Ninjas are cool. The anime Naruto showed that being a shinobu (ninja) are the coolest thing in the world. But unlike the ninjas in the anime, the real ones who once roamed the Japanese lands do not possess superhuman strength and powers. Ninjas were actually covert mercenaries in feudal Japan responsible for espionage, sabotage, infiltration, assassination and guerrilla warfare. Their methods were somehow labeled as “dishonorable” in contrast to the samurai rules. However, their legendary powers (which were just based on folklores) such as control of the elements and invisibility made them look cool in the Western perception. Anyway, I had the chance of walking along with the “ninjas” nearly 5 years ago.