Second Act now ensues the younger brother of the two fighting their own battles with a horde of men and led by Kagetora in the backlines observing how Namaeda would handle the battle when taking in charge.
To everyone’s surprise, the sleek pointy blade was drenched in more blood of its enemies than it would have ever seen, enemies were flabbergasted how such a young warrior can single handedly destroy the main fronts of their army. The clan cleverly devised a plan the next day to ambush him when he was alone charging towards the warcamps nearby and they did infact succeed .. in well cornering him but if it came to capturing him? A painter could only paint this landscape where a general in his broken armour with a naginata on his right hand and a head on his left hand would appear screaming warcries with him standing atop a pool of bodies and weapons shattered and buried in mud.
The rival clan was almost extinguished, upon seeing this other clans jumped in to support them as they were afraid of what could happen in the near future if Kagetora’s clan succeeded and captured Edo for themselves.
Kagetora impressed with the younger of the two for the very first time and told him to attack the new factions that have been started against them and take hold off their grains and steel to forge more weapons.
This leads to split of lines between Kagetora and Namaeda as well now with a couple of missions led by Kagetora and Namaeda.
Kagetora’s Gameplay aspect is quite interesting, would recommend reading.
Equipped with a large number of fire-arrows but with a pistol in his holsters, he would carry himself mostly with a horse but not just any horse, the prettiest and fairest of them all, the most intimidating among them all. The steppes trekked by the few. Master would have his own blade forged and named after him and was as daunting as Muramasa but had not been reached mythical status yet for the reasons of it being a recent blade and he never wore a Kabuto even in his fiercest battles. His presence alone was enough to scare the living daylights of the foes that had the misfortune of facing him. Master never had to wear the menpō since who in their right mind would ever dare to cross paths with him?
Kagetora would effortlessly sweep through the remaining rival clan and seeing that the warlord is nowhere to be seen/found he claims victory over their clan and establishes new rule all over the province.
Namaeda’s Gameplay is similar to Kiro but with different set of weaponry
The younger brother overlooked the city where the new clans came up and without second thought rushed at them on his horse and the trespasser was now confronted by the warlord of one the clans.
Namaeda always tried to emulate the traits of cockiness and playfulness in combat of his elder brother Kiro and it seemed he found no better situation than now to display it at the maximum.
Laughing and chuckling, Namaeda promises that all the clans will keep their heads intact only if they pay up their remaining grain and iron/steel supplies to Kagetora’s clan. The warlords WERE NOT amused by this and regurgitated his statement and asked “you? and whose army?”
Namaeda laughs again and looks behind as if there was anything behind him apart from smoke that emitted from the battlefield earlier and remarks: “I don’t see any army behind me, that should be your cue”
Just as the warlord was about to unsheathe his weapon and kill Namaeda, the brother turned out to be faster and took his head before anyone could even see it.
Seeing this, another warlord from the same warcamp blew on their warhorns and signalling their armies to fight Namaeda.
After a series of clashes and missions, the younger brother manages to destroy all of the newly formed factions and clans with the last person standing begging for mercy and muttering the phrase: “I am deeply sorry … just take whatever you want”, Namaeda smiles and tells: “you know all of this could have been simply avoided if you surrendered at the beginning”.
Namaeda felt a surge of power within and felt untouchable after his series of success that he got to taste, for the first time in his life he felt like he didn’t live under the shadow of his elder brother Kiro but was a distinct entity of his own.
This leads to the second Flashback of the game for Kiro’s rival Oshikabe
Before he could return back to the new province, he found a scroll containing all the important blockades to Edo and the warlords guarding the estate. Namaeda ecstatic rushes back.
Smiling as he walked down the warquarters of this new province whose land was reduced to ashes and the people to rubble. Warcamps everywhere nearby to ensure they were well equipped to run down Edo and then establish the new rule of Shogunate once and for all.
just as Namaeda was about to announce the good news, he heard loud murmuring behind the closed doors, Master was speaking deeply with another entity. Discussions about war-economy and the selling weaponry. It was later understood in the conversation that the entity was none other than a warlord from a foreign land who was trying to get trade over special and legendary katanas that the clan possessed.
Selling of important treasury was not just dishonour of the soul of Samurai but treachery among all clans especially since the person being sold to was not even of the same mainland as the ones who were in possession of such masterful weapons.
Namaeda tried to quickly rush off the scene but in doing so, he accidentally dropped his knife which alerted both the beings that they were being eavesdropped on for so long, master glanced over from the door and recognised the headband and the naginata and realised who it was. The foreign warlord was afraid of what was to happen if this was found out but master reassures that he will have it taken care of.
Namaeda runs off to the other side of the battlefield where Kiro was supposedly sent off to fight but with him no where in sight, he notices that guards of his clan gather with their weapons looking at with disgust and ready to burn his body as well.
It started to rain, almost as if it were his own tears falling from the sky, his greatest day turned to an impending sense of doom and a fate that is inevitable. With his brother not there to comfort him anywhere near, his sense of depression started to take control over him.
One of the warlords muttered: “HOW COULD YOU? BROTHER OF KIRO? THE MOST NOBLE SAMURAI THROUGHOUT JAPAN, HIS BROTHER VIOLATED THE BUSHIDO”
Namaeda realises that the Master turned his own men against the younger brother because he poses a threat to his administration now.
Namaeda moves with his naginata swiftly and cutting down all the enemies and fled the scene as fast as he could. Kagetora knew he couldn’t be stopped by head on military action but rather needs to be assassinated before the whole town knows of his act of selling the clan for his own greater good.
Before him, stood a ronin-attired man with a straw-hat stating “consider it done, I will make sure Namaeda never meets with his brother”, Kagetora asks his name and the man reveals himself to be the priceless assassin: Kagawa who has been responsible for killing of many influential figures in Edo.
Namaeda continues his search for Kiro and to let him know the treachery committed by Master however his efforts proved to be futile finally leading him to go back to their old home and return back to his wife and ensure that they both leave this territory at the fastest and send a message to Kiro to let him know where he could find them.
Namaeda continues to be assaulted and ambushed by Kagetora’s clansmen and with each time he strikes the naginata up their heart, he feels a heavy despair in his chest as these were the same men he was leading up in the rival clan moments ago. His urge to fight was slowly dying out but he still had to make his way back home. Towards the end of the tunnel, he saw a light, some of his last friends who survived the thunder of the battlefields. This leads to a Flashback of Namaeda when he got married to his wife Hana and how dearly he loves her.
Gameplay requires Namaeda to walk towards his home with his buddies as they reminiscence their times together and wish to be in a time where there was no warring periods between clans. Just as they cross the sashimono banner near the bridge close to his home, an arrow shot so elegantly with the precision of an eye of an eagle landed the eye of the younger brother who was now dead. Before the friends could even react, coming from the waters under the bridge, bushes nearby and top of the roofs were bloodhungry ronins who absolutely feasted upon the remaining people.
Kagawa comes to the scene to ensure his arrow pierced Namaeda but cut his throat off to ensure that he was really dead. Later the same evening, a young beautiful lady takes a stroll in the area to find a pile of dead bodies and among them her husband Namaeda and she cries out her terrible fate.
Kagawa comes behind her with his men and says “You must be Hana? if I am not wrong”
Hana trying to wipe the tears from her eyes says “Yes, Why? Do you know who did this to my husband?”
Kagawa convincingly responds “We would like to speak about that, we want to find out what happened as well? could you perhaps to lead us your home? ”
Hana fell for it and responded “yes” and led the men to her home, cruel as fate could be since that would the last day of both not only as couple but them as human beings on the face of Earth.
Hana was gangraped by the men of Kagawa and then her body cut open across in 56 different dissections and shortly her head was on a pike in front of the couple’s home with a scroll underneath that read:
“Kiro, you see what has happened? Your brother committed treason, a violation of bushido and this is what happens to men that commit such acts. If we find you doing the same, expect no less.”
- Master Kagetora
Kiro still wounded from his fight and trauma finally reaches the home only to find Hana’s head on a spike with the note, with such terror in his voice, he yells “NAMAEDA, NAMAEDA, PLEASE NOO” and sees across the bridge his younger brother dead, rain pours again and it seems that all the life he worked for just proved to meaningless.
Muramasa which could split a country in two couldn’t even protect his younger brother,
He blames himself for this failure and he loathes himself for wanting his brother to fight alongside him when in reality it would have been far better to have his brother live in the outskirts with his wife and lead a peaceful life. His rival’s words now echo in the doldrums of his ears
These voices echo so violently
A convocation with a life full of evil
Kiro goes back to the home, but while collecting his father’s armour, second-thoughts and self-doubt starts flooding him
The Gameplay and story can end in ACT II itself depending on the choice player selects, Kiro asks himself in the within “Are you fine with what has happened right now?”
If you say: Yes, game ends in ACT II with acceptance of the cruel fate and then you unlock two of the four endings.
If you say: No, game continues to ACT III and unlocks the other two endings instead.
Ending I: Only unlocks if you beheaded your rival whereas II: occurs if you spared him
Act II ends with your choice of vengeance, Proceed to Endings I & II or Proceed to The Big Come Down