Sengoku Basara/Odawara Castle Siege

Odawara Castle Siege (小田原城包囲戦) is the name given to the battle that takes place in the territory of Ujimasa Hojo and his army. While Ujimasa doesn't look like anything impressive himself, his castle has many defenses that appear impenetrable, and he has a good number of skilled soldiers at his service, including ninja and giant pole-swingers.

Strategy
Defeat every squad leader you come across for tamatebako. Upon reaching the first gate, you'll receive a task that slows down this battle immensely: guide a bomb soldier from your own army to the gate, allowing you to break through into Ujimasa's castle. The slow movement speed and low health of the bomb soldier, as well as the many hazards that spawn upon receiving the task (including numerous squad leaders, archers, pole-swingers, and hammer soldiers) make knocking out all enemies in the bomb soldier's path a necessity, especially on harder difficulties (on Normal, it is possible to make it through with the bomb soldier without defeating all squad leaders and archers, as they will primarily focus on you anyway, though the impressive range of the pole-swingers requires you to take them out at the very least).

Once all enemy soldiers are taken out of the vicinity, you can begin to lead your bomb soldier to the gate, though you must do so carefully; as mentioned earlier, the bomb soldier has a slow movement speed, and he will stop in his tracks if he loses sight of you, leaving him vulnerable to enemies. When the bomb soldier is close enough to the gate, a scene will show its destruction, allowing you inside.

A squad leader surrounded by pole-swingers will greet you inside the castle walls; make sure to defeat the squad leader here at the very least for the tamatebako that he drops. Cross the bridge to encounter some ninja; you can dodge them all and use your Basara attack on the squad leader to cause all ninja to flee on all difficulties except Extreme. This opens the gate, but before proceeding further, take the hidden right path to find a narrow bridge guarded by pole-swingers and hammer soldiers. If you are able to make it past them all, you will be rewarded with crates of health, Basara, and tamatebako.

Back at the gate leading into the castle, defeat another squad leader surrounded by ninja to be then presented with a fork. You can take either path into the boss room, or open both gates for the extra experience. Approach Ujimasa to begin.

Boss: Ujimasa Hojo
Ujimasa is a surprisingly tough opponent, especially if you aren't familiar with his attacks. He guards constantly, and has many skills equipped with the ice attribute at his disposal, potentially freezing you. Break through his guard but only if you have the skills for it; using a normal combo may be risky if it is not able to break through, as they usually has some recovery time following them that leaves you vulnerable. Use the shielded soldiers surrounding him to build up your Basara if needed, as well as the crates off to the side, but be wary of his skills and even normal combos, as his giant weapon and ice attacks have some surprising range.

Some examples of skills that can break through Ujimasa's guard are the Magnum Step of ../Masamune Date/ and the Dance of the Skylark of ../Nouhime/ (pictured), as they deal damage through multiple hits and don't leave much opportunity for you to be attacked. Defeat Ujimasa to clear the stage.