A manga written by Kazuo Koike and drawn by Goseki Kojima

Published by Dark Horse

This is a review of volume 2.

Kazuo Koike's Path of the Assassin (Hanzo no Mon, in Japan) presents the rise of the Tokugawa shogun, with the help of his secret advisor: the ninja, Hattori Hanzo. With Hanzo's aid, Ieyasu seeks alliance with Oda Nobunaga against his domineering master, Imagawa Yoshimoto who uses Ieyasu as his puppet and recklessly throws his samurai into the frontlines of every battle. Ieyasu is a young man possessed of a modicum of talent, along with a great deal of resentment and regret for his station. He wants to live easily, but finds that the only way to preserve his dignity -and his life- is to play the power games of feudal Japan. He eventually meets the furtive Hideyoshi, a spy for the Oda, and secretly plots his defection to Nobunaga's unifying force.

Prior to that, Nobunaga nearly gets Ieyasu and his entire clan killed by taking the bait for an ambush against Imagawa's forces in Mikawa. The idea being to present an opportunity for immediate defection by the visiting Ieyasu. His retainers, who have only been recently introduced to their young master, urge Ieyasu to defect, but what they don't realize is that, due to Hanzo's spying, Ieyasu knows Imagawa has set men of his own around the estate, poised to storm the castle and destroy him and all his officers on the first news of his betrayal. Ieyasu commands his men to endure this moment without taking action, for which their resentment verges on almost open contempt. The narration goes on to say that it was Tokugawa's humbleness with his men that eventually lead to their respect, as he allowed them to find out about the counter-ambush on their own rather than berating them for their ignorance. Path of the Assassin explores intrigue without being callous. It presents real strategic values and the virtues of honor and fortitude in a time of constant backstabbing. Continually underestimated, Ieyasu moves carefully through the minefield of fuedal politics in his bid to seize control of Japan. Only his wits and the small resources of his disgraced clan are at his disposal-- the most valuable among them being his ninja companion.

Hanzo himself deals with lingering vendettas and lost love, but never devotes a second thought to throwing himself into the service of his lord. He holds a ceaseless vigil for his master, ferreting out all plots and deceptions against him. Kazuo Koike writes their adventures with warmth and humor, and one senses the depth of Hanzo's attachment to Ieyasu. They spend their free time together, and Hanzo even teaches Ieyasu ninja tricks in tree climbing and horseback riding. In one scene, Ieyasu smashes a kite that wouldn't fly; most would naturally see this as a petty tantrum, but Hanzo reflects on the sheer honesty of his outburst, and it only reaffirms his sense of loyalty.

Unlike Nobunaga, Ieyasu historically had a great respect for ninja and enjoyed employing them. Hanzo went on to become one of his greatest and most well known generals. He later died at sea in combat with a rival ninja clan. A theme in the book is Hanzo's past catching up with him, and it seems that despite his high station, this is something he dealt with in his actual life as well.