"Hmph, as if the Commander's goodness needs your confirmation."
A curvy girl stepped out from behind Hikaru, clinging tightly to his arm.
She had a round face, pink hair, blue eyes, and wore a blue skirt and white blouse. Atop her head was a blue headband shaped like bunny ears—obviously a weaponized form of cutesy appeal.
This girl was the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, the result of Hikaru grinding through a paid task late last night. She was a four-star shipgirl with a decent loadout.
Her skill granted +25% damage to bombers. While not quite on Saratoga's level, she was still a strong airstrike carrier.
As for that cash shop task, Hikaru had spent 100 gems on two collector's crates and ended up with two 2-star furniture pieces—a chair and a cushion. Their special effect? Slight fatigue reduction. Barely worth it. He'd been depressed for half a day.
Yamato shrugged, signaling she had no intention of bickering with Ranger.
In fact, she held a favorable impression of the shipgirl.
Historically, USS Ranger had operated mostly in the Atlantic and earned just two battle stars. Her entire career had gone by without ever clashing with Japanese ships.
That historical record subtly influenced her temperament as a shipgirl. So even though she'd sassed Yamato, she didn't actually hold any hostility toward her.
Helena, on the other hand, definitely disliked Yamato—even though Yat Sen, of all people, bore no ill will toward this major enemy of the J-faction.
As the group prepared to set out, Ranger blinked and tugged on Hikaru's arm.
"Commander, let me come too! I brought candy for you~"
Hikaru immediately felt a sharp, cold glare. He didn't need to look to know—it was Saratoga.
The glare of an angry little sister-in-law.
He gently pulled his arm free from Ranger and smiled. "If you want to go, then go. I trust your abilities. Just be sure to return before the end of the month."
"Commander, you're the best!"
Ranger cheered and started running ahead.
Thud.
She tripped flat on the open dock. Luckily, her assets cushioned the fall and saved her face.
"Commander, help me up! I don't even know why I fell~"
Saratoga, grinding her teeth, jumped up onto the dock and yanked Ranger off the ground. "That's enough out of you!"
Ranger tilted her head, tapped her temple, and stuck out her tongue. "Ehehe~ I'm just a klutz."
Hikaru couldn't bear to watch.
Girl, this isn't cutesy clumsiness. This is just dumb.
Out on the sea, Prince of Wales was growing impatient. She shouted, "Let's just go. Let her catch up on her own."
With that, she set course north. The others followed one after another. Ranger panicked and quickly summoned her rigging, stumbling forward in a desperate chase after Bismarck and the others.
Ranger's rigging was rather unique—she carried pom-pom-like blue streamer balls in her hands, resembling a cheerleader's gear. Hikaru had seen her sparring with Saratoga before; to launch her aircraft, she'd cut cloth ribbons that turned into carrier planes midair.
He'd heard that Akagi and Kaga launched planes by firing arrows that transformed into aircraft. Honestly, he kind of wanted to see that.
Watching the group leave, Hikaru rotated his neck and grumbled, "Man, I'm exhausted these past two days. Yat Sen, give me a shoulder massage, please."
"I'll do it, Commander! I'm amazing at shoulder massages!"
Glowworm volunteered eagerly.
High above, nestled in the clouds, a sleek Abyssal reconnaissance plane with black body and gold patterns quietly peeked out.
The base was vulnerable.
Abyssal Yamato received the intel not long after.
She hesitated.
Even while rallying her forces over the past three days, she hadn't been idle—she'd been sending wave after wave of recon planes toward Hikaru's base.
No matter how powerful Lexington's fighters were, it was impossible to wipe out thousands of reconnaissance aircraft completely.
But what she saw in the reports confused her.
According to the intel passed down by that superior, Hikaru wasn't supposed to have many shipgirls. Only Lexington and Tirpitz had shown extraordinary combat ability.
Yet upon reconnaissance—Abyssal Yamato was shocked.
Where did all these girls come from?
In most places, a few extra shipgirls wouldn't matter. Anyone bringing back trivial reports like that would've had their neck snapped by her on the spot.
Did they think she had time for nonsense?
But Hikaru's base was not just any base.
Abyssal Yamato knew exactly what his shipgirls had accomplished. Just two of them had held off three level-100 Abyssal flagships at once.
It was like watching gods descend to the mortal world.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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