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Volume 4 Chapter 2 Part 2

The courageous Shibata Katsuie in comparison only knew how to move forward and push on. In the current situation, after witnessing the tragedy of Nobuna and Yoshiharu, if she were to be given the command of the troops, she would most likely become furious and lead the Oda clan’s army for a straight on battle with the Azai-Asakura alliance. If that was indeed the case, then the Oda clan’s army would quickly be eliminated by the combined forces of the Azai and Asakura clans, simply because their commanders would stay level-headed, unlike Katsuie.

But it is true that somewhere deep inside, what Nagahide wanted to do the most right now was to lead the whole army of the Oda clan to help Yoshiharu. Even if they lost Kyoto as a result, or even if the whole Oda clan’s army ended up wiped out, she felt that it was her duty to save Yoshiharu after everything he has done for them thus far. Not to mention that he was the only one who could give Nobuna the reason to keep on living.

But… if she really did this, the chances of success were seemingly… 0 points. Nagahide, a woman who wouldn’t lose her wits no matter what, could only see such a result no matter how many times she tried to calculate the outcome in her head.

Both Nagahide and Katsuie shined in the Sengoku era because of Nobuna. But right now, Nobuna, and the whole Oda clan were hanging by a thread, and they were forced into a corner…

「God, Buddha, yokai, demons… it doesn’t matter who! anyone, please save Nobuna-sama and Onii-sama!! 」

Nene shouted as she splashed the water from the well on herself, starting the cleansing ceremony for offering the prayers to the higher existences above.

She wanted to take up a spear and rush to the battlefield herself if she could, but that was impossible for the young Nene, who was still nothing else but a kid. That’s why all that was left to her was praying… devoting her wholehearted wishes in prayers to the gods was the last resort that he could employ within her limited capabilities.

Nagahide looked at her and said:「Nene-dono, you will catch a cold if you do that. 」and tried to stop her, but Nene seemed to not feel the cold from the winter’s cold waters and was splashing herself with shocking determination.

However, Nagahide was not the only one who was moved by Nene’s actions just now.

「Niwa-sama and Shibata-sama, please lead the troops to protect Kyoto. I, Akechi Juubei Mitsuhide, will go to Omi myself and save Sagara-senpai! If everything goes well, I should be back with him before long! 」

「…..Inuchiyo is going too. I am used to the wilderness now, so I can guide her. 」

「M…M…Me…Me too. 」

Akechi Mitsuhide, a beauty if you didn’t count her unusually large forehead, and Inuchiyo, who was already wearing her tiger skin armor, were ready to jump into action as well. Matsudaira Motoyasu, the bespectacled girl wearing Tanuki ears and tail as decoration was with them as well, although she was slightly shivering the entire time.

The three of them who had just managed to return to Kyoto from the 「Retreat from Kanegasaki」opertaion had all asked Nagahide for permission to go through with their plan.

「But, with just you guys… The possibility of you dying is going to be extremely high. It should be a ninja’s job to sneak in for any rescue mission. 20 points. 」

Nagahide put on a troubled expression as she opposed their enthusiasm.

Without a doubt, if she could have done it, Nagahide would have sent ninjas to rescue Yoshiharu a long ago, but Goemon had been sent to Omi and had not returned, and Hattori Hanzo who was serving Matsudaira Motoyasu was moving with Yoshiharu, so in the end, there weren’t any ninjas to send on a rescue mission in their ranks at all.

「Anything is good, but if we continue to not do anything, we won’t be able to help Nobuna-sama. And, this smart Mitsuhide here actually made a mistake when lending those 50 arquebuses to Sagara-senpai. 」

「What? Is that true, Akechi-sama? 」

「Um… That… 」
Mitsuhide broke out in a sweat and seemed unable to mutter anything, her speech hesitating.

「….Um… When lending those arquebuses to Sagara-senpai, I had forgotten to lend him any soldiers that were trained to use those arquebuses… so if it turns out that he will die because of it, then I, Mitsuhide, won’t be able to sleep in peace because of the guilt. I feel like I will see the ghost of Sagara-senpai floating around me every time I lie down, and it creeps me out! 」

「This is just…. 30 points. 」

Nagahide said.

「But, Hime-sama had once revealed to me that if anything were to happen to her, Akechi-dono will be the one to succeed her ambition, and Katsuie and I respected such a decision from Nobuna-sama. If Akechi-dono had any kind of accident right now, who will succeed the ambition of unifying the world in place of Nobuna-sama? 」

「No, compared to my life, Nobuna-sama’s life is a thousand times more important! I, Mitsuhide, though I am an eloquent genius descended of the esteemed Toki Genji and possess perfect looks, even I understand that I can’t be compared to her in terms of capabilities! Without Nobuna-sama, there won’t be any way to talk about unifying the world at all! 」

「….. I understand. 」

Nagahide relented in the end.

Mitsuhide, who would be able to succeed the Oda clan even if she did not do anything, (Though she was a bit too boastful) displayed loyalty by not caring about her own life while saving Nobuna and Yoshiharu, so Nagahide couldn’t reject her decision.

What she could do right now was guard Kyoto until Nobuna wakes up. At such a situation when she needed to do something yet was unable to move, 「Guarding」 was a much more important and difficult responsibility compared to moving out and fighting the enemy out in the open field. Such a responsibility had to be shouldered by someone, and the only one capable of doing it at the current moment was her.
「…..Inuchiyo is going anyway. Stopping me is useless. If you try to stop me, I’m cutting you down. 」

「Inuchiyo-dono, I have never thought of stopping you. But Matsudaira Motoyasu-dono, you are the ally of Nobuna-sama, but right now, if you continue to stand by the Oda clan, I’m afraid that the Mikawa province will….. 」

「I’m personally indebted to Saruyoshi-sama. And, if I can save Kichi-nee-san, I am willing to bet on this last possibility and lend all of the Mikawa troops to Mitsuhide-sama if the need for doing so arises. 」

Though her tanuki ears were shivering non-stop, Matsudaira Motoyasu had made her decision.

Nagahide couldn’t help but think that though Matsudaira Motoyasu was normally clumsy, kinda dumb and a little evil, once she had decided on something, she would become unbelievably stubborn, which was the trademark quality of the Mikawa army. In one way, Motoyasu was the type that is able to display her strengths the more she was in a critical situation. But in comparison, during peaceful times she hardly thinks anything through and ends up acting like just an ordinary brat….

「This is really a big gamble, but I’ve decided. I will carry all of this responsibility. 」

「….I understand, go and save Sagara-sama then. Remember to not go too far into the enemy territory, and please come back alive. 」

「Roger! 」

After the trio met with Nene, who was still splashing herself with water in prayers, and promised 「We will save your brother. 」and then they disappeared towards the mountain path going into the Omi province.

After miraculously retreating to Kyoto with the Oda clan seemingly uninjured, Mitsuhide, Inuchiyo and Motoyasu dived onto the rescue mission without rest.

At this time, the back troops that Yoshiharu was leading had yet to start their final stand with Tsuchimikado at the Wakasa’s Dragon Hole.

* * *

The seasons had shifted completely into winter now. The mountains were full of fallen leaves.

During the journey, as they were riding towards Mount Hiei, Inuchiyo said with a look of anguish on her face: 「It should be around here」.

「….If it was a normal sniper aiming for Nobuna-sama, it should be impossible for them to shoot 2 shots on a target moving at high speed. I’m afraid the sniper is Sugitani Zenjuubo. 」

「One of the ninjas of the Koga ninja clan… and an assassin. 」

「Inuchiyo-sama, after his attack on Nobuna-sama earlier, what happened to Sugitani Zenjuubo? 」

「…..It’s regrettable, but he ran away. I was careless and lost sight of him. 」