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Nagaro's POV
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rendezvousing with Azur Lane after my battle with Mutsu, it became apparent to Me, just how much of a bad situation we were in.the Eagle Union and Royal Navy have suffered extensive injuries, it was arguable that more than half of the combat force we had was now incapable of combat

with so many fighters out of commision, we lost a significant amount of firepower and I was unsure if we could proceed with the mission.the Empire would need some more time to assess and reorganize but that was very little time bought for the damage that was done.if we proceeded with secondary attack, we would risk leaving the injured unguarded and vulnerable but if we leave people to protect them, then we lose even more firepower, a unfavorable situation that couldn't have happened at a worse time

Kasumi was tending to Foo, who also seemed to have taken an extensive amount of damage, Ms.Yorktown was trying to reorganize the Eagle Union and get all the injured patched as much as possible while the Queen of the Royal Navy is planning and making decisions with the rest of subordinates

I stayed out of people's way for them to get proper rest as I joined Kasumi who seemed relieved to see that I was fine as I sat down next to her and let out a sigh.I already knew that she was well aware of the current situation and she knew thing were as dire as I thought they were.she was clearly worried about the situation and frankly, I was too as I was unsure of how to proceed with the plan

we could at least be sure that Iron Blood won't be able to interfere or assist in any near future battles and the Sirens would need a small amount of time before they can reorganize themselves which is better than nothing but with the severe lack of firepower and overall plan, it was unlikely that we would be able to take advantage of the Empire's vulnerability 

Kasumi:how will we proceed, Sir Nagaro

Nagaro:I'm not sure, with the fleet this badly damaged, we're lacking a severe amount of firepower to make any kind of significant push

Kasumi:could we get reinforcements?

Nagaro:that would have to be left up to Ms.Yorktown or the Queen but if we call more people from the base, we'd risk leaving it underpowered and prone to an attack

Kasumi:maybe there are other allies that could be called to help

Nagaro:no Iris Libre,Northern Parliament or Dragon Empery fleets operate in these oceans as far as I know, it's unlikely that they would send a fleet to assist due to distance

Kasumi:well we can't possibly siege the Orochi like this

Nagaro:I know, with the amount of people we have, we could do sneak attacks but we'd be leaving the injured unguarded and they could be taken out while we're away, Azur Lane would never allow it and I'd rather not either

Kasumi:what can we do then?

Nagaro:at this point, all we can do is wait for an update from Ms. Yorktown and the Queen about the situation and decided with them but I'm worried we might miss our chance to strike if we wait too long

there wasn't much we could do in the situation other than wait. our next move will, no matter what we do, be decided by Azur Lane. whether or not they choose to continue the battle or pull out to protect the injured, Me and Kasumi don't have much of a choice but to either follow with them or find a way to finish the fight

we wouldn't get another chance for the Orochi to be so vulnerable. the Empire will reinforce the Orochi and their current forces and once that happens we'll be too outnumbered and too outgunned to win, there was no hope if we prolong the battle or wait too long

I glanced over to Kasumi, who had just finished patching up Foo's wounds as the little fox slept on her lap. worse case scenario is likely to happen if we don't get an answer to the problem soon and if that was the case, I needed to keep Kasumi safe.

my best bet would be to have Azur Lane take her with them while I try a suicide attack against the Empire. I already knew she would never allow it so if that came to be, I'd have to knock her out along with Foo to keep them quiet 

I didn't want it to come to such circumstances but it has to be my last resort to keep her safe and do as much damage to the Empire, it was what I believed to be the last hope to give Azur Lane the chance for victory. with or without Me, this world will prevail over the Sirens

dozing off to rest a bit and take my mind off the problems at hand, my eyes and mind wandered about in order to relax for any amount of time. I was sure that we would get called sooner or later so I had to make use of any time to rest as much as possible

as I dozed off however, I began to hear a voice around Me. it was unclear and echoing, it matched no voices that I knew off and seemed ethereal in a way. I wondered if it could possibly be wondering spirit that was simply communicating for no reason but I sensed no spiritual presences other than Foo's, which invalidated the thought

???:B̵̛̬͇̳͉̩̠͑̀̃̈́u̷̖̓̀͆r̴̪̪̳̽̀̀̎͠ṋ̶̢̻̃̈́͌̅͠

it lingered and continued to echo around Me, making it hard it rest and relax in peace as I continued to search for the voice around Me. I took notice that Kasumi didn't seem bothered by the voice, which may indicate that I was the only one that could hear said voice

???:F̷̨͍̳̫̼̖͐͌͆̈́͝͝ũ̶̠̔̎̂̈́͐m̵͓̠̎̚e̵̹̔̍̍s̸̞̟̦̤̼̾

the voice slowly but surely became louder and more distorted, it became less ethereal and more demonic in tone and pitch as it echoed louder around Me, filling my head with all sorts of thoughts and words

???:Ą̸̧̣͍̺̰̞̲̳̭̫͈͛̅͂͛͊́̍́̽̈́͌̋͆̓̅͛̅̉̕ͅs̵̡̨̢͉̯̼̩̣͔͍̺͍̲̱̣̮͖̳͇̺̱̭̠͇̓̋͂̊̒̉̈̌̏̏̄̂͗́̕͝ͅh̶̟̥̓́͂͗͗͝ę̴̛̙̠̲͕̖̬̞̝̝̝̳̗͈̮͖̰͙͇̝̳͖͑̉́̀̅͋̇͊͛̒͑s̴̨̢̨̢͖̮̪̼̱̥̙̟͓̘̙̫̻̹͖͙̺̱̳͖͎̤̖̎̐͛́̾͛͋̈͂͂͗̊̈́̃̔̎̇͊̔̀̇̔̇̊͑͘͝͠ͅ

the echoing got worse as time went on as the reverb of every word became louder and louder. each word was now in a constant state of a looping echo that bounced in my head repeatedly while new words formed at the same time

???:E̴̢̧̝̝̻̯̯̺͔̭̘̻̣̜̬͍͇̟̼̜̖͋́̑̀̐̅͒̑̔̒̏͆̓̉͐̓̂̈́͊͊̈̑͛̌̕̚͜͝͝͠m̴̨̧̹̞̻͈̟̯͍̥̬̤̣͙͎̪̥̠̦͖̹̯͖͕̩̠̰̠͍̬̈̈́b̷̛̟̠͉̯̜͎͍͖̤͔̦̲̼̔͌͂̑̓̾͋͗͝͠ę̷̢͙̥̭̻̺̣̰̘̥̠͇̣̬͈̤̞̹̜̜͍̑̆͊͆̎̇́̉͂̔̾̀̄́̎̉͒̊͋́͜͝͠ͅŗ̵̧̛͈̦̺͍͉̥̰̼̼͉̭̹̖̜̻̞̟̹͓͎͚͕̳͓͚̘̙̇̆̆͛̍̔͑̌̏̈͐̈́̏̆́͌̚̚̚͜ͅs̶̨̢̗̗͈̦͙͚̼̙̻̲̹̟̣̞̪̲̹͔̥͍͔͙̈̈́̏̿̇̒̌̐̂̃̎̒͐ͅͅ

closing my eyes to try and zone out the echoing words in my head with my own thoughts as it was beginning to give Me a headache, I thought of as many powerful thoughts I could. I thought of anything important or anything that was interesting to keep Me occupied and it was working to an extent

I was drowning out the sounds with my own thoughts and after sometime, all the echoing words were gone. as I sighed to myself now that the echoes were gone, it occured to Me that everything had gone silent. the voices of Azur Lane's Shipgirls, the waves, the wind, it had all gone silent

Kasumi and Foo's presence was gone along with everyone else's and it didn't feel like I was sitting on a ship anymore as I opened my eyes to find myself in a unfamiliar landscape. I was in open water, under a dark sky and  around a small formation of rocks that stuck out of the water

the ocean was colored a dark red along with the sky and I could sense a dark and evil presence looming over the area. I was unsure of where the presence was but I was sure that it was here and I was sure that it was watching with great intent as the unknown voice returned with one more word to say

???:D̸̡̛͕̙̺̝̹̞̤͙͚̲̮̹̩̻͙̞̰̼̲̤̟͋̆͑̔̾̿̃͊̆͐̑̀̄̀̆̂̆͗́̒̍̋͗̇̎͆̓̉́̿̊͗͑̈͆̔͑̓͂̀̏̋̅̾̆̉̓̂̆͛̌͛̎̍̾̑̾̉̊̂̑̄͗͛̚̕̚̕͝͝͠ͅē̴̢̨̨̧̨̧̧̡̨̼̲̭͖̰̯̦͇̦͔͓̩̬̞͇̣̯͕͎̠͖̺̜̩̞͓̭͎͔͉̒̏̀͌͌́̔͊̈́̌̂̀̀̂͗̈́͂̊͌͆̽̌̔̓̔͊͊́͛̐̈́̿͆̂́̏̽̅͊͌́̚̕͜͜͝͝͠͠ä̷̧̡̧̢̡̡̧̘̲͓͕̥̟̜̝̙̻̖̠̩̙̣͎͚̙͙̗͈͚̙̳͓̫̲̜̰͚̬̮͇̬̟̩̤͈̤̼̮̺̫̹͉̫̹̙̖̞̤͎̍̊̆̈́̂̆͂͑̃͑́̅͋̀̾͌̽̌͊̓̌́̇̅̎͛̈́͋͐͐͆̆̐͒̒̂̄͑̀̿̿̏̓͜͝͝͝ͅͅͅt̵̡̢̡̢̛̛̝̜̩̹͓͍͕̯̳͔̹̪̳̻͕͔̹̰̼̱̺̘͍͖͚͕̰̪̪̜̦̪̥̠͒̊͆̒̊̍͑͑͛͑̀́̽̑̓̄̽͆̃̂̐̑̽̏̆́͌̊́̓͑̈́̿̂̀̋̇̈̅͆͑̏̾̂̅̈́͋̄͒͒̈́̋͗͑̀́̈́̓̿̅̃͐̐̐͘͘̚͠͝͠͝ḫ̷̭̩̼͕͉̘͚̜̥̗̤̟͕̳́̀̈́̀̐͊̇͆̕͘̚͝ͅ

my danger sense immediately kicked in as I sensed the sudden arrival of dangerous beings. turning around, I found sludge like beings coming up from the waters depths and taking a human like form before beginning to run at Me on the water

sensing and seeing that they were hostile, I summoned my rigging and a few fireballs and kept my distance as I blew each one into smithereens only for them to be replaced by a new one, moments after the kill

the sludge beings weren't as dangerous as I had originally thought as they relatively predictable and easy to kill but their numbers were steadily growing as more and more sludge enemies appeared from the ocean's depths as time passed

I was slowly being outnumbered and I would slowly be overrun by sheer numbers but I wouldn't be so easily beaten as I fired my cannons, one after another, getting as many collateral kills as possible to maximize the efficiency of dealing with my opponents, whether it was from the explosions of the shell or the shell's velocity going straight through each enemy before exploding

I could be fighting much better if I had my sword, which I could bring out but I don't regret deciding to not pick it up again. I had left it to Mutsu and it was up to her whether or not she would take it or not, whatever she chose, it was none of my concern nor to my care

my focus was on the fight in front of Me as I continued to dodge and evade the enemy, who continued to charge at Me in mass without relent as they continued to grow in numbers, to the point that it was beginning to become troublesome to move as there was little space to move in

I was unable to keep up with the growth of numbers of the enemy as I was getting a bit desperate. from the beginning, I was hesitant to use anymore power than I already was as I wasn't sure of where I was and if this was a ploy by the Sirens or the Empire but in the current situation, it was blatantly clear that I wasn't going to win without exerting myself more

seeing as the enemy was closing in as I had my back against a wall of enemies as well, I exerted a bit more of my power to improve my firepower as I fired a stream of black flames that burned and pushed away all opponents in front of Me, cutting a straight line through the enemy chunks and giving Me some space to move in

I moved away from as many opponents as possible before firing fireballs into the middle of the large groups, explosions from the attacks incinerated many targets that were caught in the blast and fire spread to many more that were too close to the heat of the burned enemies

 in a few seconds, I cleared the enemy groups and torched any stragglers that were left behind. all that remained from each enemy by the time my flames were done with them was smoke and it became hard to tell if there was even a battle here to begin with

as I took a breather, now that there were no dangers left, I pondered as to where I could be and how I could leave. this was clearly something a Siren would do but I was unsure of the nature of their games and even more unsure as to what they could want as of right now but I was sure that I would get my answers soon as I sensed a new presence appear behind Me

turning around to face the oncoming danger, I saw another sludge being appear from the water. it's presence felt different from the others as it felt stronger and more dangerous but still similar in many ways 

unlike the others, it didn't immediately rush and attack Me but instead it stood still, seemingly examining Me from a distance as it stood still. I was unsure of what it was doing but I was sure that I should destroy it before it does anything. I moved my cannons to shoot but before I could, I noticed that the sludge being was taking some kind of form as it was changing its appearance

from a dripping being of sludge, the entity in front of Me was sculpting itself into some new form as it took a more human like look and figure. it's size shrunk to a more similar stature as mine and took a similar look in body as mine as well and quickly, I realized that it was mimicking Me 

from physique, to stature, to hair and even my tails and ears, the sludge creature in front of Me, took my appearance. I was unsure of why it was doing this and I was sure that I wouldn't be able to figure it out no matter how hard I think about it as there were too many possibilities to consider and this could mean anything 

I took action and fire my cannons to see if I could destroy the enemy before Me but before my shells could make contact, they caught fire from black flames and melted into liquid and sunk into the ocean beneath us

I turned to the being in front of Me to see them suddenly be engulfed by the same black flames I use and the same flames that melted my shells.the flames circled around the creature and rose to the skies, creating a tornado of black flames that was beginning to wreak chaos

the stones that were around were being singed and the water beneath our feet was boiling and evaporating into smoke. rogues flames spewed out of the tornado into random directions, the pull of the vortex grew stronger with every passing moment and clouds gathered around in the sky, seemingly about to bring a heavy downpour 

at the end of it all, I was holding my ground all the way until the tornado ceased and disappeared.in its place was a very familiar figure as it was young boy with black hair and glowing golden eyes, wearing a white and black yukata with fox ears and tails

as I had suspected before, the sludge creature had taken my form but I did not expect it to completely copy in this kind of sense as it had completely taken my identity in front of Me as it held a small sadistic looking smile

I was unsure of what to do but my focus remained on being alert and attentive as I knew that this thing was still an enemy would likely attack Me but before I could launch my attack, the creature in front of Me created black fireballs and quickly launched them at Me at high speeds

I quickly countered and fired the same attack at the incoming projectiles, neutralizing the attack as I looked to my opponent, who created a much larger fireball, that was bigger than my own ship. he fired it at Me but I wasn't worried nor troubled as I matched the attack with my own and launched it forward

the attacks cancelled each other out and a burst of flames erupted in the collision of the attacks, which scattered everywhere but thankfully missed Me and unfortunately missed my opponents. I looked at the entity in front of Me and wondered what it was as it could use my own abilities against Me but it's presence was becoming and feeling familiar to Me as it's smile grew while it's eyes continued to shine

???:hahaha, you live up to your reputation

Nagaro:...........

???:hehehe, what's wrong, cat got your tongue?, frog in your throat?, confused?, scared?

Nagaro:...................what are you

???:HAHAHA, what I am, doesn't concern you-

Nagaro:I'm here, you're here, I'll assume that you brought Me here, thus what you are is of my concern

???:................

Nagaro:what's wrong?, cat got your tongue?

???:............ha, ........haha, ...hahahahaHAHAHA, you really are entertaining, Fox, I don't regret what I've done to you

Nagaro:what are you

???:...........I'm the one who gave you the firepower you needed, I'm the one gave you strength when that Carrier took the life of the big fox, I'm the one who's given you the power to sever your useless ties to those pathetic weaklings that sided with those even more pathetic Sirens

Nagaro:you're to blame

firing a barrage of fireballs out of a loss of control, blazing fast projectiles sped towards my opponent but were met with an equally strong attack, cancelling each other out as this impostor before Me defended himself without much effort

Nagaro:you're influence caused this

???:all I did was respond to a call for help, a plea to obtain the power needed to set the course of this world as you will

Nagaro:.................

???:you, wanted this, you decided this, you brought this on yourself, I was simply a spectator that YOU gave a role

Nagaro:you............what are you

???:I've told you-

Nagaro:you've told Me what you done to Me, not what you are

the figure looked at Me with unimpressed look, seemingly irritated with Me but it quickly changed as his smile returned and widened more than before as he looked at Me with a deranged look on his face

???:you want to know so badly?, I'm the flames that burn all, the ashes that litter the world, the embers that light the signal of the end, humanities desire to see it all burn and end, personified, I am

Nagaro:Chaos, you're humanities most primal form

???:HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, CORRECT!!!!, I feed off humanities very thought and existence, as long there is chaos, I will live and as long as I live, THERE.WILL.BE.CHAOS

Nagaro:then why are you here and why did you bring Me here

???:think, Fox, where could I have come from, how could I have gotten us here

Nagaro:.............................The Black Wisdom Cube

???:I've been here since you ripped that Cube out of the hands of that girl in those ruins all that time ago and my presence has been for even longer 

Nagaro:even longer?

???:even if it's just a small fragment, you're very creation is a part of that damn Cube, how do you think you got these flames

Nagaro;it was you, from the very beginning

???:DAMN RIGHT and I'll be here until the very end

Nagaro:that doesn't explain, why you brought Me here though

???:hahaha, you're here because we're going to make a deal

Nagaro:a deal?

???:I have no body and you need my power, so here's the deal, I'll give you my full power but you have to do something for Me

Nagaro:......................

???:no need to be shy now, you know all too well that those weaklings you're with will retreat to save the wounded weakling, you're left with no support, you NEED my power

Nagaro:..................what do you want in exchanged?

???:CHAOS, BRING ME THE SCREAMS, THE DESTRUCTION, THE TERROR AND USE MY POWER TO DO IT, I DON'T CARE ON WHO, WHETHER IT BE THOSE GIRLS, THAT EMPIRE OR THE SIRENS, SHOW THIS WORLD TRUE CHAOS AND YOU CAN HAVE MY POWER FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE 

the offer was tempting and his facts rung true. Azur Lane would no doubt pull back to save the injured and that leaves Me and Kasumi to beat the Empire and the Orochi and Foo isn't even capable of helping right now. our options were limited and we needed all the help we could get 

Nagaro:can I trust you

???:I the only being with power in this world, that you could trust with your life, you're Sisters have casted you out for a weapon, your faction has turned against you, you're allies must leave to tend to their wounded, that girl your with is in danger that your brought here into, you have no one to turn but ME

Nagaro:let it be clear that if you double cross Me,you will regret it

???:EXCELLENT!!!!, BRING ME THE GREATEST JOY AND GIFT OF CHAOS-

Nagaro:what do you go by

???:hmm?

Nagaro:surely a being of chaos has a name

Inferno:.........................Inferno, the flames that washes over humanity and all life, fulfill our deal and careful not to lose yourself in the flames

Meanwhile, with the Sakura Empire

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No One's POV
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as the Empire reorganized their forces and waited for their reinforcements, Mutsu and Nagato sat atop the Orochi with the other Officers of the Sakura Empire as they had their wounds treated and their clothes patched up to the best of the abilities of the people around them

their defeat against Nagaro was a clear sign that without the Orochi, they have no chance against the boy, they needed its power to win and they needed it soon as they knew that a second attempt to destroy the Orochi wouldn't be far 

too many of the girls in the current force were took badly wounded and tired to keep fighting and if the predictions were correct, then they wouldn't have enough rest to take on another long fight. to make matters worse, Shinano had begun to sleep again and had entered another one of her dreams 

both Nagato and Mutsu were silent as their wounds and burns were covered in bandages by Kawakaze. Mutsu had Nagaro's departing words to here, stuck in her mind. it was too close to what she had thought prior to the battle and she couldn't help but feel guilt build up in her for even thinking such things

Nagato contemplated her decisions, she thought of all the possible outcomes, all the possible routes, where she went wrong, what she could've done to fix things, what she could've done to prevent of all this yet she knew, no matter how much she thought about it, nothing would change the decision's she's made

Mutsu held Nagaro's katana in her hands, he left it to her on purpose, as to why he did so, it was a mystery but it was given a sheath as she believed that all weapons deserve a home much like it's wielders yet she felt her guilt rise more as she knew that the wielder of the blade she held was casted out by their own stupidity

Mutsu held the blade tightly, she refused to let go, it was a memento now, a symbol and memory of someone they had lost as she unsheathed a small bit of the weapon to see the blade, only for her eyes to widen as she found the blade ignited with black flames

Meanwhile, with Azur Lane

a decision had been made, they didn't want to abandon their new allies but their injured needed treatment and they didn't want to risk casualties if they could avoid it, it a difficult decision but it was one that had to be done for the betterment of the fleet 

Yorktown:we're terribly sorry but we can't risk our forces

Q.E:too many are injured and tired, even if we were to comeback with another fleet, we're not sure if we would have the firepower to take another fight

Kasumi:we understand, we're very grateful for the help you've provided us, we can't ask anymore of you if you cannot spare anymore, we'll figure something

Yorktown:I wish we could help more to end this conflict but the best we can do now is wish you the best of luck

Kasumi:it's better than nothing, we'll come up with something 

Q.E:you have no quarrels with this decisions, Nagaro??

the boy was staring off in the distance, he was silent ever since he had woken up from his sleep. Kasumi could sense something different in him immediately but she wasn't sure what it was but she was sure that it was dangerous as Nagaro's presence felt destructive

the boy raised his hand to his side and above it, a fireballs was created. seeing a possible attack, Q.E and Yorktown and all the girls that were around readied themselves for a fight they knew they weren't going to win

instead of attacking the girls however, Nagaro fired the ball of flames at the water and the attack sped faster than any attack that had been launched before. an explosion erupted from beneath the waves and shot the water high into the air, enough for those in the ruins to see as the Sakura Empire was alerted to the explosion

seeing his destructive power, Nagaro closed his fist, snuffing out the fire as he turned his head to look to the girls and revealing his glowing golden eyes that radiated a feeling hostility but calmness at the same time

Nagaro:I have no objections, the lives of your forces are valuable and should be preserved to fight another day, go get them treated,we'll proceed on our own

Author:I'M SORRY, this chapter should NOT have taken this long to make, it's short, it's simple and MEANT to be a filler chapter to give some exposition and crap. I was being a lazy writer cuz I was playing FTD again and I was making a ship that MIGHT POSSIBLY be getting their own story 

anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did making it and I hope you all look forward to the next one,until next time

Shadowgamer254 out