It must be a raid by bandits! Their leader had indeed been signaling to his followers, come to pillage the house like a swarm of locusts. Hidden in the shadows, Hiyoshi thought, Robbers! Instantly his blood surged, and he forgot all about himself. Although he did not think it through, he no longer cared about his own safety because he was concerned solely about his master's house. Even so, what he did next could only be described as foolhardy.
"Hey, you!" he called out, walking brazenly out of the shadows with who knew what in mind. He stood behind Tenzo just as he was about to open the gate. A shudder of fear ran up Tenzo's spine. How could he have guessed that he was being challenged by a fifteen-year-old boy who worked for the pottery shop? When he looked around, he was puzzled by what he saw: an odd-looking youth with the face of a monkey, eyeing him with a strange expression. Tenzo stared very hard at him for a moment.
"Who are you?" he demanded, perplexed.
Hiyoshi had completely forgotten the danger of the situation. His expression was unsmiling and blank. "All right, you, what's going on here?" he asked.
"What?" said Tenzo, now thoroughly confused. Is he crazy? he wondered. Hiyoshi’s unforgiving expression, so unlike a child's, overwhelmed him. He felt he had to stare the boy down.
"We are the ronin of Mikuriya. Raise a cry and I'll cut you down. We didn't come here to take the lives of children. Get out of here. Go lose yourself in the woodshed Supposing the gesture would intimidate the boy, he tapped the hilt of his long sword. Hiyoshi grinned, showing his white teeth.
"So you are a robber, eh? If you're a robber, you want to leave with what you came here for, right?"
"Don't be a nuisance. Get lost!"
"I'm going. But if you open that gate, not one of you will leave here alive."
"What do you mean by that?"
"You don't know, do you? Nobody knows but me."
"You're a bit crazy, aren't you?"
"Speak for yourself. You're the one whose head isn't right—coming to rob a house like this."
Tenzo's men, tired of waiting, knocked on the gate and called out, "What's going on?”
"Hold on a minute," said Tenzo. Then he said to Hiyoshi, "You said if we go into this mansion, we won't go home alive. Why should I believe you?"
"It's true."
"If I find out you're playing games, I'll cut off your head."
"You aren't going to find out for nothing. You'll have to give me something in return.”
"Huh?" Grumbling to himself, Tenzo was suspicious of this boy. Overhead, the starry sky was getting brighter, but the mansion, surrounded by its earthen wall, was still sunk in total darkness.
"What do you want?" Tenzo asked tentatively.
"I don't want a thing, only that you let me become a member of your gang."
"You want to become one of us?"
"Yes, that's right."
"You want to become a thief?"
“Yes.”
"How old are you?"
"Fifteen."
"Why do you want to become a thief?"
"The master drives me like a horse. The people here bully me, they call me 'monkey’. all the time, so I'd like to become a bandit like you and get even with them."
"All right, I'll let you join us, but only after you prove yourself. Now explain what said before."
"About you all being killed?"
"Yes."
"Well, your plan's no good. This evening you disguised yourself as a guest and mixed with a large group of people."
"Yes."
"Someone recognized you."
"That's impossible."
"Think what you like, but the master clearly knew who you were. So, earlier this evening, on his instructions, I ran to the house of Kato of Yabuyama and let him know we would surely be attacked in the middle of the night and would appreciate his help."
"Kato of Yabuyama… that would be the Oda retainer Kato Danjo."
"Because Danjo and my master are relatives, he got hold of a dozen samurai who live around here, and they all came in during the evening, dressed as guests. They're on watch for you at the house right now, and that's no lie."
Hiyoshi could see from the pallor of his face that Tenzo believed him.
"Is that so?" he said. "Where are they? What are they doing?"
"They were sitting in a circle, drinking sake and waiting. Then they decided you probably wouldn't attack this late, so they went to sleep. They made me stand watch out in the cold."
Tenzo grabbed Hiyoshi, saying, "It's your life if you cry out." With the huge palm of his hand, he covered Hiyoshi's mouth.
Struggling, Hiyoshi managed to say, "Mister, this isn't what you promised. I won't make any noise. Take your hand away." He sank his fingernails into the robber's hand.
Tenzo shook his head.
"Nothing doing. I am, after all, Watanabe Tenzo of Mikuriya. You want me to believe this house is prepared. Even if that's true, if I left empty-handed I wouldn't be able to face my men."
"But…"
"What can you do?"
"I'll bring out anything you want."