After the last issue's shocking death, Burando's grip on reality slips a bit more, and he struggles to continue his research while in a depressed stupor. Habaki Kagimura isn't letting his prize doctor off the hook, though. Kagimura pushes for new tests with a new felon. Word of his experiments in immortality is spreading through Edo's jails, and Manji's cocky cellmate is a willing volunteer who has no idea what pain is in store for him. Hiroaki Samura's samurai drama continues its dark descent into a horrific world of torture and “modern Japanese medicine,” as the secrets of Manji's mystical kessen-chu are slowly revealed.

FOR MATURE READERS