June 11th, the 10th year of Tensho.

  Having undergone a "re-ignition" by gold in Himeji, the Hashiba army surged forward like a flaming projectile. As the army swept through Hyogo and reached Amagasaki, Hideyoshi ordered a temporary halt to the entire force.

  In a secluded room of an ancient temple along the highway. Outside the window, the relentless plum rain hammered against the bamboo grove.

  "Begin..."

  At Hideyoshi’s curt command, an attending page applied a razor, sharpened to a lethal edge.

  A dry sound, like shaving whiskers, echoed through the silence.

  Falling to the floor were the topknots (motodori) Hideyoshi had maintained as a senior vassal of the Oda clan and as a lord of a province. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Hideyoshi’s eyes were no longer clouded; they were the eyes of a cold-blooded avenger.

  It was a mourning for his master, Nobunaga—and a terrifying ritual of severance, a vow that he would not return to being human until he had struck down his nemesis, Mitsuhide Akechi.

  Tracing his freshly shaven head with his palm, Hideyoshi stood. An aura so overwhelming that even Kanbe’e and Koichiro momentarily gasped for air radiated from the monk-like Hideyoshi.

  The news that Hideyoshi had shaved his head in Amagasaki spread instantly to the neighboring lords.

  At the time, the lords of Settsu, Ukon Takayama and Kiyohide Nakagawa, were faced with an ultimate choice.

  Mitsuhide had offered them the entire province of Settsu if they joined him. On the other hand, Hideyoshi had sent a letter claiming Nobunaga’s survival—a claim of uncertain truth, yet impossible to ignore.

  "Ukon, what is your judgment? Do you truly believe Hashiba will come? From Bitchu to here... it is a path that would take a normal man ten days."

  Just as Kiyohide Nakagawa asked anxiously, a messenger from Amagasaki burst in.

  "Mr. Hideyoshi has arrived in Amagasaki with twenty thousand troops! He has already shaven his head and comes to strike Mitsuhide with a resolve that knows no retreat!"

  Ukon and Kiyohide exchanged looks. At a speed physically impossible, Hideyoshi had appeared before them. Trembling with awe, the two rushed to the main camp in Amagasaki.

  The Hideyoshi they faced remained in his mud-stained armor, exposing his greenish, freshly shaven scalp. His eyes were bloodshot, burning with an eerie heat as if possessed by something otherworldly.

  "Mr. Ukon, Kiyohide. You... you have truly come to my side. My heart is full. Kiyohide, you old bastard, are you keeping well? It’s been too long; I’ve been waiting to see that ugly mug of yours!"

  Hideyoshi smiled as he spoke, but his eyes, like his shaven head, shone with a cold light, piercing through the two men. Kiyohide Nakagawa replied with the bluntness of an old friend, albeit somewhat bashfully.

  "I only came to hear you whine."

  The words eased the tension for a moment, but it returned instantly.

  Ukon and the others were momentarily lost for words at the contradiction between the "survival" mentioned in the letter and the "shaven head" before them. However, the bizarre intensity in Hideyoshi’s eyes possessed a majesty that forbade them from even voicing their doubts.

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  "Lord Nobunaga awaits our arrival at Zeze. If the delivery of Mitsuhide’s head is delayed by even a day, it shall be the height of disloyalty... You shall accompany me to the very edge of hell."

  Whether Nobunaga was alive or dead...

  More than that fact, they knew that if they did not follow this man clad in "madness," they would be crushed underfoot right here and now.

  "Understood! We, Ukon Takayama and Kiyohide Nakagawa, shall follow Mr. Hashiba and annihilate the traitor, Mitsuhide!"

  It was the moment the two great powers of Settsu yielded. With this, Mitsuhide’s ambition for a "Settsu Encirclement" collapsed without a single arrow being fired.

  June 12th.

  The forces converged at Tonda. With the addition of the Settsu lords, the Hashiba army numbered over thirty thousand. Waiting for Hideyoshi there were Nobutaka, Nobunaga’s third son, and Nagahide Niwa, a senior vassal of the Oda clan.

  Nobutaka had been the commander-in-chief for the Shikoku invasion, but his troops had deserted immediately after the Honno-ji Incident, leaving him isolated with only a small band. To him, Hideyoshi’s massive army—which should have been in the Chugoku region until a few days ago—appeared amidst a cloud of dust.

  "Hideyoshi... is it truly you?"

  As Nobutaka stood in a daze, Hideyoshi leaped from his horse and prostrated himself. Looking closely, Nobutaka’s head had also been shaven green, as if in response to Hideyoshi’s letter. A mix of grief for his father and relief at seeing Hideyoshi’s army caused Nobutaka’s shoulders to tremble slightly.

  "Young Lord! Thank heaven you are safe! That appearance... truly, it is the utmost sincerity toward the late Lord. I, Hideyoshi, am moved to tears. From this moment, you, my Lord, shall be the Supreme Commander of the Oda clan!"

  Nobutaka’s expression softened slightly at Hideyoshi’s words. However, Hideyoshi’s subsequent behavior was far from that of a respectful vassal.

  "Hideyoshi... I shall be the one to avenge my father. I will lead from the front..."

  At Nobutaka’s words, Hideyoshi did not raise his head, yet responded in a resolute tone.

  "Young Lord! Every second is precious now! You are a noble of the Oda bloodline. Getting mired in the filth of the battlefield is a task for lowly men like us."

  "Wait, Hideyoshi... the command of the army shall be mine—"

  Nobutaka tried to press his point, but Hideyoshi cut him off forcefully.

  "The Young Lord need only maintain a rock-solid presence at the main camp and proclaim your justice to the world! Mitsuhide’s head... I, Hideyoshi, shall personally deliver it to your hand! Or do you mean to say you doubt my loyalty?!"

  From the twenty thousand soldiers standing behind Hideyoshi, a roar of war-cries erupted like a tremor of the earth. Nobutaka flinched back from the pressure. Nominally, Nobutaka was the commander-in-chief, but the actual power had shifted completely into Hideyoshi’s hands.

  Watching from the side, Nagahide Niwa let out a quiet sigh.

  (The house of Oda... already belongs to this man...)

  Nagahide gripped Hideyoshi’s hand firmly.

  "Hideyoshi, I leave it to you!"

  Nagahide, who should have been of higher rank, now had no choice but to lean on Hideyoshi.

  The army finally swelled to forty thousand. In the war council, Kanbe’e spread out a map of Yamazaki.

  "The enemy has taken positions in the narrows of Yamazaki. He who controls Mount Tenno shall control this war... My Lord, the showdown is tomorrow. Let us settle this in one stroke!"

  Forty thousand troops filled the fields of Tonda. Each bonfire turned the dark night into day. The soldiers sharpened their spears for tomorrow’s death-struggle, some clutching the gold given to them in Himeji, others picturing the faces of their families.

  Hideyoshi stood alone outside the tent, looking up at the night sky after the rain. Far off, beyond Yamazaki, the campfires of Mitsuhide’s army flickered faintly.

  "My Lord... watch me. Tomorrow, I will tear the man who killed you limb from limb with these very hands..."

  Hideyoshi’s mutter, laced with his Nagoya dialect, vanished on the damp wind.

  He had no way of knowing the staggering truth: that the true mastermind was Kanbe’e, the man he trusted most.

  At the same time, a letter had reached Kanbe’e from the Hosokawa father and son, stating their intent to follow Kanbe’e’s instructions.

  (Mr. Fujitaka, a wise decision.

  No matter how many letters Mitsuhide Akechi pens, not a single drop of a reply shall reach him—only despair.

  That is the greatest 'poison' I have gifted to Mitsuhide ...

  Being met with silence from the friends he trusted, only to have the 'punitive force' of Hashiba appear before his eyes... I wonder what expression he will make.)

  The Chugoku Great Retreat: Completed.

  The era began to turn with a thunderous roar, centering on a single man named Hideyoshi.

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