If I Rise to Wealth and Honor, Don't Forget Me!

Kawajiri Hidetaka, leader of Oda Nobunaga's horo-shu.

Mori Yoshinari had once been a retainer of the Mino Toki clan. Later, he and his father Mori Yoshiyuki entered the service of Oda Nobuhide.

Most of the great retainers known to history as the "Four Heavenly Kings of Oda" and the like had yet to rise to prominence. At this time, men such as Kawajiri Hidetaka and Mori Yoshinari were Oda Nobunaga's leading generals.

Listening to the hoofbeats drawing ever closer behind him, Yamauchi Kazutoyo clutched his younger sister and did not dare stop for even a moment.

But two legs could never outrun four hooves. With women, children, and the elderly among the fleeing crowd, the pursuers were almost upon them.

Just as Yamauchi Kazutoyo was drowning in despair, the mounted pursuers dismounted one after another and charged over on foot.

He had nearly forgotten—mounted warriors fought on foot in this age...

"My lord, take the ladies and go first. I'll hold off the pursuers!" Goto Joki stepped forward at once.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo refused without hesitation. "If we leave, we leave together. This is not yet the end of the road for the Yamauchi family!"

"Run northwest! Break away from the main force!"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo understood perfectly well that no matter how chaotic things became today, these people had come for Oda Nobukata.

As long as he did not stick with Oda Nobukata, the blade would not fall upon his own neck. Yamauchi Kazutoyo shielded Goto's wife at his side, making his stance abundantly clear.

Goto Joki was deeply moved. He had not expected Yamauchi Kazutoyo, even at such a critical moment, to remember his family.

The crowd scattered in every direction. Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Goto Joki simply changed course and headed northwest, no longer following Oda Nobukata.

Horio Yoshiharu and Horio Yasuharu hesitated for a few seconds before choosing to follow Yamauchi Kazutoyo as well.

It was not merely because of Yamauchi Moritoyo's instructions. They, too, knew that only by staying far from Oda Nobukata could they preserve their lives.

Not far from the fleeing party, Kawajiri Hidetaka and Mori Yoshinari noticed as they gave chase that the crowd ahead had split into several groups. For a moment, the two were at a loss.

"Which way do we pursue?" Mori Yoshinari shouted as he ran.

Dawn had not yet fully broken, and Kawajiri Hidetaka could not make out the situation. He could only answer, "One of us takes each side. Leave it to fate."

"Then I'll go east, and you go north?"

"Fine!"

Having reached an agreement, each led several dozen men after his chosen target.

After running for a while, Yamauchi Kazutoyo realized they had not shaken off the pursuers. Some of the faster enemy soldiers were already only a few steps behind him.

Then he looked to the side and saw that Oda Nobukata and Maeno Katsunaga had somehow been driven close to him.

To hell with it!

Yamauchi Kazutoyo gritted his teeth, snatched the spear from his younger brother Kichisuke's hands, and planted his feet.

Whirling the spear in a circle, Yamauchi Kazutoyo shouted, "Ogawa Saburo is here! Those who don't fear death, come at me!"

Kawajiri Hidetaka, who had been pursuing with great relish, cursed his bad luck. The Iwakura Oda clan did not have a single important retainer with that surname. This man was clearly some nameless nobody; killing him would only dirty his blade.

As he was fretting, Yamauchi Kazutoyo suddenly pointed at Oda Nobukata, who was scurrying about beside him with his head in his hands, and shouted, "Protect my lord, Oda Nobukata!"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo even deliberately named Oda Nobukata, afraid others might not know exactly whom he meant by "my lord."

By sheer coincidence, Oda Nobukata played along perfectly, frantically waving at Yamauchi Kazutoyo. "I am here! Save me, quickly!"

Oda Nobukata had no choice. The moment Mori Yoshinari charged in, he had fallen upon the crowd like a tiger among sheep, terrifying all the attendants around him into fleeing.

Attendants were the "servants" who stayed beside samurai. Those who handled such odd jobs were not samurai themselves. Toyotomi Hideyoshi had originally been an attendant at Oda Nobunaga's side and was also called a "small fellow."

Maeno Katsunaga had not run, but he could not possibly hold back so many pursuers alone.

Surrounded by people, Oda Nobukata heard Yamauchi Kazutoyo's cry as though he had heard the call of family. He was so moved that tears nearly streamed from his eyes.

The Yamauchi family truly produced loyal retainers generation after generation!

Maeno Katsunaga panicked even more. Why was this developing so differently from what he had expected? Weren't Oda Nobukiyo's men supposed to be waiting at Mount Komaki? How had Oda Nobunaga's troops appeared instead?

"That man is Oda Nobukata! Kill with me!" Kawajiri Hidetaka instantly changed direction, abandoning Yamauchi Kazutoyo and charging toward Oda Nobukata.

Without another word, Yamauchi Kazutoyo turned and ran.

His father, Yamauchi Moritoyo, had already repaid the Iwakura Oda clan's kindness. If he did not run faster now, would Yamauchi Moritoyo not have died for nothing?

More importantly, his entire family was still in the group. The first thing Yamauchi Kazutoyo had to ensure was his family's safety.

Oda Nobukata froze on the spot, but he had no time to think. Mori Nagayoshi's spear was already about to come down on his head.

By then, Goto Joki had escorted his family some distance away, and Yamauchi Kazutoyo finally breathed a little easier.

Though Kawajiri Hidetaka had changed direction, several ashigaru still pursued Yamauchi Kazutoyo relentlessly.

Others might not care for Yamauchi Kazutoyo's head, but it was still tempting to these ashigaru who had gone to war on credit. Even the head of an ordinary samurai was worth a few kan.

"Iemon, I'll help you!"

Just as Yamauchi Kazutoyo was about to be caught, Horio Yoshiharu moved over of his own accord.

As a devout follower of the Lotus Sect, Horio Yoshiharu simply could not stand by and watch a friend remain in mortal danger.

"Mosuke, if we escape alive this time, I will surely become sworn brothers with you!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo said with heartfelt sincerity.

After spending this time together, Yamauchi Kazutoyo had also come to see Horio Yoshiharu as a capable man. A good man needed three helpers; Yamauchi Kazutoyo knew well that if he wished to make a name for himself in this age of warring states, he had to build his own circle.

But Yamauchi Kazutoyo currently had no bargaining chip worthy of recruiting Horio Yoshiharu. All he could rely on was a heart full of burning blood.

Young men were hot-blooded and easily swept up.

Horio Yoshiharu shook the tip of his spear and charged straight at seven or eight men. He said nothing, but answered Yamauchi Kazutoyo with action.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo refused to be outdone. Grasping his spear, he followed Horio Yoshiharu into the crowd. Back to back, the two repeatedly knocked aside the incoming spearpoints.

The three-ken spears used by Oda Nobunaga's ashigaru measured five and a half meters. There was nothing particularly special about that—one ken in Owari was simply 1.8 meters, while elsewhere one ken was 1.6 meters.

Japan's long division had left each region with different systems of weights and measures. It was not until the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi that standards gradually began to be unified.

Seizing an opening, Yamauchi Kazutoyo swept aside one ashigaru's spear, lunged in close, and thrust. Blood sprayed from the ashigaru's throat and dripped from the spearpoint onto the ground.

The "large-body spear" used by samurai differed from the ashigaru's three-ken spear. Its shaft was shorter, making it suited for close-quarters fighting.

Those sword saints might have had resounding titles, but on an actual battlefield, every last one of them obediently used large-body spears.

"Watch out!"

Horio Yoshiharu gave a great shout, reached out, and yanked back Yamauchi Kazutoyo, who had already rushed ahead. They narrowly avoided being struck by two three-ken spears.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo had no time to thank him. With a flick of his wrist, he likewise blocked an ashigaru's attack for Horio Yoshiharu.

Though it was their first time fighting side by side, the two worked together with remarkable understanding. The ashigaru could not get near them for the moment.

Then the whinnying of warhorses sounded again from afar. Under the rising sun, a group of mounted warriors charged in from the northeast.

This cavalry force's sudden entry threw both sides into turmoil. Kawajiri Hidetaka and Mori Yoshinari swiftly gathered their troops and no longer dared pursue recklessly.

Maeno Katsunaga also led his men in surrounding Oda Nobukata. The various forces were all focused on one another, leaving Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Horio Yoshiharu temporarily unattended.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo lowered his spear and quickly pulled the stunned Horio Yoshiharu away. This was the best possible moment to escape.

After running some distance, the two finally caught up to the Yamauchi family's party. Seeing Yamauchi Kazutoyo return unharmed, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.

"We're saved!"

Drained of strength, Yamauchi Kazutoyo collapsed onto the ground and gasped for air.

In just a few short months, he had suffered one upheaval after another. Within his heart, a conviction grew firmer than ever.

In this warring age, simply surviving was not enough. He had to grow stronger. No matter the cost, he had to gain the power to control his own life and death.

I will grow stronger!

A fierce desire burst from Yamauchi Kazutoyo's eyes, a blazing look he had never possessed even when he had resolved in his previous life to take the civil service examinations.

At that moment, Horio Yoshiharu suddenly turned to face Yamauchi Kazutoyo. "Iemon, do the words you spoke earlier still stand?"

"Of course!" Yamauchi Kazutoyo climbed to his feet and answered with absolute certainty, "If you do not disdain me, I am willing to honor Mosuke as my elder brother!"

"Good!"

Having escaped death together, the two had shared hardship as well. With Horio Yasuharu and Goto Joki as witnesses, they immediately prepared to become sworn brothers.

"But there is no paper or brush here." Horio Yoshiharu sounded somewhat helpless.

Becoming sworn brothers was a highly formal political contract among samurai. Under normal circumstances, they were to exchange written oaths.

A written oath was a type of contract. When signing it, samurai swore before gods and Buddhas that they would not violate its terms. Of course, Takeda Shingen of neighboring Kai claimed there was no such thing at all.

"What difficulty is that?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo drew the wakizashi at his waist and sliced his finger. Enduring the pain, he smeared the blood across his lips. "Let this blood oath be our vow!"

Horio Yoshiharu had never seen anything like this. He only thought Yamauchi Kazutoyo looked incredibly cool! In a rush of excitement, he copied him, cutting his own finger and smearing blood over his lips.

"If I rise to wealth and honor, don't forget me!" While Horio Yoshiharu's blood was still running hot, Yamauchi Kazutoyo struck while the iron was hot and extended his hand.

Those six words from Yamauchi Kazutoyo set Horio Yoshiharu's heart surging like the tide. Seventeen-year-old Horio Yoshiharu was effortlessly wrapped around his finger.

Without the slightest hesitation, Horio Yoshiharu reached out and smacked Yamauchi Kazutoyo's hand three times.

"A promise is a promise!"

Just as Horio Yoshiharu and Yamauchi Kazutoyo each clasped the other's hand, Goto Joki let out a startled cry from nearby.

"My lord, watch out!"

More than a dozen men had appeared from the roadside thicket at some unknown moment.

They wore battle-damaged dō-maru armor, half-helmets upon their heads, and carried a motley assortment of weapons—hoes, sickles, bamboo spears, and more.

"It's fallen-warrior hunting!"

The old farmers of the Warring States had arrived at last, late but never absent.