The next day, they found that Tenma, Aoi, and Shinsuke had managed to borrow the sword that was in the exhibit. As Fei and Wondeba prepped the artifact, Kimiko made a call to her cousin, informing him that they'll be time-travelling, so they needed that cover story as soon as possible. Luckily, he replied that he had it all taken care of and they can leave whenever they want.
Arriving at the other side of the wormhole, they found a castle surrounded by a village and fields.
"The year is 1554 A.D. 23rd year of the Tembun Era. Owari Province." Fei stated. "We're here."
Tenma took a deep breath. "The air smells great!"
"Well, come on!" Shinsuke called. "Let's head to the village!"
"Yeah!"
"It may be a bad idea to just wander in there." Tsurugi stated.
"Certainly! With the way you're dressed, you'll stick out like sore thumbs!" Wondeba interjected, pulling out a green remote and pressing the big, red button on it. "Therefore... Wondeba Switch, on!"
They're clothes glowed before changing entirely. They were all wearing different types of yukatas.
"This is beautiful!" Aoi exclaimed, doing a twirl. She was wearing a pink one with a purple ribbon.
"Now we kind of look the part!" Shinsuke said, looking down on himself. He was in a full yellow.
"Nishiki-senpai, it suits you!" Tenma, wearing a yellow and blue one, exclaimed.
"You think so? I agree!" The pony-tailed boy wore a black and white one.
"They look a little modern-ish though, don't you think?" Tsurugi was checking his sleeves' patterns. He wore a dark purple one with a red scarf.
Shindou looked down on his own black and blue one. "Mmhm..."
"I kind of agree..." Akane frowned. She was wearing green with a white hood over her head. Midori was beside her, a little skeptical herself. The red haired girl was in a short grey one with a blue coat and black pants.
Kimiko couldn't stop staring at her own. Hers was similar to Midori's, but the yukata itself was white while the coat was purple. "...Will we be okay Wondeba―" She cut herself short when she finally looked up.
The bear was in a black shirt, a dark blue cloak, and a straw hat, with a single straw sticking out of his mouth. "It'll be fine! Don't worry about it!"
"Anyway, we should hide the caravan before someone sees it." Fei reminded. He was wearing an orange one with black pants.
"Oh, that's right. Wondeba Switch, on!"
Tenma's eyes widened. "It disappeared!"
"I just made it invisible. Now, let's go check out the village―" He was cut off when he bumped into the invisible vehicle.
It didn't take long for them to get there, and soon, they found themselves inside a bustling area.
"So this is old Japan..." Tenma muttered in awe.
"Look, look! It's like being on the set of a period drama!" Shinsuke exclaimed.
Midori was feeling the doorframe of a closed shop. "This is about as good as the set for that famous show, 'The Eleven Samurai Ninjas'! They sure went full-scale!"
"I don't think 'full-scale' is the right way to put it." Akane stated.
"Midori-san, you're very knowledgeable about history." Aoi pointed out.
Midori had a proud smirk and was about to reply before Nishiki cut in with, "She's just a huge nerd when it comes to samurai movies."
"What was that?!"
"Now, now." Aoi grabbed on to her senior right as the redhead rolled up her sleeve.
Shindou smiled a little. "We've really come to Nobunaga's time."
"It's a little hard to believe." Tenma nodded.
Tsurugi crossed his arms. "So, how will we get to meet Nobunaga?"
That question brought them all back down to reality.
"Eh― Um... Well..."
Kimiko frowned. "We all really jumped without a plan, huh?"
"Ahahaha..."
"Let's all split up and gather information." Fei suggested.
"Agreed!" Shinsuke smiled.
"Okay everyone, time to investigate!" Wondeba yelled, making them all cover their ears.
Without another word, they split into six. Tenma, Shinsuke and Aoi, Shindou on his own, Nishiki also alone, Fei and Wondeba, Akane and Midori, and Tsurugi and Kimiko.
~~~~~
Nobunaga... The warlord that unified half of Japan...
Known for his genius tactics and skill...
And his tendencies to burn people.
That made him stop walking. "... What?"
She stopped too and blinked at him. "What?"
He shook his head, continuing their telepathic discussion. What was that about burning people?
Oh. I read in a book once that he has a habit of having up to 20,000 of his already defeated enemies burned alive. Playing with fire is basically his hobby.
That's so... ironic given how he died?
Kyou, trust me. All of Japanese history has some kind of irony in it.
Do I even want to know?
I don't know. Do you?
... Anyway, for a warrior like him, he'd probably be in constant need of weapons, right?
You're saying we should look for a bladesmith?
It's worth a shot.
After asking for a few directions, they were able to find the shop in no time. It helped that it had a large banner with the kanji for 'blade' hanging on the front door.
It didn't need to be said that the owner was surprised to see two children entering his store. Quickly explaining that they were simply fans of Nobunaga and wanted to know more about him, the man calmed down and listened to their questions.
"Nobunaga-sama, eh?" He pondered. "He's never come here."
"I see." Tsurugi muttered before bowing. "Thank you."
Kimiko followed suit. "We're sorry for taking up your time."
"Not at all. But please, don't stick around. Kids like you shouldn't be in this sort of place without supervision."
"We apologize for the trouble. We'll keep that in mind." The boy stated before making his way out first.
When they reached a bridge, far enough from the store, and people in general, she cast him a smile. "Well, well. I didn't think you were capable of such a formal way of speaking."
He rolled his eyes. "Just because I don't like to, doesn't mean I can't."
"You never fail to surprise me."
"I'm not here for your amusement." Her giggle only made him sigh. Then, a bright yellow color caught his eye. "Is that..."
Down by the river, they spotted a man seeming to scold eight children, three of which were familiar to them. They hurried down and ran into Shindou along the way. Apparently, he had spotted them too.
"Tenma!" Shindou called. "Did something happen?"
The brunette nodded. "Yes, we ran into kidnappers... But he saved us from danger."
"This man?" Tsurugi asked.
"Yeah! Um... Uh..."
The man smiled as he pointed a thumb to himself. "I'm Kinoshita Toukichirou."
Three pairs of eyes widened with Shindou, Tsurugi, and Kimiko immediately recognizing the name.
"Kinoshita Toukichirou?" Tenma repeated, letting his brain process. "I've heard that name before..."
Then, he and Aoi gasped at the same time, the girl turning to him while pointing at the man. "Kinoshita Toukichirou! Isn't that...!"
"Toyotomi Hideyoshi?!"
The man was taken back. "What? What's wrong?"
As the five other children went home, Shindou explained their situation to the man, minus the time-travel. As best he could anyway.
"I'm not sure I understood that, but I understand..."
"I'm sorry, it's complicated."
"Is this 'soccer' that you're trying to bring back that much fun?" He asked.
Tenma nodded. "Yes! It's fun!"
"I see. Well, having what you love close to you is important. Work hard for it."
"Okay!"
"I'm working hard right now to be next to what I love most too." He stated.
"What is it that you love, Toukichirou-san?" Shindou asked.
"What I love is Oda Nobunaga-sama!" All their attention was turned at the mention of that name. "I feel a strength from him that isn't part of this world! I can't help but feel that he'll be the one to turn all of the world's common practices on his head."
"You must look up to Nobunaga-sama a great deal." Tenma commented.
"Yeah, you could say that. I'm going to be by his side one day. Nobunaga-sama has God-given talents. I know he will rule the country one day. If I follow him, I may become a great man too." He stood up proudly. "I am going to be great! I will make sure of it."
He has no idea...
Kimiko nudged her best friend. We're supposed to act like we don't either.
"Well then, you kids should head back to where you're staying." He said. "It's getting late. You don't want the Shiroshika coming after you again."
"Right. Thank you, Toukichirou-san!"
~~~~~
As soon as they met up with the others outside of the village, Wondeba led them to an abandoned temple he found. To their luck, all the electricity and water still worked.
"But it's a little scary..." Akane said, staring out a window. They were surrounded by the dark forest, and the village was quite a walk away, so it was understandable.
Still, "It's better than attracting unwanted attention." Those words weren't very comforting, but because they were said by Shindou, Akane immediately smiled again.
"There will be less chance of us affecting history in a place like this too." Fei stated.
"What do you mean?" Kimiko asked.
"Well, we never know what kind of butterfly effect we could have if we stay in town. We might interfere with something small but was meant to happen and change history by accident."
"That sort of thing can happen, huh..." Tenma muttered.
"Yes. That's why, staying in a place like this would be the most ideal, because no one uses it."
"What about the caravan?" Kimiko asked again. "Since it's invisible and far away, it won't affect anyone if we stayed there, right?"
"True, but it sure would be cramped in there." Fei chuckled. "Unlike the Inazuma Caravan, the TM Caravan isn't meant for camping."
"Well, in any case, let's get started on the cleaning." Aoi called.
"Right!"
As soon as that was done, and they all ate the food Akane and Midori had bought, they sat around an ash pot, lighting it up to keep warm.
They discussed their findings for the day, with Tenma mentioning how they ran into Kinoshita Toukichirou. When Fei mentioned that he's the one who'd become Hideyoshi Toyotomi, the man who unified Japan, Nishiki suggested we take his aura instead.
"No!" An orange glow came from Aoi's sleeve pocket and Daisuke the stone came flying out. "You guys don't get it! It's not the individual's ability but the players' abilities as a whole that make a team when synchronized! As that unified power increases, you bring out your best performance! It's as important as the combination of ingredients in the finest tasting dish. If you want to assemble the strongest team in history, you need the exact players that I specify..." He then went to Nishiki's ear. "OR IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!!"
"A-Alright..."
"Also, the one to take Nobunaga's aura will be Shindou Takuto. You!"
"It's... me?"
"Ever since I've changed into this shape, I've grown able to see the power that people possess. Your own special abilities as playmaker will make the most of Nobunaga's power."
"Me with Nobunaga's aura..."
"A game-maker of truth who can appraise people and the general situation, while combining both stillness and motion. Shindou Takuto. That is who you will be. One of the strongest eleven in history."
The boy nodded. "Understood. I'll try it."