32nd Shot: The Hundred Stories Beginning and The Treasure Box
Today, I offer you another chapter with 10K words. Enjoy :)
Being a ship, of course Perseus belonged in the water.
There's no more delay in getting the sailing vessel to the nearest body of water. Once the cross beam was off from its way, Perseus began sliding down the ground followed by slight tremble of earth underneath their feet along with rumbling noise. A big splash happened after Perseus successfully floated on the surface. It was definitely a sight to see, the biggest vehicle in the new era was right before them.
Undoubtedly, each and every one of them held pride in completing it–everyone contributed in their own way to make all of this happened. And with every limitation they had in almost every aspect there was, they still managed to build something so grand and high-tech similar to what modern humanity once owned. Ukyo was one of them–sense of accomplishment washed over him like a welcoming blanket. He would never forget such an important event as this in his life.
"Science Vessel Perseus," Suika, who stood beside him, whispering in complete awe. "That's a really strong-sounding name!"
"Wasn't Perseus the hero from Greek mythology or something?" That name was extremely familiar to modern survivors such as him, a name that was engraved deeply into the history and tales about heroes, monsters, and the beginning of something. Ukyo didn't know much about Greek mythology, but he knew the rough concept of it to recognize the name. "The one who defeated the Medusa."
Shinko nodded to his wonders, her hands were placed on Suika's shoulders. "Indeed. Perseus is a hero from Greek mythology who defeated Medusa, a mortal cursed with snakes for hair and ability to turn anyone who looks at her in the eye to stone."
"Damn, that's an encouraging name." Chrome commented, without a doubt satisfied with it. "After all, we're going to use it to expose the mastermind behind humanity's petrification and capture them, petrification beam and all! We're taking this ship on an epic adventure to the other side of the planet!"
"I'm sure everybody's been ready since we started this project a year ago," Senku remarked, a hand on his hip. From how he put his words, there would be another major task up ahead. "But as of today, we're splitting into two teams. The world exploration team that'll uncover the secrets of the petrification beam and the humanity development team that'll stay behind."
"HAHA!" Ryusui cackled, stealing everyone's attention from his booming voice. Ukyo looked up to notice he's already settling comfortably on the ship as if it was his second skin. On his grip was a large paper scroll. "I, as the captain, have taken the liberty of compiling a list of those to embark!"
The sonarman could hear Shinko chuckled nervously at the display. "Since when did Ryusui-san already step on the ship?"
"Though, I'd honestly have everyone on the ship if I could!" The captain added.
"To hell with that!" Senku spat at the absurdity of his idea. "Humanity would be extinct the moment it sank!"
"True." Gen remarked, knowing how the scientist's protests was the most logical.
"Isn't there a maximum capacity?" Minami deadpanned.
The ground shook as Ryusui dropped the heavy plank to the ground and connected the ship with it. "Needless to say, this is an unprecedented, dangerous mission! There's a chance we may never make it back! Your life is not guaranteed! Therefore, if anyone I call wishes to stay, then stay! This is alone for you to decide!"
The captain donned on his cape, strapping his swords to his belt as if to emphasize his words. Ukyo glanced at his surroundings, noticing everyone was looking at Ryusui in a mix of awe, anxious, and anticipation. It should be dawned on them the severity of this situation just about now when the captain declared it that way. This mission would explore the unknown with so many what-ifs accompanying it–Ryusui was being extremely considerate in letting anyone who was listed to back off if they wanted to, he was giving them a choice.
"Nevermind the platitudes!" Though, it was quickly broken by Senku's infamous scheming look. "If you need someone, you can just con them into getting onto the ship of you have to! Once you're on board, they're ten billion percent not getting off!"
"Leave that dirty work to me~" Gen remarked, his scheming face with Senku was like two peas in a pod. "Although I have no intention of going myself~"
Ryusui harrumphed. "Indeed, Gen, you could convince everyone to get on. It's not my problem if someone get themselves killed, but an unwilling sailor could put the whole ship at risk. Am I right? Only board the ship if I call your name and you're prepared to go, onto the Science Vessel Perseus!"
Then, he unrolled the large scroll–preparing to call out the names. "First up! A ship can't be without its engineers! Senku! Chrome! Kaseki!"
Ukyo chuckled when everyone began cheering on Chrome and Kaseki who walked upon the plank to board the ship. Beside him, Shinko clapping her hands in respond to everyone's enthusiasm. Both seemed to enjoy the attention while Senku already skipped it all and standing indifferently on the ship, reading onto his planning. They wouldn't have known if not for Chrome to pointed it out. "He's already on board!"
"Couldn't you be, you know, more emotional about leaving!" Minami protested as she directed the camera to document this moment.
Taiju laughed out loud. "That's Senku!"
"Yuzuriha!" Ryusui called out next.
The mentioned brunette smiled nervously, feeling unfit to be called an engineer. Still, she went to walk towards the ship. "Was I ever an engineer?"
"Of the sails!" The captain didn't hesitate to answer.
"On the radar and sonar, Ukyo!" Not that he was being cocky, but knowing he's the only sonarman around, Ukyo was bound to get chosen. Nodding towards the captain, he approached the plank. Once he walked, cheering could be heard–even the kids he taught were joining in, to which he found very sweet as he waved lightly to return their gesture.
However, soon Ukyo found his eyes focused on a certain figure. How could a person just steal all his attention away so effortlessly was beyond him. Shinko gave him a soft smile as she waved her hand, her eyes glittering under the morning light. His heart fluttered wildly, and he might've made a fool of himself for barely noticing the rather careful jump he had to take to step into the ship. Thankfully, luck was on his side so he didn't actually fell flat onto his face and made an incredibly embarrassing display.
"Cook, Francois!" Ryusui kept listing all the members of the crew. "And the actual work of sailing is the ultimate test of strength! Power Team!"
The said team seemed to be undeniably hyped about it, and not even waiting for their name to be called one by one as they ran towards the ship eagerly. Ukyo couldn't help but laughed. "Wait 'till you hear your name!"
"Our watchman and sniper!" Ryusui called out and cackled, a big grin stretched out. "My lady, you're up!"
Senku shot him a dirty look. "Say her name clearly! The heck how people know who your lady is!"
"He's right, you know." Ukyo added, although he was amused with how the captain called Shinko so familiarly. In their circle, they knew who was he referring to but not everyone quite understood who he meant.
"Oi, huntress slash sniper! Get in here, we got no time for dillydallying!" Senku called out, and he was not better than Ryusui in this matter.
Ukyo laughed nervously. "Not you too, Senku."
"Call her name properly, would you!?" Minami was the one who protested this time, but she sniffled before waving both of her hands in the air. "I'll miss you, Shinko-chan!"
"We'll be rooting for you, Nee-san!" Mirai added, smiling brightly.
"Of course, you two!" Shinko returned the wave when she reached the end of the plank. When she wanted to jumped into the ship, Ryusui was already beat her to it–holding out his hand for her to take.
"My lady." The captain remarked and Shinko gave him a smile, accepting his gesture. The archer let him help her to jumped onto the ship's deck, her feet landed on the wooden surface with a light thump.
"Thank you, Ryusui-san." She chuckled when he let go of her hand. "Or should I call you Mr. Captain?"
Ryusui's laugh boomed at the statement. "Both will be an honor, dearest lady!"
"Welcome aboard." Ukyo approached her in long strides and placed a hand on her back. With recent adjustments to her equipment happened, the sonarman could now place his hand on her back more since her quiver was moved to her waist.
Shinko averted her gaze towards him, throwing a smile which warmth his heart with both fondness and endearment. "I'm glad to join the crew."
"It'll be quicker to just say who's not going." Senku chuckled in amusement. He's right, all of the names who's been mentioned so far stepped into the ship without hesitation. Peeking into Ryusui's list he questioned. "Who's on the list and hasn't come aboard yet?"
Both Ukyo and Shinko looked at the scientist in confusion the moment he's humming in understanding after reading the list.
"Kinro!" Ryusui called out next.
"Understood." Said young man began to walk upon the plank after he was being called, complimenting his personality of always followed the written and unwritten rules existed.
"Ah, Kinro-san is the only one who stays still and wait for his name." Shinko commented as the brunette with glasses jumped onto the deck.
"Rules are rules." Kinro stated, always with his serious and professional appearance.
"Welcome aboard." Ukyo and Shinko greeted him simultaneously, to which he nodded at–his shoulders loosening slightly as a respond.
"And… Ginro!" Ryusui continued, though the replied he got had a hundred eighty degrees difference between the older brother and the younger one.
"No way!" Ginro screamed in fright, tears churning out his eyes like rivers. He didn't even think twice in rejecting the idea of riding the ship. "Nope! Nope! I'm not going to the other side of the planet! I'm never getting on!"
"Ginro, what are you talking about?" Ryusui rebutted strongly. "You've got nothing to worry about. Didn't I tell you? You only have to get on if you're ready."
"The development team's work is plenty important too." Senku added to his statement and gave him an easy smile, reassuring the others who had similar thoughts with the blonde that it's completely acceptable to not board the ship.
"I guess not everyone is willing to go on this adventure." Shinko commented, leaning against the ship's railing.
Ukyo nodded at her opinion. Looking down at the crowd below, he began to notice some whispering amongst themselves–he could hear the decisions of staying behind in anxious tone and shaky voice. "Well, this is quite dangerous, I won't blame them. We're heading to the unknown, too many abstract variables involved. It's natural for some to be scared about it."
"I know the ship needs a power team, but I have one concern." Kohaku remarked, her voice was serious as she had her arms crossed over her chest. "Hyoga and Homura are still in jail. All of our notable fighters will have left. If they were to break out, they'd take over all of Japan…"
"Uh, about that, Kohaku-chan…" Shinko rose her hand slowly, sounding extremely nervous and uneasy. She pointed out towards a mini prison on the deck with shaky finger. "Both of them are over there…"
"They're on the ship!?" Yo shouted in disbelief along with everyone else who finally took a notice of the prison. It was quite small with metal railings, but managed to fit both Hyoga and Homura at the same time.
Senku cackled in amusement, looking completely at ease which kind of worried Ukyo a little at how laid back he was. "It's a moving prison! No problem as long as they're with us!"
"We're okay with this…?" Chrome questioned in a strained voice and honestly, the sonarman could relate.
"M-Maybe not," Ukyo answered uneasily. This idea was both proven to be effective but also bringing an insane gamble along. "But they're so strong they're a danger to leave behind."
"Besides, we may need to accept the risk and have them as a trump card in case we need to fight." Senku remarked, face turning to a more serious one and rather grim as he looked down towards their two prisoners. "If worst comes to worst."
Ukyo felt Shinko's presence behind him and he couldn't help but stepping more to obstruct her vision from Hyoga and Homura. She may have a calm façade on the surface, however the sonarman knew better. If there's anyone who's terrified of the Japanese warrior, then their fear couldn't probably compare to a degree Shinko felt. Some of them witnessed how vicious Hyoga was during a battle, some others experienced the taste of his pure merciless when they became his opponents, and two others were brought to the brink of death by his spear technique.
Mirai almost lost Tsukasa from severe injuries, just like how Ukyo almost lost Shinko to the same fate. Memories of those times would forever engrave to his mind until his dying breath–the unending scarlet, the screams when Senku stitched her without anesthetic, the short coma lasting a whole day, all of it pushed Ukyo to the brink of insanity. Shinko was only slightly luckier than Tsukasa–if Hyoga struck her in a vital spot just like the high-schooler, she wouldn't be breathing much less standing here. Tsukasa being able to stay alive with such serious wound in his lung was even considered a miracle because it sounded inhumane. A normal person couldn't withstand those kinds of injuries especially with the extremely limited medication and remedy options. It would be the fourth death this new era had to face.
His hand instinctively moved to his chest, the scar stretching from his left shoulder down to the right side of his waist that Hyoga gave him throbbed dully. The phantom pain Ukyo felt served as a reminder that the Japanese warrior wouldn't hesitate to hurt anyone hindering him from his goals. Hyoga would cut down anyone and everyone who he viewed as an obstacle.
"This maybe the riskiest plan we have on our belt, but they won't be out of that prison unless the situation is absolutely necessary." Senku added, his words were firm with promise and the sonarman could hear it loud and clear. "You have my words, Shinko."
Ukyo had to physically turned his head to face the scientist, eyes slightly widened in disbelief. The last time he heard Senku called Shinko by her name was the moments before Hyoga hurt her, before the Japanese warrior pierced Tsukasa through his lungs and jumped into the river more than a year ago. After that, it was always 'huntress' no matter the circumstances. The fact that Senku chose to call her like that now, it triggered an ugly feeling Ukyo didn't like stirring in his chest.
He almost forgot this sensation of a thing called jealousy existed.
Shinko was rendered silent for a short moment before throwing him an uneasy smile. "I'll hold on to you for that, Senku-san."
"Yeah." The scientist, gave her a pat on the back firmly. "You can count on me and everyone on the boat."
There's a sound of light clapping of hands which broke the tension, it came from a certain infamous mentalist who's still off the boat. "Now, is that everyone on the rooster? Okay, let's see them off~"
"Don't be ridiculous." Ryusui was ready with a rebuttal, the long list of the crew members still on his hand. "Finally, Gen, you're on too."
"FOR REAL!?" From his reaction, it seemed that even Gen didn't expect himself being included as the crew. Sweat began forming on his temple as he looked at the ship nervously, definitely wishing not to be the part of the grand premiere of their journey. "Uh, you don't need me, do you? I've got the strength of a bean sprout…"
To his most unfortunate, Senku wouldn't let him slip away easily with that incredibly weak reasoning. The scientist snickered, staring down at him from the boat. "We don't know what kinds of enemies we're going to meet. What good is a mentalist if they aren't there when that happens, idiot?"
Gen stiffened, averting his gaze up and down in extreme dilemma before finally relented to his fate. Besides, he couldn't actually find a more logical answer to cut down the rawest fact that came from the scientist. He stepped closer to the plank before walking up. "I guess… If Why Man attacks us, the mainland's in trouble too, anyway. In that case, I might be safer on the team with Science King Senku-chan~ I don't mind either way as long as it benefits me~"
Kohaku couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at Gen's words as he walked past her, her greenish-blue eyes looking faraway upon the twilight sky above. "Senku, Shinko, I've finally come to realize lately that evil act is how that bat bastard saves face. Honestly, what a pain."
"After all, the pretense of evil is a shady man's pride, Kohaku-chan." Shinko mused, understanding what she meant.
Gen blinked in confusion, looking at the two as he didn't catch on what they were talking about. "What did you say, Kohaku-chan, Shin-chan?"
The two shook their head and replied at the same time with a knowing smile on their face. "Nothing."
The sails unraveled, dropping the down from its heavy weight alone the moment the ropes holding it back loosened. It expanded almost instantly as the wind from the other direction flew against it. Slowly, the Perseus moved forward as the power of the wind pushed it. Everyone was already in their designated position. The view outside the window shifted, Ukyo could see it from the control room as he sat in front of the radar and sonar to activate it.
"Set sail!" Ryusui announced, holding onto the wheel in great expert as if he already steered this ship for a good hundreds of times. "To the seas of the stone world, untouched by humanity!"
"Do your best!" Their departure had a grand parting, words of encouragement followed them as they go. Ukyo felt his heart swelled, knowing he only heard best wishes and prayers for the whole crew. He could make out Minami and Mirai's voice in between.
"You absolutely have to come back!"
"Be careful! I'm depending on you for Big Brother as well!"
"Yeah!" Chrome raised his fist confidently, looking over the railing. "We're gonna take down the criminal behind the petrification and get the beam back!"
"Yo, is it just me or are we heroes right now!?" Yo added, basking on the cheers their comrades let out as loud as they could so it would reach Perseus and its sailors. Ukyo couldn't help but chuckle as it was such a typical Yo respond.
"Everyone too! Please take care of yourselves!" Shinko added, which was also a very Shinko-like reply in his perspective. The goodbyes and cheering slowly died down as they went further to the wide and open ocean–noises being swallowed down until what was left was crashing of the waves, whipping of the strong wind, and shrieks of seagulls.
"Not everyone that got called came along." Ukyo could hear Chrome commented and he felt the sentiment. From the long list of people Ryusui wrote and selected himself, probably a few more than a handful decided to stay back and helped to rebuilt humanity at the mainland.
"They aren't wrong to refuse." Kohaku replied, there's an understanding tone in her statement. "It's a truly dangerous journey."
Soon, Ukyo heard light-thumping landed on top of the control room just right above him. He couldn't help but smile knowing exactly who it belonged to. Activating the communicating pipe, he spoke to it. "So, how are the sails and masts' condition so far, Watchman?"
Shinko's chuckles could be heard from the other side, he felt his smile widened instinctively. "All in perfect condition, Sonarman."
"Hey, Ukyo, keep the radar pointed at the mainland for a bit." Senku's voice filtered through the pipe with a strange request.
"Huh? Why?" Ukyo stared at the communicating device in confusion, although he did as the scientist said. Hitting the switch, he angled the radar towards the mainland.
"I just feel like it." He's using the infamous tone of questions which soon would reveal the answer on itself, Ukyo immediately knew he might be up to something unexpected and he trusted Senku's judgement. "And watchman slash sniper, keep looking at the water. Tell us if you see something."
And the scientist was back calling Shinko with her new appointed position. "Huh? Alright."
It didn't take long for the radar to react, the once straight line moved unevenly. Undoubtedly, something was in the water and it headed towards the ship. "Something's approaching from the shore!"
"Is it the fabled Why Man!?" Taiju's loud voice running down the pipe in a mix of panic and disbelief.
"Why would it be, you idiot?" Senku's deadpanned reply immediately resounded right after. "He said it's coming from the shore."
"I see something too!" This time it was Shinko who spoke. "No, someone actually! They're swimming forward, someone's trying to catch up with the Perseus!"
"Someone's chasing us to try to get aboard…!" Ukyo added, confirming the archer's words. If it came from the mainland, then there's no more probable answer than a certain figure doing their best to go after the ship. It's impossible for a school or fish or any other thing to go straight forward and maintain it for a few moments–it's intentional.
"Wait, Taiju-san-!" Shinko couldn't even finish her words before faint splashing could be heard. It went silent before it was back in a more rapid pace. Ukyo rose from his seat to jogged towards the deck to stand beside Shinko, the exact time when Taiju hauled someone extremely familiar onto the ship.
Senku chuckled in amusement, as if welcoming the additional party to the crew. "Pretty slick, Ginro, you nut!"
"Oh…!" Ryusui joined in as he gasped in awe for Ginro's dedication.
"I'm impressed!" Kohaku praised breathlessly with a hint of disbelief.
"I'm impressed too!" Nikki commented before grinning widely and cheerfully. "I always thought he was a slime ball through and through!"
"I never expected this one either, honestly." Gen remarked, being quite impressed himself.
"You're amazing, Ginro-san!" Shinko piped in with her own praise.
And finally, Kinro, the older brother, who was thoroughly touched by the effort his younger brother pulled. The appreciation was apparent on his face. "I believe in you, Ginro…!"
"Ginro! Ginro!" They chanted his name as a form of appreciation, though somehow Ukyo felt that the said blonde wasn't truly enjoying it from how he slightly quivered as he sat down on the deck still drenched in sea water.
Chrome grinned from the turn-out events. "Well, Kinro's got some company now!"
"I never felt lonely." Though, Kinro didn't waste time to argue with the brunette's statement.
"Where are we going first?" Kohaku asked, her question was relatable. "Are we going straight to the other side of the planet?"
Their plan from the start was to sail, however, sail to where exactly? The other side of the world was indeed an answer, but they needed an exact location as there were numerous places waiting for them up ahead. They required a name, a definite site.
And Senku provided the exact response they were looking for. "Nope. We have a destination. The Treasure Island."
"An island!?" Chrome asked instantly.
"Where!?" Kohaku followed right after.
"What for!?" And Magma to be last to voice out his question, it summed up everything they wished to know about this new journey to the untouched stone era.
A smirk appeared on Senku's face, as he chuckled and looking straight to the horizon. "For the god-tier item we'll need to rescue all of humanity. The island my old man's team crash-landed on. To where the astronauts who survived the petrification and the spaceship Soyuz went beddy-bye. To where the Hundred Tales began...!"
.
.
"It's been a few thousand years since Earth got hit by the petrification beam. We're not gonna take it lying down forever. It's time to save all seven billion humans." Senku stood in front of the map lying on top of the table's surface, the core crew gathered in the control room to hear his explanation.
"What!?" Taiju's eyes widened at, possibly, the ultimate goal they had in hand. Though, since the start, it was Senku's grand plan and it hadn't budged even a millimeter since he declared it out loud and proud.
Gen rose his hand nervously. "Wait, how many millions of liters of revival fluid is that going to take?"
"And how?" Kohaku continued. "The miracle cave we got it from has already been destroyed."
Shinko, who sat on the chair beside Ukyo, hummed in understanding on what the scientist implied. The sonarman himself also had only a single probability in mind, which was not far from what she would say. "I think we're not going to gather the miracle fluid. We're going to make them, right, Senku-san?"
"That's right." Said scientist grinned at her quick uptake. "We aren't gonna be at the mercy of nature's miracle any longer."
Taiju put a hand under his chin, craning his neck as he thought. "Besides, the miracle cave only produced enough revival fluid for one person every few days. That was never close to being enough for all humanity to begin with!"
"Well, we're just gathering it in the pot drip by drip from the stalactites. It took days for the pot to be full, unless we stored it." Ukyo commented, recalling their only method to get the fluid.
Senku chuckled once again. "There's a god-tier item that'll give us an unlimited supply of revival fluid. And we're going to find it on the Treasure Island where the Hundred Tales began in a treasure box!"
Chrome was clearly excited with the prospect of finding real treasure. "A treasure box on a treasure island!? Damn!"
"What? Where?" Gen muttered, slightly unbelieving that they would be able to find a treasure. No matter how you heard it, it sounded more like a tall tale or bedtime stories which purposes were to entertain kids.
"I like it!" Ryusui snapped his fingers, looking at them over his shoulder. "It's starting to sound like an adventure!"
Magma cackled in respond. "There's no one on the island, anyway! Piece of cake!"
"Let's get to that island and find it quick. Let's find the treasure Byakuya's team left. It's worth its weight in gold." Senku announced, setting their destination to place. "Platinum is an ultra-rare ore that's even harder to come by than gold. We just need a piece of it. Once we get it, we can use it as a catalyst to make unlimited nitric acid. In other words, it's the birth of the infinite revival fluid machine."
"What!? With just one piece!?" Taiju exclaimed in amazement. "It really is god-tier!"
"You don't have it in your prized ore collection, Chrome?" Kohaku remarked, facing the brunette.
"Yeah, damn." He clutched his fists as his face marred with a rather bashful expression. "If I'd somehow conveniently had even just one shard of such an insanely rare ore, we'd be making plenty of revival fluid by now!"
"Nah, we could've been making revival fluid out of dookie this whole time. Though it'd take a stupid amount of time, and we wouldn't get much." Senku corrected his words.
Kohaku stared at him in confusion. "So, why didn't we just start making what little we could?"
Shinko looked at both of them knowingly with a smile. "Even if we could make them bit by bit, I think it's not a good plan to revive everyone in a haste with the limited amount we have."
"Shin-chan's right." Gen remarked, stealing the whole room's attention. When it came to the topic of human's behavior and psychology, you could rely it on the most capable mentalist in the room. "There's this thing called Dunbar's number. The maximum number of people the human brain can remember in a village is a hundred and fifty. It's how big a group of people can get while still functioning. It's even used for planning military structures. And now, it's time for a quiz! How many people is the Kingdom of Science currently composed of~?"
That sudden question got everyone's mind immediately working to calculate the most probable number. Yo hummed, a hand under his chin as he thought hard. "So, Tsukasa's Empire had just over a hundred…"
"And about forty from Ishigami Village." Kokuyo added, the number slowly increased.
Ginro was holding up his fingers perplexed as he struggled to count the results. "Uh, which adds up to roughly…"
"A hundred and fifty." Kinro finished, pushing up his glasses to the bridge of his nose.
"Bingo~!" Gen affirmed in a playful and cheery tone, liking at how everyone worked together to answer the quiz correctly. "I told Senku-chan that too. It'd be bad if we had more than that. We'd fall apart."
Ukyo hummed in understanding, impressed by how the mentalist and the scientist thought of the kingdom's condition until this far. His elbow pressed against the arm rest as he leaned forward to get a good look at both Gen and Senku. "You're really pragmatic about that kind of thing. That's our mentalist."
"Thank you for the compliment, but you aren't getting anything out of me!" Gen replied as he snickered. He then held his pointer finger up. "And just like what Shin-chan said before, even if we make revival fluid, we can only save a handful of people and the citizen are all split up. You can already see the chaos that'll ensue over who we should save. It'll be Tsukasa-chan versus Hyoga-chan all over again."
"Although, with platinum, there won't be a limit to the number of people we can revive." Senku continued, clutching his palm firmly–there's only confidence and excitement in his gaze. "We can rescue all of humanity in its entirety."
"'Platinum, also known in Japanese as hakkin or shirogane. Sand that sparkles in the color of the moon, sleeping in the treasure box.'" Shinko recited those words Ruri once told the scientist, a piece of line from the entirety of Hundred Tales.
"Not bad, watchman slash sniper." Senku threw her his in famous smirk of satisfaction. Ukyo could see how his ruby-red eyes twinkled. "How did you know that?"
Her shoulders shook lightly as she chuckled in both accomplishment and sense of despair–kind of an odd combination for Ukyo to heard it from Shinko. She then pointed out to the corner of the room, where a small cabinet sitting innocently close to the wall. "I've taken the liberties of documenting every single story in the Hundred Tales with Ruri-chan's help! Now, we can read them as many times as we want!"
Kohaku gasped in awe at the revelation. "You did!? That's amazing, Shinko!"
Gen whistled. "Color me impress, Shinko-chan. Especially knowing it took Senku-chan more than twelve hours to make it to the seventh tale."
"I have to admit that I'm most probably dying from writing and listening to it rather than any other life-threatening things…" The mentioned young woman chuckled humorlessly and Ukyo could see her soul wafting out from her mouth. "If I counted twelve hours a day to finish eight tales without rest, it means I could only finish around fifty tales a week. It took me two whole months to had them completed into five separated series, rest is already included. I swear I've never written so much in my life before, I feel like my fingers are going to fall off…"
Both Chrome and Kohaku paled at the thought of writing non-stop for more than a week. Humans in general would probably dying first before lasting. The brunette muttered in terror underneath his breath. "…That's more than rough stuff, Shinko."
"I considered it a miracle you can survive." Kohaku mumbled, giving her friend a mixed look of pity, fright, and disbelief at the same time.
"So that's the reason why you looked like a zombie crawling out from the grave." Senku folded his arms across his chest. Ukyo knew he's referring towards some occasions where Shinko literally looked like death–there's no better words to describe her state during that time. Even Ukyo himself was extremely concern and maybe suffered from a heart attack at some point in between.
"Maybe it's because she really is a zombie crawling out from the grave…" The sonarman chuckled nervously. "Seriously, Shinko, it's fine to be dedicated but just not too much."
"I can't argue with that, Ukyo-san. But it's worth all the complains, lack of sleep, and sore fingers in the end. I didn't regret it." She fell on the backrest of her seat with a content huff. Ukyo's hand reached out, patting her head while minding the knot which held her ponytail up. Just like always, she smelled like honey and greenery–and his chest fluttered the moment she leaned more to his touch.
"The tale said 'sleeping in the treasure box'," Chrome pointed out. "But where is this so-called treasure box?"
Ukyo removed his hand from Shinko's head. "Even if Senku's dad kept ores for us, what kind of box could survive on a deserted island for thousands of years?"
Senku drawled his answer, thoroughly enjoying how they moved on to the topic of 'treasure box' they're looking for. "What else would it be? A tough-as-nails armor and the culmination of human science, weathering the heat of entering the atmosphere. The highest-defense, most impervious box ever."
"Oh!" Ukyo and Shinko perked up at his vague but at the same time clear explanation. There's only one obvious answer for it. They faced each other with a grin before remarking at the same time, "The treasure box full of ores-"
"The Soyuz spaceship!" The three of them finished simultaneously, looking satisfied at how their mind seemed to have the exact same answer.
"That means we can save all of humanity if we dig up the spaceship treasure box, right!?" Taiju jumped into the conversation and his words were more than simple to be understood by everyone.
"Yup." Senku decided to indulge to his question. "That's exactly what I just said."
"Do you know where it is, though?" Gen questioned as another problem resurfaced, which was the exact location of where the spaceship Soyuz was placed. An island wasn't a small place, after all–it would probably take days depending on how big it was in size and if the place was dense with wildlife or not.
Still, Kohaku harrumphed full of confidence. "We've got plenty of people to help search!"
"It's been thousands of years. We won't even know what condition the island's in until we see it for ourselves." Senku commented, placing a hand on his hip.
"Or if it's inhabited or not." Shinko piped. "Since the astronauts landed on the island, I assumed that there would probably be locals. It's origin place of the new human population in this stone era."
"That's an interesting theory." Ukyo nodded in understanding, hand tinkering with the sonar a little before averting his gaze towards the scientist. "And it's not impossible knowing that's the only place the astronauts landed on. Right, Senku?"
The said scientist agreed almost immediately. "Yeah, it's not impossible at all. We're gonna take that to account."
"Awesome!" Chrome exclaimed, looking more excited than ever. "Treasure hunting on a treasure island! Here we go!"
So far, the sailing had been smooth without any sorts of hitch either big or small. The weather was supportive, with clear blue skies and right amount of wind to propel their ship towards their destination. It's been approximately a few hours since they roamed into the open-sea. Although there would a maintenance check here and there at some time, the moment couldn't be considered busy including the atmosphere in the control room.
"…So that's just about it. Do you understand now, Shinko?" And Ukyo was having quite some fun in teaching said archer basics of sonar and radar. Sitting close, he let her tinkered with the device as there was no possibilities of danger currently–they're the only ones who sailed the ocean in this new world.
"Uh… I don't think my brain could keep up with your kind of work, Ukyo-san…" Shinko yielded in the end, wearing perplexed look mixed with a hint of frustration which made him laugh. Watching her trying to get a grasp on how to read the hill and dips of the radar was entertaining as she was struggling greatly with it.
"Hey, it's normal if you don't understand. I got a hang of it probably after quite a long time." Ukyo tried to lift her spirits up, patting her back gently. "Besides, you don't have any sorts of official training or knowledge to use sonar and radar. You need guidance and practice to learn it."
"It's amazing for you to understand something as difficult as this and managed to do it as easy as breathing." Shinko remarked, turning back a lever to returned it to its original position. "I might've fried my braincells unintentionally while learning."
This made Ukyo laughed for real, her responses were always amusing. "It all comes from experience, Shinko. You can't learn something in one try, you need to repeat it at least a hundred times and incorporated to your every day life. That's the only way to learn faster."
"Senku-chan, Senku-chan!" Gen called out from the door, to which made the scientist turned his attention towards him along with the rest of the room. The mentalist gestured for the figure to stepped into the room. "One of the Power Team says he's something important to talk about after hearing our conversation earlier."
Ukyo did recognize him and he was indeed a member of the Power Team–a young man with tall and built physics wearing only dark green pants and a shield slung over his back. His lack of hair was apparent, but the X-shaped scar upon the top of his head without a doubt making him more distinct than the others. Despite standing tall and looking strong like a warrior from his figure, his gaze strayed here and there from feeling extremely nervous it kept him on his toes. However, there's a more serious matter Ukyo came to realize.
"You're… Who are you!?" And Senku already shouted out his thoughts. "Seriously, I can't remember your name at all!"
"Of course you can't. He doesn't have a name." Kohaku stated, looking calm and collected unlike the scientist.
"I didn't know what to do when I was making the crew manifest." Ryusui remarked, placing a hand on his hip. "I put him down as 'No-Name' for now."
"So that's why I never heard you being called before." Shinko added in realization. "It's always 'you' and 'hey' but not once a name. You really don't have a name."
"S-Sure. You can call me whatever you want." He stuttered nervously before averting his gaze to the wooden floor, he looked completely harmless. "I-I'm not actually from Ishigami Village."
"H-Huh!?" Like Kohaku, without a doubt it was an appropriate respond they all gave from this sudden information crashing down on them–it was abrupt and no one would be prepared to hear such confession.
"Then, where'd you come from…!?" Chrome almost choked on his spit when he threw in the question.
"When I was little, the villagers found me washed up on the shore and took pity on me." He began to explain and Ukyo could hear that he spoke truth. Even though he stuttered and sounded shaky, it wasn't because of an effort to cover lies but because he was extremely nervous. His ears wouldn't deceive him. "My adoptive mother had to lie about me to raise me. My real name would be out of place in Ishigami Village. So, I've lived without a name my whole life. My real name is… Soyuz."
"Soyuz…" Shinko repeated the name breathlessly, realization dawned on everyone in the room like mountains of bricks.
"That's the same name as the spaceship treasure box we were talking about!" Chrome continued. The name was definitely out of the box in between the Ishigami Villagers' which bear the names of ores and minerals. If someone ever found out his real name, undoubtedly Soyuz would be shunned from the obvious difference in their naming orders.
"I-I might be able to take you there." Soyuz offered, struggling to lift his head to make an eye contact as he just spilled his whole-life's secret. Ukyo could empathize with his feelings, though it seemed he slowly found the courage to speak more confidently. "To my home… To the treasure box, Soyuz."
Senku chuckled, smirking at the fact that they just struck gold out of nowhere. "That's fantastic indeed. Plus, for better or worse, we've gotten new information that were ten billion percent certain about. Just like the Shinko hunched before, the Treasure Island isn't uninhabited."
Kohaku had her eyes widened in shock. "You mean there are more survivors besides us and they're on the Treasure Island!?"
"Yeah," The scientist gestured his hand towards Soyuz. "Thanks to this guy's precious information and the idea watchman slash sniper gave us, we're sure there are people living there."
Ukyo tipped his hat backwards, a little bit disappointed by the news though it's not like he couldn't do anything about it either. "It would've been easier if it were uninhabited. We could've explored all we wanted."
"Right. If it were uninhabited, we don't have to hide, donning in disguise, or anything else." Shinko nodded in agreement to his statement. "We could just waltz around at any time of any day."
Gen had a line of sweat running down from his temple along with a face of resignation appeared. "Luck is one thing Senku-chan's never got on his side."
"Wait, wait, wait, I don't get it!" Chrome interrupted with a tone full of urgency. "Who are these Treasure Island people? I thought all of humanity was petrified."
They even contacted Ruri immediately to relay this news. There's no doubt that those who lived for hundreds of years on the Treasure Island were descendants from the six last astronauts of modern era, which made them also distant relatives of residents of Ishigami Village. Ruri even mentioned that the will of the founders, as it's been passed down in the Hundred Tales, was for the descendants to reach Japan one day. It was more than enough to convince that they're indeed had relations with the current Ishigami Village's people.
Ryusui hummed in understanding. "Perhaps many have taken on the challenge over the millenia and perished at sea."
Then, it was followed by Senku's harmless scoff. "And one group of them made it across by sheer tenacity."
Chrome gasped at his words as he managed to finally pieced everything together. "And they were our Ishigami Village ancestors!"
"That's also how people in the past managed to spread themselves across the globe, right?" Shinko remarked to fill with another information.
"Then again, no one's dumb enough to set out altogether." Senku smirked at the thought. "Some of them obviously would've stayed behind on the island."
"Not everyone is brave enough to explore the unknown where they basically gambled their lives in process." Shinko pointed out the truth, which also happened in between their crew as not everyone was willing to go in this voyage either.
"I-I see…" Soyuz muttered, slowly understanding to where their conversation led to. "So, the people who stayed behind are the current inhabitants of the Treasure Island. My home…"
"I sure hope they're friendly." Gen remarked, holding onto a hopeful tone.
Senku cackled almost immediately, definitely the exact opposite from the dual-haired young man especially with his apparent scummy look he wore. "If they're not, then you're up, Mentalist!"
"Sheesh, just make me do all the work, huh…?"
"We can just kill'em all if they oppose us! We've got plenty of fighters!" There's also Magma who took violence and bloodbath as his go-to answer every time.
"Like I said, attacking people is bad, Magma!" Of course, there's also Taiju who didn't hesitate to reject the idea as he had a certain dislike towards people hurting one another.
"Looks like we should keep Taiju with Magma." Ukyo commented, looking at the rare duo combination with a mix of relief and worry. Despite that, they did balance each other quite well.
"They're both really look like black and white respectively." Shinko remarked, laughing nervously at the rather dark exchange of a conversation happened between the two.
However, amongst the light atmosphere engulfing the room, Chrome bore a dread look on his face. Averting his gaze from the ground to everyone gathered in the room, he muttered gravely, "Couldn't they be Why Man? The people on the island, I mean?"
With just a simple speculation, his worry and fright washed over the place in an instant. Gen swallowed heavily as he took that question into account. "True, if there are people there, it could make sense…"
"Why did you keep such important information from us!? Why didn't you tell us you're one of us!?" Kokuyo grabbed onto Soyuz's shoulders and shook him in urgency.
Shinko already stood up to intervene in fear of situation going to be escalated, however Ukyo's light grip found her wrist to prevent her from interrupting. She looked down to him questioningly while he just gave her a smile of assurance. "It's alright."
"No…" Even though Kokuyo had some impulsive sides in his personality, the former village chief would never raise his hand without a good reason. The sonarman believed that, and he was correct–Kokuyo immediately calmed down and rephrased his words. "I'm grateful you confessed to us now."
The older man decided to channel his frustration with a groan as he held his head, Kohaku by his side already patting his back to calm him down. Shinko's shoulders loosened, feeling relief that nothing rough occurred. Tugging her hand gently, Ukyo gestured for her to return to her seat beside him. His smile was there for a while before it turned solemn as he tipped his hat down. "Could a civilization develop enough to send out a signal that saturates the airways with a small island's limited resources?"
Ryusui cackled at the sonarman's question. "They wouldn't have stayed on an isolated island if they had such science! What exists beyond the horizon? I want to see everything of the world! I want to learn everything! And humanity can never resist such temptation!"
"Ryusui-san is right. If they have more advanced science, they would probably already explore the world and repopulate it. However, we only found a number of small people currently which means there's a speculation of them still live humbly like Ishigami Village before Senku met them." Shinko theorized.
"I-I've always wanted to know, too…" Soyuz admitted with a slight stutter. "If I'm not one of the others, who am I? I'd set out a boat, guided only by my vague memory of the scenery, then turn back because of the storm. What's the point in knowing? I know it's pointless now…! Yet, I just… I just wanted to know…!"
"Yeah." Senku replied with an understanding tone. "That 'just wanting to know' is the driving force behind all of science."
Shinko throw him a smile. "Seeing as you use the expression in a kingdom build for science,"
"Then, you've always been part of Kingdom of Science, Soyuz-chan." Gen finished, and their words resonated for Soyuz in assurance and acceptance as a tear trailing down his cheek.
He sniffled and smiled shakily, spreading his gaze around to drink in the environment they're in. "I-I couldn't find the island, no matter how many days I rowed. But this science ship could…"
"We will be there in no time." Kohaku stated with confidence. "How many more days until we reach the Treasure Island?"
"We'll be there in a few hours." Ryusui answered almost instantly, kind of an unexpected news as their main goal was to sail to the other side of the globe. Everyone would've thought it would take at least months of floating above the water.
Gen's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. "SO SOON!?"
Shinko chuckled at his shock. "Well, Treasure Island is near Japan, after all."
Kohaku laughed in triumph as she stared into the horizon. All of them decided to get some fresh air for a while after being cooped up in the control room, enjoying the salty breeze, the sun, and the sound of crashing waves. "Crossing these waters must have been brutal for our ancestors and we crossed then in an instant!"
"Oh, man, Perseus!" Chrome cheered as he peered to the blue waters below.
"The fruit of Senku and the science team's efforts!" Taiju added with the same high-spirits.
"I know!" Yuzuriha nodded in excitement. "It'd be nice to see how it's made and stuff."
Shinko mimicked her respond as she pointed out. "Along with the whole interior and its gadgets! It must've been really sophisticated."
"Yuzuriha, Shinko, you're just asking to be fed to the fire." Kohaku chuckled nervously, her voice sounded strained as she folded her arms across her chest.
Nikki also sighed in resignation on the event that was about to dawn upon them. "Don't blame us if you regret it."
"Really?" Kaseki immediately jumped into the conversation, his tone without a doubt sounding giddy. "You wanna see the ship we built?"
"If you absolutely must." Ryusui chuckled as he joined in the convo–despite wearing a cool and calm façade, it was clear that he was also excited about the prospect of explaining the nook and cranny of the ship. This vessel was his dream and pride after all.
"It's packed with science." Last but not least, Senku who was the first one with the plan to create this ship. Each of them sharing the same enthusiasm in giving one hell of a tour.
"These kinds of people are always dying to show you the machines they tuned the hell out of." Nikki continued, knowing the three without a doubt heard Yuzuriha and Shinko's words from before.
Kohaku shook her head. "They won't let you go until they're done."
"I'll be alright! And I know Shinko-chan will too!" Yuzuriha stated without a hint of hesitation, incurring shocked exclaims from both the warriors. "I always sat through Senku-kun's five-hour rocket lectures and stuff!"
"And I stayed throughout his explanations about our projects back at the mainland." Shinko also remarked with an easy smile which was definitely misplaced in the situation.
"I know about Shinko, but Yuzuriha!? We have a veteran here!" Nikki was in full disbelief.
The tour started the moment the steel door creaked open, showing a steep set of stairs completed with railings heading down to the ship's bilge. The whole interior was made out of wood with some steel and iron to strengthened its structure and integrity. Ryusui snapped his fingers in eager followed by his infamous roaring laughter. "Let me show you! The entirety of Science Vessel Perseus!"
"These stairs are so steep." Yuzuriha commented.
"Hold the handrails from the bottom side when you go downstairs." Ryusui instructed with a professional tone, the captain instincts inside him went to work. "Otherwise, you'll fall when the ship rocks forward."
"There's an awful lot of curved parts." Kinro remarked when he studied the structure around the sleeping area which consisted of five level bunk beds. The room was separated between men and women.
Kaseki laughed in amusement. "Nothing on a ship is ever strait-laced as you, Kinro! It would snap."
"Then, we have the greenhouse!" Shinko referred to the wide space underneath the glass roof, where lights could filter through and brightened up the room even without electricity. Rows of fresh potted plants on the big and sturdy shelves, goats settled nicely on top of the hays by the side as they were caged by steel fences. "There are some ingredients that could only be used when it's fresh for both science and cooking, so this place is really important!"
"Those must be the eyes of science!" Kohaku pointed out to the antenna, radar, and GPS attached to the upper side of the mast.
"Uweeei! You can go fishing here!" Yo exclaimed from their wide deck.
"Ship windows are made big enough for a person to get through just in case there's an accident." Ukyo informed, gesturing towards the round-shaped windows attached on the ship's walls in the bilge.
"What!? This tiny circle!?" Taiju shouted in surprise as he looked at the size.
"You'd have a rough time, Taiju-chan." Gen chuckled nervously because the window was way too small for someone as big and buff as the brunette to go through.
"I think we should up the standard to at least Magma-san's size." Shinko suggested, sharing the same nervous laugh the mentalist had. "Most of our crews are really buff and muscly packed."
"There's a lab here!" Chrome exclaimed, staring at the mini and separated part of the ship. The lab was packed in a more sophisticated and efficient way–built upon four-wheeled vehicle so it would be easy to move around if it's necessary. It's the most important part of the Kingdom of Science.
"The lab is the Kingdom of Science's lifeline." Senku remarked. "A mobile lab that'll fit on the back of the car. We can move it around once we're ashore too."
.
.
Venturing to the world untouched for hundreds of years after humanity was petrified could be called a grand adventure, similar to the treasure hunter movies trope back then. There was anticipation, thrill, and of course anxiety, however it seemed most of them took this as some kind of field trip–clearly enjoying the concept of traveling. Though, the joy of it was abruptly stopped by forces of nature such as seasick.
"I'm seasick… on a ship…" Yo muttered as he leaned against the mast looking like death.
"I'm so sick-" Ginro slouched against the railing, words cut off as he hurled for probably the second time. Not just the two of them, a few of their crews were also in the same state–looking like their life reduced in half.
"You're all pathetic." Nikki scowled, disliking the weak display she saw before her.
"After all that big talk about relying on the people of the sea." Kohaku deadpanned.
"Can't blame them. I'm sure it's their first time on the open sea." Ukyo sighed at their current situation before turning to face Shinko. "Are you alright, Shinko? Do you feel sick too?"
She gave him a strained smile which already spoke an answer. "A little bit since the ship is rocking quite violently. That's why I'm on the deck most of the time. The breeze helps me. Although… seeing them hurling and hearing the gurgling noises kind of triggered me…"
Ukyo's eyes widened in panic as he immediately put his hands on her shoulders, feeling worried when he noticed her rather pale complexion. "Take deep breaths, Shinko. Do you want to lie down? We can head to the sleeping area. Don't push yourself. Do you still have that aromatic ginger oil you made? We can use that too to help."
"I think it's in the medicine cabinet…" Shinko muttered, a hand over her mouth.
"Right, we never prepared for seasickness." Senku snickered in amusement as some of the crew had fallen to their knees from it. "No worries! That's what the lab for! Some scopolamine to dull the autonomic nerves should do the trick."
As Senku walked away towards their lab, Ukyo slowly lowered Shinko to the deck so she could lean against the mast. Once he had her settled on a more comfortable position, he quickly jogged into the control room and rummaged through the medicine cabinet. The sonarman was back once he had a glass vial labeled with 'Ginger Oil' on it.
Ukyo uncapped the cork, and instantly a faint scent of ginger's familiar spiciness wafting from the vial. He gently wrapped an arm around her back, moving her head so Shinko could lean onto him instead. Holding the vial underneath her nose and caressing her head, Ukyo tried to ease her nausea.
"D-Damn it…" Yo cursed in a strained voice, body twitching on the floor. "How can they be so lovey-dovey during something like this…?"
"When will someone care for me that way…" Ginro added before hurling for the nth time.
"That's Ukyo and Shinko for you." Nikki replied, although she definitely enjoyed the display of affection–a sight for sore eyes to her indeed. Kohaku even nodded in agreement, face full of approval.
Senku made enough batch for everyone who was down with seasickness and one by one, they revived and returned to their energetic state–especially Yo and Ginro who immediately jumped and leaped around as if they didn't suffer from it in the first place.
"Go lie down! Or do some work if you have the energy to be jumping around!" The scientist scolded, not liking the idea of them acted out rather than resting or doing important things. Nevertheless, he sighed and kneeled in front of Shinko–holding out the spoon filled with the last batch of scopolamine. "Here you go, huntress. Who would've thought the seasickness got into you too? You can leap from tree to tree but still have seasick? That's weird."
"The waves are quite rough and I didn't move a lot so…" Shinko gave him a wry smile, reaching out for the spoon. "Thank you, Senku-san."
Unexpectedly, Senku held her wrist to stop her from getting the spoon–which made both her and Ukyo taken aback by his gesture. The scientist sighed. "Just open your mouth. It'll be easier."
Shinko nodded slowly and did as she was told. The medicine tasted bitter when Senku fed it to her but not to the point of it being hard to swallow. After waiting for a few moments, she definitely looked a lot better which relieved Ukyo. Rubbing her back gently, he faced the scientist. "How did you make it?"
"From Devil's Trumpet." Senku answered nonchalantly as if making medicine from poisonous things was an everyday practice. "Separating the fat-soluble stuff from the water-soluble ones, that's how we extract active ingredients. Just a small amount works as medicine, but mess with it and it'll legit kill you."
"You almost gave me a heart attack, Senku-san." Shinko muttered before giving him a wry smile once again. "I should've known you'll make something from absurd ingredients, just like when you forced vanilla extract from ozone and laurel bay."
"Damn right." The scientist snickered before poking her forehead lightly. "How you're feeling right now? Don't even think of rushing here and there unless you're fine. No one wants to clean up after the lunch you threw up."
Shinko rubbed the spot on her forehead he just poked. "I feel a lot better now, thank you, Senku-san."
"That's great." Ukyo remarked, his worries vanished into thin air as he tucked the aromatic oil away. His hand reached out to massage her temple. "If you're feeling unwell again, make sure to tell one of us, okay? We need our watchman slash sniper to be in her tip top shape."
Not far from them, Yuzuriha, Kohaku, Nikki, and Gen whispered amongst themselves. In fear of Ukyo could eavesdrop, they went with wild hand gestures as a replacement. With the same mind length in hand, if wasn't hard from them to communicate and understood each other.
That means we're even, right? Yuzuriha moved her hand animatedly.
Ha! Who would've thought they both made a move at the same time! Kohaku replied, looking extremely amused. Senku and Ukyo, both of them are bolder than we thought!
Nikki directed a smirk towards the mentalist. You're lucky, Gen. Otherwise you had to pay three times the bet. What makes you suddenly want to bet at Senku, anyway?
Gen gave the taller blonde playful finger guns. What? The iceberg to our Titanic deserves a chance you know~! Will he sink the ship? Or will the ship survive? Everything is possible, Nikki-chan~
They seemed to have a blast in their own world.
"It's really great, isn't it? With the lab around, we have a scientific medical room in the stone world." Ukyo remarked, still placing his hand on Shinko's back.
She nodded at the sonarman's words. "It's kind of reassuring to know that we have sufficient medical help during our journey."
"T-That's right." Soyuz nodded in agreement. "This ship might get us through the storm."
"A storm?" Ginro repeated haughtily. "Do you really think we, the people of the sea, would fear a storm?"
"There he goes, being all smug again as soon as the nausea wears off." Gen pointed out in amusement.
"Keep talking smack, and we'll actually get hit by a storm." Senku deadpanned, a look of displeased marring his face–he didn't like the thought of people jinxing it.
"Like a wicked woman, the sea's mood can swing instantly." Ryusui chuckled because the moment they talked about storm, it was definitely a call and one already eager to greeted them in the horizon–faint rumbling of thunder and dark clouds looming over the waters which they would sail straight into. There's no escaping the force of nature.
The sunny sky turned into a dark, windy, and harsh weather with downpour in a blink of an eye. The ship rocked heavily under the attack of tall waves crashing onto its body. Ginro screamed in fright as he held onto dear life on the deck. Kinro almost had his eyes popped out of its sockets from the drastic change of weather. "It swings that suddenly!?"
The moment Ukyo pushed the steel door open to checked on the condition real time, he had to hold his hat in place to prevent it from being blown away. "There are no obstructions, unlike on land…!"
Their trusted captain gasping so suddenly without a doubt stirred up some anxiety and worries, especially during condition like this. Kohaku snapped her head towards his direction instinctively. "Is something wrong, Ryusui!?"
"What!? Are we in deep shit!?" Chrome questioned with the same urgency as the blonde.
"I see you've made a green tea latte with goat milk, Francois. Not bad." Ryusui hummed in satisfaction once lifted up the clay mug filled with steaming liquid, a perfect figure of Kingdom of Science's logo made from milk on top of it. He even managed to stopped its saucer from sliding off the desk effortlessly. Then, he turned to face Shinko who had similar mug in her hands but with a different type of drink–it was in lighter beige color and smelled of honey, milk, and tea. "And that royal honey milk tea you offer our dear lady sounds good too. I should have that on another occasion."
"HE'S SO CHILL!" Kohaku and Chrome shouted in disbelief.
"I've been through countless storms. As long as I'm steering the ship, this is nowhere hear dire. No need to freak out." The captain assured them with his confident tone, plowing through the storm was nothing when you had hundreds of experiences of sailing on your belt. He gave Shinko another soft smile. "Now, my dear, do enjoy your royal honey milk tea before it gets cold."
"Ah, thank you, Ryusui-san, Francois-san. It tastes amazing." The archer replied before taking another sip, making sure she didn't spill even a single drop.
The butler bowed down in gratitude when they received the praise. "An honor to me, my lady."
The door slammed open so suddenly, and Senku ran into the room drenched from head to toe. Clashed with the calm atmosphere in the room, it was crystal clear that the scientist had his mind almost thrown out of the window from panic. He almost slipped to the floor from how slippery it was as the water dripped from his clothes pooled down.
"HE'S FREAKING OUT!" Kohaku and Chrome shouted in disbelief once again from the extremely opposite display.
"You should be freaking out! Get it together, everyone! This isn't dire or not dire! This is an opportunity!" The initial hurry in Senku's tone changed into a confidence instantly. "We don't know if the people on the island are friend or foe, and with this storm, if all goes well, we can sneak up on them and get a good look at them with our eyes of science!"
Ryusui cackled the moment he fully comprehended the scientist's words. "All hands, to your station!"
Only through that simple order, everyone scrambled to their designated places. On the deck, the Power Team handled the ropes connected to the sails–trying to keep the wind from blowing the fabric or tore it apart. Ukyo stared at the radar attentively, not wanting to miss anything crucial when they're still in the middle of storm. Shinko sat behind the telescope, hoping to gain anything in her field of vision through the heavy downpour. Ryusui was delivering orders left and right in constant so the crew wouldn't be lost in panic and able to managed the ship well even though they're still considered amateurs.
Shinko froze on her place the moment she saw it–an unmoving silhouette in between unending droplets of water and white fog, slowly getting larger at every meter they took forward. There's no doubt that it was their destination. They finally made it.
Treasure Island was just up ahead.