is a gekiga manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima and published in Weekly Gendai magazine (Kodansha). Unlike their previous collaborations on Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, this story focuses on two historical figures from 16th-century Japan. Path of the Assassin is the story of Hattori Hanzō, the master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would grow up to become shōgun and unify Japan. The creators poetically describe the story as "Lifelong Friends, with the Same Dreams, Striving to Grow into a Rising River". The 20-volume series has been reprinted by Dark Horse Comics in a thicker 15 volume edition, translated into English and oriented in the original right-to-left reading format. Plot Path of the Assassin, called Hanzō no Mon in Japan, is the story of Hattori Hanzō, the fabled master ninja whose duty was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu, the shōgun who would unite Japan into one great nation. But before he could do that, he had to grow up and learn how to love the ladies! As the secret caretaker of such an influential future leader, not only does Hanzo use vast and varied ninja talents, but in living closely with Ieyasu, he forms a close friendship with the young shōgun. The quality of their relationship is unforgettably crystallized by Hanzo's fulfillment of a challenging but enticing task Ieyasu sets him: to demonstrate how to make love to a woman, which neither youngster has ever done. Hanzo succeeds at obliging his master and winning himself a woman whom he pleases, but anticipating that he won't be able to serve both master and wife, Hattori turns away the young woman he won while Ieyasu walks a tactical tightrope between the factions contending for rule—one led by his de facto father, the other by his older brother while Hanzo meets Tsukumo, the female ninja who will be his wife. Ieyasu wins his first battle when his foster father is killed, which simplifies Ieyasu's next choice of an ally, while meanwhile Hanzo and Tsukumo oppose the marriage because two families' lords are potential rivals. Later, Hanzo rescues Ieyasu's wife and children from a sadistic warlord, precipitating an attempt on Hanzo's life and, oddly, estrangement between him and Ieyasu when Hanzo offends Ieyasu's wife. Hanzo's father-in-law is attacked by another ninja who had previously attacked Hanzo, and the dying man charges Hanzo