He reached for his sword. “Who are you?” he demanded. Seeing his movement, the bodyguard Yoshiro reached for his sword as well. I threw myself between Chang-wei and the Japanese swordsmen, though my weapons were useless in this standoff. “There’s no need to fight.” Chang-wei alone remained levelheaded. “I’m proposing an exchange, Lady Sagara. For the sake of our two nations.” “For a thousand guns that can be turned against us?” Makoto spat. “You’re no merchant trader, Shina.” “It hardly matters.” Satomi regarded them both, bemused. “I craft each of these weapons by hand, as my father did. I could not create a thousand of them in my lifetime.” “We don’t need the guns. We need the knowledge of how to make them.” Satomi regarded him warily. “Who are you?” she asked, echoing Makoto’s earlier question.
