Ninja Gaiden Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Ninja Gaiden Wiki
Murai
Real name Murai
Alias The Dark Disciple
Devil Incarnate
Race Human/Akuma (Demon)
Nationality
22px-Flag of Japan.svg
Japanese
Gender Male
Relatives Ryu Hayabusa (Nephew)

Jô Hayabusa (Brother-in-law)

Professional Status
Affiliation Shadow Ninja Clan
Hayabusa Ninja Clan (formerly)
Occupation Rogue Ninja/Ninja Warlord
Rank Master
Title Master and Excellency
Partner N/A
Previous Partner Gamov (deceased)
First Appearance
Debut Ninja Gaiden
Voices
Japanese Voice Banjô Ginga
English Voice Neil Ross

Murai (村井) was a Rogue Ninja and one of the two main antagonists (alongside Doku) of Ninja Gaiden and its variants Ninja Gaiden Black, Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus, where he appears as a supporting character turned final boss. He is the late uncle of Ryu Hayabusa, late brother-in-law of Jô Hayabusa and former Ninja Master/Warlord of the defunct Shadow Ninja Clan.

Appearances[]

Murai has a tall and large muscular build with long white hair, the symbol of his own ninja clan tattooed on his left bicep and a scar under his right eye, showing him as an old but extremely fit man. His ninja outfit consist of a gi, tabi boots, armbands, a belt, knee pads, and a head band.

Personality[]

Murai is power hungry, ruthless and very manipulative. He is more than willing to kill his closest ally and nephew after they outlive their use, all for the pursuit of power. He views his Shadow foot soldiers as ashigaru-sha.[1]

History[]

Originally a member of the Hayabusa Ninja Clan, Murai became a rogue ninja and left under unknown circumstances to start up his own ninja clan, declaring his rogue ninja clan: the Shadow clan. His main base of operations is the Ninja Fortress near the Hayabusa village, where he gathers intel through his network of ninja. The Shadow ninja clan is on neutral terms with the Hayabusa clan.[2]

Plot[]

Ninja Gaiden Sigma[]

Residing within the Shadow clan's Ninja Fortress, Murai made a pact with the Vigoor Emperor and carefully orchestrated and set in motion his master plan to gain the power of a dark deity. His first act was to tip off the location of the Dark Dragon Blade to the Vigoor Emperor, knowing that they would send their general, the Greater Fiend Doku, and an army of Vigoorian Samurai to retrieve the Dark Dragon Blade. At the same time, Murai gets his young servant Ayane to lure his nephew, Ryu Hayabusa, away from the Hayabusa village for "special training" at the Ninja Fortress. In the Ninja Fortress, Ryu is ambushed by Murai's Shadow Ninjas. After defeating waves of Shadow Ninjas, Ryu finally faces Murai and they fight to a standstill. They then have a conversation, where Murai inquires about the Dragon Sword and Dark Dragon Blade, to which Ryu apprehensively answers.

While Ryu is away from his village, Doku attacks with his Samurai army, slaughtering the villagers and razing buildings in a hellish fire. Ayane arrives to inform Murai about the attack, prompting Ryu to quickly rush back to his village. Once there, Ryu butchers the samurai army over a series of many fierce battles, ultimately facing the Greater Fiend, where an exhausted Ryu is cut down by Doku wielding the Dark Dragon Blade.

Upon Ryu's resurrection by the Hayabusa Guardian spirit,[3] Murai manipulates him further by directing Ryu's rage towards the Vigoorian Empire, motivating him into pursuing Doku, urging Ryu to slaughter all who stands in his way without mercy, for only the deaths of many would feed and call out the Dark Dragon Blade. As Ryu journeyed to Vigoor, Murai donned his Dark Disciple persona as well as sending Gamov and Ayane to watch Ryu's progress.

Under the guise of the Dark Disciple, Murai watches from behind the scenes as events unfold and realities start to shift and twist as the Emperor breaks the Dark Dragon Blade's seal and imbues himself with powers of all the Evil Deities. This cumulates in a final epic battle between Ryu and Vigoorian Emperior in his deity form. As Murai expected Ryu defeats the Emperor and barely escapes with the aid of Rachel, resulting in the Dark Dragon Blade falling right before a patiently waiting Dark Disciple. Revealing that he is indeed the Dark Disciple, Murai finally puts his master plan into full swing and grabs the Dark Dragon Blade for himself. With his new powers Murai quickly vaporizes his ally Gamov and transforms into the Devil Incarnate. With the power of the Dark Dragon, Murai fights a tough battle with his nephew, trying to kill him. However he underestimates Ryu's abilities and the strength of the True Dragon Sword, ultimately resulting in his downfall and defeat. Wounded by Ryu, the fiendish Murai drops the Dark Dragon Blade, and collapses, falling into a deep cavern.

Powers and Abilities[]

General[]

  • Agility: As a human Murai is quick at close range, but not as acrobatic as Ryu. As the Devil Incarnate, Murai's speed greatly increases, moving at blinding speeds.
  • Strength: Murai has immense strength and is able to easily throw Ryu around like a ragdoll.
  • Stealth: He shows a secretive nature and stealth ability when in his Dark Disciple persona.
  • Acrobatics: Murai is very fast and acrobatic when empowered by the Dark Dragon Blade.
  • Hand to Hand: Murai has an outstanding ability at grabbing and throwing his opponents.

Techniques[]

  • Ninja Arts: Murai is a Master Ninja with unsurpassed skill in all the Ninja arts.[4]
  • Counter Attack: Murai's ability to counter strikes against him.
  • Levitation: As the Devil Incarnate, Murai is able to float in mid air, setting himself up for dive attacks.
  • Blink: A technique where Devil Incarnate Murai quickly teleports short distances in a battle.
  • Telekinesis: Devil Incarnate Murai is able to effortlessly send large windmill shurikens and the Dark Dragon Blade flying at his enemy with his mind. He also doesn't physically hold onto the Dark Dragon Blade when using his spin thrust attack.
  • Spin Thrust: Murai is able to do this move in his Devil Incarnate form, where he flies at his opponent spinning head first with the Dark Dragon Blade pointed like a drill.
  • Summon Dark Dragon: Murai's Devil Incarnate's ultimate attack, he teleports away to a clear area and summons a black serpentine Japanese dragon to attack his enemy.

Weapons & Equipment[]

  • Nunchaku: This is Murai's signature weapon, he is a master with this weapon able to strike, counter, throw and deflect projectiles back at his opponent.
  • Dark Dragon Blade: With the fully charged Dark Dragon Blade in his hand, Murai transforms into a fiendish Devil Incarnate, granting him increased speed, strength and deadly supernatural abilities.
  • Windmill Shurikens: As the Devil Incarnate, Murai is able to summon a group of these large shurikens and telekinetically toss them at his enemy.

Strategy[]

First Fight[]

  • When first encountered, Murai will be wielding the nunchuku. He proceeds towards you slowly, but will somersault at times to get to you quickly.
  • Attacking head on is suicide, as his nunchuku attacks are quick and can deal a large amount of damage before you can counter back. Get too close and he'll perform a devastating grab.
  • If you attempt to flee from him do not jump, as his nunchuks have a wide range of attack, instead somersault then jump back.
  • The best recommended tactic to use would be to run up a surrounding wall and perform a drop attack when he is close. He is likely not to block it or evade and deals a moderate amount of damage.
  • On Very Hard and Master Ninja difficulty, the best way to open him up is to keep a distance and bait him into doing a roll towards you, and then quickly do foward + XX with the Dragon Sword to damage him.
  • In Ninja Gaiden Black and Sigma he is accompanied by Ninjas in higher difficulties.

Second Fight[]

  • In his devil incarnate form and as the final boss of Ninja Gaiden Murai will be wielding the Dark Dragon Blade. His combos are devastating but easy to avoid. The best tactic would be to perform a mid air homing attack as it is quick an nimble.
  • Watch out for his Dark Dragon Ninpo. Though it is easy to avoid, it inflicts severe damage or an instant death in higher difficulties.
  • He is a fairly easy boss and can usually be defeated in one try given you have a moderate amount of elixirs, health or Talismans of Rebirth.

Etymology[]

  • The surname Murai means "town, village" (村) (mura) and "well, mine shaft, pit" (井) (i).

Trivia[]

  • Murai is the first and (so far) only final boss of the 3D Ninja Gaiden games to:
    • Be fought on more then one occasion, both as the first boss, and final boss.
    • Not have projectiles be made out of pure energy.

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. "Someday you will come to understand the pursuit of power. Perhaps beginning with your training here." -Murai speaking with Ryu, Ninja Gaiden
  2. "Although he was a member of the Hayabusa Clan, events that occurred in the past caused Murai to leave and form his own rogue Ninja organization, the Shadow Clan." -Murai's Biography, Ninja Gaiden Instruction Booklet
  3. "EGM: Just for the record: The game's main character, Ryu Hayabusa, dies at the beginning, right? How'd he come back to life after being cleaved in half?
    Tomonobu Itagaki: Yes, he died. Do you remember the falcon staring at his dead body? That falcon’s spiritual power resurrected him as a soldier of revenge." - Electronic Gaming Monthly Magazine, June 2004, Chris Johnston
  4. "A Master Ninja possessing unsurpassed skill in all of the Ninja arts, Murai also has a deep connection with Ryu." -Murai's biography, Ninja Gaiden instruction booklet
Advertisement