The Oboro Ninja, Joe Musashi
Before Hotsuma, there was Joe Musashi.
Joe is up there with my all-time favorite ninjas, aside from Guy and Ryu H.
Musashi's backstory is told as that of a weak boy who first entered the dojo of the Oboro clan at a young age and gradually, through tireless practice and meditation, worked himself up to become the most skilled and respected ninja of his clan.
His peaceful existence in the mountains of Japan is shattered when the totalitarian crime syndicate Neo Zeed rises to power and threatens to take over the world. The Oboro clan is hunted down by Zeed's minions, his master assassinated and his girlfriend Naoko taken hostage. Musashi swears revenge, and in the ensuing battles, as chronicled in The Revenge of Shinobi, all but annihilates Neo Zeed. When Neo Zeed returns in Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master the ninja comes out of retirement one final time and destroys the crime organization for good.