And then people watched Nobunaga Oda wing it. And it was glorious.
Yeah, Maru-maru is deeply conflicted here. Should he try to rise to the occasion of the second chance the team were so unexpectedly granted? Or is it more in-character for a ronin to exit stage right(2x) here, right now? Yet there is a sub-genre of ronin fiction that does feature them aspiring to serve the higher good when people least expect it! Of course, usually they die in the process. Which is anathema to a ronin. But isn’t there a little bit of a samurai in every ronin?* It’s quite the quandary, really.
With the back of his mind to the wall of reasoning, Maru-maru is left wondering what his old mentor, Nobunaga Oda would have had to say on the matter. And naturally, his thoughts first wander back to that famous speech Oda gave before the Battle of Okehazama. Not only was Maru-maru present for the occasion, he’s seen the moment presented to him again and again in plays, movies, novels and manga over the centuries… …which, justifiably, makes him doubt his mind’s first attempt at recovering the memory. Doesn’t Oda look a bit too stern and heroic in that flashback? And doesn’t he talk a bit too clearly and coherently for somebody who was dead drunk?
Digging a bit deeper, he manages to recover a much more accurate memory…both of Oda as well as his speech. Maru-maru has protected Oda’s legacy for centuries – and never told anybody that his charisma was more of the drunk-fratboy-gangleader brand than the stern-hero one. But there’s no need, of course, to hoodwink himself when just recalling what had happened.
The message is clear, though. Oda says “Go for it.” And “I’ll hold your beer for you, bro.”
The chances are increasing that we’re going to get the opportunity to see Maru-maru wing it, as well.
More on Thursday.
* Not referring to shudo, I meant it metaphorically.