Comics godfather Osamu Tezuka tells the story of Buddha's life in a masterpiece of epic proportions that's executed with religious devotion. In an almost Machiavellian rise to power, Devadatta takes in bandit-warrior Tatta as a protégé, and incites the Magadha kingdom to war with the Kosalan empire. Bimbisara fears being killed by his own son, and the Buddha must lose the friends dearest to him before creating a religion.