Honda pulled his horse around and trotted back to Kaze.
“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.
“This is the assassin of Lord Nakamura,” Kaze said, pointing to the prone Niiya, who was just beginning to regain his senses.
Honda peered at the bound figure and said, “Nonsense! That’s Captain Niiya. He’s in Lord Yoshida’s service. I know him. It’s impossible that he’s the assassin.” He pointed at Kaze. “Drop your sword!”
Kaze shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want to do that until I have convinced you that this is the assassin.”
Niiya, who was still shaky, had recovered enough to say, “He lies. He’s the assassin.”
Honda scowled. “Drop your sword,” he growled.
“No.”
“Then, by the Gods, I’ll make you drop your sword or kill you in the process!”
“That wouldn’t be wise.”
Honda looked up. Ieyasu rode up to the tableau in time to offer advice. “I saw you take that man’s head as you cleared the rock, Honda-san, so I know you’ve lost none of your skills, but it’s foolish to fight with this man when you have six other samurai with you, especially since this is the man who won Hideyoshi’s sword-fighting tournament.”
Honda gave a start, and said, “I knew you were lying! You are the assassin!”
Ieyasu shook his head. “Look at the evidence before you, Honda-san. Do you see a bullet pouch on the ronin? Do you see a powder container? He’s not equipped as a musketeer. More important, his weapon is the sword. I was never convinced he would suddenly change to a musket to assassinate me. Now look at Niiya. The ronin has taken off his sash to bind him, but you can clearly see the bullet pouch and powder containers lying next to him. They were tucked into his sash. Niiya is known to be an expert with a musket. Obviously, he is the assassin.”
At Ieyasu’s words, Kaze returned his sword to its scabbard.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Honda spluttered.
“Nevertheless, it appears to be true,” Ieyasu said.
“You and your master are the worst kind of traitor,” Honda said to Niiya. “Trying to assassinate the Shogun is the worst crime imaginable.”
Niiya said nothing, his face a stoic mask.
“With all respect, Honda-san, I think you’re wrong,” Kaze said.
“What are you talking about? You caught him in the very act of trying to kill Ieyasu-sama.”
“No. I think he was trying to kill you.”
“Me!” Honda exclaimed. “What possible reason would he have for wanting to kill me?”
“The same reason he had for killing Nakamura-san,” Kaze said.
“This is ridiculous,” Honda replied. He looked at Ieyasu. “This man must have gone mad.”
Ieyasu said nothing, studying Kaze intently.
Kaze thought he was being dissected by those eyes. Every portion of his character was being divided into manageable parts, examined, and then put back together so Ieyasu could have a complete catalog of his soul. Ieyasu’s ability to read and manipulate people was the foundation of success for what was otherwise a very ordinary man.
“I know what you’re saying,” Ieyasu said. “But how can such a thing be proved?”
“Niiya is the finest shot in Japan. I was being chased across the roofs of Edo, and he took a shot at me. He hit my kimono sleeve when no one else could possibly do so. I asked who was in charge of the party pursuing me when that shot was taken. I knew that shot was made by the man in charge, and that man could hit whatever he wanted to. Once the thought occurred to me that you were not the actual target, Ieyasu-sama, I realized that it was the marksman, not the gun, who was the link to the real assassins. At that distance, any man could miss you and hit Nakamura-san by mistake. It would require an extraordinary marksman to ensure he would not hit you, but still kill Nakamura-san, who was standing next to you,” Kaze said. “Niiya is that man. If you’ll allow me to do a demonstration with him, I can prove it.”
“Demonstration! What kind of demonstration?” Honda demanded. “You surely don’t intend to give this man his musket?”
Kaze said nothing, looking to Ieyasu to await his decision.
Finally, Ieyasu said, “Go ahead. If it is true that they are not trying to kill me, then I may be more merciful to Yoshida’s clan. Otherwise, I’ll kill them all-men, women, children, and babies. They’ll all die.”
Kaze looked at Niiya. “Your master tried to reach for the stars. He has failed. Regardless of the result of our demonstration, he will go to the great void and so will you. But with your skill, you have an opportunity to save the lives of the others in your clan. Perhaps your own family. This is your one chance.”
Niiya remained impassive. Kaze untied Niiya’s hands. Then he grabbed the pouch with the musket balls from the ground. He reached in the pouch and took out one musket ball. He held it up to Niiya. After a second, Niiya reached out and took the ball, then picked up the gunpowder container.
“Good,” Kaze said. Kaze went to retrieve Niiya’s musket. From the workmanship, he immediately recognized it as an Inatomi musket. As he handed it back to Niiya, he said, “Do you have a flint and steel to start the fuse burning? It’s gone out.”
Niiya nodded.
Kaze started walking away from Niiya, pacing off 140 paces, the approximate distance of Niiya’s first shot at the castle wall. When he had reached the required distance, he looked around and saw a wild persimmon tree, its fruit past its prime but still a fiery orange. He walked over and picked one, then returned to his position.
Ieyasu, Honda, and the rest had dismounted to watch the exhibition. Kaze could see that Niiya had already used his flint and steel to get the fuse burning on the matchlock. Then Niiya loaded the matchlock with gunpowder and the musket ball given to him.
“I think Honda-san should stand away from Niiya-san, just in case Niiya-san decides that he’d rather finish his mission than exhibit his skills,” Kaze shouted.
“This is ridiculous,” Honda said. “I won’t stand aside.”
“Ieyasu-sama, please order him,” Kaze shouted, when he saw that Honda was going to be stubborn.
“Stand aside,” Ieyasu said. He did not raise his voice, but the tone of command was clear and overwhelming.
Honda gave a short bow and stepped to the side of Niiya, so Niiya couldn’t train his gun on him unless he made a complete turn. Kaze took the persimmon and held it up in the palm of his hand, just a hand-span away from his head. Niiya looked at Kaze and then raised the musket up to his shoulder, taking careful aim. Kaze saw the barrel of the gun move almost imperceptibly toward him.
“This is the only chance you have to exhibit your skills in front of Ieyasu-sama,” Kaze shouted to Niiya. “I can understand the urge for revenge, but surely you want Ieyasu-sama to know what a fantastic marksman you are. More important, by killing me, you will be killing the rest of your clan.”
Niiya put the gun down and wiped his palm on the side of his kimono; then he touched the side of his face where the rock had hit. Then he put the gun back up to his shoulder and in one smooth motion, trained the gun, took aim, and fired. The crack of the musket filled the quiet forest air. Three birds flew out of a tree at the report of the gun. Kaze felt the persimmon in his palm explode as the lead ball hit it.
Involuntarily, Honda exclaimed, “Incredible! That’s the finest shot I’ve ever seen.” Kaze shook the persimmon pulp from his hand, and simply said, “Messy.”
Niiya showed no pleasure or satisfaction at his accomplishment. He simply put his musket down and waited as Kaze walked back to the group.
Niiya turned to Ieyasu and dropped to both knees. “Would you accept my gun, Ieyasu-sama? It is a superb weapon, one of the last that Inatomi-sensei made, and one of his finest. I am sorry that I had to kill Inatomi-sensei and his household. The men that Matsuyama-san and Honda-san killed were the ones who helped me. Yoshida-san sent us ahead of him, before he arrived with the official party, to eliminate any possible link between Inatomi-sensei and us. That killing is the one thing I regret about this affair, but that regret doesn’t diminish the craftsmanship of this musket. I would not like to think of it falling into hands that would not appreciate it.”