After nuclear war leaves the world a lawless desert, Kenshiro walks the wasteland as successor to Hokuto Shinken, an assassination art that strikes hidden pressure points and kills from inside the body. His rival Shin has taken his fiancée Yuria and left seven scars on his chest. A young thief named Bat and an orphan girl named Lin attach themselves to him as he protects the weak from the gangs that hoard what food and clean water remain.