Time and time again, Ninjiro has continually slipped through Grandmaster Lunaeus' fingers. Past it all, he has remained collected, calm, feeling that it was only a matter of time before things aligned in the way they should. Yet, even his patience has a limit. Though the Grandmaster had thrown so much at his former student, the ninja somehow persisted.

Every method he tried has failed. Whether it be dragging him back through the sheer brute force of the Rival or with the temptations of Masako, Ninjiro has continually stood against the Moon's Eye triumphantly. Finally pushed to his breaking point, Lunaeus has become desperate. If nothing on Earth could stop Ninjiro, then perhaps he needed something from beyond...

Using his adept knowledge of the dark arts, Lunaeus opened a gateway to an unknown realm. Slowly rising out from the portal was this nigh incomprehensible, primordial entity. Unknowable in both shape and intent. Understanding the dangers inherent to summoning such a force, Lunaeus had the foresight to prepare a second spell; a spell which would constrain this entity to a physical form, making it easier to control.

This form would take on the appearance of that which the demon was summoned to capture: Ninjiro. However, this would be no mere exact duplicate. Instead, it would become a contorted mockery of the ninja, foul and nightmarish in appearance. A physical embodiment of the hatred that made up its very core. Shackled by this mortal coil, the demon's first instinct was to attack the being which summoned it in this weakened state. Yet, these plans folded the instant it realized just what had brought it to this realm.

Indeed, the demon was quick to call Lunaeus its master. Almost like it knew him, or at least knew OF him. The Grandmaster did not hesitate, demanding that his new minion head to Belfry Haven to capture Ninjiro right away. Now understanding its purpose, it would be in the first battle with its target that the monster would be christened with its new name: Twinjiro.

Twinjiro is without a doubt the most dangerous opponent that Ninjiro and Vigilance have faced thus far. He has full control over the sinewy ribbons that make up his flesh, perfect for throttling the life out of anyone unfortunate enough to stand in his way. With strength and durability that far exceeds that of any human, Twinjiro is a powerhouse that can tank most anything thrown his way. Even if you manage to tear a limb off or wound him, his muscles are quick to reattach the missing parts or fill the void in record time. Although, it's not impossible to overwhelm the beast's healing factor if pushed far enough.

An unrelenting monster in almost every way sense of the word, Twinjiro takes great pleasure in the pain he inflicts. Even in this constantly imprisoned state, he remains a hard to control wildcard that Lunaeus struggles to keep on a tight leash. Still, his loyalty to the master is clear. Although, whether that loyalty is out of a genuine sense of servitude or it being forced upon him is anyone's guess. For all they know, he could be quietly scheming a way to wrest himself free from Lunaeus' control...

I was kinda iffy on giving Twinjiro an updated design sheet. The first still felt too recent, coming after I switched to Gimp. Still, I knew it was basically inevitable after I changed Ninjiro's color scheme for his second go around. I'd say of all the characters I've updated so far, Twinjiro's design is the one that actually received the heaviest revamp.

A big motivator for wanting to do this is that as I was chatting with my friend @Turbo-Tastic a couple weeks after posting the first design sheet, he offhandedly mentioned the possibility of Twinjiro being similar to Durge from Clone Wars beneath the skin. I loved that idea so much, I even took it a step further and changed the arm wraps to actual muscle tendons visibly wrapped around Twinjiro's bones. I feel this change alone does so much for the design and character. I gotta acknowledge his contribution here and thank him for it.

While the intent behind the extended arm wraps is that they were always meant to echo Ninjiro's short sleeves, I feel the torn skin leading into the exposed flesh sells that idea better. You might also notice his now bulkier build that's closer to what I initially envisioned before I actually drew the character. It's a build that's similar to other villainous counterparts that helped inspire him, such as Slash and Venom. I even gave him visible chest muscles, which is something I don't draw often. These changes aid in that feeling of him being this almost funhouse mirror distortion of Ninjiro. At least in my opinion.

Twinjiro is one of my favorite villains I've created for Ninjiro and his arrival is one of the signals that the story's stakes are only gonna get higher from this point forward.