Budo
The Art Of Ninja Combat

For generations, children at a tender young age were selected by 
emissaries of the great Tokugawa Shoguns to train in Budo, the art of 
Ninja combat.  They were honored and respected by the people of Edo 
because they were defenders of the great Shogun empire.  And they were 
feared, because they were relentless killers, able to take the life of 
an enemy in the blink of an eye.  

Twenty years ago your family was visited by the Shogun emissaries in the 
dark of night.  A brief and quiet consultation ensued with your parents.  
And you were bundled up and taken away.   As the first early morning 
light broke on the horizon you gazed upon the idyllic land of Nikko, 
where you would live the life of an honored servant of the Shogun.  
Every day you would train in the art of combat.  Ninja combat.  This was 
the training of Budo.  

Each day, from the moment the dawn broke on the horizon until the cool 
evening breezes soothed your aching muscles, the patient instructors 
drilled the discipline of Budo into your memory.  Your mind and your 
body became a finely tuned machine, capable of feats beyond normal human 
capacity.  You learned to fight, using ordinary human means and you 
learned the magic of the ancient mystics that made you nearly 
invincible.  

Your weapons of death - razor sharp swords, magic stars and your bare 
hands - became your life's utensils - to be used like a mere mortal 
would use a knife and fork. 

Without hesitation you could inflict on your enemies instant death or a 
slow, hideous demise.  

Every day for 20 years you practiced the art of Budo.  Until today.  For 
today your training ends, as you have been chosen to serve the great 
Shogun and destroy his enemies.  Single-handedly.  

Today you leave the idyllic Nikko, and your trusted Sensei and venture 
into the hills of Edo to find and destroy the many fierce Satsuma 
warriors that have infiltrated Tokugawa to assassinate the great Shogun.  



