Several days had passed since Ginryu resumed his journey to the Oda clan. 

Upon his arrival, he was warmly welcomed due to his discreet efforts in earning the favor of various greedy retainer’s and clansmen by using some money. 

Moreover, the doctor he had dispatched several months earlier had provided significant aid to the Oda clan. 

Earlier in the year, Oda Nobuhide's illness had worsened, leading to his collapse. 

The timing of the doctor's arrival, orchestrated by Ginryu, coincided with this critical moment, ultimately saving Oda Nobuhide's life temporarily, though he remained confined to his bed.

Capitalizing on this opportunity, Ginryu strategically timed his visit and requested for Goemon and Inuchiyo. 

While Oda Nobuna would typically have hesitated to involve Inuchiyo, someone she viewed as a little sister, in such matters, Nagahide's persuasion convinced her to relent. 

She planned to designate anyone chosen by Ginryu to monitor him, and she was particularly pleased that Goemon had been selected.

Goemon, currently leading a group comprising militia men, brigands, and hunters, also served as a Ninja under Kinoshita Toukichiro. 

Her role as a Ninja made her an ideal spy for Nagahide's scheme to infiltrate the Kemono merchant group. 

Convincing Toukichiro was not challenging, given his unwavering loyalty to Nobuna.

Nagahide and Oda Nobuna found it peculiar that a group like the Kemono merchants would offer assistance to a relatively unknown lord, especially one dubbed the "fool of Owari." 

They suspected that Ginryu's intentions were not solely rooted in loyalty or faith in Nobuna. 

His unusual requests and mysterious background prompted them to place Goemon and Inuchiyo by his side for surveillance.

Despite their reservations, they recognized the influence and power wielded by the Kemono merchant group, acknowledging that Nobuna would benefit from their support. 

Following Ginryu's arrival and request, he was accommodated in a luxurious room with assigned servants. 

Not allowed  to meet Nobuna, Ginryu remained unfazed, having accomplished the initial phase of his plan. 

His next objective was to win over or coerce Goemon and Inuchiyo.

Ginryu had already deduced reasons why Goemon and Inuchiyo were omitted from the list shown to him by Nagahide. 

The list primarily comprised names of individuals he had influenced or was connected with within the Oda clan, including Nobuna’s brother, Nobukatsu's loyal vassals. 

This indicated that they desired for someone on their side to be close to him, this is why Ginryu had to employ such a round about approach to enlist the individuals he sought. 

This was all part of his plan although with slight variations in the results here and there.

That same day while seated in his room, Ginryu sensed a presence above the ceiling, he playfully remarked, "Hmm, you can come in through the door, you know." 

“Awawawawa” Startled, Goemon's panicked sounds resonated before she composed herself and presented herself before Ginryu. 

Intrigued, Ginryu engaged her in conversation. “Ho, what an entry. You must be Goemon” Ginryu asked.

"Hachisuka Goemon, here to serve Ginryu-sama," Goemon said in introduction while bowing.

"Sniff, sniff," the cub left Ginryu’s arms and rushed towards Goemon, sniffing her. They were curious about the new stranger before them.

Yang even licked the skin of Goemon as if tasting her. 

"Please don’t let them eat me," Goemon requested in response while shivering.

"Relax, they won’t bite unless I tell them to. Anyway, great to finally meet you, Goemon-chan," Ginryu replied as he approached her.

As the interaction unfolded, Goemon found herself in a peculiar position, tasked with serving a man unfamiliar to her, assigned by her lord to observe and assist. 

Although willing to fulfill her duty, she couldn't shake off the surreal feeling of serving this stranger, caught between her loyalty to Toukichiro and Oda Nobuna, her ultimate lord.

“How can I serve Ginryu-sama?” Goemon asked, recomposing herself and trying not to stutter. 

Ginryu found it cute; she was just as he envisioned her to be, but he still had to be careful. He was aware that she didn’t belong to him yet. 

“Well, grab a seat or something. I will tell you your tasks after Inuchiyo arrives,” Ginryu said to Goemon. 

“Hai, Ginryu-Sama,” Goemon replied and sat down while under the scrutiny of the cubs. 

No one had told her that her new lord would have such scary animals around him. 

“Uhm… can… yo… tell them to leave me,” Goemon asked again while stuttering. 

“Relax, like I said they won’t do anything. Besides, don’t you find them cute?” Ginryu replied. 

‘Cute, these things,’ Goemon thought as the cubs kept biting her clothes, making a game of pouncing on her as if hunting. 

This frightened her as in her eyes, she saw them as their fully grown selves. 

Sometime later, Inuchiyo arrived in the room bringing along her spear. 

“Maeda Inuchiyo here to serve Ginryu-sama,” Inuchiyo introduced. 

“Welcome Inuchiyo, I am glad the Oda clan was willing to bestow such fine retainers to me,” Ginryu replied. 

He didn’t want to stay long within the current Oda clan for long. 

He initially thought that it would take a while before Inuchiyo and Goemon were bestowed to him, but surprisingly they were given to him quite fast. 

There was no way that he could get them to willingly take his blood while within the Oda clan, so he needed to leave with them for a while to set another plan in motion before canon events began. 

“Now onto your tasks, you will be traveling with me for a while. Goemon would be my messenger, and Inuchiyo, you will be my guard,” Ginryu said to them. 

“When will we be departing?” Inuchiyo asked, while Goemon looked a bit flustered. 

“We will be departing in two days, so be ready by then. I like to travel small, so it will just be the three of us and the cubs,” Ginryu replied. 

“I see, I will go and begin making preparations,” Inuchiyo said before exiting the room. 

Goemon wanted to leave too, but the cubs didn’t let her, so she remained there for a while longer before leaving. 

‘Sigh, hopefully the plan goes well, then I can return to twins and Yoriichi. It’s about time I began learning the breathing method from him anyway,’ Ginryu thought. 

He wanted to learn the sun breathing style to see if it could boost his strength in any way. 

He wasn’t interested in the swordsmanship itself but the breathing method that boosted the strength of the body. 

Considering his stats were already quite high, he wondered if the breathing style would have any effect on him. 

“Lucia, bring up my status screen,” Ginryu asked his system AI. 

“Hmf,” Lucia scoffed in reply. 

“Eh, what’s wrong?” Ginryu asked, perplexed at why she would ignore him. 

“You haven’t been using the system a lot, and you barely talk to me. Why?” Lucia asked. 

“Uhm, there hasn’t been much to do until recently, and I basically laze around most of the time, so…” Ginryu replied. 

“I am just kidding; I can’t refuse your command anyway. But you making up an excuse in reply for me is what I like about you. Tehe!!” Lucia replied while bringing up the status screen. 

“You…” Ginryu wanted to retort, but he ended up saying nothing. 

Lucia had grown a lot as an AI over the years, becoming more and more realistic with each day. 

That’s why he tried to kept minimal interaction with her. 

He feared that he would end up like those MCs who end up falling in love with their system AI  or something along those lines. 

He had read many books like that in his past life, after all.