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Volume 3 Chapter 5 Part 3

She was Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide.

「This woman is…..!? 」

Mitsuhide couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.

Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide was this person?

She looked like she was at her prime, and she could not be more than 30 years old. Her beauty was such that it exuded a mature atmosphere around her from head to toe.

With tanned skin and deep features, in one look anyone could see that she wasn’t Japanese, or maybe that one of her parents was from another country. At the same time, she had freshly-looking short hair, which is a hairstyle that was popular among the girls in this era.

Her well-endowed body was adorned in a vibrant red attire, masterfully improving her extraordinary elegance.

This artisan-like look of hers made her emit an incomparable sexiness and allure, and the smell of a noticeable perfume radiated from her body in all directions.

The bottom of the valley between her half-hidden breasts couldn’t be comprehended with just one eye, as if it was a bottomless oceanic trench.

「As for my gunmanship, I learned from a master at Hozo Shrine. 」

The sweet smile on her lips and a pair of glittering eyes like those were just like those of a Yokihi. Her whole being exudes motherly compassion, as gentle as a bodhisattva. No matter how you looked at this woman, everyone would arrive at a conclusion that she does not fit the image of the legendary villain at all.

Beside all that, Hisahide was an expert with the Jumonji Yari-also known as Kama Yari, a style of spearmanship that only an elite few were able to master.

On each side of the spearhead of her weapon, there were sharp blades curved in the shape of the waning moons.

In a battle of spears with the soldiers, their main attack pattern was to stab their opponents, but in one-on-one combat, a spear can only attack the opponent in a straight line. Compared to the ever-changing trajectories of a sword, the spear was at a decisive disadvantage.

However, the Jumonji Yari, which originates from the Houzoin School in Kofuku-dera in Yamato, makes use of the crescent-shaped blades to do slashes like a naginata, and at the same time be also used as a sickle.

Mitsuhide’s expression changed when she saw Hisahide’s weapon and heard her say the name of the temple.

「’Houzoin School’… Don’t tell me, Danjo-dono is from Kofuku-dera? 」

「Yes. That’s correct. 」

「As a religious follower of Buddhism, how can you destroy the Ashikaga Shogunate and burn the great Buddha of Nara, and even now obstruct the Oda clan’s Tenka Fubu? Is the Buddhism in your heart and the compassion that it teaches completely gone!? 」

「What is gone is just my humanity. Ever since I lost my master, Miyoshi Nagayoshi, I have been lost in a dream-like state, which makes it difficult to discern what exactly is happening around me at times. 」

「Aren’t you the one who killed Miyoshi Nagayoshi!? 」

Hisahide answered Mitsuhide’s question with an alluring smile.

「That’s just a rumor which began to be spread by ill-hearted people who wished for my downfall. In my heart, Nagayoshi-sama was like a child that I doted on. After I lost him, my grief spurred me to burn the statue of the Great Buddha of Nara. But everything that I’ve done is merely a test to see if Oda Nobuna-sama has the right to be my new master. When one is forced to a corner, they will then reveal what they truly are… as such, I shall witness your true abilities myself in a short while. Hehe…. 」

「I have trust in Nobuna-sama, that’s why I follow her. For her dream, I can even bet my life on it! There is no way someone like you, who can’t even tell whether she is dreaming or not, can kill me! 」

「Hehe. There is no meaning to any further verbal conflict… Come, let us start the fight to the death. Let me be your guide your soul to the afterlife from this chaotic world! 」

In the midst of the blood, fire and screams from the clash of the troops, Matsunaga Hisahide took a step forward with no change in her expression, and another step, and another, getting ever closer towards Mitsuhide.

A line of sweat flows down Mitsuhide’s pale face.

Looking at the woman in front of her, she realized that there might be no one else in this world who could match her in terms of wielding the spear.

「Against the Houzoin style of spearmanship, a tanegashima stands no chance. Let me use my sword against you then. 」

Mitsuhide threw away the tanegashima in her hand. At such a short distance, cannons or guns are useless, since they are deprived of their greatest advantage, and the moment she’d have to reload her gun, Hisahide’s Jumonji spear would be buried deep in her throat.

Mitsuhide pulled out the katana from the scabbard on her waist. This is the famed sword that was the treasure of the Akechi clan, the work of the disciple of Osafune Nagamitsu from Bizen: Akechi Koshirae.

Hisahide licked her lips with her long tongue and took another step forward… The distance between the two of them became even shorter.

「So the sword is finally out of the scabbard… Distinguished and beautiful princess. Before you begin the trip to the underworld, please state your name. 」

「I’m the descendant of the Toki clan, Akechi Juubei Mitsuhide. My master in swordsmanship is… 」

「Akechi, as bright as the light, overflowing with intelligence, what a good family name. For you, there is no name more fitting. But your skill with the sword, how will it fare against my spear, I wonder? 」

Hisahide laughed lightly, and Mitsuhide, provoked by these words, rushed towards her with her sword lowered .

「I learned my sword skills from the Kashima Shinto School, not to be passed down. 」

「Ehh?! 」

Hisahide, who has been holding her Jumonji spear in an aggressive stance, reflexively jumped back after hearing that. If she had not done that, Mitsuhide’s slash would have undoubtedly reached its target, drawing the first blood and shattering her hands which were hands holding the spear.

If Mitsuhide had not announced her sword school honestly, Hisahide would have lost on the spot.

「There’s no mistaking it, that slash just now is the ultimate skill of Kashima Shinto style, ‘Ichi no Tachi’, right? 」

「To think you were able to dodge that slash… your skills are truly impressive. 」

Shocked, Matsunaga Hisahide looked at her opponent seriously for the first time. Even with her skills with the gun removed from consideration, the style of swordsmanship she uses can match the Oni Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, which was something that Hisahide didn’t expect from the pretty girl in front of her.
She was really a miraculous genius, a gift from the heavens for this Sengoku era. To think Oda Nobuna has such a skilled warrior at her side…

「The world is really a huge place. I would never had thought that I will meet an elite like you. With this, things will be much more interesting! 」

Hisahide can’t help but smile as she spoke.

「Hehe. To be able to cross blades with such a heroic warrior like you, I can’t stop the killing intent in my heart! I want to see just what kind of a hopeless expression you will have in the instant that you witness your dreams shatter before your very eyes! 」

「Nonsense! That will never happen! 」

A step forward, and then yet another step. The two of them were now close enough to hear each others’ breaths.

The soldiers at both sides had forgotten about the battle for the temple; none of them dared to even pant while they watched the battle between the Houzoin style spear user and the fearless young warrior maiden. The battlefield that was full of screams and shouts just a moment before became silent in an instant.

A step forward, and then yet another step.

In this battle between experts, there is no place for such thing as a stalemate. The result of the duel would be decided on the first strike, and the speed of said strike would be the deciding factor.

The distance between them was so short that there was no way to dodge anymore. The one who loses would, without a doubt, die.

From the perspective of a common sense, Mitsuhide’s 「Ichi no Tachi 」 had been seen by the opponent, so she was at a disadvantage. But the reason 「Ichi no Tachi 」 is so famous is because of its flexibility and adaptability. No one, not even Matsunaga Hisahide, can see through the crux of this ultimate skill.