One day as she was bagging groceries, thugs ran into her shop and began demanding all the money from the registers. Chiyo’s father would not budge and was beaten by the thieves for his refusal to hand over the cash. Chiyo’s mother begged her husband to just give them money, but still he refused. One of the goons placed his gun to the forehead of Chiyo’s father and began counting to three. Chiyo and her mother were terrified, but before the thug finished counting, a throwing star zipped past everyone and was lodged in the hand of the goon. He dropped the gun and grabbed his palm while screaming, as the rest of the thugs looked around to see where it had come from. They saw no one, though. More stars came flying in, hitting the goons all over their bodies. They yelled in pain as they fled from their unknown assailant, only to be arrested soon after.

Later, Chiyo sat and stared at a throwing star that had missed the thugs and gotten stuck in a wall. She pulled it out and held it in her hands while the police questioned her parents. She was enamored with the weapon. The steel was incredibly strong. The edges were extremely sharp, and the craftsmanship was second to none. More than the magnificent weapon, though, the person who used them to save Chiyo and her family was really what intrigued her. Everyone had heard of the Iga Clan, but per the ninja code, nobody ever saw them or knew their identities. At any time they could be present, dressed in regular street clothes right in front of you and one would never know. Chiyo became obsessed with the mystery, along with the bravery and skill, surrounding the Iga Clan on that day.

Over the next few months, Chiyo began investigating the Iga. She was asking people around town if they knew anything about them. Many people had similar stories to hers about being saved by them. A few shared tales of the opposite nature, though, with the ninja allegedly killing someone they knew, who held a certain position of power or stature. Chiyo was not deterred by the latter. She wanted to find the Iga regardless, so she persisted in her quest. She even documented her story and search on her blog site. Her posts had a pretty big following with regular, engaging readers. A buzz began forming around her search. It was only a matter of time before an Iga Clan member found her.

One night, as Chiyo was taking out the trash behind her parents’ store, a ninja emerged from the shadows. Chiyo was startled half to death. She was scared as well, but also excited. The ninja asked why the girl was searching for her clan. Chiyo replied she wanted to thank them for helping her family. The two stared at one another while the ninja was assessing if the girl was telling the truth, and Chiyo was sensing if she could tell who the ninja was behind the mask.Something in Chiyo’s spirit told her the ninja before her was the one who saved her family.

Chiyo pulled out the throwing star and told the Iga member that she carried it with her at all times, since the day of the attempted robbery. She motioned to return the weapon, but the ninja told her to keep it. Chiyo then said she wanted to join. The ninja informed the girl the Iga Clan is not the Girl Scouts; she could not just sign up. Chiyo replied she felt obligated to repay them for saving her family. The ninja – despite knowing Chiyo understood the concepts of family, obligation and honor – replied they were not in the business of taking kids from their families. However, Chiyo insisted. She was obsessed and said she had to be with the Iga. She told the ninja she felt it was her destiny. The clan member said if she were to join, Chiyo would have to leave right then and there and could never return to her old life; if they discovered she was communicating with her parents, family or friends, they and her would be eliminated. Desperately not wanting to be stuck in the grocery store her whole life, Chiyo agreed, and the two left for Danzo‘s Temple.

Years later, after intensive training and completing her scholastic education under the tutelage of the Iga Clan, Chiyo graduated from being an apprentice and joined the team of the ninja who saved her family’s store and helped change her life. That ninja was respected Iga Clan team leader Nana. Realizing Chiyo showed much more potential than her peers, Nana decided to enroll her protégé in the upcoming season of the Underground League of Fighters, run by Tylda Durden. Chiyo was ecstatic when she heard the news and could not wait to honor her leader by competing.

Chiyo breezed through the first few matches in the rookie division of the hyper-being league. Her ninja skills and increased physical abilities through training her chi made her a chip off the old block, as Nana was a former lightweight hyper-being champion from a number of seasons back. The two became much closer through the ULF experience, too. Nana had never placed any of her other team members in the League, but Chiyo was special. The young ninja took to competing like a fish to water. Naturally, this meant she continued to dominate her competition. Then, one night after Chiyo finished an impressive performance against a man named Cross who has the power of shooting energy blasts from his hands like a crossbow, Chiyo and Nana were approached by Lt. Rashard Bonds, Musashi and Yoshi.

The two Iga were immediately disturbed by Musashi’s presence, especially Nana. Before her stood the killer of her fallen Iga brother Fuji. Yoshi was also very upset at the sight of the ninja. Her clan had murdered her best friend and brother from the orphanage, Ryu. The tension was thick, so Musashi immediately explained they came in peace. Yoshi commented he shouldn’t be so cordial to dishonorable scum like the Iga. The samurai replied the fact they killed Ryu had not escaped him, but that was in the past.

Nana retorted to Musashi the past may indeed be in the past, but the loss of Fuji at his hands will never be forgotten. She said the only reason he was still alive was because Danzo allowed it, but if the day ever came when Danzo stepped down or passed, the Iga would hunt him down and murder him like a dog in the streets. Yoshi stepped into Nana’s face as soon as she heard what was said. Chiyo then began drawing her sword. Finally, Lou stepped in and defused the situation.

Using his great size, the super soldier parted the samurai and ninjas. Next, he grabbed Nana’s attention by telling her everything in regards to a dark prophecy that had been passed down by the powerful Zhibdean monk, Hosho, and how the devious businessman Edgar Lockhart could possibly be at the center of the impending doom. Finally, he told her that he was building an elite team to confront and stop Edgar and his cohorts.

Nana was not surprised to hear Edgar was corrupt, as the Iga had been investigating him for some time, after finding out he was working with the Iga Clan arch rival, the Matsuzaki Yakuza family. However, the fact a US soldier learned about the ancient Zhibdean monks from Captain Noble, an American superhero, who had somehow survived the legendary Trials of Harmony, did shock Nana. Furthermore, receiving an actual prophecy from Hosho was even more incredible. Lou politely requested Nana take them to see Danzo, as they were seeking his wisdom and help in stopping whatever the prophecy foretold. Nana realized the threat before them was much grander than the grudge between the samurai and the Iga Clan. Thus, she agreed to take them to Danzo.

‍