Chapter 40: Close to Home

With the dawn of a new day, Nobu was anticipating they would be setting out for the Yoshitsune Clan when Yui blindsided him by asking, "What do you want to do?"

Though he was pretty sure he knew what she meant, Nobu still cocked his head to the side, asking, "What do you mean?"

After exchanging glances with Yuriko and receiving a slight nod in response, Yui explained, "Though there is a chance you are deceiving us, my heart tells me you are the person you claim to be. Yuriko and I have already discussed it. She will go back and learn the truth-"

Raising his hand, Nobu brought a sudden and instantaneous stop to Yui's explanation, saying, "That serious nature of yours really needs some working on. Seriously..."

Adopting a slight pout, Yui wanted to explain herself, but, before she could, Nobu shook his head, adding, "I already said I'd go with you. After the shit I put up with these last two months, I won't be able to rest unless I can give that old bat in the Yoshitsune Clan a piece of my mind. We can worry about other stuff later. Besides, I don't appreciate that little remark about me deceiving you...I'm a lot of things, but a liar isn't one of them. Well...so long as you ignore that part about me pretending to be Nananananananananananamori's grandchild..."

With Yui's pout quickly turning into a wry yet coquettish smile, Nobu could swear his heart had, once again, skipped a beat. She didn't seem to be aware of it herself, but, ever since he had told her the truth, Yui was behaving a lot more girly than before. It was honestly creeping him out a bit, but, considering how she used to treat him, it was a qualitative improvement...

Noticing the rose-colored atmosphere between Yui and Nobu, Yuriko audibly cleared her throat, drawing the attention of everyone in the cave before asserting, "Well, that settles it. I don't get the impression he's suicidal so it's safe to say this man truly is our Lord. Should we cut to the chase or do you want to wait until the Matriarch has confirmed it...?"

Shaking her head in response to the latter suggestion, Yui took the initiative to sit in seiza while Yuriko promptly filed in behind and slightly to her left. Then, much to Nobu's chagrin, they both lowered their heads until their foreheads were pressed to the cold floor, the tips of their fingers touching just above their lowered bodies as they said, "Yoshitsune Yui/Yuriko greets her Lord and Master, Oda Nobunaga-sama. We pledge to serve you until our dying breath."

Feeling an uncomfortable chill run through his body, Nobu wanted to tell them to stop messing around until he noticed Shizune and Rynka sitting at the sides with expressions of genuine envy on their faces. The former even became hopeful the moment he looked over, almost as if she was just waiting for him to give her permission to lower her head alongside them...

Unable to resist the urge, Nobu took a moment to massage his forehead before noticing the duo still had their heads pressed to the ground. He really didn't know what to say to this, so, after a long period of silence, he just shook his head and said, "Well, whatever...just raise your heads. This shit is hella cringe. I'm literally getting goosebumps over here..."

Though it was far from the dignified response they would have liked, Yui and Yuriko immediately raised their heads in response to Nobu's order. This caught the latter by surprise, as, despite their appearances suggesting they were the cool-headed or apathetic type, both had radiant smiles on their faces. From their perspective, albeit using terms from Nobu's world, it was like they had just graduated from High School after eighteen long years. They felt as though they had accomplished something great, and, regardless of what the future held, they were happy to have experienced this particular moment in time.

Feeling a kind of helplessness he had never experienced before, Nobu looked away from the duo's expectant gaze, his own briefly settling on the horizon as the light of the rising sun hit his face. This caused Yuriko to swallow audibly, but, with his relatively normal sense of hearing, Nobu was spared any additional feelings of embarrassment as he muttered, "Well...this isn't so bad..." in a whispering tone that was easily picked up by all four girls...

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Though their pace was a little slow due to Nobu refusing to ride on the girls' backs, it only took an additional two days for the group to reach the agricultural zone surrounding Owari-Shuto.

Unlike Owari-Asai, which primarily focused on fishing and sea trade, the seemingly endless fields surrounding Owari-Shuto were encircled by a stone wall more than ten-meters high and roughly six thick. This was the agricultural center of the province, and, though he had already started to suspect this was the case, seeing the endless fields all but confirmed that Nian was 'significantly' larger than the Japan Nobu had visited in his previous life.

Seeing Nobu staring blankly at the fields of radish and lotus plants, a moderately affectionate smile developed across Yui's face as she recalled their discussion pertaining to dreams. He had been very dismissive about the subject, but, even now, Yui could clearly remember the wistful look in his eyes as he spoke of one day returning home and reuniting with his mother. She liked his almost reverent silence to the reaction soldiers would have after returning from a long and arduous campaign. Thus, after observing him from the side for several seconds, she decided to be the first to say, "Welcome home, Nobu..." in a gentle tone.

Blinking back to awareness, Nobu turned towards Yui only to pause the moment he saw her smiling up at him. This stopped him from asking what the hell she was talking about and instead prompted him to say, "Thanks..." in an equally soft tone. Not because he was feeling sentimental, but because Yui had practically whispered her words. It was pretty much an instinct to respond to a whisper with one of your own, but, from the kunoichi quartet's perspective, he appeared to be at a loss for words due to the emotions he was concealing beneath the surface.

Though he got the distinct impression some kind of miscommunication had occurred, Nobu just shook his head before asking, "Where to? I don't see anything like a city or a castle..."

Believing Nobu was trying to deflect, as he was prone to doing, Yui restrained a light chuckle before pointing towards a mountain in the distance and explaining, "The capital is on the other side of that mountain, bordering the Mino Province. As for the Yoshitsune Clan compound, it is located atop the mountain itself. You can't see it from here but there is a powerful barrier surrounding the mountain. As part of the equivalent exchange mandated by the Heavens, the Goddess Inari was forced to give our Ancestor one of her tails. Its divine protection is said to extend across the entirety of Owari but its effects are concentrated around the mountain."

Since this was pretty common lore associated with the land of Owari, Yui wasn't revealing any Clan secrets by explaining a bit about their history. Rather, the Yoshitsune Clan was among the top three most notorious and prolific kunoichi clans as a direct result of their curse. They really owed the Oda Clan in this respect, as, without their protection, various Clans and Sects from throughout the land would constantly be trying to capture, imprison, or kill them...

Seeing the mountain Yui was pointing to, a wry smile developed across Nobu's face as it was barely even the size of a fingernail upon the horizon. He couldn't be certain but it was at least a half, if not a full, day's walk. Yui seemed to understand what he was thinking, but, rather than suggest taking a break, she pulled out a silver flute and said, "Don't worry. Now that we've crossed the wall, I can use this..."

Without explaining what the flute actually did, Yui brought it to her lips and began playing a silent song. This prompted Shizune and Rynka to back away. As for Yuriko, she promptly approached his side, gently pulling his sleeve as she suggested, "My Lord, we should back away..."

Nodding his head, Nobu was prepared to follow Yuriko's suggestion when the woman in question suddenly wrapped her aura around him and leaped away. This caused his brows to twitch, but, the moment he saw storm clouds gathering in the sky, Nobu swallowed the words of indignation that had been forming at the tip of his tongue.

Looking up at the storm, Nobu noticed that, instead of normal thunder and lightning, the bands gathering near the center of the darkening clouds were green. There were also a number of strange symbols appearing, and, he been closer to Yui, he might have noticed that the miniature flute in her hands was covered in identical markings. Each time she played a different note, an additional band of lightning would connect to the gathering mass until a small explosion rippled out, followed by the sound of a bird's cry.

Though he knew he was in a fantasy-esque world, Nobu became slack-jawed even as Yuriko carried him to a safe distance and stood in front of him. As for the reason, well, a massive fucking bird had just appeared out of thin air 'blinking' to the ground in a streak of green lightning that generated a vibrant green electrical field that expanded radially like an EMP. This caused every hair on his body to stand on end, but, thanks to Yuriko shielding him, he didn't feel a thing from the shockwave that briefly passed through his body.

When the electricity and dust began to fade away, Nobu remained in a stupor as he witnessed Yui resting her forehead against the crown? of a massive ass owl. He wasn't particularly savvy with the metric system but he estimated it to be roughly ten meters in length. This, alone, would have made it stand out, but, unlike a normal owl, this monstrosity possessed wings and feathers made of stone. It also had vibrant green crystals forming a crown-like protrusion on its head while spikes formed of the same material ran along its back. It actually looked pretty badass, but, perhaps as a result of his low cultivation base, Nobu felt like the owl was growing increasingly larger as his body regressed to that of a helpless child...

Feeling a slight pinch, Nobu blinked back to awareness to find that he had been staring up at the sky. When he looked down, he found Yuriko looking up at him with an apologetic smile on her face as she pulled out a silver needle from his palm and explained, "This is a Tier 4 Aura Beast known as a Jadite Guardian Owl. It is rumored to be one of the few Aura Beasts capable of reaching the Jadite Realm, but, for the last twenty or so thousand years, nobody, man or beast, has been able to reach that level. At least, not in Nian..."

Having learned that a Tier 4 beast was comparable to a weaker Mithril Lord, Nobu wasn't surprised that he would feel an almost instinctual fear in front of it. Back on Earth, the biggest land predator, a polar bear, would be lucky to exceed nine feet, roughly three meters, in height. That seemed like a complete fucking joke in front of this owl, so, after assuring himself he wasn't a bitch, Nobu did his best to appear calm as he said, "Cool..."

Pretending not to notice the cold sweat covering her Lord's forehead and body, Yuriko turned away from him before nodding and saying, "Indeed..." with a marginally amused smile on her face.

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(A/N: To be honest, I'd probably shit myself if lightning struck a few dozen meters away from me. If that same lightning turned into a massive ass owl...well...RIP me xD...)