Shogun

your men together.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“And you must be Kasigi Omi-san. Your father’s an old comrade in arms of mine. You follow, too.”

“Yes, Lord,” Omi replied, his size increasing with the honor being done to him. “Thank you.”

Toranaga set a brisk pace. He had taken them with him to prevent them from talking privately with Yabu for the moment, knowing that his life depended on keeping the initiative.

“Didn’t you fight with us at Odawara, Igurashi-san?” he was asking, already knowing that this was where the samurai had lost his eye.

“Yes, Sire. I had the honor. I was with Lord Yabu and we served on the Taiko right wing.”

“Then you had the place of honor—where fighting was the thickest. I have much to thank you and your master for.”

“We smashed the enemy, Lord. We were only doing our duty.” Even though Igurashi hated Toranaga, he was proud that the action was remembered and that he was being thanked.

Now they had come to the front of the first regiment. Toranaga’s voice carried loudly. “Yes, you and the men of Izu helped us greatly. Perhaps, if it weren’t for you, I would not have gained the Kwanto! Eh, Yabu-sama?” he added, stopping suddenly, giving Yabu publicly the added title, and thus the added honor.

Again Yabu was thrown off balance by the flattery. He felt it was no more than his due, but he had not expected it from Toranaga, and it had never been his intention to allow a formal inspection. “Perhaps, but I doubt it. The Taiko ordered the Beppu clan obliterated. So it was obliterated.”

That had been ten years ago, when only the enormously powerful and ancient Beppu clan, led by Beppu Genzaemon, opposed the combined forces of General Nakamura, the Taiko-to-be, and Toranaga—the last major obstacle to Nakamura’s complete domination of the Empire. For centuries the Beppu had owned the Eight Provinces, the Kwanto. A hundred and fifty thousand men had ringed their castle-city of Odawara, which guarded the pass that led through the mountains into the incredibly rich rice plains beyond. The siege lasted eleven months. Nakamura’s new consort, the patrician Lady Ochiba, radiant and barely eighteen, had come to her lord’s household outside the battlements, her infant son in her arms, Nakamura doting on his firstborn child. And with Lady Ochiba had come her younger sister, Genjiko, whom Nakamura proposed giving in marriage to Toranaga.

“Sire,” Toranaga had said, “I’d certainly be honored to lock our houses closer together, but instead of me marrying the Lady Genjiko as you suggest, let her marry my son and heir, Sudara.”

It had taken Toranaga many days to persuade Nakamura but he had agreed. Then when the decision was announced to the Lady Ochiba, she had replied at once, “With humility, Sire, I oppose the marriage.”

Nakamura had laughed. “So do I! Sudara’s only ten and Genjiko thirteen. Even so, they’re now betrothed and on his fifteenth birthday they’ll marry.”

“But, Sire, Lord Toranaga’s already your brother-in-law, neh? Surely that’s enough of a connection? You need closer ties with the Fujimoto and the Takashima—even at the Imperial Court.”

“They’re dungheads at Court, and all in pawn,” Nakamura had said in his rough, peasant voice. “Listen, O- chan: Toranaga’s got seventy thousand samurai. When we’ve smashed the Beppu he’ll have the Kwanto and more men. My son will need leaders like Yoshi Toranaga, like I need them. Yes, and one day my son will need Yoshi Sudara. Better Sudara should be my son’s uncle. Your sister’s betrothed to Sudara, but Sudara will live with us for a few years, neh?”

“Of course, Sire,” Toranaga had agreed instantly, giving up his son and heir as a hostage.

“Good. But listen, first you and Sudara will swear eternal loyalty to my son.”

And so it had happened. Then during the tenth month of siege this first child of Nakamura had died, from fever or bad blood or malevolent kami.

“May all gods curse Odawara and Toranaga,” Ochiba had raved. “It’s Toranaga’s fault that we’re here—he wants the Kwanto. It’s his fault our son’s dead. He’s your real enemy. He wants you to die and me to die! Put him to death—or put him to work. Let him lead the attack, let him pay with his life for the life of our son! I demand vengeance.?.?.?.”

So Toranaga had led the attack. He had taken Odawara Castle by mining the walls and by frontal attack. Then the grief-stricken Nakamura had stamped the city into dust. With its fall and the hunting down of all the Beppu, the Empire was subdued and Nakamura became first Kwampaku and then Taiko. But many had died at Odawara.

Too many, Toranaga thought, here on the Anjiro shore. He watched Yabu. “It’s a pity the Taiko’s dead, neh?”

“Yes.”

“My brother-in-law was a great leader. And a great teacher too. Like him, I never forget a friend. Or an enemy.”

“Soon Lord Yaemon will be of age. His spirit is the Taiko’s spirit. Lord Tora—” But before Yabu could stop the inspection Toranaga had already gone on again and there was little he could do but follow.

Toranaga walked down the ranks, exuding geniality, picking out a man here, another there, recognizing some, his eyes never still as he reached into his memory for faces and names. He had that very rare quality of special generals who inspect so that every man feels, at least for a moment, that the general has looked at him alone, perhaps even talked with him alone among his comrades. Toranaga was doing what he was born to do, what he had done a thousand times: controlling men with his will.

By the time the last samurai was passed, Yabu, Igurashi, and Omi were exhausted. But Toranaga was not, and again, before Yabu could stop him, he had walked rapidly to a vantage point and stood high and alone.

“Samurai of Izu, vassals of my friend and ally, Kasigi Yabu-sama!” he called out in that vast sonorous voice. “I’m honored to be here. I’m honored to see part of the strength of Izu, part of the forces of my great ally. Listen, samurai, dark clouds are gathering over the Empire and threaten the Taiko’s peace. We must protect the Taiko’s gifts to us against treachery in high places! Let every samurai be prepared! Let every weapon be sharp! Together we will defend his will! And we will prevail! May the gods of Japan both great and small pay attention! May they blast without pity all those who oppose the Taiko’s orders!” Then he raised both his arms and uttered their battle cry, “Kasigi,” and, incredibly, he bowed to the legions and held the bow.

They all stared at him. Then, “Toranaga!” came roaring back at him from the regiments again and again. And the samurai bowed in return.

Even Yabu bowed, overcome by the strength of the moment.

Before Yabu could straighten, Toranaga had set off down the hill once more at a fast pace. “Go with him, Omi-san,” Yabu ordered. It would have been unseemly for him to run after Toranaga himself.

“Yes, Lord.”

When Omi had gone, Yabu said to Igurashi, “What’s the news from Yedo?”

“The Lady Yuriko, your wife, said first to tell you there’s a tremendous amount of mobilization over the whole Kwanto. Nothing much on the surface but underneath everything’s boiling. She believes Toranaga’s preparing for war—a sudden attack, perhaps against Osaka itself.”

“What about Ishido?”

“Nothing before we left. That was five days ago. Nor anything about Toranaga’s escape. I only heard about that yesterday when your Lady sent a carrier pigeon from Yedo.”

“Ah, Zukimoto’s already set up that courier service?”

“Yes, Sire.”

“Good.”

“Her message read: ‘Toranaga has successfully escaped from Osaka with our Master in a galley. Make preparations to welcome them at Anjiro.’ I thought it best to keep this secret except from Omi-san, but we’re all prepared.”

“How?”

“I’ve ordered a war ‘exercise,’ Sire, throughout Izu. Within three days every road and pass into Izu will be blocked, if that’s what you want. There’s a mock pirate fleet to the north that could swamp any unescorted ship by day or by night, if that’s what you want. And there’s space here for you and a guest, however important, if that’s what you want.”

“Good. Anything else? Any other news?”

Igurashi was reluctant to pass along news the implications of which he did not understand. “We’re prepared