SOLVED. Fiction. Book series of a boy during samurai/ Japanese times. [s]

[Ryan]

I believe this is a 4 book series. I read this back in middle school probably 10 or so years ago to give at least some reference to how long the book has been out (maybe). Also there may be comments thinking this is the “YOUNG SAMURAI” series and this is not that.
A boy is hidden under the floorboards in a village as ninjas come and burn down the village by the water and kill all the normal farmers. A samurai party comes and help the boy and any survivors.
At some point the boy goes on a journey looking for 4 artifacts to get a legendary and powerful sword. One of the artifacts leads him to go underwater and swim past a serpent/ dragon for a pearl.

During this journey he is attacked by a man and his army also looking for these artifacts. The man dies as an arrow hits his horse and topples on top of him. While the boy goes on his journey that man is seen in hell being eternally eaten by maggots and is still stuck under the horse. Eventually the man escapes from under the horse by eating a maggot to give him enough strength. He escapes from hell and becomes an undead walking the world, brining zombie like people with him.
The boy has to climb this mountain and fight if a fire breathing dragon to get the sword and use it to defeat the undead man.

[Capn]

Excluded: The Way of the Warrior, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...

One of these?

Rise of the Ninja
"It's the dawn of an age of peace in medieval Japan, and a power hungry warlord is plotting to plunge the nation into a deadly civil war using a secret weapon from the West. Enter Moonshadow, the newest and youngest agent for the Grey Light Order, a covert brotherhood of shinobi (ninja spy warriors) who work for the shogun. For his first mission, Moonshadow is sent on a perilous journey to capture the plans for the secret weapon."

(Moonshadow series - 3 books, or maybe 4?)
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5210...

White Crane
"Niya Moto is the only one-legged Samurai kid in Japan, famous for falling flat on his face in the dirt. The one school that will accept him is the Cockroach Ryu, led by the legendary sensei Ki-Yaga."

(Samurai Kids series - 8 books)
series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/6890...

Blood Ninja
"In the course of a day, Taro's entire life changes: His father is murdered before his eyes, and Taro is taken by a mysterious ninja on a perilous journey toward safety. Someone wants Taro dead, but who -- and why? With his best friend, Hiro, and their ninja guide Shusaku, Taro gets caught in the crossfire of a bitter conflict between rival lords for control of imperial Japan."

(Blood Ninja series, a trilogy - main character Taro is a vampire. Has a dragon. 3 books)
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5135...

The Black Lotus
"Ghost, Cormac, and Kate are not like other kids. Ghost can turn invisible, Cormac can run up walls, and Kate can talk to animals--all abilities that make them perfect for the Black Lotus, a training school for ninjas who are sworn to protect the world from the evil samurai-run Empire."

(only the one book listed, but appears to be a series, or was intended to be: Shadow of the Ninja)
https://www.goodreads.com/series/1899...

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn
"While attempting to solve the mystery of a stolen jewel, Seikei, a merchant's son who longs to be a samurai, joins a group of kabuki actors in eighteenth-century Japan."

(Samurai Detective series - 7 books)
https://www.goodreads.com/series/5587...

Shadow of the Ninja
"Young samurai Jimmu puts his life on the line when he sets out to rescue his master's daughter from a rival warlord. Jimmu cannot save Takeko alone, so when he meets a band of ninja warriors, he is tempted to enlist their help. Will Jimmu join forces with the deadly ninja, and learn to live, and die, their way?"
(not a series..?)

Blue Fingers: A Ninja's Tale
"Through an odd twist of fate, a stubborn twelve-year-old boy named Koji is kidnapped by a secret ninja clan and taken to its hidden camp high in the mountains. He wants desperately to return home, but that is forbidden. He must forget his old life and become a ninja-or die."
(not a series...?)

Was it illustrated or a graphic novel? Any young female protagonists, or just the boy? (There were several manga/graphic novel series I excluded in my search, as well as two series headed by female MCs)

[Ryan]

My dude you’re a saint. I have been looking for this series for 5 years going to countless websites, asking local librarians and hundreds of google searches… I was convinced I was dreaming all this up. Based on the summaries I believe that “Blood Ninja” by Nick Lake was the series I described.
Thank you again.

[Capn]

Oh my great pleasure! :D So happy to have helped. :)