Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Secret of The Ninja Choose Your Own Adventure 66 PDF
Secret of The Ninja Choose Your Own Adventure 66 PDF
N U-553-P?5E5-8>>e50
KIDS CAN'T STOP READING
THE CHOOSE YOUR
OWN ADVENTURE@ STORIES!
"Choose Your. Own Adventure is the best thing
z.
that has come along since books-themselves. "
E Beyer, age 11
I
-Alysha
tn
[n "l didn't read much before, but now I read my
UJ
I
Choose Your Own Adventure books almost every
ru night. "
{[n --{hris Brogan, age 13
tr "l love the contoll have overwhat happens next. "
Lrr
t^It Efstathiou, age 17
Vil-/-h
v ,/ - .1-. F,
-Kosta
"Choose Your Own Advefiture books are so much
ru-z4l
tnr'
fun to read and collect-l want them all!"
Davln, age 11
E -Brendan
\,l
o
\^
-U
WARNING!!!
Do not read this book straight through from begin-
ning to endl You can have many different adven-
tures as you try to find out what mysterious force is
disturbing your friend Nada's martial arts school.
As you read, you will be able to make choices.
RL 5, lL age 10 and uP Your choices will determine whether you succeed
SECRET OF THE NINJA in solving the mystery.
A Bontom Bcr,k I APril 198-7^ ^^
5 Prinfings throughFebruory 198E
you'llencounter the secret
As you search for clues,
and sometimes magical world of the ninja. You
'g"o,?,*';g'Jgfi,Y,Jffi,Jj'rk:"r:;:tr;!"X;*ts'i\!
- and elsewhere'
may even have to become a ninja yourself. You are
Oiginol conception ol Edward Pockod responsible for your fate because you make the
decisions. After you make a choice, follow the in-
structions to find out what happens next.
o 14131211
r
SPECI.ALNOIE ON
THE NINJA
The ancient art practiced by the ninja is called
ninjufsu-th e way of stealth or invisibility. It grew
out of many sources, including Japanese fighting
arts (bujufsu), Chinese war tactics, Tibetan mys-
tical practices, and Japanese mountain religions.
Mountain clans developed the art and passed it
secretly from one generation to the next. Because
the ninja were commoners, they were not held to
the samurai's rigtd code of behavior, and by subtle
means they could accomplish things a samurai
could not. Ninjufsu is also a martial art that has
always been practiced by both men and women.
Turn to page 2-
2 3
Nada casts a sidelong glance at you as if to say' The sensei looks back and forth between you
and Nada. Then he places his palms on the table
and says, "Nada, you come from a long line of
warriors-though for many centuries they have
practiced their art for peace, not war. I am old now.
You must be the one to confront this danger. "
Nada bows to the sensei.
"So," he says, leaning back from the table,
"what course of action do you suggest?"
There is silence. The rain has stopped. You
speak up: "Maybe we should take a look at the
sword, and then hy to track down the person who
sent it. "
The sensei nods. "A good plan."
"There is another option, " Nada says. She hesi-
tates before continuing, "l said the presence
seemed very old. We could go back in time to find
its origin. "
The sensei glances sharply at Nada. She holds
up her hand to stop him from speaking, and says
to you, "l willexplain later. Let's just say we should
consider it a possibility. "
N\ir4,j
lf you go for the sword, turn to page 78. \MP
It' you go for the the ninja, turn to page 108.
9
The next thing you are aware of is opening your
eyes and finding yourself standing beside Nida in
a rice paddy. Steep wooded hills rise on either side
of you.
"Let's go," Nada says.
"How do we know where to go?"
"We don't," Nada replies. wading to an
embankment.
remain calm."
"What do you mean?" you ask.
"Didn't you hear the thunder today?" Nada in- "How can we know where to go? We must let
sists impatientlY. ourselves wander, and sooner or later we'll find
-tme
"lt is thit in the old days such a storm was what we need. "
"But don't you have a plan?" you insist.
"Y"r,'lshe says, "my plan is to wander aimlessly
until we find something or someone who looks like
they know something. "
Reluctantly you follow Nada up the embank-
ment to a road running along the edge of the val-
ley. Until now Nada has seemed to [now exactly
what to do next. You begin to wonder what you've
gotten yourself into.
Where the paddy stops, the valley narrows. All
is quiet except for the hickling water of a creek.
You're approaching a bend in the road when some
wild geese in a pond take off in startled flight. you
wonder what frightened them. Sudde"nly you
want to dive away from the road.
,,,
Sanchiro brings the sword down. It strikes your You turn to Nada and say, "l guess we showed
neck, and the tip breaks off. He looks at the broken him. "
blade in disbeliei then looks at you and slowly Nada nods. "Let's go back to the dojo."
realizes what has happened. Suddenly he looks
very scared. He drops the sword and flees into the The End
woods.
L2
"My fuaining included kuji," Nada continues.
"lt's a kind of sorcery that calls up certain forces of
the universe. Once you begin to tap into these
forces, the stuff the present moment is composed
of-matter and time-starts to seem very fragile
and also quite changeable. It's like leaining to
open a door you didn't even know existed."
"You would have to understand the principle of
gen," lhe sensei says.
"Gen means illusion," Nada explains. "Think of
the physical world, including our bodies, as a con-
glomeration that can and will be dissolved. There
are ways to slip between the cracks, if you can find
the right vibration of matter and time. I know this is
a very general description, but to go into any more
detail would literally take years. "
"There's only one problem with your plan,
Nada," the sensei says. "lt's too dangerous. You
have not practiced kuji for years, and you know
how risky it is to go into the past. "
"But it's our best hope," Nada protests. "With
your help, I think we could pull it off. "
"At least we could try to find out more about this
kami, if that's what it is, before you risk such a
thing, " the sensei says.
"How?" you ask.
Turn to page 3.
16 L7
You follow a road that climbs slowly toward the "How can we go into the past?" you ask.
mountains. "Well," Nada says, "first I must tell you some-
In the afternoon you reach a mountain village of thing. Do you remember when we first met, one of
thatched houses shrouded in dense evergreen the things that brought us together was our interest
trees. A hush hangs over the village. in moving beyond aggressive forms of bujutsu,
"Everyone's probably working in the fields," martial arts, in favor of aikido? We talked about
Nada whispers. how aikido provided a way to integrate our phys-
Finally you meet up with an old man who directs ical, mental, and spiritual energies, and how it
you to a trail that leads up the mountain to the drew on inner balance to give us not only a means
house of the Mikiaka sisters, who are miko. As you of self-defense, but also a way to live. In your case,
climb you ask Nada what a miko is. it was karate that you left behind. "
"Some miko are priestesses who tend shrines," "And you too," you put in.
she answers. "Others are sorceresses. Some are "That's not entirely true. You see, my family has
even ninja. " for many centuries been a ninja clan. I was trained
The hail ends at a sagging little cottage perched in ninjutsu."
on the mountainside. You knock twice on the It takes a moment for this to sink in. Then you
door. It is opened by a bent woman with iron-gray ask, "Why did you stop?"
hair. "What do you want?" she demands. "One never really stops," Nada replies. "l just
"Pardon, honorable miko, we are hoping you wanted to focus on aikido. But I did put away my
can answer a question for us, " Nada says. tools of ninjutsu.l was afraid of what was happen-
"Don't stand in the doonrray, sister, let them in, " ing-afraid I was on a violent path. It's the old
you hear a voice say from inside. problem: if you invest too much time in learning
Grumbling, the woman at the door moves aside the techniques of death, you tend to want to use
and allows you to enter. A tall, shaight-backed them. Perhaps some day, when I am wiser, I will
woman with pure white hair greets you. "Sit resume my haining."
down, honored guests, and have a cup of tea. My You nod, absorbing this information. You'd
name is Yukio, and this is my sister, Gin' " heard amazing stories about the ninja from your
"We are honored, " Nada says, bowing and in- mother. In addition to bujufsu, ninja were sup-
troducing herself and you. posed to be skilled at stealth, invisibility, and even
You show the women the markings on the magic. You'd always been curious to learn more
sword. "We understand you are miko," you say. about ninjutsu-and now it turns out your best
"Can you tell us where this comes from?" friend is a ninja!
If you tell Noda you want to try o diJt'erent way, lf you keep going after the tengu-bi,
turn to page 100. turn to page 710.
24 25
Pushing aside branches and bushes, you make "There is time for questions later, " he interrupts,
your way through the woods toward the music. pulling you into the circle. "Now is the time to
When you get closer you see firelight playing on dance. Come dance for us. "
the treetops ahead of you. You come to the edge of The music stops and then a new, slower song
a clearing, where you find an astounding scene: a begins. "Dance!" lhe yamabushi cry eagerly.
ring of yomobushi with sparkling eyes are dancing
in the firelight, drinking sake, and feasting on fish
and rice. If you decide to dance, turn to poge 95.
One of lhe yamabushi sees you and motions for
you to join in. You begin to say, " l just want to ask a If you would rather leaue quickly,
question-" turn to page 774.
26 27
"l'm glad you enjoyed yourself with my friends "The markings are an ideogram of some kind.
last night, " lhe tengu says, a sparkle in his eyes. Wherever it came from, it's evil," Gin says.
"We especially enjoyed your dance!" "We think it belongs to a ninja clan or ryu,"
"We were there in the form of. yomabushi," Nada explains.
Nada explains. "lt was an excellent perfor- "lt does resemble the crest of the Miyamotori,"
mance-which is lucky for me, because if you Yukio says. "But I'm afraid we can't help you
hadn't joined in, I would have been stuck here as more than that. I'lltell you what you should do. A
Xenglu's servant for the rest of my life. " wise old yamabushi named Gyoja lives higher up
"A pity too," Xenglu says. "We've been getting on the mountain. I'm sure he could tell you-"
along so well. Nada has told me all about the ninja "No, no, " Gin interrupts. "lf it's ninja you want
you fought with-a man who, ['m sorry to say, to know about, you must seek out the tengu on the
learned his powers from me. " mountain across the ravine. The ninja first learned
"The ninja's name is Sanchiro Miyamotori," their art from tengu."
Nada says. "My family and the Miyamotori were "That's a terrible idea," Yukio objects. "You
enemies for a long time. According to Xenglu, should avoid the tengu. They like to play tricks,
Sanchiro's komi has been harassing our dojo. He and their tricks are not funny. "
put a curse on our family. " "What's a tengu?" you whisper to Nada. "And
"l gave him his sword," Xenglu explains. "Once what's a yamabushi?"
we take away its power, the curse will be lifted. "A yamabushi is a mountain priest," Nada ex-
Here's what you must do. You and Nada will meet plains quickly. " A tengu is a creature that's sup-
up with Sanchiro on a country road. You'll be posed to look like an old man with a long beak and
dressed as farmers. Sanchiro will demand that you wings and know shong magic."
move out of his way. Do not move-let him strike "Tengu are very ornery!" Yukio breaks in.
you." "They set fire to houses, eat babies, and deceive
"lt is time for us to go, " Nada says. She turns to Buddhist monks. I would go to Gyoja. "
Xenglu. "l'm glad we met, but I'm also glad I'm "kngu can be mischievous," Gin admits, "but
leaving. Good-bye. " they know more about ninja than any monk, and
lhey houe been known to help people. "
"Good-bye, " Xenglu says sadly. He flaps his No one in the villages along the way seems to
wings and another whirlwilfl kicks up around you, know anything aboutthe ninja. Then you come to
lifting you and Nada off the mountain and out over a drab. unhappy litfle hillside village. The people
the range. "lt's a tengu-kaze," Nada explains. "A look frightened when you ask about the sword.
tengu wind." "Talk to Hitoshi, " they say.
The tengu-kaze deposits you, now dressed in By afternoon you find Hitoshi, a thin young
farmer's clothes, on the road in the broad valley man with darting eyes. You describe the ninja who
below. "Look out, sfupid farmers!" a voice barks attacked you and Nada and ask Hitoshi if he's seen
from behind. them.
You turn slowly to face Sanchiro Miyamotori, "You have found them, " Hitoshi replies He
who is dressed in ninja armor. "l said get out of the gestures to a valley above the village. "They live in
way!" he bellows. a castle up there. But you could never reach it by
Stillyou don't move. He draws his sword. Sud- yourselves. I can take you-if you pay. "
denly you have a fear that this might be Xenglu's You're about to protest that you have nothing to
last trick-to set you up for Sanchiro. pay with when Nada says, "We'll pay you, but not
until we see the castle for ourselves. "
Hitoshi considers this, then nods. "We must
wait untildark," he says. He takes you and Nada
to a secluded spot hidden by cedar trees. "Stay
here until I come for you at dark. "
After Hitoshi is gone. you turn to Nada and say,
"l don't trust him. Do you?"
"Not very much," she concedes. "But I don't
know what else we can do. "
"He pointed to where the castle is," you say.
"Maybe we could find it ourselves. "
"l doubt it," Nada replies. "l'm sure there are
many trick paths and traps. It's not easy to track
down a ninja. "
It' you decide to grab Nodo ond diue out ot' the If you say you should try to t'ind the castle
way, turn to poge 73. yourselues anyway, turn to page 47.
It' you stand your ground, turn to page 70. lf you decide good idea to wait t'or
it's a
Hitoshi, turn to page 50.
You walk up to the well slowly, watching for
anything unusual. Itseems safe, so, firmly gripping
the stone ledge, you lean over and look down
inside.
You are surprised by what you see-no
ghoulish faces, just a young woman at a dressing
table combing her long black hair. There is some-
thing mesmeizing about the motion of her comb.
She looks up and smiles. Shock grips your heart.
Unable to take your eyes off her, you're drawn into
the well. Your sense of balance is gone. You drop
over the edge and plunge into the cold water.
You corne to the surface gasping for breath and
struggling to stay afloat. Luckily, your ninja climb-
ing tools are at your waist. There's a rope and
bamboo ladder with metal claws along its length.
You find a crevice in the mortar of the well wall,
insert a claw, and begin to climb out.
You are about halfway up when a voice from the
water says, "Wait. don't leave yet. Please rescue
me from this well. "
You look down. Under the water you can see an
old crusty mirror. But you're already tired from
your climb, and you wonder if this is another trick
of the ghost of the well.
"Finding Gyoja is probably safer," you say' You close your eyes and try to relax and let your
"lndeed it is," Yukio agrees. mind drift back into the dream. "l don't know. . . .
"He's just an old monk," Gin remarks' "He I wanted you to admit you'd done some wrong. I
won't be able to help you with ninja." wanted an apology or reparation. "
"Go back down to the village, " Yukio instructs "Some kind of compensation?"
you. "Behind the biggest cedar you'll find.a path' It "Sort of. . . . More like an offering. To make
leads up the mountain to an abandoned monas- peace."
tery. Gyoja occasionallY not "Of course!" Nada savs. "We should have real-
find him you can spend t erY' izeditlong ago. The kami, which was killed by -y
"ln the morning," Yu can ancestor, wants a shrine. "
look for Gyoja higher up on the mountain' " You open your eyes. "A shrine?"
You and Nada-bow and thank the sisters for "l think Nada is right. The solution is to build a
their help. As you leave, Yukio calls out, "Oh, I shrine, " Tatsumo says. "lt is the concept of goryo
forgot totell you-do not go near the well at the shinko. If someone, especially a warrior, dies with
moiastery, for it is haunted. Good luck!" resentment, his spirit will seek revenge. Re-
Nada follows you down to the village, where member, during your trance you told us this komi
you find the path beh belonged to a warrior who vowed revenge as he
the mountain again. T died at the hands of one of Nada's ancestors. Now
and dells to a flat ridge the komi is back to get it. But if we build a shrine,
finally reach the monas his anger will be absorbed. "
brush and its walls are "How strange, " you muse, "to build a shrine to
There is no sign of Gyoja, so you and Nada eat your enemies" "
some rice cakes and prepare to sleep'
"lt may seem strange, " Nada says, "but it hap-
"This place is sPookY, " You saY. pens all the time. "
In the morning, the monastery seems more "Unfortunately, " the sensei adds, "we'll have to
cheerful. Walking around the building while Nada keep you under watch until the shrine is built. "
prepares breakfast, you find an old stone well' It You nod in understanding. But already you feel
doesn't look haunted, you think, and you're curi- thatthe venom of the komiis draining, and you are
ous about what Yukio meant. returning to yourself.
The End
lf gou decide to look into the well,
turn to Page 33.
The End
48
49
water.
The End
arnve.
The End
The End
Turn to page 67
\\\\),'1,'NlN
\\\\lllr I lii
lllllllllttrr
llrlli
n1)))ltr
L
65
You keep yourself from going back to sleep and
struggle to your feet. Your bruises throb. Your
watch says it's eleveno'clock, so you are sure Nada
is asleep, but you think it is important to wake her.
The feeling of anger at Nada doesn't go away-
in fact, it increases. You can't control it. You hurry
down the hall to Nada's room to wake her up
betore it completely takes over.
Nada sits up immediately when you burst into
her room. You rush toward her. "Nada!" you cry
with a mixture of alarm and hate. Your eyes meet
hers for an instant, then with one quick motion she
grabs you and pinches a nerv€ in your neck. You
fall to the floor, unconscious.
When you come to, you are in the training hall,
tied to a column. Nada, the sensei, and Tatsumo
are there. Nada speaks your name tentatively.
"Yes," you say groggily. "What happened?"
"l'm sorry I had to do this," Nada says. "But as
soon as I saw you in my room, I knew you were still
possessed by the kami."
You nod slowly. "Yes, I can see that now. I came
to your room to tell you about a dream. In the
dream, I was a feudal warrior, and so were you. I
was hying to explain something, but you wouldn't
listln. I got mad and drew my sword."
"What were you kying to explain?" the sensei
asks. "Think hard. It could be important. "
"l wanted Nada to do something for me. I felt
that she owed me something. "
"What did I owe you?" Nada prompts. "Tiy to
remember. "
where. "
"Why?" you ask.
"Beiause any minute now the Yakuzi band will
come through here on horseback. "
It' you try to break out ot' the trance, The End
turn to poge 35.
The End
72 73
At breakfast you warm your hands around a "What are you doing?" Nada cries as you pull
bowl of rice porridge while you, Nada, and her out of the way of the sword and roll into the
Sashami wait for the sun to come over the ridge. ditch on the side of the road.
Sashami reminds you of his pledge to help you. Sanchiro sheaths his sword and says, "That's
"Maybe you can help," you say. You show him better. You should respect your superiors. "
the paper with the sword marking on it. "We think Angrily you get to your feet and start after him.
it may belong to a ninja clan. " But when he sees you coming, he simply whirls
Sashami's face drops when he sees the paper. around, puts a cloak over his shoulders, and is
"You know it?" Nada asks. gone.
"l cannot tell you everything," Sashami replies Baffled, you look at Nada. "Cloak of invis-
in a low voice, "for even now it is painfulto recall. I ibility," she explains. "Probably another gift from
will simply say it is the secret crest of the evil Xenglu. Why didn't you follow his inshuctions?"
Miyamotori ninja clan. It is because of the greed "l was afraid it was another trick," you say
and deception of their leadel Sanchiro, that I was sheepishly.
forced to leave my master, my town, and my fam- Nada sighs. "We blew our best chance. We may
ilv." never catch up with Sanchiro now. "
"We too have be'en threatened by them," Nada
says. The End
"lt would be my pleasure to help you against
Sanchiro," Sashami tells you. "l can take you to
the Miyamotori castle. It is two days from here if we
take the Yakuzi's horses. "
You ride for two days through snowy passes,
grassy plains, and feudal towns until finally you
reach a smallvillage. Sashami points toward a nar-
row valley above the village and says, "That's
where the Miyamotori castle is. I know the secret
way up. Follow me carefully. "
Quickly you gather your gear and light out Bef.oreyou reach the casfle, you hear a yellfrom
down the mountain. In no time at allyou and Nada the woods. Cautiously the three of you dismount
are back in the valley, hurrying down the road to and investigate.
confront the ninja. You come upon a clearing in which two ninja are
"l've been thinking, " Nada says. "Yukio told us faced off against each other. Each has a sword.
the ideogram from the sword hilt resembled the They kneel and bow, then slowly approach one
Miyamotori family crest. The Miyamotori are a another.
ninja clan who at one time had a terrible rivalry "That's Sanchiro Miyamotori!" Sashami whis-
with my family. Maybe that's who these ninja are. " pers.
You start to say it sounds likely, when suddenly, "And he's got the sword-the one that's at the
rounding a cornet you find yourself face to face dojo now!" you add.
with the five ninja. The leader smiles briefly, then You grab Sashami's sword from him, ready to
the look of deadness you saw before comes into rush out and help the other ninja. But then you
his eyes. He draws the sword. wonder if it's a good idea. Maybe you should let
"Wait!" Nada holds up her hand. "Answer one the two ninja fight it out themselves.
question: Are you a Miyamotori?"
"l am Sanchiro Miyamotori," he says without
emotion, then advances. Just as he reaches you,
you hold the mirror up to him. He freezes. Horror
fills his face and the sword drops from his hand. t{e
and the others turn and run.
After they've disappeared down the road, you
turn to Nada and say, "l wonder what they saw. "
"l hate to imagine," Nada replies, looking at the
mirror. "lt is said that a mirror can reflect your soul
back to you. Whatever it was, I think we've solved
our mystery and we can go back to the dojo."
"Should we take the sword?" you ask.
"We don't need to," Nada replies. "ln the fu-
ture, the sword is already at my dojo. Besides, it's
never a good idea to tamper too much with the lf you go ahead into the cleanng,
past. " turn to Page 172.
"Let's try to find out where the sword came "Not really," Nada replies, "but these rivalries
from, " you say. die very slowly. We' d better hack down the person
"l'll bring it in," Nada says. "We can take a who sent us the sword and find out where they got
closer look at it. " lt. '
The sword is wrapped in silk. Nada places it on "That may be difficult, " the sensei says. "There
the table, unrolls the silk, and pulls the sword out was littie information enclosed with the sword.
of its scabbard. Its blade is sharper than anything What about doing some research into the history
you've ever seen. But it's the markings on the hilt of the Miyamotori family? You may find something
that draw your attention. that tells you about the ideogram on the hilt. "
"This is an odd symbol," the sensei says. "l "But that would mean asking the Miyamotori
don't know what it stands for. Some kind of secret family to let us look at their archives, " Nada says.
sect, perhaps. " "Luckily I have a good friend who is a sensei at
"lt almost looks like a family crest," you say" their ryu. We could call him to help arrange your
"Yes, " the sensei says. "ln fact, it reminds me a visit, " the sensei says.
little of the Miyamotori family crest. " Nada turns to you and asks, "What do you
"The Miyamotori!" Nada exclaims. "They were think?"
once the sworn enemies of my family. "
"Are they still?" you ask.
The End
(
82
You shake off your premonition and vow not to "We've got to get rid of the sword, " you say io
be so jumpy. A second later flames burst all around Nada. "lt's obviously the source of our houble. "
you. Every way you turn, you see fire. Nada pulls "We can't do that, " Nada objects. "How can we
you out of the road, but already a net has landed track down who sent it?"
over your head. You're happed. Five figures clad "We'llcopy the markings on the hilt. That's all
in black ninja clothes emerge from the woods and we need."
move in on you. "l don't know. . . ." Nada says.
You have no idea why, but you are about to be The stewardess decides for you. She grabs the
the target of a ninja assassination. sword and tosses it overboard. Nada reaches for it
as it sails over the railing, but she can't catch it. The
The End sword sinks into the sea.
Soon the captain of the freighter comes on
again to announce, "The engines seem to be
fixed, folks. We'll have you back on land soon. "
The freighter takes you to Wake Island. Nada
immediately calls the senseito tell him what hap-
pened. The senseitakes the news calmly, remark-
ing only that the air at the dojo seems lighter.
You and Nada return to the dojo. You stay for a
few more days. No lightning storms or other
strange events recur. One day as you and Nada sip
tea with the sensei, he announces, "l think we can
consider our mystery solved. The disturbances
have ceased. The sword obviously brought with it
some sort of angry spirit, and now it and the spirit's
anger are at the bottom of the sea. "
You and Nada agree. You prepare to catch a
train back to Kyoto the next day, glad to have had
the visit with Nada.
The End
The crew of the freighter lowers a lifeboat into
the water, followed by you, Nada, and the viola
case. They include water and a week's supply of
N
space-food sticks, and wish you luck.
,|fl. I
N
Once you've left the ship, its engines apparenfly
recover and it steams away at rapid speed. You wl
find yourselves alone in the middle of the Pacific.
Two days later you are still there. The sword is
quiet, and you haven't seen a single ship or plane. \--;--
=------
"We must be out of the shipping lanes," you say.
Later in the day you spot a pillar of smoke on the
horizon. "Look!" you cry. "Maybe itt a ship."
But as the smoke grows into a black cloud and
fire shoots into the sky, you realize it's no ship. You
watch in awe as the eruption builds. Great col-
umns of flame burst forth.
A cone-shaped piece of land rises from the sea.
Your boat drifts toward the new island. The heat is
intense as you float to the shore. Nada begins to
row away from the hot land.
"Wait!" you say. "Something's on the shore."
Globs of lava rise out of the molten rock, seem-
ing to stand up to greet you. They don't appear to
have mouths, but you hear a deep, raspy voice
say, "We are the gods of the forge and swordmak-
ing. You have a sword that is causing disruption in
our world. You must give it to us. "
Nada is defiant. "Never!"
The End
The End
91
"Just a quick look," Nada says. She pauses while you absorb this revelation.
You take Nada down the hall, pause atthe door, Ninja were supposed to have amazing powers, not
then step inside. The door swings closed behind only in the martial arts, but in techniques of invisi-
you. It is pitch dark in the room, and the air is ble movement and even sorcery.
heavy. "So we may be dealing with a ninja?" you say.
"l can feel it in here-the presence of the komi!" "Possibly, " Nada says. "lt's still hard to tell what
Nada whispers. this is all about. "
You light a match. The broken shards of the urn "Maybe we should go back to the archives,"
are still on the floor, but the corpse is gone! you suggest. "We may find something in our re-
You hear a scraping sound at the other end of search that will help us figure this out before we fall
the vault. You and Nada creep toward it, the match into some kind of hap."
illuminating a tiny space in front of you. Finally, "Yes, " Nada replies, "except that if we're on its
you reach the back wall. You can see nothing else, trail, I'd hate to lose it. "
just three stone walls.
"This is not an ordinary wall," Nada says, her
hands feeling the stone. She directs the match to a
crack in the corner. "lt's a secret doorway." She
pushes it, and part of the wall swivels open.
"How could you tell?" you ask.
Nada stops for a moment. "There's something
I've never told you which I guess you'd better
know now, " she says. "Before I began aikido, I
had another kind of training-ninjutsu. My family
has been a ninja clan for many centuries. So have
the Miyamotori. "
z
The stewardesses move aboutthe cabin quickly,
making preparations and calming the screaming
passengers. The plane plunges. Miraculously, no
one is hurt in the crash landing. Rafts are inflated,
emergency doors are opened, and the occupants
of the plane are evacuated. In the confusion, Nada
grabs the sword.
The End
104
"Why don't we split up?" you suggest. "That
way we have a better chance of finding him, and
he can't attack us both at once. "
"All right, " Nada agrees. "But be careful. Try to
be abtuned to sokki, io the force of the killer. Let's
meet here in hventy minutes if we find no clues. "
You nod, and the tu,o of you split up to look for
the ninja. You climb down the parapet and go
along one of the stone ramparts, moving with ho-
rogei. You follow the rampart to an outer running
wall, from whlch you can survey the tiled roofs and
curved gables of the castle. On the otherside of the
u.,all is a iong, sheer drop into a ravine. jl|ilil
Suddenly you roll to the left, dropping off the
wall and hanging on to the top of it by your hands.
A black-clad figure lands for a second at the spot liiillil
you just left, but his momentum-which he ex-
pected you to break---carries him off the wall and
into the ravine below. As he goes by, you see his
eyes are the white eyes of the corpse.
You pull yourself back up on the wall anci callto
Nada. You tell her what happened" "l don't know
how I knew he was coming," you say. "l didn't 'tllii,,
think about it. I just got out of the way."
"That's sokki, " Nada says. llilii lilltil
"What about the corpse?" you wonder. "How
could it attack me?"
"l think the kami must have possessed the body illlii\l[
of the dead man in order to attack us. But I still
don't know why the ninja wanted to kill us."
"We'd better get cut of here, " you say. "l'll bet
the sensei will have some ideas. "
The End
106 rc7
You by to explain to the lava creatures that you
Nada grabs you at the same moment that you
must keep the sword to find out what force is at-
decide to stay back. "We can't meddle, " she says.
tacking Nada's dojo. Meanwhile, Nada begins to "The other nlnja will cio better without us."
row away from the shore. "l just realizei that." you reply.
"Come back!" the voices cry. "You must give us
The battle beh,rreen the hvo ninja begins. You
the sword. It will only cause more disruption!"
can baiely foilow the quick succession of sword
The voices fade as you pull away from the is-
moves, parries, and jumps before the otlrer ninja
land. You catch a current that takes you out to the
cuts down Sanchiro.
open sea again. But you don't feel as if you're
Sashami leaps out to congratulate the ninja. but
drifting. Something seems to be puiling you, and it
when the ninja sees him, he runs into the wooCs.
is getting stronger. The boat moves faster and
You and Nada creep into the clearing.
faster toward the source of the current. "l-istenl" you say. "Sanchiro's sayir',g some-
Finally you catch a glimpse of what is drawing
thing. "
you-a huge whirlpoolin the sea! You hy to row You hear Sanchiro's dying words: a curse of re-
away from it, but you are firmly in its grip. You feel
venge on the Kurayama family--Nada's familyl
as if you're going over a waterfallas you're sucked
"The other ninja must have been my ancestor, "
over the edge of the gigantic whirlpool. Into the
Nada says. ''We've witnessed the origin of the
maelshom you rush, spinning down, down, down.
korni's vow of revenge. When our dojo got the
You cover your head in a fruitless gesture as the
sword, it must have set the vow into acflon. "
great weight of the water closes over you.
"Can we counteract it?" you ask.
When you open your eyes you and Nada are
"We can try," Nada says. She goes through a
amazed to find yourselves in an underwater palace
series of finger signs similar to the ones ycu saw
festooned with seaweed. Three white-scaled
when she brought you irrio the past with her"
dragon-women are pulling your boat through the
When she is finished, she turns to you and says.
grand phosphorescent corridors of the palace. "Even if my kuji doesn't work, now that we know
You are led to a throne, ',vhere a woman wear-
the oriqin of the curse, I ihink we'li be able to offset
ing a crown with a serpent on it is sitting on a
it with the sensei's help. "
cushion playing the biwa, a stringed inshument.
Meanwhiie. Sashami returns and says sheep-
The woman looks up and greets you, saying, "You
ishly, "l guess I scared away the ninja."
are probably wondering where you are. Do not be "No mattet" you say. "Wiihout your help, we
afraid. I am the Sea Queen, and this is my palace. "
never could have solved our problem."
"Did you bring us down here?" you ask.
You say gocd-bye to Sashami and prepare tc
"Yes," the Sea Queen replies. "l have some-
return to the dojo.
thing important to ask of you."
Turn to page 89. The End
108 109
Leaving the sword for later, you spring for the Deciding it's better to stay away from the
ninja, who appears to be having trouble getting up. haunted well, you return to have breakfast with
But suddenly he turns and flings something in Nada. After you eat, you set off up the mountain to
your face that causes your eyes to burn. At the find Gyoja.
same time, you hear Nada attack the other two. You search all day, but can find no sign of the
The ninja disappears, but a few seconds later you yamabushi. You are about to give up when you
are thrown on your back from behind, and the catch sight of a small shrine hidden in the trees.
sword is put to your abdomen. There you find a tiny, withered oid man with long
"Stopl" the ninja cries to Nada. "l've got your hair and a conch trumpet at his side. He looks
frienci!" startled when you approach him.
You and Nada are tied up and taken back to the "Even here you find me!" he exclaims. "l've
ninja's castle. Because your adversary knows ali been avoiding you all day, trying to do my work.
the methods of escape, there is no chance for you Whatever you want, it must be important. "
and Nada to get away. After a few days in the "lt is," Nada says, bowing. She relates the de-
dungeon, you are brought before the ninja in his tails of the situation atthe dojo, as wellas the attack
chamber. You are made to kneel ai the foot of the by the ninja and his sword.
platform on which he sits. "Yukio thought you might be able to help us, "
"To be frank. " he says, "you surprised us. We Nada concludes.
were lying in wait for someone else. We still can't
figure out where you came from, but it is obvious
you are skilled ninja. Perhaps fate wanted us to
meet. "
"What do you mean?" you ask.
"We want you to join us. It is a great opportunity
for you. I have learned many powers from atengu
in the mountains, and with the sword he gave me I
am invincible. Already, as you can see, we have
accumulated much land and wealth. We willaccu-
mulate more. "
"And if we don't want to join you?" Nada asks.
The ninja shrugs. "Then you will die. "
The End
Turn to page 86.
110
You ignore the kofo music and continue up the
mountain, your eyes fixed on the tengu-bi. The
lights seem to grow brighter and brighter as you
climb through the night.
When you reach the ridge just below the tengu-
bi, the lights suddenly burst into a web of lightning
bolts. They flash madly, covering the sky above
you, illuminating the landscape. Thunder cracks
and booms. A wild, whirling wind whips the trees
into frenzied motion.
You look for some place to take cover, but the
r,vind and lightning seem to peneirate everything.
Then out of the skv swoops the tengu. his eyes
blazing, sparks flying from his wings, claws poised.
You turn and run down the mountain. The tengu
flies after you, swooping in on your head, then
pulling away at the last second, over and over
again. Finally he cries, "l thought you could do
better than this!"
He pulls away, and a wind funnel of sticks and
rocks picks you up off the mountain, carries you
out across the range, across the Sea ofJapan, and
deposits you in a tiny village below the Great Wall
of China.
The End
Lt2 113
"No!" Nada whispers sharply as you rush for- You grab the sword and slip back out the win-
ward with Sashami's sword. She hies to grab you, dow. You climb over the castle wall and return
but misses. This distracts the other ninja, and in a undetected to Nikkya's house.
flash Sanchiro strikes. The ninja falls. You knock on the door. Nikkya answers and
Then Sanchiro turns to face you. You come at motions for you to keep quiet. "l think Nada will
him-and with your first strike, your sword breaks pull through, " she whispers, "but she must sleep.
in two on his. You realize you've made a terrible You can talk to her in the morning. "
mistake. Sanchiro's sword has some kind of mag- Although you're impatient to show Nada the
ical power, and there is nc way you'll be able to sword, you realize the old woman is right. Ex-
defend yourself against it. hausted yourself, you soon fall asleep.
In the morning you find Nada weak but other-
The End wise recovering well. You tell her of your exploits
and show her the sword. But her reaction is not
what you expect.
"l'm very impressed that you were able to get
the sword, " she says, "but I'm not sure how it will
help us. After all, we already have it-in our
time-at the dojo. What we really need to find out
is the source of the disturbance. We still don't
know that. "
"You're right, " you say. "l didn't think of it that
way."
"lVell, Nikkya had some helpful information.
After she fixed up my wound, she told me that the
castle bektngs to Sanchiro Miyamotori. The
Miyamotori were enemies of my farnily for a long
time. That rnay help us figure out what is going on.
All we can do now is return to our time and hope
the sensei can help us put things together. "
The End
tL4 u5
"No thanks," you say to theyamabushi. "l have "This is getting very strange, " you say to Nada.
to rescue my friend. " "l think we'd better tell Mr. Hatama about it. "
Quickly you slip back into the woods and head "l suppose you're right," Nada replies. "lf the
for the road. But you can't seem to find it. You Miyamotori family catches us here with this corpse,
keep searching in the dark, until youreallze you're we'll be in a lot of trouble."
going in circles. Exhausted and bleeding from You and Nada begin to walk out of the court-
fighting through the thicket, you finally collapse in yard to look for Mr. Hatama. A slight sound makes
sleep. you look behind you. You turn just in time to see
You wake up the next morning and decide to the corpse, wearing a horrible demon rnask, bring-
forget about the road and to hike straight up the ing a sword down at your neck.
mountain. All morning you bushwack through the
dense wood. Finally you come to a clearing on top The End
of a ridge.
What you see causes you to draw in your breath
sharply. There is nothing but water allaround you.
You are on top of an island, a lone mountain sitting
in the middle of the blue ocean. You have a feeling
some kind of sorcery brought you here-maybe
the yamobushi taking revenge for your refusal to
join them-but you have no idea how you're
going to get back to civilization.
The End
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JAY LEIBOLD was born in Denver, Colorado.
He has also written Sabotoge, Grand Conyon
Odyssey, Spy t'or George Washin1on, The
Aniimoier Fo,rmula, and Begond the Greot Woll
for the Choose Your Own Adventure series.