It was five against one. A group of guys had Ryu cornered and were mocking him relentlessly. He begged for mercy and tried to run away, but they physically restrained him and laid into him with slaps and punches. Yori instantly hopped into the fight, wielding a pair of nunchaku she fashioned from two pipes, some industrial wire and basic welding skills. The boys initially laughed at her as she was just a lanky 4’6” 9-year-old, and they were all much bigger 15-year-olds. Nevertheless, Yori took the bullies to task.

She masterfully whipped the nunchaku around with lightning speed, hitting them in all parts of their bodies. The boys tried to punch and kick her, but she deflected their hands and feet with her weapon and immediately followed up with counters. Her movements were fluid, like water. It was not long before the bullies were laid out on the ground, bruised and battered.

The boys quickly fled, and Yori helped Ryu up. He began stuttering while attempting to say her whole name to thank her, and ended up calling her “Yoshi,” only able to pronounce the beginning parts of her first and last name. She immediately took to it, though, and told Ryu she loved her nickname. It also became the only word Ryu was able to say without a stutter. That was the start of their close bond, and from that day forth, no one messed with the stuttering boy again, now that he had Yoshi as a best friend.

That wasn’t the only thing that changed for her that day. The fight with the older boys was actually witnessed by the wealthy businessman Miyamoto Ando, who also secretly worked as the samurai superhero Musashi. He was visiting to see how his millions in contributions were being spent. He also just happened to witness everything that went down between Yori and the older boys. He was left in awe at the raw talent Yori possessed.

He inquired about her, and the directors were ashamed that their benefactor had witnessed the violence in the orphanage. They began apologizing and saying Yori was a problem child that nobody wanted to adopt. Musashi disagreed and said she was not a problem but gifted, and that it was untrue nobody wanted to adopt her because he wished to do so immediately. The directors were stunned and left speechless, but hustled to meet his request.

A few hours later, after lots of paperwork and some favors were called in, Musashi was the legal guardian of Yoshi. He went to her room to inform her of the news and he found her hanging out with Ryu. When he told Yoshi, she snapped back saying she did not want to live with a stuffy businessman who knew nothing about her. The multi-billionaire sat down and sternly looked at Yoshi. The samurai was present, and she knew immediately to fall in line. Musashi explained how the two of them had a lot more in common than she could imagine; they were fighters and he saw greatness in her. Yoshi never believed anyone before that moment. She instantly was drawn to him. Then, he stood and picked up the nunchaku, expertly wielding them in a way Yoshi never thought they could be used, proving he was not lying about them being kindred spirits. The girl was amazed, but still hesitant to go.

Yoshi looked at Ryu with uncertain eyes. He was smiling from ear to ear, ecstatic that his best friend not only had a person who wanted to adopt her, but it was someone whom she could relate to, who was also insanely wealthy. Ryu gave her a long, tight hug and then ushered her towards Musashi. Yoshi began to cry. She did not want to leave Ryu, even though she desperately wanted to go with Musashi. Ryu nudged her again, but again she hesitated, as the bullies were watching and pointing at Ryu, ready to pounce at the first opportunity. The boy saw them as well, but he shook his head, expressing to her that it was okay. He stuttered and told her to go. So, Yoshi took Musashi’s hand and they began walking out as she wept heavily.

When they reached the door, the bullies got up and started walking over to Ryu. Yoshi witnessed this and tried to run to her friend to protect him, but Musashi pulled her back. Yoshi looked at him angrily, but before she could say anything, the samurai yelled Ryu’s name. Everyone in the room froze, including the bullies. Then, Musashi asked the boy if he were going to come with or not, as he had adopted him as well. Ryu’s face lit up bright, as the Sun, as did Yoshi’s. The boy then stuck his tongue out at the bullies and ran to Musashi’s side. He hugged Yoshi once more, and the three of them walked out to begin their life together.

For the next number of years, Musashi trained Yoshi and Ryu extensively in the way of the samurai. He revealed to them he was a superhero, and he could help them reach greatness, as his father did for him. Thereafter, the kids were molded into masters in the fighting styles of aikido, judo, karate, boxing and jiu jitsu. He also homeschooled them with the best professors for hire, progressing them through high school and college curriculum in just a few years. Ryu also received speech therapy, eliminating his stutter completely. In addition, Musashi began showing them how to channel their chi to increase their physical abilities and senses. By the time the two were both 18, Ryu and Yoshi were intelligent, deadly warriors. However, shortly after, tragedy struck.

After a battle in which Musashi killed a member of the Iga Ninja Clan member Fuji, he was forced to flee the scene as he was overwhelmed by ninja reinforcements. As he retreated, some of the Iga Clan followed him. When he reached a rendezvous point, he was met by Yoshi and Ryu, as they were waiting for him to return. The two jumped into battle to help their master, and the three battled against a dozen seasoned ninja.

The fight was strenuous, as the young warriors were not on the level of the Iga warriors, and Musashi was still injured. They battled valiantly, though, eventually killing their attackers. Yoshi was bruised and sliced, alongside a bleeding Musashi. He asked if she was alright, and she replied yes. Tragically, when Musashi asked Ryu if he was ok, there was no response. He was dead. Yoshi was crushed and began crying uncontrollably. Musashi felt terrible as well. His protégé, who was like a son to him, was gone. The two took Ryu’s body back to Musashi’s home and placed him in the family mausoleum to begin the mourning process.

A while later, Musashi received a call from the CEO of the company he owned, Toki Mizushima, who told him that a super soldier by the name of Lt. Rashard Bonds was looking for him. She filled the samurai in on the details, and Musashi went to pick him up from Ando Associates headquarters. When they arrived, Lou hopped into a custom built Maybach and saw that a woman was driving. It was Yoshi. Musashi introduced himself and his protégé, and they began riding around New Japan.

Lou informed Musashi that the mighty Captain Noble was missing, but they had secured the Captain’s digital journal recounting his adventures and missions from the past year, most important of which was an ominous prophecy from the powerful Tibetan monk, Hosho. Furthermore, the journal, as well as a number of recent events had suggested that the ruthless businessman, Edgar Lockhart was an integral component to the fruition of the prophecy. The samurai was acquainted with the Captain, having fought by his side during the zombie outbreak brought on by Sarcophagus, and he was no stranger to Edgar Lockhart either. Lou then told him that Captain Noble had wanted to form a team to protect the world against the impending events, and Musashi would be a perfect addition. Miyamoto saw an opportunity to eliminate his business rival, as well as help protect the world. Therefore, he did not hesitate to join Lou’s group.

Next, he asked who else had been recruited. Lou said Black Jag from the Platinum City Knights was on board, but that was it. Then he mentioned how he planned on visiting the Iga Clan next, as they were also acquainted with Captain Noble through a ninja master named Interface, who also happened to be the greatest hacker in the world. Musashi paused for a moment, and made eye contact with Yoshi in the rear view mirror. She still harbored great animosity for the Iga after they killed Ryu. However, a truce had been called, and Musashi did witness first hand the power of their leader, Danzo, as well as Interface. It would be foolish to not seek their help if Hosho’s prophecy was indeed true.

Musashi also knew Edgar would not go quietly, as he would employ his extensive network of goons and assassins if he needed to. So, against the approval of Yoshi, Musashi instructed her to drive them to an underground fighting arena. Lou inquired why there, and Musashi answered that with the rocky truce between him and the Iga, they could not just walk into Danzo’s Temple. Therefore, they needed an escort, and he knew some Iga Clan members frequented the underground fighting circuit. They needed to find a member, and convince them to take them to Danzo. Lou understood, and with that, Yoshi turned the car around and drove them to the fights.

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