Chapter 44: Harsh Reality

Amused by Nobu's attempts to get her to leave, the pink-haired beauty moved to place her hands on her hips, pulling open her kimono in the process. Then, while eyeing the rather sizeable tent that was being pitched by her young quarry, she stated, "This is my home. It is perfectly acceptable to be nude. If you don't like it, you're more than welcome to leave~."

Attempting to do just that, Nobu supported himself using the wall as he gradually made his way towards what appeared to be a window. Before he could get more than a few steps, however, the woman cheekily reminded him, "Be careful of the Kitsune covering the mountain. If they see you in your current state...well...you only have yourself to blame..."

With that said, the pink-haired woman leaned her shoulder against the wall, arms crossed as she watched Nobu freeze in place. If he truly tried to escape through the window, she would need to stop him, as, once the Kitsune got going, there was a very real chance they would ravish him even after his death. One of the rituals mandated by Inari Okami was for her 'daughters' to offer up the lives of men through ritualistic intercourse. Thus, with the exception of a few outliers, most Kitsune were 'extremely adept' at sending men straight to Heaven.

Though he couldn't remember the details, Nobu could clearly recall the muddleheadedness he had experienced during his previous encounter with the buxom, white-haired, Kitsune. He didn't know how strong she was, but, even if he mustered every ounce of willpower he possessed, he wouldn't be able to offer any meaningful resistance against her charm. If the other Kitsune joined in, even a Dragon's Vigor might not be able to save him from the animalistic girls.

After thinking things through, Nobu turned his back to the wall and allowed himself to slide down, a plan forming within his head. He could infer from the way the woman was behaving that she was trying to avoid directly offending him. She probably wouldn't escort him back to Yui's Grandmother but that didn't mean he was completely out of cards to play. Thus, after failing to soothe the fire in his body even after ten minutes, he surprised the pinkette quite a bit by simply exhaling as hard as he could...

Surprised by Nobu's lung capacity, the pink-haired kunoichi was about to compliment him when he suddenly fell over, his body seizing for a few several seconds before becoming completely still.

"..."

Tilting her head to the side, the pink-haired kunoichi waited for nearly three minutes, absolutely silent as she watched the expansions and contractions of his chest.

"Did you really just knock yourself out...?"

As those words left her lips, the pink-haired kunoichi tentatively approached Nobu before squatting in a way that left nothing to the imagination. Even this didn't cause the young man to stir, and, after a while, even the tent between his legs began to subside.

Extending her fingers to check his pulse, the woman confirmed that Nobu's condition was rapidly stabilizing. This caused a frown to mar her nearly perfect face. Her original intention had only been to bully him a bit without revealing her identity. She hadn't come here with the intention of trying to seduce him, but, since that's the way things played out, it was remarkably problematic that she had failed. If he harbored any resentment towards her when all of this was over, even ritual suicide might not be enough to appease the Oda Clan's wrath...

"Haaaa...how troublesome. All my problems would be removed if I could simply kill you...but that isn't really an option...how vexing..."

Thanks to the alliance between their two families, a cursed mark would appear on anyone, Oda or Yoshitsune, who had killed a member of the other family. It wouldn't just affect the offender, either, but everyone with knowledge of the incident. This meant, even if she ground Nobu down to a paste and fed him to the koi fish in the pond, the entire Yoshitsune Clan would be implicated when the stigmata invariably appeared upon the Matriarch and several others.

"Well...I can always try to seduce him again. Judging by his previous reaction, I doubt he would be able to hold out if I entered his room late at night..."

While thinking of numerous ways she could obtain Nobu's 'forgiveness', the pink-haired beauty wrapped her aura around his body before carrying him back to the room he had initially fled. She didn't even bother to fix her kimono, as, much like the other members of the Yoshitsune Clan, she was actually more comfortable naked than clothed...

After reaching her destination, the pink-haired woman sat in a proper seiza technique outside the door before politely bowing her head and saying, "Hitomi-kacho...I have brought the Oda Clan's lost lamb..."

Following an appropriate period of silence, a soft yet stern voice could be heard from inside the room, replying, "You have my gratitude, Suzune-dono. Please, come in, place him atop the futon, and then immediately depart."

Raising her head only after the Matriarch had finished speaking, Suzune slid aside the bamboo door before deliberately yet gracefully depositing Nobu's unconscious body as instructed. Afterward, she folded her hands neatly over her exposed front before bowing in a courteous manner and promptly departing once Hitomi gestured for her to leave.

Waiting until Suzune had completely departed, the silver-haired woman, Yoshitsune Hitomi, shifted her heterochromatic gaze over to the disheveled Nobu, a gentle smile appearing across her face as she mused, "You made me waste some good tea, Waka-chan. However, as I expected you to return much sooner, I suppose this is your win. Still, to think you could resist the curse of the first men with such a meager cultivation base...it makes me wonder what other curious qualities you picked up while your soul was wandering another world...eighty points..."

Had he been awake to hear Hitomi's musings, Nobu might have been surprised if not for the fact he had already anticipated this, and several other, tropes. He was even anticipating that some kind of global threat would occur the moment he was consolidating his power or trying to take a break. After all, it was far too 'convenient' for this world to be directly inspired from Earth, and, based on the information provided by Shizune, there were ongoing tensions between every major nation. If 'nothing' happened over the several-hundred-years he might spend as a Cultivator, that would be a hell of a lot more surprising than some cataclysmic threat appearing just as he wanted to relax...

...

..

.

Feeling less of a headache than before, Nobu opened his eyes to find that he was back in the room he had started in. This time, however, he wasn't alone. Instead, the same silver-haired woman from before was sitting patiently at the table, eyes closed until she felt her gaze on him and asked, "Are we finished exploring...?" in an audibly teasing tone.

Grimacing in response to the woman's words, Nobu forced himself to a seated position, without approaching the table, and asked, "Just what do you want with me? I already told Yui, but I have no intention of returning to the Oda Clan and stirring up trouble. I just want to relax, write a few books, and focus on increasing my cultivation. I'd rather cut off both of my feet than willfully involve myself with all that political bullshit."

Waiting until Nobu had finished speaking, Hitomi, without so much as a twitch of her brow, nodded her head and said, "I see..."

Expecting her to say more, Nobu remained quiet for several seconds until he saw her close her eyes and continue drinking tea. This caused his left brow to twitch, but, rather than immediately lash out, he took a slow yet steady breath before asking, "Where is Yui?"

Opening her eyes, the smile on Hitomi's face became marginally more prominent as she answered, "I do not believe that is any of your concern. If you choose to remain unaffiliated with the Oda Clan, there is no sense in allowing you to interact with our kunoichi. You might not care about politics but that doesn't mean others hold them in similar regard. If we were to entrust our kunoichi to you and you ended up antagonizing an enemy state, there is a good chance you would ignite a war between provinces. Thousands, including yourself, would have to be sacrificed all because you're too chicken shit to embrace the responsibilities that come with being born a member of the Oda Clan..."

Taken aback by the woman's words, Nobu found himself unable to speak. He wanted to say she was just talking out of her ass, but, as the Matriarch of a kunoichi clan, her knowledge of this world and its politics made his own look like a joke. Hell, he could barely even accept what he had seen during the relatively short journey up the mountain. This clearly wasn't his world, and, even if he genuinely believed everyone was touched in the head, the reality was that the vast majority of people would view him in a similar light...

"I guess this is how I become the 'Fool of Owari'..."

Though he had muttered the words to himself, Hitomi could both read lips and had exceptional hearing. She wouldn't be the Matriarch of a kunoichi clan if she wasn't capable, so, the moment she heard Nobu's musing, an expectant smile spread across her face before she, once again, closed her eyes and continued drinking tea. When dealing with hot-blooded people like Nobu, it was best to let them do most of the talking. The more you tried to reason with them, the more they would try to argue with you. Shere merely needed to explain the cold hard truth to him, and, so long as he wasn't completely hopeless, he should be able to reason his own conclusion without any additional guidance.

Seeing Yui's Grandmother return to drinking tea, an extremely frustrated expression appeared on Nobu's face as he genuinely didn't know what to do. The simplest answer seemed to be going off and doing his own thing, but, even if he changed his name and attempted to lay low, people were bound to take notice of him as his cultivation increased. She had also mentioned enemy shinobi. If they were to discover his true identity, it wouldn't matter if he claimed he was unaffiliated with the Oda Clan. They would still attempt to capture him, and-

Interrupting his own train of thought, Nobu's brows furrowed even deeper as he asked, "What will happen to Yui and Yuriko if I choose to abandon my name...?"

Maintaining her characteristically calm and confident smile, Hitomi met Nobu's gaze before, once again, saying, "I do not believe that is any of your concern. We are a kunoichi clan. It would be one thing if you were a member of the Oda Clan but you've already expressed your desire to abandon your duty and set out on your own. The less you know about our family and its affairs, the better..."

Finished with her words, Hitomi was about to return to her tea when Nobu shouted, "That's fucking bullshit! You've already ruined countless girls' lives with your retarded ass traditions! Yui and Yuriko don't need someone like you telling them what to do! Besides, they already pledged themselves to me! You have no right to keep them here...!"

Waiting until Nobu had finished, Hitomi, without so much as a single change in expression, casually explained, "I have every right. I am the Matriarch of the Yoshitsune Clan. I am charged with ensuring the survival of my family and safeguarding the next generation of kunoichi until they have attained the skills necessary to complete their missions and return home alive. So, unless you can offer me a realistic alternative, you would do well to hold your tongue. I receive my orders from only one man, and you, Oda Nobunaga, are not him. You don't even have the courage to accept who you are yet you believe you have the right to question others? Ridiculous. You don't even have the strength to leave this place of your own accord. Were it not for the pact we have made with the Oda Clan, you would be spending the rest of your days died up and drained of every last drop of semen you ever produced. Ironic, isn't it? You purport not to care about your identity yet it is quite literally the only thing protecting your menial little life..."

Gnashing his teeth in response to the woman's words, Nobu wanted nothing more than to scream out at the top of his lungs. The only problem was that he couldn't actually think of anything to say. All of her words struck at the very heart of the matter, and, even if he wanted to refute them, what could he possibly accomplish with his current power? Even the naked little girls that had swarmed him along the path could probably toss him out of the village, yet here he was thinking about how to force the most powerful member of an ancient kunoichi clan to listen to his demands...

Feeling a powerful migraine swelling from the back of his mind, Nobu brought his left hand to his face and began massaging his temples. At the same time, he tried thinking about how he might be able to convince her to let Yui and Yuriko go, but, without anything to offer but his name...what else could he use as collateral...?

...

..

.

(A/N: It doesn't matter how right you think you are if society itself opposes you...)