Nobunaga Oda's Isekai Cultivation Experience

Though Nobu's way of speaking wasn't exactly inspiring, Hiro could empathize with what he was trying to say. He also knew their mother would be anguished beyond recovery if he and Nobu were to try and kill one another, so, after a moment of deliberation, he answered, "Very well...I will place my trust in Aniue...""..."Not expecting to be called in such a weebish way, unironically, Nobu's mind briefly stalled as he opened his mouth to protest. Instead, he just ended up gawking for a few seconds before closing his gaping mouth and saying, "Just call me Nobu. There's no need for honorifics between family..."Scrunching his brows, Hiro thought to protest, but, much like Nobu, ultimately decided against it. It helped that he wasn't actually comfortable with referring to Nobu using honorifics. After all, while it was undeniable that the two of them were brothers, they were effectively strangers. Had their father not sliced his arm, their first encounter may have been as enemies..."I understand. In that regard, feel free to address me as Hiro. It's how my...our mother has always referred to me..."Noticing the not-so-subtle twitching of his little brother's eye when referring to their mother, an awkward smile developed across Nobu's face as he said, "Hey, no need to force yourself. Like, I get it, okay? You probably had to go through a lot of shit because of my absence. I'm doing what I can to try and make up for it but it's going to take some time. I don't expect you to suddenly see me as your brother less than an hour after our first meeting..."Furrowing his brows, Hiro wanted to insist that wasn't the case, but, much like before, he found himself unable to find the words to express himself. He had spent years trying to develop the same cold and calculating mentality as his Uncle. He wasn't used to interacting with people like this, so, after a moment of silence, he simply nodded his head, answering, "I understand..."Forcing a smile, Nobu scratched the back of his head before shifting his attention between Yui and Nohime, asking, "Mind give us a moment? I know I said we shouldn't separate but I'd like to be able to talk to my little brother in private. Man to man."Having anticipated something like this occurring, a soft sigh emanated from Yui's throat before she rose to her feet and said, "I'll be in the next room..."Following Yui's example, Nohime returned a polite nod before rising in a far more elegant manner and stating, "The prosperity of a Province is directly related to the unity of its ruling families...I pray Owari becomes even more prosperous from this moment onward..."Though Nobu had told her she no longer had to bow to anyone, Nohime punctuated her words with another polite, half-bowing nod. She had spent the entirety of her life learning how to speak and behave around her fellow Nobles. Overcoming eighteen years of conditioning in less than a day was simply impossible...Understanding this, at least to a certain extent, Nobu didn't complain about Nohime's overly polite behavior. Instead, he followed the duo's departure with his blue-grey eyes, silently observing their swaying bottoms before turning to Hiro and asking, "So, got a girl of your own...?"Surprised by the unexpected question, Hiro found himself at a momentary loss for words before averting his eyes and answering, "Indeed...though I have only met her a few times, I am blessed to be engaged to the Second Daughter of Lord Niwa, Nagahime-san..."In an effort to try and ease tensions, a somewhat lascivious smile developed across Nobu's face as he asked, "Is she hot...?""..."Unsure of how to answer such a question, Hiro remained completely silent. This caused the smile on Nobu's face to cramp, but, not giving up, he asked, "Do you...find her attractive...?"Though he didn't believe such questions were appropriate, especially when discussing someone else's fiancee, Hiro only hesitated for a brief moment before nodding his head and answering, "I believe so...""..."Resisting the urge to ask what the fuck 'I believe so' was supposed to mean, Nobu took a moment to collect himself before shaking his head and saying, "I'm not trying to be invasive or pry into your personal life. I just want to get to know my brother. How about this. I'll go ahead and let you in on a few of my secrets. After that, can you at least try to speak casually? You know, like how you imagine a commoner might speak...?"Furrowing his brows, Hiro was tempted to argue that such behavior was unbefitting of a future Lord of Owari, but, understanding the position would be his brother's long before his own, he ultimately just nodded his head to imply understanding. At the very least, he didn't want to be confrontational when Nobu was clearly making an effort to get along. He owed it to their parents to at least try and do the same...Fortunately, the explanation and subsequent demonstration Nobu provided was more than enough to allay Hiro's concerns. He still had innumerable doubts regarding his elder brother's capacity as a ruler, but, with the very Heavens supporting Nobu's claim, Hiro understood how foolish it would be to stand in his way. After all, if two people were contending for the same position, who in their right mind would support an illegitimate claim when the rightful heir was in possession of a ludicrously powerful Heavenly Treasure...?Hiro may have been groomed as a puppet but he wasn't a fool.........Taking advantage of the fact that they were now alone, Nohime took the initiative to break the silence between her and Yui, saying, "I owe you an apology, Yui-do...san..."Though she was more than a little surprised by Nohime's words, Yui maintained a completely neutral expression as she stated, "Your courtesy, while appreciated, is unnecessary. We are both doing our best to fulfill our respective duties. I would never fault you for that..."Squinting her eyes, Nohime suppressed the feelings of hatred and disgust swelling within her chest and stomach as she added, "Even so, I feel obligated to apologize. Observing the efforts of our Lord has inspired me to do what I can to change myself. After all, we will be living alongside one another for the foreseeable future..."Understanding the actual reason for Nohime's sudden change in mentality, a faint smile developed across Yui's face as she said, "Worry not. As peculiar as our situation is, I have no intention of trying to supersede your status as Nobu's First Wife. I am a Warrior at heart. As for my compatriots in the Yoshitsune Clan, they are content with remaining Nobu's Kunoichi. You do not have to worry about them rallying against you unless you actively endanger or oppose our Lord...""..."Staring into Yui's obsidian-blue eyes, Nohime found no traces of deceit or subterfuge contained within. This did little to alleviate the plethora of negative emotions she was experiencing, but, for the sake of her future and the futures of her children, she suppressed her growing indignation and said, "You have my gratitude..."......"Holy shit. Is this really your fiancee? Damn, man, you really hit the lottery on this one..."Though the image wasn't true to life, Hiro was in possession of a hand-drawn portrait of his fiancee. Upon learning this, Nobu convinced(read as forced) Hiro to pull it out. When he saw that Nagahime was a buxom beauty with long hair and piercing blue eyes, he couldn't help whistling aloud before offering a few words of praise.Feeling slightly embarrassed by his brother's words, Hiro attempted to return the portrait to his breast pocket before Nobu promptly snatched it out of his hand and asked, "When are the two of you supposed to be married? I thought fourteen was considered to be an adult...?"Resisting the urge to steal back the portrait, Hiro's expression gradually solidified into a glower as he explained, "Our father had arranged it so that my marriage with Nagahime-san would occur on her sixteenth birthday. There are still fourteen months until our wedding..."Raising his brows, Nobu turned the portrait towards Hiro, asking, "You're telling me this bombshell is fourteen years old? You're even luckier than I thought..."As someone who had always appreciated mature beauties, Nobu actually felt a little envious when he saw his brother's fiancee. It was concealed beneath a kimono, but, even at a glance, he could tell she had an amazing body. This could be a liberty taken by the portrait artist, but, considering how reserved the Nianese people were, it was exponentially more likely that Nagahime's figure was even more amazing...Shaking his head, Nobu returned the portrait to his clearly unamused brother before asking, "What about your Kunoichi? Shouldn't there be someone protecting you?"Accepting the portrait, Hiro gave it a once-over to make sure it wasn't damaged before placing it into his breast pocket and answering, "Only the firstborn son of the Oda Clan is given the privilege of being accompanied by his entourage within the castle grounds. Most of my Kunoichi have only recently completed their training so I haven't met them since our foundation training...""Right..."Recalling that Kumiko had explained something similar in the past, Nobu briefly mulled over his thoughts before asking, "Want to come along when we return to the mountain? Since we're going to be working together in the future, I'll talk to our old man about letting your entourage operate in and around Shuto. I probably won't be staying in the castle all that often so it would be better to let you begin laying a solid foundation. That should make things a hell of a lot easier once I'm finished wrapping up everything I need to take care of."Taken aback by his brother's words, a look of utter disbelief spread across Hiro's face. What Nobu was doing was unheard of in the history of Nian. He was basically allowing his greatest competitor free rein to operate in his territory. While this demonstrated a tremendous amount of trust, it was also a remarkably foolish decision as there was no way of knowing what the future held. All it would take is a single disagreement and they could be at each other's throats...Feeling a wave of realization wash over him, Hiro's disbelief turned into suspicion as he asked, "Will you be extending the benefits of your Heavenly Treasure to the members of my entourage...?"Catching Hiro off guard, Nobu didn't even hesitate before answering, "Not all of them. There is a limit to the number of people my power can affect. For now, I need to focus on bolstering my own forces. I can help you and your fiancee grow stronger, but, until you get a good feel for the types of people your Kunoichi are, I wouldn't feel comfortable with boosting their strength..."Realizing that his words might be misconstrued as distrust, Nobu allowed his words to trail off, a frown forming on his face as he added, "Tell you what. Once you and your wife are married, I'll let you nominate three people, excluding the two of you, as a wedding gift. If you feel you can trust your kunoichi by then, I don't mind bolstering their strength. Either that or you can save them for when you and Nagahime have children. Just make sure you discuss it amongst yourselves rather than making the decision on your own."Understanding that Nobu was already making a lot of compromises, Hiro didn't blame him for not promising more. If Nobu was serious, it wouldn't take him long to build a force capable of crushing his competition and unifying the Oda Clan. Instead, he was willing to compromise with someone he hardly even knew. This was behavior worthy of respect, so, while he found Nobu's personality more than a little odd, a faint smile developed across Hiro's face as he lowered his head and said, "Thank you..." in a sincere tone of voice.......(A/N: Nobu is kinder than he purports himself to be...)

After working things out with his little brother, things became relatively boring during Nobu's stay in Inuyama Castle. His father was usually busy managing the affairs of the territory, so, for the most part, his time was split between spending time with his mother, spending time with his reincarnated baby sister, and spending time with his raven-haired lovers.Though Nana was very sociable, the presence of Yui and Nohime made things pretty awkward. The woman simply couldn't help teasing them, so, not only was Nobu forced to keep his opportunistic baby sister occupied, the entire experience was accompanied by Nana 'educating' the two taciturn beauties about their duties as a wife. To make matters exponentially worse, Nobu was entrusted the task of helping Nobuhime bathe as skinship with the opposite sex was apparently very important.A stark contrast to what it was like in Nobu's previous world and country, childrearing in Nian was regarded with extreme importance. The mothers of newborns would spend upwards of 22 hours at their children's sides. Many even shared the same bed, or, at the very least, the same room until the infant reached the age of 4. There was even a notion cemented in the minds of the Nianese people that new mothers were 'supposed' to suffer, almost as if it were a sacred duty.Adding to the strangeness, young boys as old as age twelve would bathe alongside their mothers in order to increase familiarity and ensure a strong maternal bond. Some provinces even had customs where the mothers were the ones that educated their sons about the opposite sex. Likewise, young girls would bathe with their grandfathers, fathers, or uncles until they had been engaged to be wed or experienced their first puberty. It was customary for them to help their fathers/paternal figures to wash their backs, but, unlike the case with mothers and sons, paternal figures were prohibited from even speaking to their daughters. Educating them in sexual matters was also considered taboo, as, more often than not, females learned about sex during their bridal training or from their husbands.Since Senken was usually busy with his duties as Daimyo, Nana had come up with the 'ingenious' idea to have Nobu, accompanied by two maids, bathe his little sister. She managed to strongarm him by pointing out that he would need to do it while they were staying on the mountain, so, for the remainder of his stay in Inuyama Castle, Nobu maintained a constant deadpan whenever he was tasked with taking care of his reincarnated, increasingly mischievous mother...Fortunately, the actual cleaning was done by the maids sent to make sure no accidents occurred. All he had to do was pour lukewarm water over Hime's body to help her rinse off. More importantly, he was also able to talk Nana out of bathing with them. She evidently wanted to make up for the time when he was catatonic, but, as a healthy young man, Nobu had no choice but to talk her down. The maids were already bad enough. If Nana appeared in her birthday suit, Nobu knew there was a very high chance he would have some kind of 'reaction'.Though she may have given birth to him, it did little to change the fact that Nana was a remarkably beautiful woman. Even her aroma was enough to cause Nobu's body to warm up, so, as much as he felt compelled to 'compensate' the woman for his piss poor decision-making prior to reincarnation, he would rather avoid routes that led to even mild misunderstandings. Senken was a great guy and an even greater father. Nobu didn't want to disrespect him by perving, even inadvertently, over his own mother.Incest could be pretty interesting when it came to fiction but it was unbelievably fucked up when it came to reality.........As awkward as his relationship between his mother and mother-turned-sister were, Nobu could at least rest assured that things were going well between him, Nohime, and Yui. The duo didn't really get along all that well, but, after having her Aura increased to the pinnacle of Silver through the use of Nobu's Heavenly Treasure, Nohime became noticeably more 'resolute' regarding the future.Speaking of Nobu's Heavenly Treasure, one of the things his Grandfather and Father had asked of him during his stay was to use his Camera App to evaluate a number of promising youths. Senichi, in particular, had been fixated on using Nobu's Heavenly Treasure to both strengthen alliances and ensure his grandson had adequate protection in the future.Though there was nothing inherently wrong with surrounding himself with capable females and kunoichi, Senichi proposed the idea of Nobu accepting young boys who had just completed their foundational training as his retainers. Foreign Lords, and, more importantly, members of the Court wouldn't respect him if every single one of his companions was a female. Thus, in the days leading up to Nobu's imminent departure, Senichi practically dragged Nobu over to the training grounds to observe and see if there weren't any young talents he was interested in.As the use of Aura was strictly regulated by the provincial government, the vast majority of young children undergoing foundation training did so under the watchful eyes of skilled veterans. Nearly every young child from the same generation would be gathered in the same place, and, with very few exceptions, their progress would be recorded in exacting detail to make sure resources weren't be wasted on people without talent.At the behest of his Grandfather, Nobu, wearing his mask and accompanied by Yui and Nohime, both wearing veils, spent a few hours each day monitoring different groups of trainees. It was a perfect excuse for getting away from his mother and sister, so, while simultaneously searching for people associated with his namesake, Nobu also compiled dossiers on each of the more promising trainees. He got achievements for analyzing individuals, so, with each of the scans costing a meager amount of Aura due to the age and limited reserves of the people he was scanning, Nobu didn't mind helping his family pick and choose talent.Though Nobu was of the mind that anyone could succeed if they put in the prerequisite amount of effort, he wasn't foolish enough to believe that talent didn't play a major role in a person's success. His Heavenly Treasure literally allowed him to identify which kids were special from birth, so, while it made him feel scummy to characterize children by their innate talents and capabilities, he couldn't just deny the facts right in front of him. The only thing he could do was game the system a bit when he found out a child was in a shitty situation.One of the neat things about possessing one of the only Heavenly Treasures that allowed you to analyze others was that there was no one to question the information you provided. Better yet, his parents and Grandfather trusted his judgment to an almost unreasonable extent, so, even if he told them what he was up to, Nobu doubted they would care. Helping 'everyone' might be impossible, but, so long as he limited his benevolence to those he genuinely believed deserved an opportunity to prove themselves, Nobu had a respectable amount of wiggle room when it came to choosing the recipients of the Oda Clan's resources.Fortunately, it wasn't long before Nobu was provided with an actual justification for his actions. One of the younger foot soldiers assisting in the children's training grabbed his attention when he heard one of the students refer to him as Kinoshita-sensei.While the name Kinoshita wasn't worthy of mention, at least to the average Nianese, it was a name Nobu was intimately familiar with due to his knowledge of the Sengoku Period of Japan. Thus, the moment he heard the young soldier addressed as Kinoshita-sensei, Nobu immediately scanned the man to confirm his suspicions.------------------------------------Name: Hiyoshi-maru/Kinoshita TokichiroAge: 15Gender: Male, H:164.7cm, W: 70.3kg, B: 71.2cm, W: 59.5cm, H: 71.1cmBlood Type: AB-Cultivation: Metal Infusion TechniqueAura Units: 77,719/79,443Status: Malnourished(+), Cautious(+), Bored(+)-Malnourished: Poor nutrition and prolonged periods of starvation have caused his body to begin atrophying. Removal Cost: 4,292AU-Cautious: He has noticed you observing him. Removal Cost: Cannot be removed.-Bored: Repeating the same tasks every day has caused him to feel as though he is wasting his time. Removal Cost: Cannot be removed.Main Hand: RightPreferred Weapon: Katana, Spear, Bow, FanStrengths: Fiercely Intelligent, Excels at Grasping a Situation, Loyal to Those He RespectsWeaknesses: Peasant(+), Malnourished(+), Gambling Addict(+), Minor Dependency(+)-Peasant: Born to Kinoshita Yaemon and Omandokoro, a former foot soldier and a washwoman serving the Oda Clan.-Gambling Addict: His desire to secure better living conditions for his mother has caused him to become entangled in illegal gambling.-Minor Dependency: His association with criminals and the black market had led to him consuming illegal substances.Orientation: HeterosexualPreferences: Older WomenFavorite Foods: Meat, Salted Rice, Dumplings, Cheap Herbs......------------------------------------Though the man's cultivation was pretty terrible, it wasn't too surprising considering he was a peasant that had effectively been assigned the task of acting as a practice dummy for children. The more important thing was that he was exactly the man, or, more accurately, the teenager Nobu had been searching for.While the majority of people, even in his old world, might not find the name Kinoshita Tokichiro, quite a number of people recognized the name Toyotomi Hideyoshi. He was one of the original Nobunaga's most prominent, and, more importantly, loyal retainers. He was also one of the Three Great Unifiers of Japan, so, while most would disregard the slightly lazy-looking youth, Nobu's eyes practically lit up when he recognized the young man's identity.Waving down the Warrior in charge of overseeing and instructing the class, Nobu received the elderly man's permission before asking Tokichiro to accompany him to the same room he had interviewed a number of students. Nobody knew what his identity was, but, with his father and grandfather 'vouching' for him, everyone had been treating Nobu with the utmost respect during his visits to the training field.Not expecting to be called upon by the strange, mask-wearing man that had spent the last few days observing and calling upon students, Tokichiro became as tense and unreadable as a statue as he sat across the trio of Nobu, Yui, and Nohime. Their proximity to each other made Tokichiro even more uncomfortable, as, even among the peasants and commoners, men and women rarely sat in such close proximity outside of brothels...Seizing the initiative, Nobu surprised Tokichiro immensely by asking, "You are Kinoshita Tokichiro, eldest son of Kinoshita Yaemon and Omandokoro, correct?"Though he clasped his hands, Tokichiro's expression remained unreadable as he performed a half-bow and answered, "My Lord is correct..."Without knowing the actual identity of Nobu, referring to him with the title of Lord was the safest form of address available. It was entirely appropriate, especially considering they were in the capital, but it was the most common way in which peasants addressed members of a higher social class.Waving his hand in a dismissing manner, Nobu said, "Raise your head." before shifting his attention to Yui and asking, "Can you ask the servants to prepare tea and a light breakfast? Our guest seems to be a bit famished and this is going to take a while."Nodding her head, Yui promptly rose to her feet before departing to the adjacent corridor to wait for a servant. Quite a number of servants and bodyguards had been assigned the task of shadowing Nobu while he was outside the castle walls so it didn't take long for her to catch their attention and relay Nobu's words.While Yui was handling their food and beverage arrangements, an awkward silence permeated the room's atmosphere as Nobu organized his thoughts. There was no way in hell he could just come out and tell Tokichiro about his Heavenly Treasure. Toyotomi Hideyoshi may have been one of the original Oda Nobunaga's most fervent supporters, but, in his present state, Tokichiro was just some no-name kid with a gambling and drug addiction. He had the potential to be one of Nian's greatest generals, but, for the time being, he wasn't even qualified to be a sandal bearer...("Now, how to handle this...?")......(A/N: I really want to keep writing NOICE but my primary focus right now is EPIC. I should be able to post consistent chapters around November, but, until then, expect sporadic updates until the main plot of EPIC has concluded.)

Deciding to leave matters of the future to his future self, Nobu focused on the more important matter at hand, asking, "So? What the hell happened to you...?" in reference to the sling on his father's arm.Without missing a beat, Senken shrugged his shoulders dismissively, answering, "Don't worry about it. More importantly, there's someone I want you to meet. Hiro...!"As if he had been waiting for that exact moment, a young man entered the room from an adjacent bamboo door. His expression appeared impassive, but, if you were to look closely, it was possible to make out that his eyes were slightly swollen...Though his ruby-red eyes briefly lingered on Nana, Hiro, or, more accurately, Nobuhiro managed to appear composed as he cupped his hands together and said, "Words cannot describe how relieved I am to see my elder brother, once thought lost, returned safely to the Oda Clan's embrace..."Furrowing his brows, Nobu liberated himself from Nana's tenacious embrace before making his way over to the visibly tensing Nobuhiro. Then, before the surprisingly petite youth could even think to protest, Nobu gave his younger brother a bear hug, whispering, "Relax. I have no intention of taking anything away from you..."Confused by Nobu's words and actions, Hiro found himself unable to respond as his feet dangled a few centimeters off the ground.Releasing the remarkably thin youth from his embrace, Nobu gave Hiro a firm pat on the shoulder before turning to his father and asking, "Have you explained the situation? Does he know about my stone tablet?"Shaking his head, Senken answered, "That is a matter for the two of you to discuss. I'm just here to keep things in order until you're ready to take the reins. Try not to keep me waiting too long, brat. I'm long past retirement."Though he was young compared to some of the old monsters that had been clinging to power for generations, Senken was more than ready to pass over the reins to his children. His power had yet to begin stagnating, but, rather than horde resources for himself, he would rather invest them in the future. After all, at his level, the resources required to increase his Rank a single time could be used to rear more than a dozen Platinum Heroes. While this might not seem like a substantial number at first glance, it was pretty substantial when you considered there were only 37 Platinum Heroes in all of Owari.With Nobu's Heavenly Treasure, increasing a person's cultivation base was remarkably easy. In fact, even now, Senken couldn't quite believe such a heaven-defying artifact existed.One of the only things Nobu still lacked was resources. He may be able to provide a multitude of different cultivation methods, but, like people, not all cultivation methods were created equally. If that were the case, the Metal Infusion Technique wouldn't be so coveted by other countries.Understanding that Nobu was going to need a tremendous amount of resources in a very short period of time, Senken was already making preparations to liquidate many of the assets the Oda Clan had stockpiled since their inception more than six thousand years ago. The prophecy of the Goddess had made the stakes pretty clear, so, with the fate of the very world on the line, Senken was prepared to invest the very clothes on his back towards making the way forward as smooth as possible for his sons. After all, what was the point of wealth if it wasn't used to ensure the success of future generations...?......With Senken departing alongside a very reluctant Nana, Nobu found himself in the remarkably awkward position of being flanked by two stunningly beautiful women while his younger brother, appearing even more uncomfortable than he was, sat across from him.At times like this, Nobu really wished he had a normal table and chairs to sit at. Sitting cross-legged while everyone else sat in seiza made him feel like an asshat. To make matters worse, everyone was given their own, individual tables. This was apparently to prevent cross-contamination from poisons and such, but, at the same time, it created a sense of distance that made it stupidly difficult to break the ice...Fortunately, Nobuhiro wasn't unaccustomed to such awkwardness whilst dining, so, after several minutes had passed, he was the first to break the silence, remarking, "It pleases me to see how well you and Nohime-sama appear to be getting along..."Similar to when Nobuhiro had first spoken, Nobu couldn't help furrowing in response to the youth's overly polite speech, asking, "Do you always talk like this...?"With a genuinely confused look on his face, Hiro asked, "Beg your pardon? If I have said something to offend you, I apologize..."Shaking his head, Nobu surprised everyone by placing his tray-like table into his Storage App and saying, "I don't want your apology. I mean, we're supposed to be brothers, right? Speaking politely to one another just seems stupid. Now, out with it. I want to know how you really feel. You can't be too happy about me appearing out of thin air like this, right?"Without waiting for Hiro's response, Nobu clipped a pic of the effeminate youth using his Camera App. He was marginally surprised to learn how expensive the youth's information was. Fortunately, he just needed to be able to see his Status in order to know how the emo-looking teen really felt...("Fear? Sadness? Guilt...?")Noticing a distinct lack of hostile emotions, Nobu almost missed it when Hiro answered, "I really am happy...no, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I'm relieved to have you back with us. Mother has been sick for such a long time. Seeing her in such high spirits is something to be grateful for..."Hanging his head, Hiro avoided Nobu's gaze as various thoughts crossed his mind. Unfortunately, Nobu wasn't exactly the most sensitive person in the world, so, rather than affording the youth the time he needed to collect himself, he asked, "You really care about her, don't you...?"Instead of answering Nobu's question with words, Hiro simply nodded his head before closing his eyes in an effort to veil the seething emotions contained within. In truth, he wasn't at all happy to see their mother doting on the newly returned Nobu. She had never been particularly distant with him, but, ever since he came under the tutelage of his Uncle, Hiro had noticed the sadness in his mother's eyes whenever she gazed upon him...Taking a deep breath, Hiro willfully reminded himself that it was his decision to listen to his Uncle's advice. He could blame his older brother all he wanted, but, understanding how shameless it would be to blame someone who wasn't even around, Hiro calmed himself before opening his eyes to ask, "What did you mean when you said you had no intention of taking anything away from me...?"Having ascertained the reasons for his younger brother's fear, sadness, and guilt, Nobu's expression became serious as he said, "Though I'll need to hold the position for a bit, I intend to nominate you as the future Daimyo of Owari."With his eyes turning round as saucers, Hiro opened his mouth, but, even after several seconds had passed, he couldn't find the words to speak. Instead, it was Nohime who asked, "My Lord...?" with a mixture of confusion and audible trepidation in her tone.Turning to meet the raven-haired beauty's gaze, Nobu explained, "Hiro has been preparing for the position of Daimyo a lot longer than me. Besides, once I begin to expand my influence to the rest of the Archipelago, I'm not going to be able to stay in Owari. People don't respect leaders who just sit on their asses and delegate their responsibilities to others."Though he was planning to do a lot of sitting around in the future, one of the few lessons Nobu had internalized from his previous world's history classes was that Conquerors didn't sit back and leave others in charge of their campaigns. Those that did would quickly lose the faith of the people, and, in turn, the faith of the very Generals they entrusted their protection...With such thought on his mind, Nobu continued where he left off, adding, "I'm not going to fight my own brother over something as absurd as a title, and anyone who attempts to turn us against one another is clearly just looking out for themselves. We have the opportunity to work together to make Owari a better place. Tearing the Province apart just to seize a temporary position is fucking stupid..."Recalling how the original Nobuhiro had been manipulated to rebel against the original Nobunaga, Nobu wanted to nip the problem in the bud as soon as possible. The position of Daimyo was all but meaningless to him, so, if his brother wanted it, why should they fight over it? The most important thing at the present moment was accumulating allies and people he could trust. Starting things off by suppressing or killing his own siblings wasn't exactly the best way to convince people he was on the side of justice.........(A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. I've been in a lot of pain recently and have had my focus split on a number of different projects. I actually wanted to put NOICE on hiatus until November, but, as there are a few fans eager to see the story develop, I've decided to alternate between releasing chapters of the side story and chapters of NOICE. I'm not going to make any promises but there should be at least one chapter every other day until we reach chapter 200 or so.)

Chapter 136: Compromise