A/n: Based loosely off Goemon's route, because I can't remember if Nobukatsu survived in any other route.
Nobukatsu stopped his horse just outside the castle-town of Azuchi. Behind him, his men too slowed down to a halt. When he heard about Honno-ji, his immediate thought was: "The enemy must not be allowed to take Azuchi". So, without any plans or even bothering to assemble his troops properly, he had immediately rushed there.
He really should've made certain of who was responsible for the mess at Honno-ji before heading out. It would at least give him some idea of what to anticipate. Some had said it was the ninjas – those damned bastards – but there were also those who believed Akechi did it in rebellion. Or maybe they were all in it together; who knows?
He resisted the urge to groan. If father was here, he would probably yell at me again for being stupid – oh, wait...
He turned towards the town and stared at it silently. In the distance, he could see the castle's golden tower gleaming in the setting sun. Suddenly that the magnificent structure seemed so desolate and lonely to him.
"My lord, what do you want to do?" he heard on of his samurai ask.
Turning away from Azuchi, Nobukatsu said, "Evacuate the town and castle and then burn everything. The houses, the castle, fields and storehouses – everything. Leave nothing untouched by fire."
Gasps and murmurs resounded among the samurai. One of the spoke up, "My lord, surely you don't mean it!"
"Shut up and do as I say!" Nobukatsu snapped. "Tell everyone in town and the castle to leave. If they refuse, leave them to burn."
"But my lo – "
Nobukatsu growled. "Enough!" Gesturing towards the town, he continued, "My father built this place. It belongs to him and him alone. Now that he's dead, I will not allow anyone to claim this place, especially not his killers!"
He paused and let out a deep sigh. In the past he probably would have joined whatever army that was left at Azuchi and would have fought for revenge, but after his failure in Iga he no longer had the confidence. Should he ever fail to defend Azuchi, it would just be yet anothing insult to his father.
He turned his horse to face his troops. "If you all aren't willing to do it..." he said slowly, "... I will do it myself."
For a moment there was silence, and then the commander spoke up. "You all heard what the lord said. Let's go!"
The samurai looked at each other, still uncertain, but they followed the commander inside the town anyway. By dusk the entire town was covered in flames. As Nobukatsu led his men away, he turned back one last time and watched as the burning town made the darkened sky glow red.
"Goodbye, my lord father."
Nobukatsu later went on to serve Ieyasu Tokugawa. During the time of the Tokugawa Shogunate, he was allowed to own property and have the title of a feudal lord.
Bam! Angst.
Based on history (though if history was to be followed accurately, the ninjas would be dead because in reality Nobunaga squashed Iga so bad and Munenori is not even involved and the one who ruled the country after Nobunaga's death is Hashiba Hideyoshi and not Tokugawa, but I digress). After the Honno-ji mess, Azuchi was burned down, though exactly by WHO is unclear.