The Kouga and the Iga, two ninja clans with four hundred years of hostilities between them, meet at the request of Lord Ieyasu. There they learn that the peace forced upon them is to be broken by the whim of royalty, and that the outcome of this battle will determine the next Shogun. The passions of the past quickly reignite as two scrolls are sent out into the night.

When honor means nothing and power is everything, can love survive? A legendary pair of rival ninja clans battle to end years of slaughter as a forbidden love struggles to prevail. Fate will decide if the ultimate declaration must be made: To the one I love... prepare to die.

Kouga warriors in disguise delve deep within the enemy stronghold to unearth the truth, revealing both innocence taken and innocence lost. As the darkness pervading the sky seeps into the souls of men, blood lingers in the rain and the flood is unlashed. No mercy will be spared to the enemy.

Kouga warriors in disguise delve deep within the enemy stronghold to unearth the truth, revealing both innocence taken and innocence lost. As the darkness pervading the sky seeps into the souls of men, blood lingers in the rain and the flood is unlashed. No mercy will be spared to the enemy.

Pitted one against the other in a deadly fight for Shogun, the terms have been set. Two lists seal their destinies, two lists from which as name can only be crossed out in blood. No mercy will be spared to the enemy.

Confrontation in the night reveals Gennosuke's true intentions, as the hand of reconciliation is extended to the enemy. But death litters the road traveled by ninja feet. Impatience goads political intrigue to seek a more active role in this annihilation of two tribes, and the unseen finally comes to light as those that remain learn of the wager which unleashed this war upon them. But too much has been lost for either side to turn back.

Political ambition works to shape the end game, and Oboro issues a public challenge, seeking to draw Gennosuke out. As they stand reunited, Oboro begs for death, unable in her love to stand against him. But dying breath sets the final confrontation in motion, and fate comes fill circle.

Feudal Japan is set to bear witness to the bloody clash of titans as two fearsome ninja tribes are unleashed, one upon the other. For wretched within the Edo Castle loyalties have been severed into warring factions, as two sons struggle to inherit the title of Shogun. If this rupture goes unresolved, the Tokugawa kingdom will be torn apart. A solution must be found, one befitting a samurai family.

The Iga clan and the Kouga clan have been sworn enemies for more than four hundred years. Only the Hanzo Hattori truce has kept the two families from all-out war. Now, under the order of Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, the truce has finally been dissolved. Ten ninja from each clan must fight to the death in order to determine who will be the next Tokugawa Shogun. But Oboro of the Iga clan and Gennosuke of the Kouga clan have fallen deeply in love...

The Kouga clan is engaging in a little espionage: they've planted a shapeshifter, disguised as an Iga ninja, in the Iga palace. And the Iga clan turns to its last, best hope, their new leader, Oboro - the only one who can defeat the Kouga's formidable leader, Gennosuke. But is she willing to kill the man she loves? As the war grows more desperate, will true love be the next casualty?

Oboro has blinded herself in order to avoid having to kill Gennosuke, her lover - and her rival. Meanwhile, Gennosuke has urged the Iga clan to join him on a journey to Sunpu to find out the real motive behind Ieyasu Tokugawa's orders to fight. But the Iga has other plans...

The titanic battle between the clans rages on. Akeginu and the blinded Oboro of the Iga clan encounter a powerful aristocrat named Ofuku, who will do whatever it takes to make her godson, Takechiyo, the next Shogun. If Ofuku and her troops join forces with the Iga, will the Kouga still have a chance at victory?