Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z (comic series)

***Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z*** is the 3 issue comic book miniseries based on the video-game of the same name. The book details the backstory of murderous ninja, Yaiba Kamikaze.

## Publisher's summary

Issue #1
*Part One of Three*

*Yaiba takes a break from slaughtering zombies in the debut issue to tell the tale of how his often bloody sword became to be known as “Heartless” as he recounts the story to Miss Monday.*

*Based on YAIBA: NINJA GAIDEN Z where players will battle fierce zombies as Yaiba, a cyborg ninja who will do anything to get revenge and stay alive. Cleaved in two, he is brought back to life with cyber-technology. Brandishing his ninja sword and the mecha weapons in his cyber arm, he slaughters zombies with brutal, over-the-top abandon.*

Issue #2
*Part Two*

*After splitting zombies left and right, Yaiba explains to Miss Monday how his sword came to be known as Heartless.*

Issue #3
*Part Three*

*After splitting zombies left and right, Yaiba explains to Miss Monday how his sword came to be known as Heartless.*

## Plot

### Issue #1

* Appearances: Yaiba Kamikaze, Miss Monday, Kamikaze Ninja Clan, Yuki Kamikaze, Yaiba's father, Kamikaze Ninja Clan Elders

As Yaiba kills zombies and complains about Miss Monday not helping him slay the zombies around him. She reminds him that he is alive because of her and suggests to rid of his sword, Heartless. He then begins to tell her the story of his past in how his sword got it's name.

In a flashback, Yaiba's history is revealed; raised in the Kamikaze Ninja Clan, a ninja clan descended from Kitsune lineage specializing in exclusionary ninpo, Yaiba possess a very volatile temper and was constantly teased for his inability to properly perform Ninpo. After his sister, Yuki, teased him once more, he engages her in a brief scuffle in a fit of murderous anger and deals a grievous blow to his sister, killing her.

He brings his sister's body before his father, one of the elders of the village, and pleads him to use their special Ninpo to bring her back to life. He rejects doing so, finding it dishonorable. Yaiba decides to instead perform it himself and heads to grab the sacred scroll.

When he returns, he finds the elders and his father had decapitated Yuki's head, purposely preventing him from resurrecting her as a zombie. Yaiba retaliates by killing his father and the elders before promptly resurrecting them as zombies with the sacred scroll as punishment.

### Issue #2

* Appearances: Yaiba Kamikaze, Miss Monday, Keiko, Kamaitachi Clan, Gorou

Leaving off from the previous issue, Yaiba continues to elaborate his past to Miss Monday and tells her that after leaving his home, he spent most of his killing but began seeking a magic sword. The legend surrounding it claimed that a volcano served as a entrance to hell though Yaiba at the time didn't believe it until he had actually seen the lava river He would then meet a woman.

In a flashback, while in the volcano, Yaiba watches a young woman surrounded by other ninjas. He intervenes and kills the ninjas for the sake of doing so and his attraction to the woman. The woman thanks him and introduces herself as Kieko. She watches him collect memorabilia from the slain ninjas and introduces himself to the woman. When asked about the slain ninja, Keiko informs him they were of the Kamaitachi Clan that guard the Storm Temple. She also tells him about the lava river; it is called the Rivers of Three Crossings and it leads to the Underworld. It serves as a refection of sins committed in one's life.

When asked about what she sees, the manifestion of her sins created by the rivers shows a bridge. Yaiba then comes up with a plan; he hitches a ride on top of the woman for her to cross with him safely able to pass. Keiko ponders if he would be punished by the gods though Yaiba replies that as a ninja with no ninpo, he resorts to dirty tricks. Attributing that to having his tsuba, Yaiba asked how she has her own and she reveals that she is seeking revenge for her brother's death by a "ninja who bears the name of Divine Wind" and doesn't fear the gods, desiring revenge.

Their next challenge is climbing a cliff, in which Yaiba holds up Keiko and does so with ease. Upon reaching the top, they're confronted by a warrior.

### Issue #3

* Appearances:Yaiba Kamikaze, Gorou, Keiko, Miss Monday, Ryu Hayabusa

The warrior introduces himself as Gorou of the Kamaitachi. He then engages in battle and seemingly splits himself into several warriors and strikes Yaiba. In the present day, Miss Monday is confused as to how Yaiba claimed he struck him without his blade touching him. Yaiba reveals that Gorou had utilized a subtle technique. He remarked during their fight, Gorou's clones were illusion and whenever he hits him, he would stitch up the wound with Ninpo to make it difficult to follow where the attack originated from. Miss Monday remarked the cleverness of the plan and asked him how he manage to overcome it, in which Yaiba claimed he learned two skills in his village: mountain climbing and and beating a ninja who tricks him with Ninpo.

In the flashback, he finds Gorou with ease and stabs him, informing him that his sister had always fooled him with Ninpo and illusions and that unlike her, he was half the ninja she was. Amazed at his ability to kill Gorou, Yuki begins to congratulate but Yaiba kisses her the two have sex. After the session, Keiko recognizes one of Yaiba's memorabilia as medallions possessed by her brothers and learns that it was Yaiba who killed her brothers. She draws a knife and attacks him, Yaiba identifying it as a Hayabusa-related knife and she replies that her brothers were ninjas of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan.

He then takes the blade and leaves her ontop of the mountain alone. Miss Monday then asked if she was still stuck uptop it. Yaiba speculates that although he doesn't really know, he would suspect that Ryu Hayabusa would have likely rescued her, being that he wasn't the type of leave his own hanging. Flashbacks also show him at the lava riverbed, in which appears to him as a genuine river instead.

## External links

* Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z Dark Horse Comics official site