Ifuu — Fearsome Gale is the giant Oni waiting inside the Dharma Hall at Windswept Kennin-ji, and he is the kind of boss that punishes impatience more than bad reflexes. He swings a club big enough to cover half the arena, and he mixes in wind-based spells to push you out of position. Musashi has everything he needs to win the fight from the start, but only if you stop treating the encounter like a race.
Quick answer: Hold your ground, deflect Ifuu’s club swings to drain his stamina bar, dodge his wind attacks instead of trying to block through them, and land your damage in the short window after each deflected blow. When his stamina breaks, cash it in immediately.
Where the Ifuu fight starts
The encounter triggers as a story beat, so there is nothing to hunt down first. Musashi walks into the darkened Dharma Hall at Windswept Kennin-ji and the door effectively closes behind him. There is no optional path around this one and no chance to leave and restock once the cutscene rolls, so top up healing items before you step inside.
A short cutscene plays first. Musashi looks up at the dragon painting spread across the ceiling while voice lines from Ifuu and Burai play over the scene, then he draws his sword as the Oni materializes in front of him. Use that beat to settle your hands on the controller, because the boss bar labelled “Ifuu — Fearsome Gale” and the “Defeat Ifuu” objective appear almost immediately afterwards.
Ifuu’s attacks and the correct defensive answer
Ifuu is huge, which works in your favour. His club needs a visible wind-up, and that wind-up is your cue. The mistake most players make here is holding block and hoping, or mashing attack into a swing that has three times the reach of your katana. Pick one of the three defensive tools per attack instead of defaulting to the same one every time.
| Defensive option | What it does | Use it against |
|---|---|---|
| Deflect | Intercepts the blow and reflects it, cutting into Ifuu’s stamina bar | Club swings and other telegraphed melee strikes |
| Parry | Well-timed block that opens a counterattack and also chips stamina | Slower strikes when you want an immediate follow-up |
| Dodge | Moves you clear with no stamina trade | Wind spells and anything that covers too much ground to meet head-on |
Deflecting is the backbone of this fight. Every deflected club swing shortens the encounter twice over, because it denies Ifuu damage on you and eats into the stamina bar that eventually leaves him wide open. His wind-based spells are the exception. Move out of them rather than standing in place trying to time a defensive input.
The damage loop: deflect, break stamina, punish
Straight sword damage barely registers on a boss health bar in this game. The real damage comes from the stamina system, and the loop repeats until Ifuu falls.
Tip: after a stamina break you are offered a choice of souls. Taking the option that releases health and gauge refills is generally the safer read against Ifuu, since sustaining through his longer combos matters more than shaving a few seconds off his health bar.
When to go for Issen and when to just dodge
Issen lands when you strike at the exact frame an enemy attack would connect, and it is the fastest way to end this fight. It is also the fastest way to lose it. Missing the window against a boss means eating the attack in full, and Ifuu’s club hits hard enough that two mistimed attempts in a row can end the run.
Save Issen for his most readable moves — the big overhead club swings with a long wind-up. Anything fast, anything that sweeps across the arena, and anything wind-based should be dodged or deflected instead. If you are struggling with the timing, a pure deflect strategy still wins the fight; it just takes longer.
Why the fight drags on
If Ifuu’s health bar looks stuck, one of these is usually the cause.
- Attacking without a deflect first. Raw sword damage on its own is slow, and it leaves you inside the club’s arc when he swings.
- Retreating after every exchange. Backing away resets his spacing and gives him a free window to start a wind spell.
- Ignoring the stamina bar. Health barely moves until you start breaking stamina and following up.
- Leaving souls on the floor. Skipping the Oni Gauntlet means no health top-ups and no Oni Armament charge when you need it.
Confirming the win
The fight ends the moment Ifuu’s health bar empties. The “Defeat Ifuu” objective clears, the boss bar disappears from the top of the screen, and control passes to the closing sequence for the mission. There is no second health bar to catch you out here — once the bar is gone, the story mission is complete and Musashi moves on from the Dharma Hall.
Ifuu is a good early read on how the rest of the game expects you to play. The pattern you build here — deflect the readable stuff, dodge the wind, break stamina, absorb souls — carries almost unchanged into the tougher Genma waiting further into Kyoto.
