The best swordsmen of China and Japan have made it a historical ritual to meet every 10 years for a showdown of fighting skills and powers. The leading fighter of the Japanese ninjas, Hashimoto (Tsui Siu-keung), and the Chinese chief Ching Wan (Damian Lau) have come to respect each other after years of competition – but tradition demands that they lock swords again. Their honor is put to the test when rogue ninjas barge into Shaolin Temple to steal a secret kung fu manuscript and unleashes a war.