Nobunaga, with a surprised look on his face, seemed to be considering the details of what Hideyoshi had said. Hideyoshi was mildly discontented, wondering why his lord did not seem pleased. It was not a matter of being praised for his own efforts, but to have pulled the fierce Tiger of Unuma, like a tooth right from the enemy's mouth, and to have brought him to meet Nobunaga, should have been a great present.

He had assumed that Nobunaga would be happy. But when he thought about it later this was not a scheme he had devised with Nobunaga's consent. Maybe that was the reason. Nobunaga's expression seemed to indicate that it was. As the old saying goes, the nail that sticks out too far will be hammered down. Hideyoshi understood this well, and constantly admonished himself that his own head was sticking out as much as the head of a nail. Yet he was unable to sit on his hands and not act on what he knew would be good for his own side.

Finally, Nobunaga gave what seemed to be reluctant permission. Hideyoshi brought in Osawa.

"You've grown up, my lord," Osawa said in a friendly manner. "You may think this is the first time we have met, but today is actually the second time I've had the pleasure of meeting you. The first time was fifteen years ago, at the Shotoku Temple in Tonda, when you met my former master, Lord Saito Dosan."

Nobunaga responded simply, "Is that so?" He seemed to be evaluating his guest's character.

Osawa did not presume to flatter him. Neither did he humbly humor the man. "Even though you are my enemy, I've been impressed with what you've done in recent years. When I first saw you at the Shotoku Temple, you seemed to be a mischievous young man. But from what I have seen today, I realize that the administration of your domain belies popular opinion."

Osawa was speaking as an equal, frankly and candidly, he was not simply a brave man, but he was rather good-natured, Hideyoshi thought.

"Let's meet again on another day and talk at our leisure. I have a number of things to do today," Nobunaga said, standing up and summarily terminating the interview.

Later he summoned Hideyoshi for a private audience. Whatever was said at their meeting, Hideyoshi looked terribly perplexed afterward. But, without informing Osawa of anything, he played the part of the cordial host and entertained the general at Mount Komaki Castle.

"I'll let you know in detail what His Lordship said, after we return to Sunomata."

Once they were back at Hideyoshi's castle and the two of them were alone, Hideyoshi said, "General Osawa, I have put you in an impossible position, and I think I can only atone for this with my death. Without consulting Lord Nobunaga, I believed that His Lordship would feel exactly as I do, and happily welcome you as an ally. But his opinion of you was completely different from my own," Hideyoshi let out a sigh. Then, pausing, he looked down sadly.

Osawa had realized on his own that Nobunaga's feelings were not very favorable. "You seem terribly upset, but there's really no reason why you should be. It's not as though I can't live without a stipend from Lord Nobunaga."

"The fact is I'd be happy if that were all." Hideyoshi could hardly speak, but he sat a little straighter, as though he had suddenly found his resolve. "I'd better tell you every­thing. General Osawa, when I was about to leave, Lord Nobunaga summoned me in se­cret and scolded me for not understanding the military art of the double-cross. Why, he asked, would Osawa Jirozaemon, a man of character with such a high reputation in Mino, be taken in by my glib tongue and become his ally? I didn't foresee this at all."

"Yes, I can imagine."

"He also told me that it was this very Osawa of Unuma Castle who, as a general on the provincial border, had been the tiger protecting Mino and causing so much trouble in Owari for many years. He suggested that perhaps it was I who was being deceived by your clever words and manipulated by your daring. You can see he's full of doubts."

"Indeed."

"He also felt that if you stayed any longer at Mount Komaki, we would be letting you see the defenses of the province, so I was ordered to take you back to Sunomata immediately. Take you back and…" Hideyoshi cut his words off short as though they stuck in his throat. Even Osawa was upset, but he looked Hideyoshi straight in the eye, encouraging him to say the rest of the sentence.

"This is difficult to say, but it was His Lorship's order, so I'd like you to hear it. I was ordered by him to take you back to Sunomata, lock you up in the castle, and kill you. He thought this was a grand opportunity—one not to be missed."

When Osawa looked around, he realized that he was accompanied by not one single soldier and was inside the enemy's castle. And fearless as he was, his hair stood up on the back of his neck.

Hideyoshi continued, "But as for myself, if I obey His Lordship's order, I will have broken the pledge I already made to you, and this would be trampling the honor of a samurai. I cannot do that. At the same time, however, if I presume myself not to be lacking in the loyalty of a retainer, I'll be turning my back on my lord's orders. I've reached the point where I can neither advance nor retreat. So, on the way back from Mount Komaki, I was despondent and unhappy, which, I suppose, probably made you somewhat suspicious. But please, put away your doubts. I now have the solution very clearly in mind."

"What do mean? What are you going to do?"

"By disembowelling myself, I think I can apologize to both you and Lord Nobunaga There's no other way. General Osawa, let's drink a farewell cup. After that, I'm resigned.  I guarantee that no one is going to lay a hand on you. You can get away from here under the cover of night. Don't worry about me, just put your heart at ease!"

Osawa listened silently to everything Hideyoshi said, but his eyes were filled with tears. In contrast to the ferocity that had earned him his nickname, these were tears beyond an ordinary man's; it was clear that he had a character with a strong sense of righteousness. "I'm indebted to you," he sniffed, and wiped his eyes. Could this be the general who had fought in countless battles? "But listen, Lord Hideyoshi. It would be unpardonable for you to commit seppuku!'

"But if I don't, there are no words for an apology, either to you or His Lordship."

"No, no matter what you say, there's no righteousness in cutting open your stomach and helping me. My honor as a samurai will not allow it."

"I was the one who explained things to you and invited you here. I'm also the one who was mistaken about the way His Lordship thinks. So to apologize to both you and His Lordship, it's only proper that I'm the one who should atone for the crime by taking my own life. Please don't try to stop me."

"No matter what kind of mistake you claim to have made, I was also to blame. This is not worthy of your suicide. Instead, let me offer my head to you in appreciation of your good faith. Take my head back to Mount Komaki." Osawa began to draw his short sword

Shaken, Hideyoshi grabbed Osawa's hand. "What are you doing?"

"Let go of my hand."

“I will not. Nothing could be more painful than to let you commit seppuku!”

'I understand. That's why I'm offering you my head. If you had planned some cowardly  trick I could have shown you a real escape, even if I would have had to build a mountain of corpses to do it. But I've been touched by your samurai spirit."

“But wait. Think for just a moment. It seems very strange that we're both fighting to die. General Osawa, if you trust me to that extent, I have a plan that will allow us both to live and maintain our honor as warriors. But do you still have the heart to assist the Oda clan one more step?"

"One more step?"

"In the end, Nobunaga's doubts are based on his high regard for you. So at this point, if you did something that would truly manifest your support of the Oda clan, his doubts would melt."