All Kabukimono Leader Locations & Rewards

The Kabukimono target board and questline in Assassin’s Creed Shadows include eight different high-profile targets scattered across Izumi Settsu and Harima. Naoe’s job is to take out these Kabukimono samurai who have been inflicting pain on the people of Settsu with reckless abandon. As with any other group of targets, side quests, or the main campaign, you’ll be given a list of clues for each leader to track down their whereabouts and end their shenanigans. However, the eight different targets do not need to be tracked down individually due to an interesting quest option.

The Kabukimono board, similar to AC Mirage‘s objective board, includes the following targets: Grave Dancer, Big Sueki, Chief Cuckoo, Ember, Ghost General, Corrupt Blade, Peacock, and Laughing Man. After eliminating a number of these foes, you can leave a message for the remaining three targets, which will determine their final location. This option allows you to decide if you’d instead take out each target individually or have them gathered in one location to assassinate as a group. The Kabukimono targets have distinct clues that will help guide you to them, but only if you know where to explore.

How To Get The Kabukimono Quest & Target Board Clues

Shin’nyo Is At The Nishinomiya Shrine With His Sassy Daughter, Izumi

To get the Kabukimono Quest and associated target board, I first spoke with Shin’nyo at the Nishinomiya Shrine in western Izumi Settsu. You’ll hear his rambunctious daughter waxing poetic about the Kabukimono ronin, and Shin’nyo will tell you about the feared clan he believes needs to be eradicated, triggering the Kabukimono target board on your Objectives menu.

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You’ll initially be informed of the whereabouts of five of the eight targets and will need to gather clues to unlock further information on the remaining targets – Peacock, Laughing Man, and Corrupt Blade. The following clues will give you a vague idea of where each target is found, but tracking them down will take a little extra work:

All Kabukimono Target Locations & Rewards

Targets Are Found Across The Izumi Settsu Region

The first five targets are listed by their difficulty level going counter-clockwise on the target board, with Chief Cuckoo being the lowest level target and Corrupt Blade, Peacock, and Laughing Man being the highest. The rewards for each target range in value, but arguably, the best reward for this quest is the massive XP boost you’ll gain from eliminating all eight targets. You’ll receive a minimum of 5000 XP, which can actually increase by 10% to 5500 if you’ve built the Tera building in your hideout already.

Chief Cuckoo

Chief Cuckoo’s main clue will be slightly ambiguous until you come across the area in question, and then it will become glaringly obvious. The clue states that Chief Cuckoo is involved in oil trading. If you head to the Kamako region and explore a bit, you’ll eventually come across the Kamako Oil Trading Company, where Chief Cuckoo and his goons have set up their base of operations. After assassinating Chief Cuckoo, you’ll be rewarded with the uncommon Prancing Naginata and the Damage After Dodging Engraving.

Big Sueki

Big Sueki and his band of miscreants are a bunch of sake fiends, and his target board clues will point you north of Amagasaki Castle to an inn. You’ll find the leader and his cronies in Muko Post Town, outside Amagasaki Castle, and you’ll need to be careful if you want to sneak up on Big Sueki for the kill. Big Sueki drops the Damage + Affliction Engraving and the Tactless Parley Uncommon Katana.

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Grave Dancer

Grave Dancer is a pretty straightforward target located in the southwest region of Osaka at the Sumiyoshi Shrine, and he can be snuck up on relatively easily. You’ll want to clear the shrine while you’re there for the extra Knowledge Point, and the Grave Dancer will drop an uncommon item as well as award 1000 XP.

Ember

Ember is located in a burnt-down village (for which he and his crew are responsible) in the heart of Osaka proper. You’ll likely come across him if you are pursuing the Origami Butterflies hidden around Osaka, and when you do, he’s one of the more formidable leaders of the Kabukimono. Ember is slightly west of the Temple of Osaka, and defeating him rewards the Spark of Ember Teppo for Yasuke and the Armor Piercing On Consecutive Hits engraving.

Ghost General

The Ghost General is the last of the initial five targets you’ll pursue from the Kabukimono target board before making a quest decision about the remaining three. He is located at the Port of Sakai and carrying a note that will unlock the final three targets for this quest. He’s standing on a pier when you find him, and you can actually swim up and take him out if you’re sneaky enough.

Should You Gather The Kabukimono Leaders In One Location?

You Can Take Them Out In One Location Or One At A Time

The last of the initial five targets you kill will be in possession of a “Note To All Kabukimono.” You need to decide whether to post the note to a notice board and gather the remaining three leaders – Peacock, Laughing Man, and Corrupt Blade. The board you’re looking for is in the same location where you started the quest, outside Shin’nyo’s place at the Nishinomiya Shrine. You have the choice to gather all three targets in one location or pick them off one by one.

The decision to gather the remaining targets or track them down individually will largely depend on your preferred playstyle and whether you’d instead use Yasuke or Naoe to get the job done. No matter what, the targets will be at least level 23 and located in the Harima region. Yasuke is better suited to take down all three at once, while Naoe can take them out individually with stealth. If you take them out one by one, their locations are as follows:

Should you decide to gather them all in one location, you’ll find them near the Takagi Kofun just as you cross the border into southeast Harami. They’re in the lumber yard southeast of the main Takagi Kofun entrance, and you can spot them by observing and looking for the blue beacons. Killing the three targets awards a rare bow and katana, but most notably, killing the Laughing Man awards the Flight of Ubagabi Legendary Trinket and a legendary engraving. Once completed, you can return this quest to Shin’nyo for 5000 XP.

Set during Japan’s Sengoku period, two distinct protagonists—Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, a historical African samurai—must navigate political intrigue and violent clashes between the Assassins and Templars. Players can switch between stealthy, shadow-based gameplay with Naoe and Yasuke’s direct combat approach, exploring the duality of their missions in a beautifully rendered open world​.

Systems

Released

March 20, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

Franchise

Assassin’s Creed