Oda Nobunaga

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**Oda Danjo-no-Chu Nobunaga** (織田 (おだ)  弾正忠 (だんじょうのちゅう)  信長 (のぶなが) , *Oda Danjō-no-Chū Nobunaga*), known as the "**Demon King**" (魔王, *Maō*), is the current Shogun and the man who united the warring clans of Japan. He created the Tenkaichi tournament in order to decide on his successor.

## Appearance

Nobunaga is an elderly man with his long whitened hair pulled back into a thin topknot, with a whitened moustache and thick goatee; he most notably is cross-eyed and typically sports a subtly psychotic expression on his face. Nobunaga wears dark-coloured regal traditional dress, complete with a dark haori sporting his clan's mon on each shoulder.

## Personality

He is an imposing individual with a noticeably disconcerting and unhinged aura about him. Having lived in relative peace since uniting Japan, Nobunaga appears to have a prominent bloodlust and desire for fight-related carnage. He has also noted and shown to be unpredictable and ruthlessly merciless, quick to inflict disproportionate retribution to those who get on his bad side; Tokugawa Ieyasu likened this to no longer knowing where Nobunaga's reverse scale[NOTE]This alludes to the legend of touching a dragon's Gekirin ("*Imperial Wrath*") causing the dragon to inflict its wrath upon you and then the world. was.

With the power Nobunaga has amassed, everything is a game to him; he lives his remaining years only to satiate his boredom. To this end, he does not tolerate when other people interrupt or spoil the fun he is having, willing to have them killed for doing so.

## History

While on his conquering quest, Nobunaga came to a village in Hino, after hearing about a particular "devil" committing plundering and evil deeds and even killing his rikishi Choko. Discerning the devil to be the large boy standing before him, the boy's mother attempted to pin the blame on him, but Nobunaga told her she was wasting her breath before telling his men to fire upon them. Surprised that the "devil" did not die, the boy replied casually; realising the striking change in attitude, Nobunaga asked what the boy's true nature was, but the boy merely said he had no idea as he didn't get that kind of stuff. Fascinated, Nobunaga stated that the "devil" was dead and the boy would now live on as "Choko", using his strength for his sake. With the boy asking if he could decline, Nobunaga asserted that he would kill him as originally planned. At that, Choko indirectly agreed.
Then, in 1578, Nobunaga took Choko with him to his territory in Mount Azuchi, where the rikishi showed off his power to Nobunaga's retainers.

Ten years prior to the story, Oda Nobunaga managed to unify the warring states of Japan and became its ruler.

## Plot

Having summoned all the lords of Japan to his domain, Nobunaga announced that he would soon pass on his rule of Japan. However, he declared his desire to see the greatest slaughterfest and thus would make his successor the person who brought him the strongest martial artist by way of a tournament. Shibata Katsuie voiced his concerns over it but was swiftly killed by one of Nobunaga's retainers, before Mori Ranmaru warned the gathered lords about disrespecting the Shogun. At that, Nobunaga officially announced Tenkaichi, the tournament to decide Japan's new ruler!

102 days later, in Osaka castle, Nobunaga ordered for the tournament to begin, with the first match between Honda Tadakatsu vs Miyamoto Musashi. While watching the two being introduced, Nobunaga had an eager look on his face after Honda's initial "greeting" towards a sitting Musashi. With the fight getting underway and Honda receiving an injury for the first time ever, a visibly excited Nobunaga shouted out for them to hurry up because he wanted to see bloodshed! During the latter stages of the fight, Nobunaga grinned as he noted that he could scent the smell of death. When Musashi finally landed the finishing blow to Honda's chest and Tokugawa Ieyasu rushed out, an unimpressed Oda warned Tokugawa not to ruin the entertainment as *anyone* who interfered with the death match would not be forgiven. As valiantly Tokugawa defended his warrior, called out his gunmen and told them to fire at him. As they started shooting, Honda Tadakatsu stood to his feet and protected Tokugawa with the rest of his life. After telling his gunmen to stop shooting, Oda looked at the still standing Honda with interest. With Musashi declared the winner, Nobunaga chuckled in anticipation of something bad.

When Toda Seigen is introduced as the first fighter of the second fight, he caused a fuss after displaying the decapitated head of one of Oda's retainers. Seigen made a justification his actions and directed his words towards Nobunaga, who chuckled and replied that he agreed with the swordsman's words. After Toda's opponent was introduced, right as the fight was about to be started, Nobunaga loudly started complaining that the place stunk of loser's guts, adding that, most importantly, he had grown bored. Just then, one of his retainers entered, carrying a large die. Being commanded, the die was thrown and it landed with the "森" (forest) face up deciding the location of the second fight: the Forest of Bloody Battle.
Oda then contently watched the second fight between the blind swordsman and the 6th Generation Fuma Kotaro, leaving with a satisfied grin upon the match's brutal conclusion and Fuma Kotaro's victory!

On the second day, on board his boat of Sweet Winds, Oda ordered for Ranmaru to get the third match underway. Watching as the two sides were introduced, Nobunaga was seen chuckling at William's gallantly aggressive entrance. Observing the fight between Yagyu Munenori and William Adams, Oda held a darkly satisfied smile and chuckled after seeing the fight's brutal conclusion.

Back in Ozaka castle, a snickering Oda looked down as Hino Choko towered over Kamiizumi Isenokami. With a grin, he then gave Ranmaru the order to get the fourth match underway. After Choko reawakened due to his mask being removed, a dark Nobunaga muttered to Choko that it had been a long time.

## Notes & Trivia

* This character is based on the real life Oda Nobunaga.
* Nobunaga refers to Tokugawa Ieyasu by the nickname **Takechiyo** (竹 (たけ) 千代 (ちよ) ).
* He owns a great amount of land and various extravagant and expensive looking things, including his Forest of Bloody Battle, an extremely large lavish boat and even an extravagantly decorated cage.

## References

1. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (page 9).
2. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (pages 22-27).
3. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 19 (pages 22-27).
4. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 19 (page 29).
5. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 1 (page 7).
6. ↑ *Tenkaichi* manga: Chapter 6 (page 22).