The Nation's Champion (Date Masamune X Sanada Yukimura)

What does it mean to be a national hero? “What does it mean to be treated with the honor due a national hero?” Nobushige looked at him, drained his cup, then smiled and said each word carefully: “Know me and trust me. Never doubt or guard against me. The Outcast, second only to one, above ten thousand.” So a national hero need not seek the highest peak. He need only stand behind one person and advise them on how to rule the land. “If you came to me, could you achieve your dream?” “Your Highness, you are a born general, not a king.” Masamune let out a low groan like a wounded beast. Those words had hurt him. What did it mean to be a born general? To command generals and wage war across the land. In triumph, one might command a million soldiers and leave the battlefield strewn with corpses. In defeat, one might go down in flames and take an enemy commander’s head. But one’s life would always belong to someone else. Ridiculous! How could he hand his life over to another? He was the lord of Yonezawa, head of the Date clan, with the power to decide the fate of countless people. At worst, he would lose the war and commit seppuku. Who could claim his life! Masamune wore a look of pride and raised his chin slightly. “Lord Nobushige, you’re the one who’s wrong. I am not wrong.” Theme: