#kazuha said it. they CHALLENGED the vision hunterS . . .not just one . .. the menace went for it all

[visionkept]

HC 7: DUEL THOUGHTS (pt.1).

"I heard that my friend had challenged the VISION HUNTERS to a duel before the throne."

There’s still the big misconception that Tomo CHALLENGED the Shogun when in reality, they went for the VISION HUNTERS all together. It is said by Kazuha in the cutscene and even has a voice-line that confirms that Tomo fought Sara and not Raiden, the Shogun was there just to witness the outcome and PUNISH the loser.

KAZUHA. ABOUT KUJOU SARA: “She defeated my friend in a duel before the throne, which I accept as proof of her great strength”

Besides this confirming that TOMO FOUGHT SARA and NOT the Shogun, the rest of the fight is left heavily AMBIGUOUS and so were the conditions they set. 

Yes, the winner would get a second chance but what did that even mean ? Would the vision hunt decree disappear if Tomo had won ? Would it continue though Tomo had beheaded their general ? There’s so much to unpack here and yet, the only thing we have for certain is that the winner would SURVIVE to see another day.

But did Tomo ONLY fight Sara ? I don’t think so. BESIDES fighting Sara, I do believe Tomo had to go through an ENTIRE SQUAD first. After all, the cutscene does show us a clear view of the BATTLEFIELD:

I do find it a bit strange that it was filled with katanas in a position given to fallen soldiers. And though we could assume these could be from previous fights against the throne, I find it rather unlikely considering that we don’t see them in game nor were there any other duels mentioned. And another important detail I noticed ( and that does seem intentional ) . . .

The PATTERNS in the fallen blades are similar to the ones we see with the Shogun’s soldiers. A black / white pattern that contrasts heavily with Tomo’s katana ( white / black ). Kazuha suggests in many occasions that Tomo was, indeed, very STRONG. That’s why he ACCEPTS that Sara is too - because she DEFEATED THEM out of all people. 

The absolute madman CHALLENGED a whole army KNOWING it would be too much for them. And yet they were able to defeat AT LEAST 25 SOLDIERS in combat to the point that either Sara had to step in and stop them or they managed to defeat all the men assigned that it was HER turn to do something about it.

If Tomoya ever does become a playable character ( there’s hope ), I do wish they could expand more on what exactly happened through that duel, if their battle with Sara was tight to the point that they almost got their victory.

They went with the mentality of dying in the ATTEMPT but. . . what if they had been so close to win. . .