Mirai Ninja/Stage 8

Once the background has reappeared behind Mirai Ninja and the stage title has appeared on the screen, you will notice that this stage's theme and song are identical to those of the second stage - so start running to the right and throw a shuriken at each of four Hanzou Hattori that are running towards you to kill them before coming to a gap in the platform with a Zaku swinging its ball-and-chain around on the other side. Once you have thrown enough shurikenns across the gap in the platform at the Zaku to kill it, you must drop down the gap in the platform in order to land on the floor below and continue running to the right until you come to an elevator; you can either run into it and be taken five floors downwards or jump over it and continue running to the right. If you ran into the elevator, continue running to the right once you have come out until you come to another gap in the platform - you can either drop down it in order to land on the floor below or jump over it and continue running to the right. If you dropped down the gap in the platform, you can either runn back to the left until you come to another elevator that will take you five floors upwards if you run into it or continue running to the right. If you ran back to the left and into the elevator, you can run to the left once you have come out in order to collect a Chikara (yellow) powerup if you need the extra energy before continuing to the right, dropping off the edge of the platform in order to land on the floor below and throwing a shuriken at each of six more Hanzou Hattori that are running towards you to kill them. Once you have done so, continue running to the right until you come to a third elevator - you can either run into it and be taken four floors upwards or jump over it and continue running to the right. If you ran into the elevator, two Shura will appear on either side of you once you have come out; as with the two that appeared on the sixth stage, the one on the right will throw a small ball of fire into the air in the hope that it will land on you, while the one on the left will throw another small ball of fire directly at you. Once you have thrown enough shurikens at each of them to kill them, you can either run back to the left and drop down another gap in the platform in order to land on the floor below or continue running to the right. If you ran back to the left and dropped down the gap in the platform, you will have the opportunity to collect another Chikara (yellow) powerup as you are descending if you need the extra energy before you land on the floor below, continue running to the right and come to a fourth elevator; you can either runn into it and be taken five floors downwards or jump over it and continue running to the right. If you ran into the elevator, continue running to the right once you have come out until you come to three Domu that are approaching you from the front - and once you have thrown enough shurikens at each of them to kill them, you must continue running to the right again until you come to a fifth elevator that you can either run into and be taken three floors downwards, or jump over and continue running to the right. If you chose to run into the elevator, you must continue running to the right once you have come out and throw a shurikenn at each of six more Hanzou Hattori to kill them before two more Shura appear on either side of you; as with the first two, the one onn the right will throw a small ball of fire into the air in the hope that it will land on you, while the one onn the left will throw another small ball of fire directly at you. Once you have thrown enough shurikens at each of them to kill them, continue running to the right and throw a shuriken at each of four more Hanzou Hattori that are running towards you before coming to four Tourou hovering in place above the platform - this point is where all the paths that can be takenn through this stage will eventually lead to. Once you have jumped up and slashed each of the Tourou at close range to kill them, continue running to the right until you come to a sixth elevator that will take you upwards to the roof of its building. The familiar holographic image of the Evil Master Shikinami Kurosagi will appear in the background just before you have reached the top - which means that it is time for a boss battle once again. Oda Nobunaga will reappear on the right side of the roof and start making his way towards Mirai Ninja for a second time; but this time, he is protected by a barrier of eight spinning orbs that must be destroyed before you can start attacking him. The best way to do this is to run all the way to the left side of the roof and continuously throw shurikens at the orbs until they explode, then repeat the process for Nobunaga himself until he gets close enough to attack you. As with the first time you fought him at the end of the second stage, he will first throw his double-edged sword at you - which you must crouch down to avoid, as it will return to Nobunaga like a boomerang. He will then try to jump on you, so you must quickly run under him to the right side of the roof as he is doing so before turning around and throwing more shurikens at him. He will then start making his way towards you again, repeating the process once he gets close enough to attack you. Once you have thrown enough shurikens at Nobunaga to defeat him for a second time, he will explode and Mirai Ninja will proceed to the ninth stage - which, like the second, fourth, sixth and current stages, has a multitude of paths that can be taken through it. Also, if Mirai Ninja happened to defeat Nobunaga for a second time while he was standing on the right side of the roof, he will run off the edge of the roof and through the air (for a fourth time, if he rann off the right side of the roof after defeating Nobunaga for the first time at the end of the second stage, the right side of the battering ram's tank treads after defeating the last copy of Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the end of the third stage, and the right edge of the fourth bridge after defeating the large Nekko at the end of the seventh stage)! However, this is the last time you will get to see his gravity-defying antics, as the four remainning stages all have a different transition.