The Elusive Samurai (逃げ上手の若君)

THE ELUSIVE SAMURAI

NORTHERN FRONT MOCHIZUKI'S MAIN ARMY

Father…

-Ayako… -Father…

To lose her father and the battle…

the pain in her heart must be unfathomable…

So sad!

The incredibly cool Lord Mochizuki has perished.

Mr. Mochizuki?

Yo! Chojumaru.

Father! I thought you were dead!

Your father is a phoenix, Ayako. And thank you for coming!

Oh, my gosh! I'm so glad you're all right!

Ah, it hurts…

Father! Too much! You're breaking my ribs!

SQUEEEZE - CRACK

Don't be so fragile.

Us Mochizukis get stronger with every cracked rib.

You should try it! Go on then!

-Like father, like daughter. -Like father, like daughter.

Hey, wait. Mr. Mochizuki.

Hmm?

You, Mr. Tokoiwa, and your army are unharmed?

Did you all just not fight? Did you just let the fort fall?

Yeah, that's right.

Holing up and fighting on the sly's just not my style.

They can have the fort, for all I care.

You've got to be kidding!

NORTH

If this place falls, things are going to get hectic.

At this rate, Ichikawa's army will make their way south,

and we'll be severely disadvantaged on the central and southern fronts!

SOUTH CENTER

Wait.

We are entirely in his debt.

KITAJO MANOR MAGISTRATE MUNEIE TOKOIWA

Our fort's defenses are weak,

and it cannot house a large army.

It wouldn't last two days against an opponent like Ichikawa.

If Lord Mochizuki hadn't breached their siege and let us escape,

not only would the fort have been completely annihilated,

but so too would all of our troops.

So you see, kid.

We are a much bigger threat to Ichikawa uninjured

and hiding out here in the mountains.

NORTH MIDDLE

We can attack him at any time from the rear

as he tries to make his way to the central front.

Specifically, when he goes to cross the river,

he'll essentially be a sitting duck.

I see.

So a coordinated pincer attack with Shinomiya's army on the opposite shore

could be just the devastating blow we need.

What a marvelous plan.

I'm assuming you've already made contact with Mr. Shinomiya then?

Shinomiya?

So you haven't made contact with him!

But that means Ichikawa's going to make it across the river, Father!

Which means Mr. Shinomiya is going to be the one to get pincer attacked!

All right! I'm sorry, okay?

We only just got out from the fort. I didn't have time to plan that far ahead!

-Father! -We'd better hurry

and let Mr. Shinomiya know.

Yes. Ichikawa's army will be on the move tomorrow morning.

Ayako. You stay here and help defend your father.

But…

Starting tomorrow,

I'm leaving messenger duty for the northern and central fronts to you too.

Now's your chance to fight alongside your father.

Be a good daughter, and do him proud.

Certainly!

He may be helplessly lacking in stature,

but that Young Lord of yours sure has the guts

to be a military commander.

Yes.

I'm finding myself more and more devoted by the day.

It's becoming quite the hassle.

CENTRAL FRONT SHINOMIYA'S MAIN ARMY

And so, Mr. Shinomiya,

could you please station some soldiers at the exit to the northern mountains?

-Do it. -Yes, my lord.

You need only spare a few.

Thank you, Mr. Messenger.

I'd love to hear more, but you should rest in Hoshina's camp.

He's grown so much in just one year.

I can't wait to see what the future holds.

CENTRAL FRONT HOSHINA'S MAIN ARMY

I can't eat any more…

Forward!

MOCHIZUKI ICHIKAWA

SHINOMIYA - NEZU PROVINCIAL OFFICIAL

MOCHIZUKI HOSHINA

Mochizuki hasn't changed at all.

He is careless in his actions,

but somehow, things always seem to work out for the better for him.

Now, with our newfound knowledge of what's going on in the north,

we shall hold a war council meeting.

Sure enough, what is most important for the central front now

is to defeat the provincial official.

I'd like to make it a quick and decisive battle,

but we are evenly matched with the provincial official's army,

and we do not have a trump card.

Is there any way out of this deadlock?

Mr. Nezu.

May I offer some advice from the perspective of a messenger?

Fubuki. What you were talking about yesterday.

We saw the fort in the south yesterday.

We believe the military forces sent to the fort were somewhat excessive.

Excessive?

The fort is structurally sound.

If we can predict the direction of their attack in advance,

we should be able to defend it with Mr. Unno's army and a few extra soldiers.

We would need a large number of scouts to pull it off,

but even an army at 80% capacity would be sufficient.

UNNO'S ARMY + INUKAI'S ARMY 224 SOLDIERS

One, two, three, four, five…

BAD AT MATH

I see.

If we send the 50 remaining cavalrymen to the central front,

they should be quite the valuable asset.

Fubuki.

Could Mr. Nezu not send in his hawk to surveil the fort?

Of course! Then we won't need so many scouts.

If we leave 100 cavalrymen in the south, they can hold out for ten days.

A decisive battle of brief duration

also won't require as many reservists at the fort.

So, in exchange for sending Mr. Nezu south,

we could pull 200 troops from the south to converge on the central front.

That is always a possibility.

Shizuku.

What a brilliant idea.

Thanks to Mr. Nezu,

we now know pretty much all of the locations that need extra vigilance

on the central front.

You can leave any future fighting to just us now.

Your suggestion makes perfect sense.

I feel a little ashamed to be taking strategic advice from a child, but…

Shizuku.

It is advice coming from you. I know that Lord Yorishige trusts you deeply.

Very well.

ICHIKAWA - MOCHIZUKI SHINOMIYA + HOSHINA

The north will keep their army at bay with a pincer attack,

I will trade places with 200 men in the south,

and Hoshina's party will settle things here in the center.

There are well over 500 men.

Chojumaru.

As messenger, you must know many secret paths.

Let us make haste. I need you to guide my path southward.

Yes, sir.

Shizuku has a lot of influence over the chief vassals

due to her being a representative of Mr. Yorishige.

Only she could come up with such a bold idea

like shuffling the generals around.

TOKIYUKI

THE NEXT DAY SOUTHERN FRONT - FUKASHI FORT

I sent 200 cavalrymen in secret to the central front last night.

Mr. Nezu and I have also made all the necessary arrangements

to help defend the fort.

I have a hawk watching the front, but I can't keep him for long.

Please tell Hoshina to have the battle on the central front

-finished within three days. -Yes, sir!

Everyone, I bid you good luck.

The Young Lord is fascinating, Mr. Nezu.

Yes.

To think he enjoys the work of darting about all the time.

He's a fine lad, I'll give him that,

but should we really be going ahead with a child's strategy?

What are you getting at?

Defeating the provincial official's army may only be a numbers game,

but Sadamune is a battle-hardened master.

Just as we have our plan, he will surely have his own as well.

I want to go home.

Just how much have we been running around these past few days?

Don't say that, Genba. You've gotta stick with us.

There may come a time when we need your power.

He's right though. We are pushing ourselves.

The Young Lord may be going too far this time.

Mr. Unno. Didn't you say there were around 100 enemy troops