by Joseph Carlson
Although we're only about ten volumes away from the end of the story, Retsudo of the Yagyu clan has little options left. He has sent his best assassins after Lone Wolf and Cub and all of them have failed and perished.
In these three volumes, there was one lone assassin who was the greatest threat to the Wolf because he began to kill everyone that Ogami happened to come across. He followed the hero and his son until they waited on a mountain top and starved him out.
The only people out there now who can try to stop our heroes are traveling bounty hunters. Many of them are after the 5,000 gold reward that is offered by Retsudo himself. One by one they all fall to the assassin's blade. Ogami Itto finally discovers they secrets of the Yagyu letter. Now he is traveling all the way to Edo, with his exact final destination still a mystery.
The most tragic part of these three volumes is when Ogami has to take the life of a former student. The man is noble and wise and treats the assassin with respect before Ogami cuts him down, not before naming him a graduate of the sword school that he was originally teaching him. This is the only time in the novel that Ogami really shows emotion as he breaks down and cries over the dead body of his former student.
Lone Wolf and Cub is available digitally and on Amazon
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