Old Wingate is a feared Wild West outlaw. He finds and saves the orphaned protagonist Isamu after a storm destroys the boy's gold panning camp and kills his guardians. Seeing potential in Isamu, Wingate takes the boy in, becoming a father figure. Wingate leads a gang that includes his biological sons, Ned and Rhett. He trains Isamu rigorously in combat and weaponry, intending to mold him into a skilled assassin for the gang's criminal pursuits. Wingate's training emphasizes harsh-environment survival and ruthless pragmatism. He demonstrates this by murdering a doctor who saved his life, simply because the doctor overheard plans for a heist, eliminating a perceived threat without remorse.

While providing shelter and training, Wingate's violent influence creates deep moral conflict for Isamu. The boy feels loyalty and indebtedness for being rescued but struggles to reconcile Wingate's lethal lifestyle with his own inherently non-lethal nature. This tension defines their relationship, as Isamu repeatedly fails to kill despite Wingate's expectations. Wingate's role primarily serves as a catalyst for Isamu's coming-of-age journey, embodying the frontier's harsh lawlessness while inadvertently pushing Isamu toward his own path.