Dragon Ninjas

The Dragon Ninjas, also known in plural (龍の忍者/龍の忍び Ryuu no Ninja/Ryuu no Shinobi, Dragon Ninja) is the name given to a bloodline of legendary warriors who are destined to inherit the Dragon Sword and protect Earth from malevolent supernatural forces. Ryu Hayabusa, great leader of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, was called by the title "Dragon Ninja" given the fact it was because of his centuries-old heritage which proceeds his reputation as the world's greatest ninja.

History
In the ancient era of myths and legends, the Evil Deities had returned in the wake of the Dark Dragon's chaos and mixed their essences with the bloodlines of the entire human race, enslaving mankind and creating a new race of Fiends. Most of the ancient humans were awed by the Evil Deities and revered them as gods, but one tribe rose up against their Fiendish masters and sided with the Divine Dragons (also known as the Dragon Gods), against the Dark Dragon and the Evil Deities. Descendents of this rebellious tribe would later be known as the Dragon Lineage.

As the Dragons departed from the mortal realm, they blessed the strongest warrior of the Dragon Lineage with one of their own fangs. This fang, imbued with the souls, essence and spiritual powers of the 12 Dragons lead to the creation of the Dragon Sword, a heavenly weapon that would be responsible for the deaths of evil beings too numerous to count. The warrior's physical strength, vigorous spirit and proficiency of technique allowed him to wield the Dragon Sword's immense divine power, upon receiving it his blood was infused with those of the Dragons, allowing only him and descendants of his bloodline to wield the Dragon Sword. With the Dragon Sword he slew the Dark Dragon, and afterwards began a legacy of warriors who would descend from his lineage known as the Dragon Lineage bloodline, each descendant would carry the Dragon Sword, vowing to carry on the duties of the departed Dragons.

Though the Dragon Lineage had managed to slay the Dark Dragon, the rest of the humans race were still slaves to their Fiendish overlords. Without an enemy to face, the tribes of Fiends had been fighting amongst themselves in a bid for domination, causing great suffering upon the human race caught in the chaos, as the destructive battles turned the earth into a hell. The Fiend Tribes were ultimately united when the most powerful of the Evil Deities known as the Archfiend, forced them all into his horde of minions.[8] The Dragon Lineage battled this horde of Evil Deities, their Fiends and the human tribes under their rule. This conflict extended for tens of thousands of generations.

Greatly outnumbered, the remaining Dragon Lineage warriors began employing guerrilla tactics, striking from the shadows. Eventually the Dragon Lineage survivors, those who were directly descended from the great warrior who slew the Dark Dragon, became the Dragon Ninja. Unlike their future ninja counterpart, the Dragon Ninja mostly fought armies head on and out in the open; employing the occasional stealth, sabotage and assassinations of rulers upon the fiends. Eventually the great conflict ended when the Dragon Ninja sealed away the Archfiends and their spawn to eternal slumber in the underworld.

The humans now free from Fiendish rule began determining their own destinies, as generations of Dragon Ninja safeguarded the world from the shadows, forever vigilant. Possessing supernatural strength, speed, and agility, the Dragon Ninja were feared and revered throughout history.

The Dragon Ninja inhabited the Aokigahara forests of Mt. Fuji, near where their ancestors had sealed away the Archfiend to the underworld millenias ago. There they struck down the malevolent supernatural forces who occasionally haunted the forests. Overtime the Dragon Ninja settled there and aligned themselves with the Hayabusa Spirit, adopting it as their guardian animal they formed the Hayabusa Ninja Clan.[11]

Time passed and in the late 16th century came the arrival of famed samurai lord Oda Nobunaga, who as powerful as he was feared the demonic creatures that dwelled in the Aokigahara forests. Lord Nobunaga, who had earlier decimated the Ninja of Iga province, now sought to ally himself with the Hayabusa Ninja Clan lead by the Dragon Ninja Shunden. After their meeting Nobunaga shook hands with Shunden and ordered the construction for the Castle of the Dragon. The Dragon Ninja now had a fortified base of operations, from which they could continue their struggle against malevolent supernatural beings where ever they may surface.

Known Dragon Ninjas

 * Shundun Hayabusa: Leader of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan during the 16th century. He is known for the construction of the Castle of the Dragon.
 * Black Robed Master: A mysterious figure who appeared in Russia during the early 20th century, when a monarch called the King of Darkness had risen to power through a series of royal murders. The King worshiped a statue he referred to as Vazdah and had beside him a giant with a purple veil over its face. During his reign, Fiends appeared and devoured all the citizens of Russia to the King's elation. It was then that a warrior referred to by the Russian people as the Black Robed Master appeared, slaying the fiends, then assassinating the King and his giant companion.
 * Jô Hayabusa: The current leader of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, though he had many battles in his lifetime, he is known for ending the millennia old conflict between the Dragon Ninjas and the Vampires, by finishing off the Vampire Lord Crimson with aid from his son.
 * Ryu Hayabusa: The son of Jô Hayabusa, Ryu is currently the last Dragon Ninja descendant at the end of the Dragon Lineage Bloodline, the Dragon Sword was recently passed onto him from his father.

Trivia

 * As stated in the Dragon Sword's description in Ninja Gaiden II, only a Dragon Ninja is able to wield the Dragon Sword without being destroyed by its divine power.
 * Although not a Dragon Ninja, the Goddess was able to wield the Dragon Sword because she had Ryu Hayabusa's DNA genetically engineered into her by the Lords of Alchemy, giving her abilities of the Dragon Ninja.