[Koopaking]

It was cold that night in Sapporo. I crept up around the hill and to the edge of the forest. I once again checked the scroll I was carrying. This was the place all right...

The Sapporo Palace was heavily protected. Guards stationed at every entrance. Walls that were upwards of 5 meters tall. And just to top it off, I could spy archers hidden just at the top of the wall. This was not going to be easy for me. But I had gotten in better guarded places before. I looked up at the spire in the central of the complex. This is where my target's room was. I thought out a course of action. I could not afford to fail this mission. I had to assassinate the Daimyo at all costs.

I took off down the hill, jumping from cover to cover. I finally stopped behind a pillar about 10 meters from the east gate. Should I distract the guards and slip in or take them out from here? I didn't need to leave any evidence. I took out a flash bomb and my sling, and shot the bomb towards the far side of the guards, by the woods. It impacted with a bright flash and loud crack. The guards took quick notice and drew their weapons and went to investigate, leaving the gate unguarded. But I was not naive enough to walk right in. I raced to the fortress and scrambled up the sheer wall to the top of the battlement. I quickly hid around the back of the stone, where I spotted an archer with his back turned to me. I crept up and grabbed his head and placed my hand over his mouth before he yelled. I twisted his neck, and there was a satisfying crunch sound as his neck shattered and the archer slumped to the ground. I hid his body in a nearby barrel and scaled down the opposite side of the wall.

I was now inside the fortress walls. I had to be extremely careful not to be caught, for that would end my mission. I could not take on all of the soldiers in here. It was virtually a Samurai city within these walls. Should the time come where I was captured, I would take my own life rather than succumb to the enemy.

I creeped along the walls of the buildings, staying within the shadows. I finally came upon the entrance to the palace, but it was intensely guarded. Using distraction here would not be a good idea. I climbed up onto a building and checked to make sure no one was watching. I jumped across the gap and landed on the lowest palace roof silently. I ran across the top of the pagoda over to the wall of the palace spire. I took out my grappling hook and climbed up to the top.

I was not at the highest point of the complex, and had arrived here without detection. I came upon the window at the top of the spire and I clambered my way inside. The room I landed in seemed to be an armory of some sort. I crept down the stairs and reached the corridor. I looked for the Daimyo's quarters, and I spotted a door guarded by two enormous Samurai, which had to be the place. I took an alternate route and came upon the room adjacent to the Daimyo's. I listened for someone, but didn't hear a sound, so I slipped inside of the room. I could tell from the gaudy decoration that this room must belong to one of the Daimyo's misstresses. I went to the back of the room and found a window. I jumped out and spotted the window leading into the Daimyo's chamber. So I climbed over and slipped inside of it.

As was expected, the chamber was decorated with rarities of all sorts. I heard a faint murmur coming from the corner of the room, and I crept around to find my target in his bath. He didn't seem to be very attentive, it looked as if he would fall asleep right there in the bath. I wanted to keep this as simple as possible. He briefly closed his eyes, and I took this oppurtunity to dash to the wall at his back. He was facing away from me now. I crept up behind him, and in a flash I had my hands clasped around his mouth and the back of his head. I plunged the Daimyo's head down into the water. He put up a surprising amount of struggle, thrashing and kicking about. But I did not release him. In the thrashing, he picked up an incense pot by the bathside and smashed it onto the floor. I heard the guards outside move from their posts and come towards the bathroom. I had no choice, I couldn't wait any longer. I pulled out my kunai dagger and sliced the Daimyo's throat. He stopped thrashing, and the bathwater turned a bloody red. Before I had time to slip out, the guards entered. I had nowhere to hide, and they spotted me. The guards went into a frenzy at the sight of their master's corpse. One raced off for help, while the other attempted to subdue me. He reached for his sword, but I was quicker. I whipped out my katana and in a flash, the guard's head fell to the ground.

I raced out and jumped from the window. News had spread quickly, as I was soon attacked by a group of Samurai. I unloaded my arsenal of shuriken into all of the warriors. Some screamed in pain as their eyes were stabbed, others choked for breath from their severed throats. I raced along the inside wall, looking for a way to escape. Suddenly, I was hit in the back by several arrows. I turned to see the archers following me along the top of the wall. Wounded by arrows, I ran up the side of the wall and grabbed an archer and plunged my sword into his torso. I used his skewered body as a club to knock the others off the platform. I threw some smoke bombs onto my pursuers at the bottom of the wall and jumped off on the outside. I ran into the woods and stopped to rest. I had made it. I removed the arrows and relaxed.

Suddenly robots descended from the sky and grabbed me and pulled out my insides while burning my face and ripping off my limbs and pouring acid on my crotch. And then I died. Such is the way of the Ninja.