The Meaning of the Blade

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The Meaning of the Blade was a virtual representation of one of Fujibayashi Naoe's genetic memories, relived through the Animus EGO.

Description

Naoe traveled to Yamato to pursue Ashikaga Yoshiaki's lead about the Kakushiba ikki.

Dialogue

Naoe arrived near the Sakafuneishi.

• Naoe: This is where the Shōgun's spies lost track of the assassin. There may be a clue as to how they escaped.

Naoe approached the ruins and found the insignia of her parent's former group.

• Naoe: There it is. The Shōgun told the truth.

She got near the lock where her Hidden Blade should unlock.

• Naoe: Let's see what happens.

Naoe drew her blade into the lock, but no response came through. She got up and tried to use her strength to push the large slab of stone away.

• Naoe: Come on! Move! Move!

Despite Naoe's efforts, she failed to move the stone and open the tomb.

• Naoe: (screams)

She leaned her back towards the stone, reflecting on her next actions before getting up.

• Naoe: Enough, Naoe. Stop.

Naoe got into a meditating position and closed her eyes.

• Naoe: (breathes) Okay. Think. Feel. Let it all pass through you. Clear your mind. Mushin. (No-mind.)

Naoe's reflection brought her back to the night she failed to retrieve the box from the Mihata Kofun. After being injured by the masked samurai, her father brought her on his horse to seek help.

• Naoe: Father...
• Nagato: You are alive. Rest, my plum. I've got you.
• Naoe: The box... I couldn't stop him.
• Nagato: The fault is mine. It was my oath. And I failed. I kept... so many secrets for so long. Never knowing if I should reveal them. Your mother left me with a heavy burden - protect the box and to raise you. I did not want to put that burden on your shoulders.
• Naoe: The box...
• Nagato: One of three Imperial Regalia. The Jewel, Yasakani no Magatama. They are the sacred heart of our country. Treasures the emperor entrusted the Kakushiba ikki to protect. But that was long ago. Back when we met Tsuyu.
• Naoe: My mother...

Flashbacks was shown of Naoe's mother and her meeting with Sandayu, Nagato, and Hanzō.

• Nagato: She was the apprentice of a nanban stranger. She followed his foreign creed of assassins. They came to Iga seeking help from Momochi Sandayu. They said the balance of the world was at risk. Tsuyu stayed with us in Iga. Became a student of Sandayu—as Hanzō and I were. But soon, the student became the master. We all swore upon her creed and oath. The creed I should have taught you. You are so much like your mother. I was afraid that if you knew, you would suffer the same fate.
• Naoe: Father...

The flashback then showed Nagato and Tsuyu raising Naoe and living a life.

• Nagato: It was my oath to the creed to protect the Jewel... But I loved her. And when you came, you were our jewel. We loved you so much. For a few years, we prospered. The regalia were safely hidden in Settsu. Our league grew. Our enemies faded. We were foolish to let our guard down. A new foe rose from the shadows.

Flashbacks of the ikki being slaughtered by the Shinbakufu were shown.

• Nagato: I stayed in Iga with you while the league was slaughtered. The regalia stolen. Only Sandayu, Tsuyu, and Hanzō survived. Tsuyu returned in the night - with the Jewel. She made me swear to protect it and entrusted me alone. She promised me she would return with the other regalia. But... she never did. When Sandayu returned, he told me Tsuyu had died. It shattered my soul.

A flashback was then shown of Nagato placing the box in the Mihata Kofun and him playing his tsuchibue.

• Nagato: I hid the Jewel in the kofun and kept her secret. The league died with her. And every night, for years, I played her favorite song. And then one night, across the valley, I heard someone playing the song back to me. I ran towards the source, but... she was gone. I know it was her. And so, I kept playing her song every night to let her know the Jewel was safe. And that you were all right. Naoe, she might be alive. We must find her. If we can just reach Tomiko's, there is hope. She will help us.

The flashback ended with Nagato reaching Tomiko's home just time before falling unconscious from his arrow wound. Back in the present, Naoe reflected on the memories she remembered.

• Naoe: I remember now. I remember it all. Father... Why did you carry that burden by yourself? You weren't alone, I was right there! You weren't alone. (cries)

Naoe then pondered about the song her father played and taught her, and took out her tsuchibue.

• Naoe: Their song... he was calling to her.

Naoe stood up.

• Naoe: Tsuyu. Mother.

Naoe played the song and after a moment, the slab opened up, revealing the entrance into the kofun.

• Naoe: I can't believe that worked. I wonder if my father knew of this place. Knew where these stairs lead.

Naoe entered the kofun.

• Naoe: All those years angry at Father for not talking about my mother.

As she went down the stairs, she reached a chamber bearing the ikki's banner.

• Naoe: The imperial regalia. "The sacred hearts of our country." That was the mission Catarribera wrote about. Why would the emperor trust them with this treasure? It doesn't matter. My parents died protecting them, and I will too.

She headed down a passageway to the right side of the room and found a chamber bearing the same banners and three pedestals in the Settsu kofun.

• Naoe: Valor. Wisdom. Benevolence.

On the pedestal representing the benevolence banner, Naoe placed the box of the jewel.

• Naoe: I return the Jewel, Yasakani no Magatama. I have honored my promise, Father.

Just then, she noticed a scroll hidden on the left side of the pedestal. She picked it up and read its message.

• Naoe: "My love. If you read this, it is because... because you and our Naoe have been forced from Iga. Because our secret is discovered. I know you may not understand my absence or my reasons for it. They are not the only secrets I have kept from you. I did not die the night our league fell."
• Naoe: (gasps)

Just then, she heard her father's song being played from behind. As a shadow approached, she drew her Hidden Blade.

• Naoe: Mother?

However, the song was revealed to be played by Hattori Hanzō.

• Hanzō: The countless nights I kept hidden. Listening to Nagato's song. Again and again. It took all those years to understand it was the key.
• Naoe: It was you playing back to my father.

Hanzō approached the Wisdom pedestal and took out a similar box to the Jewel's.

• Hanzō: Forgive me, Tsuyu.

Hanzō placed the box, which contained the Yata no Kagami, on the pedestal.

• Naoe: You stole the regalia?
• Hanzō: No. Lord Ieyasu found the Mirror and stole it from the foreign order. A secret very few know. He believes these treasures belong to our land. He kept the Mirror and waited to return it to the emperor.
• Naoe: To gain favor from the imperial court.
• Hanzō: Perhaps. He plays a much better Go game than I. But we both believe the foreign powers are only here to take from us.
• Naoe: So how did you get the Mirror?
• Hanzō: I am loyal to him, Naoe. I simply asked for it. Come. I will explain.

Hanzō hand signalled for Naoe to follow him outside.

• Hanzō: You and the black samurai left Lord Ieyasu with quite the impression.
• Naoe: Oh?
• Hanzō: He admired your friend's sense of honor. He perceived the samurai to hate the foreign order just as much as he did.
• Naoe: Hmm.
• Hanzō: Lord Ieyasu was just as interested in your character. Your resilience to fulfil your father's promise. You now understand the meaning of the blade?
• Naoe: My parents followed an imperial mission to protect the regalia and obeyed a creed that fought oppression.
• Hanzō: Don't sound so excited.
• Naoe: No one likes giving details.
• Hanzō: They were a foreign assassin brotherhood who battled foreign interests in our land. We served to protect those who could not protect themselves.
• Naoe: To shed a light on this world.
• Hanzō: And this what Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu saw in you.
• Naoe: That convinced him to give you the Mirror?
• Hanzō: It made him see why I needed it. Redemption.

Naoe and Hanzō reached the outside of the kofun.

• Naoe: Why do you need redemption?

Hanzō did not respond.

• Naoe: Hanzō.
• Hanzō: The choice you face will be difficult after you hear what I have to say. Listen and resist drawing your blade this time.
• Naoe: I'll try. But no promises.
• Hanzō: Your mother's strength with your father's compassion. The only people I have loved in this world. I told you Nagato and I were brothers despite our differences. But we had one thing in common. We both loved Tsuyu. She had the beauty of Kissho ten'nyo and the fighting spirit of Hachiman. I did not care for her idealist foreign creed. All I wanted was her. The things I did to impress her. But she chose Nagato. A lower-ranked jizamurai. The pain and the shame were unbearable.
• Naoe: Did she know of your feelings for her?
• Hanzō: My pride would never allow that. So I left Iga. I offered my services to whomever would give blood to my blade. They all feared me. Oni Hanzō, the bloodthirsty demon. Years passed, and I returned to Mibuno. I thought I could conquer her heart, impress her with my expliots. But then... I saw you. The perfect family. I left again, my rage consuming me. This was supposed to be my place. She should have loved me. I did... the unthinkable.
• Naoe: What did you do?

At this point, Naoe's face turned green.

• Hanzō: I heard of a mysterious group offering riches for the regalia.
• Naoe: You sold Ashikaga Yoshiaki their location. Out of resentment.
• Hanzō: The contract was secret. I did not know who forged it, but I didn't care. I wanted to break them. So I sacrificed the thing Tsuyu loved most.
• Naoe: Her family. You jealous traitor.
• Hanzō: You caused her guard to fall. It weakened her.
• Naoe: Careful, Hanzō.
• Hanzō: I regretted it immediately. But it was too late. I rushed to Tsuyu to tell her the regalia had been compromised. She called the Kakushiba ikki back to defend Settsu.
• Naoe: But it wasn't enough. I saw their bodies in the kofun.
• Hanzō: The imperial regalia were stolen. I betrayed them all, and Sandayu said Tsuyu were dead. But I never believed him.
• Naoe: So you searched for her.
• Hanzō: For years. I also watched your father mourn. Watched him raise and love you. You grew. As did my shame. After the first attack on Iga, I knew it was only a matter of time before it fell. I could not let Tsuyu's daughter die in a pile of rubble.
• Naoe: That night in Iga... you wrote that letter?
• Hanzō: I always suspected your father to have the jewel. But so did the enemy. I offered you both the protection of my Lord. But when Nagato refused, my options were few.
• Naoe: And the Shinbakufu got to us first.
• Hanzō: I am sorry your father died. I tried to save you both. And I can save you still by persuading you from your path.
• Naoe: My path will unify us.
• Hanzō: Is that what you think you are doing? Picking up misfits on a campaign for unity?
• Naoe: They are my family.
• Hanzō: They slow you down. Family. That same weakness is what killed your mother and father. You repeat their faults.
• Naoe: And you have not learned from yours. What has your jealousy earned you but the name "Demon?"
• Hanzō: I will take all your venom if it means we start anew. Naoe. Do not make their mistake.
• Naoe: Enough! I want justice.
• Hanzō: Perhaps I deserve death—but not by your hand. And not now.
• Naoe: You don't get to decide that.
• Hanzō: As you wish. But I will not die before I know Tsuyu's fate. We can find out together. Please.

Naoe drew her katana.

• Naoe: Keep my parents' names out of your demon mouth.

Similarly, Hanzō drew his naginata and the two started clashing.

• Hanzō: Obstinance runs in Fujibayashi blood.
• Naoe: Stop talking about my family!

Hanzō made use of smoke bombs in conjunction with shuriken against Naoe, who managed to avoid them. After a while, Naoe managed to deal some blows to Hanzō.

• Hanzō: What do you hope to prove, Naoe?
• Naoe: That you will never ruin the life of a Fujibayashi again!

Naoe dodged more of Hanzō's attacks while attacking him in return.

• Hanzō: No Fujibayashi ever won against the Hattori. Even on training grounds.
• Naoe: First time for everything.

After a long fight, Naoe managed to best Hanzō and defeat him. Once Hanzō was disarmed, Naoe attacked him with taijutsu and knocked him to the ground.

• Hanzō: (grunts)

As he tried to get up, Naoe kicked him again.

• Naoe: (grunts)

Naoe drew her Hidden Blade and prepared to kill him but relented.

• Naoe: (pants)

She backed away and withdrew her blade.

• Hanzō: You have bested the Demon. But you will not finish him?
• Naoe: No.
• Hanzō: (grunts)

Hanzō got up on his feet while cluching his injuries.

• Hanzō: Fine. (pants)

He went to reach for his katana and sheathed it in the scabbard.

• Hanzō: I'll find Tsuyu alone.

As he turned to leave, Naoe stopped him.

• Naoe: No you won't. Vengeance is a whirlpool. We've both been caught in its spiral. It stops here. After what you have done to me and to my father, Tsuyu will not forgive you. Unless I do first. So I'll forgive you. Prove to me you are my ally. Return to Kakushiba ikki, and together, we will find my mother. You have my vow.

Hanzō pondered over Naoe's proposal and eventually gave a bow.

• Hanzō: Call... and I will come.

Outcome

Naoe uncovered the tomb and placed the box containing the Jewel, followed by Hanzō who returned the Mirror. The two clashed over Hanzō's betrayal of Iga and her family. After defeating him in a duel, Naoe forgave him and asked him to rejoin the Kakushiba ikki, to which Hanzō accepted.