The Mirai enters the Japanese naval base at Truk Island under Admiral Yamamoto’s sponsorship and the crew looks forward to a shore leave. The Army and the Navy disagree about the operation to recapture Guadalcanal and a delegation from the Army insists that the battle for Guadalcanal resume, with an elite army regiment under Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, en route from Guam, leading the way. After the meeting with the army officers, Admiral Yamamoto flies into rage and orders his staff to devise a plan that could convince Mirai's crew to join his cause, saying that the ship is essential for avoiding needless sacrifices. Captain Umezu meets Admiral Yamamoto who suggests that the Mirai base itself at Yokosuka, its home port in the 21st century, so that the presence of both the ship and its crew can help change the minds of the contemporary Japanese and make them amenable to accepting an early peace with the Americans. Lt. Col. Masanobu Tsuji, the head of the army delegation visiting Truk, has been tipped off of the secret meeting and attempts to interrupt it, but Kusaka stops him at the last minute. He takes Tsuji at gunpoint to the harbor and shows the Mirai. Kusaka then asks for Tsuji's help so that he can leave for Japan and meet retired general Kanji Ishiwara, whom he calls the “man who started the war” (presumably on the account of his role in the Manchurian Incident). (Source: Wikipedia)

Aired on: 1/27/2005