Pathway to Japanese Literature

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The Whereabouts of the Bean SubmarineAuthor: Unno Juza

Original Title	豆潜水艇の行方
Author	海野十三
Genre	Detective & Mystery
Author Type	Male Author
Summary	In a quiet Tokyo shipyard, eccentric inventor Aoki Gakushi and his young friend Haruo Mizukami bicker over naming their revolutionary creation: a compact, oddly shaped submarine Haruo insists resembles a potato more than a bean. Their playful rivalry is interrupted when shadowy foreign operatives led by Director Thompson plot to steal the vessel. Under cover of night, the thieves deploy poison gas to incapacitate the duo, disguising the submarine as a bus to smuggle it onto a cargo ship. Trapped inside, Aoki and Haruo awaken submerged in darkness, relying on gas masks and quick thinking to evade detection. As they navigate mechanical failures and eerie underwater forests, danger looms above—a mysterious island guarded by armed foreigners conceals shocking secrets. With ingenuity and resolve, the pair must outwit their captors to reclaim their invention, unaware their journey will unravel a perilous conspiracy far beyond the ocean’s depths. Adventure surges through every twist, blending humor, suspense, and ingenuity in a race against time beneath the waves.