Volume 1 Chapter 6 Part 11
Yoshiharu understood that from that brief exchange of theirs.
Instead, after looking at Yoshiharu being kicked aside, Inuchiyo’s techniques start to become messy. Of course, Hanzo did not miss such an obvious opening.
「…..Uhhh! 」
Inuchiyo’s shoulder suffered a hit from Hanzo, and her expression instantly revealed that she was in great pain.
「You lose your calm from just that? Hah, you’re too naive. In the end, you are nothing more than just a brat after all. 」
Hanzou seems to think that this had already decided the victor of the duel between the two of them. His eyes narrowed, becoming slits just like snake’s.
「He’s… he’s really so full of himself now, huh? Damn! 」
Yoshiharu gritted his teeth and stood up while thinking with all his might.
(There must be something… there must be a way for me to save Inuchiyo…..)
His knowledge of the Sengoku era… that is the only thing he has going on for himself. Other than that, he really doesn’t have anything else to speak of.
Hattori Hanzo. He’s a ninja,and one of Matsudaira Motoyasu (Tokugawa Ieyasu)’s loyal retainers. But in this world, at the current moment Mtoyasu is still nothing more than a lackey of Imagawa Yoshimoto.
「But if Yoshimoto loses the battle of Okehazama, Motoyasu can lead Mikawa province into independence. And then she can become Tokugawa Ieyasu. If that’s the case,
「Wait, Hattori Hanzo! 」
「I’m not going to wait! 」
「Use your brain and think! If you kill me and Inuchiyo here, Imagawa Yoshimoto will conquer the Owari province and head on to march towards the capital! 」
「What about it? 」
「If that’s the case, then your general, Matsudaira Motoyasu, will forever be nothing more than Imagawa Yoshimoto’s lackey!」
「….Hmmm? 」
「Matsudaira Motoyasu’s actual thoughts are to hurry and cut off all relationships with Imagawa Yoshimoto and let Mikawa become an independent province! Imagawa Yoshimoto had promised to let Motoyasu retain her name as daimyo of Mikawa, but in fact all of that is a huge pile of bullshit. She was just doing that so that she could keep ordering Motoyasu around nonstop as her personal lackey! 」
「That’s why I said what about it! Facing such a strong enemy, there is no way we can revolt against her! 」
「There is no need for you to do that! Just let us go back! Nobuna will definitely defeat Imagawa Yoshimoto, and Motoyasu can use that timing to announce the independence of Mikawa! 」
「You think I will be that naive and believe even a single word of what you’re saying?! Just by looking at the numbers of the Oda clan’s army, there’s no way in hell they can actually defeat Imagawa’s army in open combat! 」
「We will definitely win! And If we can’t, you can just take my head! 」
「Stop spitting such utter nonsense! Even if the Oda clan’s army manages to win against Imagawa, what guarantee do I have that it won’t attack the Mikawa province next?! If that’s what’s going to transpire, then my master will be trapped with no way out, isn’t she?! 」
「It won’t happen, I swear! If my knowledge is correct, Motoyasu and Nobuna should be childhood friends, and Nobuna does not have any interest in the surrounding lands! Now all she thinks of is how to conquer Mino, so Nobuna will definitely form an alliance with Motoyasu to make that happen! No, I will bet my life on it! I will make this alliance happen! 」
The heavily injured Inuchiyo fell down on her knees, and the spear in her hands slipped down to the side. Hanzo then rested his ninja sword on Yoshiharu’s neck and said:
「Brat, your life has no value to me whatsoever…. 」
「But defeating Imagawa and then forming an alliance with Mikawa, that’s something that managed to pick your curiosity, right? 」
「If we continue on our way to the capital, then all the retainers who swore their loyalty to Motoyasu-hime will die one by one and the Mikawa warriors will be all gone. So we should point our weapons at Imagawa right now… this point is perfectly logical. 」
「Yes. Nobuna loves ordering people around, but compared to Yoshimoto she is much better. Because the reason why she’s fighting in the first place is because of her dream of 「Uniting the entire world by force」! 」
「Hmph. Brat, for the time being, I will choose to believe in what you’re saying. But if you break that promise, then no matter where you might try to run, I will send ninjas after you so that they would bring me your head without fail! 」
「Yeah. And if it does happen, then feel free to claim it anytime you want. 」
Yoshiharu and Inuchiyo had an incredible amount of luck just now. They only managed to pull that off because Hattori Hanzo turned out to not be just an ordinary ninja after all.
If he was, he would most likely not understand Yoshiharu’s reasoning and concentrated on nothing more but the competition of the mission that he was given.
But thankfully, Hanzo wasn’t such a guy. As a replacement to his father and the leader of the ninjas working under the Matsudaira clan, he does have the necessary temperament to become a genuine general. It’s because of that that he listened to Yoshiharu and choose to bet everything on the assault of the Oda army towards Imagawa Yoshimoto. After Nobuna grabs the victory for herself, his dream of finally seeing the Mikawas province become truly independent will finally be able to be fulfilled.
(Even if the Oda army fails, my master will still be safe, and the fact of letting them go will only be known by me. If Imagawa wins, all I have to do is just to kill both of them.)
Hanzo did the weighting of the pros and cons in his head, and ultimately decided to let them go after all. If the Oda clan really managed to win, then much of his own wishes would come true, although he seriously doubted if they could really pull something like that off.
After finally reaching Nobuna’s base at Atsuta Shrine with much difficulty, both Yoshiharu and Inuchiyo had bruises all around their bodies, so both of them supported each other and walked over to Nobuna while swaying from one side to the other.
Looking at the state of the two of them, Nobuna had an indescribable expression on her face… only to ultimately lash out at the both of them.
Nobuna herself had sent spies to check Imagawa Yoshimoto’s main base, but not one of them had returned. It seems like they had been caught by Hattori Hanzo and his subordinates.
「Inuchiyo! Monkey! I said that both of you will be executed if you come back to me, so why are both of you back!? 」
Nobuna slapped Yoshiharu’s face coldly. Was she crying, or fuming, or imaybe she was laughing? Yoshiharu did not understand her at all right now.
「…….Yoshiharu-san discovered the location Imagawa Yoshimoto’s base. 」
Inuchiyo said while bearing the pain.
「Yes, she’s, at the east side of Mount Okehazama, in an area known as「Okehazama」. Their troops are about 5000 soldiers strong and they were isolated from the rest of the troops. Currently, Nobukatsu and his team are stopping their movement by drinking with them. 」
「Kanjuuro is doing that? 」
「Nobuna. This is all that I could do. Now what? 」
「Monkey. According to your knowledge, what do you think I should do now? 」
After speaking, Nobuna closed her mouth. A smile slowly formed on Yoshiharu’s bruised face.
「This is your own path, Nobuna, so you should walk it yourself. I will just shut up and walk it with you. 」
Nobuna too formed a fearless smile on her face.
「If that’s the case, then all forces head to Okehazama! I will bet my everything on this assault! 」
「Understood! 」
Was the answer of Shibata Katsuie, and then she sounded the war horn with shining eyes and all the power she had in her enormous lungs.
The Owari army’s soldiers all stood up and shouted at the skies.
「Since we had come to Atsuta Shrine, how about we pray to the gods for victory? 」
Nobuna, who accepted Niwa Nagahide’s proposal, walked to the shrine with her poker face and big steps and then said loudly:
「How long must this country be in a mess for you to be satisfied? From now on, let me replace you guys as the one who would protect this country and its inhabitants! Oi, did you hear me? If you are really gods, prove it to me by letting me win this battle! 」
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