Stormblood page updated with new lore.

[Bloody]

While I can see why you would think that, I believe it's more the case of restless knights looking for things to do to stay relevant in a time of peace. The impression I got is that Hingashi has only been recently united after long years of war.

I disagree with the assumption that Hingashi is free. The description of Kugane literally states "Kugane stands as the only port in Hingashi whose docks remain open to foreign vessels in the era of occupation." and the trailer shows garleans chasing samurai WoL. Definitely not indicators of a free city. It reminds me more of a "occupied gem" so to speak, one of those locations given more freedom due to either their good behavior or the strategic value of that freedom (or both). Since Kugane seems to be an important trade port, I wouldn't be surprised if the Garleans wanted to take advantage of that.