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Volume 2 Chapter 1 Part 4

After suddenly appearing in the Sengoku era from the modern Japan, Yoshiharu ended up finding himself right in the middle of a battle between Oda Nobuna and Imagawa Yoshimoto’s armies. During that time, he was almost beheaded by Motoyasu under Imagawa Yoshimoto’s orders. But at that time, he was nothing more but a vagrant, a ronin, so after this much time that passed since then Motoyasu seems to have forgotten about it. It might also have been that Motoyasu remembered him and what happened back then, but she chose not to mention it as to not let the atmosphere become awkward.

After him, Inuchiyo lightly lowered her head and introduced herself as well.

「 …Maeda Toshiie, childhood nickname: Inuchiyo. 」

「I still remember you, Inuchiyo-san. Every time I was tied up by Kichi-nee-san and she wanted to roast me, you were always the one who kicked me to the river and saved my life. 」

(Since you were saving her from dying, couldn’t you use some more normal methods?)

Yoshiharu thought to himself.

「Thanks to Kichi-nee-san’s victory at the Battle of Okezahama, Mikawa can finally become an independent province. From here on, I would like to form an alliance with Owari, and have an everlasting bond of friendship with you, Kichi-nee-san. Or more like, I was too afraid of what would happen if I didn’t do it, so here I am~~. 」

Even though it’s independent now, Mikawa cannot change the fact that it is still a relatively small province, and that from the east they now border with the Suruga province, which has been taken over by Takeda Shingen and his mighty forces, and when it comes to the Sengoku era, there are two individuals who can be called that era’s strongest warriors: Uesugi Kenshin, and Takeda Shingen.

Other than Uesugi Kenshin, there was probably no one else in the entire Japan who would have more courage and fighting prowess to challenge Takeda Shingen and his mighty army. Obviously, to Takeda Shingen, Matsudaira Motoyasu of the Mikawa province is probably nothing more than Imagawa Yoshimoto’s lapdog. It wouldn’t be a problem if Motoyasu submitted herself and the Mikawa province to him to make sure that her territories would survive, but there is absolutely no chance of an alliance between the two of them being an equal one.
That’s why from Motoyasu’s point of view, other than forming an alliance with Nobuna, there is no way to protect Mikawa’s independence and safety of its people. And considering that Nobuna’s ambition is to conquer the entire world, then after she’s going to form an alliance with Motoyasu, she can use the Mikawa province as a shield against Takeda Shingen. Then, after she’s going to conquer the Mino province, she’ll be able to continue heading westward all the way to Kyo. But right now conquering Mino is not going to be an easy feat, which is why Nobuna has to focus all of her energy on it instead of dividing her attention between Mino and the east at the same time.

As an added bonus, with Mikawa as an ally, the Owari people’s favourite Hatcho Miso will also be very cheap and very easy to get. Since both of them are childhood friends, their relationship isn’t too bad, plus both of them are now daimyos; so Nobuna’s and Motoyasu’s situations are actually quite similar.

Of course, in the end, both of them are still rulers of different provinces, so there will definitely be places and matters where they won’t be able to see eye to eye, but that’s just how it is with alliances.

「Takechiyo, it’s ok for me to give you the whole of Mikawa, but can you give me the village of Hatcho in exchange? 」

「K-Kichi-nee-san, if we don’t have Hatcho village, then Mikawa’s specialty, Hatcho Miso will be gone as well. Mikawa’s finance are relying on it now! 」

「That’s why you should just give it to me. 」

(What exactly made her arrive at such a conclusion? I swear to God, Nobuna can really act like such a thick-skinned brat sometimes.)

Yoshiharu whispered into Inuchiyo’s ears.

「You can have anything else, but the Hatcho Miso is not negotiable! If we don’t have Hatcho Miso, my retainers will rebel against me! 」

「… Alright, I understand. But in order for Owari’s merchants to be able to buy cheap Hatcho Miso, from now onward there will be no Hatcho Miso tax between Owari and Mikawa, not a single mon! 」

If the tax on Hatcho Miso’s tax is going to be lifted, then from now on Owari will be able to get even cheaper Hatcho Miso.

「Ok, if it means that Kichi-nee-san can give up on Hatcho village, then that’s the price I’m willing to pay. 」

This negotiation seemed to be very hooligan-like, but as a result, Hatcho Miso will be cheaper, so in the end that’s a good thing.

Nobuna seemed very satisfied about the end result. The people of Owari’s love for Hatcho Miso has almost reached a crazy level, of which Katsuie was a perfect example. With this, the armies’ ration expenses will also be reduced.

Hence, Mikawa and Owari redrew their borders, with the east side remaining in Motoyasu’s hands, while the west side will go to Nobuna. Tthe alliance itself was formed immediately. While happily munching away on her huge chicken wing, Nobuna smiled and said:

「The time has finally come. 」

Nobuna’s eyes glittered, and she shouted proudly:

「Rejoice, idiotic monkey! Now that we have Motoyasu on our side, you can leave the small stuff to her and Inuchiyo; right now we are to march towards Mino, and then towards Kyo, and we can be like Momotaro, slaying every and all demons in his path! With this, I can finally take one step forward towards my ambition of conquering the world. 」

(No matter how brightly you smile at me, I still feel that you aren’t cute at all!)

Yoshiharu couldn’t help but say that in his heart.

「Wait, wait, there isn’t any tanuki in the story of Momotaro! There should only be dog, a monkey and pheasant, shouldn’t there? 」

「Shut up! Aren’t pheasants and tanukis basically the same? 」

Nobuna closed her small pink lips, and stared at Yoshiharu with contempt.

「This kind of grumbly Nobuna-sama is also cute. 」

Inuchiyo commented, but Yoshiharu rejected her opinion with his entire being. Just like he said before, Nobuna is someone who has the self-centered mindset of 「What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is not your thing! 」and he disliked it about her very much.

「By the way, why are you always giving me this kind of attitude even though you’re supposed to be my retainer? Why are you always insist on spoiling my mood with every little thing that you say and do?! 」

「You dare to even ask? Then maybe you should start with giving me an actual reward for my accomplishments! Who do you think is the main contributor towards the victory at Okehazama, huh? Hurry and give me my Owari’s number one beauty like I asked you to! 」

「Huh? But number one beauty is right in front of you. Why should I introduce you to anyone else, when I am right here? 」

「Shut up. The only good thing you’ve got going for you is your face! My criteria of a beauty are very strict! Looks alone can’t do anything, and a girl with no inner beauty is a girlfailure in my opinion! 」

「Ara, but I’ll have you know that I don’t have just a pretty face. Once I strip down to my birthday suit, the sight is also pretty spectacular! If you don’t believe, why don’t you just take a look yourself? 」

And she went and revealed a part of her beautiful chest a little bit for just an instant, though it’s just a teeny-tiny little bit.

「Cough!* *Hack!* *Cough! 」

Yoshiharu was caught completely off-guard by the sudden move of hers. But it should be obvious that she won’t really take off her bra completely, and this time Nobuna pointed her finger at Yoshiharu and laughed uncontrollably.

「Hahahahaha! You idiot, just a small joke and your face is all red! You can’t really expect me to strip for someone like you! You big idiot! You’re so stupid that I’m thinking of beheading you to ease your suffering! Ahahahaha! 」

「Sh…Sh…Shut up! You are not a kid anymore, so stop with these kinds of dangerous jokes. Don’t you feel the least bit embarrassed?! 」

「Sure, if my naked body is shown to others, of course I would be embarrassed. But what is so embarrassing about showing my body to a monkey? In the end you’re just a member of another species, so it’s not like you could can fully comprehend what you’re seeing. 」