Toturi III

Toturi Naseru, the third child of Toturi and Toturi Kaede, was born shortly after the beginning of the War of Spirits. Naseru was easily the most intellectual and serious of the Emperor's children, earning the reputation as the most skilled player of Go in Rokugan

The Steel Chrysanthemum
The Fourth child of Toturi I, Toturi Naseru was used as a bargaining chip to end the War of Spirits in 1150. One of the conditions set by Hantei XVI to end the war was that one of Toturi's children would be tutored by the Hantei. Naseru officially changed his name to Hantei Naseru, to honor his teacher. This had been another condition of the treaty as well, because the Steel Chrysanthemum planned to restore the Hantei Dynasty through Naseru..



In 1155, in his fifth year of tutelage under the Steel Chrysanthemum, Naseru returned from one of his weeks of study missing his right eye. When confronted by his mother and father about this he deflected the questions, but revealed that Hantei XVI was now dead. He would still not explain the circumstances of the death and the loss of his eye.

In truth, it was the fiance of Hantei XVI, Otomo Hoketuhime, who had come to Naseru's rescue during a particularily severe beating. The two had become close, and during the last beating Hoketuhime stabbed Hantei XVI in the back. The event was covered up however, making sure that it was clear Naseru had not killed the former Emperor.

Naseru earned the nickname The Anvil, which accurately described both his resolve and the role he often fulfilled in the conflicts of the era.

Winter Court at Kyuden Miya
In 1158 Naseru and the Four Winds held Winter court at Kyuden Miya. Each clan had to vie the favor of an heir, and with these advisors the Winds could decide the place where the Court would spent the Winter. The Clan who owned the location would get a favor from them.

The court was a complete disaster, as the Winds had a heated discussion moments before a Pekkle no Oni was unmasked at Court. The murder of the Oni, and it's tainted blood staining the Steel Throne resulted in the end of the court without conclusion.

After the court Naseru ordered to his spirit yojimbo, Seppun Isei, to make a cut in the left arm of every man and woman at Court. If the blood run black he should kill them, because it was a signal of being a Pekkle.

New Jade Champion
Tsudao convinced the rest of the Winds that Rokugan need a new Jade Champion. Hantei Naseru summoned the Test and it was held in 1158 in Kyuden Nio. Asahina Sekawa became the new Jade Champion. Hakai appeared in the contest courtyard and started to kill the presents. Naseru was pushed by Seppun Isei to take him out of a dark spell energy's path. The Anvil ordered to destroy Kyuden Nio by magical fire, hoping it will destroy the Onisu of Death. The fire and destruction harmed Hakai, but it was alive and powerful. Naka Tokei arrived guided by the magical fire and he was able to defeat the Onisu, and it vanished.

Gathering the Investigators
In 1159 Naseru sent a letter to Miya Shoin under the pseudonym Otomo Kakasu. The letter was an order to gather together certain individuals and have them meet in Otosan Uchi as soon as possible. Shoin delivered the message to the other five, Utaku Yu-Pan, Agasha Chieh, Kijuro, Toritaka Akemi and Moshi Kakau. When all six were finally gathered Naseru revealed that it was he who had gathered the six there.

The Mission
Naseru revealed to the group that their mission was to investigate the murders of several returned spirits from Oblivion's Gate. The murders included Mirumoto Tokeru, Isawa Ijime and Gusai. Kakau revealed that he had met Gusai in 1158 in Ryoko Owari Toshi. When Kakau met Gusai in the House of Plum Blossom, Gusai was assassinated by a murderer who blended in and out of shadows. Miya Shoin was put in charge of the group, which Chieh objected to.

Kaneka's Lineage
In 1159 Naseru joined the magistrate Kitsuki Remata to investigate the lineage of Akodo Kaneka. Remata revealed that Kaneka was more closely related to the Yasuki family line than Yasuki Hachi. With the support of the Scorpion Kaneka led an army to seize the Yasuki lands himself. The Crab were allowed to draw upon the resources of the land, while the Crane Yasuki were ordered to leave. Both Hachi and Remata suspected foul play regarding the discovery of Kaneka's lineage.

Naseru Machination
Agents of Hantei Naseru forced a Miya archivist, Miya Ippei, to forge the Yasuki family records to make it seem as if Kaneka was the true Yasuki heir. Naseru used the connection between Ippei and Shosuro Higatsuku, the Scorpion advisor of Kaneka, to slander about his brother claim on Yasuki lineage. The expected final was Kaneka false claim annulled, Higatsuku exposed as forgery's master. The Bastard claims on the throne would be ruined.

Toshi Ranbo Falls
In 1159 with Lion Clan distracted by the conflict with the Tsuno and troubled by Shiba Aikune's assault, the Crane Clan engineered a motivation on Toshi Ranbo for a militar intervention. They provoked several riots with the secretive Daidoji Harrier units. Kakita Nakazo marched over Toshi Ranbo as a protector, due to the inutility of the Lion to protectit. Hantei Naseru intervened to arbitrate a diplomatic solution, deciding in favor of the Crane Clan.

Losing the Emerald Champion's Control
Many clans reviled the Emerald Champion, Yasuki Hachi, as a simple pawn of Hantei Naseru. Hachi's right hand, Bayushi Norachai played a gambit with the Anvil, after the events happened about the rights on the Yasuki lands claimed by Akodo Kaneka, recently discovered as illegal, and the non-lethal duel between both claimers. Norachai asked in the Imperial Court for Naseru's support beating the Anvil at his own game, manipulating the perception of others. By speaking in Hachi's favor, Naseru would seem to be supporting a shamed and incompetent Emerald Champion. By speaking against him, he would no longer appear to be controlling Hachi, but the Champion would face greater shame. Naseru's decided for the last, fading the common perception of Hachi to be a Naseru's pawn.

Kolat Conspiracy against Naseru's Life
The Emerald Champion returned to the Court upon Naseru's request, and he informed about Emerald Magistrates had distroyed a kolat cell. With the information gathered was uncovered a Sleeper Agent with a deep-set unsconscious instruction to kill Hantei Naseru. After that event Naseru only could forget how Hachi had resolved the Yasuki lineage issue.

Aftermath
Bayushi Norachai and Yasuki Hachi forced Naseru to distance himself from the Emerald Champion by publicly shaming Hachi's name and then redeeming the Emerald Champion before the consequences of that shame could come to call, broken any perception of Hachi as a Naseru's lap-dog.

Fall of Otosan Uchi
Shortly after Naseru was advised by Seppun Isei that Shadowlands forces were attacking the Imperial City from the sea. Naseru ordered the Emerald Champion to gain time with his Emerald legions to put in safe place the Imperial Court members.

Toturi II
After Toturi Tsudao proclamated herself as Empress Toturi II with capital in Kyuden Seppun in 1159, the rest of the heirs planned to declare their own claim upon the throne, but in different cities. Naseru selected Ryoko Owari as his headquarters, and many clans had begun relocating their most skilled and influential courtiers and ambassadors to the city.

City of Night
In 1159 Hantei Naseru was compelled to visit the city by strange dreams, as well as the mysterious disappearance of his cartographer Asako Misao. Naseru was accompanied by Bayushi Sunetra, Seppun Isei and Shinjo Shono. Yotsu Irie also secretly followed Naseru. During their journey the group was attacked by Tsuno. Upon reaching the city Naseru met Moto Vordu, a shugenja who guarded the city at the behest of Moto Chagatai. Vordu had been driven insane by his discoveries and had a sinister purpose for Naseru. The city housed a powerful nemuranai: a sphere made of crystal.

The sphere was constructed by Soli Izumo, an ancient Kitsu. Only those of Izumo's line were able to open the sphere. Because Naseru was descended from the original Kitsu through his Akodo lineage, Vordu believed that Naseru would be able to open the sphere. Vordu was right, and Naseru was forced to open the sphere by a tsuno named Kishenku, who was an ally of Vordu's.

Naseru's will was strong enough to realize that he could destroy the world with the sphere, or even destroy Fu Leng. Despite the temptation to abuse this power from the Onisu Fushin, who had been hounding Naseru on this journey, Naseru saw through Fushin's plot and decided to destroy the device although he first used it to kill all Tsuno in the city. Irie, who had followed Naseru to kill him, was impressed by Naseru's will and became his yojimbo after Isei perished. ,

The Four Winds struggle


During the Four Winds struggle for the Throne, Naseru sent many assassins after Kaneka, though it was more to remind Kaneka that Naseru was leading the game than to actually kill him. Eventually, after the Fall of Otosan Uchi, Kaneka lead his Shogun army against Ryoko Owari Toshi, where Naseru had his seat of power. During the siege, Kaneka came to understand that Naseru's plan was to be killed by Kaneka, in order to made him appear as a violent opportunist, and not as a son of Toturi. Kaneka stayed his blade, and the enemy brothers made a deal : to stop wasting their energy against each other, and focus their strength against the real threat, Daigotsu. Shortly after this deal, the Four Winds March began. The four sibling attacked Daigotsu in his home in the Shadowlands, killing the Dark Lord. This came at the cost of the life of their sister Tsudao.

The Righteous Emperor
In 1160 after the Four Winds March and the return of the remaining Winds, the three brothers agreed between them that Naseru should lead the Empire. Kaede returns to the Celestial Heavens, and Naseru is declared Emperor. After his ascension to the Steel Throne, he renounced his ties to the Hantei dynasty, giving himself the name Toturi III. He thereby honored his sister Tsudao, announcing that she had been the second emperor to bear that name. Sezaru swears fealty to his mother's clan, the Phoenix and the clan is declared the Voice of the Emperor, and Sezaru is the first representative of that title. Kaneka is made the Shogun, but in an attempt to curtail his ambitions Naseru orders him abandon his current army and all ties to former allies and swear fealty to the Phoenix. Kaneka grudgingly agrees.

Marriage
In 1166 he married Akodo Kurako in a secret ceremony at the spur of the moment before the unveiling of the shrine to Toku, the Fortune of Virtue.

The Lost
At Imperial Court in Toshi Ranbo, Daigotsu Soetsu, an emissary of the Lost, was brought to court to approach Toturi III. Soetsu put forth Daigotsu's demand to form a Great Clan from his followers in the City of the Lost to fulfill ultimate destiny of Fu Leng: to be just as his brothers and sisters and have a clan of his own. He also claimed that Fu Leng's centuries of aggression towards Rokugan was the result of brainwashing by the forces of Jigoku, and that the honor of Daigotsu was beginning to overcome that and would allow the Empire and the Lost to co-exist as peacefully as any of the other clans.

Soetsu was made a guest of the Scorpion Clan, and the Emperor retired to his private chambers, to meditate upon the mysteries of Enlightenment and cast a final judgment over Soetsu's petition. Empress Toturi Kurako oversaw the court in his absence.

Enlightenment and Death
Toturi III decided that he must seek Enlightenment, as it had become apparent that many others have found it. He became a nameless wanderer, The Wanderer, anonymously seeking the wisdom of those who had become enlightened throughout the Empire. Naseru's travels finally brought him to the Shadowlands. While there, Naseru wore the Porcelain Mask of Fu Leng, which Daigotsu Soetsu had promised would not corrupt its wearer as a protection from the Taint. As a wise caution against deceit, however, Togashi Satsu gave Naseru a tattoo, a false eye over his wound to serve as a protection from the mask as well as a further disguise. In the Shadowlands Naseru found the Tomb of the Seven Thunders, the pure final resting place of the original seven heroes who sealed Fu Leng away on the First Day of Thunder, built by Hida after he defeated his fallen son, Atarasi.



When the Great Clans learned that the Emperor had entered the Shadowlands they began massing a small army to go and protect him. The army arrived at the tomb, and were shortly after attacked by an army of oni sent by Kyoso no Oni. Naseru died outside the Tomb in the Shadowlands during the Battle of the Tomb in 1168. He used the Porcelain Mask of Fu Leng to melt all the Shadowlands creatures into a liquid and burn all the remains of the humans that had fought there so they could not be returned as zombies.

Allies
Despite his reputation as a malicious villain, Naseru had had some very loyal allies, most of whom joined his side before he ascended the throne and used to be his fierce enemies. His wife, Kurako, was an excellent match, as she was cool and objective as well as a skilled tactician, formed both by the Ikoma and the Akodo families.

Kakita Atoshi, son of Seppun Toshiken, helped Naseru in the Test of the Emerald Champion hold in Kyuden Seppun.

His ronin bodyguard, Yotsu Irie, at first wanted to kill Naseru, but after assisting him in thwarting Moto Vordu's plans in the Path of the Night, she became a lifelong friend. Irie was present with Naseru in the battle at the Tomb of the Seven Thunders and died protecting him.

Bayushi Sunetra, Naseru's Underhand, joined his staff initially as a Scorpion agent, but her fascination with him lead her to transfer her loyalties to him. Thankfully, Naseru's and the Scorpion Clan's interests have remained mostly aligned. She even gave up the Clan Championship in order to serve him and the Empire better.

The Emerald Champion Yasuki Hachi secured the position thanks to Naseru's manipulations, but Hachi detested this as it resulted in his allegiances and capability being questioned. However, the two were forced to cooperate during the Fall of Otosan Uchi, and their grudging respect for one another's abilities later turned into a real friendship. Hachi gave his life in defense of his Emperor at the Tomb of the Seven Thunders.

Shinjo Shono, daimyo of the Shinjo family, has a lot in common with Naseru and was also a long-time friend. He, along with Sunetra and Irie, helped Naseru survive the Path of Night. Their careers had also experienced similar trajectories, went from maligned sons obligated by their father's deeds to leaders of their people.

Otomo Hoketuhime, daimyo of the Otomo family, was fiercely loyal to him and was rumored to still harbor feelings for him. However, she was married to a husband her father selected for her, so that was a moot point.

Seppun Kiharu, the daimyo of the Seppun family and Keeper of the Ten Thousand Temples, was also Naseru's loyal friend and his confident for spiritual matters.

Yamainu was a violent ronin who served him since long before his rise to the throne as a scout, spy, and assassin. Naseru sent him into the Shadowlands to find the City of the Lost in order to prepare for the Four Winds March. Naseru used Yamainu for the dirty work; Sunetra and Irie despised Yamainu, but Naseru saw him as a "useful tool, readied to kill, if not to die, for me".