How Will We Face Our Ancestors After We Die?

In the normal course of history, where Hojo Akitoshi did not exist, the Battle of Kawagoe was one of the three great surprise attacks of Japan's Sengoku period.

The cause was simple. After Hojo Ujiyasu, the originally intended head of the Hojo clan, succeeded to the position, he continued his father's policy of expanding into Kanto.

Then, over Kawato, he came into conflict with the Imagawa, whose lord was hailed as the greatest warrior of the Tokaido.

Seizing his chance, Uesugi Norimasa, head of the Yamanouchi Uesugi and Kanto Kanrei, allied himself with Uesugi Tomosada and the Kanto Kubo, Ashikaga Haruuji.

The three parties assembled an army purportedly eighty thousand strong and surrounded Kawagoe Castle, which was defended by only three thousand troops of the Hojo Army.

After all, who would let a tiger sleep beside their bed? The Hojo had openly declared their intention to swallow up territories in Kanto.

How could those whose interests were threatened possibly turn a blind eye?

Moreover, the Uesugi who held the office of Kanto Kanrei belonged to the same clan as Uesugi Kenshin, the famed Dragon of Echigo.

That only further fueled the Kanto Uesugi's refusal to concede defeat.

But in this world of Inuyasha, where Hojo Akitoshi existed, things were different.

To be honest, the situation facing the Hojo in the Battle of Kawagoe was still rather dire.

For instance, in the normal course of history, Takeda Shingen had actually been a fence-sitter looking to reap some easy gains.

Without Takeda Shingen mediating during the Battle of Kawagoe, even if Hojo Ujiyasu had promised to surrender Kawato and stop contesting it with the Imagawa, that might not have been enough.

Faced with the Hojo under attack on two fronts, the equally ambitious Imagawa Yoshimoto would probably not have let them off so easily.

And then Hojo Ujiyasu's glorious surprise attack would never have happened.

Ujiyasu personally led eight thousand troops to relieve Kawagoe Castle, coordinating a night attack with its commander, Hojo Tsunashige.

In one stroke, they routed the demoralized Ashikaga-Uesugi Allied Army and even killed Uesugi Tomosada, bringing the Ogigayatsu Uesugi line to an end.

Thus, while Hojo Akitoshi's arrival had strengthened the Hojo, it had also brought the tiger, Takeda Shingen, personally into the fray.

Meanwhile, the foremost figure bearing the Uesugi name-Uesugi Kenshin-was also itching to act, gathering his strength beyond the battlefield.

So it was hard to judge whether this was ultimately a blessing or a curse.

"Brother, the Tiger of Kai's forces have withdrawn."

At the Hojo Army's camp on the Musashino Plain, they had once again repelled an assault by the allied forces led by Takeda Shingen.

Returning from the very front of the battle line, Hojo Ujiyasu's younger brother, Masamasa, removed his sweat-soaked helmet and spoke to his brother.

"Mm."

Ujiyasu nodded, studying his younger brother, who had fought so long and hard, and the blood spattered across his body.

He was deeply moved, but this was clearly no time to fuss over his brother.

Ever since a passing Great Demon had all but annihilated the Imagawa Army two days earlier, Takeda Shingen, their enemy directly ahead, had seemed to go mad.

He had continually led the main force of the Takeda Army and the Uesugi troops that had marched over in relentless assaults against their army.

He seemed determined not to stop until he achieved his goal, apparently heedless of the casualties his forces suffered.

Even if it left him with nothing for the days ahead, he was determined to devour the Hojo Army!

"If you ask me!"

Masamasa tossed aside his helmet, scooped a bowl of unboiled water from a nearby barrel, and drank.

Then he wiped his mouth and complained indignantly.

"You should be the head of the Hojo, Brother. What right does Hojo Akitoshi, from some distant branch, have to lead our clan?"

"Brother, isn't he the one who caused this mess in the first place?"

"He left something as important as the Battle of Kawagoe unattended! And he's supposed to be our next clan head? Where has he run off to?"

"I reckon Takeda Shingen found out he'd left. That's why that tiger is fighting us tooth and nail here."

"Shut your mouth!"

Ujiyasu had been deeply touched by Masamasa's hard fighting, but the moment he heard those words, his expression changed sharply.

He looked around at the commanders and samurai beside him, all of whom should have been his trusted men, yet the anger on his face did not diminish.

"The Hojo are a clan known for unity. Have you forgotten our family precepts?"

"Besides, which of our clan's advances these past few years could have happened without Lord Akitoshi's contributions?"

"Oh, come on, Ujiyasu. We're all our own people here. Do you really have to put on this act?"

Masamasa brushed off his brother's rebuke, showing not the slightest fear.

He found a folding stool and sat down without ceremony, then stared at his brother and asked another question.

"Do you honestly have no complaints? The previous clan head was our father."

"But the next head will be Hojo Akitoshi. Never mind anything else-plenty of the old Hojo samurai aren't happy about it."

"And besides, it's not as if you don't know what's happening out there."

"The Uesugi allied forces claim to have eighty thousand men. Add that tiger of Kai, Takeda Shingen, and the number must be close to a hundred thousand."

"Who's holding them back?"

At this, Masamasa raised his chin and pointed his thumb at himself, then at the men around them and Ujiyasu.

"Me, Masamasa! The Hojo Army here! And you, Brother!"

"And where is Hojo Akitoshi? He said he'd discovered something more important, and with that single sentence, he dumped everything here on you."

"Who knows? Maybe he got scared and found an excuse to run away!"

Ujiyasu let out a long, deep sigh. His gaze grew stern as he stared at the brazen Masamasa.

He could not even tell whether his brother was simply disgruntled and protesting on his behalf, or whether he had something else in mind.

Hojo Akitoshi, afraid of Takeda Shingen?

That joke isn't funny at all. He earned the title Kirin of Sagami at nineteen.

The whole world ranks him alongside Takeda Shingen and Uesugi Kenshin.

Do you really think Hojo Akitoshi is some weakling just because he comes from a branch family?

Sure, he talks about benevolence and righteousness all the time, keeping those fine words on his lips every day.

But if you actually believe that nonsense about his benevolence, the grass on your grave will probably grow tall before you know it.

Besides, was it that Father didn't want to pass the leadership of the Hojo to me?

It wasn't that he didn't want to. He couldn't!

Masamasa, my little brother, can't you see that Hojo Akitoshi, whom you refuse to accept...

Already had the strength back then to overthrow the main Hojo family?

Thank goodness Father handled it properly. Otherwise, the main Hojo family would have been wiped out in an instant.

In the end, Hojo Akitoshi would merely have shed a few crocodile tears and punished some followers for acting without orders!

"Brother, why have you

stopped talking?"

Rendered speechless for a moment by his younger brother's reckless words, Ujiyasu remained silent, and Masamasa leaned closer.

"I heard it was something to do with demons that sent Hojo Akitoshi rushing off in such a hurry."

"Heh, that's what branch-family men are like. They don't have the main family's resources, and they don't have access to its monks."

"How could he possibly know certain things?"

"Maybe he's already died at some demon's hands. Brother, shall we...?"

His eyebrows danced, and the implication behind his words could not have been more obvious.

"You bastard!"

Now that Masamasa had gone this far, it would have looked utterly unnatural if Ujiyasu still did not react.

But contrary to Masamasa's expectations, Ujiyasu was not about to rebel against Hojo Akitoshi.

Instead, he picked up a riding whip beside him and lashed it across the head and shoulders of Masamasa, who had only just distinguished himself in battle.

"You disgrace! Lord Akitoshi has poured his heart and soul into making the Hojo strong!"

"No member of the Hojo should ever say such things! What are you trying to do?"

"Overthrow your superior? Look at that pinched, monkey-like face of yours-you're no ruler! Never mind that you couldn't overthrow Lord Akitoshi."

"Even if you did take that position, could you hold it? Could you do it justice?"

Masamasa howled under the whipping, his mind a complete blank.

Wait, when did I say I wanted the position myself?

Wasn't I doing this for you, Brother?

Besides, we're brothers! If I have a pinched, monkey-like face and I'm no ruler...

Then what does that make you?

Clutching his head, Masamasa lost his temper too. He sprang to his feet, snatched the riding whip from his brother's hand, and roared.

"We're the main Hojo family! What did I do wrong? The clan leadership has fallen into a branch family's hands!"

"How are we supposed to face our ancestors after we die?"

"The way you talk, you'd think you were the only one named Hojo, and I wasn't."

Before Ujiyasu could open his mouth to rebuke Masamasa again, Hojo Akitoshi suddenly lifted the flap of the command tent and entered with his men.