Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - Story Explained

[Music] [Music] the sengoku period an era of conflict rife with war and desolation a period mired by the ambition of men and their ceaseless pursuit of power before long a man by the name ishin ashina grew tired of the despotic rule his land and people had suffered a rule led by general tamara driven by the unshakeable belief that this province belongs to the ashinaklan ishin sets the stage for rebellion he united his people and enlisted the aid of great warriors such as the shinobi orangutan the shinobi owl lady butterfly and gyoubu the demon the shinobi orangutan was a deadly fighter who once trained in the sunken valley with his partner kingfisher joining him was the shinobi owl a tenacious warrior of immense strength lady butterfly hailed from the forest of the al a land north of ashina a master of illusions a known associate of the great shinobi she too joined the uprising some time ago kayobu masataka oniwa was once a ruthless bandit leader who was bested by ishin although victorious ishin was fascinated by gaiobu's fortitude and so opted to recruit him to his cause and so ishin had assembled a force few could hope to rival leading his forces the clan lays waste to the opposing faction painting the land in a hue of crimson eventually ishin would arrive in a field of golden reeds where he would at last confront the towering general tamara only his death can grant asian dominion the two partake in a jewel tamara choosing to brandish across beer while ishin dons a katana with a clash of steel the sword saints proves his name executing the general cementing his legacy as one of the greatest swordsmen to have ever lived witnessing the slaughter of their leader the ranks of tamara scattered to the wind with this act ishin had solidified his clan's place amongst the upper echelons of japan in the midst of this battle gyovi's hornsby was shattered and so ishin gifted him tamara's weapon a fine prize for his aide his generosity extended to his most ardent followers granting them the title seven spares of ashana they were pivotal ishin's coup he awarded the lance to non but his most loyal samurai now victorious the sword saints relocate to the lavish halls of ashina castle where he would usher in a new rule however his reign eventually provoked the ayah of the interior ministry who had their own agenda in regards to the province ishin would go on to adopt a child raising him as a grandson born a peasant gennichiro was taken in by the ashana after his mother's death with his country on the brink of defeat kenichiro took to heretical arts and mastered the lightning of tamawe such heresy may be the key to saving her the sword saint coveted strength and all manner of techniques throughout his mortal struggle once mastered many of these techniques would go on to form the basis of ashana's combat style the training also stretched to his ranks ishin would often stop by unannounced just to keep his students on their toes over time the ferocity of ashina's army gained renown throughout the nation its generals were especially talented every one of them accomplished in the ashina sword style once the battle had been won the shinobis orangutan and owl scoured the land the orangutan finds a malnourished child on the verge of starvation her name was ammo understanding the life of a shinobi is not one for a child he presented her to a known associate of his lord dogen a proficient doctor dogan adopted the child and soon she would become a practitioner of medicine among the ashes al discovered a young boy al took in the hungry cub on a whim and raised him as a shinobi al similar to dogen adopted the child but he would not view sakura as his own son without hesitation his training began a long gruelling process designed to test the wolf's limits and shape him into something greater owl once abandoned the young wolf in a sweet forest expecting him to fend against the illusions likely never to return only in victory would he recognize the boy as his son in this way and this way alone he raised the wolf as his own in reality this act of abandonment was another form of training conducted by lady butterfly under the orders of owl eventually the wolf would become a master shinobi rivaled only by his father i'll now recognize sakura as one of his own the conniving shinobi however saw the boy as a tool rather than as a son he was no use to him if he could not serve as instructed by his father sakura obeys the shinobi code a decree in which the father's word is absolute the master he serves is second this meant that regardless who sakura was tasked to protect al's orders would overrule his masters and so his position as the boy's father was more of an authoritative role used to manipulate the child making him obey every order without question ultimately sakura was tasked by al to serve the divine heir lord kuro the last remaining descendant of an ancient bloodline a boy raised in isolation by the minister of ashina hirata ao emphasizes the importance of this mission as he orders sakura to defend the child with his life and should he be taken to bring him back at any cost over the course of 20 years the rule of the ashana clan was tested and soon their grip over the land began to slip in an act of desperation the ashina clan abducts kuro leaving sakuro with nothing his father now absent and the child he swore to protect gone the wolf's morale was broken that is until he's greeted by a mysterious woman who provides him with an ornamental letter the parchment reads kuro's wolf your destiny awaits you at the moon view tower escape from the well and find the tower bathed in moonlight even without a blade you can reach it stay silent stay vigilant before we continue let's take a minute to talk about today's sponsor this video is brought to you by nordvpn nord allows you to connect to one of over 5500 servers in 59 countries with one simple click of a button nordvpn is known for its amazing speed hailed as the 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nordvpn.com brothers code and try out nordvpn for yourself thank you and enjoy the rest of the video [Music] following the instructions patched into the latter he stealthily maneuvers to the tower devoid of a weapon the wolf has no choice but to avoid the ashana swordsman stationed around the perimeter a task he can achieve with relative ease after all removing one's presence is part of what defines a shinobi shortly after sakura comes upon the moonview tower to his surprise kuro is held captive within as they converse kuro returns a katana named kustabi maru an heirloom of the hirata family a cadet branch descended from ashina once thought lost it has found its way back into the hands of the wolf the name kusabi maru beseeches a shinobi's role is to kill but even a shinobi must not forget mercy a mantra the blade itself may manifest furthermore a healing god is provided a gourd filled with vitality restoring medicine made by an apprentice of the extraordinary dr dogan though it is strange that the god's medicinal waters refill automatically the seeds within may hold the secret to how it works the apprentice mentioned here is most likely emma the adopted daughter of lord dogan amma provided the divine heir with a healing god should he require treatment if sakura is to serve as the sword of kuro he must have the means to restore his vitality recognizing this kuro offers this healing apparatus to the shinobi the boy is the last living descendant of an ancient clan a faction whose bloodline is referred to as the dragon's heritage a unique ability enabling one to avoid death this power also extends to sakura as he is under kuro's immortal oath for this reason the ashinaklan set their gaze upon the divine air as the ability to be impervious to death would surely grant the clan uncontestable leadership over the province however this immortality was not without consequence should a person who is gifted with the dragon's heritage perish and affliction spreads through the land a sickness known as dragon rot essentially the more sakura okuro dies the more the disease spreads across the inhabitants of ashina there was once another divine heir but the name to keru and his vassal tum away at this time it is unknown what happened to takeru but all will be revealed at a later point it is said that the ashna clan attempted to emulate the power of the dragon one such method was by ingesting the rejuvenating waters which similar to the dragon's heritage also stems from the blood of a divine dragon found within the fabled fountainhead palace similar to kuro's gift this too granted a form of immortality yet also came at a price the rejuvenating waters was not only a source of power for the clan but also an inspiration for their fighting technique the ashina style is deeply rooted in the flow of the fountainhead waters as the rule of the clan diminished they resorted to abducting kuro in a frantic attempt to extend their rule kuro states there's a secret passage beneath the moat bridge that will take us out of the castle lord eshin told me about it once in wake of this revelation the wolf learns that ishin the grandfather of gonichiro is aiding kuro in his escape nevertheless the divine heir was safe for now sakuro armed with his sword and the means to restore his own vitality clears the area it is here where the wolf encounters leader shigenori yamauchi the adversary is incapacitated with the death blow a technique in which one must exhale expelling both regret in order to reaffirm one's core to regain posture together kuro and the shinobi navigate through a small passage until they enter a field of silver grass as they edge ever closer to the borders of the province their escape is impeded under pale moonlight they are confronted by lord kinichiro ashina the adopted grandson of the legendary ishin escape would not be so easy gennichiro reminds kuro of their last encounter during the funeral of his uncle reminding him of his duty to family insinuating that kuro should have faith in his own blood and grant them the divine blessing the wolf stumbles for his sword and prepares to confront his strongest foe yet sakuro proves to be no match he is facing the apprentice of the sword saint after all with the flash sakura's arm is decapitated and kuro is taken once more if ishin was aiding kuro then clearly ghanichiro is acting independently of his grandfather there is no doubt that he wishes to harness the power of the dragon's heritage for the sake of preservation defeated sacro finds himself at death's door once again but due to his oath-bound connection to kuro the dragon's heritage grants him life once more he awakens in a dilapidated temple a humble place of worship in close proximity resides the sculptor it is revealed that he had dragged sakura back to the temple where he could regain his strength suggesting he supports the wolf's cause he states so you're awake looks like death is not your fate just yet your eyes the eyes of a wolf who has failed in his duties also it seems to me i must carve the buddha you do what you will having lost his hand sakura soon discovers that a shinobi prosthetic has been attached to his limb it functions as more than just an arm a means of expanding sakura's arsenal a versatile tool used by shinobi for traversal defense and combat the sculptor's intimate knowledge of the shinobi and his ease of identifying one is not coincidental for he too once shared the same profession he went by the name orangutan the very same warrior who participated in ishin's coup two decades prior what led a great shinobi to abandon his occupation and dwell in an isolated temple history tells us that orangutan almost fell victim to shura the word shura means carnage and it is what awaits those who kill for the act of taking a life is not without consequence with each light one extinguishes their humanity sinks further into the abyss until nothing is left but a tormented empty husk filled with animosity a being unable to think logically or recall their past their immense power is further increased by the flames of shura that emanate from the individual a physical manifestation of one's rage only a single thought occupies their mind the death of all around them friend or foe once someone becomes surer little can be done to stop them this reveals that the sculptor must have been a prolific shinobi in the past who had massacred so many individuals that i almost transformed him completely while orangutan was on the brink of becoming surer it was the swift decisiveness of vision that saved his life the sword saint using a cruciform cut in the blink of an eye severs the sculptor's arm and in so doing restored the man to a calm state of mind for now the flames of shura would not consume him the doctor lord dogan then manufactured a prototype shinobi prosthetic specifically to replace orangutan's lost limb the prototype provided a basis for all prosthetics to come after from this device the shinobi arm was eventually constructed one of which was given to sakura the shinobi prosthetic is the perfect tool for combining movement and attack into one ensuring no movement is wasted it is heavy as it is made from iron machinery despite that it can be used in the air thanks to the techniques of his creator dogen and the training of its owner for the item to function it requires a steady supply of spirit emblems these artifacts are manifestations of regret those regretful of their vile actions are haunted by many spirit emblems after a brief conversation sakura leads the sculptor to his own devices he continues to carve many buddhas by hand a gesture symbolizing his atonement perhaps he feels regret for the many lives he claimed or perhaps he's repenting for what lies ahead as the flames of shura may yet burn in his heart nearby emma can be found she appears to be fascinated by the white marking on the face of sakura a side effect of his powers of resurrection noticing the healing god in sakura's possession she knows that she'd given it to kuro for his own use it appears as though the divine heir had given it to sakura anticipating that the two may be separated she goes on to explain that the flask contains gourd seeds a seed which secretes an infinite supply of healing water the twisted gourd of medicinal waters was known throughout ashana since long ago but it was the extraordinary healer dogan and his pupil emma who discovered the self-replenishing nature of this seed she also recounts how a dragon rot epidemic once gripped the land and every victim afflicted by the illness perished one of her goals is to manufacture a cure to prevent such a tragedy from reoccurring to this end she requests that saccharo collect blood samples of infected victims and to bring them back to her for studying lastly emma states that she serves a master yet despite questioning from the wolf she will not reveal who this person is nonetheless she offers to aid the shinobi on his journey hambe the undying is stationed outside the temple as his title would suggest hambe too is immortal during his childhood a monk placed a centipede within his emaciated frame the insect buried its way into his body reanimating the samurai like many others hambe was defeated by ishin during the rebellion aimless the immortal swordsman wandered the land until he was attacked by a man called shaokichi the man mistook hanbe for a bandit suzu shakichi's sister feeling empathetic to hambee's plight offered him a place to stay to repay this kindness hanbe would lend his sword he even saved shaukichi from being butchered by a unit of ashina soldiers at one point in time he called for hambe's aid once more imploring him to investigate the nearby forest as many villagers who had entered the woodland were yet to return following the trail of the deceased they encountered a recluse individual driven to insanity his eyes pierced the darkness with a red glow the man had clearly lost his mind and resorted to cannibalism explaining the missing village folk hanbe engages the man but soon after a creature known as the guardian ape appears and consumes the manic hermit upon investigation it is discovered that the deranged man was an experiment of the surgeon doojan he too sent the ashina soldiers to spy on the hermit to safeguard and analyze his experiment the same soldiers who hanbai had killed earlier to protect shaokuchi the father of one of the men who fell victim to humbei's sword plotted revenge he kidnapped suzu in order to lure hanbe to the abandoned dungeon the father using doojin's rejuvenating waters had healed his son here they lay in weight to ambush the unsuspecting hyunbae during this fateful encounter shaokichi gives his life to protect hanbe standing alone the eternal warrior emerges victorious dujun agrees to release suzu the woman's mind was broken and so hanbe offered mercy with his blade the undying samurai was alone once more with the blood of suzu on his hands he believed he had committed a cardinal sin as a result he journeyed to the dilapidated temple he would now use his powers to aid others on his road to redemption although many would consider his immortality a gift he views life as a curse he offers to spa with sakura to sharpen the wolf's skills and combat if defeated hambe will spring back to life sadly as of this moment sakura cannot grant hanbai the respite he desires moving forward sakuro leaves the safe confines of the temple behind and enters ashina outskirts before long the shinobi encounters a chained ogre a gargantuan man who appears to be yet another victim of doojin's experiments as indicated by his red eyes the erratic beast wails with no regard the subject is too far gone and so sakuro delivers a death blow granting mercy to the tortured man soon after the shinobi encounters a man called enosuke nogami a vassal of the herata family the samurai appears to be mortally wounded conjuring the strength to speak he implores sakura to look after the old woman in the house close by this woman is anosuke's mother the timid maid appears to be ringing a small bell she refers to sakura as her own son mistaking him for an oscar sakura informs her that he is not her son despite this she grants the young lord's belcharm to the wolf requesting that he offer it to buddha for the sake of her young master the identity of the one she serves remains ambiguous for now heeding her words sakuro pockets the charm and departs atop an overlook a strange merchant offers to sell his words this figure belongs to a group of tradesmen called the memorial mob the items they sell have been pillaged from the dead many such merchants can be found throughout the province of ashana a distinct item can be found in the possession of this merchant robert's firecrackers an item from across the southern seas sold by little robert and his father to raise funds for their travels their voyage brought them to japan where they would seek the undying in an attempt to extend robert's life from this information we learn of a man from the west and his son robert it is no secret that the key to eternal life lies within ashina province and so robert's father desperately searches for it to cure his son's terminal affliction surrounding the outskirts of vast mountains and valleys dangerous as they are beautiful several tunnel networks form a passage in the mountainside dwelling deep within the caverns are undead creatures of the dark known as the headless once living mortals who were beheaded in life a common occurrence in the sengoku period warriors would often collect the heads of their enemies in exchange for money titles and land victims of such barbaric acts could not find peace in the afterlife due to their incomplete burials as an aspect of their body was owned by another never to be laid to rest these malformed warriors are impervious to the blade in order to slay these spirits one must coat their blade in divine confetti it is imbued with a divine blessing made for driving away apparitions the paper is made ceremoniously whereby pulp is spread thin using water from the exalted fountain head as the gods bless the waters so too will the confetti bless one who basks in his touch allowing attacks to connect with apparition type enemies sakuro with this tool is able to grant peace to the headless jumping forward we witness the fabled great serpent a monolithic white-scaled snake a vast creature whose body weaves through the mountains sakura cannot confront such a beast head-on the shinobi using his expertise and stealth narrowly avoids the jaws of the serpent eventually sakura comes upon a small palanquin in which he hides the snake grows suspicious leaning against the entrance of the structure to take a closer look seizing the opportunity sakura plunges his blade deep into the cornea of the great serpent resulting in the beast recoiling in terror and pain granting sakura ample time to make an escape for now advancing further we arrive at what appears to be the remnants of a battlefield a gateway can be seen in the distance the entrance to ashna castle is within reach however there is another obstacle to overcome kaiobu masataka aniwa the once bandit leader and ally of ishin the sword saint wielding the crossbar of a general tamara that samurai charges on horseback sakura has no choice but to overcome this adversary he cannot fail kuro the wolf perseveres deflecting the blows of guyobu's armament and using his grappling hook to throw the warrior off balance and close the distance gyoubu the demon is unable to best the master shinobi sakuro delivers a piercing blow to the chest of the samurai felling the grey warrior and with that the keeper of ashina castle gate was defeated at a certain point in time sakura is able to circle back to ashina reservoir here he discovers the pit at which he awoke from earlier at the mouth of the chasm a man called zim and kamano can be found his duty is to patrol the modes of ashina castle he stays shinobi have you heard the shamasen yet i followed the sound and it led me to this well i don't know why but i can't stop thinking about it the sound of the instrument appears to occupy the mind of the patrolmen interestingly only he can hear the melody of the supposed shamisen curious the wolf plunges into the pit where he comes face to face with a lone shadow these nimble warriors pose a significant threat to sakura using a mixture of martial arts and their katana to make quick work of their enemies the wolf endeavors and overcomes the shinobi the lone shadows are the interior ministry's most trusted agents each of leader masatsuna arabese 17 born has a specialty from poison to shinobi hounds here is the first sign that the interior ministry has begun reconnaissance in the province of ashana setting the groundworks for an invasion further beyond sakura encounters the shura storyteller she warns that the worst is yet to come for rashina stating that the fires of war still burn as embers signifying that ashura may return soon as stated earlier we know the sculptor was once on the brink of shura perhaps the old maid is referring to him insinuating that his transformation was merely delayed not prevented surrounded by a group of deceased lone shadows is the tengu of ashina a tall and lean shinobi wearing a tengu mask he remarks that sakura reminds him of a certain one-armed wolf suggesting he's familiar with the shinobi orangutan he asks that sakura go and kill the rats in ashina rat being a nickname for a particular start assassin found nearby once completed tangu will provide the ashina esoteric text as a reward the text reads like a history of ishinashina's bustles when jung ishin fought desperately time and time again polishing his technique in the blood of his enemies he consolidated his learnings under the ashina style name for the sake of his clan's dominance when encountered for a second time the shinobi will grant yet another text jungishin would stop at nothing in his lust for power and this single-minded search for strength ended in him taking ashina for his own this is the result of combining techniques from the styles he encountered this drive defined ishin's achievements and as such this text will never be finished the possession of these items would indicate tengu to be a devout follower of the sword saint but if we take into account his knowledge of the shinobi orangutan and the specific text regarding gishan it lends credence to the notion that tengu is most likely the sword saint himself masked as a shinobi cleaning up ashana in his twilight years witnessing the perpetual demise of his clan perhaps he could no longer sit idly by choosing to aid his grandson ganichiro in the restoration of vashna's glory through his own means before venturing further sakuro recalls the young lord's belcham gifted by inosuke's mother and so the wolf returns to the dilapidated temple as instructed he offers the charm to buddha in prayer as the shinobi closes his eyes he is transported three years into the past into a memory awakening at hirata estate the resident of the hirata family appears to be under siege by a troop of bandits a wounded night jar ninja recognizes sakura as the son of al additionally he urges him to protect the divine air from this information sakura realizes that kuro's life is in danger and that the bandits have attacked the estate in search of the boy presumably for his power in the vicinity we encounter pot noble harunaga a man infatuated with the idea of becoming a carp in order to achieve immortality he was exiled from the fountainhead palace due to his attempt to slaughter a mythical creature known as the great coloured carp he implored sakuro to bring him any treasure carp scales he can to aid in his journey of becoming a fish should sakura fulfill this request the pot noble will grant the wolf some truly precious bait to lure the great treasure carp and kill it to succeed where he could not after a period of time harunaga will mutate into a red-eyed carp red eyes being a symptom of those who pursued eternal life prior to his transformation he revealed that his goal was to become the next great coloured carp another objective in which he failed in the distance sakuro encounters spear-wielding monks from the temple of misen mese and monks are well-versed in the art of killing shinobi an undertaking that demands a body with an unshakable core we can discern that hirata foresaw the malicious intent that some would have if they realized the location of the divine air kuro intriguingly he expected an invasion orchestrated by the shinobi choosing to enlist the aid of meis and monks to defend his land this was not a simple attack by a group of roaming bandits descending deeper into the estate a merchant by the name anayama the peddler is discovered this bandit merchant offers to sell his words as a prize strangely this man can also be encountered in the present day outskirts of the province if spoken to in ashna anayama will recognize sakura recalling their chance encounter at hirata estate three years prior providing a bridge between the memory and current events incidentally should sakura kill the peddler in herator estate he will then vanish from ashina outskirts altogether enforcing the idea that the wolf has traveled through time and his actions will have a rippling effect on his present day journeying ahead sakura enters the bamboo thicket slope where he's reunited with his father owl it's you i'm afraid i made a bit of a blunder perhaps the years have finally caught up with me don't bother tending to my wounds no point it's too late you must take this the key to the secret temple in the estate mansion you'll find him the divine air with his dying breath al gives sakura the hidden temple key allowing him to gain access to a concealed location where kuro is held is it possible that a great shinobi such as owl would be defeated by a group of bandits or mise and monks his passing appears suspicious and potentially calculated for now sakura has no choice but to push forward through the estate navigating the flaming wreathed village it comes upon a stalwart samurai named nagami gensai he declares that his duty is to protect the young lord kuro and that lord ishin would never forgive him should he fail from his dialogue we also learned that he was involved with ishin's coup aiding him in his insurgency moreover he requests that sakura assist him in the upcoming fight to carve a path to the temple entrance unsurprisingly the hidden temple appears to be the most heavily defended area leaving a pack of banders is the gargantuan juzo the drunkard an unrivaled sumo wrestler who once served a great feudal lord dismissed after given to drink he fell to a life of brigandry and so he was dubbed juzo the drunkard together sakura and ogami cut down the colossal foe granting passage to the temple upon entry sakura is reunited with the familiar figure inosuke nogami's mother you may recall she provided the wolf with the young lord's belcharm in order to gain entry to this memory her appearance in hirata estate indicates that the master she once served was lord kuro once again mistaking sakura for her son she asked that he protect the divine air close by inosuke can be found his eyes appear to be gouged out witnessing the illusions permeating from the temple perhaps enosuke purposely blinded himself or this could merely be a wound received from an adversary unsuccessful in his attempt to rescue kuro he instead provides the shinobi with a snap seed to aid in the fight ahead the seed is useful for breaking the effect of illusion techniques if an illusion occurs it is because someone created it to crush the phantoms and return to reality one must defeat the creator of the illusion at last sakura hears the cries of kuro lamenting the loss of his parents the divine air appears to be under the effects of an illusion something which the wolf frees him from an old acquaintance calls out from the flames the seasoned practitioner of illusions and once mentor to sakura lady butterfly fulfilling his duty sekuro instructs the child to run curiously the boy does not recognize the one armed wolf suggesting that this memory emerges from a time before the boy employed his service or perhaps sekuro safeguarded the child from the shadows invisible to his eyes if sakura was already duty-bound to protect kuro at this point then even more suspicion is placed on al as the great shinobi is the only one capable of ordering sakura to leave the divine airside since his word as father supersedes that of the master he serves the butterfly is as graceful as she is deadly employing the use of daggers to inflict rapid and relentless cuts she also suspends herself in the air balancing upon tripwires from which she lunges skillfully sakura is able to counter her movements eliminating the shinobi but lady butterfly would not be defeated so easily it's his reveal that sakura was merely dueling an apparition of hers formed by her mystic powers with her illusion defeated the true lady butterfly appears descending from the shoulders of a large buddha statue throughout the fight she conjures a plethora of warriors proving her skill in the art of illusion regardless the apprentice had surpassed the master filled with anguish the wolf delivers a death blow to his former trainer asking that she forgive him for this act in her final moment lady butterfly acknowledges the wolf's newfound strength as the hidden temple collapses someone wielding a vast blade delivers a mortal blow to sakura a weapon that appears to be oddly familiar for now it appears the true perpetrator of the massacre at herrata estate remains unknown as the wolf succumbs to his wounds unable to confront the one who had assailed him the events of harata estate about a small indication of the length many will go to to obtain the power of the dragon's heritage much of the conflict afflicting this land is rooted in the pursuit of immortality as the wolf's consciousness slips into the void the diviner kuro returns granting the shinobi his blood a reward for his loyalty it is worth mentioning that sakura is already oathbound to the present-day kuro the younger divine heir granting him his blood for a second time results in a sakura droplet a pale pink crystal residue known to form when an immortal oath fails to establish increase his resurrective power to allow an additional resurrection to repeat the vows of the undying and be awarded resurrective power once more surely necessitates the aid of a divine child of the dragon's heritage since sakuro had already received this gift obtaining kuro's blood once more had little effect for now the droplet is worthless without the assistance of a divine child as life returns to the one armed wolf he awakens in the present day retracing his steps the shinobi returns to the location of enosuke and his mother this time sakura is greeted by a corpse the once maid appears to have perished while the wolf was away wistfully her sonanosuke stays [Music] mother until the end the young master he recounts that his mother even in her deteriorating mental state remained loyal to lord kuro her giving sakura kuro's charm was an attempt at reconciling her failure to protect the boy on that dreadful night three years ago sadly she would not live to see the child again and her son enosuke would soon join her in the beyond in pursuit of kuro sekuro makes his way to ashina castle before entering the grounds of the keep one last foe must be slain the blazing bull an almost indomitable creature the ashina soldiers had bound a bale of straw to the frame of the beast the stack was then ignited spiraling the creature into a fit of blind rage a desperate last line of defense conjured by the ashinaklan the bull does not discriminate as it tramples its captors and enemies alike with no sense of strategy the bull was a fiery rampaging beast and nothing more the one-armed wolf fells the animal granting him salvation at the mouth of a bridge resides the faithful one a devout old woman when speaking to her she unveils that one must journey to sempo temple located on mount congo should one hope to meet a very special and holy person thank heavens thank heavens divine child of the rejuvenating waters thank you you you wish to meet the divine child that way senpo temple is that way pass through the abandoned dungeon swim the cold waters that will take you right to the senpo temple on mount congo unlike kuro this divine child was created artificially by the sampo monks in an attempt to replicate the power of immortality bestowed upon those of the dragon's heritage the monks relinquished their pious ways and their vision became clouded by delusions of eternal life the false dragon's blood that courses through the child's veins allows her to transcend death she was not the only victim of such experimentation as the monks tried to grant immortality to several children unfortunately only one would survive the divine child of rejuvenation herself but for now sakura remains focused on the rescue of kuro the inner confines of the castle are not so easily penetrated countless troops and even a general of the ashana clan serve as an iron wall of defense against any intruder joining the countless soldiers are the tarot troopers tall bulky fighters their gargantuan stature is most likely the result of consuming persimmons the ashina taro troop are practically raised on these fruits which is why they all know the best time to pick them an individual known as black cat badger also makes an appearance for the first time he looks very similar to the assassins found throughout ashina he remarks rats have been swarming into ash in a castle these days you know the ones i mean but there's this hell-bent old-timer cutting them up like it was nothing specifically he mentions the shinobi tengu and how he has been eliminating the assassins anticipating the danger that lies ahead for ashana castle the badger leaves for sempo temple navigating the streets of the castle the one-armed wolf meets fujioka the info broker this merchant once belonged to the memorial mob however he has chosen to become an independent seller his habitual trait of looting corpses and turning their wares for a profit still persists despite having left the group he states that some of the ashana samurai around the keep have been chasing him day and night but he is reluctant to reveal why they are after him perhaps the ashana soldiers did not take kindly to the looting of the corpses of their brethren sakuro complies assassinating the unit of samurai indebted fujioka offers a night jar beacon memo as compensation a note on smoke signals used by ashina shinobi the grey knight jars pale pink smoke signals are placed along the rooftops of ashna castle these signals guide the night jar the ashen feathered flock are surely the only ones able to follow such a trail here we learn of the ashana shinobi known as night jars three ranks form this sect of ninjas brown grey and black as indicated by their masks they often use smoke to communicate the way to one another and those of their faction are supposedly the only ones able to follow such a signal however sakura is a master shinobi and so he too is able to traverse the rooftops of ashina castle following the trails of smoke as guidance having reached the summit of the castle sakura overhears ghanichiro and amma conversing desperate to cure his grandfather's affliction gennichiro plitokuro to take him into his immortal oath to grant him the power of the dragon's heritage the divine heir rejects this notion leaving kenichiro with no choice but to dispose of the oath van sakuro so he can take his place with newfound confidence the shinobi draws his sword during the jewel kenichiro utilizes dexterity and raw strength to overcome his opponents his arsenal consists of his katana and long bow which he uses to barrage the one armed wolf from all distances and angles sakura had gained much combat proficiency since their initial encounter having rapidly bridged the gap in skill the grandson of ishin is bested gennichiro however does not falter now displaying little semblance of the man encountered in the reservoir he enters his strongest form not only was the lord trained by the sword saint but also the legendary tummaway combining the techniques of ishin and tom away allows kinichiro to reach a level of skill few could dream to achieve replicating the dance-like movements of the floating passage art taught to him by his master the sound of thunder roars through the frigid skies while an ashana combat art it was taught by an outsider and thus such is considered heretical the master of this technique crossed the floating passage and descended to ashina her name was tum away some theorised her to be of the okami clan a sisterhood of warriors who resided in fountainhead palace and wielded lightning as a weapon using the way of a technique that not even a lifetime could attain genitro at last was able to reach the height of his former master relentless in his assault kenichiro now wields the power of lightning itself within his blade reaching his zenith he leaps into the atmosphere igniting his sword as the projectile is released from his blade the master shinobi meets him in the air by doing this he is able to absorb the element into his own body deflecting the energy back to genichiro utilizing the art of lightning reversal sakuro is able to turn ghanichiro's strength into a grave weakness once again the lord is defeated with the absence of his armor we can see the corruption that lies within ghanichiro's body the rejuvenating sediment a concentrated part of the rejuvenating waters may have granted him impeccable resilience but it came at a hefty price kenichiro's goal of healing himself his grandfather and by proxy the ashina clan through the power of the dragon's heritage appears to have been unsuccessful the immortal power would also be used to defend against the imminent invasion coordinated by the interior ministry ashana had fended off a siege from the ministry once before but now few remain to defend the nation like reeds before a scythe the blade of sakura had brought the clan to its knees having defeated guyobu genichiro and the last defenses of ashina castle in conjunction with ishin's illness the wolf had inadvertently disarmed the province leaving ghanichiro with little left to defend ashana as indicated earlier victims of the surgeon doojan had red eyes the same side effect which had manifested in kunichiro although he was not overcome by madness this implies that he potentially funded dujan's research of the rejuvenating waters with the purpose of finding a way to eliminate any of its defects in a flush of lightning the lord leaps from the peak of the castle evading the claws of the wolf for now emma confirms that she answers to ishin ashina and that he had ordered her to deliver the ornamental letter to sakura to save kuro from his grandson signifying that ishin opposes the root kenichiro had taken and understands that the power of immortality is a burden she elaborates that lord ganesha's resilience to fatal blows stems from the consumption of the rejuvenating waters her father dogen was once devoted to the research of its uses but his documents on the subject and even the medicines he concocted were destroyed potentially by the surgeon doojan in addition she reveals that kuro seeks immortal severance to be disconnected from the lineage of the dragon's heritage something which would result in the death of the divine heir sakura can choose to aid his master in this endeavor by finding a means to end his life in the case of granting death to an eternal being emma speaks of an armament known as the mortal blade with this knowledge in mind sakura speaks to the divine air the immortal oath the rejuvenating waters the dragon rot they all corrupt men to the point that they no longer live as men i wish to sever the chains of stagnation bred by the dragon's heritage wolf will you help me achieve this aim kuro believes it is a fallacy to think that the gift of immortality brings glory or bliss its power corrupts the hearts of all men for mortal beings are not meant to live beyond their limits the seduction of eternal life only invites turmoil even if one is blessed with its power those around them will suffer from dragon rot until their untimely deaths and should a formidable killer on the verge of shura attain immortality the lies of those who walk the earth would cease to exist the one armed wolf finds himself in a peculiar situation he had swore an oath to protect the boy yet the same master now wishes to die on the one hand by granting him death he is obeying the word of his master conversely eliminating the one he serves could be considered a contradiction of the shinobi code recalling the words of al sakuro's duty is to obey his father first and his master second the shinobi was specifically instructed by al to defend kuro with his life surely abetting the divine heir in the pursuit of death directly undermines his father's orders still sakura will aid kuro when the time comes he will have to make a choice to side with his master or his father exploring the library of the castle kuro finds a text regarding the ritual of immortal severance beyond the fountainhead palace locate the sanctuary and imbibe the tears of the holy dragon of the divine realm here we are provided with the first ingredient required to perform the sacred rite the tears of a holy dragon one must journey to the divine realm to confront the fabled creature additionally kuro mentions a previous diviner by the name takeru who died long ago in his final words he stated wrapped in the aroma of the fountainhead i return to the divine realm the passing of this heir confirms that the act of immortal severance is possible moreover kuro points to the incense burner in the room stating that it belonged to lord takeru at a later point kuro in search of a means to enter the divine realm discovers a note from the diary of takeru's page lord takeru held his arm over the incense burner and attempted to cut it with a sword but incredibly his wound healed instantly and not a drop of blood was shed lady tum away said without it your blood cannot be spilled it is surmise that the blood of a divine air is used to form the aroma required to open the way to the realm of gods as the boy is impervious to injury they must employ the use of the mortal blade a weapon depicted in the immortal severance scrap with mortal blade in hand my blood may be shed with my blood the aroma will be complete the divine realm will be in reach immortal severance will be at hand i must ask tom away to assist with the beheading finally kuro finds another key piece of information written by the previous diviner the fragrant flower note it is said that relatives of the tummaway once gathered the fountainhead fragrance and arrived at the palace you may find a key where the waters of rejuvenation converge in a deep pool a white and deeply fragrant flower these clues paint a picture of tamawe and her master takeru and how they sought the means to end the curse of immortality a story that directly reflects the goals of kuro and sakiro retracing their journey is our best hope of replicating the ritual and fulfilling kuro's wish investigating the incense burner the one-armed wolf detects the scent of a sakura flower according to lady yama lorta karu grafted the flower into the sakura tree located at the rear of ashina castle and often gazed upon the branch as a reminder of his home the flower was plucked by lord takeru who took the branch from the divine realm as a parting relic over the course of time the tree had withered and its last remaining branch was stolen by an unknown figure the branch was once a flower said to have been taken from this tree the same tree in which the divine dragon has taken root as mentioned earlier sakura obtained a sakura droplet from the younger version of kuro in hirata estate due to receiving the power of the dragon's heritage for a second time in regards to the droplet kuro knows when the undying pledge of the dragon's heritage is broken it's said that this remains in place of the oath lord takeru's dragon blood lives on with you use it well with kuro's blessing the sakura droplet strengthens sakura's ability to resurrect prior to departing the castle the one armed wolf pays a visit to ishin as instructed by kuro discovered in his room is a handwritten letter dear emma the ashna castle gate has grown loud with the sound of scurrying the tengu will see to the rats worry not not only does a letter confirm the identity of tengu but it also reaffirms who emma's true master is he required emma's assistance to cure his ailment if anyone could cure him it would be dogen's apprentice regardless of his frail appearance and affliction that consumes his body he defends his homeland attempting to stifle the impending invasion from the interior ministry additionally if given sake ishin will open up about his past he ruminates that this land once belonged to the people of ashana but over time they grew weak enabling them to be trampled into submission by external forces as the world fell into chaos ishin and his soldiers found the perfect opportunity to retake control of the land despite the conclusion of the war the land was far from idyllic as it remained a place of death he also recounts that he had killed a surer back in his heyday a feat few could hope to accomplish he elaborates on the topic of tommowe and his grandson there aren't many masters of the sword like her to see her fight it's like she's dancing when you look into her eyes you feel as if you're being drawn into the depths of the ocean i was completely taken by her and it almost killed me i've lived a long life but that was the closest i've come to death whether it be from her combat prowess or to a greater degree the allure of her gaze ishin struggled to overcome her my grandson ginichiro was bewitched by the rejuvenating waters you did well to put a stop to that for me unknowingly ganichiro is on a ruinous path acting of his own volition the lord views immortality as a key to protect his homeland for he is willing to abandon his own self for his country unlike his grandfather who in his youth spent his days in pursuit of life or death combat to strengthen oneself through warfare rather than relying on supernatural powers their ideological differences had formed a schism in their relationship in his old age ishin appears to be far from reticent revealing his innermost feelings to sakura lastly he aids the one armed wolf in his plight of obtaining the mortal blade to sever the ties of immortality once and for all the mortal blade if you had such a weapon it may be the key to what you are after with it you could kill one who cannot die through no more means the infested i believe they're called i have not seen one before but it said you could stab them through the heart or remove their head and they wouldn't die if the stories are true they'd surely be quite fearsome to kill a monster such as that you'd need the mortal blade i've heard it's held in simple temple however they say the mortal blade cannot be drawn it's just here sir the gates to that temple are closed now though who knows what those degenerates are doing shut away up there in the mountains there aren't any decent roads leading there severing immortality that will be quite the battle and in battle the plans and desires of those involved churn endlessly if you hesitate you'll be swept away [Music] hesitate and you lose [Music] following his conversation with ishan the one-armed wolf descends to the abandoned dungeon in search of a fragment stone which is said to be the key to reaching the divine realm a note left behind by a rotting prisoner stays supposedly the fragrant stone is enshrined in a village in the ashina depths this is as far as that old okami tome could take me but did they truly reach the fountainhead palace the okami clan is said to have reached the divine realm but even under their guide the prisoner failed to ascend and instead met his end in the dungeon this dark cavernous place is home only to repulsive insects and a cursed undead commanding these plagued lands is a manic individual named dujun the last disciple of the master sergeant osaku dosaku's influence was once prominent amongst practicing surgeons acting as a mentor to those who sought to replicate the powers granted by the rejuvenating waters the majority of dosaku's apostles have since averted their gaze to the more credible practitioner dogan a mechanical genius who is credited with the invention of the shuriken wheel amongst other medicinal commodities abandoned by his followers dosaku was left with not but one devotee a letter can be discovered which reads with a desperate inflection doojan my last disciple even if i die the research must continue finish the procedure for ashina's sake the procedure at hand refers to the creation of an army a battalion of raid-filled soldiers granted immeasurable strength through the use of the rejuvenating waters and red eyes for what reason would dojon be driven to build an infantry of this proportion long ago the surgeon was hired by a vassal of the ashina clan the goal was to capture unsuspecting villagers and use them to create soldiers in preparation for the war against the ministry the experiments proved futile evident by the test subjects found within the abandoned dungeon the decaying inmates are slow and withered almost corpse-like contrary to the enraged warriors that dujon had hoped for the surgeon's inability to complete the procedure was a cause of great consequence as within the dungeon a crumbling offering tower reads here lie the vassals of the ashinaklan executed after the great rebellion although doojan was a failure lord ganitro saw potential in the botched experiments and in turn invited the surgeon to work in you when the wolf happens upon the surgeon he is seen wearing the attire of a sempo monk hinting at a former life at the temple he asks for sakuro to aid in his experiment prompting the shinobi to capture a new test subject preferably a strong samurai or a young large soldier such as a member of the taro troupe the strong samurai refers to genzyman kamano and the member of the taro troupe alludes to kotaro a childlike simpleton who watches over the children of the rejuvenating waters kotaro is in fact the son of the rotting prisoner he was captured by dujun on his journey to the divine realm if either of the aforementioned characters are captured the wolf will be ordered to acquire red carp eyes the researcher dujan in the abandoned dungeon wants these eyes to improve his procedure with the acquisition of the eyes doojan commences with his experiment on the captured prisoner through eavesdropping on the surgeon signs of lunacy begin to show he mumbles amongst himself talking to his master dosaku who clearly isn't present this frenzy worsens with time to a point in which dujon stays surely you don't intend to use that on me very astute my apprentice you are the next subject please no as i feared you have strayed from the path of medicine why would you do such a thing no master the rejuvenating waters have bewitched you pastor please answer me please answer me master why why would you answer me answer me it is revealed that dosaku and dujun were the quintessential master and disciple often when pursuing the ideal self one needs only look within with that said doojan likely created an ideal strive towards in the name of dosaku a guiding hand to lead him to greatness in time doojan had lost sight of who he truly was molding his true self with his alter ego whilst dujun may have been an honest practitioner working for the benefit of science and humanity dosaku explores a darker side to the character harboring an obsession with his work willing to surrender his integrity if it meant the success of an experiment his descent into heresy explains why his disciples had abandoned him for dogen the surgeon at the peak of his craze subjects himself to his own experiment moving ahead to a later point dujon's test subject can be found on the first island past the underground waterway harboring piercing red eyes and driven to complete madness alongside him stands the surgeon himself a victim to his own insanity the deluded soul desperate to succeed in his mission fated himself and his prisoner to a short life as frenzied soldiers not to mention the many others who were sacrificed in vain in the presence of the wolf the hostile foes are swiftly put to rest the surgeon's experiments had finally proven fruitful but one must wonder did the ends justify the means traversing through the dungeon leads to the bottomless hole a large pit housing a sichuan warrior this is one of many seven-faced warriors who are infamous practitioners of necromancy interestingly their name is likely a reference to shiichim and misaki a group of seven spirit-like figures within japanese folklore who died at sea they mainly appear surrounding streams of water and murder those who cross their path the history of sichuan warriors draws some parallels to the japanese tale as they too appear to have been killed as a consequence of water the divine water of the palace upon closer inspection a centipede is seen emerging from the body of the sichuan which means that they were involved in the infamous experiments conducted by the senpo monks of mount congo the monks experimented with the rejuvenating waters hoping to recreate the powers of the divine heritage but instead the waters became corrupted and centipedes came to be the parasites take control of a victim's body reducing them to animated corpses in death the blessing of the water transformed the warriors into ghost-like entities but as the gods bless the waters so too will the confetti bless one who basks in its touch allowing attacks to connect with apparition type enemies without haste the shinobi makes use of divine confetti and duels the warrior to the death progressing forward an elevator from the bottomless hole leads to a path lined with cliffs surrounded by sunshine and falling autumn leaves [Music] you yes you look this way gaze upon the image of the enlightened one those of the senpo temple have strayed from buddha's teachings they have abandoned their faith seduced by a search for immortality [Music] a mysterious voice warns of the fate that befell the devout lands of sempo temple heeding this warning the shinobi treads carefully encountering a man by the name of kotaro he's seen mourning in solitude having been abandoned by the children of the rejuvenating waters who he was entrusted to keep watch of unable to locate the children kotaro remains confined to the outskirts of the temple and his fate now lies within the palm of the shinobi as mentioned previously kotaro could have been directed towards the abandoned dungeon where he would become another victim of dujan's experiments alternatively kotaro could be sent to anayama the peddler hanayama is a good man he called me here to mourn those who died in battle we take off the armor cleanse the body and make proper graves in kotaro's simple mind anayama is of pure intent working to provide a decent burial for the poor souls who've died in battle in reality anayama is an opportunistic bandit who strips trinkets of corpses as evident by his ever-expanding inventory following kotaro's arrival a third option includes the acquisition of a white pinwheel and the prosthetic tool divine abduction putting those tools to use sekuro gathers and releases a gust of wind creating a large vortex which spirits kotaro towards the halls of illusion here he will once again be united with the children of the rejuvenating waters only they are present in spirit alone not in their physical form this brings to the forefront a reality much darker than one could have imagined the children never abandoned kataro but were instead killed in an attempt to emulate their divine heirs immortality although their spirit resides in halls of illusion the children have sadly passed away victims of depraved experimentation made worse is that no one speaks of the injustice endowed upon them oh it's you i'm glad you made it look everyone mr shinobi is here too ah children greet him properly hmm all right you can't see them can you maneuvering through sempo temple it is evident that corruption has taken center stage those of the sempo temple mastered martial arts in the pursuit of virtue they considered strong fists and strict discipline essential against buddha's enemies however sempo temple was seized by an obsession for the undying which corrupted their teachings and style in pursuit of immortality the monks within the temple became infested with a parasite a centipede which inhabits their body this act was viewed as a journey of enlightenment and was described as such for an age i have been blessed by the worm to be undying is to walk the eternal path to enlightenment thus i must become enlightened to understand why i cannot die it is said the holy dragon's origins were in the west so i wonder how did the worm come to be bestowed upon me the monks believed that the centipede was their gateway to eternal life not knowing that their consciousness would surrender to its corruption the centipedes will seek out a leader often changing names out of loyalty centipede chiefs are known as long arms for their large talon-like weapons one such leader is found within the temple standing before a chalice fueled by fire utilizing the grappling hook the shinobi finds himself atop a mountain standing before him is a knight at the end of a fully enclosed wooden bridge undoubtedly the armored warrior is an outsider travelling from distant lands his broad and heavy metallic armor stands out from the typical outfits worn throughout ashana robert's father came from afar across seas to the south in search of the undying repelling a thousand blades was a small price for the blessing of rejuvenation the warrior instantly engages with the wolf leaving no doubt whether he's friend or foe it is evident throughout the jewel that he is driven to reach the sacred waters not for his own gain but for his son robert is likely at risk of death potentially from an injury or illness forcing the father to track down the immortality granting waters to save his son's life as the fight advances the shinobi begins to alter his strategy as his blade is unable to pierce through the dense armor plates of the opposing foe with each clash of steel the battle shifted towards the edge of the bridge until an opportunity materialized and the wolf inflicted the finishing blow in search of the divine child of rejuvenation securo enters the main hall of the temple and interrogates the master of sempo temple a high buddhist priest who mourns the loss of the many children who were sacrificed in failed experiments the priest appears to be frail mummified so to speak this is a result of an ancient buddhist practice which consists of long-term self-starvation in the hopes of abandoning all worldly pleasures to reach enlightenment and oneness with god in the words of the priest himself one should focus only on deeds of virtue and forgo thoughts of attaining wealth the extent of the priest's involvement in the experiments remains unclear however he appears filled with regret wishing only to atone for his wrongdoings he explains that the last remaining child is confined within the inner sanctum that child she's the only one she must be lonely trapped in that room by herself he must be so lonely to reach the child securo interacts with the elusive hall bell and in a blink awakens to find himself in the halls of illusion a maze-like structure housing the folding screen monkeys lost and stranded the wolf looks to the illusory hall monk for answers the monk is found meditating unaffected by the corruption that had spread throughout sempo temple whilst others were enticed by the research for immortality the monk valued the quiet peace within the halls of illusion he assimilates his time at the halls to that of nirvana a transcendent state which represents the final goal of buddhism in which there is neither suffering desire nor sense of self i believe you are on a mission then wish to leave this place then you must defeat the monkeys depicted on the panels at the whole entrance once you have done so the divine child's voice will reach you the folding screen monkeys guarded the hall of illusions and befriended the divine child of rejuvenation in preparation for the fight ahead sakura learns of the monkey's strengths and weaknesses one has enhanced eyesight the second excellent hearing and the third will scream to alert his companions upon detecting the shinobi's presence the monkeys pose as a contradiction to the proverbial principle see no evil hear no evil speak no evil the proverb expresses the lack of moral responsibility on the part of those who refuse to acknowledge impropriety in contrast the folding screen monkeys directly stand in judgment of those who forsook their virtues to attain immortality speaking of a lack of acknowledgement a fourth invisible monkey silently follows in sakura's footsteps summoning hostile spirits and inflicting terror the invisible monkey is not mentioned by anyone not even the illusory hall monk he is a reference to the often forgotten fourth monkey of the original proverb do no evil one by one the monkeys are struck down upon defeating all four the voice of the divine child can be heard the same voice which warned the shinobi at the entrance to sampo temple please forgive them they only sought to keep me hidden however it seems it was not meant to be in the same manner that sakura was guided into the halls of illusion he is transported out this time awakening opposite a beautiful sanctum surrounded by waterfalls and vegetation inside rest the divine child of rejuvenation do you know of the blade that cannot be drawn it is so called for not one who has drawn it has ever survived yet you still wish to attempt this if you are prepared you may gaze upon the blade why is it i wonder are they not loath to die how how are you your eye i see you carry the curse of the dragon's heritage the mortal blade without question i accept its power the mortal blade is an adache capable of slaying the undying its crimson blade will take the life of any who dares draw it without the power of resurrection one could not hope to wield this weapon which allows one to defeat even infested beings long concealed within sempo temple the blade is inscribed with its true name gracious gift of tears through carrying the curse of the dragon's heritage wolfe is able to overcome the destructive nature of the mortal blade and wields it as its master the divine child shares in sakura's disdain for the dragon's heritage knowing very well the undeniable corruption that is born from it and so she grants the shinobi her blessing to sever the tides of immortality to do so the shinobi is tasked with obtaining a particular set of items one being a sacred passage the transcript illustrates a method in which the corrupting powers of the divine heritage can be returned back to its origins the west undying i pray for the dragon's return undying low let us wait an age for the divine air to assimilate the cold dragon tears for the cradle to consume the pair of serpentine fruits let the cradle and jaw giving him shelter granting his return to the west the divine child agrees to become a vessel for the dragon's blood a shepherd that would guide it far from the east the transcript remarks that the cradle must consume a pair of serpentine fruits this refers to both the dried and fresh serpent viscera which are hearts of great serpents located deep within the sunken valley the great serpent is considered to be a god of the land and the heart is believed to be where one spirit resides apparently denizens of the sunken valley worship the organs believing they represent the deity itself going a step further according to denizens of the sunken valley such places are appropriate for offering oneself in marriage to the great serpent if one wishes to become a bride they must enter the belly of the serpent in the valley spoken plainly the denizens devotion was so great that they offered themselves to be eaten by the serpent the final key item to be retrieved is the lotus of the palace a white lotus flower found blooming in the depths of the sunken valley where the fountainhead waters pull deeply without question the one-armed wolf begins his journey to the sunken valley home to great serpents and its worshippers the sunken valley clan members of the clan will shoot any stranger who approaches and snake eyes guns are particularly feared this elite group of women are descendants of the ancient okami clan their especially sharp eyes allow them to snipe victims at great range the snake eyes stunned as guards of the valley patrolling the top and bottom entrance to the gunfort these vigorous beings have few weaknesses with the exception being the sabimaru prosthetic tool wielded in walls of old the blade's blue rust was used to drive off inhuman okami warrior women even now it is likely to be effective against their descendants moving ahead the dried serpent viscera is found displayed in a shrine guarded by a great serpent this demonstrates the denizens admiration for the organ placing it at an altar for all to worship the retrieval of the fresh serpent viscera is problematic however as the heart still beats within the colossal body of a living serpent the same one encountered in the ashana outskirts the serpent now rests beyond the sunken valley cavern to reach it the wolf must utilize his puppeteer ninjutsu to take control of an assassin guarding kite machinery the puppet moves on behalf of its master and so the assassin is made to fly the kite at a higher elevation allowing sakura to grapple his way to the cavern in carving this path the black hat badger is also able to travel to the sunken valley cavern but what business would he have in such a place this it's uh it belongs to my kid after the little run passed away all the grunt work i used to do just didn't cut it experiments with rejuvenation kidnapping responsibilities of a black hat everything to do with this temple was just rubbing me the wrong way now at the sunken valley passage the wolf edges towards the end of a wooden plank extruding from a cliff directly below lies the mighty great serpent twirled around the face of a rock without hesitation the shinobi plunges towards the beast building up momentum as he descends through the air with the wind at his back the wolf measures his blade in anticipation aware of the narrow window for success his execution is timed to perfection piercing the coarse skin of the serpent upon impact the creature cries out in agony as its blood sprays the skies like rain falling from above the final death blow removes all doubt hurling the beast towards the ground leaving it in a pile of its own blood whilst the okami worshiped the dragon deity their descendants idealized its opposite the great serpent although not a centipede the serpent portrays the role of an omarka day which in japanese folklore is a giant centipede that wraps itself around a mountain and is slain by a warrior who is rewarded with an endless supply of rice this mirrors the journey of sakura who slays the great serpent by orders of the divine child who acts as an infinite source of rice the idea that the serpent is emblematic of a giant centipede solidifies a symbolic distinction between the dragon and the serpent with both hearts obtained all that remains is the lotus of the palace preserved by the guardian ape the ape resides in a shallow pond overlooked by a giant statue keeping a watchful eye on the lotus flower its aroma is known to attract female apes and so the lonely guardian tends to it awaiting the arrival of a potential companion the ape appears to have survived fatal wounds from a previous battle evidenced by a katana stuck through its neck in addition to various slashes of a blade drawn across its face in defense of its domain the a page is on charging at the shinobi with intent to kill using his grapple hook along with a variety of prosthetic tools sakura is able to dictate the battle slowly wearing down his foe and concluding the fight by decapitating the egg with the very sword cemented in its neck in a shocking turn the headless ape stands tall once more this affirms that the ape had been corrupted by a centipede granting it immortality to put the beast to rest the shinobi uses his blade as a wedge drawing out the parasite from the guardian apes body through a lapse in judgment sekuro does not utilize his mortal blade to rid the world of the centipede for good the ape was defeated though its roar can still be heard following the battle a slender finger of a young woman can be retrieved there is a shinobi technique called the finger whistle that can drive beasts wild the one who used it before clearly used it for this purpose as evidenced by the fingers open hole the slender finger along with the katana fan plunged into the neck of the ape suggests that sakura was not the first shinobi to roam the vertical lands of the sunken valley i trained in the techniques of the shinobi in the valley where the monkeys dwelled there were two of us we were rogue shinobi there was no proper master for the likes of us that's why we went to the valley to run to jump to clash swords where one slip would mean your doom that was how we trained we came to move exactly as monkeys did after a time the sculptor was known as the bounding monkey of the sunken valley whilst his partner was referred to as king fisher following a brutal confrontation with the guardian ape the kingfisher lost her life to the beast the kingfisher's cry could be heard along the waterfront of the sunken valley now she cries no more the headless guardian ape was a colossal beast plagued with the power of the undying and through those means the eternal beast lives on only now with the partner it had long awaited in the presence of the wolf and the use of the mortal blade those days are short-lived having dealt with the guardian ape the lotus of the palace is acquired moving forward sekuro heads into a mystical forest shrouded by a thick coating of fog a dying buddhist is found slumped against a golden statue he warns of the one who opposes buddha pleading for sakura to slay him the one of whom i speak hides in an abandoned temple up ahead he sealed away the village in a shadowy fog so that he can fool the villagers the mist encountered throughout the forest is manufactured by none other than the mist noble a formidable creature who resides in an isolated temple through practicing his flute the noble unleashes a spell that conceals the path to mebu village keeping travelers from discovering the depraved practices that come to pass in defeating the noble the illusion is dispelled making way for the discoveries that lie ahead meebu means aquatic life or life born of the water which perfectly summarizes the events that occurred within mebu village it all began with the head priest who was obsessed with the divine waters and wished only to be accepted as a humble servant to the fountainhead palace he encouraged the denizens of the village to imbibe his dragon spring sake believing that it will lead to them being accepted as citizens of the palace consuming the sake instilled an insatiable thirst within the villagers one that could not be quenched the supply of sake was running thin and with little options remaining the people searched for alternatives the sake cask runs dry in no time so everyone has no choice but to drink the water in the ponds and rivers but the more you drink it the thirstier you get you get thirstier and thirstier can't ever drink enough this is basket wearer shosuke who covers his head with a large basket to avoid the villagers who have lost their sanity the stream of water flows from fountainhead which reveals that the citizens were unknowingly drinking the divine waters through excessive consumption they began to mutate transforming into fish-like creatures shosuke although cautious not to succumb to the thirst will in time join the villagers in their madness i could resist i drink it throughout the village shedded snakeskin coats much of the environment suggesting that a great serpent once roamed these lands other ritualistic practices can also be cited such as masses of slugs being placed on planks of wood covered in blood the reason for such proceedings remains unclear but the mind can only wonder prior to the sickness that had spread throughout the village black pine trees were prevalent within the forest and would possess an ever-smoldering flame which acted as a landmark to find one's way through the village as the villagers began losing their mind they developed a newfound fear in time the villagers came to loathe the flames and the black pines were lost those who defended the flames were equally loathed in exploring the village the head priest is found hoarding barrels of sake still intent on ascending the palace and imbibing its sweet nectar his cup appears to have run dry and the essence of panic begins to seep through if granted the water of the palace the head priest will mutate into a palace noble a creature of little humanity a fitting end for the one responsible for the downfall of the village further ahead stan's jinzin commando that is if he hadn't previously been sent to the abandoned dungeon charmed by the sweet melody of a sharmison player he is lured into mibu village i finally saw her the shamisen player was a woman i only saw her from afar but i could tell a beautiful yet fleeting presence the woman he speaks of is orin of the water isolated and alone she mourns the loss of her beloved lord sakuza in his absence she practices her shamazon creating enchanting music in the hopes of inviting him back to her no matter how many letters i send he never writes me back and no one will tell me where he is actually sir can you tell me where is lord sakuza in not knowing sakura is labeled a liar and as a result orin becomes hostile she is as graceful a fighter as she is a musician dancing through the field with her blade swinging with ill intent although formidable she is no match for the shinobi wolf and in consequence owen of the water is put to rest you brought the shamisen player to me just a moment ago she caressed me while playing her sweet melody it was a different song than before like a lullaby a peaceful warm melody at this point sakura is granted a junza's jizzo statue which reads to insua the jizzo statue is to express feelings of parental love lord sakuza please take this cloth and use it to bundle this little one so that he may live on in peace drawn from this information is that lord sakuza had wrapped his son with a light pink cloth to express his parental love the same cloth is seen worn as a cape on jinziman's torso that coupled with the fact that the name jizzo is likely a shortened version of jinziyman suggests that he is potentially lord sarkozy's son and orin of the water is his mother the history of lord sakuza's disappearance remains a mystery and so does the reason for orin appearing as a phantom she likely passed away during jin simon's youth which explains his inability to identify his mother but even then fate drew them closer together earlier on jinziman mentioned that his father told him stories of meebu village and warned him not to go to the ominous town this suggests that lord sakuza hadn't gone missing but is intentionally avoiding orin the story of the shamazen player draws some parallels to a japanese tale as old as time it's a tale of a samurai who from a distance hears the most beautiful singing voice that he had ever heard he expects that a voice this attractive must be attached to an equally attractive body the samurai follows the sound of the voice until finally reaching the woman responsible for the delightful harmonies under the darkness of night they make love however the following morning he comes to the realization that the woman's physical appearance does not match her voice and devises a plan to dispose of her he invites her to walk with him up a mountain road filled with joy and believing that she had at last found love she accepts without warning the samurai pushes her into a ravine killing the woman in the process lord sakuza may have played the role of the samurai in detail he was potentially lured by the sound of orange charmazon but in time may have caused her death to escape her this would explain her apparition-like form comparable to the old tale orin was potentially drowned in a ravine granting her the fitting name orin of the water having experienced such betrayal she now conceals her face to mask her appearance the final challenge that stands between sekuro and the fountainhead palace is the corrupted monk an illusion of a far greater foe the monk watches over the cave entrance which leads to the palace stopping the village water dwellers from reaching the sacred lands sekuro defeats the corrupted monk and in turn acquires an item of great importance those who seek to join the procession must master the mibu breathing technique without it the divine dragon cannot be met sekuro enters an ominous cave with a spotlight guiding his attention to a marital shrine surrounding the environment are a plethora of shelter stones which appear in the bodies of those who have long drank from the fountainhead waters this stone is often referred to as a fragment stone and is mentioned in the rotting prisoner's note as one of the ingredients required to reach the fountainhead palace in possession of the shelter stone the lotus of the palace and the mortal blade sekuro is prepared to return to ashina castle and craft the fountainhead incense that would pave the way to the divine realm the shinobi now in arm's reach of the fountainhead palace is prepared to face the source of ashena's long-reigning conflict and sever the tides of immortality to peer into the eyes of a divine dragon and not quiver under a mountain of doubt is insurmountable to most but not the one armed wolf whose entire journey has prepared him for this one moment on returning to the castle the shinobi is caught in the crossfire of a conflict between the interior ministry and the ashina clan it is clear that the invasion was unexpected as the ill-prepared ashana soldiers are seen fleeing the battle and cowering in fear redguard soldiers were dispatched by the central forces to overthrow ishin and take control of the land the ashinaklan is unable to fend off the intruders as the interior ministry proves much more technologically advanced employing the use of firearms in their arsenal of weapons desperate times weigh heavily upon the ashina clan as their supply of salt runs thin resulting in wounds going untreated and soldiers falling ill the wolf leaps across the rooftops of the castle navigating his way towards the residents of the divine air and emma worried that they would be targeted by the ministry this task is not made easy as the interior ministry's most trusted agents patrol the rooftops the lone shadows upon surviving the onslaught of the intruders the wolf arrives at the peak of ashana castle and finds himself staring in the eyes of a ghost of his past seduced by the dragon's heritage owl wishes to usurp the dragon's blood for himself to achieve the much desired state of immortality presented with an ultimatum sakura's loyalty is put to the test does he forsake his master and uphold the iron code which in the eyes of shinobi is absolute or does he break the iron code and stand opposing his own father it is here where the wolf must pledge his fealty in siding with owl emma is compelled to unsheathe her blade and clash swords with he who she once considered an ally in protection of the divine air emma the gentle blade steps forward into battle trained by lord ishin himself she wields her sword with finesse but even then she never had the slightest desire to take a life at least not that of a human emma's interest in the art of the sword were strictly for the purpose of slaying a demon a shura the term shora refers to a path of carnage and destruction that awaits those who forsake their humanity in pursuit of power immortality fame or fortune emma has witnessed these tendencies of violence once before and is afraid that sakura is too far gone on the path of becoming a surer a demon's thirst is quenched only with blood and so without remorse the wolf impales emma through the throat sending her lifeless corpse hurling towards the ground stepping to the forefront ishin ashina stands unfazed by the wolf he is a true master of the sword no less so in his veil of years ishin was prosperous in preventing the emergence of ishura once before and attempts to do so again regrettably in his later years ishin is no match for the blood drunk shinobi and is killed in battle leaving the divine air defenseless it was not to be following the climax of the battle owl makes his return with a black mortal blade clasped in his right hand and ganichiro's severed head in his left revealing that whilst sakura was in the midst of battle owl killed ganichiro and claimed a second mortal blade for himself now nothing stands in our way ah the interior ministers the whole country is ours for the taking oh sakura the honorable shinobi exists no more in his place a shura is born a mighty force to be reckoned with a demon sculpted out of hatred and violence set ablaze the shura takes his final form and no being is exempt from his wrath the fires of war rage on once more soldiers and town folk alike died by the thousands very few survived ashina became the setting for the most tragic massacre of the sengoku era and for a long time after it was said a demon lurk the land one singular choice led to this tragic end the choice to obey the iron code alternatively if the shinobi chooses to remain loyal to his master and break the iron code the great shinobi owl confronts the wolf and a jewel transpires between the master and the student although evenly matched the wolf's conviction guides him beyond his physical boundaries the battle comes to a stop with the flawless execution of the death of a shadow a signature technique taught by owl himself using his opponent for leverage the wolf leaps up in the air rotating his body as to land facing his adversary's back as the opportunity presents itself sakura focuses his soul on the release of the blade tearing through the great owl's flesh and putting him to rest once and for all in spite of losing the owl could not resist being proud of his student muttering the words that's my boy as a final breath exhales from his body unexpectedly an aromatic branch is found on the corpse of the great shinobi owl revealing that all along it was him who stole the branch from the sakura tree as a means to prevent the immortal severance ritual from taking place the flower is capable of purification to sever the shackles that bind the immortal bearer of the dragon's blood with the flower in his possession owl intended to usurp the power of the divine heritage from kuro and he would have succeeded if not for the wolf the pursuit of immortality has caused countless people to forsake their humanity even the great owl who was trusted to uphold the duty of protecting lord kuro this is exactly why the strand that binds immortality must be severed from its very root atop ashina castle emma discovers tamoe's note which reads lord takaro's coughs are worsening still returning to the divine realm is hopeless and i wish only to sever the dragon's heritage and restore his humanity restoration requires the ever blossom and mortal blade and yet i cannot acquire the latter it was hidden by the high priest of sempo temple who has no desire to sever the immortal ties from the note we can infer that lord takaru had fallen ill and tomoe sought a means of restoring his humanity she discovered that the ties of the dragon's blood can be caught transforming its owner into a regular human those made immortal by the oath of the dragon's heritage shackle their masters meaning that for purification to occur the oath band of the dragon's heritage must die beneath the branches of the ever blossom tree lady tamoe attempted to end her own life to free takaru from the dragon's heritage but she was unsuccessful as she did not wield the mortal blade this information encompasses great implications as whilst previously it was thought that lord kuro must die to attain immortal severance it is now revealed that sekiro can make the choice of sacrificing himself to free kuro with the mortal blade in his possession the wolf may be able to achieve what lady tom away could not the aromatic branch was once a flower but without the ever blossom petals the branch is worthless in light of this knowledge emma pays a visit to the graves of lord takaru and tomoe in the hopes of better remembering a time when the ever blossom existed she stands in thought pondering in what can be done to obtain the ever blossom but alas nothing comes to mind or at least that's the notion she displays upon eavesdropping on a conversation between emma and the sculptor it is revealed that purification is still feasible by utilizing the father's bowel charm which is found on owl's body following his death the owl held this bell for a long time offering it at the dilapidated temple may result in seeing a different memory than before if the ever blossom cannot be attained in the present one can only hope the past can prove more generous in presenting the bell wolfe once again visits the memory of herata estate where he was killed by an unnamed assassin things are different this time around as a lone shadow recognizes the wolf and even remarks that he's supposed to be dead this indicates that sakuro isn't simply reliving a past memory but in fact infiltrating the memory and rewriting history every step of the way inside the arena where wolf fought lady butterfly owl is found he was supposedly on the cusp of death in the previous memory but here he is standing tall a master shinobi in his prime owl from the very beginning was pulling the strings orchestrating the invasion of harata estate and later ashina castle using the ministry as puppets as a means of capturing the divine air it was owl who stabbed sakuro through the back leaving him for dead three years ago all in pursuit of the dragon's heritage mirroring the rooftop battle sakura was forced to defeat his own father putting an end to all of his scheming and betrayal from his body the aromatic flower can be obtained the same flower which had later become an empty branch in this old memory the ever blossom still bloomed and thus purification is made possible to create the fountainhead incense which is a vital concoction needed to access the divine realm sakuro places the lotus flower shelter stone and ever blossom into an incense burner in addition to a droplet of blood from the divine air drawn by the mortal blade with the ritual complete wolf infuses his clothes with the aroma emanating from the incense burner before embarking on his final journey sekuro pays a visit to the divine child of rejuvenation staying true to his word he presents the child with the two serpent viscera acquired in the sunken valley allowing her to become a cradle that returns the divine dragon home it appears i have succeeded in becoming the cradle my tears they freeze as they float on my face these frozen tears take them the divine air must drink them together with the dragon tears of the divine realm the wolf sets off on his final pilgrimage to retrieve the dragon tears from the divine realm he returns to the cave which housed the sweetly scented bridal offering and steps into the shrine laying down his mortal blade the wolf rests in a moment of serenity the hand of a colossal being reaches down and carries the shrine above the surface towering above the entire landscape a rope-threaded being steps into the fray a being so enormous that mountains appear miniature in its presence the entity bears a strong resemblance to a shimanawa a shinto purification rope that is placed near sacred objects with the goal of warding off evil spirits the entities likely placed on the outskirts of the palace to maintain its purity ensuring that only those who belonged within the divine realm can set foot in it bathed in the aroma of the ever blossom the wolf is welcomed to the fountainhead palace upon arrival he's challenged by the true monk a naginata wielding guardian of the vermillion bridge the monk is a former priestess who had become corrupted by a centipede she dons the mask of a face guardian deity which suggests that her role is to guard the palace from potential evil enticed by the concept of immortality the monk likely meddled with the divine waters and became infested by a centipede the shinobi had previously faced the illusion of this foe in meebu village and through the experience gained is able to take down the true monk advancing ahead the fountainhead palace unveils itself giant cherry blossom trees overlook the landscape vibrant blue skies look down from above and true to its reputation the flow of water is truly eternal this small part of ashina is exceedingly old the ancient soil rocks and water that pervaded the land are said to have attracted the attention of gods one such god was the divine dragon who migrated from the west populating the environment is the akami clan a class of warrior women who exist in servitude of the divine dragon affirming this notion is the name okami which refers to a dragon deity of water whilst the akami clan sought the divine realm their descendants chose the great serpent as their god opting to inhabit the sunken valley instead the okami warriors are observed dancing throughout the palace a ritual performed as an offering for the dragon mysteriously this practice left them brimming with vigor the leader of the akami clan shizu perches upon a branch of a great sakura tree she leaps into the air performing a powerful kick which hurls a lightning ball towards the shinobi although powerful from afar once the distance is closed a flurry of attacks leaves the warrior defenseless throughout fountainhead palace nobles roam in large numbers these are residents who had been mutated by the divine water which at this point has flooded the bulk of the land the palace nobles have a craving for the vitality of youth they can't help themselves they want nothing but to sup away more and more of it an old palace maid explains that since becoming a noble her father was entranced by a great cop bewitched by it now he lives only to serve it an eternal slave to its desires although the father is beyond saving he may still be granted peace through death a fate preferable to his current predicament the great carp emerges upon the ringing of a particular bell anticipating the arrival of its next meal in acquiring the truly precious bait and offering it earnestly to the great carp sakura is able to deceive the creature into consuming a tainted substance the carp is later found laying lifeless at the bottom of the sunken valley and from its body a great white whisker is extracted the sound of the whisker being removed is surely magic to the ears of certain people some would feel relief at the sound of their mission being completed others the joy of having their hearts desire granted gifting the whisker to the maid's father grants him his desire of being freed from the shackle of the carp returning at a later point the father is found dead next to the bell and his daughter by his side although not in an ideal manner closure is provided to the carp attendant and his daughter this may be enough for some however there was a second daughter one who took initiative seeking revenge of her own located on the palace grounds the old maid states the following the gates to the palace have been closed for a long time now i have a very important task i must tend to might you open the door to the palace young man by opening the door she speaks of sakura unknowingly contributes to the massacre of numerous palace nobles [Music] you tricked him all this time nobility this and eternity that pretty lies to fool him give him back father my father give him back the old maid took matters into her own hands finding peace in killing those who are responsible for her father's death there are consequences to such actions as some believe that you inherit the karma of those you've killed the sakura bull of the palace is theorised to have been burdened with the karma of man likely those it had devoured upon defeating the bull the number of spirit emblems that can be held is increased suggesting that sakuro had inherited the beast's karma moving ahead sakura approaches a small cave covered in green vegetation and knee-high water a bluish hue guides the shinobi through the dimly lit cavern directing them towards an altar a deceased woman dressed in white and gold kneels before the shrine which prompts sakura to initiate a prayer in the blink of an eye he awakens in a void an empty space with a towering but brittle ever blossomed tree long decomposed the divine realm at last from the ground all dragons of the tree begin to sprout ancient sickly creatures who worship the divine dragon they play their flutes to appease the deity and fight to protect the divine realm from intruders using the old magic of the ever blossom they summon roots and spit poison although greater numbers the old dragons are evidently weak unable to guard the realm effectively in the midst of battle the wind begins to pick up the ground shakes and the presence of a far greater threat is felt the fighting comes to a halt and what remains of the old dragons turned to the sakura tree now blossoming with bright purple petals coating its outer layer in time with a lightning strike a gust of wind blinds the arena followed by nothing but silence the shinobi averts his gaze for a moment and upon looking back the divine dragon stands before him a serpentine creature titanic in size and molded into the great tree the divine dragon wields a seven-branched sword held only by royalty reflecting sakuro the dragon's left arm is severed could this be connected to the severed branch of the sakura tree retrieved by lord takaru the divine dragon unleashes its wrath juggling both lightning and its mighty blade utilizing his grapple hook the shinobi escapes incoming attacks and patiently awaits an opportunity to strike back the dragon begins to summon lightning strikes from the sky which for any other recipient is a point of surrender using the reversal technique sekuro carries the force of lightning in his blade soaring through the air he unleashes a bolt of lightning concentrated towards the divine dragon with every point of contact the dragon cries in anguish until the final blow sends it crashing down the dragon's eye is pierced with the mortal blade and from within a tear falls into the palm of the wolf the gracious gift of tears can only be granted by the mortal blade the body of the divine dragon is eternal and its tears once shed will maintain their form and moisture in perpetuity should one of the dragon's heritage partake of the dragon's tears immortal severance will be reified the journey now completes sakura returns to ashina castle only to find that in his absence lord ishan had succumbed to his illness and passed away the central forces seized this opportunity to double down on their invasion striking whilst the iron was hot emma is found kneeled beside ishin's corpse with little hope of reclaiming the castle she grants sakuro a secret passage key which can be used to escape the province kuro has escaped the castle through this passage and the wolf looks to join him there the invasion of ashina has led to much bloodshed with innocent lives being taken as collateral the black hat badger is found incapacitated with his back to a tree on the brink of death i couldn't take it too many rats swarming in out of the woodwork eachine must have terrified him that's why i gone and done something a little out of character those mangy rats they were closing in on a little kid so so i saved him and now look at me against the great black hat badger story ends here as a father who's had to bury his own son the black heart badger knows the pain of losing a child all too well prompting him to intervene when he witnessed a child being attacked he gave his own life to see another flourish yet in the grand scheme of war his valiant actions go unnoticed an unsung hero of ashina anayama the peddler having had all of his stock pillaged by the invaders is left in a pool of his own blood still drawing breath he gives the wolf a promisory note allowing him to purchase items at a discounted rate a last act of goodwill before his passing hanbay the undying resides still on the outskirts of ashina carrying the curse of immortality through a centipede having claimed the mortal blade hanbe asks a favor from the wolf to cut him down and remove the centipede from his body to die with his honor intact and be freed from his sins the wolf obliges and frees hanbe from the false life that had been forced upon him with war on the horizon the state of ashina worsens by the minute a prophecy foretells of a much larger threat that's to come the dead will rise as mountains and the hate will flow like an inferno it will give birth to a demon the surest storyteller speaks of a man who had failed to become a surer but instead became a vessel for the flames of hatred a one-armed demon prowling the battlefield consumed by the wrath of his deepest resentment upon slaying the demon of hatred the creature speaks in a familiar voice thanking the wolf for freeing them the storyteller remarks you know don't you you know who the one armed demon was before the demon of hatred was indeed orangutan the sculptor this may come as a surprise but the signs were there all along are the flames still burning emma the answer to that isn't going to change i could carve buddha idols for all eternity and the flames of hatred would still rage on although the sculptor retired the shinobi prosthetic it was too late he had already gone too far killing too many the flames of hatred had already begun to manifest for years he had suppressed the flames within his soul hoping that they would not surface but in his heart he knew the day would eventually come as fate would have it he was bound stubbornly to this world it wasn't until he became a demon that he was finally able to depart for the next the wolf leaves ashana using the secret passage and meets kuro at the reservoir bleeding from his chest the divine air stands before ghanichiro who reveals that he had acquired a second mortal blade in addition to the red mortal blade there exists one that is black in color the blade's name is open gate and is said to hold the power to open a gate to the underworld kuro warns that one cannot change ashana's fate with such a weapon and the dragon's heritage is no one's right to bear at this stage guineatro is beyond reasoning and the wolf is compelled to draw his sword in the same field where it all began the fight for immortality must come to an end one man fights for the glory of his clan the other to rid the world of the plague of the dragon's heritage both believing in their cause to the absolute even with a mortal blade guinea churro is still no match for the one-armed wolf time and time again he's defeated in the end he was powerless and he knew that but his final desire can yet live on if not through him then be it through his grandfather using the mortal blade gunitro buries his sword into his own shoulder opening a gateway to the underworld and giving life tuition one who returns from the great beyond does so at the peak of their prosperity from the corpse of his grandson ishin the sword saint emerges a warrior in his prime beautiful grandchild this was your last wish to see ashina returned from the great beyond which means sacral i must destroy you [Music] at his peak ishin ashana devoted himself to deadly conflict in pursuit of strength a single-minded killing machine of a man ishin's endurance is endless and his aggression relentless the sword saint flows through the field like a petal in the wind striking from every angle all at once his sword bends to his will never missing his target or wasting an opportunity one mistake could see the end of the wolf but in shinobi's eyes do not follow the blade without anticipating its movements remaining composed even when fearful of its sharp edge is the key to victory ringing in the mind of the shinobi the echoes of ishin's adage calls to him hesitation is defeat sakura rises to the occasion with every strike deflected he retaliates with two as the fight progresses isha kneels to the earth and brings forth the mighty spear of general tamara diversifying his arsenal of weapons the spear coupled with a repeating pistol is almost unbearable for most to handle lightning begins to permeate the arena as the sorting commanders with every purposeful swing of his spear the wolf remains composed as life or death struggle is what defines a shinobi he inverses ishin's most powerful weapon guiding incoming lightning back to the sword saint at the climax of the jewel the wolf calms his body and mind through breathing before inflicting the final blow piercing ashina's most skilled combatant through the heart in death the sword saint acknowledges sakura's artistry praising him in his final moments well done in truth ishin never wanted to fight the wolf he was given no choice but to fulfill his grandson's last wish even then he came short in light of his death the dragon's heritage can finally be addressed be it through immortal severance purification or cradling the divine dragon back to its origins the fate of ashina yields before the one-armed wolf a man who was once considered a stray dog now burdened with the responsibility of shaping the future to achieve immortal severance sakura must grant lord kuro the dragon's tears followed by taking his life with the mortal blade reluctantly he holds his sword in position knowing what must be done he pauses for a moment every fiber in his body restrains him from taking the next step to comfort his sworn shinobi kuro clasps the sharp end of the blade in his palm his blooded hand guides the sword towards his own chest giving wolf no choice but to follow through at the break of dawn the mortal blade is driven through the body of the divine air and the tides of immortality are severed as for the fate of the one-armed wolf he inherits the role of the sculptor and spends his remaining days at the dilapidated temple carving buddha to atone for his sins a final gift from emma sees sakuro reunited with his prosthetic arm which he had abandoned following the events at the reservoir at his lowest moment sakura was taken under the sculptor's wing for guidance now he is the mentor that guides future shinobis through their moments of despair no doubt a day will come when a shinobi arrives seeking strength an alternate path if chosen would result in the divine heir retaining his life as through purification securo is able to sacrifice himself in his stead as mentioned previously those made immortal by the oath of the dragon's heritage shackled their masters meaning that for purification to occur the oath band of the dragon's heritage must die lady tamoe sought this procedure to free lord takaru but was unsuccessful as she did not wield the mortal blade to purify kuro wolfe imparts the divine dragon's tears in addition to the aromatic flower obtained in the old memory he unsheaves his mortal blade and stares into the red aroma emanating from within presenting himself as the ultimate sacrifice sakura wishes to see his master live on and embrace what it means to be human condemning the last immortal wolf takes his own life shattering the immortal oath once and for all with the passage of time lord kuro and emma rest at the wolf's grave mourning his absence and indebted to his sacrifice kuro pledges to leave ashana and venture out into the world he promises to cherish and live for every moment without looking back this is his way of ensuring that sakura's sacrifice was not in vain be it through immortal severance or purification kuro is free from the curse of the dragon's heritage but that does not rid ashana of its power entirely the divine heir was once takaru followed by kuro who's to say another won't take his place a final decision sees the return of the divine dragon to its place of origin liberating ashina from its influence following the jewel with the sword saint sakuro carries the divine air away from the reservoir taking him to the divine child of rejuvenation utilizing the frozen tears crafted from the serpent viscera the cradling ritual is made possible the divine child agrees to become a cradle for both the divine air and the dragon's blood within him rather than severing kuro's connection to immortality the divine child acts as a vessel that shepherds the dragon's heritage back to its origins in the west kuro rests within the divine child's heart who prepares for her departure their journey to sever the ties with fate will belong and arduous yet they do not travel alone the shinobi of the dragon stands ready to confront any obstacle they may encounter acting as a guardian for the divine child and kuro with the rising sun they depart to the west to the birthplace of the divine dragon the dragon's heritage was set free from its homeland and drifted to japan choosing to settle in an exceedingly old part of ashina its power was never intended for this land yet for its acquisition men waged war and blood was drawn the power came at a price as the life force used to revive fallen warriors was taken from the innocent causing dragon rot to spread throughout ashana blinded by the presence of immortality the repercussions were neglected and many suffered as a result peace was not an option various clans fought for the dragon's heritage believing that in possessing it their family lineage would live on for eternity creating an endless cycle of violence becoming pawns to their own ambition the waters of the fountainhead palace blessed by the divine dragon also came to be a great cause of contention whilst water is often regarded as an element of purification in its stagnant form it becomes a cause of disease and illness the obsession to ascend the divine realm led to entire villages falling victim to the tainted substance residents imbibed the water like gluttons and were mutated into fish-like creatures and those who hadn't yet transformed were eventually led down the same inevitable path for the monks of sempo temple to be undying is to walk the eternal path to enlightenment and so they sought to replicate the immortality grunting powers of the dragon's heritage sacrificing the innocent lives of many children in the process genitro sacrificed himself in pursuit of immortality to protect his province whereas in direct contrast the sempo monks sacrificed others for self-preservation through experiments conducted with the divine waters centipedes were granted life in a way those who were infested with a centipede became immortal but at what cost their bodies may have lived on but their consciousness was long gone in japanese mythology centipedes are among the only things that dragons fear they represent the power and ferocity that even the smallest of creatures can embody the divine dragon is not inherently evil but it was the actions of humans that gave rise to corruption accepting this idea we can infer that the centipedes act as an evil counterpart to the divine dragon born from the greed of man whilst the dragon's heritage could have been a force for good humanity is proven to be its own greatest enemy affirming that no good deed goes unpunished tempted by immortality the monks went astray from their teachings the residents of mebu village forsook their humanity entirely the okami forfeited their lives being servants to the dragon deity whilst their descendants became slaves to the great serpent what of the implications of a shora attaining eternal life who could survive their wrath not once did mankind pause and consider the value of their finite existence is immortality a prize worth dying to secure the desire for immortality stems from the fear of death however it is the finality of death that gives life meaning without fear of death can a warrior truly be brave without the uncertainty of the journey can a destination be rewarding a semblance of hope shines through the one armed wolf who was granted eternal life but was prepared to surrender it in a heartbeat for the greater good of humanity the battle line between good and evil courses through the blood of every being it's choosing to believe in the former that makes humanity worth fighting for worth saving [Music] the dragon's heritage and those connected to it it is only right that they return home the path before you will now be fraught with more hardships than ever before but knowing you you'll overcome them remember the first rule of the code as your father i order you to forsake your master from this moment he is your master no more a true wolf who choose for himself how to use his fangs if it is for the sake of preserving hashina [Music] how many times have you died and come back to life for my sake one last time yes let's finish this [Music] hesitation is defeat i told you that didn't i thank you very much for watching this pretty much wraps up our sakura shadows die twice story explained we really hope you enjoyed it and a huge thank you to our sponsor nordvpn please take a minute to click on the first link in the description or go to nordvpn.com forward slash brothers code to receive a huge discount in addition to four months free on any two-year plan and also a huge thank you to those of you who have supported us over the last few videos if you'd like to directly contribute to this channel and the content we make here then head on over to our patreon there are lots of rewards including permanent early access to all of our future content you can also have your name cemented in the credits of our videos and in the description it's also a great way to keep up with the progress of our videos we provide frequent updates regarding which stage of production we're up to and when we estimate the video will be released and it's just a great way to keep in touch with us if you'd like our videos to reach a wider audience please leave a like and possibly comment and let us know what you thought of the video and if it's not too much to ask please subscribe as we're looking to try and get 100k subscribers by the end of the year and once again thank you for watching [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The brother's code

Views: 1,471,822

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Id: J3Sbe0cH62Y

Length: 145min 58sec (8758 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 31 2022