Chapter 57

Summary

• The attack on the Browns’ stronghold begins before dawn with a first wave of ten ninja scaling the walls undetected.
• The ninja are experts in stealth and assassination, armed with chain knives and shuriken.
• Despite a tile cracking, the ninja remain undetected thanks to disciplined stillness.
• The ninja infiltrate and kill sleeping Browns, then signal to the second attack wave.
• The second wave of twenty more ninja attack from a culvert and grappling hooks.
• Ninja kill Browns on the battlements, with a distraction preventing Sumiyori from noticing.
• In the east wing, Sumiyori unknowingly checks on key characters who are not yet caught in the attack.
• The attack escalates with simultaneous strikes, and Sumiyori is killed by Yabu, who is an inside conspirator.
• Yabu meets with Blackthorne, feigning ignorance about a secret plan he had hinted at earlier.
• Ninja infiltrate closer to Mariko and key characters, leading to Blackthorne killing a ninja leader to protect them.
• Yabu encounters ninja and signals their diversion, following his part in the conspiracy.
• A fierce battle erupts in the fortress, with the ninja initially gaining the upper hand.
• Ninja attacker demands surrender, threatening to explode the door to Mariko and the others.
• Blackthorne finds a battlement exit, while Mariko stalls the ninja by pretending to open the door.
• The ninja leader is forced to execute Kiyama Achiko as per secret orders and retreats as Brown forces push back.
• Mariko is gravely injured by an explosion meant to breach the room where she took refuge.
• Lady Etsu solemnly bears witness to Mariko's sacrifice and accuses Ishido of betrayal, then commits suicide.
• Blackthorne is left traumatized and barely alive in the aftermath of the explosion and battle.