Nagamasa
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He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
Nagamasa was the leader of a group of Japanese mercenaries employed by the Shimazu clan in the early 18th century.
Trained in swordsmanship by the clan's head ninja Fuma Sukuna, Nagamasa and his men were sent to hunt down Shimazu Saito, who had gone rogue and joined the Zhang Wei Union. During their pursuit of Saito in the Philippines, some of Nagamasa's men elected to settle on the islands, displacing and killing many of the natives in the process.
On an island near the Sultanate of Sulu, Nagamasa and his mercenaries were defeated and captured by Saito, who then offered them a chance to exact retribution on the Shimazu clan for their mistreatment. Accepting the offer, Nagamasa and his men became allies of the Zhang Wei Union and helped them eliminate Sukuna and his followers.
Biography
Early life
- "My father... in fact, all of our fathers were abandoned in this foreign land. All my father ever wanted before he died was to taste the water of his homeland once more. And we, their forsaken children, live here as strangers, forever shunned by the natives."
- ―Nagamasa telling Saito about his past, 1725.[src]-[m]
Nagamasa was born on one of Japan's southern isles and migrated to the Philippines alongside his father at a young age. Nagamasa's father was affiliated with the Shimazu clan, but because of their mixed heritage, both he and his son were treated as outsiders and shunned by the clan's senior members. As a result, Nagamasa and his father wished to one day return to Japan and be acknowledged by the Shimazu clan for who they were, though the latter passed away before they could do so.[1]
Left alone in a foreign and hostile land, Nagamasa eventually became a mercenary and pirate and joined up with other individuals similarly shunned by the Shimazu clan. With Nagamasa as their captain, the group sought to earn the clan's favor at all costs, so that they would be welcomed back to their homeland.[1]
Hunting Shimazu Saito
- Saito: "Speak. Do you serve the Shimazu family?"
- Nagamasa: "You call that a family? Now that you mention it, my old man once called himself a Shimazu. But since when does your haughty clan care about the lowly mutts they cast aside? Oh, let me guess! Maybe even the mutt's litter belongs to the precious clan!"
- —Saito questioning Nagamasa after their duel, 1725.[src]-[m]
In 1725, Nagamasa and his men were hired by Fuma Sukuna to eliminate Shimazu Saito, a traitor of the Shimazu clan who had joined the Zhang Wei Union. In exchange for their services, the mercenaries were promised that they would be accepted into the clan as full-fledged members. Sukuna also personally trained Nagamasa and his men in swordsmanship to help them stand a better chance against Saito, teaching them many of the Shimazu clan's techniques.[1]
During their pursuit of Saito and her associates, Nagamasa's group accompanied Sukuna and his ninja followers to Monkey Island, where they massacred countless native villagers in search of information, to no avail.[2] After splitting up from Sukuna, Nagamasa and his men continued to raid numerous villages and their infamy quickly spread throughout the Philippines, leading to most natives becoming fearful of Japanese foreigners.[1]
While attempting to raid a village on an island near the Sultanate of Sulu, Nagamasa and his men fell into a trap set by the Zhang Wei Union, leading to their defeat and capture. Nagamasa confronted and dueled Saito herself, but the latter's superior training allowed her to quickly overpower and disarm the captain.[1]
Saito then interrogated Nagamasa to learn who he was serving, and the captain took the opportunity to express his disdain for the Shimazu clan before asking Saito to execute him, since returning to Sukuna empty-handed was as good as a death sentence. However, Saito revealed that she needed Nagamasa and his men alive to secure passage into the village, and they were subsequently taken prisoner.[1]
Later, Saito visited Nagamasa and his men in the warehouse where they had been tied up, and demanded to know what the Shimazu clan had promised them in return for their services. Nagamasa feigned ignorance at first, claiming they had been offered gold, but Saito had deduced from their desperation during the fight that something more personal was at stake. The captain then confessed that he and his men had been promised a place in the Shimazu clan and told Saito about how they had been treated as outcasts their entire lives.[1]
To Nagamasa's surprise, Saito revealed that she understood his position better than anyone since she, too, had been an outsider once. She then extended him an offer to join her in exacting revenge on the Shimazu clan, promising that if they succeeded, the entire clan would be theirs. After using a knife to cut his bindings, Nagamasa expressed interest in the samurai's offer and asked how much she would pay them for the job.[1]
When Saito claimed she was fighting for a noble cause and questioned if honor meant nothing to Nagamasa, the captain laughed and explained that, as a mercenary, he could not accept a job if he believed he had nothing to gain from it. Despite this, Saito still decided to release Nagamasa and his men, as an act of mercy from one outcast to another.[3]
Nagamasa was confused by Saito's actions and commented that, whatever her plans may be, they were far more unhinged than he could imagine. He then regrouped with the rest of his mercenaries who had also been freed by Saito and together they escaped from the village unnoticed, using their grappling hooks to scale its walls.[3]
Betraying Fuma Sukuna
Returning to Sukuna, Nagamasa told him of his encounter with Saito, claiming he and his men had barely managed to escape with their lives. Sukuna was not surprised, remarking that he never expected the mercenaries to stand a chance against Saito and that their only task was to learn her whereabouts so he and his ninja could deal with her.[3]
After Nagamasa revealed where Saito and her allies were hiding, Sukuna prepared to hunt them down. Before he left, Nagamasa decided to try and bargain for a larger pay, given that the enemies they were facing were no ordinary foes. Sukuna tossed the captain a koban, telling him to consider it a "down payment" and that he would receive the rest of his pay once their mission was completed successfully. This surprised Nagamasa, who told his men that Sukuna's sudden generosity could only mean two things: either he really needed their help, or he had already decided this payment would be their last.[3]
Later, Nagamasa and his men returned to the village, though as they approached it they noticed footmarks on the ground, indicating that the Zhang Wei Union had already abandoned the settlement. Claiming Saito and her allies were not foolish enough to leave such an obvious trail, Nagamasa concluded that the crew had hidden their ship, the Fenghuang, nearby, and proceeded to track it down.[3]
On a beach, Nagamasa and his mercenaries rejoined Sukuna and his ninja, who were observing from afar as the Fenghuang's crew were loading supplies onto their ship. Moments later, the Qing Empire's Rattan Shield Company arrived, having been sent to assist Sukuna in eliminating the Zhang Wei Union.[3]
Personality and traits
- Saito: "Does honor mean nothing to you?"
- Nagamasa: "Ha, I don't know about fancy samurai like yourself with grand ambitions way above my pay grade... but there ain't no better cause or honor than coin for mercenaries like us."
- —Nagamasa dismissing Saito's notion of fighting for honor, 1725.[src]-[m]
Despite his rough upbringing and choice of profession, Nagamasa was a reasonibly good-natured person who maintained an upbeat attitude even in the heart of battle. He possessed a sarcastic sense of humor, which he mainly displayed in his interactions with Shimazu Saito, to whom he jokingly referred by various nicknames such as "Princess Samurai".[3] However, Nagamasa also had a sadistic and ruthless side, showing no qualms about massacring entire villages, and could be sent into a frenzy if he believed his men's lives were in danger.[1]
As a mercenary, Nagamasa cared about his and his men's well-being first and foremost and would decline a job if he believed they had nothing to gain from it.[3] As a result, his loyalty only extended as far as his payment, though this changed upon meeting Saito. Sharing her resentment of the Shimazu clan for their mistreatment of outsiders like himself, Nagamasa agreed to join her in her mission to exact revenge on the clan.[1]
Skills and equipment
Although trained in the ways of the Shimazu clan, Nagamasa was a rather unskilled swordsman according to Saito, who remarked that his iaidō stance was "skewed without balance" and that he could "barely swing a sword."[1] While his lack of proper training put him at a disadvantage against stronger opponents, Nagamasa could still hold his own in a battle and effortlessly kill a number of Shimazu ninja.[4]
In terms of equipment, Nagamasa wielded two katanas, as well as a grappling hook, which could be used to scale walls.[3]
Behind the scenes
Nagamasa is a character introduced in Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple.
Etymology
Nagamasa is a masculine Japanese given name which can have different meanings depending on the kanji used to write it. For instance, one possible spelling for the name is 永将, which roughly translates to "eternal leader", with 永 meaning "eternity, permanence", and 将 meaning "general, commander, leader."
Gallery
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A young Nagamasa beside his dying father -
Nagamasa with his men
Appearances
References