Pray for Death

Akira Saito, a salaryman from Yokohama, agrees to relocate his family to the United States at his wife Aiko's insistence, hoping to give their two sons a fresh start. He resolves to leave behind the shadows of his ninja past and live openly as a civilian. The decision sets in motion a long separation from the temple's guarded secrets.

Years earlier, Akira's brother Shoji, raised and trained by Koga, disguises himself to steal from the temple. Akira confronts and kills Shoji in combat, a deed that weighs on him. Afterward, Koga admonishes him to guard the temple's secrets and reminds him that the shadows cannot be fully left behind, even offering a ninja helmet as a reminder.

In the wake of the engagement with his brother, Koga forces Akira to swear never to reveal the temple's secrets and to carry the helmet as a constant reminder of his vow. He warns that Akira can never fully escape the shadows that trained him. This oath casts a long shadow over Akira's future choices.

The Saitos leave Japan and establish a life in Houston, where they buy Sam Green's closed restaurant and apartment. They begin operating as Aiko's Japanese Restaurant and set about building a peaceful future for their sons Takeshi and Tomoya. The move marks the start of a life far from the ninja world that once shadowed them.

Daly, a corrupt cop working for mobster Mr. Newman, breaks into the cigar store area of Sam Green's building and hides the Van Adda necklace in a white box under loose floorboards. He later reconsiders and decides to double-cross the mob, taking the necklace for himself.

Newman's enforcer Limehouse Willie discovers the necklace is missing and assumes Sam Green is fleeing with it. He follows Green's luggage to his car and brutally kills Green, even though no necklace is found. This murder seeds suspicion that the Saito family knows something.

The next day, Tomoya and Takeshi go to a local store and are confronted by bullies who target Takeshi's bicycle. Tomoya, with his red belt in karate, defends his brother, but Willie abducts Tomoya during the melee, leaving Takeshi with a broken nose.

Willie demands the necklace from Akira, who then examines the cigar store for clues. He finds a broken door lock, loose floor boards, and a grey thread from a left-handed Daly's suit, implicating a left-handed thief in the jewelry theft.

Akira goes to the pier, boards one of the ships, and is restrained by Willie and his men. Using his ninja skills, he escapes with Tomoya, slipping away under cover of darkness after a tense confrontation.

At the precinct, Akira identifies Willie from mug shots with Lt. Anderson's help, but Anderson can do little without solid evidence. Daly and Trumble are present, and the case stalls while Newman plots to eliminate the Saitos.

Newman's thugs attack the Saito apartment as Akira and the boys attempt to escape; the ensuing pursuit leads to chaos, and Tomoya is placed on life support while Aiko is bruised and kept under observation in hospital.

Willie infiltrates the hospital and murders Aiko, a devastating blow that solidifies Akira's resolve to reclaim his past. Anderson and his men intervene to stop Willie from finishing Tomoya, but Willie escapes in the ensuing confusion.

Grief-stricken, Akira relocates the boys to a warehouse, performs ritual preparations, forges a new ninja-to blade, and, donning the helmet from his father, returns to the shadow world he vowed to leave behind.

In full ninja garb, Akira storms Newman’s mansion and massacres Newman and his henchmen. Willie escapes but is hunted down; the climactic duel ends with Willie impaled by a buzzsaw, begging for death as Akira walks away.

Akira and his sons visit Aiko's grave, where Detective Anderson hints that the assailant might have been a ninja and asks to report if Akira sees one. Akira denies it, while Takeshi quips that the detective has watched too many ninja movies; Anderson leaves a shuriken as a sign, suggesting the ninja could still exist.