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"I'm looking forward to it," the Demon spoke with a smile. Takehiro would turn his back to Brandt and make his way away from the tavern, offering one last friendly wave for the day, then he would make his way home. He had a woman to see, and it had been a long time since he'd seen her.

Toshi, meanwhile, will call Brandt over once the man was done talking to the Daimyo. On a table, he would set out a number of cloths for the giant to take to his room when he was ready. "You keep up with Tak on more than one occasion, your name is gonna be real well-known around here, and for more than slaying bandits and saving little girls."

With the Supply Depot and Lookout having been taken, Takehiro found there was little point in staying on the side he was at. With one giant leap, the Daimyo of Totomi cleared the distance from the Supply Depot to the center of the main camp, where he would land and spin on his heel, swinging his glaive about him in a wide circle of death. His goal would be to cleave apart as many Imagawa soldiers as he could and end this quickly, and, if possible, kill Imagawa Yoshimoto himself.

So far, Takehiro was incredibly disappointed with the opponents he's faced in this battle, so if he got the chance to fight this fierce Daimyo he would take it.

Keeping to the trees, Senso no Inu and Chi no Kaze would lead the group toward the sound of the axes. They would get as close as they could to see if the men they discovered bore the Mon of the Miki, and if they found soldiers, would map out the best means of attack. The six would remain hidden.

After the battle of Okehazama, Takehiro led the Amakusa forces onto Suruga as well, opting to take advantage of their deceased Daimyo and crumbling forces. Unaware of the Takeda advancing onto Suruga as well, he led his forces from Totomi, straight onto Western Suruga. He held a good amount of men with him, and was intent on getting things done quickly.

Unlike the Takeda, while Takehiro would be content with a half of Suruga, he was not looking to keep solely the Western side. He looked to take Suruga because of the access it gave him to Izu and, in turn, Sagami, so should he split the land he would claim the South as his own.

[OoC: As it says. Closed. If someone feels like they have a good enough reason to hop in, PM me, though I don't entirely see why anyone would.]

At his headquarters in Totomi, Takehiro sat at a large table surrounded by his most trusted advisers and generals. On the table was a map of the country, with Amakusa forces and hostile forces emphasized. Takehiro looked down upon the map with interest as his advisers and generals spoke on their ideas of how the Amakusa forces should proceed. The Daimyo himself stayed quiet for the most part, as did his right-hand, Toshi.

"We just can't spare the resources to mount a full-scale war on the Kitabatake, all while defending our borders against the Tokugawa, the Imagawa, and the Takeda!"
"The Tokugawa and the Imagawa are frightened by our Lord's might. Our only threats are the Takeda and the Kitabatake."
"Even then, we'd be splitting our forces in half. He've already put ourselves in a strange formation, with a good deal of men in Shima, across the sea."
"This placement helps the Lord's northern expansion, you dolt!"
"We have Morei assistance across the sea, which means maintaining Shima and taking Ise will be relatively easy. We won't need to focus on those for now."
"Agreed. Our focus should be on the Takeda, for what they've done to our people."
"Do we truly have the numbers to take on the Takeda?"
"Our Lords alone could take on the majority of their generals. We'd just need to lure them into attacking Totomi a second time, and prepare a trap."
"That could work, we could prepare siege weapons -"

"No. We leave the Takeda be, for now." Takehiro finally spoke up, and his generals were quite surprised by his intrusion into the conversation. Given his actions in Shinano, the men had assumed Takehiro sought to destroy the Takeda in one fell swoop. Though, it seemed his intentions were elsewhere.

"But, my Lord -"

"We can use the position the Takeda have put themselves in to our advantage. They are surrounded by enemies, in us, the Miki, and the Uesugi. All it would take to crush them is to wait for the next Uesugi assault on their territory. I am certain the Miki would take advantage of such a situation, as would we. But we would do so much later." Now he seemed to have gotten the attention of his advisers. "We are looking to expand north regardless of Takeda actions. This just gives us a leg-up, as far as diplomacy. We can take part of Shinano under the reason of transporting our troops for the means of taking Hida. We do that, we are likely to have Takeda support, and we will have gained an entire new fief from allies of obligation. That gives us two fiefs on either side of Shinano, meaning an assault from them on our territory would not be a clever idea.

"This also improves our chances of Uesugi diplomacy, and puts us right against heavily contested territory. We can use the chaos in Western-Etchu to take advantage once the forces within have exhausted their troops, and seize it for our own. Noto would be directly to the north, and after a short campaign, we would be able to fully campaign it. This would have our territory acting as a border in the country, splitting it into East and West. Our Western expansion would then be able to proceed smoothly, should all of this work out."

It was a daring plan, one that hinged solely on Takeda cooperation. Though, they put themselves in a difficult enough situation that Takehiro did not foresee them neglecting to provide reinforcements. After all, they were the ones who had to directly worry about a Miki threat, not the Amakusa. As for the grand scheme of things, Takehiro's idea was sound. It would require tremendous amounts of work, but it would establish their forces as among the greatest in the country. There was no reason not to capitalize on this opportunity.

"But, my Lord, don't you feel as though you are putting too much to chance?"
"I am putting the fate of our forces into the skill of our officers. It is not chance."

The men quieted down, and looked to each other. It sounded as though it could work, and even though they wanted to, the men could find no issues with the plan. It would exhaust a good deal of resources, however, though the gaining of new fiefs would replenish these resources in almost no time at all. It was very apparent Takehiro had considered all of his options, and this was the best of them.

The Daimyo's eyes fell to those of his officers, and he waited for a single one to voice opposition to the idea. None did, and a smile crossed the Daimyo's lips. He shared a glance with Toshi, who also seemed pleased.

"Have faith in our Lord. He speaks from experience, and you've all seen the strength he possesses. If anyone is capable of making a plan like this go through, it's him."
"That will be all for now, if no one has anything to add. You may go about your business. Insure that your troops are ready for battle. We will be sending reinforcements to Shima, as well as prepping a unit to head into Hida. Dismissed."

Aside from the mercenary and the three officers, there were few who managed to make it through the course in their first run. Many collapsed, and needed to be dragged away and given time to recover, due to being unused to the dryness. There were some who did pass with flying colors, however, the most noteworthy of which being six women who breezed through it and showed no signs of being worn out. Every soldier who passed - which would end up becoming every soldier, after several runs - would be rewarded for their efforts and relieved of their dryness. Toshi would increase the moisture in front of them to form spheres of pure water they could drink if they so chose.

"You all did well, and I expect to see that level of enthusiasm only increase throughout the day," Toshi started just as men from the other side of camp started pushing over wheelbarrows filled with stone weights. The weights would then be distributed, stronger and larger soldiers getting stronger and larger weights. "Fasten these to your ankles, men!" Takehiro would shout once everyone had their weights given to them. The men would find that the strongest of soldiers and officers would be given weights up to 600 lbs, while the weakest and smallest had 100 at the lightest. This was not going to be a walk in the park.

"Your next task is simple: Run an obstacle course with 19 walls in the way. The first is a single foot high, the second is two, the third is three, and so on until the the tenth wall being ten feet tall. The nine after it all decrease in size by a foot, so the obstacle course is the same from whatever side you run it. You must make it over each of the walls one way, and then run the obstacle course a second time. This must be done with your weights on."

It was time to see how well the men could adjust to being weighed down so heavily.

Takehiro nodded, glad that Brandt would rather work than freeload. That was a good sign, and though it was simple, it reinforced the Daimyo's confidence in the man. He would be assertive, however, and insist that Brandt heal up before anything.

"Then do so in the morning, after you've gotten rest and your muscles have healed up. I appreciate you doing your part, but if you strain your body, your training will be pointless."

A smile graced Takehiro's lips before he retrieved his weights and led Brandt back to the tavern. He threw a small sack of coins to Toshi, and pointed a thumb at Brandt, and the barkeep knew exactly what was going down. He was okay with it, too, which was important.

Name: "Henkō no Kaze" - Gokudera Kasai
Faction: Amakusa - Exceptional
Ethnicity: Japanese
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3''
Weight: 111 lbs
Eye Color: Blue - recessive
Hair Color: Grey - herbs

Appearance:


Personality: Despite having lost an eye, Kasai is an attractive woman and she knows this. It's something she flaunts given the need, and she will always use it to her advantage. Kasai is subtly seductive, and has used her "assets" to get out of a sticky difficult situation more than once. She is snide and conniving, often using her prey to get as much information as she can from them before she kills them.

Kasai cares deeply for those she works with, though she'll hardly show it. She sees each of them as sisters and would do anything for them, but these feelings are kept quiet.

History: Kasai, before becoming Hojo Elite, was a mercenary under the guise of a courtesan. She held no allegiance to any banner, hopping around from fief to fief for work and money through whatever means were necessary. Often she would find herself at brothels, staying in them for a short time as a "worker." The men who were cruel to her often never saw the light of day after their encounter, and she would typically line her pockets with whatever they owned. It was not uncommon for Kasai to be rich after a few of her encounters, but she never spent her money wisely, nor did she save any up.

When Kasai was 18, she found herself in a brothel in Sagami, Hojo territory. During this time, a Hojo officer tried to take advantage of her and she took his life, but only after he stabbed one of her eyes. The woman fought through the pain, as if she barely acknowledged it, going into a blind rage and stabbing his chest over and over for several minutes. She was then taken in by two other generals and brought to questioning, where her skills were assessed. She was then made a member of the Ninja Elite, and given the alias of "Winds of Change," due to her background and her prowess having turned the tide of several skirmishes and major battles.

Stats

Strength: 10(20)
Dexterity: 30
Constitution: 15(20)
Wisdom: 30
Spirit: 30

Inventory:

Name: "Sensō no Inu" - Toda Shina
Faction: Amakusa - Exceptional
Ethnicity: Japanese
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3''
Weight: 110 lbs
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Yellow

Appearance:


Personality: Shina relies heavily on her sense of smell, utilizing it over any other sense. Because of this, she is commonly referred to as a "Dog of War," which is essentially what she became.

Sensō no Inu is a cruel woman, showing no regard for humanity when she's out on a job. Unlike the rest of her squad, the killing is a game to her. A hunt. She toys with her prey, and takes pleasure in slaying them, often inflicting a single fatal wound on them before allowing them to run and then chasing them down. She tracks people through their scent, and it has even been said that she can smell the fear in the souls of her prey.

While she seems cruel in her entirety, Shina has a strong love for the women in her unit - a love that was rumored to break the boundaries of friendship itself, and delve into the romantic side of things.

History: Toda Shina, like the rest of her unit, is ex-Hojo elite. Despite not being the commander of her unit, she often followed her own rules and fought the battles she chose to, how she wanted to. Because of her skill, she was never regarded as a problem, and was instead seen as an asset to her army, and her unit. Her strange methods of stealth were highly effective, yet not commonplace, nor were they widely accepted, so while she was praised for her results, her methods were kept a secret.

Shina earned the title "Sensō no Inu" from her first kill, where she tracked a high-value target based on his scent alone. 

Stats

Strength: 13(23)
Dexterity: 28
Constitution: 18(23)
Wisdom: 28
Spirit: 28

Inventory:

Name:  "Chi no Kaze" - Yamamoto Chizuru
Faction: Amakusa - Exceptional
Ethnicity: Japanese
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Height: 5'3''
Weight: 110 lbs
Eye Color: White
Hair Color: Black

Appearance:


Personality: Chizuru is a woman of few words. There are none who can say they know anything about her, even among the ranks of the ninja elite. The only person she's ever opened up to is Megumi, her superior, and this was only on one occasion. Because of this, it's widely assumed she is a killer through-and-through, with little regard for human life. However, on several counts, she has shown compassion for her allies, despite her lack of words. Chizuru is truly a difficult woman to read.

History: Ex-Hojo elite, Chizuru served alongside Wakahisa Megumi in the ninja unit led by Fūma Kotaro himself. She established herself as a successful ninja, and her name is one of merit. She earned the name "Chi no Kaze" when she accepted a solo contract and entered an enemy castle, single-handedly slaying every soldier within. She came and left like the wind, and left nothing but the blood of her enemies behind.

Chizuru's reasons for fighting alongside the Amakusa are simple: Megumi does so, and Chizuru has a deep connection with her she's never felt with anyone else.

Stats

Strength: 17(27)
Dexterity: 26
Constitution: 20(25)
Wisdom: 26
Spirit: 26

Inventory:

With the blade of Takehiro's glaive hitting the ground, the weapon would be at an angle, ideal for preventing Shingen's attack from connecting. Takehiro would tilt the handle of his glaive upward, which would cause Shingen's ax to strike that, and due to the force Takehiro applied it would launch itself upward along the handle of his weapon. He would then push forward, causing Shingen to lose control of his ax unless he moved it, while the blade of Takehiro's glaive tore through the gravel and launched it up at the Daimyo of the Takeda. After taking a few steps forward and continuing his assault, Takehiro would act quickly rather than take his time, to prevent a swift counter-attack from Shingen. With the blade of his 10 foot glaive directly underneath the larger man, Takehiro would heave it upward, threatening to cut him in half. He was aware Shingen was likely to dodge, in which case he was still likely to be injured due to the gravel shooting up from the ground from Takehiro's attack.