Bloodbath on the Bridge

Bloodbath on the Bridge sends you to Gojo-ohashi Bridge for the battle against Benkei. This guide covers the bridge approach, a practical armor-breaking strategy and the post-battle completion point. Three optional Curious Case discoveries in the eastern streets are listed at the end. The boss section covers the observed route through the fight.

Inputs below use the displayed PlayStation controls: Cross (×) for interactions, Square (□) for sword attacks, Circle (○) for evasion and R1 for the equipped Oni Armament. Follow your displayed bindings if you have remapped them.

Find the southern bridge in Eastern Kyoto

After The Roots of All Evil, keep Bloodbath on the Bridge — Head for Gojo-ohashi Bridge selected as your story objective. Use a Spirit Mirror to return to Travel → Eastern Kyoto → Kamo River - East, confirming with Cross.

Open the map and locate the story symbol on the southern bridge across Kamo River, below your arrival point on the western edge of Eastern Kyoto. Make your way south through the city streets toward that bridge's eastern approach, keeping the golden story marker selected. The destination is the wide bridge at the end of the damaged shop street.

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The nearby northern wooden bridge can lead you to a red barrier displaying Cannot be destroyed from this side. If you reach that message, return to the city side and continue toward the southern story marker. Do not keep attacking that barrier from the same face.

Pass the last Spirit Mirror and enter the bridge

On the shop street east of the objective, look for a Spirit Mirror beside the pottery stalls and tables of bowls. Approach and press Cross at Examine to activate it. This is a useful place to replenish your supplies and prepare Earth-Shakers, the paired hammers obtained in What Lurks in the Shadows.

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From the mirror, follow the street toward the fallen yellow banner beneath a leaning red pole. Continue into the damaged road between the immense roots. Where debris narrows the way, follow the outside wall of the intact wooden building. Pass beneath the root arch and the leaning black vertical sign.

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The road opens onto a broad wooden bridge with villagers fleeing past you. Walk toward the golden objective marker to start the scene. When control returns, your objective is Defeat Benkei.

Break Benkei's armor with Earth-Shakers

Benkei begins covered in heavy black armor. Musashi points out that the armor must be broken. Use Earth-Shakers to attack it: with enough Oni Power, press R1 to unleash the hammers. Hold R1 to charge the attack for greater damage when you have a longer opening.

Wait for a weapon swing or landing sequence to finish, then close in for the hammer strike. Charging directly in front of an incoming attack leaves you exposed. A successful armor break produces a close-up of plates shattering; keep working through the remaining armor instead of counting on a fixed number of hits.

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If the Oni Power gauge is depleted, return to defense and short sword attacks. Hold L2 to absorb the blue souls released during combat, then use Earth-Shakers again when its gauge is sufficiently filled. If you have unlocked Oni Strength: Chop or Oni Strength: Slice, their charged attacks—hold Triangle or hold Square respectively—can extract blue souls. These are separate attacks from the R1 hammers.

Shizuka eventually confirms that no armor remains and that your blade can now cut deeply. Continue fighting after this message; it is an opening to finish Benkei, not the end of the battle.

Respond to his swings, jumps and weak points

Keep enough space to see his weapon and feet. Use L1 to guard against weapon strikes; for a Deflect, hold L1 and press Cross just before the hit. After the last swing passes, answer with a short Square combination and prepare to defend again.

When Benkei leaps, use Circle to move away from his landing point. He can follow a landing with another movement or attack, so watch him settle before starting a long charge. If a red circular wave spreads around him, move out of its immediate area rather than remaining under his body to trade blows. Pull farther away before healing.

When a Square prompt appears over a glowing weak point, move close and press Square. Attack the highlighted weak point during the opening, then resume defense if Benkei remains standing. These attacks also give you useful opportunities while working through his armor.

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Repeat the pattern: defend or evade, punish the recovery, absorb available blue souls and use the hammers while armor remains. Once his armor is gone, keep using short sword counters and weak-point attacks until Benkei falls and the battle ends.

Finish the bridge and temple scenes

Continue through the scenes after Benkei's defeat, including the following conversation at Rokudo-chinnoji Temple. The story completes after that conversation with Story Complete — Bloodbath on the Bridge.

The Mighty Benkei appears as a Curious Cases update at this conclusion. It belongs to the bridge story you have just finished.

The next main story is Shadows Fall, which opens with Seal the Rifts — 0/2. That new Rift objective belongs to the following part.

Optional Curious Case discoveries in the eastern streets

While exploring the houses and bamboo paths before returning to the bridge, look for dark, purple-tinged traces on the ground. Approach a trace and press Cross — Examine to investigate it. These discoveries update their named Curious Cases records:

Check the Curious Cases Updated notice for the matching name after each investigation. This is an optional record-discovery detour; the bridge story continues with its own objective.

Optional rescue at the pottery workshop

While exploring the eastern streets, look for the open pottery workshop with tables of white bowls and large round kilns. A man is crouching beside the kiln while sword-wielding Genma attack him.

Clear the enemies inside and outside the workshop, then approach the man and press Cross — Talk. Finish his thanks before returning to the bridge objective. Supplies collected in the yard are separate from the main story's reward.

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Optional Dohatsu-ten encounter on the riverbank

If you approach the red Rift beside the riverbank's wooden buildings, Dohatsu-ten can appear again while Head for Gojo-ohashi Bridge remains your main objective. Keep space for his sword sweeps, guard with L1 or evade with Circle, and counter after the follow-up attack. Use the Square weak-point prompt when available and L2 to absorb loose souls safely.

After he falls, hold L2 at Absorb Rift to close the red mass. This encounter does not finish Bloodbath on the Bridge: continue to Gojo-ohashi Bridge for Benkei.