Prologue

I stared at the weapons all around me. My Reality Marble had changed greatly since it first formed during the Fifth Holy Grail War. It was no longer the desolate desert it had been after my fight over my ideals with EMIYA, nor just the cloudy sunset that it had first formed. The ordinary weapons, Mystic Codes, and Noble Phantasms that were once disorganized and randomly placed were now neatly organized into select categories based on the origins and affiliations of their original users.

My eyes took in the Noble Phantasms around me. They were a testament to the strength of my bonds with their original wielders, bonds forged during my lifetime. I felt a sense of pride, knowing that I had not betrayed my ideals, unlike EMIYA, who had come to regret his choices. With the help of many Servants I had befriended, I had worked together to prevent various Singularities and Lostbelts from resulting in the collapse of the Human Order, and thus the extinction of mankind.

Suddenly, I felt a tug.

Though I had not personally experienced it, I had been told about it many times. Yet I had even indirectly experienced it through my dream cycles as the Master of multiple Servants. Additionally, I had gained a deeper understanding of the experience after meeting the original Heroic Spirits I had befriended in life within the Throne of Heroes.

I allowed the magical rope responsible for the tug to tighten around me, but not so firmly that I would be dragged away and summoned without my consent. Many Heroic Spirits allowed themselves to be tugged away and summoned for various reasons, but I was selective. I wasn't going to be summoned into a Holy Grail War to kill Masters and Servants, unless my Master was an exceptionally pure-hearted individual with good motivations, or a rare selfless person. The only other time I would allow myself to be summoned was at the behest of the Counter Force, just like many of the Servants I had met during the Singularities and Lostbelts.

The magical rope fed me close to nothing about what I was going to face, Counter Force was the source of the summoning, and protecting the survival of the human race. Something I would eagerly participate as a Hero of Justice without hesitation.

I felt myself being dragged out of the Throne of Heroes, and hoped my first time being summoned as a Servant since my death would be for a truly worthy cause.

As I felt a spiritual container being created to house my soul, I noticed several abnormalities, but quickly dismissed it for later investigation as I bowed my head and got onto my knees.

"I ask, are you my Master?" My voice rumbled as my body finally materialized and I prepared to meet my summoner, my Master, who would act as my anchor and commander.

My eyes opened to an unfamiliar sight. Instead of the expected mage's workshop or nearby to a leyline, I found myself in what appeared to be a military base, surrounded by uniformed personnel who looked at me with shock and confusion.

What caught my eye the most wasn't the uniformed men and women of the Japanese Self Defense Force, which I recognized immediately as a native-born Japanese. No, it was the peculiar group of girls and young women that drew my attention. At first glance, they didn't seem anything special, but my experiences with various Servants and magical beings in the numerous Singularities and Lostbelts had taught me that appearances could be very deceiving.

Another reason those girls, from mid-teens to young adults, caught my eye was how they reminded me of Voyager or the Greek Machine Gods - well, except for the space probe or interdimensional starship part. I quickly cast a Structural Analysis spell with my eyes to confirm my hunch was right, but I was way off. They weren't space probes or Machine Gods. My gaze fell not on their human appearance, but on what lay beneath - something only a mage could see.

My Reality Marble, heavily influenced by my time as Master of Chaldea and the various Servants that had attempted to alter Unlimited Blade Works, initially tried to replicate the entire warships - which failed spectacularly. It then tried to replicate individual parts, which also failed since they were not bladed weapons, personal protective equipment, or even magical items.

Unlimited Blade Works might have failed, but for some reason, a part of me that seemed separate from my Servant container began creating blueprints and preparing multiple workshops for production...

I quickly suppressed that abnormal reaction. Experience had told me never to let any unusual activity within myself happen without the advice of an expert - an instinctive response born from various experiments to increase my abilities and survival as a Master of Chaldea, such as hoping to modify my Reality Marble.

Thanks to my increased abilities as a Servant, I was able to keep track of three things happening at once: the magic ritual that had summoned me, and the girls and JSDF personnel talking about me.

The leftover material that hadn't been consumed by the magic ritual was very unusual. Steel I could understand somewhat, as many Heroic Spirits had weapons made out of steel or metal alloys for their weapons and armor. Oil was used by many Servants as a weapon of war during their time, so it made sense. Ammunition was rare but not too uncommon if the Servant you wanted to summon came from an age closer to modern times, where they might use guns and cannons. But that didn't explain the presence of 20th and 21st century ammunition, ranging from 12.7x108mm rounds to 16.1 inch naval artillery shells.

Bauxite baffled me to no end. It was a common source for aluminum, but I didn't know of any Heroic Spirits whose legend or Noble Phantasm was at all associated with aluminum.

The Japanese flag or any other items associated with the nation or culture of Japan was a no-brainer, as it was obvious that a Servant associated with Japan had been the target of the summoning.

What confused me the most was the complete lack of magical materials and objects containing mana or magic symbols and languages, such as runes, that were a staple of magic rituals. It was almost as if a non-mage without any knowledge of real magecraft was praying for a miracle to happen and bring forth their desired summoning.

Another part of my mind focused on the girls huddled together, whispering excitedly as they stared at me.

Unlimited Blade Works might not have been able to replicate any part of the girls' true forms as naval warships, except for maybe their steel armor, but it was very capable of telling me their history - from the materials gathered for their construction and their port of origin, to their service history with the Imperial Japanese Navy when the Japanese Empire still existed.

"Is that... a shipboy?" Fubuki of the Fubuki-class destroyers asked, her eyes wide with disbelief. "I thought they were just a myth!"

"He certainly looks the part," Akagi, who originally belonged to the Amagi-class battlecruisers before being converted into a fleet carrier, mused, tapping a finger against her chin. "But I've never seen one before. How can we be sure?"

Mutsuki of the Mutsuki-class destroyers leaned in closer, squinting at me. "Maybe we should ask him to do something only a shipboy could do? Like... I don't know, manifest his rigging?"

"Don't be silly!" Yuudachi of the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers chided. "If he's a shipboy, he probably doesn't even know how to do that yet. Poor thing, he must be so confused."

Kongou of the Kongou-class battleships struck a dramatic pose, her hand on her hip. "Well, I think it's our duty as his senpai to guide him on the path of becoming a true shipboy! We'll teach him everything we know!"

"Um, shouldn't we introduce ourselves first?" Inazuma of the Fubuki-class destroyers suggested timidly. "He looks a little overwhelmed."

Shimakaze, the first of her class that never made it into full production, zipped around the group, her rabbit-ear ribbons bouncing. "Who cares about introductions? I want to race him and see how fast he is!"

Nagato of the Nagato-class battleships stepped forward, her arms crossed and her expression stern. "Enough. We will not bombard him with questions or challenges. As shipgirls, it is our responsibility to make him feel welcome and supported."

If I hadn't met Heroic Spirit Voyager or the Machine Gods that would later become the Greek Gods, I might have been baffled by the sight of human girls personifying naval warships. It was also kind of cute to see them act like girls matching their physical appearance, but I didn't pay too much attention to their continued conversation, as the topics didn't seem too important.

I turned the rest of my attention to the JSDF personnel who were looking at me and talking about me. They acted more in line with what I had been expecting of humans with little or no knowledge of the "real" supernatural. They kept comparing me to the Shipgirls and speculating that I could be the very first of a rumored group of Shipboys. What caught my attention the most was the constant reference to "Abyssals," and I had the feeling that this group, which seemed to have an antagonistic relationship with the JSDF navy, was the likely cause of my summoning.

"Who are you? What are you?" A stern, authoritative voice called out. I turned to see a middle-aged man close to his sixties, whose nametag read Admiral Hitoshi Goto, who had finally decided to speak to me directly out of all the uniformed Japanese officers that had been staring at and talking about me. His eyes were hard and assessing behind his glasses.

I glanced at the girls, who blushed when they noticed that their conversation had not gone unheard, before turning my attention back to the admiral. "I am not this 'shipboy' or 'shipgirl' that people have been talking about earlier. I am a hero of human myth and legend, brought back as a Servant through the Human Counter Force to ensure the survival of the human race," I replied, and without giving my listeners time to think, I continued. "May I know the threat endangering the human race?"

Before anyone else could respond, Goto clutched his chest, and his legs weakened. Before anyone could react, I dashed to the admiral, who was most likely my Master if my instincts were anything to go by. To the eyes of the JSDF or the shipgirls - the best I could describe them, given their true nature as sea-faring naval warships personified as human girls - I might have disappeared given my superhuman agility.

My hands caught the admiral, and I channeled my mana into him with a quick application of Structural Analysis. The admiral was my Master, given the faint Master and Servant connection I shared with him. But it wasn't a proper bond, similar to when I had summoned Arturia as Saber during the Fifth Holy Grail War.

"Put your hands up where we can see them!"

"Get away from the admiral!"

Various similar commands followed as the JSDF pointed firearms at me, followed by the slower-to-respond shipgirls, who deployed what my Unlimited Blade Works identified as "Riggings" - their naval artillery guns in the form of their true steel-hulled selves, similar to how a Servant might summon their weapon and armor. I didn't pay any attention to the firearms, as without traces of mana or magecraft, they couldn't harm me given my Servant nature. It was the shipgirls' rigging that concerned me, the most dangerous threat being Nagato's four batteries of twin-gun 16-inch turrets.

"If I move away from your admiral and don't provide immediate medical attention, he might die!" I shouted, my D-rank Charisma personal skill acting up. Born from my legend as Master of Chaldea, it wasn't enough to lead an entire nation like those with B-rank Charisma, or even large sections of a military like C-rank holders. But it was more than enough to affect the individuals within the room. "I swear upon my honor and life that I will do nothing more than save your admiral's life."

Many of the younger and more inexperienced individuals in the room seemed convinced, while those who were older and more experienced seemed skeptical about my words. The only person who seemed outright unconvinced was Nagato.

But I ignored everything around me and focused wholly on the injured Goto.

I placed my hands above the admiral's heart and deactivated the out-of-control Magic Circuits that were running rampant, damaging Admiral Goto's organs. The task was easier than what I had done with many other humans. If Goto had been a mage, his Magic Resistance might have hampered my efforts, and I might not have been able to stop the out-of-control magic circuits from inflicting serious damage.

"Admiral Goto's life is no longer in danger, but I advise that he be treated as a critically ill patient until his condition starts improving," I announced while slowly standing up and raising my hands to show I wasn't a threat, moving away from the admiral.

"Get away from the admiral!" screamed Nagato as she dashed forward, propelled by her 21 water-tube boilers providing 80,000 horsepower to 4 shafts of steam turbines, translating into a speed of 30 knots, with a fist aimed at me.

I knew I could dodge without much issue, but I also knew a much easier method to escape Nagato's incoming fist. Without any magical energy imbued in her fist, she would not threaten me if I took a certain course of action. Thus, I chose to dematerialize into my spirit form.

What I did not expect was to see something that looked like my body flying into a nearby wall while I remained in my spirit form to stare.

I blinked several times before closing my eyes for several seconds and opening them again. The results didn't change, and I rubbed my eyes to see that nothing had changed.

"Would someone mind explaining why I have a physical body that looks like it belongs to a sea-faring ship?" I pointed to a body that looked exactly like myself, which Nagato had nailed into the wall. "As a Servant, I don't have a physical body; I'm a spirit that can take a physical form, but that's different from having an actual body."

To my lack of surprise, no one seemed to know the answer, and Nagato appeared to be the most shocked of all.

"Okay, we can figure that out later. Can someone please call medics, or better yet, doctors and nurses to look after the admiral! He might be out of immediate danger, but his critical condition could worsen at any moment!" I shouted, spurring people into action. My eyes turned to stare at the body driven into the wall as I analyzed the information from my Reality Marble. "IJN Shirou of the Mobile Naval Base class…?"

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