A Rare Commodity to Hoard

Iwakura Castle, at the main gate.

A party of several dozen people waited anxiously for the gates to open.

Goto's wife and Yamauchi's wife each protected their children at the rear of the group, while Horio Yoshiharu and Horio Yasuharu stood guard on either side with spears in hand.

Father and son both understood perfectly well that Yamauchi Moritoyo had only let them join this group fleeing Iwakura Castle because he wanted to find some support for his own family.

If the Yamauchi family's retainers had not been nearly wiped out, such good fortune would never have fallen to the father and son.

"Luckily, I hid my family away in the countryside long ago. Otherwise, judging by today's situation, if we'd brought them along, Yamauchi Tajima-no-kami might not have come looking for us at all," Horio Yasuharu said, still shaken.

Clearly, if this group was merely fleeing for their lives, it had too many people.

And with so many women and children among them, moving would be troublesome.

"Father, look. Only Maeno Katsunaga is here from the Maeno family, but none of their family members are present." Horio Yoshiharu swept a cold gaze across the crowd.

"How could that be the same?" Horio Yasuharu lowered his voice. "The Maeno family is different from us. They control shipping on the Kiso River, making them a prize every side is eager to win over."

"Oda Nobunaga of Kiyosu, Oda Nobukiyo of Inuyama, even Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino... Even if Iwakura Castle falls, wherever the Maeno family goes, they'll still have food to eat!"

As he said this, a trace of envy flashed through Horio Yasuharu's eyes.

Though both were chief retainers of the Iwakura Oda clan, the Maeno family wielded immense power. Their territory lay at the border between Mino and Owari, and they controlled the Kiso River, the economic lifeline between the two provinces. They had no need to worry about finding a new master.

With the Iwakura Oda clan on the verge of destruction, the Horio clan and Yamauchi family could only flee in disgrace, covered in dust and dirt. Maeno Muneyasu and his son, on the other hand, had likely received who knew how many "land guarantee letters."

A land guarantee letter was a document issued by a daimyo confirming a samurai's territorial rights—simply put, a "land deed."

Once you accepted a daimyo's land guarantee letter, the daimyo would protect your land rights, but in return, you had to provide obligations corresponding to the size of your holdings.

"Wait, why does that man in the conical hat look familiar?"

"His build does resemble our lord's?" Horio Yasuharu suddenly noticed that someone in the group looked very much like Oda Nobukata. Moreover, Maeno Katsunaga seemed deliberately, yet casually, to be shielding him behind himself.

Horio Yoshiharu immediately signaled Horio Yasuharu not to stare. "Father, this opportunity did not come easily. Don't invite trouble where there is none. Don't look at what you shouldn't, and don't ask what you shouldn't."

"Right, right, right." Horio Yasuharu came to his senses and immediately straightened up, putting on an unconcerned expression.

Not far in front of them, Maeno Katsunaga had already grown somewhat impatient from waiting.

Although Yamauchi Moritoyo's younger brother had been adopted into the Maeno family, giving the two families some connection, the prerequisite for such a "political alliance" was that the gap in their strength could not be too great.

Ever since the Yamauchi family's residence, Kuroda Castle, had been overrun by bandits two years ago, the Yamauchi family's standing within the Iwakura Oda clan had plummeted. Thus, Maeno Katsunaga had never thought much of them.

Yet since Yamauchi Moritoyo was the one guarding Iwakura Castle's main gate, Maeno Katsunaga could only wait.

A quarter of an hour later, Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Goto Joki finally arrived amid everyone's eager anticipation.

Yamauchi's wife hurriedly waved to Yamauchi Kazutoyo from the crowd, and he swiftly entered the group and took his place.

"Kōgō, come here. Big Brother will carry you." Yamauchi Kazutoyo held out his hand to his youngest sister.

The sudden voice made everyone turn to look. Yamauchi Kazutoyo hoisted his sister onto his back as though no one else were there, paying no heed to the others' stares.

"Now that everyone is here, let's depart." Maeno Katsunaga, at the head of the crowd, waved his hand, and a torch was raised.

The firelight swayed several times behind the main gate. On the gate tower, Yamauchi Moritoyo softly clapped his hands.

As the wooden gates slowly opened, the group began making its way out of the castle.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo turned back to glance at Yamauchi Moritoyo standing high above, but it was only a final glance.

Beside him, Yamauchi's wife could not stop her tears. Kichisuke tightly held his mother's hand, trying to offer what comfort he could.

Goto Joki's wife held her eldest son's hand while carrying her younger son on her back. Supported by Goto Joki, she followed closely behind Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

"Iemon, from this day forth, the Yamauchi family rests in your hands!" Yamauchi Moritoyo stared blankly at his family's departing backs.

After murmuring those words, Yamauchi Moritoyo ordered the gates shut, then turned and left without hesitation.

"Close the gates!"

As one of Japan's most prosperous plains, the Nōbi Plain was flat and level. Iwakura Castle, located in the heart of Owari Province, was naturally no exception; the land around it stretched flat as far as a horse could run.

Iwakura Castle was a flatland castle, only ten meters above sea level. It measured 169 meters north to south and 104 meters east to west, roughly the size of two football fields.

A small river called the Gojo River wound around the castle, supplying Iwakura Castle with water while also serving as its moat.

After leaving the main gate, Yamauchi Kazutoyo cautiously surveyed his surroundings from within the group.

"My lord, the man at the very front wearing the reinforced helmet is Maeno Katsunaga. He planned the route for this escape from Iwakura Castle," Goto Joki said in a low voice as he moved close to Yamauchi Kazutoyo.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo supported his sister's thigh with his left hand and gripped a spear tightly in his right, his eyes fixed on Maeno Katsunaga at the front of the group.

"Then where are we going?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo asked.

"According to the route agreed upon beforehand, we should be withdrawing north toward Matsukura Castle. It is the Maeno family's residence, right beside the Mino border."

"Are we going to Matsukura Castle too?"

"No!" Goto Joki denied it. "Once we get far enough from Iwakura Castle, it should be about dawn. Then we'll head west to Kariyasuka Castle."

"Why not go with them to Matsukura Castle first?" Yamauchi Kazutoyo asked.

If he remembered correctly, Yamauchi Kazutoyo had an uncle who currently served the Maeno family. Seeking shelter with his own uncle had to be better than going to Asai Masasada at Kariyasuka Castle, didn't it?

Goto Joki slightly raised his head to glance ahead, then lowered his voice further. "Because I do not trust Maeno Katsunaga and his father."

"Under ordinary circumstances, it would be one thing. But my lord, don't forget—there is someone of special status among our group."

Yamauchi Kazutoyo's brow furrowed slightly as a bad feeling suddenly surged into his heart. Given the current situation, the more he looked, the more it resembled Takeda Katsuyori's fate in history.

Could it be...

Horio Yoshiharu watched Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Goto Joki whispering for a long while, and finally could not hold back any longer. He joined the conversation.

"Iemon, something's not right!"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo suppressed the agitation in his heart. "Kichisuke, you noticed it too?"

Over the past few months, Yamauchi Kazutoyo had deliberately cultivated a friendship with Horio Yoshiharu, and the two had gradually become familiar with one another.

Horio Yoshiharu nodded and suspiciously swept his gaze around. "Several dozen of us are leaving Iwakura Castle so openly, yet Lord Maeno hasn't sent any scouts ahead to clear the way. It's as though he knew beforehand that we wouldn't encounter any interception."

"But we are heading in the right direction. Following the Gojo River north does indeed lead toward Matsukura Castle," Horio Yasuharu added from behind them.

Kōgō had already fallen asleep on Yamauchi Kazutoyo's back. Her steady breathing brushed against his neck through the plates of his armor.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo swallowed, then stuck out his tongue to moisten his dry lips. "We can't keep following them. We need to leave this group."

"Is Iemon worried that the Maeno family is colluding with Oda Nobunaga?"

"But if Maeno Katsunaga wanted to harm us, he could simply lead us straight into Oda Nobunaga's camp. Why go to such lengths to head toward Matsukura Castle?" Horio Yasuharu asked.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo insisted, "What if it isn't Oda Nobunaga?"

"If it isn't Oda Nobunaga, then who could it be?"

Yamauchi Kazutoyo drew a deep breath. "Do you know what it means to hoard a rare commodity and wait for the highest price?"

Who among those who had clawed their way through this age of warring states was not shrewd? With Yamauchi Kazutoyo's words, the two instantly realized where the problem lay.

It was Oda Nobukata!

He truly was in this group!