Chapter 21: The Strongest Under Heaven's Vassal

  Because of this, Watanabe no Tsuna, who had fallen to the position of a low-ranking samurai, was so excited when he saw Kira no Kōzuke no Suke. It wasn't easy for his family to become like this, as their ancestors were from the Minamoto clan and had produced many famous aristocrats, including the first, second, and third generations of the Minamoto clan. The protagonist of "The Tale of Genji", written by Murasaki Shikibu during the Heian period, was also a member of the Minamoto clan, and his brothers had established the illustrious names of the first, second, and third generations of the Minamoto clan, marking the beginning of the decline of the Minamoto clan's aristocratic status.

  It's also related to his origin that he ended up like this. The Watanabe family is not a direct descendant of the main line, their ancestors were defeated and declined early on, and even as vassals of the Takeda clan, they held a relatively low position. In fact, the Watanabe family was a branch of the Matsudaira clan that split off from the Takeda clan's vassal family, the Suwa clan, which inherited the ancestral name of Watanabe but had little to do with the main line of the Watanabe family.

  In comparison, the Minamoto clan from the Clear River source has been repeatedly making great contributions to the imperial court since its decline from nobility, whereas the Kawachi Minamoto clan has been renowned throughout the country since the time of Hachimantaro Minamoto no Yoshiie and has become the de facto leader of the samurai class, with the saying "Buke-Minamoto" (lit. "Warrior Minamoto") emerging as a result, which is why Minamoto no Raikō was able to single-handedly lead several tens of thousands of soldiers against the Taira clan.

  Kira Kanzaburou finally remembered who Watanabe Koukou was, and his son should be Watanabe Morokazu. In the entire Mikawa Province, there is only one family with the surname Watanabe, so it's not hard to guess. However, he was still curious about how Watanabe Koukou was recruited into the Kira household.

  "This is a list that I, your humble servant, have compiled. The names of the warriors who belong to the eight hundred regulars are all listed above." Yamamoto Kanetsugu pulled out a piece of paper from somewhere and looked at the scribbled writing on the list. Kira Yoshinaka habitually curled up his lip, as Yamamoto's handwriting was terrible, and because he was careless with calligraphy, he could only write pseudonyms instead of real characters.

  However, as he looked at it carefully, he didn't have the mood to mock his handwriting anymore. “...Watanabe Gennojo Hidetaka, Naito Shirozaemon Masanari, Kato Sukebe Tadakazu, Ina Gohei Tadahisa…Huh? Naito Masanari? Isn’t this that person from the Naito clan who claims to be of the Fujiwara Hidesada line? Naito Kiyoshige seems to still be a vassal of the Matsudaira family.”

  Indeed, Naito claimed to be of the Fujiwara no Hidesato line, and was of the same clan as the Tango Naito and Suo Naito, but since he couldn't produce any strong genealogical evidence...," lamented Yamamoto Kanetsugu.

  "What's with the nodding face? I want an answer!" Kiryu Manzoumaru quickly retorted, thinking to himself that this old man was being evasive again. He could only patiently say: "I was clearly asking why he exists, Master please don't misinterpret my meaning!"

  "Oh, I see! As an old minister, I'm getting on in years and my speech can't keep up with the lord's pace!" Under Kiriyama Mantsumaru's dumbfounded gaze, this super energetic guy put on a very troubled expression, struck a pose of deep contemplation, and after a moment suddenly enlightened exclaimed: "Probably because we hit it off with the lord!"

  "What's going on? What kind of explanation is this?! This is too irresponsible!" Kiryū Mantsumaru finally lost his temper and flung away, spurring his horse to gallop into the streets. The attendants and stable hands followed closely behind, confused, while Yamamoto Kanetsugu trailed slowly in the rear.

  "The young master has finally grown up! After five years of training, the usual troops' performance today will be etched in the hearts of the Kiryuu family's upper and lower ranks. I'm afraid that several generations of the Saigyou Castle can't sit still anymore! Never mind! These 800 usual troops were originally prepared as a gift for the young master, and I took this opportunity to hand over the military power. Who can say anything against me now?"

  Yamamoto Kanbei turned around and glanced at a bow-wielding samurai who was on duty, who was only in his early twenties but already had exceptional archery skills. He let out a cold snort: "Naito Yoshikiyo, the leader of the Okazaki Five, fought for the Matsudaira family against Oda Nobushige at the age of 73 and ended up dying from injuries. The Naito clan has served the Matsudaira family with loyalty, but even now they still reside in the Naito estate in Kamata Village. What qualifications does this lord have to possess a brave warrior like Naito Shigeyuki?"

  "Let these good seedlings be left to the master of the museum to cultivate!" The distant green mountains remained, the long river flowed, except for the damage to dozens of houses in the town under the castle, and dozens of terrifying human heads on both sides of the East Sea Street, everything seemed to have never happened.

  During the Sengoku period, they were divided into two rows and sat in order: Naito Kiyonaga, Yamaguchi Munenaga, Ogawa Narimasu, Koide Yoshinaga, Ohashi Masanao, Ogasawara Nagayoshi, Ogasawara Hidehisa, Kawahara Danjō Masahide, and Yamamoto Kanze as a supporting role for Kira Utsunomaru and a direct vassal of the Kira family.

  Kirishima Ikkoku and the Tokugawa Shogunate's Ikkoku have no direct blood relationship, except that they both belong to the descendants of Ashikaga clan. The only connection between them is Honjo Ikkokuso, where the first ancestor of Ikkoku, Ikkoku Kōshin, was the seventh son of Ashikaga Yasushi and was enfeoffed in Ikkokuso near Kirishima house, making him a cousin of the Kirishima family. Later, when Ikkoku entered Kyoto to serve the emperor, his Ikkokuso became the domain of the Kirishima family.

  During the Muromachi period, Kira Yoshinaka was a direct vassal of Ashikaga Tadayoshi and opposed Ashikaga Takauji during his campaign in the Kantō region. As a result, he was called "the evil subject of Kira Manor" by Takauji. The following year, Tadayoshi was poisoned to death by Takauji, and Yoshinaka had no choice but to surrender. Because he had sided with the wrong faction, the once-illustrious Kira clan fell into a state of embarrassment where they couldn't even obtain the position of shugo in Mikawa Province during the Kamakura period.

  Because Kiryū Kiyohisa, who belonged to the same side as Ashikaga Tadayoshi, went to Mutsu Province to serve as the governor of ōshū, and fought against Hatakeyama-shi and Ishibashi-shi, who also belonged to Ashikaga Takauji, he later founded the ōshū Kiryū-shi. As a result, the ancestral home of Mikawa's Tōjō Kiryū-shi was taken over by Kiryū Mitsuyoshi. After the Kiryū family surrendered to the Northern Court, Ashikaga Takauji effectively suppressed this powerful family by using his brain on this Tōjō Castle.

  Ashikaga Takauji deliberately made Kira Mitsuyoshi's second son branch out, personally performing his genpuku and bestowing the character "Takauji" to show his trust. This person was Yoshida Kira Suketada, the first generation of the Higashitō Kira clan. The newly established Higashitō Kira clan did not disappoint expectations and opposed their elder brother Kira Mitsutsune of the main house, and later their descendants continued to oppose the Ichimonjileaders under the shogunate's tacit approval. Mikawa Province never knew peace again from then on.

  To counter this annoying branch family, Kiryū Mitsuyoshi, the father of the two brothers, distributed several illegitimate sons to establish separate branch families to assist the main house in opposing the Tōjō Kiryū clan. They were Iroku Yoshii, Okuyama Mitsukane, and Hashita Mitsunaga, each building a castle to protect the dominant position of the Kiryū family in Hatano County.

  Hashita's family line became extinct in the ōnin War, and the main line of the Okayama clan also became extinct. Only a side branch, the Yamakawa clan, preserved this lineage, and only the Isshiki clan continued to maintain it. They were always one of the powerful branches of the Kiryū house, and their family head has been receiving a special gift from the main house for generations. The current head of the Kiryū-Isshiki clan, Isshiki Yoshinao, is also like this.

  Yamaoka Yoshimasa was the father of Yamaoka Gentarō. He had an older brother, Yamaoka Gentarō Motochika, who was the heir to the family estate. There were also two younger sisters who were not yet of age. The family inherited the castle of Kiyosu from the Shiba clan and rendered meritorious service in opposition to the Lower Kira family on behalf of the Upper Kira family.

  The mother of Zentarō and Zenjirō, Naitō's wife, was a wet nurse for Yoshida Mantaromaru, and the two brothers also became milk brothers to Yoshida Mantaromaru. Therefore, Yoshida Mantaromaru was very close to their family, which is why Zenjirō became the leader of the Sōkō-shū.