Released from prison, Iwaki, better known as Bomb Matsu, could not access his freedom without once again taking a stand against those who supposedly dispense justice. Beating up the guard before getting off the bus that would take him out of prison was perhaps the silent promise he made to himself from the beginning, foreshadowing what was to come. The third instalment of the Zenka-mono series concludes with the end of 10 years in prison and Iwaki’s disappointing return to Yokosuka. First of all, his great friend Mitsui Nakai has been murdered by the rival gang, the Shimanaka family, abusive and corrupt individuals who, as if that weren’t enough, are supported by the naval authority of Ishishinkai and the president of Akashinkai, the nefarious Genjiro Takigawa, always ready to take things by force or get them by any means necessary, and his lieutenant, an imbecile samurai who, when he was needed most, showed us what he was good for: dying like a stray dog.

From the moment he arrives and learns that his friend was dragged away by the navy for intervening in a fight, fury fills his blood and he soon meets Lieutenant Haraguchi. He does not know that he will later become his friend, even though he is the one who steals the heart of Chidori, the beautiful sister of his deceased friend Mitsui Nakai. Iwaki falls in love with his late friend’s sister in vain and even tells her about the memories he still has of his mother. In any case, Iwaki soon gains a reputation for being a popular figure, especially among the elderly Heikichi, who advises him to calm down and plan his attack on the mafia in power.

‘In this town, if you’re not a naval soldier or a yakuza for hire, you’re not human,’ he still thinks aloud to his friend Minami, who is convinced to join the ruthless Shimanaka brotherhood of the Red Heart Society, just when Iwaki is unable to do anything about it due to the beating he received from many of them, which sent him to the infirmary and then locked him up so that the despicable Takigawa could blackmail him at will. When he returns to the beautiful Chidori, who is determined to keep her murdered brother’s business going despite violent pressure, Iwaki’s reaction is one of rage and forcefulness, especially when he learns that Heikichi has been murdered and they now seem to be luring Minami to them. The final encounter is bloody and spectacular, involving even a machine gun and Takigawa’s samurai boss. There is no doubt that it could have been resolved differently, but no one wanted to give in, and the final scene was to be expected.