Time skip 3 hours, Non specific location

Now news stations across the Sakura Empire were playing a short clip that had just been aired.

Southern Yamato could be seen on a black stage alone. She looked serious as she now spoke in Japanese "I have already addressed the government and the emperor of the Sakura. Currently the Solidarity League has several ship girls from the Sakura Empire, as well as North Union, and Dragon Empery ship girls. The Sakura Empire has a weapon we want. So I have come forth to offer a trade" now a short clip of footage from the prison camp on Kau Yi chau "for the entirety of the ship girls that we have imprisoned, we will trade them for the weapon and the blueprints of the weapon that the Sakura Empire has. If the Sakura Empire accepts then the ship girls and the weapon shall be brought unhurt to a secretly agreed location" now her she frowned and said "but if the Sakura Empire disregards my offer, then the ship girls shall be converted to Trench Abyssals, and the next country the Solidarity League shall come after shall be the Sakura Empire" Now she stared blankly as the clip changed back to her. She sighed before continuing. "And I shall make sure that at least one of the converted ship girls is involved in the invasion of the Sakura Empire. I hope the Sakura Empire makes the right choice. See if I am bluffing at your own detriment and their detriment. You have three days to respond, if you do not respond in that time, I shall take it that you disregard my offer"

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Time skip 1 hour, location Hong Kong

"Ooh~ it's been a long time since we've been here" Eastern said.

"So it has" Battleship Princess said, as she stepped onto Southern Yamato's deck.

"Now where is she?" Eastern asked "she should notice us standing on her deck" she said. She looked round the area curiously and said "mm, mm, seems she's picked the place up. Eh?!"

Suddenly turret one swung around surprisingly fast, and if it wasn't for Eastern being a Techno Abyssal, she would've been hit. She ducked down as the guns of the turret came at her. But then she saw the anti aircraft armament aiming at her, and opened fire on the two of them. The two summoned portals around themselves that redirected the rounds into the sky.

"We just want to talk, Southern" Eastern said over the radio.

The anti aircraft armament stopped firing and the two des-ummoned the portals. But Battleship Princess could see something coming at Eastern "Eastern, behind you!"

"Uh?" Eastern was about to turn around when she was thrown to the ground. She rolled over and flinched as Southern Yamato's katana embedded itself in the deck mere millimeters from her throat.

But then Eastern felt as Southern Yamato grabbed her neck with her right hand. She felt as Southern Yamato started crushing her throat. "And why would I want to talk with you?" Southern Yamato growled.

"We heard your message to the other Abyssal nations" Battleship Princess said as she cautiously walked closer.

"Well you're not welcomed" Southern Yamato said.

"Would you kill someone who just came to talk?" Battleship Princess asked.

"Normally no, but you two are different"

Now Eastern started laughing hysterically as she gripped Southern Yamato's arm. But Southern Yamato just growled as she withdrew her katana from her deck. She released Eastern's neck but stepped on her chest so she couldn't get up.

"Wait Yammy!" Southern Yamato turned her head away from the two and now saw Yahagi "don't do this"

"What?" Southern Yamato said in disbelief "Don't interfere in this, Yahagi. They're just trying to trick us"

"Yammy, if they are here just to talk, then it could set a new precedent. Imagine if we sent an emissary to the Sakura Empire and they killed them. If we tried to protest they could say we're hypocrites. We'd have no right to say that they couldn't do it" Southern Yamato now looked down at Eastern and growled at her. "Yammy..." Yahagi said "please..."

Southern Yamato sighed before stepping off of Eastern. She still held her katana at her side, as she now glanced at Battleship Princess.

"Can we talk?" Battleship Princess asked.

Southern Yamato walked over to her slowly and passed by her right side. She turned around and now placed her katana's blade at Battleship Princess's throat "no. leave NOW"

"Would you betray the request of your little friend there?" Battleship Princess now motioned over to Yahagi.

Southern Yamato hesitated before saying "I don't trust you, so there's no point in discussing anything. Leave NOW, I won't warn you again"

Battleship Princess sighed "and here I thought we could talk civilized like adults" she now glanced at Southern Yamato before shrugging her shoulders "fine... if you change your mind, you know where to find us. Let's go Eastern"

Now Battleship Princess stepped backwards and disappeared through a portal. Eastern sat up and continued laughing as she now looked over at Southern Yamato. Soon she fell through a portal, and her laughter finally stopped when the portal disappeared.

Southern Yamato sighed once the two were gone. She lowered her katana down before de-summoning it. Now she glanced over to Yahagi who had a disappointed look on her face. She started walking towards her and said "those were Battleship Princess and Eastern. DON'T TRUST THEM"

"Yammy... even if we can't, we should still have proper manners" Yahagi said. Southern Yamato walked beside her now and looked down at her "they're... different, but... I'll listen to you" now she patted Yahagi's head before walking through a portal.

Yahagi looked in the direction of where Battleship Princess and Eastern were before a smug smile appeared on her face. She turned around and followed Southern Yamato, but made sure to look normal.

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Time skip 1 day, location classified location outside of Tokyo

"We can't let her get it!" Admiral Takahashi Daiki yelled.

"But if we don't give it to her, then we'll lose those girls!" General Kaneko Hiroto responded.

A group of eight men of the JSDF and JMSDF could be seen in a meeting room. They were arguing about what should be done about Southern Yamato's ultimatum.

Nakamura sighed as the discussion they had suddenly blew up and now the room was filled with yelling. One side wanted to give Southern Yamato the weapon, while the other side didn't. But neither side seemed to be giving ground to the other.

But now Nakamura was getting frustrated and suddenly slammed his hand against the table and yelled "calm down will you men?!"

The other men around the table stared at him in silence before they seemed to aquess to his demand.

After a moment Admiral Takahashi said "what do you think Nakamura?" Now he pointed to Akihito "I already know his opinion considering his wife. But he's forgetting the rest of the country"

"I have no doubt that Yamato already knows where the weapon is, or at least the approximate location. She's probably just waiting for our response. If we say no, I have no doubt that she'll rain hell on it" he paused as he now looked to Admiral Takahashi "we're disconnected from our allies. The undersea cables are cut, our radios are getting jammed. Hell they've started hacking our satellites. The satellites for the weapon are still under our control, but we don't know for how much longer. We're alone, we can't even talk with China or South Korea, no less America. So what do we have to stop an invasion?"

There was silence for a moment before General Hironaka Kei spoke "with their new tanks and aircraft, they're unstoppable. Paired with other Abyss Empire technology, we could not stop them. Perhaps delay them, but not fully stop them"

"I don't agree with him, but apparently Mao Zedong said 'Keep men, lose land; land can be taken again. Keep land, lose men; land and men are both lost'" Commander Akihito said "Perhaps we should take a page out of his book"

Admiral Takahashi said "so we forget the safety of the Empire and our people? This weapon is the only way we can guarantee the safety of our people"

"Or it will guarantee our damnation" Nakamura said "I can already sense it. Yamato is getting tired of this war. Not in a way where she'll ask for peace talks, but to invade other countries. She could steam roll any country she gets tired with. We saw that last when information was still coming from China. I wouldn't be surprised if in a day or two the Dragon Empery is wiped completely from the map. Then, we'd be next. The ship girls will be converted and everyone in this room will be in a prison camp, or in the ground"

"But even if we do this, what's stopping her from invading us?" Admiral Takahashi asked "at least with the weapon we have a chance at sinking Yamato"

There was silence now "then she's caught us in a hard place" Nakamura said "if we accept her ultimatum we die because we don't have the weapon, if we refuse we die because we didn't accept. Then the decision comes down to which one saves the most lives"

"I think it is still giving her the weapon" Commander Akihito said "Yamato might bomb any mountain side she suspects has the weapon. It could cause collateral damage in nearby cities. At least this way that collateral damage doesn't happen"

Nakamura sighed in frustration seeing how hard Takahashi was fighting back against giving Southern Yamato the weapon. But he knew that he had a time limit. If they didn't respond by tomorrow then it'd be a de facto win for Takahashi "at the end of the day, it seems it seems to come down to how we all look. Going by that would you want to be known as the man who abandoned ship girls for your own pride? What will your own ship girls in Kure think?"

Admiral Takahashi frowned at him as he leaned back. He sighed as he seemed to think "I've made my decision, Admiral Nakamura. But I'm starting to doubt if your decision is based on the good of the Empire. We all know your previous relations to Yamato. I wonder if you should even have your opinion here"

"My country comes first. Yamato... isn't my family, she does not come before it" Nakamura said.

"If you had married here, would you put her first?"

"If. If my nation was America, I'd protect America first. If Yamato was my wife I'd protect her. I can respect that of married men. I can understand that Akihito is worried about Akagi. She might be unhinged sometimes, but she is a good woman. All the ship girls that were sent are good women. To lose any of them when we can save them would be a big loss"

Admiral Takahashi seemed to glare at Nakamura as he frowned. He seemed to think and after a moment...

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Time skip 2 days, location Kau Yi chau prison camp

Now the entirety of the ship girls there could be seen lined up in the center of the camp. All around them were guards armed with assault rifles, they seemed ready to stop anyone who tried to flee. But now after some time reporters could be seen taking pictures of the moment.

Akagi was on the left of the group and she had a view of the camp entrance. From the entrance she saw a terrifying sight. The top shell of a Guardian poking out of the water, but it seemed unmoving.

Then she saw Southern Yamato accompanied by Yahagi, walking towards them. While Southern Yamato didn't seem to be looking at her, Yahagi had a smug smile on her face, as she glared at Akagi. Akagi grimaced as she could tell Yahagi was planning something bad.

Now after some time Southern Yamato and Yahagi stood in front of the ship girls. Southern Yamato had a grim look on her face as she now spoke "We're here, because your nation has abandoned you. I gave them a chance to save all of you, but they denied it"

now she motioned her right arm and the sound of water splashing could be heard. Then Akagi and the others could see it, the towering form of a Guardian surfacing. It floated over towards them, until it was just behind them.

Southern Yamato seemed to hesitate slightly before saying quietly "forgive me... Kaga" now she motioned her arm and the Guardian let out a roar, not loud enough to hurt the ears, but it still startled everyone who wasn't prepared.

Then the Guardian suddenly grabbed onto Akagi with a tentacle and lifted her up into the air. It didn't feel like anything at first, but then after a moment the Guardian let go of her and she collapsed onto the ground. She looked down at her hands as they turned white as snow, and while she couldn't fully see it, she could tell her body was changing.

Her tails and ears disappeared and her hair turned her black. Then two white horns appeared from the sides of her head; they were similar to Blue's horns except that the right horn was longer than the left. Then her clothes morphed into a short black kimono, perhaps a bit longer than Blue's as it reached a bit below her crotch. And there was a white and red band around her torso. Though most of her thighs could be seen as there was what looked like a bright red tattoo of Sakura leaves on her things. She didn't seem to where shoes any longer and she now had black gloves with red fingers.

She was confused a bit at her new body, but then she gripped her head like she was in pain. But... what? She wasn't losing memory... no... she was experiencing something much more painful. It is hard to explain, but... for her it felt like something else was taking over her body. If you think of it as if she was driving a car, it would be as if someone forced her out of the driver's seat and restrained her in the back seat.

She screamed in pain as she yelled "who are you!?"

Everyone, including Southern Yamato was surprised by this. Southern Yamato who had seen dozens of ship girls turned into Abyssals never heard that. Normally ship girls always begged that their memory wouldn't disappear, but now Southern Yamato could tell something was off.

She looked up at the Guardian and muttered "it... technically isn't a Trench Abyssal. So... what did it just turn her into?"

"A... Akagi?" Zuikaku asked cautiously as she took a step towards her.

Akagi cried in pain one final time before she collapsed to the ground. She seemed to have passed out.

"Is that normal for conversion?" Yahagi asked.

"No" Southern Yamato said. She now looked at the Guardian "they technically aren't Trench Abyssals, since their evolution happened because I turned into a Hadal"

"So, is she a Hadal now?"

"I don't think so. Akagi didn't seem willing for her Abyssal side to combine. So perhaps... she'll take a later form of a Trench Abyssal, but not a Hadal"

Now the Abyssal Akagi seemed to stumble up onto her feet. She held her head low so no one could see it. But she just stood there.

"A... Akagi?" Zuikaku asked "are you..."

The Abyssal Akagi giggled. "Oh?~ hehe~" now she lifted her head and glanced at Zuikaku. The look she had seemed... dangerous "oh~ so this is what it finally feels to be awake. Heh~ what's wrong little one? Don't like our new look?"

"What do you remember?" Southern Yamato now asked as she took a step towards the Abyssal Akagi. As she turned her attention towards Southern Yamato, Yahagi hid behind her.

"Oh really everything" The Abyssal Akagi said as she shrugged her shoulders "I remember everything, unlike all those others. Oh~ but the little one dislikes me. She's already throwing so many threats at me~"

"Little one? Do you mean Akagi?"

"Yeah, the little one" now she seemed to look in a direction where no one was, at least that the other's could see, for her she saw Akagi "though I have to admit, even if she's little she chose a hunk for a husband"

"Hmm, are you going to do?" Southern Yamato said in a threatening voice, as this Abyssal Akagi seemed like a loose cannon. At least since she knew fully what was going on.

"Hmm?" Now She walked closer to Southern Yamato. While she was much shorter than her, she seemed unafraid of Southern Yamato, or if she was she didn't show it. "You're afraid I'll turn against you and try to hurt that little pet of yours?"

It was easy to understand who the Abyssal Akagi meant when she said Little pet. But Southern Yamato just glared down at the Abyssal Akagi, not giving her a reaction.

The Abyssal Akagi smirked and said "or perhaps it's the other way around. You never know, especially with how you're acting so much like a little guard dog~" now she placed a finger on Southern Yamato's chin in a teasing way "the little ones like are always dangerous" she seemed to flick her finger upwards, but after no reaction she sighed, before shrugging "fine" she said in an exasperated voice "I know it's just plain suicidal if I tried opposing you. So I'll work for you... for now"

Southern Yamato now said "Then I'll give you a na-"

"No" The Abyssal Akagi interrupted "I think I know one good for myself" she said as she turned and walked away slightly "since Kaga was Blue Flame Princess. I'll be, Red Flame Princess, or just Red for short"

Southern Yamato stayed quiet for a moment before looking at the other ship girls. She seemed to be contemplating what to do. If she should do the same with them or something different.

But now Red turned around and said "you look worried you know?" She giggled now "you don't want more of me do you?"

Southern Yamato sighed now and motioned with her left arm. After a brief pause the Guardian could be seen floating back to the water, but then several X-class seemed to float over to take its place. But this caused Red to giggle since it seemed to validate what she thought.

"Seems you're a little scaredy-fox" Red teased. Yahagi grimaced now, and growled lightly, as she glared from behind Southern Yamato. But Red giggled and teased "what's wrong? Scared to fight me, little fox?"

Southern Yamato sighed as she now placed her right hand on Red's head. But it wasn't like she would with Yahagi or Ranna, she seemed more menacing, and she didn't rub her head, she grabbed it. She glared down at Red and she could see a little purple flame swirling around Southern Yamato's eyes. But now Southern Yamato smiled sadistically and said "perhaps I should teach this little oni a lesson"

Red for a moment seemed scared, but she didn't want to back down. So she seemed to swallow her fear and responded "a lesson in... bed perhaps?~"

For a moment there was silence "that can be arranged" she with a sort of sadistic tone behind it "But I don't think you'd las-"

"Master!" A voice suddenly said. Now Southern Yamato looked to her left and saw Ranna standing a meter or two away. Though now she walked towards them and said "please be more serious, especially since..." Now she glanced around at everyone else there, who were watching what had been happening.

Southern Yamato now seemed to glare down at Red, with a displeased face. Red just smirked at her, but she suddenly pulled her closer and said to her "you can tease me, all you want. But the next time you threaten Yahagi or anyone else... ANYONE..." now she stared directly into Red's eyes and Red could see that Southern Yamato had murderous intent behind them. "You understand?"

While Red didn't want to show it, she was terrified. Her pride though didn't want to show how terrified she was, so she had a semi-straight face, as she nodded. But Southern Yamato could see the look in her eyes. Southern Yamato sighed now as she released