Path of the Assassin Vol. 2: Sand and Flower (Dark Horse, 2014)

It's not easy being Hattori Hanzo. If he's not teaching Leyasu, the young, future shogun, how to love, then he's behind the scenes, teaching Leyasu how not to die in case of a momentary lapse of protection. If you thought you had a tough job, try taking a pudgy, protected youngster, and making him into the leader who will unite Japan under his single rule. From the creators of Lone Wolf & Cub comes a series about two young men bound to a nation's potential future at a time when Japan was in transition from a warlike feudal state into an era of bureacracy and infighting. Another quasi-historical tale from the masters of Japanese samurai culture, Path of the Assassin shows a side of feudal Japan that entertains with action as well as political drama. FOR MATURE READERS.