Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part 1
Chapter 1: I Became the Monkey of Oda Nobuna!
Sagara Yoshiharu, a second-year high school student, was currently in a state of panic.
He had no idea how it happened, but by the time he realized it, he has found himself to be standing right in the middle of a battlefield during the Sengoku period for some inexplicable reason!
「H-Huh? Wait… what the hell is going on?! Where am I? Why is this happening to me?! 」
His entire surroundings were filled with the sounds of the raging battle: the neighing of horses and the deafening sound of their hooves hitting the ground, the roaring of guns being fired and the screams and shouts of the foot soldiers of the opposing armies as they charged at each other with long spears in their hands.
Yes, no matter how he looked at it, this was definitely Japan of the Sengoku period.
He only found out about the location of the battlefield later, but for clarity’s sake, it was the Nōbi Plain.
「Wow! Amazing! The action is even more intense than in the movie The Seven Samurai! 」
But this wasn’t the time to be excited. Since Yoshiharu had the misfortune of suddenly appearing in the middle of the Sengoku era battlefield while wearing his 21st century high school uniform, the soldiers of both armies have identified him as a new enemy, so they all rushed towards him with their spears to deal with this new threat that revealed itself before them.
「Oi! Whoa there! Wait! Wait a damn moment! Wait, I said! 」
While managing to dodge the thrusts of the spears of the soldiers by the skin of his teeth by swiftly moving his body to the left and right, Yoshiharu decided to make a beeline towards the thick woods in the distance, where he assumed he’d be safe.
Back in high school, Yoshiharu managed to get himself a nickname of 「Yoshi, Avoider of Balls」thanks to how agile and skilled at running away he was during dodgeball games during PE classes. His overall physique and athletic abilities could all be described as average, but ever since he was young he was unusually good at dodging the balls that were thrown at him. Unfortunately, his godly dodging abilities were not enough to secure him an acceptance into the dodgeball club, because while he was good at avoiding the balls others were throwing his way, he royally sucked at hitting the members of the opposing team with the ball himself.
「You restless bastard, stay still so we can skewer you! 」
「No way! I told you to cut this out already… whoa! 」
Yoshiharu didn’t even finish speaking, and there were already five spears coming his way with a sharp *woosh!* sound.
「WOOOAHHH! 」
In order to evade them, he instinctively bend his body backwards in an imitation of the famous dodging movements he has seen in The Matrix.
(That was too close for… ghaaaa!)
Understandably, the area around his waist let out a cracking sound due to the strain it was suddenly exposed to.
「Amazing! He’s like just like a monkey! 」
「Thanks for the compliment, but I’m trying to tell you that I have nothing to do with this! Your enemies are on that side! 」
Screaming while he got his school bag over his shoulder, Yoshiharu once again started running towards the hill close to the forest.
「Hahaha…. Man, if this is a lucid dream, then what a realistic one it is! Damn, there’s even actual blood streaming down my cheek! 」
「Wait! Get back here! 」
While running, Yoshiharu thought to himself.
This should go without saying, but this must be a dream. Yes, a dream. There’s no way that this is not a dream.
He couldn’t remember it clearly, but after the school was over for the day he most likely made his way home, and then he probably went straight to his room to continue playing 「Nobunaga’s Ambition」, and then he must’ve fell asleep midway through his gaming session, and that’s probably the reason why he is having a dream about the Sengoku period right now. However, unlike in 「Nobunaga’s Ambition」, he won’t be able to clear the enemies before him with sure-kill techniques or blow the enemy’s infantry away. All he can do right is to continue to barely avoid weapons thrusted at him, just like during the dodgeball games back in reality.
Still, Yoshiharu thought that this was a pretty realistic dream. Perhaps even a little bit too realistic.
「Just a bit more and I’ll be able to hide in the woods! 」
He said, but he was too naïve, because moments later, a rain of arrows came at him from the very same woods he was dashing towards so desperately.
5, 10, 20 of them.
The arrowheads were made of metal, so he would be instantly killed if even a single one pierced his chest. And even if they missed his chest, getting hit with any of them anywhere would undoubtedly be pretty painful.
「Are you shitting me right now? Woaaaaaah!?!? 」
This was the first time that his life was truly in danger ever since he was born. He couldn’t think of it as a mere dream any longer. Even if it’s a dream, if he gets hit by even one arrow, then without doubt he’ll faint due to shock and pain.
In order to avoid that outcome, the mind of usually careless Yoshiharu was working at the highest gear possible.
One after another, he avoided all the arrows fired towards him by a hair’s breadth by jumping lightly to the sides. Because of all the continuous strain beyond what he was used to, his joints were screaming at him in pain, but he decided to ignore them.
「Look and feast your eyes! These are the amazing moves of the 「Avoider of Balls」!!! 」
He didn’t exactly understand why, but for some strange reason, when he was transported to this dreamscape modeled after the Sengoku period, Yoshiharu’s body was performing exceptionally well, putting aside the matter of him being an avid dodger of balls since childhood. That being said, he still felt as if he could piss his pants at any moment now.
「He really is like a monkey! 」
「I can’t hit him at all! 」
The archers who said that came flying from inside the woods and raced down the slope of the hill, trying to surround Yoshiharu and claim his head for themselves.
「Oh for the love of… Why the hell are you only targeting me?! 」
Yoshiharu turned back on his heel in the middle of the hill.
「Uwooooh!!! Aaaaaah!!!!! 」
While creaming incoherently without caring about the sounds that were leaving his mouth, Yoshiharu proceeded to run down the slope this time, heading east towards the bank of a nearby river.
Since the archers were clad in a full set of armor and helmets, they couldn’t possibly hope to catch up to him, since he was only wearing a light high school uniform.
「Showing your back to the enemy…?! What a disgraceful coward you are! 」
「That’s why I said I am not your enemy! I am just a regular civilian! 」
If only he could manage to reach the river bank, then he could have a legitimate chance at escaping the battlefield.
While getting into the water, Yoshiharu pushed his way forward against the river’s current, and eventually he emerged at the other side of the river bank, accompanied by the sound of water dripping down from all over his body.
「It’s amazing how much stamina people can muster when they’re forced to fight tooth and nail for their lives…」
He murmured to himself as he started moving forward again.
However, the other bank wasn’t outside the battlefield like he had hoped it to be, but it was instead a stronghold of one of the two armies where warriors clad in armor that indicated that they were of a higher social status then common infantry were gathered.
And beneath the curtain in the middle of the camp, he ran into the general sitting elegantly on a chair.
「WHAT THE FUUUU……. ???!!!! 」
The banner displayed behind the general had two lines enclosed in a circle on it. It was a banner of the daimyo of the Suruga province, who was recognized as the strongest daimyo of the Tokaido region…
(Imagawa Yoshimoto…)
The name dawned upon Yoshiharu.
(It can’t be, this place is Imagawa Yoshimoto’s headquarters?)
He thought to himself, but he immediately realized that something was wrong here…
… because for some unfathomable reason, the general who was supposed to be Imagawa Yoshimoto was not a man, but a girl.
And not just any ordinary girl, mind you. With her big eyes and shining skin, she could be described as nothing else but a stunning beauty.
Praise be for the translator(s). This is one my favourite of all time novel. This started my isekai rabbit hole deep dive after it was removed from the orginal site. Thanks you so much for picking this up.