Spruance really did not give up the battle, and he did not have the right to decide that the Fifth Fleet would give up the fight. On the way to Hawaii Island, Spruance received the news that Kauai Island had been attacked by carrier-based bombers of the Tang Empire. At the same time, a letter was sent from Nimitz himself, and the Fifth Fleet must fully assist in the defense of Kauai Island. Nimitz did not limit the Fifth Fleet's movements, but Spruance was well aware of what was meant by "full assistance."

Kauai is one of the largest islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, the third largest in the Hawaiian archipelago, after Hawaii and Maui, and more than 100 nautical miles east of Oahu, where Pearl Harbor is located. Previously, the Tang Imperial Navy was fighting on the small islands west of the Hawaiian Islands, which did not pose a mortal threat to the security of the Hawaiian Islands, nor did it threaten Pearl Harbor. But everyone knows that a distance of more than 100 nautical miles cannot stop the tactical bombers of the Tang Imperial Navy, and as long as the Tang Imperial Navy captures Kauai, it will be able to put in thousands of tactical fighters to blockade Pearl Harbor and destroy the defense base on Oahu. At that time, there was no need for the Tang Imperial Navy to dispatch the main task force, and the marines could rely on the support of the air force and the artillery fleet to easily take Oahu and capture Pearl Harbor. As long as Pearl Harbor falls, the last line of defense outside the mainland of the United States will completely collapse, and the west coast of the United States will be exposed to the guns of the Tang Imperial Navy and become the next target.

It can be said that Kauai is related to the safety of the entire Hawaiian Islands, which are the core of the last line of defense outside the continental United States. Defending Kauai will hold the Hawaiian Islands, and will also guard the last gate outside the American courtyard. Nimitz knew this, and Spruance knew it. According to Nimitz's orders, "full assistance" meant that even at the expense of the entire Fifth Fleet, Kauai must be held.

Nimitz's order was unambiguous, but Spruance was hesitant. Especially on the night of the 30th, after Spruance received a battle report from Nimitz. He was even more hesitant. The five aircraft carrier task forces of the Tang Imperial Navy were all concentrated near Kauai, and even the third task force was dispatched. That is, at this time, the Tang Imperial Navy deployed six task forces, fifteen fleet aircraft carriers, five battleships, nearly a hundred cruisers, and more than two hundred destroyers near Kauai Island. A fleet of this magnitude is difficult for the Fifth Fleet to defeat, or rather impossible to overcome. What gave Spruance even more of a headache was. Nimitz also sent a message that night, which was about the latest compilation of the Tang Imperial Navy. After several months of hard work, the US intelligence system finally figured out the current establishment of the Tang Imperial Navy.

The commander of the First Fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy was Admiral Tan Renhao, and the command of the Third Fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy was Admiral Huang Xiaotian. These two men were the two fleet commanders who had made Spruance suffer and were able to compete with Spruance in the Tang Imperial Navy at that time. In addition, apart from the newly formed Seventh and Eighth Task Forces, the other four fleets of the two main fleets are the main task forces with rich combat experience and excellent quality of officers and men. If nothing else, Task Force 1 and Task Force 4 alone were enough to give Spruance a headache. And now there is also the second task force. The two main fleets of the Third Task Force are concentrated in the Pacific Theater, and it is simply an impossible task to defeat these two powerful main fleets.

After receiving orders and information from Nimitz. Spruance did not immediately turn the fleet. Since the replenishment on Christmas Island, the Fifth Fleet has sailed more than 5,000 nautical miles, and nearly half of the bombs carried on the aircraft carrier have been consumed, and a large number of combat aircraft have been lost. The resupply plan was already arranged, and the fleet would first rush to Hawaii Island, meet the supply fleet east of Hawaii Island, and then select a suitable anchorage for resupply operations. This is not much different from Tan Renhao's expectations, the main difference is. The Fifth Fleet needs to replenish ammunition, and not just refuel.

Spruance didn't forget to plan the next combat operation, and like him, Turner and Mitchell were thinking about it. The two noticed a problem that Spruance didn't pay attention to, or rather didn't care about, and that was the super combat power displayed by the Tang Empire's fleet when it bombed Kauai Island. Spruance really didn't pay close attention to this question, and he didn't need to pay attention to it. There is no need to doubt the quality of the Navy of the Tang Empire, especially the quality of its carrier-based aviation, after more than three years of fighting. The U.S. Navy is completely lagging behind.

On the question of how to fight next, the three generals of the Fifth Fleet had a considerable disagreement. In Spruance's view, he should try to look for opportunities to sneak attack, rather than a decisive battle with the Tang Empire's naval fleet head-on, so the timing of intervening in the battle is quite critical. Turner advocated avoiding war as much as possible, believing that as long as the Fifth Fleet was still active, the Tang Imperial Navy would not dare to attack Kauai easily. Mitchell advocated actively looking for fighters to take advantage of the Tang Empire's attack on Kauai to defeat one of its main fleets, and then wait for the opportunity to defeat or force back its other main fleet.

On the surface, the views of the three people are not very different, but their fundamental intentions are different. Mitchell's position was the most positive, which probably had something to do with his long tenure as chief of staff in the theater, which was also the most consistent tactical arrangement with Nimitz's orders. But in the same way, this set of tactics is also the most dangerous, the slightest carelessness, the Fifth Fleet will fall into the abyss of no return, being caught by the two main fleets of the Tang Imperial Navy, and there will be no chance to escape at that time.

Turner's argument was more conservative, largely out of concern for the Fifth Fleet's own safety. And Turner's core view is that as long as the Fifth Fleet is still active at sea, the Tang Imperial Navy will not dare to attack Kauai easily, and dare not let its marines land on Kauai Island. Perhaps, this was the case before this, but now the Tang Imperial Navy has an absolute superiority in strength, not to mention its main fleet, even the landing fleet has dozens of escort aircraft carriers, equipped with hundreds of fighters, this combat effectiveness cannot be ignored. Although Turner's tactics could ensure that the Fifth Fleet was as far away from danger as possible, it was also impossible to prevent the Tang Imperial Navy from attacking Kauai Island. It is even more unlikely that they will assist the U.S. Marines in holding Kauai.

Spruance was well aware of the difference in the tactical views of the other two, and he advocated risk-taking, but not blindly, without any rational risk. And fundamentally, Spruance didn't think that sacrificing the Fifth Fleet would be able to keep Kauai. The recovery capability of the Tang Imperial Navy is not under the US Navy, and if the Fifth Fleet is annihilated, even if it can defeat one of the main fleets of the Tang Imperial Navy in battle, or even completely annihilate its three aircraft carrier task forces. At that time, the Tang Imperial Navy still has two aircraft carrier task forces, and the battleship task force can continue to fight, which can still support the Marine Corps to capture Kauai, and when the U.S. Navy acquires new warships in July, the Tang Imperial Navy will also get new warships. At that time, the quality of personnel of the US army will lag even behind, and it will be even more impossible to defeat the Tang Imperial Navy in battle. Therefore, in order to hold the defense line of the Hawaiian Islands, in addition to holding Kauai. The Fifth Fleet must be saved. At least most of the Fifth Fleet's forces must be retained. In other words, Spruance could afford to trade one task force for two or three task forces. As long as this goal is achieved, then the tide of the war will take a turn. Only then can the US military have a chance to turn defeat into victory. But the problem is that even Spruance himself thinks that he can't get such a victory, and his opponent won't give him such a chance!

On 2 May, the Fifth Fleet reached about 45 nautical miles from Oahu, with additional warplanes arriving first. Throughout the voyage, the Fifth Fleet continued to undergo intensive training, and this new replenishment of aviation units also needs to undergo comprehensive training. The next day, the Fifth Fleet reached the waters south of Hawaii Island, and the supply fleet sent by Nimitz arrived that night. The anchorage option for the supply was outside Hilo Harbor on the east side of Hawaii Island. This is a relatively ideal anchorage, and with a tight anti-submarine surveillance network, it is difficult for the submarines of the Tang Empire to sneak in.

The supply work lasted from the morning of May 4 to the early morning of May 5, and war reports were sent from the ground every day, but Spruance still did not decide how to fight the main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy. To put it bluntly, he still hasn't regained his confidence, and he still fights no matter how he fights, as long as the Fifth Fleet goes, he is sending him to death. Konimitz's orders could not be disobeyed. Kauai must also be defended, so the Fifth Fleet will have to act, not sit on the sidelines. On the morning of the 5th, just as Spruance was preparing to lead the fleet out, news of the landing of the Tang Empire Marines on the island of Kauai arrived. Spruance has no choice now, if the Tang Imperial Marines go ashore smoothly, even if he can defeat a main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy, it is impossible to assist the American Marines to hold Kauai, and he must rush to the battlefield before the Tang Imperial Marines consolidate the landing ground and the American Marines on the island collapse, seize sea and air supremacy, and finally defeat the attack of the Tang Imperial Navy!

Nimitz's new order was then delivered, and this time, Nimitz's order was much clearer, requiring the Fifth Fleet to arrive on the battlefield before May 8, and strive to defeat the attack of the Tang Imperial Navy on May 9, or May 10 at the latest, and then cooperate with the American Marines on the island to launch a full-scale counterattack!

The Fifth Fleet left its anchorage east of Hilo before noon that day and set out on its journey. But Spruance was still not very sure, he didn't even have a complete battle plan, so he could only let the fleet move forward at a normal cruising speed of 16 knots. Although Mitchell sent several telegrams, asking to speed up the cruise and arrive at the battlefield as soon as possible, Spruance vetoed it, he had to first determine how to fight, and try to grasp as much information as possible about the Tang Imperial Fleet, find out the scale of its activities, and then know how to start, how to fight with the main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy!

By the evening of 8 May, the Fifth Fleet had reached the northern waters of Oahu, and Spruance had the fleet turn around, not in a hurry to enter the patrol range of the Tang Imperial Navy's reconnaissance planes, and Spruance did not know that if he ordered the fleet to turn two hours late, the Fifth Fleet would run headlong into the Tang Imperial Navy's submarine cordon northeast of Kauai Island, and the Fifth Fleet would be completely exposed!

Spruance and Mitchell had a huge disagreement over whether to move on and how to go into battle, and Mitchell insisted on going into battle quickly, bombing the landing grounds of the Tang Empire Marines, and destroying the landing fleet and supply fleet of the Tang Empire Navy, if not its main fleet. And in order to ensure the safety of the Fifth Fleet, the fleet can operate in the waters northwest of Oahu, using shore-based fighters to cover the fleet. Spruance, on the other hand, advocated staying off the battlefield, avoiding exposure, and waiting for a decisive opportunity to counterattack. Of course, in the end, Mitchell's opinion did not work, at least Spruance was still the commander of the Fifth Fleet, and according to the command system of the U.S. military, unless Nimitz relieved Spruance of his authority, Mitchell could only provide advice, not operational decisions.

By this time, Spruance was already a little eyebrow-raising, but when he felt a headache, the two main fleets of the Tang Imperial Navy were floating, not one main fleet was supporting the marines on the front line, and the other main fleet was hidden in the rear. It was as if both main fleets were fighting on the front line, and it was as if they were both hiding in the rear. The continuous delivery of information deepened Spruance's suspicions. It was not until May 10, the last day of Nimitz's Fifth Fleet to participate in the battle, that Spruance summed up the rules of activity of the main fleet of the Tang Empire from a large amount of intelligence, but it was too late by this time.

That night, Spruance received new news that the "Louis" airfield in the western part of Kauai had fallen, that the Tang Empire Marines had consolidated the landing ground, and that if the Fifth Fleet did not participate in combat operations, I am afraid there would be no way to repel the landing Tang Empire Marines. At this point, Spruance had to order the fleet to sail westward, preparing for a decisive battle with the main fleet of the Tang Imperial Navy!