Recca Hanabishi is the son of a fireworks maker, and a ninja. Or at least, he thinks he is! Since he was young, he's always felt a deep connection to those shadowy warriors from the past. But when the past comes calling, Recca's in for a fiery awakening.

Recca declares that he's Yanagi's personal ninja in front of the entire school, which causes all kinds of rumors. Fuko, Recca's rival, decides to see whether there's any truth to the claims.

Kage Hoshi reveals some disturbing information after Domon and Recca save Fuko from herself. Overhearing all of this, the next day Tokiya, an older classmate, challenges Recca to a fight.

Domon, Yanagi, and Fuko try to help Recca out of his depression over his loss to Tokiya. But a trip to an amusement park turns deadly when Tokiya challenges Recca once more.

Recca finds a kindred spirit in the new history teacher, who knows all about the ninja of the past. The visit to the teacher's home, however, goes wrong when enemies show up to kidnap Yanagi.

In order to unlock the secret of immortality for his father, Kurei has kidnapped Yanagi. Recca sets off to rescue her, with Domon and Fuko joining him to settle their own scores.

Rescuing Yanagi will be easier said than done. Kurei's mansion is filled with deadly tricks and traps, not to mention enemy madogu users.

Fuko, Domon, and Recca face off against the Kata Kugutsu madoku user, who can control dolls. But even if they succeed, Kurei has plenty more in store.

Following the fight against a master of dolls, the group is confronted by a mountain of a man, who takes the descriptor literally.

Tokiya lends a hand to Recca, allowing him to continue on to Yanagi. But then Kurei shows up, and reveals some startling truths about Recca's past.

Recca and the others face off against Kurei, who reveals the true nature of Hokage fire. It seems impossible to overcome, but Kage Hoshi has one last gambit in mind.

With his gauntlet off, the form of Recca's fire reveals itself. Making a deal with a dragon, Recca turns the heat up on Kurei.

Gathering at a secret mansion, Kage Hoshi, or rather Kagero, keeps her promise to reveal everything to Recca. She tells the story of his birth, long, long ago.

Unsettled by the truth of his birth, Recca turns his anger upon three would-be ninja assassins.

Determined to grow stronger for their inevitable showdown with Kurei, Recca attempts to master the eight dragons, while Fuko and Domon train with new madogu.

Recca and the others are invited to the Underground Death Tournament, and are given no choice but to accept.

The tournament begins, with Recca's Team Hokage up against the "bandit killers" in Team Kuu. The first match: the staff wielding Daikoku versus Tokiya!

With the conclusion of Tokiya's fight, it's time for Domon to step into the ring! But his opponent Minamio has flexibility on his side, literally.

None of the Team Kuu members have been pushovers, but none have been quite so vile and perverted as Fuko's opponent, Fujimaru! Can Fuko keep her cool, and her shirt?

At last, it's Recca's turn to fight. But his opponent Saicho declares he'll beat Recca in just 10 minutes. What can a guy who controls paper do against fire?

Unable to accept his team's "easy" win, Recca challenges the leader of Team Kuu, Kukai, to a final showdown to determine everything. But Kukai's not the saint he's described as.

Kukai's rampage is unstoppable, and to top it off, he claims he'll kill Yanagi as well as Recca! But there's something more to this fight, and Recca just might figure it out.

The next round of the tournament is upon Team Hokage, but Domon and Fuko have fallen into Kurei's trap! Rather than lose by default, a certain someone shows up to save the day.

Now a member of Team Hokage, Koganei faces down Shiju, the chimera. But even after winning, Domon and Fuko are still missing. Koganei will need to fight again, and this time the opponent is someone he knows.

Mokuren swallows Koganei, earning Team Hokage a loss. Rather than worrying about winning against the reborn serial killer, Tokiya steps into the ring to save Koganei.