Pathway to Japanese Literature

The Whereabouts of the Bean Submarine

The World's Best Submarine

You all know what submarines are, right?

A submarine was a vessel capable of diving deep into the sea.
The submarines our navy possessed were called such, and these were the world's finest.
Not only were the submarines splendid, but the naval officers, sailors, and engineer soldiers serving aboard them were also splendid - these too stood unmatched globally.

The story I am about to tell concerns a small submarine named "Bean."

However, while the name "Bean Submarine" was given by its inventor and creator, Aoki Gakushi, Haruo Mizukami—a boy who was great friends with said Aoki Gakushi—referred to it not as the Bean Submarine but as the Potato Submarine.

There, let me briefly share their exchange.
The place where the two were arguing was inside Aoki Shipyard, where the Bean Submarine was stored.

“Hey, Haruo.
You keep badmouthing this submarine by calling it the Potato Submarine—why won’t you call it the Bean Submarine like I say?”

“But Mr. Aoki.
Beans are generally round.
The submarine you made is all bumpy—it’s not a bean! It’s a potato!”

“You keep saying it’s bumpy.”
“Hmm, you do have a point there.”
“It has a rudder, a platform for attaching what’s called a periscope to serve as the submarine’s eyes, and a float with a long chain attached—so yes, it’s a bit bumpy.”
“But anyway, compared to navy submarines, it’s extremely small.”
“The interior space of the Bean Submarine is only about the size of a bus, so isn’t it quite small?”
“So, since it’s a submarine as small as a bean, isn’t it fair to call it the Bean Submarine?”

“But Mr. Aoki.”
“The bumpy parts are what bother me.”
“No matter how I think about it, it’s still the Potato Submarine after all.”

“No, it’s the Bean Submarine.”

Whether it was truly a Bean or a Potato.
The debate between Aoki Gakushi and Haruo over what to call it showed no signs of ending.

So, let us postpone settling that debate for later—here and now, I shall tell you all about a grave matter that neither of them has yet noticed.

Ladies and gentlemen, here we were inside a large Western-style house in Tokyo's Yamanote district.

This Western-style house, surrounded by a forest, was very quiet.

Outside the window lay a pitch-black night.
Then came hoo hoo—the sound of an owl calling from within the forest.

The room was brightly lit by electric light.
Three Westerners sat in large chairs, drinking alcohol as they talked.

“I know it’s difficult. However, we must follow orders and carry it out.”

The highest-ranking man among the three said this in English. He was quite slender yet possessed the most distinguished countenance.

"But Director Thompson,"
"Moving something that enormous would be tremendously difficult."

A Westerner with a soldier's sturdy frame threw his arms wide. The man's face glowed crimson from drink.

“Smith. We can’t waste time complaining about its size or weight now. When headquarters orders us to steal it, we steal it. Isn’t that right, Tony?”

With that, Director Thompson called out to another young man with a gentle, almost feminine face.

“Yes.”
“As you say, Director.”
“Since it’s an order, we have no choice but to carry it out.”
“Why don’t we quickly discuss how to steal it and decide on a method?”

“Well, those are Tony’s words, but no matter how you frame it as theft, we’re talking about an entire submarine here.”
“You’re mistaken if you think you can steal something that huge.”

From this conversation, it became clear that the three were discussing stealing the submarine.
And that submarine was, in fact, the Bean Submarine created by Aoki Gakushi that I mentioned earlier.
So this was a serious problem.

“If we think hard enough, good ideas will surely come.”
“After all, there’s nothing humans can’t accomplish when they wring out every last drop of ingenuity.”
“Come now—let’s put our heads together as three!”

With that, Director Thompson encouraged them, lifted the bottle of sake, and refilled their cups.

Poison Gas Bomb

What schemes might surface as they drank and deliberated?
Regardless, before that night ended, Thompson’s team had hatched an utterly peculiar plan.

“Ha ha ha! This will surely work.”

“That’s quite an interesting method.”

“Well, when you think about it, there really was a method after all.”

The three looked exceedingly pleased.
Judging from their delighted state, they seemed to have devised an excellent method for stealing the Bean Submarine.
Now, what exactly was this method? I shall keep that secret for the time being.

Then, about ten days had passed.
And so, the story turned to the Bean Submarine lying idle in a corner of the shipyard.

The submarine was fully completed.
Inside its hull, food provisions, water stores, hammocks and other necessities had already been stowed, leaving it prepared to depart at any moment.
Yet this Bean Submarine still sat atop its launching platform.
Were the supporting wedges beneath its keel removed, the vessel would slide sideways off the stand, plunge into the sea with a splash, and bob to the surface.
All that remained now was the christening ceremony.

How Aoki Gakushi and the boy Haruo longed for the launch ceremony.
Once the Bean Submarine was launched, it was scheduled to depart the harbor immediately.
Of course, the crew consisted solely of two people: Captain Aoki Gakushi and Vice-Captain Haruo Mizukami, a teenage boy.

It was the night before the long-awaited launch ceremony—the eve of tomorrow’s great event.
Aoki Gakushi and the boy Haruo had entered the submarine and were busily tidying up its interior.

At that moment, fourteen or fifteen large men dressed in black clothes, having come from who knows where, stealthily infiltrated this pitch-dark shipyard.

“Ah, Director.
That’s the submarine right there.
That right there is the world’s smallest submarine invented by Aoki Gakushi.”

“Oh, that one.
What’s that hazy brightness over there?”

“That’s because the hatch on the submarine’s entrance is open.”
“There’s someone inside who’s turned on a light, so it’s leaking out through the hatch and creating that hazy glow.”

“Ah, I see, Tony.”
“But if there are people inside, that complicates the theft.”
“Because once they notice us, they’ll surely raise an alarm.”

“There’s no other way.”
“It’s a bit crude, but we’ll put those fellows to sleep.”

“Put them to sleep? How exactly?”

“We’ll use poison gas.”
“Just watch.”

Tony, accompanied by three or four companions, stealthily approached the submarine.
In Tony’s hand was clutched a poison gas bomb shaped like a grenade.
“I’m going to do it, so everyone, stay on your guard…”

Tony raised his hand and gave a signal.
Then, approaching the Bean Submarine, he threw a poison gas bomb through the gap in the hatch with a heave.

“Now, close the hatch!”

At Tony’s second signal, several large men who had been following behind leaped onto the Bean Submarine, briefly inserted their hands into the hatch to remove the wedge, then pressed down from above and slammed it shut with a clang.

“Perfect, that’s done. Hurry, cover that thing!”

At Tony’s command, the group led by Director Thompson waiting behind waved a flashlight as a signal, and from the darkness, a large truck began backing up.

On top of it was a large bus body.
With a creaking sound, a hook attached to a chain descended from a crane—a machine for lifting heavy objects—that had been set up on another truck, and lifted the bus body.
Then they completely covered the Bean Submarine with that bus body.

In other words, while this bus appeared real at first glance, it actually lacked any vehicle components—merely an empty shell like a box missing its bottom.

When viewed from the outside, the Bean Submarine now looked exactly like a bus.

Before long, another truck creaked out its chain and hoisted the Bean Submarine onto its bed.
This was no ordinary truck—it was equivalent to the military-grade tow tractors commonly used by armed forces, capable of producing tremendous power.

“Very well. Hurry up and set off!”

Because Director Thompson had issued the order, the truck that had loaded the Bean Submarine—hidden inside the bus body—began moving forward without delay.
Then, having concealed itself within the darkness, it vanished without a trace.

Oh no，things took a terrible turn!
What had become of Aoki Gakushi and Haruo Mizukami，who had been struck by poison gas?
And where had the Bean Submarine been taken?

Eyes of vigilance

The truck loaded with the Bean Submarine rumbled steadily westward along the national highway.

On the national highway, police officers inside the police box kept watch through the night.

If something suspicious were to pass along the national highway, they intended to order "Stop!" and investigate.

The truck carrying the Bean Submarine passed right before the police officers without being questioned in the slightest.

At the next police box too, it passed through in exactly the same way.

After all, even if police officers, military police, or naval engineering experts saw it, there was no way they could possibly realize that the Bean Submarine was on the truck.

And no wonder.
What was on that truck looked like nothing but a bus, no matter how one examined it.
No one would ever suspect that beneath it lay the Bean Submarine—not even God Himself could have noticed.

The truck continued rumbling westward along the national highway.

The Bean Submarine was jolting and bumping as it shook atop the truck.

In the truck’s cab, the driver and Tony—the foreigner sitting beside him—began conversing in English.

“Mr. Tony, could you check the back?”

“What’s this about checking behind us?”

“Somehow, there’s a jolting and bumping sound coming from the back—is everything all right?”

“What’s this about a jolting sound? Oh right—maybe the Bean Submarine’s about to slide off the truck. Wait, I’ll check it now.”

Tony crouched down and shone his flashlight toward the back.

“It’s okay.
The rope’s holding fine.”

Tony, seeing that the knots binding the bus and the truck body were secure, felt relieved.

Being told that，the driver，

“I see…”
“But there’s a thudding noise coming from it.”
“How strange…”

“That’s just your imagination.”

“Is that so…”

Could it be that the driver sensed a strange noise Tony couldn’t hear?

After a while, the driver spoke to Tony again.

“Ah, I heard it again.
Mr. Tony, it just lurched again with a big thud!
Ugh, I feel sick.
Before long, the Bean Submarine will roll right off onto the road, you know.
Please check it again carefully.”

“But I already told you it’s fine…”

Tony once again carefully examined the knots in the rope.
However, just like before, he found no signs that they had come loose.

Dark sea.

Before long, the truck reached the edge of a large river.

Under the stone embankment, the barge waited.

As a plank had been laid from the shore, the bus-shaped cargo on the truck was quietly lowered onto it and loaded into the barge.

“All right!
“Alright, let’s get moving quickly.”

When Tony raised his hand, the barge immediately started its engine.

The group boarded the barge.
The barge churned up the waves as it headed downriver.

On the dark river surface, there was nothing to block the path of this barge.

“Got it!
The water police don’t seem to have noticed us either.
Now, full speed ahead!
The mothership’s probably waiting for us.”

After exiting the river mouth and entering the sea, the barge increased its speed further and advanced toward the open waters.

“Mr. Tony, is our course set to due south?”

“Well, keep heading due south for now.”
“Before long, we’ll receive a radio message—once we do, the mothership’s position will become clear.”

Tony sat down at the bow and busily fiddled with the receiver.

After some time had passed, Tony pressed the receiver he had been holding to his ear with both hands.

“Ah, the mothership has departed—it’s *the Eden-gō*!”

Tony had been smoothly transcribing the Morse code coming through his headset when he too began rhythmically tapping the telegraph key with his fingertip, sending out some wireless message.

Both sides kept up this frantic exchange of communications until it finally ceased.

“Got it! To portside thirty degrees forward—a ship with three red lights on its mast! That’s *the Eden-gō* waiting for us! Turn her that way and push full speed ahead!”

Tony slapped the gunwale and shouted those words.
The ship changed course, exerted all the power it could muster, and hurried across the dark sea surface.
They reached *Eden-gō* approximately two hours later.

“So this is *Eden-gō*.”
“This is Tony—here under Director Thompson’s orders with the Bean Submarine.”

“Oh, we’ve been waiting.”
“Tony.”
“You’ve pulled off quite the feat.”
“To get Dr. Aoki’s Bean Submarine—the very one our navy had been after—in these times? That’s no small achievement.”
“You’ll get a hefty reward later.”

“That reward’s my whole aim.”
“With that money coming in, I plan to build an airplane factory.”

“Ha ha ha! You’ve already mapped out how to spend it?”
“You handle things smoothly enough! Ha ha ha!”

Dangerous Cargo Handling

“Alright, we’ll hoist that impressive cargo onto our ship with the crane, so you all stay below and don’t get in the way.”

“Hey, it’s here!”
“Don’t worry.”
“First off, this bus is in the way. Alright, everyone lend a hand!”
“We’re tossing this thing into the sea!”

“Alright, everyone lend a hand!”

“Heave-ho!”

Inside the barge, everyone lifted up the bus frame that had been covering the Bean Submarine.

Then, they brought it to the side of the gunwale and, with a heave-ho, threw it into the sea.
A loud splash resounded, and at the same moment, the ship lurched violently.

Carried away by the momentum, two or so men tumbled into the sea.
However, they all managed to swim back to the ship.

Now came the task of hoisting the Bean Submarine with the crane.

From the mothership, the crane's arm forcefully extended over the barge.
And from its tip, a chain came clattering down with a jangling sound.

"This is a real problem."
"This submarine is round and slippery—there's nowhere to hook the chain!"
"Mr. Tony, what should we do?"

"If we just keep saying 'What should we do?' and don't hoist it somehow, this hard-won prize will be useless!"

“But hoisting this thing with a chain’s a bit tough, y’know.”

“No slacking! Loop the chain like this—tie it tight! Tight!”

“Like this?”
“You really think that’ll hold?”
“Feels dangerous if you ask me…”

“Do it.”
“When I say do it—you do it!”

Tony’s barked orders left them no choice—the crew sweated buckets as they wound the chain round and round the Bean Submarine.

“Hey! You still not done yet?”

Shouts came from the mothership.

“Almost there. Alright, lower the crane’s chain!”

“Here it comes!”

With a clatter, the crane’s chain began winding up. Eventually, the chain snapped taut, and the Bean Submarine was quietly hoisted up onto the barge.

“It worked. Now swing the crane around...”

The crane, still holding the Bean Submarine, began swinging it forcefully sideways toward the mothership.

“Danger!”

Someone shouted.

By then, it was already too late.
As the chain suspending the Bean Submarine creaked and groaned, it slipped off the submarine's hull.
In an instant, the Bean Submarine tilted with a clank, and the next moment, the vessel slipped free from the chain and plunged into the sea with a tremendous splash.

Now, this was bad.
Their hard-won prize had fallen to the seabed.

Inside the Bean Submarine

Now, a terrible situation had arisen.

The Bean Submarine that everyone was worried about lay fallen on the pitch-black depths of the sea floor.

The seabed around them was densely covered with seaweed and kelp forests resembling a grove. Had it been daytime, one could have seen the strange spectacle of this underwater forest and the trail of small bubbles rising upward in gurgling chains. But now, in the dead of night, nothing was visible—everything lay shrouded in utter darkness.

Now, was there any way for the Bean Submarine to survive?
What had become of Haruo Mizukami and Aoki Gakushi inside it now?
Both of them had likely been incapacitated by the poison gas thrown by suspicious foreigners, grown cold, and were now lying at the bottom of the sea, perhaps unaware of their predicament.
But then, at that very moment.
Suddenly, the Bean Submarine opened its two yellow eyes.

No—those weren’t actual eyes.
This was because a light had lit up in the sturdy glass-paned window attached to the side of the Bean Submarine.
Of course, that light was from inside the vessel.
The yellow light that swiftly flowed out from the window moved little by little, illuminating the forest of seaweed.
Meanwhile, a school of fish shaped like sea bream that had been sleeping there suddenly encountered the dazzling light and began swimming frantically.
It was as if a silver flame blazed up.
The light continued moving forward little by little.

Hmm, why on earth had a light come on inside the Bean Submarine?

In that case, one would naturally want to take a little peek inside the Bean Submarine.
Let’s take a look inside.

The interior of the Bean Submarine was illuminated by a dim electric light.

Clunk, clunk, clunk.

It seemed heavy machinery was operating, producing a fairly loud noise.
That was the sound of the engine and pump working together.

Where were Haruo Mizukami and Aoki Gakushi?

Ah, there they were.
The two were clinging to the wall near the bow of the Bean Submarine like salamanders.

“Mr. Aoki.
The bottom of the sea is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Ah, it’s beautiful.
But Haruo.
This isn’t the time to be admiring the scenery!
We need to get away from here as soon as possible.
Now that I’ve gauged the seabed conditions around us, let’s move the submarine immediately.
Come on—lend me a hand too.”

“Yes, now that it’s come to this, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Then, I’ll turn off the external light now.”

There was a sound of the switch turning off.
And the two of them, who had been facing backward until now, moved away from the wall and turned this way.

The two of them were wearing gas masks.

*Tilt Correction*

“Starboard main tank, prepare to drain!”

“Preparations complete.”

“Hmm, really?
Are the valves open?”

“It’s alright, Mr. Aoki. You need to give clearer orders!”

“Alright. Then, let’s go.”
“……Compressed air delivery system, stand by.”
“Preparations complete.”
“Compressed air delivery system—commence!”
“Commence!”
“Inclination forty-five…”

Inside the Bean Submarine, Aoki Gakushi shouted alone—issuing commands to himself while performing the work himself. With only two crew members aboard the vessel, the sheer amount of labor was overwhelming.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

A metallic scraping sound could be heard.
Along with this, it became clear that the Bean Submarine—which had been tilting heavily to starboard until now—was gradually correcting its angle.

“Mr. Aoki.
“It’s correcting itself smoothly now.”

“Ah, at this rate, it should be properly adjusted within sixteen or seventeen minutes.”

The engine and pump were exhaling rough breaths and straining with all their might.

“Why didn’t the port-side main tank open, I wonder...”

“But it’s because the sub suddenly fell into the sea that the malfunction occurred, right?”

“Well, what do you think?”
“Well, I thought I’d designed it so that wouldn’t happen, but…”

Mr. Aoki said quizzically.

Mr. Aoki, upon learning that the sub had fallen into the sea, immediately started the engine and opened the main tank.
When he did that, water began to enter, causing the submarine to sink.

If they didn’t do that, the sub would sink once due to the force of falling and then resurface after a while, which would mean getting captured again by the villains, so he immediately opened the tanks to ensure the sub stayed settled on the seabed without floating back up.
However, at that moment, while the starboard tank opened, the port main tank failed to open, preventing water from entering the port-side tank.
As a result, the submarine was tilting severely.

The engine was spinning incessantly.

“We’ll have to keep wearing the gas masks a while longer.”
“If we expel the poison gas from inside the submarine now, that suspicious ship nearby will find out.”

Mr. Aoki suddenly seemed to notice something and said.

“I can keep enduring for a while longer.”

“But that was a close call back then, wasn’t it? It was good that we didn’t panic and immediately put on the prepared gas masks when those villains threw in the poison gas bomb, but if we’d been careless, we’d be cold and dead by now.”

“But more than that, I’m impressed by how well-prepared you were, Mr. Aoki, having gas masks ready inside the submarine.”

“There’s no need to be impressed by something like that. Going to a land where cholera runs rampant is no different from always carrying water in a canteen. From now on, you won’t be able to step outside without a gas mask.”

Forgotten Items

The tilt of the Bean Submarine had completely corrected.
The submarine was now floating about five meters above the seabed.

Captain Aoki Gakushi attached himself to the helm’s steering wheel, his face flushed.

“Alright, this should do it. Let’s bid farewell to this place.”

“Mr. Aoki, which direction are we heading now?”

“Let’s head further out to sea.”
“That way it’s safer, and it’ll be just right for a trial run too.”

“So we’re heading out into the open ocean like this, then?”
“This is so fun!”

“Mr. Aoki, are all the necessary items on board the submarine?”

Haruo grew worried and asked.

“Yeah, there are a few items I forgot to load, you see.”
“But going back to retrieve them now would be too much trouble.”

“What exactly are these missing items?”
“It’s not that we’re lacking things like food or water, is it?”

“Ahahaha!”
“You’re such a glutton, aren’t you?”
“So that’s why you’re worried about things like food and water?”
“Rest assured.”
“It’s not exactly plentiful, but if we ration it, there’s enough for the two of us to last about thirty days.”

“Oh, there’s that much?”

Haruo widened his eyes in surprise and swallowed hard upon hearing there was thirty days’ worth.

“So, what is missing, Mr. Aoki?”

“Well, the missing item you’re asking about—it’s the machine gun we received from the authorities.”

“Huh, a machine gun?”
“How did you get something like that?”

“But these days, you can’t safely navigate the Pacific without being armed, can you? I requested and received it, but since it’s valuable, I intended to load it last, so I couldn’t fit it in time.”

Indeed, the Pacific had now entered an extremely perilous period where attacks from enemy warships or aircraft could come at any moment.
In such circumstances, Japanese men must not permit themselves to be shamefully sunk by the enemy or taken prisoner.
Against enemies who came attacking, it was Japanese men who had to fight to the bitter end.
Now that things had reached this point, whether one was a soldier or not, the required resolve remained identical.

Despite having entered such a perilous period, Aoki Gakushi remained remarkably unperturbed about having forgotten the machine gun meant for their protection.

Haruo was dumbfounded.

“If you forget something like that, it’s going to be a problem.”
“Do we have any other weapons?”

“There’s nothing specifically designated as a weapon.”
“But even if enemies come at us, I’ll find a way to handle them properly.”

“Going up against enemies without even a gun or sword—isn’t that reckless?”

“That’s true.”
“It does seem a bit reckless, doesn’t it?”
“Ahahaha!”

Aoki Gakushi, without any particular look of surprise, laughed heartily for some reason.

Where is the Bean Submarine headed?

Neither Haruo nor even Aoki Gakushi could have known that an astonishing incident would occur at sea the following day.

Going To Sleep

“Haruo,
“You should go to bed now.”

said Aoki Gakushi.

“I’m not sleepy yet.”
“And there must still be various tasks left on this Bean Submarine.”
“I’ll help too.”

Haruo said from inside his gas mask, rolling his eyes animatedly.

“No, you should sleep.”
“Once tomorrow comes, there will be work I need you to labor hard at again, so you must sleep tonight.”

Aoki Gakushi repeatedly urged Haruo Mizukami to rest.

“Alright, I’ll sleep then. But if anything happens to the Bean Submarine, please wake me up right away.”
“I can be quite useful with this, you know.”
“After all, I learned the basics of navigation back when I was in the Marine Boys’ Corps.”

“Alright, alright.”
“Get some sleep.”

There，Haruo—a bit cramped but still wearing the gas mask—spread a blanket between the machines and burrowed into it.
Eventually，the day’s fatigue hit him all at once，and he began snoring loudly as he fell asleep.

Aoki Gakushi watched the scene with a gentle smile, but once Haruo had fallen completely asleep, he stood alone before the control panel, placed the receiver to his head, and switched on the hydrophone.
While repeatedly turning the dial left and right, he appeared to be monitoring something.
His face looked grave.

After some time, an audible sigh of relief escaped Aoki Gakushi.

“That should do.”
“Eden-go is quite far ahead now…”

Aoki Gakushi switched on another switch.
Then, with a rumbling sound, the pump started up.
Then, with a hissing sound, oxygen gas began flowing out from the iron pipes.
Over the course of about thirty minutes of this continuing, the poison gas in the cabin had been completely purified.

Aoki Gakushi then removed the gas mask.

“It’s all right.”

Aoki Gakushi nodded.
Then he approached the soundly sleeping Haruo Mizukami and removed the gas mask for him.
Beads of sweat had broken out on Haruo’s forehead and the tip of his nose.
Aoki Gakushi took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped it off.

“There, that should do it.”
“Well then, I suppose I’ll get some sleep too.”

Aoki Gakushi muttered to himself, sat down in the chair, rested both elbows on the desk in front of the control panel, and laid his face on his arms.

Eventually, Aoki Gakushi too began to snore loudly and drifted into dreams.

Depth Zero

Haruo Mizukami abruptly opened his eyes.
He thought he had heard some loud noise.
Climbing out from his blanket and groggily sitting up, he found Aoki Gakushi attached to the periscope, grunting in exertion.
He was surprised by this.

“Mr. Aoki, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, Haruo.”
“Something’s off.”
“The periscope won’t go up anymore.”

“Is it broken?”

“It’s definitely a malfunction, but not an ordinary one.”
“It goes up easily about three centimeters, but beyond that, it just won’t budge.”

“That’s strange.”

Haruo Mizukami tilted his head quizzically and approached Aoki Gakushi.
After watching Aoki Gakushi work at turning the periscope handle with clunking sounds for some time, Haruo finally burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing at?”

Aoki Gakushi said in a grumpy voice.

“But Mr. Aoki, even if you extend the periscope at night, there’s no point. You can’t see anything at all!”

“What are you dozing off about… Look at the clock.”
“It’s not nighttime.”
“It’s around five in the morning.”

“What? It’s already that time?”
“Oh no, this is bad!”

Haruo Mizukami looked at a wristwatch.
Indeed, it was already five o'clock.
He scratched his head in embarrassment.

“I slept really well.
“I thought it was still the middle of the night.”

“If you’re still groggy, that’s a problem.
“But this thing’s busted.
“If we can’t see outside, that’s going to be a problem.”

Haruo grew uneasy.
But then, he noticed something.

“Mr. Aoki. In that case, how about surfacing and opening the hatch?”

“Doing that would be dangerous. First we must extend the periscope and confirm there are no enemies around before surfacing.”

“I see, that makes sense.”

Haruo flushed red at his repeated missteps and suddenly glanced at the depth gauge’s needle. To his astonishment, it pointed to zero.

“Mr. Aoki, hasn’t this submarine already surfaced?”

“That’s impossible.”

“But look at this! The depth gauge’s needle is pointing to zero!”

“There’s no way that’s possible.”

Aoki Gakushi immediately retorted vehemently, but when he shifted his gaze just to be sure—this was unexpected!

“Huh? When did the depth reach zero?”
“This is getting even weirder!”

Aoki Gakushi took the depth gauge’s glass in his hand and tapped it lightly a few times.
He did this thinking that perhaps the needle had become stuck somewhere and stopped moving, so he gave it a light vibration to try to dislodge the needle.
However, the depth gauge’s needle remained stubbornly fixed at zero.

“This is strange.”

Aoki Gakushi crossed his arms in front of the depth gauge and groaned, "Hmm."
What in the world was going on?

Hatch Opening Method

“This isn’t a joke!”
“The submarine’s propeller is freewheeling!”

Aoki Gakushi raised his voice loudly.
His face turned bright red, clearly startled.

“What do you mean by ‘freewheeling’?”

“'Spinning in air' means that the propeller isn’t rotating in water but is spinning in the air.”

“Huh? In the air?”
“So, does that mean this Bean Submarine has turned into an airplane and is flying through the sky?”
“This submarine is amazing…”

“Shut up!”

Aoki Gakushi scolded him.

“Huh?”

“There’s no way the Bean Submarine would ever turn into an airplane!”

“Oh, that’s right. This sub’s shaped like a potato, so there’s no way it could fly through the air!”

The boy Haruo had blurted out something cheeky to Aoki Gakushi and now felt remorseful.

However, as one strange occurrence after another unfolded inside this cramped Bean Submarine, the boy Haruo wanted to somehow lend his strength to Aoki Gakushi and racked his brains for solutions—but nothing he did seemed to merit praise from the inventor.

“Let’s be bold and try opening the hatch.”

And then, Aoki Gakushi suddenly declared.

“Huh?”

“If the propeller’s sticking out into the air, opening the hatch won’t let water in.”
“It might be risky, but we can’t act blind out here.”

Aoki Gakushi seemed to finally make up his mind.

“Haruo,”
“I’m entrusting you with a critical task.”
“Open the hatch slowly—carefully now.”
“When I shout ‘Close it!’—”
“—slam it shut at once!”

“Mr. Aoki, what will you do?”

“Me?
“I will look outside through the slight gap in the hatch.”
“I’ll take a look and see what’s visible.”

“Ah, I see! So I have a crucial role here.”

Now, things had taken a dire turn.
If mishandled, the Bean Submarine might sink there, bubbling and gurgling.
Haruo took position at the hatch handle.

“All right, begin the hatch-opening procedure.”

“Yeees!”

Just as a turban shell slowly lifts its lid, the Bean Submarine began gradually raising its hatch cover.
Aoki Gakushi was positioned like an acrobat climbing a ladder.

“Shut it!”—the command came instantly from Aoki Gakushi.

Haruo hurriedly closed the hatch with a clang.

“An island! An island!”
“It’s running aground on the island!”
“And then…”

Aoki Gakushi shouted in a strained voice.

Strange island?

Even the unflappable Aoki Gakushi seemed utterly astonished，thumping his own chest with a clenched fist and unable to form another word for some time．

Watching this from the side，the boy Haruo couldn’t stay calm．

“Hey，Mr．Aoki．Hurry up and tell me！You made me open the hatch just now—what on earth did you see，Mr．Aoki？”

“I\-Island…”

“If all you saw was an island，there’s no reason to be so shocked，Mr．Aoki．”

“B-But… it’s not ordinary.”

And then, Aoki Gakushi’s words abruptly trailed off.

“If it’s not an ordinary island, then what kind is it?”

“But that’s exactly what’s strange.”
“Foreign sailors are standing guard.”
“Moreover, judging by their uniforms, they’re American sailors. It’s no wonder I was shocked, don’t you think?”

Aoki Gakushi had finally regained his composure enough to speak normally.

“What’s the big deal? They’re just American sailors.
They aren’t scary at all.”

“That may be true, but those sailors are heavily armed.
They were holding guns with bayonets attached.
They were wearing gas masks.
This doesn’t make sense.
Isn’t it too strange that there’s an island not far from Japanese territory where American sailors are standing guard in such formidable gear?”

When Aoki Gakushi put it that way, it struck him as both mysterious and strange.
That such an island existed merely two or three days by ship from Japan’s coast—it was an odd story indeed.

“Could it be Guam Island?”

Then, the boy Haruo recalled and said.

“No—that’s not it.
“It should take many more days to reach Guam Island.”

Aoki Gakushi dismissed the idea.
If it wasn’t Guam Island, this situation grew increasingly strange.
Where on earth could this place be?

The engine sound.

Knock knock, knock, knock-knock-knock.

The hatch they had just closed was now being knocked incessantly from outside.
The boy Haruo looked up at Aoki Gakushi’s face,
“Mr. Aoki, what is that sound?”

At this, Aoki Gakushi hissed sharply and darted his eyes around.
Aoki Gakushi was intently listening to the knocking sound.

After a moment, Aoki Gakushi firmly grabbed Haruo’s arm,

“That’s Morse code.”
“Through international communication codes, if you listen closely to that sound, it’s saying, ‘Open this immediately.”
“Open this immediately. If you don’t, we’ll burn through it from the outside!’”
“If they burn through it, we’ll be in trouble!”

“Threatening to burn through it… What outrageous American sailors!”

“However, if they really do burn through it, there’d be no way to recover.”
“Because if a large hole opens in the hatch, then this Bean Submarine would never be able to submerge underwater again.”
“So we have no choice.”
“It’s irritating, but since we can’t risk them damaging the submarine, let’s open the hatch.”

“But if we open the hatch and go out, won’t we just end up being treated like prisoners by those American sailors?”
“I really don’t like that idea.”

With that, Haruo showed reluctance to open the hatch.

"But there's no choice."
"Let's accept this situation for now and think of another plan."
"If the submarine gets destroyed, that would truly leave us helpless."

Aoki Gakushi’s face looked pained.
And finally, instead of Haruo, he opened the hatch.

The moment they did, the muzzle of a light machine gun abruptly peered down at them from above.

“Come out. Resist and we’ll shoot you dead.”

The command was in English.

Aoki Gakushi flared up in anger, and the boy Haruo, sensing the situation, found it deeply irritating.

But there was nothing they could do, so Aoki Gakushi urged Haruo onward, climbed up the ladder, and finally emerged from the Bean Submarine.

“Stay quiet, you hear?”
“Resist and you’ll get a bullet.”

Before they knew it, besides the blue-eyed non-commissioned officer barking orders, about six armed American sailors had surrounded the two of them.

Haruo didn’t find it particularly frightening or anything.
Compared to Japanese sailors, American sailors looked terribly slovenly.

But what surprised Haruo even more was something else.
That was the scenery around them.

Could such an island even exist?

Aoki peered through the hatch’s gap and declared, “This is an island.”

Indeed, the ground below was sandy.
And there were plants resembling coconut palms growing here.
There were also rock-like objects visible, though small.
If one were suddenly brought here from the sea, then indeed, anyone would undoubtedly think this was an island.

However, there was something slightly odd about it being an island.
It was that neither could they see the horizon nor make out that blue sea.
When they looked up above their heads, there was a frosted glass ceiling.

How could this be called an island?
What on earth kind of place was this?

“Hey, boy! Why aren’t you staying still? I won’t allow you to keep looking around!”

Because he couldn’t understand the non-commissioned officer’s rapid-fire English, he kept glancing around restlessly, which made a sailor approach with a menacing expression.

Aoki noticed this, warned Haruo, and shielded him from the sailor.

A gentleman who appeared to be their leader

As Haruo wondered what would happen next, their leader ordered the non-commissioned officers to guard their front and rear and commanded them to move forward.

Where are we being taken?

After walking a short distance over the sandy ground, something resembling a basement entrance came into view.

“We’re going down from here.”

The non-commissioned officer descended first.

Haruo and the others also followed behind, descending the stairs.

The place they descended to was a low-ceilinged area, much like the interior of a warship or steamship.
At that moment, Haruo felt a faint yet distinct thudding vibration coming from beneath his feet—the engine seemed to be running.

Where on earth could this place be?

For Haruo, unraveling that mystery had become a source of enjoyment.
Had he been startled or flustered in that moment, he would certainly have missed the faint thrum of engines.

Eventually, Aoki Gakushi and Haruo were taken into a particular room. Though the ceiling was low, the space boasted extravagant decorations. At the front stood an impressive desk with a single plush armchair positioned before it—but who would occupy that chair?

The non-commissioned officer opened the door and proceeded further inside.
When he eventually emerged, he was accompanied by a gentleman wearing a white linen suit.

He was a large-framed man with a flushed face, pointed nose, thin mustache, and piercing eyes. The gentleman sank heavily into the plush armchair. From his bearing, he appeared to be their commander.

Haruo stared wide-eyed, wondering what this commander would initiate next.

The commander drew a pistol from his pocket and laid it on the desk. He then fixed Aoki Gakushi and Haruo with an intense glare,

“Now you have two choices here: obey my commands or take a bullet from this pistol and die. There are no other options.”

and continued to rattle off overly threatening statements,

“We possess the power to obtain anything we desire, whenever we wish.”
“You’ve repeatedly tried to keep the small submarine from falling into our hands, but from now on, you’d best abandon such futile efforts.”
“Understood?”

he blustered with exaggerated bravado.

Then Aoki Gakushi burst into dry laughter.

“Ha ha ha!”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“We Japanese will not take orders from you foreigners!”
“Stop your bluster. If there’s something you want to learn from us, you’d better bow your head and ask properly.”

At Aoki’s resolute declaration, Director Thompson’s face flushed an even deeper red, and he began trembling violently.
Now, how would this situation be resolved?

Turnabout

The suspicious foreigner was truly acting arrogantly.
He faced the two of them,

“No matter what you say, it’s too late. Once you’re in here, whether I let you live or kill you is entirely my choice. If you don’t obey every order without question, it won’t end well for you.”

With that declaration, he brandished his pistol.

Aoki Gakushi considered.

If it were just me alone, it would be fine, but since I was with Haruo, I thought it would be a problem if they did anything too harsh to us. Moreover, since that foreigner didn’t seem likely to back down once he set his mind to something, I decided that for the time being, I would comply with their demands and look for an opening later to figure out a way to escape.

Thereupon, Aoki Gakushi took two or three steps forward toward the suspicious foreigner and,

“Hey, you.
“The reason you’re making such a fuss is that you’ve inspected the Bean Submarine but can’t figure out how to make it move, surface, or submerge—so you’re taking it out on us, aren’t you?”
“How about that? Hit the mark, didn’t I?”

The white-suited suspicious foreigner, upon hearing this, groaned, his face turning even redder as he looked toward the non-commissioned officers.

There, Aoki Gakushi, seizing the moment,

“So if you don’t understand, why not just admit you don’t and ask us to teach you properly?”
“If you show proper courtesy, I might just teach you a thing or two.”
“Trying to hide your weaknesses and acting all high and mighty isn’t a good look.”

When confronted with this, even the formidable suspicious foreigner looked troubled.
From then on, he suddenly changed his attitude and softened his tone.

“Well, I don’t particularly want to escalate matters either. If you’re willing to teach us without holding back, I’d be prepared to listen to your explanations with the respect you deserve.”

What kind of respect was that? When it came to their own convenience, they were the sort to say any hypocritical thing without hesitation.

“Very well, I’ll explain. However, before that, there’s one thing I find extremely suspicious—would you answer my question?”

Aoki Gakushi said.

“Hah, so it’s a trade-off then.”

“Well, I suppose that’s right.”
“This is something America would do as well.”
“You’ll agree to this, right?”

Having said that, the suspicious foreigner pondered for a moment but eventually nodded and

“Very well.”
“I will answer one of your questions.”
“But only one.”

What on earth did Aoki Gakushi intend to ask?

Sudden Commotion

“This is something I absolutely want to know—since we’re aware our lives are forfeit, I’d like to ask this as a final request—where exactly is this place?”
“Is it an island, an underground city, or a ship?”

“Hmm, so that’s what you want to know?”
“That’s a tricky one.”

“Come on, answer us. It’s our agreement.”

“Hmm… A deal’s a deal…”

The suspicious foreigner fell silent for a moment before summoning a non-commissioned officer to confer with him.

“Very well,” he said at last. “I’ll tell you.”

“Thank you.”

“This is a moving island secretly built by our America.”

“A moving island?”

Aoki Gakushi deliberately widened his eyes in feigned astonishment. At this display, the suspicious foreigner puffed up with even greater self-importance.

“Heh heh, how about that? Surprised, aren’t you?”
“In other words, this was conceived from a floating dock—it normally hides beneath the sea surface and can move in any desired direction using an engine.”
“If something happens in the Pacific—not that it’s limited to the Pacific—this moving island becomes a mother ship for submarines and airplanes.”
“The oil is amply stocked.”
“There’s also a repair facility.”
“There are ample food supplies.”
“Actually, this moving island is currently in this state for testing purposes—”

Just as he had spoken up to this point, the suspicious foreigner suddenly fell silent.

That was because the non-commissioned officer behind him had pulled on his clothes.
He had gotten carried away and was about to blabber even secret matters, so the startled non-commissioned officer gave him a warning.

“No, uh—mumble mumble mumble.”
“That’s enough for now.”

“Thank you.”

Aoki Gakushi expressed his thanks.

He thought to himself.

I had a feeling it was something like that, and indeed it was. This foolish contraption was exactly the sort of thing America would devise.
They probably plan to build many more of these moving islands and station them across the Pacific.
Of course, they undoubtedly mean to use them when war breaks out in the Pacific someday. Since this is an experimental model, it seems America hasn’t yet mass-produced these moving islands.
“Well, this is valuable intelligence I’ve obtained.”

Aoki Gakushi suddenly found his life precious.

To say he valued his life did not mean Aoki Gakushi had suddenly become a coward.

The reason was that, having learned such extensive American secrets unknown to anyone else, he thought he must somehow inform his homeland Japan of this.
In that case, I’m sure everyone will be satisfied.
That's right.
That was indeed exactly the case.

**Great Success**

Now, everyone.

Do you wonder how Aoki Gakushi and young Mizukami joined forces and managed to escape from this American-made moving island?

Of course, the two of them had escaped from the Americans’ grasp and gotten away.
In exchange—having risked their lives and vowed not to disgrace Japan’s name—they fled this moving island through an utterly daring method.

I believe you would all be delighted if I narrated that valiant adventure story in detail, but regrettably, I do not have time to recount it thoroughly now.

Therefore, I shall briefly outline its gist for you.

As previously mentioned, when the suspicious foreigner received word from his subordinates that they couldn’t figure out how to operate the Bean Submarine, he became terribly disappointed and proceeded to berate Aoki Gakushi.

So Aoki Gakushi ultimately relented and guided the suspicious foreigner into the Bean Submarine.
Naturally, about three non-commissioned officers and engineer soldiers also entered inside along with them.

Aoki Gakushi stood before the four men and, feigning earnestness, began explaining the machinery in as complicated a manner as possible.
The four men gradually became engrossed in this and completely forgot about young Mizukami’s presence.

In truth, Haruo Mizukami had coordinated with Aoki Gakushi: should the four foreigners show an opening, he would retrieve the light machine gun hidden inside the Bean Submarine, force them to raise their hands from behind, then promptly seal the submarine’s hatch—thereby turning the tables to take all four captive.

Having coordinated in this manner, just as young Mizukami was waiting for an opening, something entirely unexpected occurred.

The moving island suddenly began shaking violently with a tremendous noise.
Next came the groans of a great many people.

As they were wondering what on earth was happening, a non-commissioned officer who had rushed to the Bean Submarine shouted from outside that the moving island had just sustained a ferocious torpedo attack, developed a hole, and was now on the verge of sinking.
Upon hearing this, the four men inside—starting with the suspicious foreigner—hurriedly scrambled out of the Bean Submarine.

Those left behind were Aoki Gakushi and young Mizukami—the original pair.
Aoki Gakushi hurriedly snapped the hatch shut.
Around that time, seawater came roaring into the moving island with a thunderous crash, and the American sailors inside teetered on drowning’s edge while screaming incessantly.

But before long, those screams too finally faded away.
The moving island was completely submerged, and what’s more, its massive frame split into roughly four pieces as it sank to the bottom of the sea.

In stark contrast, the Bean Submarine carrying the two of them moved calmly and steadily, swaying gently through the gaps of the shattered moving island as it began its journey through the sea. Continuing its safe voyage, it eventually returned to its original home—Japan.

Their souvenirs were none other than that moving island’s secret and this extraordinary adventure story.
The two were highly praised for their success—though this too likely went so well because even young Mizukami persisted unyieldingly through sheer tenacity despite his small stature.

I have related things rather hurriedly—might there still remain something I’ve yet to tell?
Ah yes! You’re asking which nation’s warship fired those torpedoes into the moving island?
That I need not spell out now—you all must surely grasp it already.