The Elusive Samurai (逃げ上手の若君)

I've gathered the biggest, burliest men around

and paying them to carry my mikoshi and serve as my bodyguards.

And I shall shoot them all from right here,

in the safety of my own little box.

This is my very own battle mikoshi plan!

It's all for show.

That huge thing will just become an easy target.

No, not necessarily.

It's so conspicuous that it's bound to become a target, but…

The bearers wear heavy armor

and maintain a tight formation around the poles.

RAMPAGE! BATTLE MIKOSHI

They can't be taken down easily, even in close combat.

Even if one bearer falls, another one immediately takes his place.

Even if they reach the mikoshi…

This is bad. They're packing in tighter and tighter.

PROVINCIAL OFFICIAL

If they pack in that tightly, Sadamune's army will slip in behind them.

SADAMUNE'S ARMY HOSHINA PARTY

They could be cut off and wiped out.

Fubuki? Don't be reckless!

No need to worry. I'm going as a messenger to pass on my idea.

That's the danger of a court noble who knows nothing of war.

Tactics that defy a warrior's expectations can be

extremely dangerous if they happen to work.

Trample them to death! Cut them down!

I'll shoot them down too!

All for my world…

No, for the Emperor's world.

It's beyond me.

I could never govern those beasts

who wouldn't hesitate to take a Provincial Official's life.

Even if it's my command?

Our Kiyohara clan has always been a lower-ranked noble house.

We have neither the lineage nor the worthiness to become Provincial Officials.

Why did you appoint someone like me

as a Provincial Official in the first place?

Kiyohara, lineage is not what I value most.

It is resolve.

I value those with the resolve to change the age.

Even in the days of Kamakura, you must have wondered.

"Why do indolent court nobles

who fawn over the shogunate's warrior families

and cling to their privileges still hold power?"

"I could change the world if I were in their place."

I saw the passion, ambition, and resolve hidden in your eyes.

I recognized your worth even then.

You had noticed a mere minor court noble like me even back then?

Your house has no standing.

You have no achievements on the grand stage.

Yet you possess a resolve that reaches the heavens.

That is why I entrust Shinano to you.

Go, Kiyohara.

Rule Shinano with that resolve, for the world I shall create.

The Emperor commands you to go!

Yes, sir!

Emperor Godaigo was also a hero

possessed of unparalleled charisma and force of character.

As though imbued with the Emperor's own spirit,

many nobles took up unfamiliar weapons and risked their lives on the battlefield.

It was one of the most unusual characteristics of the era.

Mr. Hoshina, move your soldiers to the left.

Concentrate as many soldiers as you can from the right to the left.

All for the Emperor's reign!

We shall build his world here in Shinano!

THE ELUSIVE SAMURAI

Heave-ho!

Heave-ho!

Cry out, you fools.

Your voices are the bells that herald the new reign.

To build a righteous world, we must first cut away its impurities.

The Emperor's reign shall bloom upon that blood.

Emperor, behold!

That blood is the very proof of my loyalty.

I've concentrated the troops as you instructed, but…

Fire!

There are too many of them.

No matter how many we cut down,

it's as if they just keep crawling out from the depths of the earth.

Don't worry. Keep it up.

It should be about time.

What's going on? Hold it steady!

Damn it! Where are the replacement bearers?

What are you dawdling for? Get back into formation!

Not many can wield a sword with their left hand.

If we strike there, we can break the bearers' formation.

The left!

Concentrate your attacks from the left!

Follow me, Shinomiya! We're taking the enemy commander!

It's shaking! It's shaking! At this rate, I can't use my bow!

It's over.

In the end, it was just a court noble's little game.

Let's get back and collect our reward.

After all, we took down that Provincial Official.

Don't make it sound like it was all you!

Huh? Wasn't it?

What's wrong, brat?

Well…

The mountain behind Shinomiya's main army…

Just now, something…

A glint…

Arms?

The mountain?

My lord?

We need to ready Shinomiya's army to retreat!

At worst, they'll be ambushed from behind!

Huh? That's impossible.

SHINOMIYA'S MAIN ARMY

Behind the Shinomiya's army is nothing but endless mountains.

There's no way an army that large could get in there…

Besides, my lord, the enemy's main commanders should all be out by now.

There's one man who comes to mind.

A cunning, meticulous commander known for mountain ambushes.

SHINOMIYA'S MAIN ARMY

An ambush from the mountain behind us?

There's no sign of anything.

What's your basis for that?

I have none, but please order a retreat at once!

We've beaten the Provincial Official and we're on the verge of victory.

We can't move the main army now.

In our land, where we revere the divine,

the idea of a man riding a mikoshi is absurd.

Only a god has the right to ride a mikoshi.

And in Shinano, there's only one.

We'll hear you out once Lord Shinomiya returns.

By then, it'll be too late. It's the instinct of a born runner.

Please, hurry!

E…

Enemy… Enemy…

Enemy?

Enemy attack!

What's happening?

Yasaburo!

Damn it!

I'll go after him! Shinomiya, get back to the main army!

Run for it!

Young Lord!

Kojiro! Genba!

Shokan…

Lord Tokiyuki.

SOUTH - CENTER - NORTH

The battle began on three fronts.

Within days, the northern and southern forces would be consolidated,

and both sides would converge on the center for the decisive battle.

After analyzing both armies' strength,

I predicted the decisive battle on the fourth day

and moved my troops through the mountains accordingly.

Then I learned of the Provincial Official's secret weapon

and worked it into my plan.

It was the perfect toy to draw everyone's attention on the battlefield.

While everyone's attention was focused on the mikoshi,

we swiftly closed in on Shinomiya's main camp and launched a surprise attack.

This is military strategy, Chojumaru.

Military strategy…

You may run around hunting down petty commanders