It is the age of the civil wars. The land is divided by powerful warlords, who constantly fight each other. Any internal power struggle is an invitation for your neighbors to attack. So it is decided that the firstborn child, regardless of gender, would become the head of the family. The result of this was the birth of the Princess Generals.

Disclaimer: I own nothing about Ambition of Oda Nobuna or Kamen Rider. The only thing I own here is my OC.

Thirtieth Slice – Colliding Dreams

Juubei narrowed her eyes, regaining her focus. "Even if my time on this world is coming to a close, I won't let you accomplish your goal so easily!"

"Fufufu… such bravado." Danjou brought up her weapon, a spear with a pair of crescent-shaped blades attached alongside the end blade. In a battle of spears with soldiers, the main attacking pattern was to stab but in one-on-one combat, a spear can only attack the opponent in a straight line. Compared to the ever-changing trajectories of a sword, the spear user was at a decisive disadvantage.

However, the weapon that Danjou wielded made use of the crescent-shaped blades to do slashes like a naginata. "Leave us. I wish to have this girl's life for myself."

Upon hearing her orders, her men cleared out to rejoin their comrades in assaulting the temple, leaving the two of them alone. "You're so confident you can kill me that you dismiss your men?"

"My spear techniques are of the Houzouin style. More than enough to do the job," replied the dark skinned beauty.

"As I thought…! You come from Kofuku Temple!" Mitsuhide could easily see that her opponent wielded a Jumonji Yari which originates from the Houzouin School in Kofuku Temple in Yamato.

"That's correct."

"Then why?! As a religious follower of Buddhism, how can you destroy the Ashikaga Shogunate and burn the great Buddha of Nara, and even now obstruct the Oda clan's Tenka Fubu? Is the Buddhism in your heart gone!?" shouted Juubei furiously.

"What is gone is just my humanity. Ever since I lost my master, Miyoshi Nagayoshi, I have been lost in a dream-like state."

"Aren't you the one who killed Miyoshi Nagayoshi!?"

"That's just gossip from ill-hearted people." For the first time, Danjou's tone turned a bit melancholic. "In my heart, Nagayoshi-sama was like a child that I doted on. It was only because of him that I enjoyed my time serving in the Miyoshi clan, able to deal with those whispers behind my back. After I lost him, my grief spurred me to burn the great Buddha."

"Whispers…?" Juubei looked confused for a moment. "Your clan hated you?"

"It wasn't simply the clan. Tell me… what place is there for me in this country? I am a hated existence simply because I am not of pure Japanese blood. Even the other clan members could barely tolerate me when Nagayoshi-sama led them. In the end, Japan is in desperate need of a new direction which can only be obtained by burning the current one to the ground."

"Nobuna-sama feels the same way! It's why she's trying to unite the country!" shot back Juubei.

The expression on Danjou's face briefly flickered before going back to her usual serene smile. "Is that so? I suppose I will have to see for myself but in the meantime, let me witness what you are truly capable of. Come, let us start the killing. Let me be your guide and send you to the world of chaos."

In the midst of the blood, fire and screams from the clash of the troops in the background, Matsunaga Hisahide took a step forward with no change in her expression towards Mitsuhide.

"Against the Houzouin style of the spear, a tanegashima stands no chance. Let me use my sword against you then." Juubei tossed her firearm aside and reached for her katana.

"So the sword is finally out of the scabbard. Before you begin the trip to the underworld, please state your name."

"I'm the descendant of the Toki clan, Akechi Juubei Mitsuhide. I learned my sword skills from the Kashima Shinto School, not to be passed down." The blue haired girl rushed towards her opponent with her sword lowered, causing Danjou to leap back and out of the way of the opening slash.

"Kashima, huh? That certainly explains your opening technique… 'Ichi no Tachi' if I'm not mistaken." The dark skinned woman twirled her spear to reset her stance while smiling happily. "The world is really huge. I would never have thought that I could duel an elite warrior like you. With this, things will be much more interesting. I have to enjoy this to the fullest."

"I'm not going to waste more time on you than I need!" Juubei went in again but Danjou moved her spear so that her bladed end would be able to block the katana's strikes.

"To be able to cross blades with such a heroic elite like you, I can't stop the killing desire in my heart! I want to see just what kind of a hopeless expression you will have in the instant that you witness your dreams shatter!"

An explosion rocked behind Danjou with Juubei able to see that some of the outer walls have been compromised as Danjou's men advanced even further against the Oda troops. As Juubei broke off from the clash, she held her weapon ready.

'Please… hang on everyone!'

'Ahhhh… peace at last.'

The young female clan head hated having to be in the middle of her clan squabbles. She already had enough on her plate with the work she was doing based on the new direction that was set by the previous head, Yoshikane. Obviously, there were those in the clan who still clung to their pride. With the country currently in an era of uncertainty, this was the time to act and reclaim what prestige and influence that they once had in the previous century along with a few specific territories. Namely, Owari Province which is now Oda Nobuna's domain and Echizen Province, which is now Asakura Yoshikage's territory.

The other side were those who believed Yoshikane's words about needing to master a specific power to combat a great threat foreseen in the future. They also felt that his actions to change the clan name's kanji and emblem were also correct which would allow them to stay out of the public eye to work on this project secretly.

A third side did come up taking the middle road. They said that it would be worth taking their time to refine this new power. After all, the time investment needed to develop this power would be massive. And at the end of it all, if Yoshikane's predictions came true, they could drive off the evil and gain recognition from the Shogun and Emperor. If the threat did not come to pass, they could simply use the power to begin rebuilding their old prestige and influence again.

Right now, she didn't want to think about any of that. She already spent a good chunk of energy dealing with those squabbles while maintaining her training in both the sword and the brush diligently. This is her personal time now and that meant going fishing to catch something big for dinner tonight. She already changed into something that a commoner would wear and tied back her long black hair so that she would not be easily recognized.

Her fishing line began to tug in her hands. By the feel of it, she caught something big. "Here we go!"

One mighty pull later and something emerged from the water, flying over her head before landing on the ground hard. But rather than a fish, she got some weird armoured figure that had a cross on his chest and green optics for eyes with a purple light on his forehead. Her red eyes saw that his suit had three main colours: black, white and…

"Pink?"

A soft groan came from the figure on the ground before he mumbled a response. "It's not pink… it's magenta."

"… Okay?"

For a time, the only sounds that could be heard were the clashing of steel blades with brief explosions in the background. It was only to be expected though from a duel between master warriors. Juubei's youth gave her the edge in faster reaction time but Danjou put up a strong defense. Right now, the Oda retainer wasn't able to force a solid opening against that dark skinned woman despite mixing up her attack angles and approaches.

'I'm running out of time!' Right now, she had no idea how the Oda men were doing against the army that Danjou had brought with her. She desperately hoped that Zenki, Inuchiyo and Goemon were fine and still fighting but that hope had been shrinking with each passing minute.

"Ah, yes… I forgot to mention this to you. By now, Koga's Sugitani Zenjuubou had laid an ambush to assassinate Oda Nobuna." Danjou smiled while raising her right arm so she could gesture for emphasis. "As a professional killer, he has never failed. I wonder if Nobuna-sama is already down in hell."

"What are you saying?" While Mitsuhide's nose picked up a weird fragrance in the air, she couldn't act upon it due to the other woman's ominous words blowing apart her focus in an instant, realizing that her renewed purpose in life was destroyed. "Nobuna-sama is...dead?! Because she went after Sasaki Motoharu?!"

'I see that my fragrance spell has worked.' Once Mitsuhide had inhaled enough of that substance, her stance began to falter which was enough for the dark skinned woman to pounce on the opportunity and attack with her Jumonji Yari. But as the sharp blade descended mercilessly down on Juubei's neck, it was intercepted by another sword which forced her spear back. "What?!"

"Back off!" A blue gloved hand pulled the yellow tab in the back of the sword's handle before raising it and firing at Danjou, causing her to back off to avoid the mini barrage of bullets from the Musou Saber before glaring at the Blood Orange Rider.

"How rude of you to interfere in a duel between ladies. It's despicable."

"A notorious schemer like you is calling me despicable? Wow, now I've heard everything." Bujin Gaim brought his weapons together to form his naginata. "Seriously, you're the one that's despicable! Saying all those lies about Nobuna-sama being dead…"

"Oh, I'm not lying at all. Nobuna-sama is most likely not living anymore thanks to Zenjuubou..."

"If you know the name of the one who tried to kill Nobuna-sama, then it's obvious that you're the one who sent him! If not that, then you're in league with the conspirators that hired him!"

"Such a clever little monkey." Following a snap from Danjou's fingers, more unknown and ominous beings arrived subsequently from the dark sky.

'Five, ten, twenty...no, thirty of them...!'

All of them had the forms of young and decent looking girls. They all wore red artisan attires and exuded an alluring presence, as if they are smaller versions of Danjou but their eyes are empty with no light in them.

"You can deal with my puppets while I get back to the job at hand." Having given up on the duel, Danjou retreated to go back and lead her troops in the siege on the temple while the puppets surrounded the pair.

"This isn't good. If we really fight it out, we will be in a disadvantage. The difference in numbers is too great. Not to mention that if these really are magical puppets, they won't go down like normal soldiers."

"Magical puppets you say?" The voice of Chimera echoed in Motoharu's head. "Interesting… let me try those snacks. Switch into Beast Arms."

"Why are you here?!" Mitsuhide struggled to shake off the sluggishness in her body as she questioned Bujin Gaim. "Damn Gorilla! Now isn't the time for you to be here! Nobuna-sama is being targeted by…!"

"If it's about Nobuna, she's already here." While he said that, he put away his Musou Saber and then swapped in the Beast Lockseed.

BEAST!

LOCK ON!

BEAST ARMS! MISTER MAYONNAISE!

As his armour changed, Mitsuhide looked bewildered by his response. "W-what is going on?"

"Say what you wanna say later, Juubei!" From the roof of the main hall of Kiyomizu Temple came a deafening sound. To be precise, a gunshot sound from Oda Nobuna's tanegashima while a bullet embedded itself in the head of one of the puppets. As Sasaki thought, it went down briefly before getting back up again causing the Oda princess to complain. "Oi, what is this trickery?!"

"Nobuna-sama!?" Mitsuhide looked up to see her lord alive and well with no injuries. As usual, her body seemed full of energy.

"Nobuna-sama, I'll deal with these enemies. You should go with Mitsuhide to regroup with your soldiers and fend off Danjou's attack," said Bujin Gaim while fending off one of the first attacking puppets with his Dice Saber.

"Alright. Saru, I'll leave this mess here to you!" With that, Nobuna moved to the edge of the roof and one light drop later, landed right beside Mitsuhide. "Let's go!"

"Why are you here..." Mitsuhide mumbled as she numbly followed the blonde warlord.

"Juubei! From now on, your back is mine to protect, so go ahead and unleash your abilities! Today is the day that the Akechi clan makes its mark on the world!" said Nobuna with that big idealistic grin on her face.

"T-that can't be right…" In Mitsuhide's mind, she could hear the ominous and alluring voice of Matsunaga Danjou telling her things thanks to the fragrance she inhaled earlier.

"This is a dream. It's all an illusion. You are just dreaming...what you want to dream..."

"Yes... This...this is just an illusion. I had chased away that Gorilla, and because of my horrible actions, Nobuna-sama hates me. Like Danjou said, I am only dreaming… it's an illusion born out from extreme despair..."

Nobuna grunted once in frustration and stopped before flicking her index finger hard against Mitsuhide's large forehead causing her to squeak in surprise. "Juubei, who are you going to believe: someone famous for betraying others or me?!"

"But weren't you shot tragically? Nobuna-sama is a ghost now!"

"Wrong! I was fiddling around with Saru's Lockseed and got a monster summoned. Just as it dropped in front of me, it blocked the bullet! After realizing that, we looked around for the shooter but after realizing that he got away, we both got here as fast as we could!"

Obviously, Mitsuhide wasn't fully buying that story. "You make it sound so convenient! How can you guys be so lucky?"

"Is there any need for me to lie?" countered Nobuna. "It may sound convenient but it's the truth!"

"Even if that's the case, how can you guys charge into Kiyomizu Temple just like that? The obvious thing to do would be to go get reinforcements at Gifu castle and leave Kyoto to me...!"

"You are an important advisor who has sworn to fulfill my dream. How can I just give up like this? If something happened to me, your talents, genius and ambition would be needed to complete what we started." Before the Oda princess could continue on, a large thumping sound was heard with Bujin Gaim landing right by her side. "Saru, you're done already?"

"Let's just say the ally who provided me with this armour set had been really eager to try those new appetizers." The fact is that those puppets would have been tough to defeat by conventional methods in this era but Beast Arms had been a very effective counter since Chimera would have been able to devour the magic fuelling those things.

"...No... How... This is a dream," muttered Juubei.

"Yes, this is a dream... It's just an illusion..."

Because Mitsuhide had been too serious, Danjou's hypnotic suggestion was incredibly effective on her. The glitter in her teary eyes had started to fade bit by bit.

"If there's anyone who can really understand that fleeting dream of Nobuna's in this world, it can only be the other genius from this same era. And that is you, Juubei!"

"So wake up already! I will never hate you!" added the Oda Princess.

'She won't hate me…? That's right, she said that she would protect my back.' The feelings of doubt and uncertainty began to lift from her heart while she wiped away the tears. "Sorry for everything earlier."

"Come on, let's just focus on driving Danjou's troops off temple grounds!" shouted Nobuna. By the time they got to the main hall, they could see the fierce fighting going on with the Oda troops trying to withstand the assault and deal with the enemy soldiers shooting fire arrows at the main hall, causing a fire to break out. Danjou herself noticed the trio approaching and how Mitsuhide seemed to move normally again, indicating that the fragrance had worn off.

'Hehe… I thought that Akechi-sama had already fallen for my spell, but it looks like the words of the Oda Princess and her Monkey hold greater power.'

"That's as far as you go, Matsunaga Danjou!" declared Nobuna, raising her reloaded gun.

"Ahhh...Oda Nobuna-sama. Thanks to you avoiding the assassination by Zenjubou, now I can witness your true self with my own eyes."

While the two ladies traded verbal barbs with each other, Bujin Gaim looked around for his own employees. "Goemon! Inuchiyo! Hanbei! Can you hear me?!"

Within a moment, the spear user and the ninja along with Zenki appeared by his side in a flash of smoke.

"Hachisuka Goemon, here!"

"Maeda Inuchiyo Toshiie, here!"

"Zenki? Where's Hanbei? What's going on?"

"To put it briefly," began the Shikigami. "Bujin Faiz has been lost to us due to a misunderstanding with Bujin OOO. Two hundred of our men have been killed in action while the enemy has about one thousand casualties. As for my master…"

"I'm right here!" They all turned around to see Hanbei struggling to get to where they were gathered but in the end, she tumbled down, causing Zenki to be right at her side.

"Master, what are you doing?!"

"I can't be resting now! Not when there's too much at stake here!" Gathering what spiritual energy she had, she summoned a new group of Shikigami that immediately flew out to help with putting out the fire. This action caught Danjou's attention.

"Well, I didn't think that I would meet an onmyouji here. Looks like I will have to face her with equal strength."

"Wait, Danjou…" A voice cut through the air with all parties looking above to see someone slowly descending down, dressed similarly to Zenki. His dark brown eyes were focused on the strategist that served Sasaki Motoharu.

"What is it, Tsuchimikado-kun?"

"Stay focused on your mission." A predatory grin came on to the boy's face as his feet touched the ground. "Takenaka Hanbei is mine."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Damn, it's been a while since I touched this. Been adding more Light Novel elements to this recently so we'll see how that goes.

I wonder if any of you will pick up on which clan Bujin Decade ended up at.