The Divine Throne of Shipgirls

Tirpitz stepped forward in silence.

The hearts of every commander and shipgirl present skipped a beat.

This wasn't just a figure of speech—under Tirpitz's overwhelming presence, everyone's hearts seized up in unison with a wave of dread.

Under such pressure, even the senior commanders who had been glaring at Hikaru and the others suddenly lost their nerve, instinctively looking away from Tirpitz's gaze.

Such was the might of Tirpitz.

Only then did Hikaru speak.

"Commander Noboru's killing intent toward me was very real. He clearly has some issue with me—perhaps you should ask him directly."

Fleet Admirall Gorou waved his hand furiously. "Bring Noboru up here!"

His order was carried out immediately. Wakayama Shogo appeared, supporting Noboru—whose face was pale as wax.

Vulcan followed beside them, hands glowing with a steady stream of healing light as she worked to repair the gaping wound in Noboru's gut, nearly the size of a rice bowl.

The bleeding had stopped, but the hole pierced clean through him, raw tissue still writhing in regeneration, making the sight even more horrifying.

Wakayama spoke in a pained voice, "One kidney is gone, and his stomach, liver, and intestines are partially damaged. We'll have to cut some of it out. If he didn't have extraordinary strength and a supernatural body, he'd already be dead…"

"That's enough! He should be grateful to be alive after taking a punch from the strongest shipgirl in the world," Gorou snapped. Then he smacked Noboru hard across the face. "Still pretending to be asleep, huh?!"

Noboru stirred with a groan. His eyes opened slightly and swept the crowd—then locked onto Hikaru, full of venomous resentment.

Smack!

Gorou slapped him again on the other cheek. "Talk! Why the hell did you go after Hikaru? Drink a few shots of horse piss and suddenly you think you're above the law?!"

Only someone like Fleet Admiral Gorou could lay hands on a high-ranking commander like Noboru. He was the pillar of the navy—his age alone made him old enough to be Noboru's great-grandfather. Generations of navy officers had grown up being drilled by this man as if he were raising unruly grandsons.

Noboru, considered one of the most promising among the younger upper commanders, had not only stirred up a massive scandal but also gotten himself grievously injured. The one most furious—and most heartbroken—was none other than Gorou himself.

Under his intense interrogation, Noboru—his head turned to one side by the slap—trembled. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes and soaked into his graying temples.

Though he looked like a man in his prime, Noboru had actually served in the military for fifty or sixty years. At this moment, all the strength drained from him, and he suddenly looked decades older.

"…I… I can't accept it."

Gorou grabbed him by the scalp and yanked his face back toward him.

"Accept what?! That Hikaru's shipgirl turned the tide and denied you a glorious martyrdom?!"

"If… if his Tirpitz was that strong… If she'd acted sooner… my… my girl wouldn't have died."

Wakayama looked remorseful. "I should bear some responsibility for this as well. My intel was off. Actually—"

"Shut it," Gorou snapped, waving Wakayama silent. His lip twitched. "You mean your South Dakota?"

Noboru gritted his teeth, trying to hold back the tears. But they would no longer stop—they poured down his face without restraint.

"Yes… Haili has been with me for over fifty years. From the time I had nothing… she stayed by my side. She didn't have to die… Fleet Admiral… she was just like your own daughter, Lu…"

"Enough!"

Gorou bellowed, slamming Noboru's head into the deck.

Bang!

The sound of skull hitting metal was louder than a gong, making Hikaru twitch involuntarily.

Noboru's nose was clearly broken. His face might be ruined too.

Marshal Heizou, stunned by Gorou's outburst, nearly stepped forward to intervene—but hesitated, worried it might worsen Noboru's injuries. He stomped his foot in frustration. "Gorou! Are you trying to kill him?!"

"Let him die, then!" Gorou roared, turning his fierce glare on the surrounding middle and upper commanders. "Anyone else here like this coward? Blames others for not saving them because they couldn't protect their own shipgirl?"

Hikaru swept his eyes across the other commanders as well.

Fame brings both glory and envy.

After the Southern Sea campaign, Tirpitz's name had spread across the world like wildfire—but so had the slanders and backstabbing.

"She stood by while her allies died, refusing to act."

"She waited for others to die just to show off her power."

"Who even knows what she is? She came out of nowhere with no record, no past. For all we know, she could be a disguised Abyssal flagship infiltrating our ranks."

Hikaru had heard these kinds of rumors a dozen times over. He knew exactly who was spreading them behind the scenes.

Too many commanders had lost their shipgirls in the war.

[End of Chapter]

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