Saichi Sugimoto, a former military man nicknamed ''Immortal Sugimoto,'' learns of the existence of a huge amount of gold bullion stolen from the Ainu people. The culprit, a mysterious man named Nopperabo, had hidden the gold nuggets just before he was captured, and while in prison he carved tattoos on the prisoners' bodies that marked the location of the gold nuggets, allowing them to escape from prison. The tattoo is said to be a code for 24 people. One day, Sugimoto meets Asiripa, an Ainu girl, and ends up working with her, whose father was killed by a gold nugget robber. At the same time, Lieutenant Tsurumi of the 7th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, who is plotting to conquer Hokkaido, and Toshizo Hijikata, who was supposed to have been killed in the Boshin War, are also targeting gold bullion, and a fierce battle for tattooed prisoners breaks out. The stage of the battle moves to Abashiri Prison, where Nopperabo, who knows all the mysteries, is imprisoned.