The ninja's name is Mark.
- It's right there in the title, after all.
The tattoos don't always result in permanent insanity.
- The inks eventually pass out of the user's system or become inert. The story and tradition of killing the tattooed ninja exist because given the tattoos put somebody in a state where they're unable to rationally make decisions and where they're capable of acting against their previous beliefs and value system there's a terrible slippery slope here, especially with the expectation that somebody who survived one application might make the safest candidate for repeated use. (There may have been suicides by recovered ninja who realized what they'd done, making this in part a form of mercy killing.) And the strength of this tradition also discourages the clan's leaders from sacrificing more clan members to experiment with the procedure, thus helping keep the clan stable and safe.
Ora is a real person.
- She's aware of Azai's dealings and is your official minder, deliberately acting as a possible figment of your imagination so you'll be more likely to listen to her. She can get around in ways you can't because in addition to more focused training she has advanced tech and tools for that purpose. Guards don't sound alerts on spotting her either because they actually can't see her (and the player character's enhanced senses are the reason he can) or because she's been introduced to them and they know she's prowling the area. Seeing her dissolve into ink if you kill her represents surrendering to hallucination as much as killing Azai represents surrendering to your altered perspective on the clan.
- According to the commentary, the crew conceived her as a sister or someone who helped the ninja at a difficult time in his life.
