Hotsuma

Hotsuma is the main protagonist from the Shinobi games.

Hotsuma was a shinobi and was once the leader of the Oboro clan.

Hotsuma was a young master ninja and the headmaster of the Oboro family. Originally a kind and gentle young man, his personality drastically changed when he and his older brother, Moritsune, were forced into a barbaric sealing ritual to appease the demon blade, Akujiki. After the ritual, Hotsuma became the Oboro leader and was forced to put Moritsune to death; it was this act that caused him to stifle his emotions. After the Oboro was wiped out by a host of Hellspawn, and an earthquake reduced Tokyo to a hellscape, Hotsuma journeyed through the ruins of the city to find and put a stop to the source of the upheaval, unaware that one of his family's greatest enemies was lurking under his very nose.

Personality
In his youth, Hotsuma was a kind and gentle young man. He always loved and appreciated Kobushi both as his master and as his father figure. As the youngest of the two candidates for succession, Hotsuma looked up to Moritsune and held unrequited feelings for Ageha. He truly cared for the Aragane Twins as his younger siblings (albeit oblivious to Akagane's romantic feelings for him), and he was visibly saddened to let Akujiki consume them and the other jōnin that he once called comrades.

The major turning point in his life was when he fought and killed his brother in the Suppression Ritual, ignorant of its true significance. When Moritsune died, Hotsuma became a shadow of his former self. He coped with Moritsune's death by hiding his pain, anguish and suffering behind a mask of calmness and stoicism. As he accepted more and more government contracts from Kobushi, he gradually distanced himself from the Oboro village.

When he learned what happened to his clan, Hotsuma cursed his irresponsibility as a leader and swore to redeem himself by avenging their deaths. When he realized that the soulless bodies of the Oboro were being manipulated by Hiruko's magic, Hotsuma's rage boiled in the blood beneath his calm exterior. Even Ageha's presence didn't console him or heal his emotional wounds, as his feelings for her dissipated when she abandoned the clan and went rogue.

Hotsuma's hatred exploded when he learned that Hiruko murdered and dishonored his fallen kinsmen, manipulated Ageha's love for his brother, and used his brother's body to slaughter their comrades. Hotsuma's rage flared and dropped his stoic façade completely when Ageha was killed in front of him by Aomizuchi, but he wept after seeing Moritsune again after so long.

After he killed Hiruko, Hotsuma willingly let himself die in the collapse of the Golden Palace. With no clan to lead, with his family and friends dead, and with Akujiki free of its seal, he knew he'd be condemned to a life of slaughter in order to satisfy the endless appetite of the very sword that he hated for ruining his family. Disgusted by the very idea of being Akujiki's slave, Hotsuma was determined even in death to destroy the cursed blade, deciding to close the book on Akujiki.

Abilities
Along with his Akujiki blade, he also uses various ninja arts, tools and even a ninja dog, Yamato.

Trivia

 * Hotsuma appears as a playable character in the 2003 sequel, Nightshade. Hotsuma wields the same weapons and plays the same as he did in Shinobi (2002).
 * Nightshade protagonist Hibana wears an outfit whose design was influenced by Hotsuma's costume.
 * According to Kumonov, who created the PS2 Shinobi series, Hotsuma intentionally died as the Golden Palace collapsed, and had his soul taken into Akujiki.
 * Hotsuma, in the history of Shinobi, is the first protagonist to become a tragic hero and die at a story's end.
 * Hotsuma makes a playable appearance in Project X Zone 2, and he is paired with Capcom's Strider Hiryu. Hotsuma's theme is a remixed version of Patience, Shinobi's introductory theme.