An 18,000-ton treaty cruiser concept

What might an 18,000-ton cruiser look like under a more permissive Washington Treaty?

A plausible answer is a 16-gun eight-inch cruiser with four quadruple turrets, though a navy could choose a different gun-calibre trade-off.

Given an 18,000-ton cruiser allowance, an eight-inch-gun design is more likely than a wholly different type. One possibility has four quadruple turrets, making 16 eight-inch guns. A navy could instead trade gun numbers for a larger calibre or pursue a different balance of characteristics. A treaty tonnage ceiling creates options rather than dictating one inevitable cruiser.