Laughter, Tears, and Guests from the Past
Seven days. Seven days that felt like an eternity for those waiting on land. Especially when waiting for a loved one to wake up from a long slumber.
The VIP care room at the Kyushu naval base medical facility was filled with the sharp scent of antiseptics, faintly mixed with the fragrance of cherry blossoms from a small vase on the nightstand. The white curtains covering the giant window fluttered softly every time the sea breeze blew in through the ventilation gaps, carrying with it the sound of crashing waves and the cries of seagulls. The atmosphere in the room was incredibly peaceful, almost too peaceful, filled only by the rhythmic beeping of the heart rate monitor.
It had been exactly one week since the infiltration incident and the hellish battle on the southern coast. Izumo lay unconscious on the medical bed. In this world, there was no technology capable of directly healing the damage to the core soul (Wisdom Cube) of a shipgirl from the Azur Lane dimension. All the human medical team could do was administer a high-grade nutritional IV, stabilize Izumo's body temperature—which had boiled due to overheat—and allow her Kansen manifestation body to repair its own internal circuits through an exhausting, deep sleep.
On the first and second days, Javelin stood guard. The purple-haired girl barely left her chair, occasionally holding Izumo's hand, which felt warmer than usual. She was healing herself. Javelin passed the time by reading a thin book, her eyes often tearing up at the sight of the helpless Izumo. Nimi took over the morning shift the next day with a stack of analytical papers, while Laffey chose to sleep on the floor using a dorm pillow right beneath Izumo's bed, reasoning that if an enemy sneaked in, she would be the first to bite them. Ayanami spent the silent nights sitting cross-legged in the corner of the room, her hands never leaving the hilt of her greatsword. So incredibly calm.
However, on the third day, something changed.
On the other side of the bed, separated by a thin curtain, a dark-haired girl in a casual shirt sat holding a small towel soaked in warm water. It was JS Mogami.
Thanks to modern medical treatment and the fact that her ship's hull was now in the dry dock for intensive repairs, the condition of the ship-link feedback—the soul-binding connection between the human and the internal energy of her ship—that tormented her physical body was slowly improving. Mogami had regained consciousness on the third day post-treatment. As soon as she could stand and walk without coughing up blood, the first thing she did was move her belongings to Izumo's hospital room. She sternly refused the nurses' instructions to return to her own barracks.
With meticulous care and a slightly flushed face, Mogami wrung the water from the warm towel. She pulled back a bit of the white blanket covering Izumo's body. Currently, the Silver Fox was only wearing loose medical clothes with the front buttons intentionally left halfway open to facilitate the examination of the nodachi slash wound on her waist.
Mogami gently wiped the warm towel around Izumo's shoulders, neck, and collarbone area, cleaning off the residual sweat to make the girl feel comfortable. However, as a normal girl herself, Mogami's intelligence-trained eyes couldn't help but glance at Izumo's bodily proportions hidden beneath the slightly revealing medical attire. Flawless porcelain skin that seemed untouched by gunpowder residue, an incredibly perfect waistline, and... a chest size that made Mogami unconsciously look down at her own chest, which was flat beneath her shirt.
"How can this fox have such a... cheat figure?" Mogami muttered softly, her cheeks turning as red as a boiled crab. "She just fought a life-and-death battle against a martial arts master, moved a ship weighing tens of thousands of tons all by herself, but her skin is still this soft? Other-dimensional worlds really make no logical sense."
SWIIISH.
The sliding door of the hospital room was suddenly pulled open. JS Hyuga casually walked in, carrying a basket of fresh apples.
"Yo, Mogami! How are things—oh?" Hyuga's footsteps halted at the doorway. She saw Mogami holding a wet towel with a beet-red face, her eyes darting back and forth between Izumo's chest and her own. A mischievous smile instantly bloomed on the tomboyish Hyuga's face. "Hee~ Comparing sizes, huh? Don't be sad, Mogami. Justice is indeed flat sometimes, but I think Izumo's belongs in the category of a god-tier defense asset."
"H-Hyuga-san!! W-What are you talking about?!" Mogami squeaked in panic, hastily pulling Izumo's blanket up to cover the fox's neck. Her hands moved erratically in her flustered state. "I was just cleaning her body so she wouldn't catch a cold! D-Don't have perverted thoughts! This is purely for checking her health!"
Hyuga burst into uproarious laughter, holding her stomach as she placed the fruit basket on the table. "Hahaha! Relax, relax, I'm just kidding. That panicked face of yours is terrible, you know?"
The four Azur Lane destroyers—Javelin, Laffey, Nimi, and Ayanami—who had been taking turns guarding and interacting with the port crews outside for the past week, entered right behind Hyuga. Hearing Hyuga's booming laughter, Laffey, who was hugging her soda bottle, tilted her head with her half-closed red eyes.
"Mogami-san's face is as red as a tomato... does Mogami-san have a fever?" Laffey asked in an innocently pure tone.
"N-No! I am perfectly healthy! I could run ten laps around the pier right now!" Mogami cleared her throat loudly, trying to salvage the remnants of her pride that had plummeted to the bottom of the ocean. She placed the towel back into the water basin with stiff movements.
Hyuga smiled, then looked at Izumo, who was still sleeping peacefully. Her singular, magnificent large fox tail rested softly on the mattress like an incredibly soft silver fur blanket. Although Izumo could multiply it into two or more by forcing her core energy in certain emergencies, while her body was resting to heal naturally, only this one original tail manifested. Her fox ears occasionally twitched softly whenever there was the sound of footsteps, indicating her subconscious nerves were beginning to respond to the surroundings, even though her eyelids had not yet opened.
"She's been asleep for a very long time," Hyuga said, her tone turning gentle, filled with deep respect. "But the medical crew said her body temperature has returned to normal. The overload of energy in her chest has subsided. We are also repairing her ship's hull as best as we can."
"Izumo-nee is very strong," Javelin chimed in with a smile, arranging the flower vase on the table to make it look fresher. "She must be dreaming about yesterday's omurice."
After chatting lightly for a while and eating a few apple slices, Hyuga and the destroyers excused themselves to let Mogami finish her care routine.
Once the room was quiet again, Mogami sat back down in the chair beside the bed. She reached for Izumo's right hand, which now felt normally warm, and gently clasped it with both of her hands.
Mogami's eyes softened. She stared intently at the peaceful face of the Silver Fox.
"You know..." Mogami whispered, her voice trembling slightly, holding back the emotions she had buried behind her combat logic. "...I know you are not a ship from our world. You are not the biological older sister of Kaga-san and Hyuga-san who was lost to the sea. But... seeing your dedication, your fearless bravery, and your sacrifice to protect us all with your own life... I have started to see you as her replacement."
Mogami bowed her head, pressing her forehead against the back of Izumo's cold hand.
"Their real sister... the original JS Izumo... she did the exact same thing as you," Mogami continued her story, letting her defenses crumble, as if knowing Izumo could hear her in her subconscious. "Even bound by nonsensical military regulations, she remained steadfast. She secretly used her soul's internal energy to develop her ship to be on par with the strength of the world's major aircraft carriers. She even shared her development system with JS Kaga, so Kaga could be strong too... even though Kaga didn't have torpedo launchers. She fought alone for our future. And you... you came from another dimension and selflessly continued that fight."
Mogami smiled faintly, a single tear of emotion escaping and falling onto the back of Izumo's hand. "Thank you, Izumo. I know you won't be here forever. Therefore... wake up soon. Before you leave, let us repay your kindness with a smile."
At almost the exact same time, far away at the southern maritime border of Japan.
A few days prior, when Izumo was first brought into the emergency room in critical condition and covered in blood, Ayanami had taken one highly vital anticipatory action. She had sneaked up to the roof of the medical building alone in the middle of the night, while it was still pouring with the remnants of the storm. From inside her tactical seifuku uniform, the demon girl pulled out a red paper talisman (ofuda) folded into an origami dove.
It was a shinigami, a magical item entrusted to them by IJN Akagi of the Sakura Empire, given specifically to them to exchange emergency messages if cross-dimensional radio communication failed or Izumo's aircraft units couldn't be launched. Ayanami whispered an incantation and blew pure blue energy into the paper. The paper dove instantly came to life, flapping its glowing paper wings, then shot up through the thick clouds, breaking the dimensional barrier heading towards the Azur Lane headquarters in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Now, the answer to that bloody emergency message had arrived.
The port alarms at the Iwo Jima border—the outermost entry route towards Kyushu waters in southern Japan—blared loudly. Not as a danger signal from an enemy fleet, but as a marker of the arrival of super-massive VIP entities that were not registered on any modern radar system on earth, simply because neither existed on any modern fleet manifest.
The JMSDF radar crews at the base stared at their green screens with their mouths wide open. Two giant masses of steel emitting terrifying auras of energy were majestically slicing through the waves like sea gods descending from the heavens.
To welcome these unexpected guests, the experimental destroyer JS Asuka and the guided-missile destroyer JS Kongo had been deployed as an honorable escort. They were informed that there were guests from Azur Lane coming to visit Izumo. However, as the two peered through their binoculars to see who they were escorting, their knees nearly buckled.
On the left, slicing through the ocean with its thick, dark gray steel hull, sailed a super-giant Battleship. Its command tower (pagoda mast) towered incredibly high, challenging the sky. Four 410mm twin-barrel gun turrets, the greatest naval artillery monuments of their era, perched solidly on the elegant teak wood deck. At the edge of its bridge stood a petite black-haired girl with fox ears and a tail, radiating an aura of divinity and undeniable absolute authority. She wore a miko (shrine maiden) outfit. She was IJN Nagato, the Guardian of the Sakura Empire.
On the right, sailing parallel, was a World War II-era Aircraft Carrier of equally legendary status. Its long, straight flight deck was filled with dozens of historic propeller planes—F6F Hellcats, SBD Dauntlesses, and TBF Avengers—parked neatly with their propellers ready to spin at any moment. At the edge of the ship's flight deck stood a tall, slender girl with silver-blue hair blowing in the sea breeze. She wore a black naval officer's uniform with a captain's hat, her long coat billowing like the cape of a true hero. She was USS Enterprise (CV-6), the Grey Ghost, the greatest combat hero of the Eagle Union.
JS Kongo swallowed hard, pressing his radio button with violently shaking hands. "Base... y-you are not going to believe this. The guests from Azur Lane have crossed the border. They... they are history brought back to life. Battleship Nagato and Aircraft Carrier Enterprise. They are heading to the Kyushu port."
The news spread like wildfire through dry grass swept by the wind. In this world, the names Nagato and Enterprise were legendary myths that could only be read about in worn-out history books.
Kyushu Port, Japan.
Because of Izumo's medical urgency when she was first evacuated from the southern waters, JS Izumo was not towed all the way back to the main base in Yokohama, but was instead docked at the high-level naval base in Kyushu, which was closest to the battle site. That was where all the top brass from Central Command, including Admiral Deguchi, Maru, Kaga, and Hyuga, flew all the way from Yokohama to monitor Izumo's intensive care, and now, to prepare to welcome the esteemed guests from Azur Lane.
The Kyushu pier was now completely sterilized. Thousands of eyes from the human port crews gathered at the edge of the breakwater, staring in awe, getting goosebumps, and feeling moved as they watched the two ships of the past slowly approach the pier. The roar of the vintage propeller planes on Enterprise's deck and the silhouette of Nagato's giant cannons seemed to pull their souls back in time.
"Impossible... that's really Enterprise," muttered an old officer with teary eyes, his hand clenched over his chest. "And Nagato... my great-grandfather's pride. They are real. They are actually right before our eyes."
Two tugboats moved with extra caution, guiding the heavy, classic steel hulls to dock against the concrete pier. Mooring lines as thick as an adult's thigh were thrown from above by the strength of Nagato and Enterprise, and secured to the iron bollards by the ground crews. The landing bridge (gangway) was slowly lowered.
Nagato and Enterprise stepped down from their respective ships. Their footsteps were steady. They walked side by side on the concrete pier, creating a breathtakingly beautiful visual contrast: the fox shrine goddess protector from the East and the eagle commander bringer of freedom from the West.
However, that epic dignity and tension completely collapsed in an instant by high-pitched, longing screams.
"NAGATO-SAMAAAA!! ENTERPRISE-NEEE!!" Javelin and Ayanami ran as fast as they could, breaking through the welcoming line. Completely ignoring military protocol, Javelin jumped high and tackled Nagato in a super-tight hug. Because Nagato's Kansen body was smaller than hers, the Battleship stumbled backward two steps, her fox ears drooping in shock.
"W-Woah! Javelin! Be careful, you could make me fall into the sea," Nagato protested, her face turning beet red from embarrassment at being watched by hundreds of human eyes, but she returned the hug with a very gentle smile, stroking the purple hair of the destroyer with a mother's affection.
On the other side, Laffey, who was walking slowly while rubbing her perpetually sleepy eyes, approached Enterprise. The bunny girl didn't hug Enterprise's waist, but instead hugged one of the Grey Ghost's legs, pressing her chubby cheek against Enterprise's thigh as if it were the most comfortable pillow in the world.
"Laffey... missed the smell of the sea on Enterprise's coat," Laffey mumbled, practically falling asleep standing up in the middle of the welcoming ceremony.
Enterprise let out a crisp laugh, a laugh full of a protective older sister's warmth. She bent down, patting Laffey's head and ruffling Nimi's hair, who had also approached with an awkward smile. "We missed you all very much too, little girls. Thank goodness you are all safe."
Nagato released Javelin's hug, her facial expression turning serious again but radiating deep concern. Nagato then looked at Ayanami, who was standing quietly.
"Ayanami, we received the message from Akagi's shinigami. The blood on that talisman... How is Izumo's condition right now? Is her life still in danger?" Nagato asked.
"Izumo-nee's condition is stable. Her physical slash wounds have been treated, and the overheat in her soul core has completely subsided. It's just that she hasn't woken up since a week ago. Currently, there is a very kind shipgirl from this world who constantly watches over her in the medical room," Ayanami answered.
"I see," Nagato sighed in relief, rubbing her chest. Her tense shoulders finally relaxed. "That foolish fox... always pushing herself beyond her limits to protect the fleet."
Enterprise nodded in agreement, folding her arms across her chest. "That is indeed Izumo's nature. I suspected as much when she sacrificed herself to defeat the enemy before. I want to visit her immediately and confirm for myself that she hasn't lost her tail."
Just then, the official welcoming party from the JMSDF stepped forward to politely interrupt the family reunion moment. Vice Admiral Deguchi, accompanied by Commander Hiroshi Yamamoto—the Commander of the Southern Japan Naval Base (Kyushu) who was in full charge of this port—walked up offering the most respectful salutes they had ever shown in their entire military careers. Behind them, Hikawa Maru, Kaga, and Hyuga followed with stiff steps and pounding hearts.
Commander Hiroshi Yamamoto gave a very crisp military salute.
"Welcome to the land of Japan, Lady Nagato, Miss Enterprise. I am Commander Hiroshi Yamamoto, the commander of this provincial port. The presence of you both here is an infinite honor for our country. On behalf of all the people of Japan, we express our deepest gratitude because one of your shipgirls, Izumo, became a great hero who protected our waters from destruction."
Nagato gave an elegant nod, radiating the diplomatic aura of a faction leader. "There is no need to thank us, Commander. Protecting the seas from the destruction of tyranny is the primary duty of all Azur Lane Kansen, in whichever dimension we reside. The ocean connects us all."
Kaga and Hyuga slowly stepped forward. Kaga looked at Nagato with a look that was difficult to decipher—a mixture of awe, reverence, and absolute respect. The shipgirls in this world used internal energy from physical ships synchronized with their human souls, not a Wisdom Cube. However, the pure instinct of the soul inside Kaga responded to Nagato's existence like a subordinate soldier meeting her supreme emperor.
"I am JS Kaga, and this is JS Hyuga," Kaga said, bowing deeply until her back was flat. "We are aircraft carrier shipgirls from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in this world. It is a great honor and a dream come true to be able to stand before both of you."
Enterprise smiled warmly, her charismatic leadership aura causing the tension in Kaga's shoulders to melt slightly. "It is nice to meet you, Kaga, Hyuga. Izumo often told us about her encounters with you through the partial messages usually sent via missiles from her ship, before that routine was completely cut off. You have helped her very well."
Izumo indeed routinely wrote messages every night, which, using her internal energy, were converted into Wisdom Cube energy that flew to her ship. One of the MiG-27Ks was already on standby on the deck whenever she wanted to send a message. The missile was then fired as silently as possible forward, flying off according to Izumo's coordinates.
Admiral Deguchi then smiled wisely, gesturing with his hand toward a large white building labeled VIP medical located not far from the landing pier.
"We know that you both came all this way across a dimensional storm not for protocol, but to see someone. We have prepared a special path to the medical building," Admiral Deguchi said. He then exchanged a glance with Commander Hiroshi, nodding understandingly. "This is a family reunion and an intimate moment for you shipgirls. We, the human commanders, will restrain ourselves and step back. Please, this place is yours."
Nagato bowed her head slightly as a sign of gratitude for the etiquette. "Your wisdom is highly appreciated, Admiral, Commander."
The small group then moved. Nagato and Enterprise walked in front, followed by the four Azur Lane destroyers who kept chattering, recounting details of their adventures (with Javelin being the most enthusiastic, demonstrating cannon movements, and Laffey now being carried on Enterprise's back because she had completely fallen asleep). Behind them, Maru, Kaga, and Hyuga tagged along, still feeling like they were walking inside a surreal historical dream.
Upon arriving in the quiet hallway of the VIP medical building, the click of Nagato's wooden sandals stopped in front of Izumo's sliding door. She took a deep breath, adjusted the sleeves of her miko outfit, and then pressed the button to slowly open the automatic sliding door.
Sreeek.
Inside, Mogami, who was sitting holding Izumo's hand, immediately turned her head in shock. Her eyes widened as she saw two living legends step into her care room. The aura of soul energy from Nagato and Enterprise was so massive and pure, it pressured the air in the room, making Mogami unconsciously stand up and take a step back, giving them respectful space.
"Y-You..." Mogami murmured, suddenly losing her vocabulary.
Nagato smiled gently at the flustered Mogami. "So, you are the one named Mogami? Javelin told us that you kept watch here day and night without stopping. On behalf of all of Azur Lane, I express my gratitude for caring for our foolish fox with such affection."
Mogami felt her cheeks heat up to her ears; she bowed respectfully and quickly. "I-I am only returning the favor, My Lady! Izumo-san saved my life from the brink of death in the middle of a storm of explosions! Taking care of her is my duty!"
Enterprise chuckled seeing Mogami's nervous behavior. She walked closer to the bed, gazing at Izumo's still-sleeping face. The Grey Ghost's hand reached out, gently stroking Izumo's unraveled silver hair.
"Sleeping so soundly, like a baby fox," Enterprise said. Her eyes then shifted to look at Izumo's singular, massive, and bushy fox tail spread out on the mattress. A mischievous, teasing smile instantly appeared on her face. "Hey, Nagato. This tail of Izumo's looks very soft and tempting. If she doesn't wake up today, how about we use this tail as a bolster pillow at the inn tonight?"
Hearing Enterprise's direct teasing, Izumo's fox ears, which had been twitching earlier, reacted violently. Her instinctual nerves fired up. Her large silver tail suddenly moved quickly like a soft furry whip, lightly smacking the back of Enterprise's hand that was stroking her hair.
Smack.
A soft, hoarse groan was heard from beneath the white blanket. Slowly, very slowly, the Silver Fox's eyelids fluttered and opened. Izumo's clear ruby-red right eye—a new color that was now permanent, replacing her original color—blinked a few times adjusting to the room's lighting, while her left eye remained shut tight, unable to be opened again due to the overheat effects she suffered. With her one remaining eye, she looked at the white ceiling, then turned her head to the side, looking at the two faces she knew best.
"Enterprise... Lady Nagato..." Izumo's hoarse voice broke the room's silence, sounding both funny and relieving. She tried to smile, even though her body still felt stiff. "You guys... are just making noise. You disturbed my sleep. Even though I was just dreaming about eating a massive portion of omurice."
The silence and tension in the room shattered. Javelin and Ayanami immediately rushed forward, hugging Izumo's arms from both sides of the bed while crying tears of joy uncontrollably. Mogami covered her mouth with both hands; the tears of relief she had been holding back finally spilled, wetting her cheeks. Even Kaga and Hyuga, who were standing at the doorway, joined in with wide smiles; the heavy burden on their shoulders as the Japanese navy had finally been completely lifted.
Izumo had returned.
News from Home and an Embrace Under the Dusk
Two days had passed since Izumo opened her eyes from her critical slumber. Thanks to the natural recovery from her Wisdom Cube and the extraordinary nutritional supportive care from the Kyushu medical team, her physical body, which had experienced severe overheat, was now stable. The slash scar on her waist had perfectly closed thanks to her internal regeneration.
That morning, the port air felt incredibly fresh. Izumo stood in front of the mirror in her hospital room, staring at her reflection and realizing the permanent changes to her face; a right eye that now glowed ruby-red, and a left eye closed forever as a residual scar from the hell of the South Sea. She was no longer wearing hospital patient clothes. Today, she was back in her signature combat attire: a tight, short-sleeved black shirt that outlined her curves and black tactical shorts that showed off her long, athletic legs. She intentionally did not wear her white techwear jacket because the garment had been severely torn during the fight against Shandong; letting the sea breeze directly touch her skin gave her a distinct sense of freedom. Her singular silver fox tail swayed slowly in a happy rhythm, its fur looking healthy again, reflecting the morning light.
After making sure her HPLS and ALKA energy swords were sheathed neatly on her waist belt, Izumo stepped out of the medical building. The door guards, two human soldiers, immediately gave very stiff salutes, which Izumo returned with a casual nod and a faint smile.
The first sight that greeted her outside made Izumo's steps halt for a moment on the building's veranda. The sea breeze blew past her. At the end of the Kyushu port pier, parked three ocean leviathans that would make anyone who saw them hold their breath in awe.
In the middle, stood proudly her JS Izumo (DDH-183), a modern helicopter carrier with a sturdy straight deck. To its left, rested IJN Nagato, a classic battleship with a pagoda mast towering high challenging the sky. And to its right, USS Enterprise (CV-6) was docked calmly, its flight deck filled with WWII-era propeller planes. Three eras, three military doctrines, and three different maritime dimensions, now lined up in the same defensive line. An epic sight that would never be written in any human history book on this earth.
The pier's bustle was very real and alive. Giant cranes moved transferring logistics containers, technicians ran around in their dirty wearpacks, and in one of the dry docks further away, Izumo could see the bright sparks of welding fire from JS Mogami's hull, which was undergoing intensive steel structural repairs. The day before, JS Kaga, JS Hyuga, and Admiral Deguchi had said their goodbyes to return to central headquarters in Yokohama to handle the post-operation reports of the southern military operation to the Minister of Defense.
Izumo shifted her gaze, looking for her friends. At the edge of the wooden pier not far from Enterprise's hull, the sound of laughter and very familiar shouts could be heard. Izumo smiled faintly. There, USS Enterprise was sitting casually on an empty paint bucket, holding a fishing rod. Her gray coat was casually draped over her shoulders. Around the Grey Ghost, her four beloved destroyers were creating a highly entertaining fishing chaos.
"Pull, Enterprise-nee! Pull hard! The fish is huge, it must be a giant tuna, desu!" Ayanami yelled, her hands already holding her greatsword, ready to slice the fish mid-air into sashimi if it slipped off the hook.
"Wait, don't just pull it randomly! The angle of the pull is not precise with the spring force of the rod! If you pull it too hard without slacking, the line will break due to kinetic tension exceeding the coefficient limit!" Nimi scolded while holding a small calculator, trying to mathematically calculate the elevation angle of Enterprise's fishing rod.
Javelin jumped up and down excitedly on the edge of the pier, her skirt fluttering in the sea breeze. "Come on! Come on! Tonight we're eating grilled fish with black pepper sauce!"
Meanwhile, Laffey stood right next to Enterprise, holding a small fishing rod with bait that might or might not still be there. However, instead of fishing, the bunny girl's eyes were shut tight. She was sleeping standing up, snoring softly, her head occasionally nodding forward until she nearly fell into the sea if Enterprise wasn't quick to occasionally hold her collar with her left hand.
Watching that incredibly comical and heartwarming scene, Izumo chuckled softly. The heavy burden of the remnants of war, blood, and the smell of gunpowder in her chest seemed to just evaporate into the air.
She didn't immediately approach the fishing commotion. Her ruby-red right eye caught sight of another figure sitting alone on a long wooden bench in a rather quiet corner of the port, under the shade of a tree.
IJN Nagato. The shrine goddess of the Sakura Empire sat with an elegant posture. Her miko outfit was spotlessly clean, and her fox tail was folded neatly on her lap. She was sipping warm green tea from a small portable thermos.
Izumo stepped closer slowly. The sound of her combat boots made Nagato's fox ears twitch, and the Battleship turned her head.
"You can already walk upright, it seems, Izumo," Nagato greeted, a gentle, motherly smile blooming on her petite face. "Sit here. The sea breeze this morning is very good for the recovery of your core circulation."
"Thank you, Lady Nagato," Izumo said while seating herself next to Nagato. She leaned her relieved back, letting her singular tail dangle casually through the slats of the wooden bench.
They both fell silent for a moment, enjoying the harmony of the sound of crashing waves and the cheerful chatter of the destroyers from afar.
"How are things at our base in Azur Lane, My Lady?" Izumo asked, breaking the silence with a longing tone. "I really miss them all. How are Jolly and Akaneko?"
Hearing the names of those two eccentric girls mentioned, Nagato chuckled softly. She placed her teacup to the side.
"The base misses you very much, Izumo. Everything feels less alive without you. Especially Akaneko. That little red cat keeps grumbling and causing a ruckus in the lobby, saying the port is too quiet without her beloved silver fox," Nagato answered, shaking her head imagining Akaneko's antics. "Then Jolly, she's being very diligent in the kitchen. She is practicing cooking new dishes from various international recipe books. She said she wants to welcome your return with a five-star grand feast when you arrive."
Izumo's heart warmed, filled with love. She could imagine Jolly with an apron smeared in flour and sauce, and Akaneko busy tinkering with something in the workshop about to blow up the dorm. "They never change. I'm relieved."
"Of course not. And it's not just them," Nagato continued, her eyes sparkling recalling the messages entrusted to her. "Akashi, that green cat... she absolutely cannot wait for you to come home. She has prepared a long list containing a hundred questions and wants to immediately research the technology modules from this modern ship of yours. I think she sees you as a walking gold mine for her business."
Izumo massaged her temples with a wry smile, imagining the mounting bills from Akashi. "I expected as much. That cat never gives up."
"Then Cleveland from the Eagle Union sent a message via radio. She said, 'If Izumo comes home, tell her to get ready and not to run. I will challenge her to play one-on-one basketball on the port court until one of us passes out!'" Nagato mimicked Cleveland's tomboyish, fiery speaking style, making Izumo laugh out loud until her shoulders shook.
"And of course, Bismarck sent official greetings from the Iron Blood Faction. She invited you for a private afternoon tea session at her headquarters. And, ah... Prinz Eugen is specifically baking a cake to treat you upon your return there. Even though cakes made by Eugen are usually somewhat... suspicious," Nagato added, holding back a laugh.
Hearing how many people loved her and were waiting for her to come home, Izumo's chest felt full. She truly missed home. However, she was also fully aware that her mission was not yet over. This trip around the world had just reached its first point. She had just opened one page of an incredibly vast atlas.
"I am very happy to hear that," Izumo said with a slightly melancholic tone, her eyes gazing far past the horizon of the open ocean. "I miss them all. I miss the smell of incense in your shrine, miss our noisy dorms... but, my journey is still too early to end and return there. The call of this sea asks me to step further exploring the map."
Nagato nodded in understanding. She looked at Izumo intently, proud of her commander's resolve. "Of course, your path is still long. But believe me, Enterprise and I coming here across dimensional storms was to ensure that our silver fox does not feel alone in this alienated world. Our presence here... is it enough to cure your homesickness?"
Izumo turned, looking at Nagato with eyes radiating infinite gratitude and boundless loyalty. "More than enough, My Lady. Seeing you guys here is the miracle I needed most to keep moving forward."
Izumo then adjusted her sitting position, looking toward the port busy with human crews working on repairing ships.
"You know, My Lady," Izumo murmured softly, her voice turning serious. "I really didn't expect to fight such a fierce battle here. Bleeding until my soul core cracked. I thought, stopping in Japan would just be a regular diplomatic visit, drinking tea and exchanging information. But it turns out... this world has its own very deep wounds."
Izumo remembered the faces of Kaga, Hyuga, and Mogami, full of struggle. "The shipgirls here, they are very similar to us in the Sakura Empire. But they don't have a Wisdom Cube that provides regeneration. They only use internal energy from human souls forcibly synchronized with cold steel machines. It hurts them... the feedback of the ship's damage directly tortures their physical bodies. But they endure so strongly. They are independent, very smart, and their tactical combat coordination is incredibly solid. They are even able to independently assemble advanced radar and missile technology without the help of our dimensional magic. Their mental toughness... is truly extraordinarily admirable."
Listening to Izumo's empathetic account, Nagato nodded slowly. Her fox tail swayed calmly.
"As a fellow leader of the Sakura Empire faction, I can feel exactly the same as you, Izumo," Nagato responded with a tone full of authority. "Since my feet touched the concrete of this pier, I could feel the flow of energy from this land. The port crews, human soldiers, naval officers... their gazes at me are not just looks of wonder at an anomaly. There is a very deep respect. As if, in the genetic memory of their ancestors, they see the figure of a sea emperor who was once glorious in the past. I feel very respected and loved here. This is a home in a different dimension, but it feels very familiar in the heart."
Nagato sipped her tea again before looking straight into Izumo's eyes. "So, the Silver Fox... when will you continue this journey? Other uncharted oceans are still waiting for your steps. And we will always be waiting for your news."
Izumo took a deep breath, inhaling as much sea air as possible. "Just a matter of days, Lady Nagato. Strategically, we can already breathe easy and sleep soundly. Japan is currently guaranteed its security. Our infiltration and sabotage mission yesterday destroyed the logistics center, shipyards, and China's main air power in the South Sea to the ground. Even though they still have reserve fleets in other bases, their strike force will not be as strong and aggressive as the base we destroyed. They need months to recover. My duty to protect this place is perfectly complete."
Izumo tapped her finger on her knee, thinking for a moment about logistics. "It's just that, before we truly set sail for the vast international ocean, we have to sail back to Yokohama port first to transport our luggage and—"
"There is no need to return to Yokohama," a voice suddenly cut off Izumo's words from behind the bench. A voice Izumo knew very well.
They turned back simultaneously. Standing there was JS Mogami. The frigate girl wore a dark windbreaker jacket, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her black seifuku skirt in her signature cool style. Even though her pretty face still looked slightly pale after treatment, her gaze was as sharp as usual.
However, there was something very different about her tone of voice today. Mogami's voice sounded a bit hoarse, rushed, and her shoulders were not as upright as usual.
"Mogami? You've set sail? Your ship is still under repair," Izumo asked, slightly surprised to see the girl's fast movement.
Mogami walked slowly around approaching the long bench. "I am a frontline military ship, Izumo-san. Wounds like this won't keep me in bed for long." Mogami cleared her throat softly, trying to sound professional.
"Regarding your belongings... your clothes, the equipment of those four destroyers, and all your leftover logistics at the Yokohama inn... I have already ordered the cargo logistics team to pack them up and fly them to Kyushu this morning," Mogami stated. This meant she had asked the logistics team to move fast.
Izumo's eyes widened slightly. "Everything was brought here by cargo transport? But why bother wasting fuel costs? We could just drop by and sail there for a bit—"
"Because I know," Mogami cut in again, this time she lowered her gaze, staring at the tips of her own boots. "I know you won't stay long here. If you return to Yokohama, the farewell will take too long and drag on. Besides, from these Kyushu waters, your sea route access to international waters to continue your voyage is much closer and safer from enemy surveillance."
Mogami clenched her fists tightly inside her jacket pockets. "You will soon leave to continue your adventure exploring the world, right? Therefore... when your departure day arrives later, Kaga-san, Hyuga-san, Admiral Deguchi, and Maru... they will all come here a day before you set sail. They canceled their meeting schedules because they all want to see you off directly from this port."
Hearing Mogami's tone of voice, which sounded rushed, highly defensive, yet clearly implying a deep sorrow of parting, Izumo could not contain herself. The Silver Fox chuckled softly. A laugh that was very crisp and full of tenderness, not a mocking laugh.
"Hmph... hahaha. Mogami, Mogami..." Izumo stood up from her seat, stepping closer to the dark-haired girl. "Why are you speaking with a tone as if I am going to die going to another dimension forever? That tone of yours makes me feel like I am a naughty child being kicked out of the house."
Mogami raised her face, her cheeks blushing slightly red because her emotions were guessed and read so easily by the fox. "I-I am not kicking you out! I am just... I am just being logical and efficient according to fleet movement tactics!"
"I'm just traveling the world, Mogami," Izumo said gently, her smile blooming perfectly to soothe the heart. "I sail to map enemy strengths, build cross-continental diplomacy, and find a bright future for the Azur Lane base. And you know what that sentence means? It means my journey will ultimately bring me back home to my starting point."
Izumo placed both her palms on Mogami's shoulders, offering a comforting touch. "And luckily for us, the Azur Lane base is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Geographically, these Japanese islands are very close to my original home. Breaking through the Pacific border just to drop by for a cup of coffee here is much easier and safer than sneaking into a dragon's nest in the South Sea." Izumo winked her right eye. "I will definitely drop by here again as soon as my mission is done. This has already become my second home on this earth."
Hearing those comforting words, the mental defenses Mogami had always built with steel logic and an impenetrable intelligence firewall instantly crumbled to nothing. Ignoring her status as an honorable JSDF officer, ignoring that Lady Nagato was watching her, Mogami suddenly stepped forward.
"Eh?" Izumo gasped softly, her ruby-red right eye widening.
Mogami hugged the silver fox's waist very tightly from the front. However, realizing that Izumo's wound was right on her front-left waist, with clumsy yet incredibly fast movements due to being flustered, Mogami spun Izumo's body around, then hugged her tightly from behind. She buried her face into Izumo's back, resting her head, hiding her face which was starting to get wet with unbearable tears. Mogami's chest, which accidentally pressed tightly against Izumo's back, made the fox freeze slightly and swallow hard because of the unexpected soft sensation, but she let the frigate girl pour out her emotions.
From where she sat, Nagato covered her mouth with her long sleeve, hiding an amused and happy smile watching the romantic-comedy scene unfold.
Our silver fox receives a new affectionate embrace in this world, Nagato thought very warmly. Wherever Izumo walks, her charm always manages to make people's hearts tied to her.
"Mogami... are you crying?" Izumo whispered softly, letting her singular tail sway gently backward, touching and caressing Mogami's legs to provide a sense of comfort.
"You big liar..." Mogami sobbed quietly from behind Izumo's back, her voice muffled by the black shirt Izumo was wearing. "You said this was an easy and safe journey... but out there, the ocean is filled with terrifying monsters."
Mogami's hug grew tighter, her body now trembling violently, holding back sobs that tightened her chest. "When I was packing your logistics from the locker to bring to Kyushu... I accidentally read your personal research notebook. Your search notes on whether any ships from your dimension had entered and gotten lost in this world."
Izumo jolted slightly, her ruby-red right eye widening, her body stiffening for a moment as if struck by lightning.
"I read it, Izumo," Mogami continued with a hoarse voice filled with fear. "In those handwritten notes, you wrote that CN Type 004 was killed in the middle of the sea. Vanished just like that without a trace. And the most terrifying part of all that, there is a dark terror from a ship that comes from the same dimension as you. USS Nemesis CV-02. She is stalking you from an unknown corner of the sea, isn't she? Your notes said she even invaded your mind and terrorized you through nightmares, and you will be wary of her and prepare if you have to fight a life-and-death battle."
Mogami buried her face deeper into Izumo's back, her tears soaking the black shirt. "You hid the threat of a monster that big all by yourself without telling us. Are you sure you will continue this journey, Izumo? Facing that ghost of the sea alone? I... I will miss you so much. Please don't die out there."
The words slipped out so sincerely, naked without a single firewall of logic covering Mogami's fear of losing the Silver Fox's life.
Izumo closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She touched Mogami's hands wrapped tightly around her waist, stroking them with her thumb very gently. The dark secret she had hidden to avoid worrying her new friends had actually been uncovered by this smart frigate. She then turned her body slowly, releasing the hug with a very smooth motion, then cupped Mogami's cheeks, which were wet with tears of fear.
Izumo stroked the top of Mogami's head, neatening her dark hair which was a little messy from crying.
"I am very sure," Izumo answered with a gaze from her right eye that radiated absolute courage, her smile not fading in the slightest, casting aside her own fears to comfort Mogami. "Because if I stop sailing and hide here, a threat like that will continue to stalk these seas without us being able to understand her motives. I have to move forward to find out and stop her before she threatens us."
Izumo wiped the trail of tears on Mogami's cheek with her soft thumb.
"Listen to me carefully, Mogami," Izumo said, her tone of voice turning into that of a grand commander giving a sacred decree. "I promise, I will definitely drop by here again safely without losing a single tail. But while I am gone, I entrust the security of these waters to you. Become the strongest frigate shipgirl on earth. Become an impenetrable shield for your country. Fight..."
Izumo smiled very sweetly, a sincere smile that made Mogami's heart race wildly in her chest cavity. "...fight hard, until one day, if your real sister—the true JS Izumo—can return from the dimensional seas, she will see your achievements and say with pride: 'My little sister has grown to be the strongest frigate in the world'."
Hearing that beautiful promise and hope, Mogami burst into tears again, but this time she smiled widely. A very beautiful and enchanting smile amidst the downpour of her happy tears. She nodded very strongly, wiping away the remnants of her doubts.
"Definitely! I promise I will become the strongest, Izumo-nee!" Mogami exclaimed.
The title 'Nee' (Older Sister) was finally spoken naturally and without coercion from Mogami's lips.
Izumo laughed softly, happily, patting Mogami's head like her own biological younger sister. On the western horizon of the Kyushu port, the sun began to slowly set. Hues of orange, pink, and purple painted the twilight sky, reflecting upon the calm sea surface, creating a magical cinematic atmosphere that ended the day perfectly.
From afar on the pier, Enterprise, who had just finished her chaotic fishing event with the destroyers, waved her hand high. "Izumo! Nagato! Come over here! We caught a lot of fish! Javelin said we will have a soy sauce grilled fish party tonight at the inn!"
Izumo turned her head and gave a thumbs-up in agreement. She then glanced at Nagato, who had stood up and was dusting off imaginary dirt from her miko outfit.
"Come on, Mogami. You have to join us for dinner tonight. Don't refuse an order from your beloved Silver Fox," Izumo invited, offering her hand.
"Of course, Izumo-nee," Mogami answered while wiping away the rest of her tears, her slightly reddened nose making her look very sweet, and then she accepted Izumo's offered hand.
As they prepared to walk toward the Kyushu port military inn complex, two highly energetic girl figures jumped down from the decks of their own ships. JS Amagiri, with her white crop top and mini skirt fluttering in the wind revealing her long legs (inviting the stares of the port technicians), ran ahead of JS Asagiri, who appeared more formal and elegant behind her despite looking younger with her black seifuku and silver ponytail. Both had just returned to dock from a long-range border patrol.
"Ah... Izumo-san!" Amagiri exclaimed while saluting with her signature cheerful style, while the twilight sea breeze blew her long red hair. "The two of us just confirmed the condition of the outer waters within a 500-mile radius. Completely sterile! There isn't a single movement from the remnants of the Chinese fleet on the early warning radar limits! You all can rest easy and eat well tonight!"
"Thank you, Amagiri, Asagiri," praised Izumo, smiling in satisfaction. "Come with us to the inn. We have lots of fresh fish to grill and eat for dinner later."
Under the soul-warming twilight glow, the small cross-dimensional group walked together along the concrete pier. Javelin's cheerful laughter, Nimi's logical scolding about Laffey's lazy behavior, and Nagato's elegant, authoritative demeanor blended harmoniously with the peaceful atmosphere of the Japanese port. Tomorrow was the final logistics preparation day, and the day after, the Silver Fox would raise her anchor once more, cleaving the waves for a new adventure in a part of the world that held its own mysteries.
The Yokai from the Dimensional Rift
At a time when the Kyushu port was enveloped by the warmth of dusk, a grilled fish party, and cross-dimensional reunion laughter, a reality of mystery far darker, colder, and more horrifying was moving soundlessly in a place never touched by sunlight.
Thousands of meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, water pressure reached extreme levels capable of crushing conventional human submarines into scraps of tin cans. In the midst of absolute darkness and bone-chilling cold, a gray mechanical leviathan crawled, slicing through the ocean trench like a maritime ghost.
It was USS Nemesis (CV-02).
The stealth underwater aircraft carrier glided southward at a very constant and stable cruising speed. Silent running mode made her undetectable by even the most advanced passive sonar networks on the surface world. Inside the ship's combat information center (CIC), the glow of blood-red and neon-green emergency lights created terrifying, elongated shadows on the metal walls.
The shipgirl Nemesis stood tall in the middle of the quiet bridge. The girl looked both mesmerizing and lethal, clad in a dark red and black tactical dress (tactical dress) that hugged her curves perfectly. Her skin was deathly pale like porcelain, contrasting with her pitch-black, incredibly long hair that flowed freely, covering a part of her face. Her eyes narrowed with a reddish glint radiating a sadistic, arrogant aura full of murderous intent.
On her legs, asymmetrical armored stockings reflected the glow of the emergency lights. And in both her hands, she held not a part of her ship's rigging, but a lethal personal weapon—a giant futuristic mechanical composite bow that looked like a hybrid of a bow and a tactical assault rifle. The weapon had a sharp design with a glowing red energy accent at its core, ready to fire armor-piercing projectiles at hypersonic speeds.
Through quantum hacking networks and passive tracking she had secretly implanted into the network systems in Yokohama, Nemesis knew exactly every inch of her prey's movement on the surface.
"So, you plan to sail south, Silver Fox," Nemesis murmured, her echoing voice like two pieces of sharp metal scraping together breaking the silence of the command room. "Towards international waters. A very beautiful place... a place where there is no jurisdiction, no ports to dock, no human naval protection, and absolutely no land to run from death."
Nemesis laughed softly, her laugh vibrating the cold air. She was not at all interested in immediately surfacing and attacking Izumo head-on at this moment. For a dark entity like her, killing prey in a single cannon strike was very boring and lacked artistry. She preferred to torture her prey psychologically, terrorizing their sanity from the shadows, peeling away their hope layer by layer, until they died standing in absolute despair before their physical bodies were destroyed. The glitch interventions and dream terrors at the Chinese military facility the other day were just a small appetizer.
Nemesis turned around, slinging her futuristic bow over her back. Her high heels clicked, breaking the silence of the steel hull corridor as she walked out of the command room, descending to the lower laboratory observation deck.
The giant submarine corridor felt incredibly freezing. Nemesis passed a thick steel door layered with frosted glass. It was the ship's cryogenic cooling room (morgue). Behind the frosted glass covered in ice mist, a stiff, lifeless body was stored. The corpse of Long Chao, the super-class CN Type 004 aircraft carrier who was once so arrogant and felt invincible, had now just become a pale, frozen trophy display inside the freezer. Long Chao's death was proof that arrogance without equivalent dark power was merely a shortcut to an icy coffin.
However, Long Chao's frozen carcass was not Nemesis's main focus right now. There was an ultimate weapon far more lethal, more personal, and more devastating that she was preparing for the silver fox.
Nemesis stepped into a giant biological research laboratory room located in the heart of her ship. The room was dominated by a massive vertical glass cylinder tube, filled with glowing green artificial amniotic fluid that bubbled continuously, illuminating Nemesis's pale face.
Nemesis stood in front of the giant tube, staring at the figure floating inside it with extraordinary pride and satisfaction. Her mind drifted back to the moment she was first dragged into this earth dimension.
At that time, in the dimensional corridor—a blinding white tunnel separating her dimension from this earth dimension—the sucked-in ship USS Nemesis CV-02 saw sparks of blue energy left behind. Suddenly she appeared in girl form, and from a naked body instantly emerged the outfit she was currently wearing. Then, among the whirlpool of space and time currents tearing everything apart, she found a Wisdom Cube blinking weakly, almost dying out of energy. It was the residual energy of Juneau's soul core, an unfortunate Azur Lane shipgirl who drowned on the battlefield, where her Wisdom Cube's energy leaked from the cracks of her rigging that shattered to pieces at the bottom of the sea and was sucked into the dimensional anomaly. Nemesis picked it up.
However, aside from the leaking Wisdom Cube, Nemesis found another anomaly that was far more valuable in the same vortex.
Right as her consciousness was almost entirely swallowed by the white light to be thrown into the earth dimension, she saw the body of a human girl trapped and floating stiffly, helpless in the dimensional border vortex. Nemesis grabbed the stiff body's hand a split second before the portal of light shut tightly. She stood on her ship resting on the sea.
Initially, when laid on the ship's floor, the body merely belonged to a regular modern Japanese shipgirl who was dying from being disconnected from her home world. The girl had shoulder-length black hair, wearing a clean white crop top model seifuku uniform with a dark blue pleated skirt, black tactical gloves, and boots paired with knee-high stockings. From the residual memories and internal energy resonance binding the girl's human soul with the steel hull of her ship left behind on earth, Nemesis learned her highly shocking true identity.
The girl was JS Izumo. The real, biological eldest sister of JS Kaga and JS Hyuga, Japan's prideful commander who was declared lost, swallowed by an oceanic anomaly years ago.
Nemesis, who unexpectedly received various abilities as a result of the manifestation of her ship's power, after acclimating to her new body that could control the massive ship, immediately did something.
With cunning and knowledge that surpassed human scientific logic, perhaps a result of this dimensional transfer, she began conducting a forbidden experiment inside the ship's laboratory. She took JS Izumo's body, whose soul had been paralyzed due to the severed connection with her original ship, dissected the girl's astral energy, and inserted Juneau's leaking Wisdom Cube straight into the girl's chest. She forced a radical fusion between the pure internal energy of a human soul from this world and the engineered cube soul core from the Azur Lane universe.
The result was an existence of horrifying, cruel distortion.
The collision of the two incredibly massive and opposing types of energy created a singularity within the girl's cellular network. Instead of resurrecting her as JS Izumo the rational modern helicopter carrier commander, the insane energy fusion actually tore through the concept of time and inverted the blueprint of her existence. The girl underwent conceptual regression—forcefully pulled back into the most primal root form of the name "Izumo" in the dark history of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
The name Izumo was not just the name of a modern helicopter destroyer. Deep in the past, during the World War II era, Izumo was the base codename for a super-battleship concept design. A giant fleet concept that ultimately birthed the legendary sea monsters feared by the world: IJN Yamato, IJN Musashi. The name also belonged to a Japanese cruiser destroyed by an attack during WWII.
And returning to the present time, inside that clear green tube, the concept of the ancient, ferocious battleship that was never finished being built manifested entirely into a form of flesh and steel. No longer JS Izumo the kindhearted modern helicopter carrier, but IJN Izumo, the Yokai Battleship reborn from the hell of dimensions.
Nemesis stepped forward, touching the tips of her sharp-nailed fingers against the cold glass surface of the tube.
Inside, floated a Kansen whose physical form had mutated entirely into something incredibly mesmerizing yet terrifying. Her once short black hair had now grown down to her back and changed color to dark maroon, partially tied up with a traditional hairpin. Her peaceful face, which now radiated a murderous aura, no longer reflected a normal human; from her forehead, protruded two reddish oni (Japanese demon/yokai) horns curving sharply upward, granting a thick and horrifying yokai identity.
Her clothes were no longer a polite modern sailor seifuku uniform. The clothes had mutated into a highly provocative, sexy, yet intimidating combat outfit, reflecting the wild and dark era of the Sakura Empire. Her tight white top was designed with a very wide open crisscross collar, exposing her full and enticing cleavage, paired with a black leotard corset accented with gold engravings that tightly wrapped around her waist and alluring hips. Her long thighs were clad in asymmetrical black thigh-high stockings and she wore red-soled high heels. A white haori coat with cloud patterns and red lapels fluttered elegantly around her in the green fluid, covering one of her shoulders which was now layered with thick black and gold samurai shoulder armor (sode).
Her ship-scale rigging was indeed not yet active. Because her original ship form, IJN Izumo, was floating on the water. Shrouded by a green mist of mysterious energy. USS Nemesis was beneath her, submerged several hundred meters deep.
The stiffly sleeping figure of IJN Izumo breathed slowly. Air bubbles emerged from the advanced mechanical breathing apparatus covering the lower half of her face underwater, supplying a special oxygen mix connected directly to USS Nemesis's life support circulation system.
Nemesis smiled widely, baring her teeth. Her eyes radiated pure madness as she stared at the darkest military masterpiece before her.
"Sleep well, my Demon Doll," Nemesis whispered, caressing the wet glass tube as if stroking her own pet child's cheek. "You are the sister Kaga and Hyuga have missed and cried over so much on land out there. The national hero they searched for, for years. But now, you have evolved into the most perfect, heartless executioner."
Nemesis laughed softly, her laugh echoing against the metal walls of the laboratory, creating a blood-freezing horror harmony. She had designed the most sadistic terror drama scenario. She knew full well from her observations that Izumo (the Silver Fox) possessed an incredibly immense empathy and affection for Kaga, Hyuga, and Mogami. She knew that emotional bond was a fatal weakness.
"We shall see... when the Silver Fox from Azur Lane is sailing calmly in the middle of the lonely international ocean... I will present this little surprise and release you to the surface," Nemesis hissed in anticipation. "I am very curious, what will the despairing expression of that fox be when she realizes that the deadly yokai monster mercilessly tearing her ship apart is the body of the biological sister of the friends she has been desperately protecting all this time? Will she be able to raise her sword and take your life to survive? Or will she drop her weapon and let herself be torn to pieces out of futile pity for her friends' family?"
Inside the tube, responding to Nemesis's intensely thick murderous aura, IJN Izumo's fingers, wrapped in black gloves, suddenly twitched softly. The tip of the blade of one of her katanas vibrated in its sheath, radiating a wildly bloodthirsty red energy aura, as if the yokai was impatient to immediately tear open the tube and be unleashed onto the battlefield to take lives.
The hell at the South Sea military facility was merely a warm-up. The true, bloodiest storm awaited Izumo in international waters. A family reunion twisted into the most horrifying psychological catastrophe by the ruler of the deep sea.
The sun in Kyushu might have set beautifully, but in the depths of this ocean, dawn would never break.
----------
To Be Continued
Chapter 19: The Foreign Seas Are Cruel, You Must Return Alive