Five-Rings Warriors

The Five-Ring Warriors are a group of six legendary warriors serving as one of the focal points in Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love. They're a group of warriors known for have fought against Oda Nobunaga in medieval Japan. In 1928, the New York Combat Revue has fought against a resurrected Nobunaga as the new Five-Ring Warriors.

Background
The original Five-Ring Warriors were chosen to fight against the former daimyo Oda Nobunaga who was resurrected as the Demon Lord of the 6th Heaven. As part of his campaign to rule over the world, Nobunaga uses a summoning ritual to merge with evil and become unstoppable. To prevent this from happening, the Five-Ring Warriors use a magic rune known as the Five-Ring Mandala to seal away Nobunaga at the cost of one of them dying. Even though the rune worked, Nobunaga swore to return in the future and see his ambition satisfied.

Some of the Five-Ring Warriors' history ends up being recorded in the Book of Five Rings which ends in the possession of the samurai Mifune. However, In 1926, Ranmaru, a close follower of Nobunaga, appears in Texas, United States in search of the Book. Ranmaru confronts Mifune and his student, Gemini Sunrise, near a waterfall and declares his intention to take the Book. In a last resort to prevent this, Mifune sacrifices himself and takes Ranmaru down the waterfall with him as Gemini watches in despair. However, Ranmaru survived the fall and has gotten half of the Book while Gemini has the other half.

It is revealed in Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love that Shinjiro Taiga is a reincarnation of Koya Hijiri, one of the original Five-Ring Warriors. Depending of the girl Shinjiro develops a romantic relationship with, it is revealed that Shinjiro's love interest is the reincarnation of the Nameless Nun that sacrifices herself to seal away Nobunaga in the past.

Sakura Wars V: So Long, My Love
In 1928, a group of demons led by Nobunaga's subordinate Ranmaru assemble in New York City, a metropole in the United States known as the largest city in the world. Planning to use the metropole's limitless amount of Pneuma to revive Nobunaga, the group fights against the New York Combat Revue's Star Division which ends in each of the demons being killed one by one.

As the war against Nobunaga's followers continues, Shinjiro Taiga, the Captain-in-Training of the Star Division, discovers the story of the Five-Ring Warriors and finds out that the girls that joined the group have marks on their bodies proving their identity as the Five-Ring Warriors.

After Nobunaga's revival, the Star Division infiltrates Azuchi Castle to confront the Demon Lord. They attempt to use the Five-Ring Mandala to seal away the demon but discover that the magic rune failed. Shocked and out of options, the group escapes but Shinjiro gets stabbed by Nobunaga's arrow sending the young man in a coma. In his coma, Shinjiro receives a memory of Koya Hijiri, a member of the original Five-Ring Warriors who is also revealed to be his former life. Shinjiro learns that the original Five-Ring Warriors were forced to sacrifice one of their own in order to use the Five-Ring Mandala.

Original Five-Ring Warriors
The Original Five-Ring Warriors are the group that has fought against Nobunaga in medieval Japan. Realizing Nobunaga is too powerful to be killed, the group uses the Five-Ring Mandala to seal away the Demon Lord at the cost of one of them dying. The members of the group were :


 * Kamiizumi : A man who created the Shinkage-ryu style and keeps of the divine blade.
 * Bokuden : A man who created the Jo no Katsu style and has no equal in battle strategy.
 * Flying Kato : An invisible ninja who lives among the shadows and brings death to evil souls.
 * Kiyoshi : A man who melded Pneuma with technology and pursues all dark beings without rest.
 * Koya Hijiri : A monk who served under Dainichi Nyorai and seals away raging demons. Hijiri is the former life of Shinjiro Taiga and developed a romantic relation with the Nameless Nun.
 * The Nameless Nun : A mysterious girl who answers to a  foreign deity  and is known only by her branded skin. She sacrifices herself so that the Five-Ring Mandala succeeds in sealing away Nobunaga. The Nun is revealed to be the former life of Shinjiro's love interest and developed a romantic relation with Koya Hijiri.

New Five-Ring Warriors
The New Five-Ring Warriors are the new version of the group that fought against Nobunaga when he was resurrected in New York City in 1928. This version is made of the New York Combat Revue's Star Division members. Each member has the Five-Ring Mark somewhere on their body.


 * Shinjiro Taiga : A young Japanese samurai who serves as the newly appointed Captain of the New York Combat Revue's Star Division. Shinjiro is revealed to be the reincarnation of Koya Hijiri, one of the original Five-Ring Warriors. Shinjiro has the Five-Ring Mark on his stomach after being struck by Nobunaga's arrow.
 * Gemini Sunrise : A young samurai from Texas who has a split personality with her twin sister Geminine. Gemini has the Five-Ring Mark on her butt.
 * Rosarita Aries : A young Mexican girl who serves as a gun-wielding bounty hunter. Rosarita has the Five-Ring Mark on her left arm.
 * Diana Caprice : A young frail doctor who previously used a wheelchair. Diana has the Five-Ring Mark on her left leg.
 * Cheiron Archer : A short-tempered Afro-American lawyer from Harlem serving as the leader of the Centaurs. Cheiron has the Five-Ring Mark on her stomach.
 * Subaru Kujou : An androgenous Japanese girl who is known as a genius. Subaru has the Five-Ring Mark on her back.

Five-Ring Mandala
The Five-Ring Mandala is a magic rune used by the Five-Ring Warriors. This rune is used to seal away demons and evil energy. However, using the rune results in one of the Five-Ring Warriors being sacrificed. The incantation to use the Mandala is :

What shatters evil is...wind!

What burns evil is...fire!

What purifies evil is...water!

What buries evil is...earth!

What purges evil is...the void!

Warriors guided by the Five Rings, fulfill thine destiny and seal away the Demon Lord!

Trivia

 * Depending of the player's choice, it is revealed that Shinjiro's love interest is a reincarnation of the Nameless Nun who sacrificed herself to seal away Nobunaga. However, if the player chooses Ratchet as the love interest, the Nameless Nun is still depicted as Gemini's former life.