Fleet of Books

Chapter 3 - Aircraft Carrier Construction

"The Circle 3 Plan ultimately concluded with the construction of four aircraft carriers. The construction of the new battleship was abandoned. Additionally, although I can't say this loudly, the surplus funds obtained by converting from battleships to aircraft carriers will be discreetly diverted to other budgets. This will result in a false report to the Diet, but we can deal with that later. Nevertheless, it's still unclear. His Imperial Highness and even Nakamura-san who had passionately dedicated himself to the new battleship, easily agreed to the idea of aircraft carriers. I can't quite understand what is happening overall."

In the Navy, Minister Nagano seemed unsettled by the change of heart of both Marshal Admiral Prince Fushimi, a general advocate of battleships, and Admiral Nakamura, an even more fervent supporter. He must be pondering what the intense debate between Yamamoto and Nakamura, which was like a powder keg until recently, was all about.

On the other hand, it was evident from Nagano's expression that he was relieved to have avoided a decisive rift between Yamamoto and Nakamura, being the two prominent figures in the Navy. As the head of the Navy Ministry responsible for personnel matters, Nagano must be particularly mindful of interpersonal relationships within the Navy, so his relief likely stemmed from a considerable amount of stress. In light of this, Yamamoto felt a slight sense of remorse. Given that Prince Fushimi, the Chief of the Navy General Staff, and Minister Nagano, went out of their way to mediate between him and Nakamura, the confrontation between himself and Nakamura must have seemed quite tense. He acknowledged that he caused unnecessary worry.

"Say, you didn't resort to any kind of sorcery or hypnosis on those two, did you?"

Whether intentionally or not, Nagano, for once, made a light-hearted remark. Yamamoto returned a laugh but was inwardly somewhat sweaty. While what Nagano referred to as sorcery or hypnosis is somewhat different, there was still a sense of familiarity. It was only yesterday that he had erased the names of the battleships Yamato and Musashi from the ledger called Ship's Intelligence Lexicon and added the names of two carriers, Kamikaku and Amakaku. Whether this was effective or just a coincidence, Yamamoto didn't know. So, he will find out.

"You mentioned that two battleships were replaced by two aircraft carriers, but were there any other changes in the Circle 3 Plan?"

"I don't remember the details well, but with the cancellation of the new battleships, the dedicated supply ship for it should have also been canceled. On the other hand, the aviation budget increased significantly, almost doubled. So, your responsibilities as the head of the Aeronautics Department will undoubtedly increase."

Nagano gave him a look that practically screamed "Happy now?" to Yamamoto, but he was not in the mood for that. What he wrote in the Ship's Intelligence Lexicon for the sake of stress relief has actually happened. At the same time, Yamamoto recalled something. It's a story from a few years ago, and since they only met once, the memory is vague. However, the words spoken by a seemingly suspicious man named Ryūkaku Hiranuma strangely linger in his ears.

"I know when war will break out. On Day 8 Month 12 of the 16th year of Shōwa, Japan will declare war on the United States."