Shin pressed another button on the control panel. The submarine's engine hummed louder. Everyone felt a gentle vibration beneath their feet.
"We're starting to descend now," Shin announced.
They all rushed to the windows. Through the glass, they could see the ocean water starting to rise. First, it touched the bottom of the windows. Then it slowly climbed higher and higher.
"Look! The water is coming up!" Nobita said, pressing his face against the glass.
The water slid up the windows like a curtain being pulled. First they could see half water, half sky. Then more water than sky. And finally, everything outside was blue.
"We're underwater!" Shizuka said with excitement.
The submarine continued sinking deeper. Sunlight filtered through the water, creating beautiful patterns of light. Small fish swam past the windows, looking curious about the strange red object entering their world.
"This is so cool!" Gian said, his eyes wide.
Shin sat at the pilot's seat, his hands on the controls. He adjusted some dials and pressed a few buttons. On the screen in front of him, a map appeared showing their location.
"I'm setting our course now," Shin said. "We're heading toward the middle of the ocean."
"The middle? That's far!" Nobita said.
"Don't worry. This submarine is fast," Shin smiled.
He pushed a lever forward. The submarine's engine roared to life. They started moving forward, slowly at first, then faster and faster.
"Whoa! Look how fast we're going!" Doraemon pointed at the window.
Outside, schools of fish were swimming by. The submarine passed them quickly. Some fish looked startled and swam away. Others seemed curious and followed alongside the submarine for a while before turning back.
The ocean floor below them was covered with colorful coral and swaying seaweed. It looked like an underwater garden.
After setting the submarine on autopilot, Shin stood up from the pilot's seat. He walked over to where his friends were gathered near the windows.
"So, how is it?" Shin asked with a grin.
"Amazing!" Nobita shouted. "This is the best thing ever!"
"I can't believe we're actually underwater in a real submarine!" Shizuka said, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"Shin, you're incredible!" Gian said, slapping Shin on the back. "I've never seen anything like this!"
Shin felt happy seeing his friends so excited. "I'm glad you all like it."
Then he turned to Gian with a playful smile. "So, Gian, do you still doubt me?"
Gian's face turned a bit red. He scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. "Ah, I was just kidding earlier! You know me, always joking around!"
Everyone laughed. They all knew Gian had been serious, but nobody minded.
"Shin, which direction are we heading?" Shizuka asked, looking at the endless blue water outside.
"We're going toward the middle of the ocean," Shin explained. "That area is where most of the yachts sail. Maybe we can find Suneo's yacht there."
"Really?" Gian's eyes lit up. "I really want to see what Suneo is up to! He was bragging so much about his fancy yacht!"
"Now, now," Doraemon said gently. "We should focus on enjoying ourselves, not on Suneo."
"You're right, Doraemon," Shizuka nodded. "This is our adventure."
"Speaking of enjoying ourselves," Shin said, "we're going to stay underwater for about two hours. Then we'll surface so we can enjoy the ocean scenery from above. Until then, let's enjoy the underwater view!"
"Two hours of this? Yes!" Nobita pumped his fist in the air.
Everyone cheered and went back to looking out the windows.
Time passed as they explored the underwater world. The submarine glided smoothly through the water. Every few minutes, they saw something new and exciting.
"Look! A sea turtle!" Shizuka pointed excitedly.
A large green sea turtle was swimming nearby. It turned its head to look at the submarine, seeming unbothered by the strange red vehicle.
"It's so cute!" Shizuka said, waving at the turtle.
"There's a whole group of them!" Nobita said.
Sure enough, three more turtles appeared, swimming together peacefully.
A few minutes later, Gian shouted, "Hey! What's that colorful thing?"
"Those are tropical fish!" Doraemon said. "Look at all those colors!"
A school of bright orange, yellow, and blue fish swam past. There must have been hundreds of them, all moving together like a rainbow underwater.
"They're beautiful," Shizuka said softly.
Then something funny happened. A large fish with big eyes suddenly appeared in front of the window. It looked directly at them, its mouth opening and closing.
"Ha! That fish looks surprised to see us!" Gian laughed.
The fish swam closer to the window, as if trying to figure out what the submarine was. Then it bumped its nose against the glass.
"Ow! Did that hurt?" Nobita asked, worried.
The fish backed away quickly and shook its head. Then it swam away as fast as it could.
"I think we scared it!" Doraemon said, and everyone burst out laughing.
Later, they saw a group of jellyfish floating gracefully through the water. Their transparent bodies glowed softly, and their long tentacles trailed behind them like ribbons.
"They look like ghosts," Nobita said, but he didn't sound scared. He sounded amazed.
"They're so pretty," Shizuka said.
Then the submarine passed through a forest of tall seaweed. The long green plants swayed gently in the current. Small fish darted in and out of the seaweed, playing hide and seek.
"It's like an underwater jungle!" Gian said.
Suddenly, a squid appeared. It had large eyes and long tentacles. When it saw the submarine, it quickly shot out a cloud of black ink and disappeared.
"Whoa! Did you see that?" Nobita said.
"That's how squids protect themselves!" Doraemon explained. "They release ink to confuse predators!"
"We're not predators! We just wanted to say hello!" Gian said, making everyone laugh again.
The two hours passed quickly with so many interesting things to see. They saw starfish on the ocean floor, colorful coral reefs, schools of silver fish that moved like one giant creature, and even a small shark that swam past without paying them any attention.
Then suddenly, a beep-beep-beep sound came from the control panel.
"What's that?" Doraemon asked, looking concerned.
"What's happening?" Shizuka added.
Everyone turned to look at Shin.
Shin smiled. "Don't worry. That's just the timer. It means we've been underwater for two hours. Now it's time to surface!"
"Already? Time went by so fast!" Nobita said.
"Everyone cheer! We're going up!" Shin announced.
"Yeah!" they all shouted together.
Shin walked back to the pilot's seat and sat down. He grabbed the controls and started pressing buttons. On the screen, the submarine's direction changed from horizontal to diagonal, pointing upward.
"Here we go!" Shin said.
The submarine started ascending. Through the windows, they could see the water getting lighter and lighter. They were going up, up, up toward the surface.
The blue water became brighter. The sunlight from above grew stronger.
And then, with a splash, the submarine broke through the surface of the water!
Sunlight poured through the windows, bright and warm. The submarine bobbed gently on the waves.
"We're back on the surface!" Nobita cheered.
Shin stood up and raised his fist in the air. "Let's enjoy ourselves in the ocean!" he shouted.
"Yeah!" everyone responded enthusiastically.
"Follow me!" Shin said. He walked to a ladder that led to the top of the submarine. He climbed up and opened a hatch.
Fresh ocean air rushed in. The smell of salt and sea filled the submarine. One by one, they all climbed up the ladder and emerged on top of the submarine.
The top of the submarine was flat, like a deck. There was enough space for all five of them to stand comfortably.
"Wow," Shizuka breathed.
The view was incredible. The sun was shining bright in a perfectly clear blue sky. Not a single cloud could be seen. The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction, sparkling under the sunlight. The water was calm, with gentle waves creating a soothing sound.
"It's so beautiful," Shizuka said, turning in a circle to see everything.
"The sky is so blue!" Nobita said, shading his eyes from the sun.
"And the ocean goes on forever!" Gian added.
The day was perfect. The sun was warm but not too hot. A gentle breeze blew across the water, making everything feel fresh and cool. It was the kind of day that made you want to lie down and bask in the sunlight forever.
"This is perfect," Shin said, sitting down on the submarine's deck. "Just perfect."
"Wait, I have an idea!" Doraemon said. He reached into his four-dimensional pocket and pulled out a pink camera-like gadget.
"What's that?" Nobita asked.
"This is the Dress-up Camera!" Doraemon explained. "It can change anyone's clothes into anything with just a click of a picture!"
"Really? That's amazing!" Shizuka said.
"Let me change everyone's clothes to swimming costumes so we can enjoy the water!" Doraemon said.
Click! He took a picture of Gian. Instantly, Gian's clothes transformed into blue swimming trunks.
Click! Nobita's clothes became red swimming trunks.
Click! Shin's outfit changed to black swimming trunks.
Click! Doraemon's usual appearance stayed mostly the same, but he now had small floaties on his arms.
Click! Shizuka's clothes became a cute pink swimsuit with a small skirt.
"Wow! This is great!" Gian looked down at himself. Then, without any warning, he shouted "Yahoo!" and jumped off the submarine into the water.
Splash!
"Gian!" Shizuka laughed.
Gian's head popped up from the water. "The water feels great! Come on in!"
"I'm coming too!" Shizuka said. She carefully jumped into the water.
Splash!
"Wait for me!" Shin said, running and doing a cannonball into the ocean.
Splash!
"Me too!" Doraemon jumped in with his floaties.
Splash!
The four of them laughed and splashed in the water. The ocean felt cool and refreshing after being in the submarine.
But Nobita was still standing on top of the submarine, looking down at the water nervously.
"Nobita! Come down!" Shin called out, waving at him.
"I... I'm fine up here!" Nobita said, his voice a bit shaky. He looked embarrassed.
"Come on, Nobita! The water is perfect!" Shizuka encouraged him.
Gian floated on his back and grinned. "Nobita can't swim!"
"Gian!" Shizuka scolded. "Don't say it like that!"
Nobita's face turned bright red. "I... I can swim a little!"
"Oh, Nobita," Doraemon said with a gentle smile. He swam over to the submarine and pulled out a colorful inflatable ring from his pocket. "Here! Use this floater! Then you can come in the water safely!"
Shizuka swam closer. "Yes, Nobita! Use the floater and come play with us! It'll be fun!"
Nobita looked at the floater. Then he looked at his friends' encouraging faces. He took a deep breath.
"Okay... I'll try," he said.
He carefully took the floater from Doraemon and put it around his waist. Then, very slowly, he sat down on the edge of the submarine and lowered himself into the water.
"There you go!" Shin said. "You're doing great!"
Nobita's feet touched the water. With the floater keeping him up, he didn't sink. He relaxed a little.
"See? It's not so bad!" Doraemon said.
"Yeah... it's actually okay," Nobita admitted, starting to smile.
They all played together in the ocean. Gian showed off by diving underwater and holding his breath. Shizuka swam gracefully, like she had been swimming all her life. Doraemon floated happily with his arm floaties. Shin swam around everyone, making sure they were all having fun.
Nobita stayed close to the submarine at first, holding onto his floater tightly. But slowly, he became more comfortable. He started kicking his feet and moving his arms.
"Look, Nobita! You're swimming!" Shizuka said encouragingly.
"Not really... I'm just floating with the floater," Nobita said, but he was smiling now.
"That's still good!" Shin said. "You're in the water, and you're having fun. That's what matters!"
They splashed each other playfully. The ocean water sparkled in the sunlight. Laughter filled the air. For that moment, nothing else mattered. No school, no homework, no problems. Just five friends enjoying a perfect day in the middle of the ocean.
Nobita floated on his back, looking up at the clear blue sky. The warm sun on his face, the cool water below him, and his friends around him. He felt peaceful and happy.
"Thank you, Shin," Nobita said quietly. "This is the best day ever."
Shin heard him and smiled. "I'm glad, Nobita. I'm really glad."
As the afternoon sun shone down on them, the five friends continued playing in the endless blue ocean, their laughter carrying across the water.