Among all the transmigrators, the one who'd done best on the Hirata family's side was their "big brother" Lord Matsuzo, who'd "risen" to become an ashigaru commander. Next were Kyujiro and Iwata behind him. The rest were either building toilets or working at forges.
In Ashina, these weren't stable jobs with guaranteed income. The environment was harsh, food was scarce, and you could die at any moment.
Even worse off were those farming alongside peasants, those mining, and a whole bunch who'd died early in "village-level brawls."
The "transmigrators" at the other factions were at roughly the same level.
Between the two waves of arrivals, over two hundred "transmigrators" had come. Probably fewer than thirty were still alive now.
Bella guessed they must still have contact with each other, but she didn't ask in front of Hirata Goro.
The Hirata family was a branch of the Ashina clan. Their family head was blood-related to Isshin Ashina, but following Japanese tradition of valuing family name over bloodline, he'd branched out to inherit the Hirata name.
The Hirata family was located in northwestern Ashina. To the north was the Dragonspring River where Bella and her group had arrived, and further north was impenetrable fog—no one knew what lay beyond. To the south stretched endless mountain ranges. For an attack, there was only one route: west to east.
Because of this, the Hirata family had become the first line of defense directly facing the Interior Ministry's punitive army.
The conspiracy from three years ago hadn't destroyed this fiercely loyal family. The clan's able-bodied men still defended their family lands, refusing to retreat a single step.
Along the way, she saw many small fortresses. None were particularly large, but there were so many of them. If the enemy wanted to successfully penetrate the Hirata family's territory, they'd have to eliminate these fortresses one by one—a massive undertaking.
Shortly after entering the Hirata Estate, Bella encountered a familiar face.
"Miss Emma? You're working for the Hirata family too?"
Kyujiro and Iwata were rather surprised to discover that this strange "latecomer" actually knew a high-ranking member of the Ashina clan!
As personal physician to Lord Isshin Ashina, Emma was definitely one of the leadership's trusted confidants.
Though physicians wielded no authority, she was nearly as important as the Hirata family head himself.
"You're... here to join us?" Emma asked curiously.
Bella would have preferred joining the much larger Interior Ministry punitive army, but having learned Isshin Ashina's swordsmanship, immediately turning around to join the other side seemed a bit excessive.
"Ashina's resistance is just. I'm willing to contribute my strength!" she said with utmost seriousness.
Emma's smile remained gentle, though she could see a hint of joy in it.
Bound by her oath, Emma herself couldn't take direct action in many situations, something she'd always regretted. Bella's arrival meant one more powerful ally for the Ashina side. In these local skirmishes, adding one expert swordsman was incredibly valuable!
"Come, let's go meet Lord Hirata together. Young Lord Goro, please come as well."
Emma pulled Bella along inside while Hirata Goro followed two paces behind.
The remaining survivors also tried to follow, but Kyujiro and Iwata quickly blocked these fools who couldn't see reality clearly.
"Bastards! You dare barge into the lord's estate?"
The two used their spears to force back several people who were getting restless.
"Why are you stopping me? That woman went in, didn't she?"
"I'm starving! Let me in!"
"I'll give you a hundred dollars—just let me in to rest. This place looks pretty big..."
Unaware of the chaos outside, Bella first followed Emma to change clothes.
Female samurai were rarer than giant pandas in Japan, but Ashina was an exception.
Tomoe, the female samurai of the Okami clan, had left behind many legends here. As Isshin Ashina's physician, young Emma had met Tomoe and admired her tremendously. As an adult, she'd tailored a samurai outfit based on Tomoe's appearance.
She couldn't fight on the battlefield herself, so now she gave this outfit to Bella.
She removed her jeans and short-sleeved shirt, putting on a plain silk hitatare, a black cloud-patterned haori, and finally a hakama, similar to a skirt. Strictly speaking, the hakama Emma had prepared didn't resemble what traditional samurai wore—it looked more like the attire of shrine maidens or priests.
There was no kamishimo—the outfit that connected shoulder pieces and hakama like overalls. That was shogunate samurai attire. The Ashina clan was now a resistance force, and the shogunate was the enemy. They couldn't wear enemy clothing!
Tabi socks and wooden sandals were essential—she had to wear those. Tying up her hair and tucking a katana and wakizashi at her waist completed the transformation.
Currently, the Hirata family head was conducting blessing ceremonies for fallen samurai and soldiers. As outsiders, they waited outside the family shrine.
This family's ancestors must have been particularly devout Buddhists—they'd built their family shrine extraordinarily large, far exceeding the normal scale for a Japanese samurai family shrine.
Watching a group of people chanting sutras with rising and falling intonations, Bella and Emma stood in the distance making small talk.
"Bella, do you know what Buddha this is?" Emma worried her words and actions might offend the Hirata family head's taboos. Faith was no small matter—any friction could prove very troublesome.
Bella craned her neck to look at the great Buddha: "Mm, yes. It's Vairocana Buddha—the Mahavairocana of esoteric Buddhism."
Discussing biology or genetics with her might leave her somewhat confused, but discussing Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? She was a professional!
Emma was shocked once again. She discovered this outsider woman knew truly vast amounts—completely different from the other outsiders she'd encountered before.
"You were a samurai in your country too, weren't you?"
How should she explain this? Bella had no idea where to begin, so she could only murmur affirmatively a few times, indicating Emma was right.
After chatting about various topics for a while, they finally got to business.
"What do you hope to obtain from the Hirata family?" Emma asked.
Bella held up one finger: "I want a permit to travel freely within Ashina."
Currently, Ashina wasn't like in the game—empty and desolate with no living person visible for eight hundred meters. Within its borders were sentries everywhere, with checkpoints at every turn. Without a travel permit, things would be far too troublesome.
Emma nodded slightly: "And then?"
"Then I need to recruit some people. Of course, they'll definitely fight for the Ashina clan and Hirata family, but I don't have money. I need some financial support from you."
"That's certainly possible. While Ashina isn't wealthy, we do have some funds."
Bella raised a third finger: "I need to speak with your lord. I don't know if you understand the full situation, but outside... well, outside is different from before. The current fighting is meaningless. The Interior Ministry no longer exists. The Edo Shogunate returned power to the Emperor one hundred sixty years ago... so?"
While speaking, she observed Emma's expression. This matter was truly absurd. From Ashina's perspective, they hadn't done anything yet—just closed their eyes, opened them again, and their mortal enemy the shogunate was gone?!