Pathway to Japanese Literature

1

Now then, ever since the outbreak of war between Japan and the Anglo-American forces, our Dr. Kin had appeared even more than before to find the world bothersome.

“Come on, that’s right, isn’t it?”
“Confess, Doctor!”

And so, the guest began to speak while gripping the hem of Dr. Kin's nightclothes.
Just as Dr. Kin, clutching his lower abdomen that threatened to burst from the dawn’s chill, leapt toward the bathroom, the guest who had been lying in wait behind the door—wearing an expression of one who had captured the demon’s head—seized the hem of Dr. Kin’s garments and refused to let go.

“Hey now, let go! Won’t you release me? A great explosion’s about to occur! You murderer!” Dr. Kin shuddered as he clutched his lower abdomen, swollen taut like a pot’s rounded bottom.
The guest showed no alarm at this.
“A big explosion? Splendid! But first—just one word directly from you, Doctor. I’ve finally cornered you for a sensational broadcast scoop. Now confess!”

“What exactly do you want me to confess, you troublesome journalist?”

“Actually, I’m a broadcaster with a recording device. I would simply like to hear one word from you, Doctor. It’s about the brilliant Japanese Navy’s Hawaii Naval Battle and then that Malayan Naval Battle.”

“What good does asking me such things do? Go to Japan and ask them yourself! Hey! Enough of this—let go already! I’m about to die!”

“Before you die—confess in one word! In other words—Dr. Kin. The rumors circulating claim that those unprecedented, extraordinary military achievements must result from Dr. Kin having supplied wonder weapons—inventions of your own making—to the Japanese forces. Now I must ask you to admit this truth in one word!”

“Th-that’s absurd!”

Dr. Kin, unusually blushing up to his neck, shook his head.

“Th-that’s absurd!”
“That great military success has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
“I have no recollection of ever lending my assistance.”

“Dr. Kin, there’s no need to hide it so much...”

“Idiot!”
“I am an honest man.”
“What I did, I did—but no matter how much you ask, what I didn’t do, I didn’t, I tell you!”
“I can’t take this anymore, you murderous intruder!”

With a thunderous roar, Dr. Kin delivered a wham of a blow to the opponent's chin.
In an instant, the area was transformed into a great flood—a rare incident at dawn.

And so, ever since then, Dr. Kin had been made to wear such unbecoming wet garments—or rather, had squirmed with embarrassment under the weight of these preposterous accusations.
In Dr. Kin’s diary entry for that December 8th, differing from his usual grand entries, only the following single line had been written in red ink.
Hereby let it be known: Dr. Kin’s astonishment.

“Even I must bow in astonishment! Truly remarkable are the Nine Ranks of Japanese Military Officers and Soldiers!”
“Nine Ranks of Japanese Military Officers and Soldiers, sirs!”

After all, it wasn’t only Dr. Kin who was astonished. All people across the entire world were astonished. Above all, those most profoundly shaken were the military staff officers of various nations. Not a single soul escaped being blasted into awe by the terrifying grand reality that Japan’s military had truly executed that super-electrifying, globe-spanning large-scale operation.

(No—their own brains until now had lacked the capacity to perceive that such a reality could exist! Now they clearly knew—that their brains, every last one of them, were underdeveloped! Alas, how pitiful!)

And so, many of them had completely lost their spirit since then, and could not even properly issue a simple "right face" command—such was their pitiful state.

After a month had passed, they seemed to have finally regained something resembling sanity. The proof of this could be seen in how they began busily working about a month after that incident. However, the work in question was of a type that might be considered somewhat too eccentric. They had piled up a mountain of documents on their desks—from where they obtained them, one could only wonder—and began earnestly reading and studying each one.

A peek at these so-called documents revealed titles such as "World Fairy Tales: The Story of Dr. Tall Tale," "Strange Tales of Mr. Kami," "Patent Office Compiled: Complete Records of Perpetual Motion Inventions," "Siemens Institute Reports from the Delusional Exaggeration Division Volumes 1 through 58," "Compendium of Delusional Propositions from World Lunacy Patients," "New Youth: Chronicle of Dr. Kin's Exploits," "Collection of Fantasies Appearing in Dreams," and so on—too many to list individually.

The contrast between this bizarre mountain of documents and their deadly serious faces made one suspect they might have collectively gone mad from the December 8th shockwave, but according to results from testing a few of them, they apparently hadn't changed at all.
And on their logbooks, as if by prior agreement, maxim-like phrases such as the following were boldly inscribed in prominent positions.
Namely:

“There can be no truly impossible things in this world.
“Napoleon”

Another stated:

"That which is impossible must be most feared and guarded against with utmost vigilance."
—Franklin D. Roosevelt

2

This Franklin D. Roosevelt had succeeded in sending his envoy to meet Dr. Kin by the 8th Day of the 13th Month (the 13th Month being no typographical error—in America, to commemorate the great defeat of 1941, they did not change the era name after December’s end as had been customary, continuing instead with 1941 13th Month, 1941 14th Month, et cetera). (Therefore, this "13th Month" may be considered equivalent to January 1942 in the European calendar)—on that 13th Month 8th Day, Roosevelt finally succeeded in having his envoy meet Dr. Kin.

“I cannot stand Roosevelt.”
“That fellow is someone I absolutely despise.”

With his first strike, Dr. Kin thwacked the envoy—or so he intended.
However, against this initial blow—and being an American already seasoned in such encounters—the envoy, while reeling dizzily, straightened up,

"I shall save that explanation for another occasion. Now Dr. Kin, our President declares that should you but grant this single request, he would not hesitate to welcome you as the next President of the United States."
"How about it—isn't it magnificent? The very notion of Dr. Kin assuming leadership of that colossal dollar nation..."

“Here in Shanghai, the dollar keeps plummeting without respite. As for today’s exchange rate—”

“Ah, if I may—just a moment please. Should you grant this request, they’ve declared they’ll build an enormous new smoked meat facility at the Chicago slaughterhouse and gift it to you, Doctor.”

“Ridiculous! Chicago has already fallen into Japanese hands with a self-governing committee established—isn’t that right? Did you come here to trick me?”

“N-not at all! W-well—the Chicago I mentioned isn’t the original Chicago, but Nu Chicago recently established in Utah. In that Nu Chicago slaughterhouse…”

“Now, now—thinking you can trick me with these hollow conditions won’t work. I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“It’s by no means hollow!”
“Our President is being utterly serious.”
“As proof of this, I would like you to taste a sample of smoked meat I’ve brought here.”
“This is smoked meat from the mythical beast Noctomica Relativia, found exclusively in our American continent—please, just try this single piece...”

With lightning-swift precision, the envoy wielded his concealed fork and knife to plop a suspicious reddish meat morsel into the Doctor’s mouth. Given the Doctor’s famously acute senses for smoked delicacies, he groaned “Mmm...” and reflexively began chewing noisily—only to find this morsel unexpectedly remarkable.
Since this smoked meat—unlike any of the 119 varieties the connoisseur Doctor had ever tasted, and surpassing them all in bewitching flavor—gave a taste sensation that left even those predecessors in the dust, Dr. Kin, whose gluttonous obsession with smoked delicacies had long been entrenched, began tossing piece after piece of the remaining Noctomica Relativia meat from the table into his mouth.

Got him—it was the envoy standing nearby who smirked smugly.
This Noctomica Relativia smoked meat was made by boiling larvae of a poisonous insect inhabiting the Amazon River into meat from young deer produced near the Canadian border, then exposing it to ultra-short waves at GE Company for electric smoking—creating an unprecedented flavor—with this cooking method having been devised by the scholar Einstein.
Therefore, once one ate this smoked meat, it would induce paralytic symptoms akin to those seen with opium, causing absolute misanthropy to soften and transform into relative misanthropy—a desperate measure in the truest sense of employing bitter medicine to cure illness.
As expected, the effect seemed to have taken hold—Dr. Kin closed both eyes without pausing for breath, stabbing the remaining Noctomica Relativia with his fork and devouring piece after piece...

“Now then, Dr. Kin. Regarding our President’s request—we must humbly trouble your inventive prowess to urgently construct a single unsinkable battleship and deliver it to us. You do understand? That is to say—we require an absolutely unsinkable warship that will not founder even when bombarded by any caliber of artillery shell, any weight of aerial bomb, or any model of airborne torpedo. Could such a vessel truly be created through your esteemed capabilities?”

To this, Dr. Kin’s response went unheard, of course.
However, the envoy watched without disappointment—or rather, with considerable confidence—as Dr. Kin quietly finished devouring every last sample of the suspicious Noctomica Relativia smoked meat.

3

When Dr. Kin had finished devouring everything on the table, he let out a storm-like sigh in rapid succession.

Never once before had Dr. Kin sighed so dramatically after eating smoked meat.
In other words, it would not be an overstatement to regard this as clear evidence that the dreadful, sinister toxin had now masterfully dismantled Dr. Kin’s character.

“Heh heh.”
“Th-that’s truly delicious.”
“A rarity among rarities, a marvel among marvels—a flavor akin to the Hawaii Naval Battle itself.”
“Heh heh.”

And then, after a while, Dr. Kin uttered words that seemed overwhelmed with emotion.

“If it pleases you so much, I could have brought more samples, you know.”

“Ah, that’s right...”
“For an envoy, you’re not very sharp, are you?”
“Though come to think of it, those American military men…”

“Ah, please don’t say everything out loud,”
“But more importantly—regarding the unsinkable battleship matter I mentioned earlier—with your capabilities, Doctor, could such a thing truly be created?”
“Or perhaps you find the task... uncertain?”

The envoy deliberately used words calculated to irritate the Doctor.

“What a foolish question to ask.”
“There isn’t a single thing in this world that I cannot create.”
“An unsinkable battleship? If I wanted to build something like that, it’d be no trouble at all.”
“If I just have ten months’ grace period, I’ll show you I can build an unsinkable battleship without any difficulty.”

And Dr. Kin uttered, as was his custom, with supreme nonchalance.

“Wh-what?!”

It was the envoy who stood there both astonished and overjoyed.

"Is that truly the case? That... well, even if struck by 16-inch shells—no, 18-inch shells, 20-inch shells—it won't sink?"

"No matter how many shells you fire into it, not a single hole will open."

"Wh-what?!"
"That's quite extravagant!"
"But it's not just artillery shells."
"If heavy bombs scattered by the Japanese Air Force rain down from the sky and hit it, what happens?"

“Even if dozens or hundreds of heavy bombs fall upon it, not a single hole will appear.”
“It’s absolutely safe.”

“But what if dozens of Japanese attack planes carrying aerial torpedoes swarm in and strike it with torpedoes—boom after boom after boom…”

“No holes will open.”

“Next, when the daring Japanese submarine fleet closes in and fiercely launches dozens of torpedoes at this ship’s flank…”

“If I say it’s safe, then it’s safe.”
“However, tell the President this:”
“I will indeed build you one unsinkable battleship—a massive one with a displacement of 99,000 tons—and hand it over.”
“However, I do not intend to create this through monetary means…”

“I understand.”
“The smoked meat matter…”

“No—it’s not that I want smoked meat as compensation either.”
“Nor am I building this out of greed to give to you.”

“So does this mean you’ll fully assist America…”

“Don’t flatter yourself.
“As payment, I want President Roosevelt’s glasses—the ones he always wears on his nose.”
“Just tell him that.”

“What? You’re exchanging one unsinkable battleship for the President’s glasses?”
“That’s remarkably modest of you.”
“Ah, I see.”
“You intend to hand over some paper blueprint of an unsinkable battleship, don’t you?”

“Wrong.”
“I do not lie.”
“It is a genuine 99,000-ton colossal warship.”
“It will be fully equipped with cannons and capable of reaching thirty-five knots by burning heavy oil.”
“Though merely a prototype, it’s a splendid specimen.”
“After that, all you need to do is imitate it and build more of the same vessels in America.”
“Trust me.”

“Wh-... Is that truly the case?”
“Hohoho, it’s like a dream come true.”
“Then soon our America will build a hundred 99,000-ton unsinkable battleships and deploy them across the Pacific.”
“This is magnificent!”
“Well then, Doctor, let’s take our leave without delay, return home posthaste, and bring joy to our neurasthenic president.”

The envoy, trying to contain his crumbling smile with both hands, hurriedly exited Dr. Kin’s laboratory.

4

Time flies, and already ten months had passed since then.

It was precisely 1941, 23rd Month.

This was the twelfth basement level of Washington’s White Plaster Mansion.
In one of those rooms, there came President Roosevelt’s voice—cracked like a bamboo war horn.

“Hey, Simon.”
“Simon isn’t here?”

Just then, Envoy Simon from days past came rushing down the corridor in a fluster.

“Who is it?”
“Ah, Simon?”
“You’re late.”
“Still can’t see it yet?”

The President asked impatiently.

Simon was pounding his chest with his fist repeatedly, but once he had somewhat calmed down, he finally spoke.

“Ah, Mr. President.
“Everything has arrived all at once.”

“Huh? Everything all at once?”

“Ah—the long-awaited new battleship USS Honolulu has suddenly appeared off the coast of New York.”
“A 99,000-ton colossal warship, I tell you!”
“No—just seeing it leaves one astonished.”
“Truly, this is what they call a floating fortress!”
“Dr. Kin’s capabilities are truly remarkable, aren’t they?”

And so former envoy Simon reported that the promised colossal battleship had arrived from Dr. Kin.

“Hmm, is it truly that impressive?”
“And what exactly does this ‘everything has arrived’ you just mentioned refer to?”

“Ah, that is to say—the colossal battleship USS Honolulu has arrived, and I was about to inform you that Dr. Kin has also arrived unexpectedly.”

“What? Dr. Kin has come too?”
“That he went out of his way to come here—well, We are utterly delighted!”
“Prepare a grand welcoming banquet at once.”
“And make sure the smoked meat is specially prepared and served heaped on plates in a presentable manner.”

Just as he was saying this, Dr. Kin himself ambled into the room under Hull’s guidance.
The President, startled, fiddled with his nightgown’s collar while extending a hand from atop the bed.

“Ah! Welcome! We are Roosevelt.”
“We thank you for undertaking this arduous task for our America.”
“Moreover, We are deeply moved by the numerous kindnesses shown to Simon and Ourself through the recent Kin-America talks.”
“Well, first take a seat there.”

Roosevelt’s tone gradually began to take on that characteristic arrogance.

Dr. Kin, showing no particular concern about that, settled his small body into one of the armchairs.

“I had quite the ordeal slipping this past the Japanese military’s watch all the way out to these offshore waters.”
“I strained my nerves even more than with the USS Honolulu’s design and construction.”
“Well, finally managing to bring it here was no small feat, I must say.”

Dr. Kin, with the thick Havana cigar he had received clenched between his teeth, puffed smoke with relish.

“We thank you for your efforts.”
“Now, regarding whether that USS Honolulu is truly an unsinkable battleship—by what method of proof could We possibly trust it?”

The President pressed Dr. Kin in his usual pestering tone.
At that moment, Dr. Kin responded without hesitation.

“Child’s play—utterly trivial.
“If you’ve got any capital ships left in your arsenal, drag them out and have them blast that Honolulu I brought here with every damn shell, bomb, or torpedo in your inventory—from any bearing you please.
“And should she sink? I’ll let you smoke me like a ham and serve me up on your finest china.
“Well? Quit dawdling—send those battleships steaming out to sea!”

Dr. Kin appeared filled with confidence as solid as a rock.

“Splendid!” the President said, pursing his lips smugly.
“Well then, We shall now venture forth to conduct an inspection.”
“Hey, Simon.”
“Tell the shipbuilding committee members to urgently assemble and deploy to the testing site.”
“Then immediately dispatch the capital ships Indiana and Massachusetts offshore.”

After issuing the orders, the President entered another room to prepare.
Before long, he appeared at the entrance wearing a black overcoat and fedora, with a bag containing an air defense mask slung over his shoulder.

“Dr. Kin, please.”

The President pointed to the gleaming jet-black automobile parked at the entrance and said to Dr. Kin, who was waiting there.
The two men boarded the car.

“Okay. Let’s depart.”

The automobile started moving.
No sooner had it started moving than there was a hissing sound, and it lurched sideways, losing speed.

“An ambush?”

Dr. Kin displayed a momentary look of startled surprise.
However, the President remained relatively composed.
And he frowned with his winter melon-like face.

“Tires these days are so weak and bothersome.
After all, it’s recycled rubber.”

5

The new battleship Massachusetts, having taken aboard the President and his staff along with Dr. Kin, set out toward the open sea at a speed of twenty-three knots.

“Mr. Roosevelt.
Wouldn’t this ship be able to achieve greater speed?”

“Well, that’s... uh... mumble mumble.
“Ah, that one.”
“Is that the marvel battleship Honolulu you brought here?”
“Hmm, magnificent.”
“Truly a floating steel fortress.”

“Hmph, it’s nothing special.”

“Now, now—no need for modesty.”
“We possess the strongest appetite for admiration toward such world’s foremost creations.”

President Roosevelt leaned out from the bridge as if about to hurl himself overboard.

“Now then, please don’t hesitate—have them bombard that Honolulu.”

“Are you certain we should proceed?”
“But…”

The President turned to look back at Dr. Kin with a suspicious expression.

“Please proceed without reservation.”

"But if we fire live rounds, there will be casualties among the crew—is that acceptable? Of course, we could provide compensation at ten thousand dollars per death..."

"Since the dollar's value has dropped, ten thousand dollars isn't such significant money anyway. In any case, you needn't worry about that. Start the bombardment immediately—whatever it takes. Why don't you just order Admiral Kimmel already?"

"Admiral Kimmel? Oh God, may peace be upon him. Hey, Admiral Yarnell! Commence bombardment!"

“Okay, Frankie.”

And thereupon, Admiral Yarnell, Commander of the Two-Ocean United Fleet, picked up the telephone and issued the bombardment order.

The forty-centimeter giant guns of the battleships Massachusetts and Indiana—twenty barrels in total—strained to their maximum elevation, swung their muzzles around, and took aim at the hull of the marvel battleship Honolulu, which sat motionless five thousand meters offshore.

“Target locked.”

The report reached Yarnell’s ears.

“Yeah. Fire!”

The admiral covered his ears and commanded.

With a thunderous roar, the gun ports erupted black smoke in a sudden burst and shuddered.
The deck and bridge reverberated as if about to shatter, then lurched heavily to one side.

“Five hits confirmed!”

Around the marvel battleship, fifteen water columns rose.
The remaining five rounds were indeed confirmed to have hit.
However, the marvel battleship merely swayed its mast slightly—not only was there not a single hole, but there was no sign of the artillery shells having detonated.

“Hey, are you sure about these five hits?”

The President glared at Yarnell with a face like he’d been tricked by a fox.

“Y-yes, five hits confirmed!”
“But it’s truly strange—they aren’t detonating.”

As he spoke, the sea surface about a thousand meters to port of the marvel battleship began inexplicably swelling up, creating a spectacle as though small depth charges had exploded deep beneath the waves. Moreover, when counted, those swellings numbered exactly five.

“What the hell is that?”

The President wore a puzzled expression.

At that moment, Dr. Kin—who had been left behind as if forgotten—leaned his small frame forward with scurrying movements and whispered into the President’s ear.

“Wh-what?! Th-that’s how it works?!”

The President’s astonishment was not one-sided.

“Hmm… So you’re saying the shells passed straight through the ship’s interior, penetrated from the hull bottom into the seabed, and exploded there?”
“This is a marvel!”

“What did you say?”

Yarnell, having pricked up his ears at the President’s exclamation,

“Ah, Mr. President. You must not allow yourself to be deceived by an Oriental like Dr. Kin. First of all, isn’t this utterly absurd? If hit, holes should definitely open in the ship; once holes open, seawater would inevitably rush in, leading to immediate catastrophic sinking or destruction by attack. Therefore, there’s no way it could remain perfectly intact like that, I tell you!”

“Bwahahaha!”

Dr. Kin burst into loud, unrestrained laughter.

“Dr. Kin! Are you insulting this commander?”

“Bwahahaha! Admiral Yarnell! Did you not yourself declare five shells had hit moments ago? Yet now you claim none struck home? What manner of contradiction is this? Or would you have us believe that all twenty gunners missed their shots at a stationary battleship from a mere five thousand meters? What a pack of incompetent marksmen you command!”

“Ah, umm, that’s…”

Yarnell’s ruddy face suddenly turned as white as fresh canvas.

Dr. Kin glanced sidelong at the admiral’s face as if to say “See? I told you so,”

“Now, Mr. Roosevelt, if you keep dawdling, there’s a risk we’ll be spotted by the sharp-eyed Japanese Air Force again.”
“Come now—either fire the next shells, or launch a bombing run or torpedo attack! Just hurry up and do something already!”

And Dr. Kin alone appeared to be in quite good spirits.

The President crushed his glasses in his palm and then wore an expression of unbearable restlessness,

“Hey, dispatch the air squadrons! Carry out the bombing and launch the torpedo attacks! Hurry up!”

he bellowed.

Now came the real trouble.

It was the President’s fury.
Lest they incur the dreadful consequences of delay, from the flagship Massachusetts came the order for a full bombing and torpedo attack!

And then—the roar of approaching planes. Before one could even think "They're here," the western sky darkened under the overlapping wings of countless bombers.
When they reached directly above the marvel battleship, hundreds upon thousands of bombs scattered as if black beans tumbled through holes torn in a sack's bottom.

And then—suddenly—a symphony of explosions, towering water columns, and massive swells!
The battleship's form disappeared completely behind the water columns.

Just as they thought it had finally sunk this time, the water columns soon crashed down to the sea surface with a great splash—and lo and behold! There emerged Dr. Kin’s marvel battleship USS Honolulu in all its majestic glory, appearing as clearly as if divinely revealed.

“Ah! It’s completely intact…”

A chorus of sighs and awestruck voices arose simultaneously.

“Thirty-eight direct hits!”

It was at this moment that the report from the air arrived.

“What? Thirty-eight shells hit? But the Honolulu is still floating perfectly upright without capsizing!”

And then came the President’s lament.
At that moment, Dr. Kin approached, pointed to the large bubbles rising here and there on the sea surface slightly away from the Honolulu, muttered something, and chuckled.
The President, his pale elongated face bobbing up and down vigorously, nodded in agreement.

“Hmm, thirty-eight shells—all of them passed clean through from deck to keel?”
“And not a single hole opened…”
“This is a marvel!”
“If only we had known about this before the Hawaii Naval Battle...”
“Damn it—too late!”

Then, the President took off the hat he was wearing and ripped it to shreds with both hands.

“Torpedo bombers deploying.”

Yarnell said in a voice as thin as a mosquito’s whine.

However, the President had already lost all interest in torpedo attacks.
Even if they fired hundreds of aerial torpedoes, it was ultimately impossible to sink that marvel battleship.
By now, his searing curiosity had become entirely focused on a single point—the structural mystery of this marvel battleship that performed such wondrous miracles.

“Show me! Let me see inside that marvel battleship!”
“I’ll immediately make about a hundred copies of that!”

The President, gasping for breath, grabbed Dr. Kin by the lapel and pleaded plaintively.

“Once you see it, you’ll realize it’s nothing but a trifle, I assure you. Heh heh heh.”

With a laugh that could be taken as either modest or sarcastic, Dr. Kin guided the President and the shipbuilding committee members, leading them aboard the marvel battleship USS Honolulu.

6

Strangely enough, there was not a single sailor aboard the ship.
And it reeked of rubber.
“To put it simply, you may think of this ship as being wrapped in thick rubber.”

And with a terribly uninterested tone, Dr. Kin began his explanation.

"But in reality, it has a far more complex structure."
"I'll show you that now."
"Now, please step aside to both flanks."

Having said that, Dr. Kin brought out a large wheeled electric scalpel and pressed it against the deck.
Then the deck scattered sparks and emitted black smoke as it split cleanly, like slicing a sponge cake with a chef's knife.
Dr. Kin set down the scalpel and then used a high-pressure blast to blow the deck fragments into the sea.
Then, the cross-section of the deck that had been cut open appeared before the people's eyes.

“Look here.”
“It’s like a wonderfully thick, top-quality rubber quilt.”
“Bombs drop from above.”
“Then they dive into the rubber quilt.”
“During that interval, their trajectory curves to run parallel to the steel hull.”
“And since they keep moving straight ahead, they circle around the outside of the steel hull, reach the bottom of the ship, pierce through the rubber base there, and plop through into the water with a splash.”
“See? You understand now, don’t you?”

Dr. Kin looked at the President’s face.
The President nodded vigorously, grabbed the arm of one of the shipbuilding committee members standing nearby, and shook it,

“Hey, you all understand now, don’t you? Make sure you remember this well. Because later you’ll be building them exactly like this…”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Now regarding the bomb’s passage duration—of course it’s designed to exit outside the ship within an extremely brief period before detonation. Then there’s this rubber: while a bomb initially opens a hole in it, once the bomb passes through, the rubber immediately contracts to seal the hole, leaving no time for water ingress. These two points required some effort on my part.”

Dr. Kin let out a faint sigh.

Mr. President let out a storm-like long sigh.

“Artillery shells and torpedoes aimed at the sides undergo the same process—inside the rubber quilt, they swiftly change direction, circle around the outside of the steel hull, and drop from the keel to the seabed.”
“Now I’ll cut through the side and show you.”

It was a battleship of astonishing construction.
Under the dumbfounded gaze of the Americans, Dr. Kin took up the electric scalpel once more and began cutting into the ship’s side with crisp, grating sounds.

The ship’s side was splendidly cut, splitting the hull plates into two.
However, he had cut too deeply—so deeply that the split extended below the waterline—and seawater now rushed in torrents through the breach as if it had been waiting for this moment.

“Ah, there’s no need to be alarmed by such trifles. Now, listen to my important explanation, Mr. Roosevelt.”

“That’s right.
“This is the crucial part.
“Committee members, look well and listen well.”

“This is precisely, as I explained earlier—”

Dr. Kin began his explanation, but the roaring sound of flooding proved too disruptive.
He continued talking without paying it any heed.

The preliminary explanation had been completed.

Not only the President, but even his staff and the shipbuilding committee members all seemed to have bowed down before Dr. Kin’s intellectual prowess.

“Well, this is remarkable.
“By imitating this and promptly building a hundred unsinkable battleships, we should have no trouble standing against the Japanese Navy.”

“Well, how do you like it, Mr. Roo?”

“No, it’s entered the realm of grandeur.
We hereby declare to the entire world our nomination of Dr. Kin as Honorary President effective this very moment!”

“Don’t spout such nonsense.”

“And as for what we shall confer upon Dr. Kin—the entirety of Niagara Falls... no—wait, water’s rushing in like a cataract!
Oh dear, the vessel lists severely and sinks deeper—surely this unsinkable battleship cannot be foundering...?”

“With this prototype’s purpose fulfilled, I intend to sink it here and now.
Now then, Mr. Roosevelt.
If you tarry further, you’ll go down with the ship.
Make haste and abandon this vessel.”

“What? That’s terrible!”
“Hey! Hurry up and evacuate!”
“And you, Dr. Kin—”

“Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll evacuate via carrier-based aircraft.”
“Since there’s not a single sailor aboard this fully automated USS Honolulu, it’ll be fine as long as I evacuate.”
“Farewell, farewell.”

7

The President barely escaped with his life as he abandoned the sinking unsinkable battleship USS Honolulu.

When he returned to Washington afterward, unlike when he had departed, he was in remarkably good humor.

“Now, We shall come to possess a hundred unsinkable battleships within the next year.”
“We shall promptly draft the executive order for ship construction.”
“Oh, Yarnell! Isn’t this magnificent!”
“Our reborn unsinkable fleet shall…”

“However…” said Yarnell, looking up at the President’s delighted face with a doubtful expression.

“The unsinkable battleship construction plan is most commendable, Mr. President—but where do you intend to procure the rubber required for its implementation?”

“What, rubber? Rubber comes from the Dutch East Indies and Malaya... No—that’s a blunder!”

The President turned pale and collapsed onto his chair.
What in the world had just happened?
On the walls, repainted maps of the former Dutch East Indies and former Malaya glowed crimson in the sunset.