The last song of the ancestors

Throughout history, he has had various names: shinobi, onmistu and ninja. The origin of this feared warrior dates back to Ancient China, not the Japanese archipelago. Around 500 BC, the strategist Sun Tzu wrote one of the greatest military treatises in history, The Art of War. It focused on strategy and covert operations.

Some of this knowledge was absorbed by Buddhist monks. Fleeing political and religious persecution in the constant periods of war, they sought refuge among the Lin Kui. These mountain raiders taught part of their lifestyle to the religious, including their martial skills.

In the Sui Dynasty (589-618 AD), internal disputes led to a great wave of emigration to the Japanese islands. Among these exiles were Chinese nobles and intellectuals. The dissidents found settlements in the provinces of Iga and Koga, established villages and started families.

Anyone who has had the privilege of reading the Nihon Shoki knows how important the prince regent Shootoku (574-622 AD) was in the definitive establishment of the ninja in Japanese history. He was the son of Emperor Yoonmei and his wife and half-sister, Princess Anahobe no Hashihito. He inherited the imperial throne, but not before suffering an attempted usurpation by Mononobe no Moriya.

Prince Shootoku made Buddhism the official religion of the empire. This caused dissension between the various religious factions. Religious warfare swept Japan. In this conflict, a third and powerful force emerged: Em-no-Gyoja, a yamabushi, or 'warrior priest'.

Together with his followers, they descended into the mountains preaching Shugendo Buddhism, which worships Buddha Danichi, the 'Buddha of Infinite Light', and soon became a threat to the local elites. Once again, the Buddhists were persecuted. The Yamabushi retreated into the mountains once again and remained refugees for four hundred years.

The families split into clans. They perfected their knowledge and techniques. In the Heian Era (794-1185 AD), the weakness of Japan's central power and repeated disputes between the daimyo created the perfect environment for the ninja to become part of local politics. Their techniques were suited to espionage, infiltration, sabotage, assassination and guerrilla warfare.

But it was with the agreement between Tokugawa Leyasu and the ose of Iga, Hatori Hanzo, that the ninja became part of the Japanese state. They served as a secret service during the more than two hundred and sixty years of peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate. Not even the Meiji Restoration ejected the ninja from their conquered power. Modernity demanded even more subtlety.

The Masutah Kage Clan, former renegade members of the Oniwaban, maintained their dreams of greatness. They were fans of the fantasy of exclusionary development: they wanted to seize power, close Japan off from the world and continue their economic and technological development away from the eyes of the world.

In the Second World War (1939-1945), they supported General Hideki Tojo. His fascist ideas were also in line with the clan's objectives. They worked to promote Japanese imperialism, racial supremacy and warmongering.

Tora-Tora was the most polished product of the Masutah Kage Clan. He was to be the new ose. However, his bloodlust and pride transcended those of his clan. After mastering the eighty-one kuji-kiri, the eighteen skills and the eight 'Ninja no Hachimon' before coming of age, he turned against his clan and killed them all.

He had surpassed them and considered them unworthy of living. After that, he went to work for the most powerful yakuza family, but he also considered them narrow-minded, and killed his employers. It was after this that his name reached the hidden investors of the Neo Axis, a secret group that promotes the extreme right in the world.

Made up of politicians, businessmen, intellectuals and media men, they finance Nazi-fascism around the world. But instead of military uniforms, they wear beautiful, sleek suits. Through the Neo Axis, Tora-Tora found a place where he could exercise all his pride and cruelty.

Sending the three of them to the tournament at the Ilu Nla Grand Arena was a bold move. But the backers were convinced that it would be an excellent stage to showcase the racial superiority they assumed existed.

Unlike his teammates, he was less adept at formalities. In his room, standing on his head, supported only by an index finger, he exercised. His hair was unruly and greasy, flowing down to the nape of his neck. He had an angular face with a large nose, and his eyebrows joined in the middle of his forehead to form a single brow.

He wore an old worn-out kimono, but it wasn't a shinobi shoozoku, but a karate-gi with torn sleeves and a black hakama. On his feet, the one-heeled Geta sandal made him even taller. He wondered aloud what his next move in the tournament would be. He had seen Akachi's team fight and wanted to burn a stage in the tournament.

"That team is very dangerous, especially because of that Fadala. He doesn't fool me, I was born in the underworld, he must be a mortician."

He did ten more push-ups with his fingers, stopped and remained still. Despite all the physical effort, his body wasn't even sweating.

"It's prudent on a mission to weaken a group to kill the weakest. That's what the pragmatic and rational mindset of an assassin recommends. But that's cowardly, and there's nothing fun about it. It's always more prudent to kill the strongest. If you cut off the head, the body will fall."

He got out of his stance. He did two small jumps to get the blood circulating in his legs again. He walked over to the table. He opened an urn made of bamboo. He took out some weapons and hid some in his clothes. He picked up his ninjatoh, as closed environments required short blades.

He headed for the door. He set off several smoke bombs and launched them down the corridor. Before General Luena's security guards knew it, they were slashed to death in a pool of hot blood. He took the master card from one of the guards as he headed towards his real target.

The Tora-Tora ninja wasted no time. He quickly made his way to the corridor where Akachi's team was. He moved his sword to wipe the blood off the blade. He slipped the magnetic card into the lock. The door opened without a sound. The light was off. Foot by foot, he walked to the edge of the bed. He raised his sword and attacked.