After a few pages of beach scenes and fanservice, along with the note that a "landlocked" event like tankathlon keeps the main cast away from the beach, the Tatenashi girls arrive at Oarai. They get free samples all over the face, filling their stomachs without having to buy anything. Rin stops for some fried food, and, unbeknownst to her, sees Miho up close, not recognizing her due to her being so "peaceful."
They meet with the man running the event, who says that they'll be doing it tankathlon style with paint rounds, and they should feel free to go all out, since the shopping district will pay for the damages.
After spending the night, the girls go up against Oarai's volleyball club. I have to admit that I wasn't expecting this, since the preceding events seemed to imply that Bonple was next. Furthermore, the Type 89, according to its Wikipedia article
, is 12.79 tons, and according to the Tanks Encyclopedia, is 9.9 tons (which just barely skirts the allowed limit).
Duck Team says that Shizuka will have to face them first, and says they're in swimsuits because Noriko thought this was beachball. Surprisingly enough for Rin, Shizuka decides to respond in kind, and change into swimsuits.
After a moment of complaining about Shizuka's decision, Rin points out that the Type 89 is too heavy for tankathlon, but thanks to the auto club removing some things like the rear sledge, it goes into the light tank category, impressing Rin.
The dedicated match soon begins, and Centipede Team barely dodges a paint round from Duck Team, which responds by shooting through a residence. Centipede Team realizes that Duck Team is quite skilled. Meanwhile, Anglerfish Team is watching, and Miho and Yukari reach the same conclusion, considering the Type 89 the most skilled of Oarai's teams. They are quite good considering the tank they have, but I'd argue Anglerfish is overall somewhat more effective; Hana pulls off more improbable shots that are more crucial to the team's success, Mako manages feats such as drifting the tank, Yukari loads heavier shells, and Miho's leadership is the main reason why the team is able to win the tournament.
The chapter then ends. It's a bit unfortunate that there was so many relatively extraneous bits promoting Oarai, as otherwise, it could have covered more ground.
- Next Installment: The tankery team shares various scary stories.
