Zipang

Future Departure

Midway

The Mirai finds itself in the middle of the Combined Fleet formation of the night before the Battle of Midway. First, Mirai is signaled by the Yamato, the Combined Fleet flagship, then two destroyers attempt to block its path, but it successfully eludes the Imperial Japanese fleet using superior acceleration from modern gas turbine propulsion. Reluctantly, the crew realizes that they have traveled sixty years into their past, to the eve of the Battle of Midway. They witness the battle but make the difficult decision to not become involved so as not to affect history. Captain Umezu decides that, since they obviously cannot enter Pearl Harbor to reprovision as originally planned, they should head back to Yokosuka and hope that they may encounter the anomaly again on the return trip.

Person Adrift

Kadomatsu rescues an Imperial Japanese Navy officer, Lt. Commander Kusaka, from a sinking seaplane. The Mirai’s crew is split over the fact that they may have changed history. The Mirai is discovered by an American submarine, USS Guardfish (SS-217).

Battle of the Future

Souka`s Choice

Attack Order

The VTOL recon plane damages the two fighters and forces them to ditch without injuring their pilots, but its weapon systems officer is killed, the Mirai’s first casualty. Kusaka proposes that the Mirai go to Japanese-occupied Singapore, rather than Japanese mainland, to refuel and reprovision, He believes that he can arrange the resupply, armed with forged documents and fake currency produced on board the ship. Having examined Japanese Navy's personnel records in Mirai's record room extensively, Kusaka is certain that there is no one in Singapore who would recognize him.

Malay Railway

Kadomatsu and Kusaka travel by the Malayan Railway to Singapore, while the Mirai hides in the Anambas Archipelago. Kadomatsu gets a view of the colonized people and has a close call with a brutal Kempeitai inspection. In Singapore, Kusaka requisitions a tanker to carry supplies for a "special mission" for the navy. While waiting for the ship to sail, Kadomatsu and Kusaka attend a party. There, Kusaka is shocked to run into Lt. Tsuda, his kohai from the naval academy, who, according to Mirai's records, should not have been anywhere near Singapore. He remarks to Kadomatsu that this is no longer his past, since the actual events are already diverging from the records of Mirai's past — as evidenced by Tsuda's unexpected appearance in Singapore. Kadomatsu refuses to believe this and punches Kusaka in the face. In the meantime, the Mirai is spotted by a local fisherman.

Pursuer

The two from the Mirai arrange for a tanker loaded with fuel and provisions to rendezvous with the destroyer. But Lt. Tsuda, having recognized Kusaka and realizing something odd is afoot, has found out about the ship. After being informed of the fisherman's discovery of a hidden Japanese warship in Anambas, he realizes that his encounter with Kusaka, mysterious purchases of fuel and foodstuffs on the black market, the unexplained "special mission" involving the tanker, and his mission regarding the mystery ship are all connected. He has the tanker’s crew replaced with his own men and confronts Kusaka after the ship sets sail.