Ninja
Overview / Role in Yamato
Ninja are the unseen hand of Yamato — infiltrators, assassins, and spies who move where Samurai cannot and strike where Oniro will not. They thrive in shadows, blending agility, cunning, and deception to shape outcomes far beyond the battlefield. To most of Yamato, Ninja are whispers and rumors, their presence denied yet deeply feared, their influence felt in every corner of politics, war, and the underworld.
Origins and History
The art of Ninjutsu was born in secrecy during the Great War, when small clans realized survival required stealth, sabotage, and adaptability rather than brute force. Their earliest roots lie in the swamps of Hebikiri, where the mist taught patience and concealment, and in the ruins of ancient Nekomata strongholds, where movement and evasion became an art. Over time, entire villages dedicated themselves to hidden warfare, creating a legacy of shadows woven into Yamato’s history.
Philosophy and Way of Life
Ninja embrace pragmatism over honor. To them, victory is measured not by glory, but by survival, precision, and effectiveness. A successful mission leaves no trace, no recognition, and no doubt. Many Ninja adopt layered identities, living as farmers, artisans, or even entertainers when outside their hidden villages. Their loyalty varies—some live by the code of their clan, others by the weight of coin, and a few by their own personal vision of balance.
Training and Practices
From childhood, Ninja are taught to master endurance, silence, and deception. Training emphasizes not just combat, but observation, survival, and adaptation. Apprentices run swamp gauntlets, scale ruin walls, and practice concealment until even their breathing becomes silent. They study poisons and alchemy, craft traps, and learn how to strike quickly before vanishing. Many also practice meditation to still the mind, for panic or hesitation is death in their art.
Relations with Society
To the public, Ninja are both taboo and necessity. Daimyō and merchants whisper their names in back rooms, but none admit to hiring them. Samurai dismiss them as dishonorable, yet fear what they cannot see. Common folk spin ghost stories about them, half fearing, half revering these hidden figures who silently protect villages from threats never made public. Ninja are tolerated as long as they remain unseen — but exposure often means exile or execution.
Appearance and Symbols
Ninja wear no single uniform, unless they have to sneak at night around a house- then they prefer the iconic Ninja-Gi, a black suit which allows for free movement while also helps with hiding. Their garb depends on the mission: farmer’s robes, merchant’s garb, entertainer’s silks, or assassin’s muted armor. Still, certain tools are iconic: smoke bombs, grappling hooks, throwing needles, and short curved blades. The fox mask and the serpent sigil are both common motifs, though these often serve to mislead as much as identify. True Ninja symbols are hidden—clan marks stitched inside garments, or faint tattoos only revealed under moonlight.
Factions
Kage-mura: The most renowned network of spies and manipulators, rumored to be blessed by Hanzō, deity of secrets. They weave information like a web, steering Yamato from the shadows.
Azure Scales: A Ryujin-only syndicate ruling Yokai Haven’s underworld. Some Ninja serve them as enforcers, smugglers, or assassins, embracing wealth and vice.
Crimson Blades: Ruthless mercenary assassins, loyal only to coin and blood. They embody the darkest reputation of the Ninja path.
Shogunate Operatives: Ninja trained or employed directly by the Shogunate as covert agents of the state. Their loyalty lies with order and stability, not shadows.
Independents: Drifters who carve their own path, often mistrusted even by other Ninja, but dangerously unpredictable.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths: unmatched stealth and infiltration, mastery of poisons and sabotage, versatile disguises and tools, adaptability to nearly any mission.
Weaknesses: fragile in prolonged combat, dependent on preparation and secrecy, distrusted by much of society, vulnerable if identities are exposed.