Defeating Mitsuhide: Episode 7

Episode 7: The Flickering Shadow

(Part 1) The Collapse of Sakai

The sky over Sakai was a little hazier than usual.
The early morning breeze gently rattled the lattice of the teahouse, and as the bustle of the port town had yet to awaken, I sipped my tea.

I had been staying in this land for several days on Lord Nobunaga's orders.
In this town, where the voices of merchants held more sway than the armor of warriors, there was no scent of war.
Amidst this calm atmosphere, I was pondering the next era.

That peace was suddenly shattered.

"My Lord—!"

The shoji screen was flung open violently, and a messenger rushed in, gasping for air.
His face was as pale as earth, and his eyes were darting about.

"Lord Nobunaga has been... struck down... at Honno-ji—"

Time stopped.
No, my heart froze in an instant.

"Honno-ji is burning... It is the rebellion of Lord Akechi Mitsuhide..."

I set my teacup down gently.
While staring at the slightly rippling surface of the tea, I repeated the words in my mind.
Lord Nobunaga, burning? Struck down? —By Akechi?

The Collapse of Silence

The surroundings immediately became chaotic.
The guards drew their swords, and the retainers began preparing for ritual suicide.
Everyone was acting as if this were the "end."

But I remained seated, not moving.
This news is far too well-orchestrated.

Why did it reach Sakai so quickly?
Why is the enemy's name so clear?
Why is it fire?

And why—is the body not found?

It is all too convenient.
It is as if it were a "script" that someone wanted to be told.

Ieyasu, Unmoved

"My Lord, prepare yourself!"

One of my attendants offered me a short sword.
His hand, urging me to commit suicide, was trembling.

I pushed it away without saying a word.

"...It is too soon."

My voice rang out coldly.

"Lord Nobunaga has been struck down. That may be a fact. But that alone is not enough. Who benefited? Who told the tale? Who lit the fire?"
There was no one who could answer that question.

The Shadow's Decision

I stood up quietly.
The hanging scroll on the wall was swaying. It was a calligraphy piece gifted to me by Lord Nobunaga.
"He who knows his destiny does not waver."

I realized my own destiny.
It was not to die.
Nor was it to swallow the "told truth" as it was.

I will—live and verify it.

"Prepare immediately. We are leaving Kyoto. We will pass through Iga and return to Mikawa."

At that command, my retainers hesitated for a moment.
But gradually, everyone's eyes became fixed, and they began to move.

Memories of Flame

While preparing for departure, I pictured the scene of the "fire" in my mind.
No, it was not something I saw.
It was the shape of the fire that someone had described—
Smoke rising at Honno-ji, the burnt-out pillars of the temple, the body that did not remain.

That is not a fact, but an image told as a fact.
If so, the one who painted that image must be the author of this play.

Nobunaga is dead.
But in that "manner of death," there is still something that has not been told.

Footsteps Heading to the Mountains

Leaving the town of Sakai, I headed toward the mountain path.
The wind was cold, and the phantom of the flames remained on my back.

I must survive.
In order to discern "who told" of Nobunaga's death.

Silence will eventually become a story.
While waiting for another story to slowly rise from the gaps of the over-told truth—.

Episode 7: The Flickering Shadow

(Part 2) Memories of the Mountains

The path after the rain was slippery, and grass roots were buried in the mud.
Deep in the mountains, through old paths I had never even stepped on, I was aiming for Mikawa.

Iga was dangerous.
Local samurai, bandits, mountain rebels—I did not know who was friend or foe.
Even so, I had to go. Because I felt an "untold reason" in Nobunaga's death.

And on the way, I remember.
The men who once walked before me, or stood still, or laughed.

1. The "Fire" Called Nobunaga

I first met Lord Nobunaga in my late teens.
Immediately after he struck down Imagawa Yoshimoto at Okehazama, my assessment of him had completely changed.

"I thought you were a boy, but you are quite an interesting man, Tokugawa."

Saying that, he patted my shoulder.
The intimidation, the banter, and those eyes.
Everything was "hegemony."

Words like justice never suited that man.
What is close to his philosophy is—a bonfire.

"Just burn it. Do not leave rotten wood. New things are born from the ashes."

Fire was a tool and a symbol.
And it was also his own way of being.

And that he, of all people, died burned by fire.
It was too ironic, too symbolic—and too perfect.

2. The "Pause" Called Mitsuhide

I first met Akechi Mitsuhide at one of Lord Nobunaga's banquets.
He was reticent, and even at a drinking party, he never raised his voice.
But his eyes were not smiling. He was always measuring something.

"Lord Ieyasu, righteousness lies between prudence and loyalty."

He said that.

I knew his background, that he had the blood of Iga while serving Nobunaga.
When Nobunaga burned Iga, Mitsuhide lowered his eyes.
But he followed orders. I also believed that was what loyalty was.

That Mitsuhide lit the fire at Honno-ji?
Was that action righteousness, revenge, or someone's scheme?
—I do not know.

But I do remember one thing for certain.

"Righteousness is something you choose silently, even if you do not voice it."

He once said that.
And that night—he was "told" in silence.

3. The "Narrative" Called Hideyoshi

Hashiba Hideyoshi.
He was more talkative than anyone, more humble than anyone, and more "elusive" than anyone.

Since receiving the news that Lord Nobunaga died, Hideyoshi has been walking the "correct path" without a single misstep.
He defeated Mitsuhide, avenged Nobunaga, and is retelling the name of the realm.

It is too fast.
It is too skillful.
It is too well-organized.

He once said:

"Lord Ieyasu, a 'story' is won by the one who tells it. Truth is something that can just be balanced out afterward."
Those were words I could never say.

But the people believe it.
An organized narrative is far more comfortable than a chaotic truth.
That was his weapon.

He was freely manipulating the "smoke of the narrative" that remains after the fire.

4. The "Eye" Known as Kanbei

Kuroda Kanbei.

In the world after Nobunaga's death, he is the only man who continues to watch Hideyoshi in silence.
I did not forget that name, even while in the mountains.

"We do not speak. We only record."

That is what Kanbei said.
I remember nodding deeply at those words.

Those who speak, speak.
But those who do not speak see through what has been spoken.
After the fire is lit and the smoke spreads, they chase the 'shadow of the one who kindled it.'

I want to know how much Kanbei knows.
If it were him, he might have grasped something from the traces of the fire and the remnants of the words.

5. The Spoken Flame, the Unspoken Shadow

I am currently escaping from the flames.
I am trying to distance myself, alone, from the chaos born of Nobunaga's death and from a world where the narrative is beginning to converge.

But that is not defeat.
What I want to see is the unspoken memory that lies 'beneath' the spoken truth.

No one doubts anymore that Nobunaga is dead.
But why, on that night, in that place, in that way, and with such a 'manner of speaking'—who determined that?

The road still continues.
The rain has stopped. The wind is dry.
The lingering scent of fire drifted before me.

Chapter 7: The Wavering of Shadows

(Part 2) The Vessel of Silence

Leaving Iga, when the lights of human dwellings finally began to appear in the distance, I dismounted my horse.
My physical fatigue was near its limit, but a tension like a sword still remained in my heart.

Mikawa is almost here.
But to return meant returning to a 'battlefield that is spoken of.'

I was thinking about how I should exist.

1. Those Who Were Spoken Of

Oda Nobunaga, burned by fire.
Akechi Mitsuhide, said to have lit the fire.
Hashiba Hideyoshi, who defeated the fire and retold the story.
Kuroda Kanbei, who quietly records the shadow of the fire.

All of them were spoken of.
Some were spoken of at will, while others spoke of themselves.
But in any case, to be 'spoken of' is also to surrender oneself to others.

I did not want to be spoken of.

2. The Tactics of Silence

When Lord Nobunaga was alive, I was always a 'deputy commander.'
One who remains in the shadow of their lord, does not stand in the line of fire, and acts last.
That is by no means cowardly.
Rather, it is the one who stands last who has the right to choose the future.

Those who speak create the path, and those who do not speak read the course beneath it.

"To speak of the world is courage.
To not speak of the world is endurance."

Did someone say that, or did I determine it myself—it is no longer certain.

But now, I truly felt it.

3. The Recorder Who 'Did Not Speak'

If Kanbei has a different interpretation of Nobunaga's death, I should keep an eye on him.
Now that Hideyoshi has solidified the story as the victor, the only thing that can resist it is an 'unspoken record.'

I do not know if that record will leave anything for future generations.
But whether the story being told now is truly the 'truth'—
Someone is needed to watch over that in silence.

I will take on that role.
Not recording, not speaking, just remaining.

The choice not to speak is not an escape.
At times, it is the strongest choice of all.

4. A Quiet Landing

At dusk, standing at the border of Mikawa, I closed my eyes on the back of my horse.

I cannot burn like Nobunaga.
I cannot speak like Hideyoshi.
I may not be able to betray like Mitsuhide, or decipher like Kanbei.

But I will remain.

Keeping the unspoken memories in silence,
I will witness the transformation of the world longer than anyone else.

That is my role.

5. The Shadow Does Not Speak

Not as bright as fire,
Not as calm as water,
Just a 'shadow' that blocks the light and reveals the shape of things.

It is enough for me to be a shadow.
As an existence that reflects what the flames illuminate and brings the distortions of truth to the surface.

In this era where Nobunaga has died, Mitsuhide has died, and Hideyoshi speaks,
Someone must remain without speaking.

I choose silence.

In the shadows.