DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dr. Stone! :)


To my awesome reviewers (07/07/22): Hello, everybody! ^_^ Thank you so much for reviewing the fortieth chapter of No Stone Unturned! [189. 0714pens] You're very welcome! :D I hope all of you enjoy this new chapter, and thank you again! ^_^


Chapter Forty-One: (S01 E12c) Unwilling Successor (Day 28d)


"Chrome. You're not coming tomorrow when Ginro and I try to collect the sulfuric acid again. You're staying here."

As Senku listened to Chrome's objection and countered it with his own logic, he couldn't help but notice their surroundings.

Despite being filled with the sounds of battle training, glassblowing, and sometimes building construction or oxygen pumping during the day, things always changed when the sun began to set, and the productivity of daylight hours was washed away by the darkness of the night. Less light meant less time to work, which was why electricity had been such an important invention for humanity. And while Senku and the others had recreated it weeks ago in the stone world, the brilliant, but tiny, spark of pure electric light they had managed to produce that fateful night was in no way ready to take the role that its light bulb predecessors used to have over three thousand years ago.

"You and I are the only two scientists of the kingdom of science. Right now, even if we search every single second, we won't find anybody else. If both of us die, who's going to save Ruri?"

Tonight, they didn't need bamboo filament sparks or modern era light bulbs. The moon was hidden behind some clouds, but still shone its light down on the two of them, and, unhindered by the modern era's light pollution, the sparkle of millions of stars dotted the sky. Even though they were all hopelessly far away, and even though Senku knew it sometimes took years for a star's light to travel, that light did eventually reach Earth.

"So listen well, Chrome, because I'm going to give you all the years of science that humanity has discovered - all the science I've ever known."

Even though it took tens, and hundreds, and thousands of years, the science of the very first humans that walked on Earth had reached Senku's father; and Senku's mentor; and Senku's teachers; and Senku's books; and finally Senku himself. And, over three thousand years later, all the science that Senku carried in his mind and heart would now be passed on to the man that stood before him now - the man who had experimented with lye bubbles and sulfur balls and arithmetic techniques; the scientist who had painstakingly filled his own little corner of the world with the ores and powders and plants, hoping that one of them would be the solution to healing the most important person in his world.

Against all odds, Senku had found a fellow scientist in the stone world, and that scientist had become his friend. And unfortunately, Senku's friends seemed to have the very irritating quality of being very eager to risk their lives - Taiju had volunteered to take Tsukasa's blows repeatedly in order to prevent him from murdering petrified statues… Yuzuriha had taken Tsukasa's spear and pointed it at her own neck to prevent her from killing Senku… Kohaku had defended him from Kinro and Ginro; she had, nobly but still recklessly, saved Ginro from poisonous sulfuric gas; and had been too willing to place herself in danger to gather the sulfuric acid herself.

It just wasn't logical for yet another friend of Senku's to also endanger himself tomorrow. Senku was a scientist, too - and the more experienced scientist, with more knowledge about sulfuric acid, at that. One life, Senku's life, was all they needed to risk. They didn't need to add Chrome's life as well.

Let's see… I'll start with step-by-step instructions of the twenty-five steps it'll take to make the antibiotic, Senku thought quickly. After that, I'll teach him more about wiring and electricity because that has a lot of practical applications… and while I don't like the idea of war, I should teach them how to protect themselves with iron weapons, and probably gunpowder, too-

"Wait, wait, WAIT!" Chrome sprang back from him, frantically waving his arm as if he was trying to keep Senku from getting any closer. "This is all happening too fast! I'm not ready to be your successor! You're alive, and you're staying that way! You don't need a successor!"

Amused at his extreme reaction, Senku replied that he had no intention of dying.

"But," he said, trying to explain his position, "this suicide mission is necessary, because we can't make Ruri's medicine without that sulfuric acid. If both of us die, there will be no more science in this world. The science that you and I have worked to preserve and discover will all be lost to humanity."

I value my own life, of course. But I'm just being realistic. Without me, science can still go on. I wasn't the first scientist on Earth, and I won't be the last.

But Chrome… I don't know where his village came from. It might be the only village in the world, for all I know, and he's the only scientist in this village. Not only that, but without any support that I know of, he gathered all of those materials himself. He's a scientist with curiosity about the world; a goal to work towards; physical stamina for exploration; friends he can trust; and a semi-secure position in his society. His curiosity will keep him searching; his goal will keep him focused; his stamina will make his scientific activities possible; and his friends and society will keep him safe from Tsukasa - well, safer than I would be, at least.

Keeping him alive is the logical choice.

"So," Chrome said slowly, "I'm staying home in case you die, Senku?"


(End of Chapter Forty-One.) (July 07, 2022, Thursday.)


I. My personal comments: Of course, Senku has both logical and personal reasons for wanting Chrome to stay behind :D And when I wrote this chapter, I realized that while Senku does have ten billion tons of scientific knowledge, Chrome has his own advantages, too :) Also, it would be easier for Senku if Chrome would just cooperate, but we all know how this is going to go! :D

II. Question of the day: How do you feel about Senku's thoughts about why Chrome shouldn't gather sulfuric acid? :O

III. A tiny request: Thank you for reading my fanfic! :D If you've read this far, I hope you'll consider taking an extra minute to leave a review for Chapter Forty-One ("Unwilling Successor")? :D Reviews really mean a lot to me as a fanfiction writer, and all kinds of positive, negative, and/or constructive reviews are very welcome! ^_^ Even if it's the year 5738 or something, I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! :D (By the way, I'm "fireflyhwufanficwrit" on Reddit and "firefly-hwufanficwriterrrrr" on Tumblr :D)