Chapter 146

What does that mean?

Deliberately saying only half, leaving me hanging, huh.

Uesugi Toru pondered for a moment, but couldn't figure out the reason from the existing clues.

So he opened the lid of the tea canister holding a large amount of matcha, inserted the small chashaku into it, and unceremoniously threw a large scoop of matcha into his own tea bowl.

——Like not making things clear, watch me gulp down your family's matcha!

——Actually, Uesugi Toru just wanted to try whether the feeling of his Will Attribute slightly increasing just now was due to this matcha, or because the person who prepared the tea was "Ii Naomori".

Shiraishi, sitting beside him, gaped.

He hadn't even drunk his first bowl yet when he saw his own boss, without a second word, prepare another bowl full of foam and pour it into his mouth like a cow drinking.

Thinking "waste not, want not," Shiraishi also gulped down the slightly hot strong tea in one breath, his eyes involuntarily flashing bright for a moment.

For a traditional Wandering Faction member like him, who usually couldn't eat flavorful food and whose mouth could fade out a bird over a whole year.

This delicious strong tea was simply a one-of-a-kind drink, instantly helping him recover a large amount of SAN value!

However, after finishing, Shiraishi still vigilantly scanned the surroundings, then hurriedly leaned to Uesugi Toru's ear and asked in a low voice,

"Boss, she deliberately left the two of us here, won't she smash a cup as a signal later, and then a whole batch of samurai will surge out and chop off our limbs to play with as toys?"

Shiraishi shuddered with a chill: "I always feel the samurai we just ran into looked at me with strange eyes……"

I don't have that feeling at all.

Uesugi Toru, hearing this, scanned Shiraishi's tattered clothes and pants and straw sandals, and this mess of hair no different from weeds.

He felt that was probably the problem.

Uesugi Toru smacked his lips, confirmed the matcha had no miraculous effects, put down the tea bowl, then wiped it clean with the cloth placed to the side,

"You're being too sensitive, Shiraishi."

"Boss, this doesn't count as sensitive." Shiraishi grabbed his sleeve with a deliberately cleaned hand, swallowed, and said, "Because, I've experienced this kind of thing before."

Seemingly afraid Uesugi Toru wouldn't believe him, Shiraishi hurriedly quickly recounted his experience in a low voice.

Shiraishi explained in great detail, as if these things had happened just yesterday.

Simply put, it was a winter long ago, he and a few childhood friends had just graduated from a remote village in Iga Province (actually because there was no surplus food to feed them).

Shiraishi and the others all wanted to use their learned skills to find a meal in the city, so they brought sparse rations and a few dozen coins and traveled together to the nearest big city.

Unfortunately, reality was harsh.

Although luckily they didn't encounter bandits halfway, they ran into a pickpocket gang that stole the money off them without a trace.

After persisting for over half a month, their rations were long eaten clean, and the method of begging for food with their so-called skills also failed due to various factors overlapping.

If this continued, they would all freeze and starve to death on the streets.

The only remaining way was to have the two better-looking girls among them go to Kujira-ya to earn some extra money to get through the winter.

Just then, a passing Kuge noblewoman happened to discover their existence.

Shiraishi paused here and asked: "Boss, guess what happened next?"

Uesugi Toru recalled what Shiraishi said just now and answered: "She felt you guys were an eyesore, and had the samurai guards directly chop you all up."

"No."

Shiraishi shook his head.

His eyes were dazed, as if he had returned to that winter when the sunlight had not a trace of warmth: "She smiled and took us all back to her mansion, personally provided food, and gave us a place to stay."

"Simply kind like a god."

"That's pretty good then." Uesugi Toru was instead a bit puzzled why Shiraishi was telling this, "You also survived that winter because of that noblewoman, right?"

"In a certain sense, yes."

Shiraishi vigilantly watched every figure passing outside the door, then continued in a low voice,

"But Boss, don't you think it's too abnormal? We're just lowly commoners and stray dogs by the roadside, what qualifications do we have to receive such treatment?"

Uesugi Toru silently turned his head, meeting eyes with Shiraishi who was clutching his clothes corner.

"Boss, you know I can't stay idle, so even though I was taken in, I always wanted to go out and wander."

Shiraishi rasped: "So I survived."

"And my brothers and sisters, I saw them tied up and dragged away one by one by burly samurai, then supplied to that Kuge noblewoman as 'a new batch of toys', to be wantonly played with."

Shiraishi stared fixedly into Uesugi Toru's eyes: "Her methods would only be far more cruel and vile than what Boss you imagine."

There's actually such a thing?

Can only say…… as expected of the Warring States, this chaotic era where people eat people.

Uesugi Toru narrowed his eyes.

If Shiraishi personally experienced such a thing, then his current worry is indeed not without reason.

Shiraishi lowered his head: "I just feel…… this imposter pretending to be Ii Naomori treats us too well, so well it's abnormal."

He silently fiddled with the tea bowl with his fingers: "I don't want you, this pretty decent boss, to just die inexplicably like this, so I warned you."

"No need to worry about such things."

Uesugi Toru shook his head.

Meeting Shiraishi's doubtful gaze, he guaranteed flatly yet with incomparable force: "Because I'm strong, stronger than everyone you've ever seen combined."

"I can call wind and rain, command lightning, summon Shikigami, and simultaneously draw my sword to become a top-tier Kengo under heaven."

His gaze was bright and spirited, then he lightly patted the back of Shiraishi's ice-cold hand,

"However, still, thank you for your warning."

Uesugi Toru smiled at the somewhat dazed Shiraishi: "Shiraishi, thank you for worrying about me."

"Oh……"

He hurriedly withdrew his stiff palm, turned his head away and muttered to himself: "Stupid boss, what the hell is there to thank for."

Shiraishi was about to pay more attention to the sounds outside the house when he suddenly noticed a bowl of thick tea with white foam surging on top before him; it was obvious that the person who brewed it had poor skill.

"Want some? I hear your throat is dry."

Shiraishi said nothing, took the tea bowl with both hands, and without caring that it was hot, gulped it down until not a drop remained.

After finishing, he was about to casually thank her when he suddenly heard Uesugi Toru snap his fingers.

"Since I know the precautions now, and I've rested enough..."

Uesugi Toru clapped his hands and looked expectantly at the child still wiping tea stains from the corner of his mouth: "Then Shiraishi, why not try my brand-new teaching method while we have the time?"

During the time Shiraishi had just spoken about his own past, Uesugi Toru felt he had accidentally discovered Shiraishi's true talent.

—Graphic memory, or rather, the memory of image-based things.

Perhaps Shiraishi's ability to understand text was very poor.

But he could remember the planning and layout of a city from who knows how long ago with extreme clarity, even precisely down to what time point he saw how many people and what was beside them.

Since that was the case, Uesugi Toru thought this way—I make movements for him to observe, then let him directly imitate, wouldn't that work?

No need to understand, just copy the answers!

The only point that needed worrying now was whether Shiraishi's observation ability was strong enough.

—After Uesugi Toru demonstrated a simplified version of the Kiai Technique's operation once before his eyes, he asked: "Remembered it?"

"This doesn't seem difficult."

Shiraishi thought for a few seconds by himself, then began to imitate.

Then, Uesugi Toru was surprised to discover that Shiraishi had actually replicated his breathing rhythm and method just now one-to-one.

"Hah..."

Two or three minutes later, Shiraishi exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

He was first stunned, then gripped his fist with some surprise and joy: "Boss, my strength seems to have really increased a bit, your method really works!"

In that instant, a prompt with a clock background popped up before Uesugi Toru's eyes.

【Current Constant World Walker's degree of influence on history: 0.05%.】

—I just taught Shiraishi this shallow Kiai Technique, and it changed history?!

You must know, ever since Uesugi Toru came to the Sengoku Period for so long, he exorcised Tailorbirds, spread the fame of Onmyoji, and was even brought to the Imagawa Residence by "Ii Naomori."

All these things did not trigger the Walking Watch's prompt.

But now it was triggered.

Uesugi Toru waved his fingertip to close the prompt, and his gaze toward Shiraishi had become subtle.

Shiraishi, immersed in the joy of becoming stronger, suddenly shivered all over and looked at Uesugi Toru with a chill: "Uh... Boss, why are you staring at me with that kind of gaze all of a sudden, kind of creepy..."

Uesugi Toru smiled at him: "Just feel that your talent is very good, maybe I can teach you some real skills in the future."

Hearing this praise, it was as if two stars were stuffed into Shiraishi's eyes; he put his hands on his hips, and his nose was about to tilt up to the sky.

He waved his hand, but there was not a hint of humility in his tone: "No no, I'm just ordinary, average, it's just that Boss taught you this simple bit."

—Just teaching Shiraishi this bit could change the course of history, which showed that from this moment on, he should count as a famous figure in Sengoku history.

Then if I taught him all the Kiai Technique I learned, or brought an illustrated Ninja Secret Manual from Genjitsu?

And then warn Shiraishi to take disciples after mastering it, passing it down generation to generation to the present, and tell the generation that inherited it to the present to come find me.

Then, what changes would I see after I return to Genjitsu?

Although it was still just a shallow thought, it seemed to have a certain feasibility.

Uesugi Toru couldn't help but look forward to it.

But before that—

Uesugi Toru looked at the maid figure appearing at the doorway and heard her say,

"Two Adults, the Genpuku Ceremony is about to begin."

Shiraishi turned his head as if traumatized, his gaze immediately becoming vigilant and resistant, but after seeing it was just a single maid, he clicked his tongue and lowered his head.

Uesugi Toru stood up and glanced at Shiraishi, who was still sitting: "Not coming together?"

"I..."

Shiraishi opened his mouth, recalling the knife-like disgusting gazes thrown at him by the stray samurai he passed when he just came in.

If it was the Genpuku Ceremony, surely the number of such samurai around would multiply by dozens or hundreds.

Shiraishi got goosebumps just thinking about it.

But he didn't have time to say more before Uesugi Toru grabbed him and pulled him up from the ground: "There are so many people at the ceremony site, are you afraid a samurai will draw his sword and cut you down on the spot?"

"Besides."

Shiraishi heard Uesugi Toru's voice coming from in front.

"—If someone draws a sword, I'll just cut him down first, won't that do?"

Uesugi Toru opened the door and saw the maid bowing toward him.

He asked: "Where is Ii-sama?"

The maid seemed not to have expected him to ask that name, so she thought for a moment before replying: "As for Ii-sama, he should already be waiting outside Gozen Hall for the ceremony to begin."

"Then please take me directly to Gozen Hall; it's my first time here and I don't know the way."

"As you command."

The maid still maintained an extremely respectful posture of lowering her head, until she turned around and raised her head to lead the way.

Uesugi Toru waved at Shiraishi behind him, signaling him to follow closely.

The Imagawa Residence was not too big, so in less than two minutes Uesugi Toru followed the maid, whose steps were not fast, to the edge of the so-called "Gozen Hall."

Still separated by a wall, Uesugi Toru could clearly hear the conversation of many samurai, and even the slight collision of sword hilts of almost the same number.

He was somewhat confused — did this Imagawa Yoshimoto actually allow attendees to carry swords to a Genpuku ceremony?

Was he not afraid these people would swarm him and cut him down?

"Adult, I can only lead you this far."

The maid stopped, stepping back beside the wide-open breach in the wall: "Walk out from here and turn right, that is the Gozen Hall. The rest of the way, please walk alone, Adult."

"Many thanks."

After thanking the maid, Uesugi Toru had Shiraishi grip the corner of his long robe before setting off — lest this little bean sprout lose her bearings in the crowd.

Barely a dozen steps later, Uesugi Toru's view suddenly opened wide.

Clamorous chatter rose and fell in waves.

Looking up, everywhere were samurai with uchigatana and tachi at their waists, sporting distinctive hairstyles, wearing hitatare (formal samurai attire) printed with their clan crests.

Farther off, in the center of the rather gorgeous Gozen Hall, sat a ramrod-straight figure — that was likely the star of this Genpuku, Takechiyo, the future Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Uesugi Toru stared at the boy's round, solemn face and quipped inwardly: "So the old Tokugawa turtle was actually kind of cute as a kid."

— But this physiognomy truly looked ordinary, not the stuff of a Tenka-bito at all!

On either side sat samurai and civil officials Uesugi Toru did not recognize, probably all key retainers of the Imagawa clan.

Most eye-catching was the white-bearded, white-haired, withered-skinned yet still radiant, deep-aura old man seated at the very back of the Gozen Hall.

Shiraishi's voice immediately rang out behind him: "Taigen Sessai, Boss, that white-haired old geezer is definitely the strategist called 'Imagawa's Right Arm', Taigen Sessai, no mistake!"

Taigen Sessai, huh.

Uesugi Toru had an impression of him, because the encyclopedia said it was precisely his death that led to Imagawa Yoshimoto's failure at Okehazama.

Uesugi Toru stared at him a moment longer and discovered the old man was indeed at death's door; living another half month would be a blessing from Heaven.

That he could still sit here now — he must be forcing his last breath to hold on.

Uesugi Toru was about to look away when he found Taigen Sessai locking eyes with him across a hundred-odd meters.

He started slightly, then nodded at the latter.

Taigen Sessai gave no reaction, still silent, maintaining that utterly unfathomable dignity and bearing.

Suddenly, Uesugi Toru felt his long robe tugged tighter.

Shiraishi's muttering came rapid-fire,

"The Asahina clan of the Imagawa house, the Okabe clan, the Ihara clan, the Miura clan of Totomi, the Matsudaira clan of Mikawa, plus the Takeda and Hojo allied with the Imagawa... wait! Even the Uesugi clan sent people!?"

Hearing his own surname, Uesugi Toru blinked, then realized Shiraishi must mean the Uesugi clan of the "Echigo no Ryu" Uesugi Kenshin from the Sengoku Period.

But isn't the Uesugi clan hostile to the Three-Clan Alliance of Imagawa, Takeda, and Hojo?

Before Uesugi Toru could sort out the reason, a questioning voice suddenly called from not far off toward his direction.

"That attire... Could it be, Sir, that you are the Onmyoji Toru who has recently made a name across the land?"

The moment those words fell, the originally clamorous surroundings fell quiet all at once, and that silence spread like a chain reaction triggered.

Thus, in half a minute, the whole area outside the hall was silent enough to hear a pin drop, not a scrap of extra chatter remained.

Even Takechiyo, sitting motionless inside the hall, couldn't help but shift his gaze toward him, standing head and shoulders above the crowd.

Uesugi Toru raised a brow as he felt countless gazes land on him in an instant.

— How come it feels like the vast majority of people here know me?

How many days since I had the Hasu villagers help?

This reputation of mine has spread too fast, fast to the point of being abnormal.

Is the title "Onmyoji" that useful in the Sengoku Period?

Takeda Yoshinobu, who had subconsciously spoken those words, looked around — he hadn't expected his one sentence to cause such terrifying impact.

Things having come to this, he had to brace himself and step forward with a smile: "First meeting, Toru-dono. I am Takeda Yoshinobu of the Takeda house."

"Likewise, I am Toru."

Uesugi Toru had just finished nodding to this eldest son of Takeda Shingen when he heard scattered murmurs rising around them.

"Onmyoji? Looks like just a clown courting popularity — how could there still be Onmyoji in this world..."

"Whether he's an Onmyoji or not, let him take one slash from me and we'll know."

"And what's that thing behind him, an outcaste? Outcastes allowed near the Imagawa Residence? Bad luck!"

A woman's deeply displeased voice also carried over.

"Disgusting, just smelling that outcaste's stench makes me want to vomit..."

"Drive that outcaste out! Toru-sama, though, can stay, hehe."

Following a brief silence, boundless malice surged like a tide toward Uesugi Toru and Shiraishi at the edge of the hall exterior.

Shiraishi's body trembled; only after lowering his head did he dare reveal hatred and fierce murderous intent.

He clutched Uesugi Toru's Chief Priest Robe tight, murmuring guiltily: "Sorry Boss, I shouldn't have come with you..."

Then he started muttering some unintelligible dialect to himself, probably plotting how to kill these samurai in the future.

Even Takeda Yoshinobu, who had spoken to Uesugi Toru, was stiffened by the wave after wave of idle gossip, nearly making him want to cut ties right now.

Uesugi Toru, expressionless, scanned around and carefully perceived everyone's strength, then sneered in disdain,

"A motley crew..."

Though the surrounding samurai couldn't understand the words, the mocking intent was practically palpable.

So immediately a burly samurai who had cultivated a Breathing Technique bared an angry grimace at him: "You ayakashi! Dare say that again!"

"— And if I say it again?"

That samurai of the Totomi Iio clan whipped his head back at the words, eyes bulging, and roared: "Step out here!"

So the challenger stepped out.

At the far end of this square, separated by several tiers of steps, two rows of black-armored, swordless samurai silently parted to left and right, clearing a broad path through the crowd.

Immediately, maids spread out bright carpets one by one, leading straight from the dais into the hall of the Gozen Hall.

Under the gaze of the Imagawa clan's samurai, stepping on tall geta and draped in the supremely magnificent Twelve-Layered Robe, Imagawa Yoshimoto, whose bearing was cold and noble, stepped onto the carpet.

From dozens of meters away, she looked at the broad-shouldered, thick-waisted samurai and said coldly: "Now then, I am standing out here."

No one answered.

The samurai shrank into the crowd the moment he saw her, bowing his head like a quail and trembling all over, hoping Imagawa Yoshimoto had not remembered his appearance.

"Rats who only dare wag their tongues behind backs……"

Imagawa Yoshimoto lightly withdrew her gaze.

After a moment, she looked down on everyone in the square and proclaimed loudly: "Lord Toru is Yoshimoto's honored guest; if any of you harbor opinions or dissatisfaction toward him, feel free to speak directly to Yoshimoto now."

The black-haired girl said this, then stood on the dais for a long time, sweeping her gaze over every person's face as if inspecting her territory.

Before the Gozen Hall was dead silence; not a single samurai or noble dared meet her gaze.

Everyone fell silent, not daring to answer.

Only Uesugi Toru rubbed his eyes, staring blankly at the cold, proud girl daimyo in the Twelve-Layered Robe, never expecting to meet "Ii Naomori" again in this way.

Right?

Leaving aside gender-bending……if she really is Imagawa Yoshimoto, the difference from the one in my memory is too great!

The former treated people kindly, cared for the people's livelihood; though fond of elegance and learned in manners, she made no excessive demands on others.

As for the latter, apart from political achievements, she was nothing but flaws.

These two people, apart from both being called "Imagawa Yoshimoto," could they possibly share even a single similarity?

And if she truly is Imagawa Yoshimoto, doesn't that mean this girl of four-odd meters in height is the legendary First Bow of Tokaido, the only Great Daimyo in all Tenka holding a million koku?

Uesugi Toru then understood what she meant by the "surprise" she told him earlier.

Shiraishi behind him was also stunned, finding it hard to believe.

—Though this woman's aura is not bad, Imagawa Yoshimoto is actually such a stunningly beautiful woman?! A woman can be a daimyo?!

And her age doesn't seem much older than mine; before, she was actually so gentle to a commoner like me……

For a moment, Shiraishi felt an indescribable sense of defeat.

He panted, not daring to look at the dazzling Imagawa Yoshimoto again, and instead shrank his head under Uesugi Toru's long robe.

In the silence, when Imagawa Yoshimoto's gaze turned to Uesugi Toru, she deliberately paused for a moment, then slightly raised the corner of her lips, revealing a brief smile.

Slap, slap, slap.

The sole master of Suruga, Totomi Province, and Mikawa took a step and walked on the carpet that only she was qualified to touch.

The dull sound of geta on the carpet echoed step by step.

Halfway, a Mikawa samurai's toe accidentally crossed the carpet's boundary, nearly touching the edge of Imagawa Yoshimoto's Twelve-Layered Robe.

Imagawa Yoshimoto stopped, then indifferently shifted her gaze,

"Kneel, then roll out of my sight."

The samurai hurriedly thanked her, then immediately knelt and crawled away.

In contrast, Imagawa Yoshimoto, when nearly reaching the end of the carpet, turned around and stepped onto the floor tiles not covered by the carpet.

Along the way, the samurai, whether willing or not, were pushed to both sides by the Black Armor Samurai.

But no one dared complain.

Then, at the end of this deliberately cleared path, Uesugi Toru's figure appeared.

Imagawa Yoshimoto strolled over, walked before Uesugi Toru, not caring that the Twelve-Layered Robe was stained with dust.

She raised her head and slightly nodded to Uesugi Toru: "Lord Toru, taking time to attend this Genpuku Ceremony, Yoshimoto is truly delighted."

Her words and the Prompt fell together.

【Current Constant World Walker's Historical Influence on History: 0.15%.】

Uesugi Toru quietly gazed at the black-haired girl before him, who had transformed from the presumed young lady or maid into a Great Daimyo, not knowing what to say.

Damn it, these history books and encyclopedias are utter nonsense.

If he had known earlier that Imagawa Yoshimoto was such a daimyo whose few defects could not hide her strengths, he should have adopted another plan long ago!

However, this way, choosing to follow Imagawa Yoshimoto seems not a bad choice?

After all, the current time point is still very far from the Honnoji Incident, but not far from the Battle of Okehazama.

Imagawa Yoshimoto almost perfectly fits the task conditions, and she also feels very compatible to him personally.

This is a wise lord.

Seeing Imagawa Yoshimoto seemingly waiting for him to answer, Uesugi Toru's mind turned, and he had already made his decision in his heart.

He smiled at Imagawa Yoshimoto, then looked toward Taigen Sessai in the Gozen Hall.

Precisely, toward that sickly ghost still lying behind Taigen Sessai, ceaselessly absorbing his Jing Shen day and night.

Uesugi Toru took a deep breath, and with a snap opened the Blessed Folding Fan.

—Then, from this very moment and place, leave behind your own mark in history!

End of Chapter