Nobuyuki Oda

Nobuyuki Oda is one of the commonly known names for one of Nobunaga's younger biological brothers. He is best known for engaging in a brief civil conflict with his brother for Oda clan leadership.

His Geten no Hana counterpart has two image songs, Kibou no Hikari and Hikari Sasu Mirai he.

Nobunaga's Ambition
Within this series, Nobuyuki tends to have average stats across the board and is commonly portrayed as an irredeemable and spineless traitor within historical events. Since the focus on the Oda civil war is abbreviated within these games, he tends to be killed moments after his introduction in events.

The earliest expansions of the online adaptation included Nobuyuki as a level 50 retainer for the Oda. A snappy and surly individual, he rarely expressed joy towards his visitors. Although his conversations suggest he is loyal to his brother, Nobuyuki has since been removed from the MMORPG.

Background Story
Geten no Hana establishes Nobuyuki as Nobunaga's only sibling with narrative significance. They would often play together during their childhood and shared dried persimmons together. When he wasn't being scared and crying in fright, Nobuyuki clung to their father's every word. Nobuhide soon became his idol. His father named him lordship of Suemori Castle during his early adulthood, a position and place he continues to treasure.

When their father became deathly ill, Nobuyuki stayed by his bedside and regularly brought him the flowers his father admired. The younger son stayed faithful to him, but Nobuhide would not cease complaining about Nobunaga's deplorable conduct. Although Nobuyuki yearned for his father's attention, he would not receive it. His world was shattered when Nobuhide perished on a stormy night. Nobuyuki felt another stake through his heart when Nobunaga was infamously disrespectful at their father's funeral service. The younger sibling tried to compose himself, but he was still distressed from his father's death to think straight. He cried endlessly for his father in private.

Nobunaga's rudeness divided the Oda vassals and the most discontent members colluded with Shibata to overthrow the young heir. They believed Nobuyuki would be a promising successor to their departed lordship and hounded the young noble to raise arms against Nobunaga. Morose by their insistence to kill his family, Nobuyuki refused their inquiries. His lone protest made him an outcast with the instigators who persisted to badger him at every opportunity. During one of his breaks, Nobuyuki visited his father's grave alone in tears. It was during this time that he spontaneously met Momoji. Although startled, Nobuyuki didn't question the shinobi's sudden appearance before him and decided to use the chance to vent everything which was bothering him.

Nobuyuki continued to refuse the conspirators upon his return. By now, the retainers began to view his empathy as a sign of cowardice. Shibata, the one most vocal in supporting Nobuyuki, had grown tired of his frailty and decided to defect to Nobunaga by first killing the younger brother on a windy evening. Nobuyuki was able to escape immediate death thanks to Momoji. Dumbfounded by the betrayal, Nobuyuki's mind broke when the shinobi explained the reasons to him. Nobuyuki quickly blamed his older brother for robbing him of his happiness and became obsessed with murdering him.

After Shibata's betrayal, Nobunaga began his conquests abroad. He gave Nobuyuki the job of officially visiting the conquered lords and lands, trusting his younger brother's diplomacy for addressing the people's complaints and concerns about their new leader. As he listened each lord in private, Nobuyuki had two main objectives: to do his duty faithfully if needed and to judge which ones still resented Nobunaga. He gladly colluded with the unfaithful ones towards his cause, enticing them to join him once he has laid the foundations for their attack. With Momoji's assistance and reconnaissance, Nobuyuki has spent the last six years gathering a private army for Nobunaga's doom.

A month or so before the main story, Nobunaga arranged for a break from his conquests at Azuchi Castle and ordered a handful of trusted retainers to join him. On the pretext of spending time with his brother and the Oda retainers, Nobuyuki gladly moved his base of operations to his personal villa in the castle grounds. Using his contacts, he then hired the shinobi, Rekka, who in turn recommended Hazuki. Although Hazuki had failed in his infiltration, Nobuyuki is confident he will find the opening he needs to strike his brother down.

Oda Nobunaga Den
Oda Nobunaga Den introduces Nobuyuki during the opening act sitting next to his mother, Toda Gozen. Characters frequently admire the younger brother's by-the-book mannerisms and compare him to Nobunaga. He assists his brother once to help topple rebellious forces in Gifu.

Following Nobuhide's funeral, Katsuie and other Oda retainers ignore their late lord's wishes by sweet talking Nobuyuki to revolt. He buys into their lofty opinions of him, and his pride is inflated. No longer a mild-mannered gentleman, he and his conspirators take advantage of Dōsan's demise to raise an army against his brother. Nobunaga isn't blind to their schemes and, after he recovers from losing his father-in-law, proceeds to crush his opponents at Inou. While Nobuyuki lives to lick his wounds, a disillusioned Katsuie privately defects to Nobunaga. The player is then given the option to either assassinate or spare Nobuyuki.

The former option has Nobunaga order Katsuie to give his brother a message: he is deathly ill and his brother should visit him at Suemori Castle. Nobuyuki is skeptical, but Katsuie goads him into believing it. He takes his mother with him as a precautionary human shield to deter Nobunaga from laying a hand on him. When they are guided to the villa, Nobuyuki enters alone and is killed off screen by one of Yoshinari's shinobi.

In the latter option Nobunaga chooses to ignore Nobuyuki and instead focus on pacifying his older brother, Nobuhiro. As Nobunaga's troops march towards Nobuhiro's army in Mino, Nobuyuki and his cavalry arrive from the east to threaten Nobunaga's headquarters. The player is forced to defeat both rebellious brothers simultaneously. If Nobunaga rests in a square next to Nobuyuki, the siblings will have a chance to share their respective scorn for one turn. Otherwise, Nobuyuki merely curses his ill luck as he perishes in battle.

Character Symbolism
His symbolic item is the spider lily. The red blossoms tend to be the most iconic for death, misfortune, and calamity. The petals are said to resemble the color of blood, and its toxicity has been feared for generations as a deterrent from being close to it. Its common name in contemporary times higanbishi is often spelled with the characters needed for the Japanese equivalent for the River Styx.

Yet ancient Japanese texts view the white spider lilies favorably as a divine blossom in Buddhism, thus leading it to be known as a celestial flower (天上の花, tenjou no hana) –although the same right has been argued for another bulb flower. A single line in the Manyoushuu has been argued to identify it as a "pure flower of clarity". Within the context of the poem it is used, the flower is a metaphor for a man's unadulterated love for his wife unknown to bystanders. The spider lily's argued association with these sources has led to its meaning "to only having eyes for you" in the flower language.

Historical Information
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