The Ryoji Family

Introduction
The Ryoji family history had their roots started in the days of the old, the days of samurai and bushido when they ran rampant throughout the lands of feudal japan. These were the days of old, and key times in Japanese folk lore that spawned countless legends, villains, warlords, and most of all heroes. The age of heroes was one that spanned not only the current generations of the planet earth, but various places in the world. The Ryoji family is not as brash and bold as others; in fact they are knowingly few in number, especially in the modern times. Their history is one not for the literally sense. To begin one must believe in the impossible and believe in fables and folklores. If one does, not then this tale may not reach all ears, but it shall be told. It all starts with Samanosuke Ryoji.

The Legend Of Goemon
As a child, Samanosuke entire family was assassinated for political reasons. These reasons were unknown even to him. His mother sent Samanosuke away for safety minutes before he witnessed her death. Running away with his caretaker, they were attacked by bandits but he was saved by the great Nobunaga Oda in his early days. Samanosuke followed Nobunaga and Hattori Hanzō was assigned to train him in the ways of the shinobi (ninja) along with his martial brother, Saizō After many years of training, Samonosuke was assigned to protect Oda's niece, Princess Chacha. They developed feelings for each other, but status differences kept them apart and eventually she departed. Before leaving, Chacha gave him her favorite fan as a memento. Oda rewarded Samanosuke's faithful protection of Chacha by giving him his double-bladed sword. Meanwhile, Oda's generals, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide conspired to kill Nobunaga. At this time Nobunaga, had the Tasanagi’s under his belt, as a part of his main militia, which only aided the suspicion. The two made a secret written covenant, placing their signatures onto a black scroll. Mitsuhide, not trusting Hideyoshi, had his men hide the contract. Nobunaga however, was much smarter than he was given credit for; as such the great wars began as Lord Oda Nobunaga began his reign throughout the lands of ancient Japan. Lord Oda Nobunaga took it to his own accord to hire these rowdy men and women and make them apart of his family. It was said that the Tasanagi's and the Oda's had a blood connection that dated back to the far days when the earth was still new and fresh, and the Shinto God's still owned this world as their own. The Tasanagi clan had been boasted to nobility but there rough rowdy nature made them extremely unlikely along other nobles. No one truly wanted to deal with the wild bunch of bandits. Soon, Nobunaga no longer needed the help of the Tasanagi's and had exterminated the clan of fear that they would one day take over everything he's created thus far. This extermination was swift, to which Samonosuke was not only a part of, but he was so trusted by Nobunaga, that he was put as the head of the operation. However With his powerful Demon Warriors gone, Lord Oda Noubnaga was soon defeated because of his actions of getting rid of his rough power house clan. Leaving Samanosuke feeling empty. As if all his actions had been for naught, for nothing, forgotten and useless beyond all reasoning. It was then, the Ryoji decided to go his own way, find his own path, and maybe try to find a life worth living without violence. Leaving the princess behind as well and his adopted brother for a life of women, leisure, and laziness. So he thought.

A New Path
Years later, Samanosuke put his skills to above and beyond, mastering his ability as a ninja and innovating his own abilities at a higher rate that had been seen in years. He became a master thief and something of a Robin Hood. Often stealing from only the richest of the rich, and giving to those who weren’t being treated fairly by the ruler at the time. Samanosuke, was loved by all, and the people did not betray. They held in him regard, and loved him, often letting him shack in their homes, and foniricarte with their daughters. However, Sarutobi Sasuke (Gori), an inexperienced bounty hunter, tried to arrest Samanosuke, but failed and became his private servant instead. Sarutobi remarked that in all his years a as a bounty hunter, he’d never been defeated so swiftly, as Samanosuke defeated the man with both hands and feet tied together, with only a kunai in his mouth. This was no small feat, as Sarutobi Sasuke was renowned for his skills as an armed and unarmed combatant, often displaying skill that rivaled demons. During a festival, Samanosuke infiltrated and robbed a treasure repository that contained a mysterious box with foreign writing on it. Ishida Mitsunari, a high-ranking samurai under Lord Hideyoshi, tried to retrieve this box to destroy it, but Samanosuke escaped with it, leaving behind only his calling card: a red sticker with the Japanese character "Ryo" on it. Samanosuke, unaware of the value of the box, threw it away and distributed the gold to the poor. A young pick-pocket, Koheita, picked up the mysterious box and kept it as a memento. The following day, Samanosuke learned of the box's value from Sasuke. Intrigued by the box, Samanosuke returned to the city to find it. Searching around the slums for the box, Samanosuke heard a scream and finds Koheita and his mother, who had just been callously murdered by cruel royal samurai. The battle was much longer than expected, but Samanosuke saved Koheita and retrieved the box, but also took Koheita under his wing. It was during this fight, that Samanosuke discovered what his inner energy or “chi” could really do. He often felt full of it but rarely practiced the usage of it, not as dependent on it as he’d like to be.

The Mystery Of Pandora
Saizo and his ninja squad, working for Mitsunari, appeared and confronted Samanosuke. Refusing to turn over the box, Samanosuke fled and was pursued by Saizo's ninjas. Samanosuke evaded all of his pursuers except Saizo, who remained close behind him. In a showdown between the former brothers, Saizo informed him that the box Samanosuke carried was referred to as a "Pandora's Box" by foreigners, and the two engaged in a duel. This is when Samonosuke truly learned the effects of chi, as his brother actual accelled in its usage. After what could only be described as a showdown for the ages, the two brothers fought for 7 days and 8 nights. Saizo admitted, even though his brothers was ignorant to the ways of chi, that he caught on inhumanly quickly and managed to fight on par with someone who clearly outmatched him, though he quickly grew annoyed by the fact that his brothers supply of chi was seemingly endless to say the least. After Samanosuke was overpowered and about to be killed by Saizo, Hattori Hanzo appeared and intervened, causing Saizo to withdraw. After returning to the city, Samanosuke examined the "empty box" and discovered a map to a mysterious treasure. Following the map, Samanosuke and Sasuke were led to the destroyed Buddha statue where Akechi Mitsuhide had hidden his contract with Hideyoshi. Samanosuke became angry once he learned that Hideyoshi was involved with Nobunaga's death also after finding out…that he too was at the time a “Tasanagi”. Hattori Hanzo then reappeared, under the command of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Hanzo offered his old student a bag of gold for the contract, which Samanosuke readily agrees to. Seeking vengeance for his murdered lord, Samanosuke infiltrated Lord Hideyoshi's castle, where he killed Lord Hideyoshi and discovered Princess Chacha. Startled by another person entering, Samanosuke hid himself in the ceiling of Chacha's room, losing Chacha's fan as he did so. To Samanosuke's surprise, the real Hideyoshi entered the room. Samanosuke had only killed his fake double made from pure dark chi, a technique recorded as the “Advanced Shadow Sweep”. Suddenly, one of Lord Hideyoshi's guards discovered Samanosuke and shot him in the chest, blowing him out of the castle and into the moat. Later, Samanosuke was secretly rescued and recovered by his brother Saizo.

Proposal
Samanosuke was then contacted by Hanzo, who took him to a waterfall to meet Chacha. The princess had come to bid him farewell and returned the fan as she had reluctantly agreed to become Hideyoshi's concubine. Afterwards, Lord Tokugawa arrived to ask Samanosuke to assassinate Hideyoshi in order to save Chacha and the country. Elsewhere, Lord Mitsunari offered Saizo samurai status in return for killing Lord Hideyoshi. Samanosuke and Lord Tokugawa crafted a plan to assassinate Lord Hideyoshi during a celebration on his royal boat, but upon receiving his secret signal, Samanosuke changed his mind and did not complete the plan. Moments later, Lord Hideyoshi’s entire escort ships were destroyed by explosives set by Saizo and his team; they captured Lord Hideyoshi and tried to assassinate him by hanging him from the ship's mast with a steel chain. Lord Mitsunari, believing Lord Hideyoshi to be dead, then turned on Saizo and shot him. However, Lord Hideyoshi survived the assassination attempt and Saizo survived the gunshot wound. Lord Hideyoshi, unaware of Lord Mitsunari's betrayal, interrogated Saizo and threatened to kill Saizo's family unless he revealed who hired him. Meanwhile, Samanosuke tried to rescue Chacha, but because Lord Hideyoshi was still alive, she refused to leave. Later, against Sasuke's warnings, Samanosuke rescued Saizo from prison. Unfortunately, Lord Mitsunari killed Saizo's wife in reprisal and left a note on her body telling Saizo he had taken Saizo's child. Saizo was later recaptured and Lord Hideyoshi decreed Saizo should be boiled to death during an elaborate public execution. Hideyoshi told Saizo he would spare his child's life if he would reveal his name so he falsely identified himself as Samanosuke. Yelling in the huge crowd, Samanosuke tried to stop the execution but he could only watch in horror as Lord Hideyoshi kicked Saizo into the cauldron and then threw in the child. Sasuke, in shock over all of the carnage, blamed on Samanosuke and abandoned him.

Fate
Samanosuke went through a trial of depression unaware of anything he could do to make a difference. It was then, that he was blinded by a bright light, and transported to a room where the water met the sky, and the moon shined high. He was approached by a man riding upon the clouds. He was a husky and muscular man, with silver samurai armor, and a sword at his hip. It was none other than the Shinto god Hachiman, the god of war. Hachiman had approached Samanosuke and forewarned him to be careful of his future trials, as his death may come quick. Samansouke however, had reached the resolve to kill the emperor, and save the rest of japan. He wanted to be more than what he was. He wanted the power to not only slay demons, but also to change the ways of men using his body as a vessel,. A way for a lowly human being to combat not only evil, but any necessary malice, that would affect the world. Hachiman respected the young noble, and blessed not only him, but his future generations with the power to do just that, but this was a double edged sword. Human will was evident, and that being said, one of with the power of, what Hachiman dubbed. “Koikonjitto”’s or chi conduits, can become great catalyst of prosperity or destruction. It was then Samanosuke woke up and decided what he needed to do and how he needed to do it, with a clarity he’d never encountered before…he decided to plan it out…taking   about 10 years to do it.

Execution
The wait being over, With the help of Saizo's surviving team, Samanosuke stormed through the palace in a battle known only as the “Raid “and eventually reached Lord Hideyoshi. Samanosuke eventually disbanded the team, chi fueling his body as tackled the masses of the imperial guards by his lonesome, fighting hundreds of men with his new found abilities and traps that he had taken all ten of his y ears to infiltrate the emperors castle and plant over time in specific areas he himself knew he’d be fighting in.Samanosuke wanted to know why Lord Hideyoshi had betrayed Lord Nobunaga. Hideyoshi explained it was his insatiable hunger for power that had driven him. His words were “My family name was forever banished, by the great Oda Nobunaga…our royal status was squandered because of our nature…who he to judge was. He pillaged and rummaged as much as we did, and we’re to blame. The Tasanangi’s are a name to be feared and respected. Weather my brother clansman feels the same or not, does not matter to me. I rule all, I am everything!”   Fought the emperor with all he had, even managing to wound the man with a permanent scar across his chest, but the Power of Tasanagi rained absolute. His experience and demonic essence of will was too much for Samanosuke and he was defeated, cast out yet again into the void of the world with another wound mentally and emotionally. However it was during this time another man had been planning something with malice in his hears towards the emperor as well. Kiken Tasanagi, spawned an army and with that army he stormed the rest of Hideyoshi’s forces and inevitably killed him in cold blood, apparently for the heart of the emperor’s young wife. What happened after that was a story for another day. With Hideyoshi dead, there was a power vacuum that the strongest fought for. Tokugawa and Mitsunari raised their own armies to decide who would be the next ruler of Japan; but Samanosuke, tired of all the deaths and suffering, decided to intervene.Samanosuke charged into the battle, wearing Lord Nobunaga's armor and carrying the repaired double-bladed sword. The armies were fearful and confused as they saw the crimson armor of Nobunaga. Samanosuke fought through the armies until he confronted and killed Mitsunari during a solar eclipse. Superstitious over the eclipse, Mitsunari's army fled in fear. Samanosuke then charged through Tokugawa's army, but Hattori Hanzo appeared and intercepted him mid-way. Samanosuke immobilized his former master by pinning Hanzo's foot to the ground with a broken sword blade. Approaching Tokugawa, Samanosuke closed the distance seemingly with apparent intent to kill, but was intercepted by Sasuke (who had joined Tokugawa's army). Mortally wounded by Sasuke, Samanosuke staggered and it was revealed that he was only holding Chacha's fan; instead of trying to kill Tokugawa, Samanosuke only planned to get him to promise that there would finally be peace and then leave. Samanosuke tries to make his way back to Chacha, but falls to the ground from his wounds. In his final moments, he admires the fireflies and stars while Chacha cries, never to see Samanosuke again. Samanosuke Ryoji’s legend went down in history, but his friend sasuke did not want his furture generation to be burdened, or harassed for their actions. As such, Sasuke arranged the tale, to become the popular folk tale known as “The Legend of Goemon.”