Masakazu Tamura 's character, Kainage Mondo, is a poison taster and lip reader, he possesses the remarkable ability to detect any kind of poison. Amidst the covert activities of the Koga ninja clan in Edo, he strives to protect the eighth shogun, Yoshimune, from conspiracies. Mondo's true identity is that of Yoshimune's hidden child, once abandoned along with his mother, but he was called upon to serve as a poison taster. Starved for familial love and with a heart parched by loneliness, Mondo grapples with inner conflict. Despite this, he, along with Magistrate Ooka Tadasuke and others, endeavors to put an end to the conspiracies.