3 bar menu

Volume 2 Chapter 2 Part 7

「Nobuna-sama, if this goes on. I’m afraid that the enemy will try to divert the flow of the river to this stone maze and drown our whole army at once. 0 points. 」

「Manchiyo, do you know where the exit of this maze is? 」

「This stone tower maze seems to be built under the theory of the 8 Trigrams. There should be The Gate of Opening, Kaimon, The Gate of Healing, Kyumon, The Gate of Life, Seimon, The Gate of Pain, Shomon, The Gate of Limit, Tomon, The Gate of Insight, Keimon, The Gate of Wonder, Kyomon, and The Gate of Death, Shimon: a total of 8 gates. 」

「The 8 Triagrams? What’s that?」

「It’s one of the theories of war, and the foundation behind our country’s Onmyoudo, 」

「Huh. In other words, it’s a demonic trick too… That Takenaka Hanbei is getting on my nerves more and more and I don’t like it! 」

「Out of these 8 gates, it is said that passing through the Limit and Death gates will result in certain death… and it seems like we have walked through the Gate of Death. 」

「What do you mean, death? This kind of thing is only superstition! No matter what, we should follow the wall and find a way out… 」

*SWOOOOOOOSH!*

Even before Nobuna finished speaking, a sudden flood started appearing in front of their eyes. It didn’t take very long for them to become submerged waist-deep in water.

「What? What the hell is this!? 」

「The water from the river has been directed over here, so our army’s situation right now is just 1 point. 」

Nagahide stated while the water level was still rising. If this goes on without them doing anything to stop it, then they’re all certainly going to drown.

Though Yoshiharu was anxious about the way in which that situation developed too, he couldn’t find a way to escape it, even though he was trying his best. Who would have thought that the legendary trap that Zhuge Liang devised would be used so perfectly here by Takenaka Hanbei! Yeah, pretty much nobody, that’s who.

(I remember that in 「The Romance of the Three Kingdoms」, Lu Xun who was trapped in this stone maze was also faced with an impending flood. During that time, either Zhuge Liang’s uncle or grandfather told him about the way to escape it, bur what was it again?)

If Takenaka Hanbei’s uncle or grandfather could come and tell Nobuna the way to escape from here it would be absolutely great… unfortunately, this is not a fictional adventure, so there’s no way that this sort of convenient thing would ever happen. However…

(Oh yeah, I should rely on ninjas in this kind of situation! Throwing smoke bombs and using Shadow Clones… yeah, no matter how you spi it, ninjas are the real magicians of the Sengoku era! And if it’s Goemon we’re talking about, the she will definitely find a way out of this situation!)

「Goemon! You understand things like onmyoudo and the 8 Trigrams, right? 」

Goemon poked her head out from one of the stone towers and said:

「No, I don’t I’m just a ninja, and the path of a ninja does not include these, since we live our lives in shadows. In the end, it’s gust apout the yays to strengthen one’s heart. 」

「I didn’t understand a single thing you said just now because you lisped so much! 」

「Hmm… to put it in simple words, being a ninja means to learn things from reality, and not from the spiritual side of the world. 」

「Oh, I see. Okay, now I get it. 」

Yoshiharu nodded. So essentially, what Goemon was trying to say was that even though they sometimes use smokescreens to blind their opponents or employ other techniques that are similar to magic, a ninja is not an existence that transcends reality, and that actually made a lot of sense.

In order to create a smokescreen, you need smoke bombs, or anything similar that’s going to produce a lot of smoke upon exploding, and as for the Shadow Clone technique, it’s probably not about actually cloning yourself by using your own shadow, but rather it’s all about using high speed movements to create an illusion that there is more than copy of you at a given time. In a similar vein, the shockingly powerful jumps of a ninja are most likely a result of daily training and strengthening of their bodies, and as for the kunais that fly everywhere, the theory is the same as with baseball, that it’s possible thanks to using the air’s friction and gravity combined with throwing strength to create various trajectories of the throws. Also, it might sound regrettable, but the real ninjas don’t summon giant toads, snakes or snails to ride on top of them.

As for those people who use techniques which completely defied logic and could never be explained by science, could it be that these are all Onmyo techniques?

「Oi!!! If you have guts, stop using these devious traps and come out here to face me yourself, Takenaka Hanbei! If you have the skills for it, fight me fairly with a bamboo spear!!! 」

Katsuie shouted loudly with a face full of tears, but Yoshiharu felt that it would be stupid of Takenaka Hanbei if she really accepted her challenge and came out to meet her in combat.

「Use your brain and think, Katsuie! If the opponent was someone who could win against you with a spear, would there be a need for her to be an Onmyouji? 」

「Shut up! I can never accept those kind of ridiculous people! They’re absolutely the worst! 」

「Nobuna-nee-sama! Things ended up the way they did because of me being such a useless vanguard. The fault totally lies with me, Nobusumi! Allow me to commit seppuku to atone for my mistakes! 」

「Stop it, Kanjuuro. What will you committing seppuku solve? Nothing, that’s what. 」

「But compared to seppuku, drowning is much more painful! Uwaaaahhhh!!!!! 」

As everyone started panicking, the water levels kept on rising fast.

「Everyone, stop panicking! If you want to hate someone for the situation we’re in, hate Takenaka Hanbei for not choosing to follow the Viper and instead choosing that short idiot! Because of her, we can’t reach Inabayama castle and have to struggle here! 」

Once again, while grinding her teeth in humiliation, Nobuna encouraged her retainers. Compared to the previous ambush, this time they were trapped in this rock maze without a real fight even beginning, so it was that much more insulting to her.

「No matter what, we must go back to Aoshuu alive! 」

「But we can’t hold on anymore, nee-sama! 」

「If I was not as incompetent as I am, things would have definitely turned out better! I’m really sorry, Nobuna-sama! 」

「Everyone, listen! If we can beat Takenaka Hanbei, we will arrange a feast to celebrate! And if we can conquer Inabayama castle as well, then no matter what it is, I will reward you guys with anything you might want! I’m serious about this, any request you might have will be okay with me! 」

「Three-year supply of Uiroumochi! 」

Inuchiyo was the first one to shout as she started to drool.

(Wait, she will fulfill any request we may have?! Yoshiharu’s eyes started to sparkle with anticipation. 

「Is what you said really true, Nobuna? 」

「That’s rude, Monkey. As a samurai, I won’t go back on my word. 」

「Don’t tell me you’ll just agree to anything because you’re feeling suicidal and think we are going to die here ?! 」

「Though I do not want to admit it, I can never beat an opponent who is this unpredictable! What is this 「Stone Sentinel Maze 」even?! Just like what Viper said, Takenaka Hanbei is the worst kind of enemy for me, someone who follows normal logic. 」

「Nobuna-sama, even Onmyoudou has its own set of rules and logic. Of course, this logic is different from the logic we know, but saying it is illogical is just an act of running away from the truth. 」

「Manchiyo, , wait until we are back in Aoshuu this kind of military lesson. Then, you can be as fussy as you want with me! 」

「Alright! 」

Yoshiharu rolled up his sleeves.

「No matter what, I will bring all of you back to Aoshuu, and for the reward, I can get whatever I want from you! Remember your promise, Nobuna! 」

Yoshiharu’s motivation shot up like a rocket launching into the sky.

As the saying goes, a man driven to desperation can do anything. And just like that, all of a sudden, Yoshiharu thought of an idea so brilliant that he wanted to scream.