The bone forest stood dense, the lightning not yet faded.
But Imagawa Yoshimoto seemed oblivious to the deadly dangers. Holding up the elaborate, trailing hem of her twelve-layered kimono, she stepped through the blood-soaked grass and walked right up to Shinji.
Too close.
Close enough for Shinji to smell her heavy perfume.
This lord of Suruga, who looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, had skin pale from years of luxury it seemed almost translucent in the afternoon sunlight.
Her wide sleeves slid back, revealing wrists so slender they looked like they might break.
The layered collar bound her neck tightly, which only emphasized that her face was barely the size of a palm.
A light, simple makeup adorned her delicate, pretty girl's features.
Though facing a terrifying demon, her face was full of excitement.
She looked up at Shinji's crimson demon mask.
No fear.
Only a fervor like someone who had found a rare treasure.
"Demon God Shinji." Imagawa Yoshimoto's voice was soft, with the drawn-out accent characteristic of the Kyoto court nobles. "Finally, I see you again."
Shinji looked down at her.
Behind him, the tanuki had been so frightened it bent its flagpole. The one-eyed little monk had retreated into his umbrella, trembling.
The aura this woman gave off was, in a way, even stranger than the female general who had wielded a divine artifact.
"It seems you really did start this war just to find me," Shinji said, his voice muffled and cold through the mask.
"Of course." Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyes curved into crescents. "To see you, I even brought two thousand people to this wilderness to catch a chill."
She reached out and pointed at the shivering little demons behind Shinji.
"You're leading these… creatures around. Are you looking for somewhere to settle?"
Saw through him in one glance.
This woman was not the fool who only knew how to kick a ball, as later legends portrayed.
Shinji didn't deny it. "Yes."
"Then come to Suruga." Imagawa Yoshimoto spread her arms wide, her sleeves like butterfly wings. "I have cities. I have a shrine dedicated to you. I have countless treasures and lands. If you agree, I would not hesitate to share the faith of Suruga with you no, the faith of all Japan."
She stepped forward, practically pressing against Shinji's bone armor.
Her eyes burned; she made no effort to hide it.
"The Takeda have the monsters of Fudō Myōō. The Uesugi have the madwoman of Bishamonten."
"The Imagawa should have a true 'demon god.'"
"Come, Shinji."
"Be my blade. Be my god."
"Join me and rule all Japan!"
The wind stopped.
The battlefield fell into dead silence.
Two thousand Imagawa soldiers and fifteen hundred Hōjō soldiers had all heard this declaration of near madness.
Proposing to a demon… no, proposing an alliance?
And even offering the faith of an entire nation as a bargaining chip.
Shinji looked at her.
He had to admit, the offer was tempting.
If all he wanted was a place to settle these little demons, Suruga was indeed a good option. It was some distance from Musashi Province, allowing them to support each other without being easily wiped out together.
But
"Hold on!" A cold voice interrupted Imagawa Yoshimoto's one-woman show.
Hooves pounded. The northern formation parted, and a single rider came at full speed.
Hōjō Ujiyasu.
The Lion of Sagami, her face now covered in frost, her long hair tied in a ponytail that whipped wildly with the horse's gallop.
The armor plates on her chest rose and fell with her quickened breath, tracing a curve that was not full but exceptionally taut.
Her legs, clad in hakama, gripped the horse's flanks tightly. She reined in three yards away and looked down at Imagawa Yoshimoto.
"Imagawa Yoshimoto, have you gone mad?" Hōjō Ujiyasu's voice was cold as ice shards. "Coming to my territory to poach 'my' person?"
"Your person?" Imagawa Yoshimoto covered her mouth with a light laugh, her eyes glinting. "Hahaha, that's a good joke. Little sister Ujiyasu, you shouldn't speak carelessly. Since when did this Demon God become your person? I recall he nearly split your army in half just now."
Imagawa Yoshimoto placed heavy emphasis on the word 'little.' Hōjō Ujiyasu gritted her teeth but could only take a deep breath to contain her anger.
"He is standing on Musashi soil." Hōjō Ujiyasu dismounted, her movements crisp.
She walked to Shinji's other side, facing off against Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Though she hated trouble, hated risk,
She hated even more having things taken from her.
Especially by Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Even if the thing wasn't really hers to begin with.
She looked at Shinji.
The figure who had saved Odawara Castle in her dream was now right before her.
Though he wore a mask, though his presence was filled with unsettling scents of blood and lightning,
He was her dream.
Her dream savior!
"Demon God… Lord Shinji, I presume?" Hōjō Ujiyasu spoke, her tone stiff, carrying a hint of awkwardness. "About last time… though it was in a dream, it seems it was real."
"I, Hōjō Ujiyasu, do not owe debts."
"If, as this woman said, you need to settle these…"
She glanced at the motley group of little demons, her lip twitching.
From a distance, she hadn't seen clearly. Up close, she realized just how 'weak' these creatures were.
"…these things."
"You can choose any place in Sagami or Musashi."
"Whether a village or a mountain, just say the word, and the Hōjō will grant you the land."
She raised her chin, provocatively looking at Imagawa Yoshimoto.
"If you want a shrine, Odawara Castle can build one too."
"If you want offerings, the Hōjō are no less wealthy."
"Want to rule all Japan?" Hōjō Ujiyasu sneered. "Sticking with this powder-painted woman is less practical than staying with me in Kantō."
The scene was awkward.
Or rather bizarre.
Two women at the peak of Kantō's power, standing in a field like common fishwives haggling over cabbage, fighting over a demon's allegiance.
Shinji stood in the middle.
The comb in his robe was vibrating so hard it was about to fall apart, clearly mocking this ludicrous standoff with all kinds of venomous remarks spilling forth.
Shinji was speechless.
He did need power, needed allies.
But originally, he had only come for the Hōjō.
Imagawa didn't rule Musashi, and hadn't been in his plans.
He hadn't expected these two 'daimyō' to openly quarrel over him right in front of the battle lines.
But,
Shinji was not at all flustered.
He was thinking about how to use this situation to maximize his benefits
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
And just then, at that moment.
As the soldiers on both sides stared at each other in bewilderment,
The ground suddenly began to tremble!
Not from the war drums of the two armies.
But from the west behind the rolling hills.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Like the footsteps of a giant beast.
Hōjō Ujiyasu and Imagawa Yoshimoto's expressions changed simultaneously.
They were too familiar with this rhythm.
Cavalry.
The strongest, most formidable heavy cavalry of this era!
"Kai…" Hōjō Ujiyasu's pupils contracted.
The next moment.
A blood-red banner slowly rose from the hills to the west, behind the Imagawa army.
No clan crest on the banner.
Only four characters, black as ink, dancing in the wind, radiating a wild ambition to burn all beneath heaven.
Fūrinkazan.
Takeda!