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At first a clever ninja might somehow oscillate himself so as to avoid the stake, but as hunger and fatigue set in, his struggles would prove useless. Morning fogs, rains, and heavy dews served to wet the rope sufficiently, but if such natural phenomena did not occur, the ninja's captors would apply water.

Such barbarous treatment helped to make it a common practice for ninja to kill themselves when capture was imminent by taking virulent poisons or stabbing themselves with their own swords. The ninja also disfigured their faces so that they might not be recognized and the source of their ninjutsu traced. A ninja who had been bound would take his own life by simply biting off his tongue, thus producing a fatal hemorrhage.

NINJA OPERATIONS

Ninja could be dispatched to operate in one or more combinations of five ways: (1) native, (2) inside, (3) living, (4) doubled, and (5) expendable.

The “native” agent was a person of the enemy's regional area who had full knowledge of the customs and geography of that area. Such a ninja was most difficult to sustain inasmuch as his features were well known by the local folk and the enemy warriors. Inside agents were ninja recruited from among the enemy's own officials and personnel. These traitors were chosen from among those who had been deprived of wealth or title, or those who were overly desirous of gaining immediate wealth.