| Gohda Motohide | |
| |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Occupation | |
| Affiliation | Toda Yoshisada (formerly) Lord Gohda (formerly) |
| Weapon | Tachi Matchlock Gun |
| Status | Deceased |
| First Appearance | Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins |
Gohda Motohide (郷田 基秀 Gōda Motohide) was the treacherous uncle of Matsunoshin Gohda.
Biography[]
When Matsunoshin Gohda's father, died Gohda Motohide assumed that the would be given control of the House of Gohda and he became furious when he learned that the domain had instead been handed over to his nephew. Gohda Motohide then conspired with Toda Yoshisada, the lord of a rival domain, to launch an attack against Gohda Castle and kill his nephew to form an alliance between the two territories. Gohda Motohide gathered his army and raided the castle. While his men fought with Matsunoshin Gohda's guards, he infiltrated the castle and found his nephew on the upper level. Gohda Motohide revealed that he felt his nephew was not strong enough to hold the land together and that "the peasants must learn their place." The two engaged in a sword fight that ended when Matsunoshin Gohda disarmed his uncle and knocked him to the ground, he hesitated, too compassionate to deliver the killing strike. Seeing this, Gohda Motohide pulled out a gun and shot his nephew in the shoulder. He got to his feet and prepared to finish off his nephew, but before he could accomplish this, Azuma Ninja Rikimaru barged into the room and dueled the traitor. Once again Gohda Motohide lost to a superior opponent, but before Rikimaru could kill him, his nephew stepped in front of the ninja's blade, saying that his uncle was misguided. Gohda Motohide took advantage of the distraction and fled the castle. Along the way, he kidnapped his nephew's wife and daughter: Lady Kei and Princess Kiku. An enraged Azuma Ninja Ayame witnessed Gohda Motohide's cowardly murder of Lady Kei and likely would have killed him had her attention not been diverted by Genbu.
Gohda Motohide then retreated to the war camp of Lord Toda, who had established a base of operations near Gohda Castle. Gohda Motohide reported that he had failed to kill his nephew, made up that he wounded him with his swordplay, but that his nephew's forces were weakened and scattered and that Lord Toda should have little trouble in taking control of the House of Gohda. Upon hearing this, Lord Toda motioned to one of his men, who pulled a sword and struck Gohda Motohide's bodyguard from behind, mortally wounding him. Lord Toda then personally struck Gohda Motohide down. Just before he died, Lord Toda told him, that he had never intended to share power with him. A horrified Gohda Motohide died knowing that he had been betrayed himself.
His assassination was witnessed by Ayame, who referred to it as "a proper coward's death."
Personality[]
Gohda Motohide was a traitor, a coward and a hypocrite. He felt himself superior to others, particularly the peasants and he detested the gentle manner in which his nephew dealt with them. Not only did he attack his nephew, but he murdered his unarmed wife and kidnapped his daughter. He told Lord Toda that he wounded his nephew through his "expert swordplay", not bothering to mention that not only were his sword skills inferior to that of his nephew, but that he shot him with a gun.
Gohda Motohide begged for his life, much in the same way that people he had killed had begged him. He accused Lord Toda of having no honor, despite the fact that he himself had betrayed his master, an extremely dishonorable action.
Abilites[]
Gohda Motohide was a human and possessed no magical powers. He was a mediocre swordsman, though he proclaimed his talents to be better than they were, only actually surpassed by his nephew. He was seen able to use a gun too.