Hotsuma

"I shall put your soul to rest." Hotsuma

Overview

Hotsuma is the protagonist of the 2002 3D reboot of Shinobi for the PlayStation 2. He is also the leader of the Oboro ninja clan, and head of the Oboro family. When he was a young teenager, Hotsuma was forced to duel his elder brother Moritsune in a ritual to decide the clan's leader. Hotsuma won the duel, but was forced to feed his brother's soul to Akujiki; an ancient demon blade that the Oboro had spent generations trying to keep contained. Heartbroken and grieving, Hotsuma hides his pain behind a mask of stoicism, haunted by the memory of killing his beloved brother, whom he admired as his role model.

Shinobi

Four years after the duel, an earthquake of great magnitude strikes Tokyo and reduces the city to a rubble parody of itself. Hotsuma learns that his clan had been murdered and he goes on a journey through the hell scape that was Tokyo to seek revenge. As he battles through demons and his undead kin, Hotsuma is faced with the evil nature of the Akujiki, and is forced to satisfy the blade's unholy gluttony for Yin; the somatic energies and dark emotions of the slain, to avoid being drained of his life forces. Learning that his former friend Ageha had awakened an evil mage that was defeated by the clan in revenge for his brother, whom she loved, Hotsuma is forced to fight both Ageha and his brother, possessed by the demon lord Aomizuchi. After freeing the tortured souls of Ageha and Moritsune, Hotsuma heads to the golden castle where Hiruko resides and assassinates him at the castle keep. Disgusted with the idea of being a slave to the demonic sword that ruined his life and his family, Hotsuma decides to die in order to free himself from slavery to Akujiki, and allows the palace to collapse on top of him, leaving the shattered Akujiki behind in hopes of destroying it.