Fujimaru of the Wind (1964)

The story begins with Fujimaru as an infant, apparently the son of a farmer woman. While his unnamed mother works in the fields, Fujimaru is placed in a nearby basket. An eagle appears and kidnaps Fujimaru. Sasuke, a mysterious ninja, rescues the baby and decides to raise it as his disciple. The story skips ahead several years, with Fujimaru as a teenager or young adult. He has become a ninja with wind-related mystical powers. Two of his main techniques are "leaves" (creating wind swirls, which blow leaves and other items; shielding his escape from the eyes of everyone nearby) and "multiplication" (creating illusory duplicates of himself, in order to confuse his enemies). Fujimaru has two goals in life. Seeking his long-lost mother, and preventing his enemy Japusai from gaining the "Ryuen Book". Japusai is a ninja with fire-related powers, and the Book is a manuscript book in parchment form that contains powerful, forbidden techniques of ninjutsu. Possession of the book would allow a ninja to greatly enhance his powers. By the end of the series, Fujimaru has managed to both locate his mother and gain possession of the "Ryuen Book". However he considers the Book too dangerous to preserve, and chooses to destroy it instead of claiming its knowledge for himself.