In Japan's Warring States period, Lord Daigo Kagemitsu makes a pact with 12 demons, offering them his unborn son in exchange for the prosperity of his lands. Years later, young thief Dororo is attacked by a ghoul but rescued by a mysterious boy, whose body parts turn out to be almost entirely prosthetic.

Dororo and Hyakkimaru happen upon a village and are brought before its chief, Lady Bandai. However, Hyakkimaru inexplicably draws his sword in her presence, resulting in both him and Dororo being locked in a storehouse by the villagers. It turns out they are not the only ones confined there...

A village within Daigo's domain is being terrorized by a ghoul that dwells in a nearby lake. Tahomaru, accompanied by his aides Hyogo and Mutsu, volunteers to exterminate the ghoul.