"Flags over Castles" by Viktor Dashkevich, summary Automatic translate

This book is a fantasy novel published in 2019. The text elegantly blends fantasy, mysticism, and the history of medieval Japan. The plot revolves around the return of legendary Japanese commanders to modern times through bioprinting and soul transmigration.

Resurrection and new plans

In a secret mountain shrine, Kato Kiyomasa returns to life. He was a great general of the sixteenth century. Kiyomasa awakens on a pedestal. He is surprised to realize that he has been given a youthful body of flesh and blood. He is greeted by his former enemy, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Tokugawa is dressed in a modern suit and also looks incredibly young. Ieyasu recounts the story of his return. His body was bioprinted by scientists at the Kitahana Corporation. They used stem cells and old DNA. The souls of the generals were transferred into new bodies using consciousness transfer technology. Ieyasu confesses that he wants to atone for his guilt before the Toyotomi clan. To this end, he plans to resurrect Hideyori, the heir he killed, and Ishida Mitsunari, a loyal vassal. Kiyomasa agrees to aid his old enemy for the sake of his lord.

The story of Russian student Alexander Odoevsky unfolds in parallel. His friends call him Sander. He returns to Russia from the United States after graduating from university. At a dacha by a lake, Sander quarrels with his businessman father. He flatly refuses to work for the family company, Theodolite. His father gives him a family heirloom: an ancient Japanese tanto dagger. Sander notices a water crest on the hilt. He decides to travel to Japan to find the descendants of the weapon’s owner.

In Tokyo, Tokugawa Yoshitada, the heir to a powerful corporation, is preparing to take over the family business. His grandfather shows him a secret project. It’s the resurrected Tokugawa Ieyasu. Yoshitada doubts the reality of what’s happening. At a meeting with his singer sister, Mitoko, he shares his suspicions. Yoshitada believes it’s all a scam. Soon, Sander arrives in Tokyo. Yoshitada roomed with him while studying at Harvard. The friends meet and discuss the strange things surrounding the closed temples. Sander suggests conducting a detective investigation.

A monster in the night city

Kiyomasa gradually gets used to the modern world. Ieyasu gives him a smartphone and a television. The enormous warrior admires technology, but he still has little control over his elemental powers of ice and water. He accidentally freezes the hotel plumbing. Then, he breaks the remote control, frightened by changing channels. Ieyasu takes his friend for a walk. Kiyomasa rides the tram and uses a debit card. He visits a motorcycle clothing store. Kiyomasa mistakes motorcycles for iron horses. He buys sweets at the supermarket.

Meanwhile, a series of brutal murders occurs in Nagoya. Three people are found torn to pieces in different parks. Senior Inspector Mori Wataru and forensic scientist Mori Ukyo arrive to investigate. They work for a secret government agency that monitors people with magical abilities. The experts understand the nature of the beast. The killer is a giant werefox called a mononoke, standing approximately eighty centimeters tall at the shoulder and weighing over seventy kilograms. The monster preys on weak people with elemental powers. The detectives discover that the mononoke is hiding in the body of the local shrine abbot, Ishida Tokichiro. The beast’s true nature is the hatred-mad spirit of General Ishida Mitsunari.

Sander comes to Nagoya to explore ancient castles. One night near Kiyosu Castle, he saves a young girl, Kimura, from a giant fox. Kimura works for the police and wields the weak power of lightning. Her attacks are useless against the monster. Sander fights off the beast with mysterious fireballs that appear from behind him. The fox escapes, severely burned. The police arrest Sander. Mori Wataru interrogates him. He finds no traces of magical power in the boy. Sander is released. The detectives decide to use the wounded monk Ishida as bait. They want to lure the mononoke out into the open.

The Return of the Lord and the Battle of the Elements

Kiyomasa and Ieyasu perform a ritual to resurrect their master, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The ritual is successful. Hideyoshi awakens in the body of a skinny teenager. He immediately attacks Kiyomasa with his fists. His master accuses him of treason and serving the Tokugawa. Kiyomasa meekly endures the beating. Ieyasu appears and endures Hideyoshi’s ridicule. Kiyomasa stabs Ieyasu with his sword at his master’s command. The wound instantly heals thanks to the power of regeneration. Hideyoshi refuses Ieyasu’s help. He flees the temple and enters the city. There, he buys shiny clothes and delightedly masters the television remote control.

Kiyomasa meets a descendant of his clan. Master Takumi owns a huge factory and a martial arts school. He crafts a special disassemblable spear for his ancestor. The super-strong alloy can withstand the temperatures of liquid nitrogen. During a test, Kiyomasa accidentally freezes the entire dojo, shattering the windows with a stream of icy energy. Later, Kiyomasa takes a brave young man, Asano Yukita, into his service. One evening, they are attacked by street thugs with knives. Kiyomasa easily dispatches them, killing the attackers with his bare hands. Horrified, Yukita leads his master away from the scene.

Hideyoshi and Yukita track down the monk Ishida Tokichiro. They hide in the trunk of his car and follow him to an empty castle parking lot. Kiyomasa follows them in a taxi. At night, the mononoke leaves its human body and hunts a lone passerby. She turns out to be a female police expert. Kiyomasa blocks the monster’s path. A deadly battle ensues. Kiyomasa unleashes the power of absolute cold, freezing the ground and air. The fox transforms into a gigantic three-tailed monster and attacks with incredible speed.

During the battle, the malevolent spirit of Otani Yoshitsugu appears. For centuries, he has fueled Mitsunari’s hatred. The ghost taunts Kiyomasa. Kiyomasa impales the fox with an ice spear. But he hesitates to finish off his old friend. He understands his guilt for his friend’s suffering. At that moment, Tokugawa Ieyasu appears. He uses the element of light. Ieyasu heals Mitsunari’s wounded soul. The beast disappears. A trembling monk remains on the grass. Mitsunari’s soul is purified and returns to his master, Hideyoshi. The ice magic’s effective range is approximately two kilometers. Mori Wataru and Mori Ukyo observe the battle from a car, capturing the might of the ancient warriors from a safe distance. A young woman, Kimura, learns the truth about her mentor and the secret organization. Detectives arrest the monk Ishida Tokichiro for complicity in the murders.

Prisoner of the Past

Sander and Yoshitada visit the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko. The abbot shows them a video of Ieyasu’s return ceremony. The friends are struck by the people’s genuine joy at the sight of the ruler’s divine aura. Sander compares it to the concept of an avatar. Yoshitada decides to test his suspicions. He calls the head of the clan, Kato Takumi, and tricks them into finding Kiyomasa’s cell phone number.

Yoshitada contacts Kiyomasa via video link. Seeing the boy’s face, Kiyomasa flies into a rage. Yoshitada has mismatched eyes. He bears a striking resemblance to Tokugawa Hidetada, Ieyasu’s cruel son, who ordered the burning of Osaka Castle. Kiyomasa believes Ieyasu has secretly resurrected his heir. He prepares for revenge. At that moment, someone shoots him with a poisoned needle. Kiyomasa falls unconscious. The spirit of Otani Yoshitsugu gloats over his defeat. The ghost whispers that this is the end of the road.

Kiyomasa regains consciousness. He feels intense nausea and a headache. He finds himself chained to a massive chair in a white room. Any attempt to use the power of ice is instantly blocked. The metal shackles heat up and burn his skin. The door opens, and Mori Wataru confidently enters the room. He announces that Kiyomasa is officially arrested for the triple murder of street thugs. Mori Wataru reveals his true identity: he is the bearer of the will of Kobayakawa Takakage, Kiyomasa’s mentor and dangerous adversary from the distant sixteenth century.