Samurai Spirits (manga)

Samurai Spirits is a single volume manga that takes place during the first Samurai Shodown game. It was published on April 20, 1995 for Tokuma Intermedia Comics. The book is illustrated and authored by the then doujinshi artist Yasuhiro Nightow. After obtaining fame with his manga, Trigun, Nightow reflects that he isn't very proud of his work for this book and requests that there be no further reprints. Ironically, the book's notoriety is what caused SNK to notice his love for the series and later lead to his job for designing Youkai Kusaregedo.

Story
Shiro Tokisada Amakusa, an evil entity from beyond the grave, decimates the countryside in the name of Ambrosia. One of the victims of his attacks was the parents of a boy named Otsuna. He seeks revenge with his Kusudaryugan sword techniques. Along the way, he meets Haohmaru, who mainly chooses to ignore the devastation in the country. However, after he witnesses how twisted the populace has become, he mends his arrogant ways and goes to slay Amakusa. They eventually take arms with other characters of the game to destroy the villain and save the land.