Air Ninjas

Air Ninjas, occasionally known to the few aware of their existence as Wind Warriors (風の戦士), Wind Ninjas or rarely Storming Shinobis are a group of Ninjas and practitioners of the art of Windjitsu, led by the Air Sensei. Shrouded in mystery since the early days of their founding, few are aware of the the Air Ninjas' existence, as the ninjas tend to favour secrecy and isolationism, preferring to live within their own society distanced from others. This has lead the ninja community as a whole to forget about the Air Ninjas' existence, with what little that was already known of them reduced to mere rumours over time.

The ninjas all train and compete within the Air Dojo, a secret location rumored by some to be located on floating islands that are kept afloat by the power of the Pectosphere.

The ninjas are often characterized by their traditional white and yellow clothing and their use of wind-related objects, typically hand-held fans, kites and occasionally hang-gliders.

History
The Air Ninjas were founded around the late 1880s, during the times of the High Penguin Confederacy. At the time, they were only a small group of ninjas who didn't have a leader and had rather limited knowledge of ninja fighting skills and styles when compared with other ninja communities. Eventually, the ninjas stumbled upon an old dojo, contained scrolls and scripts believed to have been written by The Three Masters. Though most of them were destroyed, a specific group of scripts described mysterious fighting styles and techniques unheard of to the ninjas that "used the power of the wind to one's will". Incredibly interested in this, the ninjas returned to share this newfound knowledge with the rest of the group, calling it Windjitsu. The ninjas were soon able to command and manipulate air, while some were even able to fly using their abilities.

The group eventually grew into a reasonably large-sized clan, as more ninjas joined, intrigued by the ability to control air and even created their own uniform. The clan then decided to elect someone to be the Sensei, and chose the ninja who was the wisest and had mastered the art best to be Air Sensei. The Air Ninjas continued to grow and thrive until the beginning of the Khanzem War. Khanzem soldiers began invading the High Penguin Confederacy, and eventually came to the forest where the ninjas' were based, looking for High Penguins. Not wanting to give up their High Penguin ninjas to Khanzem, the Air Ninjas ambushed and fended off the soldiers, who soon retreated. The ninjas then proceeded to quickly evacuate and take down their village, leaving no trace in case the soldiers returned. They then set off in search of a location mentioned in the old Windjitsu scripts and found an archipelago of floating islands over the sea. Its strong connection to the Pectosphere, which kept it floating above sea level, was discovered by the Air Sensei who used it to their advantage and created a cluster of thick, permanent clouds to conceal the islands.

The ninjas then began the construction of a dojo and bridges to connect the islands together.

Headquarters
The ninjas live and train on the Floating Islands, small clumps and chunks of land connected by bridges and imbued with the Pectosphere's power, keeping them afloat at cloud level. Hovering high above the sea, the islands are also where the ninjas' dojo is located, where the Air Sensei also resides and trains students daily.

Most of the islands are covered in grass, vegetation and even a few trees while others (mostly stray chunks of floating rock) are either snow-capped or barren. Grassy islands are often used for farms and buildings while bare, rocky islands are normally left untouched.

To keep outsiders from noticing or entering, the ninjas used the powerful Pectospheric connection to conjure large stormy clouds that permanently surround the island. These clouds create powerful, cyclone-like winds which planes and other aircraft always tend to avoid when passing by. The Air Ninjas are capable of traversing these clouds to get in and out, as their knowledge and influence over air allows them to do so.

Surprisingly, hardly anyone falls off the islands as the ninjas are all capable of air manipulation and can easily propel themselves upwards without too much difficulty. Otherwise, the protective vortex the surrounds the islands usually gently pushes victims back up towards the islands.

Members

 * Air Sensei
 * Denise
 * Crimson (formerly)

Windjitsu
Air Ninjas are the only known group of ninjas who are able to control air, and other air-related aspects through the art known as Windjitsu. Despite utilizing the power of the Pectosphere, Windjitsu is merely a martial art form, meaning that air itself does not count as a proper element of Card-Jitsu.

Though it was somewhat uncommon within the ninja community prior to the Khanzem War, Windjitsu was still practised by other ninjas. But due to the isolation and presumed disappearance of the Air Ninjas, the art of Windjitsu is virtually non-existent to outsiders and has been reduced to mere rumours and myths known only by the oldest of ninjas.

Rather than using weapons like cards, shurikens or blades like most ninjas, the Air Ninjas instead prefer to use special hand-held fans typically crafted out of bamboo to channel their power. While some ninjas are confident or skilled enough to not use fans, the item is a more preferable weapon for its accuracy and is able to draw power more easily.

Using Windjitsu, the Air Ninjas can manipulate the wind and air of both indoor and outdoor environments, the latter of which can only be manipulated to a certain extent, depending on their skill. Most experienced air ninjas can fly using Windjitsu, while newer or less experienced learners have much trouble doing this, and often result to using bronze puffles as guides. Like the elemental fire and water ninjas, Air Ninjas are able to control the weather around them while in groups, bending the winds to form torrents and "pushing" clouds together using the wind to form storms or even small tornadoes. Some highly skilled Air Ninjas can even do this on their own.

Uniform
Prior to their relocation to the Floating Islands, the first uniforms of the Air Ninjas used to have darker, green-tinted borders and used a leaf as their symbol. Nowadays, their uniform is a much lighter colour and has yellowish-green borders. Though it may vary occasionally based on personal preference, the most common and standard uniform of the Air Ninjas consists of the following:
 * Featherweight Fan
 * Hurricane Helmet
 * Breezy Mask
 * Coat of Flurries
 * Cyclone Sandals

Trivia

 * In order to stay up-to-date with the latest news in Antarctica, the ninjas often send out scouts or spies disguised as civilians or other ninjas.
 * The ninjas have been known to make use of bronze puffles due to their tornado-based abilities. They are also rumoured to have the highest population of bronze puffles concentrated to one area (that being the Floating Islands), though this is unconfirmed.