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Volume 1 Chapter 1 Part 3

That is a true man’s romance, and a real show of his resourcefulness! Do you hear that, all of the people in the current era who have forgotten both their wild nature and their ambitions?!

「You know what, my man? I think this is a beginning of a beautiful friendship! 」

「I think that as well. I had a feeling when I laid my eyes on you for the first time, but… could it be that you like girls as much as I do? 」

「You bet I do! I mean, I don’t have a girlfriend in real life just yet, but the harem in my mind keeps on expanding endlessly! 」

「Real life? Harem? What are you talking about? 」

「Tell you what!

You look like a good guy and you saved my life, so I’ll throw my lot with your dream, old man! Let’s try to become the retainers of the Oda clan together! 」

「Ooh! Thanks, kid! In that case, become my oathsworn brother! 」

「I will! However, in case you do manage to become a lord of your own domain after all, just remember that all the babes you’re going to score will have to be split evenly between us! 」

「Yes, that’s a promise, brother. 」

The two pervs stood up while still clasping their hands together, and faced the road going west.

Because of all the knowledge that Yoshiharu had drilled into his head thanks to all the games placed in the Sengoku period that he played, he had the map of the Sengoku era Japan memorized by heart.

The place they were currently at was probably the border between the Owari province and the Mikawa province. Since the daimyo of the Mikawa province, Matsudaira Motoyasu, was, according to history, a vassal of Imagawa Yoshimoto, then if they headed east, they would eventually reach the territory controlled by the Imagawa clan, and if they head east towards the Owari province, they should soon find themselves in the territory of the Oda clan.

To be perfectly honest, normally the chances of them being able to get enrolled into the army of the Oda clan would be pretty slim, but somehow, Yoshiharu felt that things should go well for them.

Imagawa Yoshimoto is a daimyo hailing from a clan that continuously boasts about how prestigious their lineage is, but Oda Nobunaga is a progressive daimyo who would always accept new retainers, no matter if they were a common foot soldier or just a regular farmer, as long as he sensed that they were capable*

*All of the information stated above are not established historical facts, but rather the knowledge that Yoshiharu obtained from playing a bunch of Sengoku era strategy games.

However, at the exact moment when they emerged from the woods, something unexpected happened.

「Fugha…? 」

The monkey-faced foot soldier suddenly crouched down while clutching tightly onto his chest

「What’s wrong, old man? You’re not feeling well? 」

「No…I was hit by a stray bullet… I wasn’t lucky enough… shit… my dream… 」

「W-What did you say? 」

And then, the area around the chest of the foot soldier was dyed in the crimson color of blood.

(Oi, is this for real? Do humans really die so quickly?)
Yoshiharu’s face quickly became pale. While shaking, he laid the foot soldier on the side of the road, next to a Buddhist statue.

「…..Kid. This is it for me. You should go on by yourself. 」

「I can’t leave you behind, Old man! Not like this! 」

「You never know when people will die, be it regular ones or those with ambitions in their hearts. This is the norm for the chaotic world of the Sengoku… my newfound brother, I entrust my ambition to you, so fulfill my dream of becoming a daimyo that’s going to be popular with the ladies! 」

「Old man….! 」

「I am… not so old to be called an old man…. You know? 」

It seemed like his heart was already going to stop, and the foot soldier’s eyelids slowly started closing.

「T-That’s right! What’s your name, old man? Once I get promoted, I’ll make a huge grave for you! The one that everyone is going to be jealous of! 」

「My name is…..Kinoshita……Tokichiro……. 」

「Eh? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeh? 」

「……Farewell, kid. Live, for the ambition of becoming popular with the ladies… 」

(Oi, w-wait… Kinoshita Tokichiro… isn’t that basically Toyotomi Hideyoshi?!!!!!!)

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a son of a regular farmer who later worked under Oda Nobunaga, and who eventually rose up to conquer all of Japan under his rule. He can be said to be the hero among heroes, as well as the greatest example of 「From zero to hero」trope from all of the Sengoku period.

Thinking about it now… short stature: check. Face that looked like that of a monkey: check. Overall friendly demeanor, even to a complete stranger he just met…. Check. Yeah, there was no mistaking it. That guy was definitely Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

「Old man, don’t die! If you die, Japanese history will be flipped upside down! If you don’t end up working for Oda Nobunaga, then… 」

「Who is… Oda Nobunaga? The name of the daimyo of the Oda clan is…. Oda… Nobu… na… 」

And just like that, he passed away in Yoshiharu’s arms. Kinoshita Tokichiro, who later became Hashiba Hideyoshi, a daimyo of the Sengoku period who went on to conquer the whole of Japan, assumed the name Toyotomi Hideyoshi and formed the Toyotomi administration, the first generation hero had died while still being nothing more than a regular foot soldier.

While laying Tokichiro’s corpse down beside the Buddhist statue, Yoshiharu couldn’t stop his body from trembling violently. This was entirely different from the history that he learned in the games he played.

「W….What’s the meaning of this? What’s happening here…? 」

Is it a dream after all? He tried pinching his cheeks, and it hurt when he did that. The cut he got from the spear of one of the soldiers earlier has opened once again, and fresh blood started dripping from his face down to the ground.

「I see. Kinoshita has really died. May he rest in peace. 」

Behind his back, the lisping voice of a little girl could be heard. Without even thinking about it, he turned back towards it. A shinobi was standing there, wearing a chain mail and a typical ninja outfit that was entirely black. The shinobi girl was like a kitten, slender and short, and, alike stated above, her voice had a bit of a lisp to it.

(If it was the present day Japan, then she would probably be around the fifth year of elementary school…)

Yoshiharu thought to himself.

Her mouth was concealed with a mask, but her eyes alone were exposed. Her crimson pupils had a sharpness to them that would make everyone who would look at her shiver, and her eyelashes were surprisingly long for her age.

「My name is Hachisuka Goemon. From now on, instead of Kinoshita, I will serve youh… 」

Her expression was like that of a Shinobi, but she sounded a little strange at the very end.

「Uhm… 」

「No, don’t say it. I apologize, but I am bad with long suentences. 」

「Are you a friend of Tokichiro-san? 」

「You can say that I was a companion of his, but it would be more accurate to say that the foot soldier Kinoshita was the trunk, and I was the shinobi stay in the shadow of that twee. So now I will join forces wif you and try and get promoted together. That was the promise I made wif Kinoshita. 」

「So you really can’t say long sentences without messing them up, huh? That’s cute.

「S-Shut up. Anyway, what is your name? 」

「Sagara Yoshiharu.「

「Then from now on, I will become your first vassal and work for you Sagara-sama. 」

「That’s fine with me, but let me warn you in advance. Right now I am as broke as can be, and I don’t even have a place to stay. Needless to say, I cannot even offer you money for your services. 」

「For the time being, you serving the Oda clan will be enuf of a reward. They have good salaries for their retainers, after all. 」

「No, I don’t think it’s going to be that simple. If I was the old man Tokichiro then sure, he probably would’ve been able to serve the Oda clan just fine, but I don’t know anything about this world, and I don’t have any skills that could be useful in it. 」

「Fufufu~~ 」

Goemon let out a shinobi-like laugh beneath her ninja mask.

「Sagara-sama, allow me to help myself to one of your hair. 」