Assassin's Creed Shadows: How to complete Fighting for the Cause quest

Fighting for the Cause is a story-heavy quest in Assassin's Creed Shadows, kicking in right after you wrap up The Path He Walks. It drops you into the thick of the Templar arc tied to Kimura Kei and starts simple, but things escalate fast. If you're not level 35 yet, you might want to come back later because the ending throws a boss fight that's straight-up brutal.

This article explains how to complete Fighting for the Cause in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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Fighting for the Cause quest walkthrough in Assassin's Creed Shadows

Finding the ronin in Takahara Village

Fighting for the Cause main quest whereabouts in Assassin's Creed Shadows (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

To begin the Fighting for the Cause quest, you must travel to Takahara Village on the Nakahechi Route. If unexplored, the easiest approach is heading south from Katsuragi. Upon arrival, switch to Yasuke and enter the village inn to interact with the ronin.

The Oda Ronin (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

The conversation includes a brief dialogue choice, but it does not influence the quest’s outcome.

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Head to the cemetery past Koyasan

The next objective leads back to Koyasan. From there, head east to a fork before taking the left path to Okunoin Cemetery. Deeper inside, a statue triggers the appearance of Kumabe Ujiie.

You can choose to either confront and eliminate Kumabe directly — acquiring an item that unlocks the next step — or engage in dialogue. Regardless of the chosen responses, the storyline progresses toward the Training Grounds.

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Deciding how to handle Kumabe

Choose your options in the Fighting for the Cause quest (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

You’ve got two ways to play this:

1. Kill Kumabe right away. This triggers a swarm of enemies but skips the rest of his dialogue. You’ll loot an item from his body that points you straight to the Training Grounds.
2. Or hear him out. He gives you two rounds of choices:

• I seek guidance.
• That sounds too good to be true

And

• You’ve convinced me.
• That's enough

If you pick That’s enough, you’ll fight him and his group on the spot. If you choose You’ve convinced me, he leads you on a walk. Either route gets you to the same next step — it just depends on whether you’re in the mood for a fight or not.

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Walking with Kumabe to the Training Grounds

Follow Kumabe (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

If you choose to follow him, you’ll auto-walk through a scenic route. Eventually, Kumabe stops to talk again and points you toward the Training Grounds. You’re now headed into the real meat of this quest.

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Enter the Training Grounds

Yasuke heading to the Training Grounds (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

From Koyasan, ride west and then south until you find the rundown structure. Approach the front door and interact with it. The game gives you one last chance to back out — because what comes next is a massive, multi-layered brawl.

Say “I’m ready to enter the training grounds”, and go in.

If you're under-leveled, especially if enemies are marked with skulls, you're probably not going to have a great time. Don’t be afraid to bounce out and level up elsewhere before diving in.

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Survive the onslaught

Take down the enemies in Assassin's Creed Shadows (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

Once inside, walk up to the big group. Kimura Kei recognizes you immediately and triggers a full-on ambush. The safest move is to tackle them group by group. Follow the right path up the hill until you reach a locked building. Stick near the door, and after a bit, enemies will bust it open for you. Once they do, head in, climb up the ladder, and crawl out the window.

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Take out the ranged enemies in the Fighting for the Cause quest

Now you’re in a wide-open zone filled with archers. Anytime you see the red shot indicator, dodge fast. You’ll need to clear every enemy before you can unlock the final door. Also, the building at the far end works as a great choke point. Step inside and force the enemies to come to you.

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Handle the three elites

The Brawl (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

After clearing the ranged section, climb the stairs leading to a mini-boss squad — three elite fighters. Two are melee tanks, and one carries a handcannon.

Take down the elites in Assassin's Creed Shadows (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

Hug the rock to the right. This lets you pull them one by one instead of fighting all three at once. Once they’re down, go through the final door.

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Kimura Kei's boss fight in the Fighting for the Cause quest

Dual against Kimura Kei in Assassin's Creed Shadows (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

Kimura Kei is one of the more intense boss encounters in Assassin's Creed Shadows. The battle in the Fighting for the Cause quest goes through three stages, and every stage alters how he utilizes his weapons as well as the amount of hurt he can cause.

Early on, he double-wields the Katana and Long katana, stringing together red (unblockable) and blue (chain) attacks — commonly back-to-back. These range from single jabs and over-the-head slash attacks to 4- and 5-hit combos, which take some time to execute.

Phase two of Fighting for the Cause (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

In the second phase, he gets more aggressive with the Long Katana and switches up his patterns. During the final phase, after his long blade breaks, he wields it like a second Katana — attacking faster and harder than before. This phase is pure chaos, as most attacks involve dual swings that can chunk your health in seconds.

Instead of trying to match his speed, the safer option is to keep your distance and bait out his combos. Wait until he finishes an animation, then rush in with a charged heavy strike, dodge back, and reset. This hit-and-run method takes time, but it works.

Yasuke's Impenetrable Defense from the Samurai branch makes a huge difference. It lets you deflect everything, including heavy attacks, for 20 seconds, giving you time to reposition and build adrenaline. Pair it with Power Dash from the Long Katana tree for a quick damage and vulnerability setup.

Kimura Kei's red attacks leave him open briefly — that’s your moment in the Fighting for the Cause quest (Image via Sportskeeda Gaming // Ubisoft)

Stick to that rhythm, and eventually, a cutscene will trigger, ending the fight and wrapping up the Fighting for the Cause quest in Assassin's Creed Shadows.

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Check out: Assassin's Creed Shadows: How to complete Red Walls main quest