If you take on this stage early in the game, it should be fairly straight forward to get through to the boss. Remember to look around occasionally (using 
+
, watch for enemies that will drop down or attack from above), and if you're going for speed, ditch the floating vehicle you acquire near the end of the stage.
Boss[edit]
Early in the game, the boss for this stage will be Lee-Shang Long, the large dragon pet of the boss that would appear if visiting the stage near the end of the game.
Lee-Shang Long[edit]
This large dragon faces you from the right side of the screen, resting in a lake of magma. The Prinnies face this giant creature from a ledge that takes up the left side of the screen.
The dragon can be fairly predictable after losing a few Prinnies to his attacks. He will either lunge forward or spit fireballs at the Prinny. When he lunges forward, it's best to be about one fourth to one third of the length of the ledge away from the wall (crouching may help, as well). If he spits fireballs, it's best to be against the wall.
Use the air slash to attack the floating orbs that appear while the dragon is preparing to attack. Once two of these are destroyed, the dragon will make a feint lunge, and the Prinny can land a Hip-Bump to knock out his shield. Once the shield is down, use air slash (or normal slash if you're comfortable getting close) to hack away as quickly as possible. Lee-Shang Long should lose between one-third and slightly less than one half of his health.
Once this cycle has been completed twice, the dragon will reach critical health, and change its pattern slightly. The lunging attack will now have a fire-breathing attack as well, which means the Prinny needs to be against the wall for the lunge attack. When Lee-Shang Long finishes breathing fire, move away from the wall to avoid getting smacked upside the head as the dragon sits back up. The next attack will most likely be fireballs again, and fairly similar to what came in the previous rounds. Two or three attacks from the dragon should give the Prinny enough time to take down two more orbs, Hip-Bump Lee_Shang Long, and finish the stage with a final round of air slashes.
Hoshikage[edit]
This blonde is a bit of a spitfire. She's got several fast-paced attacks. She will dash from one end of the stage to the other and shoot blue energy balls, attack with a giant scroll, or poof and hang from the ceiling to summon four of the ninjas you've seen hanging around the platform part of the level.
The easiest way to defeat her is to try to stick close to her on one edge or the other. While dodging the scroll, it gives you the perfect opportunity to hip-bump and wail on her with air slashes. After one batch of slashes, watch the stars above her head. Get ready to stun her immediately just after the third star has disappeared.
Hoshikage will appear when you take on this stage second.