Chapter 1: Kiryū Manzōmaru

  In the seventh month of 1549, on the west bank of the Yahagi River in Nishi-Mikawa Province's Hazu District, an old man and a young boy sat side by side, both wearing simple hemp clothing and conical hats to shield themselves from the sun. Each held a bamboo fishing rod and dozed off as they sat on the riverbank.

  That young child, looking no more than eight or nine years old, was sleeping soundly with his head tilted back and his mouth open, drooling away without even realizing it.

  Kira Masamune had a very long dream, in which he dreamed of towering skyscrapers, the red and green lights of the city at night, the beautiful sounds of various provinces, and those hot and pretty beauties. Some familiar yet strange influences flowed like water into his mind, and in his subconscious, he returned to that civilized era.

  But all of this suddenly burst like a punctured balloon, dissolving into fragments and shattering. The hazy and melodious music also turned into the gurgling sound of a river, making people feel especially annoyed.

  "Why can't I dream a little longer, this wonderful world is gone! Waaahhh... By the way, in recent years my memory has declined, and I even forgot what Mei's face looks like!" Although he had already woken up, he was still savoring the dream from just now. This dream had accompanied him for a long time, but recently he suddenly realized that some scenes in the dream were already forgotten, which made him feel somewhat annoyed.

  Kira Kosaburoumaru is the current head of the Kira family in Mikawa Province. Just hearing his name, you'd know he's a young punk who hasn't even had his coming-of-age ceremony yet, and at the same time, he's an unlucky devil who somehow ended up in the Warring States period. His past life was like a fleeting cloud that vanished into thin air, and after spending a few years living a non-human life in this era that's even worse than ancient China, his memories have started to fade away.

  "Woke up to find myself in Japan's Warring States period hundreds of years ago! What the heck is going on?! At least let me be a Ming dynasty person!" Kiryū Mantsumaru grumbled and vented his frustration, but he could only complain about his circumstances, which were given by heaven and couldn't be changed. If he wasn't mistaken, the pirate disturbances in the Great Ming Dynasty were happening around this time, and with his identity, running to the Great Ming Dynasty would likely end badly for him.

  After several years of experience and lessons learned from crossing over, Yoshirou Manabemaru finally understood the pitfall attributes of this era: agriculture was extremely underdeveloped, handicrafts were scarce, and even transportation tools were very rare. Horses that ordinary warriors couldn't afford, donkeys and mules had never been heard of. There were only two meals a day with no entertainment activities, and as soon as it got dark, they could only go to sleep. Life was very hard, but he also made new discoveries.

  "Now that I'm awake, let me take a look at my spoils!" Kiryu Mantsurumaru looked down at his own empty fishing basket and then glanced over at the old man's basket next to him. His eyes nearly popped out: "No way! His basket is almost full! I could've sworn I slept later than Master, so why doesn't my basket have any fish while Master's does? This isn't fair!"

  The power of resentment is great, prompting him to take a risk and do something, that is, steal fish!

  Kirishima Manzaburou looked around nervously, but fortunately the crowd had already been sent to hunt in all directions. He listened carefully to the old man's voice beside him and waited until a light snore came, and he couldn't help but secretly exclaim: "There is a way!"

  He cautiously stretched out his body, quietly stretching out his right hand to grab the fish basket, but before his hand could touch it, he heard the old man sitting upright and muttering to himself, scaring him into quickly withdrawing his hand, straightening up his posture like a focused angler, staring blankly at the fishing line in the river.

  After a while, seeing that the old man seemed to be still again, Kiryu Mantsurumar thought he was just talking in his sleep and quietly stretched out his hand, but his actions were destined to have no result. Every time he reached out to touch the live fish in the fish basket, the old man would hum a few times, and this time the fool also knew that he had been deceived.

  "This guy has screwed me again!" He seems to have little respect for his own mentor, immediately dropping from "master" to "guy", and who knows if the old man will be furious when he wakes up.

  Kirishima Manzumaru glanced at the old man who was snoring and cursed in his heart: "A knife scar, a single eye, and a face full of acne scars. This is indeed a rare face that has been around for thousands of years. With a crippled leg and broken fingers, it's impossible to associate this with the famous Yamamoto Kanbei! The style of this guy is really unique!"

  "Hmm! Master, what are you looking at? Is there a flower on my face?" The famous Yamamoto Kanbee suddenly opened his one eye and said with a hint of a smile: "This world is indeed wonderful. The fish I caught can actually fly into your basket, Master. If I hadn't been careful, this whole basket of fish would have flown away mysteriously again!"

  "This old man is absolutely intentional!" Kiryū Mantsumaru was furious at Yamamoto Kanetsugu's deliberate attempt to frame him, but he had to put on an innocent face in front of Yamamoto and spread his hands out, shrugging his shoulders as if to say: "What are you talking about? Why can't I understand a single word?"

  Yamamoto Kan no Suketsune smiled wryly, well aware that this level of sarcasm would have no effect on Kira Yoshinaka, and continued to indulge in his unfinished daydream, soon followed by the sound of snoring, as if nothing had happened.

  "As a fishing expert, sometimes I'll have an off day... oh well! Today was just bad luck!" He couldn't catch any fish and had to return empty-handed. Although he felt a bit down after losing his grip, he cherished this leisure time. As an 8-year-old, he had to study martial arts etiquette every day, not only writing Chinese characters but also reciting and singing songs. His days were packed from morning till night, so it was already difficult to find some spare time to go fishing."

  Just as he was looking around to pass the time, he saw a cloud of dust rising in the distance, and more than a dozen horsemen wearing bright red armor were shouting and charging towards the riverbank. In front of them were several wild rabbits running at high speed, and Kiryū Manzōmaru felt a headache as they chased after their prey with excitement.

  "You guys won't even use bows and arrows! How long are you going to chase rabbits like this!" Kiryū Manzōmaru was fed up with these simple-minded but physically strong men, who were his own vassals. He looked at the fish swimming in the river without reacting, so he simply stuck his fishing rod into the mud, stood up and demonstrated a horseback archery pose to them.

  After several gestures, the leading horseback warrior finally understood, and with a loud shout, he pulled the reins to stop the horse, turned around and quickly drew his bow and arrow. To say nothing of these guys' accuracy, one round of arrow rain eliminated all these small animals, and the miserable cries and struggles of the prey made this group of horseback warriors excitedly yell.

  "Within twenty meters, even if I were to do it myself, I could have taken him down with one arrow!" Looking at the jubilant crowd of Mouri retainers celebrating wildly, Kiryuu Manzoumaru snorted in disdain and sat back on his horse, continuing to stare blankly ahead. He wouldn't dare admit that his archery skills were so pathetic that he was too embarrassed to show them off to others.

  "Hmph! I've made up my mind, I'll definitely conquer the world and bring peace to this chaotic era of warring states! Let those demon kings, monkeys, and raccoons go play with themselves! Master! Did you hear me?" Kiryū Manzōmaru pushed Yamamoto Kanetsugu forcefully, who responded vaguely with his eyes closed, not caring what he was saying.

  "How boring! I clearly said something that would shock him to his core, but Master didn't even flinch!" Without the dramatic scene of a tiger's body shaking and bowing its head, Kirishima Mitsunomaru turned around with a sullen expression and stared at the slowly flowing Yatsugawa River. He suddenly noticed a strange ripple in the center of the river, and it seemed like there was a weird shadow in the water.