledger that he could later use to force the authorities to commute the escapees' sentences. Saejima took down several guards in the hallways before Hamazaki joined him, and, on entering the prison yard, they found themselves coming under sniper fire. Hamazaki outflanked the sniper tower as Saejima drew its attention, and Hamazaki eventually took out the sniper and enabled Saejima to make his way towards the wall.

Once there, Saejima volunteered to stay behind and fight off the guards as Hamazaki used the grappling hook first, as Hamazaki had conceived the whole escape plan. Saejima defeated Saito after a tough fight, and he was surprised to see Hamazaki still waiting for him on top of the wall, as he had previously advised him to get a head start in swimming. Hamazaki then bade Saejima start the climb down, but they lingered too long on the wall as Hamazaki told Saejima to seek Kazuma Kiryu once he made it to the Okinawan mainland. Saito to awoke and shoot Hamazaki in the back. Hamazaki decided to sacrifice himself by grabbing Saito and throwing themselves into the sea, while Saejima, distraught at Hamazaki's apparent death, dove into the sea and swam ashore.

Saejima washed up on the beach near the Morning Glory Orphanage, where he was discovered by Haruka Sawamura. She brought him into the home, where she revealed that Kiryu ran the place. When she noticed Saejima's wounds and offered to seek help, a desperate Saejima tackled her, only to gaze into her eyes and quickly back off. Kiryu walked in shortly after, and Saejima - calling himself "Suzuki" - pretended to be a shipwrecked fisherman and pled for Kiryu's help to travel to Tokyo. Kiryu then had Saejima talk with him on the beach, where he asked Saejima his true story, knowing that he was a prisoner from his injuries, his build, his mannerisms, the look in his eye when he saw a girl for the first time in 25 years, and from his consultation with the coast guard (who had said that the weather had been fine and that no shipwrecks had been reported).

Saejima then admitted that he was a formed yakuza escaped from prison who needed to travel to Tokyo to avvenge his former boss. Kiryu refused to help Saejima's revenge mission, as he had committed himself to peace after leaving the Tojo Clan, but Saejima refused to stand down, resulting in both of them briefly fighting each other to a standstill. Haruka then arrived and stopped the fight, and the strain of the battle caused Saejima to pass out again.

When he awoke several hours later, Haruka told Saejima that Kiryu had found "his" bag, bringing it over to him while Kiryu was out, supposedly getting groceries. Saejima was surprised to see a duffel bag full of money and a new set of clothes, causing him to cry. He also read a note from Kiryu pleading that he not seek revenge. Saejima then set out, bidding goodbye to Haruka. Kiryu - who had never made it to the grocery - quietly watched Saejima's departure from the road, after which he returned to Haruka's side.

Return to Tokyo[]

Saejima proceeded to arrive in Tokyo on the evening of 6 March 2010, and he was surprised by how much Kabukicho had changed. He decided to start his investigation by visiting the old Sasai-gumi headquarters in front of West Park, where he found the homeless man Ken Yamada rummaging through a trash can. Saejima asked what had happened to the family, but Yamada said that the building had been vacant for years, and that his friend Toku, who hung around the underground mall, might know about Hideki Sasai's whereabouts. Saejima met Toku at the underground mall and bought him alcohol, and Toku told him that the Sasai-gumi was not around anymore and suggested that he visit their headquarters. With no other leads to work with, Saejima decided to return to the apartment he used to live in.

On reaching his apartment, Saejima went to the rooftop and found Takeshi Kido standing over several defeated Shibata-gumi goons who were trying to question him. On realizing that Kido was an enemy of Shibata, once Sasai's biggest rival, Saejima introduced himself and asked for his help in finding his boss. Kido was amazed to meet the legendary Saejima, but he said that he could not help him beyond letting him stay at his hideout in the Theatre Underground. However, he did tell him about the Florist of Sai, a mysterious information broker living in Kabukicho who could help him.

While investigating the underground, Saejima came across a panicked homeless man who told him that "the Master" was going to die if Saejima didn't help him. The man brought Saejima into the sewer, where he found the elderly Hitoshi Matsuo being threatened by street punks who demanded to know where the elderly man's treasure was. Saejima beat down the thugs, forcing them to flee, and Matsuo then introduced himself as "the Master," who was searching for a buried treasure that his father had told him about 25 years ago when he was 50. Saejima agreed to help the Master with excavating, discovering Air Raid Shelter No. 1 from World War II and several fighting technique manuals along the way. Saejima then left, meeting the "Mean Green Machine" along the way.

Saejima searching for the Purgatory entrance

Saejima then headed to West Park's public toilets, where the entrance to Purgatory used to be. He barged into a stall as Shō Hori sat on the toilet, failing to open another door within the stall. Saejima then apologized to a profoundly disturbed Hori, and he continued his search for Purgatory. Along the way, he came across Renji Kamiyama's shop in Kabukicho, meeting Renta's brother, who had been told about Saejima's escape and who invited him to buy weapons from him. Saejima later came across the maintenance workers Bunjiro Omori and Muneyaki Kawasaki talking about people moving around a closed-off sewer area; he also heard Soetsu Tsurumi mumbling about the Florist of Sai, and he persuaded Tsurumi to tell him about how to access the sewer. When he arrived at the manhole entrance to Purgatory, he found Shinkichi Tatekawa and his gang guarding it, and he was forced to beat them down when they demanded a toll for his entry.

Saejima standing over a defeated Ibrahimovic

Saejima was surprised to discover the underground pleasure district that was Purgatory, and he met the Florist of Sai in his office. The Florist said that he was expecting Saejima, who asked for the Florist's help with finding Sasai. The Florist agreed to help on the condition that Saejima fought in his Underground Coliseum, where he would battle his reigning champion Ivan Ibrahimovic. Saejima defeated the champion after a hard-fought battle, and members of the audience called for Saejima to kill him. However, Taiga harshly rebuked the audience members, asking them if they had ever taken life, and expressing his own guilt for doing so. He refused to kill Ibrahimovic, storming out of the coliseum.

The Florist said that Saejima had passed his test, as he did not want to let his prizefighters murder each other, and he also wanted to determine Saejima's character. Back at the Florist's office, the Florist revealed that Sasai was alive, but was living as a homeless man in Kabukicho. He then had Sasai wheeled in, and Saejima was distraught to see how far his boss had fallen, and how he was in a catatonic state. Saejima ran up to his boss and embraced him, ignoring the Florist's warnings that Sasai couldn't understand him. Sasai managed to eke out the name "Saejima", causing Saejima to bawl and embrace Sasai. The Florist then assured Saejima that he would continue to look after Sasai, and Saejima left to continue his investigation.

On his way out, Saejima met Yasuo Sodachi, who had witnessed Saejima's fight, recruited him to come to his dojo and train his student Hideo Sugiyama. Saejima gave Sugiyama a workout regimen and also took him out for drinks, learning of his desire to impress a girl named Mayako and reassuring him that there was nothing wrong with wanting to improve oneself. After leaving, Saejima decided to head back to his hideout, using rooftops to evade the police and meeting Renta Kamiyama along the way.

Saejima coming across a beaten-up homeless man

On returning to his hideout, Saejima found the yakuza Daisaku Minami waiting for him at his desk, having beaten down the homeless people guarding his hideout, as well as Kido. Minami revealed that Majima had learned that Saejima was back in town and wanted to see him at his office in Millennium Tower the next night. Saejima spent the next day preparing for his meeting with Majima, and, before he departed, he was asked by Kido if he regretted the Ueno Seiwa hit. Saejima said that he was remorseful for all the lives he took, but said that he would have done anything for his boss and oath brothers, so he'd do it all again if he had to.

Saejima traveled to the Millennium Tower, avoiding the police along the way, before being confronted by Minami and several members of the Majima-gumi in the lobby. Minami said that he wanted to see if the legendary 18-count hitman was as powerful as his legend suggested, so Saejima took down Minami and his army of thugs. Majima then made his presence known and stoically asked his oath brother to follow him. They headed to the Yoshida Batting Center, where an impatient and angry Saejima demanded an explanation for why Majima failed to appear for the hit 25 years prior. Majima said that he would tell Saejima the truth if he beat him in a fight, and the two men proceeded to engaged in a prolonged battle that ended with Saejima's victory.

Saejima restraining himself from hitting Majima

Majima proceeded to tell Saejima that Shibata had imprisoned and blinded him after Majima refused to let Saejima carry out the hit alone, as Shibata had ordered him. After Saejima went through with the hit, Shibata persuaded Tojo headquarters that Sasai had arranged the hit as a setup in collaboration with a traitor in the Ueno Seiwa, asking how the Tojo Clan would have known about the restaurant venue without Ueno Seiwa help, and that the Tojo traitor had planned to cause a war between the two clans in order to expand his own territory. In response, Tojo HQ dissolved the Sasai Family and exiled its boss, leaving him to his fate.

Saejima then returned to his hideout, where he was later captured by Isao Katsuragi's henchmen with Kido's treacherous help. Saejima was then brought to Purgatory, where Katsuragi's men had also beat down the Florist and Ibrahimovic. Katsuragi hoped to trade Taiga and his sister for the audit file that Hamazaki had smuggled to Kiryu during his prison escape, giving the Saejima siblings time to catch up. Katsuragi also revealed to Saejima that he had used the Ueno Seiwa hit to rise in the ranks of his family, and revealed that he had killed all of the Ueno Seiwa men himself, as Shibata had supplied Saejima with rubber bullets on the day of the hit.

The siblings were later handed over to Kiryu on the rooftop of the Kabukicho Hills development after Kiryu handed over the file, only for Kido to betray Katsuragi and shoot him. Kido then handed the ledger over to Hiroaki Arai, who proceeded to shoot Kido and leave him for dead. Arai left with the ledger, abandoning Kido to later be rescued by his employer Daigo Dojima. The Saejima siblings' meeting with Kiryu was interrupted when Katsuragi picked up his gun and fired at Taiga, only for Yasuko to take the bullet. Yasuko proceeded to produce a revolver, telling Taiga that, as she had the blood of many men on her hands and Taiga was innocent, she wanted to redeem herself. She then proceeded to execute Katsuragi before falling to the ground, dying in Taiga's arms.

After the death of Yasuko and the arrest of Majima, Taiga was aimless and felt that he had no reason to live. Kiryu persuaded Saejima that he still had a reason to fight, as he relayed the news that Hamazaki had died and requested that Kiryu and Saejima defeat the dirty cops and show the world that honorable yakuza like them still existed. Saejima, Kiryu, Masayoshi Tanimura, and Shun Akiyama promptly joined forces to lure their enemies into a trap, using Akiyama's ¥100 million as bait. They left the ¥100 million on top of the Millennium Tower, attracting Daigo Dojima, Kido, Arai, and TMPD deputy commissioner Seishiro Munakata to the rooftop. Once their enemies were in place, the four allies took a helicopter to the roof, where they each picked an opponent to fight. Saejima chose to fight the treacherous Kido, besting the agile fighter with his wrestling.

After the four allies defeated their foes, they confronted their defeated enemies; Arai accepted defeat and imprisonment, though Munakata remained confident in his ability to beat the rap until Makoto Date arrived in a helicopter and scattered copies of a newspaper revealing Munakata's corruption. Munakata, refusing to go to prison, shot himself. A few days later, Saejima was given new purpose when Daigo, out of recognition for Saejima's service, granted him command of his own family, the Saejima-gumi, at a ceremony attended by Kiryu.

Last night of freedom[]

Within months of his promotion to patriarch, Saejima was also slated for promotion to Captain of the Tojo Clan, in which capacity he would serve as Daigo Dojima's right-hand man. However, he decided to cleanse himself of past sins by voluntarily returning to prison on an assault charge, hoping to be on parole within two years and ready to accept the captaincy without past legal issues hanging over his head. In December 2010, on the last day of his freedom, Saejima ate with his oath brother Majima at a seafood restaurant in Tokyo, feasting on multiple courses of tripe. When Majima questioned why Saejima felt the need to return to prison, he said that he wanted to fulfill a promise to Kiryu and to, like tripe, become hardened through burning; in his case, through prison.

After dinner, Saejima took in the sights of Kabukicho before planning to meet with Majima at the Yoshida Batting Center, supposedly for one last game of baseball. Along the way, he beat down Takeshi Tanihata and his henchmen Takuya Maie and Masao Shōmura after Tanihata blamed Saejima's return to the family for his inability to become a lieutenant. Saejima also stopped by New Serena to bid farewell to Makoto Date, who assured him that, as long as the Tojo and the Omi Alliance remained equal in power while Saejima was in prison, the yakuza world order would be maintained. However, he warned that foreign mafias and two-bit street gangs could make a move if a war broke out, and he also lamented how some of the more remote subsidiaries of the Tojo were turning their backs on the clan due to its weakness. However, Date commended Saejima's decision to return to prison, as, while plenty of oldhand Tojo men were angered about how Saejima walked back into the clan, going back to prison would prove his worth and keep his own clan members from stabbing him in the back. Date also counseled Saejima to make sure that he would not be slapped with any extra time once in prison, as he was already pushing his luck with the Tojo.

Saejima facing off against the Majima Family

Saejima then headed to the batting center, where Yusuke Nishida of the Majima-gumi greeted him. Inside the arena, Saejima witnessed Majima fail to strike a ball, and Majima lamented how the two of them had become old. Majima feared that time in prison would pulverize Saejima, so, to test his ability to survive in prison, he had his henchmen enter the arena and fight Saejima. Saejima made short work of the men, and Majima then lamented how, after keeping the Tojo high and dry for years, his fangs went and fell out. However, Saejima reminded Majima that he was the Tojo Clan's muscle. Majima then asked Saejima to come back to Kabukicho flexing and stronger than ever, and, with the police waiting outside, Saejima went to meet them.

Saejima was greeted by police and a crowd of people recording his arrest with phones and cameras, and, as he chose to turn himself in, he was neither handcuffed nor grabbed, instead voluntarily entering the police car. He proceeded to be sentenced to three years in prison and sent to Abashiri Prison in Hokkaido, rooming with the corrupt detective Yoshiyuki Himura, the master thief Heihachiro Oshima, and Shigeki Baba, who claimed to be a Kitakata-gumi yakuza.

Abashiri Prison[]

Saejima followed Date's advice to not get himself in trouble, as Deputy Warden Seiji Kosaka was known to hate yakuza, and he refused to let prisoners out on parole if he believed they would return to their lives of crime. While Saejima attempted to remain on his best behavior, he was repeatedly tormented and tortured by the psychopathic Hiroshi Kugihara and his gang. Saejima refused to fight back, taking their beatings and cuts, even as Kugihara stuck his fingers in Saejima's wound and licked the blood that came out. Saejima persuaded Oshima to supply him with painkillers to help him overcome the many injuries he sustained at Kugihara's hands.

By December 2012, Saejima and the young Baba - over whom Saejima was protective - were eligible for parole. While Baba appeared to be nervous about returning to the real world should he be paroled, Saejima encouraged him to be brave. Kosaka later placed Saejima in solitary confinement after rescuing him from Kugihara's thugs, and he warned Saejima that, while he might not fight back against Kugihara to prove he was a model prisoner, Kosaka would not view anyone who brought disorder - or intended to return to the underworld - as a model prisoner. Kosaka offered to keep Saejima in solitary until his parole application to keep him safe from Kugihara, but Saejima feared that, if he stayed in solitary, the gang might go after the other men in his cell, so he decided to return to his friends.

On the day of Baba's parole hearing, Baba went missing for an hour after meeting with the parole board, causing Saejima to worry. He and his friends tracked Baba down to a nearby storehouse, where they found him standing over one of Kugihara's men, Owada, with a woodworking chisel, apparently having stabbed him in the leg. Saejima and his friends were distraught to see Baba plead his innocence as he was taken away by the police. Saejima and his friends decided to prove Baba's innocence by having Oshima steal the tool from the evidence room and see if its number lined up with Kugihara's assigned tool's number; Saejima would also do some legwork to ask other prisoners for any evidence of Baba's innocence.

Saejima met the information broker Kensaku Shikata, who revealed that one of the woodworkers was Kugihara, in exchange for Saejima smuggling contraband for him. He also had Saejima lead a guard on a chase around the prison grounds as a prank (with Saejima being told to give the guard a note that, unbeknownst to Saejima, read "Nice jog") before revealing that Kugihara's chisel was given the number 134. Shortly after, Oshima retrieved the chisel from the police.

However, Kugihara and his crew arrived, and Saejima confronted them. Saejima revealed that only Kugihara's tools had disappeared from the woodshop, and that Kugihara's tool had been used to stab Owada. Kugihara then taunted Saejima by revealing that, the night before, he ordered Baba to kill Saejima in his sleep as soon as he was out of solitary, promising to help him once he was out of prison. When Baba refused, Kugihara decided to stab Owada and frame Baba for the attack in order to prevent him from being granted parole. After learning this, Saejima struck Kugihara for the first time, doing so on Baba's behalf rather than himself. Kugihara laughed now that Saejima finally fought back, and the two proceeded to fight, with Saejima severely beating Kugihara before Kosaka and his guards arrived to break up the fight. Kugihara taunted Saejima about their future in prison together before Saejima was taken to the warden's office.

There, Kosaka revealed that he intended to recommend Saejima for parole, even despite his yakuza ties and his attack on Kugihara. Saejima was surprised, only for Kosaka to hand him a notice expelling him from the Tojo Clan. Kosaka said that, as inmates who demonstrated sufficient reformation could expect reductions in their sentences, and because Saejima would not be able to return to his life of crime, he was willing to let Saejima go. However, Saejima turned him down, saying that his release would be pointless. Kosaka attempted to console Saejima, but Saejima said that he just wanted to be with people he believed in, namely his cellmates. On returning to his cell, Saejima discovered that Baba's parole was authorized now that Kugihara's guilt was established.

However, the celebratory mood was dimmed when Saejima revealed his intent to stay in prison, and when Himura, reading the newspaper, told Saejima that Goro Majima had been reported murdered in Sapporo. Oshima figured that Majima's murder right after Saejima's expulsion was related, but Saejima was too caught up in the news to care, crying for his supposedly-dead sworn brother. Just then, a guard arrived to take Saejima and Baba to meet Kosaka, supposedly to talk about work they had done earlier.

In the ensuing meeting, Kosaka told Saejima that his parole had been rejected not by the parole board, but directly by the Ministry of Justice, an unusual occurrence. He figured that only the Tojo and the Omi had that much political power, while also pointing out that Majima, the boss of the Tojo's largest family, had been taken out at the same time. He then revealed that Taizo Kitakata, patriarch of the Kitakata Family, was suspected of murdering Majima, as Majima was attempting to arrange the acquisition of the Kitakata on behalf of Daigo. Kosaka then had the two men follow him to the storeroom, where he expressed his concerns about Kugihara and his gang, believing that they were sent to prison with the express purpose of ensuring Saejima's continued confinement. Saejima realized that there was likely a traitor in the Tojo Clan who had sent Kugihara to keep him in prison, and who had expelled him. Kosaka then gave Saejima a key to the prison's back gate and told him and Baba to escape on a snowmobile, refusing to be held accountable for Saejima and Baba's potential deaths. He revealed that the warden had been shot dead at Sapporo Airport before he could travel to Tokyo to investigate the denial of Saejima's parole, and that almost 100 new inmates from other institutions were due to be transferred to Abashiri to kill Saejima. As Kosaka was sworn to defend the rights of all citizens, he refused to see his prisoners murdered, and he asked Saejima to find the warden's murderer and report him to authorities so that he could be sent to prison alive.

Back at his cell, Saejima told his friends of his intention to find Kitakata, whom he believed had murdered Majima, and to find out his sworn brother's last words; he intended to leave Kitakata alive, as Majima's death would only mean that he had become weak. That night, Saejima and Baba snuck out of their quarters, unaware that Himura and Oshima had been awake and overheard their departure.

On entering the prison yard, however, Saejima and Baba found that a guard had been murdered. Shortly after, an army of inmates arrived to block their escape. When Kosaka attempted to warn Saejima from a nearby tower, he was stabbed in the back by Kugihara, who ordered his men to attack. Saejima and Baba were forced to fight their way through dozens of hostile inmates in the prison yard, ultimately making their way to the gate.

There, Saejima faced off against Kugihara one last time, beating him in a fight and repeatedly stomping on his left hand until it broke, torturing his tormentor. However, Saejima decided that Kosaka would have wanted Kugihara to live, and he and Baba began to make their way to the exit. Kugihara drew a gun and prepared to shoot the escapees, only for Himura to find a gun of his own and shoot Kugihara dead. Himura then told his friends that he intended to serve out the rest of his sentence, while Oshima was dealing with the deputy warden. He then told Saejima and Baba to get going as he called the authorities and would play dumb when they arrived. Before Saejima left, however, Himura warned him that it was dangerous in the wild, as a man-eating bear was lurking about. Saejima then promised to treat Himura to the tastiest barbecue he ever had once they got out, and he and Baba escaped on a snowmobile, outrunning hitmen on their own skis.

Saejima the Hunter[]

As the two made their way down a mountainside, however, Baba was unable to hold onto Saejima due to frostbite and malnutrition, and he fell off the snowmobile. A distracted Saejima flew off a cliff and landed in a forest clearing, where he was soon confronted by Yama-Oroshi, the feared monster bear. Saejima was forced to use his fists to battle the beast, fighting it to a standstill before the bear walked off and a tired Saejima collapsed. Saejima was rescued by the hunter Kiyoshi Sato (who went by "Okudera"), who took him to his cabin and helped him recover by the warmth of his fireplace and with warm soup.

After thanking Okudera, Saejima was determined to go up the mountain to find Baba. Okudera warned him against straining his frostbitten body lest he die, and also said that, once a bear got a taste for human flesh, there would be trouble in the village. Okudera then volunteered to go after the bear before it could kill Baba and crave more human flesh. Saejima decided to explore the village while Okudera was gone, meeting the hunters' leader Takechi Nishina, who was suspicious of newcomers and even Okudera, even though he had come to the village ten years earlier. Saejima then came across Manabu Sakurai, who had been told by Nishina to prevent Saejima from elaving, and who also told Saejima of how Okudera had lost his partner Sato during a hunt for Yama-Oroshi, who chased Okudera back into the village and destroyed buildings, ate every last morsel of food in storage, and terrorized the otherwise-unharmed population. Ever since then, Okudera had been shunned by the rest of the village. Saejima learned from Fumiaki Kakefuda that a blizzard had closed down the road to Sapporo and cut off the village from the rest of the world, thus confining him to the village until he could find Baba and await the end of the blizzard.

Saejima then decided to find Okudera, meeting Nishina's wife Kimiyo Nishina along the way. She supplied him with food for his journey along the Mato River and asked him to find out why Okudera was so obsessed with the bear, so that peace of mind could be restored to the village. Saejima was able to find Okudera and a wounded Baba and bring them back to the village, where Baba rested and was fed. As Baba slept, Okudera shared his philosophy about hunting: humans killed to eat, so it was their duty to finish every last bite, and any killing not done to eat or protect oneself was purely on one's head. However, Okudera wanted to murder the bear for reasons unknown to Saejima.

Saejima meeting up with the Nishina family

Saejima then decided to help Okudera find the bear, learning the art of hunting in the process. Kimiyo dug up some meat preserved under the snow for Saejima to consume during his foray, but her husband refused to loan Saejima his gun to help Okudera, warning Saejima that the mountain was a far harsher place than he realized. Sakurai allowed Saejima to borrow a shotgun instead, and Saejima made his way into the mountains.

Okudera taught Saejima the art of setting traps for rabbits, foxes, and other small animals, and Saejima set up several traps along the river and used his shotgun to hunt deer. However, Yama-Oroshi arrived and mauled Okudera, forcing Saejima to shoot the bear several times before he fled. Saejima then carried Okudera back to his cabin, where Saejima, Okudera, and Baba ate. After recovering, Okudera decided to check if the road was still closed from the snow. Saejima headed out after him, and he met the trader Shirō Akashio, whom Saejima sold his pelts to raise money for his return to Sapporo. On seeing that the road was clear, Saejima went to Okudera and bade him farewell, although he promised to return in order to wheedle out of him why he hated Yama-Oroshi so much. Before Saejima and Baba left, Okudera reminded him that killing was only justified during the hunt, or when protecting one's life.

Investigation in Susukino[]

Saejima and Baba then made their way into the Susukino district of Sapporo, where they heard from a news screen that the Snow Festival was to be held at Main Street Park the following evening, and that the remains of a convict found in the hills were identified as Baba's. Baba was confused about how another body could have been identified as his, and Saejima grew worried when the screen identified him as a fugitive who was wanted nationwide. Learning that the police had gone on full alert in Susukino, Saejima was once again forced to evade the police as he made his way through the district with Baba.

The two men proceeded to make their way to the abandoned Polaris bar, which Baba had claimed as a hideout. While both men found the bar covered with cobwebs and strewn with discarded bottles and furniture, they found it suitable enough to keep under the radar, and the two men toasted to their freedom using a bottle of Scottish whiskey. Baba then expressed surprise that he had been made into an anonymous dead body and asked if the Tojo Clan was behind what happened in prison and behind the manhunt, and Saejima decided to investigate the Kitakata Family. Baba suggested that Saejima visit the Ambitious Bar, tip the bartender, and gain access to a hidden casino which was run by the Kitakata. However, Baba advised Saejima that, as the Kitakata-gumi was old school, they would not hold back if they decided that Saejima was an enemy. Baba then gave Saejima a cell phone and 30,000 yen, saying that he obtained them through a connection.

Saejima then set out for Ambitious, bumping into the celebrity chef Tatsuya Kawagoe along the way; Kawagoe asked Saejima to let him know if he bumped into a good local restaurant so that he could feature it on his show. Saejima then made his way to Ambitious, where the bartender Kazunori Urushizaki denied knowledge of a casino. However, the snappily dressed customer Shin'ichirō Kawashita offered to help Saejima access the casino if he would play a game of pool with him. Saejima won, and Kawashita told Saejima that the casino had changed its methods after a police crackdown; an old homeless man, Old Kiyotaka, would be able to supply him with a password. Saejima promptly searched for the man and found him at a covered marketplace. The man offered to help Saejima if he could correctly guess the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's figure on the number of homeless people in Hokkaido in January 2012; after several attempts, Saejima guessed the correct number, 77. The man then gave Saejima a photo of a phone booth and asked him to find it; there, he would be led to what he sought. Along the way, Saejima came across a car crash at the marketplace's exit, and a driver, Tomoki Kurisaka, explained that his zoo transport had crashed. Just then, a bear emerged and threatened Hikari Tanaka, causing Saejima to jump into the action. Seeing the bear as a "Teddy bear" compared to Yama-Oroshi, he easily bested it in a fight, but declined Kurisaka's invitation to meet the zoo management, as he needed to remain under the radar.

Saejima visited Odori Park during his search, and, along the way, he beat down the street fighter Rui Takimura. Takeshi Kuroda witnessed this fight and delivered Saejima an invitation to participate in the Victory Road tournament, which sought to determine the top street fighter in Japan. He also met the clown Sora Inari at the park, and Inari panicked about now having a routine for the Snow Festival; Saejima agreed to help him come up with an idea. Saejima then found the phone booth and received a phone call telling him to go to the lottery stand and ask her for a pair of losing tickets. When he did so, she gave him a token needed to enter the casino, and Saejima, on returning to Ambitious, was allowed to do so.

Saejima confronting the Kitakata Family thugs

Saejima ran into a group of Kitakata thugs in the basement, overhearing them discussing how their patriarch would sit next to the Mayor of Sapporo at the Snow Festival. Saejima then confronted the trio and demanded to know Majima's fate. They deduced that Saejima was a Tojo assassin going after their boss, and they claimed that there was nothing to share beyond what the news reported. Saejima was thus forced to beat down Kōta Oriyama, Masayuki Taneike, and Akihito Tomimura, and they promised to hunt him down. Saejima then returned to Ambitious and informed Baba that Kitakata would be a guest of honor at the snow festival's opening ceremony in two days, and they decided that the ceremony would be their only chance to kidnap Kitakata before their paths diverged again. Baba suggested that they disguise themselves as guests or wait until the end of the ceremony before kidnapping Kitakata, and Saejima agreed that they could kidnap Kitakata at a moment when there would be hardly any guards around him.

Saejima hiding with the snowball fighters

The next day, Saejima met up with Inari again, suggesting that he roll giant snowballs by riding on top of them and make a huge snowman. Saejima then bumped into the police, forcing him to flee to a rooftop where he was invited to register for a future snowball fight.

While leaving, Saejima found a man in a Santa costume laying on the ground, and the man, Hirokazu Aida, revealed that he had been beaten up by a gang of "Santa hunters" who targeted retail workers dressed as Santa and made the shopping district an unsafe place. Saejima volunteered to draw out the Santa hunters by dressing up as Santa himself, but he unexpectedly drew a huge crowd of kids while hanging around the covered shopping area. Saejima was forced to flee to a nearby alleyway to hide from the children, only for Masakazu Yamoto and his gang to arrive and sing a taunting carol promising "bashing (Saejima's) head in the snow...in a one-horse open slay...O'er the killing fields we go, laughing all the way!" When Saejima asked why they hated Santa, they said that they were doing what everyone else wished they could do, asking who wasn't sick of Christmas every year. Saejima angered the men when he asked if they had girlfriends at home, causing a brawl in which Saejima single-handedly took down their gang. He then sung "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" to taunt his defeated foes, and, when the kids from earlier caught up to him and asked for presents, they began to notice the gang's discarded weapons. Saejima let the kids take a baseball bat and even a pair of nunchuks, paining one of the gangsters who had saved up for them for years, and overjoying the martial arts fan of a kid who took it. Saejima then wished the kids a merry Christmas, and he took off his outfit and returned to his investigation.

Saejima then returned to Ambitious, where he told Baba that security was everywhere at the sight, and it would be tough to even get close. Baba reassured Saejima that he would repay his rescue on the mountainside by risking his life to help his friend, but he said that he had a task to take care of before they started, and advised that they head to the park separately. As Saejima weaved through the alleyways, he was confronted by Kitakata Family thugs at every corner, and he was forced to beat down dozens of them. In order to get close to the venue, he stole a Santa costume and, once again dressed as Saint Nicholas, he met with Baba in a nearby alleyway and discovered a manhole that could lead them to the park's stage. In the sewers, Baba grew nervous, claiming that he was worried about what he would say to his former boss Kitakata once he saw him.

As Kitakata and the Mayor took their seats, Saejima and Baba stealthily exited the manhole and grabbed Kitakata while the Mayor turned away to talk with his bodyguards. Kitakata did not resist, and Saejima demanded answers. Kitakata figured that Saejima had broken out of Abashiri on hearing of Majima's death, and he offered to tell Saejima about Majima's last words, although he arranged for them to meet somewhere safer.

Saejima, Baba, and Kitakata met in an abandoned office building, and Baba decided to scout the area, saying that he could not just take Kitakata's word that the building was safe. After Baba left, Kitakata asked if he and Saejima were sworn brothers, but Saejima, confused, asked if Kitakata didn't know Baba already, as Baba claimed to be Kitakata. Kitakata then expressed his surprise that Saejima wasn't that mad about Majima's death, and then revealed that the Kitakata Family didn't kill him. Majima never demanded that the Kitakata become a subsidiary of the Tojo; instead, he came with his head bowed, asking for the Kitakata to ally with the Tojo, and for Kitakata to become Daigo Dojima's sworn brother. He also revealed that the same deal was being offered in Fukuoka and Nagoya. When Saejima asked if Kitakata was going to accept the pact, Kitakata revealed that, during his second meeting with Majima, Majima advised that he not accept the alliance, as that would only play into the hands of a traitor in the Tojo Clan. Shortly after, Kitakata was wounded by a sniper's bullet, and Saejima chased the shooter into an alleyway, tackled him, and realized that he was none other than Baba.

An upset Saejima then confronted Baba about what was going on, asking why he would put a bullet in his own boss. Baba then told Saejima that he was more naive than he thought, and revealed that he had never been a part of the Kitakata Family; he needed Saejima to believe that he did in order to achieve his goal. He then revealed that Saejima had acted according to a greater plan, but he lamented not wanting Saejima to find out, saying that he wished he had died on the mountain rather than betray Saejima. When Saejima asked Baba about his years in prison, Baba said that a sob story like his would catch Saejima's attention, and he revealed that he and his co-conspirators figured out the right timing to help Saejima find his way to freedom. Saejima was pained when Baba revealed that Kugihara was a tool meant to extend Saejima's prison stay until the proper time, and when Baba admitted that Kugihara was working for him the whole time; he used Kugihara and used Saejima to delay his parole himself. He also revealed that he had stabbed Kugihara's henchman, and that he had to make Saejima lash out at Kugihara somehow. Majima's death was meant to lure Saejima out of prison, and Baba also revealed that the warden's death and getting the Ministry of Justice to deny Saejima's parole were also meant to give him the willpower to escape.

Baba then drew a gun on Saejima, but Saejima's attempts to encourage Baba to look at him and shoot him caused Baba to break down. Baba tearfully asked Saejima why he had come back for him on the mountain, saying that Saejima should have abandoned Baba and gone to Susukino alone. Saejima said that Baba was his kyodai (brother), confusing Baba, as they never swore an oath. However, Saejima said that their brotherhood was there even if they didn't make it official, and he said that they had been brothers since before they even broke out. A guilted Baba then contemplated shooting himself, but Saejima discouraged him, telling him that one had to keep on living, no matter how hard life got. He then said that he would teach Baba how heavy death was by beating the fear of death straight into his soul, and, while Baba resisted, Saejima gave Baba a good thrashing.

After Baba was floored, Saejima sat on the ground with him, empty both physically and emotionally. The two then smoked together, and Baba said that Saejima never asked him about who had dragged him into the mess, or about his boss. Saejima expressed apathy, saying that knowing the truth would not bring Majima back. Baba then asked for Saejima to let him go for the time being, as, since he had let the truth slip, he was as good as dead. He then suggested that, once the situation was calmer, they could finally swear an oath of brotherhood for real.

After Baba left, however, Saejima was immediately confronted by the detective Kazuhiko Serizawa, who placed Saejima under arrest for aggravated escape and unlawful possession of a firearm. In the prison van, Serizawa said that, for the lengths Saejima went through to break out, he came along without even a whimper. He then revealed that the police had been following his every move, and that Kitakata had survived and was recovering at the police hospital. Serizawa assured Saejima that the police knew that he hadn't been the gunman, instead saying that it was the Tojo. He then caught Saejima up on yakuza politics, saying that Dojima had disappeared in Fukuoka while seeking out an alliance with the Yamagasa-gumi, Majima died in Susukino, and Azumi kicked the bucket in Nagoya. It also turned out that the Tojo Chief of HQ, Minoru Aoyama, was killed by Yu Morinaga in Fukuoka, and Serizawa identified Morinaga as the perpetrator behind the killings and Dojima's purported kidnapping. Saejima realized that there was a traitor in the Tojo, and Serizawa revealed that the bus was on its way to the airport, and that Saejima could either help the police track down Morinaga and Baba or go back to his jail cell. Saejima agreed to help, and he flew out to Tokyo, where, unbeknownst to him, Serizawa had already persuaded Kazuma Kiryu to travel from Fukuoka.

Confrontation in Tokyo[]

Days later, Serizawa and Saejima arrived at the Kabukicho Hills in Tokyo, where Serizawa told Saejima that Kiryu had returned to Kabukicho. They then set their sights on finding Morinaga; Serizawa suggested that Morinaga had likely scampered down into the sewers to meet up with the "rat king" behind everything. The two then noticed Naoki Katsuya's arrival at the construction site, and Serizawa told Saejima that he ran Osaka Talent. Serizawa decided to keep an eye on Katsuya while Saejima stayed on Morinaga's trail, and Saejima made his way back to Purgatory.

There, he reunited with the Florist, who was surprised to see that Saejima had escaped both Okinawa and Abashiri. When Saejima said that he was looking for Morinaga, the Florist redirected him to the coliseum, where Saejima saw Masato Aizawa nearly beat a rival contender to death. Saejima jumped into the ring to stop him, and he persuaded him to talk with him about Morinaga. Aizawa expressed his anger at Morinaga's supposed betrayal, accusing him of attempting to seize control of the Tojo. Saejima then challenged Aizawa to fight him in the ring to get Aizawa's spirits up, and, shortly after Saejima defeated Aizawa, the Florist arrived and revealed that Morinaga had been found in the police morgue, as he had been murdered.

Shortly after, in the Florist's surveillance room, Saejima, Aizawa, and the Florist watched a news report of Naoki Katsuya of Ousaka Enterprises announcing that Haruka Sawamura's debut concert at the Japan Dome had been cancelled in favor of a performance by T-Set. Aizawa claimed that Katsuya had killed Morinaga, and, while the Florist said that there was no solid proof, the police identified him as a person of interest. Aizawa vowed to beat the truth out of Katsuya, but Saejima volunteered to confront Katsuya himself while Aizawa would retrieve Morinaga's body from the morgue. In the meantime, he contacted Deputy Warden Kosaka - whom Oshima had helped recover - and persuaded him to bring Oshima and Himura to help Baba, whom he was sure was working for someone else.

When Saejima arrived at Kabukicho Hills, he found several unconscious yakuza on every story. He then made his way up to Katsuya's office, where he found Kiryu already facing the entertainment executive. After Saejima and Kiryu expressed their surprise at seeing each other, Katsuya revealed that it was his plan to bring the men together. When Kiryu asked what Katsuya gained by luring the two men out, he said that he wanted to draw out the mastermind of the plot. Once Watase arrived, Katsuya said that all of the pieces were in play, and the group headed up to the roof.

On the building's helipad, Katsuya revealed that he was not the man who had tried to assassinate Chairman Dojima and Patriarch Madarame in Fukuoka, who had killed Goro Majima in Sapporo, or who had caused the accident in Nagoya that killed the Tojo officer Azumi and the Omi officer Takachi, revealing that it was all planned by someone who wanted to crush both the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance. However, he said that he had no idea why the mastermind went to such lengths to make the clans' leaders fight each other, and he said that the puppetmaster intended for everyone to die. Katsuya then proposed that the four men fight to the death to draw out the mastermind, who was counting on them to kill each other. Watase, who had been itching to fight Kiryu for years, secured Katsuya's permission to have the first battle, leaving Saejima to fight Katsuya.

Saejima was able to defeat Katsuya, only for Kiryu to realize that he and Saejima now had to fight. Saejima was surprisingly content with the opportunity to prove that he was Kiryu's equal, and "the Tiger" and "the Dragon" proceeded to battle. The two men fought to a standstill before Serizawa appeared on the roof across from them and fired four shots, striking the four men in the legs and arms.

The four men witnessing Serizawa's betrayal

All four men were surprised to see Serizawa, especially the Omi men. Watase said that Serizawa was no detective, and Katsuya identified him as Tsubasa Kurosawa, the Seventh Chairman of the Omi Alliance and the plotter behind the war. Watase tearfully asked why Serizawa could betray him, and Serizawa said that, with a "moron" like Watase as his second-in-command, it was easy to fool the rest of the men. When Kiryu asked Kurosawa how he could betray his men like that, Kursawa said that he hadn't spared them a thought since he became chairman, and he only saw them as pawns, who, like Kiryu and Saejima, were meant to die that night. When Watase asked why Kurosawa wanted him dead despite his loyal service, Kurosawa said that Watase was too likeable; because he didn't supplicate or backstab and led with charisma, he was perceived to be unable to fight dirty, a quality of both Watase and Katsuya which Kurosawa despised. Before Kurosawa could shoot Watase dead, Katsuya threw himself in the path of the bullet, as he was determined for Watase to take over as chairman.

Kurosawa then asked for another man to volunteer to be shot, only for Daigo to arrive on Kurosawa's rooftop and aim a gun at his back, forcing him to stand down. Daigo revealed that he had been on Kurosawa's trail ever since Fukuoka, when he realized Aoyama had betrayed him, after Azumi and Takachi were killed in Nagoya (meaning that it wasn't a simple turf war, but a plot within the Omi), after the Nagoya-gumi suddenly sprang from the shadows, and even as far back as when Kurosawa had told him of his fatal illness (as his eyes told the story of a man with a big task ahead of him). When Kurosawa asked why Daigo had not acted sooner, Daigo saw the plot as a chance to lance the wound in his organization and clear out the infection by exposing the traitors within. Majima had played along with his plan the whole time, faking his death in the process. Daigo then said that Kurosawa meant to kill the four men, but his weakness prevented him from taking them head-on, forcing him to shoot them from a distance and miss his marks. Daigo then proposed that he and Kurosawa settle their business man-to-man; either Kurosawa could take responsibility for everything and shoot himself, or Daigo would execute him.

An amused Kurosawa remarked, "Showing mercy is the surest way to get yourself killed," and Daigo was then shot in the back by Kamon Kanai, whom Watase identified as "that Ousaka Enterprises bootlicker." Kurosawa and Kanai then departed, although Kurosawa threatened to kill Haruka before he left Daigo for dead. Saejima had to restrain an angry and worried Kiryu as he demanded to know what Kurosawa was going to do to her, and Kiryu then lamented that, every time he got involved in yakuza fighting, those closest to him always paid the price.

A grieving Kiryu and a saddened Saejima then retreated to New Serena, where the mama was concerned about a slumped-over, pained Kiryu. The mama then suggested that Saejima take Kiryu to the hospital, but Saejima said that the police would likely take him in if he went anywhere near a hospital. Date then arrived and revealed that Daigo was on life support, as was Katsuya, the main suspect in Morinaga's earlier murder. Date then said that, while he first believed that the Tojo and Omi had gone to war with each other, he realized that there was something more sinister afoot. Saejima then asked if Date was concerned that, by helping him, he could get in trouble, Date said that his badge would again be snatched away if he was caught with a fugitive, but he said that he owed his detective career to Kiryu, and recounted their backstory and the significance of New Serena to them both.

Just then, Akiyama arrived at the bar, and Saejima was surprised to see that Akiyama had gotten himself involved in the intrigue as well. Akiyama said that the drama had started in Fukuoka before spreading to Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya, and now Tokyo, with the Tojo Clan at the root of it all. He then stated that Kurosawa was the mastermind, and Daigo, Katsuya, and Majima had been the three men to figure out his plan. He then showed the others a photo of Majima, Mirei Park, and Katsuya from the 1990s, revealing that they risked their lives to find the evidence of Kurosawa's plot. The trio wanted to protect each other, and the photo was the proof.

While Kiryu continued to mope at the bar, Saejima caught Akiyama up on the events atop the Kabukicho Hills complex, revealing that Kurosawa had triggered the plot to get rid of Kiryu and the rest of the Tojo's top brass, as well as Watase and Katsuya on his own side. Kurosawa anticipated the Tojo going to Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Nagoya and arranged to have their top men killed, but he never planned for the events in Osaka, which were triggered by the discovery of a letter from Majima to Park revealing his current location. The postmark also showed that the letter was sent after Majima was supposedly killed in Sapporo, so the Omi thought that getting a hold of the letter would help pin down his location. While Katsuya sought to acquire the letter peacefully so that he could keep Majima safe, Kanai's search for the letter on Kurosawa's behalf led to the murder of Park and the letter being passed down to Haruka. Akiyama then concluded that Majima was likely already dead by the time Park received the letter, as he would likely have been lured into action the night before. Akiyama then concluded that Park and Katsuya had leaked the letter's existence to set a trap and sniff out who was behind the murders in Nagoya and Fukuoka, realizing that Kanai was that traitor. When Date and Saejima were confused as to why Park would endanger herself, Akiyama suggested that she did it to protect Majima, on whom she had kept tabs through Katsuya due to their enduring love.

Akiyama then revealed that there was some serious trouble brewing, as Katsuya had just pulled some strings to change the date of Haruka's concert due to Kurosawa's plan to target her original concert. Saejima mentioned that Kurosawa had warned Kiryu about Haruka, and Akiyama said that, while Katsuya intended to end things with Kurosawa the night before, Kurosawa had escaped and Katsuya was in no condition to cancel the concert. Akiyama then decided that the group had to stop Kurosawa's men from getting into the concert, but Date said that there was no way that they could weed out all his men. They decided to cancel the concert by any means, but Kiryu then came to his senses and said that they could not cancel it, as, even if Haruka heard what was going on, she'd still choose to be on that stage and live out her dream. Kiryu then said that he would be the only one capable of having her pull out, but, when Saejima mentioned the threats to Haruka's safety, Kiryu went to the roof to mull over his decision.

Saejima followed Kiryu up to the roof, where Kiryu had previously given him encouragement two years earlier. Kiryu said that, ever since Kurosawa brought up Haruka, he couldn't get what he said out of his head. He then confessed that he had been lonely in the year since he left Haruka and the kids, even with new friends and a girl at his side. Kiryu confessed that, even while he was locked up, he never felt so lonely, and Saejima said that it was because he had family. Saejima said that both of them had endured their prison sentences because they had family waiting for them when they got out, and Saejima said that, even though Yasuko was gone and Majima had disappeared, he was never lonely, as he accepted that his family had chosen their paths and lived and died on their own terms. Saejima then told Kiryu that there was no shame in asking friends for help every now and then, and he returned downstairs, followed by Kiryu shortly after.

Kiryu then stumbled across the group - joined by the baseball player Tatsuo Shinada - reading a layout of the Japan Dome that Akiyama had brought with him. Akiyama said that, while picking up the blueprints from Haruka's trainers, Haruka had told him that Kiryu had sent a messenger to encourage Haruka to never give up. Kiryu confirmed that he had encouraged Haruka, and he then asked who Shinada was. Akiyama humorously said, "This is a friend of Daigo-san. He was a pro ball player, but he got banned. Then he tried to borrow 320 mil from me 'cause he's just a nightlife writer in Nagoya."

Shinada, analyzing the map, then explained that a creep using a sniper rifle could only shoot Haruka from the outfield stands, next to the batter's eye screen, as there would be too many people in the way from any other vantage point. He also shared that the home team often posted "spies" there to engage in sign-stealing, as they could see the opposing catcher's hand signals through binoculars from there. Akiyama then asked Shinada if it was true that he had engaged in sign-stealing, but Shinada said that nobody was in the center field stands on the day of his ban, and that he doubted that, if he had been told the Gigants' sign, he could have ever hit the fastball. When Akiyama asked why Shinada hadn't used that proof to overturn his ban, Shinada said that he did not want to ruin the fans' dreams, as he didn't want them to know how corrupt the sport was. He then said that the people watching Haruka on her stage were going to be inspired to chase their own dreams, and he said that it was his responsibility to keep Dojima's dream alive, just like how Dojima had put his life on the line to do so.

The four men discovering the Majima sigil on the dead hitman

Akiyama then told his friends that Mama had agreed to let them use New Serena as their base, arranging blankets on the sofas so that the men could rest until the next evening. That evening, the Mama rushed into New Serena and told the friends to turn on the television. They then saw a news report saying that, just after 5 PM, the Millennium Tower had been seized by an unidentified group, and Goro Majima was being held hostage. The four men rushed to the tower to rescue Majima, only to see two cars crash through a crowd of civilians. Four hitmen stepped out and sprayed the crowd and police with fire, forcing the four friends to take cover. As the hitmen reloaded, Kiryu and Akiyama sprung into action and helped the hitmen shoot each other dead. Saejima then noticed that the men were wearing Majima sigils, and Akiyama realized that taking out Kiryu and Saejima was not the hitmen's only goal; they also wanted to make it look like the Majima Family had resorted to violence to rescue their captive boss, thus helping them drive the Majima Family and the whole Tojo Clan out of town.

Shortly after, the four men found themselves surrounded on all sides by scores of Kuroha-gumi henchmen led by Kanai. Shinada decided that he would rescue Haruka at the stadium, as Kiryu stuck out like a sore thumb. Saejima volunteered to rescue Majima, while Kiryu and Akiyama would hold off the invaders. Kiryu and Akiyama proceeded to battle the yakuza, allowing Shinada and Saejima to break through their encirclement and flee into the sewers, from which they could reach their targets.

A chained Majima being brought before Saejima

Saejima and Shinada found the sewers crawling with Kuroha-gumi henchmen, and they fought their way through them before Saejima asked Shinada a favor. If Shinada saw a man named Baba there, he was to tell him that Saejima would be waiting for Baba in Tokyo as long as it took until the two swore their oath of brotherhood. Saejima then made his way up the Millennium Tower and confronted Kurosawa on the roof. He demanded to know where Majima was, so Kurosawa had his henchmen bring a chained and beaten Majima to the roof to confront Saejima. Kurosawa then demanded that they "start the show," and Majima said that they were supposed to try and kill each other. Kurosawa then tossed Saejima a phone showing Baba's livestream of the Dream Line concert, telling him to kill Majima if he wanted to save Haruka. If Majima won, Haruka would die, and, if Saejima won, he would be imprisoned for Majima's murder. The two sworn brothers then prepared to fight, and Majima revealed to Saejima that he had authored his expulsion letter with the hope that Saejima would be kept far away from the brewing conflict.

Saejima, again seeing the optimism in the situation, thanked Kurosawa for giving him the opportunity to get another real crack at his sworn brother, who had refused to fight him two years earlier because Majima thought Saejima too soft. Saejima said that, if he had died before he could fight Majima, he would carry that regret to the grave. The two proceeded to fight until their strength was petered out, but, in the meantime, Shinada was able to thwart Baba's plans to kill Haruka (and them himself, on refusing to kill the girl), with Oshima, Himura, and Kosaka coming to retrieve Baba and bring him back to Abashiri.

As Majima and Saejima stopped their fight, Kurosawa decided to give the order for Baba to shoot Haruka, only to see Shinada giving him mocking gestures when he looked at the phone. Kurosawa then smashed his phone out of anger, and, before he could give the order for Saejima and Majima to be shot, Daigo - helped up by Katsuya - shot Kurosawa's four hitmen and told Kurosawa that his plan was over.

Daigo and his friends confronting Kurosawa

However, Kurosawa merely laughed them down and told them that they were too late. Even as he coughed up blood and admitted that he was dying, he said that he wanted to live to see the moment he would hand over everything he had built. Kurosawa then revealed that Masato Aizawa was his son, and that he wanted to give his son control of both Tojo and Omi after conquering them. Kurosawa then lamented how people who made it to the top with their pride intact did so only with a ton of support from many others; since he had no support as a young yakuza, he had to eat feces to make up for a failed job, and he later had to murder his own aniki to rise in the ranks. Kurosawa had realized six months earlier that he had nobody to leave his power to and no legancy, and believed his life pointless unless he gave everything to his son Aizawa.

File:Saejima being rearrested.png

Saejima being rearrested

Saejima and Majima then headed to the Touto University Hospital on leanring that Kiryu had been critically wounded during his fight with Aizawa. While guarding Kiryu's hospital room, he was rearrested, but he voluntarily turned himself in to serve the remaining two months of his prison sentence. However, he was imprisoned for much longer and was not released from prison until 2016, when he, Majima, and Daigo were released at the behest of the Daidoji Faction. In 2019, he would be present for the "Great Dissolution", during which the Tojo and the Omi announced their joint dissolution; he helped protect Daigo and Watase from their rebellious officers.

After the end of the Tojo Clan, Saejuima joined other former Tojo and Omi members in forming a security service company. In 2023, the Tatara Channel revealed the company's yakuza roots, resulting in its closure. Saejima retired to a life as a fisherman ina remote village in order to prevent the former Tojo yakuza from rising, but he was later visited by Kiryu, who was sick with cancer. Kiryu persuaded Saejima, Majima, and Daigo to assist Jo Sawashiro in preventing Masataka Ebina from wiping out the yakuza with radiation poisoning on Nele Island, and they helped Kiryu and his party in their battle at the Millennium Tower before witnessing an exhausted Kiryu be taken to a hospital following his victory over Ebina.