One of the greatest disadvantages of reading a writer's masterpiece first before his other works is that the other works have a high chance to be given less recognition than what they deserve. Such is my feeling with Path of the Assassin. Coming from Lone Wolf and Cub, Path definitely pales in comparison with the golden duo's (Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima) Lone Wolf series. 
 But this doesn't mean that Path of the Assassin is no good. It is in fact another high-quality piece of graphic literature. The first volume has its own charms and like the young protagonists in the manga, has a tendency to be immature in certain subjects. Like there is too much sex amd nudity. 
 The story is set in historic Japan, before the whole country is united by the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and way back from the events in the Lone Wolf. This is a story of a young master and a young ninja who serves him. 
 Path of the Assassin has 15 volumes. I am still interested at how the story unfolds in the series.