CHAPTER 336: CHAPTER 236: UNDERESTIMATING THE HEROES OF THE WORLD!

"This Lord Nozawa is actually decent, not as disgraceful as the rumors say."

After leaving Matsukura Castle and drinking a bellyful of Wanjin’s famous fruit liquor and potato spirits, Maeno Nagakane, now more than a little tipsy, couldn’t help but give his verdict on Harano. He felt that Harano did not resemble the greedy, lecherous, despicable, capricious, and violent "Oddity" that the Owari nobles described; their assessments had some problems.

On the contrary, as Oda Nobunaga’s most valued brother-in-law, a staunch ally of the Oda Danjo Chonosuke line, ruler of the Chita Peninsula, a small Daimyo and wealthy Great City Lord, Harano greeted grassroots wild samurai like them with warmth and courtesy, even personally urging them to drink. One could easily say he had a pretty good character, with the bearing of a sage from ancient times.

"Most people in the world are mediocre; one should never fully trust what others say!"

Nakamura Yajiro, having achieved his goal, now also had a good impression of Harano, and chimed in along with Maeno Nagakane’s words.

Harano was unconventional; two or three years ago, he had, almost crazily, forcibly expelled all the Warrior Clans from the Chita Peninsula. He even killed many prominent samurai of Owari, demolished seven or eight shrines and three or four temples, and to this day had never apologized or admitted fault. This caused his reputation in Owari to worsen day by day, to the point where he’d almost become the public enemy of the Owari nobles.

It was only due to his military strength and his alliance with Oda Nobunaga that he couldn’t be touched by nobodies. Otherwise, someone might have already rallied thousands to cause trouble for him.

Yet Yajiro’s situation wasn’t much better than Harano’s. It was clear to all that Oda Nobunaga intended to use him for something, so the Owari nobles watched him warily. Even with Nobunaga present, they dared not harm him openly, but when meeting him in private, they never spared him from sneers and sarcasm.

Especially major noble patriarchs like Katsuyori Shibata and Sasaki Nagamasa, who often made things hard for him. Sometimes they would push someone to duel him for a chance to shine, or secretly sabotage his missions, making him end up disgraced and humiliated.

All sorts of tricks, hard for him to even speak of his grievances.

In fact, Oda Nobunaga had sent him in advance to the Kisogawa River area, and entrusted the "Kawamata Group" to him as Yoriki, precisely because, during the siege of Inuyama Castle, his subordinates refused to cooperate, and while defending the Miyakogosho Fort he made a huge blunder. Somehow, over a hundred Minoh reinforcements got into Inuyama Castle under his watch, and he was almost held responsible to the point of being forced to commit seppuku.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t worked hard at defending; he really just couldn’t distinguish which of his men belonged to the Owari nobles. Or put another way, anyone operating in Owari, whether human or not, most were connected to the Owari noble families in some way—there was no defense against it.

So, he thoroughly understood the bad reputation Harano had. After all, he himself was "Harano No. 2," and his own name among the Owari nobles was just as bad—if not worse. At least Harano was a head taller, with fair skin, tidy teeth, and a handsome appearance—a clear sign of noble birth. No one would attack his lineage, or call him names like "country rat."

In short, regarding Harano, the Owari nobles thought he was mad—an outsider who refused to defer to them, acting with reckless impudence, a mix of disgust and a touch of fear. As for him, it was blatant contempt; just looking at him was repulsive, and made them want to hold their noses.

Nakamura Yajiro offered a defense for Harano and, thinking of his own situation, was overcome with emotion. He felt that in the future, he could probably get closer to Harano, since...

The two of them were both in the same boat—essentially the same kind, and served similar functions: tools used by Oda Nobunaga to balance, restrain, and provoke the Owari noble families to obedience.

It’s just, nearly three years ago, Harano took a desperate gamble, seized control of the Chita Peninsula, then weathered two years of famine without collapse, establishing his foundation and now able to play his role. While he—Yajiro, these three years, had stumbled and achieved nothing.

This attempt to turn the local nobles of the Kisogawa area should be his last chance to make a name for himself. If he failed again, and Oda Nobunaga lost hope in him, then he...

Back then, Oda Nobunaga’s favorite had been Hoyoshimaru, the "Horse Hall Chief," and he’d even prepared a merit opportunity for him, but Katsuyori Shibata and others noticed early and secretly had Hoyoshimaru assassinated.

If he failed now, he’d end up just like that predecessor Hoyoshimaru, quietly killed by Katsuyori Shibata, Sasaki Nagamasa and their ilk, his miserable fate used as a warning to others—showing them what happens when you challenge the nobility.

This must not happen. He had to make a name for himself—had to become lord of his own city or land!

Thinking up to here, Nakamura Yajiro’s high spirits instantly vanished, urgency welling up again. He wished he could fly straight to the Kawamata Group’s headquarters, assemble the warships, and get underway at once—he had two tasks: to turn the Kisogawa area’s noble families, and to build a bridge across the Kisogawa River for army supplies after their crossing. As the bridge building didn’t need Harano’s help, he hadn’t mentioned it.

Hurriedly he led his new subordinates back to camp, gave them all kinds of pep talks, and managed to cajole the well-fed and already reluctant old river bandits back onto the road.

He too had to make a desperate gamble—learn from Harano—for this mission, he would either succeed or die trying. He was determined to secure his own fief!

......

Two days later, he returned again with the former "Kawamata Group," now the "Oda Inland Navy," more than five hundred men in all, and over sixty boats of various sizes.