NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 97



Only Krnovel

Kyungsung Blues (5)

-Tang tang.

-bang!

-A string.

Heavily armed soldiers moved among buildings that were collapsing and burning due to the earthquake.

Instead of carrying stretchers or medical equipment to save people, the soldiers turned Tokyo into a battlefield, shooting and throwing grenades at people wearing uniforms of a different color than their own, armed with guns and grenades.

Could it be that an enemy has invaded the Japanese archipelago, known as Shinto, the land of the gods?

But that’s not true, since they both wore the same yellow uniform and used similar weapons.

The only difference between the two is that one helmet has an anchor, which symbolizes the navy, drawn on it, and the weapons on the side with the anchor are mostly old weapons.

Aside from that, the language they both use, the weapons they use, and even the way they act are similar.

“Bring me more ammo!”

“The company next door borrowed it!”

“Oil! Bring me more oil for the machine gun!”

“It looks like the guys from the next company snatched it away!!!”

“There aren’t enough bags to hold the soil! Are there any more?”

“It looks like the guys from the next platoon stole them all!!!”

However, the Naval Land Forces had many shortcomings, perhaps because of its unique origin as a ground force within the Navy.

But even in this situation, they did not despair or give up.

Because they are the ones who always find a way out of a crisis… … !

“Wow… … . Have you ever seen those flies who touch their own belongings even when the enemy is right in front of them… … ?”

“I dare ask you to confirm whether there are any irregularities within the unit, assuming that I have learned of your actions, and whether it would not be dishonorable to His Majesty the Emperor to ask whether it would be right for me to ask you whether it would be possible for you to make this Marine aware of it?”

“Okay, rookie! Go and ‘move’ the location of the next company’s ammunition to our company’s ammunition depot!”

“I will accept it!”

The Navy Land Forces, with their helmets painted with anchors, arrived at the Imperial Palace one step ahead of the Army before it could move, and were busy blocking the main routes from downtown Tokyo to the Imperial Palace and establishing a defensive line.

Of course, because we were pressed for time, there were many things we didn’t pay attention to, and because we were hastily preparing, there was a lot of equipment we didn’t pack.

But the enemy did not wait until they were properly prepared.

“The Imperial Palace where His Majesty the Emperor resides is just around the corner! The cause is ours, so let us slaughter the wicked traitors, uphold His Majesty the Emperor, and restore the Empire!”

“Forward advance of the troops!”

“Coming!”

Soon, the army troops that had broken through the front line of defense swarmed towards the palace like a swarm of ants.

They threw away their silver and cover and ran towards the machine gun positions, fearing the machine gun barrels pointed at them.

But he didn’t forget to scream with all his might as if he was trying to forget his fear.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

What’s interesting is that the Navy Marine Corps soldiers who were preparing for battle against the Army also shouted the same thing as if they would not give in to them.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

Once again gunshots rang out through the streets.

This time it was a bit longer and more intense.

While the two were fighting, the streets became completely lawless, with firefighters unable to reach people, and people who were trapped under the rubble of buildings or in the flames, as well as those who were seriously injured by the earthquake or had underlying illnesses, dying because they could not receive the necessary treatment in a timely manner.

There, even those who showed courage for their family or friends often lost their lives to blind bullets on the streets or were branded spies by soldiers excited by the heat of battle and turned into dummies for bayonet practice.

Every time the two armies clashed, people died in the rubble of collapsed buildings and in the flames in the streets.

Even as the two armies fought in Tokyo, which had become a fierce battlefield, the earthquake showed no signs of ending.

Even after the massive earthquake that turned Tokyo into what it looked like when the Japanese archipelago was first formed, aftershocks of various sizes continued to terrify people.

But one thing that was scary was that the general public had no way of knowing whether the shaking of Tokyo was really due to an aftershock, or whether it was the navy firing its cannons in Tokyo Bay, or the army bringing in cannons and firing them in all directions.

“For His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”

So the two armies fought, calling out the name of the Emperor, and killed each other.

The streets were red with the smell of something burning and the blood flowing from the corpses.

* * *

“Ugh… … .”

“Father, Father! Are you awake?”

“Michinomiya? Is that you? Son, is that you over there?”

“Yes, Father! I am here.”

“Yes… … . My son… … . My precious son… … . Son, please give me some water, some water… … .”

Emperor Taisho was no longer able to control his body as he used to, due to the stress caused by his stuffy palace life and intense official duties, as well as the heavy smoking he did to relieve this stress.

After he suddenly collapsed while on duty a few years ago, he left all of the Emperor’s duties to the Crown Prince, who had just become an adult, and recuperated for quite some time, but Emperor Taisho’s health did not improve at all.

As people were dying day by day, an earthquake occurred that turned the country upside down.

“Hmm… … . I feel like I can finally live… … . So, how’s the situation outside?”

“The ground shook a little, but Tokyo passed smoothly without any damage.”

His son, the Crown Prince, who was performing official duties on behalf of the Emperor, claimed that it was just a minor earthquake, but such a lame lie was no match for him.

“There’s this burning smell outside, and yet nothing’s happening? Is there a fire in Tokyo?”

“… … It looks like there were fires in several places due to the earthquake.”

“Are you saying that the smell of fire spreads all the way to the palace where Jim lives just because there were a few fires?”

“I think it’s because of the strong winds that blew last night.”

“Wind? Then it seems that the wind is making the flames rise even higher.”

Emperor Taisho noticed that a large fire was burning outside due to the earthquake and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk tsk tsk… … . Another innocent people are dying from a natural disaster… … . This is truly heartbreaking.”

“Well, we dispatched rescue workers and instructed them to check the scene and rescue people one by one, so everyone should be fine.”

“Well done. As expected, he is my son.”

Emperor Taisho was proud of his son who calmly did his job in place of his ailing father even in this national crisis.

“I was worried that I might have burdened you too much while I was sick in bed and not being able to do anything, but seeing you doing so well has melted away all my worries.”

“You are too complimentary, Your Majesty… … .”

“No. When you were just yourself, you were always scolded by your father. As you know, I am the type of person who says exactly what I think. That’s why I got scolded by my father a lot.”

“Isn’t that because Your Majesty is sincere and unadorned? I and all my subjects respect and follow Your Majesty.”

“Haha, thank you for saying that.”

Emperor Taisho, who had regained his energy after a long time, shared a story of love between father and son that he had put off for a while.

But as the conversation continued, Hirohito’s condition began to feel a bit strange.

When Hirohito was told about the current situation, he would only repeat like a parrot that everything was going well and that the situation was under control.

He was tight-lipped about what he was doing and how he was doing it.

At first, he thought that it was because he was reporting to his father and the emperor, and that he was having a hard time with his father just like he did, but he was too nervous to be of that nature.

Emperor Taisho was not as strict with his children as his father, Emperor Meiji. Rather, he was a benevolent man who allowed his children to do whatever they wanted, as he had memories of being restricted in what he wanted to do as a child.

However, the sight of Hirohito, his eldest son and the next emperor of the Empire of Japan, was so tense that it reminded him of himself being scolded by his father in the past.

As if he was hiding something.

“Hehe, why are you so tense? They say that if you strain your body too much, you’ll end up getting sick out of nowhere.”

Hirohito was startled by Taisho’s words and straightened his posture again.

“Your Majesty, that is not it… … .”

“There are only two of us here, so why do you use such a formal title? Just call me father.”

At his words, Hirohito hesitated for a moment, then carefully brought the word “father” to his lips.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had a conversation with my father alone, so I feel awkward… … I think it’s also because I’m embarrassed.”

“Yes, that’s right. Well, I guess there are a lot of things I don’t know when I’m your age, so I used to watch my father’s expressions quite closely.”

“Is that so… …?”

“Then! When I was your age, this palace was so stuffy that I once tried to run away from home… … .”

As Emperor Taisho was about to tell Hirohito his old tales, a sound like firecrackers exploding on a festival day could be heard from afar.

Then Emperor Taisho also stopped talking for a moment and turned his gaze to the window.

“Where is someone setting off firecrackers?”

“Oh, it looks like the rescue team is using explosives to rescue the missing and injured.”

“Really? But if you do that, people might get hurt more.”

“I heard that there is a new structural method being developed in the West these days.”

“Really? The Yang people always think of and implement unique things… … On the other hand, we don’t have anything new like that, so it’s really worrying.”

At that moment, Emperor Taisho was trying to talk to his son again, telling him old stories and various worries.

A thought crossed his mind for a moment.

It wasn’t anything special, just something that came to mind in the moment as usual, but the moment those words came out of Emperor Taisho’s mouth, Hirohito failed to control his expression.

“Oh, by the way, why did you stay in the palace? No matter how worried you were about your father, if a national disaster like this had struck, shouldn’t you, as a member of the imperial family, go out to the scene, comfort the people, and command the situation?”

“That, that.”

Hirohito could not answer easily and instead beat around the bush or mumbled.

“I, I think that if I vacate the Imperial Palace and something happens to my father, I, I won’t be able to forgive myself… … . I also think that other tongues, brothers, could take on that role… … .”

Emperor Taisho tilted his head at the sight of his son’s extremely strange appearance and asked him.

“Why are you so nervous? Is this father so burdensome?”

“That’s not it… … .”

A smile appeared on Emperor Taisho’s lips as he carefully observed his son’s suddenly feeble appearance.

“Hmm… … . Looking at it this way, I can see that even you, who seemed perfect, have some shortcomings. But I, the father, understand everything. Isn’t your grandfather the only perfect person in the world? Even though I, the father, had many shortcomings, I got to where I am now with the help of those around me, so I’m sure you too… … .”

As his words continued like that.

-Sweeeeeeek-

There was a sound of something sharp flying through the air, tearing at it.

“Huh? What does this mean?”

Emperor Taisho naturally got up.

Then he limped towards the window.

“Oh, Father! It’s dangerous!”

“What’s so dangerous about looking outside? Let’s go out and get some fresh air for the first time in a while.”

His son Hirohito quickly rose from his seat to try to stop him, but his legs cramped from having been kneeling for so long and he collapsed on the ground.

“Oh my.”

“Be careful, if you kneel down for so long and then move, your body will be startled by the sudden circulation of blood.”

Emperor Taisho said so and opened the window.

And at the same time, something crashed into the ground, and there was a loud noise, flames, and a cloud of gray smoke that followed, pouring into the Emperor’s chambers.

“Eww!!!”

“father!”

The Emperor let out a final scream and fell backwards.

His face was blackened with soot, and his hair was a tangled mess from the fire.

“Is there anyone outside? His Majesty the Emperor has fallen!”

Behind Hirohito, who was desperately looking for people, through the window, the garden and pond that the imperial family had personally tended were seen burning, and the outer wall of the once grand and magnificent Imperial Palace was seen collapsing.

The inside of the palace was already riddled with bullet holes, and on the outskirts, there were places where buildings had completely collapsed due to continuous shelling.

The wave of chaos that had engulfed downtown Tokyo was reaching the Imperial Palace.

“The crazy authors have finally gone completely crazy.”

The young Hirohito was left speechless at the situation he could no longer control.

He had already sent people several times to instruct the army and navy to disarm immediately and return to their original state, but they refused, saying they would only listen to the word of “His Majesty the Emperor.”

That is why Hirohito also had his last hopes pinned on his father and waited for him to wake up… …. His father and the ruler of the Empire of Japan fell again due to a shell from either the army or the navy, so now the situation could not be controlled.

‘It’s going to be a long day.’

Hirohito lowered his head, looking at the black smoke rising in the distance.

Now there was nothing he or any other government official could do.

I just hoped that the fighting between the two armies would end as soon as possible.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 98