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Volume 1 Chapter 6 Part 6

「I want to rest here for a while to prepare myself for the upcoming battle. 」

「Understood. Then I shall do so as well. 」

「What are you talking about, Motoyasu? You will lead the army now and capture that military base of the Oda clan in Marune. 」

「Understood. Then, I will finish off all of the Oda clan’s army’s soldiers who are goingto be present in the base. 」

「Yes, there’sno need for you to show mercy to those fools who dare to oppose me, ohohohohoho~~ 」

「Ah, what a beautiful but evil laugh~. Hmmm, hehehe. 」

「The evil one here is you, Motoyasu, using Ninjas to conduct those battles wages in the shadows is your favorite tactic, not mine, ohohoho! 」

「It might be so~. Hmmm, hehehe. 」

Ordering Matsudaira’s troops to handle all battles on route to the capital, Imagawa Yoshimoto ordered the rest of the troops to rest as well.

(If Motoyasu dies in battle, then I could just absorb Mikawa as my own property. And even if she survives, then at the very least the amout of soldiers from Mikawa who are loyal to her should be greatly reduced.)

With this arrangement, the troops of Imagawa won’t need to go into battle themselves, and
Will be able to easily advance towards the capital at their full strength. It was a strategy filled with the air of nobility, elegance and gracefulness. Yoshimoto was really proud of how she planned all of it out.

「This is the way nobility is supposed to fight. I have such a brilliant brain. Ohohohoho! 」

「 I don’t quite get it, but if you say so, then it must be true, hmm, hehehehe! 」

(Owari province, governed by an irredeemable fool… once you witness the might and strength of my army, there won’t be any choice left for you but to submit yourself to me in your entirety! )

Imagawa Yoshimoto thought to herself with absolute confidence in the strategy that she came up with.

At the same time when her forces were surrounding Marune, Motoyasu had advanced towards the plains with her own army. She expected to encounter harsh resistance since they were already at the territory of the Owari province, but much to her surprise, the local farmers were welcoming them warmly with words such as:「The princess of Imagawa clan has arrived! 」Quite literally, they encountered no resistance at all.

Time advanced, and night had already grew dark. In the silence of the night, not a single sound could be heard coming from Oda Nobuna’s military base.

After saving Saito Dosan, Nobuna, who had the fiercest quarrel ever with Yoshiharu, had been reduced to a hikikomori who shut herself in her own base, and no matter how long the retainers waited for her, she had not given them a single order.

At that moment, the urgent news that the base at Marune had been nearly conquered by the forces of Matsudaira Motoyasu who has surrounded it arrived.

「Motoyasu had already sent ninjas into the base and fire had broken out in the backyard. 」

「What an evil schemes she came up with. 」

「How long is Nobuna-sama planning to sit idly by without doing anything?! 」

As the head retainer of Nobuna, Katsuie had gathered all of the retainers and was currently holding a strategic meeting wit all of them. The reason she chose this particular place, right outside of Nobuna’s quarters, was so that the shut-in daimyo could also hear all of the contents of the meeting.

But, as a warrior, other than having a suicidal plan along the lines of:「If that’s the case, we should just march our entire army towards Imagawa’s troops」, Katsuie could think of no other plans. And all that the other generals could think of was to「Protect Aoshuu castle at all costs and hope Imagawa troops will pass Owari by 」, but they all knew that such desperate plans bordering on wishful thinking could never come to pass.

「All of you are too naive! At the end, we will just be eliminated by Yoshimoto! We will not have any reinforcements from Mino! Just like Katsuie said, we will be finished if we try to avoid the battle. Let me lead and rush to the base of Imagawa Yoshimoto instead! 」

Niwa Nagahide smiled and lightly shook her head.

「The enemy have a total amount of 25,000 soldiers, while we only have an army of 2000 soldiers. No matter how valiant you are, Katsuie-dono is, you will only use up your energy before you reach the enemy’s base. 17 points. 」

「Then what should we do, Nagahide? 」

「I too, have no good plans, I’m afraid. 」

「Dosan-dono? 」

「His back seems to be hurting him a lot, so it looks like he won’t be of much use. 3 points. 」

「That damn geezer~! 」

「Now, we should follow Nobuna-sama’s will and decide on our actions. That will give us 90 points. 」

「But Nobuna-sama is…… 」

「She got into a fight with Monkey-dono, and is not in a good mood because of that. 」

The both of them look inwards together.

In any case, Yoshiharu, who was ordered to be executed by Nobuna in her anger was seen sitting beside Nagahide cross-legged, which was a pretty rare thing for him. He was most likely thinking about something.

If Nobuna’s retainers were to follow their master’s will, then he should have been stripped off his status as a foot soldier and be driven out as a ronin, but for the time being, none of them did anything about him.

Whether Nobuna is a simple fool or a general who really has the big ambition to conquer the world, all of that will be seen after the next order she’s going to give them.

Suddenly, the curtains inside of the camp were pulled away. Looks like Nobuna has made her choice.

Her skin was white like snow, but her eyes radiated a fiery glow. That alone was a proof to everyone gathered at the meeting that she was anything but a fool.

All of her retainers knelt down before her.

「Nobuna-sama is not someone who would choose to just stay in one place and focus on the defensive. 」

Both Katsuie and Nagahide were able to tell that much.
「Riku! Sound the drums! 」

Using a high tone, Nobuna declared her order loudly.

Katsuie picked up the drum, and drummed a rhythm that was known as「Atsumori 」while Nobuna stood up on the bench and danced to the tune.

「A man’s life of 50 years under the sky is nothing compared to the age of this world. Life is but a fleeting dream, an illusion… Is there anything that lasts forever? 」

The others simply stood and watched, none of them daring to make even a single sound.

Yoshiharu, Katsuie, Nagahide and the others carved this image of Nobuna dancing with her resolve to die in their minds, making sure that they will never forget it.

Just that, not even knowing when it happened, a certain area in their bodies was warming up. It was a desire from deep within them. It was a call for them to go to the battlefield. It was a call for them… to go to war.

With the song ending, Nobuna rushed out of the base without saying a single word. She headed alone on her horse, towards the battle with the army of Imagawa Yoshimoto.

The retainers all followed behind her while panicking, leaving Yoshiharu behind. They didn’t spare him even a single glance, ignored him like he was the air itself, left alone in the base. However, the thought of using this chance to leave Nobuna’s side have never crossed his mind.

「Because I wanted to save Dosan, it caused Nobuna to leave the Aoshuu castle empty, and that in turn gave Imagawa Yoshitomo a chance to attack Owari… yeah, that is totally my fault. I don’t blame them for ignoring me, but even if I’m ignored or hated, I don’t want Nobuna to die. 」

If Nobuna were to die, he would become a ronin again, and things would go back to how they were when he had first come to this world and was totally lost, not knowing what he should do.
「Even if I had to battle alone, I just have to do it. 」

Yoshiharu whispered that while standing up, but then, a voice called out to him behind his back.

「Kid, you really shouldn’t be throwing your life away in some meaningless battle. 」

It was Saito Dosan. It seems like his body still wasn’t back to good condition, since he had to be supported by his servants just so that he could stand up.