Oda Nobunaga, the Demon King of the Sixth Realm, is quite possibly the most famous japanese historical figure. A key figure on the Sengoku Period and one of the Three Unifiers of Japan, Oda Nobunaga was responsible for some of the greatest military achievements of the land. She brought western techniques to Japanese Warfare, and improved them, innovating the Volley Fire to bring down the mighty Takeda Cavalry. She waged war against Religious Warriors, defeating Ikko Ikki buddhist sects of Nagashima, Mt. Hiei and Hogan-ji; She bested the Formidable Naval Army of the Mori in Kizuwagate; She defeated the treacherous armies of the Mino Three and Matsunaga Hisahide; She overcame the armies of her Sister's Husband, Azai Nakamura & the Asakura Clan. Until the day she died, betrayed by one of her generals, Oda Nobunaga was the closest person to reach the dream of Unification of the Land, and the two other unifiers that followed her, the Sagacious Monkey Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Crafty Tanuki Tokugawa Ieyasu, were previous followers who used much of what she achieved to continue the dream of unification, even if through much different means. But before the ruthless conqueror who conquered japan through superior might, before the genius warlord who outmaneuvered them all, before the one who kicked japan screaming, bleeding and burning through modern warfare, before the Demon King of the Sixth Realm who waged war against the Heavens, there was only Kipposhi, the Fool of Owari.
Born as Kipposhi, the second child of Oda Nobuhide, a minor lord of the province of Owari, Oda was a unusual child for its time. She played with kids of all ranks & ages, forgetting her higher rankings. It was during those times that Oda created bonds with people like Hiyoshi-maru, the peasant kid who liked to play in trees much like a monkey, Inuchiyo, the loyal little page who followed him like a puppy, and Takechiyo, the timid political hostage who often showed the craftiness of a tanuki. Kipposhi took those and some more kids by storm, leading them into multiple adventures and parties, having the times of their lives.
But while she had much fun with them, this was not the expected behavior from the eldest daughter of a military governor like Nobuhide, and so from childhood she was also given strict learning by her father and her personal Hirate Masahide. Masahide specially was important to the young daughter, who learned much under him and who confided to him. Even though her behaviour did not change much, remained erratic throughout her life, Masahide taught her well in all manners of skills like waka, sado including those who weren't usually taught to a daughter, like warfare and gunnery for which Kipposhi fell in love with. Kipposhi's love for gunnery was apparent from the start. As a lover of festivals the guns were not only an deadly weapon they were also resembled in her mind, fireworks.
Though she wished to live in peace, playing with her friends, the Sengoku Period was a period of chaos, and that peaceful life could never last long. Soon her father died of natural causes and Kipposhi in just one of her usual jokes, sprayed some incense in the ceremonial altar, just trying to lighten the mood:Her father wouldn't want seeing everyone so gloomy. But people didn't understood that, and that was the last draw. She was a disgrace to the family, her brothers who she loved very much now actively ignored and plotted against her, and, perharps more importantly, without saying anything to her, her loved mentor, friend and confidant, commited Seppuku without warning her.
This drove her into a breaking point. For the first time in the world, people would see the awakening of the one who would become the future Devil King. She took matters by her own hand, and crushed her brothers unifying not only her clan, but the entire province of Owari. And with the province unified, Kipposhi tried for the last time, to return to her peaceful days of fireworks and festivals. But soon, Imagawa Yoshimoto marched to Owari looking to crush the small clan of the Oda to continue his path to Kyoto, the old capital, with an army of 25,000 which vastly outnumbered Oda's 2,000 soldiers. When Kipposhi heard the news, while her retainers bickered on what to do, she could only laugh. And so she played for the last time:
"A man's life of 50 years under the sky
is nothing compared to
the age of this world.
Life is but a fleeting dream, an illusion --
Is there anything that lasts forever?"
Under the cover of thunderstorms, Kipposhi attacked the Imagawa armies who were partying an early victory. The battle was quick and decisive. Imagawa Yoshimoto was beheaded, thinking he was being attacked by his own men, and the Oda laid a decisive blow on the Imagawa who never managed to recover. By ending that party Kipposhi ended herself and now only Oda Nobunaga, the Demon King of the Sixth Realm remained. Clearly the Age of War was not a time for parties.
But life takes strange paths, and much after the death of Nobunaga, this young version of the warlord is managed to be summoned as an Heroic Spirit. Here, stuck in her delusions, she tries to revive her dream of an eternal festival with her friends and enemies.
On a side note, when shown her younger self, Oda Nobunaga can only blush and scream in embarrassment while screaming something about drowning her in her ideals. I guess some things are just better left in the past.
Originally Posted by 4score7years
