Chapter 219: Gudaguda Joins
On the street, the pale-pink-haired girl sitting on the ground looked at Shirou and felt that he looked familiar. She called out: "Ah!"
"..." Shirou pretended not to hear and continued forward.
Girls are very conscious of their image, so it was better at this moment to act like, yes, they did not know each other, and no one here had witnessed Miss Okita's embarrassing moment.
"Ah-ah!" Souji called out again, looking at Shirou's back.
"..." Shirou paused, then continued walking forward.
"You really are the Master I met before, Komachi's older brother!" Souji called out.
Shirou had no choice but to turn his head and greet her: "Miss Okita...?"
"It really is you, Shirou! Geez, you've really grown up! Don't be formal, just call me Souji." Sakura Saber familiarly ran up and patted Shirou on the shoulder. Her pride as a young woman seemed to have long been thrown to the wind.
The so-called sense of shame is pretty much forgotten after being embarrassed a few times. For Miss Okita, who coughed up blood daily, she was already used to it.
"Wait, wait for me!"
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"Ah! She appeared again! Master, this person seems weaker and not scary at all now. I will cut off her head and present it to you!" Yukino drew her katana and charged straight up to strike Nobu.
"What! Why! I clearly didn't say anything, why are you trying to kill me, nao?" Nobu narrowly dodged the slash, asking loudly in shock.
"Don't dodge! Demon! You were the one who provoked Master first!" Yukino shouted, swinging her katana and chasing after Nobu.
"That's asking too much! You little raccoon girl, nao! So hateful, nao! If I hadn't been robbed of my power by the bad Nobu, I would definitely let you little girl see what Nobunaga Hundred-Fold Body Split Punch is!!!" The fleeing Nobu said fiercely.
"Shirou, have you encountered Nobu before this?" Souji asked Shirou.
"Yes, just now. But the one I met before had a terrifying aura, so different from how she feels now," Shirou replied doubtfully. The Nobu in front of him even sounded younger and more delicate.
"Damn it! I am the Sixth Heaven Demon King~!!! Not just anyone can offend me! I'll let you see! My Noble Phantasm! Three Thousand Worlds—!!!"
"What! Can she still use her Noble Phantasm?! Yukino, step back!" Shirou asked in surprise.
"Uwahahaha!!! Tremble! You sinner who offended me!" Nobu burst into maniacal laughter.
Even in the body of a young girl, she was indeed the most famous feudal lord who dominated the Warring States period of the land of Japan, the ruler who initiated the Azuchi-Momoyama period—the Sixth Heaven Demon King: Oda Nobunaga!
Her long black hair flew up and fluttered behind her. A background of hellfire erupted behind the girl, and out of it emerged the heads of deadly spears.
Black, gold-inlaid, magnificent arquebuses materialized, then dropped to the ground.
Plop. The hellfire behind her vanished, leaving only one arquebus. (old rifle, like a Musket)
"Eh?" Nobu stared blankly at the arquebus on the ground.
"Hmm?" Yukino frowned suspiciously at Nobu. She laughed so fiercely and claimed it was the Three Thousand Worlds, did she mean just one arquebus? Could it be an extremely powerful arquebus?
"Eh, eh?" Nobu looked bewilderedly behind herself. Why was there only one? Where were the three thousand guns she talked about? Her Noble Phantasm wasn't overwhelmingly powerful; besides being highly effective against cavalry, it was just an ordinary arquebus. Only when all of them fired simultaneously did it look impressive.
But now, there was only one?
"Hmm?" Yukino observed Nobu's expression, feeling suspicious, and thought: Could this person really be that weak?
"Mm-mm..." Feeling Yukino's gaze, Nobu knew she couldn't continue like this. Even if she was weaker, she couldn't let her presence weaken.
"Uwahahaha! Fall to the ground and repent!" Nobu aimed the gun at Yukino and pulled the trigger.
"Yukino, watch out!" Shirou shouted.
Young Yukino displayed her nimble, cat-like movements, relying on her small size to make her difficult to aim at. Just before the gunpowder ignited, she swiftly leaped and dodged the muzzle.
Boom!
White smoke puffed out of the arquebus barrel, making a sound like a firecracker whose gunpowder was damp and failed to explode. The bullet was not fired.
"Eh, eh!?" Nobu looked anxiously at her gun. She didn't expect that even her last remaining gun wouldn't fire!
"Hmph! Die, Demon!" Yukino finally understood what kind of opponent the person in front of her was. She raised her sword and brought it down.
"Waaah!" Nobu perilously blocked the girl's slash with the arquebus.
"Okita! Don't just watch, come and help me, nao!" Nobu seemed quite weak; she was actually being forced back step by step by Yukino, who had only a tenth of Ushiwakamaru's combat power. Her hat even fell off.
"Well, Shirou, as you can see, this Nobu has actually had most of her power taken by the bad Nobu. She's the useless, good Nobu, and she's basically harmless," Souji explained.
"Ah, Yukino, stop! This person isn't the Demon King Nobunaga we met before. She doesn't seem to be a bad person," Shirou said.
"No, Master, this person looks like a bad person no matter how you see it," Yukino said, pointing her sword at Nobu. Black long hair, a military uniform, and crimson eyes with an arrogant, self-important air—she was the type to act recklessly, even if she was a little useless right now.
"That's not true! I am the good Nobu, a good person!" The black-haired girl picked up her hat and loudly protested, waving her arms.
"No, no, Nobu is just useless, but her nature is still bad," Souji said, waving her hand.
"In any case, she is indeed harmless for now. I understand. Miss Nobu, may I call you that?" Shirou asked the black-haired girl.
"You can, yes. Then I'll call you Shirou," the black-haired girl said with a generous wave of her hand.
Although they were figures from different worlds, he was facing the same person with a different appearance, whose experiences were similar to the historical figure he had known and liked since childhood.
Because she was so famous, the impression was too profound, making it difficult to accept.
However, the historical Nobunaga truly didn't care about etiquette or outside opinions, had an interest in wearing women's clothing, and was known as the Great Fool of Owari.
Thinking about it this way, it felt a little easier to accept.
"Hmm? Shirou, is something wrong with the way you're looking at me?" Nobu blinked and asked strangely. Then, she clapped her hand to her mouth and laughed as if realizing something: "Oh, I see! You've become smitten with me, just like a monkey, have you?"
"That's not right! Nobu, what rude things are you saying to my Master's brother? How could he have such poor taste!" Souji stepped forward and retorted.
"Pff haha, don't be jealous, Souji." Nobu looked at the Sakura Saber with a smug chuckle, confidently and triumphantly saying: "After all, you're just a swordsman. Shirou definitely distinguished the difference between Souji and me and made the obvious choice."
"No, no, Nobu, you're too narcissistic! After knowing your true nature, the only one who would still like you is a monkey. It's impossible for a human!" Souji waved her hands repeatedly. It was unthinkable.
"Pff haha, if that's the case, then I'll ask the person herself."
"Shirou... what's going on? I advise you to think carefully, okay? Don't let her cute appearance and even cuter voice fool you; she's broken on the inside," Souji walked up to Shirou, grabbed his shoulders, and spoke very seriously.
At that moment, Nobu also walked up to Shirou, put one hand on her hip, and looked up, smiling: "Don't let others influence you. Just honestly state your thoughts~! I was so popular back then that the gods were angry, and I almost got burned alive. Alright, Shirou, speak your true feelings!"
"I'm sorry!" Shirou bowed deeply, apologizing.
"Eh, eh!" Nobu's eyes widened, and she froze there.
"Pff haha!! It was just as expected! This is Miss Okita's great victory again!" Souji burst into laughter.
"Don't laugh! You, Okita, died while still a virgin!" Nobu lunged at Souji.
"Shut up! You, who was burned alive by your trusted retainer because of your confusing relationships! What right do you have to talk about me!"
The two girls started playfully arguing and fighting.
"Master, this Nobu really doesn't seem to be the Demon King from before."
"Hmm, I already figured that out."
It seemed that the Nobu here was not just weakened; her tone of speech and personality also seemed to be somewhat childish.
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Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
Burning with the flames of purgatory, thousands of arquebuses fired simultaneously, piercing through the walls, main gate, roof ridges, and beams of the town lord's residence, shattering them into pieces. The broken wooden gate was consumed by the karmic fire, instantly setting the entire house ablaze.
The town lord's tall residence, at that moment, turned into a raging volcano.
"Waaah, somebody save me," the plump town lord cried out, clutching his head and lying on the ground.
Unfortunately, at that moment, there was no one in the mansion engulfed in flames to even put out the fire.
All those who dared to challenge the Sixth Heaven Demon King were struck down. The others either fled or were simply scared witless, crouching on the ground like the town lord, afraid to move.
The Demon King Nobunaga sheathed her personal sword, the 2,999 arquebuses behind her receding, and said with a smile: "This is the price for offending my separate self. You drove her out, didn't you? That won't do. After all, she is Oda Nobunaga, just like me. How can she be treated with such disrespect?
However, we are now even. I've found something more interesting to do and decided not to stay in the town anymore. I'll return this place to you." With that, the Demon King Nobunaga leaped up onto the balls of her feet, clearing the mansion's surrounding wall and leaving.
"Yes... Thank you very much, even though this was originally mine... Eh... Are you leaving?" The plump town lord raised his head in surprise.
At that moment, the figure of the Demon King Nobunaga was nowhere to be seen. She had already leaped onto the rooftops, darting between buildings, and finally disappeared.
The mansion could be rebuilt if it was burned down. As long as that devil was gone, he would have a good life.
"That's wonderful, Lord! That madwoman is gone," exclaimed a retainer who had run out the door, now quickly running back under the gaze of everyone, shouting joyfully.
"Shh! Is she really gone?" The plump town lord put his index finger to his mouth, stopping his subordinates. He was still terrified, afraid that the Demon King Nobunaga might return.
However, everyone held their breath and listened. After more than ten seconds, there was no sound. Only then did the plump town lord look at his retainer and ask softly.
"Yes, she really left. Someone saw her," the retainer whispered back, cooperating by lowering his voice.
"She really left, then...?" The plump town lord asked again.
"She really left!" The surrounding retainers nodded repeatedly.
"I see..." The plump town lord nodded at his retainer's words, then raised his hands high.
"???" The retainers were confused, but they still raised their hands along with the town lord.
"Banzai! Banzai!" The plump town lord raised and lowered his hands high, shouting joyously and ecstatically.
"Banzai! Banzai!" The surrounding retainers also began to cheer.
For so many days, they had been tormented by that woman who was as strong as a monster and claimed to be the madwoman Oda Nobunaga. To satisfy her interest in the Southern Barbarians (Westerners), they had to constantly search for Western products to amuse her. If they failed to satisfy her, they would be punished. Everyone in the town lord's mansion had been put through the wringer.
Now that the madwoman was finally gone, they couldn't help but be happy.
Thus, the burning town lord's residence seemed like a gigantic bonfire. The town lord and his retainers gathered around it, raising their hands and cheering, as if performing some strange dance.
When the people rushing from outside to put out the fire arrived, they saw a group of people shouting 'Banzai' and dancing next to the burning house.
As a result, a rumor spread throughout the small town that afternoon that the plump town lord had gone mad. Even Shirou and the others in the secluded area heard about it later.
However, the plump town lord's carefree days were destined not to last long. When the lord of a nearby town heard this news, he started considering an attack to occupy the place, and so war was about to break out again.
Meanwhile, Shirou returned to their lodging place with the girls. As he entered the alley, he saw one of the farmers who had commissioned them from a distance. The farmer was happily waving his arms and running up to them, seemingly with good news.
"Master Samurai, we found one! Another highly skilled master is willing to help us," the farmer said joyfully.
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