Returning to Inaba after two months since the serial murders were solved, Yuu Narukami reunites with his old friends. However, the reappearance of the Midnight Channel catches him off guard, leading to the reformation of the Investigation Team to investigate the cause. The theft of specialized cargo from a hijacked flight bound for Kagoshima prompts Mitsuru Kirijo and her partner Aigis to pursue the culprits to Inaba.
While delving into the investigation, Yuu finds that some of his friends are unreachable since the channel's reappearance. Thinking that they are trapped inside the TV world, the Investigation Team jumps in to search for them, only to awaken in their high school and forced into a fighting competition known as the P-1 Grand Prix. The dislocated members must battle against their alternate versions to unravel the mystery of their friends' vanishing.
Meanwhile, the hunt for the missing payload leads Mitsuru and Aigis to the TV world, but they find themselves trapped with no means of escape. To retrieve what they lost, the Shadow Operatives must navigate through the same tournament while facing the dangers lurking within.
