Inu-Oh enters life burdened by severe physical deformities: a hideously twisted face, skin covered in scales, three stubby limbs, and an unnaturally elongated right arm. Horrified adults swathe his entire body in garments and conceal his visage behind a mask carved from a hollowed gourd. His father, the leader of a Noh dance troupe, treats him with contempt, enforcing the masking and viewing him as little more than a stray dog. This cruelty originates in a Faustian bargain struck by his father with a demonic mask, trading his unborn son's innocence for artistic prowess and fame. Despite profound isolation, Inu-Oh discovers an innate talent for dance. Secretly observing his father instruct his brothers in Noh techniques, he practices alone. Miraculously, his movements restore his legs, granting him mobility while his other deformities persist. This transformation enables him to escape his confinement, leading to a fateful encounter on a Kyoto bridge with Tomona, a blind biwa player. Unseen by Tomona's sightless eyes, Inu-Oh reveals his self-chosen name, "Dog King," rejecting societal scorn and claiming his identity. Inu-Oh learns Tomona communes with spirits, specifically the restless souls of Heike warriors who perished centuries earlier at the Battle of Dan-no-ura. These spirits surround Inu-Oh, compelling him to share their suppressed stories. Recognizing their complementary gifts, he partners with Tomona to form a revolutionary performance troupe. Their act merges Tomona's modernized, rock-infused biwa playing with Inu-Oh's ecstatic dancing, physically enacting the warriors' histories. Each performance draws massive crowds and triggers transformative healing in Inu-Oh's body: his arms normalize after recounting warriors' amputations, his scales vanish following a tale of abandonment, and his face restores upon revealing his father's demonic pact. Their meteoric rise challenges the Ashikaga shogunate, which enforces an official history silencing the Heike narratives. Authorities pressure Inu-Oh's father to sabotage the duo, culminating in his death after he betrays his pact with the demonic mask. The shogunate then directly threatens Tomona's life to force Inu-Oh's compliance. When Tomona defiantly continues performing truth-telling ballads, he is executed. Broken, Inu-Oh capitulates, performing state-sanctioned stories for years until his death, fading into obscurity. Centuries later, Inu-Oh's spirit reappears, having searched 600 years for Tomona's spirit through its repeated name changes. Upon reuniting, he restores Tomona's youthful form and reverts to his original deformed appearance. Together, they perform once more, embodying their eternal bond and the enduring power of their art beyond mortal constraints.