Deep in the night, inside the top chamber of the keep at Gifu Castle, candlelight flickered, casting three long shadows across a massive map on the wall. This was no chart of any province in Japan. It was a complete map of the continent of Teyvat, pieced together over years through ninjas, merchants, and unspeakable channels.

 

Oda Nobunaga, clad in a deep-red jinbaori, rested both hands on his famous katana, Kiriichimonji. His hawk-like eyes swept over every corner of the map, finally settling on the island nation shrouded in thunderstorms to the east.

“First step: Inazuma,” he declared, his voice low and unshakably authoritative. “A heaven-sent gateway, its name echoing our own ‘Nippon.’ Is this not the will of heaven?”

 

Across from him, Tokugawa Ieyasu nodded slightly. Little emotion showed on his round face as he spoke calmly:

“Lord Nobunaga speaks wisely. Under Inazuma’s Sakoku Decree, the nation is isolated from the outside, and rebellion stirs within. We may borrow the strategy of ‘holding the sovereign to command the lords’—find a suitable ‘shogun,’ either support or replace them, and seize the Raiden Shogun’s realm at minimal cost.” He paused. “In the early stages, infiltration and alliances shall be our priority. Avoid direct confrontation with the Electro Archon.”

 

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, not yet granted the title of Kampaku, already burned with ambition. He rubbed his hands, his characteristic smile mixing shrewdness and greed.

“Heheh, leave this to me! Winning hearts, dividing enemies—this is my specialty. Among the Kanjou Commission and Tenryou Commission, there must be those dissatisfied with the status quo. Gold, promises, and a little… gentle pressure. They will open the gates for us.” His small eyes glinted, as if already watching the flags change over Inazuma City.

 

Nobunaga grunted in approval. His finger shot west, stabbing at the land of wind and freedom.

“Once Inazuma is secured, Mondstadt shall be next. Its defenses are weak, its Knights scattered—perfect prey for a cavalry charge.” He glanced toward the silent space where Takeda Shingen would have stood; though absent, his army was already a key piece on Nobunaga’s board.

“The Red Bear Corps of the Tiger of Kai will show the grasslands of this foreign world what it means to be swift as wind and fierce as fire. Shingen’s target is Mondstadt. Strike fast, capture the upper ranks of the Knights of Favonius, and leave Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, with nothing to stand on!”

 

Hideyoshi quickly agreed:

“Lord Shingen is a military genius. The undisciplined knights of Mondstadt are no match. With that, we shall control the eastern and western arteries of Teyvat—able to advance or retreat at will.”

 

Nobunaga’s finger moved north, crossing mountains and snowfields to the frozen northern empire.

“Snezhnaya…” His tone held gravity and excitement. “A mighty military, bizarre technology, and the so-called Fatui spreading across the continent. They are not to be underestimated. For that very reason, we must strike before they react. A sharp blade, piercing their heart before they can blink, disrupting their plans and keeping them occupied.”

 

“Date Masamune,” Ieyasu uttered slowly. The One-Eyed Dragon’s bravery and cunning made him ideal for high-risk raids.

“Lord Masamune commands elite teppo troops and excels at surprise attacks. Send him with a strike team, crossing through Sumeru or Fontaine, disguised as merchants or adventurers, to infiltrate Snezhnaya. Destroy key facilities, assassinate officials, sow chaos. Not to conquer, but to cripple and contain.”

 

Hideyoshi added:

“At the same time, spread rumors within Snezhnaya—that their Tsarina’s ambition has drawn the gaze of the Heavenly Principles, or frame other nations, leaving them unable to interfere.”

 

Nobunaga nodded. His gaze shifted south to Teyvat’s richest and most ancient land: Liyue. His finger traced its vast territory, then split into two paths.

“Liyue is vast and wealthy, its ports prosperous. Though Morax, the Geo Archon, has ‘passed,’ his legacy remains. The Seven Liyue Qixing and the Millelith are not easily defeated. We cannot crush them by force—we must divide them.”

 

He pointed southwest to the cloud-shrouded mountains of Yumenoki Valley.

“This region is remote, weakly controlled by Liyue’s core, and rich in rare jade and herbs. Asakura Yoshikage and Azai Nagamasa…” Nobunaga spoke their names flatly, as if referring to tools.

“They excel at mountain warfare and hold old grudges against each other. Order them to march on Yumenoki together, keeping watch on one another as they fight for resources and land. This weakens Liyue’s flank and drains their strength—two birds with one stone.” Such was classic Oda manipulation: turning internal tension outward through conquest.

 

Ieyasu frowned slightly but did not object. He understood Nobunaga’s true intent—using their military skill while guarding against future rebellion.

 

Finally, Nobunaga slammed his palm onto Liyue Harbor.

“When Yumenoki burns, Snezhnaya is in chaos, and word of Mondstadt’s fall spreads across the continent, Liyue Harbor will tremble. Then…” He turned to Hideyoshi.

“You, Hideyoshi, shall personally lead the elite of the Oda and Tokugawa armies, joined by forces rested in Inazuma and Mondstadt. Advance by land and sea. Storm Liyue Harbor!”

 

Hideyoshi nearly leaped up in excitement. He knelt and bowed, his voice sharp with fervor:

“As you command, Lord Nobunaga! I shall stand at the front, ‘invite’ the Seven Liyue Qixing with all due respect. If they refuse…” He lifted his head, a cold glint in his eyes.

“I will crush Liyue Harbor with thunderous force, and let this foreign world witness the might of Japan’s Sengoku warriors! With Teyvat’s richest port under our rule, wealth and resources will be ours. Conquering the entire continent will be within reach!”

 

Tokugawa Ieyasu remained silent, studying the marked invasion arrows while calculating his own gains. How would supplies cross unstable spatial rifts? How to counter the mighty Vision-bearers of each nation? How would the unspoken Heavenly Principles on Celestia react? Above all… if Nobunaga’s radical plan failed, the disaster would be unimaginable.

Yet he kept his doubts buried deep, as he always did. He quietly planned: if the invasion succeeded, how the Tokugawa clan would claim the most fertile lands. If it failed, how he would preserve his strength… and perhaps become the final victor.

 

Crackling candlelight illuminated the three future rulers of Japan:

Nobunaga, wild and resolute;

Hideyoshi, eager and opportunistic;

Ieyasu, deep and restrained.

 

This grand invasion blueprint spread like a carefully woven net over distant Teyvat. Inazuma’s storms, Mondstadt’s winds, Snezhnaya’s ice, Liyue’s stone—all seemed to tremble beneath the ambition of the Sengoku stars.

 

Yet a map was only a map, and a plan only a plan. Teyvat was no static sand table. Its gods, humans, and monsters held their own will and power. When the Sengoku hoofbeats truly stepped onto this magical land, would dreams become reality… or ambition shatter into dust?

All remained uncertain.

 

Nobunaga slowly rose and walked to the window, staring into the black night sky as if piercing through time and space to the new continent of opportunity and peril.

He laughed low and confidently:

 

“Let Teyvat… tremble before our blades.”

Japan’s ambition in World War II: It first annexed Korea and occupied Northeast China, then attempted to invade and rule the whole of China, followed by dominating Southeast Asia and controlling the Western Pacific. Ultimately, it sought to divide the world by force and establish a Japan-dominated colonial hegemony system in Greater East Asia. Its essence was militarist external expansion, plundering land, resources and labor, enslaving Asian countries, breaking the international order, and striving for hegemony over Asia and even the whole world.