Usagi Yojimbo: Lone Goat and Kid #5

The fifth issue of Usagi Yojimbo: Lone Goat and Kid reprints the story “The Way of the Samurai” in which the choice to save a messenger on the road leads to an encounter with the famous General Oyaneko. While on a walk through the town, Oyaneko tells Miyamoto Usagi of his service to Lord Higashi and the troubles of later serving the Lord’s son Hirone leading him to be assigned as an administrator for a peaceful town and a slow death far from the action of his youth.

The arrival of Usagi allows for Oyaneko to seek a different end than the slow death of illness by challenging the ronin to combat. While Usgai doesn’t refuse the challenges, his choice in how he accepts allows him to remind his new friend of the honor of the samurai and how he can still serve in his final days.

[IDW, $3.99]