The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 12

In war-torn medieval Japan, a young samurai lord struggles to retake his throne, but not by fighting. Hojo Tokiyuki will reclaim his birthright by running away!

In medieval Japan, eight-year-old Hojo Tokiyuki is the heir to the Kamakura shogunate. But the Hojo clan is in decline, and Tokiyuki’s peaceful days of playing hide-and-seek with his teachers come to an abrupt end when his clan is betrayed from within. The lone survivor of his family, Tokiyuki is the rightful heir to the throne, but to take it back, he’ll have to do what he does best--run away!

After years of training and deadly battles, the combined Hojo and Suwa army, with Tokiyuki at its head, has defeated Ashikaga Takauji’s forces and retaken the city of Kamakura! Tokiyuki and his retainers celebrate their return, then they seek the services of the legendary swordsmith Masamune, asking him to forge personalized weapons. Meanwhile, Emperor Go-Daigo, shocked and confused by the defeat, orders Takauji himself to ride forth at the head of his army to attack and destroy Tokiyuki once and for all!

Yusei Matsui was born on the last day of January in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. He has been drawing manga since elementary school. Some of his favorite manga series are Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Ultimate Muscle. Matsui learned his trade working as an assistant to manga artist Yoshio Sawai, creator of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo. In 2005, Matsui debuted his original manga Neuro: Supernatural Detective in Weekly Shonen Jump. In 2007, Neuro was adapted into an anime. His next series, Assassination Classroom, captured imaginations worldwide and was adapted to anime, video games, and film. In 2021, The Elusive Samurai began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump.