Chapter 124: Uesugi Kenshin: Become My Vessel
Uesugi Kenshin.
The Dragon of Echigo.
The God of War.
In the chaotic world of the Sengoku period, these three titles all pointed to the same legendary figure. Hikaru knew a fair bit about her legend from his life before he was reborn into this era.
According to the historical records he remembered, Uesugi Kenshin was a warrior who remained unmarried her entire life. Originally named Nagao Kagetora, she later took the name Uesugi Masatora. The name "Kenshin" was a dharma name she adopted after becoming a devout follower of the Buddhist war god, Bishamonten. She waged war under the banner of righteousness and was hailed as the strongest military strategist of her time.
And at this moment—Hikaru knew exactly who had arrived.
A young woman stood just outside the torii gate of Kaede Village. The moonlight stretched her shadow long, casting it across the stone slabs of the village path.
There was no army. No fluttering banners. Not even a single attendant.
She had simply walked here.
This was what truly astonished Hikaru. It wasn't that she had come; he had long anticipated that the Uesugi clan would make a move. It wasn't even that she had come in person; for the legendary "God of War," visiting the front lines was a common occurrence.
Rather, it was that she was utterly alone. She had come without so much as a single guard.
Hikaru dropped from the roof ridge, landing silently on the ground. His gray clothes and pale hair whipped in the night wind, the Crimson Oni Mask hiding his face. He stood on the village side of the torii gate, less than ten paces from the young woman.
A faint blood mist spread thinly across the ground between them, like a transparent layer of red gauze.
"Uesugi Kenshin."
Hikaru spoke her name, not as a question, but as a statement of fact. He was certain of her identity, without a shred of doubt, for one simple reason.
He knew the power radiating from her body all too well.
What he had sensed on Kakizaki Kageie was a mere fragment. What he had felt from Yamagata Masakage was also just a fragment.
But the person before him—she possessed the source.
Setting aside the fact that Yamagata Masakage was a subordinate of Takeda Shingen and had no connection to the Uesugi, the power that made Kakizaki Kageie a "Divine Artifact" had unquestionably flowed from this woman.
If Kakizaki Kageie was a tributary, then Uesugi Kenshin was the source of the river. In fact, she was the river itself.
The power she possessed was pure to an extreme degree. It was clean, lofty, and felt as if it did not belong to the mortal world. It was even purer than Kikyo's most potent spiritual energy, though its nature was completely different. Spiritual power was the condensation of pure energy, whereas the aura emanating from Kenshin was more like the tangible manifestation of faith in gods and Buddhas.
Its defining characteristic was just as Hikaru had sensed before: a weight so immense it could condescendingly suppress all else.
Upon hearing Hikaru's words, the young woman looked straight at the pair of crimson eyes glowing from beneath the Oni Mask.
"You recognize me," she stated. Her voice was cold, calm, and without inflection. It was an indifferent tone, yet it felt perfectly natural for her, as if she was always meant to sound this way—lofty, vast, and detached, as if observing the world from a great distance.
Hikaru let out a low chuckle. "That power is too obvious. Your subordinates carry fragments, while you possess the whole. And from that direction," he gestured vaguely behind her, "only one person could possibly radiate this kind of aura."
The young woman tilted her head slightly. The movement held a flicker of curiosity, but it was quickly subsumed by her nearly inorganic, impassive expression.
"You killed Kageie," she said. It was not an interrogation, nor was it a demand for accountability. She was merely confirming a fact.
Hikaru had no intention of denying it. He simply narrowed his crimson oni eyes and gave a slight nod. He was somewhat puzzled by her tone, which lacked any trace of anger, but he felt no fear at her arrival on his doorstep.
"But it does not matter," she continued, nodding as if conceding the point. "Kageie was the reincarnation of a Divine Artifact, a vessel to carry the power of the gods. Her death is merely a return to Takamagahara. However, she was ultimately my Divine Artifact. You slew her; you defeated her."
She looked at Hikaru, and for the first time, a ripple disturbed the placid surface of her ancient-well eyes. Still, there was no anger.
There was only deep, unadulterated interest.
"In this era, to be able to slay a 'Divine Artifact' without possessing absolute power is a rare feat," she observed. "At least, among the yokai of this land, there are almost none who could manage it."
That power of gods and Buddhas, which suppressed all things supernatural and extraordinary, was inherently almost invincible against those of a similar rank. Those who could overcome it were few and far between. In terms of raw power, Hikaru had been no stronger than the warrior princess, Kakizaki Kageie. A common Six-Fold Transformation human-form yokai could be matched by a sufficiently skilled mortal.
It was just a pity for his enemies that Hikaru was no common yokai.
He did not respond immediately. He was waiting. Waiting for her to state her true purpose. The fact that she had arrived alone suggested she wasn't here purely to make an enemy of him—though he wouldn't be afraid even if she was.
Uesugi Kenshin did not beat around the bush.
"I have come because I wish to recruit you," she said bluntly.
Her words were so direct that for a moment, Hikaru felt a sense of unreality, almost dazed. Imagawa Yoshimoto wanted him to be a "Guardian God," and Hojo Ujiyasu wanted to repay a "favor." Was Uesugi Kenshin really about to pull the same trick?
This time, Hikaru was genuinely surprised. The expression beneath his Crimson Oni Mask tightened, his posture appearing ferocious and terrifying, yet his voice remained composed. "Imagawa Yoshimoto said much the same thing."
"She does not have what I can give you."
"And what can you give me?"
Uesugi Kenshin did not answer the question. She just looked at him quietly. Her deep, placid eyes reflected the moonlight, the silhouette of the torii gate, and the complex patterns on his Crimson Oni Mask.
"You are strong," she said. "But I can sense that you have not walked very far down the path of the yokai. You are not a truly powerful demon; your demonic aura is insufficient, and your demonic power is even less so. You are only one step away from a metamorphosis that will make you a stronger yokai, but that is a step you cannot take on your own."
Hikaru's pupils constricted.
She could tell? Just by observing him from ten paces away, she had seen through his state, seen that he was on the verge of a qualitative change?
"If you become mine—become my 'Divine Artifact'—then," Uesugi Kenshin's voice remained calm, yet it was laced with absolute confidence, "I can help you take that step. I can help you become stronger."
Hikaru did not answer. He just stood under the moonlight, gazing through the slits of the Oni Mask at the young woman who had come alone.
The God of War of Echigo. The incarnation of Bishamonten.
She had walked alone, in the dead of night, into the territory of a yokai. She carried no weapon, brought no soldiers, and was accompanied by no generals. She had just walked over.
Either she was confident to the point of absurdity, or she truly had no intention of fighting.
Looking at her now, the latter seemed more likely.
And becoming a 'Divine Artifact'...
"What does that even mean?" he asked, genuinely confused. Wasn't that some form of 'reincarnation'? Could he, too, become one of those things that could be captured and wielded? His curiosity was piqued, and he asked the question directly.
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