“Anyway, Yoshinobu-sama, I rode hard to get here with sixty additional retainers and to ask that Yuki here be made personal bodyguard to Nagasama,” Yagyu said.

  Jii’s jaw dropped almost as far as Hideki’s did.

  Hideki could stand the silence no longer. “I am responsible for Naga’s security. Why does he need a personal bodyguard?” he demanded.

  Yagyu turned his attention to Hideki. “I am sure you are doing an excellent job in protecting your brother, Hideki-sama, but Yuki is trained in many weapons and I believe she could match swords with any man in this audience. Is that not so, Yuki?”

  Yuki placed her bowl down and started looking at each of the Yoshinobu and then at each of the retainers. She stopped when she got to Musashi. “All but him, Yagyu-sama,” Yuki said. “I believe he is formidable.”

  All eyes went to Musashi. Yagyu stared at him intensely. “Yes, I see what you mean, Yuki.” Then addressing Musashi he asked. “And may I know your name, sir?”

  Musashi remained quiet. Jii spoke up. “Yagyu-sama, may I present a counselor to the Yoshinobu, Myamoto Musashi.”

  All three of the visitor’s heads whipped from Jii back to Musashi. “I have heard much of you Musashi-sama. It is a pleasure to finally meet you,” Yagyu began. “I understand you use two swords.”

  Musashi looked to Jii, who nodded.

  “I do use two swords on occasion. And it is my pleasure to meet the head of Yagyu Shinkage-ryu,” Musashi said as he returned the bow. “Your fencing style is renowned throughout the land.”

  “What do you call your system, Musashi-sama?” asked Yagyu.

  “I do not have a system, Yagyu-sama. I am beginning to see one in my head, but have not written it yet. I am toying with calling it ‘Ni-ten Ichi Ryu’.”

  “Ni-ten Ichi Ryu?” Yagyu questioned.

  “Yes, all my training has led me to believe that in wielding two swords, it is most important that you be of one mind,” Musashi explained. “Therefore … ‘Two Swords, One Mind’.”

  “I see, Musashi-sama. Thank you,” Yagyu said. “And what do you think of Nagamasa having a personal body guard?”

  Musashi looked to Jii again. He nodded his approval. “I think you had better ask Nagamasa, since it’s his body she will be guarding.”

  Everyone turned to look up at Naga. “If you think it will help, you can bring your maid,” Naga stated. There was a pregnant pause as everyone was shocked into silence. Hanzo gripped his hakama in fists as he tried to hold his temper. Yuki stared straight into Naga’s unconcerned eyes. Hideki wanted to say something and ease the sting of his brother’s words in comparing the lovely Yuki to a common house cleaner. Musashi was ice.

  Finally, Jii found his voice. “I believe what my grandson meant to say, is that he will welcome your help,” he stammered.

  Yagyu stared directly at Naga. The older brother seemed to be preoccupied with finishing his tea and very unconcerned about the impact of his remarks.

  Yagyu bowed only slightly in Naga’s direction when he announced, “The Yoshinobu are summoned to a meeting with the Tairo and Roju in two weeks’ time.”

  Jii nodded. He was expecting this. Yagyu watched Naga’s reaction. There was none. He was inspecting his teacup. Hideki wanted to reach over and slap his brother. He was shocked that Naga would demean the guests—especially Yuki—in such a manner, Hideki wondered.

  “Will anyone else be in attendance, Yagyu-sama?” asked Jii.

  Yagyu’s answer was a little louder than it needed to be. “Yes, I will be there representing the shogun. He has retired from active political life and leaves such courtly matters to me.”

  Again, there was no response from Naga.

  “Anyone else?” asked Jii.

  “You are as sharp as my spies report, Yoshinobu-sama. Yes, there will be two women present,” Yagyu advised.

  “Pardon my old head, Yagyu-sama. I’ve just gotten used to a female samurai in man’s clothes. Now you are telling me that women sit in at the highest levels of government?”

  Yagyu looked to Hanzo. Hanzo nodded and asked, “How much do you know about the succession, Yoshinobu-sama?”

  “I’m afraid I am very backward. Would you care to enlighten us all, Hanzo-sama?” Jii asked.

  “I do so with pleasure,” Hanzo replied. “Our current shogun, Hidetada, is retiring. Nevertheless, he may live for another ten years, or so he hopes. The original shogun, Ieyasu, did this when Hidetada came to power. This allows the new shogun to take the reins, but to have a former shogun available close by. There are now four potential successors from the Shinpan, the direct descendants of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Takechiyo is Hidetada’s eldest son, now called Iemitsu. There is a second son, Kunimatsu, now called Tadanaga. Then there are the Yoshinobu,” nodding in Naga’s direction and then to Hideki’s. “By Ieyasu’s edict, all stand before the Tairo and Roju and a successor chosen. Hidetada must remain aloof to the succession as per Ieyasu’s original instructions.

  “What is creating friction,” Hanzo continued, “is the fact that Hidetada is married to a strong woman, Oeyo from the Oda family. She keeps Hidetada’s life in turmoil. I think part of retiring is to be away from her. She is in favor of her second son Tadanaga being the next shogun, probably being against her first son due to his preference of boys over women. She has been currying favor with the Tairo and Roju, and thus attempting to align votes in favor of Tadanaga. As a counter, O-Fuku, Iemitsu’s wet nurse, has been doing the same thing for Iemitsu. She is a fearsome force in the palace. She knows everyone and many have fallen under her spell, and she has made promises and threats. She was once a favorite of the original shogun, Ieyasu. Given the court title of Tsubone, she alone has managed to keep Iemitsu’s name in play. There is a circus balancing act going on in Edo castle and it will all come to a conclusion soon with the picking of the next shogun.”

  Hanzo paused for effect, then, pointing at Naga, resumed. “While an unlikely selection, many are speculating that outsiders like the Yoshinobu, who are not tainted by palace politics, may have a good chance to be chosen. Some of the Tairo and Roju may see Nagamasa’s selection as a way out of the snake pit. But it would depend on how he presents himself to the government and at this meeting in two weeks.”

  Yagyu addressed Naga directly for the first time. “How does the tono-sama feel about his chances of being picked?”

  Jii started to speak, “Nagasama feels …” He did not get any further.

  Naga snapped, “Urasai, Jii-sama. I am capable of speaking for myself and the high counselor is no fool. All the fancy speech and court protocols will not impress him!”

  Hideki gripped the handle of his wakazashi. This was an unexpected turn of events. Naga was talking down to the shogun’s high counselor. “If swords come out I will go for Hanzo first,” he thought as he played events in his mind, “and hope that Musashi gets Yagyu.”

  All three of the guests tensed as Naga rose up, pushed his tray aside and stepped in front of Yagyu. He looked at all three and then sat down. He bowed to Hanzo first. “I ask your forgiveness for my rude remark to your daughter Hanzo-sama. It was impolite and should not have been said.” Then turning to Yuki he bowed again. “I apologize to you, Yuki-sama, for the remark, but I had to see what you were made of. If you were the fragile flower that your appearance portrays—had you left in a huff after having been insulted by a country diamyo—then I would have had no more need of you. You are made of sterner stuff, and I would greatly appreciate your assistance in any capacity that you deem appropriate.” Turning to Yagyu, Naga bowed deeply. “Yagyu-sama, Dozo oshiette kudasai. Please teach me. I am a country diamyo not worthy of consideration for the lofty position of shogun. However, if that burden befalls me, I will discharge the duties of the office to the best of my abilities unto death. I am not seeking this position, but if it happens, I will need your unselfish guidance and support, just as you have given for the last two Tokugawa.” Naga did not raise his head.

  Yagyu stared at the top of Naga’s head for a long moment. Then he slapped his thigh. “By the Buddha, we have a dragon at last.” He turned to Jii. “I am impressed. Most would want to know how to win the position. He talks of service, and a moment ago, he was insulting me to see how we would react. He is well-schooled in the way of the sword,” Yagyu said as he bowed to Jii, acknowledging the real mentor. Then he spun back to the bowed head of Naga. “Raise your head Nagamasa, and do not bow it again to me. It is I who serve you,” he stated as he bowed lower than Naga.

  Jii beamed. “Domo arigato, sensei.”

  Naga raised his head and grabbed a sake bottle and held it out to pour Yagyu a drink. Yagyu accepted with the shallow bowl in two outstretched hands and drank. Naga repeated the gesture for both Hanzo and Yuki.

  “Let’s get to work,” Naga said. “How will the meeting take place?”

  Yagyu nodded in agreement. “The place of honor in the ohiroma of the grand room will be vacant. When in attendance, the shogun sits on the raised portion. However, the current shogun’s wife Oeyo will probably be on the main floor to the right, facing you. I believe O-Fuku will be on the main floor just off the place of honor on the left. They will act as if neither exists. Along the left side, to the right of Tairo, will be the Roju in order of rank. I will be between the women facing you.” Yagyu paused to ensure all three Yoshinobu understood.

  “Once you and Hideki and Yoshinobu-sama”—nodding toward Jii— “enter, you bow. I will introduce you individually. Nagamasa will be first, then Hideki, and then Yoshinobu-sama. Once finished, and while still bowed, each of you will repeat your name and rank. I will then ask you to raise your heads. Please look at me first, then Oeyo, then O-Fuku, then the Tairo, then the Roju. Look into each person’s eyes, and then come back to me. I will welcome you to Edo castle and ask all gathered if they have any questions for you. Then the fireworks will begin.”

  “What sort of questions should I expect?” Naga asked.

  “Anything and everything,” Yagyu replied. “They will start innocently enough, but will turn ugly quickly. I fully expect that Oeyo and O-Fuku will align together just long enough to try and harm you.”

  “If I may, my Lord,” Yuki bowed, “you have called yourself a country diamyo. Your ability to lead the nation based on limited experience with a 100,000-koku fiefdom will surely be on everyone’s tongue. This is the biggest hurdle you will meet.”

  “Now I’m impressed,” Jii said. “Yuki is correct. It is our vulnerable area.”

  “I’m sure they will all try to trip me. I will just have to try and be prepared, to answer truthfully and with respect,” Naga asserted.

  “That is about all you can do, Nagamasa,” Yagyu affirmed. “But the vested interests will attempt to bait you, humiliate you, and anger you.” Shaking his head in disgust, he added, “We’ve come a long way since the Warring States era and the days of Sekigahara.” Then he turned to Jii. “We fought to end the wars so the people could have peace. Well, we have a semblance of peace, but we have not yet transitioned successfully into a peaceful government. The top is factionalized. Everyone tries to get ahead and be on the right team. Below it is no better. In Edo, the police are worthless extortionists and the magistrates are to blame. They line their pockets, and the common people have to rely on local ruffians to settle disputes and keep the police at bay. We did not fight for this, and as old as I am, I will not rest until we have fixed it.”

  Naga looked Yagyu in the eye. “If I am picked, what should I concentrate on first?”

  “Good question, Nagamasa. The problems of government are many. We have too many ronin roaming the cities, getting into mischief. I foresee big problems. In the country, the farmers are as stable as the weather and earthquakes allow. Their problem is being able to eat the rice they grow. We have a merchant class in the cities now that have become very powerful.”

  “How powerful are they?” asked Hideki.

  Yagyu had to turn to address Hideki. “Very powerful … they bribe the daimyos to sell the rice to them. They are so wealthy that some can hoard the rice in warehouses and create a false scarcity, driving up prices in the market. When they finally release some rice into the market, they double or triple their profits. But the poor of Edo suffer because they can’t afford the new higher prices.”

  “Scandalous,” Jii said. “Why do you let them get away with it?”

  “Hoarding is against the law, Yoshinobu-sama, but the police are bribed to turn a blind eye. If someone is caught and brought to trial, the magistrate is bribed,” Yagyu explained.

  Hideki thought for a moment. “So the power is in the money.”

  “Yes, that is correct. However, do not underestimate the merchant’s power. Most of the large merchants have a small standing army of ruffians with two or three ronin yojimbo bodyguards on staff for sword work. They can be quite violent.”

  Naga rubbed his chin. “This would require a serious change. It is not something that can be corrected gradually.”

  Yagyu smiled. “Absolutely!” he proclaimed. “Those are my thoughts exactly.” Then he calmed. “But where to start is the real quandary.”

  “Yagyu-sama, this is a basic question of right and wrong and of having the wrong men in positions of authority. I think we need to start with information,” said Naga.

  “Information, what kind of information?”

  “We must start on each end of the snake and work to the middle. You and I will work on the head with some sweeping changes if I am shogun. However, we must also make changes in the tail. We must start with the officials closest to the peasants. Who in the government are closest to the peasants?”

  Yagyu turned to Hanzo, who bowed slightly. “Well you know how it works in the country. The daimyo send retainers to inspect the farmers and town officials. In Edo the officials closest to the commoners are the juttes.”

  “Who and what are the juttes?” asked Naga.

  “A jutte is a single tined weapon that is the badge of office for the local police that work with the samurai detectives who report to the magistrates. Because most of the police are commoners with no martial training, the jutte is given them to defend themselves against swords.”

  “Against swords? Do not be ridiculous!” Jii snorted.

  Yagyu shook his head in the negative. “No, Yoshinobu-sama, juttes can be a very effective weapon against the average samurai these days, and it is an intimidating weapon against the populace at large.”

  “I suppose so,” Jii sighed. “Hideki here had a run in with just such a person in Kyoto.”

  Everyone looked at Hideki. He swallowed hard. “What?”

  “Tell us of your run in?” requested Hanzo.

  “It wasn’t much. Two police, that I now believe to be a jutte and a police officer, were accosting a young temple girl and I had the fortune of watching a jo master deflect a jutte strike with the blunt end of his jo without looking.” offered Hideki.

  Yuki and Hanzo exchanged glances. “That is a remarkable story Hideki-sama. Such a person would come in handy on our trip,” Hanzo stated.

  “I don’t know about our trip, but he sure came in handy a few minutes later when thirty fox-masked bandits tried to kill me.”

  “What?” asked Yagyu. “Where was this? When was this?” he asked, looking nervously at Hanzo.

  “Kyoto at Ichijoji temple, four nights ago,” Hideki said.

  “Thirty bandits, Hideki-sama? You must be very skilled,” Yuki teased with a slight bend in her head.

  Hideki got red and shook his head in the negative. “No Yuki-san. Between the jo master and Musashi-sensei, I had little to do.”

  “Do not believe him Lady Yuki,” Musashi stated. “Hideki is very skilled, and initially all thirty descended on him alone.”

  Yuki tilted her head at Hideki. “Maybe there are two swords I would not want to cross in the Yoshinobu,” she said. Hideki’s face continued to glow red.

  “This is worse than I thought,” asserted Yagyu. “If they are raiding in Kyoto, our barriers have failed to detect them. Hideki-sama, can you verify that the foxes are ninja?”

  “I cannot, as I do not know their ways. However, Musashi-sensei says they were, and we have a more expert witness who says the same thing,” Hideki stated.

  “Musashi-san, do you concur?” asked Yagyu.

  “Yes. I have fought ninja before as well as the yamabushi mountain monks who were the forerunners of ninja. The foxes were ninja.”

  “May we speak to the expert that fought them?” Yuki asked. “If he was able to identify them by their weapons or tactics, we might have a better place to start in tracking and eliminating them.”

  “Beauty and brains, too,” Naga mused. He turned to Hideki. “What say you brother? He is your friend.”

  “I think this is too much light for Yoshi,” Hideki replied.

  “Nonsense,” Jii said. Then, pointing to the page, he motioned for Yoshi, who nervously moved to the center of the room next to Yuki and bowed to Naga. “Yoshi, desu,” Yoshi said.

  Yuki turned to him and gave an elaborate finger-weave pattern. Yoshi watched, trying to remember the counter pattern, which he then traced.

  Hanzo took over the questioning. “Who are your people?”

  “We are known as the Dewa from Shiga province, Lord,” Yoshi said.

  “I thought you were all gone. I knew a master ninja from there as well as a witch,” Hanzo said.

  “The master was my father and the witch is my mother-in-law,” Yoshi said.

  “He meant no offense,” Yuki injected.

  “I know,” Yoshi stated.

  Hanzo turned to Yagyu. “He is ninja alright and taught by the best,” Hanzo proclaimed as Hideki beamed proudly.

  “Yoshi-san, were the fox masks you fought a few days ago ninja?” Yuki asked.

  “Yes, madam. They were ninja.”

  “Yoshi-san,” Hanzo started. “Could you tell where they were from by their weapons or their tactics?”

  “I could not. It was dark and they did not speak. But there were two things that I found unusual … “

  “Go on,” Yuki encouraged.