Hyakurin is a great fighter and a seductive recruiter for the Mugai-Ryu. She and the other members of the renegade dojo are eager to convince Manji it would be in his best interest to lend the group his skills in the fight against the seemingly indomitable Itto-Ryu, but Manji isn't so sure their offer is as sweet as it sounds. He's smart enough to pick up on some obvious inconsistencies in their claims of poverty--like how they afford to drink high-class sake and live in a former public bathhouse--and more importantly, he knows better than to trust just anyone who comes along claiming to be of like mind. But he and Rin have taken it far enough to be negotiating in close quarters and on their turf. Is now really the time to be asking pointed questions?
"The `Heart of Darkness' story arc will be an exciting one for Blade fans in that a whole slew of new and intriguing characters are involved," said editor Rachel Penn. "Manji and Rin have tentatively joined forces with a lethal band of killers--the Akagi. Led by the cool, calculating, and tormented beauty, Hyakurin, and comprised of sadists, sociopaths, and a half-wit, the Akagi are more marginalized and alienated than Anotsu's Itto-ryu could ever aspire to be. But the Itto-ryu is exactly who the Akagi are after. We are forced to see Anotsu in a new light--as the hunted, not the hunter."
Blade of the Immortal: Heart of Darkness is the new eight-issue miniseries from the masterful manga creator Hiroaki Samura. The first issue of this epic black-and-white miniseries is 32-pages of gorgeous art and tense storytelling. Heart of Darkness #1 retails for $2.95 beginning July 28.