If the game overwrites your new file with an old one, you lost the Cloud war. Exit the game, re-copy the save, disable Cloud, set the SAVE.DAT to "Read Only" (Right-click -> Properties -> Check "Read Only"), then launch again.

A legitimate for the PC version (Steam/GOG) should contain the following verifiable criteria:

For over a decade, Way of the Samurai 4 has stood as a bizarre, beautiful, and brutally unforgiving gem in the action-RPG genre. Released on PC via Steam in 2015 (ported from the 2011 PS3 original), it offers a degree of player freedom that modern open-world games still fail to replicate. You can be a noble swordsman, a corrupt magistrate, a British spy, or a ramen chef—often all in the same playthrough.

The most reliable saves are shared on community hubs. Check:

With a 100% save, your samurai's "story" is one of absolute influence across all factions during the late Shogunate period: