Kotetsu

Shao Jun: "Well, I suppose you'll be known as "Kotetsu" where you're headed."

Xiao Hu: "Yes. Sadly, it seems the Templar Order has infiltrated my ancestral homeland as well. Once I've started a new branch of the Assassin Brotherhood, I'll find like-minded allies... and tell them of our Creed."

—Shao Jun and Kotetsu before his departure to Japan.

Kotetsu (born c. 1510s), also known as Xiao Hu (小虎, lit. 'Little Tiger'), was a Japanese member of the Chinese Brotherhood of Assassins serving under Shao Jun in the early 16th century. After completing his training, he left China for his native island, intending to establish a new Assassin branch there.

Biography

Early life

Kotetsu was born in Japan during the Sengoku period. When he was still an infant, his father left the country and relocated to China alongside Kotetsu to escape the wars and conflicts in their homeland. In time, Kotetsu's father joined the Chinese Assassins led by the Mentor Wang Yangming, and the young boy came to learn of his new affiliations through his correspondence.

After the Templars took advantage of the Great Rites Controversy to purge the Chinese Assassins, Kotetsu's father was among the few Assassins who managed to escape with their lives. He subsequently went into hiding in Macau alongside his son, where he spied on local Templar operations.

Meeting Shao Jun

Kotetsu: "You gotta save my dad! That's why you're here, right?!"

Shao Jun: "I will. But from this point, I go alone."

—Shao Jun agreeing to rescue Kotetsu's father, 1526.

Kotetsu requesting Shao Jun's help

In 1526, Kotetsu's father learned that the slave trader Gu Dayong, one of the Eight Tigers who oversaw Templar operations in Macau, held the Precursor box previously stolen from Shao Jun. He managed to relay this information to Wang Yangming shortly before the Templars captured both himself and his son. Thrown into Dayong's stronghold, Kotetsu's father distracted the guards to allow his son to escape.

As he attempted to leave the fortress by hiding in a ship, Kotetsu was caught by a soldier but was saved by Shao Jun. The boy recognized the Assassin insignia on Shao Jun's necklace as a symbol his father had drawn in a letter, and so he showed her the way to the ship's deck and how she could get closer to Dayong's stronghold. Kotetsu asked her to save his father, and she answered that she would, so long as he got somewhere safe. However, when Shao Jun reached the place where Kotetsu's father was held, it was already too late: he had been fatally tortured and died in her arms shortly after.

Later, Kotetsu witnessed the Templar Qiu Ju's soldiers setting Macau's port ablaze in retribution for Dayong's death. After the fire, he discovered that Shao Jun had survived when a woman calmed denizens blaming the fugitive by assuring them that the Assassin had saved her and her daughter.

Finding a Master

"After you make it back out... let me be your apprentice! I wanna be a real Assassin."

―Kotetsu asking to become Shao Jun's apprentice, 1530.

In 1529, Kotetsu tracked Shao Jun to Nan'an using his late father's contacts. Disguised as a musician, the Assassin was there to kill the Templar Wei Bin. However, when she reached the city gates, a guard stopped her and demanded to search her. As the Assassin was in a precarious position, Kotetsu suddenly appeared and helped a puzzled Shao Jun pass the guard.

Kotetsu reuniting with Shao Jun

Once inside, Shao Jun finally recognized the older boy. She then told him about his father's fate and his last words. Reacting to the fact that his father wished him to see their homeland again, Kotetsu revealed that his family had come from an island in the east, beyond the oceans. Taking her outfit and weapons from its hiding spot in her instrument, Shao Jun equipped herself and set off in search of her target. As she was leaving, Kotetsu thought about asking her something but decided to wait until their next meeting.

In 1530, Kotetsu again reunited with Shao Jun, now the last Chinese Assassin following Wang Yangming's death. He helped the fugitive Assassin infiltrate Beijing by posing as her little brother to avoid suspicions. While looking at the sleeping Forbidden City from a tree, Kotetsu asked Shao Jun if they were really going to break into the palace.

Determined to go alone and find her old friend Zhang Qijie, the Assassin thanked him for his help but instructed him to wait for her. As she was about to leave, Kotetsu asked Shao Jun to take him as her Assassin disciple once she dealt with the Templars. She accepted, telling the boy that he would make a great Assassin.

Life as an Assassin

Kotetsu: "Your guidance has gotten me this far, Master. I can never repay my debt."

Shao Jun: "I am equally grateful to you, Xiao Hu. Thank you."

—Kotetsu and Shao Jun parting ways.

By 1532, Kotetsu had become Shao Jun's first apprentice. During a training exercise on the outskirts of Beijing, he attempted to ambush his master but was caught off guard and knocked down. His master expelled some words of wisdom concerning his inability to hide his presence, which he took to heart.

Kotetsu and Shao Jun interrogating one of Zhang Yong's men

When queried about recent rumors regarding the Eight Tigers' last surviving member, Zhang Yong, Kotetsu revealed that the Templar had reportedly allied with the Mongols from beyond the Great Wall. The apprentice and his master then traveled to the Great Wall to confirm this rumor. Together, they assassinated several of Zhang Yong's men and interrogated one of them, learning that the Tigers' leader and Altan Khan had indeed formed an alliance and that the Mongols were planning an imminent attack.

Just as quickly as they had learned of this, the Mongols launched their assault. Shao Jun ordered Kotetsu to close one of the Wall's gates while she went to confront Zhang Yong. After Shao Jun assassinated Zhang Yong, the Mongols' alliance with the Templars fell apart and the attack was repelled.

Years later, Kotetsu had become a fully-fledged Assassin while Shao Jun was the Brotherhood's new Mentor. One day, he approached her and declared his intent to return to his homeland. With the Templars having infiltrated Japan, he planned to start a new branch of the Brotherhood on the island to combat the threat. Unbeknownst to Kotetsu, his arrival in Japan was preceded by the excommunicated Spanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera, who had landed in Kotetsu's ancestral homeland alongside the Templars and started a search for new Assassin allies. Before he departed, Kotetsu and Shao Jun recited the tenets of the Creed together and bid each other farewell while sharing a hug.

Personality and traits

"Point is, wherever you go, there're people who do awful deeds like that. But Macau also had you, miss."

―Kotetsu absolving Shao Jun of responsibility for the Macau fire, 1529.

Kotetsu was inspired by both his father and Shao Jun's actions to fight for freedom and justice by becoming an Assassin. After learning of Shao Jun's heroic deeds in saving civilians from the Macau fire started by the Templars, Kotetsu tracked her down with the intention of becoming her apprentice and joining the Brotherhood.

Kotetsu with Shao Jun before his departure to Japan

The young boy proved to be an indispensable ally in Shao Jun's quest to eliminate the Eight Tigers, as his quick thinking helped her infiltrate Nan'an. He also restored the Assassin's confidence when Shao Jun blamed herself for the Templars' actions in Macau by explaining that there would always be evil people willing to commit atrocities to achieve their goals.

After becoming a fully-fledged Assassin, Kotetsu expressed gratitude towards Shao Jun for training him and revealed his intention to continue the Brotherhood's work by establishing a new branch in Japan and liberating his homeland from Templar influence. Before his departure, he and Shao Jun shared an emotional hug; outside their connections as master and apprentice, the two regarded each other as friends first and foremost, having developed an almost sibling-like relationship.

Skills and equipment

"You're sure to become a skilled Assassin in your own right."

―Shao Jun to Kotetsu, 1530.

From a young age, Kotetsu proved to be a capable climber, easily scaling the mast of a ship in Macau. Through his Assassin training, he also became adept at combat and stealth, learning to blend in with his environment to surprise his enemies.

Behind the scenes

Kotetsu, or Xiao Hu, is an original character created for the 2019 manga Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun, which loosely adapts the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China. The manga portrays Kotetsu as being present for many events during which Shao Jun was alone in the game, such as her infiltration of Gu Dayong's stronghold in Macau and her final battle against Zhang Yong atop the Great Wall, suggesting that his presence in Shao Jun's story could be seen as a retcon.

Although the manga concludes with the implication that Kotetsu would become the founder of the Japanese Assassins, the 2025 video game Assassin's Creed: Shadows, set only a few decades after Kotetsu would have arrived in Japan, contains no reference to the character. Instead, the Brotherhood featured in the game is said to have been founded by the Spanish Assassin Alvaro Catarribera.

Gallery

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  Close-up of Kotetsu
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  Kotetsu in his Assassin robes, 1530
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  Kotetsu in 1532

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Blade of Shao Jun