The Sum Of Things

An article about the very last ninja:

The teachings of Grand Master Masaaki Hatsumi echo through my head as he entreats me to attack a blackbelted disciple with a practice sword. "Always be able to kill your students," he says.

...As he nimbly glides across the padded floor, Hatsumi showers students with cryptic proverbs straight out of Confucian scrolls, such as "anything can be used as a weapon" or "ninjutsu is the sum of things in the universe."

Listen, I don't know much about ninjas. But if I was a grand warrior master of stealth, I would totally want you to believe there was only one of us. And I would find some other guy, give him a headful of mystical phrases, and send him around to say things like, "I'm the last, best ninja!"

Because then you'd be watching him, and not me and my 50 ninja buddies who are sneaking into your home to kill you with poisoned nunchuks.