Chapters Fifty-Two through Fifty-Nine Summary

Mariko arrives at Osaka and talks to Kiri and Sazuko, presenting them scrolls from Toranga and the message that he misses them and wants to see Sazuko's child, Toranga's youngest son. Blackthorne arrives on the Erasmus with only one of his crew, Vinck, and the samurai on board. He sends a spy to look for information and the man returns with details that include a message from Yabu, who sends a coded message that Blackthrone must be ready to sail at a moment's notice. Blackthorne is still talking to the man when a volley of arrows come from a nearby fishing boat, one impaling Blackthorne's informant who dies a painful death.

In chapter fifty-three, the following evening Blackthorne is at the birthday party for Ochiba. He carefully flatters her and ignores an insult by Ishido, going so...