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Soul Edge
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Soul Calibur V
Planted firmly in the earth before the warrior stood a katana; purple flames rippled and danced about it.
The sword had a name: Yoshimitsu. It was a demonic blade, steeped in the evil of Soul Edge and ever thirsty for blood.
The sword's last owner, too had been called Yoshimitsu - by bestowing his own name upon the blade, he had sealed its evil power. But he had been cut down just moments earlier by his dearest desciple, a young warrior well-versed in the arts of Manji Ninjutsu. The desciple made a vow: He would see through the mission Yoshimitsu had begun.
He reached out and gripped the sword. The flames licked at his hand, but his voice did not waver as he called out:
"I am Yoshimitsu The Second! Calm thyself!"
The flames subsided. The sword had accepted him as the new Yoshimitsu.
Only one man was allowed to carry that name; the title was earned by slaying its previous holder. And so it was that a new warrior, overcoming sorrow and doubt, would continue the fight against evil.
Yoshimitsu, leader of the chivalrous Manji Clan, savior of the weak, enemy of the strong - it was a name that brought hope to the people.
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Soul Calibur
Yoshimitsu was the only survivor of the Manji Ninja Clan, after it was attacked by the samurai lord Oda Nobunaga.
Yoshimitsu lost his right arm during the battle against Lord Oda, but that did not stop him from crossing the sea to find Soul Edge, rumored to be the ultimate weapon in all of existence. Yoshimitsu wanted the weapon to take his revenge against Nobunaga.
During his travels, he came across horrific atrocities left behind by a knight in azure armor. He sensed the hatred and despair of the knight's victims and reflected on his situation.
"Vengeance will be mine, but if I continue along this path, I will be no better then Nobunaga or the azure knight..."
Even as this moral dilemma gnawed at his soul, he continued his search for the sword of vengeance.
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Soul Calibur 2
"Enter," he said, but no one knocked when the light turned on.
-Tristan Tzara, Ou boivent les loups
There was once a ninja clan that was massacred at the hands of a vengeful lord. Yoshimitsu, the sole survivor of that clan, swore to avenge the fallen, but was no match for the army that protected the lord. Helpless and alone against the enemy, Yoshimitsu the avenger was chased off. Although he lost one arm during his harrowing escape, he managed to cheat death only because of his considerable ninjutsu abilities and a great deal of luck.
Despite this experience, Yoshimitsu could not give up his desire to avenge his clan. He saw opportunity in a rumor that circulated within Japan during that time and decided to travel overseas. Soul Edge, the ultimate sword—if only he possessed that sword, he would surely be able to cut down an army at will.
Yoshimitsu traveled across the continent, chasing down rumors of the sword. When he finally reached Europe, he came upon the aftermath of a massacre. During that time, a series of mysterious killings wreaked havoc and spread terror across Europe. The bloody carnage before Yoshimitsu’s eyes reminded him of the slaughter of his clan.
He thought to himself, “No matter what the reasons may be, murderous hatred only begets deep sorrow and retaliation. And I have this hatred within me as well. Would my clan approve of my vengeance if they were still alive? …Nonsense! Why am I doubting myself?!”
Yoshimitsu cut down the budding doubt within him, and continued his quest for Soul Edge. But as he continued his journey, he encountered many remains of massacres, one after another. With each ensuing encounter, the doubt within his heart took root. It was only a matter of time that Yoshimitsu was on the trail of the man responsible for these killings.
Nightmare…the man responsible for countless killings…Yoshimitsu followed his trail to Ostrheinsburg Castle, but the castle was enveloped in silence and devoid of any signs of life. Although there were traces of evil energy in the castle, there were no clues about the whereabouts of the mass murderer. Yoshimitsu eventually left the castle behind him.
Soon after his visit to the castle, he noticed something strange. Yoshimitsu sensed the presence of a sinister energy dwelling within his katana. Perhaps the evil spiritual energy that lingered in the castle was drawn to the sword because it had been used to shed blood.
Yoshimitsu decided to give his spirit-sword his name, “Yoshimitsu,” and swore to quell the negative energy within his sword. The spiritual energy within him that sustained his vengeance until now had a new purpose. The conflict and doubt within Yoshimitsu was finally resolved, and he achieved enlightenment through this new task.
But something unexpected happened.
One night, Yoshimitsu became careless and fell into deep slumber after exhausting his energies on neutralizing the negative spirit within his sword. During his sleep, some intruder used the cover of night to steal his sword
There was no way that the spiritual energy of malevolent hatred and resentment within the sword would dissipate in a day or two. Only misfortune would result if the katana fell into the wrong hands.
While Yoshimitsu traveled the continent in search of his sword, he devoted his life to serving the weak and the underprivileged. Four years passed, and he devised a plan- an attempt to close the gap, even a little, between the haves and the have-nots. His scheme involved the plunder of treasures from the Vercci’s tomb—Vercci was once a wealthy man who was also known as the “Merchant of Death.” It was rumored that a vast fortune was stored in his tomb.
Yoshimitsu used all of his skills and abilities to infiltrate the tomb, also known as the Money Pit. As described in rumors, the interior of the tomb was rife with traps. But he was able to reach the treasures without encountering the “Guardian” of the tomb, whom Yoshimitsu was vigilant against. A faint smile unconsciously crept across his face- the riches waiting for his taking were beyond his wildest imagination.
His smile faded when he found something amongst the stockpiles of treasures…his lost sword. And his face became graver when he discovered a throne enshrined in one of the rooms deep within the Money Pit.
Upon the throne was a metal fragment that emanated the same evil aura as his beloved sword.
Shortly after this discovery, Yoshimitsu left the Money Pit with his namesake sword and the metal fragment in hand.
Yoshimitsu thought, “If there are other things that possess this evil within them, they must be found and collected. The tragedies caused by this evil must never be allowed to happen again.”
Now, there was no more doubt clouding Yoshimitsu’s mind. Neither did the cursed items in his possession cast a shadow upon the path that he chose to take.
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Soul Calibur 3
Those who follow the will of the heavens, follow the will of righteousness.
-"Will of Heaven," Mo Zi
Yoshimitsu had set out on his journey to recover his sword and to destroy all of the items that had been tainted by the evil sword. Unfortunately, those items--including the fragments of the evil sword--had already been scattered to the corners of the earth. Finding and destroying them himself was impossible. Not only that, but while he was concerning himself with the cursed sword fragments, he wouldn't be able to spend time protecting the weak.
As things stood now, he was at a dead end. Faced with this situation, Yoshimitsu devised a plan.
He returned to Japan and recruited ruffians from throughout the land into an organized group of thieves. It was the birth of an organization of chilvalrous thieves called the Manjitou.
Using his exceptional combat skill, gifted decisiveness, and ability to put unconventional plans into action, Yoshimitsu became the head of the Manjitou and skillfully organized the group of outcasts. While stealing riches from wealthy nobles and merchants and distributing them to the poor, they destroyed the fragments of the evil weapon that lay scattered throughout the land. It was not an easy task, but with the power of the Manjitou and its carefully-selected, few-but-powerful members, his dream was no longer impossible.
One day, Yoshimitsu devised a robbery greater than any which had come before. During an annual festival, the group would infiltrate the mansion of a famously wealthy usurer and take everything he had. There was also information indicating that a fragment of Soul Edge was hidden in the money-lender's mansion. A careful plan was drawn up, and a massive operation involving the entire Manjitou was put into action.
Unfortunately, the plan failed. The vanguard force sent in specifically to target the fragment was attacked and wiped out in front of the treasure room. Yoshimitsu, who was leading a decoy group to distract the guards, did not learn of this until it was too late. The news that the Manjitou's best men had been eliminated destroyed the chain of command. In the end, half of theclan failed to escape and were either captured or killed.
Although many clanmembers were dispirited after this crushing defeat, they still had to save their captured comrades. Yoshimitsu led his remaining forces in a rescue operation. The jailbreak was a success, but the clanmembers he saved gave him an unexpected report. The fragment of the cursed sword had disappeared from the money-lender's treasure trove. This news puzzled Yoshimitsu, because the vanguard force supposedly never made it inside the treasure room.
To add insult to injury, information arrived that the body of the man to whom he had entrusted the vanguard force had not been found.
"A betrayal..." murmured someone in the group. It was certainly true that one explanation for what had happened would be that the leader of the vanguard force had attacked his men by surprise and had run off with the fragment. But Yoshimitsu couldn't believe that the man he had entrusted would do something like that. The vanguard leader had been exceptional in both his combat skill and his humanity. As his second-in-command, Yoshimitsu had carried great expectations for him.
Yoshimitsu spoke softly to the uneasy men.
"Wait. We knowest not for certain it was his work."
"But, the wounds on those that were attacked..." The men responded. The wounds on the bodies of the vangard force were not normal cuts like those dealt by blades.
"Yes. We wilt dealest with this matter. Findest the fragment. When thou findest it, thee wilt surely findest him as well." If the truth was being concealed in darkness, then the only thing to do was to search for it and drag it into the light. "I wilt goest as well. Dismissed." At this short command, the Manjitou went silently into action once more.
He could not allow the dark influence of the cursed sword to stay free. He himself had once desired that power for the sake of revenge. Is the one seeking it his subordinate, or was it someone else entirely? In order to discover the truth, Yoshimitsu joined the hunt.
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Soul Calibur IV
A band of chivalrous thieves known as the Manjitou travelled the world on behalf of the less fortunate. At the moment, their leader, Yoshimitsu, was in a valley enclosed by tall mountains that overlooked Europe. He had lost several good men in their last attempt to collect a piece of Soul Edge. Meanwhile, the shard itself had vanished, dashing any hopes of success. At the same time, one of his officers had one missing as well, and the subsequent search had led Yoshimitsu west across the continent, to this valley.
He had found his officer severely wounded and saved his life, and then he saw the girl, radiant with evil, and the flock of black birds in her service. If a monster like that stole the shard, where would it head? Soul Edge crept back into Yoshimitsu's thoughts. He had formed the Manjitou to break the cursed sword's cycle of evil and protect the people from the ravages of war. It seemed he would have to destroy the menace at its source.
While tending to his officer's injuries, Yoshimitsu summoned the rest of the Manjitou and continued his reconnaissance. As information flowed in from across the land, Yoshimitsu began to form an elaborate plan. They would smite the evil forces in Ostrheinsburg who wished malice on mankind, and go after Soul Edge.
Yoshimitsu issued orders to each of his men in turn; the Manjitou's greatest campaign ever was about to commence.
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