Kinoshita Hideyoshi It Is! (Please Keep Reading)

Inside the merchant's shop.

The smile on Nene's face froze when the unremarkable Tokichiro suddenly appeared before her.

This man had come in at the worst possible time. He truly killed the mood.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo was also startled by the humanoid creature that had suddenly popped up, but he still observed every courtesy. "May I ask who you are?"

Without knowing the other party's identity, one absolutely could not rashly offend them. Yamauchi Kazutoyo understood well the principle of treating others kindly.

Only then did Tokichiro notice Yamauchi Kazutoyo standing beside Nene. Not only was the man young and handsome, but he was also standing very close to Nene.

Tokichiro shot Yamauchi Kazutoyo a jealous look, then took the brush from his hand and wrote down his own name on the paper.

It was not that Tokichiro deliberately wanted to show off. If he did not write his name in Chinese characters, people could easily call him the wrong thing.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo leaned over to inspect the handwriting, which looked like a dog had crawled across the page, and barely made out the first four characters: "Aichi District, Na..."

Then came a character for "tree," followed by one that somewhat resembled "beneath." Yamauchi Kazutoyo's eyes narrowed.

Once Tokichiro had finished writing the three characters of his given name, Yamauchi Kazutoyo could not help shouting, "Kinoshita Tokichiro?"

"What Kinoshita?"

"That character is village!" Tokichiro shot Yamauchi Kazutoyo a glance. Did this fellow have any learning at all?

But on second thought, the surname Kinoshita actually seemed quite good. It was far better than the Nakamura he had come up with.

Should he change his surname and call himself Kinoshita Tokichiro from now on?

"And who might you be?" Tokichiro scrutinized Yamauchi Kazutoyo as well. With the discerning eye he had developed over years of serving at Oda Nobunaga's side, he could tell at once that this man was not a retainer of the Oda clan.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo picked up the brush again and, following Tokichiro's example, wrote his own name beneath Tokichiro's handwriting.

"I am Yamauchi Iemon of Haguri District. So it was Lord Nakamura before me. Please forgive my discourtesy." Yamauchi Kazutoyo bowed deeply, his tone sincere.

Respect and sincerity were forever the sure-kill techniques of human interaction. With that, Yamauchi Kazutoyo began to look rather pleasing to Tokichiro as well.

Those with fragile hearts had the most sensitive nerves.

There was none of the disgust or disdain others usually showed upon first seeing him in Yamauchi Kazutoyo's eyes, and that made Tokichiro exceedingly happy.

Tokichiro's career had only just begun to flourish, and Oda Nobunaga had even promoted him to samurai. At this moment, he desperately needed recognition from others.

"So it is Lord Iemon. I have long admired your name."

Tokichiro was smooth in his dealings and knew how to serve different dishes to different guests, as well as how to read faces and moods.

Since Yamauchi Kazutoyo showed him considerable respect, Tokichiro immediately put on a smile. Yet on that face, the smile looked even worse than crying.

"Oh? Lord Tokichiro has heard of my deeds as well?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo raised a brow.

Tokichiro was dumbfounded. He had merely tossed out a polite pleasantry; he did not actually know Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

Chokichi beside Nene took the initiative to save Tokichiro from the awkwardness. "Lord Nakamura, Lord Yamauchi is the son of Yamauchi Tajima-no-kami, an elder of the Iwakura Oda clan. He is a young samurai who has recently risen to fame throughout Owari Province."

"I hear even the lord holds Lord Yamauchi's Chinese poetry in high esteem."

A trace of gravity flashed through Tokichiro's eyes. He did not care much about what Chokichi had said before, but he understood that last mention of "the lord."

If it was Oda Nobunaga...

Suddenly, Tokichiro threw back his head and laughed. "Hahaha, Nakamura is already a thing of the past."

"Our lord has recently intended for me to change my surname as well, and I have been worrying over the matter. Lord Yamauchi has happened to resolve my pressing need."

"Just now, I thought the two characters Kinoshita spoken by Lord Yamauchi sounded quite good. I must thank Lord Yamauchi for bestowing this surname upon me. From now on, I shall be known as Kinoshita Tokichiro Hideyoshi!"

Kinoshita Hideyoshi solemnly bowed to Yamauchi Kazutoyo. The earnest smile on his face gave no clue to what lay beneath.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo could not help sighing inwardly. Worthy of the "Monkey Kampaku." With this kind of awareness and skill in human affairs, if he did not rise to the top, who would?

"Lord Na... Lord Kinoshita, you flatter me. I merely stumbled into it by accident," Yamauchi Kazutoyo answered, tactfully playing along.

Whatever the other man's purpose, he first had to firmly accept the goodwill being offered.

"Haha, I am in high spirits today. Once I return to Kiyosu Castle, I shall immediately report this matter to our lord."

Having said that, Kinoshita Hideyoshi turned to Nene. "Oh, right. Miss Nene, have you finished buying what you needed? It is getting late. We should set out for Kiyosu Castle."

Nene nodded, then said to Yamauchi Kazutoyo, "Farewell, Lord Yamauchi. If you have time, you may come to Kiyosu Castle. I live in the longhouse in the castle town. Just ask for Asano Nagakatsu of the Bow Corps, and you will find me."

Oda Nobunaga had divided his directly subordinate foot soldiers into units such as the Bow Corps, Foot Soldier Corps, Page Corps, and Horse Guard Corps according to their weapons, to be commanded together in battle.

At the same time, Oda Nobunaga had required these directly subordinate retainers to move to Kiyosu Castle, assigning longhouses to the lower-ranking samurai as "dormitories."

Asano Nagakatsu was merely an ordinary samurai of the Bow Corps. He lived crammed into a longhouse with Kinoshita Hideyoshi and the others, so the two households were neighbors.

"Very well. I shall come calling when I have time."

After bidding one another farewell, Nene and Chokichi left together with Kinoshita Hideyoshi.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo also saw them out, standing at the entrance of the merchant's shop as he watched the three depart.

Nene kept looking back. Whenever she saw that Yamauchi Kazutoyo was still standing there, she quickly turned away again, her hands endlessly twisting together before her.

After they had gone some distance, Kinoshita Hideyoshi cautiously probed, "Is Miss Nene very familiar with Lord Yamauchi?"

"Not really. Today was only their second meeting," Chokichi beside them answered first.

Kinoshita Hideyoshi immediately relaxed. So that was how it was. Then there was nothing to worry about.

Having cleared up the reason, Kinoshita Hideyoshi felt full of confidence again and unconsciously edged closer to Nene.

Nene was busy secretly looking back at Yamauchi Kazutoyo. When she noticed Kinoshita Hideyoshi moving closer, she abruptly took a large step back.

"Miss Nene, what is wrong?" Kinoshita Hideyoshi asked, baffled.

Nene drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Lord Na... Lord Kinoshita, are we very familiar?"

"Please do not stand so close to me. I am afraid Lord Yamauchi might misunderstand." As she spoke, Nene lowered her head again and glanced toward Yamauchi Kazutoyo behind them from the corner of her eye.

Kinoshita Hideyoshi froze where he stood.

He did not understand why Nene's attitude toward him had taken such a sudden turn. Everything had been fine just moments ago.

No!

Why did she care so much about Yamauchi Kazutoyo's feelings? Could it be...

No! No!

Nene was absolutely not such a shallow woman. Once she got to know him better, she would surely discover his good qualities!

Right, it must have been because his handwriting was too ugly. But for someone who had taught himself for two and a half years, writing like that was already quite good!

Previously, he had needed to work during the day and could only study by lamplight at night. Since he could not find anyone to teach him, he had relied entirely on the convenience of his position to secretly read the texts collected by the Oda clan and teach himself.

No, he had to work even harder. Sleeping three shichen a day was still too much.

From today onward, he would study one additional shichen every day!

Kinoshita Hideyoshi fell into a battle between heaven and man, and his heart could not calm for a long while.

At that moment, his heart was in chaos.

"My lord, they have disappeared from sight already. Are we not leaving?" Sobue Kan'emon wore the broad grin of an indulgent aunt. He also thought the girl named Nene was quite good.

Of course, the most important thing was that the Asano family had kinship ties with the Hachisuka, Yasui, Maeno, and other samurai currently close to Yamauchi Kazutoyo. If Nene married Yamauchi Kazutoyo, it would also make it easier to build connections with those people afterward.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo withdrew his gaze. "Let us go. We will meet up with Koroku first."

"Then are we returning to Matsukura Castle next?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo answered, "You and Koroku will take the goods we bought back by boat first. Mosuke and I still need to make a trip to Shotokuji Temple."

"Oh, right!"

As though he had remembered something, Yamauchi Kazutoyo suddenly stopped.

Sobue Kan'emon looked over in confusion. Yamauchi Kazutoyo said, "Kan'emon, can we contact my elder sister's husband at present?"

"My lord means Lord Ando at Kitagata Castle in Mino Province?"

"Yes!"

"Why ask about that all of a sudden?"

"Kan'emon, have you not noticed something strange about Tsushima Harbor?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo suddenly asked.

Sobue Kan'emon looked around, completely at a loss. "What is strange?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo pointed toward the harbor. "Most of the ships entering port are coming from the direction of the Kiso River, while the Nagara River and Ibi River are utterly still. What does that signify?"

"Mino paper is the best-selling paper, and it is produced in Fuwa District. Yet Tsushima Harbor can actually run out of stock and has to bring Sugihara paper all the way from Settsu. What does that signify?"

Sobue Kan'emon shook his head to show he did not understand, but Yamauchi Kazutoyo already had the answer in his heart.

A trade embargo?

Things were starting to get interesting.