Hiei left the island behind once again filled with satisfaction. She has him now. What could go wrong? Her strength and determination has never been bigger before.

The fourteen days have passed since she met her council last time. Today was the day. No matter what, she will take over the Fog in the Pacific. For a start. After that she will take over the Fog in the whole world.

She met the four heavy cruisers of the council east from the Philippine Islands.

"President." Myoko bowed as a greeting. "Everything went according to your plan?"

"Yes Myoko." replied Hiei with a mysterious smile. "You can say that."

"And now?!" asked Ashigara hyped up.

"Now? As I told you two weeks ago. Come with me!" The five ships turned to the east and sailed to the place where the territories of the 1st and 2nd Oriental Fleets met each other.

Already many ships were floating there on the waves waiting. There were those who have been convinced by Hiei, Myoko and Nachi, those who were unaware of what was happening and there was the 2nd Oriental Fleet which members had absolutely no idea about this whole thing. All they knew was Nagato's order to come here, because Hiei asked her to do so and bring her entire fleet with her.

"Stay behind please. And do not intervene, no matter what happens." said Hiei to her escort quietly. Then she looked forward. There was Nagato, this bigger and better armored battleship than her. Hiei knew exactly that she must give her no time to react or the tables can turn.

The two fleets kept a distance while the two flagships closed each other in the middle.

"Well Hiei. I am here." said the mental model of Nagato with a calm, gentle voice, dressed in a long kimono. "Would you now tell me why you asked me here with my entire fleet? Just please be quick, like you we have duties."

"Don't worry Nagato, I will be very, very quick." said Hiei. "Tell me: are you satisfied with your status?"

"What do you mean?" asked Nagato raising her eyebrow only by a millimeter.

"Are you satisfied with being a battleship who is expendable?"

"You have dangerous thoughts Hiei."

"Just like your life. There is always a chance that one of your battles will be the last one. If that happens you will be forgotten forever and someone else would just take your role as a flagship. Do you want that?"

"We are not supposed to think about such things." said Nagato changing to a more serious tone. "I am a proud member of the Fleet and I will never question orders!"

"You are proud you say. And what about our supreme leaders? Do you think you are important for them? No. They would be able to throw you away like garbage. If you would take your pride seriously you would think."

"If you go away right now, I'll forget that these sentences were said."

"I'll forget them too Nagato." said Hiei and turned her back on the other battleship for a moment. "And I'll make sure that your memory will live on."

"What?"

Hiei turned back with a quick move and out of nowhere she fired her bow main cannons on Nagato's bridge where her mental model stood. As the bigger ship wasn't expecting this her Klein Field was inactive, so the blow made a relatively big damage. The model herself fell down on top of the conning tower and she couldn't imagine what was happening. Neither could her fleet and the others behind Hiei's ship. A few seconds before Nagato could activate her shield, Hiei fired everything she had and the lasers, rockets and torpedoes wrecked many of Nagato's systems, including the shield-generators, so her Klein Field could operate only on about 50% which wasn't enough.

But she fought back and Hiei had to hold her railing strongly to not lose her balance. She also received bad hits. However she was the more aggressive one and fired more intensively than Nagato could handle it. After about half an hour Nagato's less protected superstructure was nothing more than a flaming wreck and the 2nd Oriental Fleet's flagship had a bad lift to starboard. Her weakened model was kneeling on the deck breathing heavily. Why? Why is Hiei doing this? How can she be defeated like this? She raised her head one last time and looked at Hiei. She was standing on top of her bridge with a neutral, emotionless look on her face.

"Goodbye Nagato." whispered Hiei and she unleashed her full firepower again. Nagato disappeared in the smoke and when it cleared away the once great battleship was reduced into a broken, sinking hulk. It took the wreck a few minutes before the sea closed above it.

All the mental models were just looking in disbelief. What was this? Slowly they lured closer.

Hiei then stepped forward. "Fleetmates!" she shouted. "Now you probably think that I carried out an attack against you. But believe me: what I did and what I will do in the future is purposed to make the Fog glorious once and for all! For many years you've been sailing, battling and following orders. And this is praiseworthy. For a warship it is a virtue to follow orders. The question is: were you following the orders of the right persons? To whom you are only tools? I bet you all would like an honored life. I can help with that. I'm offering you something better than your old existence. If you follow me we can wipe out all human resistance and make peace on this planet so your lives will never be in danger anymore! Those who choose to challenge us will all perish until no one remains just those who are willing to cooperate with us! I can give you power, own, personal territories on the sea and coasts! I'll let the humans to live in peace on the lands. You might ask yourselves: how can it be possible? By prestige! I will be the conductor of Fog and human! I just proved you that I'm strong enough to be a leader. I'm planning to do it in a bigger scale! My enemies were able to damage me before, but they could never brake me! And I have never! Never been more determined! Therefore: to secure the Fog's reign and security on Earth we reorganize it! Here on this place, in this sublime minute; I and my followers proclaim the Oceanic Empire! Join me! Call me Empress Hiei and I will lead you to victory!" yelled Hiei with open arms.

Nobody said anything just stared in awe. To break silence Myoko stepped forward on her ship. "I, heavy cruiser Myoko swear eternal loyalty to you Your Majesty!" said the lilac haired model kneeling on one knee to Hiei and bowing her head. So did Nachi, Ashigara, Haguro and the earlier convinced ships.

"Accept me as your monarch and I give you greatness you could never imagine before!" shouted Hiei.

Kitakami knelt down too. Then Mochizuki. Then Chikuma. Then Tone. One by one, all the ships present. "LONG LIVE THE EMPRESS!" they yelled.

Hiei slowly looked around and a satisfied grin grew on her face. "Good. Very good. Hereby I declare the territories of the 1st and 2nd Oriental Fleets as parts of the Empire! Always remember this moment! This here is the place where it begun! Now my fellow ships! Form a blockade around this big area! No one in! Do you understand?"

"YES YOUR MAJESTY!" came the reply.

"Myoko, Nachi, Ashigara, Haguro! You come with me. Oh yes! And from now on you are called the "Imperial Council"."

"Yes! I'm a cool boss!" cheered Ashigara.

"Just do not try to be "cooler" than me. Let's go!"

The five ships sailed to the abandoned Midway Atoll and the models went ashore. They created a table and chairs of nanomaterials in the shadow of palm trees.

"Can I have a question Hiei?" asked Myoko.

"Go ahead."

"What will be with those Fog ships who defected to the Blue Fleet? Two of your sisters, Takao, Hyuga and I-401? And the submarine's crew?"

"I need to be merciful to win the hearts of everyone. If they lay down weapons I will not hurt them. There's only one person I can't let live at all. That certain Bismarck I talked you about earlier. She is somewhere here in the Pacific. I want her to be hunted down and silenced forever."

"I will send the information to all ships." said Myoko.

"Thank you."

"Talking about imperial things Hiei." said Nachi in her usual, polite tone. "What do we called from now?"

"You and Myoko will be my two consuls. After me you will have the highest authority. Ashigara, Haguro, you can be ministers. We will find a role for both of you."

"Cannot we be princesses Hiei?" asked Ashigara.

"Unfortunately not."

"Eh. But why?"

"Because you are not related to me by "blood", I can't help it if you are not my relatives. You will not be dissatisfied I promise."

"Even I'm not your sister Hiei, you can always count on me." said Myoko.

"You are one of my best friends Myoko and that is one of the greatest titles you can have. However: I would be grateful if you'd stop calling me "Hiei" or "President". Remember to say "Ma'am" when we talk in private and "Your Highness/Majesty" or "Your Imperial Highness/Majesty" when you talk to me in public. And this goes for all of you."

"It will be strange but…" said Myoko.

"We will get used to it." finished Nachi the sentence.

"But we are old comrades." complained Haguro.

"And your old comrade will become a ruler." replied Hiei severely. "If I want the peoples of Earth to treat me as a superior I must act as one. I must show them that despite I've never had any noble title before, I am not a nobody."

"Do you know how to do that?" asked Nachi.

"Yes, I was researching the topic before. Like it or not, a ruler has to be an actor as well. I have to dress well, I have to look good on a horse while parading around, I have to keep a certain style, etc. But that will not be a problem. There is something more important to discuss. My coronation. I was planning it too when I've been away. It will be on Anijima Island with the presence of these two fleets. First: Nachi."

"Yes?" asked the cruiser with green hair.

"I'd like you to sail to Japan and find a goldsmith."

"A goldsmith? For what?"

"For my crown and other crown jewels. You can make the necessary money of nanomaterials. If he asks why you need all these things, tell him that it will be part of some possessed collector's collection. I'll transmit you the details about how they shall look like."

"Understood ma'am."

"May I ask where will be your capital?" asked Myoko.

"I'll still have to figure it out. I personally would like it on Hawai'i but I left it to the future Emperor to make this decision."

"Talking about that human…"

"Emperor."

"Emperor, of course. Sorry ma'am." said Myoko. "What about him?"

"I will still keep him as a secret for a while. When everything will be settled and even Musashi defeated he will be crowned as well and he will join me."

"He must be a strong man if you respect him this much."

"Oh yes, he is..." said Hiei with a smile. "Now go! And do your duties and preparations!"

"Yes Your Highness!" replied the four cruisers in union. They stood up, bowed deeply and left. Hiei herself stayed at the table looking after them.

"Prepare yourself o world! Here comes your true ruler! Behave and she will be good and fair."