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…

Tyrajonin was awakened, not for the first time, by the cries of a child.

Blinking the sleep from her eyes, the ninja leader peered down at the trembling little girl clutching her side, sobbing with fright. "Shhh, little one, it's all right, it was just a bad dream," she cooed, bending down to nuzzle the child's hair as she ignited the torches on the periphery of the chamber with a small influx of dinpo.

"It was so dark," the little girl bawled, hugging her mother. "And cold, and you weren't there, and I was… I was all alone-"

"Peace, little one," Tyrajonin murmured, holding the little girl tightly, feeling the child's frantic heartbeat gradually decrease as she soaked in her mother's body heat. "It was just a dream and nothing more. You see? I am here, and you are by my side. It is warm and safe, and you shall never be lost or alone or hungry ever again."

The girl's trembling decreased… But she was still crying a little, and Tyrajonin knew from experience it would take a little more than hugs and loving reassurances to put her back to sleep. "Would you like to hear the story again?" She asked kindly.

Her daughter nodded wordlessly.

Tyrajonin smiled, her teeth gleaming in the torchlight. "Very well."

She turned to face the wall, which was decorated with artwork that looked like a mix of cave paintings and ukiyo-e woodcut. As she began to narrate her tale, the figures in the paintings seemed to come to life… Though whether it was due to the little girl's tiredness, a trick of the light, or some inherent, ancient magic, the child did not know, and did not care.

"Long ago," Tyrajonin began. "This world was ruled by the dinosaurs, the mightiest creatures to ever walk the face of the Earth."

Dinosaurs of numerous different species frolicked, flew, swam, hunted, and even fornicated all over the world without a care in the world.

"And then… The Dark Times came."

A humanoid sorceress wielding a scepter, her hair in two massive points, appeared, alongside a colossal vaguely feminine machine, a massive winged alien with an incredibly long tail, a giant robot resembling a gorilla, a monster vaguely resembling a humanoid Tyrannosaurus rex, a green eldritch creature with too many mouths and tentacles, and an army vaguely resembling chess pieces, as a meteor formed in the sky. The dinosaurs, surrounded and beset on all sides, trembled in fear.

"In a surprisingly short time, numerous threats attacked the prehistoric Earth, seeking to wipe out all life on our precious world. Some dinosaurs fought…"

Groups of biomechanical dinosaurs attacked the sorceress, the humanoid Tyrannosaurus rex and eldritch creature, and the Army, while a trio of what appeared to be trains battled the robot gorilla.

"Most died…"

Thousands upon thousands of rotting dinosaur corpses littered the fields of the ancient world.

"And others went into hiding, hoping to ride out the storm and reclaim the Earth once the Dark Times ended."

A smaller group of dinosaurs raced into a cave as the meteor loomed large in the skies and the numerous monsters roared in triumph.

"In the end, all the dinosaurs went extinct, save for those who hid."

Millions of dinosaur skeletons littered the fields of the ancient world, gradually sinking into the ground.

"For a time, the surface was too toxic and irradiated for the dinosaurs to return."

A dinosaur poked its head out of the cave, only to see that the world was dark and shrouded in smog.

"For a time, the surface was too cold and inhospitable for the dinosaurs to return."

A dinosaur poked its head out of the cave, only to see that the world was covered in ice and snow.

"Eventually, the conditions were right for them to finally return… Only for them to discover that the world no longer had a place for them."

The dinosaurs emerged from the cave, only to find themselves surrounded by a mix of cavemen with spears, knights with swords, and samurai with bows.

"And so, they were forced to hide again, retreating to a secret Valley, the last vestige of the world they had once knew, the last place that still felt like home."

The dinosaurs lounged about a verdant, alien forest, looking miserable.

"Fearing discovery from the outside world, they trained in the art of stealth, learning how to move about unnoticed by humans, so that, despite their immense size, they could venture forth when necessary without being seen."

The dinosaurs, now resembling biomechanical giants wearing Shinobi shozoku, walked right past a group of clueless farmers, who somehow failed to notice the giant black-clad reptiles in their midst.

"And, in so doing, they became the Shinobiryu, the world's first ninjas."

The dinosaurs posed, wielding a variety of standard ninja weapons, including ninjato, Shuriken, rope darts, claws, hammers, and kusarigama.

"And they would have remained the only ninja, even to this day, had circumstances not forced their hand."

Spaceships resembling pagodas and Japanese castles descended from the skies, disgorging armies of monsters resembling Youkai but with space-age outfits and weapons, terrorizing the helpless human populace.

"The Earth was invaded by members of the Youkalien Star Hegemony, who sought to add the Earth to their intergalactic empire."

The dinosaurs looked on in alarm as the Youkaliens ravaged the countryside.

"They were uncertain what to do. The last time the world had been threatened like this, they had gone into hiding to try and survive. Should they do so again, and leave the humans to go extinct? Or should they stand and fight, as their kin had during the Dark Days, to try and prevent the tragedy which befell their ancestors from happening again?"

The dinosaurs charged in to attack the Youkaliens, startling both the alien monsters and humans alike.

"In the end, they chose to fight. And they did not do so alone."

Several of the humans donned ninja garb and started fighting alongside the dinosaurs.

"Inspired by the Shinobiryu, many humans with strong dinpo pledged to fight alongside them, receiving the blessings of the dinosaurs and gaining the power of the ninja. Together, they overcame the Youkaliens and saved the world."

The Youkalien spaceships went down in flames, the remaining monsters scattering to the winds as the dinosaurs and their human allies roared triumphantly.

"Many Youkaliens managed to survive, but with no way off of Earth or any way to signal for help, they had no choice but to settle down and became the ancestors of modern Youkai, who continue to plague the world to this day. Fortunately, even now, the successors of those original ninja continue the fight to protect humanity."

Armies of Dorodoros and Hitokarage clashed against what appeared to be the Kakurangers, the Ninningers, and a third set of ninjas whose costumes were much blacker than the other two teams and had vaguely saurian features.

"While most of the ninja clans of the present have forgotten their origins and the great debt they owe to the Shinobiryu, the descendants of those first ninjas still remain true to the old ways, and continue training in secret under the guidance of the Shinobiryu elders in the Hidden Valley, fighting from the shadows to protect the light, as a true ninja should."

A massive stone ninja fortress now loomed in the heart of the ancient Valley, and human ninja trained alongside dinosaurs while the Shinobiryu looked on in approval.

Tyrajonin glanced down and was unsurprised to see that her daughter had fallen asleep, her face peaceful as no more nightmares troubled her slumber. Bending down, she gently kissed the girl on the forehead. "And you, my little Akira, shall be among the greatest ninja we have ever had."

Extinguishing the torches, the giant biomechanical Tyrannosaurus ninja master curled up around her human daughter and fell back asleep.