Book 12 Chapter 24 一千年の炎

From Chinese translations by Hinako.

Draft: Version 1 - final
Notes: 布下 Nunoshita, 弘法大師Kobou Daishi, 弘中三河 Hironaka Mikawa, 泷之小路Takiyuki alley (kouji), 聖崎/圣崎 Hijirizaki, 木津川 Kizugawa
PS: do not distribute this without my permission

---

A strange large warship had appeared in Kure all of a sudden...!
The news had spread all over to the police of the Hiroshima district, every maritime safety agency, organization and the press media within a blink of an eye.

"Where's the ship's registration number...!"

"There's no response at all! There are people onboard the ship!"

"It's a large ship that is more than 200 meters in length! It's a warship! The ship's registration number is unknown! It's not a ship belonging to the armed forces!"

"It appeared from the waters of Etajima! Why didn't we notice the vessel earlier!"

The place immediately fell into a great panic. The Hiroshima district came under critical alert. The large warship that had set out from Kure, that navigational channel was a route that led to Miyajima. The several helicopters dispatched from the maritime security office to chase down the large warship paced to and fro in the sky. Patrol vessels and self-defense ships followed behind closely as though they wanted to surround it.

"The ship's speed at present is... 33 knots!"

"What? How can this monstrous ship have such a speed!"

The sailors on the patrol ship shouted with dissatisfaction in unison.

"...That sort of huge warship, can't be found anywhere in the world, let alone Japan!"

"'Mountaintop Operation'..."

The eldest sailor gazed at the figure of the large warship and muttered.

"It's the Yamato..."

"Huh?"

"That battleship... isn't it the Yamato!"

"Yamato... the warship from that time? How can that be!"

"No, this is the only possibility! Besides the Yamato, there's no other warship this huge!"

"Are you saying the Yamato has returned? Wasn't the Yamato sunk?"

When the shouts of 'Yamato, Yamato' began to circulate among the people's mouths, the warship had already entered Hiroshima bay. Not paying any attention to the disquieting shouts of the people of this era, Kikkawa Motoharu and the others onboard the 'Yamato' only continued to advance towards Miyajima.

Its entire length spanned 263 meters, and it had three basic sets of 9 by 460 millimeter cannons hosted on the 65,000 tonnes of the large warship, carrying a brave disposition as it soared across the sea.
It was the largest battleship in history and had been called the 'Large City of the Seas', 'The Floating Battery of the Seas'. For the people who saw the display of its might, not a single one of them was not overwhelmed. It was simply like an entire mountain was pushing ahead through the sea.

"The Japanese of half a century ago, constructed a truly exceeding object."

This was Motoharu's true feelings at present. The Yamato was a warship that embodied the consolidation of the technologies of ship-building during that time. Although it was used as an instrument of war, it was really the people's intelligence that was the best feature of this embodiment. Even though the Yamato, the pyramids and the Great Wall of China were labeled simultaneously as the three worthless objects of the world, all of these structures were collectively representative of milestones of humanity's capacity during those ages.

As for the Tsukugomani 'Yamato', even if it took shape from the people's thoughts, every minute detail had been perfected, possessing a completely unimaginable spell-constructed tenacity. Now, the numbers of more than 10,000 souls formed the 200 millimeter armored deck, the sides of the boat had 410 millimeters of unprecedentedly thick true armor. This was beyond any doubt an armor that possessed a will of its own. Rumor has it that the real Yamato's 460 millimeter cannons would have reached the limits of its use after 200 rounds of firing, but this 'Yamato', as long as it had incantation shells, it could always go into battle. The incantation shells were of course due to the spells conjured by the sailors of the Mouri as well as by the navy soldiers that had become the vessel's armor.

"My Lord! On the bay of Hiroshima, Sue's and Oda's suigun are advancing this way! Their numbers are approximately 2000!"

"Right, all soldiers prepare for battle! Man the guns! Load the incantation shells, all hands unite in common effort to annihilate the enemy ships!"

"Understood!"

"Kodama," Motoharu called.

"Let those patrol vessels withdraw. Don't let them get involved in the battle."

"But how should we..."

"The quantity of spells released is insufficient to use the method of a fog to conceal the ships' vessels. Insert a wave of thought into the radios of all the ships to warn them. There's no time. Can you do it?"

"Yes! Kodama will do his best."

At this moment, each and every sailor on the patrol ships from Hiroshima bay saw a circumstance that would cause one to not believe one's own eyes.
A new fleet of ships had appeared. The area of Miyajima was saturated with a wonderful mist, a great amount of vessels continued to appear out of it. This time they were not battleships. But large wooden vessels that were used during the Warring States era. Their numbers were approximately 2000. They were aligned close beside one another with hardly any gaps in between and advanced in a straight line.

"What is that!"

"It's a boat... a group of boats!"

"There are armored warriors in those boats! What on earth is that!"

It was the fleet of Sue's suigun. The personnel onboard the patrol ships were startled due to the enormous numbers, and one by one the ships altered course. The mist had seemingly almost disappeared.

Sue's fleet obstructed the path of the 'Yamato', preventing them from advancing any further.
In the middle of the squadron of vessels was an Oatakebune.

"Wh...at..."

Sue Harukata stared dumbfounded at the situation before him. On the other side of the mist a large mountain was approaching. Causing one to even believe it was that mountain with the mythical beasts, that had suddenly become a gigantic warship.

"This... what kind of large ship is this...."

Harukata gulped. His face turned a sickly green. Harukata had always believed that the so-called huge warship would be, at the most, only one or two times the size of the Oatakebune. His entire body froze in terror. Before the might of the 'Yamato', the soldiers of Sue's suigun were completely aghast. That remarkably immense size, caused everyone to inadvertently suffer an intense feeling of defeat.

"A hateful freak of an object, everyone, do not fear! Our numbers are greater than the opponent's! All military personnel gather and charge!"

Ahhhh!!!!

Hiroshima bay resounded with the majestic roar of the soldiers. The suigun that covered the surface of the waters charged towards the 'Yamato' with all speed...!
Welcoming the enemy's assault, the 'Yamato's' own cannons smoked, issuing fire.
The prologue of the naval war had finally commenced!

***

On another side of things, the Atake ship carrying Takaya and the others was passing by the southern channel of Kurahashijima, from the western side of Noumijima they advanced onto Miyajima.

"There's a suigun ahead, lying in ambush."

A sharp-eyed Kotarou said to Takaya.

"To the left behind Atatajima. There are small boats. Their numbers are not great, at most 10 to 12 vessels. What should we do?"

"Repel them."

Standing on the deck appreciating the wind, Takaya uttered.

"This ragged group is useless."

Takaya mumbled in this way, the katana of Bishamon materialized once again in his hand. He stood at the bow of the ship. The Atake, pressing on against the wind that struck against the front, drew nearer to the islands. The company of boats emerged. They were hacchoro and juuchoro boats.

"Hmm, Sue's ships again?"

By the side, Chiaki mumbled. The boats carried numerous skeletal warriors. They had encountered this suigun here many times before in the past en route to their destinations, but with every occasion it was always Sue's vessels that instigated the fight.

Seeing the enemy's army approaching to attack, the warriors gave a cry and faced their way. They continuously attacked with incantations, but they were not in range considering the distance in between the two parties.

Takaya concentrated his strength within the katana of Bishamon. Swirling up in a direction contrary to the wind, it seemed as if the waves had a mind of their own and automatically cleared a path for the ship to proceed.

Ahhh....!!

Takaya stared at the suigun ahead, his eyes glinted with a sharp radiance. He vigorously brandished the katana of Bishamon that emanated dazzling rays of light that bewildered the eye.
The ship accelerated. Breaking through the waves rapidly. Sue's boats approached closer and closer.

"!"

Without a word, Takaya concentrated his spiritual force. He brought down the katana of Bishamon at everything before him in one great horizontal stroke.
Issuing a low roar that sounded like the wind had been sliced, seeming to leave a mark on the sea surface, the shining katana of Bishamon appeared to extend like a laser, sweeping away Sue's boats in one breath. A tremendous wave followed after.

Ahhh!!!

As if a missile was tearing through, the waves swelled into a form of a semi-circle, bursting intensely. At the moment that the radiance swept through, the legion of suigun appeared to have been engulfed, as though they had been sucked in by the blade. There was the sound of a gust of wind, they had disappeared in an instant.
The recoiling waves crashed fiercely against the hull, spattering everywhere. Among the great waves one would not have the impression that the boats had been wrecked as not a single sawdust could be seen. The Atake ship forged through, moving on strongly.

Takaya restored his blade without any emotion.

"Proceed. Stop the ship at Koshibosoura."

"Understood!"

After Takaya gave orders in this way, he threw his line of sight to the direction of Itsukushima that drew closer from the front. By the side, Chiaki had been looking at him all along from the start. It was uncertain if Takaya had not noticed Chiaki's gaze or was deliberately ignoring him, he only faced the islands.

Then, the Atake ship reached the southern side of Koshibosoura. Koshibosoura separated Mt. Misen, with Itsukushima lying in the opposite direction, just within the vicinity of Miyajima.

The three of them made their way to Itsukushima.

"We've arrived. General. So what now? Immediately enter and kill Nobunaga?"

"I will go to Itsukushima shrine."

Takaya said without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Nagahide, you head to Misen."

"Misen?"

"I have a matter for you to carry through."

Takaya held out a koppa-shin in his hand. This had been used before at Noshima, a koppa-shin that had been emptied.

"The waveform of my soul and message are set inside. You can open it with Bishamonten's mantra."

"What's this for?"

"Present it to the Sanki Gongen at the summit of Misen. It can gather the tengu."

"Tengu?"

Chiaki displayed a surprised expression, Takaya nodded.

"The tengu that stay in Misen: Tarobo and Jirobo. I heard that they're the commander and chieftain of the tengu in the entire country. Just treat this koppa-shin as our introductory letter, since the tengu have a great deal of self-pride, if we can prove that Kuramayama's honorable overlord once helped us before, they will lend us their strength. Any subsequent orders to be issued by you will suffice."

"Kagetora..."

Chiaki could not help but ask.

"You're not really going to duel with Nobunaga, are you? You're not going to perish together with him..."

"I won't do that sort of thing."

Takaya answered decisively.

"I will save Yuzuru. I won't fight him."

"Kagetora."

Then at that moment.
Banging away, the clamor of cannon fire could be heard from afar. The two of them turned in that direction. It came from the north-eastern maritime space.

"The 'Yamato' has come."

Takaya said curtly. The black warship had come to the bay of Hiroshima, this was no doubt the exact same spectacle that Aida had seen. The immense warship sailed through the water. Following behind it were the Mouri's Tsukugomani battleships.

The war had begun. The cannon sounds came from the lineup of Sue's suigun at Hiroshima bay that was firing away. Solidly covering the surface of the water, the black reflection of the ships belonged to the Sue squadron. Several pillars of water burst upwards. Although Sue's faction had overwhelmingly large numbers, its military strength was no match for the 'Yamato'.

With the 'Yamato' as their opponent, how long could they actually hold her off?

"En route from where we came until here we haven't seen half of the Oda's ships, as expected Nobunaga still means not to use his own army."

Kotarou uttered. Oda's suigun must have fled to Aki-nada by now.

"The Sue army is the bait to lure the 'Yamato'. Without a doubt, Nobunaga has decided to use the 'manju' and 'kanju'."

Takaya had already seen through Nobunaga's attempt.

"What have you decided? Kagetora. At this moment we don't have any way of interfering to make them stop the war."

"..."

The completed 'Yamato', as well as Oda Nobunaga...
Takaya quietly gazed at the reflection of the fleet.

"Our task is to sink the 'Yamato', exterminate Nobunaga."

"...Yeah."

"Nagahide, tell Haruie. Don't let Tomo-hime destroy the 'manju' and 'kanju'. Until I give orders, maintain the current situation and don't act."

"What...! What are you planning to do!"

"I want Nobunaga to use that pair of jewels."

"Let Nobunaga use them? It's too risky!"

"Even if it's risky, to weaken the might of the 'Yamato', this is the only way. If we were to depend only on ourselves, our powers have no way of sinking that 'Yamato'"

Takaya turned in Chiaki's direction.

"Let Nobunaga attack the 'Yamato'. Before the 'Yamato' is sunk, let him use the jewels. With Nobunaga's strength, the 'Yamato' can definitely be sunk."

"...You want to make use of Nobunaga?"

Takaya displayed a cold expression.

"That is so."

"..."

Chiaki looked directly into Takaya's eyes, he felt a tinge of fear. This Takaya, capable of assertion and who could even take advantage of Nobunaga, was no longer the former Takaya. He was a man. A cruel man who would resort to all means to achieve his goals.
If he did not behave in this way, he...

"...I understand."

Chiaki replied seriously,

"You okay, Kagetora."

"..."

"Are you... really alright?"

Takaya did not answer, it appeared as if he was wearing a mask, his expression did not change in the slightest. Chiaki observed Takaya's manner for a while, then slowly stepped towards him.

"...!"

Chiaki had suddenly stretched his arm, he embraced Takaya by pressing his head onto his [Chiaki] shoulder. Takaya widened his eyes in astonishment. Chiaki placed his mouth close to his ear.

"Don't you die as well, Kagetora."

"..."

He said with a low voice

"I definitely won't permit you to follow him by committing suicide."

"..."

Chiaki once again patted Takaya, who was still wide-eyed, on his shoulder, turned and ran in the direction of Misen.

Takaya stood rooted to the spot in a lull.

"Saburou-dono."

Kotarou called out worriedly. Takaya did not move, he once again restored his emotionless expression and gazed at the sea. That figure looked like a living doll that still functioned with mechanical precision.

The cannons continued to shake Hiroshima bay.
A fierce battle had begun.

***

Bang!

Large columns of water followed in the wake of the intense waves that foamed upwards.
Firing away, after the sound of each and every boom, a tremendous wave would sprout upwards, causing the small boats to collide against each other and scatter about. The fires that erupted on the small boats that suffered bombardment, moved throughout the entire fleet of small ships that were crowded together, from the surface of the waters a black smoke rose to the sky.

"It's burning down! Abandon ship!"

"It's hot! It's hot!"

Flames enveloped the surface of the sea. The large warship dashed against the disorganized enemy, solemnly advancing forward.

"Wahhhh!! It's coming!"

"Don't retreat, don't retreat! Attack!"

The skeletal warriors that were flung into the water died violently by drowning. Those who ran too slowly burned to death. A rain of arrows were fired with bitterness. But it was a completely useless military endeavor in the face of the 'Yamato's' armor. Half of the Sue army, which comprised 2000 small ships, had already been sunk by the cannon artillery of the 'Yamato', or had been burned down by the large fire in their surroundings.

"Attack, attack! Nnnhh.. Ahhh!!"

Bang!

Another water column was incited, in one breath several dozens of the vessels that were gathered together were overturned. The large waves practically wanted to capsize the ships, tossing about violently.

"We can't attack at all!"

"Ahhhh! Damn you, Mouri!"

Onboard the Oatakebune Sue Harukata clenched his jaw unintentionally. He looked up at the large black warship towering in front of him.

"Unexpectedly depending on the strength of this sort of monstrous ship, too despicable! Despicable, Mouri!"

Bang!
Bang!

"Nnnahh!!!"

The body of the ship, following the booming sounds, rocked considerably from side to side, there were cries from inside the ship. As a result of the unceasing bombardment in front, large amounts of water poured down from the sky onto the heads of Harukata and the others.

"My Lord! We can't engage the 'Yamato'! This ship is already...!"

"Ptui, I won't listen to such disheartening talk. If we cower in this place, we would be derided by Nobunaga to an unthinkable extent!"

The capillaries grew obvious in Harukata's eyes, he shouted in a hoarse voice.

"Realign our ships close together once again! Approach it and attack with incantations! Don't bother with whatever connection the ship has to a Tsukugomani, we only have to band together and cooperatively attack with spells, that will do! We can definitely sink that ship!"

Sue's soldiers desperately released incantations, but it was useless against the 'Yamato's' stubborn and solid armor. The degree of damage they could inflict was the equivalent of throwing pebbles at it. While they carried this out, quite a few of the boats became sacrifices to the 'Yamato's' cannon fire. The fire expanded fiercely.

The second and third divisions circling around the two sides also came under violent machine-gun fire, one after the other, they went up in flames and sank. The heated iron shells were completely ineffective as well. The disparity between their fighting methods was too great. In naval warfare, during the ancient times the suigun used what was known as 'seaweed solution' or 'bamboo rake' on ships carrying the enemy, it was also called baking pan hand grenades, that were thrown onto the enemy ships and detonated. But with a modern warship as the adversary, this method of fighting did not work at all. It only increased the number of lives sacrificed in vain.
The small boats that gathered together, appeared to be saying 'we'll let you hit wherever you like' to the 'Yamato'.

The wails and indignant cries of the soldiers that fell into the sea resounded all around. The rumble of cannon fire. Changed into the disintegrative splintering of the ships. Fragments of wood floated up and down amongst the waves on the surface of the sea. Large waves crashed against the body of the ships. Flames raged. The sky above Hiroshima bay was covered with black smoke.
Terror appeared on Harukata's face.

"T-This... freak of an object...!"

The booms of cannon artillery shook the sea. The main cannon emanated a puff of smoke with a single shot, sending out an astonishingly explosive sound much like the crack of thunder.

"Move forward! Move towards the side of that monstrous ship, execute hand-to-hand combat! Behead all the sailors on deck!"

"It's impossible, my Lord!"

"Even if it's impossible we still have to do it!"

"That is an armor made of spiritual bodies! If we get too close we would be attacked instead!"

"Damn it.... Mouri!"

The vessel of the 'Yamato' pressed nearer in front of Harukata. On the surface of the vessel floated many faces of people. Each and every one of them were the navy soldiers that had become the armor.

"We're going to be hit! Our helm... wahhh!!"

The bow of the 'Yamato' had collided with the side of the Oatakebune. The Atake ship, as if it was being crushed, issued an intense fracturing sound, breaking into half right down the center.

***

Motoharu looked over from the bridge of the 'Yamato' at the enemy's suigun who could not seem to land one hit. At present, the surface of the water was like a sea of fire, black smoke ascended gracefully.

"Foolish person, Sue Harukata. No matter how you struggle, that small weak suigun can never defeat the 'Yamato'."

Still, Motoharu recalled the former battle at Itsukushima with a solemn expression, as he watched the Sue suigun that appeared to be escaping hurriedly.

The conflict at Itsukushima during the first year of the Kouji era. This was the battle for supremacy over the Middle Kingdom between Sue Harukata and Motoharu's father, Mouri Motonari, who conducted a large decisive battle. Sue's army of 20,000 fought against Mouri's 4,000. Despite being disadvantaged by the crushing disparity in numbers, Motonari, with a beautifully devised military offense, had destroyed the enemy.

Motoharu, commanding the military at Aki Shinjo, took the initiative to pursue and attack, invading and causing Sue's navy to fall apart. But Sue's ferocious general, the well-known Hironaka Mikawa, who commanded 500 troops at Takiyuki alley, hindered Motoharu. Just at the hour that these two armies were engaged in mutual combat, Hatano, commanding 300 of Sue's troops, attacked from the side. As a result, Motoharu had been caught in a deadlock.

-- Motoharu-sama!

The one who had saved Motoharu was the father of Tomo-hime and Isari-hime - Kumagai Nobunao. Nobunao, with a face covered with seawater and dust, commanded his men to charge forward regardless of everything; that uncompromising expression of his, Motoharu would never forget for as long as he lived. They had exerted themselves for Motoharu fighting in spite of their bodies, for this reason Hironaka and the rest of Sue's troops had no choice but to retreat once again.

It appeared that Nobunao had passed serenely and achieved Buddhahood, he was no longer around.

Nobunao...

Once he closed his eyes, that scene still appeared vividly in his mind. Motoharu wore a profound expression of grief and looked towards the stage of the fierce battle. Itsukushima's green earth stretched horizontally towards the direction of the sea.

Now, Oda Nobunaga was right there.

I definitely won't let you have Aki.

Motoharu clenched his fist tightly.

Our sea of the Mouri...!

The large warship continuously destroyed the enemy ships, advancing onto Oda's stronghold without fear.
Under the roar of Motoharu's command, all of the hands concentrated their spells. They loaded the artillery with spiritual cannon balls.

"Fire!"

An attack that sounded just like the rumble of thunder, the large body of the 'Yamato' teetered three times in a row.
The meaning 'to scatter away everything', very much referred to this circumstance. The 'Yamato' was too overwhelmingly formidable...!

***

"Hmph. Seems like it's almost here."

Oda Nobunaga could hear the sound of the cannons, reverberating throughout the entire island, from the hall of worship of Itsukushima shrine. Sue's suigun, in order to engage the 'Yamato', had launched an attack.

A scout came running in from the corridor.

"Reporting back, My Lord!"

"Hmm."

"Sue's suigun has sustained the 'Yamato's' cannon fire. They've been completely overwhelmed! It's only a matter of time before the entire navy is wiped out!"

"My Lord...!"

"Be quiet. I knew this would happen from the start. That standard of suigun will surely not win against an opponent like that sort of Tsukumogami. To defeat them, we would need the military strength of at least 200,000 troops."

"Harukata-sama requests that subsidiary troops be sent out! Please give instructions, My Lord!"

"Hmph, rescue troops, there are none to dispatch even if I wanted to."

Nobunaga uttered, he looked at the 'kanju' and 'manju' by his foot and laughed.

"For an adversary such as the Mouri, it'll be enough to just use these two gems to deal with them."

"My Lord!"

Ranmaru had returned, he reported to Nobunaga.

"We've received information from the Misen lookout tower."

"What?"

"There's a suspicious Atake ship at Koshibosoura."

"What? A ship from where?"

"That is unclear. It seems like Atatajima's Sue suigun was destroyed in one breath. Almost as if they were eradicated by the power of exorcism."

"So it's those Uesugi bastards?"

Nobunaga felt amused and smiled, he stood up all of a sudden.

"The actors have finally arrived in full. Ranmaru. Monitor the information gathered from Misen well."

"My Lord, do you want to set off?"

"Yeah! Prepare the ship! I want our proud Oatakabune! Bring the 'manju' and 'kanju'. It's about time for us to go out into the field!"

"Understood!"

"Sink the 'Yamato'! Are you ready, everyone!"

There was a strong outburst of 'Ah Ah!' sounds. Nobunaga treaded out crudely. He left the hall of worship, just when he was about to step into the corridor,

"Nnnh...!"

Nobunaga suddenly felt dizzy, he crouched down pressing against his forehead. The retainers were alarmed.

"My Lord, what's wrong!"

"...A call. Nothing, just a little dizzy. No need to..."

While saying this, a sharp pain suddenly twisted into his temples, forcing Nobunaga to hunker down. An intense headache invaded Nobunaga.

"Nnnh... ah... ah...."

"My Lord! ... My Lord, are you alright!"

His aides approached him in a scrambled manner, Nobunaga grabbed the railing tightly as he crouched. He was in pain for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes.

"...Taka...ya...?"

Mumbling in this way was Yuzuru. Yuzuru's consciousness had arrested Nobunaga's and appeared.

"Takaya!... It's Takaya right!"

Yuzuru surveyed the surrounding situation. He had heard the sound of Takaya's call. Yuzuru had regained his former appearance.

"My Lord!"

"Where are you? Takaya! Answer me, Takaya! Hey, Taka... nnnh ah!"

The staggering headache struck once again, Yuzuru clasped his head and crouched. A fierce conflict over the authority to dominate started inside Yuzuru's physical body.

"Oh..oh ahhhh!"

"My Lord! H-Hurry, get help over here! My Lord!"

"Damn... it..., Narita Yuzuru!"

Nobunaga grunted, apparently he had finally suppressed Yuzuru's consciousness. He repressed the severe headache and lifted his head.

"Putting up a resistance against me all of a sudden, this sort of arrogant doing. It's good enough to just obediently give in to my will..."

"My Lord!"

Ranmaru rushed to him flustered.

"Are you alright! Do you feel unwell anywhere...!"

"I'm fine..., Ranmaru. I can walk."

Nobunaga allowed Ranmaru to support him as he stood up.

"Narita Yuzuru responded to Kagetora's call and emerged... I was too careless. But I won't let you have the opportunity of freedom again."

Nobunaga stared at the sea beyond the Ootorii.

"The Uesugi have begun to move. All personnel to take up arms, Ranmaru. If those bastards have come here for a surprise attack, it's okay, kill all of them."

There was a large indignant roar together with the explosive blasts of artillery.

"...I can finally test your strength. Narita Yuzuru."

***

The three of them including Ayako, who had been moving towards the summit of Mt. Misen, had finally reached Misen's main temple building.

"There are still many soldiers here."

This appeared to be the Oda's Nunoshita stronghold. From the peak of Mt. Misen, the entire periphery of the territorial waters of Itsukushima could be seen. The Oda, using this place as a watchtower, surveyed the movements of the suigun.

"Apparently the 'Yamato' has gone into battle."

Isari-hime, inclining her head to listen to the echoes of the cannon fire about the area, opened her mouth and said.

"Now Hiroshima bay has become a battlefield."

"Tomo-hime, is our destination still somewhere ahead?"

"We have to go the watchtower at the summit."

Tomo-hime said with a tone of urgency.

"There's a rock there called Kanman-iwa. We have to go there."

"Kanman-iwa?"

Ayako wrinkled her brow.

"There is a what? What is the Kanman-iwa? What are we supposed to do there?"

"You'll know when we get there. First we need to head to 'The Temple of the Unextinguishable Spiritual Fire'. Anyway we probably have to defeat Oda's soldiers to get close. Kakizaki-dono."

"I understand. Isari-hime."

"Make a sound from the east then attack from the west, right. I know, you both go on ahead."

Ayako and Tomo-hime ran towards the side of the woods. Not long after the sound of a commotion could be heard coming from behind. Isari-hime had begun to stir up a tumult.

"Hahh!"

Plasma was issued from Isari's palms, transforming into a net-shaped conjuration. The enemy soldiers that came attacking were encased in the net and suffered violent electrical shocks. Just as the men dropped down unceasingly, she was continuously assailed by fresh waves of enemy soldiers. Defending herself against the enemy's incantations, Isari protected her body by setting up a Goshinha.

"Nnnh!"

Several bunches of spells penetrated her barrier and brushed against her clothes. Isari-hime endured the pain, and further focused her body's strength.

"Get out of the way-"

With howls of 'Wah', the sound of an uproar came from the front. It appeared that Ayako had just emerged from Sanki temple. The soldiers who had their attention diverted were caught unawares and turned their heads. At that moment, Tomo-hime fired the 'arrow of the Goddess of Mercy'. Bursting into roars of grief, the soldiers that were hit by the arrow fell to the ground. Ayako knotted her fingers together in a mudra.

"Bai!"

The twenty or so Yachou that were attacking together were externally bound.

"Noumakusamanda Bodanan Baishiramandaya Sowaka! Namotobatsu Bishamonten!"

"On Mani Pamei Fun!"

Tomo-hime drew the bow, Ayako sturdily concentrated her 'power'.

"To subjugate the demons! Grant me thy power!"

"Namo Kanzeon Bosatsu!"

The two spheres of light that swelled exploded.

"Exorcise!"

Issuing a piercing sound, white rays of light enveloped the entire region. Amongst the radiance, a few arrows shot out. There were outcries of grief. The souls that possessed the bodies pierced with the arrows were expelled, and disappeared into the brilliant rays of light of the exorcism.

Oda's army near the Sanki temple had been eliminated in one sweep.

"You guys! You should have a little more consideration for others!"

Isari called out with an angry voice as she ran over. She had almost been drawn into the exorcism.

"Ah, sorry sorry, Isari-hime. But I was thinking that since it was you it should be fine."

"Did you think that an apology would suffice! I will vanish if I am exorcised!"

"That's why I'm apologizing... Huh. Tomo-hime?"

Tomo-hime had entered the ancient hall on the left hand side of Sanki Temple. This hall was called 'The Temple of the Unextinguishable Spiritual Fire'. Stepping inside, the walls all the way up to the ceilings had all been dyed a dark coal-black. Situated in the middle was a furnace. Also pigmented all over with a coal-black coloration, it was large teapot, a fire burned within.

"This is called the 'unextinguishable fire'."

Tomo-hime uttered.

"It is said that this is Kobou Daishi's goma burning fire, for over 1000 years it has burned continuously."

"Kobou Daishi's burning..."

"I need this spiritual fire. Take some by igniting a torch."

Immediately after Tomo-hime had finished speaking, she suddenly felt a Yachou approach from behind.

"What!"

The skeletal warrior seized Tomo-hime's bow and arrow from her back. Ayako moved into action, but it was too late...!

"!"

They would be fired at! Thinking in this way they shut their eyes however, just as that moment, the jeering warrior was suddenly silenced. The three of them turned their heads in shock. A man was standing there against a strongly luminous background. He could not be clearly seen.

"Hey hey. Already told you not to let your guard down."

"This voice...! Nagahide!"

Chiaki Shuuhei was standing there. Takaya had wanted him to go to Misen, he had just arrived. Chiaki did not have an exhausted appearance at all, he leaned against the pillar and said,

"Hi. How have you been? Isari-hime. You're still so pretty."

"Uesugi...?"

"What the heck are you doing here? Nagahide!"

"Kagetora ordered me to come. I just saved you. You could at least thank me."

After saying this, Chiaki took notice of Tomo-hime.

"You are Tonomura Narumi... Is that it, so you're that 'Youkihi'."

"Tomo-hime. This is my comrade Yasuda Nagahide."

Tomo-hime lightly nodded her head in acknowledgement in a shy, fearful manner. Ayako questioned Chiaki who nodded in return.

"When did you come to Itsukushima?"

"Only recently. I came with Kagetora on the Atake ship. But taking the aerial cable car is still much faster, as expected."

Apparently, Chiaki had crushed the Oda's men in the control room, thereby allowing the cable car to become functional. But this was really a faster method than climbing up from the foot of the mountain.

"Have Kagetora and Naoe come? Are both of them alright?"

"..."

Chiaki was quiet all of a sudden. But he immediately shifted his gaze deliberately, he replied with a hurried and brief intonation.

"Kagetora is heading towards Itsukushima shrine. Naoe-"

Silence once again.

"Naoe... remained at Hagi."

"Hagi? Then he is alright!"

"..."

Chiaki knitted his brow in grief, but restored his usual expression instantly so that Ayako would not realize it, and nodded.

"I came here because of a certain matter. You people go on ahead. But before Kagetora issues an order, don't do anything to the 'manju' and 'kanju'."

"Why!"

"To let Nobunaga sink the 'Yamato'."

"That won't do! Uesugi!"

Tomo-hime shouted.

"You can't let a person like Nobunaga make use of those important jewels!"

"If we don't do this, we can't sink that monstrous ship!"

Reprimanded by Chiaki indignantly in this way, Tomo-hime was startled.

"Otherwise what other way is there? You're surely not thinking of disallowing the sinking of the 'Yamato', are you?"

"N...Not at all...!"

"As expected, you're still of the Mouri. Furthermore I heard that you're Kikkawa Motoharu's wife? You can't sink the ship that carries your husband? What's this talk of being Youkihi's emissary, at the end of the day your husband's life is still more important right?"

"..."

Tomo-hime was silenced.

"Kagetora has decided to expel the Oda after the 'Yamato' is sunk. If the 'Yamato' was just a piece of artwork that floated on the sea then there wouldn't be a problem, but that is a ship that can't be used in war again. If it goes into battle, we have no choice but to sink it and let it sleep at the bottom of the sea."

"Yasuda-dono, I..."

"Anyway just go. I have something I wish to convey to the tengu-sama here. Continue to head towards the summit."

"...Understood. Let's go, Tomo-hime. Isari-hime."

Ayako gently pushed Tomo-hime's back, all of them ran towards the summit. Chiaki took out from his bosom Kagetora's 'letter of introduction' koppa-shin, he opened the door of the Sanki temple.

"So, tengu boss, please manifest yourself with all speed."

***

"What is that! That warship!"

"They're fighting. The boats and many warships are fighting!"

"The warships are attacking!"

The platform was jam-packed with a crowd of people that had gathered together. The streets of Miyajima had also fallen into a massive hysteria. Some were carrying family belongings to higher ground, some were putting their ships ashore, some were watching the unstable disturbance on the sea, while others were randomly running all over the place unable to comprehend the situation.

"Amazing..."

The 'Yamato', breaking apart Sue's suigun, and its warships finally entered the Oono Seto.

"They're not a worthy opponent at all."

Even though Sue's army of boats swarmed in, they could only make small abrasions on the armor of the 'Yamato'.

"Was it a similar scenario, when the Mouri saw Kuki's iron-armored ships for the very first time at the mouth of Kizugawa?"

The difference in scale was too disparate.
The large black shadow of the ship pressed closer. Channeling a feeling of an overpowering threat to the onlookers.

Bang!
Bang!

Sue's boats were turned to dust in an instant. There was intense foaming from the water columns that rose, the boats carrying the skeletal warriors were overturned, the wreckage floating on the surface of the water caught fire, the atmosphere above the sea was saturated with smoke.

"Sue's army, completely destroyed..."

Takaya squinted painfully.

"Kotarou, utilize the police to tell the residents to seek refuge on higher ground. The 'kanju' and 'manju' may cause a tsunami. Nobunaga will be using the 'manju' and 'kanju' very soon. Don't let any ship set out to sea. Give out instructions to the navigating ships to urgently return to port. There's no time. Go immediately."

"Understood!"

The 'Yamato' hastened on to Itsukushima shrine from the other side of the black smoke. The black warships entered Oono Seto.

On the opposite bank of the body of water, the crowd was also caught in a frenzy. Due to the abnormal state of affairs, Miyajimaguchi ferry port had stopped even the smaller boats from sailing to Miyajima.

"Why don't you have any boats!"

Shimozura Rairyu snarled in this way at the staff of the ferry company.

"I can't reach Miyajima in this way! There's no time, put out some boats!"

"That's not possible! There has been an unusual situation on the sea...!"

"Of course it's unusual, because the battle has already begun! Hurry up! If you don't put out a boat, you'll lose your life!"

"Wah.... wahhhh!!"

"Rairyu-dono!"

Shichiri called out from the pier.

"Please board the ship! This ship will sail!"

"Oh! Did you seize that!"

"Hey, what are all of you doing! Stop!"

"What a bother!"

Rairyu shoved away the staff members, he ran onboard the ship. In the flurry, the members of staff prevented the crowd of people in priestly garb from wanting to board the ship. Finally even the police came, there was utter chaos at the scene.

"You stupid idiots, get out of my way!"

Rairyu yelled, retreating from the group of people trying to stop them. They were wrestling with one another on the pier. At that moment, a subordinate who had been assigned to the watchtower discovered an unexpected occurrence at Itsukushima shrine and shouted to Rairyu.

"The ship...! The ship has come, from Itsukushima shrine!"

"What!"

"That's an Oatakebune! Oda's flag...! That is the General's warship of the Oda!"

***

"Set sail!"

Nobunaga roared his command, the Oatakebune departed from Itsukushima shrine. From the highest watchtower of the iron-clad ship, Nobunaga gazed ahead, welcoming the sea breeze as he stood.
His hands grasped the 'manju' and 'kanju'.

"Reporting back, my Lord!"

"Yeah!"

"The entire Sue suigun has been destroyed! Harukata-dono has been taken captive by the Mouri!"

"What the Mouri!"

"Yes! They have advised a surrender! If you surrender to the Mouri, they will immediately release Harukata-dono, and stop bombardment of Itsukushima!"

"Hmph. Who's going to surrender to them?"

Nobunaga smiled haughtily.

"As long as I have that shrine behind my back, Motoharu won't act. I heard that in a past battle, he specifically ordered his soldiers to extinguish a fire that was about to burn down Itsukushima shrine, didn't he? A coward who reveres the Buddha now urging me to surrender all of a sudden, don't make me laugh until I double on my belly!"

"What should we do about Harukata-dono!"

"Who cares about him. Let him become fish bait together with Motoharu."

Nobunaga faced the large black warship that approached from the front, even exposing a smiling expression in this mutual confrontation.
The sea wind ruffled his hair.
Nobunaga held out his hands, that were holding the 'kanju' and 'manju', to the front.
He concentrated his vigor.

The spiritual influence from his physical body danced in a wave-like motion, then its might increased and enveloped the region. The waves surrounding the Oatakebune began to surge in a chaotic manner. It was as if a helicopter had landed on the surface of the sea, giving out a raspy noise, huge waves rippled in a concentric circle.

Yuzuru's physical body was enclosed in a golden spiritual energy.
The 'manju' and 'kanju' in his hands seemed to acquire power and became electrified. The original seven rainbow colors on the surface had turned golden.
Immense waves rolled turbulently. The heart of its power concentrated in Nobunaga's body.
The brilliant rays of light of the 'manju' and 'kanju' transformed into a golden blaze, raging and flaming in the hands of the Demon King. Both of Nobunaga's eyes suddenly opened.

"Hahhhhh--!!"

*sound of gurgling water*

With an astonishing sound, the sea level swelled to a height of ten meters and charged towards the 'Yamato' with a fierce intensity.

"What!"

On the bridge of the 'Yamato', Motoharu and the others let out an 'Ah' as they stared.
The huge wall of water several tens of meters high transformed into a sharp saw that crashed downwards from the front.

"Evade it!"

It was too late to be shouting orders. An attack that startled the person descended on the 'Yamato'.

Rumble rumble!

"Nyahhh!!"

Causing them to even believe that the vessel had split open under the assault, all of the sailors tumbled and collided against the walls of the ship. Lifting up their heads in shock, they saw that the ship's bow had been gouged, a black sort of smoke rose upwards. The spiritual foundation of the vessel's armor fell into the sea one after another.

"W-What happened! What exactly happened!"

Motoharu howled. Because his line of sight was blocked by the smoke, he could not see the front. The desire to kill appeared in Nobunaga's merciless eyes, he laughed. Both of his hands were alight with a golden blaze.

"Satisfying... too satisfying! Hahahaha!"

The surface of the sea caved in. Great turbulent waves surged up violently. Several columns of the savage waters jetted to the edge of the skies. Just like a towering sea dragon sweeping over Oono Seto.

"Again! Again!...charge, I am coming! Mouri!"


The people, crying out in distress, fled from the harbor. Dark clouds cloaked the sky, a tempest was starting to stir up the sea. Tall waves struck against the side of the disembarkation docks, a gale blasted about the area. Kotarou, standing amongst the crowd that was fleeing in all directions, shouted.

"Head to higher ground! Take refuge immediately!"

The police siren wailed all around. The sea water madly danced in the tides.

"A cyclone, a cyclone is approaching!"

"A tsunami is coming! Don't set out to sea!"

That was the power of the 'manju' and 'kanju'...!

Takaya, witnessing Nobunaga's first wave of attack from the streets, stood up in consternation.
This was too startling.
On the waters of Hijirizaki, he saw the massive amount of souls peeling off the surface of the 'Yamato' and falling into the sea. The cries of lament from the souls who fell into the water could be heard. If this continued, they would just sink to the sea bed in this fragmentary spiritual form. In this circumstance, it would be difficult to save them.

Takaya ran out. He could not let the 'Yamato' and those souls just sink to the bottom of the sea. He must first deliver them to the other world.

The sea surged up frantically...
Huge waves started to swirl up against the current.
The police cried out. The people, fearing the tsunami, struggled to be the first to escape. Contrary to the crowd, Takaya ran towards Hijirizaki.

---

Original fiction © Kuwabara Mizuna.