"He is a man of character."

"You're only praising the enemy, you know."

"The first rule of the military man is to know his enemy. I suppose it's not a good thing to praise both their commanders and their soldiers, but I've spoken frankly because I feel it's my duty to give you a correct evaluation."

"I suppose that's right." Nobunaga finally seemed to recognize the strength of the enemy, although he did so reluctantly. Nevertheless, the determination to win was festering somewhere within him, and presently he said, "I suppose that's so, but it's another thing for our troops not to be spirited, Hideyoshi."

"Absolutely!"

"The role of commander-in-chief is not an easy one. Takigawa, Nobumori, Niwa, and Miitsuhide are all senior generals. It's not that they don't follow your instructions, is it?"

"You have excellent insight, my lord." Hideyoshi hung his head, his battle-weary face turning red. "Perhaps it was too much of a responsibility for their junior, Hideyoshi."

Certainly he could see through the subtle machinations of the senior retainers, and how they had prevented Nobunaga from riding into battle himself. Even if the large army of the Mori was nothing to be worried about, he had to caution himself to be wary of the danger from his own allies.

"This is what you must do, Hideyoshi. Abandon the castle at Kozuki temporarily. Join Nobutada's forces, proceed to Miki Castle, and bring down Bessho Nagaharu. Then watch what the enemy does for a while."

The primary cause of the troops' depression was the fact that the army had been split in two, one half to attack Miki Castle and the other to relieve Kozuki. This was the result of differing opinions in the Oda military conferences up to now. And the reason for the split was clear. The small Amako force, entrenched in Kozuki Castle, was depending on the Oda clan. To abandon them for a quick strategic gain would make other western clans feel uneasy and lead them to wonder what kind of man Nobunaga was. Certainly the Oda could gain the reputation of being unreliable allies.

The man who had placed Amako Katsuhisa and Shikanosuke's troops in Kozuki Castle was Hideyoshi, and now misery, friendship, and an almost unbearable sympathy filled his heart. He knew that he was going to watch them die. Nevertheless, as soon as he received Nobunaga's new orders, he responded with an immediate "Yes, my lord," and withdrew.

Repressing his own feelings, he returned to the western provinces, deep in thought all the way. Avoid the difficult battle, and be victorious over that which is easy—this is the natural law of military strategy, he said to himself. It seems that taking this measure has little to do with good faith, but we have been fighting for a greater objective from the very beginning. So I'm going to have to bear the unbearable.

When Hideyoshi returned to his base on Mount Takakura, he called the other generals and informed them of Nobunaga's decision exactly as it had been told to him. Then he immediately gave the order to strike camp and join Nobutada's army. With Niwa and Takigawa's forces left behind as a rear guard, Hideyoshi's and Araki Murashige's main army began the retreat.

"Has Shigenori returned yet?" Hideyoshi asked a number of times before leaving Mount Takakura.

Takenaka Hanbei, who knew exactly what was on Hideyoshi's mind, looked back toward Kozuki Castle as though he were reluctant to leave.

"He's not back yet?" Hideyoshi asked again.

Shigenori was one of Hideyoshi's retainers. Two nights before, he had received Hideyoshi's instructions to go alone to Kozuki Castle as a messenger. Now Hideyoshi was anxious and kept wondering to himself if his messenger had been able to slip through the enemy lines. What would Shikanosuke do? Hideyoshi's message, carried by Shigenori, was to inform the men in the castle of the changing direction of the battle.

Can you be determined to seek life in the midst of death, and strike out from the castle and join our forces? We will wait for you until tomorrow.

Tomorrow had come, and they watched in anticipation, but the soldiers inside the castle did not move, nor did the Mori army surrounding the castle make the slightest change. Giving them up for lost, Hideyoshi and his men left Mount Takakura.

The men in Kozuki Castle were sunk in a pit of despair. To defend the castle was death; to leave the castle was death. Even the indomitable Shikanosuke was in a daze. He had no idea what to do.

"No one is at fault," Shikanosuke had told Shigenori. "We can only hold a grudge against heaven."

After discussing the matter with Amako Katsuhisa and the other retainers, Shikanosuke gave Shigenori his answer: "In spite of Lord Hideyoshi's kind offer, it is inconceivable that this small, tired force could break out and join him. We must somehow search for another plan."

When he had sent back the messenger, Shikanosuke secretly wrote a note addressed to the commander of the attacking forces, Mori Terumoto. It was a letter of surrender. He also made separate requests for intervention to Kikkawa and Kobayakawa. These were, course, to spare the life of his lord, Katsuhisa, and to plead for the lives of the seven hundred troops in the castle. But neither Kikkawa nor Kobayakawa would listen to Shikanosuke's repeated pleas. There was only one way they would be satisfied. "Open the castle," they said, "and present us with Katsuhisa's head."

It was an extravagance to look for mercy when forced to capitulate. Swallowing tears of grief, Shikanosuke prostrated himself before Katsuhisa. "There is nothing more that your retainer can do. How pitiful that you have had the misfortune of having a worthless retainer like myself. It is inevitable, my lord, you must prepare yourself to die."

"No, Shikanosuke," Katsuhisa said, and turned away. "That the situation has come this pass is not because my men have poor abilities. But we cannot hold a grudge against Lord Nobunaga either. Rather, it is a great, great joy to me to have earned my retainers’ devotion and to have served as the leader of a samurai clan. It was you who gave me the will to restore the name of our clan, and presented the opportunity to harass our sworn enemies. What regrets have I, even if we are defeated now? I think I have done everything I could do as a man. I can rest in peace now."

At dawn on the third day of the Seventh Month, Katsuhisa committed seppuku in manly fashion. The grudge between the Mori and Amako clans had lasted for a full fifty-six years.

But the greatest surprise was yet to come. Yamanaka Shikanosuke, the man who had fought on against the Mori despite the worst hardships and pains, and who had just asked his lord to commit seppuku, chose not to follow him in death. Instead he surrendered and went to Kikkawa Motoharu's camp like a common foot soldier, ignominiously becoming a prisoner of war.

The human heart is unfathomable. Shikanosuke was criticized by both his enemies and his allies, who said of him that no matter how he cloaked himself in loyalty, when it got to the point of no return, he couldn't help showing his true colors.

But these same critics would hear something even more unexpected several days later, news that would leave them disgusted and incredulous. Yamanaka Shikanosuke had become a retainer of the Mori and had been given a castle in Suo in exchange for his future loyalty.

"What a shallow dog!"

"This man is unfit to associate with samurai!"

The name of Yamanaka Shikanosuke was soon worth nothing but contempt. For twenty years he had been considered—by both enemy and ally alike—a warrior of undying devotion and loyalty who had remained unbending through many difficulties. But now people felt ashamed that they had been taken in so badly. Their hatred was in direct proportion to Shikanosuke's earlier fame.