Hisakage Maehara

Troubled medical student Haruo navigates a toxic relationship with his mother and a dangerous affair with former classmate Eiko, leading to a murder plot involving a potent poison.

In Part I we see the young would-be swordsman setting out to achieve greatness in war, achieving nothing because fighting on the losing side, & then beginning his long period of wandering & training, with the goal always in mind of his duel with Kojiro. Part II builds toward that great duel on Ganryu Island, with considerable focus on Musashi's planning & forethought as to how to gain an advantage.