They were: Washington(US), Vittorio Veneto(Italy), Bismarck(Germany), and Prince of Wales(UK).
If you pay close attention, you'll notice one thing—all four of these faction leaders are battleships.
That's no coincidence. To be a boss, strength and followers matter, but more importantly, one must have the temperament of a leader.
Aircraft carrier shipgirls were often stationed in rear formations during historical battles. As a result, the ones who came into being from that legacy naturally lacked the same aggressive aura as battleships—who were literally born of fire and forged in close-range artillery duels.
Even so, Enterprise hadn't given up hope.
The Commander always said: "Talent loses to fate, and in the base, stats lose to affection."
As long as the Commander favored someone, even a support ship with zero combat power could become a star in the base. And if he didn't like you, no matter how brave or strong you were, you might as well be a warehouse manager.
That's how Lexington, by the Commander's affection alone, managed to rise to become the feared Queen of the base.
Among the four faction leaders, Bismarck held the most enviable position.
She was the only one of the four to have married the Commander. Even more, her sister Tirpitz was also deeply loved by him—everyone knew the Commander had a soft spot for sister pairs.
But now that Bismarck had gone to the Commander's side, the other three were itching for their chance.
After all, they were still on the same starting line.
Suddenly, a cold snort rang out. A silver-haired small shipgirl stepped out from behind the destroyer Danyang.
Holding a small coffee cup, her snow-white hair draped over her shoulders, and her sharp gaze swept the room. Who else could it be but Vittorio Veneto?
"Ladies," Veneto said, downing her coffee in one gulp before tossing the cup aside and spreading her arms wide. "I love war!"
Meanwhile, Hikaru had no idea that a full-blown turf war was about to erupt in his dream-world base. He lay lazily on a fluffy white cloud-bed, supervising the shipgirls as they worked.
A pristine base, now bombed into ruin within moments of manifesting in reality—it was honestly exhausting to think about.
Sighing long and hard, he continued chatting with the girls.
They couldn't hide their desire to be close to him. Even a few teasing words from him were enough to make their hearts warm and fluttering.
Bismarck was especially active, asking all about what Hikaru had experienced recently and offering her perspective from a soldier's standpoint—so involved, in fact, that she kept forgetting her cleanup duties.
"How strange," Bismarck muttered, tossing aside a marble wall fragment. "Based on what you said, that Marshal Noboru shouldn't have just disappeared like that."
At that moment, Hikaru was recounting what had happened aboard the Silent Horizon.
"Logically, of course not," Hikaru said, shrugging. "That's why it's a locked-room murder mystery."
Yat Sen bit her cherry lips with a pair of pearly-white teeth, her eyes full of confusion.
"As you said, there were thousands of powerful individuals on the ship, and tens of thousands more Level-100 shipgirls nearby. All that separated them was a thin layer of decking. How could that Marshal vanish without a trace?"
Enjoying the vampire's massage, Hikaru replied lazily, "Tell me—anyone among you, or in the base—could they pull off something like that?"
Bismarck glanced at her sister Tirpitz, who was lazily lounging in a tree. "Tirpitz was on the deck too, wasn't she?"
Hikaru nodded. "Yes."
"Lexington, you're sure you didn't notice anything strange at the time?"
Lexington and Fletcher both confirmed.
"Then it's impossible," Bismarck said, shaking her head. "Even our Level-110 shipgirls couldn't have done it—killing a powerful Marshal right under Lexington and Tirpitz's noses? No way."
Ella timidly raised her hand. "Maybe… Marshal Noboru wasn't actually killed?"
"I lean toward him being dead," Hikaru said, immediately shooting down the idea as the image of that wedding ring appeared again before his eyes.
What really happened back then?
"I do have a theory," Bismarck said, rubbing her chin. "Though it might be a bit extreme."
Hikaru gestured. "You can say anything."
Bismarck blushed and shot him an annoyed glare. "Commander, have you considered the possibility… that Marshal Noboru wasn't killed by someone else?"
Hikaru caught on. "You mean—he might've killed the two captains, then committed suicide… or escaped, just to pin the blame on me?"
"That's one possibility," Lexington stepped in, unwilling to be outdone. "But I have a different theory."
"Oh? And what are you thinking?"
Lexington tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Do you remember what the surroundings of the Silent Horizon were like back then, my Commander?"
Hikaru smiled bitterly. "Exactly. That's what makes the whole thing so strange—so many high-level powerhouses around, and still this happens."
"I think everyone's been looking in the wrong direction," Lexington said, eyes narrowing. "Why are we assuming it had to happen on Deck B1? We all knew there were thousands of Marshals wandering right above."
Hikaru's eyes lit up. "You mean…"
"Commander," Lexington said, her voice grave, "don't forget—at that time, there were still three Wolf-class nuclear attack submarines lurking underwater."
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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