Chapter 18 Part 3 - Since I was reborn as Saito Yoshitatsu, I'm aiming to hand over the territory to Oda Nobunaga and live longer!

1536 (Tenbun era, year 5)

TL: Yuina

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　A few days later, we all decided to work out together. Hikotaro, aka Mitsuhide, was watching and imitating radio gymnastics. I'll have to teach him how to do it properly next time.

　Most of the other Kosho already knew how to perform these exercises. Some of the movements he was aware of were wrong, so he just corrected them and the preparatory exercises were over.

　Hineo Yajiemon Morinari was the best at training the bow. He was the only one who could hit the target with accuracy. Okuda Sanemon Toshinao was the only one with a bow that was at least twice as big as the others, and he was able to hit the target even when it was far away. It seems that he is not only tall but also has considerable arm strength.

　I'll just have to say that if you have never touched a bow in your previous life, it's almost impossible to hit the target when the distance is too great. As for the bow, I have no sense of distance at all.

　My father's favorite, Osawa Jirozaemon Masahide, was a great spear-bearer. At any rate, he knew how to keep his distances. Even if you provoke Jirozaemon, it never reachs him, and he would always make a good impression in the end. He seemed to be on good terms with the daughter of my father's concubine, who was two years older than me, and my father told me that he might become my brother-in-law one day.

　I thought I could manage a bit better with a spear because I had some physical skills, but I was a little shocked to lose to Jirozaemon, who was about the same size as me. My school's choice of martial arts was judo, so my swordsmanship was at the bottom of the list. I don't think that my physical skills are so bad, but... compared to all these famous commanders, I can't help feeling pathetic.

　A younger boy named Tani Kotaro was a good equestrian. He seems to have inherited the family name from his uncle who served the Asai clan, and because of his friendship with the Asai, he came to our house as a Kosho. There were many people in the Saito family who were good at horsemanship due to the fact that they had possessed many Kiso horses. However, the youngster was still on another level, he has the nerve to pick up the first horse he comes across and ride it immediately.

　On the other hand, I am able to ride my beloved horse, which I tend to leave to Shinshichi to take care of, but I can't do many things involving such dexterity, and the horse doesn't seem to like it either. I don't have a problem moving around with it, but I don't think the day will come when I can ride it on the battlefield ant time soon.

　There is only one problem, the fact that I myself am no match for my peers in terms of martial arts. Actually, this is not a problem. It's normal that I can't beat the younger Hikotaro Mitsuhide in almost all of the martial arts, he was said to be the best warrior in the Sengoku period. I don't regret it. I don't regret it. I'm not frustrated at all!

　The true problem is their lack of cohesion. Even when my uncle called for a gathering, they would come close to each other, but they wouldn't gather neatly. Even when running in the mountains, there was no cohesion, no discipline, and their gait was disjointed.

　So I decided to summon up my knowledge from elementary and junior high school, and teach them how to line up and march.

　The important thing was to fix a standard position for the whole group and line up at equal distances. They should be able to adjust their stride length by walking with their feet up. Maintain a certain distance by waving their hands.

　Since the children of the samurai were well-disciplined, they managed to master these skills in a week. Even so, the fact that it took them a whole week made me think that this was surprisingly difficult. 

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