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Jack could hear Emi sobbing. He too had a lump in his throat as he thought of Takuan, his generosity of spirit, his kind-heartedness and, of course, his haiku.

Sensei Nakamura stepped forward, her stricken face as pale as her ice-white hair. She gazed at her son one last time, then, with a trembling hand, put a burning taper to the pyre. The wood caught and the flames grew until they consumed Takuan’s body, smoke and ash rising in a cloud towards the heavens.

The students all bowed their heads in his honour and the rain stopped, as if the sky had cried all it could. The sensei then led them in a slow march back up to the barracks, where they formed into their units and awaited Masamoto’s address.

‘Takuan did not die in vain,’ announced Masamoto. ‘His death warned us of the ninja attack and saved his lordship Satoshi from assassination. It is such sacrifice and loyalty that may be asked of all of you this day.’

Jack already knew Satoshi had survived. After Akiko had left him, he’d managed to climb back up the roofs to Yamato, where his friend had greeted him with relief and revealed that Dragon Eye had failed in his mission. The explosion on the upper floor had only been a smoke bomb, allowing the ninja to escape. And although two members of the Council had been killed, daimyo Takatomi had survived, his wound not fatal.

‘My sources reveal that the enemy intend to mount another assault on the keep tonight,’ said Masamoto, glancing in the direction of Akiko, who stood near the back after joining the ranks last. There were dark shadows under her eyes and Jack wondered if she’d had any sleep at all.

‘We now know the ninja entered the castle during the day by impersonating the samurai of daimyo Yukimura, and hid in a storehouse until nightfall. They surprised us once and escaped, but they won’t again. The orders of the Council are to meet the enemy on the plains. We are to take the battle to them. Students of the Niten Ichi Ryū, we march – FOR GLORY!’

As one, the school roared back, ‘FOR GLORY!’

Sensei Hosokawa called the students to attention. Each unit then strode out of the courtyard, headed by their sensei.

‘This is a dangerous move,’ muttered Taro as he donned his helmet and menpō.

‘What do you mean?’ said Jack.

‘The castle walls must have been breached for the Council to risk open combat like this. I truly hope they know what they’re doing.’

The cannonfire got louder as they crossed the inner moat. Winding their way through the outer defences of the castle, Jack noticed the walls and battlements were bedecked with hundreds of flags and banners. Alongside the multitude of family crests belonging to the samurai fighting in Satoshi’s name, the standards bore images of the Holy Cross, Jesus Christ and even of St James, the patron saint of Spain. The walls were awash with Christian symbols, colourful and defiant against the grey stone of Osaka’s ramparts. Jack could just imagine how incensed daimyo Kamakura would be at seeing such a blatant show of Christianity.

As they neared the main gate, the devastation of the battle made itself apparent. At first, it was the odd wall damaged by cannonshot, then a few battleworn samurai with blood splattered on their armour. As the students joined the vast column of troops heading towards the plain, they passed growing numbers of wounded. Men with sword cuts to their faces, others with arrows protruding from their torsos, and some dying slowly, limbs missing or guts spilling out. Moving among them with solemn grace, a number of Franciscan friars and Jesuit priests performed the last rites on those near death.

The young samurai now marched along a road parallel to the outer wall. Above them on the ramparts, archers sent volley after volley of arrows into the sky, while soldiers loaded mangonels and launched rocks and fire pots into the thick of the battle. Jack realized it wouldn’t be long before they too entered the conflict.

All of a sudden, the Tenno-ji Plain appeared through a hole blown