What is the meaning of 巻ノ + number next to a book?

I know that

  * 巻 = volume
  * ノ = ?
  * 七十二 = 72

So it's Volume [?] 72

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R4DzW.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/R4DzW.jpg)
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question
translation kanji katakana orthography
What is the meaning of 巻ノ + number next to a book?
卷ノ(の)七十二 can be read in two ways. The first 二十七ノ卷, this is an old way reading
Japanese letters from right to left. The second 卷ノ七十二, this is a new modern
way reading them from left to right. Even as a native speaker of Japanese, I
am a little perplexed, and have done a little search about his Manga. The
answer is: 卷ノ七十二, meaning Vol. 72.
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巻【まき】の七十二 is just [a traditional
way](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/34033/7810) to say "Volume 72". Were
it not a ninja manga, we would normally say （第）七十二[巻]【かん】.

の is the only way to connect a noun to another in Japanese. Unlike English,
[you cannot directly attach "with", "from", "by" and such to a noun unless via
の](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/27363/7810). The の alone is thus the
most ambiguous and versatile modifier with a lot of idiomatic usages. Here if
literally interpreted, it would be "72 in volume" or "72 among volumes", which
is a fixed way to indicate that it is the 72nd book in the series.

**PS**  
Although the Japanese writing direction could be right-to-left in horizontal
alignment, something like 二十七ノ巻 is hardly used as a volume number marker.
～の巻【まき】 would be usually the traditional format of title, that is, an
explanation comes before の.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nr3Zw.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/Nr3Zw.png)  
(an episode from the anime 忍者ハットリくん)
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