The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

As the morning light pierced through the thin paper window, Shinsuke was awakened by the servant's knocking.

"Lord Mori, the lord summons you."

Shinsuke thought to himself, "After causing such a commotion yesterday, and being summoned so early today, Nobunaga probably has no good intentions."

He quickly tidied his clothes and followed his attendants through the corridor.

The doors to the rooms in the side hall were open, and the cool morning breeze wafted through.

Nobunaga wore a dark blue thong, and his hair was casually tied back.

"My lord." Shinsuke awkwardly knelt outside the threshold and bowed.

"Come in."

Shinsuke did as he was told, turning around and kneeling three steps in front of Nobunaga.

"You were eloquent yesterday, so now I ask you, what should be done with Yoshimoto's remains?"

Shinsuke was taken aback, not expecting Nobunaga to ask him this question.

"What's wrong, have you gone mute? Weren't you quite talkative yesterday when you were bullying Sassa Narimasa?"

Shinsuke's mind raced. In history, Nobunaga did indeed return Imagawa Yoshimoto's body to Okabe Motonobu, but now that Motonobu was dead, Yoshimoto's complete remains remained in Oda's hands. He hesitated, unsure whether to change the course of history, and could only tentatively reply.

"My lord has already made up his mind; why ask me?"

"I want to hear your thoughts." Nobunaga tapped his fingers on the edge of the low table, a habitual gesture when he was impatient.

Shinsuke took a deep breath.

When it comes to playing power games, we're the masters of everyday life.

"In my opinion, it would be better to give it to Matsudaira Motoyasu."

Nobunaga's fingers stopped, and he rested his chin on his hand, beginning to ponder Shinsuke's shrewd maneuvers.

"Matsudaira Motoyasu and his lord knew each other since childhood. By sending Yoshimoto's remains to him, he fulfilled their old friendship. He was able to return his lord's remains to the Imagawa family and also win a reputation for loyalty."

"Don't give me that insincere advice!" Nobunaga said impatiently. "Just tell me what's good for me!"

"This is a test, to see if Motoyasu has the courage to accept it and how he intends to handle it. If he nervously hands it over to Imagawa, it means he is still willing to be Imagawa's vassal; if he wants to establish himself, he will either bury it himself or exchange it for hostages... Moreover, Imagawa Ujizane will definitely be suspicious of his lord's gesture of goodwill, won't he? I heard that he and Matsudaira Motoyasu have been at odds since childhood..."

When Motoyasu was a child, he was a hostage in the Oda clan for a period of time and had a good relationship with Nobunaga.

A glint of excitement flashed in Nobunaga's eyes, as if he were imagining Takechiyo (Motoyasu's childhood name) scratching her head.

"No matter what choice he makes, the lord can see the attitude of the Three Rivers from it."

"Interesting! Interesting! I thought you were just a brute who could fight and talk, but I didn't expect you to know these things!" Nobunaga's smile vanished. "Do you dare to go and deliver it?"

"What is there to be afraid of?"

"Motoyasu might kill you to avenge his lord."

"He's a coward, he doesn't have the guts..."

Shinsuke couldn't help but laugh when he thought of the rumor that Motoyasu was so frightened that he lost control of his bladder when Takeda invaded Mikawa.

"Good, very good. I'll write the letter now, and you can set off this afternoon. Take thirty horsemen as escorts."

"No need for thirty riders. I only need five followers."

Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"The fewer people we bring, the more sincere we appear, and the more confident we seem. Besides, if Yuan Kang really wants to make a move, what difference does it make whether we bring thirty or five people? It's better to bring fewer people so that Yuan Kang doesn't think we're showing off our strength."

Nobunaga laughed again, this time even more heartily.

"Shin-chan, you're really surprising me more and more. Go on, get ready, we'll leave at noon."

"Yes."

At noon, Shinsuke led five carefully selected mounted samurai to escort a white-cloth-covered oxcart slowly out of the east gate of Cheongju Castle.

The oxcart carrying Imagawa Yoshimoto's body had been cleaned, dressed, and prepared. Incense was burning inside the cart to prevent the body from decomposing too quickly.

The journey from Kiyosu Castle to Okazaki Castle wasn't far; it could be completed in a day if one traveled quickly. Shinsuke and his group were dressed in the attire of the Oda clan's Red Robe Guard, and the Oda clan's flag flew on their oxcart, so the so-called bandits and samurai naturally dared not provoke them.

On the way, Shinsuke kept thinking about his meeting with Matsudaira Motoyasu.

This ultimate victor of the Warring States period is now only a seventeen-year-old youth, two years younger than himself. What will he be like now that he has just returned to his homeland of Sanhe?

Since they set off at noon, the group spent the night in Kariya Castle.

The next morning, the outline of Okazaki Castle appeared on the horizon. It was not a magnificent castle, but it must have been extremely precious to the Matsudaira retainers who had just returned to their homeland.

At the city gate, sentries had already spotted the Oda clan's banners and hurriedly returned to report. When Shinsuke and his party arrived at the city walls, the gates were tightly shut, and archers on the walls stood ready for battle.

"Who goes there?" a warrior on the city wall shouted.

"Oda's messenger, Mori Shinsuke, has come to pay his respects to Lord Matsudaira on the orders of my lord, Oda Kazusa-suke!" Shinsuke responded loudly.

A commotion broke out on the castle walls; the murderer who killed Imagawa Yoshimoto had actually arrived at Okazaki Castle.

About fifteen minutes later, the city gate slowly opened a crack, and a group of warriors rode out, led by a middle-aged warrior with a serious expression.

"I am Sakai Tadatsugu, a retainer of the Matsudaira family, and I have been ordered to welcome the Oda envoy." The middle-aged samurai bowed slightly from his horse, his gaze sharply scrutinizing the oxcart behind Shinsuke. "But I wonder, what brings the Oda family here with an envoy? And what is inside that cart?"

Shinsuke answered frankly, "The remains of Yoshimoto, the Grand Marshal of Imagawa, are in the carriage. My lord, mindful of his childhood friendship with Lord Matsudaira, specifically ordered me to bring Yoshimoto's remains here so that Lord Matsudaira can decide how to dispose of them."

Tadatsugu Sakai's expression changed drastically, and the samurai behind him were also in an uproar, with many instinctively gripping their sword hilts.

"Is that really true?" Sakai Tadatsugu's voice lowered, carrying obvious hostility.

"Absolutely true." Shinsuke said without changing his expression. "Please inform Lord Matsudaira that Oda clan envoy Mori Shinsuke requests an audience."

Sakai Tadatsugu stared at Shinsuke for a long time before finally nodding: "Please wait here, envoy, while I report to my lord."

He turned his horse around and headed back to the city, and the city gates closed again. Shinsuke and his group waited quietly outside the city gates, feeling countless eyes watching them from the city walls.

About fifteen minutes later, the city gates opened again, this time wider. Sakai Tadatsugu reappeared, saying expressionlessly, "My lord requests that Oda's envoy enter the city."

The implication was that they actually wanted to park the oxcart outside.

That old tortoise is really interesting.

Shinsuke nodded, turned around and gave a few instructions to his five attendants, then rode alone into the city with Sakai Tadatsugu.

Okazaki Castle appears more dilapidated inside than from the outside, with many places showing signs of needing repair. It seems the previous commander only thought the army would sweep through the castle and hadn't considered defense at all.

On both sides of the street, samurai and civilians alike turned their heads in disapproval, clearly wary of what the Oda clan might do next.

Before the lord's residence, the two dismounted. Tadashi led Shinsuke through the courtyard to a relatively spacious hall.

Inside the hall, more than ten senior retainers of the Matsudaira family sat on both sides, each with a solemn expression. In the main seat, a young man sat upright. He was not tall, and his face was still somewhat immature, but his eyes were steady and his posture was upright, though his demeanor seemed to be feigned.

"Oda's envoy, Mori Shinsuke, pays his respects to Lord Matsudaira."

Yuan Kang did not respond immediately. The hall was silent, with only the faint chirping of cicadas coming from the courtyard.

This silence was nothing more than a superficial show of force. Since the other party wasn't going to speak, Shinsuke didn't bother wasting his breath.

Finally, Yuan Kang couldn't sit still any longer and spoke up, but his deliberately embellished voice sounded weak and lacking in strength.

"You're the Shinsuke Mori who killed Okabe Motonobu?"

"It is I."