Admiral Goto looked down at the report in his hands. Easily more than half of it was redacted, rendering large portions of it completely useless to him. He wasn't too surprised, in truth. America had always played Operation Brushfire close to their chest, even more so than U-505, otherwise known as the USS Nemo.
A few years ago, Goto probably would have been able to get more information on Operation Brushfire, but back then, there wasn't a point. However, with the Abyssal War, and shipgirls, Operation Brushfire had once again become tightly locked. It was frustrating, but given how the ship involved had yet to be summoned by either side, there was nothing Admiral Goto could truly do on the matter.
"Sorry, Goto, but that's really the best I can do," Admiral Samuel, the man in charge of Yokosuka, shook his head. Goto didn't blame the man. Samuel was an honest man and had his hands tied. Goto knew his would be if the roles were reversed. It was just that he hoped to glean some piece of information that would prove useful.
Instead, all Goto got was information he was already aware of. Of course, that was still information that had been ignored quite fragrantly during the Second World War. Which somehow got even worse during the post-war era. Up after a certain point, the United States just stopped pretending, but it didn't stop several politicians and even a handful of Admirals from still refusing to see the light.
"I'm aware, Samuel. It's just frustrating that politics are tying your hands like this," And his, in a sense. Admiral Goto had to wonder just how much Japan's refusal to acknowledge what had happened was playing a role in their lack of luck when it came to summoning her. It was possible but did little to explain the United State's own lack of luck.
"If all else fails, hopefully, she'll be summoned at Yokosuka," Admiral Samuel sighed. "It'd be the best middle ground, in all respects."
"I disagree," Goto shook his head. He understood where his peer was coming from. Having her summoned on Japanese soil, but under United States authority seemed like a reasonable compromise, of sorts. And it was, at this point, the best they could hope for when it came to summoning her in Japan. But it would do little to appease many, and it even that might lead to a feud Japan could scarcely afford.
"Still, we can hope cooler heads prevail, if that's the case. You'd think that'd be the default sentiment, with the Abyssal War and all," Admiral Samuel let out a groan of disappointment.
"Indeed," Goto turned his eyes back to the report as if staring at it would somehow alter the words on the page. "I'll keep in touch in case the situation changes."
"Of course. Just try to make sure not all of our talks are pure business," Samuel let out a chuckle. "And don't let Kongo wea-"
Admiral Goto didn't hang up on him. One of the shipgirls had done something to temporarily shut down the internet again. Honest.
He let out a cough, exerting some control over his face. Moving on from, that, Admiral Goto had other issues to contend with. Sighing, he picked up the report, placing it in one of the cabinets, before locking it. For future reading, of course. There could be something he overlooked, after all.
Still, Goto had to wonder.
How exactly did the Americans stop Taiho from sinking?