The heirs to the Kouga and Iga ninja clans, Gennosuke and Oboro, hoped the unsteady truce between their tribes would last—but fate denies the lovers, thrusting their people into war after centuries of peace. The terms are set on two scrolls. One bears a list of Kouga warriors. The other holds a list of those who fight for Iga. The names found on these scrolls can only be crossed out in blood. 

(Source: Crunchyroll)

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. The surviving clan will rule for the next thousand years. 
But not all the clan members are in agreement. Oboro of the Iga clan and Gennosuke of the Kouga clan have fallen deeply in love. Now these star-crossed lovers have been pitted against each other. Can their romance conquer a centuries-old rivalry? Or is their love destined to end in death? 
(Source: Del Rey)

The battle for succession that continued for three generations of shogun in the Keichou era culminated in a gruesome battle of ninja arts between the Kouga and Iga clans. Amidst a rain of flower petals, a man and woman who had decided to live for love were separated once again, beautiful in their transience. However, it is said that by the hand of Hattori Hanzo's adopted son, Kyouhachirou, these two flower petals, whether temporarily or permanently, were given life again and left two mementos behind. These children, born with a destiny of their own, were called Kouga Hachirou and Iga Hibiki. The former had eyes like his father's, and the latter had eyes like her mother's. It is now the Kan'ei era, and the land is at peace. As ninjas begin to disappear into the shadows after being deemed unnecessary, The Kouga and Iga clans ask a favor of Hachirou and Hibiki in hopes of reinforcing their foundations. 

(Source: Crunchyroll)

Tags