Shadow Tactics Walkthrough | Mission 5: Lord Yabu's Estate

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun goes full Hitman (2016) in its most expansive level so far. Mission 5: Killing Lord Yabu is just what the name implies — your team of three must kill Lord Yabu however you see fit. There are two dedicated methods; you can poison or snipe him with in-game scripted events, or you can kill him your own way. Bombs, rifle blasts, flintlock pistols, or even stealth kills will work when he isn’t surrounded by three nigh-unstoppable samurai.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to avoid an alarm in this mission if you follow the standard objectives. But, we’ll still provide tips for completing the mission safely and taking the best path to your objective. You’ll have to fight through a small town, break into the main gate, and clear guards from a hot spring before taking a perch on a tiny island. Save those flintlock pistols for the end, when swarms of guards block your escape route.

Table of Contents – Shadow Tactics Walkthrough

Walkthrough | Killing Lord Yabu

Takuma joins Hayato and Yuki on this mission to Lord Yabu’s palatial estate. This is a tough mission, and Lord Yabu is accompanied by samurai wherever he goes. There are multiple ways to kill Lord Yabu, and it’s all up to personal preference.

NOTE: Takuma has a variety of weapons at his disposal, but he can’t carry bodies, swim or climb. He comes with a Tanuki that can lure enemies with its howl, bombs (lethal and nonlethal) for defeating multiple enemies, [5] sniper shots for extreme range kills, and [5] flintlock pistol bullets. The flintlock pistol is much louder than the rifle.

All characters are equipped with [5] flintlock pistol shots. These are lethal ranged weapons, but they’re noisy. Use them for dire situations or when making your escape when Lord Yabu is killed.

The tanuki can lure guards and civilians away, and he can lure on command.

Step #1: Kill Lord Yabu

Infiltrating the Estate: First, you need to get inside the fortress. Kill the two guards and use Takuma’s tanuki to draw attention from the civilians for an easy trip north. The Straw Hat watching the steps is trouble. While the civilians are distracted, use the hook on the house in the center of the village with Hayato.

On the rooftops, hop across to the rocky cliffs above the Straw Hat, then jump down and kill him when the coast is clear. Now all three can climb the steps to the main gate exterior. Use Takuma to snipe the guard in the tower. When he’s dealt with, sneak into the bushes at the base of the tower.

NOTE: Flintlock pistols and grenades are powerful weapons against samurai. A flintlock shot stuns a samurai temporarily, leaving them vulnerable to stealth kills from Yuki or Hayato. Grenades are an instant kill.

Takuma needs to snipe this guard in the tower to proceed.

Kill the patrolling guard with Yuki – there’s a narrow spot you can kill him where he won’t be seen by the samurai at the top of the steps. To kill the guard with the civilian by the cliff, set up a Shadow Mode shuriken kill on the guard and execute right after distracting the civilian with the tanuki. Use the same trick to lure the guard at the base of the stairs – use the view marker here, it’s incredibly useful to see if anyone is looking when you attempt a stealth kill.

How To Kill the Gate Samurai: Clear the area of everyone outside the main gate, except for the civilian. Use Shadow Mode and shoot the samurai with Takuma’s flintlock – it has longer range. Next, sneak from the bushes to the right of the gate when the samurai turns to look left. Execute the flintlock shot – he’ll turn to face the shot. Hayato can then finish the samurai off.

Prepare to snipe and slash the samurai with Shadow Mode set for Takuma. Manually stealth kill.

Getting Takuma Inside: Even with the Samurai dead, the gate is well guarded. Use the building to the right to climb up and over the wall. Hayato and Yuki can work together to clear the Straw Hat and patrol near the door. Just use a stone to get by the civilian watching the secret rooftop entrance.

Kill Lord Yabu: Sniper – Now that you’re inside the compound, you can choose one of two options. Either snipe or poison Lord Yabu. We’re going to focus on sniping him for this guide. You’ll need to reach the northwest corner of the map and place Takuma on the small island tower first.

Defeat enemies on this island so Takuma can snipe the evil Lord Yabu.

Clear the guards around the hot spring first. Clear the spring area, then swim to the sniper perch island and clear it of enemies. Shadow Mode execute the pair of guards, or just pick them off one-by-one.

NOTE: There’s an ammo box near the sniper tower that Takuma can use to refill his sniper rounds.

Drawing Out Lord Yuba: Takuma can now get into position in the tower. The next part is trickier – drawing out Lord Yabu. Enter the estate tower on the northwest corner using the hook. It helps to kill as many guards (undetected) as possible on the walls of the estate.

Throw a stone at the dog in the kennel to draw Lord Yabu out of cover.

You can also swim to the kennel, but clearing the rooftops is a slower, safer approach and makes your escape easier. You’ll also need to reach the central (small) house inside the estate. There’s a scaffold with a guard watching the kennel – kill him with a pot. It’s an accident kill, and won’t raise the alarm.

Killing Lord Yabu: To provoke the dog and force Yabu into the perfect sniping position, place Hayato in the bushes near the water, under the kennel. Move Yuki near Takuma on the island and wait. Throw Hayato’s stone at the dog to provoke it when Yabu is near, then snipe Yabu.

New guards patrol the main gate after killing Lord Yabu. Try using your flintlocks to clear a path.

Step #2: Escape

There’s a mandatory alarm after killing Lord Yabu. Quickly move your ninja into the water, then rush Takuma into the bushes at the base of the hot spring, across the stone bridge. You’ll be able to avoid the incoming soldiers.

One guard positions himself at the exit path to the hot spring. Use Takuma’s sniper rifle and your flinklocks liberally to clear the way – when more guards come running, blast them too. Use Shadow Mode to kill the red guards at the front gate, and you’ll be clear. There aren’t any extra guards outside the estate.