March, Tensho 8 (1582).

  The Hashiba army’s invasion of Bitchu was imminent.

  As the veil of night descended, Kanbe’e Kuroda sat alone in his chamber, his gaze piercing through the darkness toward the movements in distant Kyoto and Azuchi.

  Since the fall of Arioka Castle three years ago, Kanbe’e had been secretly and steadily advancing his plans. A year of imprisonment had left him with a crippled leg, but it had also forged something else within the depths of that hell: the sharpened intellect of a "Monster."

  Through the Ninja he had deployed, reports on the shifting tides of the land reached his ears daily, like the constant sound of rippling waves. In the dark room of his mind, he pieced together these fragments of information, transforming them into a single, vast grand design.

  At that moment, the world's eyes were fixed on the East.

  Nobunaga Oda had cornered his nemesis, Katsuyori Takeda. In the lands of Kai, the prestigious Takeda clan was on the verge of vanishing into ash. The strongest army in the land—once celebrated by the words "People are the castle walls, people are the moat"—was fading like winter dew before Nobunaga’s overwhelming might and cold, calculated march. It was a time when everyone feared Nobunaga’s power as if he were a god, prostrating themselves before him.

  However, it was not the destruction of the Takeda that Kanbe’e feared. It was Nobunaga’s "next move" that followed.

  (In the East, Nobunaga slaughters the Takeda, and the realm begins to be dyed in the colors of the Oda. Yet, only we remain here, mired in the mud of the West…)

  Kanbe’e’s fingertip traced the word "Bitchu" on the map.

  (Once the Takeda are gone, Nobunaga’s eyes will undoubtedly turn West… No, they likely already have.)

  A secret report from Azuchi had reached Kanbe’e’s hands. It stated that after crushing the Takeda, Nobunaga intended to pivot his forces toward the Western provinces and personally lead the campaign in Bitchu.

  For Kanbe’e, this was the worst-case scenario.

  "If Nobunaga himself stands upon this land, the West will be painted in Oda colors in the blink of an eye. If that happens, Lord Hideyoshi’s standing will weaken to that of a mere division commander, and the 'world without Nobunaga' that I envision will drift further away…"

  While commanding before Hideyoshi, he was a loyal and peerless strategist. But once left alone in the darkness of night, Kanbe’e wore the face of a "Monster" and deepened his contemplations.

  Kanbe’e’s thoughts were always calculated backward from "Result" and "Deadline."

  The Result: To erase Nobunaga Oda of Azuchi from this world and elevate his lord, Hideyoshi, to the ruler of the realm.

  The Deadline: Until "the day" Nobunaga moved his main army for the Western campaign.

  Before Nobunaga could reach this western land, he had to overturn the board from its very foundation.

  "Now… I must rearrange the pieces."

  Kanbe’e began to move the invisible "pieces" lined up in his mind.

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  To shoot down the great sun that was Nobunaga, a "Bullet" imbued with intense murderous intent was essential.

  There was no longer any need to hesitate. The recent incident involving the "Mikazuki" tea bowl had provided Kanbe’e with the one and only answer.

  "In the end, it can only be you… Mitsuhide. It is a pity, but for the sake of the new world, I must ask you to become the sacrifice."

  The Mikazuki (Crescent Moon)—a masterpiece of world renown presented to Nobunaga by Yasunaga Miyoshi.

  The moment that single bowl passed into Nobunaga’s hands, the alliance with Motochika Chosokabe—which Mitsuhide Akechi had poured his heart and soul into—was ruthlessly discarded by Nobunaga. Kanbe’e could hear the "echo of ruin" hidden behind that news.

  "Mitsuhide… Your honor has been shattered into a thousand pieces by that Mikazuki. Nobunaga is a man who bought out your loyalty and years of labor for the price of a single tea bowl."

  Kanbe’e imagined Nobunaga in his tea room at Azuchi, admiring the Mikazuki. To Nobunaga, it was not merely a tea bowl. It was a trophy of war, proof that he had subjugated those who would not submit to his authority. He did not care in the slightest if his subordinate's face was dragged through the mud or if Shikoku was engulfed in war once again.

  "For Mitsuhide, the affairs of Shikoku were the crossroads of fate that would determine his standing within the Oda clan. Nobunaga trampled upon that without mercy. Nay, he likely didn't even realize he was doing so. That 'indifference' is the deadliest poison to a man of loyalty like Mitsuhide."

  Kanbe’e’s finger quietly toppled the piece in his mind labeled "Mitsuhide Akechi."

  Ieyasu Tokugawa, Motochika Chosokabe, or perhaps the Mori—they all had motives to strike Nobunaga. But none possessed the fresh, searing pain of a heart that had been "broken just now," as Mitsuhide did.

  (Mitsuhide… You are too earnest. Because you are too earnest, you will define Nobunaga’s irrationality not as a 'trial,' but as the 'evil of these chaotic times.' Once that happens, your sense of justice will leave you no choice but to turn your blade toward your lord.)

  Kanbe’e closed his eyes and envisioned Mitsuhide as he was likely being whittled away in the lands of Kai at this very moment.

  A gruesome scene after the Takeda conquest: while those around him celebrated the victory, Mitsuhide—who had labored harder than anyone—was rebuked by Nobunaga in front of the other vassals with the words, "What merit have you to claim?" and struck down.

  Nobunaga was at his zenith, and thus, he had become insensitive to the pain of those around him. That spark of "insensitivity" was about to ignite the dry tinder that was Mitsuhide.

  "You are the perfect 'Bullet' I have been seeking. But as you are, you will not fire. You may already be discussing rebellion with the Chosokabe, but you are not so foolish as to turn against the now-unrivaled Oda army alone. However… if I provide the 'Trigger'…"

  If there was a trigger, Mitsuhide would strike Nobunaga.

  The moment that news arrived, Lord Hideyoshi would raise the banner of "Vengeance" and race back to Kyoto. The Mori would be dealt with by then, eliminating any worry of being struck from behind.

  (By striking down the traitor who killed his lord with lightning speed, Lord Hideyoshi will stand as Nobunaga’s legitimate successor and claim checkmate on the throne of the realm.)

  A dark light, containing the cold night air of March, dwelt in Kanbe’e’s eyes.

  He softly traced the war fan of Hanbe’e Takenakathat rested on his knees.

  The path to pacifying this country, which his late friend had loved, in the most efficient way and with the least amount of bloodshed—it was the "Narrow Black Path" that only Kanbe’e, who had once fallen into hell, could see. It was a path mired in mud and blood, one that those who walked the righteous way could never tread.

  "Hanbe’e… It is time for the 'Two be'es' to rise. I will never let go of this light I found in hell. No matter how black my hands may become with filth… for the sake of ending this age of chaos, I will gladly remain a monster."

  Carving the vow to his mentor into his heart, Kanbe’e sank his consciousness even deeper. The flowers that had fallen at Arioka—Dashi, and Fuji. Fuji’s final scream still echoed faintly in the depths of his ears.

  "Lady Dashi… and Fuji. With your deaths, the part of me called 'humanity'—that thing known as hesitation—has vanished. I have become a monster, and together with Hanbe’e’s soul, I will build a new world where everyone can breathe."

  Outside the camp, the cold March rain began to fall in torrents.

  Inside Kanbe’e’s head, all the pieces maintained an eerie silence, waiting for the moment of chain-reaction explosion.

  The muddy stream of history had begun to flow, silently and with inescapable force, toward a single man: Mitsuhide Akechi.

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