In the siege of Tottori Castle, Kanbe'e wielded no blade. Instead, he brandished an invisible web of information and a calculating abacus.

  Months before moving a single soldier, he gave Hideyoshi a chilling command: "Buy up every grain of rice." Using merchants from provinces like Wakasa, they purchased all the rice around Tottori at exorbitant prices—several times the market rate. Blinded by the glitter of gold, the local farmers sold everything, even the emergency stores meant to survive the winter.

  Before the first arrow was even loosed, Kanbe'e’s strategy had already drained the "life" from the surrounding villages. Here lay the true terror of Kanbe'e: he had evolved into an intellectual monster.

  Furthermore, knowing that Tottori Castle’s proximity to the sea made the Mori navy their only hope for rescue, Kanbe'e mobilized the fleets of Awaji and Harima. He effectively sealed the mouth of the Sendai River and the port of Karo. The sea, once a lifeline, became a wall.

  His next move was a masterclass in cruelty. As the army surrounded the castle, they burned the neighboring villages. Driven by desperation, two thousand displaced peasants fled into the castle, seeking the mercy of the lord, Tsuneie Kikkawa .

  But that was the final variable in Kanbe'e’s equation.

  The castle’s granaries were designed to sustain two thousand men. Now, the population had instantaneously doubled to four thousand. Just as Kanbe'e calculated, the rations vanished like sand falling through an hourglass.

  The previous siege of Miki Castle had taken a grueling twenty-two months to conclude. However, the "Cage of Death" designed by the evolved Kanbe'e was set to decide the fate of Tottori in a mere four months.

  As expected, food supplies vanished in an instant. The conditions inside reached an extremity that far surpassed the horrors of Miki.

  Eating horses, cattle, and grass was only the beginning. It is said that eventually, the starving began to fight over the flesh of the dead—cannibalism. Dried blood stained the walls, and soldiers wandered like hollow ghosts. Even the bravest Mori warriors found their spirits shattered before they could even draw their swords.

  Hideyoshi, initially admiring Tsuneie Kikkawa’s valor, sent a messenger with an offer of mercy:

  "It is a pity to kill a commander of your stature, Tsuneie. If your retainers and the commoners take responsibility, your life shall be spared."

  Tsuneie, however, refused to bow. His counter-proposal was steeped in the pride of a samurai:

  "I, as the lord, will take full responsibility. I ask only that my life be traded for the safety of all others."

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  Struck by this nobility, Hideyoshi accepted. On the night before his ritual suicide (seppuku), Tsuneie left a final letter for his children in Aki:

  "I defended Tottori Castle faithfully and saved everyone with my own life. Let this be remembered as the honor of a samurai."

  His writing bore no trace of resentment—only the tranquility of a man who had transcended the fear of death to fulfill his duty.

  On the morning of October 25th, in the 9th year of Tensho, Tsuneie took his seat with composure and ended his life with flawless grace. It is said that even Hideyoshi's messengers wept at the sight.

  But the true hell awaited after the gates opened. Hideyoshi provided rice porridge to the survivors, but their starved bodies could not handle the sudden intake of nutrients. Many who were "saved" died on the spot from "Refeeding Syndrome."

  When Kanbe'e stepped through the castle gates, he was greeted by mountains of corpses. Bodies were so emaciated that their gender could no longer be discerned. Their limbs bore the jagged marks of having been torn away and devoured by their own comrades while still alive.

  Among them was an infant, perished at its mother’s breast, still sucking on her finger.

  For a fleeting second, Kanbe'e’s eyelids trembled, and his eyes drifted shut.

  (Fuji...)

  The phantom of the girl who had sustained him in the earthen dungeon flickered in his mind. Within him, the "humanity" of his past collided violently with the "logic of the monster," sending sparks of inner conflict flying.

  But Kanbe'e forced that pain deep into the abyss of his heart. There was no turning back now. He chose to keep the demon alive within his soul.

  "Lord Hideyoshi. Our army has suffered no losses whatsoever. This formidable fortress, which would have claimed thousands of our men in a direct assault, has fallen without us shedding a single drop of our own blood. This... is the path of war I have chosen."

  Hideyoshi, looking over the carnage with a pale face, finally spoke.

  "Y-yes... Kanbe'e. It is as you said. It is a miracle to take this place without losing a single soldier. But... starving them is a far more cruel battle than piercing them with spears. I have seen many hells, but I have never known a victory so silent, and so terrifying."

  Hideyoshi turned to look at Kanbe'e. In his eyes, reliance was mixed with an unmistakable shroud of fear.

  "Your wisdom will push me toward the Shogunate. But sometimes, it is so brilliant it makes my blood run cold. Kanbe'e, promise me... you will use that wisdom only for my sake. It is a promise, yes?"

  Kanbe'e did not meet Hideyoshi’s gaze. He simply stared at the distant, winter-clad mountains of Inaba.

  "Tsuneie’s righteousness was magnificent, but before hunger, samurai pride and human hearts vanish. There are no heroics in this battle. Only the result: 'Victory.' My Lord, in our next campaign at Bitchu, this 'Silent Victory' shall be the path that leads us to rule the realm."

  It was a ruthlessness that made even Hideyoshi's spine tingle.

  What Kanbe'e looked upon was neither Hideyoshi nor Nobunaga, but the far-off "world without war" that lay beyond this gruesome slaughter.

  Having learned in the dungeon of Arioka that the severed flow of information meant death, Kanbe'e now commanded a peerless intelligence network. His ability to buy up the rice was the result of accurate market research by shinobi running through the shadows and psychological warfare to stir unrest.

  Gradually, the friction of the land, the secret ambitions of lords, and the hidden truths of the world began to reach Kanbe'e's ears on the wind. The monster named Kanbe'e had begun to slide the beads of history's great abacus.

  Produced and written by a Japanese author, rooted in authentic Japanese history. Translated with the assistance of Gemini (AI).