CHAPTER 127: CHAPTER 78: WHERE IS THE MONKEY?

Before Nozawa transmigrated, his usual routine included playing Japanese games like "Taiko 2," "Persona," and "Heartbeat Memories." He’d also watch manga and anime like "Dragon Ball" and "One Piece," and if he had some free time, he’d even read Japanese web novels made in China.

He didn’t think this was a big deal. After all, China wasn’t in isolationist mode anymore, so opening your eyes to the world was pretty normal. Plus, since China and Japan are neighbors, economic and cultural exchange is basically unavoidable. In that case, taking the initiative to learn about each other makes sense—if you don’t bother to understand other people’s behavior, national traits, and history, are you just waiting to get screwed over the next time you deal with them?

As for Japanese web novels, that made even less sense to be bothered about. Japan has a famous game company called Koei; just their "Records of the Three Kingdoms" series alone spawned a couple dozen games. And look at anime and manga like "Little Chef of China," "Ranma," or "Dragon Ball"—they all basically use China as their background. So why is it okay for the Japanese to use Chinese history and culture as a backdrop, but not okay for Chinese people to use Japanese history and culture the same way?

Isn’t that discrimination?

Or are you just terrified a Chinese person will get the upper hand over Japan?

So, Nozawa felt he wasn’t an extremist by nature and generally didn’t do extreme things—but finding the Monkey was another story.

This guy, in a certain sense, turned East Asian history upside down all on his own, with horrible consequences for generations. Nozawa figured since he just happened to drop into Japan’s Warring States Period, he kind of had a responsibility to track him down and try to tweak his fate a bit.

Being a little more mystical about it, maybe this was even the reason he accidentally ended up in Japan’s Warring States Period.

So now there’s only one problem left: how do you find the Monkey?

Nozawa started pacing circles around the desk again. He remembered that the Monkey, at the start of "Taiko 2"—in other words, only after the Battle of Okehazama ended—became a Samurai, and got the name "Kinoshita Fumijiro" from Oda Nobunaga. But there were still years to go before Okehazama, and before then, who knew what his name was or where he lived.

Just then, Ah Man came running back from the workshop for lunch. She saw Nozawa circling like a donkey grinding grain, and asked A Qing in surprise, "What’s he doing?"

A Qing shook her head and kept her head down, writing away. As far as she was concerned, as long as Nozawa wasn’t getting himself hacked to death, it was none of her business. But when Nozawa saw that his "People-Finding Expert" had arrived, his eyes lit up. He immediately waved her over and asked, "If someone doesn’t know the name or even the specific address, can you still find them?"

"A Samurai?"

"No, not exactly. Probably a...commoner?" Nozawa wasn’t even sure about that, but everyone later said Kinoshita Fumijiro had grassroots origins, so most likely a commoner, right?

"A commoner, huh? That’s a bit too broad. You gotta have something else to work with!" Ah Man frowned, dimple-brows tangled up, thinking Nozawa was off his rocker again.

Nozawa hesitated a moment. With the scant info he had, he said tentatively, "He should be from Owari, male, not sure which county, but probably Haidong County or Aichi County. Looks...kind of like a monkey. About fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen years old, literate, knows some arithmetic, may have some martial arts skills. There’s some chance he’s connected with Maeda...um, actually, scratch that last part. Are the rest enough?"

He wasn’t sure when Monkey and Maeda Toshie actually became friends, maybe not even in their teens, so better leave that out to avoid misleading Ah Man.

Ah Man nodded with some reluctance—those screening criteria were passable—but immediately questioned, "How come he’s just a commoner but knows how to read and count and even some martial arts? Isn’t that better than me? My old man trained me super hard and I still don’t have those advantages!"

Actually, you know, that really was odd...Monkey probably did go to school. Otherwise, with basic martial skills, no literacy or arithmetic, there’s no way Oda Nobunaga would have promoted him. But how does a farmer kid get money for an education?

Could it be, he wasn’t actually just a grassroots commoner, like people later said?

So what kind of background did he have?

Nozawa felt unsure, thought it over, and finally said, "Just work with what I’ve got for now!" He planned to rack his brain for more details later, or maybe ask Maeda Toshie—maybe he’d find Monkey through him. Two birds, one stone—shouldn’t be a problem finding the guy.

"Alright, then!" Ah Man felt it was a hopeless task, but Nozawa offered way too much for her to refuse. Still, she gave him a little disclaimer, "I’ll give it a shot, but if I can’t find him, you can’t blame me. You can’t even describe what he looks like."

Nozawa was reasonable about it and agreed right away. "As long as you do your best, I won’t blame you if you can’t find him."

Ah Man was satisfied and, remembering her original reason for coming, tugged hard on his sleeve: "Since you’re just loafing, go teach Yayoi how to fry chicken again. Hers keeps coming out mushy and a bit burnt. It’s not tasty."

A Qing perked up too on hearing this, eyes lighting up. She really liked Nozawa’s "inventions" on the menu. People in this era barely got any fat in their diets, so their craving for it was way stronger than modern folks—especially since she practiced martial arts, her cravings were off the charts.

......

Nozawa had just stuffed himself and was planning to write a letter to Maeda Toshie, inviting him for a get-together, hoping to ask about the Monkey. He’d only finished half the letter when Maeda Toshie showed up in person, bringing along Niwa Nagahide and a young Samurai Nozawa didn’t recognize.

He hurried out to greet them, invited them into the house, served tea, and his eyes lingered a moment on the unfamiliar young Samurai. He seemed vaguely familiar—maybe he’d been there earlier, when Maeda Toshimasa was begging for mercy, and helped Maeda Toshimasa away at the end. That must make him Sawaki Ryoji, the fifth son of the Maeda Family.

Sure enough, Maeda Toshie caught his look and introduced, "This is my brother Sawaki Fujihachiro Ryoji. Just call him Fujihachiro."

Sawaki Fujihachiro resembled Maeda Toshie—tall, broad-shouldered, a big, powerful build. But unlike his fourth brother, he wasn’t one of those Oddities; he wore a tachi at his waist, his hair tied in a proper topknot, clothes neat and proper—not at all the brash type like Maeda Toshie. He actually followed the formalities, bowing seriously to Nozawa and apologizing repeatedly for showing up unannounced.

Nozawa exchanged some polite words in return, then greeted Niwa Nagahide, whom he barely knew, again with endless pleasantries—what could he do, things were just that tedious back in the day. No wonder Japan’s classical era produced so many "Oddities"—even Nozawa was getting tempted to become an eccentric. The Japanese really had absorbed all the worst parts of Confucianism.

After finally making it through all the social formalities, Nozawa wondered how these three ended up together. Still, he had his own questions for Maeda Toshie, so without worrying about their agenda, he cut to the chase: "By the way, Lord Maeda, I met someone before who claimed to be a friend of yours—he looked a bit like a monkey. Does that ring a bell?"

Maeda Toshie froze. "Someone who looks like a monkey? Since when do I have such ugly friends?" He turned to Sawaki Fujihachiro for backup. "Do you remember anyone in my circle who looks like a monkey?"

Sawaki Fujihachiro pondered for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

Nozawa quickly added, "Maybe that person was exaggerating. But he didn’t seem like a Samurai, about sixteen or seventeen, somewhat educated. Please think, Lord Maeda—among your acquaintances, anyone with facial hair, or arms that reach past the knees, or maybe limps when they walk?"

This time, not just Maeda Toshie was confused—even Niwa and his companion started looking puzzled. Nozawa acted oblivious.

Maeda Toshie thought harder, then hesitantly said, "Sago’s got a hairy face, but he’s pushing thirty..." He thought a while longer but came up empty. Actually, he found it kind of interesting—what kind of bold guy would pretend to be his friend? He kind of wanted to meet him, so he asked Nozawa, "Where’s this guy? I’ll go find him!"

So at this point in time, "Dog and Monkey" really hadn’t met yet. Most likely, they only became close after they both started following Oda Nobunaga.

Nozawa was a little disappointed, but kept his composure—it would just take more time. Not a big deal. He quickly shifted the conversation: "We just crossed paths once. I’m still looking for him myself. Please keep an eye out for me."

He hurried to change the topic, glanced around with interest, and asked, "So, what brings all three of you here...?"

Niwa Nagahide looked a bit embarrassed. "I actually have a request for Lord Nozawa, but didn’t dare come uninvited, so I asked Lord Maeda to introduce me."

"And what is it you’d like to ask?"

Niwa Nagahide actually had two favors to ask. Before coming over, he’d consulted Maeda Toshie about Nozawa’s attitude and temperament, and knowing Nozawa was a bit of an Oddity, he cut straight to the point: "Rumor has it Lord Nozawa is settling in Owari. I was wondering, do you need any household retainers?"