Tyranny of Steel

In the southernmost portion of Japan, a young captain leaned his Type 4 rifle onto his shoulder as he smoked a cigarette within the courtyard of the Satsuma Clan's castle. The man's appearance was unkempt, as his mid length black hair ran ragged down to his neckline. His unshaven face gave this officer the look of a rogue, which was complimented by his uniform that had been tattered and stained beyond repair.

This man was named Tsugaru Akihiko, and he had been among the ranks of many young peasants who found themselves conscripted into the Armed Forces of the Japanese Empire. Unlike many of his peers, Tsugaru had showed great ingenuity in the field, and had even earned himself a battlefield commission as he fought against the enemies of Japan.

However, after General Shiba had declared himself Shogun, and in doing so, reinforced the power and influence of the old Samurai Clans, Tsugaru became increasingly rebellious, to the point where he and his entire company deserted from the ranks of the Imperial Japanese Army, while taking all their equipment with them.

For months Tsugaru and his rebels had wandered the Japanese mainland with no true aim until they found themselves in the lands that belonged to the Satsuma clan, where they quickly seized and occupied a small town.

For some time, Tsugaru and his men had been living in this town within the borders of the Satsuma Clan's territory, exploiting the locals and their labor to their own ends. As if they had suddenly become their own feudal lords.

Naturally, the Satsuma clan had taken offense to this, and as a result, a small skirmish had broken out. The result of this battle was displayed around the rebel leader, who gazed upon the mountains of dead bodies that were now piled within the courtyard of the Satsuma Clan's main castle.

Kneeling in front of Tsugaru was the head of the Satsuma Clan, who had a bullet hole in his gut. The man kept whimpering and begging to the point where now Tsugaru found it tiresome.

"Please... Give me a sword so I can have an honorable end!"

Perhaps this constant begging for an honorable death had taken a toll on Tsugaru, but the rebel leader quickly raised his rifle and fired a single shot through the old Daimyo's head, thus ending his life, and in doing so killing off the last of an ancient bloodline.

Once the elder of the Satsuma clan had passed, the sound of slow clapping emerged from somewhere else in the courtyard, where Tsugaru quickly raised his rifle and aimed his iron sights in its direction.

Stepping out of the shadows was a gorgeous Korean woman that Tsugaru was not expecting. The smile on Min-Ah's face was enough to force the rebel leader to lower his weapon. Where he gazed upon the foreign beauty with a hint of lust on his face. However, before he could say something smooth, Min-Ah opened her mouth and explained her reason for visiting such a remote location.

"It seems you have done well for yourself, Captain Tsugaru Akihiko... Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nam Soon-Hee, and my employer wishes to make use of your services."

Tsugaru raised his brow in curiosity as he slowly approached the woman who had decided to reveal herself. He was quite cautious after hearing that she had been sent by someone to contact him and was quick to inquire about this.

"Your employer? And who might that be?

A confident smile emerged on Min-Ah's face as she pulled something out of her sleeve and activated it with a click of a button. Immediately Itami's voice began to play throughout the courtyard, causing Tsugaru's men to rush towards the source of this sudden disturbance, only to find the scene of their leader speaking with a stranger.

The recording was the speech Itami had made in Kufstein, which caused these deserters to stand by silently and wait for it to finish. Once the speech was over, Min-Ah smiled once more before continuing her introduction.

"My employer has sent me here, because we have gotten word of groups like yourself, deserters, who are upset with the current establishment. The Empress assures you that if you take up arms for her cause, you will be handsomely rewarded. And that expresses that she sympathizes with your plight.

The old system that has ruled over Japan for countless generations is clearly broken. It is time to burn it to the ground and start from scratch. In the Empress's vision of this new Japan, there will be no samurai, no daimyos, and certainly no shoguns.

Men like yourself, who are intelligent and capable, can rise to prominent positions through their personal merit. I assume that's why you and your men provoked a fight with the Satsuma clan? Because you are sick of the Samurai and the power they unjustly wield in this society?"

Min-Ah had nailed the issue on its head. That was precisely why Tsugaru and his men had provoked a conflict with the Satsuma clan. They were sick of the Samurai telling them what to do and wanted to change the status quo.

If this foreign beauty really worked for the Empress, and her claims were true, then Tsugaru did not see a reason why he should not join Itami's cause. However, he led only a single company of men, and they were already running low on supplies, especially after this battle. Just what could they do against the might of Shiba's legions? Thus, he was quick to express this point.

"As much as I find myself entertained by your offer, I'm afraid that my men and I are incapable of helping you. Even if we wanted to fight against the usurper, and end his reign of terror. We don't have the means to do so..."

Naturally, Min-ah had a solution to this, and instead of explaining her plan, she merely pointed up to the sky, where a large cluster of crates was falling from the sky. Tsugaru had not even seen the aircraft which had dropped the cargo, but he had seen enough fallschirmjägers deploy from the sky to know what a parachute was. Thus, he and his men raised their rifles in preparation for a heated conflict.

However, as the parachutes came closer to the ground, the Japanese rebels noticed that they were not in fact soldiers, but crates, carrying what could only be supplies. These crates landed softly in the courtyard, where Min-Ah gestured towards them with a confident smirk on her pretty face.

"Open them..."

Tsugaru did as Min-Ah had said, and motioned for his men to open the crates. Which when they did, they found all kinds of supplies. From vacuum sealed MREs to cases of munitions, and hundreds of weapons.

Food, medicine, mines, grenades, mortars, semi-automatic rifles, panzerfausts, fliegerfausts, light machine guns, pistols, shotguns, and everything else the rebels needed to fight a war against the Shiba Shogunate. There was even a field guide on how to wage guerilla warfare. It was all there for the rebels in these crates. Tsugaru reacted in utter disbelief, but before he could voice it, Min-Ah spoke once more.

"The Reich sends their regards... As you may be aware, the Empress has aligned herself with the Germans, and they intend to provide you, and others like you, with the means to fight against the Shiba Shogunate. So how about it, Captain Tsugaru? Or should I say, General Tsugaru? Will you swear your undying loyalty to the rightful empress of Japan, Itami Riyo?"

The fact that there were rations and medicine included in the supplies was more than enough for the men to decide in that moment where their loyalties lied. Even after capturing a small town and a castle, food was still a rare commodity in Japan during these troubling times.

More and more people starved to death with each passing day. By simply giving these rebels food, Itami had earned their loyalty. Thus, the men threw up their salutes and shouted a war cry they had not uttered in some time.

"Tennoheika Banzai!"

It was not just Tsugaru and his men that the German agents had begun to approach. All around Japan there were thousands of Japanese deserters, just like Tsugaru, who Berengar's agents were recruiting to Itami's cause.

Without even realizing it, Shiba now found himself opposed by an army of veteran soldiers who, for the sake of food and medicine, had declared their loyalty to their Empress. Thus setting the second stage of the German-Japanese War.