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The story takes place during World War II on the island of Okinawa, where Japanese middle school students are graduating early due to the impending American invasion. Lieutenant Colonel Sano addresses the students, telling them they must be prepared to fight and die for their country, and that each student is now a "Blood and Iron Student Corps" member. The students are given real metal grenades by some of the Imperial Japanese Army officers and pottery grenades by others due to metal scarcity. One grenade is meant to be used against American invaders, while the other is meant to be used in suicide attacks. The protagonist, Hideki, receives metal grenades but has concerns about the ceramic grenades given to his friend Yoshio.