"Wait hold on a second here," said James, alternating between the girls and Takao "I'm familiar with the rite of passage. Doesn't it say something about beating the students?"

"Half correct," said Takao "you must beat every student in combat and do so without them landing a single hit on you."

Takao did not seem concerned when James' mouth practically fell to the floor.

"However, in your case we'll be toning down the difficulty a little bit. All you have to do is survive one-on-one rounds with each fighter for one hour. If you land an attack on your opponent, they lose and you face the next one. However, if the opposite happens then you lose and that'll be the end of that."

"That doesn't make things any easier," countered James.

"Too bad," said Takao with a shrug "the blade has accepted you Commander. Now it is time to prove your worth to the others."

"James," said Kinu, stepping forward with a purpose "let me be the first to say it is an honor to clash swords with you. That said, don't expect us to go easy on you at all."

"That sword is one of our nation's treasures," added Noshiro "if we're giving it to someone, they'd better be all that and then some."

"Ah don't worry Commander," said Sirius "Warspite will not be participating in this exercise for obvious reasons."

James was at least glad of that. Warspite was a natural disaster with a sword. She'd level him seconds after the match began. Her not being here was a good thing. That said, considering that Ibuki and Izumo were also present, James did not feel all that happy.

"Rest assured James the girls will train you in the sword movements and disciplines," said Takao, in an attempt to help him out of this mess. They'll be training you for the next few days."

"Question," said Suruga, raising her hand and Takao nodded to her "is it possible for James to learn these techniques using one hand? The technique requires both hands to work at maximum lethality."

"True," said Takao "however, the Iron Bloods reported they've not yet made progress with the designs for the new arm. Commander, which style of fighting do you prefer- one or two hands?"

"Two," he replied, almost instantly

"Can you adapt the style to two swords?" she asked and he nodded.

"Then nothing has changed," she declared to the girls "teach James the Gentle Sword style. When he gets his new arm, James will adapt the move set on his own."

The girls nodded and James' training started that afternoon.

It had been one week since the fleet started breaking off into small groups to train each other. This mood extended to the human soldiers let by Curtis who extended their daily training routines. Aside from this, some of the girls were also buy with another project.

In the research room that would normally be inhabited by Akashi, Purin, and Buri, the group of Graf Zeppelin, Z25, Hibiki, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Ranger gathered.

"It's not enough," said Hibiki, looking at the display of a fully detailed prosthetic arm.

"Correct," said Graf Zeppelin, furrowing her brows "the arm we made for James was built around Z25's prosthetic. If we're going to improve on the idea, then we need to approach the build differently."

"How so?" asked Pennsylvania, stroking her chin

"We can't simply see it as an arm anymore," replied Z25 "we may have added the mounted blade as a precaution measure, but it was never meant to be a weapon."

"Then that's what we should do," said Oklahoma. She waved her hand at the display, gathered the translucent objects in her hands and tossed it into a digital garbage can.

"We have to start from the ground up. Create a weapon instead of a tool," she said and the girls nodded in agreement.

"Then," said Ranger "should we put an emphasis on power or speed?"

"Definitely speed," said Graf Zeppelin "and I think I know exactly the profile… profiles we should base it on."

Elsewhere on the base, the practice dojo for Takao was filled with the sound of teachers all clamoring around their student. Takao herself did not participate as a result of the beating Ibuki gave her and Zuikaku.

'She looks like a nadeshiko but hits like a battleship,' thought Takao and sighed mentally.

It had been a week since James started training in Atago's style and there was mixed results. The girls could see he was making progress. He picked up the basic moves and stances properly, but struggled at the more advanced techniques.

Takao watched as the girls formed a circle and beckoned for James to go through the moves. In response, the man closed his eyes and put his hand on the sword by his hip. He took out the blade and went through the techniques.

Takao and the others saw him execute a series of moves slowly and steadily all while James nimbly moved around them. When he was done, he opened his eyes and saw the troubled looks on the girls.

"Hmm," said Zuikaku "it isn't the lack of a second arm that's hampering things. It's something else."

"James," said Suruga "you're movement is too stiff."

At once, the girls all saw what Suruga referred to and agreed unanimously. As they were discussing the subject, Takao saw Akagi limp to the room. She took a seat next to her and watched the girls for a moment before asking

"How is he?"

"He's progressing," said Takao "but he's far too rigid in his moves."

"How so?"

"James utilizes a combination of different styles of combat. However, he only uses the base moves of each combat style and nothing too advanced. The reason being is that the advanced moves are too complex for his body to move and adjust as required."

"And Atago's advanced techniques are necessary, if he plans on winning the coming trial."

"Sounds like you want him to win," said Akagi.

"Of course," said Takao almost immediately "he's earned the right to carry that sword and I don't want him to lose that thanks to a small technicality."

Akagi watched as the girls tried to pose James in a way to make his body more flexible and found him tumble a few seconds later. She watched them try and try, only to fail. Then, an idea struck her mind as she shot to her feet.

Akagi then grabbed her hip as she momentarily forgot the beating she just received and slowly came to James. The girls saw this and moved away to give them space.

"What are you…" he asked, but Akagi didn't listen.

"Sheath the sword and put your arm around me," she said. At first, James seemed confused by the request then decided to go along with it. He sheathed the sword and put the one arm around her waist. She put her arms around his neck.

"Now, follow my movement," she said and started slowly moving from side to side. James did as told and followed her steps.

"Are they…?" asked Izumo.

"Yes," said Ayanami "unconventional, but its working… yes."

Ayanami was referring to how Akagi was guiding James through the various advanced techniques in the Gentle Sword style and how James was performing them almost perfectly. There was no sign of the rigidness from before. All that everyone saw were the two moving perfectly in sync.

When things ended, Akagi rested her forehead against his and whispered "just think of it as a dance and the rest will fall into place."

Now blushing a little, James watched as Akagi left him to take her seat next to Takao. Once again, the training resumed.

As James' training progressed smoothly, the same could not be said for training with the PR class. Initially, the six behemoths took a dark joy in beating the girls for shirking their most important duties. A deserved response, given how the six treated the Commander.

After that though, the girls meant to face the Antiochs made slow, incremental progress against their opponents. Some days, they were lucky to even land a hit. The PR class were proving to be every bit the elite unit they were designated as.

The six used their power and speed to devastating effectiveness and every training exercise always ended the same way: utter defeat.

Kaga and Akagi collapsed on the ground, their faces drenched with sweat. Izumo, seeing that they could not do anything further, sheathed her swords and approached them. As she noted, they worked together well, but even their combined power was not enough. It was as if something was holding them back.

"Take a break for fifteen minutes," she said, wiping the thin film of sweat on her forehead "we resume after that."

The two in question collapsed, not at all able to voice their displeasure. Izumo turned around then headed to where the rest of her team were meeting. Every day, they would convene at a specific spot twice to share their progress. As Izumo neared the location, she spotted Monarch and Neptune also coming into view. Soon, the remaining three joined and the meeting started.

The six looked at each other, then in unison, sighed.

"This is getting nowhere," cried Neptune, while sticking her trident in the ground in frustration "the power gap is too much."

"See, I don't think it has anything to do with our power," said Monarch "I think its something else."

"Of course it has to do with our powers," said Roon, scoffing "why would you think otherwise?"

"Because the weakest member of our fleet has consistently managed to block our attacks," said Monarch and the girls grew silent "hell, he even dodged that spear thrust Saint Louis used to end Blake in a few seconds."

"Seriously?" asked Roon, turning to Saint Louis with an expression of disbelief.

"Indeed," said Saint Louis "I used the back of the spear instead of the front for obvious reasons then came at him. It was both surprising and terrifying to see him dodge the attack like that."

"Back to the important part," said Neptune "if its not about the power difference, then what's stopping them?"

"Is it really a bad thing if they can't beat us?" asked Roon "after all, we've proven capable of facing the Antiochs. It makes sense to send us."

"True," said Saint Louis "however, facing and defeating them is something my liege want the girls to do and not us. Otherwise he would have given us that objective right from the start."

Ibuki stroked her chin as did the other. So far, none of them could figure out how to proceed.

"What if," said Ibuki "what if the problem isn't physical, but psychological?"

Saint Louis simply nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"Think about it: Omega could have brought back anyone and outfitted them with new weapons. But she chose the Azur Lane because what better way to tarnish their memory than to turn them into villains. Seeing them fight alongside the enemy they swore to destroy must have a negative impact on the girls."

"Especially on the ones closest to them," she added.

"But none of us seemed to mind," said Monarch.

"Because we came to life during the Second War," said Ibuki "we read the stories, sure, but we didn't have that first-hand experience the others did."

"Then, how do we get them to overcome this problem?" asked Izumo.

At this, Saint Louis had an idea. She called the others closer and began laying out the plan.

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Half an hour later and everyone was asked to assemble in a forest clearing where the rest of the PR class were waiting. It took them a while to reach, not because of the distance, but because most of them were sore from the beating they took. When they arrived, Saint Louis came forward, cleared her throat and spoke so that everyone could hear her.

"We've decided that continuing to train you will not provide fruitful results. As such, the six of us have decided to petition the Commander to have us face the Antiochs instead of you."

"WHAT?" shouted Queen Elizabeth "you can't just decide that. We have two more weeks left till the deadline."

"All the more reason to quit now rather than later," said Monarch "Queen Elizabeth, you and Z23 have consistently proven your inability to land a hit against me in all our training sessions. If you're struggling here, what chance do you have of facing an enemy that fires to kill?"

"The same is with the rest of you," said Saint Louis "you do not have the conviction required to overcome the task."

"And you do?" asked Akagi, trying to sound calm.

"Of course we do," replied Saint Louis in a matter-of-fact way "to us, the Antiochs are simply a new division created by Omega. None of us carry the baggage that you do, and so, we are the better choice."

"But James said that he wanted us to face the Antiochs, not you," shouted Cleveland.

"Which is why we will petition him to change his mind," said Izumo "don't think that if you hesitate to kill your enemy, they will do the same."

"Face it," said Saint Louis "you're all so stuck in the past, intent on glorifying the Azur Lane that none of you have taken a step towards reaching them."

This was the moment Saint Louis and the rest were building up to. Based on how they reacted, the plan could go one of two ways.

"What did you say?" asked Rossiya, her fist trembling in growing anger.

"You heard her," said Neptune "you've all put the AL on this pedestal above everyone else and set them as the standard everyone else must strive to be. Yet, none of you have done a single thing to reach their heights."

"Because its impossible," spat Akagi "the reason why we hold them all so high up is because no one else can do the things they did. No one's as fast as Avrora, smart like Amagi, courageous like Bismarck, loyal like Jean Bart, kind like Hood, and skilled like Atago."

"And yet, there's evidence to the contrary," said Neptune "you know who I'm speaking about."

For a moment, none of them did. They all looked at each other, wondering who Neptune referred to. Then, it dawned on them.

"No," said Takao outright "James is nowhere near the level they are."

"That's your opinion," said Roon "but that hasn't stopped him from trying though. All through the Second War, James has consistently displayed the traits and characteristics you just spoke about."

"That…" said Tashkent but Roon did not stop.

"And it isn't just him. Others in the fleet see him working hard and are doing their part as well. Yorktown, who could not use her weapons after the First War is now on the front lines with her sisters. The children regularly conduct exercises and practice safety drills because they don't want their older brother to worry about them."

"Enterprise is either training with her sisters or the Essex clan to grow stronger. Belfast holds regular combat training with the maids, I could go on and on but the facts are this. James isn't content with staring at the Azur Lane from a distance. He is chasing after them and in doing so, everyone else in the fleet is taking note and following him."

"Well… almost everyone," she added.

There was a terrible silence in the area.

"I hate to say it but, you're right," said Tirpitz, much to the surprise of everyone

"We've all seen not that long ago too," she added "Omega's forces were slowly pushing us back. Then in comes James and just like that, he turns things around."

"I felt like in that moment, he was on the same level as Bismarck or Amagi. Now, hearing you lot echo that statement only proves how lazy I've become."

"But, let's get one thing clear," she said, her expression shifting from depressed to focused "if anyone's going to stand on the same level as my sister and James, it'll be me. Not some test tube girls that are only a few years old."

"Indeed," said Queen Elizabeth "it takes a lot of nerve for a bunch of ankle biters to think they're on the same level as us."

"OH?" said Monarch, raising an eyebrow "does her Majesty intend on attacking me seriously from now on?"

"Not just Queen Elizabeth," said Z23, also rising up "you have to deal with me too. Hood is like a sister to me. If anyone is going to protect her memory, it'll be me."

Queen Elizabeth cleared her throat a little and Z23 immediately got embarrassed by what she said.

"It is true that I kept my sister on a pedestal," said Kaga "and while I continued looking up to her, I did nothing to step out of her shadow. Well, no more."

Kaga turned, saw Akagi and extended a hand to her. She took it and was helped to her feet. The others also started rising up one after another. Seeing this, Saint Louis chuckled inwardly as her plan bore fruit.

As much as she felt the PR class was qualified to take out the Antiochs, she knew that her Commander preferred these girls to complete the task. However, the mental barrier they placed on themselves prevented them from doing so. Hence, she hatched a plan. It was a devious one that relied on a single moment, but if done correctly, could remove the barrier they all had.

"It seemed as though you've all suddenly become motivated," said Saint Louis, forming her spear and giving them a condescending look "well then, how about we put your words to the test."

Right then, the girls suddenly felt an ominous aura coming from the six. The PR class looked like a group of lions sizing up their prey and were ready to pounce. Zuikaku gulped a little, realizing that the girls were taking it easy on them so far. Now though, they were not holding back.

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The two groups met in the waters near the base the two groups assembled. The rules of engagement were the same: one shot, one kill. The girls were meant to score a hit on the PR class. Doing so would 'eliminate that member. If every member from one side was eliminated, the girls win.

On paper it sounded like the girls had the advantage. They had both experience and the numbers on their side. In theory though, those advantages amounted to nothing. The PR class' speed, ferocity and power outclassed anything the girls could throw at them.

Both sides amassed and took their positions facing their respective opponents. Queen Elizabeth and Z23 VS Monarch, Richelieu and Cleveland VS Saint Louis, Tirpitz VS Roon, Takao and Zuikaku VS Ibuki, Akagi and Kaga VS, Izumo, and Rossiya and Tashkent VS Neptune.

The two sides eyed each other carefully and then, the fight started.

It began with Z23 firing a barrage of torpedoes at Monarch while Queen Elizabeth fired long-range attacks. Monarch nimbly dodged the attacks, looking like a ballet dancer on the water. The torpedoes that did come close were whacked away by her scepter. As Monarch focused on this, Z23 came in close and attacked with a leg sweep. Monarch once again leapt up and used her rigging to shoot down. Z23 saw she could get hit and eliminated and immediately darted away. The battleship hit the water and the force of the attack sent her high in the air. There, she turned her rigging and took aim at Z23, who was still moving back. While she was busy aiming and waiting for the right moment, Queen Elizabeth saw hers and fired. Monarch did not see the shot coming till it was too late. The two shells hit her on the side and sent her crashing down. She managed to recover and return to her feet, but saw the light scarring on her right sleeve. She saw the two high-five each other and gave them a slight smile.

Zuikaku and Takao opted for a different approach. They both drew their swords and charged Ibuki from two sides. Their opponent drew her sword while her rigging fired at both of them. Takao and Zuikkau deftly dodged the attacks, all the while drawing closer. When they were close enough to strike, they swung their swords downwards but Ibuki took half a leap back. She landed gently on the water's surface then shot forward like a bullet. Takao was the only one to react fast enough and so used her sword to block the attacker. In that moment, both girls pointed their rigging at one another. They could both fire and get taken out. However, that was not the intent here and so neither side did fire in the end. Zuikaku meanwhile sent out a squad of planes at Ibuki, whose rigging targeted it in the air and shot them down one-after-another. Now, Ibuki pushed Takao back then fired at her. Takao strafed left and right, returned fire but Ibuki deflected all attacks with her sword. Zuikaku used this chance to move in behind her then charge forward. She was about to strike when Ibuki spun around and blocked the sword in mid-swing with her own. Ibuki was about to spin and kick her opponent but as her foot was about to land, she saw Takao behind Zuikaku. She was too deep into the attack to stop now and could only watch as Takao leapt onto Zuikaku's shoulders, jumped off before the attack landed and fire at Ibuki while in the air.

Unlike the others who had two-on-one fights, Tirpitz drew the short straw. Hers was a one-on-one and it was against the PR's most fearsome fighter, Roon. Roon wasted no time and fired at Tirpitz. She dodged the attack as expected but Roon expected that. She saw where Tirpitz went and went after her. Tirpitz fired a few times at Roon only to see her use her rigging to catch one of the shells in its mouth and crush it. That flex of power was followed by a short barrage from Roon. The attack was not aimed for Tirpitz and instead went ahead of her, thus halting her advance. Tirpitz spun around in time to see Roon coming at her with an arched fist. She quickly leapt to the side just as the fist grazed her and took a few strands of hair off. Tirpitz moved to Roon's side, grabbed her arm and flung her away. Despite being thrown, Roon's rigging shot forward with its jaws wide open and aiming for Tirpitz. She bent down then kicked forward and propelled herself to Roon. In response, Roon strafed to her left but Tirpitz was hoping she'd move left or right. While still sliding, Tirpitz pointed at Roon and fired. She was not surprised to see her opponent block the attacks and used that moment to rise to her feet and shoot behind her. Tirpitz simply pointed her finger to the back of Roon's neck and she responded by raising her hands up in defeat.

The Cardinal and Cleveland had the most difficult opponent of the group. The aptly-titled 'Commander's Spear' lunged forward with her spear pointed at them. Though she was using the back of the spear, there was no denying the power it had. The pair leapt in different directions and fired at the same time. Saint Louis however, swung her weapon and destroyed the projectiles in a single swing. Now, she turned to Cleveland and rushed at her. This time however, Saint Louis used several small thrusts to pin Cleveland and prevent her from trying to escape. Richelieu watched this unfold and looked for an opening. As if sensing this, Saint Louis formed her rigging, pointed it at Richelieu and fired. Though Richelieu dodged, she saw the rigging track her till she landed and fired again. As much as everyone gave her guff for laying it on too thick with the 'loyalty' schtick, Saint Louis was certainly worth of her title and position. Cleveland saw the spear coming and moved left but Saint Louis drew her weapon back and brought it forward again with almost lighting-like speed. For a moment, Cleveland thought it would hit her and braced for impact. However, she forced the idea out of her mind and ducked down. The brief moment between that move and Saint Louis thinking about what to do, enabled Cleveland to perform a leg sweep and knock her off. Seeing this opportunity present itself, Richelieu fired without hesitation and struck her opponent.

When it came down to speed in the PR class, the argument could be made that all six of them were incredibly fast. However, on closer inspection it is revealed that only two of them are faster than the others. The second fastest is Saint Louis while the first is Neptune. The typically happy-go-lucky maid that served weary girls in her café strafed from side to side with blinding speed that it looked like there were clones of her. Tashkent fired alongside Rossiya and only got her after-images. Neptune meanwhile fired at random intervals and made it hard for them to get a bead on her. Neptune saw them struggle and lunged at Tashkent. She would have landed a hit were it not for Rossiya firing ahead of Tashkent and stopping Neptune. The maid was undaunted by this and resumed her strafing manoeuver once again. Rossiya swept her rigging from one side to the next, firing at every clone Neptune created. The barrage hit and a cloud of smoke covered her. Tashkent readied herself while Rossiya came to her. In a flash, Neptune came shooting out of the smoke, her rigging firing at both of them and causing them to go on defence. This allowed Neptune to come in close and attack Tashkent. Tashkent instinctually stepped back and narrowly avoided the trident. Rossiya fired but Neptune cut the shells in two with her weapon. That moment gave Tashkent the time needed to user her bear claws and chains and wrap them around Neptune's feet. The move momentarily halted Neptune's speed but a moment was all Rossiya needed.

Akagi and Kaga struggled against Izumo's attack style. When they were far away, she pelted them with long-range fire. When they were close, she countered with her swords. The battleship gave off an ominous aura as the sisters wondered if a victory was possible. Izumo was not one to stand quietly and attacked with another charge. She first fired at the sisters, causing them to split and she was counting on that. Izumo targeted Akagi and fired at her again. Of the two, Izumo sensed that she was the weakest and sought to exploit that. Kaga tried to attack, but Izumo's rigging kept her at bay. Akagi struggled to hold her own against Izumo's relentless strikes and could sense it won't be long before the battleship break through her defences. Kaga switched from her planes to move in close. Izumo's rigging once again targeted her and she moved from side to side. She drew close, targeting Izumo's side with the intent of knocking her over. However, to her shock, Izumo suddenly stopped attacking Akagi and flung a blade at Kaga. The weapon landed a few centimetres away from her foot and the fox gasped at how dangerously close that was. Akagi meanwhile tried to catch Izumo with a leg sweep, but the latter leapt up to dodge. While in the air, Izumo pointed all her rigging at Akagi and fired. The attacks landed and Akagi was out of the fight. Izumo had little time to rest as she saw she was suddenly surrounded by seemingly hundreds of blue fighters, courtesy of Kaga. Her rigging spun in all directions as she moved about trying to dodge, avoid or strike down her attackers. Her efforts prevailed and Izumo emerged from the destruction unhurt. Unfortunately for her, Kaga was hoping for that. She darted towards Izumo's blind spot and saw the rigging turn to fire. She let loose more planes to serve as a distraction and they did exactly that. She got in close just as Izumo realized what was going on. Izumo spun with her blades pointed out but Kaga ducked underneath them. She grabbed the Izumo by the legs, let out a fierce yell and flung her off her feet. Izumo hit the ground hard and saw Kaga standing over her, the latter's blue flame runway pointed at her chest. Izumo's expression changed and she raised both hands up in defeat.

When the dust settled, the girls all came together again. It took a moment for them to realize what had happened, but when they did, they almost didn't believe it.

"We won?" asked Z23, looking at the others and wondering if they were dreaming.

"I can't believe it," said Cleveland, her hands shaking a little "we did it. We really beat them."

"I didn't think it was possible," said Rossiya, putting her hands on her knees and sighing in relief.

"Yes, we did it," said Kaga, but took a moment to look at Akagi. Out of everyone in this rag-tag group, she was the only one that didn't show any signs of growth and Kaga would deal with that later. For now though, they had reason to celebrate.

The girls were happy with their accomplishments, that they didn't notice the very ominous aura now building up in the distance. When they did, they saw the PR Class all giving them the most spine-tingling smiles ever.

"Well, well, well," said Roon "looks like someone's getting too big for their boots."

"Indeed," said Izumo "we were taking things easy on you to avoid needless injuries but now, it seems like you're more than capable of actually facing us."

"Congratulations ladies on completing this test," said Saint Louis "you all pass with flying colours."

"However," she added "now that we know what you're made of… we're done holding back."

The girls' eyes widened in terror as the PR class came charging forward, ready to take their training to the next level.