Chapter 10 Ninja Village

Learn how to defeat the treacherous ninjas in Chapter 10 of Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright. Get tips on enemy types, terrain, and recruiting Takumi!

Hey there! Welcome to Chapter 10, also known as the Ninja Village. This chapter throws a lot at you, so let's break it down so you can get through it smoothly.

Before we dive into the battle, there are a couple of new buildings you can construct in your MyCastle. The Dawn Dragon building helps heal your defenders in castle battles, which is neat if you're into that. More importantly, there's the Arena. Here, you can gamble your resources like ore and food on battles between your characters and random enemies. Win, and you'll get double your bet back; lose, and you forfeit it. It's a pretty good way to snag extra rare ores and foods, so keep it in mind!

Mokushu Forest

The objective here is simple: Rout the enemy in the Ninja Village Mokushu.

You'll be facing a variety of foes, including:

• Ninja
• Shrine Maiden
• Diviner
• Archer
• Spear Fighter
• Master Ninja

Alright, so you've started the mission and your army is heading to Mokushu. This place is near Hoshido, and it turns out the ninjas here have allied with Nohr. Pretty sneaky, right? Basically, they're playing both sides. Get ready for a fight!

As you might guess, there are Ninjas everywhere on this map. Because of this, you might want to leave your magic-users on the bench for this one. The enemy also has Diviners and Shrine Maidens, so they've got some magical support too. Rounding out their forces are Spear Fighters and Archers. The boss is Kotaro, who's a Master Ninja. Since so many enemies use axes (Ninjas), bringing units with green weapons like Sky Knights will be super helpful. You'll also want some red-weapon users and healers. Don't forget Azura; she's got a special role to play here beyond just singing and fighting.

The terrain itself is a bit tricky. The forest areas will really slow down your ground units. Some parts are Thick Forest and are completely impassable for them. The regular Forest tiles will slow you down significantly. However, Sky Knights can fly right over all of this, and they can even carry another unit with them. Keep an eye out for Dragon Veins on the map – activating these will reveal hidden spike traps. If a unit ends their turn on a spike trap, they'll take 2 damage. It's not a huge amount, but it can add up, and it's a real pain to deal with. It might be a good way for your healers to get some easy experience, though!

You'll start in the north-western corner of the map, facing Ninjas and Spear Fighters. But don't expect them to just stand there! More enemies will join the fray. There's a spike trap just southeast of your starting position that you can't disarm, and it's right where you'll likely encounter the first group of enemies. If you want to get a jump on things, a Sky Knight can ferry a noble unit (like the protagonist, Azura, or Setsuna) east over some Thick Forest to activate a Dragon Vein and trigger a trap early.

Here's a crucial tip: keep Azura near the western edge of the map. After about a turn of fighting, Takumi will appear, and he's not himself. Follow Azura's lead and use her singing ability (move Azura next to Takumi and select 'Talk'). This will snap Takumi out of it, and he'll join your side! As an Archer, he's fantastic here, especially since bows (green weapons) are great against many of the enemies. Plus, his unique weapon, the Fujin Yumi, has a high crit rate and ignores terrain bonuses, making him incredibly powerful on this map.

As you fight your way east, go ahead and activate those spike traps – they're going to trigger anyway. This map is really all about dealing with those tricky Ninjas. They have a high dodge rate, which can make you waste turns and potentially step on spike traps. You might need to cycle your units in and out of safe spots to let them recover from debuffs they get from Shurikens. Even strong units can become vulnerable after a few hits. If you manage to defeat the enemy Shrine Maidens, they might drop healing staves, which can be a lifesaver. Also, there's a chest behind Kotaro. You can get to it by pairing a Ninja with a Sky Knight and dropping the Ninja off nearby. Inside, you'll find a Rescue staff!

Once you finally defeat Kotaro, you'll learn more about his interesting weapons. He's got a Shuriken, but his 'Dual Shuriken' is weird – it flips weapon advantages and doubles their effects. Normally, blue beats red and green beats blue, but with this equipped, red beats blue! His melee weapon, a Kodachi, is a red weapon that's a bit weaker. Just attack him with red or blue weapons, and he should go down relatively easily.

After the battle, Takumi will make peace with you and Azura, and he'll permanently join your party! You'll also gain another Ninja, Kagero, who's one of Ryoma's retainers. Now you can continue your search for Ryoma!