"Mitsuhide, how many came this time?"
Oda Nobunaga questioned her subordinate within Honnō-ji Temple. Having used herself as bait this time, she had surely hooked quite a few big fish.
Of course, whether she would return fully loaded or end up as bait for chumming the waters depended on what happened next.
"Takeda, Uesugi, and... Tokugawa."
"I spared them once, yet they still dared to push their luck."
Oda Nobunaga did not particularly care about the Uesugi and Takeda clans. After Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen had died, both clans had greatly declined in strength. The one she truly cared about was that old turtle, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
"He's finally shown his true colors."
Oda Nobunaga smiled. She had waited far too long for this powerful "ally," against whom she had never had an excuse to act. Now, just as she was about to claim the realm, she had finally found a reason to kill him.
"Mitsuhide, go make the arrangements. I want the fire at Honnō-ji Temple to burn until dawn."
"Yes."
"And tonight's password is 'Enemy at Honnō-ji.'"
Oda Nobunaga had personally arranged this trap at Honnō-ji Temple, giving Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was fighting abroad, the chance to crush all sides. Then, as a daimyo, she could suppress the interference of the karmic burden upon her.
And change from the Sixth Heaven Demon King back into Oda Nobunaga.
"Lord Nobunaga, are you all right?"
After Akechi Mitsuhide withdrew, Mori Ranmaru came to Oda Nobunaga's side. His androgynous features made his gender difficult to discern, causing many to claim that he was Oda Nobunaga's page.
But Oda Nobunaga herself was a woman, so why would she keep a page? Mori Ranmaru's gender was simply Mori Ranmaru.
"Ranmaru, as long as you are by my side, I can still suppress it.