Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou

Synopsis

At Suruga Castle, Iemitsu's brother and rival, Tadanaga leaves for Edo to visit his dying mother. Meanwhile at remote Jison'in Village on Takano Mountain in the land of Kii, young Iga and Kouga ninja children, Rui, Shikibu Kora, Hachirou, Hachisu, Utsutsu, Saizou Ishi and Namenba play a deadly game of ninpou. When Utsutsu interferes in master Kazuma Kusanagi's practice, he strings her up in a tree, but Hachirou releases her. Gei'in and the other masters, Tenshin and Kasou arrive and Gei'in berates Kazuma for his single mindedness in training saying that they must protect the bloodlines of Kouga and Iga ninja clans carried by Hachirou Kouga and Hibiki Iga. On the way to Edo, Tadanaga and his men are stopped by the raging Ooi River at Tootoumi. While trying to find a way to cross they are confronted by mysterious man who easily slaughters the lord's men when challenged. Tadanaga tries to kill him without success as he is a ninja with the ability to dodge swords using the Ukigumo Floating Cloud technique. The stranger confirms that the lord is the Dainagon of Suruga, however before he can kill the lord, five Kouga clan ninjas arrive to protect him.

(Source: Wikipedia)