June 13, the 10th year of Tensho.

  The land of Yamazaki had ceased to be a battlefield; it had transformed into a massive "slaughterhouse."

  With the wreckage of his crumbling army at his back, Mitsuhide Akechi parted ways with his senior retainer, Toshimitsu Saito, and began his flight. In the absolute chaos of a battlefield, vanishing into the ranks of common soldiers was not usually impossible. However, the opponent Mitsuhide faced was not the "probability" known as fate—it was a "precision instrument" named Kanbe'e Kuroda.

  The moment Mitsuhide slipped away from Yamazaki, Kanbe'e’s "Shadow Liquidation" was activated, silent and swift.

  The members of the Senryu, Kanbe'e’s personal assassination unit, dissolved into the darkness. Like hounds of frost, they tracked the retreating Mitsuhide with chilling efficiency.

  The bamboo thickets of Ogurusu were shrouded in rain and smoke. While it was the shortest route to Kyoto, it was also the exact "killing zone" where Kanbe'e had calculated the highest probability of Mitsuhide’s passage.

  Mitsuhide, accompanied by a few close attendants, spurred his horse through the mud. His mind swirled with the obsession of an intellectual strategist: If I can just reach Sakamoto, I can still devise a plan for resurgence. Yet, that very hope was exactly what Kanbe'e had predicted.

  Sudden noise tore through the silence—not the sound of bamboo spears, but the sharp rattle of Naruko (clapper alarms) at the horses' feet, followed by a volley of stones flung from the dark.

  From the thicket, the Senryu—disguised as local peasants—leaped forth with movements devoid of mercy. Their strikes were not the uncoordinated attacks of bandit scavengers; they were the refined motions of trained assassins, striking vitals with the shortest possible distance.

  "What…?! You are no mere peasants! Who… who commanded you?!"

  The moment Mitsuhide reached for his sword, a sharp impact pierced his flank. It was no crude bamboo stake, but a spearhead of cold, razor-sharp steel.

  Tumbling from his horse, Mitsuhide looked up into the eyes of the men standing over him. They were expressionless. Seeing that frigid light, Mitsuhide felt a shiver of true terror. This was not grudge. This was not revenge. This was simply "disposal."

  (Could it be… Hideyoshi? No…)

  Just as he began to grasp the truth, a second spear tore through his throat.

  The brilliant strategist who once dreamed of the realm could not even scream. Without ever knowing whose blueprint he was dying upon, he sank into the mire of Ogurusu.

  His end was not even a tragedy; in Kanbe'e’s mind, it was merely a single line: Process Complete.

  Mitsuhide Akechi—the strategist of the old era who had once prided himself within the Oda clan.

  This was the moment of "Generational Shift," yielding to Kanbe'e Kuroda—the strategist of the new era, who masterfully exploited the "Asymmetry of Information" for the Hashiba army that would now rule the land.

  Days later, Toshimitsu Saito, who had supported the Akechi until the very end, was captured by Yusho Kaiho and others of the Hashiba army while in hiding in Omi.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  News of Toshimitsu’s capture reached the Hashiba main camp. Hideyoshi was ascending the staircase to supreme power, waving the banner of the "Great Just Cause"—avenging the fallen Nobunaga. Thus, he showed no shred of mercy toward Toshimitsu, the symbol of rebellion, despite their past acquaintance.

  “Soft on traitors.” Kanbe'e did not overlook the risk that such a single phrase could stain Hideyoshi’s path to unification.

  "My Lord, Toshimitsu should be executed immediately as an example. I ask that you refrain from any contact with him…"

  Following Kanbe'e’s advice, Hideyoshi avoided an audience with Toshimitsu and summarily decided on his execution at Rokujo-gawara.

  However, for Kanbe'e, one "impurity" remained to be processed.

  Late the night before the execution, Kanbe'e made his way to the cell where Toshimitsu was held, cutting through the humid darkness of Kyoto. The torchlight cast Kanbe'e’s shadow long and distorted against the damp stone walls.

  "I take it you are Toshimitsu Saito, chief retainer to Mitsuhide Akechi. I am Kanbe'e Kuroda, vassal to Hideyoshi Hashiba."

  The voice was low, echoing as if from the depths of the earth.

  Inside the cell, with his hands bound behind him, Toshimitsu slowly lifted his head, stained with mud and blood. The visage of the man once hailed as one of the Oda clan’s finest in both wisdom and valor was gone; he was now wasted away, like a withered tree.

  "Kanbe'e …Kuroda… The 'strategist' of Hideyoshi… I have heard rumors of your formidable wit. What business… does the dog of a defeated army have with you now?"

  Kanbe'e dismissed the surrounding guards with a sharp glare, then peered through the bars, his eyes piercing Toshimitsu.

  "Why did you destroy the Great Lord this time? Was it not you who incited Mitsuhide?"

  Toshimitsu’s parched lips trembled as he laughed self-deprecatingly. In his eyes, a faint ember of samurai pride still flickered.

  "I could not bear… to watch my lord, that man, being broken day by day by the Great Lord… Had it been treatment directed at us vassals, I could have endured it. But his way of trampling even a lord’s pride without mercy… surely you have heard. I simply wished to protect my master. That is all…"

  Kanbe'e’s expression did not shift. Looking down with an icy gaze, he stepped into the heart of the matter.

  "Was that truly all? Was there no one behind you? For instance… someone from Shikoku?"

  Toshimitsu must have realized then that this man saw through everything. Perhaps from the sense of liberation that comes with imminent death, he began to speak, laying everything bare.

  "The pact with Motochika (Chosokabe) . The peace with that man, my kinsman, was unilaterally revoked by the Great Lord. It smeared mud on my master’s face, leaving me in an unbearable dilemma… To save my master, I had no choice but to take the Great Lord’s life…"

  There was no lie in Toshimitsu’s words; Kanbe'e was certain. This man did not even realize the existence of the "Poison of Information" that Kanbe'e had fed to Mitsuhide. Or perhaps, even if he suspected it, he was prepared to swallow that truth and die.

  As a final precaution, Kanbe'e hurled the heaviest question.

  "Before the uprising, did you not consult with Mr. Fujitaka Hosokawa?"

  Toshimitsu looked up at the darkness of the high ceiling with his weakened eyes. Silence followed. Only the sound of water dripping onto the floor echoed eerily.

  "I do not know. My master may have consulted him… but Mr. Hosokawa never stood with us. That… is all."

  (This man tells no lies. I see no further risk of him leaking unnecessary words at the end…)

  Within his mind, Kanbe'e confirmed the completion of the perfect "Game Board." Mitsuhide was dead, and Toshimitsu would die tomorrow. Their motives were now sealed within the framework of "Grudge against Nobunaga" and the "Shikoku Issue." There were no strings attached that could lead back to Kanbe'e’s involvement.

  "The outcome was unfortunate for you. However, to have remained loyal to your master until the end and fulfilled the path of the warrior… I can only say it was magnificent. Seek out Mitsuhide in the afterlife. There, the shackles of the Great Lord shall exist no more."

  Leaving only those words, Kanbe'e turned his back on Toshimitsu as he sank once more into the abyss of despair.

  Exiting the prison and walking back toward the camp through the night breeze, Kanbe'e spoke to Hanbe'e Takenaka, who lived on in the depths of his heart.

  (Hanbe'e… the task that only I, Kanbe'e, could do, which you left to me… stopping Nobunaga’s madness, disposing of Mitsuhide, and pushing Lord Hideyoshi toward the realm… That first step, we ‘Two be'es’ have achieved together…)

  Looking up at the dark night sky, there was not a trace of joy in Kanbe'e’s eyes. There was only the sharp, frigid brilliance of a man staring down the endless board—the coming torrent of monsters like Katsuie Shibata and Ieyasu Tokugawa.

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