Yoshimitsu is an inheritor of the Manji Ninjutsu and current head of the Manji Clan, a group of chivalrous thieves active since the Sengoku period. Six months ago, Yoshimitsu accepted a request from an investor of the refugee relief project. The task was to find archives that contained information on the past doings of the Mishima Zaibatsu.

After analyzing information that his clan members had gathered, Yoshimitsu is led to an old, underground cave. Legend has it that the Mishimas once used it for exorcisms. He scans the area using the technology built into his reinforced armor and continues down a dilapidated path. In the recesses of the cave, Yoshimitsu discovers the archives he has been looking for.

Just then, the faint demonic aura that had been surrounding the archives resonates with Yoshimitsu's cursed blade and causes a wave of evil to surge forth. The Cursed Blade Yoshimitsu, passed down between heads of the Manji Clan for generations, is corrupted with an unquenchable bloodlust that eventually drives its wielder insane. In the blink of an eye, the blade infiltrates Yoshimitsu's mind and amplifies his desire for destruction.

Yoshimitsu quickly stabs himself with the blade so he can feed its thirst, yet the blade becomes even more uncontrollable. After he returns, the clan elders teach Yoshimitsu how to suppress the cursed sword's malevolent will, even if only barely. Still, his cursed blade has called out to him ever since that day."If the owner of the voice I hear is the source of the sword's uncontrollable nature, then I will cut it off at its root."

Yoshimitsu's ally, Dr. Bosconovitch, provides him with the latest reinforced armor before sending him off on his journey out of Secret Manji Village to follow wherever his blade leads him.