Chapter 32

Summary

• Twelve days after a prior event, a courier from Osaka, Nebara Jozen, a senior samurai, arrives with an urgent message for Yabu.
• Jozen, who works for Ishido, is known for his ruthlessness and immediately seeks an audience with Yabu.
• Jozen questions Yabu about training Toranaga's soldiers with guns and why Toranaga's son, Naga, holds a high rank in the operation.
• Yabu, aware his security has been breached, politely assures Jozen that he has Ishido's interests in mind.
• Jozen asks about the barbarian's involvement in the training and informs Yabu that the Council of Regents will meet in twenty days and that Yabu is invited to renew his oath of fidelity to the new president of the Regents, Lord Ito Teruzumi.
• Yabu fears Ito's appointment since he is descended from the Fujimoto lineage, and he worries about the changes this appointment could make to the precarious balance of power.
• Jozen insists on a written confirmation of Yabu's intent to attend the meeting in Osaka.
• Yabu orders his men to cease all firing and drills to avoid Jozen's scrutiny.
• After Jozen leaves, Yabu and his counselor, Igurashi, discuss the possibility of the castle falling into enemies' hands and consider communicating with Lord Toranaga about the situation.
• They discuss assassinating Ito to destabilize Ishido's power but are afraid of the potential consequences.
• They also contemplate the value of guns in battle and whether Toranaga could help them gain time to prepare.
• Omi, another counselor, suggests using falcons to intercept and stop messages carried by carrier pigeons.
• Yabu must navigate a delicate situation where failing to attend the meeting in Osaka would mark him and his clan for death, but he needs more time to train his regiment.
• Omi suggests using Toranaga's son, Naga, as bait in a trap and it's hinted that some form of action against Jozen may be considered.
• Moments later, in a side plot, Blackthorne enjoys an evening with Fujiko and Mariko, complete with food, drinks, and songs. Mariko offers him a bath later that night, during which they converse intimately.
• Back in their political schemes, Yabu and his men plan their next move, considering the advice of poisoning Jozen's carrier pigeons and Omi's radical suggestion of simply killing Jozen and his men.
• Jozen, meanwhile, feels contempt for Naga and is revealed to have already communicated successfully with his master, Ishido, about the current affairs.
• The chapter ends with Blackthorne and Mariko engaging in a secret and risky romantic encounter in Blackthorne's house.