Half an hour later—
Takao slowly opened her eyes.
A group of shipgirls immediately gathered around, their eyes filled with curiosity and concern.
"Well? What did Musashi say?"
"If she stubbornly refuses and insists on settling things through force, I suppose I'll just have to bring the fleet over and discipline her myself."
Setsuna asked with a smirk.
"The flagship was a bit surprised. She thought about it for a long time…"
Takao answered.
"She said she needs time to consider. But even if an alliance were to happen, it should be you joining the Fleet of Fog and accepting the Supreme Flagship's leadership."
Pfft—
Setsuna and the shipgirls couldn't hold back their laughter.
"The Fleet of Fog, not counting mass-produced ships, barely has a hundred members. We have more Bulins managing our fleet's logistics than that."
"Also, economically and militarily, you're probably ranked lower than ants, right? I mean, neither of us really engages in economic activities, but our production capabilities are definitely superior…"
"And yet she wants to lead us?!"
Musashi was probably too used to bullying Earth's human navies—or maybe she was just riding on the prestige of her Supreme Flagship title—but her confidence was oddly misplaced.
"..."
Takao didn't dare say anything.
She had never visited Setsuna's capital city, so she had no idea what kind of civilization was backing him.
Looking at the fleet of starships, she had never seen them in full combat mode and couldn't accurately gauge their true strength.
She only knew that Purifier and Observer were terrifying opponents.
"Did Musashi say anything else? Does she want to meet me? Challenge me to a duel?"
Setsuna asked with a grin.
"If she wants that, we can arrange it immediately."
As he spoke, the Eternal Snowfall increased its propulsion output.
While atmospheric travel was slower than spaceflight, it still only took a day for their fleet to reach any location on Earth.
"Uh… no. She said the Fleet of Fog has other matters to handle. She'll contact me once she's made a decision."
Takao replied.
"Tch—"
"…That little brat does have the presence of a flagship."
A shipgirl with long blue-purple hair and beast-like ears clicked her tongue in discontent.
Sakura Empire's Musashi—Azur Lane's version.
She had strong opinions about her Fog counterpart. Not only was there the issue of their shared name, but she also wanted to prove who was truly worthy of the Yamato-class battleship title.
And earlier, that little Fog loli had dared to disrespect her Commander. That didn't sit well with her.
Takao glanced at Musashi.
One thing was clear—Azur Lane shipgirls completely outclassed Arpeggio shipgirls in certain… physical attributes.
Same Yamato-class, yet why was one so flat while the other was… well, not?
She didn't get it.
"Fine. Let Musashi take her time. Whether she wants to talk, duel, or whatever, I'll be happy to oblige. If anything, she should just gather the entire Fleet of Fog together so I don't have to hunt them down one by one."
Setsuna clapped his hands.
"For now, let's move on to other matters."
Whether Musashi was genuinely considering the proposal or secretly gathering her forces for a showdown, it didn't really matter to him.
If she wanted to fight, he'd simply introduce her to some interstellar and magical firepower.
"As for you… well, since your ship hull is damaged, how about working as a liaison officer for now?"
"There's an empty bed on the Eternal Snowfall, and I've already taken your ship hull in for storage. If needed, I can have some Bulins repair it for you later."
He patted Takao on the shoulder.
"Eh? Ah?"
The Fog shipgirl was stunned.
Somehow, without realizing it, she had already been pulled into this faction.
"We have a Takao here too—you two should get to know each other."
With that, Setsuna called over a shipgirl with a high ponytail, black hair, and golden eyes.
She habitually carried a katana at her waist, her expression disciplined and serious.
"Commander, reporting in. Takao, standing by."
"Take the Arpeggio Takao and familiarize her with our fleet. Show her around."
Setsuna gestured.
"..."
Azur Lane Takao sized up her Arpeggio counterpart.
She looked… like the girl next door.
"Very well. Please follow me."
"..."
Meanwhile, Arpeggio Takao couldn't stop sneaking glances at her counterpart's figure.
Even in uniform, certain features couldn't be hidden.
The confident, refined aura only added to her impressive presence.
She wasn't sure whose ship combat abilities were superior, but—
Physically speaking, she had definitely lost.
"Wait a minute… we're both manifestations of the same warship's consciousness, aren't we? So why is she built like that?!"
...
With the newly captured Takao settled in, Setsuna quickly moved on to the next matter at hand.
"Hmm…"
"The Yokosuka Oceanic Technology Research Academy… Iona should be here, right?"
He examined a nearby naval port.
This was the largest fortress port of the island nation, built as a military base in preparation for a future counteroffensive.
Beyond its valuable research data, it also housed the I-401—
The protagonist of the Arpeggio series. A cute little submarine shipgirl.
"Commander, should we contact Yokosuka's military governor? Uh… I'm not sure if it's Kruszhard or Urakami in charge right now."
"And then request them to hand over the 401?"
Nagato flipped through the records and asked.
"No need for all that hassle. We do need a base in this world anyway."
Setsuna had no intention of negotiating or dragging things out.
He cleared his throat and signaled Purifier.
"Airdrop Siren Executors. Seize the entire port and the surrounding city."
...
Yokosuka Fortress Port – Naval Command Office
A navy vice admiral sat at his desk, his face grim as he listened to the report.
Opposite him stood a slightly injured ensign in uniform.
"You're saying the fleet escorting the vibration warhead was ambushed by a large Fleet of Fog force shortly after departure? That both the escort fleet and the warhead were lost?"
He sighed, turning toward the ship captain.
Transporting the warhead to the Eagle Union had been a high-risk operation, and he had mentally prepared for failure from the start.
But hearing confirmation that they had been attacked by the Fleet of Fog still stung.
In deep-sea regions, human fleets had almost zero survival chances against the Fleet of Fog. The fact that anyone had returned at all was surprising.
"Yes, sir."
The captain nodded reluctantly.
Then, his expression turned baffled.
"However… just as the Fleet of Fog attacked us, a fleet of aliens suddenly appeared in the sky. They were piloting spacecraft, and in just a few moves, they annihilated the Fleet of Fog."
"But they also seemed very interested in the vibration warhead. After taking it, they let us go."
"…So technically, the vibration warhead wasn't destroyed by the Fleet of Fog—it was stolen by aliens."
He vividly described the scene to the vice admiral.
The sky-darkening starships, high-energy weapons capable of instantly obliterating Fog warships, and the bizarrely identical, unsettling Siren shipgirls.
"Huh?"
The vice admiral's mouth twitched. He double-checked to make sure the captain wasn't joking.
Other crew members corroborated the report.
If it weren't for the timely arrival of the so-called "aliens" distracting the humanoid Fog shipgirl, they wouldn't have made it back alive.
"This is strange…"
"So, you're saying that these aliens are also targeting the Fleet of Fog?"
Lighting a cigarette, the vice admiral paced to the window, deep in thought.
"…The vibration warhead is an anti-Fog weapon. If they took it, that means they plan to use it against the Fleet of Fog…"
"They let you go, which suggests they don't see you as enemies… but they also destroyed the Fleet of Fog…"
"From this perspective, if we can reestablish contact with these aliens, perhaps we could use their power to eliminate the Fleet of Fog threat?!"
After carefully piecing the logic together, the vice admiral suddenly felt hopeful.
With a spacefaring alien civilization on their side, wouldn't defeating the Fleet of Fog be a simple task?!
"Unfortunately, our communication satellites were shot down by the Fleet of Fog… Quickly, find a way to track those starships! See if we can establish contact with them…"
"If they're humanoid, they should be reasonable…"
Just as he was giving orders—
Bzzzt—! Bzzzt—!
A piercing alarm blared.
Looking out the window—
A vast fleet of starships loomed overhead, deploying countless Siren Executors—the same kind the ship captain had seen days before.
They strode atop the waves, launching a full-scale amphibious assault on the fortress port.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Despite their seemingly toy-like riggings, each attack carried the destructive force of large-caliber naval artillery, reducing the port's defensive structures to scrap within moments.
Moments later, they began their assault on the ground forces.
The overwhelming firepower of warship-grade weaponry was completely excessive against land-based defenses. Within mere minutes, the garrison at the fortress port had suffered a complete collapse.
Smoke billowed. Alarms blared nonstop.
"All personnel, drop your weapons and surrender immediately."
"Warning: All personnel, drop your weapons and surrender immediately."
The Siren shipgirls announced the command expressionlessly.
"???"
Inside the office, the gathered navy officers were in a state of shock.
What the hell? Alien invasion?!
The admiral, who had just been fantasizing about a bright future, stared blankly at the scene outside—
Siren shipgirls storming the shores, swarms of carrier-based aircraft dominating the skies, and massive spacecraft hovering ominously above.
His face turned pale.
"Wait."
"Before the aliens arrived, we were being bullied by the Fleet of Fog…"
"Now that they're here… are we about to get double-teamed by both the aliens and the Fleet of Fog?!"
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