Rurouni Kenshin, Volume 5: The State of Meiji SwordsmanshipPaperback, 1 June 2004

The battle to decide the fate of Meiji-era swordsmanship has begun!

Action, romance, and historical intrigue help make Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin, the tale of a wandering swordsman set against the backdrop of the Meiji Restoration, one of the most popular Shonen Jump titles among fans to date. Himura Kenshin, once an assassin (or hitokiri ) of ferocious power, now fights to protect the honor of those in need.

Isurugi Raijûta, a truly old-school swordsman, comes to Kenshin and requests his aid in reforming the state of swordsmanship schools, or kenjutsu dojo, in Japan. Although Kenshin is intrigued by Raijûta's ideals (chiefly, that there is a need for a nation-wide, unifying school), Raijûta's plan to weed out the schools he deems unfit is not in accordance with Kenshin's deepest-held beliefs. Given the choice of either joining Raijûta's Shinko-ryû movement or dying, Kenshin walks away, choosing neither. But Raijûta isn't willing to let Kenshin off the hook so easily...