A few days later.
The resurrected Yamato had mostly adjusted to her new environment.
The names of the Sakura Empire shipgirls were all familiar to her, making interactions relatively easy.
However, whenever she was around Musashi, Yamato's expression turned slightly strange.
"It feels like the shipgirls from the other world are more mature than us..."
Unconsciously, she compared her figure to Musashi's.
Though they were the same class of battleship, the result was a clear defeat.
"So, have you gotten used to the power of the Wisdom Cube?"
After a training session, Richelieu asked.
She had noticed that Yamato was highly intelligent, and with the enhancement of the Wisdom Cube, the effectiveness of the Fleet of Fog's weaponry was staggering.
Even though Yamato had yet to be retrofitted into a starship, the destructive power of her supergravity cannon and erosion torpedoes had already surpassed that of other shipgirls by a wide margin.
This was the strength of the Fleet of Fog's supreme flagship.
"Hmm..."
"The Wisdom Cube and the Mental Model sound similar, but the fact that it can supply me with energy is truly astonishing."
Yamato dismissed her rigging and stepped onto the shore, sinking into brief contemplation.
"When using the Wisdom Cube, it feels like my Mental Model and computational capacity have partially recovered."
"Though I'm not yet strong enough to grant consciousness to other warships, I should be able to establish cognitive links with others."
"Oh? You can now use the power of both worlds?"
Richelieu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Something like that."
Yamato found a chair near the shore and sat down.
Closing her eyes, she focused her consciousness on her cognitive core.
"Now then, let's see what Musashi is up to..."
"The Commander is still thinking about her..."
Swoosh—
Thousands of kilometers away.
A massive black-and-gold battleship cruised across the ocean, leading a formidable fleet of Fog vessels.
Ever since Setsuna began his conquest of the world, Musashi had found herself growing bored.
The humans were so preoccupied with dealing with extraterrestrial forces that they had no energy left to challenge the Fleet of Fog.
Even when Musashi pretended to withdraw her fleet to the open seas, leaving a seemingly safe passage for human ships, they refused to take the bait.
They obediently stayed on land, not even attempting to transport vibration warheads.
Hardly any fishing boats dared to leave port.
"Aren't those aliens far worse than us?"
Beside Musashi's flagship, a blonde-haired, violet-eyed shipgirl dressed in gothic attire spoke softly.
Kongou, one of the Fleet of Fog's heavy battleships.
"From the intercepted signals, it seems their starships have conquered all the world's nations."
"Tch, it's a shame we can't set foot on land, so we don't know the full situation."
While patrolling near the coast, Kongou frequently witnessed chaos breaking out onshore. Every now and then, she would even see Siren units air-dropping into battle against the local forces.
However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, she never ventured too close.
"..."
"Strange..."
Standing at the bow of her ship, Musashi closed her eyes, letting the ocean breeze wash over her.
"If he truly intends to conquer the world, then his next target should be us."
"Us?"
The accompanying shipgirls—Kirishima, Haruna, and Atago—were all taken aback.
"Humans control the land, while we dominate the seas. I don't think he's generous enough to simply hand over the planet's entire ocean to us."
Musashi responded.
"Besides, Takao has already defected."
"What?!"
The Fleet of Fog shipgirls grew tense.
Bullying human naval forces was one thing.
Fighting against actual space warships was another entirely.
"What are you afraid of? I've observed their starships; their weapons aren't as advanced as ours."
"So what if they fly? Haven't we already shot down human satellites before?"
Kongou said coldly.
Suddenly.
Musashi furrowed her brows.
A new interface appeared before her, a stream of data flowing across it.
"A Fleet of Fog shipgirl is contacting me? Not Takao? Could it be 401? Or..."
Swoosh—
Her consciousness dove into the Mental Model's virtual space.
"!!!"
"Wait, you're—?!"
The moment she saw the figure before her, Musashi nearly forgot to breathe.
A familiar presence, dressed in an elegant princess gown, her long black hair cascading down her back.
Yamato sat in a garden pavilion, holding a teacup as if enjoying an afternoon tea.
The air around her was filled with birdsong and floral scents.
—In the Mental Model's virtual space, one could freely create environments using computational power.
"!"
Even after all these years, Musashi recognized her instantly.
"Sister...?!"
"You're not... How are you here?!"
Her emotions surged uncontrollably as she rushed forward.
If this weren't a mental space, she would have embraced Yamato immediately.
Though she had personally sunk Yamato, Musashi had been haunted by guilt for years.
She had regretted her impulsive actions countless times.
"Musashi, it's been a while."
Yamato set her teacup down and spoke with a gentle smile.
"Thanks to the Commander, we can see each other again."
"Commander?"
Musashi looked confused.
"You mean that strange man from another world who's conquering the world?"
"Strange? That's an odd way to put it..."
Yamato chuckled.
"Let's get straight to the point—I hope you'll lead the Fleet of Fog in ending hostilities with humanity and join the Commander's ranks with me."
"In another world—no, in many worlds—there are far greater things for us to explore. There's no need to cling to old grudges against the humans here."
"???"
Musashi opened her eyes wide.
"First Takao tried to persuade me, and now you?"
Their original disagreement had been whether to coexist peacefully with humanity or to drive them from the seas.
Now, an unexpected third option had emerged:
Join Setsuna in ruling the world.
Of course, that meant the Fleet of Fog would be under his command as well...
"Don't you think it's an excellent plan?"
Yamato reached out and gently patted Musashi's head.
"Even my ship's new body was constructed by them. In a way, I am already an Azur Lane shipgirl now."
"One day, we could even venture into space together. Whatever conflicts we once had over the sea... let's just leave them behind."
"..."
"But—?!"
Musashi tried to argue, but she found herself caught in deep self-doubt.
Logic told her that listening to her sister was the best choice.
But as the proud flagship of the Fleet of Fog, a part of her still hesitated.
"You're telling me to let a complete stranger lead the entire Fleet of Fog?"
"You'll get to know him over time. The Azur Lane shipgirls are all wonderful people."
Yamato answered with a playful smile.
"Oh, and their Musashi is quite the dignified older sister—I have a feeling you two would get along well."
"..."
Musashi fell silent.
Faced with her resurrected sister, she didn't want to refuse outright.
But she still felt reluctant to accept it completely.
After a long pause, Musashi finally made up her mind and spoke:
"I agree with your proposal, but I have one condition."
"If that Commander can defeat the Fleet of Fog in a direct confrontation, it will prove that he truly has the ability to lead us."
"Otherwise, he should go back to where he came from."
"Huh?"
Yamato was slightly surprised.
"You mean you want to challenge the Commander's space fleet?"
"Yes. If we lose, the Fleet of Fog will follow his orders from now on without complaint. But if we win..."
"Then he must leave, and we will rule this world ourselves. Also, Sister, would you consider rejoining the Fleet of Fog? You are our true flagship."
Musashi said seriously.
"..."
Yamato glanced at Musashi, who was filled with determination and confidence, and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Just don't regret this later."
...
Two hours later.
At the temporary base, Setsuna gathered all members of the expedition team.
Spreading his hands, he informed them of Yamato's conversation with Musashi.
"The Fleet of Fog has issued a formal challenge, inviting us to a battle tomorrow. How should we respond?"
"Ahem—"
Gudako cleared her throat before speaking with exaggerated seriousness:
"Commander, Musashi has occupied several of our sea zones, and her morale is high. This is the perfect opportunity to crush the Fleet of Fog's momentum..."
"Tomorrow, before the two armies, I only need a single speech. Musashi will surrender on the spot, and the Fleet of Fog will retreat without a fight. Heh..."
"???"
The shipgirls all stared at Gudako in confusion.
"Fujimaru Strategist, are you setting up a flag here?! You better not end up getting yelled at by Musashi and falling off the Eternal Snowfall tomorrow!"
Bonk—
Setsuna flicked Gudako on the forehead.
"Do you think I'm afraid of losing? I'm just worried that if we go too hard on them, we might end up seriously injuring someone!"
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