15th Nin - A Shinobi Stage!

15th Nin - A Shinobi Stage! is the fifteenth episode of Hero Retold: Kamen Rider Shinobi. This episode features the full debut of Kyoya Hibino and his transformation to Kamen Rider Saizo, as well as the full debut of NJN22. This is also the series' last episode of 2019.

Plot
Sirens blare one red evening, as Kirito Arma escapes prison and goes into hiding. As Yabe and Oba patrol the nearby premises, the two suddenly witness a commotion as a Green Nin-Ju rampages over the open area. The two police arrive and open fire at the beast with their guns. After seemingly stunning it, Yabe radios Rekka in to seal its waters. However, the beast gets wrapped in a kusarigama chain and they see a Green Kamen Rider snag the Nin-Ju up in the air and shocking it with Biri-bari Ninpo, before slamming it to the ground. As the Nin-Ju starts to expel the red waters, the Rider seals it with the Sanzu Secret Arts Technique, revealing its host as an NJN22 otaku fan, symbolized by the merchandise and bandanas he’s wearing. Both Yabe and Oba check to see the fan’s well-being just as the Rider leaps off before Oba excitedly remembers that the idol group would have their return concert tomorrow, which confuses Yabe to silence.

The scene shifts to Iroha and Ayame riding a luxury van, ready to pick up the NJN22 members. As Iroha is briefed with her new role as the idol’s manager, she starts to recall the moment when she found out Rentaro’s identity as Kamen Rider Shinobi. Ayame calls her attention and Iroha mistakes this as a question about her, only for the former to clarify that she’s still talking about the group, which shrinks Iroha into an apology. As they arrive at the airport that night, Iroha and Ayame brush past the crowd, as the five members finally enter the lobby and greet their fans, only for a much larger crowd of anti-ninja protesters to storm in the airport and vocally show their disdain to the group, comically surprising a confused Iroha. When the small crowd gets into a tizzy, Ayame calls Iroha’s attention as an anti-fan gets past the blockade and tries to attack Satomi with a handsaw, only for Yukari to parry the attack and knock him down. Iroha immediately shields the members before anyone else notices the act and they safely escorted the girls to the van. Just as Amily finally gets inside, Iroha notices a man in white casually looking at her smiling, before she gets inside their vehicle and they drive off.

At the newly established Konjo Group Studio, Nobushige enthusiastically welcomes NJN22 to their new home as they finalize their move and set their plans. Iroha also introduces herself as the new manager, with the girls cheerfully greeting the other staff as well. As the idols and Nobushige continue to exchange pleasantries, Iroha pulls Ayame aside and asks about what happened earlier. Ayame states that since the NJN22 was originally made to promote Ninja Activity, it is natural for protesters who supported the reforms to be angry with the group, especially since returning after three long years. She tells Iroha that it’s her job to help the group’s public image, especially since this NJN22 now comprises of both ninja and non-ninja members.

After the group’s courtesy call, Iroha guides the members to their rooms, only for Satomi to bluntly ask where Johnny Yoo was, catching her off-guard. She reveals that she knew the entire situation with their transfer to the Konjo Group and asks if he’s been okay lately. When Iroha fails to answer her, she immediately goes off on her own, leaving the rest of the members who try and call her back with them.

While walking about on the streets, Satomi passes by Akane who is opening a new Nin-Nin Delivery Service store in the area, when a few ninja delinquents come in and insult the place, seeing as a courier store has no place in this ninja-heavy location. As the group of thugs continues to bother Akane, one of them sees Satomi and they pull her in the store as well as try to harass the two girls. Suddenly, the young man in white from earlier appears and proceeds to beat up the delinquents, tossing them out of the store where they leave in humiliation. As the two thank the young man, he suddenly gets kicked by an arriving Iroha, who misunderstood the entire situation. After she apologizes to the man, she tries to pull Satomi away, but she tugs her hand and immediately gets angry, demanding to know where Johnny was. Immediately, Akane offers to take them to where Johnny was.

At the hospital ICU, Satomi visits the comatose Johnny in his room while Iroha, Akane, and the young man wait. Akane then fills Iroha in with the events that happened prior, which visibly frustrates her as she recalls her brother getting beaten badly, before being forced out of transformation by the Clay Cho Nin-Ju. Akane asks if knowing the truth beforehand would have helped, but Iroha cuts her midway, saying that she no longer wants to associate with him or any Rider again. This time, Akane confronts her, saying that she’s simply running away. She frankly tells Iroha that the reason she knew Rentaro’s secret all-along was that he trusted her to have his back all the time; that she did that better despite not being a ninja. Akane amps it up by saying that she’s fulfilling the role that should’ve been Iroha’s all along, prompting Iroha to try and hit her, but she gets an urgent call and leaves the premises.

Iroha arrives at the NJN22 dorms being swarmed by multiple protesters who proceed to become hostile as they air their grievances to the group. One of the protesters tries to throw rocks at the home but Iroha blocks it by breaking them with her shuriken. When the protesters see her, they start to harass Iroha, to the point that she gets injured in the process. As she sees the red moon, she suddenly wishes all her problems would simply go away. Suddenly, waters start to envelop her and the shocked crowd back off as they see her starting to transform. As she sees herself also get covered with the waters, Iroha gets flashbacks from the times she hung out with Rentaro, only for her to remember the recent times that she dismissed his antics, ridiculed him for his ninja fascination, and even became confrontational with him. She suddenly tears up, realizing that Akane was saying the truth all along, before succumbing to become a Nin-Ju.

However, the young man appears and uses the Sanzu Secret Arts Technique, sucking up all the waters before Iroha becomes a complete Nin-Ju. He then seals it inside the Camo Hyoutan, before telling all the protesters to get out of the premises, which they do. As the young man approaches Iroha, the latter suddenly becomes dizzy, falling forward towards him. He tells her that it’s the side-effect of having her waters drained. As Iroha goes unconscious, the man calls Haruka’s name and she steps out of the shadows, asking if her little trick worked. The man simply says “who knows” as he carries Iroha, though he remarks that the ruse was too believable that it even knocked her out. As it turns out, Haruka was using a water-controlling Jutsu to simulate a Nin-Ju transformation and drive off the protesters. As the young man looks at Iroha, he smirks that “he” owes them big time, before noting that there’s one last thing to do.

At an alleyway, the man corners a female anti-fan, asking if she was trying to mimic the situation months ago. When the woman becomes visibly upset that a Rider got in the way again, she looks at the red moon and transforms into another Green Nin-Ju who tries to attack him. The man remarks that the info he got was accurate all-along before he pulls the Camo Hyoutan and transforms into Kamen Rider Saizo, engaging the beast, as he uses his Kusari-Gasher to subdue the monster. When the Nin-Ju tries to launch a counterattack, he transforms his weapon into its naginata form and blocks its attack, before collapsing it back and trapping the beast. He activates Biri-bari Ninpo and electrocutes the Nin-Ju to submission. When the Nin-Ju tries to escape, Saizo turns the Kusari-Gasher into the bow form before activating Spiking Ninpo, shooting an electrically charged arrow to the fleeing beast, shooting it back down. Saizo seals the beast’s waters, turning the woman back, just as the sun rises.

The next day, Iroha gets called in for an emergency meeting. There, she gets reprimanded by Nobushige for failing to safeguard NJN22, with the members unanimously voting no-confidence with her abilities. As Iroha apologies profusely for her lack of concentration, Ayame suggests that she may need assistance in managing the hectic activities of the idol group. She then introduces the young man from last night, surprising Iroha as he introduces himself as Kyoya Hibino, the new assistant manager under her moving forward."'Two thousand years ago, the red waters of the Sanzu River overflowed from the hills of dread, causing a massive eruption that caused heavy rains for three days and three nights. As the waters are not of this world, the storm caused much destruction and death. With the need to stop the ravaging waters of the afterlife, the royal family of artisans conjured seven vessels to collect these waters and save humanity. This is their story.'""- Scroll’s text, as read by Kyoya Hibino."In the post-credits scene, Isamichi goes into a secluded forest where he finally encounters Rentaro. He tells him that he’s here to settle their score once and for all, with Rentaro acknowledging it. The two pull out their respective Hyoutans and transform, before engaging each other in battle.

Fan Casting

 * Rentaro Kagura: Hideya Tawada
 * Kyoya Hibino: Hokuto Matsumura
 * Isamichi Konjo: Takuma Zaiki
 * Iroha Kagura: Asuka Hanamura
 * Ayame Suzumiya: Kana Oya
 * Akane Egusa: Mana Kono
 * Nobushige Konjo: Kenichi Endo
 * Yabe: Yohei Komatsu
 * Oba: Sho Tanaka
 * Haruka Ashikage: Mizuki Yamauchi
 * Luna: Yui Mizuno
 * Amily: Aika Hirota
 * Satomi: Anna Ishii
 * Yukari: Mikoto Hibi

Suit Actors

 * Kamen Rider Shinobi: Yuji Nakata
 * Kamen Rider Saizo: Jun Watanabe
 * Kamen Rider Hattari: Shogo Teramoto
 * Green Nin-Ju (Male): Hajime Kanzaki
 * Green Nin-Ju (Female): Ayumi Shimozono

Notes from Writer

 * Despite being mentioned and hinted at this episode, Rekka Ayano and Johnny Yoo do not appear in this episode at any capacity.
 * While the format serves as a Character Episode for both Kyoya Hibino and Iroha Kagura, this episode is a main storyline one, due to Rentaro Kagura appearing, albeit briefly.