"The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy" is one of the first major Usagi Yojimbo story arcs. It was originally published in Usagi Yojimbo Vol. 1 Issues 13-19 and was republished in Book 4: The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy.
Characters featured in this story arc[]
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Story Synopses[]
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"The Clouds Gather"[]
On a dark night, in the middle of a fierce rainstorm, Tomoe Ame rides desperately towards a border checkpoint and kills several of the samurai guards on duty, but is overpowered and taken prisoner.
Three days earlier: At the White Heron Castle in the Geishu Province, Lord Noriyuki confides to Tomoe that his agents have brought him troubling news about Lord Tamakuro, a known supporter of Lord Hikiji. According to the rumors, Tamakuro has been importing large amounts of construction supplies to his capital, but no laborers have been hired and no visible works begun. At the same time, Tamakuro has been recruiting ronin in large numbers from the surrounding countryside.
On the pretext of a diplomatic errand, Tomoe visits Tamakuro's fortress as a gesture of Noriyuki's friendship. Tamakuro, though suspicious, welcomes her and offers her and her men hospitality for the evening. Late that night, Tomoe infiltrates one of the fortress warehouses and finds a stockpile of teppo (matchlock muskets). Based on the number of guns, she guesses that Tamakuro is building an army powerful enough to overthrow the Shogun himself. She is ambushed inside the warehouse by a Neko ninja, who she kills, alerting the guards outside to her presence. Her own retainers fight the guards while she mounts a nearby horse and flees the fortress to warn Noriyuki...
"The Winds Howl"[]
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"Downpour"[]
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"Thunder and Lightning"[]
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"The Heart of the Storm"[]
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"Storm Clouds Part"[]
Epilogue: A few weeks later, Lord Hebi visits Noriyuki and congratulates him for receiving the Shogun's thanks for his role in stopping Tamakuro's conspiracy. Noriyuki says they both know it was Lord Hikiji's Neko ninja who stopped the conspiracy, and Hebi says, officially, there is no connection between Hikiji and the Neko ninja, and Hebi has visited to "ask" that any rumors of such a connection be squelched. Noriyuki reluctantly agrees, saying he owes Hikiji that much.
Hebi, in a false spirit of camraderie, remarks that, for once, Hikiji and Noriyuki acted as allies. Noriyuki - who has never forgotten the multiple times Hikiji tried to have him killed - retorts coldly that the Geishu clan acted for the good of the nation, but Hikiji, as always, acted only for his own ends.
Hebi encourages Noriyuki to be at peace, as the long storm has finally cleared. But Noriyuki wonders aloud whether there is a worse one on the horizon.
"The Fate of the Blind Swordspig"[]
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