By the time I reached the stage, they had already perished, [Matoba replies to point three,] However I have some of the same doubts. It was too difficult to discern their aura with the interference from the river water [And his lack of power, he doesn't add], but an ayakashi with enough power to be this clan's leader should easily be perceived through anything around it. ...There were also no visible wings to the body, although it isn't as if tengu are incapable of hiding their wings at will.

[Still- in all that commotion, wouldn't it be a natural instinct? Matoba agrees there is something fishy about it, about the leader of a clan that prides itself on being in-the-know being taken by surprise within its own ranks. Perhaps the irony was just too convenient.]

...We were given the orders not to interfere with the kappa's progress, so there is obviously no way the Daitengu was entirely unaware of what they were doing. That said, if they were truly betrayed, it would have to have been quite high up on the chain. Much higher than any of us here are privy to. It is a waste of time to speculate for newcomers such as us, until we have further perspective as to how the leaders of each family operates.