Serving Lord Gohda as Rikimaru or Ayame means entering guarded places with more to lose from discovery than an ordinary swordsman. Tenchu's stages encourage looking down from rooftops, watching patrols, and selecting an approach before a blade leaves its sheath.
The grappling hook supplies vertical routes that transform walls from boundaries into opportunities. A Ki indicator warns of nearby presence and changing awareness, but cannot substitute for actually finding the guard. Equipment chosen before departure gives you limited ways to distract, escape, or recover. Direct fighting remains possible, yet a patient unseen approach better captures the unsettling pleasure of moving through someone else's supposedly secure space.
