I know some hunters camped on Mount Sago. Their leader's named Takeshi.
Friend of yours?
No. But he'll do anything I ask, and his men are good archers.
― Yuna
Takeshi is the leader of a group of bandits operating in the Sago Prefecture, within the Kamiagata region. As Yuna used be affiliated with his group, she mentions that Takeshi and his group would be useful in assisting Jin to liberate Fort Kaminodake from the Mongols, in order to clear a path between the Toyotama and Kamiagata regions. He is only encountered in the story quest Wolves at the Gates.
Referred by Yuna as a leader of a group of "Hunters", Jin meets with Takeshi and his group within in Sago, where he finds the hunters base in the middle of a snowy outcrop. He convinces Takeshi to help him liberate Kaminodake Fort by offering it as a place to stay for his group to escape living out in the cold during the winter. After rendezvousing at the woodcutter camp north of the Fort, Takeshi observes in disbelief as Jin scales an wall with his iron hook in seconds, a feat which took him and his bandits hours to accomplish. Takeshi and his group take a strategic location atop a ridge overlooking the fort, and fire down arrows upon the Mongols as Jin fights them from below.
After helping Jin ambush another patrol of Mongols, Takeshi inquires about Jin's separation from his uncle, Lord Shimura, prompting the player to either lie to Takeshi by telling him Lord Shimura sent him ahead to clear a path to Jogaku, or tell the truth and admit their different plans to take down the Mongols. If the player chooses to lie, Takeshi fails to see through the deception; however if the player admits to the truth, Takeshi will raise doubts about Jin's authority to take the fort without his uncle's backing, but is reassured when Jin claims Lord Shimura will have no need for it until the spring.
After reaching a bridge towards the southern gate of the Fort, Takeshi notes that Jin can either storm across the bridge or silently sneak underneath, in order to silently dispatch of a hwacha so that his bandits can cross the bridge safely. Once safely across, Takeshi and Jin's forces combine with Sadanobu Ishikawa, Masako Adachi, Norio, Kenji and Yuna, along with warriors from Yarikawa attacking from the south to overwhelm the Mongols and claim the fort. Afterwards, Jin surmises that Takeshi and his group were not hunters, but instead Bandits. Yuna confirms Jin's claim and admits that she was once a part of this group, however she refers to it as her "old life". Furthermore, Yuna refuses to meet with Takeshi, however reassures Jin that he wouldn't dare make trouble for the civilians of Tsushima. Takeshi and his forces, as promised make the fort their new home, which in turn opens up a path between Toyatama and Kamiagata.
Tales[]
Trivia[]
- Like many others, Takeshi takes note of Jin's unorthodox fighting style as the ghost; after observing his similarly extraordinary climbing ability, Jin's separation from his uncle's forces and his affiliation with the warriors from Yarikawa, he deduces that Jin is the Ghost.
- Takeshi comments that Jin was "Supposed to be 10 feet tall", which alludes to the many ludicrous rumors about the Ghost which help inspire fear amongst the Mongols.
- Takeshi and his group are the only bandits encountered in the Kamiagata region, and don different outfits to any other bandits in Tsushima. Both are likely a by-product of the cold winter climate of Kamiagata, which similarly prompted Yuna to don fur alongside her regular outfit.
- Unlike all the other bandits in Tsushima, Takeshi and his group do not harbour any hostility towards Jin, and instead welcome him to share their campfire during their first encounter.
- Although Jin only surmises Takeshi and his group are not hunters at the end of the mission, by turning the subtitles on when Jin scales the wall to enter Fort Kaminodake, one of Takeshi's "hunters" has the name tag "Bandit."
- It is likely that Takeshi is unusually skilled for a bandit, as Jin refers to Takeshi as "an expert hunter" and the "Leader of the best archers in the prefecture." Although this could just be Jin flattering Takeshi to make him join his fight, Takeshi doesn't hesitate to agree with his claim.
- This can also be seen by Yuna's previous affiliation with the group, whom herself displays exceptional skill in both swordsmanship and archery.
- Furthermore, despite Yuna's soured relationship with Takeshi, she compliments his groups archery skills an she trusted him to help Jin take Fort Kaminodake.
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