Under Hideyoshi's orders, the tired and hungry troops struck their way into the marsh in a downhill rush of almost uncanny force. It was a reckless move that could have been called neither strategy nor even self-abandonment, for the warrior-monks hidden in the depths of the forest were like mosquitoes. Still, on they ran, right through the enemy. And this, in fact, opened up a fissure in the enemy ranks, and they were able to rend the carefully laid ambush into pieces. As they ran, order turned to chaos, and all the men scrambled to the south, following the mountain streams.

"Lake Biwa!"

"We're saved!" They shouted for joy.

The following day they entered Kyoto.

When Nobunaga saw them, he exclaimed, "Thank heaven you've come back alive. You're like gods. You are truly like gods."

4 FIRST YEAR OF GENKI1570

Characters and Places

Asai Nagamasa, lord of Omi

and Nobunaga's brother-in-law

Asakura Yoshikage, lord of Echizen

Amakasu Sanpei, ninja of the Takeda clan

Takeda Shingen, lord of Kai

Kaisen, zen monk and Shingen's adviser

Sakuma Nobumori, senior Oda retainer

Takei Sekian, senior Oda retainer

Mori Ranmaru, Nobunaga's page

Fujikage Mikawa, senior Asai retainer

Oichi, Asai Nagamasa's wife and Nobunaga's sister

Chacha, Oichi and Nagamasa's eldest daughter

Honganji, headquarters of the

warrior-monks of the Ikko sect

Mount Hiei, mountain east of Kyoto

and headquarters of the Tendai sect

Kai, province of the Takeda clan

Hamamatsu, Tokugawa Ieyasu's castle

Nijo, shogun's palace in Kyoto

Omi, province of the Asai clan

Odani, main castle of the Asai clan

Echizen, province of the Asakura clan

Enemy of the Buddha

On the first night after their return to Kyoto, the officers and men of the rear guard, who had narrowly escaped with their lives, could only think of one thing: sleep.

After reporting to Nobunaga, Hideyoshi wandered off in a daze.

Sleep. Sleep.

The following morning he opened his eyes for just a moment, and then went straight back to sleep. Around noon he was awakened by a servant and ate some rice gruel, but in a state between waking and dreaming, he only knew that it tasted good.

"Are you going back to sleep?" the servant asked in amazement.

Hideyoshi finally woke up two days later in the evening, feeling totally disoriented. "What day is it?"

"It's the second," the samurai on duty answered.

The second, he thought as he wearily dragged himself out of the room. Then Lord Nobunaga must have recovered, too.

Nobunaga had rebuilt the Imperial Palace and constructed a new residence for the shogun, but he himself did not have a mansion in the capital. Whenever he came to Kyoto, he would stay in a temple, and his retainers would lodge in neighboring branch temples.

Hideyoshi left the temple in which he was billeted, and looked up at the stars for the first time in several days. It's almost summer, he thought. And then he realized, I'm still alive! He felt extraordinarily happy. Although it was late at night, he asked for an audience with Nobunaga. He was shown in immediately, as though Nobunaga had been waiting for him.

“Hideyoshi, you must be pleased about something," Nobunaga said. "You've got an extraordinary smile on your face."

"How could I not be pleased?" he answered. "Before this, I wasn't aware of what a blessed thing life is. But having escaped from near death, I realize that I don't need anything more than life. Just by looking at this lamp or at your face, my lord, I know that I'm alive, and that I am blessed far more than I deserve. But how are you feeling, my lord?"

"I can't help feeling disappointed. This is the first time I've ever felt the shame and bitterness of defeat."

"Has anyone ever accomplished great things without experiencing defeat?"

"Well, can you see that on my face, too? The horse's belly only has to be whipped once. Hideyoshi, get yourself ready for a trip."

"A trip?"

"We're going back to Gifu." Just when Hideyoshi was congratulating himself for being one step ahead of Nobunaga, his lord struck out into the lead. There were several good reasons for him to get back to Gifu as quickly as possible.

Although Nobunaga was reputed to be a dreamer, he was also known to be a strong-willed man of action. That night Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and an escort of less than three hundred men left the capital with the swiftness of a sudden storm. But even with such speed, their departure could not be kept secret.

The short night had not yet dawned when the group reached Otsu. Splitting the predawn darkness, the report of a gun echoed in the mountains. The horses reared in frenzy. Retainers galloped forward, anxious for Nobunaga, while at the same time they looked for the sniper.

Nobunaga appeared not to have noticed the shot; in fact he had already galloped ahead more than fifty yards. From that distance he turned and shouted, "Let him be!"

Because Nobunaga was alone, far ahead of the others, they left the would-be assassin behind. When Hideyoshi and the other generals overtook Nobunaga and asked if he had been wounded, Nobunaga slowed his horse and held up his sleeve, showing a small hole through the loose cloth. His only comment was, "Our fate is decreed by heaven."

It was later discovered that the man who had shot at Nobunaga was a warrior-monk famous for his marksmanship.

"Our fate is decreed by heaven," Nobunaga had said, but this did not mean he waited passively for heaven's will. He knew how rival warlords envied him. The world had not thought much of him when he had spread his wings over Owari and Mino from his small domain, which covered no more than two districts of Owari. But now that he had taken center stage and was giving orders from Kyoto, the powerful provincial clans were suddenly ill at ease. Clans with whom he had no quarrel whatsoever—the Otomo and Shimazu of Kyushu, the Mori of the western provinces, the Chosokabe of Shikoku, and even the Uesugi and Date in the far north—all looked upon his successes with hostility.

But the real danger was from his own in-laws. It was clear that Takeda Shingen of Kai was no longer to be trusted; neither could he be negligent about the Hojo; and Asai Nagamasa of Odani, who had married his sister Oichi, was living proof of the weakness of political alliances based on marriage. When Nobunaga had invaded the north, his main enemy—the man who had suddenly allied himself with the Asakura and threatened his retreat—was none other than this Asai Nagamasa, proving again that the ambitions of men cannot be trammeled by a woman's hair.

Everywhere he looked, there were enemies. The remnants of the Miyoshi and Matsunaga clans were still troublesome adversaries lying in ambush, and the warrior-monks of the Honganji were fanning the flames of rebellion against him everywhere. It seemed that, as he took power, the whole country was turning against him, so it was prudent for him to return quickly to Gifu. If he had idled in Kyoto for another month, there might have been no castle or clan to return to, but he reached Gifu Castle without incident.

"Guard! Guard!" The short night had not yet ended, but Nobunaga was calling from his bedroom. It was about the time the cuckoo's song could be heard over Inabayama, not an unusual time for Nobunaga to wake up and unexpectedly give orders. His night watch was used to it, but it seemed that whenever they relaxed their guard a little, Nobunaga would take them by surprise.