Chapter 2

Damn! Nobunaga's beautiful face showed an expression of disbelief.

This Yoshitaka is ruthless. He dares to conceal major events, but the master's romantic affairs are well understood by a few subordinates.

If you ruin the lord's good time, next time when we go to battle, you'll be the first in line!

"Then let's convene a meeting."

Nobunaga sighed helplessly. Since it has been reported, it can't be ignored.

After all, as the nominal head of Owari, it would be one thing if you didn't know about her being violated, but if you knew and pretended not to, and someone found out, who knows what they might use as an excuse to get back at you.

The adult world is so dull and tasteless. But, it's useless, little brother of the Sassa family.

With a mocking smile on his lips, Nobunaga tightened his yukata and slowly walked towards the meeting hall.

Yoshitaka was sitting in the meeting hall of the Chiyoda Castle keep, with sporadic raindrops falling from his armor onto the tatami mats, causing the Oda family attendants beside him to feel very distressed.

His back was straight, waiting for Nobunaga to convene the meeting of the castle's samurai.

It's not easy to trick Nobunaga into sending troops. The historical Sixth Demon King Yoshitaka is unfamiliar, but the head of the Oda family, a cold and ruthless beauty, never acts without benefit.

The breakout was smooth, but it left a few spear wounds and arrow scars. Fortunately, the armor he wore was a high-quality heirloom, and the light bamboo spears and bows had little force. They looked scary, but the wounds were not severe.

He sat silently like a statue, enduring the pain. The Sassa family, which only had noble blood and lineage, had nothing left. If he showed fear now, he would only become a laughingstock and plaything for the samurai.

These Sengoku samurai were fierce conquerors who already had power, but the Japanese tradition of admiring bloodline and family name made them envy and yearn for noble samurai.

Facing these people, groveling would only make them look down on him. So he had to be cool, to be a poor but noble young master!

The sliding door of the meeting hall was opened forcefully, and Nobunaga appeared lazily in front of Yoshitaka.

Pulling open her yukata and extending her right arm, her ample chest was half-exposed, much larger than that of ordinary women.

She scratched her back with her right hand, closed her beautiful eyes in comfort, and looked at Yoshitaka with a smile, her long eyelashes fluttering.

"Long time no see, Yoshitaka. I heard you came to return my loincloth? I don't remember anything happening between us. Or perhaps, it's not too late to happen now?"

Nobunaga's eyes roamed over Yoshitaka's body, as if she were selecting meat in a market, and she licked her lips slightly.

Yoshitaka ignored Nobunaga's gaze, adjusted his sitting posture, and performed a standard dogeza, bowing deeply in front of Nobunaga.

"There is no such thing! It was dark and raining heavily, so the guards on the wall must have heard wrong. Please, my lord, see through this clearly!"

Nobunaga reclined on her main seat and waved her hand.

"Never mind, it's not a big deal. Since that's the case, why did you come, Yoshitaka?"

"Oda Nobuyuki rebelled and attacked the Sassa residence tonight. Please, my lord, send troops to rescue us! I beg you to send troops quickly!"

Raising his body to answer Nobunaga, Yoshitaka performed another deep dogeza.

"My lord, you must not!"

The door of the meeting hall was pushed open again, and a valiant woman walked in, her delicate face with two frowning brows, and she bowed urgently to Nobunaga.

"Maeda Toshiie pays respects to my lord."

"Kuichan, come in and sit down, take your time."

Nobunaga waved her hand and glanced at the kneeling Yoshitaka.

"Wait for the others as well."

Maeda Toshiie looked at the calm Nobunaga with confusion. Loyal as she was, she didn't say more and obediently sat down.

Sure enough, Yoshitaka had anticipated that Nobunaga would use this delaying tactic.

Oda Nobuyuki's sudden night attack caught the Sassa family off guard, and there were no reliable samurai in the family. The longer it was delayed, the less likely they would need to be rescued, and it would be too late.

Perhaps not understanding why Nobunaga was in a hurry to summon everyone, the samurai in the castle arrived quickly one after another.

Nobunaga was not supported by the family's senior ministers. After her mother's death, apart from Maeda Toshiie, who was born as a page, only Mori Yoshinari, Kawashima Hidetaka, Ikeda Tsuneoki, and Oda Nagahide supported her.

In the meeting hall, although these few did not speak, they clearly had no interest in sending troops.

After all, the Sassa family was a thing of the past. Years of decline had exhausted all of the Sassa family's potential. Nowadays, except for a guest from the shogun's family, they had no presence at all.

Oda Nobuyuki could kill them if he wanted to. After being driven out of Chiyoda Castle by Nobunaga, Nobuyuki had become psychologically imbalanced and violent.

It wouldn't be bad for him to go crazy. When it came time to deal with him, there would be no need to find an excuse, and the Sassa family's rebellion would be a useful black mark.

Looking at the faces of the senior ministers, Nobunaga nodded in satisfaction.

"Yoshitaka, about..."

"The Sassa family is willing to serve my lord, swear allegiance, and beg for your mercy!"

Yoshitaka interrupted her before she could speak, and his words made Nobunaga shudder, and the meeting hall was in an uproar.

This was the Sassa family, a powerful branch of the Ashikaga family, a renowned family. Even a dead tiger doesn't fall from its perch, and a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow.

In this era that values honor, Yoshitaka's words were equivalent to bowing to the neighbor and calling him father.

The samurai, who valued their reputation more than their lives, never expected that as an outsider, Yoshitaka's values were completely different from those of this world.

"What did you say? I didn't understand."

Even the unconventional Nobunaga was still a young girl, not yet the powerful and influential Sixth Demon King of the future.

"The Sassa family, a branch of the Ashikaga family, the guardian of Owari, is willing to serve Oda Nobunaga as its lord."

The meeting hall exploded, and the noise was uncontrollable. Nobunaga, unable to sit still on her main seat, stood up, her expression uncertain.

To say she had no interest was a lie. This was the Sassa family. If she could gain their loyalty, she could smoothly obtain the moral high ground to take over Owari.

Although Sassa Yoshiaki was a coward, not retaliating when attacked or insulted,

she would not back down on matters of family name and honor, shedding tears and saying she couldn't do it.

She had held out for so many years, driving the mentally unstable Oda Nobuyuki to the point of exterminating the Sassa family.

But could this long-sought opportunity for Oda Nobuyuki fall into her hands? Nobunaga was hesitant to believe it.

"Is this the will of the Sassa family, or just your personal opinion?"

"This is my personal opinion."

Yoshitaka looked at Nobunaga calmly, and her eyes changed from hope to disappointment and then to anger.

"But no one in the Sassa family will oppose it!"

Yoshitaka said, revealing a determined and deadly aura. What good was clinging to this family name? Could it bring back glory?

This hollow reputation could only make future incompetent descendants brag to others. Now, survival was the most important thing! The Sassa family must not be exterminated!

Nobunaga was secretly moved, looking at Yoshitaka's 14-year-old, still somewhat immature face.

She realized that he seemed to have grown taller in the past year, and his eyes had a unique brilliance and depth that other men lacked.

His dark, shining eyes sparkled with a mysterious depth. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, so what was Yoshitaka thinking? He was truly an intriguing person.

Suddenly, she felt a slight stirring in her heart, but this wasn't something a young boy could decide with a few words. If she was deceived, she would be laughed at as the "dumb girl of Owari."

Yoshitaka had been observing Nobunaga and was sure she was moved.

So, he started to take off his clothes.