May 21st.

  A report arrived from Kurouemon Inoue. Ninja entrusted with an oral message whispered into Kanbe'e's ear.

  "A report, My Lord... Fujitaka says, 'Mitsuhide has agreed. Awaiting news of the destination.'"

  Kanbe'e nodded in silence, showing no surprise. This was well within his expectations. However, the location of the tea ceremony—that was the intelligence Kanbe'e was waiting for with bated breath.

  "Send an oral message to Kurouemon," Kanbe'e commanded. "Tell Mitsuhide to hold a poetry gathering at Mount Atago to buy time until news of the destination arrives."

  The Ninja nodded and vanished.

  Mount Atago, where the Shogun Jizo is enshrined, is a sacred site for warriors to pray for victory. Even if it reached Nobunaga’s ears, Kanbe'e knew it would be seen as a pious act of 'prayer for victory' rather than a stall for time.

  (If... if it doesn't arrive in time... I will have no choice but to lay a trap from scratch on the road to Bitchu...)

  Unaware of Kanbe'e’s secret maneuvers, Hideyoshi approached with a wide, childlike grin on his face.

  "Kanbe'e! Look, a letter from My Lord! He says he will depart Kyoto on June 2nd and arrive here in Bitchu within a few days!"

  Kanbe'e composed his face, pretending to hear the news for the first time.

  "It’s finally getting interesting! We’ll welcome My Lord to Bitchu as soon as possible and pry open the gates to the realm from right here! Gahahaha! Let’s do this, Kanbe'e!"

  Kanbe'e offered a polite smile, though his mind was elsewhere. He gave Hideyoshi the response he expected.

  "Lord Hideyoshi... This is truly a divine arrangement. With this, Mori's fate is sealed, and your path to the realm is assured. If My Lord himself appears here leading tens of thousands, Mori will surrender without a fight. There is not a moment to lose."

  Hideyoshi patted Kanbe'e lightly on the shoulder. This man alone was always as warm as the sun.

  "Aye, I know! I’ll have Koichiro hurry the maintenance of the highway to welcome My Lord even faster!"

  "With Mr. Koichiro’s efforts, the road for My Lord to surge into this land with his entire army is being prepared. This is the final move for our Hashiba family to grasp the realm..."

  May 25th.

  The construction of the "Royal Road" (Odo) ordered by Kanbe'e had already taken on a hue of madness. Thousands of laborers mobilized by Nagahide were covered in mud, shaving down hills, hauling massive boulders, and paving the road with stones. Along both sides of the highway, giant cauldrons for soup stretched endlessly, and rice and vegetables requisitioned from surrounding villages were piled up like a victory celebration.

  "Do not rest! This is the road to welcome My Lord! Not a single step’s delay will be tolerated!"

  Koichiro’s roar echoed. He kept telling himself: This is an act of loyalty. But the "road illuminated through the night" reflected in his eyes looked like lanterns intended to guide the dead to the underworld. The relentless Satsuki rains sapped the laborers' strength, and the mud snatched at their feet. Yet, the ten-day deadline Kanbe had calculated on his abacus hounded them like a Reaper’s scythe.

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  (Is it not time yet... Will the destination be Nijo Palace or Honno-ji... Should I wait any longer...)

  If Nobunaga departed Kyoto before the location was identified, all would be lost. Who knew when the next opportunity would arise?

  Sweat beaded in Kanbe'e’s palm.

  He traced a map of Kyoto with his finger while clicking the beads of his abacus. The shortest route for Mitsuhide to move his troops from Sakamoto or Kameyama. The distance to the temple where Nobutada stayed. He simulated every possibility, tracing the lines of Mitsuhide’s thoughts.

  At sunset.

  A Ninja who had run from Kyoto as if his life depended on it tumbled in, looking like a lump of mud. Out of breath, he whispered into Kanbe’s ear.

  "Report... The tea ceremony and lodging are at 'Honno-ji.' His retinue is less than a hundred. Lord Nobutada is staying at Myokaku-ji..."

  (I made it...)

  "Honno-ji!"

  Kanbe'e stood up and slammed his staff violently onto the table. In that instant, the final bead in his mind clicked into place.

  Kanbe'e stepped into a thicket out of public view, turned toward Takamatsu Castle, and struck his staff.

  Immediately, five Ninjas approached from behind and knelt on one knee. They were the "Senryu" (Hidden Dragons)—the elite assassination unit among Kanbe'e’s Ninjas, led by Genbu.

  "First: In the predawn hours of June 2nd, take advantage of the chaos caused by Mitsuhide at Honno-ji to strike down Lord Nobunaga. Lord Nobutada is at Myokaku-ji.

  Second—and this is vital: Erase the 'heads' of both father and son without a trace!"

  They nodded in silence and vanished one by one.

  (If Mitsuhide takes the head, he will surely command the lords as the new master of the realm... That must be prevented. A rebel without proof of his kill is but a lost child. In that gap, our army shall race back, raising the banner of a 'battle of vengeance.' Our Royal Road...)

  Kanbe'e’s strategy was a blood-chilling double trap: inciting Mitsuhide to rebel while simultaneously robbing him of the very achievement of that rebellion.

  Kanbe'e struck his staff again, making a different sound. This time, another figure appeared.

  "Run to Tango at once. Give Mr. Fujitaka this oral message: 'The date is the predawn of June 2nd. The place is Honno-ji. The guard is a hundred. The road is already prepared on this end.' Go! If you do not make it in time, slit your own belly!"

  From May 26th to the 28th, the "messengers of words" unleashed by Kanbe'e crossed mountains and valleys, running with their lives on the line.

  At Kameyama Castle in Tanba, Mitsuhide Akechi received the message through Kurouemon Inoue and Fujitaka Hosokawa. He shivered in the darkness. There was no paper, no evidence. But the words spoken from Fujitaka’s mouth were an "invitation" from Kanbe'e.

  "Honno-ji... and Hideyoshi has prepared the road to Kyoto..."

  The humiliation at Azuchi surged back into Mitsuhide’s mind. And the sheer perfection of this intelligence felt like sweet nectar luring him toward his death.

  May 30th.

  Along the Sanyo Road, tens of thousands of torches were carried in and piled like mountains.

  Koichiro, covered in mud and commanding without sleep, stood staring at the "eerily well-maintained road" nearing completion.

  "Kanbe'e... This road is too unsettling. It is as if you have foreseen everything; there isn't a single flaw. Is the one who will travel this road truly My Lord Nobunaga?"

  Koichiro’s voice trembled, mingled with the sound of rain. Kanbe'e remained silent, clicking the final bead of his abacus.

  May 31st.

  All intelligence had reached Mitsuhide, Koichiro’s road was complete, and Kanbe'e’s calculations were finalized without a hair’s breadth of error. Simultaneously, Kanbe'e’s "Senryu" lurking in Kyoto silently took their positions around Honno-ji.

  Bitchu, Takamatsu.

  Kanbe'e stepped out of his tent and stood in the pouring rain, leaning on his staff. The staff sank deep into the mud. Kanbe'e gazed at the Kyoto sky beyond the rain and whispered quietly, yet with burning intensity.

  "Hanbe'e... Your words, 'that which only Kanbe'e can do'... The curtain rises now. I shall drive the Demon King to his death and vanish the heads of the Nobunaga father and son into the darkness of history. The road to a new world where we shall seize the realm that follows... Please, watch over us until the very end."

  Kanbe'e pointed sharply toward Kyoto in the darkness. In his eyes, a burning madness and an intellect devoid of any hesitation resided together.

  "The enemy... is at Honno-ji."

  June 2nd, the Honno-ji Incident.

  Only one day remains until the execution...

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