Laughter Behind the Tension
The afternoon breeze in Tokyo Bay carried the scent of salt mixed with the odor of burning iron and steel from a recently concluded aerial dogfight. On the flight deck of JS Izumo, the landing gear of a MiG-27K Flogger squealed loudly as it touched the runway, shattering the silence. The swing-wing aircraft slowed down, then slowly came to a halt right at the landing spot, parking in its designated place.
Izumo stood near the bridge, closing her eyes for a moment as she severed the visual connection with her air units. With a virtual flick of her fingers through her partial rigging, the deck elevator groaned to life, sequentially taking the MiG-27K and all four AW249 Fenice helicopters into the ship's hull to undergo energy recovery and internal auto-repair. In their place, two Qaher-313 stealth drone units were brought up to the deck, standing by in standby mode to guard the port's airspace.
As soon as the connection was completely cut off, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion slammed into Izumo's body. Cold sweat poured down her forehead, soaking the collar of her jacket. She collapsed limply onto the steel floor of her ship's deck, gasping for air. Controlling multiple advanced air units simultaneously in a precise dogfight had apparently drained her core energy and mental fortitude to their absolute limits.
"Izumo-nee!"
The sound of hurried, running footsteps echoed. Javelin, Ayanami, Nimi, and Laffey rushed toward her. Without warning, the four destroyer shipgirls threw their arms around Izumo from every side. The warmth of their bodies seemed to act as an antidote to the cold afternoon sea breeze and the sheer exhaustion Izumo was suffering.
"Izumo-nee is so amazing, desu! The mission was a success with zero casualties on our side!" exclaimed Ayanami, her eyes sparkling, having already sheathed her massive sword.
Javelin wiped the sweat from Izumo's forehead with her handkerchief.
"You nearly gave us a heart attack, you know! Flying with such dangerous maneuvers... but thank goodness, you won!" she said with immense relief.
Izumo chuckled softly, returning their hugs one by one. Her fatigue slowly evaporated, replaced by a profound sense of relief.
"Thank you, everyone. I'm sorry for making you worry. But we managed to show them that Japan cannot be touched so easily," Izumo said with a sweet smile.
After catching her breath and feeling her strength slightly recover, Izumo stood up with Nimi's help. She dusted off her black shorts, then smiled at her beloved destroyers.
"Come on, let's go down to the pier. We need some rest," Izumo invited.
As Izumo walked slowly, slightly supported by Nimi as she descended the steel stairs to the concrete pier, two modern shipgirls were already waiting for her. JS Kaga and JS Hyuga stood at attention, though the tension on their faces had faded considerably. Kaga, who was usually as cold as ice, now looked at Izumo with a gaze radiating genuine respect.
"Izumo-san," Kaga said, this time adding the honorific suffix. She bowed her head slightly. "Thank you. If you hadn't stopped us earlier, we definitely would have launched our F-35Bs to intercept them. Losing Japan's vital assets not during a mission, but in our own home... that would have been fatal."
Hyuga scratched the back of her head even though it wasn't itchy; her face looked slightly pale as she realized the reality of the battlefield.
"Damn, that's insane. We just realized that those bastard J-10s were carrying specialized anti-aircraft missile armaments. If our jets had gone up, we would have been easy targets. Losing aircraft without even getting a chance to fight back in our own home—that would have been incredibly painful and humiliating," Hyuga said, shaking her head.
Izumo nodded slowly.
"Stealth aircraft do excel in stealth, but once detected by specialized missiles, their mobility isn't as good as pure dogfighters. That's exactly why I used my helicopters and MiGs to smash them kinetically," Izumo explained.
From behind Kaga and Hyuga, JS Mogami approached. The smart frigate was holding her digital tablet, her eyes constantly analyzing the combat data she had recorded through her passive sensors.
"I have one question, Izumo-san," Mogami said with her trademark analytical tone. "Why did you choose to stop the pursuit? Tactically speaking, you had absolute superiority to obliterate all five of those aircraft. Letting two of them escape, is this about applying mental pressure?"
Izumo smiled faintly, looking at Mogami with a praising gaze. This girl truly possessed a terrifyingly strategic mind.
"Correct, Mogami," Izumo answered calmly. "That Southern country's biggest weakness isn't the quality of their weapons, but their ego and coordination. They are used to utilizing flashy firepower for political bluffing and breaking their opponents' mental state before a war even begins. You know, in war, you can bluff your enemy with powerful weapons. But if your enemy is fearless, then the strongest weapon is meaningless if the owner's mentality breaks."
Izumo crossed her arms over her chest. "If we wiped them all out, their Central Command would just list them as MIA (Missing in Action) and might send a larger fleet out of feeling challenged. But, by destroying some and letting the rest run away, whichever shipgirl was controlling those aircraft will definitely talk. She will recount that Yokohama is guarded by 'something' that can rip their skies apart. Just attack and destroy their prideful weapons, and they are the ones who will suffer the mental pressure. They'll retreat for a while and won't dare use the same cheap bluffing strategy again."
Hearing that explanation, a sudden silence fell over the pier. Hyuga gaped, and Mogami quickly took notes on her tablet.
However, the most unexpected reaction came from Kaga.
Kaga, who always looked stiff, cold, and deeply suppressed her emotions, suddenly covered her mouth with one hand. Her shoulders trembled. Slowly, a chuckle slipped from her lips, until finally, the laughter exploded.
"Pfft... hahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!"
Kaga laughed freely. So loudly and genuinely that she ended up sitting on the concrete pier. She clutched her stomach while tears began to form in the corners of her eyes from laughing too hard.
Izumo was utterly bewildered. Her fox ears twitched in confusion. Her tail swayed left and right. Ayanami and Javelin exchanged uncomprehending glances.
"K-Kaga? Are you... alright?" Izumo asked awkwardly.
Kaga tried to stop her laughter. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes as she looked at Izumo.
"Hahaha... sorry, forgive me. I just realized how hilarious this situation is. Japan... a country that has always prided itself on coordination, defense, and the extraordinary individual capabilities of its crew... has actually been living in fear of a country whose main strength is nothing but threats, bluffs, and showing off weapons!" Kaga explained.
She chuckled softly again, this time her laughter mixed with a long-buried sense of relief. "We were too afraid of a giant shadow, when in reality, they themselves would run in fear if we broke their fangs. A very funny irony."
Hyuga shook her head watching her partner. However, she was also smiling. It had been a very long time since she had seen Kaga able to laugh so freely and vent her emotions since the departure of their older sister.
At least you don't have to cry alone anymore, Kaga, Hyuga thought with profound gratitude.
An Invitation and Echoing Longing
Once Kaga's laughter subsided and she stood back up with a (slightly) professional posture, she and Hyuga approached Izumo.
"Izumo, as a token of our gratitude, tonight Hyuga and I want to treat you to some sake at the tavern from last night. Will you join us?" Kaga invited, her face now looking far more relaxed.
Izumo smiled gently.
"An interesting invitation. But this evening, I want to spend some time having dinner with my little sisters first. We have a few things to discuss," Izumo answered.
"Alright then," Hyuga chimed in quickly. "We'll be waiting for you tonight. Make sure you show up, okay!"
Kaga and Hyuga then excused themselves to handle the combat reports to Central Command, leaving Izumo and her four destroyers.
"Come on, let's head back to the inn. On the way, we'll find a good place to eat," Izumo said, herding Javelin, Laffey, Nimi, and Ayanami away from the docking area.
Unlike their walk yesterday, which was only decorated with bewildered stares, this afternoon the atmosphere of the port had drastically changed. News of how Izumo's air units had destroyed three enemy jets without Japanese ships having to launch a single missile had spread across the entire pier like wildfire.
As Izumo's group walked past rows of logistics warehouses and repair workshops, the port crew—both male technicians in dirty wearpacks and female officers holding files—immediately halted their activities. They stood at attention, turned towards Izumo, and delivered a very solemn military salute.
Izumo's fox ears immediately perked straight up. She flinched, her porcelain face instantly turning bright red from the embarrassment of being the center of attention of hundreds of humans. Without her realizing it, her large silver fox tail began wagging left and right at a rapid rhythm out of sheer awkwardness.
Laffey, who was walking right behind Izumo with half-closed eyes, noticed the fluffy tail moving about. Without hesitation, Laffey took a step forward, spread both her arms, and immediately hugged Izumo's tail as if hugging an extremely soft bolster pillow.
"Mmph... warm... and soft..." Laffey mumbled while being half-dragged, her face buried in the fur of Izumo's tail. To her, the tail was as soft as the pillows back in her room.
Izumo was startled beyond belief. "E-eh?! Laffey!"
Javelin and Nimi burst out laughing at Laffey's antics, while Ayanami offered a subtle smile. Seeing Laffey so comfortable, Izumo sighed in resignation. Her embarrassment was replaced by the warmth of family. She smiled, letting the bunny destroyer hug her tail for the rest of the journey.
They finally decided to stop by a traditional yoshoku-style eatery located not far from the port's entrance gate. The sweet and savory aroma of demi-glace sauce immediately welcomed them.
"Mister, five portions of special omurice, please!" Izumo called out as they sat at a cozy wooden table in the corner of the shop.
Not long after, the dishes were served, perfectly wrapped in soft omelets. They ate while exchanging stories. The atmosphere was incredibly warm. They expressed their mutual longing for the Azur Lane port, located thousands of miles away in the middle of the Pacific.
"I wonder what Lady Nagato is doing right now? I miss the cool atmosphere of the shrine. I always loved it when she told stories with that gentle tone of hers," Javelin said while cutting into her omurice.
"I'm curious about Lady Bismarck. Does she still have those little arguments with Prinz Eugen over cake? And is Admiral Hopper still getting mad at both of them?" Nimi added.
Izumo stirred her sauce slowly, her eyes staring into the distance.
"I miss Jolly's cooking and Akaneko's chattiness. I hope they're doing well. I'm sure Akaneko is probably busy right now bothering Akashi or researching new technology from the residual energy in my ship," Izumo said, gazing at the omurice in front of her.
Remembering her small family back there made Izumo's resolve even firmer. She had to ensure this threat was dealt with so she could return home bringing tales of peace, not sorrow.
Infiltrating Hell
It was getting dark by the time they finally returned to the Navy Guest House Yokohama. Their stomachs were full, and it was time to rest. However, Izumo's steps halted when she saw two figures already standing and waiting for her at the building's entrance. Admiral Deguchi, dressed in his full service uniform, stood flanked by Hikawa Maru.
The Admiral's expression was dead serious.
Izumo immediately signaled her destroyers.
"You girls go inside the room first and take a bath. I'm going to speak with the Admiral for a moment," Izumo said. "It seems we can't relax just yet."
The four destroyers nodded obediently and quickly went inside the building, leaving Izumo, Admiral Deguchi, and Maru under the dim, flickering streetlamp of the inn.
Izumo stepped forward and saluted.
"Good evening, Admiral. Is there an urgent matter that requires you to come see us this late?" Izumo asked.
Admiral Deguchi returned the salute, then smiled faintly.
"First of all, on behalf of the entire Japanese force, I would like to express our deepest gratitude for your intervention this afternoon. You saved our assets and delivered a harsh warning to the enemy without provoking an open war escalation," Admiral Deguchi said.
Izumo nodded slowly. "That was my commitment."
The Admiral reached into his suit pocket, pulled out a silver encrypted flash drive, and handed it to Maru. Maru handled the device carefully and plugged it into the tablet she was holding. Several data points and maps immediately popped up on the screen.
"Izumo-san, after analyzing the mental pressure tactics you suggested to Mogami, Central Command has finally approved a top-secret, high-level operation," the Admiral stated. His tone grew heavy, typical of a commander disclosing military secrets. "We are planning a logistics sabotage operation."
Izumo's fox ears twitched with interest. "Sabotage?"
"Correct," Deguchi continued. "Our intelligence, through one of our stealth submarine shipgirls, JS Taigei, successfully infiltrated enemy waters. She has mapped the location of the main port for all three of those Chinese aircraft carriers and obtained crucial coordinates: the main ammunition depot, the logistics command center, and the spare parts hangar for their J-10 and J-20 aircraft."
"So... what is Japan going to do?" Izumo asked, her combat instincts beginning to read the direction of this conversation. Her fox tail began to curl around her legs; her ears stood straight up.
"We are going to infiltrate their nest," the Admiral answered firmly. "Sabotage their base and destroy their logistics infrastructure from the inside. Just as you said: destroy the logistics and the weapons, and their coordination and ego will crumble without us having to sink a single ship at sea."
Admiral Deguchi looked sharply into Izumo's eyes. "Mogami-san conveyed your psychological strategy to us. And because this idea originated from your tactics, we sincerely hope you are willing to assist in this mission directly. Mogami will serve as the field intelligence officer for this operation, and she personally stated that she would only feel secure if you participated."
Izumo fell silent, processing the information. Infiltrating an enemy port? That was tantamount to marching straight into a hell filled with sensors, mines, and thousands of soldiers. Not to mention the possibility of powerful enemy shipgirls patrolling the area.
"Besides Mogami, who else is joining?" Izumo asked.
"JS Maya will escort the team as a radar signal jammer and close-range electronic protector. She's an Aegis-class ship, perfect for electronic warfare," Maru explained.
Izumo looked down, staring at her boots for a moment. This plan was insane and highly perilous. However, if this sabotage succeeded, the threat of invasion from the South would be completely paralyzed for months without any movement from the South Sea. And after that, she could leave in peace.
"Alright. I will join," Izumo finally said, raising her head with firm resolve. "But I will bring one of my destroyers. I'm bringing Ayanami. She is an infiltration expert, possesses incredibly high mobility, and her close-quarters combat skills using a sword without relying on naval cannons are perfectly suited for a silent sabotage mission."
Admiral Deguchi bowed slightly once more.
"Thank you, Izumo-san. This decision will save many lives. Mission details, coordinates, and departure times will be briefed tomorrow morning in the meeting room. Get some rest," the Admiral said.
After excusing themselves, Admiral Deguchi and Maru left the inn area. Izumo exhaled a long breath, gazing up at the Yokohama night sky.
She then walked inside the building and returned to her room. As soon as she opened the door, her four destroyers, who were watching TV, immediately turned their heads.
"What business did the Admiral have coming so late at night, Izumo-nee?" Nimi asked.
Izumo walked to the center of the room. "A high-level sabotage mission. We are going to infiltrate the enemy port. And Ayanami, I have chosen you to come with me."
Ayanami, who was holding a glass of drinking water, paused for a moment, then stood up with a very sharp and serious gaze in her red eyes. "A silent mission. I understand, desu."
Javelin and Laffey immediately stood up, their faces radiating immense concern.
"Infiltrating an enemy port?! That's too dangerous, Izumo-nee!" Javelin protested.
"You girls don't need to worry," Izumo reassured them with a confident smile. "The three of you—Javelin, Nimi, Laffey—will remain on standby at the Yokohama port. Your task is to guard my ship, JS Izumo. I will prepare my ship so it can catch up to me. If a state of emergency occurs there, I can use my core energy to summon the ship or have my air units launch across the ocean automatically as a failsafe reinforcement."
Nimi adjusted her glasses, trying to think logically despite her anxious heart. "That's a sensible failsafe tactic. We will guard your ship with our lives."
Ayanami approached, grasping Izumo's hands. "I swear I will protect Izumo-nee. We will depart, complete the mission, and return safely, desu."
Izumo smiled, patting the top of Ayanami's head. Her heart felt much calmer. She then walked over to her wardrobe.
"Well then, military matters are done for today. Now, I want to keep my promise to Kaga and Hyuga," Izumo said cheerfully.
She pulled out a grey yukata with an elegant thin-striped motif. She wanted to look graceful and momentarily shed her military attributes. After changing clothes and tying her waist with a dark blue obi, her appearance truly radiated the charm of a captivating silver fox girl.
"Wow, Izumo-nee, you look so beautiful!" Javelin praised. However, Javelin's expression quickly shifted back to worry. "But remember, Izumo-nee. Don't drink too much. I don't want you getting blackout drunk and having terrible nightmares again like last night. We have an important mission tomorrow."
Izumo froze for a moment, recalling the trauma of Nemesis, but she quickly nodded reassuringly. "I promise. I will control myself. You girls go to sleep first."
Sake, Dreams, and Hangover-Relief Milk
The Yokohama night air felt exceptionally cool as Izumo walked in her wooden geta toward the agreed-upon izakaya tavern. As she slid open the wooden door, a small bell chimed.
At a corner table, Kaga and Hyuga were already seated, waiting for her. Both were dressed in matching casual civilian clothes.
"Izumo! Over here!" Hyuga called out, waving a hand. Her eyes widened slightly upon seeing Izumo's attire. "Wow, a yukata? You look very... different."
Kaga smiled faintly, then immediately poured warm sake from a tokkuri (small ceramic bottle) into the ochoko (small cup) belonging to Izumo, who had just sat down.
"Please. The best sake in Yokohama," Kaga said.
Izumo, fully intending to respect her hosts, accepted the cup. Without further ado, she downed it in a single gulp. The warm liquid flowed down, burning her throat, leaving a sweet and harsh sensation that was foreign to her. In her previous life, she had not been a drinker, and her Kansen physique apparently did not possess a high alcohol tolerance. That trait of getting drunk easily had evidently carried over completely into this world.
"Pace yourself," Hyuga chuckled, pouring her own sake.
The conversation flowed. They discussed the technical details of the afternoon battle, traded stories about their experiences at sea, until finally, the conversation shifted to something much deeper. Kaga, with the sake starting to work its magic, began to speak with teary eyes about her anxieties all this time. About her fear that the country she protected would be destroyed before she could find her older sister. The mission to find her sister felt like a lifelong, heavy burden.
Hyuga loyally patted Kaga's back, encouraging her with the rough yet affectionate words typical of a tomboyish girl.
Izumo simply listened intently. Her heart was touched, seeing the fragility of these two modern aircraft carriers that the enemy so feared. Out of sympathy—and because of her own carelessness—Izumo kept drinking cup after cup of sake that Kaga continuously poured, acting exactly like a total amateur.
The effects didn't take long to show.
An hour later, Izumo had completely collapsed. Her porcelain face was flushed a deep red. Her body radiated heat. The striped grey yukata she had worn so neatly was now slightly unkempt around the collar, revealing her pale collarbones. She bowed her head, resting it right onto the wooden tavern table.
Her tail wagged slowly; her ears drooped.
"Ugh... thiiis worrllld is spiinnninnng..." Izumo babbled with a slurred voice.
Kaga herself had hiccuped multiple times, though her alcohol tolerance was clearly much higher. Hyuga, who was the most sober among the three, could only facepalm.
"Hyuga... Kaga..." Izumo mumbled with half-closed eyes, her head still glued to the table. "You know... my main mission here... is to travel the world... to see the vastness of this sea... for the future of the Azur Lane base. They accepted me... took me in... gave me a family... when I didn't even know what world this was..."
Izumo suddenly lifted her head, pointing a trembling finger right at Kaga's nose. "You guys! If this world is at peace... if your damn ridiculous military rules have been changed... you must visit Azur Lane! Our base is right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! I'll introduce you to Nagato... to Enterprise... Bismarck... to Jolly and Akaneko..."
Hearing the sincere rambling of the drunk fox girl, Kaga fell silent. Her heart warmed. Amidst the threat of war and the loss that chained her, Izumo's offer sounded like a glimpse of heaven. Kaga smiled softly, truly smiling like an ordinary girl.
"I promise, Izumo," Kaga whispered quietly between hiccups. "Hopefully, someday, those rules will change. And we Japanese aircraft carriers can travel the world like you. Finding freedom upon the oceans."
Hyuga chuckled softly, watching the emotional scene played out by the two drunkards. She looked at Izumo, whose appearance was now a total mess—her yukata skewed, and her tail limp.
"Good grief, the brave Captain Izumo from this afternoon has now turned into an overheated, tame fox," Hyuga teased. She then stood up and patted Izumo's shoulder. "That's enough drinking. I promise I'll escort you home safely. And before we reach the inn, I'll stop by and buy you the best fresh milk in Yokohama. You need to sober up; tomorrow we have a crazy mission into hell."
"Miiilkkk... waaant..." Izumo babbled in agreement. Her head dropped back onto the table with a cute smile, her face burning red. She laid there, completely exhausted.
Although her brain was dulled by the alcohol, deep within Izumo's heart, a lingering fear still whispered. She was terrified that if she fell asleep now, the shadow of USS Nemesis and the ruined bodies of her friends would return to haunt her dreams.
However, as Hyuga helped her stand and Kaga walked unsteadily beside her, Izumo realized one thing. She respected their invitation, she cherished this friendship, even if the risk was having to face her own trauma in the realm of dreams.
Maintaining peace... and making friends... Izumo thought weakly as the Yokohama night wind brushed against her flushed face. ...is actually quite hard.
The Mission Begins
The pre-dawn moon in Yokohama illuminated the darkness of the night over the ocean's surface. The morning breeze blew cold, carrying a salty dew that clung to the steel of the warships. Today, while the world was yet to be greeted by the sun, a top-secret, high-level operation officially commenced.
At the main pier, the aircraft carrier JS Izumo stood sturdy like a floating fortress. Atop its vast flight deck, three Azur Lane destroyer shipgirls stood in alert formation. KMS Z23 (Nimi) held a digital tablet, Javelin gripped her spear tightly, and USS Laffey—who was usually sleepy—held her soda bottle in the dark morning with red eyes full of vigilance. The three of them had sworn to protect this ship.
Behind them, a line of aerial killing machines had been prepped by Izumo: four AW249 Fenice attack helicopters sat silently yet deadly, two Qaher-313 stealth drones were ready to take off in seconds, and three MiG-27K Flogger fighter jets were parked neatly with missiles mounted beneath their wings. These units were like hunting hounds, waiting for a single breath from their master, ready to fly and tear through the sky whenever Izumo summoned them from hundreds of kilometers away.
Izumo purposely left them as her final trump card. If this infiltration went south, this ship and air fleet would be their ticket home.
Meanwhile, the JS Mogami was cleaving the waves at maximum speed since before dawn broke. Japan's pride, the stealth frigate, surged forward like a black blade slicing the ocean. Its hull design, angled sharply to deflect radar waves, made it look futuristic beneath the light of the sinking moon.
Izumo wasn't on her own ship. She stood on the forward bridge deck of the JS Mogami, letting the fierce sea wind batter her face and silver hair. In front of her, right at the tip of the ship's bow, stood the "Demon" of the Sakura Empire: IJN Ayanami.
Ayanami was in full rigging mode. Her steel combat gear manifested around her petite frame. Two giant torpedo riggings flanked her left and right sides, a twin-barrel cannon rigging was mounted on her left arm, and her right hand tightly gripped her signature massive sword—a sword whose blade tip glowed with kinetic energy, ready to cleave through steel.
Izumo stepped forward, approaching the railing just behind Ayanami. She leaned against the cold iron fence, staring at the small yet unyielding back in front of her.
"Ayanami," Izumo called softly. "Are you having second thoughts about this mission?"
Ayanami's mechanical ears twitched slightly, indicating she heard the call, but she didn't look back. Her glowing red eyes stared straight at the horizon to the South.
"No, desu," Ayanami answered curtly. Her hand tightened its grip on the hilt of her greatsword. "I am completely ready. I will cut down anything that tries to block our path, desu."
Izumo smiled faintly hearing that answer.
From behind the thick glass of the JS Mogami's steering bridge, Mogami observed the interaction between the two girls from another dimension. Shipgirls from the world of Azur Lane... Mogami thought with immense admiration. They don't take cover inside a steel hull; they wear the steel hull as their clothing. Soul, flesh, and cannons forged into one fearless entity. I have never seen such pure bravery. The spirit of Bushido.
JS Mogami continued to push her speed until breaking the 30-knot mark. After sailing for nearly two hours, the silhouette of the border archipelago began to faintly appear behind the morning sea mist. At the same time, JS Mogami's passive radar picked up a signal from the northwest.
"Izumo-san, we have reached the rendezvous point," Mogami's voice echoed from the intercom speaker on the outer deck.
Izumo narrowed her eyes, looking in the direction the ship's bow pointed. There, piercing through the thin veil of the morning sea fog, the Aegis-class destroyer JS Maya (DDG-179) revealed herself. The ship was pulling aside, awaiting their arrival. JS Mogami approached and aligned her position until they were sailing side-by-side in a parallel formation. The distance between the two massive ships was only a few dozen meters.
Izumo turned toward JS Maya's command room. Behind the slightly darkened glass of the ship's cabin, the figure of the shipgirl inside was crystal clear: a girl with short silver hair and brown eyes that gazed sharply yet warmly, wearing a modern Japanese-style black sailor uniform (seifuku) with a long white scarf waving gently within the room. She stood in a perfect military salute.
Izumo returned the salute. A wordless communication between fellow warriors of the sea. JS Maya was the key to this infiltration; she would be responsible for absorbing, deflecting, and jamming any enemy radar waves that attempted to touch JS Mogami's hull.
"Mogami, Maya, listen to me," Izumo spoke through the secured internal radio channel. "From this point on, we are entering the red zone. Execute Silent Running protocol."
"Understood, Izumo-san. Emission Control (EMCON) activated at maximum level," Mogami replied from the helm.
Active sonars and search radars were shut down. JS Mogami and Maya surged forward through an ocean that was starting to fill with sea fog, an unexpected natural advantage.
However, amidst her sharp focus, something bizarre suddenly happened to Izumo.
Zzzzzrkkk.
An agonizingly sharp, sudden pain pierced her left temple. Izumo gasped, her hands reflexively clutching her head. The vision from her right eye—which was connected to her partial rigging interface—suddenly suffered a massive glitch. Neon green static lines flooded her vision, transforming her view of the sea into a pile of corrupted code for two solid seconds.
"Ugh...!" Izumo groaned softly, her body staggering backward and crashing into the bridge wall.
Ayanami, relying on her sharp instincts, instantly whipped her head around. "Izumo-nee?! What's wrong, desu? Are there enemies?"
Izumo shook her head vigorously, trying to clear her vision. The static blinking vanished, and the sea looked normal again. "N-nothing, Ayanami. Just... a momentary signal interference. Maybe Maya's EMCON system clashed with my internal energy and Wisdom Cube. Keep your focus forward."
Ayanami looked at her with hesitation but eventually nodded and turned back to face the bow.
Izumo took a deep breath. A hallucination? Trauma? she thought, trying to rationalize it. Izumo had to prioritize the mission. She forced herself back to a standing posture.
However, Izumo didn't know that the glitch was not a hallucination, nor was it Maya's technical error.
Far away in a different coordinate, descending into the pitch-black depths of the ocean where sunlight could not pierce. At a depth of over five hundred meters below the surface, the intensely pressurized ocean water was smoothly cleaved by a colossal, pitch-black stealth hull. The ship hovered in the water like a mechanical leviathan.
USS Nemesis CV-02.
The stealth submarine aircraft carrier crept slowly, dampening the noise of her twin cavitating propellers. Inside the dark combat information center (CIC) of the USS Nemesis, illuminated only by a dim red glow, a shipgirl stepped forward from the shadows. Her appearance was terrifying: long black hair with a cynical expression, wearing a short red-and-black tactical dress, and red thigh-high stockings layered with armor. She carried a giant mechanical tactical bow on her back and held a red tactical assault rifle in her right hand.
Through the energy sensors of her Wisdom Cube, she observed the energy glitch she had just inflicted on Izumo.
"Keep crawling, Silver Fox," the Nemesis girl whispered. Her voice echoed like grinding metal, brimming with hatred and endless hunger. "Enjoy your little victory on land. Because in the end, all steel carcasses will descend to meet me in this darkness. Oh, you cute little aircraft carrier."
The stealth aircraft carrier reduced her speed once more, blending into the absolute darkness of the Pacific Trench. Nemesis knew perfectly well that to destroy hope, she had to let her prey feel they had a victory first, before finally drowning them in bottomless despair.
Above the surface, JS Mogami and JS Maya continued to push through the fog, carrying Izumo and Ayanami deeper toward the man-made gates of hell. Accompanied by a deafening silence, the infiltration convoy had passed the point of no return. The true game of death had begun.
Infiltrating Under the Raging Storm
After a tense, long voyage under the Silent Running protocol, evading detection from all corners of the ocean, JS Mogami and JS Maya finally dropped their anchors at a highly concealed cape. The location was a masterpiece of nature, seemingly created to hide dark secrets; surrounded by towering black coral cliffs that were relentlessly battered by massive waves. Its shores were lined with dense tropical forest greenery, whose ancient branches intertwined tightly like a natural roof, completely blocking line of sight from any aerial reconnaissance.
As soon as both ships were stable and their anchors had firmly embedded into the shallow seabed, JS Maya immediately took action from within her darkened command room. She activated her tactical camouflage system. Specialized generators within her hull spewed out an incredibly thick, wet white smoke, formulated to mimic the natural sea fog that frequently appeared in these waters. The smoke billowed outward, creeping over the ocean's surface. Within minutes, the artificial fog had swallowed the forms of the two colossal warships. From a distance, even from the closest visual range, JS Mogami and JS Maya had vanished.
Nature itself seemed to conspire in the success of this suicide mission. The sky, which had only been a cloudy grey, now turned pitch black, as dark as an early-arriving night. Storm clouds rolled very low, bringing swirling winds that began to howl wildly, shaking the tree branches until the terrifying sound of snapping wood could be heard.
Izumo stood on the bridge deck of JS Mogami, staring at the darkening sky. The sea wind, carrying salty dew, lashed at her face, whipping her white techwear jacket violently. This extreme weather was no coincidence. Her memory flashed back to the brief intelligence briefing from Admiral Deguchi early this morning, right before they departed Yokohama.
On the projector screen in that meeting room, the weather radar had predicted with ninety percent accuracy that a large-scale typhoon would form and strike right at the coordinates of the enemy fleet's military base on the Southern coast today. The typhoon was classified as a severe storm. That was the primary reason this sabotage mission was heavily accelerated.
"We are not fighting the storm, Izumo-san," Deguchi had said then. "We will ride the storm. The enemy's thermal, infrared, and optical sensors will be completely blind amidst the rain and storm. The wind will muffle the sound of footsteps and small explosions. It is your one and only window of opportunity to get in and get out alive."
Izumo took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the cold, wet air. "It's time," she said quietly, her voice almost swallowed by the increasingly ferocious roar of the wind.
She and Ayanami stepped toward the edge of the ship's deck, preparing to disembark. The main burden now lay on their shoulders: to silently infiltrate the heart of a heavily guarded enemy base, breach the defense perimeter, and plant explosives in the critical ammunition depots and logistics facilities—without causing any casualties on the enemy side. It was a paradoxical mission that sounded impossible, but Izumo was determined to make it happen.
From the cabin door, Mogami walked out, piercing through the howling wind to approach them. The smart frigate held a small metal box. With the swift and precise movements typical of her, Mogami pulled out two micro-trackers designed to be waterproof and highly resistant to extreme electromagnetic interference. She attached one tracker to the inner collar of Izumo's jacket, and pinned the other beneath the folds of Ayanami's tactical uniform.
"I will monitor your coordinates and biometrics in real-time from my tablet inside the cabin," Mogami stated in a very serious tone, having to half-shout to be heard over the storm. "Meanwhile, JS Maya will remain on standby at her position. She has activated her full-scale signal jammer. Enemy radio communications, their ground radars, and their patrol frequencies will be flooded with static interference to mask your movements."
Izumo nodded firmly. She gently patted Mogami's shoulder. "Thank you, Mogami. Hold our perimeter. If things get too hot in there, or if our trackers show anomalies, I will contact you using a short-range sonar-based emergency channel for an extraction route."
"Be careful, you two. Don't force it if the route is compromised," Mogami warned, her eyes radiating a rare showing of concern.
Izumo turned to Ayanami. The demon girl from the Sakura Empire returned her gaze with a nod full of determination. Ayanami's mechanical ears flattened against the wind, but her glowing red eyes beamed with absolute combat readiness. Without hesitation, Izumo and Ayanami leapt down from the towering edge of the ship's deck, landing with perfect acrobatics on the slippery rocky shore below.
Just as Izumo's tactical boots and Ayanami's metal geta touched the muddy ground, the sky finally broke completely open.
The rain poured down torrentially, as if millions of gallons of water were dumped simultaneously from the heavens. The thick, freezing raindrops battered the forest leaves, the coral rocks, and their bodies violently. This rain was coupled with the howling typhoon wind, creating a natural wall of sound that was truly deafening. Visibility plummeted instantly, restricting their sight to just a few meters ahead. Darkness and water consumed everything.
"Let's go, Ayanami! Stay low! Stay alert for any movement from humans or Chinese shipgirls," Izumo ordered through their short-range internal radio comms.
Exploiting this perfect natural chaos, the two Kansen from different dimensions dashed straight into the dense tropical coastal forest. They moved like two shadows detached from their bodies, slipping toward the direction of the enemy dockyard base in absolute silence.
Navigating through a forest in the middle of a typhoon was no easy feat, even for the physique of a shipgirl. The ground they stepped on had turned into slippery, sinking mud. The giant tree roots jutting out of the earth became traps ready to trip them up. Thorny branches whipped at their faces and clothing, but neither complained or slowed their running rhythm.
Izumo ran in front, her right hand gripping the hilt of her blue HPLS laser sword at her waist, ready to draw it at any second. Her eyes scanned every dark corner of the forest with hyper-vigilance. Since her primary radar was intentionally shut down to avoid passive enemy detection, Izumo could only rely on her raw instincts—instincts that once solely belonged to a gamer analyzing maps, but had now merged with her Kansen body into razor-sharp combat intuition.
Every time lightning struck the sky, its flash illuminated the trees for a fraction of a second, giving Izumo a directional cue before the world was swallowed by darkness again. She could feel the chill creeping across her skin, but the heat of adrenaline in her chest burned away all doubts. The vision of her nightmare from last night—the bloody, fallen bodies of her friends—kept pushing her legs to run faster. She had to finish this so that peaceful future could be achieved.
To her right rear, Ayanami ran parallel with a deadly and nearly silent rhythm. As a specialist torpedo destroyer from the World War II era, Ayanami was a true master of stealth operations and night infiltration. Her movements flowed like water, evading every natural obstacle with the grace of a shinobi.
Her right hand was poised over the hilt of the greatsword sheathed across her back, while her left hand tightly gripped her twin-barrel cannon rigging. Ayanami had unequipped her torpedo rigging to reduce visual bulk and the sound of metal scraping against the thick brush. She stared straight ahead; her focus was solely on one thing: protecting Izumo's back and ensuring not a single enemy managed to touch her older sister.
They continued moving through the heart of the coastal forest for nearly forty minutes. Izumo's breathing grew heavy. Despite having a Kansen body, weathering a typhoon through muddy terrain exerted immense physical strain. However, in the distance, through the gaps of dense tree trunks and the sheets of driving rain, an artificial light began to glow through the darkness.
Izumo instantly halted her steps, raising a clenched fist as a tactical signal. Ayanami stopped instantaneously, lowering her posture until she was kneeling on the muddy ground, perfectly blending in with the dark bushes around her.
"We have reached the outer perimeter," Izumo whispered quietly over the internal channel.
They crawled forward slowly, approaching the edge of the forest that bordered a cleared open area. Before them, the logistics hellscape of the enemy fleet lay sprawled out.
It was a massive military base, encircled by a four-meter-high concrete wall topped with electrified barbed wire. Giant high-powered searchlights rotated through the rain, constantly sweeping the outer perimeter. Behind the wall, Izumo could make out the silhouettes of towering cranes, rows of curved-roof concrete warehouses, and in the distance, the blurry outlines of modern warships docked at port.
However, Izumo's primary concern right now wasn't the wall or the searchlights, but what lay outside the wall. Exactly fifty meters ahead of their hiding spot, there was an outer perimeter guard post. The post was a small concrete structure with a boom barrier blocking dirt road access to the forest.
Around the post, Izumo saw something that made her heart drop. The guards stationed there were not shipgirls, but humans.
There were six guards patrolling. They wore thick olive-green military raincoats covering their uniforms, complete with protective tactical helmets. Clutched tightly in their hands were bullpup assault rifles—QBZ-95 variants—their barrels pointed down but ready to fire at a moment's notice. They were ground technical and logistics troops, ordinary human soldiers assigned to secure the facility during the storm while the shipgirls took shelter inside the base.
The guards looked like they were shivering against the cold. They paced back and forth in groups of two, occasionally speaking into the shoulder radios that crackled loudly due to the signal jamming from JS Maya.
Izumo swallowed hard. The rain kept soaking her face. She turned to Ayanami. The destroyer girl had already moved her right hand to the hilt of the greatsword on her back. Her eyes glared sharply at the six human soldiers, just waiting for a single command from Izumo to dash forward and decapitate them all in seconds. To a shipgirl, ordinary humans holding assault rifles were no significant threat in close-quarters combat.
However, that promise echoed in Izumo's head again. The oath she swore before Admiral Deguchi, and the vow she made to herself.
I will not sink a single ship soul, Izumo thought. And that applies to the lives of ordinary humans who are just following their country's orders.
Izumo grabbed Ayanami's wrist, halting the girl's motion to draw the blade. Ayanami looked back in confusion.
"Don't use the sharp edge of your sword, Ayanami," Izumo whispered sternly, her eyes piercing through the rain. "They are ordinary humans. A single Kansen strike will cleave their bodies in half. Remember the primary rule of this mission: zero casualties."
Ayanami paused for a moment, looking at the group of guards, then back at Izumo. Slowly, the demon girl released her grip from the sword hilt on her back. Instead, she drew the cannon rigging on her left arm, and removed the steel barrel of the cannon, shifting it into a highly dense iron striking baton.
"Understood, Izumo-nee," Ayanami answered obediently. "I will use blunt force attacks. Incapacitate them without killing, desu."
Izumo nodded in relief. She herself did not draw her laser sword. She tightly gripped the hilt of her sheathed blade, preparing to use the hard scabbard as her CQC (Close Quarters Combat) weapon. Possessing a manifested Kansen body meant Izumo had physical strength, speed, and reflexes multiplied far beyond any human special forces soldier.
"We split up, divide the attack in two. Three on the left, three on the right. We use the sound of thunder to mask our final steps. Move fast, strike the nerve points on the neck and the back of the head. Don't let them pull the trigger or scream into the radio," Izumo instructed, her brain calculating at high speed.
The searchlight from atop the concrete wall rotated away from the guard post's position. Darkness momentarily blanketed the open area again.
A massive flash of lightning suddenly struck the sky, illuminating the world in a blinding white, followed a second later by a deafening clap of thunder.
"Now!" Izumo said.
Izumo and Ayanami darted out from the bushes like two arrows loosed from their bows. Their speed cutting through the rain could absolutely not be tracked by ordinary human eyes amidst a storm.
Izumo lunged at the group of guards on the right side. The first soldier had just turned his head, sensing a strange shift in the wind, but before he could raise his rifle, Izumo's scabbard slammed hard into the base of his neck. The soldier crumpled silently.
The second soldier's eyes widened, opening his mouth to scream, but Izumo had already pivoted her body, delivering a devastating roundhouse kick square against the side of his tactical helmet. The brutal impact rendered the second soldier unconscious instantly, collapsing into the mud.
The third soldier managed to raise his rifle. His index finger was just about to squeeze the trigger when Izumo dashed forward, grabbing the gun's barrel with her left hand and twisting it with Kansen strength until it warped instantly. With her right hand, Izumo struck the man's solar plexus with the pommel of her sword hilt. The third soldier dropped to his knees, gasping for air, before Izumo followed up with a lethal-speed strike to the back of his neck until he passed out.
On the left side, Ayanami completed her task far more efficiently. She vaulted over the first soldier, smashing the back of his head with her cannon barrel mid-air. As she landed, she performed a leg sweep that took down the second soldier, then struck his chest until he fainted. The third soldier tried to bash Ayanami with the stock of his rifle, but Ayanami caught the stock with one hand, spun the soldier's body around, and executed a judo throw that slammed the man into the muddy ground until he lost consciousness from the severe impact on his back.
In less than five seconds, the six outer perimeter guards had been neutralized without a single shot fired, and without a single life lost.
Izumo stood in the pouring rain, panting slightly. She looked at Ayanami, who stood among the unconscious bodies of the soldiers, making sure they were still breathing.
They had successfully bypassed the first gate. However, ahead of them, the towering concrete wall of the enemy's logistics base awaited, hiding a much greater threat and the enemy shipgirls who might be on standby behind it. The real mission was just about to begin. Infiltrating true hell.
Will they succeed in destroying the logistics without triggering an open war? Or will this storm instead bear silent witness to an unavoidable, brutal battle?
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To be continued.
Chapter 16: I will not kill, but you will not stand either