Only the top of a helmet crest made of water buffalo's horn of Nagamasa could be seen advertently on the surface of water, under which a desperate struggle was being done.
At just the right moment Matabei Goto returned from another battle front after having scattered the enemy.
A retainer of Konishi rushed to tell Matabei Goto about a crisis, saying
"Your lord is in danger!".
At that time Matabei did not raise an uproar. While saying "My lord is second to none in fighting", he looked on at the fight calmly with a military leader's fan marked with the sun in the hand.
As Matabei said, the one appearing from the bloody water was Nagamasa Kuroda, who wore the armor helmet with water buffalo's horn crest.
Even so, it was not something that could be easily accomplished.
Being utterly exhausted, Nagamasa came up the shore with his vassals supporting him.
When he saw Matabei just standing there and watching his fight, his face changed color and his features writhed with anger.
But Nagamasa had to burry the anger deeply in his heart,because Matabei's activities in the battle of Korea had been worthy of praise.
For instance, when they captured the Jinzhou Castle, Matabei Goto was the first person who rushed into the enemy castle.
For another example, when the army of Kuroda of only 3000 men was besieged by the enemy army of a valiant general, Jie Sheng, of the Ming,the number of his soldiers being 10 times more than that of Kuroda's, Matabei thought out a plan to rescue the besieged army.
Matabei spared a small army and let them secretly go into the mountain and shoot on three sides of the enemy.
The enemy mistook that a large number of Japanese relief had arrived at, then raised the siege in a hurry and withdrawn from there.
It almost owed to Matabei Goto's genius talent for strategy that Kuroda's army gained military fame and returned safely.
Therefore Nagamasa could not complain to Matabei for anything face-to-face,but his hatred toward Matabei became warped and complicated.
