Quick Links
If you’re going in the order of the recommended levels for eachShinbakufu targetinAssassin’s CreedShadows, your next victim after taking outThe Noblewill be The Ox.
Like every Shinbakufu you’ve taken down previously to this point, you’ll need to complete a series of smaller quests before you’re able to face The Ox head-on.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Complete Guide & Walkthrough
All you need to know to survive feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
There are a series of four sub-quests you’ll need to knock out in this objective, so they’ll all be covered below in the recommended order of completion.
If any of these have you particularly stuck, no need to panic. We’ve got everything you need to know in order to grab The Ox by the horns.
This is the most physically imposing target in all of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but by now, you should have the skills to cross yet another name off your hit-list without too much of a struggle.
Let’s begin.
A Voice In Anger
Play this mission as Yasuke. There’s a decent amount of combat ahead of you.
Select the quest from your objective menu, and you’ll once again be given your next duty. First, you’ll need to locate the Abbot, who is being held captive by The Ox in a castle.
Use the quest clues to scout the proper location, or just use the picture above. You’re looking for the Tanjosan Myoyoji Temple, which has a viewpoint location right at its heart. If you’ve already been here before, just fast travel to this viewpoint.
Just below this fast travel point is a loot chest in the highest room of the temple. Loot is randomly generated in Shadows, but you should still find something nice here.
If not, you’ll need to take some more aggressive action. Since you’re playing as Yasuke, you’ll just need to go through the front gate of the temple and get ready for some combat.
Take note of the extremely tall, wooden ladder just inside the temple gate. There’s a warning bell at the top, so make sure you do your best to prevent any enemies from climbing it, or they’ll signal the alarm and slap you with a warning level throughout the entire region until the seasons change.
Keep working your way through the temple, and verify to periodically use your Observe feature to pinpoint the Abbot’s location. Eventually, you’ll find him being held captive by a large bonfire along with several of his allies.
You can’t speak with him until all threats are neutralized, so take out all the enemies in the area. There are around eight total, several of which are the larger enemy archetypes, which will take some extra time to defeat. Take special caution of the guardians in the area as well, as they’re typically an enemy type that can give you some extra trouble.
attempt to draw the fight away from the Abbot and the other hostages. If any are accidentally killed in the heat of this battle, you’ll have to restart the mission.
Once all targets have been dealt with, speak with the Abbot, and choose the dialogue option “I am ready” to fast-forward time until The Ox returns.
In a cutscene, you’ll learn that The Ox’s real name is Bessho Harumasa. He’s also aided by a right-hand man simply referred to as The Tsuno. I wonder if you’ll have to take him out too…
You’ll now need to free Nakamura Tadashige after this cutscene. His map marker is nearby, but you’ll have another swath of enemies to work through along your way. Eventually, however, you’ll find Tadashige by another bonfire.
The same process as before applies here. You’ll need to take out every enemy before progressing, and be careful once again to refrain from any accidental civilian casualties.
Once the coast is clear, free Tadashige, and he’ll tell you to meet him at a nearby tower to talk in a safer location. Fast travel back to the same Myoyoji Mietou viewpoint as before.
You’ll need to exit the temple walls to be allowed to fast travel back to the tower you need. This is still faster (and much safer) than just heading straight to Tadashige from here.
Tadashige is on one of the lower levels of this same tower, so hop on down to have a word. He’ll give you some more leads to take down The Ox, and this quest will conclude.
Keep playing as Yasuke for this one too.
Next, you’ll need to track down The Ox’s invasion plans. These are heavily guarded, so make sure you’re geared up for battle.
Scout the area described or refer to the picture above, and you’ll see that you’re headed to Hiraiyama Fort. There’s no closer fast travel point to your current location, so turn on Pathfinder and start making your way.
Eventually, you’ll reach the fort’s front gate, so head inside and start slashing. Once again, take note of the tall alert tower just inside, and take down anyone ASAP if they’re trying to sound the alarm.
Pathfinder will stay on for most of your trek through this fort, so just keep following the guided line.
The gist of this entire section will be:
From here to the end of the level, you’ll come across two Samurai Diasho. Take them out to"clear" this locationand gain access to a big loot chest at the summit.
After breaking your second gate and clearing the area, briefly head to the northwest in the opposite direction of Pathfinder. You’ll find another breakable gate to smash through.
Just inside the gate is a house to the right, which has a ration refill box to stock back up on health, as well as two small loot boxes.
After this helpful detour, you’re free to keep following Pathfinder forward. The enemies will get tougher as you go, but just keep working your way upwards. Along the way, take note of small huts you can unlock to claim some extra loot and resources as you climb.
You’ll pass more smashable gates, small staircases, and dirt paths until you finally reach the end of this infiltration mission.
At the top, you’ll meet the Hiraiyama Commander for a quick boss fight. He has all the same standard moves as anyone else, so you shouldn’t struggle much here.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: 11 Things The Game Doesn’t Tell You
While a lot of AC Shadows is straightforward, there are some things the game could signpost a lot better.
After he’s defeated, you’ll find The Ox’s invasion plans on a desk that the commander was guarding. Pick them up, and you’ll be interrupted by an exceptionally young recruit of The Ox.
When the cutscene is over, head inside the large house you passed just before fighting the commander. Here, you’ll find information about a shipment The Ox is expecting.
You’ll also find the large loot chest you can now open if you killed both Samurai Daisho earlier in the mission.
All that’s left in this quest is to head back to Nakamura Tadashige. His marker will now be on your map. He’s in a non-hostile area, so you should have a safe journey.
Speak with Tadashige, and this sub-quest is in the books.
Just beyond Tadashige’s location is a vendor who has some really nice weapons and armor if you’re in the market for some new gear.
Brothers In Arms
Once again, this is a quest best played as Yasuke.
Next, you’ll need to track down a ronin who previously defected from The Ox’s gang. Scout the area for his location, or just head to the marker on the map above.
You’ll find the ronin mid-fight, so help him take down his attackers and then speak to him afterward. His name is Koshiro, and he’d like you to help track down a former comrade in The Ox’s ranks, Seiji.
Seiji’s map marker will thankfully autopopulate on your map, so turn on Pathfinder, hop on your horse, and head west. You’ll eventually reach the gate of Kanki Castle, and once again, you’ll need to fight your way to your target.
Seiji is located in the western portion of Kanki Castle, and your Observe feature will show his blue marker dot when you’re in close enough range to spot him.
I had a glitch with Observe in this castle. Instead of having the one blue dot I needed to locate Seiji, I had a total of four blue dots, three of which were completely useless. The only blue dot marker you’ll need to track down is furthest west and will have the name “Commander Seiji” above it once you’re within range.
When you find Commander Seiji, Koshiro will already be fighting him. Jump in for a quick boss fight. This one will be a breeze since it’s two on one in your favor.
Once Seiji is sufficiently roughed up, you’ll have the choice to kill him or spare him. Do as you please; there are no repercussions either way.
Of My Enemy
Finally, it’s Naoe’s time to shine. Select her for this mission.
First up, you’ll need to track down an informant, simply referred to as Hiromichi’s man. Scout the location, or use the map above for reference.
The closest fast travel option for this objective is Mount Tatsu, but this will also spawn you in the middle of a hostile quarry. Luckily, you may just sprint outside the quarry walls and be cleared in no time.
Hiromichi’s man is unguarded and in a safe area, so speak with him and then auto-follow him to your next location. You’ll reach a house, so head inside.
You’re now face to face with Hiromichi himself, who will ask you to take out one of the Ox’s high-profile lieutenants.
Once again, you’ll need to either scout out his location or follow the map above to assist. You’ll notice that the lieutenant seems to be in the middle of the ocean.
Head towards his map marker, and start swimming towards the boats in the distance. The lieutenant’s ship is easy to spot, because it’s freaking huge.
Naoe will be able to climb up the front of the boat using the horizontal wooden slats. Keep climbing up until you can peek over the railing of the ship’s deck. Take caution from here, as the ship is crawling with enemies.
You can stealth assassinate one of the enemies in front of you, but odds are, you’re going to be spotted quickly regardless. The lieutenant you’re after is in the upper interior level of the ship, so climb further upwards and jump into the open window.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows Devs Post Heartfelt Thank-You Message On Reddit As Player Count Soars
Even after all the controversy, the game has been a big success for Ubisoft.
Here, you’ll meet The Ox’s lieutenant. His moveset isn’t anything special, and you can defeat him pretty easily with any of your tried and true combat strategies you’ve become used to at this point.
The tricky thing here is that unless you clear out the whole ship below before facing him, enemies will continue climbing the stairs to the lieutenant’s room and jumping into the fight. It’s a small room, so things get congested quickly.
Your best bet is to mow down the lieutenant ASAP to get your biggest threat out of the way, then take out every enemy that comes up the ladder to join the action. Once the coast is clear and the lieutenant is down, loot his body to acquire The Ox’s shipping manifest. There’s also a large chest in the room to open.
Jump overboard and swim back to Hiromichi to report your victory.
Broken Horn
Switch back to Yasuke for your final showdown with The Ox.
All that’s left is to finally confront The Ox. But first, let’s check back in with Nakamura Tadashige to ensure everyone is on the same page.
His marker doesn’t need to be scouted, so head straight to him and select “We are ready” when prompted to begin the final boss sequence. You’ll be taken to Miki Castle straight away.
First, you’ll just need to slash through a wave or two of The Ox’s forces. Easy enough, you’ve done this bit before.
Next up is a boss fight with The Tsuno. He seems imposing, but if you haven’t caught on by now, most bosses in Shadows are pretty much the same.
The Tsuno has a nice, buffed-up Katana, but simply parry his blues, dodge his reds, and punish whenever you’re able to. you’re able to do it.
With The Tsuno out of the way, there’s no one remaining between you and The Ox. His only main difference from previous bosses is that he wields a hefty kanobo, so every hit he lands on you will cause some extra damage.
Stay focused, play defensively, spam your special abilities (since they give you i-frames during their entire animation), and The Ox will eventually be slain.
Congrats! There’s one more Shinbakufu target dealt with. On to the next one.
