Danjo Kouga  

, 甲賀弾正

Danjo is highly respected by his clan as both a grandfather to Gennosuke and a leader of the Kouga. As a young man, he fell in love with Ogen, the Iga heir. However, when orders came for him to eliminate the Iga, Ogen believed that Danjo had deceived her and their bond turned into bitter hatred. Despite this, they both hoped that an impressive display of power would convince Lord Ieyasu to lift the peace treaty barring rival bloodshed. Unfortunately, it was already decided that the Kouga and Iga would battle each other to death in order to determine who would become the third Tokugawa Shogun. Scrolls were tied with the names of ten ninjas from each clan, and whoever eliminated all ten first would inherit the next seat of power. When old flames reignited, there was no turning back and one had to eliminate the other.