"That will be a difficult ambition to realize, my lord." The look on his face expressed admonishment.

"Well…" Hideyoshi's troubled expression cleared. "There's really not that much to worry about. A difficult thing can be unexpectedly easy, and what appears to be easy can in fact be extremely difficult. I think what's essential is whether or not I can make Hanbei trust in my sincerity. My opponent being who he is, I don't plan on simple stratagems or tricks."

He began preparations for his secret journey. While he thought this trip might be futile, Hikoemon was unable to stop him. Day by day his respect for Hideyoshi's resourcefulness and magnanimity increased, and he believed that the man's ability was far above his own.

Nightfall. As agreed, Saya was standing by the garden gate. Hideyoshi looked every bit as shabby as Saya.

"Well, Hikoemon, take care of everything," Hideyoshi said, and started off as though he were just going to walk around the castle grounds. It was not, in fact, very far to Mount Kurihara from Sunomata—perhaps about ten leagues. On a bright day, Mount Kurihara could be seen dimly in the distance. But that single line of mountains was Mino's fortress against the enemy. Hideyoshi took a roundabout route along the mountains and entered Fuwa.

To know the nature and special characteristics of the people who lived there, it was essential to look first at the area's natural features. The district of Fuwa was in the foothills of the mountains in the western part of Mino, and was a bottleneck in the road to the capital.

The autumn colors at Sekigahara were beautiful. Innumerable rivers crisscrossed the land like veins. Ancient history and countless legends remained at the roots of the autumn vegetation as the grave markers of a bloody past. The Yoro Mountains formed the boundary with Kai, and clouds came and went constantly around Mount Ibuki.

Takenaka Hanbei was a native of the area. It was said that he was actually born at Inabayama, but he had spent most of his childhood at the foot of Mount Ibuki. Born in the fourth year of Temmon, Hanbei would now still be only twenty-eight years old, nothing more than a young student of military affairs. One year younger than Nobunaga, one year older than Hideyoshi. Nevertheless, he had already abandoned the quest for great achievement in the chaotic world, and had built himself a hermitage on Mount Kurihara. He took pleasure in nature, made friends with the books of the ancients, and wrote po­etry, never meeting with the visitors who often came to his door. Was he a fake? This was also said of him, but Hanbei's name was respected in Mino, and his reputation had trav­eled as far as Owari.

I'd like to meet him and judge his character for myself, was the first thought in Hideyoshi's mind. It would be regrettable for him just to pass by and not meet such a rare and extraordinary man, when they had both been born into the same world. Even more, if Hanbei was driven into the enemy camp, Hideyoshi would have to kill him. He sincerely hoped this would not happen, because it would be the most regrettable event of his entire life. I'm going to meet him, whether he'll see people or not.

The Master of Mount Kurihara

Mount Kurihara, situated next to Mount Nangu, was not very high, and looked almost like a child snuggling against its parent.

Ah, it's beautiful! When they approached the peak, even Hideyoshi, who was no poet, was in ecstasy, struck by the sublime beauty of the autumn sun sinking below the horizon. But now his mind turned to a single thought: How can I get Hanbei to become my ally? And this was quickly followed by another: No, to confront a master strategist by means of strategy would be the worst strategy of all. I can only meet him as a blank sheet of paper. I'll just talk to him candidly, and speak with all my power. Thus he rallied his spirits. Nevertheless, he still did not even know where Hanbei lived, and they had been unable to find his isolated residence by the time the sun went down. Hideyoshi, however, was not in a hurry. When it got dark, a lamp would naturally be lit somewhere. Rather than walking around uselessly, taking all the wrong turns, it would be more pleasant and quicker to stay where they were. At least he seemed to be thinking this way, because he sat resting until the sun had set. Finally they spotted the tiny dot of a lamp off in the dis­tance, beyond a swampy hollow. Following a narrow, meandering path that wound its way up and down, they at last reached the place.

It was a level plot of land surrounded by red pines, halfway up the mountain. They had expected to encounter a small thatched cottage surrounded by a broken-down fence, but they now found themselves approaching a crude mud wall encircling a large com­pound. As they came closer, they could see three or four lanterns burning farther within, instead of a formal gate, only a bamboo shutter flapped loosely in the wind.

This is so big, Hideyoshi thought as he entered silently. Inside was a pine wood. A narrow path led from the entrance into the pines, and except for the pine needles covering the ground, one was not aware of a single speck of dirt. Walking on, for about fifty yards, they came to the house. A cow was lowing in its stall in a nearby shed. They could hear a fire crackling in the wind, and its smoke filled the air. Hideyoshi stood still. He rubbed his sharp eyes. With a gust of wind from the mountain, however, the place was suddenly swept clear of smoke; and when he looked, he saw a child putting twigs under the stove in a cooking hut.

"Who are you?" the boy asked suspiciously.

"Are you a servant?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Me? Yes," the boy replied.

"I am a retainer of the Oda clan. My name is Kinoshita Hideyoshi. Could you pass on a message?"

"To whom?"

"To your master."

"He's not here."

"He's out?"

"I'm telling you, he's really out. Go away." Turning his back on the visitor, the child sat in front of the stove, and once again began stoking the fire. The night mist on the mountain was chill, and Hideyoshi squatted in front of the stove, next to the child.

"Let me warm myself up a bit."

The child said nothing, but gave him a quick glance out of the corner of his eye.

"It's cold at night, isn't it?"

"This is a mountain. Of course it's cold," the boy said.

"Little monk, this—"

"This is not a temple! I'm Master Hanbei's disciple, not a monk!"

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry."

"Go away! If my master finds out some stranger has crept into the cooking hut, I get scolded for it later."

"No. It'll be all right. I'll apologize to your master later."

"You really want to meet him?"

"That's right. Do you think I'm going to go back down the mountain without meeting him, after coming all this way?"

"People from Owari are rude, aren't they? You're from Owari, right?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"My master hates people from Owari. I hate them too. Owari's an enemy province isn't it?"

"That's right, I guess."

“You've come looking for something in Mino, haven't you? If you're just on a journey you'd better go right on by. Or you'll lose your head."

“I don't intend to go any farther than this. My only plan was to come to this house.”

"What did you come here for?"

“I came to seek admission."

“Seek admission? You want to become a disciple of my teacher, like me?"

Uh-huh. I guess I want to become a brother disciple with you. At any rate, we should get along well. Now go talk to the master. I'll look after stoking the oven. Don't worry, the rice won't burn."

"That's all right. I don't want to."

"Don't be bad-tempered. There, isn't that your master coughing inside?"

"My master coughs a lot at night. He's not strong."