Oceans have become battlefields in The Elusive Samurai chapter 174 as Tokiyuki and friends make their way across the ocean to surprise the Ashikaga in a series of seaborn attacks across the Kanto region. Their journey is quickly upended, however, by a naval attack from an enemy fleet as well as a spiritual one from an old friend-turned-enemy, Mima.

The scene of a naval battle is an interesting one for The Elusive Samurai. Up until now, we’ve seen a large variety of different land battles: ambushes, sieges, horseback warfare and archery, but the series has yet to touch upon the rich history of sea-based skirmishes that featured in the epoch. Chapter 174 addresses this somewhat, but it is worth noting that this isn’t your typical kind of naval warfare.

Right from the very beginning, The Elusive Samurai has been up front with the fact that since people strongly believed in the supernatural during the period it is set, some characters can use supernatural powers. Suwa Yorishige was the obvious example of this, but Shizuku has recently come into the spotlight following his death and the revelation that she is not human. Her clash with Mima is then the focus of chapter 174 as she attempts to fight back against her divine assault.

The supernatural abilities featured in The Elusive Samurai have always been left somewhat vague, or at least compared to the highly codified power systems of most modern battle manga. Usually this would be cause for frustration as without sufficient explanation, any situation resolved by the supernatural can come across as a deus ex machina, but chapter 174 is a perfect example of how The Elusive Samurai avoids this: the trade off for Shizuku using her abilities to defend her lord is the risk that she may lose her humanity, thus rooting her powers in her motivations and development as a character.

Speaking of characters, The Elusive Samurai chapter 174 also goes some way in reaffirming Takauji Ashikaga’s status as a detestable villain. One of the reasons why Mima is able to summon such a powerful tempest is because Takauji has ‘fill[ed] her stomach’ with his power: namely by depositing his saliva directly into her mouth. It’s a disgusting scene verging on the pornographic, building on the series’ previous attempts to build Tokiyuki’s nemesis up as an enemy worth defeating.

Finally, Tokiyuki himself gets a moment to shine in The Elusive Samurai chapter 174 as he launches a furious counterattack using his bow. The story outright states that his time in Akiie’s army is what gave him confidence in this form of battle, but there are echoes of his old nemesis Sadamune here as well as he uses the rocking of the boat to land his shots. Taken alongside Shizuku’s character development, it’s always nice to see characters grow in meaningful ways due to the influence of others.

You can read The Elusive Samurai chapter 174 via VIZ Media's Shonen Jump.