The Battle of Rabaul ended in what appeared to be a draw, with both sides unable to gather another round of fierce fighting anytime soon due to the severe damage to their capital ships. The beginning of 1944 was strangely calm.

"It's so boring, it's rare to have the opportunity to go to Maizuru Port, and there are still so many things to deal with that I can't finish it." Kii was lying on the desk and complaining, her injuries had basically healed before returning home, and she only needed to repair the hull to recover to her best condition. However, Akagi arranged for her to take charge of the fourth team that had lost Admiral Dafeng, and directly merged the ninth team with the fourth team.

Kii was left with the choice that only the new team would retain the insignificant right to name the ninth team or use the fourth team.

"The network and intelligence network that Sasebo Port has been operating for many years is now about to be rebuilt in Maizuru. I don't complain, Admiral, do you think about my feelings once in a while? Gonjun Sato handed over a cup of hot coffee and sorted out Kii's signed instruction. I've already arranged for Sasakiji Temple to come to Maizuru to help, and Sousuke Takayanagi has said that he will help us as much as he can. The port of Yokosuka is still his sphere of influence, and Akagi will not touch him. ”

"But speaking of which, Akagi is so powerful, not only a super-first-class air carrier mother, but also the leader of a political group. Even the construction of the new Akagi and the new aircraft was her own. ”

Kii was greatly surprised by the information provided by Gonjun Sato, who looked at the image of Akagi described above and couldn't believe it for a long time.

"I've been investigating Akagi's background, and I've had some information for a long time, but I didn't tell you when I judged that it wouldn't affect us." Sato Gonjun overlooked the most important point, how could the person who could make Kaga follow with all his heart be an ordinary person?

"Asking me not to leave Maizuru Port without permission is already a clear act of house arrest. I really don't understand Akagi's intentions, she's not afraid of the consortium behind me......" Kii paused, "It seems that she really doesn't have to be afraid." ”

Sato Gonjun also wants to fight against Akagi who suddenly shows his "true face" with Kii, and fighting for power or something is what he likes and does best. But the top priority is not to start infighting, Sousuke Takayanagi is still alive and well, and there will naturally be no major changes on Kii's side.

A quick knock on the door interrupts Kii's conversation with Sato Gongun, and a young woman in a junior uniform walks into the house, her face slightly unpleasant. She pulled out her military ID and introduced herself, "Hello, Admiral Kii. I am the former secretary of the Fourth Sentai Team, Yoshiko Kanda, and I officially became a ship mother the day before yesterday. The current name is 'Ibuki', and I came here today to make a report. ”

Kii was supposed to work in the former Fourth Sentai Castle, which was renamed the Ninth Sentai Clan, but in order to be angry, she stayed in the new Shofu for a day after arriving at Maizuru Port.

"Ibuki? The name of the mountain? So are you the newest heavy cruiser? ”

Faced with Kii's sudden realization, Ibuki still kept a straight face, and he didn't mean to give his new boss a good face at all. "That's common sense. Lord Admiral. ”

In the beginning, Kii might have been afraid of Ibuki, but now Kii has already learned how to use his power. "You're here to make a face for me? I advise you to settle down, I'm not in a good mood right now. ”

Kii's tone lowered a few degrees, and he ignored Ibuki. "Sato-kun, you and Ibuki go and gather the members of the team, and after 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I will be there. Beforehand, you told them what to do and what not to do, according to the instructions I signed! ”

Gonjun Sato pretended to be a gentleman and stood by the door to signal Ibuki to go first, so angry that Ibuki stepped on the door frame of Kii's house. "Lord Taiho wouldn't be so rude as not attending a clan meeting for a long time."

"I am the flagship of the Combined Fleet, and my position in the IJN Combined Fleet is second only to Akagi and Admiral Ozawa, so you are not qualified to compare me with your former Admiral! Focusing only on meaningless trivial matters, in vain hope that I will give you special care? Your actions are dishonoring Dafeng! ”

Neither of them has the luxury of expecting the other to meet their expectations, the war has come to this point, and most of the ship's mothers already know the imminent total annihilation, and small things like making enemies with others are insignificant.

"Is it okay to lose the new subordinate of your beloved big sister without comfort?" After Ibuki left, Gonjun Sato smiled and asked Kii. He likes to see the evil of human nature revealed, and it is precisely because of the mutual reluctance to spend even a few minutes talking to each other that it has evolved into a sharp clash of values.

Kii glanced at Gonjun Sato and turned his head angrily. "Won't I continue to play the role of a considerate big sister for Dafeng, and the subordinates she brought out still need me to spoil them? Ignore her, it's a character who can't help anyway. The top priority is to prepare for the next big war, and although the IJN Combined Fleet is bound to suffer heavy losses, the chances of defeating the central Suhime are running out. ”

Kii seems to have thought of a new plan, and when he retreated from the previous damage, he must have had a flash of inspiration for this plan.

"Which side are we on? Akagi or Sousuke Takayanagi? ”

"Neutrality, I just want to win this war for the Japanese Empire, and let them fight for power and power infighting." Kii also knew that the forces of Sosuke Takayanagi would not be able to survive for long, and he could retreat to Palau alive, all thanks to a draw in the Battle of Rabaul, and if the central Suhime did not die, Akagi would not be in a hurry to clear up the "traitor heresy".

Kii also made up his mind that Akagi would not use the knife against him, and the terrible ship girl who had hidden her true face until now, and the punishment of Kii was all a hint that she should no longer side with Sousuke Takayanagi. As for the victory, she Kii doesn't expect any good results for herself, because in order to defeat the central suihime, she Kii must fight to the death with the preparation of the same end.

Sato Gonjun also sensed that Kii had a pessimistic attitude of seeing death as if he were at home since the end of the Battle of Rabaul, and the draw represented that the balance of fate was once again tilted towards the end of defeat, and that could end this war at the Battle of Rabaul may be the best result for Kii, at least to avoid the torture of himself for a long time.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you smile, Kii."

"It's not time to ...... yet"

Kii's eyes turned blood-red again, the Battle of Rabaul was a complete defeat for her, and now that she is suppressed, Kii can't wait to return to the battlefield to continue her unfinished mission.

Every ship girl may be stimulated by strong negative emotions to slowly deepen, if there is a bloody killing on their own hull, the undetermined ship mother can easily become a crazy deep-sea ship. Kii is no exception, but she has experienced a lot of growth, and she can maintain her sanity as the daughter of the deep.

"Don't you want to become a complete battle between the Deep Sea Habitat and the Central Habitat? In that case, you will never come back, and you will leave human society forever. ”

"No, it won't."

Kii's lies can't deceive Sato Gonjun, but she is not lying, and Kii, who is preparing for war with a mortal heart, doesn't mind losing her human identity at all. As long as she can be given a chance, she will not hesitate to evacuate all the crew to a nearby ship, and then calmly transform into the form of a deep-sea perch.

"When the chores of Maizuru Port are done, we will go to Hiroshima Prefecture. I agreed that I would accompany me to enjoy the cherry blossoms when I returned home. ”

The cherry blossoms need to be seen in the spring, and Kii is also hinting that Sato Gonjun will be able to enjoy a brief period of peace when the fleets of both sides are repaired, at least until spring.

"I'm honored. I feel like I'm motivated to work again, even though the work of building an intelligence network at Maizuru Port alone is enough for me to have a headache. ”

Business as usual until the next big war comes......

Kii took out two pieces of letter paper from the drawer, she couldn't go back to her hometown to visit her relatives immediately when she returned to China this time, the estrangement between them still existed, but there was not much time left for Kii, whether it was love or hate, the memories of her relatives Kii couldn't easily forget.

"Hui Zheng's letter mentioned that he will marry Yubari this summer, so let's write a letter to bless the two of them first."

――――

Far away from Maizuru Port, the former Holland Harbor, the harbor water ghost quietly arrived, and with it arrived with her direct troops.

She glanced at the northern perch, who was still building sand castles on the beach, and she hesitated again when she wanted to tell the other party that she had died.

"Lord Harbor Water Ghost, I'll teach that Qi Ji a lesson, she dares to ignore you."

The newly-born Suhime, who banishes the water ghost, wants to show off in front of her master, but she is stopped by the harbor water ghost.

"Don't ignore her, it's not enough to be counted as a combat power Qi Ji, just ignore it."

Before the harbor water ghost came, she didn't expect to send the northern Qihime to carry out any missions, and during the time when the central Qihime was repairing at the bottom of the sea, she became the acting commander of the deep-sea fleet. Another air defense roof was not very enthusiastic about this, but led the fleet to invade Australia, which was powerless to resist.

"When you're ready, go straight to your destination. Now is the time of exhaustion of the IJN Combined Fleet, and the northern seas are again an area of their negligence. Don't mess me up. ”

The harbor water ghost clenched its giant claws menacingly and slammed it the beach. The other new roost who followed her, the empty mother perched ghost, nodded hurriedly in reply.

The empty mother perch ghost is a harbor water ghost with Chitose、Chiyoda、Flying Eagle three light air mother wreckage made of imitation perch,And the work of レ far away on the other side of the ocean,It's not much different.,She's not yet at the level of being able to make an empty mother perch.。

"You have to succeed, and if you fail, you two won't have to come back alive."

"Yes, the task will be accomplished."

Leaving behind the two new subordinates, the harbor water ghost turned his attention to the abrupt pile of stones on the beach, all of which were filled with wooden stake crosses, like Western-style tombs.

"Superfluous stuff."

With a distorted expression of disgust, the harbor water ghost was very dissatisfied with this undeveloped frontline port, but she was only disgusted like a guest, and did not change her intentions here. It's hard to feel the atmosphere of war here, and it may be better to keep it as it is.