Shimazu clan civil war

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"You think us such spineless curs as to accept a half-breed woman with continental blood as our master?!"

―A Japanese ninja on Shimazau Saito, 1725.

In 1725, a civil war broke out among members of the Japanese Shimazu clan within the Portuguese colony of Macau. The members of the clan split into two opposing factions, consisting of pure-blooded Japanese and mixed-blood ninja, respectively. The two factions were led by Fuma Sukuna and the Templar Shimazu Saito, respectively, both of whom had traveled to Macau to search for leads to the location of Angkor, the lost city of the Khmer Empire and an alleged Isu site.

Various factions in Macau took an interest in the conflict and supported either one of the two sides to further their own goals. The businessman Sun, head of the Hualien Trading Company, helped Saito's faction in exchange for a sea log in the Templar's possession, which contained information on Angkor's location. Sun's rival Madam Lee sided with the Japanese faction after they approached her, seeing the conflict as an opportunity to increase her power and influence in Macau.

Several individuals that were initially uninvolved in the war also ended up playing major roles. The British Assassin Edward Kenway was originally uninterested in the conflict but ended up striking an alliance with Saito and recruiting her to his organization, the Zhang Wei Union, due to sharing a common goal. Members of the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins led by Xiao Han became inadvertently involved while attempting to acquire the sea log in Sun's possession, after which they sought an alliance with Madam Lee to find Angkor.

Background

"In the eyes of the mainlanders... We were no more than outsiders who could never belong with them."

―Shimazau Saito, 1725.

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The Japanese ninja (left) deserting

The tensions between the Ja This infuriated the Japanese ninja, who began to rebel against Saito's leadership as a result.pment from a Far East Company ship on Sun's behalf. While Saito fought against Edward, who sought to destroy the shipment,

The Japanese ninja (left) deserting

The tensions between the Japanese and mixed blood ninja culminated during a mission to acquire a confiscated opium shipment from a Far East Company ship on Sun's behalf. While Saito fought against Edward, who sought to destroy the shipment, the Japanese ninja expressed their discontent over their treatment and got into a fight with the mixed blood ninja. When the businesswoman Madam Lee arrived with armed men to seize the opium shipment, the ninja were overwhelmed and forced to retreat, though in the process the Japanese deserted and went on to form their own faction.

The war

Fighting in Macau

"[The ninja] appear to have split into those from Cipango itself and those from overseas. And I believe their leader belongs to the latter group."

―Edward Kenway on the conflict between the Shimazu ninja, 1725.

In time, the conflict between the two ninja factions escalated into a civil war, with fights between members from the two groups becoming commonplace on the streets of Macau. As Saito and her men were under Sun's protection, Fukuna realized he needed a powerful ally in the city as well and sent one of his men to secure an alliance with Madam Lee. Despite the ninja's previous attacks against her company, Lee agreed to the partnership, secretly hoping to have her enemies destroy each other and thus allow her to accumulate more power.

Edward ending the fight between the ninja

During this time, Edward Kenway and his organization, the Zhang Wei Union, also became aware of the war between the Shimazu ninja and decided to investigate. While Edward and his allies, John Young and Zhang, were at the Macau market, they witnessed an altercation between two groups of ninja, which Edward decided to intervene in after telling John to inform Jan van Aert, the Dutch East India Company's chief navigator, of the situation. After fighting both groups, Edward ended the fight by firing his pistol into the air and demanded Saito's whereabouts so that he could recover the sea log stolen from him by the Templar.

At that moment, Sun appeared alongside a number of guards and informed Edward that the sea log was in his possession while threatening the Assassin. Not long after, Madam Lee arrived in the company of Sukuna and his ninja, hoping to eliminate Sun. As the two merchants were about to clash, Jan arrived with armed soldiers to back up Edward and ordered both Lee and Sun to stand down or else they would face the consequences for disrupting the order in Macau. Sukuna subsequently persuaded Lee to withdraw, prompting Sun to do the same.

Shortly after the three-way standoff, Sukuna, having recognized Edward as a member of the Assassin Brotherhood, approached him in private to request his help in eliminating Saito. He informed him that the Templar was serving as Sun's bodyguard aboard the merchant's floating gambling hall and promised that he and his ninja would also be present on the ship to help Edward accomplish his mission. After discussing the mission with John and Zhang, Edward decided to accept it, but only because it was an opportunity to recover the sea log from Sun.

Massacre at Sun's gambling den

Edward: "The loss of one's men strikes heavy to the heart, but you mustn't lose yourself to rage."

Saito: "I will avenge my men if it's the last thing I do!"

—Edward and Saito, following the deaths of the latter's men, 1725.

Edward fighting Saito

As Edward infiltrated Sun's ship, he asked John to serve as his decoy to distract Sun and Saito during his search for the sea log. However, the plan failed as Saito quickly saw through the Assassin's ploy and went to search for him. After Saito found Edward, she and her men fought him atop a ship's mast until Edward tackled Saito and they both fell into the water below. The Assassin tried to drown Saito at first, but had a change of heart at the last minute and saved her instead, as the Templar reminded him of his late friend Mary Read. He then proposed Saito an alliance to recover the sea log from Sun and find Angkor's treasure, which the Templar reluctantly accepted.

During Edward's fight with Saito, Sun met with nis nephew Xiao Han and his fellow Chinese Assassins, Liu Qing and Xue Yan, whom he had summoned to his ship after having been unable to find anyone to decipher the sea log. Xiao Han read the sea log and recognized the language used to encrypt it, but claimed it would take time to decipher. As Xiao Han asked his uncle what he intended to do with Angkor's treasure after retrieving it, Sun claimed he would deliver it to the Qing Emperor, expecting to be generously rewarded. This infuriated Xiao Han due to his hatred of the Qing dynasty, and he and his fellow Assassins attempted to kill Sun and recover the sea log from him.

Edward and Saito arrived on Sun's ship at the same time as Sukuna and his Japanese ninja, who began killing the ship's staff and Saito's men. Witnessing the massacre, John told the waitress Xialun Qing, whom he had been spending most of the night with, to hide and went to help. Upon finding Edward and Saito, he provided them with cover fire, using a musket to take out several Japanese ninja that stood in their path. However, Edward and Saito were too late, as all of the latter's subordinates had already been killed by either the Japanese ninja or the Chinese Assassins. As a furious Saito attacked Liu Qing for killing her second-in-command, Edward stopped Xiao Han from executing Sun.

The Japanese ninja and the Chinese Assassins chasing Sun

Edward and Xiao Han fought to a stalemate, whereupon they both realized the other was an Assassin and was after the same prize. As Edward asked Xiao Han why he sought Angkor's treasure, he was furious to learn that his fellow Assassin hoped to use the artifact for personal gain by overthrowing the Qing dynasty. Before they could argue any further, Xiao Han noticed that Sun had fled with the sea log during the chaos and gave chase alongside his fellow Chinese Assassins, abandoning Edward.

As Edward went to check on Saito, who had been defeated by Liu Qing, he learned that the Templar had lost her sense of purpose following the deaths of all of her subordinates. After Edward urged her to find a new reason to live, Saito decided to seek revenge for her dead men by killing Sukuna and all the Japanese members of the clan who had treated them as outsiders. After telling Edward to recover the sea log from Sun, Saito stayed behind to confront Sukuna and his ninja, but they retreated when Sun's ship began to be bombarded by Jeong, an admiral and mercenary hired by Madam Lee.

Xiao Han eventually managed to catch up to Sun and kill him, recovering the sea log, before being again confronted by Edward. As they both witnessed the destruction of Sun's ship, Xiao Han left with his fellow Chinese Assassins and the sea log after warning Edward to stay out of their way. Edward then returned to Saito and together they managed to escape by boarding a small ship stolen by John, who had also rescued Qing. Jeong spotted and tried to kill them, but was forced back by the Fenghuang, the Zhang Wei Union's flagship, which came to its members' rescue.

Aftermath

Following the loss of all of her subordinates, Saito was recruited by Edward into the Zhang Wei Union. While most members welcomed her, Saito's recruitment initially drew protests from Yun Pyeong-Gyu, owing to the animosity rousing from the Imjin War fought between Japan and Joseon, Saito and Yun's home countries, respectively. After a friendly archery contest, however, Saito and Yun developed a newfound respect for each other and agreed to work together.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Assassins decided to seek an alliance with Madam Lee, now the most powerful merchant in Macau following Sun's death, believing that her resources could help them find Angkor faster. After approaching Jeong and revealing that they had acquired the sea log from Sun, Xiao Han, Liu Qing and Xue Yan were allowed an audience with Lee, who ultimately agreed to the partnership once she learned of the Chinese Assassins' plans to overthrow the Qing dynasty.

Gallery

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  A Japanese ninja throwing a shuriken at a mixed blood ninja as his fellow Japanese laugh
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  Madam Lee and Fuma Sukuna
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  Saito and her men with Sun
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  Fuma Sukuna and his men preparing their attack on Sun's ship
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  Saito agreeing to an alliance with Edward
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  The Japanese ninja killing Saito's men
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  Edward and Saito fighting against Japanese ninja
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  Edward stopping Xiao Han from killing Sun
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  Saito mourning the loss of her men

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple