“On the other hand, how many people have the opportunity to change history?” Nichi reasoned. He looked at each person in the room. “Will I have any help in training the new police force?”

  “What kind of help do you want?” Naga asked.

  “I can pick the kind of men we need. I know who to approach and who to avoid. Most of them will be former samurai who have given up the swords to feed their families. They will jump at a chance to live interesting lives again and to pledge to a calling higher than gold. However, I will need help in training them in everything from how to use a jutte, to arresting techniques, to how to investigate. I will need help in all manner of things,” Nichi said.

  “Musashi’s father was an expert with the jutte. We can get him to teach the new men,” Hideki said.

  “I will arrange to have the yoriki in charge of the Osaka police to visit the Hatchobori and help with setting up administration and training in detective work,” Yagyu said.

  “I can help with tracking, trailing, and disguises,” Yoshi said.

  “You will have all the resources at my disposal, Nichi,” said Naga.

  Nichi nodded at everyone’s willingness to help. “Very well, Yoshinobu-sama, I accept your offer. I will run Edo for you.” Nichi said.

  “Domo arigato, Nichi,” Naga said.

  All present bowed to Nichi.

  Chapter 23: Payback

  Yoshi’s head popped up. He held up his hand to signal quiet to the gathering of important men. Everyone froze. Then he closed his eyes. “We are not alone.”

  They were still in the room in the Hatchobori. Nichi had just accepted heading up the new Edo police force. They had sealed the meeting with sake. Nichi had greatly appreciated the sake, but now felt a little uncomfortable in the presence of these high-ranking officials. Despite the light laughter and good wishes the occasion demanded, everyone was immediately serious at Yoshi’s announcement.

  “Female, I think … and in the rafters above the ceiling,” Yoshi announced.

  Everyone’s hands went to their sharkskin katana handles.

  Myo surprised everyone by speaking. “One day you must teach me that,” she said to Yoshi. Then she raised her eyes and then her voice to the ceiling. “Identify yourself,” she demanded.

  A feminine voice from the rafters responded. “Hai, Midori desu, Oyabun.”

  Myo directed her gaze back at the gathered men. “It is alright. She is one of mine.” Then back to the ceiling, “Enter!”

  A ceiling tile dislodged, and a black-clad obviously female figure dropped soundlessly to the tatami just beyond the circle of men. From head to toe, she was covered in black ninja garb. Only a space around her eyes showed. She stayed in a kneeling position with her head bowed. Her ninja sword handle protruded beside her head from its strapped position on her back.

  “I have had my suspicions for these last few years,” Nichi said. “Your information was always just a little too good to be coming from a courier service.”

  “Report!” Myo stated conversationally to the ninja known as Midori.

  “Hai. We believe we have found some of the Fox Gang,” she said.

  “Excellent! It is time we hurt them,” Naga exclaimed with just a little too much vehemence.

  “Easy, Naga,” Jii said. “You will not be part of this. You are too valuable to the country.”

  Hideki looked to Myo. “Where is the location?” he asked.

  Myo nodded to the female ninja. “It is a warehouse on the canal between Nihonbashi and Suruga Machi,” Midori replied.

  “I know the area,” Nichi said. “What is the name of the building?”

  “Daiwa,” was the response.

  “I know it,” Nichi said. “It is a rice warehouse with a mercantile store on one side and a boatyard on the other.”

  “How many Foxes?” Hideki asked.

  Again, Midori sought permission with a stare at Myo. Myo granted permission with a nod.

  “We think ten. There are about fifteen legitimate workers and boatmen and about the same amount of Yamakai-gumi.”

  Hideki looked at Nichi. “A little fact that slipped your mind?”

  “No,” said Nichi, “but a fact that may require my expertise.”

  Naga stood. “I need to get back to Yuki,” he said. “Let’s reconvene tomorrow with Musashi and Jubei at our mansion and come up with a plan. Hideki, you are in charge. Thank you all.” So saying, he turned and departed with Jii and Yagyu on his heels.

  “Nichi, do you know the location of the Yoshinobu estate?” Hideki asked.

  “No, Lord … but remember, I don’t like to walk,” the large man replied.

  “I will take you, Nichi,” Myo volunteered. “You only have to walk to the boat docks.”

  “Excellent,” Nichi said.

  “Then we meet tomorrow at our estate at the hour of the snake,” Hideki said.

  Myo and Nichi arrived at the Kanda landing a little before the hour of the snake. It was a short walk in a southerly direction to the Yoshinobu mansion. Nichi stopped to admire the compound. “It is not as big as my hotel, but it is much grander in its own way,” he said.

  Myo stopped to look as well. It was a fine samurai villa. It was like many she had infiltrated over the years. They were all massively fortified with samurai guards armed to the teeth. Nevertheless, samurai thought one way and ninja thought another.

  While samurai guarded the gates and patrolled streets, she looked for breaks in the wall made by trees, streams, or even the tiled ditches, known as binjo, that carried human waste from latrines to canals and rivers. Where samurai looked for armed intruders attempting to storm their compound, she sought to memorize a natural ebb and flow of the invisible people that came and went during a normal day.

  No one notices the old woman allowed entrance into the back gate to sell vegetables to the cook. No one pays much attention to the tinker who comes to mend pots and sells a few new utensils. No one ever goes near the Eta who collects dead bodies and cleans the latrines of the fancy houses and businesses of Edo. There were hundreds of ways to get around sentries, and Myo knew them all. So as much as the eight-foot-high, wooden fence around the compound with its hat-like topping with kiln fired, overlapping blue tile impressed Nichi, she saw it for what it was. It was a source of false security for those inside.

  However, stopping to stare with Nichi did allow her to reflect on how unusual it was for her to be going through the front gate, as if she belonged. The compound covered almost three acres, with an eight-foot wall surrounding everything.

  At the main gate there were two massive poles sunk deep into the earth, rising above the fence another eight feet. There was a horizontal cross member bolted onto the two vertical posts about twelve shaku, or fourteen feet, off the ground. Between the two large vertical posts were two massive doors that hinged outward from the posts, which in time of siege could be locked from inside with wooden beams. It was through the massive doors that horsemen and merchant carts entered. Just to the left of the two massive doors was a small wooden door built into the surrounding fence. This would remain open during daylight hours and would be the main avenue for foot traffic to and from the mansion.

  A raised walkway connected all the eight buildings. The central building sat parallel to the front gate and dominated the view. The large spine of the main building’s roof ran from left to right and seemed to fan out as its bluish tile sloped gently down to the top of the outbuildings. Each one of the outbuildings had the same sloping roof but in miniature. It was really quite an impressive array of buildings and a reminder of Hideki’s material wealth.

  “Could you see yourself being queen of the Yoshinobu mansion?” Nichi asked.

  Myo snapped out of her daydream. “Not me. I have no samurai blood.”

  “Sometimes they might make an exception. These Yoshinobu seem to be strange samurai,” Nichi said.

  “I am shinobi no mono. No samurai will make that big of an exception.” Despite her statement, Myo found herself imagining what it would be like to live with Hideki as man and wife in this big house. “I think it would be fine for a few weeks, and then I would get bored.”

  “Bored of what?”

  “Being queen of the Yoshinobu; do try to keep up, Nichi.”

  “You mean you could only boss servants around so many times before you would be longing for a good game of oichokabu in the gambling hall?” Nichi asked.

  “Something like that,” she said. What she really thought was that she would go out of her mind living in the confining world of samurai women. To not be able to travel when she wanted to, or hold her own in arguments with men, or not controlling her own destiny would crush her spirit. No, there were worse things than being ninja.

  They did not have to go through the double main gates. They presented themselves to the guard at the smaller door on the left. Their names were on a list. Then they moved across the hard-packed, wide dirt street where the buildings began. From the street, they stepped up onto a wooden walkway that ran throughout the compound and connected the buildings.

  Where the sidewalk met an outbuilding, it turned into an enclosed veranda. The floors here were not the rough-hewn planks of the sidewalks. Here the wood was worn smooth, polished, and set together seamlessly. The walkways were about three men wide with the outside edge encased in a knee-high fence of smooth, horizontal poles stained the same dark brown color as every other wooden structure in the compound. Above the knee-high fence were vertical poles reaching to the massive beams supporting the huge blue tile roofs. While on the walkway, one could see directly up into the beams in the latticework of smaller poles and slats that made up the base of the roof above.

  The inside wall of the walkway was comprised of fusuma doors and shoji walls. Behind the walls were large rooms at least 15 to 20 tatami. It was into one of these that Nichi and Myo were ushered. Once seated, an attendant brought tea on small, lacquered serving trays.

  Jii entered first and nodded to Nichi and Myo. They both bowed to him.

  “Early I see. That is a good sign,” Jii said.

  Then Hideki filed in, followed by Yoshi, Musashi, and Jubei.

  “Where is Naga?” Jii asked.

  “He is still in with Yuki and her father,” Hideki replied.

  Jii nodded his understanding, but was not happy with the delay.

  The next man that stepped into the room was uninvited.

  “Hanzo-sama,” Jii said. “We were not expecting you. How is your daughter progressing?”

  “She is getting stronger and stronger each day, thanks to Yoshi’s mother-in-law,” Hittori Hanzo, the leader of the shogun’s ometsuke and hereditary leader of the Iga ninja, nodded to Yoshi as he spoke.

  Naga came in behind Hanzo, bowed to all, and took his seat next to Jii.

  “I have asked Naga to allow me to witness this gathering of warriors.”

  He gazed at Jubei. “Jubei-sama I know. Go kudo sama deshita,” Hanzo said bowing, thanking Jubei for his hard work. He turned to Musashi. “Musashi-sama; my daughter has told me of your courage at Nihonbashi. Domo.” Then he stared at Yoshi. “Yoshi, it was truly fortunate that you did not carry out your original assignment. You have saved many lives since that day.”

  Yoshi returned his bow.

  Then Hanzo noticed the large man in the corner. “I do not believe I know this person.”

  Nichi was about to respond when Hideki cut him off. “Hanzo-sama, allow me to introduce Nichi, Naga’s new chief yoriki.”

  “Oh yes,” Hanzo said smiling. “In your new position, your sumo background may come in handy.”

  Nichi bowed. “I hope my wit will serve me better, Lord.”

  “Well said, Yoriki Nichi,” Hanzo laughed. “And who is this young woman?” he asked, moving in front of Myo.

  Myo bowed. “Myo de gozaimus, Lord,” she said, introducing herself in a polite form.

  “Myo is a valued member of our staff,” Hideki added.

  “Raise your face, Myo,” Hanzo said.

  She raised her head. Hanzo studied her face. “You would be the princess of the Five Families, unless I miss my guess,” Hanzo said.

  Myo remained silent.

  “You contracted to assassinate a Tokugawa. That is punishable by death,” Hanzo warned.

  Myo did not cower. However, she was fearful. This was the legendary Oni Hanzo. He was the ninja killer everyone called Devil Hanzo. Jii came to her rescue. “Enough Hanzo. Myo has been forgiven past transgressions and is now in our employ.”

  “Forgive me Yoshinobu-sama, but I do not believe you have the authority to forgive in this case. Her crime is a crime against the shogun.” He then pointed a finger at her. “Anyone who is a threat to the shogun must deal with me.”

  Jii shouted at Hanzo. “Do not make threats against my house, Hanzo! Before you can get to this woman, you must come through me.”

  Everyone was shocked at Jii’s defense of Myo. “She is nothing Yoshinobu-sama. She is a ninja,” Hanzo said. “I am to be your son’s father-in-law. Would you destroy your son’s future over her?”

  Jii’s response was measured. “She is my ninja, and I have given her my word. Neither you nor the shogun himself can make me break my word once given.”

  Hanzo smiled and squatted down in front of Myo. “You are truly blessed. These country samurai are hard to understand. They keep everyone on their toes trying to anticipate them. Do not give me reason to hunt for you,” Hanzo said as he rose and moved to the door. Once there, he stopped and addressed the room. “Thank you for the work you do this day. I want vengeance for my daughter.” Then he turned to Jii. “If I can be of any assistance, send for me.” He bowed, turned and moved through the sliding door.

  “Perhaps I should go,” Myo said to no one in particular.

  “No,” Hideki said. “You’re welcome here.”

  “You’ve nothing to fear child,” Jii said. “You are part of our household now, and unlike Hittori Hanzo, we are Tokugawa.”

  Myo felt strange. She was not used to others looking out for her. She was being offered protection by one of the highest-ranking families in the land. The feeling of being wanted, or even needed, was new and intoxicating. “Don’t go soft,” she told herself. “They need you now.” She would be partners with the Yoshinobu while it suited her purposes. Nevertheless, she was ninja. She only trusted her own, and not too many of them.

  “Okay everyone, enough distractions. Let’s get to the task at hand,” Jii said.

  Two adjoining walls of the large room were permanent. The other two walls were made of sliding sections that opened onto the walkway verandas. All of the attendees sat on cushions placed on the tatami floor.

  Before each was a portable table with teacups. They sat in a formation like the letter “U.” The open end of the letter was toward one of the sliding doors. Jii sat farthest from the door. To his right was Naga, to his left was Hideki. To Hideki’s left and down the long side of the “U” sat Jubei. Across from Jubei and down the opposite long side of the “U” sat Musashi. To Musashi’s right was Nichi, and to Nichi’s right and on the cushion closest to the door sat Myo, with Yoshi on Jubei’s left.

  Behind Jii was a wall painting of windswept trees along a seacoast. Between Jii and the wall behind him, a samurai’s armor complete with fierce helmet and face shield was on display. Along the two permanent walls on the floor were various chests. Two young samurai sat behind Jii and had paper and ink stones on their tables. They would act as scribes, recording the proceedings.

  “We will conduct this as we would a council of war. Myo has located a Fox Gang enclave. We are going to do something about it. However, before we decide what that is to be, we had better hear all we know about the situation. So Myo, please tell us what you know,” Jii began.

  Myo was used to conducting these types of meetings for her father, but she had no idea what the samurai wanted. “There is a large rice warehouse and mercantile store combination in Suruga Machi named Daiwa. It takes up an entire block. Its front is on a city street the locals call Canal Street, and its rear abuts the Nihonbashi canal. The building is actually three smaller buildings combined. The two buildings that are joined side-by-side open onto the street. They are two-story types with traditional roofs like this building. What you do not see from the street is a large warehouse stretching back to the canal.

  “Oceangoing vessels transport their goods to Shiba on the bay and offload to smaller lighters. The lighters traverse the Sumida River and onto the Kanda Canal and Nihonbashi. They pull right up to the back of Daiwa where a long beam protruding out of the back of the warehouse is equipped with a pulley system to offload the goods from the lighters and into the warehouse. From there, the goods are loaded onto two-wheel carts or horse caravans and distributed to merchants throughout the city.” Myo paused for a breath, allowing her words to be processed before continuing.

  “That is how the Yamakai make their money. They started by infiltrating the laborers and did the lifting and delivering. Now they own the warehouses and actually act as middlemen to the merchants—buying from the ships and selling to the distributors.”

  “They make a great deal of money,” Nichi affirmed.

  “Why did the Gumsumgumi not think of that?” Hideki asked.

  “Probably because I’m not as smart as old Kodama,” Nichi said. “He values money over all else, and does not spend time protecting the citizens.”

  “Let us stay on task. Myo, can you remember anything else?” Jii asked.

  The question surprised Myo. She was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Yoshi came to her aid. “Jii-sama, Myo can remember everything about the building. She has been to it and inside it, and she can remember every detail. While young samurai children are playing with dolls, ninja children learn memory tricks. Whether they eat or not depends on how well they remember.”