A warship flying the Rising Sun flag sailed into the English Channel. It was an enormous Battleship, with a displacement of more than thirty thousand tons, making it look like a small mountain floating on the sea.
Though its main guns were shrouded beneath canvas covers, the thick barrels still foretold just how formidable this Battleship's firepower was.
This Battleship was the Fuso, the lead ship of the Fusō-class Battleships—the first dreadnought built independently by the Island Nation Navy. It was also the only Battleship currently possessed by the Island Nation Navy. All the other Battleships the Island Nation Navy had accumulated over the decades had been sent to the bottom of the sea in the decisive battle against the German Navy's Expeditionary Fleet. That battle had sent the Island Nation Navy back to square one overnight. To safeguard the Island Nation's interests, they had no choice but to work day and night building New-style Battleships, allowing the Fuso to enter service ahead of schedule. Progress on the other Battleship, the Yamashiro, had also greatly accelerated.
Furthermore, with loans from the United States, the Island Nation Navy's Crazy Shipbuilding Plan had begun. Construction had already started on the subsequent Ise-class Battleships. To revive their navy and settle their blood debt with the German Navy, the Island Nation had practically wagered its entire fortune. If they lost the war, they would lose everything and be left penniless.
A young boy stood on the deck of the Fuso, gazing toward Britain in the distance.
"Your Highness, the sea wind is very strong here. You should return to the cabin," Kato Takaaki, the Island Nation's Minister of Foreign Affairs, advised.
Because of intermarriage among close relatives, the Island Nation's imperial family suffered from all manner of ailments. Emperor Meiji had uremia, Emperor Taisho