Chapter 36: About Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen’s True Intentions

Ōigawa Castle – Ono Michifusa

1561. Fall.

“That’s not all. I have another important thing to tell you all.”

The words that came out of the lord’s lips suppressed the relaxed atmosphere surrounding us. For Ōigawa, located along the coast, the news of progression of the naval force’s development that would allow us to control the seas was a worthy cause for celebration.

However, the lord had achieved an even greater success in Okazaki. But he didn’t show it in his face, perhaps out of consideration for me.

“Another important thing, my lord?”

As always, Hikami-sama—the one who had served the clan the longest among us—asked that question. The lord let out a deep breath before letting his gaze swept over us.

“In Okazaki, I met a man who wasn’t supposed to be there. Could you guess who he was?”

“A man who wasn’t supposed to be there…? Hmm…”

Only Hikami-sama voiced that question out loud, but everyone else was probably asking that same question. Except for me, that was.

“Michifusa-dono, did you also meet the man the lord is talking about?”

“Yes. I was present when the lord met him.”

Sasuke-dono fell into deep thought. He was probably trying to gauge my reaction before taking a guess, but the time to guess was up.

The lord had assumed a speaking posture once more.

“It was Oda Nobunaga. I don’t know why exactly he was there, but I had the chance to meet and talk with him.”

“…Oda Nobunaga?”

“Yes. The Fool of Owari. He was accompanied by one of his retainers, Kinoshita Tōkichirō.”

Immediately, I felt murderous intent emanating from everyone around me. If the lord wasn’t by my side back then, I would probably react in the same way as them—consumed by hatred, not able to see anything else. Now that I was considerably calmer, the thought of what would happen had the lord not restrained me back then sent shivers down my spine.

I would have put the lord in grave danger.

“Are you really telling the truth, my lord?”

Hikami-sama asked again. This time, with anger in his voice.

“Michifusa! You were there too! Why did you not avenge Masafumi-sama?!”

“…”

With the lord restraining me back then, I simply couldn’t do that even if I wanted to. So, instead of answering, I stared at Sasuke-dono’s eyes silently. He would understand what I was trying to say with this much.

Sure enough, his grip on my collar loosened, but he didn’t let go.

This was the proof of his inner struggle. He understood why I didn’t do it, but he was unable to come to terms with it so easily.

“Stop that, Sasuke. Michifusa tried to take Nobunaga’s head, but I stopped him from doing so. Are you questioning my decision?”

“No, not at all.”

“Then, let go of his collar. If you keep hanging on to it, I can’t continue what I want to say.”

“Please forgive the disturbance I caused, my lord. Michifusa-dono, I have done an inexcusable thing to you.”

“No need to apologize. I understand your feelings well.”

I could hear Hikami-sama let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, the rest of the retainers turned to look at the lord, even though some of them still looked agitated.

At this, the lord nodded before continuing to speak,

“Assuming the Sakae’s report is correct, the marriage between Motoyasu’s son and Nobunaga’s daughter won’t take place until early next year. Which means, Nobunaga’s presence in Okazaki is unnatural.”

“Yet, he was there, perhaps…”

“No, Tokimune. Do you think the marriage alliance is the only reason Nobunaga would go all the way to Okazaki?”

Hikami-sama let out a low groan. Meanwhile, Masatomo-dono, who was beside him, seemed to have found the answer.

“My lord, may I?”

“You found the answer, Masatomo?”

“Yes. I believe his goal was you, my lord. Perhaps the rumors you’ve spread regarding Iinoya Castle made him set his eyes on you.”

“That’s what I believe too. Still, it’s strange, isn’t it? He is still at odds with Nobukiyo in Owari, and there is his ongoing invasion to Mino. There is no reason for him to visit Okazaki at such a time. Yet he came. With just a single retainer, even. It’s a bit of a reckless move, even for him, is it not?”

“It is.”

“He knows me. Moreover, he also seems to know Michifusa. It isn’t out of the question for him to know of our movements and force his way to Okazaki.”

Listening to the lord’s words made me realize how incredibly audacious Oda Nobunaga was. If it were me, I would never even consider going to another province to meet with some strangers while my enemies were right at my doorstep.

Even knowing how capable his retainers were, it was still a reckless move to take.

“My lord… may I know what kind of person Oda-sama was?”

“Well…”

Masatomo-dono’s question made the lord ponder with a serious face.

Everyone watched with bated breaths for the lord to continue speaking. Nobunaga had killed the previous clan head. Under normal circumstances—no, even when the heavens and earth were turned, he would still be our enemy. However, after witnessing the interaction between him and the lord, I noticed something.

The lord didn’t harbor any animosity toward him. Of course, that didn’t mean he wasn’t wary of him.

I simply couldn’t sense any hatred from within the lord’s heart toward that man.

“He will become someone significant. More influential even than Imagawa when Lord Yoshimoto was still alive.”

“Do you really think so, my lord?”

“Yes. Hence I believe we shouldn’t make an enemy out of him yet. And I’m not talking about just our Isshiki, but about Imagawa as a whole.”

“B-but…” “T-that’s…” such words filled the hall and I understood their feelings really well. The Imagawa clan and the Oda clan had not been enemies since just the time of Lord Yoshimoto. They had been fighting over both Owari and Mikawa for so long that reconciliation was simply out of the question. Yet the lord was trying to pursue that.

That was why he allowed Nobunaga to invite him to join his ranks back then, even though he ended up rejecting it anyway.

“Think of yourself as a daimyō, Tokimune. If you can’t expand into Owari or Mikawa, what will you do?”

“There is only Mino left.”

Hikami-sama answered immediately. I agreed with that answer. Our rear was secured by the Three-Way Alliance of Kai, Sagami, and Suruga¹Also called Kousousun. This is the alliance between Imagawa, Takeda, and Hojo.. If we couldn’t advance toward Owari or Mikawa, then Mino was our only option.

But the lord shook his head.

“You forgot that Iinoya is a liability. If it was me, I’ll set my sights on Kai and Shinano.”

“B-but those two provinces—”

Hikami-sama immediately tried to urge to rescind his statement, but the lord didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.

“Takeda Harunobu—no, he’s going by Shingen now, right? Will definitely break up the alliance. He just suffered a crushing loss against Uesugi at Kawanakajima, so he’ll give up advancing toward the north for now and instead go toward the south. After all, to his south, there is only the weakened Imagawa.”

“But—”

“Tokimune, you have to face reality. Imagawa is no longer the powerful force it once was. We have to prepare ourselves for the worst possible scenario. Hence I’ve been pushing to develop the naval force. To help us weave through the worst.”

That seemed to convince Hikami-sama and the others quite a bit, though they still seemed to have doubts. Although most of them just nodded without saying a word.

The only person who seemed pleased here was Hayashi Hikogorō-dono.

It was understandable, since he was the person who was the most enthusiastic about the lord’s naval force’s development.

“So that’s the situation here. Going forward, it will be best for us to keep our relationship with Nobunaga amicable for now. However, that doesn’t mean we’ll abandon our allies who are still loyal to Imagawa in Mikawa. It’s our duty to support them, especially those who are still holding out at Yoshida and Kaminogō. Don’t forget about that.”

“““Yes!”””

We all bowed in unison. When I raised my head, I saw the lord smiling in satisfaction.

The gathering seemed to be over, but then the lord called for me and Hikogorō-dono. From that, I could roughly tell what this summon was about.

We were then led to the lord’s room by the lord’s page, Kojūrō, who was also Hikami-sama’s grandson.