Like a Dragon: Prologue

In the 1970s-1980s, Kazuma Kazama secretly raises orphans whose parents he indirectly killed, creating a makeshift family. Kazama's Sunflower Orphanage becomes a training ground and sanctuary for Kazama's protégés, including Kiryu, Nishikiyama, and Yuko. The arrival of Yumi Sawamura in the summer of 1980 adds a new bond to the fragile household.

Kazama formally inducts teenage Kiryu and Nishikiyama into the Dojima Family, cementing their path into the yakuza. The brothers-in-arms grow up under Kazama's protection while tightening their bonds with the organization. The ceremony marks a turning point in their loyalty and ambitions.

Kiryu ascends quickly through the Dojima ranks and earns the nickname Dragon of Dojima for the dragon tattoo across his back. His rise earns respect, but also intensifies the expectations placed on him and Nishikiyama. The brothers become emblematic figures within the clan.

Nishikiyama wrestles with loyalty to Kiryu while feeling sidelined by Kiryu's rapid ascent and Kazama's favoritism. His jealousy is compounded by Yumi's growing closeness with both men. The rivalry between friends deepens as their affections become entangled.

In 1990, Yumi leaves Sunflower Orphanage and relocates to Tokyo's red-light district Kamurocho, where she begins working as a hostess at Reina's Serena. She seeks independence and a way to support herself, while staying connected to her former brothers. The change marks a new chapter in the trio's intertwined fates.

On October 1, 1995, Kiryu publicly declares that he is ready to form his own yakuza family, seeking the Chairman Sohei Dojima's blessing. His declaration tests the fragile order within the Dojima Family and the wider Tojo Clan. The announcement sets in motion a brutal series of events.

That night, Dojima kidnaps Yumi from Serena, triggering a confrontation with Nishikiyama who tries to intervene but is restrained by Dojima's bodyguards. The act shatters the fragile peace between the men and sets the tragedy in motion. The ruthlessness of Dojima is laid bare and loyalty is tested to the limit.

Nishikiyama reaches the Chairman's office and discovers Dojima raping Yumi, a brutal violation that shocks him to the core. In a moment of rage, he shoots Dojima dead. The act seals the fate of the trio and escalates the conflict within the clan.

Kiryu arrives at the scene to find Dojima dead, Nishikiyama in shock, and Yumi terrified. He resolves to take responsibility for Dojima's murder to protect Yuko and spare her from the consequences that would tear the family apart. He orders Nishikiyama and Yumi to leave and prepares to surrender.

The police deem the matter a private affair, and Kiryu is sentenced to ten years in prison. His sacrifice secures a fragile peace for Yuko's heart operation and gives Nishikiyama a chance to process the night’s horrors. The unlikely hero begins a long, quiet stretch behind bars.

En route to hospital care, Yumi experiences a traumatic flashback of her parents' murder and tries to jump from the car. Nishikiyama struggles to calm her, masking his own turmoil with resolve. The scene underscores the lasting scars of her past.

After the hospital stay, Yumi escapes from care and returns to Sunflower Orphanage, which has since closed and fallen into ruins. The pilgrimage back to the sanctuary of their childhood highlights how deeply she longs for safety and family. The orphanage's ruin mirrors the shattered paths of the trio.

Years pass as Kiryu remains imprisoned, and the film closes with him nearing the end of his ten-year sentence, awaiting release. The final image hints at a possible reunion and a future beyond the walls that separated him from his family. The story ends with a quiet, unresolved sense of what comes next.