Matotsuru bowed low in respect to his three companions, though the bow for Tetsuo was notably lower, just as the one for Sayuri seemed just a tad shallow. "I am Yoshitisune Matotsuru. I am deeply honored to be traveling alongside such worthy companions. " A wide smile split his face, and he looked almost childishly sincere. "I must admit, being considered worthy of helping to protect Ito Hime fills me with pride. We are working towards a noble goal, my friends. Surely the Gods will look favorably upon us in this mission; we cannot help but succeed." Matotsuru was still young enough (some might say naive enough) to believe in such idealism. Despite the defeats he had suffered while serving under the Ito, he could not bring himself to look at the future cynically. As far as Matotsuru was concerned, he had not yet reached the high point of his life. How could he possibly fail before he had even truly begun?
"I have always thought that there has been too much stock placed into the wisdom of the Chinese." Matotsuru said to Toshirio, still smiling brightly. "Where was their mastery of military matters, handed down from Sun Tzu, when faced with the hordes of the Mongolian Khans? It seems to me that while the Chinese were trusting in the wisdom of winning without fighting, they were conquered. We Japanese fought our battles until the Gods themselves swept the Mongols away from our islands." This was, naturally, a gross distortion of accounts and ignored several important factors that kept Japan from Mongolian domination. It did, however, cast the Japanese in general and the Samurai in particular in a very favorable light. As such, that was how Matotsuru preferred to look at things.