Emma hadn't mentioned that the Lord of Ashina she wanted Bella to find was the old man she'd sparred with earlier—the same one whose face Bella had cut. Bella played along, pretending not to know.
Emma sighed deeply. "This war wasn't started by us, nor will it end through our efforts alone."
Bella suspected Emma already knew about the situation outside. With so many transmigrators active in the area, even those with lower status who couldn't make direct contact would find ways to create opportunities. It would be stranger if Ashina's leadership didn't know about this.
Both the Ashina clan and the Interior Ministry forces were isolated now. Victory held no meaning, and defeat offered no retreat.
Continuing this death struggle was utterly foolish.
But as the defending side, everyone in the Ashina clan was holding onto their pride. The Interior Ministry invaded us, and now we're supposed to initiate peace talks? Impossible!
The Interior Ministry forces held advantages in numbers, equipment, and morale. But they couldn't accept unconditional negotiations either. Both sides remained deadlocked.
Since Bella had joined the Ashina camp, she needed to balance the power between the two sides before peace talks could begin. "So we inflict enough damage on the Interior Ministry forces, then pressure them into negotiations?"
Emma smiled and shook her head. "Telling me this won't help. I'm just a physician."
Like hell you are! With Emma's support, the success rate would increase by at least thirty percent. But Bella didn't call her out on it. "Well, I'm just explaining my reasoning to you."
The memorial service for the fallen warriors ended, and Lord Tamako Hirata, head of the Hirata family, began addressing the family members and retainers.
"Hirata" was the surname, "Tajima-no-kami" was his official title, and "Tamako" was his given name.
In Bella's opinion, his speech was painfully uninspired.
The same few phrases repeated endlessly: "The Hirata family is a branch of the Ashina clan. We share their glory and shame. For hundreds of years, not a single member has betrayed the main family." Then everyone would shout slogans together: "From the day we march, there is honor in death, but disgrace in survival!"
His actual strength was mediocre by Bella's standards, though his presence was impressive. That booming voice shook dust from the ceiling beams in clouds...
The Hirata family had lost many sons, both blood-related and adopted.
Hirata Goro, whom she'd encountered earlier, was clearly the fifth son. Above him was Hirata Ichiro, the family heir. The three brothers between them had all died in battle.
Below Goro were three younger boys. According to Emma's introduction, they were Rokuro, Shichiro, and Kuro—the sixth, seventh, and ninth sons respectively.
All three were adopted.
Bella studied Kuro carefully. He was indeed a refined-looking boy with pure eyes and proper manners.
Though he listened respectfully to the family head's speech, he wasn't swept up in the fervent emotions. He remained as calm as a still pond.
Impressive self-control!
Perhaps due to Shura's influence, the very air here carried a violent restlessness.
In other words, people here were easily worked up. A few rousing words, and they'd charge at the enemy howling with abandon.
Besides herself with her psychic abilities, the naturally serene Emma, and the frighteningly skilled Isshin Ashina, only this refined-looking Kuro could maintain inner peace and resist external interference.
After the Hirata family's spirited internal rallying session, Emma introduced Bella to the family head.
"Outsider, do you have any insights to offer?" Perhaps due to Emma's recommendation, or perhaps Bella's bearing, Lord Hirata didn't treat her as an ordinary person. His expression was relatively sincere.
He'd even upgraded her title—from "foreigner" to "outsider."
Bella followed local customs and used his official title: "Lord Tajima-no-kami, the Hirata family has suffered tremendous losses from the Interior Ministry invasion. The Hirata family needs support. Why not hire mountain bandits to fight? Once the Interior Ministry occupies Ashina, the bandits will lose their base too. I believe both sides have grounds for cooperation."
She repeated what she'd told Emma earlier, though she left out the final peace talks part. The man before her was just a general—he didn't have much say in negotiations.
Bella remembered there were quite a few independent forces near Ashina. Groups of thirty here, bands of fifty there—if they could organize all these people and establish a united front, future matters would be much easier to handle.
Hot-headed youngsters like Hirata Goro still clung to samurai pride because they were young. The leadership wouldn't be that naive.
Lord Hirata wanted to contact the bandits, but the mountain bandits had previously raided the Hirata estate. Combined with samurai honor, he was backed into a corner—he couldn't take the initiative, and if anyone in the family suggested it, he'd have to reprimand them.
Now that an "outsider" had proposed it, things became much easier to handle.
This was also one of Emma's main reasons for bringing Bella to meet Lord Hirata.
Everyone understood the pros and cons, but concerns about face and morale prevented anyone from speaking up.
Lord Hirata refused outright. Bella pressed him. He refused again. She urged him one final time.
Success!
They reached an agreement: the Hirata family would provide funds, Bella would provide effort, and they'd hire mountain bandits to fight for the Hirata family.
Two chests were filled with gold and silver. Japan's silver production at the time ranked among the world's highest—easy to mine with decent purity. The Edo shogunate had even established specialized gold, silver, and copper bureaus to manage precious metals nationwide.
Ashina was a classic case of harsh terrain producing poverty—nothing grew here, and people went hungry most of the year. But the area was resource-rich, with no shortage of gold and silver. Offering two chests of treasure to hire bandits and reduce casualties among his own warriors was an excellent deal for Lord Hirata.
He issued Bella a permit for unrestricted travel within Ashina territory and gave her the two treasure chests.
Large, heavy chests. Bella could carry them—hell, she could run with them! But it wouldn't look good.
The two transmigrator "veterans" who'd already been assimilated into Sengoku Japan, Kyujiro and Iwata, became her lackeys, responsible for hauling the chests. Classic pack mule treatment.
The two were only familiar with the area around the Hirata estate. Once they reached the outskirts of Ashina Castle, they were lost.
Bella didn't know the terrain either, so she'd hoped the Hirata family would send personnel to assist.
Several family warriors were too proud to deal with bandits. Lord Hirata could only assign a shinobi to accompany them. Not just any shinobi would do—this shinobi's image represented the Hirata family. They couldn't be too unsavory, needed combat skills, and ideally could fight their way back if negotiations broke down.
Every warrior was precious now. Who would be suitable?
Lord Hirata weighed his options and finally assigned the shinobi named Wolf, who had served Kuro for years, to assist Bella in hiring the mountain bandits.
The bandits had been hiding in a place called the Hidden Forest since fleeing the Hirata estate three years ago. The terrain was treacherous, filled with miasma. The Ashina and Hirata clans had been too busy fighting the Interior Ministry to eliminate them.
Hiring them would be best. If that failed, Bella and Wolf would need to eliminate this threat.
The mission required considerable martial skill.
With Bella the outsider swordswoman leading, Wolf the taciturn shinobi following, plus two assimilated Sengoku foot soldiers, the party of four left the Hirata estate for Ashina Castle, then would take mountain trails to hire bandits for the Hirata family.