Yashiro the Blind

"intuition!"

Before their departure, a brief conversation took place inside Tsutsui Castle.

Even though she knew that Naotora was highly skilled in martial arts and that his performance on the battlefield was no less than her own, as the saying goes, concern makes one confused. With their separation imminent, Yashiro couldn't help but feel worried, fearing that swords and spears had no eyes and that something unexpected might happen if she wasn't careful.

Despite her worries, she couldn't think of any way to protect Naotora without any mishaps. In the end, all she could do was repeat the same old advice: "Be careful" and "Don't be too reckless." Naotora obediently agreed, saying "I know" over and over again.

That being said, both of them knew perfectly well that once they were on the battlefield, the latter would definitely be at the forefront, charging into battle.

This is both Naotora's usual practice and the most suitable approach for the current situation. Yashiro herself would have done the same, so she couldn't say anything to Naotora.

In contrast, the latter seemed much more mature. She didn't give any instructions at all, but simply leaned down gently, touched her forehead lightly, and whispered in her ear, "Go quickly and come back quickly."

"Ah."

These few words speak louder than a thousand.

Unfortunately, besides the two parties involved, there was also a silly girl who spoiled the mood – seeing that Yashiro and Naotora had something to talk about, even though Saiga Hotaru wisely hid to the side, only Minjimaru was still holding her greatsword, standing there motionless.

However, the blind girl often showed affection in front of the children, so she naturally wouldn't force Minji Maru to the side. After a brief moment of whispering sweet nothings, the two figures separated, and just as they were about to say something more, they suddenly heard a voice from the side: "Lord Naotora, I have a plan!"

"Do you have a plan too?"

Yashiro answered instinctively. The next moment, Naotora gave him a light tap on the head: "Don't talk like that. Our Minamoto is still very smart."

"Yes, yes, I'm very smart!" Minjimaru put his hands on his hips and proudly puffed out his chest.

"A smart person wouldn't talk like that..."

Yashiro rubbed her temples, muttering angrily, but the other two ignored this sulking "big kid" and naturally moved on to the next topic.

"So, Minji, what great idea have you come up with?"

Naotora looked at the girl curiously. It was obvious that although she had just criticized Yashiro, she was also surprised and expectant that Minjimaru was willing to use his brain to come up with a plan.

"It's not exactly a good idea, but... Lord Naotora, didn't you just say that you thought this spear was too light?"

Minji Maru scratched the back of his head, speaking with a slightly shy smile.

Aside from Yashiro, she usually hangs out with the Tenji sisters, Ryuko, or Saiga Hotaru, who are around the same age or a few years younger than her. She's not very close to Naotora, and the fact that Naotora is her "master's wife" makes her even more nervous in front of him.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally said what he wanted to say: "I have heard my master tell many stories of heroes and great men. Many of them wielded two weapons at the same time, using both hands to fight their way through the enemy ranks, and were invincible... So I was thinking, could Lord Naotora follow suit?"

“This…” Naotora paused slightly.

Yashiro, standing to the side, covered his forehead and said, "Minji, what I told you were just fictional stories. Most of them were made up by others, so don't take them seriously."

"Are Dian Wei, the ancient evil one, and the Martial King also fake?!" Minji Maru exclaimed in shock.

"These two... might be true."

"That--"

“But one thing at a time, Naotora…” Yashiro suddenly struggled halfway through his sentence, “Ugh, why are you pinching my nose!”

"I'm heartbroken." Naotora sighed seriously. "I never thought that in your mind, there would be someone more powerful than me. Tell me where that Dian Wei and Wu Dao Tian Wang are. I want to go and have a match with them."

"Stop messing around, I don't believe you haven't heard of these two people."

"Hahaha."

Naotora chuckled and casually stretched out his hand. "Minji, lend me your knife."

"it is good!"

Without hesitation, Minji Maru drew the sword bestowed upon him by the general, turned the hilt around, and handed it over.

Naotora accepted the sword with a smile and casually swung it twice. Although her martial arts skills were mainly based on spear techniques, after sparring with Yashiro for so many years, she had gradually gained some skill in swordsmanship. At this moment, she was able to advance, retreat, slash, and thrust with surprisingly good technique, which made Minji Maru cheer in admiration.

Naotora then swung his sword a few more times, getting a general feel for the weapon. Suddenly, he flicked his toe, and the snake spear leaning against the side leaped up and into his hand. Following closely behind, with his sword in the left hand and spear in the right, he suddenly attacked Hachihiro!

This move came suddenly and without any prior warning, but the blind girl remained calm. She simply put her cane down, and with a flash of silver light, the sword in the cane touched and leaned against the national treasure sword. Her small figure moved like a willow branch, and with a sway, she retreated into the blind spot of Zhihu's vision!

However, the moment she moved, the Heavenly Swamp Spear followed closely, relentlessly pursuing her. Despite her agile movements and several changes of position, she could not escape the serpentine spear tip. In the nick of time, a soft laugh was suddenly heard. The blind girl tapped her cane, leaped into the air, and with a swift turn like a bird, landed on the spear once more.

Swaying and staggering, her sleeves fluttering in the wind, Zhihu swung his sword with his left hand, but the distance was too great, and the blow landed on empty air. She raised her head, unusually looking up at that beautiful face.

"Another loss."

“One is long and the other short, it’s bound to feel awkward.” Yashiro shook his head, then smiled, “But Minji’s proposal doesn’t seem to be entirely unreasonable… So, can you still lift a heavier weapon?”

"of course."

“Then—Minji, lend your greatsword to Lord Naotora.”

"no problem!"

……

And so on and so forth, Minji Maru's suggestion inexplicably reminded Yashiro of a certain manga he had read in his previous life.

There was a very powerful character who broke through her strength in battle by changing from holding the sword with one hand to holding it with both hands. I remember she laughed at this idea as a bit silly, but little did she know that she would also make this mistake of "blind spotting herself".

Holding a sword with both hands is definitely more powerful than holding one hand. By the same token, as long as you are strong enough, holding a weapon in each hand will definitely make you more ferocious in a fight than others. Regardless of whether it is practical or not, your aura will be extraordinary.

Moreover, when this happens to Zhihu, it's not just about "momentum" that makes it extraordinary.

Even Yashiro, who thought she knew Naotora best, hadn't expected that this older sister's strength was so great that she could wield both a seven-foot-long sword and a ten-foot-long spear with such ease. To be honest, when Naotora swung the sword in one hand and the spear in the other, she genuinely had the illusion that she was about to die on the spot…

There are many strongmen in the world who are known for their bravery. Not to mention her good apprentices, the brothers Naotaka and Naozumi of the Echizen Asakura clan are known for their black horse swords and can fight ten enemies at once without defeat. In recent years, the Satake clan of Kanto has produced a boy with extraordinary arm strength, known as "Oni Makabe". At the age of 10, he wields a 20-foot-long Kashi wood club and charges around. With one blow, he can smash the enemy's helmet and head to pieces.

Wait a minute, in this martial age, there are many fierce generals like him. But even if we include all the famous warriors of recent years, Hachiro thinks that his Naotora is one of the best. He probably can't even find a match for him in the world today. We'd have to look in the history books.

This is indeed the case:

Since Minji Maru's greatsword couldn't be given away, Naotora later asked the shogun for a slightly inferior nodachi. He also showed off his newly mastered dual-wielding skills, which made Ashikaga Yoshiteru's eyes almost pop out of their sockets. He was itching to show off his skills and even wanted to learn a few moves from Naotora...

Fortunately, he was pushed back by the other retainers.

Otherwise, someone else might have to take the blame for "regicide."

After that, Naotora led his sparse, ragtag army of ronin, ostensibly to cooperate with Yagyu Muneyoshi in conquering various branch castles and weakening the strength of Nobukiyama Castle. However, when it came to actual combat, the people of Yagyu Valley found that they seemed to have no chance to show their abilities at all.

The number of Matsunaga soldiers stationed in these surrounding towns and fortresses was small, ranging from a few hundred to several dozen. It was less a war and more like a brawl. In such small-scale conflicts, the effect a brave general could have was far beyond what ordinary people imagined.

The initial few high-intensity conflicts, whether sieges or open field battles, can be simply summarized into three steps:

The enemy has appeared.

Naotora Ii rushed forward.

And so they won.

It's truly hard for anyone who hasn't personally experienced such a scene to imagine the kind of impact a single woman's charge could have on the entire battlefield.

Yagyu Muneyoshi considered himself a well-known figure in the Kinki region. Two years ago, he joined Matsunaga Hisahide's army and fought against the monks of Tabumine. Due to his outstanding performance, he even received a commendation from Matsunaga Danjo, which made him famous for a time.

Hikita Toyogoro had personally fought against the renowned Takeda army and never showed the slightest fear in the face of the banners of Furin Kazan.

However, no matter how much they honed their martial arts skills, they could only kill one or two people at most with a single strike. Ii Naotora, on the other hand, was different. With each swing of his broadsword and spear, he could take five or six lives. Whether scaling the city walls on foot or charging into battle, wherever his tall figure passed, the surrounding enemies fell like stalks of wheat being cut down. In the end, the blood that splattered even stained his armor a dazzling red.

It can't be cleaned no matter how much you wash it.

Later, as Ii Naotora's fame spread, soldiers would immediately panic and flee at the mere sight of Ii's banner, their ranks collapsing in disarray. The local lords also lost their will to fight and quickly sent envoys to surrender.

In the end, only two or three families who were particularly close to Matsunaga Hisahide were left. They cobbled together an army of nearly a thousand people, wanting to make a desperate last stand.

Because Yagyu Muneyoshi hadn't really made a move in the battle, he was a little resentful. So he made a special agreement with Naotora that he would personally lead the main force of Yagyu Valley to hold off the enemy army, while Naotora would take advantage of the time to attack the enemy's undefended main camp.

This might sound like the Yagyu side is at a disadvantage, but samurai think differently from ordinary people. In the eyes of everyone, including Yagyu Muneyoshi, being able to defeat the enemy in a head-on confrontation on the battlefield is something to be proud of, while raiding the rear would only bring shame.

After he finished speaking, he was afraid that Naotora would refuse, but to his surprise, the woman readily agreed: "I will come to your aid as soon as I take the enemy's castle. Before that, I would like to ask Lord Yagyu to hold off the enemy army."

"Leave it to me with confidence!"

Yagyu Muneyoshi pounded his chest loudly, then, along with his senior apprentice Toyogoro and friend Hozoin, they rubbed their hands together, eager to take this opportunity to show off their skills and prevent the world from thinking that Yagyu Valley was just a bunch of good-for-nothings hiding behind women.

Five hundred against one thousand is a piece of cake!

Who knew that after the two sides had set up their formations and fought for about half an hour, Ii Naotora led his men back to attack... Then Yagyu Muneyoshi watched helplessly as that figure in red rode his horse at breakneck speed, slaying generals and seizing flags with ease. If only he had been born hundreds of years too early, he would have abandoned martial arts for literature and written a novel based on historical events.

The title is "My Colleague's Basic Attack Combo with Cleave".

After the battle ended, while everyone else was busy cleaning up the battlefield, Yagyu Muneyoshi stormed up to him and demanded, "Lord Ii, how did you manage to take down the enemy's fortress so quickly!" The implication was clear: you didn't just come here to steal my kills, did you?

Otherwise, even if the city's defenses were weak, there would still be at least thirty to fifty, or even a hundred or two hundred people. Even if it were just a hundred or two pigs, it wouldn't be possible to kill them so quickly!

Whether Naotora understood the hidden meaning in Yagyu Muneyoshi's words or not, she just shrugged with a wry smile: "There's nothing we can do. Actually, we didn't even attack the city... As soon as we got near the city, the garrison saw Iihemon and surrendered on their own."

"..."

Ok.

Upon hearing this explanation, Yagyu Muneyoshi immediately lost his temper.

If you were to ask what the biggest difference is between a couple hundred people and a couple hundred pigs, it's probably that the latter won't surrender.

How infuriating!

……

For about half a month, Ashikaga Yoshiteru leisurely led his men to besiege the city at the foot of Mount Shigi. At the same time, the two armies, one in the north and one in the south, accomplished their missions at a speed far exceeding expectations and returned to their respective capitals.

Although it couldn't compare to the results of Yashiro's "persuasion through reason" and the doubling of her forces, Naotora's initial few battles, with her fighting prowess of horizontal slashes, combos, and cleaving attacks, successfully won over a group of ronin who originally joined the fight just to eat rice. In fact, about one or two out of ten of them had secretly approached Naotora, wanting to know if they could actually work under her command.

Naotora, however, was very tactful and did not make the decision himself. Instead, he introduced all these people to Ashikaga Yoshiteru, allowing the latter to make the final decision.

This made the general feel respected. The more he looked at Naotora, the more pleasing he became. He only regretted that Naotora wasn't a man, otherwise he would probably have found a good girl from the Ashikaga clan to marry him on the spot.

Of course, considering Naotora's "interests," marriage is still an option... it's just that the price might be a bit severe.

Forget it, forget it.

But even if they couldn't become in-laws, such great merit still deserved a reward. Ashikaga Yoshiteru gritted his teeth and took out two relatively valuable items from the treasures he had brought from Nijō Palace, bestowing them upon Naotora and Yagyu Muneyoshi respectively... Yes, Yagyu also received a share.

As a leader, you have to treat everyone equally.

Given the perilous situation at Nijō Palace at the time, what could have been brought out were undoubtedly treasures accumulated by the Ashikaga family over the centuries, each one of considerable value. Giving them to subordinates was a last resort, since he had no cash on hand.

But Ashikaga Yoshiteru felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the expressions on Ii Naotora and Yagyu Muneyoshi's faces as they accepted the gift:

Two more people who don't know what's good for them.

Don't ask why there's a "again".

With tears welling in his eyes, he quickly shooed the two men away. Turning back, he looked at the few remaining Ashikaga family treasures, and a mix of emotions overwhelmed him—if he didn't hurry back to Kyoto, he feared he wouldn't be able to keep a single one of these ancestral possessions…

However, no matter how anxious Ashikaga Yoshiteru was, Nobukiyama Castle still stood in front of him, blocking the only way to Kawachi and Izumi.

This is not the kind of small town you can find anywhere in the countryside, but a castle built by the powerful minister Matsunaga Hisahide with all his might over several years. It is magnificent and indestructible.

Even though only Yuki Tadamasa leads a few hundred men to defend the castle, Ashikaga Yoshiteru has a force of six thousand—now seven thousand—and he still dares not rashly order a strong attack on this fortified castle. He can only proceed step by step and adopt the clumsy method of siege.

Originally, this method, though clumsy, was not problematic otherwise. After all, the surrounding towns and villages in the north and south had been suppressed, leaving Shigiyama Castle isolated and helpless. The only options were to wait for reinforcements from Hanoi or simply rely on the limited water and food supplies in the castle to survive.

If we can hold out for a month or two, we won't have to worry about taking this castle.

But after a month or two, the two battles between Hatakeyama, Rokkaku, and the Miyoshi clan will probably have already been decided. If they win, that's fine, but if they lose, Ashikaga Yoshiteru will have no choice but to retreat to Yamato Province and passively defend against the enemy. Meanwhile, Takeda Mankisai, Hosokawa Fujitaka, and others near Kyoto will become expendable pawns and be slowly eliminated by the Miyoshi clan.

This was something he desperately wanted to avoid, so he had to race against time to clear the road, cross Shigiyama Castle, and head to Hanoi to join forces with Hatakeyama Takamasa's Kii army. Only in this way could he have a chance to gain the strategic initiative.

The truth is this...

Attacking and breaching a city is no easy task.

Thinking of this topic, Ashikaga Yoshiteru's mood couldn't help but become somewhat heavy again. But at that moment, he suddenly heard a strange tapping sound coming from the corridor outside the door, the sound of a cane tapping on the ground.

I've been hearing this sound a lot lately, so it's quite familiar.

"Miss Yashiro?"

He called out to the outside.

"It's me."

"Quickly, come in quickly!"

Although he didn't know what Yashiro wanted to do at this time, even if there was nothing to talk about, it would be better to pass the time by chatting for a while than to keep racking his brains. With that thought, Ashikaga Yoshiteru quickly sat up straight, tugged at his slightly wrinkled clothes, and called out loudly.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Judging from her tone, the blind girl seemed quite relaxed at the moment. Perhaps it was because Ii Naotora had returned and the two of them could be together again... This joking thought flashed through his mind. Ashikaga Yoshiteru turned around and saw the sliding door open. Yashiro, leaning on her cane, slowly walked in, bowed, and then sat down.

But this time she didn't come alone.

There was also a boy who looked to be only ten years old, standing outside the door, looking nervous and uneasy. He seemed to want to look up at the room, but he didn't have the courage, so he just kept his head down and stared at his toes.

In his arms, he was also holding a sturdy burlap bundle, the contents of which were unknown.