Sure enough, two bells rang the next morning, and the storm came.

"All assembled! All assembled! ”

As this voice sounded, the "Phoenix Maru" began to rise and fall violently. Whether Kimura got up from the hammock on his own or was thrown by the strong vibration of the ship, he didn't know at all. When he awoke, he found himself lying on the floor, the curtain had been torn, and the entire bow cabin was in a frantic chaos. The lights above him flickered eerily, the group's belongings slid around like billiards, boxes rolled all over the floor, and the whole class was in a mess.

As the ship tossed again and again, "All assembled! All assembled! The screams continued to sound, and Kimura smelled an unprecedented urgency.

"Hurricane!" He also heard someone say that.

A chaotic crowd of people rushed out of the bow cabin and onto the deck. Kimura ran after them, trying to put on his shirt as he fought the frantic jolt of the ship.

Although the dawn was long past, the sky was still dark. The wind roared, like a soldier struggling in pain before dying. The wind-blown rain pounded on the deck, playing a melody that only a mad drummer could swing. The sea set off a huge wall of waves and attacked people with rage. Just as Kimura was stunned and stood still, he caught the figure of the first mate, Kintaro Sato, and the captain Heihachiro Togo, who were arguing fiercely.

“…… When you get to the bottom of the sea, there is no naval spirit to speak of! Kimura heard Kintaro Sato shouting against the storm.

"Sato-kun, we have to get through!" After Togo Heihachiro finished speaking, he turned around and shouted, "All the personnel climbed on the boat rope!" All the crew climbed on the ropes! ”

Kimura could barely believe his ears. He climbed aboard the ship's rope in the middle of the storm and looked up, and immediately knew what the reason was. Many of the sails had broken free from the ropes under the fierce winds, and were now breaking and breaking to the point of losing control. And spinning wildly.

"All the crew climbed on the ropes! All the crew climbed on the ropes! Togo's voice sounded again with pleading and desperation.

Kimura could see the crew bending over against the raging storm and desperately climbing up the mast rope. He struggled to his feet, only to be knocked down by another wave. He got up again, holding on to a rope with both hands. At last, he stood up - as if he was about to fall. He slowly moved to the foremast. When he arrives at his destination (the journey seems so long that it never seems to be finished). Heihachiro Togo was already there, and he was frantically tying up the ropes.

"What should I do?" Kimura yelled at his back. Roaring is the only way to get sound into the other person's ears.

"Cut off the foremast sail lest it drag the whole foremast into the water!" Togo roared back. Kimura wasn't sure if Togo knew it was him, the one who had just been slapped. "Do you have a knife?" He asked.

"Nope!"

Togo reached for his back pocket and turned around. Hand it to him.

"Where?" Kimura shouted.

"Didn't you hear?" Togo frantically gestured his hands and feet and shouted, "Cut that sail!" ”

Kimura looked up, but he couldn't see far in the storm, and the frenzied swing of the "Phoenix Maru" made the mast tremble like a stroke patient. All he could see was the boom, the sail hanging from it almost bulging into a balloon. The sails suddenly recessed. Bulging again, it either quickly broke, or flew away with the foremast.

"Go up! You bastard! Go up! Fast! Heihachiro Togo shouted.

Kimura climbed onto the rope, but immediately stopped, realizing that it was impossible for him to climb and hold the knife at the same time. After biting the knife with his teeth, he grabbed the rope again, and climbed up with both hands.

Although in fact Kimura is crawling in the air. But he felt like he was swimming against the rapids. In addition to the rain and waves, there was also a roaring wind coming at him. He could barely make out where he was going.

Kimura continued to climb. Every inch of crawling was a battle, and he felt as if he was being pinched in the angry palm of the god's hand.

The deck below (when he had the courage to look down) was a mess, with seawater, foam, planks, and the occasional struggling man. He was convinced that the Phoenix Pill was just surviving, and that they were destined to drown. But he told himself to stop looking, that he had to concentrate on his mission.

When Kimura climbs up again. The rain hissed, the thunder rumbled, the lightning blinded, and the voices of people fell through the whirlpool and into his ears. Even though they were words he couldn't capture, they symbolized horror.

Kimura climbed higher and higher, when the sails puffed up and drifted away from him. But in the next quarter of an hour the wind changed, and the heavy canvas shriveled, cracked, and drenched, and the whole weight fell on him, as if trying to sweep him down of his own volition. In desperation, he clinged to the rope with his hands and feet. Then the sail broke, and the ensuing vacuum almost sucked him away. God knows how he did it, but he held on and kept climbing up.

Through the howling wind, Kimura hears a terrible shrill sound, followed by the cracking of a large amount of wood. He thought to himself, "Is that from the mast I'm on?" Am I about to fall into the waves? He didn't dare to stop and think. But the mast is still there.

Hand after hand, heel after foot, he still struggled to climb up. He was sure that everybody was going to die, maybe above the waves or under the waves, all the same, anyway. He was single-mindedly trying to climb above this sail, as if that way he would be able to get past the chaos. Cutting the sail off in its entirety was his only goal, and he couldn't and couldn't think of anything else. Sometimes he stopped, and it was to rest for a while, to catch his breath, to remind himself that he was still alive. Then, he will continue to climb up.

The largest foremast sail hangs from the boom, which is also the real engine of the ship when sailing. Even under normal conditions, it was quite heavy for the ship, and in the midst of such a storm it dragged the ship tightly, as if trying to uproot the mast from the deck. Despite the howl of the wind in his ears, Kimura could hear the mast snapping and see it bending like a great bow. What he needed to do, what he had to do, was to cut off that sail and remove the heavy pressure that was pressing on the mast.

Fearing a waste of time, Kimura hurried to straddle the rope that was wrapped around the top of the sail. Begin to cut every stretch of rope you can see. Luckily, the ropes were tight and the knives were sharp, and he barely had to exert force. As soon as the rope touched the edge of the knife, it cracked like an explosion.

With each cut of the rope, the sails were blown more freely. The ends of the ropes break into tiny lines that blend in with the sudden rain. It is impossible to tell.

Little by little, Kimura moved forward, cutting as he went, until he finally reached the farthest end of the rope. At this point he had to make a decision, should he cut the rope that held the ship itself? What happens when he does? What happens if you don't? He looked around, hoping in vain to see the rest of the crew up close. He was surprised to see a shadow above him, but he couldn't tell who he was. In any case, the man was far higher than he was!

He decided not to cut any more ropes. If it has to be done, someone else will do it. His job was to cut off the remaining sails. That is, he must return to the original path. Continue to climb to the opposite end of the rope.

However, the asymmetrical weight at both ends of the rope (combined with his man at one end) caused it to start swinging wildly. Kimura couldn't help but worry that it would suddenly fly away and throw him down. He had to return to the mast, but the rope that supported his feet was cut by him in his frenzy. He had to climb back on his own. So, he bit the knife again, grabbed the rope with his arm, and bent down. Get ready to climb forward. But the rope slanted suddenly, and his feet slipped with it. The knife slipped from his mouth. In just a second, he was hanging in the air, legs down, his face away from the mast, and he was about to fall.

Kimura had no choice but to alternate his hands. Climb back to the mast upside down. But no matter how hard he tried to pick up the pace, he could still only move forward in small steps. The wind and rain, combined with the rocking and undulating of the ship, kept holding him back. His body danced and twisted in the hurricane.

Turning his head, he could see that the mast was not far away. But at this point his arm began to cramp.

"Help!" Fear gripped Kimura tightly, he shouted. "Help me!" In the midst of the shouting, a hand had already slipped.

Just four feet away from the mast, Kimura swung hard, hoping that his legs could hook onto the mast, but weakened the grip of his arms. He was sure he was about to fall.

"Help!" He hissed and roared.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the boom. "Don't panic! Kimura-kun" he heard a man's voice, "Grab my hand!" ”

There was really a hand in front of Kimura. He stretched out his hand like crazy, grabbed the hand, and held it tightly, and the other party held him back, his fingers wrapping around his wrist like an iron hoop. Momentually, he was caught by that hand. Then the man pulled him so hard that his legs wrapped around the boom. He gasped as he looked up at the rapidly departing figure.

That's Takahashi Yoshitsu.

In an instant, a violent explosion was heard directly above. Kimura looked up and saw that the foremast sail had completely cracked, and the sail had been swept into the wind. He caught a glimpse of the gray whirling, twisting, and then turning into nothingness, like a suffering soul in hell.

Kimura hurriedly turned back, and Takahashi, who had saved him, was gone. Just as he was in a trance, the "Phoenix Maru" suddenly lost the pull of the sail and jerked to one side. Kimura watched in horror as the sea pounced on him. Oh my God, this ship is capsizing! But the boat shook suddenly, and its body regained its steady.

Kimura gasped for breath and stumbled forward to finally reach the mast. He wrapped around it as if it were his life. Without a knife, it was useless for him to stay on it. If nothing else, the sail he was going to cut would have flown long ago anyway. He began to climb down, sliding more times than he had gone up.

With only a few feet left, he jumped onto the deck. Whether it was the storm that had become smaller, or whether he had gotten used to it, he didn't know, he just felt that the storm was still hitting people, but the fury of the hurricane seemed to have eased a lot. He looked around, and saw that the sail booms were piled up into small hills, some of which were still wrapped around the sails; The railings are broken and broken, and the cracks are cracked; Tangled ropes flutter everywhere; On the aft deck there were several sailors with axes in their hands, working hard. He hurried to join them.

Only then did he realize that the mainmast was missing, and only the jagged remnants remained. He remembered the harsh sound he had heard earlier.

He looked to the stern of the boat and saw the helmsman crouched on the wheel, his thick arms outstretched, his hands firmly gripping the handle. If he hadn't been washed into this place, he would never have been able to stand up straight.

Under the continuous and seemingly unabated downpour, everyone began to pick up the fallen masts and sails. If it can't fall off and dangles overboard, they cut it off. Let it fend for itself. Those who can move it will be concentrated on the middle deck.

Suddenly, the rain stopped, like light overcoming darkness, the sea was calm again, and even the sun smiled. Kimura looked up. I was amazed to see a blue sky.

"It's over!" He breathed a sigh of relief.

Takahashi shook his head. "Not necessarily!" "This is the eye of the typhoon, and this is just a pause," he warned. Walk for another twenty minutes and it will be back again. However, it also depends on the will of the gods, and if we can clean the deck, we may be able to break out of the storm circle! ”

Kimura looked up at the remaining masts, only the upper mast sail remained. The rest of the sails were cut off.

Everyone is frantically rushing to work, and it is finally about to be completed. A sailor pulled open the last tattered canvas on the deck, and underneath the canvas lay the first mate, Kintaro Sato. He was face down, and a broken wooden board was stuck in his back, piercing so deeply.

First Officer Sato's corpse (which is an indisputable fact) left us all speechless. But in any case, it is not surprising that all the talents have just escaped the storm and have not reacted. Everyone's energy is gone. Naturally, the voice became hoarse.

"What's going on?" A voice came. Everyone turned around and saw Heihachiro Togo. He looks like everyone else. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were disheveled.

One by one, people got out of the way, and no one spoke. He stepped forward, but remained silent for a moment, just staring at the corpse. Then he knelt down. Touching the face and nape of the deceased's neck.

He hesitated for a moment, then pulled away Kintaro Sato's arm that was shrunk under him. The deceased seemed to be holding something in his hand, and the captain struggled to wrench his fingers away and take what he was holding.

It was a woman's handkerchief with a red circle painted on it. There is a cross inside.

Heihachiro Togo stared at the pattern on the handkerchief for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh.

Kimura recognized it as the "Cross Maru", the badge of the Satsuma Domain, the "Southwest Thief Domain", and understood why Heihachiro Togo was like this.

There are many legends about Togo Heihachiro, the most widely spread is that the former Satsuma Navy commander had a conflict with Lin Yiqing, the Satsuma Army in the late Southwest War, he secretly organized people in the Satsuma Navy, intending to find an opportunity to kill Lin Yiqing and lead the Satsuma Navy "anyway", but unfortunately the plan was discovered by Lin Yiqing and failed, everyone including Togo Heihachiro was arrested, Dongxiang and others thought they would be executed by Lin Yiqing, but they didn't expect Lin Yiqing to think of their former comrades, and they didn't kill them, just imprisoned them, and when the Satsuma Army withdrew from Nagasaki after the defeat of the Southwest War, Lin Yiqing released all Togo Heihachiro and others. Heihachiro Togo, who escaped death, led his subordinates to surrender to the government and willingly pleaded guilty. After the trial of the military court, Togo and others were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to ten years, and in prison, Togo repeatedly wrote to the Ministry of the Navy and Emperor Meiji, asking to serve the navy, and after serving two years in prison, the government because the rebuilding of the navy urgently needed talents, **** Togo and others, let them re-enter the navy service, and sentenced them to merit.

Although Togo and the others returned to the Japanese Navy as they wished, because of their previous service experience in the Satsuma Navy, the Choshu soldiers who controlled the Navy Province were extremely hostile to them, and they were excluded everywhere, and even secretly called them "squires".

The handkerchief with the "cross pill" pattern just now says it all.

Heihachiro Togo turned his eyes to the sky. Then it was dark again, and the waves began to rise. "The storm should be fifteen minutes away," Togo announced, "remove this corpse and place it in the middle compartment." The rest of the people used the rest of the time to clean the deck. A group of people went to the pumping machine and took their places. Two people were sent to the helm in the second shift, and the others could go back to the bow cabin to standby. I'll call again when I need to change shifts. Okay, hurry up! ”

Togo's order was carried out in silence. The two sailors removed the body of Kintaro Sato, and the remainders, either alone or in groups, picked up the remnants of the mast sails, threw them into the sea, and tried to tie the equipment that could still be repaired to the deck.

Kimura did his best to be busy with everyone, but at this time his mind was in a mess, and he didn't think much about the handkerchief.

Fifteen minutes later, as expected, the storm swept in again, carrying a fury stronger than before. However, the "Phoenix Maru" now has only one mast and a sail left, which is more suitable for breaking out of the encirclement.

Kimura hurried to cabin 1, where the pumping machine was, consisting of several simple pumps, which everyone pressed to death in the cold, damp darkness, because everyone's lives depended on them - and indeed it was.

The Phoenix Maru has once again become a toy in the hands of nature. The wind howled, and the current struck from above more than once, and sometimes the whole ship was tilted to one side, and the heart was raised to the throat. For a moment, the ship was almost on the verge of capsizing, but everyone's will to die was getting stronger and stronger. This regular movement seems to become their own heartbeat - as if we stop for a minute and a half, the heart of the ship will stop beating. (To be continued.) )

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