In war, it is of supreme importance to attack the enemy’s strategy.
—Sun Tzu, Art of War
Sai
I crawled to the back of the Edo Workers Association compound. The rear portion was shielded from the view of the police and the crowds they had stepping on the fumi-e.
The yard was surrounded by a wall. I studied it but could see no way to scale it. It was double my height and topped with slanted roof tiles, so there was no good grip at the top. The smooth, whitewashed surface offered no hand or footholds, and I had no climbing tools. I stared at in frustration. What kind of kunoichi can’t scale a wall? There was a small shed behind the headquarters building containing some long pieces of lumber that might be useful. I grabbed one and rested it against the wall, digging the bottom into the loose dirt of the yard to help stabilize it. It was still unsteady, but I might be able to scramble up it before it fell over.
Someday, Sai, these tricks are going to get you killed. Let’s just hope it’s not today.
The wood shivered and bounced as I ran up it. When I neared the end, the plank began to slide sideways. I gave a desperate leap and grabbed the top of the wall and threw my body sideways to get my legs over. My right foot skittered off the slick tile and I began sliding backwards. With a furious pull, I yanked my body over the wall and threw myself onto the other side. I lost control and fell, twisting and rolling, I landed on my back in the dirt of the dusty street.
I lay there for a moment wheezing as I tried to regain my breath. I pondered what evil acts I must have done in an earlier life to land me in this mess in my present one.
Not my finest performance, but at least I am out of the Workers Association. And no one saw me leave.
Dusting myself off, I peeked around the corner. Yujirō and Emiko had their hands tied and were surrounded by a dozen policemen. The entire group marched in the direction of the machi-bugyō’s headquarters.
I set off for the Maeda estate at a run. I took every shortcut I knew—back alleys, causeways between buildings, and I even leaped a couple of small canals. I arrived panting and exhausted.
Standing near the corner of the estate, I considered my options. I could try to get in the front gate, but I didn’t want anyone to know I had been there to warn the Maedas. I had no idea how trustworthy the gate guards were.
While following Yujirō’s brother, Maeda-sensei, I had scouted for ways in. It was the most secure property I had ever seen. After a long search, I finally discovered one likely way inside, but I wasn’t sure I had the energy to make it.
I have no choice, I have to try.
I plodded over to a tall maple tree on a small, deserted side street at the back of the estate. Its lowest branches were level with the windows on the second story of one of the buildings inside the wall. They were too small for most adults, but I thought I could squeeze my way in.
I leaned against the tree and looked up. It would be a difficult climb and I was already tired. The branch was high off the ground, it would be a long fall if I slipped.
Pulling off my straw sandals and tucking them inside my kimono, I tied a rock to one end of my obi and then threw the weighted end up so it wrapped itself several times around the branch. When I pulled on the other end, the obi unwrapped itself from around the branch and fell to the ground.
Hurry!
Trying to keep myself from panicking, I threw the weighted end over the branch again, but it still failed to hold. Finally, on the third try, I pulled on the obi and it stayed anchored around the tree branch. Placing my feet on the trunk of the tree, I pulled myself up to the branch. The rough trunk scraped my feet as I walked up it. When I finally reached my destination, I pulled the obi loose. My legs and arms were shaking with the exertion of the climb. I stared down at the ground, so terribly far away.
I dragged my eyes away from the ground and focused on my destination. It was a struggle to get to my feet.
Just a little further.
I took a deep breath and mentally braced myself for what came next. Running lightly along the branch I jumped onto the eaves of the first story of the building and approached the window. The shutters were fastened shut, so I pulled a slim knife from my kimono and slid it between them to raise the latch.
Once inside, I allowed myself the luxury of a moment’s rest. My feet were cut and bloody from the bark of the tree. I wiped them off on some loose rags in the corner of the room.
I staggered across the room to the window and peeked out into a garden. A middle-aged man sat studying a book. He was the one I had seen the previous day laughing at Yujirō and the boy. I didn’t see the Tiger in the Shadows and had no idea of where to find him. Studying the man again, I could see something of Yujirō in him, but much more of his brother, Maeda-sensei.
That must be Yujirō’s father. Might as well talk to him. I don’t have time to be subtle.
I crawled out through the window onto the eaves of the roof and jumped down to the ground. My legs gave out under me and I landed in a heap. Scrambling to my feet, I bowed to the man who was now on his feet with his hand on a wakizashi. “I must see the Tiger in the Shadows. I have news for him.”
A screen slid open to my right. Maeda-sama sat on the floor, smoking his pipe. When he saw me, he snapped, “Sai, what are you doing here? What has happened?”
I ran to him and dropped to my knees. I kept my voice low, and said, “Yujirō-san has been arrested for being a Christian. Police are on their way here to search the property.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. “Che!” He shouted to his son, “Fumio, get the women here, at once.”
The man turned and, using a cane, limped to a building on the opposite side of the garden, calling, “Wife, come immediately. Grandfather has something he needs to tell us.”
Two women hurried out of the building. The older one was tall, at least as tall as her husband. I could see where Yujirō and his brother got their height. The younger woman was much shorter, yet graceful and beautiful. They joined us in the room with Maeda-sama.
He said, “Yujirō has been arrested on the charge of being a Christian. The police are on their way here to search the house. They will be searching for evidence of Christian worship.” He gave the two women a steely look. “See to it they find nothing.”
They bowed in unison. “Hai,” they said and hurried off.
They took that astonishingly well. I suppose they have always known it might happen and have planned for it. At least I hope they have planned for it.
Maeda-sama glared at his son. “Your wife may yet do more damage to this family than your feckless brothers.”
The son avoided his father’s eyes.
Maeda-sama turned to me again. “Who is the officer in charge of this group?”
“I don’t know him, a young samurai. Perhaps three or four years older than me.”
A predatory smile crossed his face. “Young, eh?”
Maeda-sama struggled to his feet. “Fumio, take this boy, show him where to clean up, and find him some decent clothes. I shall need to speak with him when this is over and he will attract too much attention the way he looks now.”
I followed Yujirō’s father deeper into the house. As we went along, he grabbed the boy Yujirō had fought the day before as well as a girl a few years younger than me. He showed me the washroom and sent the boy to get a bucket of water.
He then told the girl, “Find some of your brother’s clothes that will fit Sai. Bring them back here.”
The boy returned with the bucket. Yujirō’s father took a kettle off the fire and poured some hot water inside to warm it up. Then he sent the boy to help his mother and grandmother.
I bowed, embarrassed such an important samurai would be helping me like this. “Thank you, Maeda-sama.”
He smiled. “It is nothing. We are in your debt.” I looked at his gentle face and wondered how such a man fathered someone like Yujirō.
A kite breeding a hawk.
The girl returned with a pile of clothes she laid on a nearby cabinet. Then she and her grandfather left.
I stripped and hastily washed. The sound of hushed voices and scurrying feet came from various parts of the house as the Maeda family prepared for their visitors. I dabbed at my cuts and abrasions, trying to get rid of the drying blood without causing more bleeding.
The door slid open.
“I forgot the obi…” The girl stared at me in astonishment, her mouth open. “You’re a girl!”
I pushed the door shut behind her and put my fingers to my lips.
“Does Great-Grandfather know you are a girl?” she whispered.
“Yes, I just dress like a boy sometimes. It helps me find things out for him,” I whispered back.
I wrapped bandages around my feet.
The girl was now staring at the tantō I had strapped to my arms.
“Do you know how to use those tantō?” she whispered.
“It would be foolish to carry weapons you don’t know how to use,” I answered. I dressed hastily in the borrowed clothes. While worn, they were much better quality than anything I had ever owned.
“I want to learn,” she said. “Then I can dress like a chonin and go anywhere I want.”
I wrapped the obi around my clothes. “I am dressed in your brother’s clothes, right?”
She nodded.
“Then everyone will believe I am a samurai?” I I deliberately emphasized my Edo accent took an undignified pose.
She giggled, then stopped and stared at me, round-eyed. “Oh, I see what you mean. Just because I dressed like a chonin doesn’t mean I would fool anyone.” Looking thoughtful, she left.
I watched her go. I had always envied the samurai their privileges, but I had never noticed mine. Hinin traveled the country without restrictions because no one cared where they went. Chonin could easily get permission to travel for business or pleasure, and no one looked closely at their travel permits. But, samurai were closely watched. The families of the daimyo were never allowed to leave the city. They were hostages for their lord’s good behavior. Samurai women other than the wives of daimyo rarely traveled. Even ronin needed permission from the bakufu to leave Edo. This girl would never be free to travel as I had.
I made sure all the traces of blood had been washed away then fixed my hair and hurried back outside.
“…you don’t trust us to speak for ourselves.” Yujirō’s mother argued with Maeda-sama.
“Are you prepared to say anything necessary to save this family?” he asked.
She hesitated.
“As I thought. I am prepared to say anything, anything at all, to fool those who would destroy us. You just sit here and say absolutely nothing, no matter what they ask or say, do you understand?” He glared at the two women and three children standing before him.
They bowed. “Hai.”
“Meiko,” he turned to the younger woman, “I want you to wait just on the other side of the door until they come. Come and sit right here when they arrive.” He pointed to a bench beside the building nearest the gate.
She looked confused but bowed and went inside the door as he instructed.
“Sai, sit by me. Hide your feet in your hakama and hold my tobacco pouch and cane. You will play my servant.”
“Hai.” I sat where he indicated.
He sat down and lit his pipe. Between puffs, he asked me, “Exactly what Christian artifacts did they find at the Academy?”
“A Koyasu Kannon and a rosary. I didn’t see them, but that is what was discussed.”
“No mention of a cross on the rosary?” he asked.
“None.”
He snorted. “Very slim evidence. I am surprised they arrested Yujirō with that little. Do you think they planted it?”
“I don’t think so. They were expecting to find weapons.”
“Weapons? Why…?” He gave me a sharp glance. “Were there illegal weapons there?”
I avoided his eyes. “Inspector Asano—”
Shouts came from the front gate, followed by the pounding of feet. Ten police officers, all chonin, for they only carried wakizashi, ran into the garden and stood at attention. The young samurai strutted up and announced, “I have orders to search this premises. Everyone out! Search the houses! Get—”
Meiko came out of the building, looking frightened. The young samurai officer stopped in the middle of his shouting to stare at her.
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I smiled to myself. She was very beautiful.
The officer remembered what he was supposed to be doing. “Everyone out here now!” He shouted with even more gusto than before.
Meiko hurried to the bench where Maeda-sama had ordered her to sit. The officer’s eyes followed her, even as he continued to yell orders.
Aware of his attention, Meiko lowered her eyes and hid her face behind a fan. Her modesty made her even more attractive.
Maeda-sama stepped between the officer and Meiko. “What sort of behavior is this? Were you also sent to ogle my grandson’s widow? What is your name, Constable?”
“Sir, I … Yamana Akio, sir.” The young man bowed deeply.
“Yamana? Was Yamana Kenji your grandfather?”
The young man hung his head. “My great-grandfather.”
Maeda-sama stroked his beard. “I served with him when we first started the secret police. He was a fine man.” He sneered at the young man. “He knew how to show proper respect to samurai women.”
The young man turned red. “I apologize. I didn’t—”
Maeda-sama said firmly, “You are not to say a single word to any member of this family besides me. If they are to be questioned, they will be questioned by a man of sufficient manners to understand how a samurai should behave. Do you understand?”
His face grew even redder, but the young man gave a deep bow. “Hai.”
I started to feel sorry for the poor samurai. He was hopelessly outclassed.
Maeda-sama now turned his attention to the other men in the squad. “You may search, but do so carefully. If you break anything, the cost will come out of your salary.”
I sat with family while Maeda-sama watched the men searching the houses. After a short while, he stood up, waving his cane and shouting, “What are you doing? Don’t you know how to conduct a search?”
He went over and tapped two of the men on the shoulder. “You two, go remove the tatami in the room here, and then look under the floorboards.”
He stabbed the end of his cane at two more, “You, sort through the items on the wall in the study.”
He came back over and sat down next to me. He took his tobacco pouch and filled and lit his pipe. He smoked for a short while as he watched the search proceed. Finally, with a shout, he stood and threw his pipe to the ground in frustration. “What has the service come to? Hasn’t anyone taught you fools anything?”
He walked over to a man fumbling around a cabinet and whacked him on the arm with his cane. “Idiot! Take these out,” he said, pointing to the drawers, “set them aside and then reverse the cabinet and check for hidden compartments. Look for any place where the wood is too thick.”
“Maeda-sama, we have found Christian books,” one of the policemen shouted from inside a different room.
Now the old man has the police reporting to him,” I thought in admiration.
The samurai officer sitting on one of the benches in the garden put his heads in his hands.
“Christian books?” Maeda-sama said, motioning me to follow him into the room.
The policeman had opened a cabinet holding dozens of foreign books.
“Idiot! Did your superiors tell you nothing? Those books were brought here by the bakufu for my son to translate. Now you are accusing the bakufu of being Christian?” Maeda-sama said unbelievingly.
“No! No, of course not.” The policeman paled. “But they are in a barbarian language.”
“Of course they are. Why would the bakufu need them translated if they weren’t?”
The poor policeman opened and closed his mouth soundlessly. He was hopelessly confused. “But how will I know if they are Christian writings?”
An evil grin spread across Maeda-sama’s face. “You could ask one of the bakufu’s foremost experts on barbarian writings.” He pointed across the garden to where Yujirō’s father sat on a bench. “My son, Fumio, is sitting right over there.”
The samurai officer had come over to see what was happening. ”Look for crosses or pictures like the ones on the fumi-e,” he suggested.
“While you are looking for these crosses, handle the books very carefully. Any one of them is worth a year’s salary,” Maeda-sama growled.
The policeman carefully turned the pages. There were a lot of books there. This was going to take a long time.
No one seemed to be concerned about the police looking at the books, so I relaxed. I was tired from the run and climb. My mind went back to Yujirō. What was going to happen to him and Emiko-sensei? What kind of a mess had Hitoshi created? Akiyo-sensei believed we had stumbled on a plot involving powerful men. The two machi-bugyō were the senior officials of the bakufu in Edo Could that be who we were up against? I watched Maeda-sama uneasily. Was even the Tiger in the Shadows capable of defeating a foe with that much power?
The search continued well into the afternoon, with Maeda-sama directing every move of the policemen. They found nothing. The young samurai officer spoke to Maeda-sama, who grudgingly accepted the young man’s stammered apology. After the last policeman exited the property, the family relaxed inside one of the rooms, sitting amidst books piled carefully on the floor.
“Great-Grandfather,” the girl said, in an insistent tone.
“Hush, child. Father, what is going on?” Yujirō’s mother asked.
The old man scowled. “I am still trying to figure that out, myself.” He turned to me. “You were about to tell me of the weapons at the Academy.”
Shimatta! I was hoping he had forgotten about that.
“Great-Grandfather, please?” the girl repeated.
“A moment, child. The adults are talking!” said her mother.
I took a deep breath. “The younger men had stored some weapons under the floor of the Academy to use against the local ronin gang. When Inspector Asano told me he knew about the weapons, and there might be a raid, I warned the men. They got rid of them.”
“Did you inform Yujirō of the likelihood of a raid?”
“No, I thought it would be enough to get rid of the weapons. He didn’t know about them.”
My face grew hot under his stern gaze.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Seventeen.”
He laughed harshly. “Seventeen, yes, I knew everything when I was seventeen too. I have since learned otherwise.”
I hung my head in shame.
Gently, he said, “Sai, you will never know everything. You will never be able to do everything. That is why you need to be honest with the people you trust. You can’t do it alone. And if you get as old as I am, you can’t do much of anything.” He stared at the ground, shoulders hunched, defeated.
This is my fault!
“Great-Grandfather!” the girl repeated.
“Just a moment, Elisabet!” her mother repeated.
“What has happened to Paulo?” Yujirō’s mother cried.
Paulo?
“He has been arrested for being a Christian,” Maeda-sama said, his voice tired.
“But he’s not a Christian. He will tread on the fumi-e and they will let him go, won’t they?” Her voice was tight with fear.
The old man sighed. “No, they are going to kill him. Eiji uncovered a plot involving some very powerful men. They killed him for it. Now, Yujirō and I are getting too close to the information Eiji discovered, so they are coming after us.” Maeda-sama stared off into the distance.
“But what about the children? What will they to do to us?” said the younger woman, Meiko. She held her youngest son tightly against her.
“We will pray,” said the older woman. “It is in God’s hands.”
“Great-Grandfather!” the girl insisted.
Yujirō’s mother turned to the girl and snapped, “Elisabet, not now!”
The old man took a breath and straightened up. In a stronger voice, he said “Don’t give up, Daughter. They think they have the upper hand, but they haven’t won yet. Thanks to Sai’s timely warning, I am still here. And I will think of something before they can bring me down.”
The girl stood up from where she had been looking through some of the books. She walked over to Maeda-sama and waved one in front of him. “Great-Grandfather! Look what I found!”
My eyes widened. I jumped to my feet and snatched the book from her hands. “Maeda-sensei’s book!”
Maeda-sama reached out. “Give that to me.”
I handed it to him.
He leafed through it, scowling in annoyance. “I can’t read a bit of it.” He looked at the girl. “How did you find it?”
The girl smiled proudly. “I noticed it when the police were looking through the books.”
With a growl of irritation, he handed the book back to her. “Give it to your grandfather.” Grudgingly, he said, “Your father was really quite clever. No one outside the family would have been able to read it, and no one noticed it in among all your grandfather’s books.”
Yujirō’s father took the book and studied it. “It is written in both Dutch and Portuguese. I am not sure I can make sense of it.” He motioned his wife to join him.
I leaned over and quietly asked Eiji’s widow, Meiko, “Why is Fumio-san asking Maria-san to help?”
“Mother was taught Portuguese as a young woman so she could read the Christian Bible. She taught Eiji, Yujirō, and I. Father doesn’t understand Portuguese very well, so she is translating for him.”
The two conferred with their heads together for what seemed like a long time.
“Well, what does it say?” Maeda-sama demanded.
Maria waved his question away as she and her husband quietly discussed something in the book.
Finally, Yujirō’s father cleared his throat. “This is a list of rice brokers with their reported inventory. Also, the amount of rice actually shipped to them based on records and receipts Eiji copied from his work in the Tax Office. There are significant differences between the numbers. They were receiving almost twice as much rice as their inventories recorded.”
He continued reading. “Ahh. Look at what he has written here at the end. If anything should happen to me, I have hidden the tax records and shipping documents substantiating my claims in the storeroom above the kitchen. They are under a false bottom in a box containing Uji tea. He must have feared something would happen to him.”
“Find that box,” Maeda-sama ordered.
The children and I raced into the kitchen, startling the servants cooking a meal. The smell of the food made my stomach growl. It was well past time for lunch, but I didn’t think I would be eating anytime soon.
I followed the children up the stairs to the storeroom. There were shelves of boxes.
“The tea is kept over here,” said the older boy.
I searched the labels. They were mostly in kanji. I sighed. I didn’t know the kanji symbol for Uji. Maybe Akiyo-sensei was right, and I did need to learn kanji.
The boy grabbed a wooden box and put it on the floor. We gathered around as he lifted the big bag of loose tea out. The children all jammed their hands into the box, poking at the sides and trying to get a grip on the bottom. Meiko came up the stairs and tried to direct the children, but they were getting nowhere.
“Wait,” I said. “Let me.”
I took the box. There was a knot in the wooden bottom of the box. I slipped the tip of my finger into the depression of the knot and pulled up slowly, listening for a telltale click or other sounds of a mechanism. I didn’t think Maeda-sensei would know enough to be able to trap the box, but Akiyo-sensei had trained me to take no chances.
With a little pressure, the wood came up easily and revealed almost a dozen scrolls laid in the bottom. I picked them up and hurried back outside.
Yujirō’s parents were still huddled together reading the book. I handed the scrolls to Maeda-sama.
He spread them out in front of him and began scanning through them. We all sat, quiet and barely moving. After consulting several scrolls, he sat back and steepled his fingers together. “Well, this is certainly going to get some of the rice merchants into trouble.” He leaned forward, scowling. “As soon as I can determine who I can trust with this information.”
He passed his hand in front of his face, and a spasm of pain crossed his features. “I have lived too long. All the men I could trust are long dead,” he whispered, almost to himself.
He went back to studying the scrolls.
One scroll bore no official seals. He picked it up and read it carefully. Towards the end, he sucked his breath in sharply. “This is what I need.” He rolled the scroll up and tapped it into his palm as a wicked smile slowly spread across his face. “This is an interview Eiji conducted with the wife of a rice merchant. It was the machi-bugyō of the South, Tokugawa Goro, who approached her husband about a scheme to raise the price of rice. The machi-bugyō would get all the merchants to raise prices in exchange for twenty-five percent of the profits. Greedy bastard. The woman’s husband refused to charge extra for rice in the middle of the famine. Goro falsified charges against him and had him executed.”
He opened the scroll again and frowned. “It says the woman tried to approach the machi-bugyō of the North to plead for her husband’s life, but he was unable to see her because he has been ill … I hadn’t heard that.”
“Oh yes,” Maria said. “The assistant to the North machi-bugyō is married to a woman who is in our flower arranging group. She said the North machi-bugyō has been ill for months. Stomach ailments that come and go. He hasn’t been able to perform his duties for almost half a year. They were actually talking about whether he should resign his position so they can appoint someone else.”
“That means he probably isn’t involved with any rice scheme, but it will be difficult for me to approach him,” Maeda-sama commented thoughtfully.
“What about poison? We found arsenic at the rogue shinobi’s house. And packets of noodles. Low doses of arsenic could produce the symptoms you describe,” I said.
He looked at me sharply. “Arsenic? That’s right. You told me about that, didn’t you? But if the South machi-bugyō is having the North machi-bugyō poisoned…”
He got up and walked stiffly into one of the other buildings of the main house. He returned carrying a weapons stand with two swords in it. He placed it on the floor. When he straightened up, he placed a hand on the center of his back and made a grimace of pain.
“Haru,” he called.
“Yes, goshuujin-sama.” An older servant came hurrying out of the kitchen. He stopped in front of the old man.
Maeda-sama pointed at the stand. “Wrap up the Twin Dragons for transport.”
“Yes, goshuujin-sama.” The servant bowed deeply and hurried off with the swords.
Maeda-sama picked up some writing materials and sat down. He motioned me to sit beside him. “Sai, you have been of great service to us with your warning. I have no right to do so, but I must ask far more of you.”
Now what? I wondered. I suspected anything he wanted me to do would be leaving the tiger’s den only to brave the dragon’s lair.
He pointed to a portable writing desk. I brought it over for him.
Laying out some paper, he poured out some ink into the brush stand. “I’ll need you to bring those swords to my grandson. I’ll also need you to search the machi-bugyō’s records room for information we can use against him.”
He looked at me. “And Sai. No one must know any papers were taken. You understand?”
My jaw tightened. “When?” I asked, dreading the answer.
“Now. They will not leave Yujirō alive for long.”
My mind spun.
In daylight? How am I supposed to do this in the middle of the day?
“It will be difficult, I know. You will have to come up with some kind of a diversion,” he said.
“And if I can’t?” I asked in a small voice.
“Then we are all dead,” was his calm reply.
The family exchanged glances, but said nothing.
He dipped his brush in the ink and began drawing on the paper in front of him. “The compound of the machi-bugyō looks like this,” he said drawing a quick map. “There are cells here, and here.” He made x’s on the map. “This is where you are most likely to find Yujirō. Over here,” he drew a square, “is where the records are kept.”
He hesitated. “You can read?” he asked.
“I am pretty good at kana,” I answered in embarrassment.
He sighed. “Look for papers containing these characters.” He wrote a list of eight names in kanji. “Do you do know the kanji for ‘Confucius Academy’?”
“Yes.”
“Look for that, too.”
The servant returned with the swords wrapped in a straw mat and tied with red cord.
Maeda-sama took the bundle and handed it to me along with the paper containing the map and names. “This is going to be difficult, I know, but your sensei thinks very highly of you. I believe you will find a way. Give the weapons to Yujirō. He will know what I want done.”
The order to give the Twin Dragons to Yujirō got more of a reaction from the family than his statement they were likely to die. The adults stared at Maeda-sama with wide eyes.
“You are giving the Twin Dragons to Yujirō?” Meiko finally ventured.
“Yes, there is no one else in the family fit to carry them.” He glanced at the boys and amended his statement. “Not yet, anyway, and I am not going to live forever.”
He glared at me. “Why are you just standing there, boy?”
I jumped up. Using the ties, I fastened the swords across my back.
Maeda-sama called for his servant to get him a palanquin to carry him to the North machi-bugyō’s headquarters.
I glanced at the family. My eyes met those of the little girl who dreamed of travel but might not even get a chance to grow up.
As I was walking out the door, Maeda-sama said, “It is time for this Tiger to leave the shadows.”