I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

At first, Neil thought it was the sailors playing a prank.

To pass the time on board, sailors always come up with all sorts of strange and wonderful ways to have fun.

The keel was cut in half?

Why don't you just say the whole ship was cut in half?!

Neil propped himself up and snapped angrily:

"How dare you! You've gone and played a prank on me?!"

The sailor outside the house immediately broke into a tearful, aggrieved voice:

"No! We're not playing a prank! There really is something wrong with the keel at the bow! Please come and take a look!"

Only then did Neil vaguely sense that something was wrong...

He hurriedly grabbed his coat, threw it on haphazardly, buttoned up a few buttons carelessly, and rushed out the door.

As soon as he stepped out, he ran into Colonel Jocelyn, who was also in a hurry.

"Colonel! What on earth happened?!"

Colonel Jocelyn replied with a blank expression:

"I don't know either! Let's get to the bow of the ship quickly!"

So, without even bothering to put on their raincoats, the two braved the torrential rain and squeezed onto a small escape boat, rushing towards the bow of the ship.

Soon, an abandoned old fishing boat and its imposing bow came into view.

However, because of the layers of continuous dark clouds, not a single ray of moonlight could penetrate the sky, so they could not see anything, only a pitch-black mass.

Colonel Jocelyn frowned and roared again:

"Light! Light! Hurry up and move the light closer! Be quick! You lazy, stupid pigs!"

Upon receiving this order, the sailors on the boat immediately took down the oil lamps hanging at the bow and stern, and, carrying the lamps, brought them towards the bow.

The moment the dim light shone on the bow of the ship... a feeling of utter terror instantly swept over the entire vessel!

The sailors were in a panic.

Colonel Jocelyn was dumbfounded.

As for Neil, the British minister, who was well-informed and experienced, he put his hand to his forehead and exclaimed in surprise:

"my Lord!"

Looking up, one can see an enormous, diagonal cut across the dragon bone!

The slender, smooth cut is perfectly flat and without any excess material... like the masterpiece of nature.

Splash splash ...

The boat was quiet, with only the sound of raindrops falling.

A heavy silence continued to build... Everyone on the boat was stunned by the sight before them and remained speechless for a long time.

About half a minute later, Neil finally came to his senses.

Give me the light!

As he spoke, he snatched an oil lamp and walked to the side of the boat so that the lamp could be closer to the cut.

He pressed the oil lamp against the edge of the incision, then leaned over, squinted, and carefully examined the incision.

Although the light had illuminated the area around the incision, the interior remained unfathomably deep, and the light could not reach its end...

At this moment, Colonel Jocelyn turned to the sailor beside him and shouted:

"Go and call George here right now!"

George – the shipwright of the Juliaus.

……

……

Ten minutes later, a middle-aged man with a beard and hair of about fifty appeared beside Neil and Colonel Jocelyn—it was the shipwright George.

George, with a tense expression, looked here and touched there, much like an old woman picking out fabric at the market.

Colonel Jocelyn, who was waiting by his side, resembled a husband anxiously waiting outside the delivery room.

After a moment, George lowered his hands from touching the incision.

Upon seeing this, Colonel Jocelyn quickly asked:

"George, how is it?"

George sighed softly:

"Colonel, I'll get straight to the point—the keel is broken, and the ship is beyond repair."

Upon hearing this, Colonel Jocelyn was petrified on the spot.

He immediately countered with:

"Was the dragon bone broken badly?"

George nodded slightly.

"It's hard to believe... but it's true."

"The keel was broken quite thoroughly, snapped in two at the root."

"This ship is a total loss; we must get it back to Yokohama as soon as possible."

Yokohama – Since Japan opened its doors to the world, Yokohama, with its excellent business environment, has become a gateway to the outside world.

Riding this wave of opportunity, Yokohama transformed from a small rural village with fewer than 100 households into a vibrant and large town.

Embassies of various countries can be seen everywhere in Yokohama.

Ships from various countries can be seen everywhere in Yokohama Port.

The closest port to Edo that could accommodate foreign ships was Yokohama Port.

With each word George spoke, Colonel Jocelyn's face grew darker.

The British Navy has a long tradition of "going down with the ship".

Therefore, for British naval captains, their ships are their second life.

George made it clear that the Julius was no longer viable... This sudden turn of events was a devastating blow to Colonel Jocelyn!

Colonel Jocelyn looked hesitant.

After a moment, he slowly said:

"George, take another good look..."

However, before he could even open his mouth, George interrupted him, saying:

"Colonel, I've been a shipwright for over forty years."

"My judgment is infallible."

"A ship with a broken keel can no longer be called a ship."

"We must immediately sail the Julius back to port, dismantle it, and replace its keel with a new one."

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"Colonel, you are the captain of the ship, and you are responsible for all the lives on board."

"A single storm could wreck this ship now."

"Let's face reality."

George's rapid-fire words, like a machine gun, pierced Colonel Jocelyn's heart with every single one.

As the commander of a ship, how could he not understand the dangers of a broken keel?

However, although his rational mind had accepted the cruel outcome, his emotions still hadn't caught up with reality.

The ship's keel broke, just like a person's spine broke.

At first glance, it seems to be in good condition overall, but its interior has become extremely fragile.

Humans with broken spines cannot even stand up—the same applies to ships.

Jocelyn pursed her lips and remained silent for a long while before quietly asking George:

"George, this cut... was it really made with a knife?"

"...Colonel, I am not a professional swordsman, and I do not know anything about swords. But...I really can't think of any other possibility for this kind of wound except that it was caused by a knife cut."

Colonel Jocelyn took a deep breath, forcing himself to regain his composure.

"So... an unknown person, in an old fishing boat, sneaked here and destroyed my boat with just one slash, right?"

George: "..."

No one dared to speak.

The boat was completely silent...

Ambassador Neil has remained silent since the beginning.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his face as cold as ice, his eyes fixed intently on the massive gash that had destroyed the Julius.

For some reason, he suddenly remembered the young warrior with magical "powers" he had met today.

At the same time, he couldn't help but recall the words the young samurai had left behind as he departed—

(Your Excellency, please understand—if you persist in your actions, we also have the right to retaliate.)

……

……

Edo Bay, a certain beach—

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! It's been so long since I swam...! Huff...! I'm so tired...! Huff...! Huff...!"

The Kiryu boss broke free of the seawater, climbed ashore, took off his haori, and twisted it hard—whoosh—the seawater flowed onto the shore like a waterfall.