In 16th-century Japan, Taro enlists his friends to help vanquish a dragon in hopes of winning a reward that would allow him to marry Hana, but he also faces surprisingly difficult obstacles as Kenji Kira raises the dead against him, and his own flesh and blood betrays him.
Blood Ninja Skilled in the art of silent and deadly combat, ninjas are the agents of powerful nobles who rule sixteenth-century Japan. So when a group of these highly-trained assassins kill Taro's father, he must learn their ways in order to avenge him, evading the wrath of warring Lords, deciphering an ancient curse - and unleashing the blood-soaked secrets of a life lived in moonlight. Lord Oda's Revenge Taro has had his revenge, but Lord Oda is not quiet in his grave. Dangerously weakened, Taro must discover the one object Lord Oda was desperate to find before he died - and he must go to hell and back to get it. The Betrayal of the Living Taro is at a crossroads - no land, no title, and no hope of marrying his beloved Hana. As he sets off on another perilous quest, the future of all feudal Japan is in danger, and everything Taro holds dear will be threatened. The dead have begun to rise.
Could Taro, a fisherman’s son, be destined for greatness? In the course of a day, Taro’s entire life changes: His father is murdered before his eyes, and Taro is taken by a mysterious ninja on a perilous journey toward safety. Someone wants Taro dead, but who—and why? With his best friend, Hiro, and their ninja guide, Shusaku, Taro gets caught in the crossfire of a bitter conflict between rival lords for control of imperial Japan. As Taro trains to become a ninja himself, he’s less and less sure that he wants to be one. But when his real identity is revealed, it becomes impossible for Taro to turn his back on his fate.
Taro was just a fisherman's son - but then his father was murdered and Taro was forced to become a Blood Ninja, fated to live by night, doomed to live on the blood of others. But he has had his revenge. He has killed Lord Oda, the warlord who had his father assassinated. But Lord Oda is not quiet in his grave.
Now that the vile Lord Oda is dead, Taro and his friends are safe in the mountain lair of the ninjas. Or so they think. When a homing pigeon arrives with news of Taro's mother's whereabouts, Taro sets out for the Tendai monastery - without stopping to consider why the pigeon, which was given to his mother months ago, took so long to arrive. Soon, Taro, Hana and Hiro find themselves in a trap, as strange new creatures invade their lives and familiar enemies surround them – and the most deadly enemy of all is their old friend Yukiko. In the end, despite his vampire abilities, Taro is helpless to prevent the death of his mother. Furious and grief stricken, haunted by her mute and beseeching ghost, he determines to recover the object which Lord Oda was so desperate to procure before he died: the Buddha Ball, source of limitless power. There are just two problems: first, Lord Oda is not dead. And second, the Buddha Ball is not where Taro thought. If Taro is to fulfill his destiny, he must face his arch enemy on an equal battlefield - for Lord Oda is a vampire now too. And then, to make peace with his mother, and recover the Buddha ball, Taro must go to hell and back...
Taro - Japanese fisherman's son and silent assassin trained in the arts of death - is back in a second thrilling novel of ancient curses, epic battles, scheming warlords. and blood-sucking ninjas. 'A fierce, stylish, brooding, relentless beast of a book. The night has a new hero.' DARREN SHAN on Blood Ninja