Fujikawa: Flight in Terror

After the war meeting ended, Tomomori, Shigehira, and Munemori did not disperse immediately, but gathered in a corner of the hall, their faces showing undisguised worry.

Tomomori lowered his voice, his brow furrowed. "Isn't this too much of a burden for Koremori, too early? You all saw how he was after he came back last time..."

Munemori rubbed his hands, his eyes somewhat unfocused, trying to persuade his younger brother, and himself, with the authority and common sense of an elder brother. "But... but he's already in his twenties, the same age as Shigehira. As the eldest son of Shigemori, he'll have to support the family in the future and stand on his own two feet. It's time for him to see more of the world and gain some experience."

Shigehira shook his head slightly, his red hair swaying. His tone was complex. "Brother Munemori, this matter can't be simply compared by age. That kid, Koremori... his temperament is different from mine and Tomomori's. He seemed a bit off when Uji River came back last time, and he didn't seem to sleep well at night. This time, facing someone like Minamoto no Yoritomo, I'm worried..."

Munemori waved his hand somewhat irritably, as if trying to shake off these ominous thoughts. "We have veteran generals with us! Didn't Father arrange for Fujiwara no Tadamichi to accompany the army and assist us? He's a steady man, and there's also a fierce general like Saitō Sanemori... There won't be any major mistakes."

"I hope so." Tomomori could only sigh in the end, Shigehira also silently shook his head.

The nobles, understanding what was about to happen, shook their heads and sighed.

The people, unaware of what was to come, had initially looked forward to the war, expecting another visual feast, but now they were beginning to worry.

The war drums finally sounded.

The Taira Army set off from Fukuhara and marched eastward in a mighty procession, their red Ageha butterfly crests flying fiercely in the wind.

After marching for many days, they finally arrived near the Fujikawa. The army chose a place to set up camp.

The atmosphere inside the commander's tent was heavy.

Wearing a commander's armor that was slightly too large for his size, Koremori sat upright in the main seat, but his face appeared even paler in the flickering candlelight.

His fingers unconsciously traced the edge of the table as he offered his opinion, his voice slightly hoarse with tension. "Should we wait here... for the Minamoto? I think it would be better to cross the Fujikawa, cross Mount Ashigara, and engage in a decisive battle on the vast plains of Eastern Provinces. That might better utilize the strengths of our cavalry..."

However, his words were immediately interrupted by the veteran general Fujiwara no Tadamichi, who was sitting at the lower end of the table.

Tadashi's face was solemn, and his white beard trembled slightly as he spoke his resolute words, "Kiyomori has entrusted this war entirely to this old minister Tadashi! Koremori, our army has traveled a long distance, our troops are exhausted, and our supplies are insufficient. It is not advisable to venture further into enemy territory rashly."

"The best strategy here is to wait in comfort for the enemy to tire themselves out. Moreover, considering the troops gathered along the way, our army already numbers 70,000, a formidable force. We should proceed cautiously and steadily, rather than taking unnecessary risks."

Koremori felt slightly relieved, but before he could relax, a scout rushed into the tent to report, his voice filled with surprise and doubt. "Report! Investigations have revealed that the Minamoto's forces... may number two hundred thousand cavalry!"

"Two hundred thousand?!" Koremori suddenly stood up.

Tadakiyo frowned and said in a deep voice, "It has been more than a month since Minamoto no Yoritomo raised his army. It seems that the Minamoto Warriors scattered in the Eastern Provinces have caught wind of this and moved."

He tried to stabilize the situation, but the pressure from the number "two hundred thousand" had already spread.

Koremori felt a wave of dizziness. He steadied himself on the table and looked pleadingly at another general in the tent, Saitō Sanemori, who was known for his bravery.

"Master Shisheng..."

Shi Sheng stepped forward, his voice booming like a bell. "Your subordinate is here!"

Koremori, as if grasping at a straw, asked urgently, "I've heard you're quite familiar with Eastern Provinces Samurai?"

"Indeed! It's because I clashed with the Minamoto many times in the past!"

"So... how did they fight?"

Upon hearing this, Sanemori began to describe with great passion. "Eastern Provinces Samurai are fierce and hot-blooded! Once they charge into battle, they are like a raging storm, fearless and undaunted! Even if their fathers die before them and their sons fall beside them, they will not hesitate to trample over the corpses of their kin and continue charging forward! Without the slightest hesitation!"

The tent was deathly silent.

Koremori's lips had lost their color, and his fingers were icy cold.

He could almost see that indifferent to life and death, trampling everything, the steel torrent crushing him down.

An uncontrollable commotion arose from the audience.

"Wait, what is this person doing?!"

"Can't you see the coach is terrified? How can you say such things!"

"Is this an attempt to further destabilize the army? Is this old man a spy sent by the Minamoto?!"

Tadakiyo sensed something was wrong and immediately tried to salvage the situation. He raised his voice, deliberately emphasizing the Taira's advantage. "But! Sanemori! Surely no one in the Minamoto army can draw a five-foot bow and hit their target as accurately as you!"

This was originally meant to boost morale, reminding everyone that their side also had a valiant general who was the bravest in the army.

To everyone's surprise, Sanemori retorted, "No! Lord Tadakiyo is mistaken! The Minamoto army has many skilled archers! Among them are many capable individuals who can draw powerful bows and shoot heavy arrows, piercing through two or three layers of armor with a single shot! They should not be underestimated!"

Zhongqing felt a lump in his throat, and his face turned red.

Even the nobles and Daimyo in the audience couldn't help but shake their heads and frown, their faces showing absurdity.

As a general, even when explaining the enemy's strength, one should be careful with one's words and prioritize maintaining morale. To so bluntly exaggerate the enemy's terror is tantamount to self-destruction.

Afterwards, Ignoring the cold sweat streaming down Koremori's face, Sanemori continued, "Furthermore, the Kai, Pei, and Shinano Minamoto are familiar with the terrain here, so we should always be wary of the enemy flanking our rear."

Everyone in the audience, including Hashirama and Madara, felt a sense of powerlessness.

Hashirama sighed, rubbing his Hashirama. "The opportune moment, the favorable location, and the support of the people have all been negated. Koremori was already filled with fear, and now even their last remaining hope of victory is about to be crushed."

Ban made no attempt to hide the disgust on his face and gave a cold snort.

This kind of stubborn and inflexible "bravery" is often more deadly than the enemy's swords on the real battlefield.

However, what happened next was even more speechless.

After Koremori left the tent in a daze, Tadakiyo couldn't help but grab him and whispered a rebuke, "Saito! Why did you say those things in front of Koremori? Didn't that disrupt morale?!"

With a hint of anxiety that said, "You wouldn't understand," Shigemori explained, "I see that the morale of our army, from Koremori down, is truly low. Due to their comfortable lives, our army has long lost the bravery it had when Heiji Rebellion! Therefore, I wish to use these words to inspire them and arouse the sense of shame and fighting spirit of our Samurai!"

Zhongqing: "..."

The audience. "..."

Isn't that even more inappropriate?! Provocation requires the other person to have the Yūki and fighting spirit to be effective! Telling someone who's already terrified how terrible the enemy is is clearly adding insult to injury!

This Shisheng is so absurdly earnest and self-righteous that he leaves one speechless, only feeling a profound sense of absurdity and sympathy for Koremori.

Night fell completely amidst this absurdity, oppression, and unease.

The Fujikawa River murmured gently, and the darkness on the opposite bank resembled a lurking beast.

Suddenly, a small Kakkō appeared on the foothills of the opposite bank.

Then, two o'clock, three o'clock... ten o'clock, one hundred o'clock... one thousand o'clock, ten thousand o'clock!

Like a spark igniting a prairie fire, countless Kakkō were lit one after another, spreading and quickly illuminating half of the night sky.

The scene was both incredibly spectacular and incredibly terrifying.

To those who didn't know the situation, each Kakkō Uwagi a camp, a hearth, and a troop of soldiers!

"Two hundred thousand... really two hundred thousand?!"

"The entire mountainside... is Minamoto soldiers!"

"We're surrounded?!"

The camp erupted in chaos. What was once just a number, "two hundred thousand," now transformed into an endless Kakkō, bringing the most direct visual terror.

Panic spread like wildfire among the 70,000-strong army of the Taira.

"Report--!" The Ninja sent to scout ahead reported urgently, "Those Kakkō... most of them are torches carried by nearby civilians fleeing in panic upon hearing of the approaching army! They are not all enemy camps!"

However, this rational intelligence proved so weak and powerless in the face of the already formed collective panic.

"Nonsense! Where would the common people get so many torches!"

"It must be a feint by the Minamoto!"

"Even if there are civilians among them, who knows how many enemies are mixed in?"

Shintarō walked to the pale-faced Koremori and gently comforted him, "Lord Koremori, the two armies will exchange fire early tomorrow morning. I don't think they will attack rashly tonight. Please get some rest."

Koremori's throat tightened; he wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

He could only nod stiffly and, with Shintarō's help, returned to his tent.

Night finally and completely swallowed the Kakkō of the camp and the distant mountains.

The world seemed to sink into a depressing darkness and deathly silence, with only the murmuring of the Fujikawa, the suppressed breathing in the camp, the occasional clanging of metal, and the restless snorting of warhorses.

In the midst of this taut silence, on one side of the stage, Uchiha Izuna lightly flicked his fingertips, and a mournful and abrupt sound from the Biwa pierced the false tranquility like an icicle.

Immediately afterwards, his clear yet eerily penetrating chanting voice rang out:

That night, at midnight—the waterfowl that gathered in Fuji Marsh—

As he sang his lyrics, a water bird that had appeared on stage at some unknown time raised its head and looked around.

"Startled by something—"

A fish leaped out of the water, and the water bird summoned by the Summoning Technique received the signal and cried out.

From backstage came a series of sounds, created by multiple Ninjas using Wind Release to simulate the surging sound of wings! The sounds instantly coalesced into a deafening roar!

--The flock of birds took flight in unison!

Its sound was as loud as a gale! As resounding as thunder!

The actors playing the Taira soldiers instantly went wild!

"Enemy attack!! It's an enemy attack!!"

"The Minamoto are attacking!!"

"From the water! From the sky! From all directions!!"

"Run! Run now!!"

The song then smoothly transitions to. "Thinking that the Minamoto army was attacking all at once—we were about to be surrounded—"

The soldiers abandoned their armor and helmets, shoved and trampled each other, crying and screaming as they fled in a frantic, aimless escape.

Some people tripped and were immediately trampled by those behind them; others tried to maintain order but were swept away by the fleeing crowd.

Tents were knocked over, braziers were overturned, and scattered Kakkō danced in the chaos, illuminating faces contorted with extreme fear.

The collapse has begun.

Those in the know below the stage couldn't help but shake their heads and let out a heavy sigh.

"The camp has been wrecked..."

"With soldiers lacking the will to fight and generals lacking the fighting spirit, coupled with this sudden change, it would be strange if the camp didn't break down."

"An army of seventy thousand... collapsed on its own without firing a single arrow..."

"Our commander, Koremori, is probably already..."

Their gazes were involuntarily drawn to the center of the stage.

There, Koremori stood frozen in the center of the chaos.

He seemed to have all his strength drained away, and even forgot how to run away.

All I could hear were deafening sounds of fleeing and screams.

He slowly, extremely slowly, raised his hand and covered his ears.

Then, he slowly squatted down and curled up.

Like a helpless child abandoned in a storm.

Beside him, the old general Chungcheong brandished his sword in vain, shouting hoarsely in an attempt to stop the fleeing soldiers, but his voice was instantly drowned out.

Shi Sheng was indeed brave, roaring as he tried to charge forward against the flow of people, but instead he was knocked around by the panicked soldiers, making him yell in anger, but to no avail.

The entire Taira camp had been transformed into an Asura Realm of despair and chaos.

Shintarō put his arm around Koremori, helped him to his feet, and led him away from this chaotic place.