Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 76 Hidemitsu Kuchiki, come on!

Hearing the young man's words, the old man's eyes were full of longing: "If they were so strong back then, they wouldn't have lost the Battle of Katsura Gawahara. Who knows who would be in control of Kinki now."

"Yes," the young man also looked yearning at this moment: "If I can serve the Takeda family, there may be hope for reviving the family business."

"Oh? From the sound of it, you are from a famous family?" asked the old man.

The young man said embarrassedly: "To be honest, I can't say I'm from a famous family, but I'm Kuchiki Yahachiro Hidemitsu, and I'm indeed a samurai."

"Xiumu? Why, are you from Xiumu's family?" The old man became interested.

"That's right, but I'm from the Kuchiki branch family. I was expelled from Kuchiki Valley with my father because I failed to suppress the uprising in my family a few years ago. In recent years, I have served in the Hosokawa Kyocho, Rokkaku, and Hatakeyama families, but all of them were unsuccessful. In addition, I recently learned that my grandfather was seriously ill, so with the permission of the main family, I was able to return to Kuchiki Valley to visit my relatives."

The old man looked up and down at the young man who called himself Kuchiki Hidemitsu, and after thinking for a moment, he tentatively said, "Young man, you seem to have experienced some experience. Although it has been many years, I have some acquaintances in the Takeda army. If you are willing, I can introduce you to someone else."

"Really?" Kuchiki Hidemitsu couldn't believe that there was a noble person who would help him on this street. He was overjoyed and said, "Are you really willing to help me, old man?"

The old man nodded and smiled amiably, "We have met once before. I can ask my former colleagues to recommend you, but whether you can be selected by the Takeda clan depends on you."

"I will definitely live up to your expectations." After saying this, Kuchiki Hidemitsu bowed respectfully to the old man.

What he didn't know was that this lame old man was Yamagata Yoriyuki, the illegitimate son of Yamagata Yorifuyu, the previous head of the Yamagata clan and the adoptive father of Yamagata Hidemasa. In other words, he was Yamagata Hidemasa's sworn brother and was supposed to inherit the position of head of the Yamagata clan, but because Yamagata Yorifuyu died in the Battle of Katsura Gawahara and he himself was seriously injured, he had no choice but to stay in Kuchikidani to recover.

After recovering from his injury, Yamagata Yoriyoshi knew that he could not continue to fight on the battlefield due to his leg disability, let alone bring glory to the Yamagata clan. Therefore, he simply married and had children and settled down in Kuchikidani Castle. He also suggested to Takeda Motomitsu that Yamagata Hidemasa should inherit the Yamagata clan business.

Yamagata Yoriori also saw that Kuchiki Hideman was strong, handsome, and had the ambition to restore the family's glory, which was quite similar to himself when he was young. Therefore, he was willing to be a mentor, hoping that the young man could help him fulfill his wish of following the Takeda clan to fight on the battlefield.

Upon learning that the Takeda army was temporarily stationed south of Kuchikidani Castle, Yamagata Yoriyuki, with the help of a crutch, took Kuchiki Hidemitsu with him to meet his nephew Yamagata Morinobu.

Yamagata Morinobu was surprised and delighted to learn that it was Yamagata Yoriyuki, whom he had not contacted for a long time, who came to visit. After a round of greetings, Yamagata Yoriyuki explained the purpose of his visit. The fact that he was persuaded to come personally to introduce this person made Yamagata Morinobu more curious about Kuchiki Hidemitsu in front of him.

"Can you ride a horse?" asked Morinobu Yamagata.

"Yes." Without saying much, Kuki Hidemitsu immediately called for a war horse, mounted the saddle swiftly, and galloped around the camp several times. His various horsemanship was so skillful that even the warriors of the Yamagata cavalry team could not help but praise him.

"Can you shoot arrows?" asked Yamagata Morinobu again.

"Yes." After saying this, Kuchiki Hidemitsu asked for a longbow. After a slight adjustment, he drew the bow and pulled the arrow in one go. The arrow flashed and hit the target in the distance. Seeing this, Yamagata Morinobu nodded in approval.

"If you want to become a samurai of my Takeda family, you must have good spear skills." This time, without waiting for Kuchiki Hidemitsu to answer, Yamagata Morinobu asked Yoriki beside him to hand him the spear, and the two of them started fighting in the center of the barracks.

The two fought back and forth, and Kuchiki Hidemitsu even had the upper hand in the first half, but Yamagata Morinobu was more experienced and skilled. After more than fifty rounds, he took advantage of Kuchiki Hidemitsu's aggressive character, turned defense into offense, and took the opportunity to knock the spear out of his hand, reversing the situation in one fell swoop. "I lost." Kuchiki Hidemitsu picked up the spear, respectfully returned it to Yamagata Morinobu, bowed to everyone, and turned to leave.

"Yahachiro, right?" Yamagata Morinobu called him over and asked in a casual tone, "I heard that you worked for the Hosokawa, Rokkaku, and Hatakeyama clans. May I know why you finally chose my Takeda clan?"

"You know, my family was driven out of Kuchiki Valley. Those so-called famous families may employ me because of my ability, but they still look down on us in their hearts. This is why I left their families." Kuchiki Hidemitsu paused for a moment and continued:
"As for why I chose the Takeda clan, please forgive me for being frank. I think the Takeda clan was able to transform from a weak army into a powerful army that defeated Asakura and Isshiki in succession. There must be something extraordinary about them. Moreover, I saw a spirit and energy different from other soldiers on the faces of the Takeda army that went to Kyoto, which made me determined to give it another try."

"Give it a try? Haha, what if you find out that my Takeda clan is the same as the ones you served before, what are you going to do?" Yamagata Morinobu said with a smile.

"Then I will leave Kinki and travel to Kanto or China. Maybe there will be new opportunities there." Kuchiki Hidemitsu replied.

"What is your position in the Hosokawa family?" Yamagata Morinobu continued to ask.

"Ashigaru general, with an annual salary of 400 koku." Kuroki Hidemitsu continued to answer.

Yamagata Morinobu thought for a moment and said to him, "You also know that my family is not as generous as the Hosokawa family, and I am not able to give you too high a salary. How about this, if you are willing to stay, I will recommend you to the lord as the leader of the cavalry team. The annual salary is estimated to be 250 koku, and I will make up the rest for you, at least 400 koku, what do you think?"

"My lord, are you willing to employ me?" Kuchiki Hidemitsu looked at Yamagata Morinobu in astonishment and asked in an incredulous tone.

"I am not recruiting you, but I am recommending you to the lord. If successful, you will participate in the construction and command of the cavalry of the main family as a direct retainer of the lord."

"Sir, why are you willing to recommend me?" Kuchiki Hidemitsu asked curiously.

Yamagata Morinobu replied confidently, "Based on what you just said and my understanding of you, my lord. You must believe that the current head of our Takeda clan is definitely not someone who only cares about the family name. As long as you have talent, you will definitely be able to achieve something under his leadership and revive the family name of your Kuchiki clan."

Seeing Yamagata Morinobu's sincerity, Kuchiki Hidemitsu was deeply moved. He immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Thank you for your advice, sir. I will work hard for the Takeda family and serve the country wholeheartedly!"

Upon seeing this, Yamagata Morinobu hurriedly helped him up, and at the same time joked to Yamagata Yoriyuki beside him: "Uncle is really the 'mentor' of my Takeda clan. How about this, the Kuchiki family will hold a banquet to welcome the lord and us. If uncle is free, he and Yahachiro will go with me, right?"

"I won't go." Yamagata Yoriyuki smiled and said, "It is a great fortune to be able to recruit such talents for the Takeda and Yamagata families when they are half buried. My legs and feet are not good, so I won't join in the fun. I heard that the old lord will also accompany the army to Kyoto this time. Please give him my regards, and I will be satisfied."

This chapter is a benefit chapter for book friends. The character of Kuchiki Hidemitsu was recommended by a book friend. I think it is just right for this node, so I put it in.

If you have any characters you want to write about, you can leave a message in the character post on the homepage (just don’t be too extreme), and I will insert it into the work when the time is right. Friends who have already left a message, please don’t worry.



(End of this chapter)