Ring of Five



The Ring of Five is the name referring to a group of 5 individuals that serves as the ruling leaders of the original Zeed crime syndicate. They are the main villainsof the original 1987 Shinobi arcade videogame and the leaders of.

Founded and led by the the Masked Ninja, they sought to bring about a new feudal era by starting a civil war in Japan, by kidnapping the Oboro ninja clan's children as well as children of world leaders in order to have them brainwashed and trained to be their loyal and elite assassins.

Their plan or world domination were foiled and the Ring of Five were defeated by Joe Musashi, the Oboro Clan's greatest warrior.

Members

 * Ken-Oh: A muscular ninja who was a master of Katonjutsu (火遁術 Fire-style Ninjutsu). His skills were enough to gain the attention of the Masked Ninja. With his power, he began aiding in the kidnappings of the Oboro Village's children, but his life was ended by the superior ninja Joe Musashi.
 * Black Turtle: A weapon smuggler who has sold arms to many a crime group and terrorist, his resources caught Zeed's attention, and under the guidance of the Masked Ninja, he became one of the Ring of Five. Despite being able to carry loads of men it was for naught as he perished at the blade of Joe Musashi.
 * Mandara: A victim of the Masked Ninja's schemes, Mandara was once a peace loving guru who possessed incredible psychic powers. Zeed desired his power, but he refused them. Not taking no for an answer, Zeed had him captured and tortured him trying to get him to cooperate. When he refused again, the killed him and took his brain, and grafted it in a super-computer that they created, which forced his brain to pump immense psychic energy to attack Joe Musashi. Only by destroying the Mandara supercomputer, was the guru able to find peace in death.
 * Lobster: a ninja dressed in crimson samurai armor. Originally an honorable fighter, his desire for glory corrupted him and he became ambitious without reason. Seeing his incredible fighting skills and swordsmanship, the Masked Ninja appeared and gave him a place at his side as a member of the Ring of Five. After the children of the Oboro were rescued from an abandoned temple he had set up base in, he challenged Joe Musashi and was all but impervious to his attacks. When Joe realized his helmet was his weakness, he hurled shuriken at it and damaged it to the point that Lobster's soul was forced out.
 * The Masked Ninja: The mastermind of Zeed, the Masked Ninja is an enigma to all, concealed behind a Hannya Mask. Do to his mastery of martial arts, Ninjutsu and dark magic, he ruled Zeed with an iron fist and tolerated failure from no one. Rumors speculated that he belonged to the same clan as Joe Musashi once, and was at one time a close person to him. This proved to be true when it was discovered that he was Nakahara, Joe's instructor in the Oboro School's Ninjutsu. Ambitious and frustrated beyond reason, he became obsessed with the delusional idea to recreate the Sengoku period. When Joe realized what he had become, Musashi was left with no choice but to cut him down.

Trivia

 * The name is an allusion to Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings; a famous manuscript on swordsmanship and martial philosophy.