Before long, Kujou Sara came running back after making a full circuit. "Master, they've all finished the adjustments. Let's set out."
If it were only the simplest of operations, a quick word of instruction would be enough — at the very least, getting the ship moving was no problem.
It was just that on a vessel this advanced, with so many electronic devices in play, that couldn't be explained in a sentence or two.
Ye Xi picked up the radio. "All ships hold formation. We set sail for the Dark Sea. Any sea-beasts we meet along the way, return fire with the Elemental Cannons."
"Move out!"
As his voice fell, the lead ship roared to life, its propellers churning up white foam.
Driven by that immense thrust, the steel behemoth cut across the ocean like a blade, carving a stark white gash through the waves.
And the ships behind it were all completely bewildered.
"Where… where did that voice come from!?"
"Who's talking!?"
"Huh? What just happened?"
The piloting crews inside the island bridges stared at one another, never imagining that a voice could travel through the radio.
Still, seeing the lead ship already underway, the others followed the piloting method Kujou Sara had just described and started their own vessels.
The gaps between each ship in the fleet were far from small, yet against the vast expanse of the ocean they looked like a huddled school of fish, tiny beyond measure.
The moment the ships got moving, astonishment rippled through every one of them.
"So fast! What a fast ship!" "Heavens, is this thing really just a hunk of iron? How is it faster than our wooden boats?"
"No rowing needed — why is this ship moving on its own?" "Gods above, my first time steering a ship this big, I'm a little nervous!"
"The view from the helm here is so high and wide — first time driving a ship like this, and it feels amazing!"
A few members of the Shogunate Navy — in wooden boats, even dozens wouldn't have held them all.
So among these ten cruisers there were plenty of seasoned hands who knew how to steer, and they doted on the ships, every last one itching to take the controls for a try.
Only the rest of the shogunate soldiers stood on deck, ready to fight at a moment's notice.
Now the ships rode the wind and clove the waves, all but skimming low over the sea's surface, and the men on deck couldn't stop praising them.
"What a steady ship! With these ships handed to us of the Shogunate Navy, what does Inazuma have to fear from any Beast Tide out on the Dark Sea?" "Standing on something this solid, we've got confidence in our hearts, brothers!"
"At this speed, we'll probably reach the front line in no time! Everyone, sharpen up!"
"Maybe we'll even get the chance to save a few brothers out on the front line!"
The appearance of these steel giants had greatly boosted the morale of the Shogunate Navy.
Ten cruisers surged forward in a mighty procession, bound for the Dark Sea.
Ye Xi was gazing out at the distant sea, listening to Kamisato Ayato and Sangonomiya Kokomi discuss their plan of attack.
Suddenly, Kujou Sara walked in.
"Guuji, Master Ye Xi, we caught someone who snuck aboard the ship."
"Hm?" Ye Xi's face filled with question marks. "Bring him up."
At Kujou Sara's word, two shogunate soldiers outside marched in, hauling Arataki Itto between them.
Before anyone could speak, an indignant shout rang out: "Hey! Kujou Turtle! Let go of the Great and Mighty Me!"
"I came here this time with good reason! Oh, I bet you're just settling a private grudge under public pretext!"
"Too scared to wrestle the Great and Mighty Me, so you jump at the chance to mess with me!"
Not long after the Eye of God Hunt Decree had ended, he'd gone to challenge Kujou Sara to a duel, meaning to avenge the Eye of God that had been seized from him back then.
But Kujou Sara paid him no mind whatsoever, which had so enraged him that he'd given her an ugly nickname.
Kujou Sara knitted her brows. "Behave yourself."
Hearing that name, Kujou Sara was left speechless.
Yae Miko let out a soft chuckle. "So it's that boy from the Oni clan."
"Hm?"
"Aaah—! It's you! The fox-eared woman!"
"You, you, you!"
"The Great and Mighty Me isn't falling for it this time!"
Arataki Itto jumped, instantly recalling the agonizing memory of that ramen-eating contest!
In that fox's ramen contest, to see who could eat the most, he'd buried his head and slurped noodles like a madman…
Never expecting there'd be fried tofu inside!
One contest was all it took — he'd ended up bedridden for over a month straight!
He really had been swindled miserably by that fox woman!
So now, seeing this fox woman again, dread crept over him.
But when he turned his head, his gaze landed squarely on Kamisato Ayato.
That left him gaping. "Eh? Brother Ayato, how are you here too!?"
"Cough…" Kamisato Ayato had been steadily shrinking toward the back, never expecting Arataki Itto to spot him anyway.
He and Arataki Itto counted as friends — they even called each other sworn brothers — it was only that he'd never once told Arataki Itto he was the head of the Yashiro Commission's house.
Now that he'd been discovered, he had no idea how to explain.
With Arataki Itto currently in custody, the one thing he could do was step forward and put in a good word, so Kamisato Ayato spoke up: "Master Ye Xi, this man is a friend of mine. He likely wound up here by pure coincidence. I'd trouble you to go easy on him."
"Brother Ayato, you can't put it that way!"
Though pinned in place, Arataki Itto kept up his blunt, forthright manner: "The Great and Mighty Me went to all that trouble to catch a bunch of sea-beasts on the beach, ready to haul them back with the brothers to trade for Mora — and then one wave came crashing over and swept the whole lot away!"
"It had to be the waves this ship kicked up, so the Great and Mighty Me came over to take a look, version 2.0!"
"As the boss of the Arataki Gang, I've got to give my brothers an answer one way or another!"
Kamisato Ayato's brow twitched. Here he was doing his utmost to speak up for Arataki Itto, and this brother of his had started arguing his case.
He was genuinely afraid Ye Xi might get displeased and finish Arataki Itto off.
Ye Xi hadn't expected a little interlude like this, and found it rather amusing. "That's a simple matter. In a bit I'll have the sea-beasts hauled back for you, and I'll throw in an Onikabuto with monstrous combat power as compensation. How does that sound?"
"Whaaat!?"
The moment he heard "Onikabuto," Arataki Itto perked right up: "So you're a bug buddy too!?"
"Hahahaha, you're actually not a bad guy!"
"If that's how it is, then the Great and Mighty Me is gonna treat you as a real brother!"
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