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Volume 4 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 : Mitsuhide’s trial

Deep in the night, in the extremely dark wilderness.

Loud sounds of soldiers moving around the area could be hear coming from everywhere.

「….Damn, I can no longer distinguish which direction I’m heading towards! 」

Sagara Yoshiharu was using a sword as a walking stick, trudging through the wilderness based on his instinct alone.

At the time he had fallen for Tsuchimikado’s trap at Mizusaka Ridge, Yoshiharu should have been blown to pieces. To save the last few lives of the back troops that remained there with him, Yoshiharu has resolved himself to use his own life as a sacrifice.

But to tell you the truth, though Yoshiharu had wanted to sacrifice himself for his companions, in the end he wanted to live on no matter what.

Images of Nobuna crying flashed through his mind.

Inuchiyo, Katsuie, Nagahide, Juubei, Motoyasu, Goemon and Hanbei who was waiting for his return in Kyoto, and Nene too…

(I might be trapped in this sengoku era forever, never to see my real family again. But even so….. There are people here who will cry for me if I am gone, people who wished that I had lived on. If I give up here, those comrades of mine who died in the 「Retreat from Kanegasaki」 for Nobuna and me will scold me.)

Since he had declared that he will change Nobuna’s fate, since he decided to fulfill Nobuna’s dreams, then, even if he had to crawl back to Kyoto, he would do it if it meant that he would get to continue living.

These were his true feelings.

Even if he was being willful, he wanted to go through with both those feelings of his.

「I’m a man full of desires… I won’t give anything up! 」

He considered his back troops his comrades, and decided that they must all live.

At that time, Hanzo had appeared behind Yoshiharu and whispered to him the last-ditch strategy. They would make use of the trick called: 「Finely Hidden」. It was a trick that Yoshiharu had not even heard of, but since it was suggested by the seasoned ninja like, Hanzo, then Yoshiharu agreed to it without much thinking.

Then Hanzo shouted:

「If that’s the case, then go die now, Sagara Yoshiharu! 」

That was the kind of trick that 「Finely Hidden 」was.

During the time Hanzou opened up his smokescreen to block the vision of everyone around them, he made an exchange with Yoshiharu and his 「substitute」while the real Sagara Yoshiharu was hidden in a hole that the ninja squad dug on the spot.

And that substitute was, yes, Zenki.

After Zenki wore Yoshiharu’s armor, he changed his looks and became indistinguishable from Yoshiharu himself. At almost the same time the ninja squad led by Hanzo and Zenki completed their preparations, Tsuchimikado, who appeared deep in the valley blew away the smokescreen, and just as everyone’s vision recovered, the exchange was finally completed.

What happened later was what Akechi Mitsuhide, Inuchiyo and Motoyasu saw as they came to rescue Yoshiharu.

For the sake of his comrades in the back troops, the substitute Zenki was blown to pieces.

Because the bomb was specially created by Hanzo, the substitute was blown to fine pieces so small that the blown up person couldn’t possibly be identified, and thus the trick wasn’t discovered.

This is the trick 「Finely Hidden」, the real last resort.

If Tsuchimikado discovered any clues of it, the whole plan would go out the window, or after the substitute was killed, there was a possibility that Tsuchimikado will ignore the promise and continue killing the back troops even though he said he was going to let them escape. But even if Tsuchimikado did what he promised, the soldiers who were hunting escapees might have surrounded the warriors to capture them anyway.

Hanzo and the ninja squad had planned to dig Yoshiharu out after Tsuchimikado left and once again escort him back to Kyoto, but Yoshiharu, who was waiting underground did not see Hanzo returning for him even after a considerable amount of time has passed.

「Something must have happened. 」

Using the protection of nightfall, Yoshiharu crawled out of the ground by himself, took a set of armor from a fallen comrade and started to walk back towards Kyoto.

Whether it was good luck that the appearance of Mitsuhide diverted Tsuchimikado’s attention and kept him from discovering the trick, or bad luck that Hanzo placed the escorting of Motoyasu as the foremost priority , Yoshiharu did not yet know.

Yes, it was because Matsudaira Motoyasu had come to Mizusaka Ridge alone, not leading any troops that Hanzo, focused on protecting his master, abandoned the buried Yoshiharu. Because they were in the midst of enemy’s territory, Hanzo did not say anything about the trick to Motoyasu, and when she heard of it, they were already back in Kyoto.

But, this too was not known to Yoshiharu since he was in the ground the entire time.

Obviously, the thing about Mitsuhide who had fallen into the crack in the earth, the shaken Inuchiyo who had reported that Yoshiharu was dead, the thing about Nobuna who had become Hisahide’s puppet and gave the crazy order to 「Attack Mount Hiei」… Yoshiharu knew nothing of all of these.

(No matter what, I must use these two legs of mine and make it back to Kyoto as soon as possible!)

Having made such a resolve, Yoshiharu started his nightmarish escape.

His stomach growled and churned, and his throat was parched. His whole body was heavy as if he was carrying blocks of lead for a very long time without stopping.

But even so, Yoshiharu did not stop walking.

There is a place he must reach no matter what. If he fell right here, what would Nobuna’s fate become?

(I can’t die yet.)

With every last of his strength, he crawled forward to avoid the escapee hunting squads. Countless times, they almost discovered him. There were also countless cuts on his body that made moving around that much more painful for him.

And then, just as he couldn’t even see where he was anymore, it started raining, and the escapee hunting squads started to narrow down their searching areas.

「There! Someone’s right there! 」

「Ahh, he looks kinda weird, it must be a famous warrior! 」

「We can get a great reward from Azai-sama if we kill him! 」

Despite being spotted, Yoshiharu continued to drag his numb legs and ran through the mud beneath his feet.

No words of discouragement were said, and his eyes were still filled with hope. Anyone would have sunk into despair at such a situation, but Yoshiharu thought only of surviving. And the thought which supported Yoshiharu the most was…

「Nobuna…. Nobuna… wait for me, I can’t die at such a place before Icome back to you. I’m not called 「Balls-Dodging Sagara 」for nothing! Run, run, hurry and run! That’s all I need to do right now! 」

(If I die here, what will Nobuna think of me?! I can’t let that fellow experience such a sorrowful thing again! If it’s that her, she will definitely say that she can’t forgive me, but her heart will still be grieving for me nonetheless!)

Most likely. No, definitely… she will feel sad. She might try to act tough, but that’s definitey how it’s going to be. So…

(So that’s why I have to live on! Ahhh, damn it! Why is my mind so full of that girl all the time?! I can’t see anything in front of me anymore. Can’t see my legs either. Somehow, there is only Nobuna’s face in my mind. Don’t tell me, that I… that Ilike that girl….! Somehow, without me noticing… I have fallen in love with her…? But… but she will never be together with me. She is the girl that was always the closest and furthest from me. But, it’s a fact that I like her, so there’s no helping it now. Because of this… )

Because of this, I want to see her again, Yoshiharu thought. And then…

「No! No, no! It’s not like that! I… Yeah, I’m just too tired! It’s just because of fatigue and fear that my mind is a mess now. A totally not cute tomboyish girl like her appearing at such a time in my mind will do nothing but to increase my anxiety and irritation even further! After returning, I have to get the reward from her… yes, I am so going to get that kiss from her! I will take it, and I will not let that liar who always goes back on her promises of rewards do the same again! I will not let you escape this time, Nobuna, so make your lips all nice and pretty and wait for me… *Pant* *Pant*…. Ouch! 」