Mitsuhide was not only promoted by Nobunaga to the extent that he would not seem like a masterless samurai, but also rescued by Nobunaga in the Ishiyama Hongan-ji war; when Mitsihide was surrounded by 15,000 soldiers; Nobunaga rescued him with about 3,000 soldiers, himself taking blows at the front line; Mitsuhide seems to have been favored by Nobunaga after this episode.
光秀は信長から浪人とは思えないほど取り立てられただけではなく、信長は石山合戦では1万5,000の兵に光秀が取り囲まれていたところを自ら前線に立ち傷を負いながらもわずか3,000ほどの兵で救出しており、この事からも光秀は信長からかなり眼をかけられていたようである。