Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 21: The Lame Warrior
Don’t underestimate Saito Toshimasa, who has just been appointed as the guardian of Mino? Who could have imagined that four years later, he would expel his lord, dominate Mino, and intimidate his neighbors with the name of "Mino Viper".

That’s right, he is the father-in-law of Oda Nobunaga in history, Saito Dosan, who was later called the “national thief”.

Although Nobushige wanted to use the power of the Saito family to fight against the Asakura family, on the one hand, Saito Dosan did not yet control Mino and had no time to take care of Wakasa; on the other hand, Saito Dosan's sinister character also made Nobushige dare not take risks alone, and he might even be given to the Asakura family as a gift.

At dawn on the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month, Nobushige and his two companions said goodbye to Yabei and set off to continue their journey eastward. In fact, they did encounter several groups of robbers along the way, but fortunately, with the protection of Kumagai Takashige and Muto Mitsuyu, Nobushige was always able to escape danger.

At noon that day, the three of them arrived at the southern foot of Hakusan Mountain in Nogo, and after crossing the mountain, they entered Echizen Ono County. They tied their horses to a tree nearby, preparing to take a short break, eat some dry food, and then continue on their journey.

"My lord, we are about to enter Ono County. You must be extra careful on the road." Muto Mitsuyuu reminded as he took out some dry food and handed it to Nobushige and Kumagai Takanao.

Xinzhong nodded and said, "It's all thanks to you two. Otherwise, with my limited Kung Fu skills, I wouldn't have been able to get here."

"Haha, my lord didn't want to take me with him at first, but now you know how powerful I am!" Kumagai Takashige teased carelessly while chewing a rice ball in his mouth.

"You kid!" Nobushige poked Kumagai Ryuunari with his elbow while laughing. Muto Mitsuyuu watched this scene and felt that the new head of the Takeda clan was indeed unusual.

"My lord," suddenly, Muto Mitsuyu frowned, made a "hush" gesture, and reminded in a low voice: "Something seems to be wrong."

Kumagai Takashige also listened carefully and indeed heard some faint sounds coming from the woods nearby.

"It sounds like the sound of fighting." Muto Mitsuyu guessed.

"Let Rongchen go and take a look." Kumagai Takashi said.

"Be careful." After getting Dao Xinzhong's permission, Kumagai Takashi tiptoed into the woods.

Not long after, Kumagai Takashi returned and reported to Nobushige: "It seems that a group of ten foot soldiers are besieging a lame samurai."

"Lame ronin..." Nobushige pondered for a moment and asked, "Can you tell which family's foot soldier he is?"

"Looking at the flag pointing at something, it should be the Toki family." Kumagai Takashi replied, "As for which Toki family it is, that's hard to say for sure."

"It's really despicable that so many people bully a disabled person." Muto Mitsuyu said indignantly.

"This warrior must be from a hostile force in the wilderness, and he happened to be targeted by these peasant soldiers while fleeing." Kumagai Takashi analyzed: "But this man is really powerful. He was able to kill three people with his own hands despite being besieged by so many people. But it seems that he can't hold out for too long, after all, those peasant soldiers are outnumbered."

"My lord, I want to save that man." At this moment, Muto Mitsuyu's sense of justice was overflowing. He felt that it was a great shame for a samurai to die as a "fallen warrior hunter".

The so-called "rabunaga" is hunting for fallen samurai, which refers to the action of robbing or attacking and killing defeated samurai. The participants are mainly farmers, peasant soldiers or organized bandits. During the Japanese Warring States Period, peasant soldiers near the battlefield often obtained wealth by attacking and killing fallen samurai or taking their heads to seek credit.

Kumagai Takashige did not advise him to do so: "Less trouble is worse than more trouble. Besides, we still have to escort the lord to Haishan Castle. If we get injured here, I'm afraid we won't be able to protect the lord's safety this trip."

"But...ah..." Muto Mitsuyu sighed unwillingly.

"Mogoro, you and Shinkuro go save that samurai. You don't have to worry about me here."

Nobushige understood the ideals that Mutou Mitsuyuki held in his heart. After weighing the pros and cons, he believed that with their swordsmanship, it would not be a problem to eliminate a few miscellaneous soldiers. If they could save this samurai, they could also use this opportunity to show goodwill to Mutou Mitsuyuki and increase his loyalty.

Although Kumagai Takashige was still worried, since it was Nobushige who gave the order, he had no choice but to tell Nobushige: "My lord, if Shinkuro and I don't come back for a long time, you should ride back to Wakasa first."

After saying that, he took out a katana from his bag and walked quickly into the woods with Muto Mitsuyu.

When they arrived at the wide area in the forest where the lame warrior was besieged, the number of peasant soldiers lying on the ground had increased to four compared to before, and the remaining six had varying degrees of knife wounds on their bodies, but they still surrounded the lame warrior and took turns attacking him from all sides.

The lame samurai, sword in hand and covered in blood, stood proudly in the center of the crowd, blocking left and right, slashing forward and backward, with clean and smooth movements. Although he repelled the attacks of the peasant soldiers many times, it was obvious that he could no longer sustain his physical strength and the situation was gradually becoming disadvantageous.

Just as the peasant soldiers were about to launch a new round of attack, Muto Mitsuyu, who could no longer hold back, shouted "Asshole!" and then drew out his sword, roaring and charging into the crowd. The peasant soldiers seemed to be frightened by the roar and stopped their attack for a moment. The lame samurai saw this and immediately took advantage of the situation and knocked one of them down with his sword. Kumagai Takashi also rushed into the formation and killed one person with Muto Mitsuyu.

Seeing the situation reversed, the remaining three people turned around and tried to escape, but were blocked by the lame warrior. In an instant, he leaped up, quickly drew his knife, aimed at the neck of the middle man and struck hard. With a scream of "Ah", the peasant soldier fell convulsively in a pool of blood.

The remaining two peasant soldiers saw this and thought that since they couldn't escape, they might as well fight to the death. They raised their swords and rushed towards the lame warrior. The latter took two steps back, lowered his body to gather strength, and instantly swung his sword forward with such force and speed that the two men fell to the ground dead with their intestines pierced before they could react.

"Is this the Kyoto's 'Gyo-ryu' sword technique?" Muto Mitsuyu, who had studied sword techniques, opened his mouth in surprise and couldn't help but sigh: "Except for the fact that I saw this sword technique in a dojo in Kyoto a long time ago, I haven't seen its power for a long time."

At this time, the lame warrior sheathed his sword and turned to face the two men. Only then did the two men see his appearance clearly. He had dark skin, messy hair, untidy beard, a limp on one leg, and an eye patch on his right eye. It is no exaggeration to say that if he took off his samurai uniform and the samurai sword on his waist, he would be a rural beggar.

"Thank you both for your help, I am grateful!" The samurai walked up to Muto Mitsuyu and Kumagai Takashi and bowed.

"My strength is so meager, it's not worth mentioning." Muto Mitsuyu once again looked up and down at the ugly, unkempt warrior, and asked curiously, "Did you just use the 'Gyo-ryu' sword technique? Seeing is believing."

"That's right. I learned this skill in Kyoto in my early years. It's just a trivial skill, not worth mentioning." The lame warrior was humble at first, then asked curiously, "By the way, how did you two get to this place in the wilderness?"

"We accompanied the master to Echizen to do some work. We happened to stop here to rest when we suddenly heard the sound of fighting. We were ordered to come and investigate."

"I am so lucky. If it weren't for you two, I would have become a ghost in the wilderness. May I ask what your names are and where you work?"

"My dear, Shigero Takanao Kumagai."

"My name is Muto Shinkuro Mitsuyu. As for where I will serve..." The two looked at each other for a moment, and it was Muto Mitsuyu who spoke up: "Sir, are you willing to come with me to meet the head of the family?"

"Of course I have to thank you in person."

"May I ask your name? Where do you work?"

"My name is Yamamoto Kansuke. Currently... I am just a ronin..."

"This is such a waste of talent." Muto Mitsuyuu showed regret. He didn't expect that a man with such superb swordsmanship would fall to the level of a ronin. This made him even more determined to recommend this man to Nobushige.

Then, Yamamoto Kansuke limped behind Muto Mitsuyuki and came to Nobushige's side.

"My lord, this is the brave warrior who just fought against ten people alone." Muto Mitsuyu said.

At first, this ugly, poorly dressed, lame samurai did frighten Nobushige, but he soon recovered and looked at the man carefully before nodding slightly: "Are you... Yamamoto Kansuke?"

"I am... Oh no, I am Yamamoto Kansuke. How do you know me, Your Highness?!" Yamamoto Kansuke looked at Nobushige in surprise. He never expected that the young man in front of him actually knew a little-known ronin like himself.

"I have heard of your name a long time ago. It is a great honor to see you in person today." Nobushige looked at Yamamoto Kansuke in front of him, and his heart was filled with joy. "I will accept this great general and military strategist who is listed among the 'Five Famous Ministers of Koyang' and the 'Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda' on behalf of the Kai Takeda clan."

Yamamoto Kansuke was the chief military strategist under Takeda Shingen in history. When he was young, he traveled around Japan to practice fortification, battle formations and military tactics. He first wandered in Suruga and later served the Takeda clan of Kai. Takeda Shingen often asked Kansuke about military strategies and policies. Kansuke answered fluently and offered advice repeatedly. The former commented that "the eyes of ten thousand people are like stars, and Kansuke's one eye is like the moon." Yamamoto Kansuke played a key role in assisting the Takeda clan to capture Shinano and fight against the Uesugi clan of Echigo. The "Woodpecker Tactics" he conceived once caused the Uesugi army to suffer in the fourth Battle of Kawanakajima.

However, such a famous general in the Warring States Period was abandoned by Imagawa Yoshimoto two years ago because of his dark skin, ugly appearance, one eye and lame legs. He had no choice but to leave his hometown and continue to travel around the country in the hope of being appreciated by a wise master.

"May I ask what your Highness's name is? I don't think I have ever seen your Highness." Yamamoto Kansuke asked respectfully but curiously.

"I am the Wakasa guardian, Takeda Hikogoro Nobushige." Nobushige smiled slightly and would not let Yamamoto Kansuke leave no matter what.

In this chapter, Xiong Zai followed the advice of two book friends and wrote "Falling Warrior Hunter" and Yamamoto Kansuke. Yamamoto Kansuke was indeed a ronin at that time, and it was not bad to put him under Nobushige's command. Although I forgot which book friend proposed it, it is indeed worth a try~
I still want to ask for your continued reading, collection and vote. Your support is Xiongzai's inexhaustible motivation.

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(End of this chapter)