Art by Jon Haward
Naoko is the girlfriend of Joe Musashi and daughter of the late sensei to Musashi in the Shinobi series.
History[]
Prior to 1993, Naoko was captured by the Neo Zeed and held in their Tokyo branch for over a year, although it was never explained why she was kidnapped. She was originally believed to be in their Ibakari Province base, with Musashi navigating a multi-storey pagoda only to find his target to be Water, one of the deadly Four Elements, in disguise.
Musashi later discovered where Naoko really was, infiltrating the building but was discovered by both the Neo Zeed security and, later, several lowly foot-soldiers. Despite in deep peril, Musashi used prana to both escape the effects of heavy nerve gas and as a way to get into The Void's chamber where he was sure Naoko would be. Sure enough, the girl was summoned to the "corpse" of Musashi, where Earth used his ground-shattering powers in an attempt to control her. The Void mocked her for believing Musashi would save her, until the hero awoke and pulled Naoko from out of a window. Opening a glider on his back, Musashi and Naoko safely landed away from the building, where Joe informed Naoko that he would rather she be safe than tackle the Four Elements on their terms.
Appearances[]
- Issue 6 - The Fear Pavilion (actually Water in disguise)
- Issue 24 - The Art of War