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Volume 3 Chapter 1 Part 1

Chapter 1: Oda Nobuna, marching to Kyoto!

「All troops, march forward! To Kyoto! 」

The troops led by Oda Nobuna set off from the Gifu province on the 7th of September. In Kyoto, many unscrupulous people occupied the Kansai region after the death of Miyoshi Nagayoshi, including the remains of the Miyoshi clan and Nagayoshi’s right-hand man Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide, who attacked the current Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiteru. After Yoshiteru fled, the Shogunate’s governance turned into a mess due to his absence.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru fled to the Great Ming Empire after escaping from Kyoto. Later, in an attempt to earn the right to rule over the Kinai region, the Miyoshi clan and Matsunaga Hisahide turned against each other quickly, and the two parties’ struggles worsened with each passing day. In the fierce battle that ensued, even the shrine of the Great Buddha at the Todai Temple in Nara was destroyed by Matsunaga Hisahide.

Based on these reasons, Kyoto has now become a politically empty region. Now, with the Ashikaga bloodline practically extinct, the only Daimyo of noble blood left that could potentially inherit the title of Shogun was the female Daimyo of the Imagawa caln, Imagawa Yoshimoto, who has surrendered herself to Nobuna after her defeat during the Battle of Okezahama and spent her days in idle leisure playing soccer with the kemari ball with the local kids, seemingly having completely forgotten about her lost land and prestige.

After Nobuna captured the Mino province from Saito Yoshitatsu and renamed it to Gifu, a former retainer of Imagawa Yoshimoto and now a ronin, Akechi Mitshide, brought Nobuna a new suggestion during her visit to the Gifu Castle. During that visit of hers, it was agreed that Imagawa Yoshimoto would become the new Shogun, who would be a puppet ruler controlled by Nobuna from the shadows.

Right now, Nobuna already controls all the Daimyos who can make it possible for Imagawa Yoshimoto to rise up to the position of the Shogun, so if there was ever the time for her to act, that time was definitely now.

「We don’t have time to waste. All of you, march to Kyoto at full speed! 」

The horse-riding Nobuna changed her usual 「Fool of Owari」look with one sleeve of her kimono let loose and a tiger skin wrapped over her waist to the one where she donned a Namban kabuto and a cape made from red silk which made her elegance factor skyrocket. However, the lack of her favorite arquebus on her shoulder made her feel anxious and unable to calm down, so she ordered for a Tanegashima one to be brought to her and held in in her left hand, while in her right hand was her prized eagle.

As for the other retainers who were following closely behind her…

「If we ignore our battle strength and go by the criteria of our army’s appearance alone, then I guess I would give it… 90 points. 」

Amongst the many young female retainers, there was only a handful that could be classified as an older sister type.

The retainer who was dressed in red and lead a small unit of troops tasked with the responsibility of protecting Nobuna was Niwa Nagahide. nicknamed Manchiyo by Nobuna herself.

「I feel a bit hungry~~ 」

The retainer clad in blue and white armor was Shibata Katsuie, nicknamed Riku.

Since her breasts were too large for the regular armor to contain them, she had her breastplate to be order-made, but in contrast to the desired effect, instead of keeping them contained, the new one only made them look all the more stunning, or at least that is how they were described by Sagara Yoshiharu, the young retainer who came out of nowhere and quickly started going up the ranks in Nobuna’s army.

These two people are the senior retainers of the Oda clan, and they were like sisters to Nobuna, even though other than having big boobs, Katsuie didn’t have any other sisterly qualities to speak of whatsoever.

And riding behind them…

「Yoshiharu-san, make sure to look forward carefully at all times. 」

「Uwa! Uwauwauwah! Don’t move around so much you damn horse! 」

The young who was about to fall off his horse is Sagara Yoshiharu mentioned above, nicknamed Monkey.

Originally, he was just a modern-day Japanese high school student, but one day, he was spirited away from his time without any explanation whatsoever, and once he regained consciousness, he found out that he was somehow transported into the middle of a battlefield in Japan’s Sengoku era. Using the knowledge of history that he obtained from the Sengoku era strategy games and his brave, indomitable spirit, he somehow managed to survive in this new reality of his, and he even became a retainer of Oda Nobuna. Now, rising all the way from the rank of a lowly foot soldier to a genuine retainer, he he continued going down on the path to success.

As for the small girl who was poking his spine with a huge arquebus, her name is Maeda Toshiie, nickname Inuchiyo. She was dressed in the clothes that resembled the getup worn by the actors of the Kabuki theatre. Being one of Nobuna’s closest aides, she is always following her master around like a dog, hence her nickname. Although usually quiet, she can be quite scary when she gets angry.

As for the girl riding next to Yoshiharu…

「Are-are you ok, Sagara-senpai?! There is an old saying: even monkeys fall from the trees, and even a wise man is bound to make mistakes. Please be more careful. 」

She has long hair and a wide forehead, and in her hair is a golden hairpin that is blowing in the wind.

This cool beauty is Yoshiharu’s new cute self-proclaimed kouhai, Akechi Mitsuhide, also known as Juubei.

Originally, she was a of Saito Dosan, but she became a ronin after Dosan was exiled from Mino province by his adopted son, Yoshitatsu Saito Yoshitatsu.

After Mitsuhide witnessed the fall of the current Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate, she gave Nobuna the wondrous suggestion that she should march quickly to Kyoto, recommend Imagawa Yoshimoto as the new Shogun, and control the Shogun from behind the scenes to achieve her dream of controlling the world. Having already made quite a reputation for herself, she was accepted as part of the Oda clan without any major difficulties.

「Being able to serve the admirable Nobuna-dono, it’s like I’m in a dream. Please take care of me, Sagara-senpai ! 」

The smiling Mitsuhide grabbed Yoshiharu’s hand, causing the latter’s heart to skip a beat.

「Y-Yeah, sure, leave it to me. 」

「The story of how you completed your famous 「Sunomata’s one night castle really moved me to tears! Ahh, what I wouldn’t give to be like you and accomplish many magnificent feats to impress Nobuna-dono as fast as possible! 」

(Ah…Juubei is looking at me with a respectful look in her eyes…. No, this is not a respectful look, this is straight up passionate gaze! Have her feelings for me surpassed respect and turned into love so fast?! No, there’s absolutely no way that girl like her could feel like that about someone like me, right? Then again, could it be that in this Sengoku era, my time to be popular with the ladies has finally come?!)

Yoshiharu was so nervous that if he had a tail, then all the hair on it would definitely be standing up right about now.

「Mumumumu…!!! 」

Inuchiyo, who was riding at the back had a bitter expression on her face, but Yoshiharu didn’t notice it at all.

「Ohohohoho! Finally, my long-held dream of the creation of the Imagawa Shogunate has come! Very good, Motoyasu! I appreciate your efforts in helping me turn my dream into reality! 」

Imagawa Yoshimoto, who stuck out her head from the kago she was being carried in, was still wearing her stunning and elegant twelve-layered kimono. She gave out a shrill laugh and admired the scenery at Lake Biwa.

「I swear, this girl really doesn’t know her place. 」

「Please don’t take Yoshimoto-sama’s words too seriously. Just forget them after hearing them, like I do. If you do that, then nothing she’ll say will be able to get under your skin. 」

The one who was defending Imagawa Yoshimoto from the stunned Oda clan’s retainers was Matsudaira Motoyasu, nicknamed Takechiyo, who was wearing her signature nekomata outfit and glasses. She was another one of Nobuna’s childhood friends and the Daimyo of Mikawa province, who was a retainer of Imagawa Yoshimoto up until recently.

Using Yoshimoto’s surrender to Nobuna as a chance to finally break free from her life of servitude, she seized the opportunity to declare that Mikawa province would now be independent from the Imagawa clan. She then forged an alliance with the Owari province, and once again became Nobuna’s little sister.