Chapter 47: The Two Great Demon Kings

  "Bang!" A gunshot rang out, startling all the samurai of the Kira household. In an instant, hundreds of people drew their swords and charged forward with a loud shout. Dozens of them surrounded Kira Yoshinaka, who was lying on the ground, while others formed two circles around him. The Maruoka troops mounted their horses, drawing their swords and bows in unison. The sudden commotion frightened all the young men on the Oda Nobunaga side.

  "Speak! What did you just give to the master?! Is it a stolen magical object from some monster's hand?! Speak quickly!" Yamagata Zentarō was about to go mad, earlier he thought it was good that the master made new friends, but in just a moment they could be deceived, if something happened to the master, all of them would not be able to clear their guilt even if they killed themselves.

  "Zenjiro! Don't move, the master has woken up and he wants to say something!" Ikkoku Shirō pushed through the crowd, grabbing Yamagata Zenjiro tightly, glanced at Oda Nobunaga who was surrounded by young men, and whispered: "The master says he's fine, absolutely do not lay a hand on those youngsters, come with me quickly!"

  "Hmph! Let's go!" The half-encircled army of Oda Nobunaga retreated with a shout, and the opposing side also let out a sigh of relief. However, Oda Nobunaga seemed to show no fear at all, instead gazing intently at the fierce warriors with sparkling eyes, his fists clenched tightly in both hands.

  "Master of the mansion! Are you alright?! I, Yamagaki Zentarō, have come too late!" Pushing through the crowd, Yamagaki Zentarō knelt on the ground and said with deep remorse: "It was my fault for being remiss! I should..."

  Kiriyama Mantsumaru sighed and thought to himself, "Why didn't you come earlier? You had to wait until the Honke made a fool of themselves before coming to their aid." He was still holding someone else's iron cannon and said, "Alright! Let's not bring up past matters. Return this iron cannon to Oda Nobunaga!"

  "Yes!" Yamagata Zentarō retreated with his hands clasped together in respect, holding the iron cannon.

  Yamamoto Kan no Suke helped up Kira no Motsunamaru, looked him over and saw that he didn't seem to be injured. Still worried, he asked, "Does the Honorable Master feel unwell anywhere? I have some basic medical knowledge and can take a look at you."

  "I'm fine, I just didn't expect the recoil of this iron cannon to be so strong." Kiryu Mitsumaru couldn't tell him about his own embarrassing situation - he didn't even know the correct grip for a matchlock gun, and hadn't expected it to have any recoil. As a result, he had accidentally gotten himself into a big mess.

  "Kira Sanrō! Are you alright?!" A voice came from afar, it was Oda Nobunaga's voice, seemingly worried yet certain. Kira Manshirōmaru struggled to push away the crowd, laughing as he replied: "I'm fine, just didn't expect this iron cannon to be so powerful, your vassals also didn't tell me that cannons can knock people down!"

  "What? Nobuyuki didn't tell you?! I'll go back and give that bastard a good scolding!" Oda Nobunaga said with a smile on his face, not showing any signs of anger. It was clear that this guy had intentionally let him in the dark.

  "I'm returning the iron cannon to you, I'm really not good at that thing!" Kirishima Mitsumaru was already beyond words, all he could do was sigh.

  "It doesn't matter, you'll definitely like it later!" Oda Nobunaga handed the iron cannon to his page and took Kira Yoshimasa's son, Kira Mansaburou, to a place by the river where they sat down to eat. Staring at the green mountains and sky, Oda Nobunaga suddenly asked: "Kira Saburō, what is your ambition?"

  "Aspirations? Of course, it's to support the shogunate and revive the family." Kiryū Mantsumaru was taken aback by this sudden statement. Was this really the legendary Oda Nobunaga's rhythm? Fortunately, he wasn't afraid of being asked such questions. Isn't a warrior's duty to revive his family business? Adding the big hat of supporting the shogunate makes it something that can be said even in front of the shogun and the emperor."

  This answer certainly cannot satisfy Oda Nobunaga, who feels that the previous question was not thorough enough and asks again: "Do you think the Shogun of the Tokugawa clan really has the ability to unify the country?"

  "What does having a large capacity and unifying the world have to do with anything?" Kiryū Mantarōmaru felt a bit parched, opened his folding fan and fanned himself lightly, "What is this Owari big fool thinking? Does he already have ambitions of unifying the world at such a young age? This is too ridiculous!"

  "In terms of ability, I think there should be... maybe some!" Kira Mansaburoumaru was quite uncertain, he didn't know what kind of person Ashikaga Yoshifuyu was, but judging from his actions, he seemed to have a strong sense of justice. Oda Nobunaga suddenly said: "Trust my intuition and this head!" Pointing at his own brain, the Owari big fool had an incredibly profound gaze that stared straight at Kira Mansaburoumaru.

  Kiriyama Mitsumaru suddenly blurted out: "Intuition?"

  "Hmm? Is this what they call intuition? What an interesting word, did you come up with it? It sounds pretty good! Let's just call it intuition then!" Kiryuu Mantarou deeply regretted his foolish mistake of speaking out, but Oda Nobunaga was very pleased with the word and burst into laughter saying: "I believe in insight and intuition! You are someone who has the same capacity as me! We will revolutionize the heavenly way that has been unchanged for thousands of years and create a new world, this entire realm only has you and I with this capacity!"

  "What's the principle?" Kiryū Mantsumaru didn't understand, but he was still shocked by these words. This Owari big fool never played cards according to the rules, and the small surnames on Oda Nobunaga's side seemed to be used to his somewhat disconnected way of thinking, with a look of being unsurprised. Kiryū Mantsumaru turned his head again to look for Yamamoto Kanbee, but where was Yamamoto Kanbee? He didn't know where he had run off to again.

  As Yamamoto Kan no Suketsune disappeared seeking help and failed again, Yamaoka Sentarō sat not far away with a vigilant eye, but this guy was too stupid to notice his pleading eyes. So Kirishima Manzaburou had to continue fighting alone: "But I'm only nine years old, and you're only sixteen, we're so young, is it really okay to say such strange things?"

  Nobunaga Oda stood up, pointing to the blue sky and expressing his rich emotions: "Look at the countless gods living in that sky, it is he who illuminates my countless lives under heaven. In every era, there will be outstanding figures emerging, my ambition is to become such a figure!"

  Nobunaga Oda, having expressed his thoughts, turned to him and said: "Do you know? A group of Nanban people came to Kyushu! They arrived in Kyushu a few years ago with iron cannons on the divine wind given by the gods. This is the will of the gods, do you understand what I mean?"

  "I don't understand!" Kiryu Mitsunomaru looked at him with a bewildered expression, but in his heart he thought: "Even if I understood, I would still say that I didn't! Who knows what you'll say next? Bastard!"

  "These iron cannons came from Tanegashima in Kyushu, I bought twenty iron cannons from Tanegashima and also got news from the Southern Barbarians! Do you know? The Southern Barbarians told us that the world is very big, with seven great seas, and countless islands in the great seas. In the east where the sun rises, there is a boundless great sea, and at the end of the great sea, there is a new great continent! It takes more than ten years for the Southern Barbarians' largest ships to come here after continuous voyages, the Southern Barbarians call it 'the world'!"

  Nobunaga Oda enthusiastically announced his own rumors, pointing to the sky and painting a vivid picture of himself as a Warring States version of a god stick. Especially when he said a few words that made Kira Yoshinori's face turn pale, but in his heart, he had some doubts that he couldn't express: "What are the seven great seas? It seems like I've heard of it before."