Description: Special Tactical Inventory: Ninkou. A internal log of Ryouhara Ninkoujutsu creations. (Recently Updated: Hikumoiki, -Ban-kun Series-)
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SPECIAL TACTICAL INVENTORY
NINKOUGAKUJUTSU LOG
PLANNING TYPE FILE 46 CHAPTER A
TOP SECRET, MAX ENCRYPTION
BY: SEISHIROU RYOUHARA
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EXCERPTS:
Bakuretsu Kunai
~ Basic Ninkou
Early on in the Southtown mission, a problem of basic weapons use arose that disposable weapons could be turned against the user by opponents. One of the earliest psuedo-ninkou used by the clan and Seishirou himself were these small throwing knives, indistinguishable from the standard design. Effectively a steel shell formed around a gunpowder core with a burnaway wax cap concealed underneath the wrappings, these were easy to create, cheap and disposable.
The primary use of these kunai involves the use of the Ryouhara trigger ninjutsu Tenka Enkaku to burn through the wax cap, which travels through and sets off the gunpowder core of the weapon, effectively making the thrown knife a shrapnel bomb. Though a delicate process to achieve in free flight, this prevents the weapon from being used by other fighters.
Later improvements were made to the basic design, partially from unsealed Ryouhara scrolls and others from Seishirou's own innovations. The first was the addition of a chi-infusion blasting cap to trigger the gunpowder explosion at less risk of accidental detonation. Other improvements include guidance chi matrixes and high-penetration shaped charges. Kunai can be created in any number of configurations, and several offshoots were made of this design, such as the giant version and the cluster burst series.
Ban-kun Series
~ Replicant Ninkou
Initially considered a testing dummy ninkou with marginal evasive abilities, the Ban-kun (a nickname for bamboo kun) series is a pet project of Seishirou's in advancement of multiplex matrix engineering. Employing several different matrixes, the Ban-kun series are effectively chi-operated automata.
The base attributes of these ninkou is that they generally employ a great number of chi matrixes to operate. While other ninkou are operated remotely, these ninkou are generally self-driven, operating within the parameters of their command matrix. Necessarily, Ban-kun are very simplistic in intellect, imbued with a basic principle of ninkou engineering concerning matrix attraction/repulsion advanced to its logical extreme. As a result, they are attracted towards large sources of chi or a pre-set chi signature, based on their build. An individual Ban-kun is very sensitive, responding with different control matrixes to shifts in that chi field. This is effectively a more complex version of the Ryouhara Bakuretsu Kunai's homing variants.
It's worth noting that because of the numerous matrixes required for a Ban-kun to operate logically, the energy requirement is prohibitive, to the point where only one can be run at a time, in the case of a brief fight with Yuu the Puppeteer, or a massive energy field is required, such as in the case of their first deployment.
Of course, the BETA form of these ninkou were employed in great number during the Jinchuu tournament because of the Ban-kun workshop aboard. Intended to be a rudimentary security tactic, some were engineered in the image of a stowaway who had snuck on board, and the most advanced of the prototypes were deployed as an active test. That same stowaway also found the Ban-kun workshop and inadvertantly triggered them. Most of this group of Ban-kun went down with the ship when the Suiryuu sank, gathered around the ship's inner core, where the last fight between Arika and Tiffany took place.
Byakuren Hagoromo
~ The Cloud-Path Ninkou
Though it is little known, the white haori Seishirou wears is actually a ninkou. Made of pure silk and satin weaves, the interior lining of the haori has been inscribed with reinforcement ninjutsu. Put simply, the purpose of the Byakuren Hagoromo is to be reactive to chi. When the user passes chi through the garment, they can solidify it in any method that they choose.
The primary function of Byakuren Hagoromo is air shaping. In a freefall situation the haori ninkou can catch the wind much like a kite or parachute, slow the user's fall or give his transit direction. With that, and careful control of thermal pockets with heat chi, this can incidentally increase the length of time the user can remain aloft as much as four times.
This replaces a similar primitive "fire veil" that used to be wrapped under Seishirou's jacket and later on, his sash. Simply by being an extension of the user's aura, the Byakuren Hagoromo is fireproof.
Fudoukaze Hagoromo
~ The Orbital Ninkou
A new type targetting ninkou made of a silk cloth. First emergency deployed as an experimental ninkou against the aggressor Kula Diamond, the principles of this ninkou were found to be sound. This ninkou's matrix is a binding attractor matrix similar to that used in the design of the Ryuuouin technique and the Suiryuu. It's worth noting that it has no purpose other than to serve as an attractor of latent chi in the aid of Seishirou's calculation ninjutsu.
It is called the orbital ninkou because it is not used in a first person context; it is released, where its light material nature allows it to be controlled thermally, such as inside the field of Shinrou Kiritsu. Once this ninkou is put into the proper location, it will then begin to gather chi. Unfortunately, this process nearly always destroys the Hagoromo as a side effect of that built up heat. From that point onward, the matrix left behind is a rooted construct in the air and can then be used as a subordinated weapon.
Side note: It takes over four days to create and inscribe a new Hagoromo.
Hikumoiki
~ The Gaseous Ninkou
Created and made of heavy use by eighth patriarch Hiretsu Ryouhara in his youth, Hikumoiki is actually not a physical ninkou at all, but a kind of formula. While most fighters are able to withstand a high degree of traditional toxins, Hikumoiki is contained inside a tank that compresses a large amount of gas in a small area and infuses it with a free floating matrix.
Chemically speaking, Hikumoiki is based in majority on an engineered lotus grown only in the first Ryouhara complex in Nagano. That flower can be distilled into its base oil, a mild nerve agent. With this as the base, Hikumoiki operates on three levels. Paralysis, derived from the lotus oil, anaesthesia, and the diffused matrix, to which Hikumoiki derives its ninkou status.
Owing to Hiretsu's ability as an engineer, this matrix bends one of the laws of ninkou that a matrix cannot exist without a form to imprint upon. In this case, the gas itself serves as the form. The matrix of Hikumoiki binds to the aura of a target and weakens it. The drain generated by this serves as a distraction effect which allows the potent anaesthetics and lotus oil to work. This can also have tactical application if other ninkou are employed in combination.
This ninkou due to its nature is difficult to create and is relatively short-lived; the matrix only lasts in suspension for about three hours, and only seconds when the gas is released in aerosol form. Additionally, while Hiretsu had better luck with this ninkou using it personally, stronger targets would need to be relatively weakened already before Hikumoiki can work. Even so, when applied during the right circumstances it is relatively effective. Case in point, this was first prepared and used by Seishirou to incapacitate ex-NESTS assassin K' at a hospital when he was significantly injured. Subsequent applications would not be expected to perform quite as well.
Kasai Kusari
~ Encircling Ninkou
While several minor ninkou were made of wire capable of binding fighters for longer than a second or two were created by Seishirou early on in his youth, in many cases, only the strength of steel can truly determine the outcome of a match. An old Ryouhara ninkou design, the Kasai Kusari is a length of hollowed chain usually hidden in the sleeve wrapped around a suspended winder drum.
The length is hollow, making the chain a little lighter to carry, but this necessitates inscriptions written around the circumference of every link. Overall, Kasai Kusari forms a linking chi matrix that follows all the way back to the hand. This can be used to increase its tensile strength for the purposes of entrapping an opponent or, more often, simply setting the entire length of chain on fire, enabling more conventional damage.
Variants of Kasai Kusari have been made from wood beads, a lighter chain with explosive elements inside, for precision cutting with explosives, and versions made of nylon wire to wrap and heat-bond elements together.
Rengehou
~ 'Bang' Ninkou
One of the first and oldest items to be officially considered as ninkou in the clan history, the Rengehou is a shoulder-slung cannon ninkou wielded by Ryouhara Shiro. Unlike most other cannon ninkou of the period (and in practice ever since,) Rengehou was a kind of energy cannon which compressed the wielder's chi directly into a ball and firing it as far as a kilometer.
The Rengehou's long range is attributable to the high compression rates it was capable of achieving. Due to that same compression, it was also remarkably destructive. It was one of several ninkou used in lieu of Bakuretsu Kunai by Shiro. One of the major drawbacks of Rengehou that led to the later development of more sophisticated weaponry is its large chi requirement. Firing the Rengehou even once is exhausting for a trained ninja--Shiro's limit was only limited to two times per day.
This ninkou briefly became important to the Ryouhara over the Bakumatsu period, but has since been lost to history.
Saikoutou no Ashura
~ Second Treasure of the Ryouhara
A massive sword almost as long as a house is tall. One of the ninkou treasures of the Ryouhara clan, the Supreme Sword of the Asura is always wielded by the current head of the Ryouhara clan, much like the Third Treasure is always a gift to the closest allies of the Ryouhara. The ability to summon the weapon was historically considered to legitimize the Ryouhara kachou as head engineer of the clan. This weapon was used once by Seishirou against the God of Muay Thai, Sagat, to hilariously disappointing effect.
Contrary to the one use of the weapon by Seishirou, this ninkou is not actually intended for direct attack due to its great size. It is more a kind of siege base for use in reconnaissance and prolonged tactical conflicts. When it drops from height to the ground, the shockwave alone is enough to knock opponents off their feet. From that point, the array of weapons and jutsu sealed in the weapon's hilt will provide valuable cover and a tactical advantage for its controller. This array can include rockets, flames, gas, smoke, and smaller conventional blades. The weapon is largely moved either by team or some form of conveyance within a certain radius of operation of the person wielding the key ninkou to the weapon, which is a large summoning scroll. When the scroll is unsealed, Saikoutou no Ashura can move itself to the vicinity of the scroll via air locomotion and attunement.
The Eighth Kachou Ryouhara Hiretsu, using a small branch of ninkoujutsu referred to as 'higher kinetics' was notable for being able to control the blade directly when necessary by riding it. With it, he could slay elephants with the ninkou.
Senchakiri
~ The Edge Ninkou
A principal ninkou of the Ryouhara-type Ninjutsu used by Seishirou, Senchakiri is a ninkou tool made for fine cutting work. This ninkou was initially (and only once) fully employed against K9999 at Delphi to remove his arm from his body cleanly. Senchakiri uses the 'principle of ninkou-created-ninkou' to develop an edge that is almost monomolecular in fineness. It takes the form of a sword with a trapezoid-form blade, but requires bracing plates to keep the blade stable.
Created it is a prototype of the limit of form engineering in ninkou, it was initially designed, amongst other functions, to address the practical problem of 'beyond human' bone structure in high level fighters. While most fighters can be effectively cut by a blade wielded by someone of comparible skill, generally normal steel blades are not capable of cutting through the denser bone structure of intermediate and higher fighters no matter what the strength of the wielder. Senchakiri employs chi forging techniques that allow it to bypass this physical limit. It is notable for not being dependent on its chi matrix to achieve its primary function--though Senchakiri is capable of being infused with chi, its matrix exists primarily to add structural stability to the very thin blade, attune it to Seishirou's chi, and to typify the blade against other future ninkou.
Senchakiri is one of the sharpest tools that can be forged by human hands, however it should be noted that as a design Senchakiri is ultimately flawed. Because of its extreme sharpness, it is a very fragile blade and dulls easily. It must be cared for because of its very nature--it will cut through most conventional sheathes. In light of that it must be suspended by the hilt or spine, or kept in a special leather sheathe with suspension oils. These flaws lead it to be classified as more of a tool than a weapon and is generally only used at the tip in actual battle. This is not to undersell the weapon's ability; in most cases, what would been a minor nick from a normal blade are huge gashes and rents from Senchakiri.
Unagiyari
~ The Thunderhead Ninkou
A spear ninkou used in the Mori Gyouretsu Tourougata ninkoujutsu and first deployed in the Seventh Circle brawl against K'. This ninkou uses the strength of subterfuge to attack an opponent. It is composed of 12 seperate thin sections nested inside one another and can be hidden anywhere. When chi is applied to the tool's matrix, the yari can expand to a full 13 feet in length. The weapon is normally very fragile in its undeployed state, but ninkoujutsu reinforcement allows the deployed Unagiyari to have attacking capabilities comensurate to, if not surpassing that of a natural spear, having enough strength to lift a grown man off the ground without breaking.
This weapon is known as the thunderhead ninkou because it can transmit chi through itself. Though primarily a side effect of the ninkou's operation, a chi pulse can trigger or activate other ninkou, such as Ga Senbon. Tactically, this weapon is best deployed within mid-range, though it has close range applications as well. This ninkou's weakness is its chi matrix--without the reinforcement, a toddler could snap it in half.
Log created on 01:47:42 07/27/2007 by Seishirou, and last modified on 04:33:17 09/30/2008.