Quick Links
Taking out The Noble as part of theShinbakufu quest lineis a mandatory expedition to eventually roll credits inAssassin’s CreedShadows.
By this point, you likely know the drill. You’ll need to complete a handful of sub-quests to gather intel before being able to actually take The Noble down.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Complete Guide & Walkthrough
All you need to know in order to survive feudal Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
For this target specifically, you’ll need to take care of four separate small quests before the eventual resolution to this quest. None of these are extremely complicated, but it’s still slightly more than usual to work through before being allowed to claim your next victim.
If you’re finding The Noble and his objectives especially tricky to complete, we’ve got you covered in the full walkthrough below, which will be broken up into sections about each required sub-quest.
You’ll have a few dialogue options along the way in this one, but none of your choices change anything in this specific quest line. Feel free to play in Canon Mode if you want to save some time.
The Rengakai
While there is a little combat in this sub-quest, it’s nothing Naoe can’t handle.Play as either character you prefer.
First up, you’ll need to gain access to a Rengakai party where a group of local poets will gather around to write some fresh stanzas. You’re looking for the man in charge, the Renga Master.
Head to the fast travel point on the map above. If you haven’t already found this location, it’s the Saifukuji Temple, just south of Himeji Castle in the Harima region.
This temple isn’t hostile (though the guard storage location just outside is), so feel free to climb the pagoda at your leisure to claim thisviewpointif it’s your first time here.
Using your Observe feature, you’ll notice the Renga Master’s blue icon at ground level just below.
The next chunk of questing is extremely guided. Auto-follow the Renga master, meet the young Ukita Hideie (he’ll be important later), talk to Kuroda Kanbei, and finally auto-follow Ukita Hideie to the Rengakai meetup.
Here, you’ll reach another exposition-heavy setting. Seated next to a Rengakai participant named Ukita Naoie, you’ll get an inside look at the mind of a poet.
This party is about to be busted up, however. Out of nowhere, a band of shinobi will attack, forcing you to spring into action.
Outside the house, you’ll find three enemies to take out. You’ll have some allies at your side as well, so you won’t have too much of an issue quickly mowing them down.
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.
The good news is, the threat is over. The bad news? These attackers kidnapped Ukita Hideie, the son of your Rengakai buddy, Ukita Naoie.
The Scent Of War
Stealth and speed will be your friends for this section. Play as Naoe.
to track down the kidnappers and try to figure out why the party was attacked in the first place, you’ll need to seek more information from the nearby Konishi Yukinaga. His map marker will automatically populate for you, so no need to send out a scout for some extra recon.
You won’t encounter any combat on your way, so feel free to explore around if you so desire. Yukinaga will tell you that a group of impostor gunpowder merchants were responsible for the ambush earlier, so you better go track them down and have a word.
Your next map marker will autopopulate again, and these merchants are just around the corner. Go speak with them, and they’ll talk to you about an incoming shipment of gunpowder that you could try to use to pinpoint the ultimate boss of this whole operation.
In a nearby temple, you’ll find your next lead.
Once again, your destination is already marked for you. You’re on your way to Aga Hontokuji Temple to steal several pieces of intel regarding the incoming gunpowder shipment.
Head to the west to investigate.
This area is hostile and fairly heavily guarded, so Naoe’s speed and stealth abilities here will be deployed to full effect.
Climb up the perimeter wall to the left of the main gate and start rooftop hopping. Using Observe, you’ll notice three blue dots that you’re after. Each of these corresponds to a mandatory item you need to collect to fully understand all the business behind this shady gunpowder business.
Each of the three markers are in separate buildings next to each other in a row, so we will refer to them as left, middle, and right.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: Should You Play As Yasuke Or Naoe?
Two opposing and unique playstyles.
Head for the house to your left. If you’re on the rooftops, you’ll reach a point where you must drop back to the ground and sprint across an opening. You should have time, so head across the gap quickly.
Approach from the left side of the building, and you’ll notice an open door with an enemy sitting right next to your first objective. Sneak in and assassinate him, claiming your item once the job is done.
From here, things can quickly spiral out of control. If no one heard or saw your attack, you can sneak back out the way you came and safely grapple back to the rooftops, working your way to the middle building.
On the backside of this middle hut, you’ll notice an opening in the base of the woodwork that Naoe can sneak through while prone in order to stealthily get inside this building as well and claim intel piece #2.
To be honest, however, there really are just too many enemies around, and the game doesn’treallyneed you to stealth through this entire mission undetected. Unlike certain interactable items in Shadows that require you to be undetected in order to acquire them, all three intel pieces here can be picked up while you’re being chased.
The quickest and, frankly, easiest option here is just to sprint to the middle building, spam your roll dodge to avoid incoming gunfire, pick up item #2, sprint to the building on the right, grab item #3, and hop back over the perimeter wall to safety.
Once you’re far enough away from the temple, you’ll be forgotten, and you’re free to report back to Konishi Yukinaga.
Losing Hand
This is another sub-quest more suited for Naoe.
Next, you have some questions for Tokubei’s wife, Suzu. This location won’t autopopulate, so scout your objective if you need to. It’s also marked on the map above for your convenience.
Suzu is just southwest of Himeji, so your quickest route back is to fast travel to Saifukuji Temple once again. Her house is in a hostile area, and it’s not possible to get all the way to her without some combat. Still, it won’t be too much for Naoe to handle.
Immediately surrounding Suzu’s room are three enemies, one small and two of the larger variety. You must take them out before you’re able to speak to Suzu.
She’ll task you with looking for her husband. He’s been out gambling for way too long, so she needs you to go check on him.
Head to Tokubei’s new map marker, which is found at a local gambling cellar.
The gambling cellar’s location is hostile, and Naoe will have a quip of dialogue, making it seem like you need to fight your way through. You don’t actually need to, however.
Take back to the rooftops and use your Observe feature to get closer to Tokubei’s location.
The gambling house is underground, so you’re looking for some stairs leading down just near his location. Drop from the roof, head downstairs, and find Tokubei, who has apparently lost literallyeverythingin his current gambling endeavors.
He’ll ask you to follow him back above ground.
As soon as you’re outside, he’ll bolt. Chase him down as quickly as you can, but don’t stress too much. He’ll eventually tire out and simply wait for you to come and catch him.
After some dialogue, this sub-quest will conclude.
A Peculiar Guest
This sub-quest is pretty combat-heavy. Consider playing as Yasuke here.
You finally have enough information to find the kidnapped child you met earlier, Ukita Hideie. He’s being held at Junisho Shrine.
If you don’t have the scout to spare at this point, the map above pinpoints the shrine location for you. It’s just south of your current location and across the river.
Your map marker will lead you to a “suspicious miko.” Turns out, she’s actually a shinobi working for your Shinbakufu target, and speaking to her will trigger a quick boss encounter.
She isn’t hard to defeat and really does not have any sort of moveset to explain. Use the same combat tactics as always to block any blue attacks, dodge red attacks, and spam your melee attacks until she goes down.
Upon defeat, you’ll automatically pick up an item that reveals where they are keeping Ukita Hideie hostage, so head that way.
You’ll need to scout this next location once again or simply find Hideie on your own. He’s located at Itatehyozu Shrine just a bit east of your location.
Once you’re close enough to it, you’ll get a notification on your screen that you’ve discovered the location, so it’s easy enough to locate without the aid of scouts regardless.
Use Observe, and you’ll find Hideie’s blue dot marker at a nearby shrine.
He’s in rough shape, but he’s in good spirits. Auto-follow him, and he’ll lead you to a priest to talk to. Auto-follow himagain, and you’ll be interrupted by a cutscene and the appearance of Hideie’s father, Ukita Naoie.
Here, it’s revealed that your Rengakai buddy has been behind everything all along and is actually the true identity of The Noble, your Shinbakufu target.
After his heel turn moment, he’ll surround you with 8 or so undercover enemy shinobi that you’ll need to fend off.
This is where playing this mission as Yasuke will come in handy. It’s an all-out, open-space brawl with no options for stealth, so the brute force of Yasuke will win the day for you here.
Once the final shinobi is taken out, you’re finally able to go after your freshly revealed target.
Spring And Fall
Start this quest as Naoe. There will be another noted point later where you should switch to Yasuke when the game gives you the option.
After selecting this final quest, you’ll have another map marker show up, so head over to Kuroda Kanbei immediately. He’s just west of Himeji Castle in a hostile area.
There’s no need for extra stealth here, however. Even if you trigger guards along the way, you can immediately speak with Kuroda once he’s within range, canceling out anyone that’s chasing after you.
He’ll ask if you’re ready to go after Ukita Naoie. Say yes, and the game will ask which character you want to play as. You’ll still want to be Naoe for a bit.
At nightfall, it’s time to track down your target deep inside the castle. First, you’ll need to take out three more of Ukita Naoie’s undercover buddies.
As you’d expect by now, keep to the rooftops and head to the closest blue dot marker revealed by Observe. Your first target is titled “Castle Swordmaster,” and he’s pacing back and forth on a wooden walkway just outside a house near a courtyard.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: How To Get Knowledge Points
If you want to unlock all the tiers on your skill tree, then you need to understand that knowledge is power!
Take note of three guards in this sandy courtyard. If you want to thin the herd, they’re all conveniently standing right next to a bunch of explosives. Use a kunai to blow them all up if you really want to, but this will also alert the Castle Swordmaster to your location immediately.
The safest bet is to get on the rooftop just above your target. On the edge of the roof, you’ll have a button prompt to perform an aerial assassination. Take him out.
This will more than likely alert the guards in the courtyard, but just grapple back to the rooftops and hide until they forget about you.
Your next target is further inside the castle walls. Look for a tall, white building that separates the interior sections of the castle grounds. Keep to the perimeter walls and climb this building.
Many of the perimeter walls are surrounded by Animus boundary lines. These make it seem like many walls you’ll want to climb across aren’t accessible, but that’s not true. You’ll have to use some extra caution, but Naoe is still able to sneak across a sliver of the walls that aren’t blocked by the hard boundary.
Just on the other side of this building is a peaceful pond and your next target. This one is undercover as a servant.
Sneak around to the left, and you’ll notice a bunch of tall grass just behind the servant. Using the grass for cover, get close enough until you get the button prompt to assassinate.
It’s entirely possible to take out this target without being spotted, so ensure you don’t leap from the tall grass until the coast is clear.
Sneak back to the perimeter walls or a rooftop to stay hidden while you prep for target #3.
From here, you’re likely still too far from your next victim for their blue dot marker in Observe to show up. Look in the distance, however, and you’ll spot a large tree. This is where you’re going.
Stay elevated and work your way deeper into the castle. The next target is disguised as a cook and is standing right next to a tall building that you have easy access to.
Once again, assassinate when the prompt is available. Like the previous target, this can be done without being seen if you’re quick enough and get back to the rooftop for safety ASAP.
All that’s left to do for Naoe in this quest is to open an interior gate for Yasuke to come through. It’s marked on your map already, so head that way.
There are plenty of guards along the way, but you don’t need to fight any at all if you may find a safely elevated path to the door.
Hit the button prompt, and let Yasuke in.
You must be anonymous to open the gate. If you currently aren’t, grapple up to a rooftop and hide for a bit until the coast is clear.
Here’s where you should switch to Yasuke. The combat is coming.
After a cutscene and switching back to Yasuke, you’ll immediately need to take down six enemy shinobi in the immediate area. Four are in the courtyard, and another two are hiding in some tall grass behind a nearby building. Use your Observe feature to pinpoint any you’re missing, and take them all down.
You’ll get another cutscene as you eavesdrop on a conversation between Kuroda and Ukita Naoie. It goes south, and Ukita Naoie retreats to the top of his tenshu.
You’ll have one last chance to switch characters, but this is definitely another section for Yasuke’s combat prowess.
From here, your goal is pretty straightforward. You need to climb the tallest tower in the castle to track your target down. Of course, it’s a bit easier said than done since enemies will line your entire path forward, but it’s nothing Yasuke can’t handle.
Cross a small bridge and climb a small staircase leading to an entrance gate. Take out the two guards. This takes you to the courtyard of the tenshu. Just to your right are more stairs to climb, leading you inside the actual building.
From here, just start heading upwards. Each time you reach a ladder or set of stairs, climb them. Each new floor you reach will feature a handful of new grunt enemies to take care of.
It’s possible to just sprint by everyone on your way to the top, but you’ll run the risk of being swarming and overwhelmed from behind if you ever do get held up. Better to methodically mow down everyone that stands in your way on your ascent.
Eventually, you’ll reach a barred door. Sprint into it, and Yasuke will break it open. Just inside is another ladder to the next floor.
Keep climbing and killing until you’re at the top.
Finally, you’ll reach a ladder leading to a trap door. This is the very top of the tenshu, and Ukita Naoie is just above.
There is a ration refill box just before the ladder to the trap door. The boss fight is next, so stock back up.
Time to finally take this guy down. After some dialogue, the boss fight will trigger.
Here’s a breakdown of your opponent’s moveset:
Slightly disappointingly, after all that effort, this fight is a breeze. Ukita Naoie basically possesses the moveset of regular grunt, so you won’t have too much trouble.
Once he summons his two shinobi buddies, you have a choice. You can either switch focus to them and take them out of the picture, or just keep chipping away at Ukita Naoie’s health as you dodge around a couple extra strikes here and there from his allies.
Neither option is too difficult, and you’ll get your foe to surrender in no time.
The game will give you a choice to either kill or spare Ukita Naoie, but it doesn’t matter. Either way, he dies.
If you choose to spare him, you do get an extra section of dialogue where he recites a poem he’d like you to pass along to his son.
Make your decision, and the game will move you along.
Report back to Kuroda. He’ll bring in Ukita Hideie so that you can pass along his father’s last words.
If you tried to spare his dad, you’ll be able to select a dialogue option here that says, “Your father recited a stanza.”
Naoe will pass along the poem, and this Shinbakufu quest will finally be completed.
