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Yasuke arrived outside the temple and found it heavily guarded. Unsure of the soldiers' allegiance, Yasuke sneaked into the complex and was able to take a closer look, identifying them as soldiers who served under The Ox.
Yasuke:Armed soldiers. Working for the Ox.
Yasuke reached deeper into the complex and found several bodies of slain monks.
Yasuke:The Ox and his men will answer for this.
At the temple's end, Yasuke eliminated the guards and freed a group of monks. He spoke to one of them, who was the abbot.
Yasuke:You are the abbot?
Tanjosan Abbot:Yes. The Ox has ordered his men to bring us back here. I tried to escape, but they caught me.
Yasuke:Tell me about this Ox.
Tanjosan Abbot:Last of the Bessho. He'll be here soon to address my brothers and sisters.
Yasuke:Then that will be my moment to strike.
Tanjosan Abbot:No, please. You must help my people. And Nakamura Tadashige. The man who tried to protect us.
Yasuke:I will wait for the Ox. But you must go. It is not safe here.
Tanjosan Abbot:Yes. When you are ready. You will see him.
Yasuke:I would like to see him for myself.
Yasuke waited on a roof in the inner complex. He leaned down and watched from afar as an entourage soldiers escorted several captured monks, including Tadashige himself. After they arrived near the gate, the soldiers pushed the monks to the ground and made them kneel.
Tadashige:Who ordered my arrest along with these poor monks? And forced them to return? They left Tanjosan for a reason. We all did.
At that moment, the samurai Bessho Harumasa, clad in red armor bearing his clan's kamon, came to the front and addressed Tadashige.
Harumasa:I will remind them, Lord Tadashige! Of who they once were. Who they could be again.
Harumasa then turned around to address the captured monks.
Harumasa:Monks of Tanjosan! Years ago, Hashiba Hideyoshi massacred you for helping the Bessho clan in our time of need. Can you smell it? Blood lingers in the air. It stains the earth.
From afar, Yasuke identified the samurai as The Ox.
Yasuke:That is him.
Harumasa:The land remembers what transpired here. My friends... why have you forgotten?
Tadashige:Your anger is wasted. Bessho Harumasa. The war is over. Your clan leaders knew it. That's why they surrendered.
Harumasa:Lord Tadashige. There was a time we called each other brothers. And yet you kept these monks hidden from me. Where is the great lord I once knew? Where is his conviction?
Tadashige:My conviction cost me everything. Just like your own misguided convictions will cost these men everything.
Harumasa:My friend, these men have nothing to lose. Nobunaga's dog already took everything from them in his meaningless conquest. In this world, the only meaning we can claim is the one we carve out with the edge of a blade.
Harumasa:That's why I have armed my men. I have given them the means to fight back. I have given them a voice!
Harumasa's men rallied to his scream.
Yasuke:The Ox surrounds himself with his men and innocent alike. I need to wait for an opening to help Lord Tadashige.
Tadashige:Odd. You claim to have given your men a voice, but yours is the only one I hear.
Tadashige addressed the samurai beside Harumasa.
Tadashige:You. They call you the Tsuno, do they not? The Ox's greatest champion. His finest warrior. After the massacre here, we found a young monk and his grandmother. The stench of the corpses hid them well. The boy could not speak, so haunted by what he had seen. How will the anger of your leader and his men help this boy? Chase the nightmares from behind his eyes?
The Tsuno:What did you ever do for that boy, my lord? How will you deliver the justice he deserves? You cannot. You would have that boy lie down amongst the corpses and accept death. But I am not that boy! I have a voice! As do all of us!
The soldiers rallied to the Tsuno's words, including Harumasa himself who gave him a pat on the shoulders. The Ox then turned to Tadashige.
Harumasa:My friend, in the name of the hardships we endured together, I give you a choice. The same I now offer the monks of Tanjosan. Those of you who would join me, I welcome you with open arms. Miki Castle is yours once again! There, you will be reborn. But those of you who would turn your back on dignity and justice. My men will accelerate the grim path you have chosen. Choose wisely.
The Ox then left as Tadashige and the monks were taken into the temple complex.
Yasuke:We will meet soon, Ox. Lord Tadashige knows the Ox. Enough to protect those monks for as long as he did. He might be able to help us.
Yasuke went down to the lower section of the temple, where he found Tadashige bound up and surrounded by guards. After eliminating the guards, he approached Tadashige.
Nakamura Tadashige:You! Are you here to rescue me?
Yasuke freed Tadashige from his binds.
Nakamura Tadashige:We should go to the tower overlooking Miki Castle. We can have a better look from there.
After checking the surroundings, Yasuke climbed up to the tower where he found Tadashige waiting. Naoe joined him shortly after.
Naoe:Lord Tadashige. I'm Naoe. This is Yasuke.
Tadashige:I am just Tadashige now. The Ox and I served the Bessho clan together once. Before Hideyoshi's assault on Miki Castle.
The three turned to take a look at the castle in the foreground.
Tadashige:For two long years, the Bessho clan held out there. Until starvation and dwindling morale did them in. Why do you wish to kill the Ox? What is your involvement in all of this?
Yasuke:He threatens more bloodshed, driven by more hollow platitudes. And yet, his forces are numerous.
Tadashige:You sound surprised, Yasuke. Why did you follow Lord Nobunaga?
Yasuke:Lord Nobunaga empowered me to walk my own path. In doing so, I entrusted him with my loyalty.
Tadashige:Then you understand what we are dealing with.
Naoe:I suppose you're right, sir. To a degree. But we don't consider those who fight against their will to be our enemy.
Tadashige:What coercion do you speak of? At lord's orders? One's responsibility to clan and family? When one is mired in war, to choose freedom from obligation is mere cowardice.
Yasuke:And to choose freedom is to choose death. It is what the Ox believes. What he passes on to his recruits.
Naoe:When Nobunaga marched his forces into Iga, it wasn't simply to kill my people. He tried to kill an idea. An idea that a loose handful of villagers and mere jizamurai could stand up to him.
Yasuke:You are saying that it is not enough to kill the Ox. That we must crush his movement as well.
Tadashige:And who are you in this scenario, Naoe? You will do as Nobunaga did? Follow in his footsteps?
Naoe:Nobunaga's methods and mine have nothing in common. We are not the same.
Tadashige:So, then. You will kill the Ox.
Yasuke:We will, sir. Anything you can tell us about the Ox will be helpful.
Tadashige: (sighs) My warrior's instincts have faded. I have no plan for a counter-attack. To engage him head-on at Miki Castle would be suicide. He took it with such speed.
Yasuke:It took Lord Hideyoshi two years to conquer Miki Castle. We have less support and even less time.
Naoe:The Ox is a brute, but he's still a warrior. That means he has a plan of attack for us to find. It's not safe here. Where will you go?
Tadashige:Kyokaiji Temple. It is one of the few places the Ox does not yet know about. Find me there after you learn more.
Tadashige took his leave, leaving Naoe and Yasuke to formulate a plan of their own.
Yasuke:Chasing leads on a giant warrior who calls himself "the Ox."
Naoe:Our spies will think we're going easy on them. I will tell them.
Yasuke nodded and took his leave.
Outcome
Naoe and Yasuke rescued Nakamura Tadashige from the Ox's soldiers. He asked the two to find him at Kyokaiji Temple after they have more information on their search regarding the Ox and Miki Castle.
