Kowakujo has a Takeo-exclusive side Easter egg that pulls you into his cursed memories and ends with the Reunion Dark Ops calling card. The trigger is short: play as Takeo, buy a Psych Grenade, throw it at the two katanas near Pack-a-Punch, take the blade your clone drops, and survive the waves. The whole thing takes under 15 minutes on a low round, and it tells the darkest part of Takeo’s story yet.
- Play as Takeo and buy a Psych Grenade for 800 Salvage
- Go to the two katanas on the floor near Pack-a-Punch
- Throw the Psych Grenade at your feet to spawn a Takeo clone holding a katana
- Approach the clone with melee out, then interact with the dropped Path of Sorrows katana
- Survive the waves and the twin-brother boss to earn the Reunion calling card
Kowakujo arrived with Season 4 Reloaded on 25 June 2026, and it is the fourth character quest in the series after the Dempsey, Nikolai, and Richtofen side Easter eggs, so if you have run one of those you already know the format. Credit to ZoneX and his community for one of the first clips of the trigger, plus the full cinematic walkthrough on YouTube. We ran the quest ourselves and filled in the parts the early videos skipped.
Requirements
You only need two things to start this quest. There is no power requirement and no main-quest progress needed.
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Takeo Operator | Select Takeo from the Operators tab before the match. He is listed as a “Dedicated Crew Operator” with enhanced story content. |
| Psych Grenade | Buy one at any Crafting Table for 800 Salvage, or use one you already have on hand. This is the item that spawns the clone, so the quest cannot start without it. |
Select Takeo from the Operators tab before the match. He is the Dedicated Crew Operator for Kowakujo, which is what unlocks his story content for this side quest.
How to Start the Takeo Side Easter Egg
The trigger is fast once you know it. You go to the two katanas near Pack-a-Punch, throw a Psych Grenade to summon a clone of yourself, and pick up the katana the clone drops. Here is the exact sequence.
- Buy a Psych Grenade at any Crafting Table for 800 Salvage.
- Go to the two katanas on the floor at the bottom of the Pack-a-Punch stairs in the War Room.
- Throw the Psych Grenade at your own feet to spawn a Takeo clone holding a katana.
- Approach the clone with your melee out, then interact with the dropped Path of Sorrows to begin the quest.
You buy the Psych Grenade at any Crafting Table for 800 Salvage. It is the only item the quest needs, so pick one up (and bring a spare) before you head over.
Now head to Pack-a-Punch, up in the Shogun’s Sanctum. The two katanas rest on the floor in the War Room, at the bottom of the stairs leading up to it. That spot is where the quest begins, so get there with your Psych Grenade ready.
Stand by the katanas on the stairs and throw the Psych Grenade at your own feet. The screen warps into a hallucination and a clone of Takeo spawns holding a katana. In our run it appeared behind us, so scan the room if you do not see it right away.
The clone can hurt you, so do not let it hit you while you close the distance. The hallucination is also buggy and clones can appear on both floors. The right one is the clone standing near the katanas downstairs.
Pull out your melee weapon and walk up to the clone. It drops the Path of Sorrows, Takeo’s red katana, which sits glowing on the ground. Hold the interact button on the blade to play the animation and enter the quest.
The quest scales hard with your round number. Trigger it on round 1 to 3. Once you interact with the katana you are committed and there is no backing out, so make sure you are ready before you grab it.
The Waves and Boss Fight
Interacting with the katana plays a cutscene that lays out Takeo’s exile, then drops you into a memory version of the grounds where the fight runs in three waves.
- Hellhounds. You first fight a pack of hellhounds, framed as his twin brother’s hunting dogs.
- The Oni ritual. Next, waves of Oni spawn in around you. This is where the round scaling really shows, because the Oni get tankier and hit harder the later you started.
- The twin-brother boss. Finally an elite Oni spawns, revealed to be Takeshi, Takeo’s twin brother and the shogun who banished him. He throws red orbs and uses electric attacks.
Aim for the boss’s head. That is his weak point, and on a low round you can drop him quickly. The danger is his damage. On higher rounds his electric attacks and the fire zombies around him can one-shot you, so keep moving and do not stand still.
When you land the finishing blow, dark strings wrap around the screen like a world seed closing in, and you spawn back on Kowakujo with Takeo’s hands marked by the curse. Your loot drops on the ground around you.
Rewards
Completing the Takeo side Easter egg gives you a reward screen plus loot on the floor.
| Reward | Type | Details |
|---|---|---|
| The Reunion | Dark Ops Calling Card | Permanent unlock and the main reason to run the quest. |
| AN-94 Badge II | Cosmetic | Weapon badge shown on the reward screen. |
| ”This Story Ends With a Twist” | Audio Log | Lore audio log unlocked on completion. |
| Loot drop | Weapons and tool | In our run we got two weapons and a blue rarity tool dropped on the ground. |
Honestly, the loot itself is nothing special. You are here for the Reunion Dark Ops calling card, which is the kind of flex most players want from a character quest like this. The Path of Sorrows katana you pick up is a fine melee weapon, but it has no special ability since katana melee was already added back in Season 3.
Lore: Takeo’s Backstory
The cutscene reveals that Takeo Masaki was a samurai who became a ronin after a fall from grace. His katana, the Path of Sorrows, carries a demonic spirit that has been whispering to him for a long time.
His twin brother Takeshi became shogun after their father. Takeo’s actions led to a crime serious enough that his brother could have taken his head, but instead Takeshi spared him and cast him out, stripping him of his rank, his home, and his honor. Wandering as a ronin, Takeo crossed back into what used to be his father’s lands, which set off the events of the quest.
The spirit in the blade refers to someone named Takashi, with Takeo saying his hands are forever crimson with Takashi’s blood. The wider thread is the Oni curse, described as the warden’s hunger. Takeo knew about the curse and accepted it anyway to protect the innocent, acting in self-defense rather than malice. The spirit tells him it has tasted ten million minds and that his is true.
One detail worth knowing: Kowakujo is a tribute to Tom Kane, the original voice of Takeo, who passed away before the map released.
Tips for Completing the Takeo Side Easter Egg
- Do it on round 1 to 3. The difficulty scales hard with the round, and waiting only makes the boss and the fire zombies more dangerous.
- You get one try per game. If you go down you respawn at the katana with no reward and cannot start it again that match, so do not rush in undergeared.
- Solo is probably the smoother run because enemy health scales per player. A round 1 solo attempt took us under 15 minutes.
- Keep moving during the boss. His electric attacks and the surrounding fire zombies can one-shot you on higher rounds.
- Bring enough Salvage for the Psych Grenade plus a spare, in case the first throw lands in a bad spot.
- This is the hardest of the character side quests if you wait too long, so treat it like an opening-round objective, not a late-game one. For a setup that can carry you through it, check our best BO7 Zombies loadout guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What grenade do you need for the Takeo side Easter egg?
You need a Psych Grenade, which you buy at any Crafting Table for 800 Salvage. The Psych Grenade triggers the hallucination that spawns the Takeo clone holding the Path of Sorrows katana. You only need one, but bring extra Salvage in case you miss the throw.
What round should you do the Takeo side Easter egg on?
Do it as early as possible, ideally round 1 to 3. The quest difficulty scales hard with the round number, so the enemies inside hit much harder the longer you wait. We tried it on round 14 and got one-shot by a fire zombie.
Can you retry the Takeo side Easter egg if you fail?
No. You get one attempt per game. If you go down during the quest you respawn back where you interacted with the katana, you get no reward, and the clone will not appear again that match. Start a fresh game to try again.
What reward do you get from the Takeo side Easter egg?
The main prize is the Reunion Dark Ops calling card. You also get loot on the ground after the quest, including an AN-94 Badge, weapons, and a blue rarity tool, plus the "This Story Ends With a Twist" audio log. The rewards are decent, but the calling card is the reason most players run it.
Is the Takeo side Easter egg easier solo or in co-op?
It is likely easier solo because enemy health scales with the number of players. We ran it in co-op and found it brutal at higher rounds. Solo on round 1 took under 15 minutes from start to finish.
What is the Path of Sorrows katana in BO7 Zombies?
Path of Sorrows is Takeo's katana, a blade that holds a demonic spirit tied to his curse. In the side Easter egg you pick it up off a Takeo clone to start the quest. It works as a melee weapon and has no special abilities beyond that.
Who is the boss in the Takeo side Easter egg?
The final boss is an elite Oni that is revealed to be Takeshi, Takeo's twin brother and the shogun who banished him. He uses red orbs and electric attacks. Aim for the head, which is his weak point, and avoid his hits because they can one-shot you on higher rounds.
Does the Takeo side Easter egg affect the main Kowakujo Easter egg?
No. Like the Nikolai, Dempsey, and Richtofen character quests, the Takeo side Easter egg is a standalone story quest. Completing it does not lock you out of the main Kowakujo Easter egg, and you do not need the main quest active to start it.
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