Chapter 66: Heirou's Left Arm (Seeking Collections)

  Kawachi is a province located south of the Yodo River, within the Five Home Provinces. To its west lie Izumi Province and Sakai town, while across the Yodo River to the north lies Settsu Province. Northeast lies Yamashiro Province and Kyoto, and south over the Izumi Mountains lies Ki Province on the Nankaidō route. The Kongō Mountain Range separates Kawachi from Yamato Province to the east.

  Kawachi was originally named Kawachi, meaning a mountainous plain formed by the accumulation of river water, and refers to the flat land that opens up in the lower reaches of the Yamato River. Another theory is that because there is the Yodo River in the north and the Yamato River in the central and southern regions, it was called Kawachi, or "inside the rivers", because it was surrounded by these two major rivers.

  The history of Kawachi Province is old, and apart from the Kawachi Genji, who originated in Kawachi Province, there was also the famous Akuto Nitta Yoshisuke, who was also from Kawachi. Of course, he was a very hateful person for the Northern Muromachi Shogunate, and to this day remains an enemy of the court. Since the merger of the Northern and Southern Courts, the protection of Kawachi Province has been monopolized by the Hatakeyama family.

  Crossing the Kawachi River and entering the country of Kawachi, abandoning the boat and continuing along the Nara Highway, you will encounter a large mountain blocking the direction from Osaka Plain to Nara. This is a mountainous area belonging to the Ikoma Mountains, which is a natural barrier between Kawachi and Yamato provinces. Passing through the back of this mountain directly enters the heart of Nara Basin in Yamato Province. The Ikoma Mountains have long been the main stronghold for blocking invasions from Kawachi, with famous mountain castles such as Iimoriyama Castle and Shigisan Castle situated on the peaks.

  The elevation of Ikoma Mountains is not high, and crossing here will enter the border of Yamato Province. The famous Shinto shrine in Yamato Province, the ancient Asuka-kyo and Nara-kyo are located here. There is Kofuku-ji Temple, which has been one of the six major temples in Nara since the Nara period, and has served as the guardian of Yamato since the Kamakura period.

  As the southern capital of Nara, Kōfuku-ji Temple originally had a very strong influence. As the Buddhist temple of the Fujiwara family, which held the most power in the imperial court, Kōfuku-ji's influence on the side of the imperial court was much stronger than that of the five mountains of Kinai recognized by the shogunate. Kōfuku-ji itself had a large number of warrior monks and was a powerful religious armed group. Therefore, the forces from Kōfuku-ji spread throughout Yamato Province and became an unstoppable force.

  Kōfuku-ji was not invincible, however. During the late Heian period, the Fujiwara clan's internal conflicts intensified, and the temple suffered damage from the fires of war during the Hōgen Rebellion and the Heiji Rebellion. As the Fujiwara clan split into two main factions, Kōfuku-ji also underwent a transformation, with the Ichijō-in branch, affiliated with the Konoe family, and the Daijō-in branch, affiliated with the Nijō family, emerging as rivals during this period.

  In the late Kamakura period, in 1293, the conflict between Ichijoin and Daijoin temples intensified, leading to the famous Eirin War. The monks of both temples clashed at the gate of Kasuga Shrine, taking advantage of the internal strife within Kofukuji Temple, the Kamakura shogunate intervened in Yamato Province affairs, sending its vassals to occupy the province known as Nanto.

  They entered the country of Yamato, and their first battle was in the northwest, in the Heguri county, which is a necessary path to enter the country of Yamato. The Kirishima family's group of twenty or so riders galloped by quickly, when suddenly a wild deer leapt out from the forest beside the mountain road and collided head-on with Kirishima Matsuomaru's horse.

  "Ah! Master, be careful!" Isoroku shouted, but it was too late. The normally gentle steed reared up on its front legs and nearly fell over, causing people to shout and horses to whinny as dust rose into the air.

  "Uuuu!" A mournful cry, and the wild deer fell straight down to the ground.

  "Who's so bold! Come out!" The Mouri warriors dismounted and drew their swords, surrounding Kiryuu Manzoumaru in a circle. Nakajo Hidetaka, who had been silent for a long time, walked up to the body of Nogiku and took a look, finding an arrow shaft still stuck in his neck, and praised: "Good archery!"

  A child under ten years old, carrying an exaggerated wooden bow, jumped out of the woods and pointed at the wild deer that had been shot with an arrow, saying: "This is my prey!"

  "Damn it! Your prey isn't even... Wait, you're saying this is the prey you killed?!" Yamagata Zentaro walked over and tried to grab the bow-wielding kid, but was dodged by the quick child.

  "Huh! You still dare to hide! I'll see how you hide!" Yamagata Zentaro was extremely angry and drew his samurai sword, but unexpectedly the little boy in front of him wasn't afraid at all. He raised his bow and aimed at him, stubbornly saying: "This is my prey! Give me back my prey!"

  "Zenjiro, come back! He doesn't have any ill intentions." Kiryu Manshitaro finally came to his senses from the shock. The scene just now was indeed perilous. If it weren't for this horse being well-trained, he would have fallen off and gotten a severe concussion, which wouldn't be surprising at all. He didn't have the mood to pursue this unexpected disaster, so he directly beckoned him to come back.

  Several young samurai supported him as he sat under the shade of a tree by the mountain path, while Isokuro hurriedly led the horse to the river to wash off the dust from its body. In this era, horses were important assets, even more so than swords and guns, and soothing startled horses was also an essential skill for warriors. Nakajo Hidetaka approached him and said, "Kira-dono, this child is a very skilled archer, able to shoot an arrow that pierces the throat while maintaining its momentum, penetrating three inches deep - a feat that most warriors cannot accomplish."

  "Huh? So formidable? It seems that Yamagata no Sanzaburou also boasted about his archery skills being able to penetrate three inches of wood, and this kid's age shouldn't be much older than mine. I've met a master today." Kirishima Manzamaru had someone call the child over and asked: "What is your name? Where are you from?"

  As he walked closer, I realized that he was indeed young, with two childish braids still intact on his forehead, and a face full of quietness, his wooden eyes staring at Kira Yoshinaka as he said in a low voice: "My name is Sainen, I'm from Hirayama Island in Heigun County."

  "Oh! You're called Zuo Nei? What's your surname? Who else is at home?"

  "I don't know about the surname, but at home there's my dad, my mom, my sister, my uncle..." Zuo started listing off his family members one by one, his serious expression making people want to laugh.

  "Cough! What I mean is that your skills must be from a martial arts family, and your father must also be a warrior, right? What's your father's name?"

  "Oh! My father is the lord of the island castle, called Shima Tomo no, my family has always been samurai, and my grandfather was a very powerful samurai." The gaze of Sainari slightly moved, it turned out that Kira's startled horse had been calmed down and led over.

  "Your name is Shimajiri Tsona, right? Nice name. You live in Hirakawa city, and your family name is Shimajiri... Tsona?"

  "That's my dad's name, how did you know?" Zuo Nei tilted his head with a questioning expression.

  "What's your grandfather's name?" Kiryu Mitsunomaru stared at him silently.

  "My grandfather's name is Da Zuomen."

  "That road is quite something! As expected, it's just as I thought. You islanders are used to the left side, aren't you?!" Kiryu Manzoumaru was suddenly enlightened.

  "What are you talking about? Why can't I understand?" The little boy named Shimajiri put down the rope and walked over, seeing Kirishima Mantsumaru's horse being led back, and said with a look of admiration: "What a fine horse!"

  Kiriyama Mantsumaru immediately came to his senses and asked with a hint of enticement: "Do you want one?"

  The island's left inner side took another glance at Kiryu Mantsurumararu's mount, shook his head and walked to the side of his prey, crouched down to carefully examine.

  "Hey! Kid, our master is asking you something!" Yamagata Zentaro shouted loudly: "Don't you know that hunting animals will be punished by the gods? Be careful of yasha and oni coming to get you in the middle of the night!"

  "Zenjiro!"

  "Yes!" Zenjirō could only retreat with a scowl.

  "Hey, Osan! Tell me, don't you want to be a samurai?" Stopping the overzealous Zenjirō, Yoshida Mansaburō continued, "As a samurai, you can have a horse like this one from the main house. As a samurai, you can bring your parents to live in a safer big city. How about it? Have you ever thought of that?"

  He didn't say a word, but instead pulled out a length of rope from his sleeve and crouched down to carefully tie up the prey.

  Note: Some people think that using the self-referential term "ore" is tacky or unrefined, but this is incorrect. The original Japanese word for "ore" is actually "orera", as in "Orera ga Daimakou" (I'm Daimakou), which fans of Gundam should be familiar with.