During the Eighth Month, he ordered Tsuda Nobukatsu to take a famous sword by Fudo Kuniyuki and present it to Ieyasu.

“Tell Lord Ieyasu that I was immensely pleased with the famous and matchless piece of pottery he presented to me when he sent Ishikawa Kazumasa."

Nobukatsu left for Hamamatsu toward the beginning of the month and returned on the tenth day.

“The Tokugawa clan's hospitality was so gracious that I almost felt embarrassed. They were truly attentive," he reported.

“Did Lord Ieyasu appear to be in good health?"

“He seemed to be extremely well."

“What about the discipline of his retainers?"

“It had a quality you don't see in other clans—an appearance of indomitability."

“I’ve heard that he employs a great number of newcomers as well."

“It would seem that many are former retainers of the Takeda."

During his conversation with Nobukatsu, Hideyoshi was suddenly struck by the contrast between his own age and Ieyasu's. Certainly he was Ieyasu's elder. Ieyasu was forty-one and he was forty-six—a difference of five years. But far more than Shibata Katsuie—who was his senior by a number of years—had done, the younger Ieyasu was giving him cause for a good deal of thought.

Nevertheless, all of that was hidden in his heart. Outwardly it was not in the least bit apparent that, soon after the hostilities with the Shibata, he anticipated yet another battle. Which is to say that the relationship between the two men seemed to be totally satisfactory. In the Tenth Month Hideyoshi petitioned the emperor on leyasu's behalf to give him a higher court rank.

*  *  *

In Azuchi, Lord Samboshi was just four years old. Several provincial lords came to greet the New Year and to pay their respects and pray for his continued health.

"Excuse me, Lord Shonyu?"

"Well, Lord Gamo, how fortuitous."

The two men had met by chance in front of the great hall of the main citadel. One of them was Ikeda Shonyu, who had been moved from Osaka to Ogaki Castle to make room for Hideyoshi. The other was Gamo Ujisato.

"You look healthier all the time," Gamo said. "That's the best you could ask for."

"No, my health goes along with the years, but we've been busy anyway. For a number of nights I haven't been able to sleep, even in Ogaki."

"You have the additional burden of being in charge of the construction of Osaka Castle, Lord Shonyu."

"That kind of work is appropriate for men like Matsuda and Ishida, but it's not fitting for us soldiers."

"I disagree. It's not like Lord Hideyoshi to put men in unsuitable places. You can be sure he has a need for you somewhere among the officials."

"I'm really annoyed that you can see that kind of resource in me," Shonyu replied, laughing. "By the way, what about your New Year's greetings to the young lord?"

"I just now took my leave."

"I was just leaving myself, so it's good timing, and there's a private matter I'd very much like to talk over with you."

"To tell the truth, as soon as I saw you, I realized there was also a matter I would like to ask you about."

"We must be having the same thoughts. Where shall we talk?"

Shonyu gestured toward a small room off the great hall.

The two men sat down in the empty room. There was no brazier, but the New Year's sun coming through the sliding paper doors was warm.

"Have you heard the rumors?" Shonyu began.

"I have. It's being said that Lord Nobuo has been killed. And it sounds like the truth."

Shonyu frowned and sighed. "We're already seeing the signs that there will be some kind of disturbance this year. How bad it will get depends on who the antagonists are, but the recent omens are troubling. You're younger than I am, Lord Gamo, but it appears to me that your judgment is better than mine. Don't you have the wit to come up with a good idea before something regrettable happens?"

He looked deeply anxious.

Gamo answered with another question. "Where can these rumors be coming from?"

“I can't tell you that. But where there's smoke, there's fire."

“Do you think there's something we don't know?"

“No, not at all. The facts are just in the wrong order. To begin with, Lord Nobuo went to Takaradera Castle to call on Lord Hideyoshi in the Eleventh Month of last year.  It’s said that Lord Hideyoshi himself took charge of the reception held for thanking Lord Nobuo for subjugating Ise, and his hospitality was so great that Lord Nobuo stayed for four days.

“Indeed?"

“Lord Nobuo's retainers had expected him to leave the castle on the following day, but on the second day there was no word from him, nor on the third day, nor even on the fourth. Well, it seems that they imagined the worst, and even his servants outside of the castle started blurting out a number of wild suppositions."

“So that's it," Gamo laughed. "When you expose the roots of these stories, most of them are fabrications, aren't they?"

But Shonyu continued to look worried, and went on quickly, "After that, there was more public discussion of the matter, and various competing rumors ran back and forth between Ise, Nagashima, Osaka, and the capital. The first one claims that the origin of the false report of Nobuo's death came not from among Lord Nobuo's attendants but from the mouths of Hideyoshi's servants. The men at Takaradera Castle refute this. They claim that the rumor was born from the suspicions and dark spirits of Lord Nobuo's retainers. While each side is loudly denouncing the other, the rumor of Lord Nobuo's murder is ng like the wind."

“Do people believe it?"

“It’s hard to fathom the mind of the common man, but after witnessing Lord Nobutaka's end directly after the fall of the Shibata, it's certain that a number of Lord Nobuo's relatives and retainers must be having bad dreams and asking themselves who's going to be next."

Then Gamo spoke openly about his own fears. He inched closer to where Shonyu knelt and said, "There should be a firm understanding between Hideyoshi and Nobuo regardless of the kind of rumors that are making the rounds. But there just may be considerable discord between them, too."

Gamo stared at Shonyu, who nodded vigorously.

“Look at the situation since the death of Lord Nobunaga," Gamo said. "Most people think that after peace returned Lord Hideyoshi should have passed all authority to his former lord's heir. But no matter how you reason it through, it's clear that Lord Samboshi is young and that the successor should be Lord Nobuo. If Hideyoshi does not submit to Lord Nobuo, he could be accused of being disloyal and of forgetting the many favors the Oda clan bestowed upon him."

“It’s all a little unsavory, isn't it? Nobuo's intentions are transparent, and yet he seem to understand that what is about to happen is just the opposite of what he like."

"But do you think it's really possible that he's holding such optimistic thoughts?"

"He may be. What kind of calculations will be going on in the mind of a pampered fool, after all?"

"It's certain that they're hearing these rumors in Osaka and that misunderstandings are just going to increase."

"This is awkward, to be sure," Shonyu sighed.

As Hideyoshi's generals, both Shonyu and Gamo were bound to him by the absolute bond that existed between lord and retainer. But they were also bound to a set of conditions that now might not be so easily resolved.

First of all, at the time Gamo had been receiving Nobunaga's favors, he had married Nobunaga's youngest daughter. Moreover, Shonyu and Nobunaga had had the same wet nurse, and Shonyu's relationship with his former lord as a foster brother had been particularly close. Therefore, even at the conference in Kiyosu, the two men ranked as relatives. Quite naturally, they could not be indifferent to the problems facing the Oda clan, and except for the young Samboshi, the only person of Nobunaga's direct bloodline was Nobuo.