◇ ◇
5 Years of Celebration (1600) October 5 Birdfeather Harbor -
Yoshiji Otani received his life from Hideyoshi and came to that port to send a letter to Karaoke the Nine Ghosts.
The sea that comes from the harbour is calm, and the sounds of the seabirds are heard from the sky high.
Just like the showdown in Sekigahara, this place was surrounded by tranquillity that didn't make you feel like there was a battle until the other day.
From here, we will take the boat from the horse to Anshijima, where Hideyoshi instructed us.
For this reason, Yoshiji took to Toba Castle, which was situated in the harbor.
Its Toba Castle is worthy of being called the "Toba Floating Castle," a beautiful castle that makes you fall into the illusion of being floating at sea, and in front of its major gates the sea of Toba spreads, and it seemed to Yoshiji to be worthy of a castle inhabited by a naval wing beam.
Toba Castle is a castle built by Jiugu Kalong, and after Kalong took refuge, his son Shourou became the castle owner.
When the battle of Sekigahara began, Kalong, who belonged to the West Army, took the castle in a gap where he served in the army of Tokugawa Kakang as the East Army, but when he settled for the main battle in Sekigahara, Kalong left the castle himself.
Since the beginning of the battle in Sekigahara, Goro Toyota, who was the brother-in-law of Shoryu during Shoryu's absence, had followed him, and Yoshiji had asked for permission to travel to Anshijima, the destination, at Toba Castle.
Of course, this was also an instruction from Hideyoshi.
◇ ◇
A room in Toba Castle...
Yoshiji Otani sits in the guest room where he was passed to meet Goro Toyota Rightomon.
For Yoshiji, the ministers and sons of Jiugu Kalong, dubbed the "pirate daimyo", have a strong impression of the "pirate" nice and rough samurai, but this Goro Rightemon thought to himself that the line was thin because of his appearance and he was a man of good government.
Thus began the meeting between the messenger and the castle.
The age of the two sitting face-to-face was much the same, but the attitude was the opposite.
Compared to Yoshiji's grandstanding attitude, Goro Rightemon, in a somewhat awkward manner, has not set the focus of his eyes.
Of course, Yoshiji asked for permission to travel to Anshijima without putting that aside.
Goro Rightemon, whose face was blue from the moment he gave Hideyoshi's name, sweated on his forehead and asked Yoshiji in horror.
"Is it true that you are a messenger from Lord Hideyoshi...?
"Yes, I also have a letter addressed to Lord Toyota here"
And Yoshiji answered with perseverance, and when he gave Goro Rightemon a letter from Hideyoshi in a stirring motion, Goro Rightemon revealed it on the spot.
There, it was written that Yoshiji was going to deliver a letter to Jiugi Kalong "so that there would be no sooner", that the acknowledgement of the castle owner Shourou would be taken by Hideyoshi himself at Osaka, and that Yoshiji was being allowed to hold rewards for working Goro Rigamen in the castle.
"Hmm..."
Goro Rightemon, having finished reading the writ from Hideyoshi, looked blue as ever and breathed heavily.
There, Yoshiji offers Goro Rigamen the "reward" he deposited from Hideyoshi.
When he quickly draws it to hand,
"Then I'll call you when the ship is ready, until then, relax while you also enjoy the bird feather view in this castle"
And told Yoshiji.
"By the way, how much do you need to prepare your ship?
"I was wondering if you could be ready tomorrow morning..."
"Hmm... I'd really like to hurry ahead, but I don't know what else to do. Until then, then, it will be a mess. Best regards,"
"Welcome, if there's anything inconvenient, please call this Goro right guard"
He followed the scene with a letter and a reward that seemed important to him.
Left alone in his room, he looked out the window at Toba Harbor.
Anshijima can also be seen there.
Autumn Yang was quick to lean, still early to shine golden, but still the shadows of the Kii Peninsula had already stretched long in the blue sea.
While healing the fatigue of your journey to the beautiful scenery, Yoshiji
"Tomorrow, finally, face to face with Lord Kalong... we need to make sure there are no deficiencies..."
And he tightened his expression.
On the other hand, Goro Toyota, Right-Men...
Among the castle lords, for a single script, he commanded those who were nearby, in a cold voice, as if they were completely different from when they were facing Yoshiji earlier.
"Hey! Get Toyomae Aoyama here."
"Yes!"
Soon the Toyotomi Aoyama came before him.
Toyotomi, as he seemed, carefully bowed his head against him, who was already an old man and a castle boy, even though he was more than twice as old away from the young Goro right guard.
"Lord Toyota, can I help you with this old bone?
Goro Rigamen looks down with a bitter look at Toyotomi, who asked
"Let me do what you've been waiting for."
And, as always, answered with a chilling voice.
Toyomoto, who raised his face to the word, curiously lifts his neck.
"Ha? What I've been waiting for... is it?
Goro's right guard then told him in a whispering low voice as he drew his face closer to Toyomae's guard for a long time.
"I'm telling you, I'm gonna let you kill Jiu-gu Kalong..."
Toyomoto's face turned to amazement, his eyes wide open.
"Well... do you know what you're saying...?
Goro Rightemon responded to the query by reverting to his chilling voice when he was restored.
"I'm not crazy or anything. Of course I know exactly what I'm talking about."
In response to him, Toyotomi, with his sharp eyes, changed the serene tone of his earlier voice and asked Goro Rightmen in a low voice.
"It is the same thing that harming your hiding place means committing a conspiracy against the home of the Nine Ghosts.
I hear you know that. "
Toyomae Aoyama was once known as the "Shima Thirteen", so much so that he is a well-known magnificent man in the Shima area. However, when Jiugu Kalong, who became a minister to Nobunaga Oda, embarked on Shima Heping, he descended to the military gate and was serving the Jiugu family.
Even if there was such a history, it is only natural that now he was a member of the Nine Ghosts' ministerial corps and was ordered to harm the original temple, not to speak of himself in hiding, so that with surprise came a bottomless anger.
But Goro Rightmen is also human enough to take Kalong's eldest daughter as his wife and now be entrusted with the cost of the castle.
There was no such thing as Toyotomi's anger to worry about at all, and he went on unfortunately.
"I was glad and brave if you didn't, and I thought it would take my life, but this was quite a mistake.
If the thirteen Shima people are plucked out of their fangs, they're just people. "
"It's not an answer, Goro Rightemon."
"Don't be so sudden. With all these pig warriors with their lords, your house will not grow. A little more, if no one thinks deeply about things like it does, then your house will be crushed..."
"I'm asking you what you want to say. If it seems to tease you any further, Goro Rightemon will slash you and throw you away on this occasion, okay?
"Well, good… it was a good word, but it seemed to be a terrible mistake.
I'm sorry.
Then, once again, I command you not to do so. I have this letter hidden in Anshijima's fortress, please deliver it to your lair. "
Even though you apologized for your statement, you can't trust the person you suspected once to be so.
Toyotomi asked Goro Rigamen with a surprised look on his face.
"May I check the contents first?
"Yeah, whatever you want."
Toyotomi, who had received the letter from Goro Rightmen, who shook his head as if he had shrugged, immediately widened the letter and ran his eyes at it.
Then his face, which was red with anger, grew blue as he looked at it, and at last began to shed large tears from his eyes.
"Is this... can't we do something about it... is this all we're allowed to do anymore..."
Against Toyotomi, who was stunned and unable to move, Goro Rightemon approached him when he did, put his hand on his shoulder, and spoke gently.
"This has also been invited by the House of Hidden because of its excellent...
This is the only way to protect your home...
It hurts my chest to offer a hard service, but it's also for both your lair and the Nine Ghosts' house...
Will you do it?
Toyomae guards one nod at the inquiry.
Goro Rightemon couldn't contain a good grin on his mouth at the look of it.
What is the contents of that letter, if I put it briefly,
"Encourage Jiugu Kalong to harm himself"
was.
The reason for this is that our Lord Shourou Jiugi is being held in Osaka Castle because he is being questioned about Kalong. If Kalong is alive any longer, it could also be the destruction of your house. Furthermore, the son of the Oya Prison Department, who sided with the Ishida side, is about to approach Kalong and intends to use Kalong in an attempt to discuss his father's revenge. It was made to mention these two points, and to ask him to make a clean decision about your house.
Both of them are bright red lies made up by Goro Rightmen.
Even in historical facts, Goemon Toyota sent a letter urging self-harm to Kalong Kyugi, but the visit of Yoshiji, which is different from historical facts, caused the contents of the letter to be greatly distorted.
So why did he even lie and strongly urge Karon to harm himself...
It was due to his "fear".
He had been entrusted with the castle from the Aizu conquest by Tokugawa Jiayang before the battle of Sekigahara began.
And as the battle began, even though it was the Lord's hiding, the enemy, Karon, took the castle. Moreover, without a slight resistance, it dawned lightly.
At this point, he feared greatly for his post-war shakedown of "himself".
After the showdown in Sekigahara, Kalong returned the castle to him of his own free will, but there is no reason to leave any more "stains" until Shoryu returns.
Even immediately after the war, Yoshiji Otani, the man of Ishida, who was known for his legendary battle, came to visit Kalong, not to mention to give him a letter from Hideyoshi.
For him, it was nothing but fire.
And he was determined to take care of everything before that "fire, right" ignited and became his "stain".
The result was a letter that was consolidated with lies.
But he is convinced that there will be no one else who can spot it as a "lie," and Toyotomi Aoyama, etc. now in front of him, is crying down believing in its content.
"So you'll hit the castle soon?
In a surprisingly affectionate tone of his own, Goro Rightmen asked Toyotomi.
"Thank you…"
Yes, Toyotomi told him that he had put the letter in his nostalgia and immediately left the scene behind.
And he hastened straight to the port of Toba,
"Make sure you get to Anshijima before sundown completely!
and give instructions to the sailors.
Thus, for Karon, a small ship carrying a "Messenger of Death" departed for the sea plains of Toba.
Goro Righty Gate looks out of the castle with a nitrous smile at the look of it.
One of them asked him about it from outside the room.
"Lord Toyota. What kind of boat will we have for Lord Oya tomorrow?
He snorts and squeezes his face,
"Anything like that is fine"
And I said it out cold.
"But if you are a messenger from Lord Hideyoshi, I was wondering if we should have quite a ship…"
"Don't talk to me. If that's what you want, that's what you have to do."
"... thank you"
Confirming that his uncomfortable close-up had gone down, he returned to his creepy smile and whispered to himself in a small voice.
"Because now that you've stopped saying things, you're going on a boat...
Let your lair destroy the 'dirty spot' it created. "
Yes, he had already decided.
Killing Yoshiji Otani in this castle who made him "fear" and sending his body to Anshijima...
And impersonating the wolf as a minister who travelled with Kalong to Anshijima to justify Kalong's reasons for self-harm...