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Fujibayashi Naoe (藤林 奈緒江; born c. 1564)[1] was a kunoichi from Iga.[2][3] Born to the jōnin (上忍, lit. "high ninja")[4] Fujibayashi Nagato and the Master Assassin Fujibayashi Tsuyu in the midst of the Sengoku period,[2][3] she was trained in the shinobi ways by her father following her mother's disappearance and became a skilled warrior.[5][6] In 1581, Oda Nobunaga's forces invaded Iga.[3] Although Oda's retainer Yasuke was a participant of the attack, he later became Naoe's ally, assisting her in both intelligence gathering and assassinations.[7]
Together they tracked down and eliminated members of the Shinbakufu, a secretive organization founded by the ousted shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiaki as a means to an end of getting back into power. The organization's and Yoshiaki's plans were foiled as Naoe and Yasuke toppled the group and directly led to their downfall.[8]
While enacting her vengeance on the Shinbakufu for the death of her father, Naoe uncovered the existence of the Kakushiba ikki, an Assassin guild that her mother had helped establish.[9] With the ikki decimated by the Shinbakufu and the Templars years prior, Naoe resolved to rebuild it alongside her allies and continue her parents' mission to safeguard the Imperial Regalia of Japan.[10]
Biography[]
Early life[]
Fujibayashi Naoe was born and raised in the Mibuno Vale of Iga,[1] the daughter of the jōnin Fujibayashi Nagato and his wife Tsuyu. During the first years of her life, she enjoyed a normal and happy childhood with her parents, who had both chosen to retire from their roles as members of the Kakushiba ikki to raise her. However, this changed when Tsuyu was drawn back to her Assassin duties after the Imperial Regalia of Japan, which the ikki was protecting, came under threat.[10]
While the young Naoe remained in Iga with her father, Tsuyu led the Kakushiba ikki to fight against the Shinbakufu and prevent them from stealing the regalia. However, the Assassins ultimately failed in their task and were killed. This led Naoe, who remained oblivious to her parents' affiliation, to assume that her mother had perished, unaware that Tsuyu had in fact survived and left Iga to search for the stolen regalia.[10]
Following her mother's disappearance, Naoe was raised by her single father, who trained her in swordplay and freerunning.[11] As a child, she would often sneak to eavesdrop on the important Iga ikki meetings attended by her father; an act that did not go unnoticed by Nagato.[12]
First Oda clan invasion[]
On 6 October 1579, Naoe engaged her father in a mock fight and emerged victorious and overconfident. After Nagato reminded her that a true Igan warrior put the community first and protected them above all else, he instructed Naoe to help Matsu with whatever she required. An unenthusiastic Naoe complied and went to see Matsu, who asked Naoe to identify whether a kami or beast was taking her crops.[11]
Getting a wider look from the viewpoint atop an old tower, Naoe found a deer killed by a poacher's arrow. Tracking the poachers, Naoe discovered them to be ashigaru deserters and beat them with her bokken to the point of scaring them away. Reporting back to Matsu, Naoe was rewarded with a bowl of misoshiru, but before she could eat it, her father entered and announced that Oda Nobunaga's son Nobukatsu was leading an advancing army at the border. Nagato forbade his daughter from following him to meet the attackers, telling her to stay and protect Matsu. Hours later, Naoe had grown restless and, with some encouraging words from Matsu, set off after her father.[11]
Outside, as ashes fell from the sky, Naoe followed Matsu to an unassuming shrine, where she retrieved a katana previously owned by Matsu during her days as a kunoichi of the Iga ikki. Matsu told Naoe that her father was overprotective because he did not want anything to happen to his only child, but that she had to answer her destiny when it came to her. Suddenly, Momochi Sandayu approached and, recognizing Naoe as Nagato's daughter, ordered her to head to Nagano Pass to assist the other shinobi. Bidding farewell and safety to Matsu, Naoe made her way to the pass.[13]
Sneaking past two of Oda Nobunaga's soldiers, Naoe was attacked by a third and choked to the point of almost passing out. Fortunately, she managed to retrieve her katana and stab the soldier, shocking herself at her first kill. Sneaking past several more soldiers on her way to regroup with the Igan troops, Naoe questioned her desire to be a part of the ikki if fighting to kill was all they did.[13]
Quickly regaining her senses, Naoe reached her assigned position and watched as smoke bombs rained down upon the invading Oda clan soldiers once Sandayu signaled the shinobi to commence their ambush. During the resulting confusion, a teppo ashigaru sneaked up on Naoe and shot a fellow shinobi dead before kicking her off the cliff. Resurfacing after landing in the water, Naoe fought a large, sword-wielding Oda soldier in combat. After a prolonged duel, she killed him while the invading army eventually retreated.[13]
Following their victory, Nagato was shocked at seeing Naoe on the battlefield and admonished her for disobeying him. Sandayu came to her defense, and Nagato reassessed the body of the man whom Naoe had killed. Realizing he had underestimated his daughter's potential, Nagato softened his tone to Naoe and told her that it was time to go home.[13]
Training for the Iga ikki[]
- Nagato: "You have been working hard, and you are more than ready. I want you to be there. So, you won't have to eavesdrop like you did when you were a young girl."
- Naoe: "I always knew you saw me spying."
- Nagato: "Well, now you are formally invited. I will meet you there."
- —Nagato inviting Naoe to attend her first Iga ikki ceremony, 1581.[src]-[m]
One day in November 1579, after a night full of rough sleeping, Naoe awoke and exited their shared family home to see her father, who was visibly concerned. The events of the past month were still fresh in Naoe's mind, especially the blood on her hands. Nagato had hoped to spare his daughter the horrors of war, but realized that it was no longer a luxury they could afford. Theorizing that Oda Nobunaga would return to finish what his son could not, Nagato had decided to start training Naoe more seriously in the hopes of having her join the Iga ikki in a more official way.[14]
Naoe's first lesson was training a warrior's greatest weapon, their mind. Nagato taught her the art of kuji-kiri, to let go of her guilt and regret. Recalling what had been keeping her up at night, Naoe was finally able to let it be gone from her mind. After this, Nagato instructed Naoe to go to Momochi Sandayu and Matsu and see what wisdom they both had to impart onto her. Matsu told Naoe about a family heirloom scroll full of shinobi techniques and sent her to the Kasuga Shrine to retrieve it. Finding the shrine overrun by bandits, Naoe quickly dispatched them and recovered the scroll, which she subsequently studied to learn all the techinques it presented.[14]
Naoe's next task came from Sandayu, who sent her to investigate one of the Iga ikki's watchtowers that he and his men had lost contact with. Before she left, Sandayu handed Naoe a grappling hook and told her to be on the lookout for any Oda clan scouts that had been seen near the border recently. Naoe trekked her way through the snow to the tower and found that it had indeed been overtaken by Oda ashigaru.[12]
Eavesdropping on two ashigaru, Naoe learned that they had been there for weeks and surmised that the Oda clan must have seized the tower during Nobukatsu's attack. She then traversed the rooftops to eavesdrop on other groups of soldiers, learning that their rations were running low. She eventually came across the dead body of the Igan fort leader, and decided to leave and report back to Sandayu. The shinobi leader promptly sent his men to reclaim the tower and praised Naoe for her work.[12]
Over the following two years, Naoe continued her training under both her father and Sandayu's guidance, refining her combat, stealth, and freerunning skills. She became adept at using kunai and traversing the trees near her home, and even managed to best her father during one of their sparring sessions. Realizing his daughter was ready, Nagato made the decision to formally induct her into the Iga ikki.[12]
Joining the Iga ikki[]
On 30 September 1581, in preparation for being fully inducted into the ikki, Naoe met with Sandayu in the Aekuni Shrine Town and walked with him. Naoe told him of her progress in her father's lessons, though she still believed she had more to learn. Sandayu in turn told Naoe of Nagato's pains in training her despite his paternal instincts, and reminded her that everyone's voice mattered during the ceremony, so if she had something on her mind, she should not hesitate to say it. With that, Naoe left Sandayu at the entrance to the shrine and went to find her father.[15]
Walking up the stairs, Naoe found Nagato playing his tsushibue. After revealing the heartfelt reason why he played the tsushibue, Nagato told Naoe why he was so protective of her and expressed pride towards her accomplishments, mentioning that she resembled her mother in both talent and spirit. As the time came for them to take their oaths, Naoe followed her father to the ceremony hall.[15]
Inside, Murakami Norimasa announced the reaffirmation of the oaths, but before they could proceed with Naoe's own initiation, Hattori Hanzō interrupted with his arrival. Hanzō announced the approach of Oda Nobunaga's army and offered the protection of his lord, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Naoe simply watched on as Furuta Tanji attacked Hanzō with accusations of abandonment. Another shinobi, Fujita Juro, stood up and delcared his support for Hanzō's offer, while Sandayu began arguing and Naoe grew restless.[15]
When Naoe eventually spoke up, Hanzō motioned for her to continue, only for the girl to remain silent. To this, Hanzō commented that Nagato had failed to teach his daughter to stand by her convictions and that Tsuyu would have spoken up, had she been in Naoe's place. Nagato defended his daughter and shot down both Hanzō's and Juro's misgivings. To let her prove it, Sandayu told Juro to fight Naoe for her right to join the Iga ikki, a challenge both young shinobi accepted.[15]
After besting Juro in a duel, he apologized to Naoe for doubting her, solidifying her right to join the ikki. Hanzō then left, and Sandayu ushered all the shinobi back inside the shrine to complete their oaths and Naoe's official initiation. In the name of Ōhiko-no-Mikoto, the oaths were taken and Fujibayashi Naoe became an official member of the Iga ikki.[15]
Second Oda clan invasion[]
After the ceremony, Naoe followed her father in making preparations for the second invasion by the Oda clan. Sandayu instructed Nagato to ride for Hijiyama, and Naoe followed her father as they rode to the fort together. There, Naoe stayed hidden while Nagato killed a Kogan shinobi, confirming Hanzō's earlier warning that the Kogans had betrayed Iga. The two then split up, with Naoe stealthily infiltrating the fort and discovering the location of the enemies' plans. As she went to retrieve them, she was nearly attacked from behind by a soldier, but fortunately Hanzō arrived and killed her would-be assailant.[15]
As Naoe was still distrustful of Hanzō, he explained to her his reasons for abandoning Iga, claiming that he had done what was needed for his survival, and tried to convince Naoe to do the same before it was too late. At that moment, Nagato arrived and Naoe dispelled the growing hostility between her father and Hanzō by mentioning that the latter had saved her. Hanzō proceeded to hand Nagato a scroll he claimed to have recovered from an enemy soldier, before they were interrupted by the sound of explosions in the distance. Witnessing the Oda clan's army marching towards Iga, Naoe and Nagato immediately left to defend their home, ignoring Hanzō's warnings that they were walking to their doom.[15]
Personality and traits[]
As a young woman, Fujibayashi Naoe was passionate of temperament and determined in her goals. She brought into her relationships an intensity that was tempered by the more grounded and pensive Yasuke. While she wore her heart on her sleeve, unafraid to express herself honestly, she harboured her own wisdom as well that grew continuously throughout her life. The foundations for this wisdom was instilled in her by her father who alongside her Iga community also taught her the values of valor and benevolence.[2] Morally conscientious, she challenged Yasuke to discover a path apart from the seeming universal reality of "greed, power, and vengeance".[7] According to her father, she looked remarkably like her mother, Tsuyu.[15]
After her run-in with Ido Yoshihiro,[16] Naoe sported a permanent reminder of his kanabō attack in the form of two prominent facial scars.[11] Additionally, as a result of Wada Koretake breaking her leg,[17] she walked with a limp for some time, though this later healed and gave no signs of having been injured in later years.[18]
As an Igan shinobi, she occasionally fought practitioners of the rival Kōga-ryū (甲賀流, "School of Kōga") ways who were hired to kill her.[15][19] While some Kōgans saw their feud as a serious matter,[19] especially with Nobunaga having hired Kōgans as scouts before initiating the Tenshō Iga War,[15] Naoe's comrade Rokkaku Katsuhime took a more jesting outlook on it by playfully prodding Naoe about their schooling differences, something that she reciprocated by jokingly stating that Igans still were better because they "make a better udon noodle soup".[20]
Skills and equipment[]
Trained in the Iga-ryū (伊賀流, "the Iga school") ways of ninjutsu by her father, Naoe was an incredibly agile warrior. Her weapons training included kenjutsu (剣術),[11] tantōjutsu (短刀術), shurikenjutsu (手裏剣術), and kusarigamajutsu (鎖鎌術).[21] She later showed proficiency in kayakujutsu (火薬術, lit. "the art of gunpowder") as it related to explosives[21] like smoke bombs, and bōjutsu (棒術).[22]
Naoe preparing to stealth kill a target with a kunai
Her ability to infiltrate locations as secure as tenshu, whether using outfits as part of hensōjutsu (変装術, lit. "disguise technique")[23] or relying on tanuki-gakure no jutsu (狸隠れの術, "The art of hiding like a raccoon") and climbing above patrols' eyesight,[14] was augmented by her wide arsenal of tools that included smoke bombs and grappling hooks. To maximize ease of movement, she always wore light armor at most—notably shin guards and a kusari kote (鎖籠手, "chainmail sleeve") on her left arm—that offered only minimal protection. However, she was unerringly swift in combat and was highly lethal in an assortment of weapons, ranging from the katana and the kusarigama to throwing weapons like the shuriken and kunai.[3][6]
A skilled freerunner, Naoe could scale the many tenshu present within many of the guarded castles around Japan with great ease, and with assistance from her grappling hook. She could could climb the natural elements and landscapes, though with limited proficiency and only expertly when solid footholds were present, Naoe could navigate the Hidden Paths swiftly however. She also proved to be a strong swimmer when diving from heights, and could hold her breath with the use of a bamboo reed for stealth.[21]
Naoe started out wearing her simple robes, dark green in color with a blue sash around her waist. Tools and equipment hung at her waist. She also carried the katana gifted to her by Matsu.[13] During her infiltration of Imai Sōkyū's tea ceremony, Naoe wore a gold-trimmed black Portuguese silk kosode[23] that she later occasionally wore around Tomiko's Homestead.[24] As an Assassin, her robes consisted of a deep blue outfit, consisting of a kosode tied underneath her armpits in a Tatsuki-style, and a red sash around her waist. She had an eagle motif on her bracelet and embroidered on the back. She also carried a tsuba tied with rope secured across her shoulders.[6]
Naoe activating her Pivot Blade
As an Assassin, Naoe wore a Hidden Blade on her left arm, per tradition. Originally a gift from her father, the Hidden Blade was forged in the manner of a tantō blade and could pivot at a 90° angle to be used as such.[6] She wielded this in conjunction with a conventional tantō to perform double assassinations.[3]
Naoe possessed the rare ability of Eagle Vision, which heightened her senses and allowed her to detect and "tag" allies, enemies, and objects of interest, even through walls and other obstacles. However, she could only use her ability when stationary or moving no faster than a walking pace.[21]
Gallery[]
Behind the scenes[]
Fujibayashi Naoe is the fictional daughter of the historical Fujibayashi Nagato. She was first introduced as one of the two protagonists in the 2025 video game Assassin's Creed: Shadows, where she is voiced by the Japanese-American actress Masumi Tsunoda,[25] with Miyuri Shimabukuro voicing the Japanese localization.[26] Masumi revealed in an interview with esports.gg that she used her own relationships with her father and grandfather as inspiration in portraying Naoe's relationship with Nagato.[27]
Historically, Nagato's recorded descendants make no mention of a daughter, while his real life son Yasumasa (藤林保正)[28] does not appear nor is he even mentioned in Shadows.
In a series first, Naoe's database entry in the 2018 mobile game Assassin's Creed: Rebellion is taken word-for-word from her character summary in the official reference guide released as part of the promotions for Shadows.[6]
Etymology[]
Fujibayashi (藤林) is a Japanese surname composed of two kanji: 藤 (fuji), meaning "wisteria," and 林 (hayashi/bayashi), meaning "forest" or "grove."[29] It was also the name of the historically real Fujibayashi clan. Naoe (奈緒江) is a feminine Japanese given name comprising three kanji: 奈 (na), which can refer to "Nara" or function phonetically; 緒 (o), meaning "cord," "beginning," or "connection"; and 江 (e), meaning "river" or "bay."[30][31]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Rebellion
- Assassin's Creed: Shadows (first appearance)
References[]
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