You are a skilled samurai warrior in the service of Tokugawa Nobunaga, a wise and noble shogun who lived in Azuchi Castle in Japan. Nobunaga trained you in the ways of bushido, equipped you with weapons and armor, and taught you how to perform the three secret but devastating Sword Blows of Death: the Deflecting Blow, the Scarlet-Tapeworm, and the Whirling Outboard Motor Propeller Blow. With these you've become Nobunaga's fiercest warrior, nearly invincible in battle.
After a recent engagement in which you wiped out the rival Takeda clan, you asked your master if you could take a short vacation to visit your brother, and Nobunaga happily agreed, saying that no enemy would dare attack after Takeda's fall. You spend the next three days resting with your brother and his family, but on your return to the castle you're shocked to find it in ruins, littered with the remains of the colossal army that attacked it. Frantically searching through the wreckage you find the severed head of your master, and are amazed to find him still able to converse! Nobunaga shares the names and locations of those who attacked him, and you set off to seek vengeance.
You now find yourself outside the mountain stronghold of Catzad-Dum, home of your first target, Fugu-Otoko, the villainous blowfish who orchestrated the attack on your master.