Chapter 74

"So I just saw Kiyomitsu and the others leaving when I came back." After listening to Sozo Sawamonji's retelling, Yagen Toushirou H41 found a seat between him and Yakiri Hasebe H41. "But you guys... why do you seem to be in a worse mood? Especially Hasebe - if you don't believe what Ms. Okita said, I can go with you to ask later."

"You know I don't disbelieve what she said, Yaken." Yakiri Hasebe H41 glanced at Yaken Toushirou H41, crossed his fingers in front of him, and sighed fiercely, "It's just... since she still brought me with her after becoming a Heroic Spirit - even Xia Tian's weapon could be the transformed me..."

"Then why did you send me to a guy who was not even a direct minister before he died?"

"I always felt that at some point she would do something stupid and send herself out."

"Aren't you worried about Lord Nobunaga?" Yagen Toushirou H41 smiled and looked at Yakiri Hasebe H41, while lifting the black stockings wrapped around his calves. "In that case, I suggest you ask her when she returns to the backstage - or ask 'me' in Zero Honmaru."

"Which side do you choose, Hasebe? Anyway, there is still a long time before our next performance—" Yagen Toushirou H41 paused when he heard the enthusiastic rhythm of Atsumi on the stage, and tried to persuade Hasebe H41 again and again, "Even if it's AWT48's performance, we have to wait at least another hour... You guys must have more rest time than me."

Hasebe H41: "...I think we should talk to 'us' in number zero - I mean, call the others as well."

The stage performance area and backstage area at the concert were obviously not suitable places for conversation - and for some reason, when H41's Oda Group successfully found the Oda Group of Zero Honmaru in the beach barbecue area far away from the stage, they found that the expressions of the six members of Zero Honmaru were very subtle.

Yagen Toushirou H41 wanted to go and say hello to Yagen Toushirou first, but before he could open his mouth, he heard Yagen Toushirou's trembling voice - "I just went to Osaka Castle! I handed them over to you, the most reliable one, Candakiri!! You actually made them go missing!!!"

"I won't say anything about you because you had a hangover after a drinking contest with Nobukatsu two days ago. Don't move." Yaken Toushirou, who was so angry about the two Nobunaga-donos who had troubled him while he was away, obviously didn't notice that Yaken Toushirou H41 had already arrived nearby. He was still busy lecturing the five colleagues in front of him, "The lord personally gave you the task of finding the two Nobunaga-donos today!!!"

"How could you find the letter and then turn around and help her apply for an event permit from the lord!!!" Yagen Toushirou frowned and pressed his forehead, scolding the two Nobunagas and five colleagues together, "They are not in their right minds and want to argue about who will be recognized by us - are you not in your right mind either!!!"

"Besides, although these two are both Lord Nobunaga in fact, logically, I don't want to admit that either of them is me." Yagen Toushirou took a deep breath and summarized his previous remarks, "They are just two complete Owari idiots!!! Unless one of them takes out the Sixth Heavenly Demon Lord Mode - but if they do that, Chaldea will definitely take action first and send them back."

"Yakuken." Kadakiri Mitsutada sighed helplessly, stuffed a skewer of freshly grilled food into Yakuken Toushirou's hand, and then reminded him that the Oda Group of H41 was nearby, "What you just said was heard by 'us' of H41 - is it okay if they heard it?"

"Anyway, the Lord's words are effective throughout the entire Honmaru. Besides, as long as the Lord doesn't mind the parts other than the real name, why should we mind?" Yagen Toushirou ate a skewer and glanced at Candadakiri Mitsutada, while calling the people from H41 over, "What do you want to do with us?"

"From what you said before, besides the Nobunaga who was singing and dancing crazily on the stage over there... there was another Nobunaga - just like the two Okita Soji?" Yagen Toushirou H41 and his team members joined them. "We came to you because we know the name of that guitar."

"Is it that cool red and black guitar?" Tsurumaru Kuninaga, who was sitting at the end of the Oda group, recalled the guitar that he saw Oda Nobunaga carrying on his shoulders during the afternoon rehearsal, and subconsciously raised his right hand, "So, what is the name of that guitar? It must be a very cool name!"

"...I suggest you don't have too high expectations." Yagen Toushirou H41 glanced at Hasebe Yakiri who was sitting next to Souzo Samamonji with a subtle expression, and while answering Tsurumaru Kuninaga's question ambiguously, he stepped on Hasebe Yakiri's minefield, "After all, that man was the one who named his sword 'Yakiri' when he was alive."

"Indeed, their naming skills are as bad as ever." Yagen Toushirou, who had been entangled by the two Nobunaga princes for more than a day, nodded in agreement. When he found that the two Hasebes did not have any strong reactions to this, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Your Hasebe is not angry about this name?"

"He was angry about something else before - to be more precise, it's not over yet, and he's sulking now." Yaken Toushirou H41 glanced at Hasebe H41 and quickly summarized the current situation of his colleague. "Besides, didn't your family's one show any reaction?"

"He was provoked by Kiyomitsu and the others before. He was supposed to meet the two Nobunagas yesterday, but the room was crowded with people and Hasebe was blocked outside... so he hasn't met them yet." Yagen Toushirou spread his hands helplessly, "But he did get a more serious stimulus than just mentioning this name, so he has no reaction to this for the time being."

"By the way, what's the name of that guitar?"

"…Kill Hasebe."

"…Indeed, it's a name very much in the style of Lord Nobunaga—wait, Suppress Kill Hasebe!!!???"

After the two Oda groups had managed to calm down - the six people in Zero Honmaru were obviously calmer because they had spent more time with Chaldea, but Yaken Toushirou seemed to be "exploding in silence" and was still staring at Yaken Toushirou H41; at the same time, the katana and short swords of H41 Oda group were busy creating pain to prove that everything happening before their eyes was not a dream or hallucination, but reality.

"You guys..." Yagen Toushirou's expression gradually became subtle during the eye contact. He looked at Yakiri Hasebe, and then looked at Yakiri Hasebe H41 on the other side. "The one who knows the swords of those two Lords Nobunaga - I mean under normal circumstances, not in this concert mode - is it Hasebe?"

Hasebe Suppression·H41: "Ms. Okita told us."

Zero Honmaru Oda Group: "Wait, the swords of both Nobunaga-samas are Hasebe!?"

"She also showed us her summer outfit..." Hasebe H41's eyes gradually emptied, recalling the black haori in the lounge, and the square sword with light green and black colors. "Ms. Okita said that her summer outfit is the Kikuichimonji version β - and then your Kiyomitsu rushed in."

"Kikui-ichimonji version β..." Yagen Toushirou fell into deep thought, his eyes falling more and more subtly on Oshikiri Hasebe, "I think I know what Ms. Okita wants to tell you - everyone should know that the anecdotes about Mr. Ichimonji include 'Okita Souji's Kikui-ichimonji Norimune', right?"

"But in fact, Okita Souji never owned any sword of Norimune, and among Norimune's works that have survived, there is not a single katana with a chrysanthemum pattern engraved on it." Yagen Toushirou H41 took over the conversation, tilting his head to look at the sea not far away, "Okita Souji only had two swords, Kiyomitsu and Yasudasa—"

"Ah, but Ms. Okita's words - let me add another piece of information I got from Mr. Ichimonji." Yagen Toushirou tilted his head, thinking of the red sheath beside Ms. Okita, "According to Ms. Okita herself - even when she was alive, she only had one sword, Kashuu Kiyomitsu."

Yagen Toushirou H41: "But wasn't Kiyomitsu broken at Ikedaya?!"

"It is said that the subsequent battles were all fought by borrowing swords from other members of the Shinsengumi or using the swords of those guys she killed." Yagen Toushirou added, "In short, no sword can be considered 'Okita Souji's sword' - and the dead heroes will be affected by anecdotes just like us..."

"So, besides Kashuu Kiyomitsu, Ms. Okita's weapons also include Kikuichimonji Norimune?" Oshikiri Hasebe H41 frowned, thinking of the sword that belonged to the summer weapons he had seen before. "Then it is understandable why there is a version β of Kikuichimonji - but that sword doesn't look like Kikuichimonji Norimune, right? Even if it is a version β, it shouldn't be like this, right!?"

"If it's the 'Kikuichimonji Norimune', I have seen it before - it's a sword with a chrysanthemum-shaped blade and a black scabbard." Yaken Toushirou recalled the first night he met Ms. Okita. "But let's skip the difference in appearance for now, the point is -"

"The sword Kikuichimonji Norimune, according to Ms. Okita herself, was upgraded to Kikuichimonji Norimune because of the existence of the legend of 'Kikuichimonji Norimune' in later generations." Yagen Toushirou stared at Yakiri Hasebe closely, "So, is there a possibility--"

"Suppress Kill Hasebe——Is it the summer armor that the female Nobunaga used Hasebe as raw material and transformed herself?"

"After all, the weapons and Noble Phantasms of Heroic Spirits all come from what they possessed during their lifetime or from legends passed down in later generations. In short, they are a collection of human imaginations, just like Ms. Okita's Kikuichimonji Norimune will always be just Kashu Kiyomitsu to her, but to others he is the real Kikuichimonji Norimune who lives up to their imaginations..."

"I think we all know that Lord Nobunaga doesn't have such an anecdote that is enough to modify the weapons he possesses, right?"