Chapter 144: Genderbent Warlord? Imagawa Yoshimoto's Invitation (6.6k)

At the doorway of Tanaka Ryo's residence, a samurai with a sakayaki haircut, thick eyebrows, and a heavy beard strode over.

Furious, he drew the tachi from among the two blades at his waist, immediately intending to chop off the head of this lowly brat who had spoken rudely to him.

Screech!

The familiar, piercing sound of sword-drawing drilled into Shiraishi's ears.

It made him, who had originally been kicked to the ground and was still dazed, suddenly startle, and subconsciously he took out a kunai from his waist.

At this moment Shiraishi no longer cared that attacking a samurai was a grave crime.

Because his past experience told him that if he didn't do something after hearing this sound, he would definitely have his head chopped off!

——Many of Shiraishi's friends had died just like that!

——After the tachi slashed the neck, a person's head would fall to the ground carrying half of their neck, then roll around, and that counted as being dead.

Shiraishi did not want to die!

He scrambled up and threw the kunai, both its head and blade sharpened, with unmatched precision at the samurai's chest——because this samurai wore only cloth clothes and no armor.

"Hmph!"

The samurai merely flicked his tachi casually and knocked the kunai flying, letting it graze Aina's cheek at extreme speed by a hair's breadth before deeply embedding itself in a wooden board nearby.

The girl was so frightened she couldn't move, feeling as if her body was no longer her own.

Shiraishi knew that with just his two legs he definitely couldn't outrun this broad-shouldered, thick-waisted samurai.

So he had already pulled out from his waist a cloth bag, long prepared and packed full of lime.

Then, he threw it violently behind him!

The lime spraying out like willow catkins and Shiraishi's shriek flew up together:

"Boss! This guy is going to kill someone! Run——!"

After shouting, seeing the samurai behind him covering both eyes tightly from the lime, Shiraishi spat on him, then cursed a couple of words along the way, and prepared to escape alone first.

If he didn't run now, was he supposed to stand there and let this dog samurai chop off his head?

——Shiraishi felt he had already gone above and beyond, had tried to stop him, and had even squeaked a word to his new boss he recognized.

As for the boss, he could smash rocks and summon thunder to exorcise demons, so dealing with this samurai should be no problem.

If the boss accidentally lost a hand and was chopped by the dog samurai, then at least he could avenge him later.

Dying together was absolutely not okay!

Then who would avenge him!

Shiraishi ran two or three steps under the eaves, just crouching down to gather strength to climb onto the roof edge and escape, when a big hand reaching out from the bamboo curtain grabbed his collar.

"Why are you in such a hurry to run? He's just one person, after all."

After pulling back Shiraishi, who was halfway to takeoff, Uesugi Toru, walking out wearing a Chief Priest Robe, glanced at him indifferently and spat out a sentence he couldn't understand,

"Shiraishi... you don't trust the organization this much; the organization is very disappointed in you."

"Hey! Boss, stop pulling me! That dog samurai will recover soon, I don't want to die with you!"

Shiraishi hurriedly hammered Uesugi Toru's arm, which was like steel rebar and iron cast, and after finding he couldn't move it at all, he gave up and turned his head back.

Then he saw the samurai, who had already dispersed the lime, with bloodshot eyes, staring fixedly at them.

Shiraishi's breath stagnated, his voice trembling: "It's over, we're going to die."

Uesugi Toru poured some Corona Qi into Shiraishi's body with his left hand to ease his panic, then raised his head calmly and looked at the samurai whose hair and beard were all bristling, violent as a lion.

The samurai panted heavily several times, and after sizing him up from top to bottom twice, stood in place and uttered a hoarse question: "Are you the 'Toru' of the rumors, the Ayakashi?"

Ayakashi?

Uesugi clicked his tongue without a trace, guessing that the title "Onmyoji" had changed flavor through word of mouth among the populace, and such things were indeed normal in the Sengoku Period where information channels were few.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the samurai before him was deliberately addressing himself this way.

But no matter how one looked at it, this samurai was not anything good.

If not for worrying that killing him might lead to the dog-blooded and troublesome matter of "hit the small one, the big one comes; hit the big one, the old one comes."

Uesugi Toru had already unfolded his folding fan and would have turned this samurai, who couldn't understand what others said, into scorched charcoal with electricity.

He said coldly: "Please return, sir; this place does not welcome malicious guests who draw swords."

Akiyama Nobutomo gripped the tachi in his hand tightly.

——Akiyama Nobutomo had long before arriving at Sunpu Castle heard of the deeds of the Onmyoji "Toru" using thunder techniques to exorcise demons.

Immediately after, his lord Takeda Shingen somehow heard of this matter and immediately assigned the surrounding "Kai-shuu," that is, the Takeda Clan's "Ninja," to inform him——

"Whether the rumors are true or false, recruit this 'Toru' before the Imagawa Clan."

But Akiyama Nobutomo did not admit this rumor that was like child's play.

What damn Onmyoji, except occasionally appearing a few times in the books of the Kuge, there simply weren't any in reality!

It was complete nonsense!

Let him puncture this ridiculous lie and chop off the Ayakashi's head with one slash!

Akiyama Nobutomo ground his teeth and disdainfully shouldered his tachi: "If you want me to leave, that's fine, hand over that little brat behind you."

The samurai revealed a ferocious smile: "Just now you dared to be disrespectful to a noble samurai; I will chop off his head with my own hands."

Feeling the back of his robe being pulled tight, Uesugi Toru smiled indifferently and raised a finger.

Whoosh!

Without any warning, a nearly transparent Kinkou no Yaiba shot out from Uesugi Toru's fingertip, and in an instant precisely cut that coldly gleaming tachi.

At the same time, on the right cheek of Akiyama Nobutomo, who hadn't reacted at all, was left a shallow but narrow bloodstain extending to the root of his ear.

Drip.

In the dead silence, viscous blood seeped from the wound, gathered at Akiyama Nobutomo's chin, and dripped to the ground.

Uesugi Toru lowered his eyes: "If you remain obstinate, next time what is cut will not just be your sword."

Even some random bandit dares to run his mouth in front of him; he just doesn't want to cause trouble on someone else's turf—does he really think he's made of clay?

That Kinkou no Yaiba just now was Uesugi Toru's last chance for him.

If this bandit keeps making a scene, Uesugi Toru can't be bothered to waste words on him—what does it matter if he angers the family behind him? When the time comes, he'll kill however many come.

Uesugi Toru only knows one thing.

The soldiers under a daimyo in the Sengoku Period are limited, while his Revival Coins are endless.

It's just that it consumes quite a lot of Spirit Power.

Feeling that half his Spirit Power had been consumed by that one slash, Uesugi Toru couldn't help but sigh that the energy efficiency of Basic Onmyo Technique was simply terrible.

"This..."

Akiyama Nobutomo's brow twitched; he slowly moved the broken tachi before his eyes to gaze at the perfectly even break point, then raised a hand to touch the blood all over his face.

—What a joke, this Ayakashi actually knows jutsu!

Dense Internal Qi surged within the samurai's body.

Akiyama Nobutomo's muscles swelled all over, exhaling Internal Qi with a rustling sound; he had already placed his hand on the uchigatana at his waist, intending to slay Uesugi Toru right here.

Akiyama Nobutomo believed that although the Takeda, Imagawa, and Hojo clans had now formed an alliance,

but in the not-too-distant future, this unstable alliance would surely dissolve and shatter due to various matters.

—And since this Ayakashi truly knows jutsu and has already become hostile with him, rather than letting him join the Imagawa Clan in the future and become an enemy of the Takeda Clan, it would be better to kill him right here.

A distance of less than ten meters; he could cross it in an instant, and that Ayakashi absolutely wouldn't be able to react!

Just as Akiyama Nobutomo was about to draw his sword, Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes, preparing to unfold his folding fan, when a clear and gentle female voice came from the doorway, dispelling the tense atmosphere.

Unseen, but heard first,

"—Lord Akiyama, drawing a sword inside someone else's home is hardly a commendable habit."

The people present were slightly stunned, all turning to look toward the doorway.

Only to see a peerless girl wearing a Suikan, standing no more than one meter forty-something tall, with long black hair, rounding the low courtyard wall and appearing at the doorway.

—Suikan, also known as simplified clothing evolved from the Kariginu, usually serves as daily attire for commoners without status, or as clothing for attendants in buke and kuge households.

She wore a gentle smile, placing her slender hand symbolically on the wakizashi at her waist, turning her head to look up at Akiyama Nobutomo, who was much taller than her,

"What do you think of what I say, Lord Akiyama?"

Akiyama Nobutomo said nothing, merely letting his breathing rhythm gradually return to normal, extremely slowly moving his hand away from the uchigatana hilt.

The look of rage vanished from his rugged face, replaced by a deep gloom.

He left in front of Tanaka Ryo's home without a word, merely casting a vicious glare at Uesugi Toru before departing, his eyes full of murderous intent.

Uesugi Toru couldn't be bothered to look at him; the Shrine Priest Adult who had secretly run out earlier and secretly returned to the Jizo Statue had already marked him.

If this guy surnamed Akiyama stays here a few more days, I'll kill him when I have time.

Now isn't really suitable for doing this kind of thing.

Because, there are real guests visiting.

Uesugi Toru looked toward the black-haired girl standing by the door, his gaze immediately focusing on the "Futatsu-hikiryō" family crest on her chest.

The Futatsu-hikiryō family crest is nominally that of the Ashikaga clan, the rulers of all Japan and masters of the Ashikaga Shogunate.

However, the Imagawa Clan carries some Ashikaga bloodline, so they also adopted this family crest.

It's just that the two "Futatsu-hikiryō" are slightly different; the Imagawa Clan's Futatsu-hikiryō is square, while the Ashikaga clan's is round.

—Although Uesugi Toru felt it looked somewhat familiar, of course he couldn't recognize it.

In the Sengoku Period, not to mention a thousand, big and small family crests added up to at least five hundred.

A large portion of them were also very similar, differing only in minor details; how could Uesugi Toru, who didn't understand Sengoku history, recognize it at a glance?

So he looked toward Shiraishi beside him.

And before Shiraishi could speak, the black-haired girl standing at the doorway smiled at him and gave a slight bow: "Nice to meet you, Lord Toru."

"I am a retainer under Lord Yoshimoto of the Imagawa Clan, Ii Naomori."

The girl nodded her chin at him, sighing with regret: "I recently heard that Lord Toru's use of Thunder Technique to exorcise yokai was quite shocking, only a pity I didn't witness it with my own eyes."

Ii Naomori stepped forward in geta, not sparing any praise: "But seeing you today, you are indeed extraordinary."

Uesugi Toru was stunned for a moment upon hearing this familiar name.

Ii Naomori?

Aren't you a warrior? Why do you speak so refined?

And... isn't Ii Naomori a man?!

His memory flashed back to that rainy night when he entered the History Phantom.

Although it was late at night and pouring rain then, Uesugi Toru clearly remembered that the warrior who dueled with him and almost landed a Death Strike on his neck was male.

Without a doubt, male!

But this one before him—

Uesugi Toru's gaze quickly swept over the family crest area again, then he thought with absolute certainty:

This girl before him who calls herself "Ii Naomori" is absolutely female!

There is no possibility of any disguise.

At this moment, Shiraishi, who had caught his breath, lowered his voice behind him: "Boss... I've seen Ii Naomori from afar before; he's a big, burly man, the kind who leads troops into battle."

"And definitely not that handsome!"

The implication was that this girl calling herself "Ii Naomori" has been deceiving him from the very first sentence.

Uesugi Toru remained expressionless, keeping a trace of vigilance in his heart.

But Shiraishi continued: "However, speaking of which, the family crest on this beautiful woman's chest is that of the Imagawa Clan; that definitely can't be fake."

To avoid the approaching girl hearing his words, Shiraishi dove into Uesugi Toru's Chief Priest Robe and continued speaking softly,

"At least near Sunpu Castle, it's impossible for anyone to dare misuse the Imagawa Clan's family crest—if discovered, that means chopping off a whole lot of heads!"

Shiraishi: "Strange, strange... judging by those clothes, isn't she a maid of the Imagawa Clan? But how dare a maid claim to be Ii Naomori, and even dare to draw a blade? Isn't she afraid of being found out when she returns and getting her backside beaten?"

Uesugi Toru heard every word Shiraishi said.

He pondered for a moment, not speaking directly to ask, but instead made a "please" gesture toward her, indicating that this Ii Naomori should enter the Earth Seat first before speaking further.

Ii Naomori noticed Shiraishi's little movement, but she didn't pay it much mind; instead, she tilted her head slightly and asked, "Toru-sama, won't you first go check on the other three?"

She smiled gently: "I can wait a little; it's no problem."

Hearing this, Uesugi Toru's fondness for Ii Naomori—at least the girl who was still Ii Naomori now—increased greatly.

So not all samurai were like that foolish fellow surnamed Akiyama just now, weak in strength and arrogant to the point of annoyance!

Uesugi Toru nodded to her,

"My apologies for the rudeness."

Pulling Shiraishi out from the Chief Priest Robe, warning him not to talk too much or be rude, then Uesugi Toru walked toward Aina, who had been frightened into sitting limply on the ground.

But before he could walk over, Tanaka Ryo came over to block him, wearing a fawning smile: "Toru-sama! Toru-sama! Our Aina is fine, fine!"

He moved his eyes: "Still, please go first to welcome that Ii-sama inside the Earthen Room."

This old man...

Uesugi Toru glanced at him coldly: "Move aside."

Tanaka Ryo's face stiffened, and upon seeing his expression he dared not speak further, quickly lowering his head and retreating to the side.

Thus, Uesugi Toru saw again that girl who had been frightened until now and was still trembling.

He looked at the kunai deeply nailed into the wooden board, leaned in to gaze for a while, and after finding no obvious bloodstains, pondered briefly.

Scared by death so close at hand?

Uesugi Toru crouched down and took Aina's hand with both hands.

Gentle Internal Qi emanated from his palm, slowly circulating the Grand Cycle within Aina's cold and trembling body.

"Aina, that samurai has already left; you weren't injured anywhere." Uesugi Toru said softly, "It was just a false alarm."

Accompanied by the output of Corona Qi tempered to extreme gentleness, Aina's condition recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Soon, a glimmer of spirit reappeared in her lifeless eyes, and she raised her head: "Toru-sama..."

"Mm, I'm here."

The Internal Qi flowed, making Aina feel warm all over her body, as if soaking in warm water.

The girl blinked, and after panting heavily two breaths, she actively withdrew her fingers, then made an arm-curling motion toward Uesugi Toru,

"Toru-sama, Aina is fine now."

Aina pressed her hands together and lowered them, slightly bowing her head to Uesugi Toru: "Please don't mind Aina; go do what you should do, Toru-sama."

Uesugi Toru had wanted to output more Corona Qi for a while, but upon seeing the girl's determined expression, he no longer insisted: "Alright, tell me if any part of your body feels uncomfortable."

He stood up and walked toward the Earth Seat.

Lifting the bamboo curtain, he saw Ii Naomori still standing, and Shiraishi, who likewise stood because of this, dared not speak or sit down, causing this movement, that movement, his whole body feeling itchy and prickly.

Ii Naomori seemed to see through his doubt, so she said: "The host has not yet taken his seat; as a guest, how could I have the qualification to sit down first?"

Uesugi Toru was not being pretentious; he sat down directly and asked: "Ii-sama, are you also here to recruit me?"

Ii Naomori knelt and sat down, smoothing the wrinkles of her Suikan, likewise without courtesy or insincere flattery: "Indeed so."

Her spine was straight as she looked levelly at Uesugi Toru, who bowed his back slightly to be on the same horizontal plane as her,

"My lord, Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto, is very interested in Toru-sama, so he wishes to invite you to the Imagawa Residence for a chat."

Imagawa Yoshimoto...

Just thinking of that name, Uesugi Toru's expression changed somewhat—because his impression of this fellow was truly not good.

Whether in history, or in the knowledge from History Phantoms.

Just find an excuse to refuse.

Ii Naomori noticed this slight change, so she said: "If Toru-sama has any prejudice against Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto, then you might as well come with me and see with your own eyes."

"Today happens to be the day of Matsudaira Takechiyo's Genpuku; at that time Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto will appear in person to perform his Genpuku and give him a name."

She said seriously: "Hearing a hundred times is not like seeing once. Surely Toru-sama, who is rich in learning, also understands this principle."

That was well said—even rumors from a few days ago could be twisted and demonized, let alone the images in history books.

Seeing Uesugi Toru pondering, Ii Naomori struck while the iron was hot: "Moreover, regarding Toru-sama's exorcism of yokai, Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto wishes to bestow a generous reward, only lamenting that he cannot meet you in person."

Shiraishi, who had sat to the side for two minutes and felt as if ants were crawling all over his body, heard this and his eyes brightened; he moved to Uesugi Toru's side and said quietly,

"Boss, whether or not we join the Imagawa Clan is secondary... Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto himself is very generous; we can grab the reward and then run, it's not too late."

Uesugi Toru glanced at the eager Shiraishi out of the corner of his eye, thinking, whose side is your backside on anyway, how did you become the one persuading me?

He turned back, ignoring Shiraishi's words, and had already made up his mind.

This Sunpu Castle and the Imagawa Clan—well, it wasn't that they couldn't be visited.

But not for the so-called reward; rather, for the boy undergoing Genpuku, Takechiyo.

Because Uesugi Toru vaguely remembered that Tokugawa Ieyasu, that old turtle, seemed to have been called Takechiyo in his childhood, and he also happened to live in the Imagawa Clan.

With these two conditions narrowed down, could there be anyone else?

—And as for observing up close the youthful form of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who would later found a new era, Uesugi Toru was still quite interested.

He nodded: "Since Lord Imagawa Yoshimoto has extended such an invitation to me, perhaps it wouldn't be proper not to go."

Uesugi Toru stood up and said to the girl whose expression remained gentle and tranquil: "Ii-sama, time waits for no one; let us set out now."

Shiraishi behind him, hearing this, couldn't help but clench his fists excitedly, already counting in his heart how many strings of cash he could get.

"As Toru-sama says."

Ii Naomori stood up, leading the two of them out of the house.

Before leaving Tanaka Ryo's house, she likewise did not forget to inform Tanaka Ryo and the other two, appearing to have not the slightest air of a samurai or noble.

Seeing that Uesugi Toru dressed simply, and that three people could not ride one horse, he could not help but think in his heart:

Could it be they intend to walk to Sunpu Castle?

Only a pity, this thought was completely shattered upon rounding a corner.

After the corner, two majestic tall horses stood waiting obediently here, and behind the two valiant warhorses was a specially made spacious and exquisite wooden carriage.

The equally sturdy driver nodded at them wearing a straw hat, the veil of the straw hat very black, unable to see the appearance underneath.

This scene left Shiraishi dumbfounded, he subconsciously began tapping his fingers calculating how many strings of cash these two horses would cost to buy.

But after a while he stopped.

Because, his fingers were not enough! Even counting his toes was not enough!

Shiraishi sucked in a breath, muttering: "Boss... definitely correct, warhorses of this quality, besides the Imagawa Clan, no one beside can have them pull a carriage."

Letting two warhorses capable of galloping so fast that 99% of horses cannot catch a whiff of dust slowly pull a carriage... extravagant! Truly extravagant!

"And this carriage, this carving, how much could this be worth..."

Shiraishi kept sighing without stopping.

Uesugi Toru merely glanced twice and then did not look again; this thing to him could not be called novel, only commonplace, without any attraction.

Two horses plus a wooden palanquin, to him from the future this was truly too normal.

After all, no matter how fast they run, could they be faster than the train at Kisaragi Station.

Ii Naomori stood at the carriage doorway, after watching the two with the corner of his eye for a moment pulled open the carriage door, turned his body and smiled at them: "Both of you, please board."

Uesugi Toru nodded, pulling back Shiraishi who still wanted to touch the warhorse's plump perky buttocks and threw him into the carriage, to prevent him from being kicked to death.

Then Uesugi Toru paused for a moment, discovering that Ii Naomori was actually standing with hands hanging down at the side, meaning to let him board first.

"This level of attentiveness in etiquette, could it truly be that warrior who dueled with swords with me?"

Uesugi Toru always felt this Ii Naomori, compared to a warrior fighting everywhere, was more like a scholar learned in the five carts, a young lady long kept in the inner chambers or a young lady's personal attendant.

But where is there an attendant so handsome... the young lady being served would surely grow jealous and then give rise to a dog-blood plotline.

Uesugi Toru stepped on the stairs and bent to enter the carriage, while Ii Naomori waited until he sat steady before coming up, sitting opposite the two of them.

Slap.

The wooden door closed, amidst the fine wind-breaking sound of the horsewhip, the luxurious carriage slowly set off toward Sunpu Castle not far away.

However once the three were aboard this enclosed small carriage, the atmosphere instantly became silent.

Shiraishi sat upright with proper posture, not daring to speak nor move recklessly, afraid that if he accidentally broke something he would be dismantled and sold and still unable to pay it off.

The young lady placed both hands on her knees, still maintaining an approachable smile, unknown what she was thinking.

Uesugi Toru in his brain desperately searched for the young lady's true identity,

If only he could ask Shiraishi which officials and young ladies of the Imagawa Clan there were.

But unfortunately the carriage was too small and the sound insulation was not bad, even if speaking softly the other party could hear.

In such silence, Ii Naomori suddenly withdrew his gaze from the empty window lattice of the carriage, unable to help but reveal a slightly curious expression,

"Although I had heard of it before, I still wish to see it with my own eyes."

She blinked her large eyes flutteringly, leaning forward slightly: "I do not know if Lord Toru can allow me to open my eyes, to witness this Yin-Yang Technique lost for over a hundred years?"

End of Chapter