Editing Lone Wolf and Cub (section)

==Plot==
Ogami Ittō, formidable warrior and a master of the ''[[suiō-ryū]]'' swordsmanship, serves as the ''Kogi Kaishakunin'' (the Shōgun's executioner), a position of high power in the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] during the 1700s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Koike|first=Kazuo|title=Lone Wolf and Cub: Volume 5 – Black Wind|publisher=Dark Horse Comics|others=Gōseki Kojima, Dana Lewis|year=2001|isbn=1-56971-502-5|edition=1st|location=Milwaukie, OR|page=159|language=en|oclc=45712675}}</ref> Along with the [[oniwaban]] and the assassins, Ogami Ittō is responsible for enforcing the will of the ''[[shōgun]]'' over the ''[[daimyō]]s'' (lesser domain lords). For those samurai and lords ordered to commit ''[[seppuku]]'', the ''Kogi Kaishakunin'' assists their deaths by decapitating them to relieve the agony of disembowelment; in this role, he is entitled and empowered to wear the hollyhock [[Mon (emblem)|crest]] of the Tokugawa clan, in effect acting in place of the ''shōgun''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lone Wolf and Cub: The Assassin's Road|last1=Koike|first1=Kazuo|last2=Kojima|first2=Gōseki|publisher=Dark Horse Comics|year=2000|isbn=1-56971-502-5|location=Milwaukie, OR}}</ref>

After Ogami Ittō's wife Azami gives birth to their son, Daigorō, Ogami Ittō returns to find her and all of their household brutally murdered, with only the newborn Daigorō surviving. The supposed culprits are three former retainers of an abolished clan, avenging the execution of their lord by Ogami Ittō. However, the entire matter was planned by Yagyū Retsudō, leader of the  Ura-Yagyū ''(Shadow [[Yagyū clan|Yagyu]])'' clan, in order to seize Ogami's post as part of a masterplan to control the three key positions of power: the spy system, the official assassins and the Shogunate Decapitator. During the initial incursion, an ''[[ihai]]'' (funeral tablet) with the ''shōgun''{{'}}s crest on it was placed inside the Ogami family shrine, signifying a supposed wish for the shogun's death. When the tablet is "discovered" during the murder investigation, its presence condemns Ittō as a traitor and thus he is forced to forfeit his post and is sentenced, along with Daigorō, to commit ''seppuku''.

The one-year-old Daigorō is given a choice by his father: a ball or a sword. If Daigorō chose the ball, his father would kill him to send Daigorō to be with his mother; however, the child crawls toward the sword and reaches for its hilt; this assigns him the path of a ''[[rōnin]]''. Refusing to kill themselves and fighting free from their house imprisonment, father and son begin wandering the country as "demons"—the assassin-for-hire team that becomes known as "Lone Wolf and Cub", vowing to destroy the Yagyū clan to avenge Azami's death and Ittō's disgrace.

On ''meifumadō'' ("The Road to [[Yomi|Hell]]"), the cursed journey for vengeance, Ogami Ittō and Daigorō experience numerous adventures. They encounter (and slay) all of Yagyū Retsudō's children (both [[Legitimacy (family law)|legitimate]] and illegitimate) along with the entire Kurokuwa ninja clan, eventually facing Retsudō himself. When Retsudō and the Yagyū clan are unable to kill Ittō, the shogunate officially proclaims him and Daigorō outlaws with a price on their heads, authorizing all clans to try and arrest/kill them and permitting anyone to go after them for the bounty. The last duel between Ogami Ittō and Yagyū Retsudō runs 178 pages—one of the longest single fight-scenes ever published in a manga.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Toward the end of their journey, Ogami Ittō's ''[[dōtanuki]]'' sword is surreptitiously tampered with and damaged by a supposed sword-polisher who is really an elite ''kusa'' ("Grass" ninja) of the Yagyū clan. When Ittō is finally attacked by the last of the ''kusa'', the sword breaks and Ittō receives wounds that are ultimately fatal. Deadlocked in mid-battle with Retsudō, Ittō's spirit leaves his body after years of fatigue and bloodshed, unable to destroy his longtime enemy and ending his path of ''meifumadō''.

The story finishes with Daigorō taking up Retsudō's broken spear and charging in fury. Retsudō opens his arms, disregarding all defense, and allows Daigorō to drive the spear into his body. Embracing Daigorō with tears, Retsudō names him "grandson of my heart", closing the cycle of vengeance and hatred between the clans and concluding the epic.

Many of the stories are written in a non-chronological order, revealing different parts of the narrative at different times. For example, Ogami's betrayal is not revealed until the end of the first volume, after many stories have already passed.