Ninja Scroll

In the Edo period, the Yamashiro clan secretly mines gold and ships it to the Shogun of the Dark to fund an uprising against the Tokugawa. The gold is intended to help the Shogun buy advanced weaponry from Spain and overthrow the government.

The storm drives the beached ship onto Mochizuki territory, forcing the conspirators to hide the treasure. To keep the gold's location secret, the Eight Devils of Kimon murder the nearby Shimoda Village.

The Mochizuki Kōga ninja team is slaughtered as the Devils cover their tracks. The sole survivor, the kunoichi Kagero, is captured by Tessai and held for interrogation.

Kibagami Jubei intervenes when Tessai attempts to rape Kagero and kills Tessai in combat. Kagero is freed and teams up with Jubei in the growing mission against the Devils.

Dakuan, a Tokugawa spy, blackmails Jubei into helping kill the remaining Devils. To ensure his compliance, Dakuan stabs Jubei with a poisoned shuriken and promises an antidote after the mission.

Dakuan reveals that the Devils are led by Himuro Gemma, the former Yamashiro ninja chief who ordered his men to kill each other. Jubei recalls being forced to kill his comrades and decapitating Gemma, only for Gemma to survive thanks to immortality.

Benisato is killed from afar by Yurimaru for failing his mission, while Kagero remains under guard. The act demonstrates the ruthless efficiency of Gemma’s inner circle and raises the stakes for the mission.

Kagero agrees to work with Jubei and Dakuan. Dakuan explains that her body is infused with deadly toxins, which kills anyone who kisses or sleeps with her, a fact that helps explain Tessai’s fate and shapes their alliance.

The trio reaches Shimoda and discovers the villagers died from poisoned water, not a plague. Jubei and Kagero fend off Mushizo and Utsutsu, with Jubei killing both adversaries.

Following the trail of the beached ship, Kagero deduces that the gold has been ferried to Kashima Harbor to be loaded onto another ship bound for the Shogun of the Dark. The team heads toward Kashima to intercept the shipment.

In Kashima, Shijima fights Jubei while a ship carrying the Shogun's envoy approaches. Kagero is captured by Shijima, but Jubei defeats Shijima to rescue her.

Kagero goes to meet Sakaki Hyobu but is stabbed by him, who is revealed to be Gemma in disguise after he murdered the real Sakaki days earlier. Jubei fights through ninjas, only to be stalled by Yurimaru until a gunpowder-rigged rat turns the tide.

Mortally wounded, Kagero confesses her love for Jubei and they share a kiss that cures his poisoning. She dies, offering Jubei her headband as a final token.

Jubei and Dakuan set the ship ablaze to prevent Gemma from building a ninja army; the gold melts and engulfs Gemma, who sinks to the sea bottom. Dakuan thanks Jubei for his humanity and resolve.

With the threat ended, Jubei resumes his vagabond life, his sword adorned with Kagero’s headband as a keepsake of their bond. He drifts back into the road, carrying her memory across the seas.