The Infiltrator

(幕末編 『密命』, Bakumatsuhen “Mitsumei”?, lit. Bakumatsu Chapter "Secret Orders")

**The Infiltrator** is Oboromaru's chapter in Live A Live and takes place in the Edo period.

Its completed chapter icon is of a ninja sword. Its menu color is violet.

## Chapter Description

It is an age of strife and bloodshed which threatens to consume an entire nation. In the shadows cast by the fires of chaos, a shinobi is given a mission of paramount importance. Into a castle filled with deadly traps and wary enemies he must venture, that he might free a prisoner of singular talents. Yet will the shinobi carry out his task with a merciful heart, or will he put his every enemy to the sword?

## Chapter Mechanics

This scenario is mainly stealth based and gives you three ways to complete the chapter: you can either kill all 100 of Lord Ode Iou's followers in Ode Castle, completely avoid combat and kill no one or find a balance between both, killing only those you see fit to complete your mission. This chapter is also full of secrets and having previous knowledge of some of them is needed to complete the chapter with 100 or 0 kills.

Another mechanic of the chapter are the traps that are littered around the Ode Castle, mainly trapdoors and enemy ambushes. As you travel through the castle you will find doors that are locked. In order to unlock them, the player will have to find keys around the fortress.

The chapter's stealth comes in with the use of sneaking around enemies to avoid fights, using the Shadowed Self to hide away from enemies on sight and using the Run command to escape from battles. Most enemies around the castle will actively chase Oboromaru if they detect him unlike the original 1994 game. There is also a password system in the chapter which some guards will ask for by saying "Mountain!". The password will actively shift between "River" or "Origin" with the sound of a bell, the bell must be paid attention to and what password was last used. Oboromaru also reminds the player of what the current password is.

If one does not kill any women during the chapter, the player can get a Maid's Sash and the Lacquered Medicine Box from a maid named Tsugumi near the end of the chapter. If one does not kill anyone, the player can be given 10 Castella Cake from a Minister and at the end of the chapter the player is rewarded with Ryoma's sword, the Mutsunokami. Although there is no reward for killing people or getting 100 kills, the player can get a lot of experience points which allows an easier time when fighting along with many items.

## Shadowed Self

This item is received at the start of the chapter from Hayate. This cloak is able to hide the party away from enemies if they need to. It can be used by pressing and holding the Y button. This item is key in order to avoid fights and its use is needed to trigger some events.

When an enemy sees you, an exclamation mark (!) will appear over their head and they will start chasing Oboromaru until you either leave the room, get out of their line of sight or use the Shadowed Self.

## Passwords

There are four passwords that appear when prompted, but only two of these are correct: River and Origin.

* Potato
* River
* Origin
* Near

## Bosses

This chapter contains 4 main bosses:

* Amakusa Shiro, a ghost that controls all spirits in the castle.
* Puppetmaster Gennai, a mechanical trap master that controls all mechanisms in the castle.
* Miyamoto Musashi, the spirit of the greatest swordsman that's ever lived.
* Yodogimi, a deceiving female spirit that tried to pass as Ode Iou's daughter.

This chapter contains two secret bosses:

* Majin Ryunosuke , a ghost ronin who possesses and protects the Muramasa.
* Lord Iwama, a giant silver koi swimming in the castle's moat.

Both of the secret bosses should only be fought at a high level. Both give the player two powerful items: the Muramasa and the Suijin Scale respectively.

## Boss

The boss of this scenario is Ode Iou. He is unique in that he is fought twice - once in his normal form with or without his gun, and then in his demon form as the Gamahebi.

## Chapter Endings

### Bad End

This ending is received from simply getting a game over at any time during the chapter. Hayate will drop in and inform his leader of Oboromaru's failure. Afterwards the leader would remark that the times of peace would not arrive just yet.

### Outcast End

If Oboromaru abandons his mission by leaving the castle, it will show him running back the way he came. These words will appear on screen:

*"So it was that the young shinobi abandoned his mission and cut ties with his clan... Making foes of his former kin. Brothers betrayed that would follow him to the ends of the earth. Thus continued the days of strife and bloodshed..."*

Then his clan will attempt to kill him, sending 5 waves of 4 Enma Trackers. After you defeat them, Hayate will appear and say:

Hayate: *"It should have never come to this...How could you? No, I'll not hear it. You made your choice. You broke the code. There is but one punishment...Death-only death! Even if it costs me my own life, I'll see it done!"*

If you win, Hayate and Oboromaru will rush towards each other and attack. After a pause, Hayate will slump forward.

Hayate: *"There...There is no escape!"*

Hayate will run to Oboromaru and kill him in a suicidal explosion.

### Normal End

The complete ending can be obtained by completing your mission and defeating Gamahebi. However, there are two possible outcomes since The Prisoner will ask if Oboromaru wants to join him, one can either refuse or join. This choice affects the final ending of the game. If "I am a shinobi. Now and always." was chosen, it will show Oboromaru running through the fields alone. If "It would be an honor to serve." was chosen, Oboromaru will be shown protecting The Prisoner from an assassin attempting to kill him.

If the player has managed to not kill anyone in the chapter, The Prisoner will have some extra dialog and give Oboromaru his former weapon, the Mutsunokami. Its attack stat is the same as that of the Muramasa.
If the player has killed everyone in the chapter, the sunrise at the credits will be interrupted by a thunderstorm.

## Music Tracks

* Shadowed Duty
* The Sound of Silence
* To Arms!

## Trivia

* The art design and character designer for this scenario is Gosho Aoyama, a mangaka notable for creating the adventure manga *Yaiba* and would go on to create the massively successful detective manga *Case Closed* (*Detective Conan*), which premiered in 1994, the same year as *Live A Live*.