Ninja & Kunoichi Awakened
07 December 2016 15:00

 

Greetings, adventurers.

Following the unveiling of Ninja and Kunoichi’s majestic weapons, be awed at the sight of Ninja effortlessly wielding six swords, called Sura Katana, his awakening weapon. Also, be the first to witness the gigantic chakram, called Sah Chakram, bestowed upon Kunoichi.

Experience Ninja’s smooth transition from a silent assassin to skilled swordsman, and Kunoichi’s signature swift, rhythmic movement.

 

 

◈ Ninja’s Awakening Weapon, Sura Katana

 

There once was a poor boy who lived in the forest of a small fiefdom in a far eastern realm. A well-to-do girl occasionally came to the same forest for walks and against all odds this ragtag little boy and this silk-wearing girl soon became best friends. They eventually grew up and fell in love with one another, but this wealthy of a girl could never marry a boy of such poor stock.

 

The girl was the eldest daughter of the house of Narusawa, the ruling family of the fiefdom. Her future groom, the son of another lord, had already been arranged and she was destined to take over as head of her house. The boy had no concern for any of this, however, and decided to leave the forest to learn the art of combat so he could protect the girl one day. Whether fate, so cruel in denying the two lovers, was moved by the boy's devotion was unclear. What is known is that on his journey the boy experienced a great stroke of luck in his encounter with a retired army general known as Sura, who was famous for sweeping through battlefields wielding six swords at once.

 

The boy trained under his guidance for years, and eventually returned to the girl's side as a powerful warrior. Soon after the girl was appointed as the head of her house, a civil war broke out in the kingdom as several lords rose up to defy the oppressive and exploitative central government. In the midst of this turmoil, the boy did everything he could to protect the girl. The sight of this boy covered in the blood of his enemies as he merciless slashed away with his six swords caused opponents to cower, convinced that the legendary Sura had returned to the battlefield. Stability returned to the kingdom after much bloodshed, and soon an era of great peace reigned. Everyone appeared happy on the outside, but the trials were only beginning for the boy and girl. A fierce war eventually erupted between the former revolutionaries as each sought to establish themselves as the master of the realm. The Narusawa house and the girl, now a young woman, were being watched by these ambitious power seekers. The young woman yielded the honor of her house and gave up as much wealth as she could simply to survive, but the harsh reality of the times would not leave her be. Word on the street was that the she could soon be framed for treason.

 

The boy, now a young man himself, felt the need to protect the young woman and the house of Narusawa from the new powers of the realm. However, there was not much a wandering swordsman and his gang of followers could do. He first needed to figure out how to make a living. The young man persuaded the young woman to change the family name of her house and they moved back to the forest where they spent their childhood together. The young man and his gang started a little business for collecting and selling important pieces of information. The young woman took charge of classifying and managing this information and eventually they were able to make a living.

 

Of course, there was a period of trial and error; the espionage scene was different from the battlefield. The group eventually gave up the long swords that hindered their mobility for more agile short swords. They revised their martial arts style to make it suitable for infiltration and assassination operations. They hid their identities, patiently waited, and trained endlessly. They called themselves “Ninjas.” The family was on its way back to stability, but tragedy struck from the most unexpected source. One of their colleagues who just returned from a mission to the West seemed to have caught a cold, but that illness turned his eyes red and made him go berserk. He soon began attacking everyone around him. The madman was taken care of, but the disease was already spreading, poisoning the bodies and minds of the entire house.

 

Even the young were infected by the disease. One day the young woman, who had been taking care of the infected day and night, began to show symptoms. The young man had no problem slaying the others once they became infected, but he could never do the same for the young woman. He searched the entire kingdom to find a doctor who could help, but the best anyone could do was put her into a coma using acupuncture so that she might one day be cured. It seemed the worst had passed for the time being, but the young man's trials were only beginning.

 

The young man never lost hope, but he knew he needed to find the source of the terrible disease if they were to ever find a cure. He decided to head to the West, which he determined to be the source of the disease, intending to eventually return to his homeland to rebuild the crippled house. The young man visited the young woman on the day he would set forth. The maids taking care of her left the room so they could be alone for the first time since childhood. However, the young woman did not awaken. Before he left, the young man made a vow to the young woman: "On the day when Sura returns, the Narusawa flag shall fly again on the field of battle."

 

◈ Ninja Awakening Weapon Combat Trailer

 

Spectacular action complete with six swords! Check out Ninja’s Sura Katana now!

 

 

◈ Awakening Skills

 

Ninja’s awakening skills are optimized for clean, instant moves that aim at enemy’s blind or weak spots. Everything about the six swords is unexpected and irregular: the order they are taken out, the movement, and their path.

 

 

Fully charged with Sura’s aura, Ninja will sweep the battlefield with the Sura Katana. Versatile and swift movement unique to the Ninja class is still there, and you will get an extra layer of blasting action on top of it.

 

The following are some of the prominent Awakening skills:

 

Vengeful Barrier
Block an attack and perform a counterattack of three powerful slashes. Ninja will always have a surprise for anyone thinking they’ve finally landed an attack on him.

Sudden Decapitation
You can slash the enemy up to 12 times, inflicting fatal damages. Use it in combination with the skill Seamless to utilize two swords simultaneously.

Serpent Ascension
Brandish the Sura Katana upward to bring out the powerful aura of Sura from the ground and attack the target.

Bloodthirst: Katana Shower
Throw the Sura Katana high up in the air to shower the area with a massive amount of blade energy.

Drastic Measure
Charge up Sura’s aura to the extreme and smash it down with all your might. Even a single blow can bring fatal damage.

Seamless
Promptly draw the Sura Katana from your back and slash the target. Connect to Quadruplet or Corrupt Sword Dance while using this skill to keep using the Sura Katana you just took out.

 

◈ Kunoichi’s Awakening Weapon, Sah Chakram

 

A group of big men that appear chiseled from granite are riding horses through a vast, barren land where the wind settles after travelling through a long valley. The most impressive of the bunch shouts at the top of his lungs, "Run, Ichi, Run!" Ichi, lazing on a rock, is suddenly startled and falls to the ground. It's just another day for Ichi and her father, the chief of the Oeki Clan in Ryuta's southeastern region. Her father is always keen on correcting his daughter's slothful ways.

 

The Ryuta region mostly consists of barren lands, and people usually survive off hunting and gathering while leading communal lives. For the Oeki Clan, "Protect yourself" is the chief motto. The Oeki usually use light weapons such as short swords and kunai, but their level of training has been elevated as a result of the recent territorial conflict with the Sonan Clan from across the Turina River.

 

The Oeki chief had always tried to maintain a friendly relationship with them, but to no avail. This will soon be a grave concern for Ichi, too, since she is supposed to inherit the chiefdom. She is smart, talented in many ways, and compassionate, just like a chief's daughter should be. Drought came to the Ryuta region one scorching summer. Just as everyone was about to collapse in exhaustion from the drought, Ichi felt a drop of water hit her nose. It was just a drop, but rain to be sure. Excited, Ichi mounted her horse and galloped to the Turina River in no time. When she stopped by the riverbank to rest, she discovered a woman who had fainted on the other side of the river. Ichi put the woman on her horse and ran to the town.

 

The woman was on the verge of unconsciousness, but the Oeki Clan's care and treatment worked wonders. After waking up, the woman confessed that she was from the Sonan Clan, which embarrassed and upset everyone around her, including the chief. Ichi begged and begged her father to accept her, and the Oeki Clan finally decided to take the Sonan woman in.

 

After fully recovering, the Sonan woman woke Ichi up one night, saying she wanted to show Ichi something. What she brought with her was a traditional Sonan weapon. It was shaped like a gigantic ring big enough to cover one's entire body, and was sharply bladed on one side. The weapon's name was Sah Chakram.

 

Ichi told the Sonan woman that the Sah Chakram reminded her of the gleaming moon, which caused the woman great joy. The woman explained that the circular shape of the Sah Chakram symbolized acceptance of all things and that for everything the beginning and the ending are the same. Of course, Ichi was too young to comprehend all that, but there was something about it that made her deeply compelled to learn the art of the Sah Chakram.

 

Tragedy struck when Ichi just got used to handling the Sah Chakram. The Sonan Clan found the refugee woman, and she knew she had nowhere else to run. After agonizing long and hard, the woman sent a message to her own clan, stating that she was willing to help them infiltrate and destroy the Oeki Clan at once, as long as she would be set free afterward.

 

While Ichi was asleep, the village burned. Chaos reigned as people ran through the camp in a panic and the sounds of weapons clashed in the night. After awakening, Ichi too was forced to fight with nothing more than a short sword she picked up from the ground. No one was able to fight with their full might because the Sonan woman had poured a mysterious substance in the well. The enormous power of the Sah Chakram would also be the Oeki's undoing. The Sonans had been unable to conquer the Oeki before because they were always outnumbered. But this time was different. The Oeki clan was eradicated, save for a few prisoners of war.

 

After managing to flee into the forest, Ichi shed bloodstained tears. After days of crying she sat up, eyes as wide as the full moon. At that moment she swore she'd survive the ordeal. She then returned to her village, only to witness a terrible scene. Amidst a pile of dead bodies, she managed to find a Sah Chakram the Sonans had left behind. She felt a mixture of profound sadness and rage.

Ichi searched for the traitor, but it seemed the Sonan woman had already fled the Ryuta region. Ichi softly uttered a vow to her dead father at the foot of his grave: "With this Sah Chakram, I'll make them pay for what they've done. I won't rest until the moon turns pale and all else is covered in the Crimson of blood."

 

◈ Kunoichi Awakening Weapon Combat Trailer

 

A gigantic circular blade flying throughout the battlefield! Behold the magnitude of Sah Chakram’s force!

 

 

 

◈ Awakening Skills

 

The awakened Kunoichi will now freely wield the bladed Sah Chakram.

Based on Kunoichi’s signiture style which involves parsimonious close combat, she can now deal with enemies a little farther away. In the blink of an eye, of course.

 

 

Sah Chakram embraces Kunoichi like soft moonlight landing on a lake, but it can be merciless in battlefields.

 

Everything will be bathed in bloody red after the Sah Chakram sweeps the place. With the Sah Chakram, Kunoichi’s action becomes even more powerful and flowing while keeping her signature swift movement.

 

The following are some of the prominent Awakening skills:

 

Wheel of Wrath
Perform a poweful upper cut followed by an extra attack. It hits critical every single time.

Lunar Dash
Dash forward and perform a quick upper slash with the Sah Chakram. Forward Guard is effective while using the skill. The impacted target gets the Stiffness effect. Be creative with this skill!

 Danse Macabre
Mark the target by throwing the Sah Chakram when the enemy’s least expecting, then dash towards its back to reclaim the Sah Chakram and inflict damage.

 Lethal Spin Spree
Holding the Sah Chakram in both hands, Kunoichi spins fast to inflict damage to the targets nearby. HP recovery amount depends on the number of successful hits.

 Chain Crash: Sah Chakram
Even Kunoichi cannot control the Sah Chakram’s destructiveness once it leaves her hands. The Sah Chakram knows no mercy when it lands on the enemy’s side.

 Delighted Blast
Kunoichi shoots fully-charged Sah Chakram’s energy ahead. The impacted targets will be stunned.

Confront the new, real, awakened Ninja and Kunoichi!

Enjoy the long-awaited awakenings.