Vagabond, Volume 17

Vagabond is a seinen manga by Takehiko Inoue, created after the conclusion of Slam Dunk and adapted from Eiji Yoshikawa's novel Musashi. Serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Morning since 1998, it is set between the late Warring States period and the early Edo period and follows Musashi Miyamoto, who survives the Battle of Sekigahara and sets out to master the way of the sword and discover the meaning of being "unrivaled under heaven." Departing from Yoshikawa's framework, Inoue invents an original storyline for Sasaki Kojiro, reimagining his destined rival as a swordsman born deaf and mute who attains perfect unity of self and blade through a pure heart. This volume, the seventeenth, remains at the climax of the Kojiro arc: Kojiro and Denjiro Yoshioka fight a life-or-death duel on the shore, and through the bloody struggle the boy becomes a true swordsman; Jisai Kanemaki, seeing that his disciple can now stand alone, entrusts him to Yagoro Ito, and the two set off on a new journey. The chapters collected in Volume 17 are Chapter 151, "Numbness"; Chapter 152, "Brothers"; Chapter 153, "Bloodbath"; Chapter 154, "Shore of Blood"; Chapter 155, "Departure"; Chapter 156, "A Complete Life"; and Chapter 157, "Ganryu." The volume's center of gravity lies in the aftermath of the great battle: victory, parting, and the end of the master-disciple bond. Colder than the flash of blades is the sight of each person setting off down his own path. Inoue's ink-brush technique is by now highly accomplished, and his characters' silent breathing and glances often carry more force than any technique.