"Zenshouji Fortress"
Pull! All your strength, now--pull!
Nobunaga-sama!
How's it going?
Smoothly, my lord.
The work on Nakashima Fortress over there
should also wrap up before the rainy season begins.
1560. Judging Imagawa Yoshimoto's invasion to be imminent,
Nobunaga-sama bolstered five fortresses along the border in preparation.
It's a hard road, getting past those fortresses.
Takugen Oshou!
What brings you all this way here?
I've heard trouble's stirring with the Imagawa.
Ever since Father's time, there've been periodic spats with the Imagawa.
We'll quickly drive them back again this time.
How long is it, now, since you came of age, Nobunaga-sama?
It's 14 years.
Is it, now... What a great time--
You've accumulated sufficient experience to be in your prime.
Leave off with the roundabout talking. What is it you want to say?
In the realm of Suruga, there was a priest whom I looked up to as a mentor.
His name was Taigen Sessai.
He was a strategist who covertly supported Imagawa Yoshimoto.
One could say that without Master Sessai's efforts,
"Oda" "Imagawa" "Takeda" "Houjou" One could say that without Master Sessai's efforts,
"Oda" "Imagawa" "Takeda" "Houjou" Imagawa's alliances with the Takeda of Kai and the Houjou of Sagami would not have existed.
However, Master Sessai has passed from this world.
Now, Imagawa Yoshimoto is like a beast, having lost all reason.
This will likely turn into a great war,
in which previous experience will be utterly useless as a guide.
Please ready yourself for this.
A great war...
"Kochoki" "Young Nobunaga"
"Okehazama"
Please--stop swinging such an object around within shrine precincts!
Oh, hey, sorry...
Swinging a spear around on shrine grounds...
Well, I heard Nobunaga-sama is about to mix it up with Imagawa,
and I couldn't sit around or stand still anymore!
Truly, I beg of you...
I can once again be of use to Nobunaga-sama!
As things stood, be would've been caught in a pincer!
I'm saying, "My lord! Please pull back from here!"
I'm thrusting down one Imagawa guy after another with the spear in my hand...
...and that's how I defended Nobuhide-sama!
He's started up again-- Nobumori's legends of valor...
It's to be taken with a grain of salt. After all, he once said he'd,
"knocked down a stone mountainside with a thrust of this spear!"
What the-- He seems to believe his own nonsense!
Huh? Oh, it's Reijirou!
Come over here! Have a drink with us!
Nobunaga-sama, please send them away...
Not to worry. Go ahead and speak.
Imagawa is readying troops just short of Mikawa. They number about 10,000.
T-Ten thousand?
That's not some sort of mistake?
Is it true?
I saw for certain with my own eyes, my lord.
That's for real?
What are our numbers?
Scraping together all we have, 2,000 might be optimistic.
What will you do, Nobunaga-sama?
Nobunaga-sama!
Let me think for a short while.
We have never before been invaded by a force of this enormous size.
There's no way to fight, outnumbered five to one.
What about sealing ourselves up in our fortifications?
We can't win by holing up, with no prospect of reinforcements.
What about making peace with Mino and asking for their aid?
Trying to counteract poison with poison, you mean?
Saitou Yoshitatsu is a cunning man. If we show weakness, he's certain to assail us.
Aargh! Do we have no allies anywhere?
We do!
Nobukiyo-dono?
Something comes to mind... this.
A proof of transaction?
Hattori Tomosada-dono?
Isn't he the chief of the group of monks headquartered in Ninoue?
He's no good.
Never once, since Nobuhide-sama's era, has he shown allegiance.
But he's had continuous dealings with us at Inuyama.
This proof of transaction is the best evidence of that.
I've heard that the buccaneers of Ninoue control a thousand warships...
If we gain them as allies, we can trap Imagawa in a pincer from land and sea!
Please, Nobukiyo-dono.
Leave it to me!
However, these negotiations failed.
Judging the Oda army's outlook grim,
Hattori Tomosada instead sealed an alliance with Imagawa, of all things.
You've made us more enemies?!
S-Sorry...
This is bad!
What's all this ruckus about?
There's word that Imagawa's army has entered Mikawa!
What?!
It's too soon!
By the way... where's Nobunaga-sama?
However many books of strategy I swiftly page through,
there's no method for defeating an enemy so many times stronger.
Even so, taking a stroll isn't any help either. Let's go back to the castle.
A swallow...
It's gonna rain soon, let's hurry home!
Hold on!
How do you know it's going to rain?
You don't know? Swallows flying low are a sign rain's coming.
Is that so...
Samurai-san, you should hurry home too.
There's no greater strength than experience...
I was forgetting the most important thing.
Where... am I?
Elder Brother...
Nobukatsu!
Father!
Am I... dreaming?
What's wrong, Elder Brother?
Oh... I've come out falconing with Kanjuurou...
Listen. To capture prey, the first thing is to let them become careless.
But how?
Vanish into the trees and grass, effacing all signs of yourself.
Match your breath to the wind's rhythm; until the prey appears, be still and wait.
There it is!
Not yet. Draw it in nearer.
Got it!
Father!
Father...
What is it, my lord?
I was dreaming.
Dreaming?
My father and Nobukatsu taught me how to wage this war...
Call them all here.
It's hard to imagine the invading Imagawa army advancing as far as Kiyosu all in one stroke.
After he's stationed troops in Kutsukake, he's sure to target Oodaka and Narumi Castles.
If so, presumably he'll advance troops along ridgelines with good visibility.
It's a large army of 10,000. Naturally, its ranks will be extended.
"King"
That means the troops surrounding Imagawa Yoshimoto might be 2,000 at most.
I see. So we strike at that point from the side?
But we have no idea where in the ranks the general will be, do we?
Yes we do. We'll meet Imagawa's vanguard
by equipping Washizu and Marune forts with all the muskets we can transport.
Imagawa, with his superior numbers, will no doubt move his main squad to the fore,
bent on crushing them with sheer force.
At that point, I'll strike out at him from Nakashima Fortress.
But from the ridgeline, Nakashima Fortress is clearly visible.
You'd be showing your hand right to the enemy.
That's my exact intention.
Why do you think Imagawa Yoshimoto, the head commander,
is coming all the way out to Owari in person?
Because he's rapacious. He wants to watch the sight
of a great army under his own command stomping and squashing us like insects.
So we'll lure him out.
Just as he's trying to watch with his own eyes the moment I'm taken down,
we'll fall upon him all at once!
I see. We may be able to defeat him in that way.
No--we absolutely can defeat him!
That's right! We can defeat him!
Make ready for war!
Yes, sir!
June 11, 1560:
Word came in that Imagawa Yoshimoto's army had reached Kutsukake Castle.
Sakuma Nobumori, bolstering the defenses of Zenshouji Fortress! Follow me!
Father...
There's nothing to worry about. This war will soon be over.
You're responsible for these children.
Yes, Father.
Narimasa!
Elder Brother!
Riding to battle?
To Nakashima Fortress!
You too--fulfill your duties, so as not to besmirch the Cloaked Guard title!
Who do you think you're talking to?!
What do you mean by this? Return to Inuyama?
Are you saying you don't need me?!
I want you to keep up a credible stare-down with Mino.
"Mino"
With our backs exposed, we wouldn't be able to fight Imagawa with confidence.
I understand.
At this juncture, Nobunaga-sama had faith that he could win.
That is, until Oda reconnaissance sighted the Imagawa army crossing Kutsukake Pass.
Forty thousand?!
This isn't some sort of mistake?
Imagawa had directed nearly Suruga's entire army this way.
And Mikawa's army linked up to add to it.
Twenty times our numbers...
We cannot possibly contend with them. Is it not best to propose a peace offering?
No. We can win.
Takigawa!
Our plan on this occasion is to strike when their ranks are overextended.
As the enemy's numbers increase, their movements grow more sluggish,
and an opening is certain to arise.
It's just as Takigawa-dono says. Let's fight!
But against such an enormous army, Marune and Washizu, the front lines of defense,
will be immediately overrun.
The men in those forts have readied their spirits for whatever may come!
Now that we've come this far, to fight is the only way!
Now I know what you're all feeling.
Let's combine all our strength and overcome this trial together!
Yes, sir!
Nobunaga-sama is never one to speak empty words...
What is he thinking?
"Washizu Fortress"
Go!
June 12, 1560: The Imagawa army's vanguard overran Washizu Fortress.
Commanding this attack was Matsudaira Motoyasu, later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu-kou.
"Matsudaira Motoyasu" Commanding this attack was Matsudaira Motoyasu, later known as Tokugawa Ieyasu-kou.
So it's finally begun.
Imagawa's main squad will very likely press forward tomorrow morning.
So at last we launch our attack on this army of 40,000.
You're sure about this, my lord?
Yes. This is my final request.
Understood.
I once made a wager with your father Nobuhide-kou,
over whether you'd bring all of Japan under your sway.
I didn't know that. And? Which side did you wager on?
If I tell, it will only irritate you...
"May 19: Before dawn"
They've come!
"Marune Fortress"
Well, let's get this started.
Make them regret they ever set foot on the soil of Owari!
Yes, sir!
Nobunaga-sama! The Imagawa force has assaulted Marune Fortress...
Where's Nobunaga-sama?
Nowhere to be found...
What?!
I'm overcome by a mysterious apprehension.
What if Nobunaga-sama intends to proffer his own head to Imagawa?
I was thinking the same.
However excellent the plan, with this mismatch in troop strength,
the damage to his own side will be enormous.
Offering up his own life so that his companions don't die needlessly--
It's just the sort of thing Nobunaga-sama would think of.
Let's go! We have to stop him!
So you know where Nobunaga-sama is?!
Of course!
Tsuneoki-dono!
What are you dawdling around for? Nobunaga-sama has already set out!
Sound the horns!
Everyone--do not fall behind!
Ride forth!
"Atsuta Shrine"
Nobunaga-sama!
Maeda Toshiie, hastening to your side as promised!
By your leave, I shall labor in Nobunaga-sama's service as long as I draw breath!
Umm. What's up with that outfit, my lord?
This is--
I get it! You're praying for victory at all costs! Then let me join you!
Wait, no! You--go home to Kiyosu!
What the-- Are you saying you don't need me?
No! I want to fight for you, Nobunaga-sama!
Toshiie...
That smoke--it's Marune or Washizu Fortress, isn't it.
I'm positive the men there feel just like I do, as they're fighting.
Nobunaga-sama!
Tsuneoki!
I've come to accompany you. Of course, coming here was of my own free will.
What?
I've spent more than 20 years in your service, my lord.
My lord, who dressed so flamboyantly,
who bought up all the foreign goods he could get,
and took a person with extraordinary secrets as his legal wife.
You've made me suffer through tremendous hardships, but this one is the worst!
Hey...
Those men clashing blades now, at this very moment, have faith in you:
"Nobunaga-sama, who isn't trapped by how things have always been done...
...will build a new world, without fail," they believe.
Because they want to see that vista with their own eyes.
To keep everyone's hopes from falling into ruin...
Fight, Nobunaga!
Fight.
Tsuneoki... I was on the verge of being a self-important scatterbrain...
But it's over anyway.
The fact is, I sent Takugen Oshou as a messenger to petition for peace.
We'll stop him immediately.
Have you finished talking?
Takugen!
I suspected things would go this way, so I paused for a bit.
And the letter I passed to you?
I never had any intention of delivering it, since I dislike losing wagers.
Nobunaga-sama!
We, the retainers to the Oda clan, will accompany you wherever you would go.
Nobunaga-sama.
Nobunaga-sama!
Food! Bring me food!
Since I was bent on cutting open my belly, I refrained from eating, starting last night.
Yes, my lord.
A swallow!
It looks like a shower might be on the way, somehow.
With the heavens as our ally, our victory can be in no doubt!
Yes, sir!
"Mt. Okehazama"
Imagawa-sama, we have word that we have taken both Washizu and Marune Fortresses.
Hmm... Rain...
"Imagawa Yoshimoto"
We'll rest a while.
Yes, my lord! Make camp!
"Zenshouji Fortress"
Everyone listen carefully!
Luck is for Heaven to decide!
If they charge, retreat. If they retreat, press forward.
If we win this battle, the names of those who fought in this place
will be remembered down through future ages!
Ride!
Don't be distracted by the little fish!
The one and only target is Imagawa Yoshimoto's head!
Thus did Nobunaga-sama, on this day at Okehazama,
stunningly defeat and kill Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Just over ten years after his first battle, hemmed in by powerful realms
and amidst endless strife within his own realm and his own house,
he fought desperately, boon companions at his side, and survived.
It was the spring after Nobunaga-sama's 27th birthday.