———————————————————————————————–

The date is February 16^th, 2029, the place: The Pacific Ocean. At the confluence of the Japan Trench and the Sagami Trough, Extra-Large Salvage Vessel 6 sails in circles, its engine letting out a din as it hauls up a tangle of dozens of undersea wires. After some time, the center of the ocean surface bulges upwards like a small mountain, and a silvery, giant physical form 80 meters tall emerges through a mass of roiling bubbles. An announcement from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force escort ship Makuma rings out over the ocean surface.

“Type-3 Kiryu is surfacing! Switch to mooring operations immediately! I repeat, Type-3 Kiryu surfacing is confirmed!”

Four and a half months earlier, on October 23^rd, 2028, the JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)-owned submersible research vessel Shinkai 12000 sails silently through the Japan Trough at a depth of 7,420 meters. It’s destination is the Bōsō Peninsula, south-southeast 171km, north latitude 34 degrees at 17 minutes 53 seconds, east latitude 141 degrees at 55 minutes and 58 seconds: the exact location where the MFS-3 (Type-3 Kiryu) had sunk 24 years earlier.

One hour later, the passengers onboard the vessel arrive at their destination, and what they find there astonishes the assembled, their breath catching in their throats. Type-3 Kiryu lies on its side at a depth of 7,682 meters, its hull encrusted in the dead carcasses of innumerable plankton. And yet, Godzilla, who should have sunk to the bottom alongside the machine, is nowhere to be found. Despite suffering fatal wounds in its battle with Kiryu, Godzilla had somehow suddenly disappeared from the floor of the Japan Trench.

An emergency report goes out to the Japanese government, and given the gravity of the situation, the Ministry of Defense immediately calls a special rapid response meeting. With the possibility of Godzilla’s survival, the decision is made to raise the anti-Godzilla weapon Type-3 Kiryu from the depths. The “Kiryu Retrieval Strategy,” in which the bipedal machine would be salvaged from the great depth of 7,682 meters, begins.

 

Four months later, Type-3 Kiryu, having been raised from the Japan Trench, is air lifted by the AC-3 Shirasagi to the Japan Counter-Xenomorph Self Defense Force Hachioji garrison, with repair work carried out by a joint effort between the scientists and engineers who’d developed Kiryu alongside the maintenance team from the JXSDF.

 

When one year had passed, the summit of the Tamu Massif, 2,000 meters down on the seabed and 1,600 km off the waters to the east of Japan, suddenly erupts, with the gargantuan lifeform in the watery depths near the eruption taking a direct hit from the volcanic shockwave. In later years, this event would be known as the primary cause of the “Destruction of Tokyo,” for…

The giant lifeform Godzilla has awakened.

Simultaneously, the reconstruction of Kiryu enters its final stages. Enhanced with the installation of newfangled batteries, Kiryu can now successfully operate for 20 hours. The newest armaments have also been equipped, strengthening the machine to four times the firepower it possessed 26 years previous.

The US reconnaissance satellite Orion 13 captures the silhouette of Godzilla moving beneath the waves. That intel immediately makes its way to the Ministry of Defense, and F35-A2 fighter planes sortie against Godzilla, but are unable to prevent the beast’s progress.

Emerging from fierce attacks by the destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and fighter planes of the Air Self-Defense Force, Godzilla breaks into Tokyo Bay, coming ashore at Shinagawa.

As Godzilla makes his way through the urban landscape, Kiryu, transported by the Shirasagi plane, lands directly in front of the beast. Godzilla is clearly hostile to Kiryu, and the ugly battle scares borne on the monster’s chest and stomach are proof positive; this is indeed the same Godzilla that sank into the depths of the Japan Trench with Kiryu 26 years ago. Thus, a grand scale battle between Godzilla and Kiryu unfolds upon the grounds of Shinagawa. The JXSDF deploy Maser units onto the battlefield, providing cover from the ground.

Despite suffering grievous damage on all surfaces from Godzilla’s barrage of atomic breath attacks, Kiryu continues to determinedly combat its foe. In the midst of the battle, the Shirasagi supplies energy to Kiryu, while Osprey J5 and F2 fighter planes continue their wave attacks from the skies.

The battle rages a whole day and night, when at last, Godzilla, covered in wounds from the fierce attacks of Kiryu and the Self-Defense Forces, retreats to the sea on the verge of death. Kiryu, suffering damage on all sectors, and depleted of energy, remains on the battlefield…

 

A joint investigation by the Ministries of Defense, the Environment, and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, confirm an incredible amount of residue left behind by Godzilla’s atomic breath and affecting a radius of 5 km, with its epicenter at Hamamatsucho, and including areas of Shinagawa, Minato, Chiyoda, and Chuo Wards. Without a method of clean up yet decided, the area is declared a restricted zone.

Thus, the capital region of Tokyo loses its functionality, and comes to be known as the “Destruction of Tokyo.”

 

A great deal of time passes on this ravaged battleground…

Thus, you could now look out from the Yatsuyama Bridge, where Godzilla first assaulted Shinagawa in 1954, and see the rusted-over JR and Keikyu-owned train cars in the overgrown expanse of ruined buildings. Keihin National Road #1 is grown over with vines and foliage, with Type 90 Maser Beam Tanks and civilian vehicles strewn about, abandoned. Amongst the debris in the deeper areas, the hulk of Kiryu remains, motionless, its once silvery surface now dotted with rust, its body wrapped around with the green of creeping vines.

Then, with a shudder, Kiryu begins to shake. Over time, that shaking becomes fiercer, and Godzilla suddenly appears. This is a young Godzilla, lacking any ugly scarring on its body. At its feet walk foxes, rabbits, and dogs; the various animals that inhabit the surroundings are following the monster. Godzilla halts its approach, letting out a low growl as it stares at the countenance of Kiryu. Perhaps wishing for the repose of the soul of one its own species, Godzilla hangs its head low, and then quietly looks up towards the sky, giving off a roar. A voice that can tighten one’s chest echoes plaintively through the surrounding air, as the gathered animals let out a collective howl. As they do, as if in response, Mothra flies in, circling the area. This strange imagery, taking place amidst unpeopled rubble, seems just like a paradise floating in front of the setting sun.

It was then that it happens. For a second, Kiryu’s eyes seem to flash with light. Whether reflected sunlight, or simply an illusion, the light never again returns to Kiryu’s eyes…

 

Within the twilight, Godzilla lifts its head to the sky, and takes in a gargantuan breath. Simultaneously, its dorsal fins glow a blueish white, and the beast lets out a long, slow exhale. The great creature continues repeating this process, and even as a pitch darkness envelopes the surrounding area, Godzilla does not move.

At last, the long night finally recedes, and the morning sun rises into the sky. With a shudder, Godzilla, glaring at Kiryu, returns to the sea.

Then, one hour after Godzilla’s departure, the residual material density observation equipment installed on the Yatsuyama Bridge in Shinagawa register a sudden, rapid numeric decline. No one could quite be certain if the juvenile Godzilla had absorbed the residual material released by the other individual of its species. Nonetheless, the simple truth was that this decrease in the residual material density served as the very cornerstone of what became known as the “Rebirth of Tokyo.”〈FIN.〉

Concept plot by Tezuka Masaaki

Kiryu Genso

Masaaki Tezuka