Confrontation in Shinano Arc

The **Confrontation in Shinano Arc** is the eighth arc in The Elusive Samurai series.

After the emperor gave the order to wipe out all existing Hojo clan supporters, Yorishige decides to send his entire army in protest.

## Summary

### Chaos in Kyoto

In Kyoto, some civilians travel to the **Zasso Ketsudansho** to complain about the breach of the rules since they decreed that some lands belonged to civilians but some warriors occupy those lands, at that moment Moronao observes the whole situation.
Later that day Moronao meets with his companions to tell them that Kyoto is in chaos right now since no one obeys the established rules, one of his companions mentions that the **Mikado** is trying to raise taxes to build a new palace, Moronao is he laughs since that is ridiculous and thinks that it is crazy to raise taxes at that time and says that the reforms of the Mikado are unrealistic and inefficient while those of Kamakura were realistic but that the shogunate could not adapt to the new times so together with the Ashikaga clan they will try to find a balance between the two forms.

At that time, the Mikado tries to arrest Moriyoshi on Takauji's orders and was arrested on charges of treason, in prison Takauji visits his enemy having a conversation with him, Moriyoshi tells him that he heard that he has a cell waiting for him in Kamakura and that everything is going according to Takauji's plans, Takauji mentions that he is sad because he did not want to reach that situation Moriyoshi does not believe him and mentions that he is using the emperor so that the citizens see him with good eyes, Takauji tells him that there is a monster inside that wants everything but that demon calms down when there is peace in the world unless there is a big disturbance that causes his departure, Moriyoshi gets scared and begins to think about how the mikado can trust that person.

### Preparations for the conflict

In Suwa, Yorishige takes Tokiyuki to the depths of a mountain, arriving there Tokiyuki observes some warriors so he wonders what they are doing in a place like that, Yorishige mentions that they are survivors of the Hojo vassals who came to Shinano for what Yorishige gave them shelter and also mentions that they will be his vassals for the coming war, at that moment Yorishige tells him that he will introduce him to his most loyal warriors who are known as the three great generals, Tokiyuki mentions which is that war I mentioned earlier to which Yorishige replies that the Kokushi has been making suspicious moves so they will help Tokiyuki's allies defeat the Kokushi and thus gather allies, Yorishige mentions to the three generals that Chojomaru is actually a member of the Hojo clan although they are not surprised to Yorishige's surprise, they mention that their loyalty is towards Yorishige so if he made the decision to If they fight alongside Tokiyuki they should follow him and continue to treat him the same way, Tokiyuki is surprised to see the bonds they have formed with Yorishige.

In the kokushi's mansion, Kiyohara practices archery with some people when he finishes shooting them, he asks Sadamune if he has seen his skills improved, Sadamune thinks that despite fleeing to Kyoto, he returned as a different man Ichikawa asks Sadamune if he has improved his archery but replies that even though they have improved he is not skilled enough to go head-to-head in battle but he looks confident.
Knowing the imminent attack, Tokiyuki's allies decide to divide into three groups, the far north group led by Tokoiwa Muneie, the norther group led by Hoshina and Shinomiya, and the central group led by Inukai Tomomitsu, Yorishige gives the Elusive Warriors the mission of being messengers since there are several fronts they must communicate their actions.

### The war in Shinano begins

The elusive warriors go to Fushu where Inukai and Unno are, when Inukai arrives, he introduces himself and mentions to Tokiyuki that everyone talks about him walking around naked while escaping from the sanctuary, so he mentions that they exaggerate Tokiyuki changes the subject and asks him how things are going to which Inukai mentions that despite the numerical disadvantage Unno's warriors are not letting Sadamune pass and his warriors at that moment Unno appears to tell the group to inform Yorishige that this fort will not fall to him. Unno returns to the battlefield and shows his power and strength to the elusive warriors, while this is happening Unno informs them that they can stop Sadamune and his forces for 10 days and that they should inform the northern and central lines to what the Elusive warriors emerge from Fukashi fort.

The elusive warriors manage to reach Kawanakajima where Hoshina, Shinomiya and Nezu are, Tokiyuki informs them that Unno and Inukai will be able to hold Sadamune for 10 days, Nezu mentions that then they must travel to Tokoiwa's location since they can guide their forces until There, Tokiyuki prepares to go there, taking Ayako, Fubuki and Kojiro, leaving Shizuku and Genba to rest and analyze the situation, when they are going to leave, Yorinao approaches Kojiro and mentions that he should make the Nezu clan proud while Tokiyuki leaves. asks what those words are, Kojiro mentions that it's nothing and that they should continue with the trip.

The elusive warriors manage to reach Kitajo where they observe the fort attacked, so they assume that both Mochizuki and Tokoiwa were killed, seeing that the fort has fallen Fubuki mentions that it is possible that Ichikawa's army joined the Kokushi's, increasing their numbers and that if that is the case the forces of her companions will not resist until the next day, Ayako mourns the death of her father and everyone keeps a minute of silence including Mochizuki and Tokoiwa who appear behind them, Ayako is happy to see his father alive while Fubuki asks them if they left the fort to which Mochizuki replies that it is correct since he likes to fight outdoors, Kojiro recriminates this by saying that by doing this he has allowed the enemy forces to increase while Tokoiwa He mentions that in reality the fort would not last more than two days, so Mochizuki saved him and his allies by making that decision, Mochizuki mentions that of all everyone is better to attack Ichikawa from the forest since they can make an ambush using Shinomiya, Fubuki tells him that it is a good strategy and assumes that Shinomiya knows about it to which Mochizuki mentions that he does not know who Shinomiya is, knowing this the elusive warriors travel to Kawanakajima to inform Shinomiya of the strategy, Tokiyuki asks Ayako to stay and support Mochizuki, upon reaching Kawanakajima they inform Shinomiya who mentions that he has already sent allies to the north and that they should rest so Tokiyuki , Fubuki and Ayako sleep at Hoshina's base.

The next day Nezu and his allies plan a new strategy due to Mochizuki's impromptu plan, Shizuku asks Nezu if he can give her any advice and tells Fubuki to tell Nezu what he noticed in the north, Fubuki explains that the fort had an excess of troops so knowing Ichikawa's attack direction they would need more scouts but fewer warriors to defend the base, Shizuku mentions that by using Nezu's hawk they could reduce the number of scouts and send them towards the center to defend the base. support Hoshina and Shinomiya while Nezu would head north to support Unno and Inukai, Nezu, Hoshina and Shinomiya support the idea so Nezu asks Tokiyuki to take him to Unno and company, the next day at Fukashi Unno He mentions that he has sent 200 of his men to Kawanakajima while he and Nezu fortified the fort, so Tokiyuki heads towards the center, Unno mentions to Nezu that he is worried since Sada's forces mune, despite having a numerical advantage, also have experience, so they must have a plan at that time Nezu notices that the 100 warriors who had in front of them disappeared, the 100 warriors appear in front of the elusive warriors led by Sadamune who tells Tokiyuki that he will have no mercy with him.

In Sadamune's attack, Genba leaves a smoke bomb as a distraction helping Kojiro and Tokiyuki escape, at which point Sadamune mentions that the area of ​​the smoke bomb is limited so they should appear on the banks shooting an arrow until one of those banks and hitting Tokiyuki, Sadamune's men manage to catch Kojiro and Genba but they are shot with arrows. Sadamune does not understand who shot them, so the masked Shinano shows up, everyone present realizes that it is Yorishige with mascara who came to save Tokiyuki, Sadamune, seeing that they have a numerical disadvantage, decide to withdraw Yorishige mentions to Tokiyuki that Sadamune intended to carry out two objectives at once, the first being to take 100 soldiers towards the center while the second was to capture Tokiyuki for that he framed Yorishige so Yorishige asks him to return to Suwa, Tokiyuki refuses saying that he wants to be useful to Yorishige so that this allows him to continue in the battle but on the condition that he should not fight and that he is free to flee, he also tells him to take the reinforcements he brought to be on equal terms, for which Tokiyuki thanks him and leaves.

In Kawanakajima, Shinomiya and his allies fight concentrating in the center since Mochizuki and Ayako support them in the north, Tokiyuki and the others observe the situation and consider the battle won until a strange object appears to everyone's surprise, one of the soldiers who were nearby is shot from inside the object so they assume that there is someone inside, Kojiro realizes that it is a Mikoshi which the Kokushi uses to defend and attack at the same time, the warriors cannot approach the mikoshi anymore that outside this there are several soldiers defending it and Kiyohara is inside shooting at those who manage to pass the defense, Fubuki seeing this decides to inform Hoshina and Shinomiya meanwhile Kiyohara remembers the day the emperor chose him as kokushi and remembers his ambitions to be a kokushi at that moment Hoshina's warriors attack the mikoshi's defense so that it begins to stagger, Kiyohara watches from the v entana and sees Shinomiya and Hoshina arriving on horseback they jump and manage to kick Kiyohara managing to destroy the mikoshi, Shinomiya and Hoshina approach Kiyohara annoyed for using a sacred object as an object to fight Kojiro who observes considers the battle won while Tokiyuki notices a shine through the mountains at that moment Tokiyuki picks up his hair and prepares to inform Shinomiya that he is about to receive a surprise attack, Kojiro questions this and tells him that there is no one capable of doing something like that to what Tokiyuki mentions that someone occurs to him at that moment the Shokan army is about to reach the Shinomiya base.

Tokiyuki manages to arrive before and warns them that if they do not move they could die at first the soldiers do not believe this and consider waiting Shinomiya to move the base at that moment they are attacked by the Shokan army who manage to kill a few soldiers while this happens Tokiyuki, Kojiro and Genba try to escape while Tokiyuki sees Shokan, Shokan tells him that he waited in the mountains for the right moment to make a surprise attack and that now Tokiyuki must die, Tokiyuki escapes and Shokan sends some soldiers to follow him at that moment Ogasawara tells him that his strategy worked and giving him orders to attack Shinomiya, while Tokiyuki flees he meets Shinomiya to whom he apologizes Shinomiya tells him that he shouldn't apologize for anything while the Shokan soldiers attack Mochizuki appears and stops them by giving a motivational speech to the warriors who trust at Mochizuki and retreat, Tokiyuki and his group travel to Unno and Nezu to inform them of the situation so they rush to finish things.

At the end of the battle and due to the confusion Kiyohara manages to escape, while Inukai and Tokoiwa were forced to hide in the forest due to being overwhelmed as well as Hoshina and Shinomiya thus losing a large part of their territory, Shinomiya thanks Hoshina for his kindness since he lost several men due to Shokan's surprise attack, Hoshina tells him that his clan will watch over the fallen men and offers Shinomiya the option to join forces Shinomiya accepts hoping for the battle in which they can recover what was lost.

### Trapped in Suwa

After the battle, Tokiyuki returns to the Suwa shrine to inform Yorishige about what happened, Hikari tells him that Yorishige has been watching over his safety and that of his group, so Tokiyuki is happy when he enters the place he realizes that Yorishige was actually eating so everyone decides to hit him, Tokiyuki mentions that he is happy that everything is back to normal while a shadow watches him from behind.
The next day Tokiyuki goes for a walk and feels someone pulling his hair, Tokiyuki turns and discovers that it is a boy who tells him that he will become a god at that moment Tokitsugu appears and tells him that this boy is his son and they decide to go to Yorishige while this happens Yoritsugu tells Tokiyuki that he will be the next god.

In the meeting with Yorishige, he tells Tokiyuki that despite the fact that most of the work is done by his son, he is considering his grandson as a future god. While this is happening, Yorishige rubs his cheek against Tokiyuki, for which Yoritsugu gets jealous when he sees that Yorishige has more affection for Tokiyuki than for his grandson, so he performs, leaving Tokiyuki as the bad guy and challenging him to a duel. Finally, he leaves the room. At that moment, Tokiyuki tells Yorishige and Tokitsugu that they shouldn't leave. Since he acts like this since he can get malice growing up, Yorishige and Tokitsugu ask him to try to get along with him since they think he feels pressured by his future role.

The next day Tokiyuki attends the duel thinking that it will be a children's duel but he is surprised to see the people of the shrine after him, Yoritsugu mentions that being a god he can make all the people gather, Yoritsugu also tells him that they will play catch and the meeting point will be a pillar on top of a mountain, Yoritsugu proceeds to run while Tokiyuki follows him at that moment a leaf tries to hit Tokiyuki but he dodges it and discovers that Moritaka is using it this mentions that Yoritsugu asked the people of the shrine to stop Tokiyuki who manages to dodge all the people of the shrine and manages to reach Yoritsugu who is crossing a bridge, when he reaches the end Yoritsugu decides to cut it to avoid Tokiyuki's passage but this manages to jump through it.

Yoritsugu gets annoyed and tries to get away from Tokiyuki but falls off a cliff, Yoritsugu manages to hold on but cannot bear his own weight Tokiyuki realizes this and decides use his hair as a rope to climb Yoritsugu, Yoritsugu wonders why he saved him to which Tokiyuki replies that he does not want to see Yorishige sad Yoritsugu mentions that he just wanted to spend more time with his grandfather and that he was jealous of Tokiyuki for To spend time with him, Tokiyuki offers to spend more time with his grandfather to which Yoritsugu happily ascends.

## Battles & Events

### Events

* Battle in Shinano
* Trapped at Suwa Shrine

### Battles

* Moriyoshi Shinno vs Takauji's army
* Yukiyasu, Inukai and army vs Sadamune and army
* Nezu, Yasaburo, Shinomiya and army vs Kokushi and army
* Shigenobu, Muneie and army vs Sukefusa and army
* Tokiyuki, Kojiro, Fubuki and Genba vs Sadamune and army
* Hoshina and Shinomiya vs Kokushi
* Tokiyuki vs Shokan
* Tokiyuki Hojo vs Yoritsugu Suwa

## Characters Introduced

* Muneie Tokoiwa
* Tomomitsu Inukai
* Yoritsugu Suwa

## Story Impact

* Takauji convinces the emperor to condemn Moriyoshi for betraying his country.
	+ Takauji sends Moriyoshi to Kamakura to be watched over by Tadayoshi.
* Yorishige has given shelter to the survivors of the vassals of the Hojo clan.
	+ These soldiers are the ones Tokiyuki would lead in the Nakasendai War.
* Yorishige reveals to the three great generals about Tokiyuki's true identity.
* Three Great Generals' skills are displayed.
* Ayako is revealed to be Mochizuki's daughter.
* Yorishige mentions that being far from Suwa and many people being involved his future vision is uncertain, this would be mentioned again in Nakasendai War Arc.
* Tokiyuki finds out that Shokan is alive after their first meeting.
* Hoshina and Shinomiya decide to team up and form a single squad due to the kills both squads had.
* Kiyohara flees to Kyoto to contact the emperor.
* Yoritsugu is revealed to be the heir to Suwa Shrine.