Altan (アルタン; Arutan) is a supporting antagonist in Ghost of Tsushima, serving as the primary antagonist of Yuna's Tale. He is a warlord of the Mongol Empire.
Biography[]
Altan was a top Mongolian Leader during the Mongol invasion of Tsushima. Altan was assigned by Khotun Khan to terrorize Otsuna prefecture. The Warlord allied himself with several Japanese slavers, such as the Mamushi brothers and the Black Wolf, while stealing food and medicine, and slaughtering anyone who tried to run or fight back against the Mongols. His campaign of terror attracted the attention of local thief Yuna and her ally, Samurai Jin Sakai. Jin's and Yuna's attempts to locate Altan from a victim of his campaign, Ichi, fail as Altan keeps his location completely hidden after the Khan's defeat he was controlling what was left of the Mongol forces on the island after all of the Khan's generals were defeated by the Ghost.
Seeking to draw out the Mongol warlord from hiding, Jin and Yuna target his allies to strike fear into Altan's forces. They behead the Mamushi brothers and display their heads on pikes, which terrifies Altan's Mongols, and assassinate the Black Wolf on his ship. When word of the deaths of his closest allies reach him, the Mongolian Warlord visits Ichi's Inn to deliver a message to her, challenging Jin and Yuna to meet him in a camp near the Kushi border. Jin and Yuna head there and kill every Mongol inside the camp, causing Altan to personally confront them at the camp's entrance, alongside his personal guard.
Approaching the Mongolian warlord, Jin demands that he face judgement for his crimes. Altan tells Jin that he cannot judge him, since he murdered his own people, but Jin points out that the Mamushi brothers and the Black Wolf were traitors. Altan scoffs at the excuse and muses on how the Straw Hats and Ryuzo turned on him. Stating that it is time to finish this, Jin puts an end to the conversation and readies his sword. After a tense standoff, the Ghost and Warlord engage in a heated duel, with Yuna and Altan's personal guard watching.
Altan, being a formidable shieldsman and wearing durable armor, is able to hold his own against Jin for some time. As the duel progresses, Altan mocks Jin as being a hypocrite, telling him that he does what he needs to survive, but yet he despises others for doing the same. Altan adds that he kills in service of the Great Peace, while Jin kills solely for himself. Dismissing Altan's words as lies, Jin declares that he knows what he is and ends the duel by killing the Mongolian Warlord. This leads Altan's guards to attack Yuna and Jin in an attempt to avenge their leader, but they are all struck down.
In the aftermath, the brutal deaths of Altan and his allies causes the legend of the Ghost of Tsushima to spread rapidly across Tsushima, with some people being scared at the Ghost will come for them next. Wondering if they have crossed a line by how they dealt with Altan, Yuna and Jin conclude that they are on the right side of the line.