what swords did the Ninja really use?

Hollywood would have it that Ninjas wielded a straight bladed short sword with a square tsuba, known as the Ninja-to. while this sword would very well serve a ninjas purpose such a sword simply didn't exist in those days. Or at least not consistently. The ninja usually being rogues and outlaws did not have the ability to hire expert swordsmiths like that of the samurai. they perhaps may have had a blacksmith but not one capable of creating such fine swords as the katana. The sword that A ninja would have owned was likely to be a kodachi. A curved short sword similar to the Samurai Wakizashi although lower quality and perhaps slightly longer. As Kodachi are short swords they were allowed to be carried by the general public and so the Ninja likely had access to them. Another sword a ninja might have owned was the Wakizashi of the samurai. however it would have to be stolen from a samurai to be attained. The katana because of its size would've been of little use to the Ninja who prefered stealth over power. And it simply didn't require a 42 inch long sword to quietly stab someone from behind. The ninja wouldve taken the Wakizashi from a defeated samurai and put it in the sheath of the katana and hidden blinding powder in the extra space at the bottom of the sheath. The only use a ninja had for the katana would be if he should need to dress up as a samurai as a disguise. And perhaps to sell for a hefty sum of cash on the black market...