The persistent rain hammered heavily against the fabric of the tent. Its monotonous rhythm sometimes hindered thought, but at other times, it beckoned Kanbe into a deep, dark state of contemplation.

  Night had fallen at the edge of the main camp. Kanbe'e sat alone before a worn Go board, using the visual layout to organize the storm of strategies in his mind. He took a smooth white stone from the container and placed it quietly in the center.

  Kyoto—the ground where Nobunaga would plant himself on the day of the tea ceremony.

  (Once the deed is done, which of the Oda generals can rush back immediately?)

  Kanbe'e placed a black stone to the upper right of the white one. Katsuie Shibata. Currently locked in a muddy, grueling conflict with Kagekatsu Uesugi in Etchu.

  (Katsuie’s strength is twenty thousand. The distance from Etchu to Kyoto is eighty ri (approx. 300km). Even if he abandons the war upon hearing the news, it would take fourteen or fifteen days at best to return with his entire army. If we hesitate, he will surely outpace us. To fall behind is to see this entire blueprint turn to ash. We must enter Kyoto before the Katsuie army...)

  Next, he placed a black stone at the right edge of the board. Takigawa, guarding the border against the Hojo clan.

  (Kazumasu in the Kanto region has five thousand men... Neither his distance nor his numbers are cause for concern.)

  Without hesitation, he placed a third stone at the bottom of the board. Nagahide Niwa, in charge of Settsu, Osaka, and Izumi.

  (Nagahide is closest to the capital with ten thousand men... However, Nobunaga recently ordered him to lead the Shikoku invasion. He cannot move instantly from across the sea.)

  Kanbe'e looked down at the "deployment" of stones on the board. The defense surrounding the central white stone appeared formidable at first glance, but in reality, each general was shackled to a distant enemy, rendered immobile.

  Kanbe'e felt a cold certainty: Kyoto was currently a vacuum.

  (Once these generals are accounted for, the forces remaining around Nobunaga are nothing more than withered trees.)

  Kanbe'e’s fingers toyed with the stones again. The clack-clack of the smooth surfaces mixing with the sound of the rain.

  (The remaining concerns are Nobutada and the third son, Nobutaka... Nobutaka has just been assigned to the Shikoku campaign alongside Nagahide.

  The issue is Nobutada, the heir... His base is Gifu. Will he attend the tea ceremony in Kyoto? If we are to erase Nobunaga, we must also bury the heir who has succeeded him.)

  (Nobutada can likely mobilize two or three thousand at most. Against Mitsuhide’s fifteen thousand, it would be as easy as twisting a baby's arm. If he comes to the tea ceremony, it is convenient. If he does not, the Akechi army need only be diverted to Gifu.)

  The vision became clear. In Kanbe'e’s mind, the map of Hinomoto rose in three dimensions.

  (Is this the grace of Heaven? The capital is becoming a gargantuan void. When the father and son settle there, and Mitsuhide bares his fangs... the master of this land shall be replaced.)

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  The core of the plan was Speed. Use the Mitsuhide army to eliminate Nobunaga and Nobutada. But the real battle begins after. Before the armies of Katsuie, Nagahide, and Kazumasu can converge on the capital under the banner of "Avenge the Lord," the Hideyoshi army must seize the site and crush Mitsuhide.

  Staring at the Go board, Kanbe began his back-calculation.

  Ten days from the execution. That was the limit. He had to lead thirty thousand troops into Kyoto within ten days.

  (From Bitchu to Kyoto is over fifty ri (approx. 200km)... Ordinarily, a large army would take ten days just for the march. But if we settle the peace with the Mori in a heartbeat after hearing the news and depart without delay, it is not impossible. Firearms, ammunition, and heavy equipment can be arranged for transport by ship in advance...)

  Kanbe'e stared into the darkness. The key to this unprecedented mobile warfare rested on one man.

  (To move thirty thousand men with the speed of the wind... who can I entrust this to? Yes, I shall ask Mr. Koichiro (Young Brother of Hideyoshi). He is a man who will not fail to fill the soldiers' bellies and keep their feet moving. If we frame it as 'preparing rations and torches along the road for the Lord's expedition to Bitchu,' no one will suspect a thing.)

  However, no specific word of the "date and location of the tea ceremony" had yet arrived from Ninja he had dispatched to Kyoto. Would they be in time?

  Written correspondence was strictly forbidden. If captured, a single scrap of paper would mean the ruin of the plan. All reports were oral—intangible words carved only into Kanbe'e’s memory.

  Kanbe'e pulled the abacus toward him.

  (Moving thirty thousand men at once makes securing provisions the greatest challenge. For every day of movement, roughly three hundred koku of rice must be shoveled into their stomachs, or their feet will stop. This volume must be prepared without delay by the locals at every stop along the march... But is there truly that much rice? Our current stockpiles will not be nearly enough.)

  Kanbe'e’s fingers danced over the abacus beads. With every calculation finished, he seared the numbers into his memory and moved to the next.

  (Then we must bribe every merchant along the highway, having them buy up and prepare every scrap of food available. I shall consult Mr. Koichiro on the practicalities and the management of the locals. With his meticulousness and knowledge of trade, this plan is not impossible.)

  Finishing the calculation, Kanbe'e reached for a brush, then reconsidered and stopped. Even these results must not remain. Everything would be locked in the private room of his own mind, where no one could uncover it. He rubbed his disabled right leg. The humidity of the rainy season irritated the old wound with a dull ache, but to Kanbe'e, even that pain was a welcome whetstone for his mind.

  The next day, atop a small hill overlooking Bitchu Takamatsu Castle.

  Wary of his surroundings, Kanbe'e stood face-to-face with one man: the "brain" of the Mori clan, Ekei Ankokuji.

  Kanbe'e stared at the castle—now a lonely island in the middle of a lake—and took a gulp of lukewarm tea. Without looking Ekei in the eye, he asked as if talking to himself:

  "Mr. Ekei. When will the waters of this Takamatsu dry up?"

  Ekei stole a glance at Kanbe'e’s profile.

  After a short silence, he replied, also looking at the castle submerged in muddy water:

  "Mr. Kanbe'e, when the water recedes, the mud remains. I wonder when the next lotus (the next King) will bloom from that mud?"

  Kanbe'e felt the corners of his mouth turn up inwardly. The opponent had sensed his intent and taken the bait.

  "I have heard that soon... a great 'thunderbolt' will strike in Kyoto, according to the divinations. If that lightning falls, the water will dry up in an instant."

  Ekei’s shoulders trembled slightly. He instantly suppressed his surprise and returned a coded message to ensure the safety of the Mori.

  "Ho... and will the Mori be able to avoid getting wet in that storm?"

  "Mr. Ekei, I have prepared an umbrella (terms of peace) so that you do not get drenched. In exchange, after the thunder, pray do not stand in the way of the sunrise. I would like you to arrange things on your end to that effect."

  The Sunrise—the arrival of a new era after the fall of Oda.

  Ekei wore a fearless smile. Keeping his sharp gaze fixed on Kanbe'e, he bowed soundlessly and vanished into the mist.

  Left alone, Kanbe'e looked up at the sky once more. His crippled leg throbbed again... The darkness dwelling in Kanbe'e’s eyes was deeper and murkier than the drizzling rain.

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