Angel: Desireepurnellsandi commented about last chapter's whole 'Sumi thought Senku was a pervert' bit and wondered if I saw Red, White, and Royal Blue. And...nope! I hadn't even heard of it until that review. The idea was actually from a comic about Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose, it's called 12 Years Later I think. Basically about how the two reunited after 12 years of Sonic being gone and that idea was based off the scene of him thinking Amy was pregnant lol.

Oh! And I've started watching My Hero Academia, and I decided to actually write it-though not right away. Because it's over 100 episodes and I just don't have the energy for that as of now. Maybe when I finish other projects and I'm not swimming in them, will this one get released...? Because I don't know how many episodes this anime will have since it's still in production just like My Hero Academia. Black Clover I also need to rewatch before I can decide on that one. Maybe when I finish Regular Show, which that story will come out next year, I'll write My Hero Academia, but that's a maybe, I don't know if I could.

Chrome put the wires into the saltwater he made. The water sparked and steam came out of it soon after. He grinned while pumping a fist. He whistled while pouring the sodium hypochlorite onto the ropes from his cage. The ropes then broke off and he grabbed one of the bars. 'How do you like us now? I'm melting through the fibers using a chemically decomposed liquid.' He pressed against the bars until they broke, the rest falling off easily. 'This is how old Chrome and Sumi do a scientific prison break!' He grabbed one of the bars as Sumi came running in.

Kohaku watched from the cliff and then saw something up ahead. She gasped in shock, recoiling back her head. Chrome and Sumi were walking right towards them. "No way..." She brought the two back to the others, who were happy to see them alive.

"Chrome and Sumi are free, you guys!" Suika cried out happily as the two waved to their friends.

"You two broke out of there by yourselves! Way to go, you both!" Kaseki chimed in while waving his hands.

"Science is so incredible!" Suika ran over to Sumi to hug her legs, tears flying from her eyes. The woman smiled down at her, bending down to hug her back comfortingly. "I mean, it even helped Chrome break out of jail!"

"I'm amazed you managed to keep your science tools, you two," Kohaku glanced over to the duo in surprise. "I thought for sure those guys would've taken them."

"Yeah, about that..." Chrome started off, pulling out the battery to show them all. "I had some help from Taiju and the others. They slipped me this battery."

Once Sumi heard that, she stood up in confusion, turning to her science partner knowingly. Senku blinked at him, as he wasn't too sure about that; it wasn't like Taiju to do that without knowing what it did. Especially since Senku never explained how he made the cell phone to him. And judging by Sumi's face, she never did so either, or gave it to them. He then chuckled while turning to Chrome. "I'm ten billion percent sure that meat-head would've never thought to do something that clever," He spoke up to the group.

"Ah, so it was Yuzuriha!" Kohaku guessed with a bright smile.

"That makes sense logically," Senku started off, turning away in thought. "Although Yuzuriha...should be too busy with her secret mission. She's not the type to get distracted from the task at hand and slack on her duties." He could still remember him and Sumi telling her about it and her expression hearing it. As she said to them before, crafting was about perseverance. So procrastinating for even a simple task like that would be out of character for her.

"She's got a secret mission?" Kohaku walked over in confusion.

"You mean the infiltration, in order to keep in contact using the cell phone?" Kinro asked, but Senku just gave a small smirk in return, without answering the question.

"No, not that, although it was important to get into contact with her and Taiju with the phone. We gave her something far more important that she's working really hard on. I bet she's made a lot of progress since the last time we saw her," Sumi smiled while crossing her arms. She had complete faith in Yuzuriha and her crafting skills, so she was excited to see what her status was.

"So then it must've been Sumi who gave me the battery!" Chrome smiled towards the black-haired scientist, who blinked. "I can't believe I didn't think of that in the first place. We were working together to bust me out, after all."

"Huh? But I never slipped that battery into your cell, Chrome," She revealed and he gave a look of confusion, along with the others. "I wasn't even carrying it on me. And wouldn't that crazy guard have noticed me anyway unless I distracted him?"

"Huh...?" He then remembered that if Yo noticed him starting a fire, he would've noticed Sumi trying to sneak in a battery. Then she wouldn't be standing right now. "Yeah, you're right. But I got it at least a half hour after your message. Did you tell Taiju or Yuzuriha to bring it to me?" He tilted his head in confusion at her.

"Mm, no," She shook her head while biting her lip in thought. "Senku's describing them correctly. And I never even met up with them. I was too busy dealing with Tsukasa on the other side at the time. So neither of them would've known to plant it if I didn't direct them to. And as much as I wanted to speak with Yuzuriha and Taiju, it would've given away that they're spies to Tsukasa. He still doesn't know if they are working with us, and I had to make sure it stayed that way. I'm sure it came across them or Senku anyway." And without the proper skills, they still wouldn't have gotten past Yo. They wouldn't even know Chrome was there unless she told them. Which didn't happen either since they were focused on the impersonation plan.

"Yeah, we talked about it, decided it was too much of a risk for all three of them. Anyone could've overheard them interacting, and then it'd be a dead giveaway," Senku confirmed and then turned to her curiously. "Did anyone else know about the battery besides you two?"

"No. Why would I tell anyone?" Chrome then flinched as he remembered...that he was a bit of a blabbermouth. "Ah...on second thought, never mind."

"I never even brought it up until—ah!" She gasped in realization with wide eyes as something came to mind.

"You said he needed wires, right?" Ukyo spoke up as the two were looking over at Chrome's prison. She looked towards him in confusion.

"Eh? Yeah, but I don't have those on me. And if we steal back my belt now, Yo might notice if he's keeping an eye on Chrome. He'll know how to make sodium hypochlorite, but without those wires, there's no chance of escape," She frowned towards the prison.

"...Will you excuse me, Sumi?" He asked suddenly and she blinked towards him. "I think I'm gonna go to bed. You should too."

"I'll be fine," She waved a little.

"N-No way..." Her eyes shook as it hit her. Ukyo planted it...? He must've hoarded it when he left. She didn't think anything of it until Senku brought up the possibility of someone else knowing. But why wouldn't he tell her what he was doing?

"Until what?" Chrome blinked at her curiously and she gave a nervous laugh.

"I'll explain later. It's kinda complicated," She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, and they all stared at her, wondering what she was thinking about. If she told them now, it wouldn't help their opinions about him. She could tell Senku already knew of the former sonar operator since that was a big obstacle in the cell phone plan.

"Well, whatever happened there, someone saved me," Chrome smiled a bit, and then a loud rumble occurred. Chrome and Sumi turned around, both of their eyes bulging out at the Steam Gorilla tank. "The hell's this huge, ridiculous gorilla machine?!"

"Ha ha!" Kaseki laughed from above. "I'm so happy that we won't have to just throw away our adorable little Steam Gorilla now!" Chrome admired it while Sumi gasped sharply.

"Whoa! Sumi, you ended up being right!" He cried out in disbelief.

She didn't register what he said, though, as she was too busy looking at the tank. "Ahh..." She whipped around to Senku, hitting him lightly repeatedly. He yelped in shock from her reaction. "I knew it! You made a car without me?!" He gently pushed her hands away so she could stop freaking out.

"We made it to save your asses, remember?!" He pointed down at her with white eyes.

"Not fair! You made this without me...I wanted to help build a car..." She whined with a single tear coming from her eye. She already knew that he would've done it, since she had a feeling he was making something awesome without her. And because that was what she told Ukyo, but she didn't think it'd be this cool-looking. She definitely wouldn't call it adorable, though.

Senku sighed slowly at her behavior. "If I promise to make another one with you, will you stop whining? Of course I'd make something to rescue you. But I didn't think it'd bother you so much," He glanced away in exasperation. Gen stared at the two with a playful smirk on his face, as he silently wondered if they had talked about the big elephant in the room.

"That's not it..." She sighed back at him. "It's not like I'm not happy you made it. It's the fact that we're a team. And ever since we've been science partners, every project we've done together. When we were separated after de-petrification...you were making the same things I was at the same time, weren't you?"

He blinked at her question and realized she was more upset that they weren't working as a team like they usually did. He closed his eyes with a small smile, trying not to blush. "I sure was. Don't worry, Sumi," He patted her on the head and she blinked up at him. "Anything I make without you will just get made again for 7 billion people. So we'll have more chances to make whatever we want together, you dummy."

"Hey! Stop calling me a dummy," She gave him her usual pout and he just chuckled in response. "You really love embarrassing me, don't you?" She placed her hands on her hips, unamused.

"Anyway, our odds are ten billion times better with this tank. And we could storm the enemy on the final battlefield," Senku ignored her remark.

"Say what?!" Ginro blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Kinro looked on, a bit taken aback himself. Senku glanced towards them with a small smirk.

"I'm talking about the battle to take control of the miracle cave. Whoever has access to the nitric acid brewing in there can make revival fluid. And whip up some gunpowder," He explained to all of them.

"Tsukasa knows this," Sumi crossed her arms with a knowing look on her face and looking up. "Which is why it's heavily guarded. He took me there once, they've got people on it 24/7. Just like with Chrome's cell."

"That means...if we're able to take it away from their side..." Kohaku trailed off in bewilderment.

"Then Tsukasa...won't be able to get more people!" Kinro finished with a smile.

"Oh, and that also means, we get our hands on the ultimate weapon of science!" Ginro added while imagining them using the tank to take it over.

"Like Sumi and I said before...the condition for a Kingdom of Science victory's ridiculously simple. We're not looking to annihilate the enemy. All we wanna do is capture the cave with the miracle fluid," Senku stated while there was already a jar of it in the miracle cave.

"You know...Tsukasa's gonna throw his whole army at us," Kohaku pointed out grimly.

"We could pull this off with sorcery—I mean, with our science stuff," Magma said confidently to her.

"But they've gotta have around 100 people or so!" Suika stated in concern.

"While we've only got about a dozen fighters. We're totally outnumbered," Kinro said worriedly, his arms crossed.

Senku chuckled while looking up at them. "For now. But that's why Taiju and the others are working so hard." The others gasped in awe as Sumi smiled. At this point, she had been caught up on what happened on their end besides the tank and of what Senku promised Nikki. "Which means that the rest of it is up to the mentalist's big mouth," He looked towards the approaching Gen. "We'll bring them all over to our side."

"Yup. With his impression that still creeps me out," Sumi gave a small sweat drop. "So we're really counting on you, Gen!"

"Quite the responsibility," Gen sighed a bit. Chrome walked over to him, placing his hand by his mouth.

"Be honest with me...this impersonation...you're sure it'll work?"

Gen looked up sheepishly, remembering the grueling training that Nikki put him through over the phone. "Thanks to Nikki the superfan's intense coaching style, I can finally reproduce Lillian's voice perfectly. Still, it's better that it doesn't reach Ukyo's uper-say sensitive ears. We have to be real careful he doesn't find out."

Chrome and Sumi stared at him, the black-haired woman biting her lip while looking away. Chrome's eyes went towards the ground. Ukyo laughed and then reached out to set the two free. "You know what, forget the rope." He then turned to Tsukasa on top of the cliff. "They were at the miracle cave, just scouting it all by themselves. Well, Sumi snuck up on me, and that caused me to hit her with my arrow. It was a mistake on my part. I'm sorry." The two looked up at him in shock as he had a mysterious look on his face. "I'll bet they're after the nitric acid." He then spoke to Sumi in the field. "Tell you what," Ukyo tipped his hat to Sumi with a small smile. "First things first, we'll get you into contact with Chrome. Then we'll take it from there. So, what do we need?"

Chrome frowned as he felt like he still couldn't trust him. And just like Sumi, he wasn't too keen on telling them right now what Ukyo had been doing. "Hey, Sumi..." Kohaku gave a small frown towards her. The black-haired scientist blinked towards her friend as she snapped out of it. "What was it like...seeing him again?"

"You must've been really scared, huh?" Suika asked her in worry. Sumi closed her eyes, her head tilted towards the ground. She remembered the only three conversations that she had with him, and all were very tense to say the least. So she didn't think she succeeded very well in trying to get him to see reason...but she couldn't tell them that and get their hopes up that he had stopped having feelings for her. Not just yet, anyway. She then looked up, opening her eyes.

"Eh, nothing too special," She finally said after a pause, giving a light shrug. "No need to worry. If I stress myself out, I can't defeat Tsukasa, can I? Although that does remind me that I lost all my equipment and even my whip. If we're gonna head down there, I'm gonna need to re-equip myself."

"That'll be nothing," Senku walked past her to the Steam Gorilla. "We brought all of our gear!"

"Yay!" She cheered as she joined him, both of them touching the tank.

"Alright. Let's get started, guys. We have one last mission before we can move onto the final phase," He told everyone as Sumi grinned. "The strike on the Tsukasa Empire. Let's get to quick work equipping Sumi back up first."

He walked off and she followed him, the two stepping onto the tire to search for what they needed. He stayed silent as he could tell that things didn't go very well. If they had, she would've had more good news than what she said. He knew her true feelings, but he needed to wait until Tsukasa had at least...stopped whatever he was doing with her.

"...Sumire," He spoke up and she glanced at him in confusion. He kept his eyes towards the equipment. "You don't have to tell me now if you're not ready, but...what happened with Tsukasa," He glanced up towards her. "I know you tried your hardest to get him to listen. So no matter what...always remember that you aren't some kind of prize from this war," He jumped off the tire while holding a pouch, looking up at her. "And that your skills aren't the only thing that matters in the Kingdom of Science." She let out a light gasp from his declaration, as he knew that was how Tsukasa saw it, at least a little bit. He himself didn't care if she was a prize for him; he wasn't going to act like she was whenever he revealed the truth to her. Because to him, she was much more than that. And he could tell that it at least crossed her mind that their clashing ideals wasn't the only reason behind this war...

She smiled happily and jumped to land in front of him. "Thanks, Senku. I'll save it for another day...and remember what you told me," She said softly while hugging a bag.

"Hm," He gave her a small smile, glad that he could cheer her up. She placed her tool belt around her waist, now having everything she lost back. "Good. Now let's make a new whip. We're using tungsten this time!"

"Yes! That sounds awesome!" She cheered as Kohaku smiled from afar. It was like they were back in sync as usual. Senku blinked while looking at her bandaged arm.

"Oh yeah," He stepped up and grabbed the cloth. "Almost forgot." He slowly started to unravel it and she blushed from how close he was to her. "How's your arm feeling, Sumi?" He wondered while moving his fingers gently against the cloth's knot.

"I'm okay. They had it cleaned off and it itched, but I wasn't really thinking too much about it the longer I spent there," She responded quietly and he finally removed it to reveal that she was fully healed. He lifted up her elbow to get a closer look. She smiled from his unspoken concern as he straightened up, letting go of her.

"Well, if anything hurts still, let me know. Just because it's the Tsukasa Empire doesn't mean they have your expert knowledge in the medicine field," He chuckled a bit and she hummed, looking down at her arm.

"I think I'll survive. The major concern I have is the whole marriage thing," She glanced upwards to the side in annoyance.

"Did you forget Taiju and Yuzuriha have that covered?" He replied while looking at the blood on the cloth. "They burned down wedding invitations and even destroyed some stuff, ha!" He grinned at the memory of them telling him over the phone.

"As proud as I am of them, that might not be enough for him to back off..." She let out a small groan from his expression.

Kaseki laughed as he placed something onto the tank. "I can't believe my adorable Steam Gorilla! My baby's even more adorable than before!" Suika and Shovel were looking at multiple pieces of paper on the ground.


Yuzuriha bent down to the speaker, having brought a group of people with her. They waited patiently as Gen, Senku, and Sumi had set up on the phone near camp. Gen turned to Sumi, his hands in his sleeves. "No going back, Mire-Chan. Still up for it?"

"Mmhm," She nodded to him while closing her eyes. "If it'll really help us, then I don't mind. If Mom were here...well, that's debatable if she'd even approve. But I know that she would've eventually been okay with it...so I will be too."

He gave her a small smile and Senku gave a small chuckle. "Still don't need your approval, but here goes," He walked up to place the needle onto the grooves.

One small step from zero

I'm not afraid

The people all gasped to hear her music.

That we want is right here for us to make

Just taking one small step to hero

They imagined it was the real Lillian, even though Gen was the one pulling off the impression. "That's Lillian Weinberg!" One of them exclaimed in awe.

I'll take the chance

And when I do

"Yeah, it's her song!" Another said happily while Nikki looked on with a smile.

I'll be thinking of the same thing I always do

Sumi smiled fondly from hearing the song, as she could never get bored of it. It was the last thing she had of Lillian besides the adoption papers after all...so she wanted the song to be stuck in her head for as long as she could hear. Senku glanced to the woman and gave a small smirk. He could imagine her silent joy to hear Lillian's only remaining song...though telling too many people of her connection to Lillian was a risk. He'd only resort to it if he needed to, if that was what it took to accomplish their goal.

Lillian and a younger Sumi sang together in her room, the little girl trying as hard as she could to match the singer. The woman chuckled while brushing the girl's hair, and then the two listened to all her songs together. Sumi smiled with her hands crossed on the table, her head resting on her wrists while closing her eyes.

It's always you

Gen took the speaker as there was then silence. He pressed his fingers to his neck as the plan came into action. "Hey y'all! It's Lillian Weinberg!" He began to impersonate as Taiju gasped. The crowd was in awe to hear her voice.

"It's really her!" A woman cried out with tears in her eyes.

"That's crazy!"

"Howdy! You folks in Japan listen up, can y'all hear me?" Gen continued on, Nikki looking impressed. Though she was still a bit nervous of Ukyo potentially arriving.

All of our training paid off. He's even nailing her Southern drawl perfectly. 100 points, Gen. I'm totally in love!

Sumi gave a big sweat drop next to the mentalist, an eyebrow twitching. It still astonishes me hearing the impression of my mom from someone who's a good friend of mine. It sounds exactly like her, though I hope he doesn't use this to freak me out all of the time now.

"I wanted y'all to know the USA's got our civilization back!" 'Lillian' explained to them. "We're coming to save y'all!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd, Taiju playing along with them. "We're gonna be saved!"

"Hell yeah!"

Yuzuriha had her eyes white behind them as she was still a bit wary of her friends' intentions...well, mostly just Senku and Gen. If she were to ask Sumi right now what she planned on doing if people found out the truth, she'd be just as uneasy. But the best thing to do was just continue pretending she didn't know what they were up to if they wanted to stop Tsukasa...

"Hush," Nikki put a finger in front of her lips. "We've gotta keep it down, everyone. Don't forget, Tsukasa rejects the entire structure of the old world. Do you guys honestly think he's suddenly gonna play nice with the US military?"

"So?" One of them turned to her as they looked confident. "How is he gonna reject them?"

"Yeah, she just said the US is back! And Tsukasa may be strong or whatever, but if they come with guns, it's gonna be over like that!"

Sumi tilted her head in disbelief as she felt like something just went through it. Considering her infiltration of his empire that she just returned from...there was no way Tsukasa would bow down in front of the military. She knew him too well at this point that this wouldn't deter him at all, even if that part wasn't the truth. Not even Hyoga would be that intimidated by tanks...

"Yup, you are darn right," 'Lillian' agreed with a small smile. "But it's gonna be just a little while before the US military can get all the way over yonder." Taiju smiled while talking more people into following him. "We would really love to stop this Tsukasa fellow from destroying more stone statues." Nikki adjusted the speakers as the next group heard the song and cheered. "So please, until then, cooperate with Senku and Sumi. They've got a real good plan."

The aforementioned duo smiled for how the plan was going. However...at the back of Sumi's mind, she couldn't forget Ukyo of all people. She was a bit concerned since she knew of his super hearing...but at the same time, she had no idea how he'd approach it since she was allied with him the whole time. Would he even connect this to her at all and know that she played a part? She hoped he would and pretend nothing happened...just like when he lied to Hyoga. Then again, as she knew Ukyo had been very mysterious, he could do anything...

The recent group of people walked away from the gravesite. "I can't believe how well this Lillian thing is working!" Taiju exclaimed happily to Nikki. "We're bringing in so many people!"

"Yeah..." She was a bit skeptical herself while looking towards the ground. She then glanced over her shoulder. "Honestly, it's a little scary if you ask me." The two noticed Yuzuriha bringing in another group. "When people get comfortable, they get complacent. That's when things can be the most dangerous..."

Ukyo was sitting on top of a rock as he looked up in alarm, hearing the cheering from the gravesite. Once he arrived, he didn't hesitate to approach them. "You guys are having fun," He pointed out, alarming Nikki and Taiju. "I'd like to get on that phone call too. That okay?"

Sumi gasped sharply from hearing his voice and kept silent, a sweat drop going down the side of her face. Senku looked at her as her eyes were trying to seem like she didn't know who it was. But her face said it all: she was familiar with who they were hearing on some level. Enough to have a reaction like that, at least.

Oh no... Nikki's eyes were in a panic. We can't let Ukyo hear the impression!

"This is it..." Senku murmured as Sumi took a deep breath to calm herself down. He looked towards Gen and Sumi. "We're in too deep to stop now."

"It's not like we have a choice," Sumi bit at her thumbnail nervously. "If we hang up, he'll just call back. And I don't think either of us would fool him either," She glanced towards him and Gen. Though she was a bit curious as to why Ukyo wasn't even questioning the fact that they had a phone in the first place...maybe because she was allied with him, he suspected that they made one as fast as they did?

"I know..." Gen smirked as he prepared himself.

Ukyo vs Gen!

"It's my impersonation trained by my superfan teacher Nikki versus Ukyo's super hearing. Time for a sudden death duel!" He announced to the two scientists. He took a deep breath and looked up, going back to the impression again. "Howdy, this is Lillian Weinberg. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

"Incredible," He commented while bent down to the phone. "It really is Lillian. I would've never seen that coming in a million years," He then gave a small knowing chuckle. "However, I can't detect a vibration in your voice, after singing so enthusiastically. I suppose that would be hard for you to imitate...Gen."

Gen facepalmed while Senku and Sumi were baffled. "We couldn't fool him for a second!" Senku exclaimed in disbelief.

"Oh no! I was scared I wasn't eady-ray," He scolded himself and Sumi patted his back to comfort him. If she spoke now, Ukyo would know she was there. And she had no clue what move he'd play if he found out she was listening the entire time. Gen let out a gasp as he realized something. "Wait, hold on a minute, you guys. Ukyo may have busted us...but he said it so softly." The two gasped in realization that the others didn't hear what Ukyo said at all. "Because...he didn't want the others to hear what he was saying! The things he's doing are quite odd. And I'm suspicious about his motivations," Senku stood up as the two stared at him. "When he found us at the gravesite, he chased after us by himself without telling Tsukasa or anyone else for that matter. He even made sure Mire-Chan was patched up in a temporary surrender," Gen pointed out and Senku blinked in shock.

Sumi stared at the two and then sighed slowly. She might as well tell them the truth since they were questioning Ukyo as a person. "Gen...Senku..." Sumi waved them away and they stepped away from the speaker. She turned around to them while biting her lip. "There's something else you should know. When I was at the Tsukasa Empire, Ukyo and I...were actually in an alliance. He helped ensure that I could communicate with Chrome, and the tone in his voice when he asked about my arm...it was like he felt guilt."

"Eally-ray?!" Gen recoiled back in shock and she shushed him.

"Yes. But when he was asked why we were there to begin with, he lied to Hyoga for some reason. I'm not really sure what he's up to...but I think we should confront him," She blinked in thought as they stared. "He ended up being my only ally there. Didn't even try and stop me from escaping or tell the others either."

Senku chuckled and then took the speaker. "Shrewd observations, mentalist and Sumi. That puts the Gen vs Ukyo showdown at 1 to 1 so far," He then stepped forward, smirking towards her. "At this point, it's stupidly obvious that you knew who slipped Chrome that battery. It had to be him who figured out that Chrome needed it to escape because you said it to him, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I didn't necessarily say a battery. He must've deduced that too on his own, and that either me or Chrome would've had it," Sumi crossed her arms in thought. She told him wires, not specifically the battery. The only way he could've known that detail was if he assumed that she had it on her somewhere in her belt.

"You took that battery from their confiscated equipment, didn't you? Heh," Senku laughed a bit.

Ukyo let out a chuckle of his own. "Not bad. You sure do catch on quickly, don't you? If I hadn't gotten involved, you'd have come to save him. And all of you would be dead. Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not really on your side."

"Yeah, I didn't think so. If that were the case, then you never would've captured Chrome and Sumi," Senku said confidently and blinked with a serious look. "And yet you still allied yourself with my partner," Sumi blinked that he didn't say science partner this time, wondering if she was supposed to think too much on that. Senku himself didn't seem fazed by it, so it probably didn't bother him. "You must've been a great contribution to her plan if she was willing to tell you what Chrome needed to escape...you earned her trust."

"Yes...I did," Ukyo said slowly as he remembered how grateful she was to him. "You could say...I'm assessing the situation. I want to know what kind of people you really are. I saw what you're up to. The unbelievable secret mission your friend is trying to pull off," His voice trembled a little.

People were standing around talking as Taiju walked past Yuzuriha. He was holding some logs over his shoulder, while she was carrying a bag and some animal skin. "Gonna go make some clothes!" She waved to him and left.

"Kay!" He smiled as he waved to her. Ukyo was sitting nearby, having watched and heard the exchange. He looked up as he saw her walk away towards the forest. He stared after her as he listened closely, his eyes fixated on her items. Something about her materials was throwing him off...as he heard, he got even more suspicious.

'That's odd...I can hear something rattling in the bag. Stone fragments.' Yuzuriha's bag was full of them. 'Lots of them. If she's sewing, why would she need those?' The sun was setting by the time she got to a secluded spot. 'It doesn't add up.' She was holding a fur, surrounded by other ones around her. He peeked around the corner, having followed her. He gasped in shock to see her quickly sew up some clothes like it was nothing.

"And done!" She smiled while putting down the finished attire.

'She's finished that quickly?! That's weird. Everybody thinks she's pulling all-nighters in here, sewing away.' Yuzuriha then left, hugging the stone fragment bag close. He watched her from a bush. 'But if that's just some kind of act...what the heck is she doing with the rest of her time?' He followed her to a secret spot, away from everyone else. She opened up the bag and went through it.

"Looks like today's is even more advanced than usual," She commented while putting fragments down. "That's okay, I'm actually kinda used to this," She gave a small smile. It wouldn't be the first time she came across fragments that were difficult to pin down. She started taking them out, Ukyo's eyes widened as he realized where they came from.

'Hold on! Those rocks are...'

Yuzuriha smiled while sitting up, and then it turned into a serious expression. She remembered what her friends told her before. "The statues' surfaces are too weathered to revert to living cells," He explained as her eyes widened. "That's why when you're revived, you break through a thin layer of rock. In other words, if the statues that Tsukasa destroyed...are reassembled before they have time to erode and break down...just maybe..."

"We don't know how much time our own journey will take," Sumi stated quietly, keeping her eyes up ahead. "We know it's a long hurdle...but with your crafting skills, we might have a chance. If you can put them back together, every single last piece of them..."

Yuzuriha blinked as she bent down.

Ukyo had a shadow over his eyes while gripping his bow. He then gave a small smirk. "It's almost impossible to believe..." Ukyo recoiled back in utter surprise at what he was seeing. "But if my hunch is right..." Night soon arrived as he continued to watch her. Yuzuriha had her back turned to him, also a clay pot of glue nearby. She took two pieces, examining them carefully as she held them up. She put them together, beaming happily as they were a perfect match. She then took a paintbrush to put glue onto another piece. She placed it onto a statue in front of her, putting the paintbrush in her mouth. She was putting back together one of the many statues that Tsukasa had broken into pieces.

"It's insane. Even with things as far gone as they are now..." He looked up in disbelief. "Your people are still trying to save all of humanity...with the power of science." Sumi and Senku stared down at the cell phone while listening to him.


Tsukasa was looking down at one of the guards in his throne room. "I'm so sorry, but that primitive guy...melted through the rope and got out! Sumi was helping him too. I don't know how it happened, I swear!" The guard pleaded with the man, as he was expecting a far worse punishment that what Yo could give out. Tsukasa was much stronger than the former police officer despite the latter having modern-day combat training.

He simply closed his eyes, thinking of the last thing he said to Sumi. Somewhere deep down...he still had hope that she would change her mind and return. Even though yes, it hurt to learn that she had technically betrayed his trust by working with Chrome the whole time. He should've known that she was doing so to begin with, but he just...didn't want to believe it. Because he didn't want Sumi to loathe him for the rest of her life...and taking it out on the guard for that just wouldn't feel right.

"Don't worry yourself too much about Chrome or Sumi. It couldn't be helped. Though..." He opened his eyes to look at the guard. "I would like to know what became of Yo."

The guard looked up nervously as he was given certain instructions. "Well...he, uh..." He looked away while recalling it.

Yo laughed while kneeling on the ground, the guard staring at him with unease. Given what happened when Yo punished someone for the trap, he expected the same thing... "Oh man, I let Chrome and Sumi get away! It's over for me guys, I am so screwed!" He wept and then got an idea, sitting up. He wrapped an arm around the guard with a smile. "This is my last order, so listen close. The subordinate does what the superior tells 'em...so responsibility goes up the ladder. Understand? I'm talking about me!" He chuckled and then removed his stone eye piece. He gave it to the guard, revealing that his scars were around his right eye. "I let Sumi and Chrome escape, okay? Tell them that it was all my fault...and tell them Yo totally fell into the waterfall! That dude is dead!"

The guard yelped in shock as he watched Yo run off. "I'm outta here, man! Time for another reset, see ya!"

The guard then held out the stone piece Yo gave him. Tsukasa walked up and examined it in silence. He then gave a small sigh.


"Sounds crazy, but even the ones that were smashed..." Senku started off to Ukyo. "If we put them together like 3D puzzles...there's a chance we could save them."

"It does require a lot of patience, though. Tsukasa's scattered a lot of pieces from his destruction. Only the best craftspeople we know could pull it off," Sumi looked up towards the sky, her bangs flying. Senku then let out a chuckle into the speaker.

"Ten billion points for finding out. So now what, Ukyo? You're gonna rat us out to Tsukasa?" Sumi gasped from his question, turning to the phone in dread. She clenched her necklace close to her, hoping that he wouldn't do that. Because not only would their hard work had been for nothing if Tsukasa destroyed them all over again...he might go and kill Senku for real. She gave a small worried sound while looking towards the speaker. She couldn't let that happen...not again.

"No..." Ukyo replied firmly, shocking her. "Honestly, I'm open to cooperating with you and your team, Senku and Sumi. She's cleared up some things for me too."

"Mm?" Sumi blinked while looking at the microphone, not knowing what he meant.

"Watching her at work and how she acts...it's almost unreal. To behave like that...be so determined yet cheerful and full of life," He gave a small chuckle while tipping his hat. "She must get it from you, huh?"

"Hell no," Senku laughed out loud as Sumi gave an awkward sweat drop. Gen just looked a bit pale hearing this, since Senku wasn't like her at all. "She and I are completely different people. But when it comes to science...I taught her everything that immature brain holds," He poked her in the forehead.

"Hey!" She smacked it away gently, her lips in a big pout. "Mm..."

Gen just laughed at the two. "That's our Mire-Chan..."

"In all honesty...Sumire Weinberg is a class all on her own," Senku stated with a serious expression. Ukyo blinked in shock to hear the surname, trying to process what he just said. Sumi flinched while looking pale, Gen's mouth open a bit. The green-haired scientist gave a confident smirk while Sumi...didn't share the same sentiment as him.

"Sen! You weren't supposed to be telling people that yet!" She hissed at him in disbelief with white eyes. She couldn't even think about what he just said because she didn't want people to know until after the war was over. Because then if it was known to everyone, she'd be asked a ton of questions about Lillian that she probably wouldn't be able to answer. Like where Lillian was and what she had done towards helping humanity.

"Well, it's not gonna matter anyway if you two wanted to tell people that she adopted you if we weren't in the stone world!" Gen pointed out to her in a whisper.

"Eh, who cares?" Senku shrugged at the woman. "You've had the name for 3,700 years whether you knew or not." Her eyebrow twitched as he did have a point; Lillian signed the papers before she went into space, so she had held the name for thousands of years now. But it still didn't change the fact that someone might use that against her if they wanted to with the cell phone plan.

"Even so, don't go broadcasting that unless I say it's okay!"

Ukyo then gave a small chuckle of amusement at the two arguing and learning that Sumi was a Weinberg. He should've known given how Sumi had shown herself around him. "This just keeps getting better and better. I do have one condition."

Gen gasped in surprise, sweating a bit. Ukyo and his uper-say sensitive ears would be an owerful-pay ally to have on our side... He then gave a grin, looking towards the two. "A condition, eh? Perhaps I should take over. Negotiation is a mentalist's specialty."

Senku gave a small grunt and turned to the speaker blankly. "Let's not beat around the bush, okay? Get straight to the point. Just tell us your condition."

Gen held his head with bulging tearful white eyes. "What the heck are you doing, Senku? That's an errible-tay approach to negotiation!"

Sumi gave a closed-eye smile while sweat dropping. "That's Senku for ya...what he means is, there's already enough on the line here. So we really do need to get to the point..."

Ukyo let out a sheepish chuckle in response. "Okay, fine. My condition is pretty cut and dry: Nobody dies." Senku and Sumi glanced to each other, blinking. She couldn't help but feel that they had this coming, since he didn't want to shoot at her and the others in the field for blood. The green-haired scientist let out a chuckle, turning back to the speaker.

"Sumi and I are having a hell of a time trying to get a read on who you really are, Ukyo," He remarked with a small smile. "You're either some kinda sunshine and rainbows idealist like my fellow science partner here, or-"

"An idealist?" Ukyo repeated with a small chuckle, though he did look disappointed. "That's not quite it. I'm the biggest coward there is." Sumi blinked in surprise from the last sentence.

Ukyo was revived, the stone pieces falling around him. He looked up and then turned around with a gasp. The blonde woman, Tsukasa, and two other men were behind him. One of them was holding clothing. Tsukasa towered over him with his height so much that it was almost scary. "Aren't you...Shishio Tsukasa?"

"It's nice to meet you," Tsukasa spoke up with a small smile. "Yeah. Welcome, my reporter friend has told me about you," He turned to the blonde.

"The former submarine sonar operator Saionji Ukyo! You've made quite a name for yourself. Known for exceptional hearing and rational decision-making!" She smiled happily from her description. Tsukasa later that day led Ukyo down a pathway. They stopped on the edge of a cliff, looking towards the sun setting.

"Ukyo..." Tsukasa started off to him. "I need your help in order to build a beautiful stone world. Better than the old one." The two said nothing as they looked up ahead.

Ukyo heard a crash as stone pieces flew past him. He turned around in shock to see that Tsukasa had destroyed a statue. "The first time I saw Tsukasa destroy a statue, it made me sad, and angry." He clenched a fist from the sight he was seeing. "I thought, what gives you the right to do that?" Two men were then arguing with each other, about to fight. "Still...I wanted to keep those who had been revived from killing each other." Ukyo stepped in between the two, attempting to calm them both down. "I decided to turn a blind eye to Tsukasa's destruction." He had a shadow over his eyes as the stone pieces flew in front of him. "They're just statues, inanimate objects. Not reviving them isn't actually murder. That's how I tried to convince myself it was okay."

He kept his head down as the others stared at him from behind. "I know that I'm a hopeless coward. But...the truth is..." Ukyo, in his past life, was stepping forward. He turned around to see a kid waving to him happily. He then shed tears into his eyes. "I can't take it anymore. I can't bear to see anyone else die." Senku and Sumi stared in silence, knowing expressions on their faces. "Isn't that the last shred of humanity...we can hold onto in this crazy world?" Gen was also silent as they took in everything he said. "If you and Sumi make a promise of zero casualties, I'll cooperate with you. But, if even one person dies then-"

Senku cackled, interrupting the archer. "Works for me!" He gave a devious grin, his arms crossed. "Count us in!" Gen's eyes turned white in shock. "It's perfect, really. From the very beginning, Sumi and I said we'd do this without spilling a drop of blood. Now that's just a requirement instead of an ideal!"

"I had opportunity twice now to kill Tsukasa," Sumi revealed with a small smile, Ukyo blinking in shock. "You've already seen one. And considering how I didn't end up going through with it, you can tell what camp I fall into. We just have to make sure no one else thinks of killing him and we're all set!" Senku blinked at her, wondering what she meant. Did she have the urge to spill blood when she was there? He couldn't help but fathom why, but now wasn't the time to talk.

"That's gonna be a tough promise with this battle!" Gen shouted frantically at them.

Ukyo smiled softly after hearing this. "Thank you..." Nikki smiled happily, along with Yuzuriha. Taiju was still in a bit of shock. "Before I go on, Sumire..." He spoke up seriously with a shadow over his eyes. "I'm so sorry I hit you with my arrow!" Gen, Sumi, and Senku all stared down in surprise. The others from behind Ukyo gasped at the fact that he was even doing this. Sumi held out her hand to the speaker. Senku gave it to her as there was a small pause from Ukyo. He clenched a shaking fist, looking down in shame. "Please...forgive me! I-"

"Ukyo, don't," She interrupted gently with a small smile and he opened his eyes with a gasp. "So many people wanna blame themselves, but...I don't regret doing it. So don't worry, it's not really that important anymore. Tsukasa made sure I was okay. And hey, call me Sumi. We are working together now, and all my friends call me Sumi," She then looked a bit annoyed. "If anyone starts treating me like I'm royalty because of my mom though, I'm not dealing with that crap."

"Darn it," Gen sighed a bit next to her. "And I was so looking forward to exploiting that for myself..."

"Do that and it won't end up well for you later," She gave him a warning look.

"Yeah, about that..." Senku dug his pinky into his ear with a big grin. "I kinda promised one of our new allies that you'd sing for her. Told her about you and Lillian. We can work that out later!"

"Of course you did," She sighed slowly while dragging a hand down her face. He probably did it to help sway her over, so Sumi wasn't too mad. But she really wished that he wouldn't broadcast it literally almost every single person that was joining them.

"Ha. Remember when I said you'd really do anything for your friends? I finally understand why you...because you're a fighter to make sure your friends are all safe and happy. I'm glad that we worked together back there," Ukyo looked proud and she smiled with a hand on her hip.

"I'm not a Weinberg or Senku's science partner for nothing! I'm glad I can trust you."

Ukyo then wiped his eyes with a small smile. "Well, after all this...there's one thing I'm sure of now that I spoke to Sumi about days ago." Senku and Gen were confused while Sumi turned away, her eyes closed as she knew what he was gonna say. "When Hyoga attacked your village, he reported something back to us. He said our men were killed by what you and Sumi did to them."

Senku gave a small frown, turning to Sumi. She nodded in confirmation slowly that she had already known about this. "He lied. It couldn't have been your doing. It was Hyoga. Tsukasa and Hyoga are both at the top. But they're totally different creatures. I can't sit on the fence any longer. There's going to be bloodshed between those two, I just know it."

Sumi gave a small frown towards the distance, her hair flying. Hyoga was someone they didn't want to mess with, as they knew by now. And him murdering people wasn't really something he didn't have to hesitate on. If Senku hadn't made him believe they had guns, she'd be dead too. She knew that despite their promise...Hyoga would shed blood himself.


After everyone had left, Hyoga was at the gravesite himself. He looked to the ground, seeing two sets of footprints. "These footprints are way too neat. It looks like the place was cleaned up...and then someone stamped in these footprints to hide something. Were there several people gathered here?" He turned around to see Tsukasa approaching, and he was holding Yo's stone eyepatch. "I've heard that a few of our men had come to the grave. Were you here?"

"No," Tsukasa answered simply while walking past him. He stopped in front of the cross. "I've come now...to pay my respects to the late Yo. I want him to return back to the Earth. Gozan, Yuki, Ren, Akashi, Kyoichiro, Morito...he deserves to rest in peace with them."

"Gozan? Yuki? Who are they?" Hyoga asked, since he didn't care to bother to learn names unless they were important to him. Tsukasa bent down in front of the cross, starting to dig.

"They're our fallen brothers..." He murmured softly with a small frown. "Those killed by poison gas in the village raid." Hyoga narrowed his eyes as he had everyone believe that Sumi and Senku killed them...so that he wouldn't be implicated as a murderer.

"I'd like to bury what we have left of Yo," Tsukasa explained while continuing to dig. "Next to his comrades." Hyoga watched him in silence; there was no way he was going to tell the truth. He thought of the six as people inferior to the Tsukasa Empire. Nothing more and nothing less. And Tsukasa didn't need to know that.


The Steam Gorilla tank was then in motion as Senku and Sumi were sitting side by side, as the top of the tank had dual seats. It also had a rupture disk gun attached to the front. The others were in awe, the duo wearing hats on their heads. Sumi's hair was in a high ponytail near the top of her head, the rest of her locks pooled out around her head and body. "Time to get excited, you guys! Because our awesome paper tank is raring to go!" He had a gleeful smile on his face.

Tank acquired!

"I'm really impressed with this," Sumi smiled while leaning back a bit, her arm resting casually. "Can't wait to use it against the Tsukasa Empire and see their faces!"

"So does this cannon actually fire?" Gen called out from down below. "We don't have gunpowder!" They weren't surprised by the question since this was the first tank, and tanks usually had gunpowder to be able to fire.

Senku held up a leather pouch. "We're gonna be using a leather rupture disk," He explained to the mentalist.

"A rup...a what?" Gen repeated, though failed to understand what that meant. Sumi giggled in amusement at him.

"A burst diaphragm! It explodes when it's expanded! We'll zap some water inside the tank for electricity, which will make it boil. And when the oxygen and hydrogen gas that's released completely overfills the disk, blamo!" He told Gen and Sumi held up a finger.

"Rupture disks are usually a sacrifice because it has a one-time use membrane that fails at a pressure that's predetermined, either by positive or vacuum. And the temperature has to be coincident, the response time is almost instant," She stated and Gen was just even more confused.

"Oh, I see!" Chrome smiled in excitement. "Even I can understand how that one works!" He then looked at the two with his eyes bulging. "Wait, if it blows up, that means we can only use it once!"

"Yeah, but once will be enough," Senku had a small grin on his face. "As soon as we roll up in this tank, the odds are ten billion to one those modern people are gonna lose the will to fight."

"Tanks are pretty intimidating already just looking at 'em," Sumi gave a small shrug. "Plus it's not like their weapons will do the job anyway..." She looked away with an innocent look, whistling to herself with her lips puckered.

"Why am I a little terrified?" Chrome looked at her suspiciously. She said she wouldn't kill anyone, but what she said was casting a little doubt for him. "Do we need to have someone watch over you from now on?"

Gen could just picture it himself, though he didn't look as hopeful as the two scientists. "Ah...that'll scare them into giving up."

"If we're gonna do this with no casualties, that initial shot has to seal the deal," Kohaku said in determination, clenching a fist. Sumi and Senku were already out of the tank at this point, their helmets at their hips. Sumi still had her hair tied up, though. "We'll be relying on shock and awe!"

"Yeah," Senku agreed with her. "Control of the miracle cave is at stake here. Once it starts, we've got a few seconds to finish. We'll throw everything the Kingdom of Science has at 'em! So we need him, the toughest guy Sumi and I have ever known. His crazy stamina is like a cheat code for Mother Nature," He had a smirk on his face.

"He's not a fighter like I am, but like we said before, we're not looking for blood. So he's the perfect choice for the job," Sumi smiled at the others confidently. "And since Tsukasa doesn't need him or our other friend anymore..." She glanced over her shoulder as a familiar figure emerged from the woods behind them. Everyone let out a quiet gasp from his arrival as he stepped out of the shadows.

Kohaku had a warm smile on her face as she could tell who he was right off the bat. "It's strange...I've never met you before...and yet, I already know who you are...Taiju!"

Senku looked over to him as Yuzuriha followed behind him. It felt like ages since they had properly seen their friends again. And now, after a year and multiple seasons, the four were finally all together again to proceed with their promise.

"SENKU! SUMI!" Taiju leapt forward to hug Senku, who ducked out of the way. Since Sumi was right next to him, he ended up bear hugging Sumi instead. He laughed once she was in his arms.

"Ack!" She let out a gasp, laughing nervously. She was happy to see him too, but she still needed air in her body. "Still giving death hugs, aren't you, Taiju?" She gently managed to push him off, taking a breather with her hands on her hips as she hung her head. Now she knew how Senku felt when he was back from being dead and Taiju almost crushed his spine...Senku gave him a fist bump on the shoulder while walking up to Yuzuriha. He had a warm smile on his face. She smiled happily at him, as no words were necessary between her and Senku, tears in her eyes. They understood what they wanted to say to each other.

"Sumi! It's been so long!" Yuzuriha hugged her next and she smiled, returning it.

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't reunite with you earlier over the phone. I had my own priorities to handle with fellow members," She pulled away from her friend. Sumi then smiled proudly towards Ukyo. He gave her a small smile right back. Senku and Sumi then faced the others, hands on their waists.

"Now the Kingdom of Science is playing with a stacked deck of cards!" He announced as the battle team were prepared. Plus they had more than enough allies from the Tsukasa Empire. "It's the beginning of the final battle against the Tsukasa Empire!" He gave his usual smirk. "So get excited, you guys!"

"That's right! With all of us together and fully equipped with what we need, we can turn things around!" Sumi clenched a determined fist in front of her. "We're approaching the final hurdle towards a victory, so we're asking you all to test your limits towards the end!"


Tsukasa was still digging at the grave when he came across something. Hyoga glanced over his shoulder...as the speaker from the phone was in plain sight now. Tsukasa gasped sharply, his eyes widening in disbelief. He stood up, picking up the speaker and pulling. The wire from it came undone from the ground, flying as the base of the phone came in from the sky. Tsukasa looked back in utter shock to see it.

A drop of miracle fluid fell into a pot, the cave still guarded by multiple men. "Sumi and I have done some reading on human behavior," Senku revealed as he was inside the tank with Sumi and Gen. Yuzuriha, Ruri, Suika, and Kaseki had stayed behind with the others who weren't going to battle. They were watching the miracle cave up ahead, Senku sweating a little. "According to Harvard psychologist Shawn Achor's research...the human impulse lasts about 20 seconds, and no longer than that. So that means our enemy will only have the instinct to panic and run away. For the first 20 seconds of our rate, and then who knows what'll happen? After that time's up, some of them may decide to start fighting back, and if we do fight, then people will die!"

"According to Achor, he created that rule to lower the barrier...because it was all that it took to form a new habit," Sumi revealed while keeping her eyes up ahead, blinking with a serious look. "This simple principle works both in a negative and positive sense, no matter how ridiculous it may seem. Impulsivity is an integral part of who we are and what we do. I know 20 seconds is a tall order, but we can pull it off because it's the Kingdom of Science! So we have to make those 20 seconds absolutely bloodless!"

"Sumi." She turned to Senku as he had a serious look on his face as well, but not for the same reason as her. "As our doctor and one of our fighters, I can't ask you to not engage if necessary. But if you get seriously hurt, it's game over. Do you understand?"

Her eyes glistened as she knew what he meant; he was referring to when the fire on the village occurred and when he wanted her to not go near the sulfuric acid lake with a gas mask. She then gave a determined sound as she nodded curtly. "Yeah...yeah I understand perfectly well. Let's get into position."

He smirked and they looked back up ahead.

"EVERYBODY GET READY!" Kohaku shouted at the top of her lungs as the tank went off. "These next 20 seconds will decide the future of humanity!" The cannon then fired as they all went full force with their attack.