Chapter 13: The test of strength

Time skip 3 hours, location Hong Kong

Now Southern Yamato's ship could be seen in the harbor. Portals were all around it, as it seemed to give naval gun support to troops on the land. Churchill's ship was nearby and seemed to be firing missiles for ground support as well.

Southern Yamato could be seen at the very top of her superstructure. She was receiving constant calls for artillery support and was trying to keep up with it. She sighed as she kept summoning portals to different places, but she knew she'd need to pause soon otherwise she'd get too fatigued.

But then she heard a voice behind her "Tired?" She looked back and saw Ranna.

Southern Yamato sighed before saying "yes. The front is pushed far beyond what it was just a few hours ago, but there are a few places that need naval support to push forward"

Ranna walked towards Southern Yamato and spoke "there's talk amongst the Dragon Federation and Orchid Republic, that the western provinces are possibly going to rebel"

Southern Yamato now chuckled "it's only been a few hours, and that's already happening. With everything happening I think the Dragon Empery will last much longer"

Ranna hesitated now before saying "there was a message that we received. The Reclaimed fleet is coming here"

Now Southern Yamato glanced over at her before asking "why?"

"They want to fight you, to gain the fleet. If they beat you, they get control of your fleet. If you win, you get whatever's left of their fleet"

Southern Yamato sighed "of course. Seems they wanted to fight me, but were scared of the rest of the Azur Lane. Now the Azur Lane will probably give what ships they can to them. Do we know when they'll arrive?"

"Sometime, tomorrow afternoon"

"That's… in like… 16 hours. Do we know the fleet composition?"

"Apparently their entire fleet. Two battleships, one battlecruiser, three carriers, eighteen heavy cruisers, twenty-six light cruisers, one hundred and eight destroyers, and twelve container ships, 170 total. Though it is unknown if they have acquired any submarines"

Southern Yamato chuckled and now turned her attention over to one of the portals before three purple lasers shot into it. "Have I told you the time when I met the Reclaimed Fleet's flagship?"

"I don't believe so"

"Her name is the Butterfly War Princess. I met her a while ago, to try and persuade her to join the Azur Lane. In the end she refused but I still learned many valuable things. She and her fleet came from a world where it was kill or be killed. But the Abyssals had a system that any fleet that defeated another would then assimilate the defeated fleet. The Reclaimed fleet was one of the largest because of this"

"So they want your fleet? They think I'd actually serve someone who'd kill my master?" Now Southern glanced back and saw Ranna was clenching her hands into fists, though besides that she looked calm.

"Well… I don't think you'll be put in a position like that" Southern Yamato said "I didn't plan on it, but I want to use it as an example"

"An example for what, master?"

"The Azur Lane thinks that I wanted to destroy them completely. If I did, they'd already be dead, but there would be billions of people dead. But I want to use the Reclaimed Fleet as an example. To show just how powerful I am, yet that I hold back so much"

"How much of a threat is the Reclaimed fleet? I think I could probably take their fleet on"

"You probably could, though with a little difficulty, though you'd need to plan ahead. I could wipe their entire fleet out in a single strike"

Ranna laughed a little "I know what you say is true, but you sound quite arrogant in the way you speak"

"That is one of the worst parts of being so powerful. I always sound very arrogant when speaking about power. I won't say I'm humble though, I know I'm quite a prideful woman"

"Heh~ even so, you're very kind. I'm happy I got a master that's so kind"

Southern Yamato smiled now and patted her on the head, though Ranna seemed to enjoy this. But now Southern Yamato stared northwards and frowned "there's rumors. That there might be ship girls that are slaves in China"

"You're worried about them?"

"In all honesty I'm worried about the human slaves as well. But, the fact that there's ship girls gives a certain creepiness to it. The idea that a comrade, a friend might be a slave, and you don't know it… it gives me chills"

"Is that one of the reasons you decided to change your mind on this matter?"

"It is. For example the thought of my sisters being enslaved, it enrages me… to a degree… that I wouldn't offer the offender mercy"

"I forgot to ask, but what punishment did you give Eiki?"

"A harsh one, let's just say she will be getting very dirty. Though she got off lucky, if it wasn't for the fact that she's one of my best fighters, I would've had her retired, and possibly jailed for such an act as dealing with slavers. And having the intent to possibly betray her deal"

Ranna laughed now "I forget who said it, but I remember someone saying 'to those who follow me with loyalty I shall show them great favor and great reward, but if they betray me I shall punish them harshly' I can see that in you. But that's what makes it so fun to follow you"

Southern Yamato sighed before she pulled her arm back and the portals around her ship disappeared. She sat down on a bench nearby and looked visibly tired.

"Ah, are you alright master?" Ranna asked in a concerned voice.

"I am" Southern Yamato said somewhat groggily "just… tired. The land forces are hundreds of kilometers inland, and it takes great effort to summon portals that far and for long periods of time"

"Well then you should rest. Especially with the Reclaimed fleet coming, you need your rest before fighting them. I'll take care of the fleet while you rest"

Now in only a few moments Southern Yamato appeared very tired, and seemed to be falling asleep. But before doing so she said "Ah, that's good. Heh, I don't need to worry if you're the one taking care of it…" now she closed her eyes and slouched over, though Ranna could hear her breathing softly.

Ranna hesitated seeing Southern Yamato sleeping. She stepped forward and now placed a hand on her head, before patting her gently. She sighed before muttering to herself "if only you'd… ask me to be more… but… only Kaga has had you ask that, right?"

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Time skip 1 day, location 40 kilometers south of Hong Kong

Now Southern Yamato's ship could be seen. Five kilometers away was the massive Reclaimed fleet, which was so big it seemed to stretch across the entire horizon.

"Southern Yamato" Fi'il said over the radio "do you accept the terms for this battle? That if you're defeated that your fleet shall join us, and that if you win, whatever remains of the Reclaimed fleet shall follow you?"

"Yes. But… I'll give something to you… Twenty minutes. For the first twenty minutes I won't attack, I won't even summon my aura for healing. But after twenty minutes is up… then I shall show you why I am one of the most powerful people in the world" Southern Yamato responded. But now she added "I wanted to be your friend a while ago, but you didn't accept such a thing. I shall show you and the world, what happens to those who aren't my friends"

Fi'il seemed to hesitate before yelling over the radio "all forces, charge and surround her! Destroyers line up torpedo tubes and wait for my signal!"

Now the fleet moved forward to surround Southern Yamato, with the destroyers getting in the front for a massive torpedo salvo. But Southern Yamato didn't move her ship, she didn't even turn her guns. She just sat there watching the massive fleet surrounding her. She even seemed to be bored, as she already knew the outcome of the battle.

But the battle wasn't happening in a closed off space. There were several drones up above that were watching what was happening. And it wasn't just the military, some of the drones were streaming to the internet and there were thousands of people currently watching and many more joining. Almost anyone in the world, as long as they had internet access, could watch it, and to most it seemed suicidal what Southern Yamato was doing.

But now it only took four minutes for the entire Reclaimed fleet to surround Southern Yamato. Hundreds of possibly thousands of guns trained on Southern Yamato's ship. Torpedo tubes turned towards her, and because of how many ships there were, there'd definitely be hundreds of torpedo hits.

The Bismarck class was off to Southern Yamato's port side, with its guns aimed directly at Southern Yamato. Fi'il thought that Southern Yamato wouldn't be able to survive the torpedo barrage, but something irritated her at how calmly Southern Yamato's ships floated.

"Are you just going to stare at me?" Southern Yamato teased "you have sixteen minutes left" while she teased, she sounded completely calm.

Fi'il seemed even more irritated by Southern Yamato and now she gave the order "all destroyers! Fire your torpedos!"

Instantly the water surrounding Southern Yamato turned frothy as hundreds of torpedoes were launched into the water. But none of the ships opened fire with their guns, as they expected the torpedoes to do the job.

But now everyone heard Southern Yamato saying "why are you firing on yourself?" After saying that several massive portals opened up around her and redirected the torpedoes back at themselves, none of the torpedoes hit Southern Yamato.

The Reclaimed fleet was instantly thrown into disarray as ships started exploding left and right from their own torpedoes "you!" Fi'il roared "you said you wouldn't attack!"

"I did say that" Southern Yamato said "but I never said anything about using portals did I?"

"All ships opened fire!" Now the Fleet opened fire with every available gun they had, even the AA guns. But portals appeared surrounding Southern Yamato's ship and redirected the shots back at the Reclaimed Fleet.

Now they heard Southern Yamato laugh "why do you keep firing on yourselves?"

The way she talked irritated Fi'il as she sounded arrogant when speaking. But now Fi'il yelled "all ships hold fire!"

The roaring of guns firing soon stopped and the shells hitting friendly ships seemed to stop. But the time was ticking, and if they couldn't find a way to beat Southern Yamato before the time was up, they'd be defeated.

Fi'il saw that at least 50 ships out of 170 were already crippled. But she didn't see anyone in the water. She grimaced as she expected the worst. But now she got an idea. Her blue aura flared around the Bismarck class, and the ship turned towards Southern Yamato. The ships nearby her got out of her way, as she sailed directly towards Southern Yamato.

But Southern Yamato sighed and said "when will you learn that, that never works?"

Now as the Bismarck class seemed to be on a collision course for Southern Yamato, a portal appeared in front of the Bismarck class. But the portal was horizontal to the ship and underwater. Instantly a massive whirlpool was formed and seemed to pull in the Bismarck class. But the other opening of the portal was now seen as a massive amount of water was dumped onto the Admiral class, causing it to keel in response, and causing general destruction to any ships nearby.

"Hmm, Let's see… you have ten minutes left" Southern Yamato said. "Ah, getting close to… when I can get serious"

Fi'il hated the way Southern Yamato spoke as it just seemed to seethe with arrogance. But she didn't know what she could do. Firing her guns wouldn't work, Southern Yamato could just redirect them. The Bismarck class was already stuck in the whirlpool. But the portal didn't seem big enough for the entire ship to fit, but it meant she'd stay stuck.

"Aircraft carriers! Launch your aircraft now!" Fi'il ordered.

But it took time for the aircraft to get launched and when they were Southern Yamato said "seven minutes left"

The aircraft now flew towards her intent on crashing directly into her. And because they could actually control where they were going, they could dodge the portals. But that didn't mean all of them could dodge the portals, the ones that didn't, flew into allied ships rather than Southern Yamato's ships. Only a tiny few made it through and were actually able to impact Southern Yamato's ship. Fi'il and the rest of the fleet seemed elated that they finally were able to land hits.

But then they heard Southern Yamato "two minutes remaining" now instantly all portals disappeared around them, yet it seemed to be a sort of calm before the storm.

Then dozens of portals surrounded the entire fleet, causing a ring of whirlpools, blocking the retreat of any ships. But the exit flow caused even more disturbance. If you somehow made it through the ring of whirlpools, you had to deal with possibly millions of tonnes of water falling from the sky.

The Reclaimed fleet seemed terrified at the new development, and wasted time. They only realized it when Southern Yamato laughed "now… playtime is over"

Southern Yamato's guns opened fire and each shot seemed to explode the intended target. And her guns were relentless, as she didn't have to worry about getting fired at. But to any of the Reclaimed fleet that fired in retaliation, their rounds did nothing. The rounds did impact Southern Yamato's ship, but her aura engulfed it and the little damage was instantly repaired.

In only a minute or two the Reclaimed fleet went from about 100 ships down to only 40 ships. 130 ships were either already sunk or sinking. The ocean around them seemed like a massacre, as wrecks were sinking and the ocean itself was on fire.

Fi'il didn't want to imagine what the rest of her fleet was going through in the ocean. All the fire, all the explosions, all the possible deaths. Because the Reclaimed fleet thought they could take on Southern Yamato.

But now Fi'il saw that in another minute the only remaining ship afloat, was her's. Southern Yamato seemed merciless with how she fought, and didn't seem to grant mercy to those she had sunk.

"Ah, I should've accepted your offer beforehand" Fi'il said.

But now she saw Southern Yamato's ship turning towards her. The hull seemed to twist before splitting open revealing the massive cannon inside the hull. It looked to be aimed directly at the Bismarck class. With Southern Yamato's aura surrounding it, it seemed to be charging fast. Yet… it felt like an eternity.

"Just kill me!" Fi'il yelled. Yet… the cannon seemed to charge for an oddly long time. But then… it fire…

suddenly Fi'il felt as her face planted against a hard deck, and she heard a voice "no… your fleet still has work to do"

Fi'il looked up and saw Southern Yamato staring down at her. "How? You killed everyone" Fi'il said.

Southern Yamato then said in an order "get up. I have work for your fleet"

Now Fi'il got up onto her knees and raised her voice "how?! You killed everyone!"

Now Southern Yamato snapped her fingers "I destroyed your ships, but I didn't kill anyone" a portal now appeared and Fi'il was surprised to see her entire crew in what looked to be Southern Yamato's hanger.

Fi'il got to her feet and seemed dumbfounded "h-how? Why?"

"I teleported your fleet to my hanger, once their ships were destroyed. A few got hurt, but they'll be fine"

Now the Reclaimed fleet, at least the Abyssals, seemed to rush out of the hangar towards their leader. They all seemed happy that no one was dead.

Now as the fleet seemed to talk amongst themselves, Fi'il was able to make her way to Southern Yamato. now Southern Yamato finally responded to Fi'il's second question "As for why, I have a job for you"

"But… why? You said you'd make an example out of us since we weren't your friends" Fi'il said.

"And I did. I showed how strong I am to the world. I know I may sound arrogant. I did so during battle purposely to make you angry, but what I am saying is the truth. But, now you aren't enemies, for now I'd still say subordinates, but… I do hope we become friends" now Southern Yamato smiled and offered to shake her hand.

Fi'il hesitated before shaking her hand and asked "what is it you want us to do?"

"Well first, Your old ships… will make fine ship girls, with something that we have up our sleeves"

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Time skip 30 minutes, Location San Diego Naval base

Now Airi, Eliza, and Gangut could be seen casually playing go fish in the mess hall. It was Airi, and Eliza's time off for the day, as there it was nearing sunset. But they seemed not to have been watching the short battle between Southern Yamato and the Reclaimed fleet.

But then the doors to the mess hall were thrown open and the three looked to see who it was. It was Intrepid who looked like she had ran and was panting heavily.

"Is something wrong? Intrepid?" Eliza asked.

"Hah, hah… something's happened near China" Intrepid said as she walked towards the three.

"Let me guess" Gangut said "the Dragon Empery has some super secret weapon and is now pushing back the Dragon Union"

"What? No. The Reclaimed fleet just fought and lost against fighting Southern Yamato, who was fighting alone"

"What?" Airi asked. Now the three laid their cards down and looked shocked.

"The battle is on the internet. There's already tons of reaction videos, analyzing videos and so on. The news media is also starting to report on it"

"Well… I was way off" Gangut said in a somewhat embarrassed voice.

"But there's something else" Intrepid said "apparently Southern Yamato spared the Reclaimed fleet, but destroyed their ships. Now the Reclaimed fleet is counted as part of the Abyss Empire"

There was silence for a few seconds before Airi asked "what are we going to do now?"

"That's the thing. The admiral said we can't move out. We're effectively port bound, only allowed to go on patrols and fight defensively"

"Damn politicians" Gangut swore "I already know it is them that's holding us back"

"So we can do nothing?" Eliza asked.

"Yeah, not even Enterprise is allowed to leave. So now the only one who has enough power would be Eima Maya, of the Southern Trench, but even then… it's unlikely anyone could take on Southern Yamato. Especially since she did that alone"

"But maybe the new power up could work" Gangut said "you have it don't you?"

"Yeah" Intrepid said as her green aura appeared for a moment "but, currently only I have it right now"

"Then… we can do absolutely nothing? Not even technology?" Airi asked. Intrepid just grimaced in response.

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Time skip 1 day, Location somewhere in southern China

The day seemed quite peaceful in a small village far from any major city. Though the village had already been taken by Dragon Union forces, and currently had a small unit in the town. 2 Type-T11 light tanks, and about a dozen and a half men guarded the village from any potential enemy force.

Though now two Dragon Union soldiers could be seen walking towards a certain rundown looking house. Reports of something odd happening in it had been coming in, so the 2 were sent to check it out. From the outside the house looked rundown, though there were signs of life around it. The house was a single story, with a large garage attached to it.

The men walked up to the door, before knocking on a screen door. Soon an older looking man, perhaps 60 years old, opened the door.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Nothing much" one soldier said "We've been receiving some reports. Do you mind if we look around?"

The man hesitated before saying "who were the reports from? My neighbors? Ah, they just hate me. You can if you want though"

"Good" now the soldier looked to the other "I'll check the inside, you check the outside"

"Alright" the other soldier replied.

Now the soldier entered the house while they checked the area around. The house looked dilapidated inside as well, though considering the village was remote it seemed expected. But the soldier didn't find anything odd. He sighed as he assumed what the old man said about his neighbors hating him to be true.

The old man seemed to follow the soldier around and the more he looked, the more the old man seemed nervous about something. He glanced over repeatedly outside at the other soldier, and seemed to regret his choice.

But then the other soldier yelled "Hey! Come here! I found something!"

Now the soldier went outside via the back door and found the other soldier inside a small concrete shed. But now as the soldier got closer the other soldier exited the shed and had a morbid look on his face.

"Look inside" he said.

Now the soldier looked inside and his eyes widened. Chained to the wall was a ship girl wearing a torn potato sack, her white fox ears, and tail signaled that she was from the Sakura Empire. But she was beat up, bruises covered her body, and for a moment he thought she was dead as her eyes looked blank. but then her eyes suddenly looked over towards him, though they still had a blank look in them. He stared into them, being pink they looked unnatural, yet they were beautiful. The ship girl was the IJN Yahagi.