Besides the main Shinbakufu,Assassin’s Creed Shadowshas several optional assassination targets divided up into a series of different factions. The most interesting of those factions is theTwisted Tree.A group of rogue samurai, the Twisted Tree is led by Takahashi Inoshichi and his many children, and holds a reign of terror over the greater Kyotoregion ofAC Shadows' map. Like all assassination targets, you’ll gradually learn intel about the Twisted Tree by exploring the world and assassinating more of its members,using your scoutsto determine each one’s exact location.
What makes the Twisted Tree unique, though, is the fact thatyou don’t necessarily have to assassinate all of its membersin order to mark it complete. There’s a unique consideration here that allows you to spare Ichi-hime and Goro, as long as you assassinate the rest of the family in the proper order. However, there are some differences in how each story path rewards you for your efforts, which you may want to consider before you decide to show mercy to these corrupt warriors.
What Happens If You Kill The Twisted Tree Leader First?
Pros & Cons Of Sparing Ichi-hime & Goro
If you look very closely atthe Twisted Tree targetson your Objectives screen, you’ll notice that two members - Ichi-hime and Goro - have unusual intel descriptions. While most members' intel sections (except Inoshichi) say they will “avenge their father’s death,” Ichi-hime and Goro have the descriptor,“if their father dies, they will be free.“You’ll get more hints about this if you kill the other Twisted Tree members first, as many of them will drop notes to and from their siblings in which they describe Ichi-hime and Goro as unwilling participants in the faction’s violence.
In effect, this means thatif you kill Inoshichi first, Ichi-hime and Goro will leave Kyoto. The game is very deliberately unclear on where they actually go, but seems vaguely hopeful for their futures, considering they’ve escaped the certain death that the Twisted Tree would bring. You’ll never see them again, as far as I’m aware; they don’t seem to pop up in any other regions for additional sidequests, like some other side characters are apt to do. But you can rest easy knowing that they’ll never deliberately harm another person again, which may be enough.
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Luckily,sparing these two targets doesn’t mean missing out on the rewards for assassinating them. However, you’ll have to find and talk to Ichi-hime at Umenomiya Shrine in western Kyoto, and Goro at Shokokuji Pagoda in northern Kyoto, before killing Inoshichi. If you kill Inoshichi first, they’ll flee, never to be seen again.
You should know that just about every assassination target rewards you with high-rarity weapons (each of which also unlocks a new engraving for use at the Hideout), along with experience and Mastery Points. While you’re able to definitely make up the missed XP and Mastery later, the weapons can’t be reliably found anywhere else. Therefore,you’ll have to talk to Ichi-hime and Goro firstif you want to get the rewards without killing them.
What Happens If You Kill All The Twisted Tree Members?
Pros & Cons Of Killing Goro & Ichi-Hime
If you’d rather claim their rewards,you may also go ahead and assassinate Goro and Ichi-hime. Again, Goro is found at Shokokuji Pagoda in northern Kyoto, and Ichi-hime at Umenomiya Shrine in western Kyoto. You may elect to sneak up on and quietly assassinate them asNaoe, or engage them in battle as Yasuke.
You have to assassinate Goro and Ichi-hime before Inoshichi in order to kill them.As soon as you kill Inoshichi, they’ll flee Kyoto, automatically spared and never to be seen again.
The rewards for kiling each Twisted Tree member are as follows:
These are pretty decent rare weapons, both for Yasuke.The engravings can then be learned and used on other weapons, so they’re not only useful for one character. Ichi-hime’s letter isn’t a necessary piece of loot, but it reveals a little bit more about her plan to run away with Goro, which we already knew.
Again,choosing to kill Goro and Ichi-hime doesn’t seem to have any particular impact on the story. Their brothers, sisters, and father don’t seem to care to avenge them, and anyway, there’ll be no one left to do so once you finish off the rest of the Twisted Tree.
You Should Do The Twisted Tree Assassinations In A Very Specific Order
Having Your Cake & Eating It, Too
In order to get the best possible outcome, you’ll want to do the Twisted Tree assassinations in a very specific order. We already know that Ichi-hime and Goro will run away as soon as they’re given the chance, butInoshichi’s other children will also respond dynamically to his death- they’ll attempt to avenge him.
What this means is that, as soon as you assassinate Inoshichi,all of his surviving children (except Ichi-hime and Goro) will instantly rush to your location, where they’ll attack in unison. This makes for an incredibly difficult fight, especially if you’re playing as Naoe, but even Yasuke may struggle to keep up with all of them at once.
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So,you’ll want to find and talk to Goro and Ichi-hime first, then assassinate all the rest of Inoshichi’s children, and save Inoshichi for your last target. This way, you get the best possible outcome: you get all the rewards, but you also get to walk away with a clean conscience, knowing that Inoshichi’s nonviolent children can start new lives without being forced to kill by their father. This doesn’t seem to have any tangible impact on the story, but it does feel a whole lot better, and you don’t have to miss out on any rewards to do it.
Still, because of the lack of long-term story changes, you may go ahead and kill all the Twisted Tree members if you’re so inclined. If you don’t really need the new gear for Yasuke, or you just want to try out some assassin skills, there’s nothing wrong with taking the more final route here, even if the theme of redemption fits better with the main story ofAssassin’s Creed Shadows.
