The ship arrived in the port of Busan the next morning. The harbor was teeming with Portuguese warships and other Japanese vessels whose bows gleamed in the early morning light. Hong Pyo marveled at the size of the flotilla as they sailed past. Truly, this was an exhibit of Japan's indisputable superiority of force and power in the East.

"You. You're following me to the general's office as soon as we dock," a harsh voice ordered. Hong Pyo turned to find Nakahara Taiki standing behind him, arms crossed and katana tucked in the crook of one elbow. The man was dressed, as usual, in black from head-to-toe, and even after two days on board the ship with the man, Hong Pyo couldn't quite shake the eerie feeling that Taiki's beady gaze gave him.

"What about the shaman?" Hong Pyo asked. Not that he really cared about what happened to her, but he was a bit curious.

"She'll be taken for questioning," Taiki replied. "You're invited to watch, if you'd like."

Questioning. It was a polite way to phrase what it would really be, Hong Pyo thought. The shaman would be tortured, and possibly quite horribly. But there was nothing nice about war, and if torturing was needed to get the truth out of the woman, then it would have to be done.

And what was the truth? Though Hong Pyo's stomach churned at the thought of blood, he couldn't deny his curiosity. At least he wouldn't be the one getting his hands dirty during the interrogation.

"Thank you, I'll be interested to see what she has to say," Hong Pyo answered.

Taiki's only indication that he heard was a short nod of his head, before he turned on his heel and strode to the starboard side of the ship. Hong Pyo trailed after him.

Once the ship was docked and the gangplank lowered, Taiki strode off at a pace that Hong Pyo struggled to match. The man practically flew down the street!

Hong Pyo frowned.  It didn't make sense. The soldier's legs were shorter than his, and yet he was the one who had to almost double his steps!

"Could you—could you slow down just a bit?" Hong Pyo panted, nearly running into a passing soldier who gave him a strange glance. Hong Pyo glared right back at the man, until he realized why he was the subject of such scrutiny—of course, he stood out here. He could feel the topknot that marked him as a Korean nobleman bobbing on top of his head as he hurried along. Since Busan had been overtaken by the Japanese, he was now a rarity here.

Taiki stopped suddenly, and Hong Pyo wobbled to keep his balance and not run into the back of the man. At first, he thought it was because the soldier had heard his plea to slow down, but then Taiki entered the building they had stopped in front of.

This must be the general's headquarters. Hong Pyo squinted up at the sign above. Pharmacy.

He snorted and followed Taiki through the door. The interior of the building smelled like sweat and steel, but an underlying sharpness of medicinal herbs still lingered in the air. It tickled his nose, which he rubbed fiercely with a sleeve to ward off a sneeze.

Taiki headed towards a group of men standing at the other end of the room, grouped around a table that might have in the past been used for assembling poultices and portioning medicine. Now, there were only maps and papers covering its surface.

"General Hideyoshi," the soldier said, crossing his fist over his chest and giving a reverent bow. The five men looked up from their discussion, and the sudden halt in conversation made Hong Pyo's stomach twist in anticipation. His gaze moved from person to person, trying to discern which one was the general, but without their armor, they all just looked like calculating, battle-hardened men.

Hong Pyo could at least tell which helmet belonged to the general. Set on top of a chest across the room, it was a large, polished-black dome spiked with an upturned golden crescent at the front and fortified with a black panel on either side to protect the face. A large golden demon with a mouth of grinning teeth rested above the helmet's brow, more menacing than the other, less-adorned helmets placed about the room. It was so big that it came as a surprise to Hong Pyo when the shortest man of the group came around the table to address them.

Surely that tiny man couldn't possibly wear a helmet so big?

But the more Hong Pyo looked, the more he noticed the clues. The man stood with the confidence of a man who had seen years of war and led his men to victory. His eyes were cold and guarded, and the sinewy muscles beneath his tunic told of the hours of training and fighting to perfect his techniques. Hong Pyo vaguely recalled that before the war with Korea, the general had put an end to the Japanese Warring States and unified his own country. No wonder the Joseon people stood no chance in battle—this man had been fighting all his life.

The general studied Hong Pyo a moment longer before barking a command in Japanese. Taiki turned to translate.

"Tell us the information you have," he said.

"I want my safety guaranteed and passage to Japan in return," Hong Pyo said. Taiki relayed the demand to the general, who merely gave a short nod in reply.

Taiki turned back to Hong Pyo. "Agreed."

Hong Pyo sucked in a breath. Joseon was doomed to failure, and had been drawing out their inevitable defeat for too long. Once he told the general what Joseon had planned, it would put an end to this struggle, and he'd be able to start over in a new country, away from the destruction that all this fighting had caused.

"They've taken the bait," he began. "With Yi Soon Shin in prison, Won Gyun has taken over the Joseon fleet as admiral. He lacks Yi's experience and is eager to make a good impression on the king, so he's heading this way as we speak to attack your stronghold here in Busan. He's bringing the entire naval fleet. It's a bold move, but he doesn't know that we'll be expecting him."

Taiki relayed the information to the general, who remained silent for a while. Hong Pyo felt a drop of sweat trickle down the back of his neck as he waited. If the Japanese didn't like his news, it would be all over for him.

Finally, the general spoke.

"He wants to know how long until they arrive," Taiki said.

"Just a few days," Hong Pyo answered. "But I have a plan."

"Then it's a good thing we wasted no time in bringing you here," Taiki said. "We haven't a moment to lose. What exactly did you have in mind?"

Hong Pyo stepped closer, emboldened by Taiki's response.

"We're going to wipe out their entire fleet. Once the navy is destroyed, even with help from Ming, Joseon won't stand a chance. Their defenses on land are too weak."

"How exactly do you propose we do that?" Taiki said after conveying the information to General Hideyoshi and his men.

Hong Pyo pulled out a folded-up piece of paper from his sleeve pocket with a grin. "This is a list of all of the Navy's ships, including their size, weaknesses, and attack strategies," he said, laying it out across the table. "We'll feign a retreat to draw them in close to the shoreline, until they're within range of our cannons from the fort. Then we'll be able to strand them and pick them off easily."

As his words were translated to Japanese, the general and officers gathered around to take a look, nodding in approval. Taiki was still watching him, however, like a hawk would its next meal. It was more than a little unnerving, but Hong Pyo decided to ignore it. He had proved his worth, and everything would go as planned from here on out.

Usually, I find a human's self-confidence admirable, but not if they're turning traitor and betraying their entire country.  Hong Pyo wasn't the only one to lose hope in Korea, though, and this wasn't the only time the nation would struggle with keeping the faith of its people.

And yes, General Hideyoshi was a short, tiny man.  Like a small rabbit, all sinewy and tough with not a trace of juicy fat on him.

What, are you disappointed that the general doesn't fit your preconception of all strong warriors being big and tall? Small people can be intimidating in their own right, you know, and I'm not going to lie about the general's description just to fit your fantasy stereotypes. That was just how he was. That's all there is to it, and nothing is going to change that fact.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello again! Hong Pyo's given away the Navy's secrets, and things aren't looking good.  During the Imjin War, the Navy was Korea's strongest asset, seeing as how even with reinforcements from China, Korea was easily overtaken by Japanese soldiers on land.

On another random note, I've started watching another Korean drama, and this one not only uses Korean, but also Japanese, English, French, and even a little Russian!  My language geek-y self is very happy.  ^_^

If you liked this chapter, please click the little star at the top and/or let me know what you thought!  Constructive criticism is always welcome.