Homura had just arrived, only to find it was too late. She was across from Hyoga, Tsukasa, Senku, and Sumi, seeing that her superior was defeated. She was panting heavily with a horrified look in her eyes. Hyoga... She gripped her weapon tight and ran forward, likely about to attack the three. Before she could do anything, Kohaku came in out of nowhere, weapons ready. She let out a scream as Magma, Kinro, Ginro, and Ukyo also appeared behind her. She gasped sharply and was knocked to the ground. She let out a small sound of pain while getting tied up.

"Hey Senku, Sumi!" Kinro exclaimed at the two as he approached them. "You two okay?"

"Yeah," Senku sat up, followed by Sumi. "Actually, we're ten billion percent okay," He rubbed the back of his neck. Kinro then looked on in shock as he stood up, though Sumi scooted over to Tsukasa, holding onto his injury. "Probably wouldn't be saying that if it weren't the first time I've been speared." The guard saw the batteries had blocked the blow for Senku, so he wasn't hurt at all. "Thanks, Kinro. That training you put me through really paid off." Kinro attacked Senku holding the paper shield, who took the impact but wasn't hurt. Kinro then smiled at the scientist.

"Wait...what did you say?" Sumi asked with an edge to her voice, both of them flinching. They turned around to see she had murder in her eyes looking at them. "Senku...did Kinro spear you beforehand? Why?!"

"H-He asked me to, please understand!" Kinro stepped back from her while Senku just chuckled.

"I used a paper shield and asked him to attack me! Was pretty exciting if you ask me," He bragged to the black-haired scientist without hesitation.

"How can you say that so casually?!" She exclaimed in disbelief. Ukyo was tying up Hyoga while Nikki held onto Homura. Magma then let out a laugh, punching his fists together.

"Well now that the fighting part's out of the way, let's murder this Hyoga bastard!" He exclaimed in...way too much excitement.

Taiju grabbed onto his shoulder from behind. "Killing people is wrong, and we don't do that!" He reminded the brute blond.

"Why is that always your first plan of action...?" Ginro muttered in dismay while looking on.

"But still," Chrome turned around to Senku and Sumi curiously. "How long are we gonna keep 'em captive?"

"Uh?" Senku looked at him in confusion while Sumi was guiding other people to bring a stretcher for Tsukasa. He then turned away with a small smile. "That's easy, until we have society back up and running. Once we have a scientific civilization, Hyoga won't be the strongest anything. People can put him on trial or whatever they need to do. Heh heh..."

They guided Homura and Hyoga away, Tsukasa being taken back to his empire. "I don't have a millimeter of interest in that. I'm just a scientist." Kohaku walked behind everyone else, turning to the sun rising in the distance.

"it's hard to believe...but finally...it's over," She commented and Senku cackled. She turned to him in confusion as he and Sumi approached her.

"Are you making a joke or what? That's backwards," He smiled a bit while looking at the sight. Sumi had the same expression while standing to his left. "Right now, we're finally getting started. We've got all these people to work together with us, to build a real Kingdom of Science. We're starting from square one in this stone world, so I hope you're excited."

"It may have been a long road to get to this point," Sumi's smile turned a bit sad as she reminded herself of all that had been done, both the good and the bad. But if Tsukasa would live to see the rest of their future...she had no idea. "But with our group stronger than ever now with all of the new recruits...we're finally doing things properly," She placed a hand on her hip, her hair flowing behind her. "So let's all test the limits we had before to grow our Kingdom of Science!"


At the Tsukasa Empire, it was a much happier environment for everyone as there was now a furnace built. "What the hell's all this?" One of the guards couldn't help but ask.

"Quit just standing around, would ya?" Nikki retorted back in response while carrying a log over her shoulder. "We've got a lot of work to do!" Two men from the Tsukasa Empire looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was even talking about.

"We're building science facilities!" Chrome revealed to them from on top of the furnace. "It's gonna be awesome!"

"Whoohoo!" Kaseki cheered while walking up, holding a clay pot. "To forge iron and blow glass! This power generator isn't gonna build itself!"

Kinro was showing off his glasses to a group of men. "If any of you have the fuzzy sickness, some glasses will save you," He explained and they were baffled that glasses even existed.

Ginro was showing off ramen, as it was his favorite and he was drooling. "In the Kingdom of Science, we even have ramen!" He revealed to two men, who looked at it in amazement.

Yuzruiha was putting on the final piece of a statue. She sighed in relief while wiping off her forehead, stepping back. "I think that one was the last piece of him," She told Suika, Ruri, and Gen.

"The poor guy was broken into so many parts..." Suika murmured in concern.

"Yeah, I'm worried," Ruri spoke up while sharing the sentiment. "Will the regeneration fix him up as new?"

"Yes, of course it will," Gen smiled while holding up a flask full of revival fluid. "At least, I think so. Per Senku and Sumi's hypothesis, it should work if the interior surfaces aren't too weathered," He then poured it onto the statue.

"But...but what if they're wrong about that?" Ruri asked a little skeptically while sweating.

"Then when we pour the revival fluid on him, he'll go splat! Blood and gore all over!" Gen exclaimed, though he was a bit nervous himself. He definitely didn't wanna SEE it should they happen to actually fail. Suika shook in fear, a small shadow over the top of her head. The statue shook a little before all of the stone broke into pieces at once, reviving the man.

"It really worked!" Ruri smiled as the man was moving around his hands and working hard.

"The guy actually came back to life!" Suika exclaimed happily and the man screamed, holding his head.

"Oh crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" He panicked, Yuzuriha staring at him with white eyes. "My deadline! How long was I asleep?"

"A few thousand years," Kaseki revealed and he held his head in a panic.

"No way! That means my deadline's totally shot!" He then kneeled over to cry. Gen held out a pen and paper to him.

"Here we go. We have everything a manga artist would need," He assured and the man took the materials with a happy shout. He turned around and started to draw, the paper over the tree stump he was sitting on. Gen stood up with a smile, hands in his sleeves.

"Do you know this guy from the old world?" Chrome pointed at him in confusion.

"Nope, never met him," The mentalist revealed, his eyes closed. "But he's a manga artist. You remember what Senku and Sumi promised everyone, don't you? They said they'd bring all the fun things humanity had to offer. Art and entertainment, stuff that made people happy," He then looked up to the sky fondly. "This is where it begins again. Our exciting scientific civilization."

Meanwhile, people were gathered around, and Yo popped up from behind a bush. He was trembling in shock from how much had changed last time he was here. Scientific civilization? Entertainment? How long has it been?! Man, how did I miss all this? Your boy Yo was only gone for a minute! This is wild! I'm so jealous! He then decided to come out of hiding as he stepped up from behind. "Yo, sup!" He greeted and they turned around in shock. "I fell down a waterfall and got like amnesia, but I'm all good now! I can help you move stuff too!"

"Yo!" Chrome exclaimed and then leaned in towards Kinro. "He's seriously bad news." Suika next to him was shaking nervously while sweating. "He's probably the one who let Homura go."

"Really?"

Yuzuriha gave a small awkward chuckle in response. "Hey, if he's willing to help, I say we let him. Because we need it. Although Sumi's definitely not gonna like this..." She glanced away, since Sumi would be pissed to see Yo after he had chased her and Chrome down. Maybe it was best if they eased into it once she found out. They all knew that she could get really scary, sometimes to the point where Senku actually liked it when she started acting like him. So they had to tread very carefully... "The more the merrier! And we have a ton of statue puzzles to put together..." She led Chrome, Nikki, and Yo towards where she had been keeping all the pieces.

"Sweet! So all my crimes are cleared, huh?" Yo asked cheerfully to her.

"What crimes?" Chrome wondered skeptically, since he didn't know what Yo did to get fired.

"Does that count as a confession...?" Nikki murmured, but decided not to worry too much...if anything, if he went too far, she'd be there to stop him.

"Anyway, how many pieces we talking here? Whatever you need, Yo is on the-" His eyes bulged out as he screamed. There were probably thousands of pieces behind the sheepish Yuzuriha. Nikki opened her mouth in awe as Yo picked one up. "Are you freakin' kidding me right now?! You're really planning on putting all these back together? Like every single one?"

"That's right!" Yuzuriha exclaimed eagerly to the man. "Every single one!"

"Oh, just asking..." He mumbled; he didn't wanna be seen as a coward if he didn't help out, but he never expected this amount of work either...


Meanwhile, in the cave that used to be the home base, Tsukasa was lying on the ground. "From there, it's a straight shot..." His wounds were bandaged, but it still wasn't enough. Ukyo was writing down everything he told them. "Past the lake. Not too far. And then..." He grunted while touching his wound.

"That's enough talking for now, Tsukasa," Minami looked down at him in worry. "You need to get plenty of rest."

"Not yet..." He said shakily with his eyes squeezed shut. "I have to tell them this before the end..." He then opened his eyes weakly as Ukyo had a small frown on his face. "The war's over...the Kingdom of Science has won. The statues that I destroyed, those...people...were just meaningless sacrifices." He wasn't going to stop until he had told them of every last location where the broken statues were.

"Don't you worry at all!" Taiju gave a look of determination while clenching a fist. "You need somebody to do grunt work, then I'm your man!" He then turned around and ran off. "All you gotta do is tell me where the broken ones are!" He and Magma set off to go find them. "And I'll gather up every last piece!" He had enough stamina to do the job, so if he could do this for Tsukasa, he had no problem taking up this task.

"Tsukasa..." Ukyo started off while Yuzuriha was beginning to piece a statue together. "Do you actually remember every single one? Each statue that you've broken since the beginning?" Yo was sweating profusely as this was already proving to be a difficult task...

"...Course I do," Tsukasa revealed after a few seconds. "I haven't forgotten them...not even for a single moment." Ukyo had a sad look in his eyes...doing all of that while insisting that it was the right thing for this world...how could it not affect someone? Kohaku was leaning against the wall nearby as she had heard everything. It was quite the challenge that they had now...and in a world with only sulfa drugs created...it could only mean the worst.


Back at Ishigami Village, a phone call came in and Natri answered it. Once he heard the news, tears streamed down his face. "Wonderful news...you did it, guys! We really won!" Everyone behind him cheered happily.

"And all our friends are safe? Not a soul was lost to the battle?" Alumni smiled while touching her heart. "Oh, I'm so happy!"

Chrome had been the one to tell them, holding the phone on top of a cliff. Yeah...nobody from the village at least. His eyes shook as...he didn't want to tell them about Tsukasa. He knew that his friends would try their hardest to do everything they could do for him. And telling them would just break their spirits. Giving them some hope after they put their faith in the Kingdom of Science was the least he could do for them. He gripped the speaker tight. "No. Not a single person's died! It's just like we promised! Senku and Sumi aren't gonna let him die!"

Speaking of, the two were looking down at Tsukasa. They weren't worried about what this could mean for the empire. It was more so the fact that...Tsukasa wouldn't make it out of this. They had set up a boiling flask on top of a fire connected to a conical flask by a glass pipe wrapped in leather. Kaseki and Gen were standing nearby.

"So what exactly are you working on, you guys?" Gen wondered curiously, noting that Sumi looked a bit exhausted. As if she hadn't taken a nap at all.

"We have a ton of modern humans now," Senku started off, pouring some water onto the leather. "Some of them might even recognize what we're doing. Vinegar plus chlorine with a dash of sulfur gives us chloroacetic. Then throw in a little bit of sodium hydroxide, and we get some sodium chloroacetate. Get that to react with sodium cyanide made from iron to get cyanoacetic acid-"

"No, this stuff's still too ough-tay for everyone besides Mire-chan," Gen interrupted with a deadpanned tone.

"No way!" He imagined people agreeing with him on this.

"It's stuff to help with the injuries," Sumi explained as simple as she could, letting out a small yawn. "Man, I wish coffee was invented in the stone world..." She whined a little.

"In any case, after all that's put together...add alcohol to make ethyl cyanoacetate. Throw in formaldehyde, and that'll give you the kind of super glue that can seal up major wounds!" Senku revealed with a small smile.

Gen's eyes widened as he had a hopeful look. "You're saying...Tsukasa's still got a chance? That'll save him?"

Senku looked despondent as Sumi hung her head sadly, a shadow over her eyes. She shook a little as she tried not to cry. Senku gently placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "We're just closing the wound to buy time," Gen's smile then dropped after hearing this. "We're not magicians. We can't rebuild an organ. No matter how much medical experience Sumi has...she doesn't have the materials necessary for that. So this is the best either of us can do."

"When Magma attacked you, you were seriously beat up, but the spear never actually pierced through your body," Sumi revealed while looking up at him. "And if he had, it wouldn't change anything. No amount of herbs or mixtures will be able to heal a punctured organ..."


Cells had been made for Homura and Hyoga. She was slurping some foxtail millet ramen. Just me...and Hyoga. Could be worse. She glanced up as Kohaku approached with ramen for Hyoga. He was leaned against the wall, his eyes closed.

"You people are still as brain-dead and soft as ever," He made no hesitation to insult her and she looked up, putting down the bowl silently. He had his eyes closed, not moving. "You won't even bring yourselves to execute a man who killed his own commander. And you truly expect you'll be able to run a kingdom in such a way?" She raised a brow at him, not buying into his insults for one second.

"Ha," She scoffed while turning away. "You think you killed Tsukasa? Doesn't seem like you'll be able to make that claim."

"How ridiculous," He retorted back to her. "But I suppose the mediocre types always count on miracles."

"Miracles?" She moved her hands away from the bowl, standing up and turning around to leave. "Senku doesn't believe in putting his faith in that kind of stuff. And Sumi...while she seems like she would...but she fights for what she does. They both always follow the path of science, no matter what kind of obstacles they may face. And there are no two people in the world...who are stronger or work harder than them. Both on their own and as a team."


They looked down at Tsukasa, the woman letting out a deep breath. "We have something to tell you," She started off, glancing towards Senku. "About a decision we made."

"Sumi and I have thought about it..." He spoke up seconds later. "And there's just one way to save you." Tsukasa turned to the two curiously. The green-haired scientist held some rocks in his hand, making it into a fist. "You ready? We're gonna re-petrify you, Tsukasa!"

Someone was hiding in a bush disguise, peeking into Tsukasa's room. Yuzuriha panted while running over and hugging a basket. Mirai was spying on her brother, which Yuzuriha didn't notice. Seconds later, she bumped into the little girl, letting out a surprised yelp. "Whoa, I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, and Mirai just looked sheepish. "Oh, hello there, Mirai."

Mirai looked embarrassed while putting a hand on her head, laughing sheepishly. "They told me that I needed to stay away...but I was worried about my brother, so I had to sneak a peek," She revealed to Yuzuriha. "I'm a little worried about Sumi too...I see her watch over him, but never sleeps..." Yuzuriha blinked slowly as she had no idea Sumi hadn't been sleeping lately.

"Hey, Yuzuriha!" Kaseki called out to her, waving a hand. "Over here!" The woman turned to the cave and ran inside.

"We have some needlework to be done..." Senku held up a J-shaped needle in his left hand. "It's a job for a crafts club member," He slowly turned around as he, Kaseki, and Tsukasa looked at her with dead eyes. Sumi was the only one not to do so as she was too focused preparing everything.

Yuzuriha felt shivers as she let out a horrified gasp, her eyes shaking. "When you say needlework, you mean...?" She trailed off uneasily.

"Surgery...?" Gen finished nervously while moving away in fear. "We obviously don't have any anesthetic...are you sure? Otally-tay?"

Senku let out his usual chuckle. "Don't underestimate history's strongest primate," He then gave Tsukasa a dark grin. "You don't need any anesthetic, do you, Tsukasa?"

Tsukasa gave a dark smirk of his own. "Of course not."

Gen had his mouth open while gagging what was in his stomach. Mirai screeched as her eyes were open wide, and she was as stiff as a board. Mirai then passed out with a shadow over her white eyes, Yuzuriha catching her. Mirai's soul was about to escape.

"Whoa! Mirai!" She called out in concern for the little girl.

"Hm, well, she is still only 6 years old. Mentally..." Kaseki pointed out while looking at her.

Sumi let out a long sigh, closing her eyes. All of this ruckus was giving her a headache, and not helping her concentration at all. "Guys, come on. I can't work with all of this going on..." She muttered while she placed a hand on the top of her head.

"We're sorry..." Yuzuriha murmured apologetically and Senku turned to her curiously. Sumi looked very tired and sad, and for a moment he couldn't fathom why. And then he remembered something. Sumi threw her whip towards Hyoga...but it was too late as Tsukasa stepped in to save his sister. She gasped as the whip fell limp onto the ground, just behind Hyoga while Tsukasa got stabbed. He blinked while looking towards the ground. She must've felt really guilty that she couldn't stop Hyoga in time...and that because of it, Tsukasa now had the fatal wound. Meaning she had been working nonstop to help him as much as she could...even though she knew she couldn't repair the damage.

"...You didn't do anything wrong..." He spoke up, getting their attention. He then glanced up to look at her straight in the eyes. "You know that, right Sumi? Sulking about what you could've done isn't gonna help you or Tsukasa." The others let out a breath as they realized what Sumi must've been thinking. The woman blinked rapidly at him deducing it and then looked towards Tsukasa quickly.

"He's right, you know," He spoke up weakly to her. "There was nothing else you could've done. I'm grateful that you even had the instinct to help me..."

"I'm not sulking!" She denied, even though he and Senku both knew that was a complete lie. "It's just...it's a lot of pressure," She glanced away while biting her lip. "I was only a kid when my grandma let me help her out sometimes. Never had to deal with wounds this serious..." Ukyo's was far less so because he wasn't hit in the actual lung. Rika didn't want to traumatize the girl, who didn't care, but the woman insisted that anything to do with blood she couldn't witness at all. All of the stitch-work she had done for Ukyo, she learned from reading books before petrification. Gen and Yuzuriha gave a look of worry towards her.


Dusk had fallen and Mirai sat on a rock. Kohaku had a hand placed on her shoulder while looking up ahead to the sunset. "I know you're worried," She spoke up, knowing that Mirai was thinking of Tsukasa again. "But it'll be okay. Senku and Sumi's science are always the real deal. They're honest about what they could do. You can put your trust in them. If they're looking for a way to save Tsukasa...I know that they'll find it. No matter how slim the odds might be...or how many years it takes...they will come through in the end."

Senku, Sumi, Gen, and Tsukasa were in the cave together. The mentalist was looking towards the ground while Sumi and Senku were on the opposite sides of Tsukasa.

"His wounds...thanks to Hyoga..." Sumi revealed while gripping her skirt. "I...I'm so sorry, Tsukasa..." Her voice broke as a single tear fell from her eye. Tsukasa stared in silence, and also a bit surprised that...she was crying over him. Despite all he did to her...

"Heh...I know my own body...and what you're trying to tell me, Sumi. I'm well aware of what's going on." She didn't react as she sniffed. "The surgery was only to buy some time. In a few days, I will have died from sepsis."

"Yeah..." Senku glanced up at Sumi, who tried to calm down. "The only way we can save you...is to petrify you." Gen blinked in shock, straightening up.

"Petrify him to save him?" He asked them in disbelief.

"We're gonna take advantage of the regenerative effects of coming out of petrification. That'll be what ultimately heals him," Senku explained and Sumi blinked sadly, her hands on her skirt while looking at Tsukasa.

"The petrification revived Senku when his neck got broken...so it only makes sense that the same thing happens to Tsukasa once we do that," She revealed softly to Gen.

"Yeah, I understand the rationale for it...but guys, can you...actually petrify him?" Gen asked, still in a bit of doubt.

"Calm down," Senku scolded him a bit. "You're like an eager little kid. We're gonna have to figure that part out..." He then looked up at Gen, Sumi glancing back at the mentalist. "Although...we have no clue how long that'll take. I do know there's a ten billion percent chance he'll be dead by then. So before that happens...Tsukasa, we're going to have to kill you with our own hands."

There was dead silence as Gen's eyes widened. His stomach churned as he looked at Sumi, who closed her eyes and looked away. Now he fully understood why she was crying...because it was the one thing she didn't want to happen on their watch. "What are...you guys saying? Mire-chan?" Gen slowly walked over, standing in front of the sunlight.

"We...we don't have any other choice. There's nothing I have on me that'll fix it...it doesn't exist," Sumi whispered quietly with her eyes glistening.

"Sumi and I are gonna freeze you to death. Or more literally, cold sleep," Senku answered a bit grimly. "Meanwhile, we'll find a way to petrify you. But we're gonna bring you back, no matter what it takes!" He clenched his fist tightly that his veins were visible. The two of them weren't gonna let him die without a fight. "That's the only way. Put your trust in the two of us...and die."

"I know we're asking for a lot..." Sumi closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. "And as the only person who's a doctor, I would never ask a patient to do this. But...it's the only thing that'll heal you in a world without modern medical technology."

Tsukasa merely blinked before he gave an answer. "Of course I trust you two," He muttered weakly to them, giving a small smile. "Cause if I gotta die...I'd rather you kill me." The two gasped while recoiling back, glancing up at each other. "It's only fair, Senku. I've killed you once before. And I did...hurt Sumire...more than once. So I owe you one."

"Oh yeah," Senku agreed while Sumi wiped at her eyes. "You're totally right," He then gave a chuckle. "That's perfect. It'll be my revenge...so we've gotta kill you."

"You dummy, killing you isn't fair to get even for cutting my face," Sumi sighed heavily at him. "But hey...call me Sumi...when you're revived, okay?" She gave a weak smile. "After all...we aren't enemies, are we?"

"Heh...no. First you break my heart...and now you've gotta freeze me to death? I knew I loved you for a reason," He looked towards Sumi happily. Everyone gasped from that confession, Sumi's eyes softening. She knew it...she knew it this whole time...and yet now because he was dying, he had no trouble actually admitting it to her...

"Come on, what are you saying?" She murmured while closing her eyes and turning away. "You already know how I feel towards someone else..."

"Sumire...can I ask you something?" The black-haired woman turned to him curiously with a surprised sound from her lips. "If things turned out differently..." He blinked before turning to her. "Would you and I...ever have a chance?"

"Huh?" Gen murmured in shock at him while Senku looked at him wide-eyed. None of them were expecting that to say the least...Sumi blinked rapidly several times and then took a deep breath, moving her head backwards. Already she was dealing with the pressure of trying to heal him, even though at this point there was nothing else she could do. Then he said he loved her, and now...he was asking a question that she didn't think was the appropriate time to ask. He was about to die, and Senku was right there. She really didn't want to break his heart all over again while he was on his deathbed.

"I don't think it's really the best time to answer that, Tsukasa," She finally answered him quietly.

"Then...will you answer it as my final wish from you?" He looked at her a bit pleadingly and she lowered her arm, seeing just how much he wanted to hear what she had to say. "I need to know before...well, we both know what's coming."

She stared at him in silence, pausing. It wasn't a good idea, that was for sure. But she'd honor his request since he didn't have much time left. "...Guys, can we have a few minutes?" She glanced towards Gen and Senku with a shadow over her eyes. "I'll let you know when it's safe to come back in."

"Aw, but it was getting so good," Gen pouted at her, hands in his sleeves.

"You've seen what I can do with my whip," She started off as a threat, a black aura around her as she touched her hip. "So I really hope we don't have to go that far to get some privacy."

Gen screamed and recoiled back. "Noted! Leaving now before I ie-day!" He rushed out of there and Senku stood up. He glanced at the two as Sumi waited for him to leave. Letting out a small sigh, he walked out as well, leaning against the wall once he reached outside. Tsukasa and Sumi sat there in silence for what felt like a long time. And...well, Senku was a little worried. He already knew her feelings for both him and Tsukasa. It wasn't like he could do much with a damaged organ anyway, but...what would she feel later down the line after giving him her answer? She already was stressed that she felt like she couldn't save his life after all...she did get confessions in high school, but this was different since…it ignited an entire war.

"You think we can trust them alone?" Gen leaned forward a bit with a sly grin. "We wouldn't want our favorite scientists to have any drama."

"Whatever she tells him, it'll be the truth," Senku responded without hesitation, keeping his eyes closed. "And I think both of them need this right now."

"But you don't like it, do you?" Gen's grin widened while leaning forward. "Seems as if Senku's finally opened his heart to love~!"

"Believe what you want, mentalist. You already know how I feel about such a thing," He scoffed at this, his arms crossed. "It's all so ten billion percent troublesome..." He muttered, though he didn't actually mean it. He was only saving face so that Gen wouldn't have a field day with this. The mentalist pouted in defeat, leaning against the wall again.

Sumi finally broke the silence, taking a deep breath. "...To answer your question...about whether or not I'd be with you...Tsukasa, I can't love you the way you do for me," He had his eyes closed the entire time as he didn't respond at all. She took this as a sign to keep going. "When we first met, when you were flirting with me, I felt...flattered," She placed a hand on her chest, remembering getting flushed around him, but never really feeling anything past that. "Even grateful for the attention. But...not feeling anything for Senku anymore...that part of me you want doesn't exist. I know that him returning my feelings might never happen...he has too many important things in life to involve himself in romance," She gave a weak smile towards him. "But I just love him in ways I never could with anyone else..."

He finally opened his eyes as he realized...his jealousy had clouded his judgement. Any time Sumi stepped in to protect Senku, or when he gave up his life to save her freedom...that was something he could never take away. That despite what Senku said...he at least felt something for her. Otherwise all of his actions wouldn't be almost all for his science partner. He hadn't seen every single interaction, but what he had seen...told him that Senku cared about her more than she ever knew. And he could tell for himself that the scientist was hiding it from her, because he was waiting for the right time. He didn't want to get in the way of that.

"I see...heh," He gave a small smile. "So neither of us could be happy together. You would be too focused on Senku...while I would be forcing you to feel anything when you don't. To never have a shred of your affection...that you want to save for him."

She clutched her necklace tight and then squeezed her eyes shut. "I know that's not what you wanted to hear...I'm sorry. Especially since you're hearing this before you...have to die..." She trailed off sadly and he looked up in assurance.

"No...no, it's okay," He breathed out and she slowly let go of her necklace. She stared down at him with wide eyes as he kept his smile towards her. "It took me a long time to realize, but...I know I have to let you go. Even if it hurts me that I could never have you, I wish you the best with Senku. You two are so opposed...yet are so inseparable."

"Tsukasa..." She murmured while sniffing, smiling as she used her wrist to wipe away stray tears. She then leaned down to give him a friendly kiss on the forehead. "We won't forget about you. I promise..."

"I know you won't..." He murmured back as he had faith in her and Senku.

After a few minutes, Gen and Senku glanced to the side as she finally stepped out. She looked a bit relieved, but also upset at the same time. She turned to them slowly. "You guys can go in now," She told them and Senku glanced over to the mentalist.

"I'll join up in a minute, Gen..." The mentalist glanced between them and silently walked past the two back into the cave. Senku stared at Sumi with a hand on her hip. "So? What did you two talk about?" He asked her a bit curiously while looking away.

She sighed while hugging the back of her neck, her hair being held a bit. "The truth...how sorry he was...and why could he never have what he really desired..." She then looked back towards the cave with a bit of regret. She didn't want to hurt him...but it had to be done... "I never thought it could be this hurtful."

Senku sighed a bit, closing his eyes. "You said what you needed to, for the both of you. I think that's...all you could've done," He said quietly and she didn't respond. Somewhere deep down...she'd like to believe that she'd agree with that statement.


The next day, the Kingdom of Science were at work. They had already built buildings and even more furnaces. Kaseki already had his top ripped off. "Ha ha! My precious little Steam Gorilla got broken up in battle, but now it's about to be reborn as something super amazing!" He started ripping apart the car, Senku and Sumi standing in front of it.

"We only need two pistons that we used for the engine," He explained while holding something.

"After that, you can do whatever you want with the car, Kaseki," Sumi gave him a small smile. To say that she had a good sleep would be an understatement, but she at least felt better from her talk with Tsukasa.

"Okay," Chrome smiled while holding a box from the cell phone. Suika was helping dismantle it eagerly. "We're gonna have to tear the cell phone apart."

"We're taking all that gold wire out of there!" She exclaimed in excitement.

Yo, Ukyo, and Nikki were utterly baffled by what they were watching. "Look at those cavemen go."

"Shut up, lay off," Nikki scolded while elbowing him a bit. "We're the ones who've been living like cavemen all this time."

"Incredible...what are you making, anyway?" Ukyo asked the two scientists curiously.

"A refrigerator," He answered nonchalantly and Sumi hummed in confirmation with a nod.

"A re-"

"Frig-"

"Erator?!" The three looked on in utter disbelief.

"Well, more like a freezer," Senku corrected while taking the pistons, though they still looked stupefied.

"A stone world refrigerator..." Ukyo commented and Sumi gave a small chuckle.

"It won't be a modern refrigerator, but like the cell phone, it'll do the job," She explained to the three.

"Yeah," Gen popped up while looking indifferent. "Typical modern person's reaction. That's what I said at first too. But now my only response is to laugh at it. Ah ha ha ha ha ha!"

After that, they needed to assemble the parts together. "Chuga chuga chuga go the two pumps, pushing and pulling air through the part with the gold wire. That action is gonna transfer the heat away, freezing stuff."

"It's kinda like when we froze our ramen, but on a bigger scale," Sumi explained as everyone was in the cave where Tsukasa was.

"So bad!" Chrome exclaimed in excitement. "I'm not entirely sure how it all works, but it sounds awesome!"

"Hold on a sec," Gen spoke up next. "Are freezers really that simple?"

"Well, modern ones are a little complicated," Senku corrected the mentalist.

"I do know that things don't spoil when they're frozen," Kohaku held up a finger, remembering the deep freezing of the ramen as well.

"Yeah, and at the end of all this...there's a chance we could come out with a ten billion percent chance way to preserve our food supply," He started off and she blinked in confusion. "The petri beam," He chuckled while imagining a demonstration of petrifying a fish. "Add a splash of revival fluid and we can have all the fresh sashimi we'd ever want," They were all excited from this. "Plus, the regeneration effect will get rid of the germs and bad bacteria too."

"It's way better than constantly smoking them to get rid of all that stuff," Sumi gave a small smile. "The de-petrification effects don't seem to have any limits as far as we know. So once we find a way to make more revival fluid or manage to find a small dose, it'll be pretty easy! Amazing, huh?"

Ukyo smiled while looking on, the others talking in excitement. "They're taking the world's worst disaster and finding a way to make it useful..."

"This is so freaking bad!" Chrome cheered from learning with the two. "It's a whole new science!"

"Petrification rules!" Ginro chimed in happily.

"Great for when we don't catch much!" Kinro added and Tsukasa recalled what Senku and Sumi said to Hyoga.

He gave a chuckle after adjusting his hair. "I say if we can't sustain 7 billion people...then let's try having 7 billion people look for a way to sustain 7 billion. After all, that's the way science does things."

Sumi smirked while moving her hair to be in front of her face. She then shook it dry with ease as it fell back to being around her hips behind her. "People are capable of surviving if we do it the right way."

"Throw a freeze-dryer in the mix, and we'll be unstoppable!" Senku explained to the group.

"Ha, yeah! This'll solve so many of our food issues!" Kohaku agreed while Tsukasa gave a small smile. Maybe having science around wasn't so bad after all...

Moments later, the freezer was finished. "Check it out! We built a refrigerator!" Chrome shouted as it was made out of stone, but had an engine of sorts to keep it freezing.

Refrigerator acquired!

"Alright, you guys," Kaseki started to push Chrome and Ginro out of the room. "We gotta get out of here."

"But why? How come we gotta go now?" Ginro asked him in confusion. He then came to a stop, looking up sadly.

"If you were ever in the position of having to put your friend to death...would you honestly want an audience just hanging around you?" The blond blinked and then looked up towards the three a few feet away.

"They're all the chiefs of their own tribes," Kohaku said a bit gravely. "They need to talk. And us being here will make that difficult," She silently looked up as she didn't turn back. She knew that...with their history, having to do this would be very emotional. Heck, she didn't even know how Sumi was gonna handle all of this. She walked out of the cave, and they followed. They reached the top of the cliff thanks to ropes and then left.

Inside the cave, it was silence, with sounds coming from the freezer occasionally. Senku and Sumi were preparing the freezer quietly. Tsukasa glanced to his left.

"You said it's like cold sleep? Only heard of that on spaceships and science fiction," He commented and the two slowly stopped. They watched the cold air filling up the freezer.

"Spaceships, huh?" He repeated as Sumi glanced over to Tsukasa.

"Science fiction? Oh..." She gave a small sad smile. "How ironic. Used to sometimes read sci-fi comics as a kid...grew out of it by high school, though. Was too busy with other projects..."

"The Soyuz seats three. If you had to choose out of everyone here, who would you want riding into space with you?" Senku asked and Tsukasa gave a sound of thought.

"Let's see..." He then blinked while staring up at the ceiling. "You're asking me...to make a kind of short list of the most capable people here or something?" Both of them looked over their shoulders briefly.

"Huh? What are you talking about? It's just a simple question," Senku retorted back to him.

"At least humor us a little bit..." Sumi held her arm.

Tsukasa then chuckled a bit, trying to ignore all of the pain he was feeling right now. "Here we are at the end, and you two...make small talk?"

The two stood there in silence, their hands on the machine. They didn't look back at him at all. Senku then turned his head a little as Sumi looked up towards the waterfall. "What's wrong with making a little small talk...?" He asked with a small edge to his voice. Tsukasa flinched in surprise before he gave a small smile towards them.

"Well...Taiju. I'm sorry, Senku, but you might not be physically fit enough for exploring a planet." Chrome was standing on top of the cliff, his fists clenched. "If I took someone from the village, maybe Chrome?"

"Yeah, I don't think I'd need me there either..." Senku agreed, since his stamina wouldn't cut it, even though he would've wanted to go despite all of that.

"What about someone from your own faction?" Sumi asked him next.

"How about that chick with the shells on her head? Why not her?" Senku wondered, while Minami was giving directions to Taiju and Magma. The two were gathering up all the stone pieces with the directions Tsukasa gave them.

"She's a journalist. She's been a crucial source of information for choosing who to revive."

Senku gave a small chuckle. "I figured that if you didn't love Sumi, you'd be into her."

"Senku..." Sumi sighed at this.

"It'd make sense for the strongest primate high-schooler to have a thing for the Marilyn Monroe type," He ignored her, while Ginro, Kinro, Mantle, and other people were watching the manga artist. Nikki then walked up to them, holding a log.

"I didn't consider appearances when picking people to bring back," Tsukasa chuckled a little. "Even so, that wasn't why I fell in love with Sumire."

"No, of course not."

"Can we move on from me being a topic between you two? Feels weird," Sumi let out a small breath. Ruri was watching the furnace while Kaseki was hard at work blowing glass. Suika then ran past holding materials.

"Sumire…Senku mentioned Doraemon once," Tsukasa pointed out and she hummed in acknowledgement. "So what do you like?"

She gave him a small smile. "I enjoy Aria. It's really pretty visual wise to me," She admitted to him.

"By the way...why did you choose the name the strongest primate high schooler? I mean, did you just think it sounded cool or what?" Senku wondered while Kokuyo hauled in some coal.

Yuzuriha, Ukyo, and Yo were reassembling statues. "To be honest, I never actually thought of myself that way." Yo found an eye piece and put it to his right eye with a big smile. Gen had his hands into his sleeves while looking out.

"The world's strongest primate for real...would have to be the mega macho mountain gorilla."

"Even if you wanted to see one, they're not gonna show up here anytime soon," Sumi gave a small sad chuckle. Kohaku was hugging her knees while looking out to the sunset.

"Yeah...those were tough, alright," Tsukasa agreed, both Sumi and Senku giving a sound of agreement. "I fought one before...for some TV show."

"Tch. You were a total beast on her, huh?" Senku wondered and Tsukasa just let out a light breath. "You fought a lion too, remember?"

"Right after we revived you...it was the craziest thing I had ever seen..." Sumi murmured at the memory. Tsukasa let out a small laugh.

"Yeah...you fainted because you couldn't handle me being-"

"Don't finish that sentence..." Sumi said a bit playfully.

"That thing tasted like crap no matter how we tried to cook it. You, Taiju and I all made the craziest faces eating it while Sumi was just mortified because she worked tooth and nail on it. You would've thought we lost some kinda dare. Only way we survived was thanks to Taiju's idea of shoving it down with a ton of mushrooms," Both Senku and Sumi's old hideouts had overgrown at this point.

"That takes me back..." Tsukasa murmured, letting out a small scoff. "Those days I spent with you guys...they were great. So much fun..." He stared at the ceiling as he could feel himself start to fade. "Sen...ku...Sumi..." He shut his eyes while uttering their names, falling limp.

"That reminds me," Senku spoke up while Sumi had a shadow over her eyes. Tears flew down from her eyes immediately as she gripped the freezer. "That poison mushroom Taiju ate? It's called amanita muscaria. If you eat a lot of them, it'll only make you hallucinate. You know, funny thing is, that particular one looks a lot like the one Super Mario eats to grow huge," He let out a small chuckle while continuing on without prompting. "B-But he doesn't actually get any more powerful. You know why?"

There was dead silence as Sumi's knees hit the floor, her tears falling on the ground in front of her. "It's because...Mario only believes that he's gotten huge because he's hallucinating hard off that mushroom. He's ten billion percent tripping on it...tripping balls," His grin was still on his face, but he covered his face with his hand as his eyes glistened. He then let out a sigh while putting his head down. "You know...do you know what I mean...what do you think...guys?"

Tsukasa didn't say anything...and neither could Sumi. Senku stood there and listened to her cry as he didn't want to acknowledge what happened...but he had to. He slowly stepped over and hugged the woman close, closing his eyes. She continued to cry into his tunic and he listened, just silently comforting her.

Tsukasa was sitting in the freezer, frozen...Mirai then placed a shell bracelet in his hand. The door was then closed as Mirai kneeled in front of the freezer. "You protected me, big brother, watched over me and kept me safe...for years and years," She had tears in her eyes with a sad smile on her face. "So I promise that I'm gonna protect you this time...I'll be watching over you every single day," Her tears hit the freezer. "I'll make sure that nothing breaks."

As she continued to cry, Kohaku walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. Senku and Sumi both had small smiles for what she said. "Well..." Senku placed his hands on his hips while walking off. "Now that that's over with...let's all get ready to ship out. We're starting immediately."

"And we've got a lot on our plate, so we need to make a plan," Sumi murmured while looking out to the waterfall. Senku then chuckled a bit.


The next morning, the Kingdom of Science had gathered around at the camping area that was their base for a bit. "Everybody's together?" Ginro asked in awe, since they had never had a gathering like this before.

"Tsukasa never did anything like this," Nikki commented from in front.

"Ah! Look at all these people!" Yo exclaimed in shock.

"I've never seen so many in one place before!" Suika said cheerfully, while Gen was standing between Sumi and Senku. He clapped his hands to get their attention.

"Alright, everybody!" He smiled while gesturing to the two. "Listen up, please~!"

Senku stepped forward, digging his pinky into his ear. Sumi walked up as well, her hands clasped together almost like she was royalty. "Okay," Senku spoke up in a flat and bored tone. "So about that mysterious as hell petrification beam that turned everyone into stone 3,700 years ago."

"All of us modern people are familiar with the story, so we won't go into too much detail," Sumi stated next while sounding more polite. "But it is something we're gonna be tackling."

"Yeah," Taiju called out from down below. "Why'd that happen, anyway?"

"It was lame cause I was taking a leak in the street when I got frozen," Yo stated with an annoyed look.

Nikki turned to him with a deadpanned look, her eyes black as her arms were crossed. "Wait, weren't you a cop...?"

"If that really was an attack of some sort..." Ukyo spoke up with unease. "And it happened again, humanity wouldn't be able to survive."

Senku and Sumi weren't scared as they looked up, though. "We're gonna figure it out. We'll use science to get to the bottom of the whole petrification. The information Byukaya and the others left us over thousands of years is worth its weight in gold! So we're heading to the origin of the light: the other side of the planet!" Everyone was flabbergasted and Sumi smiled, holding up a finger.

"Yup! That's the only way we're gonna be able to solve this mystery. By heading to the place where it caused us to be in the stone world now. So now we'll learn everything we need in order to gain the secret of petrification," She hugged herself underneath her chest.

"The other side?! For real?" Kinro asked in disbelief.

"How can we travel that far?!" Suika cried out in surprise.

"Ah, it'll be simple," Senku said in a reassuring tone. Neanderthals weren't advanced, and they made it all the way across Eurasia."

"Yeah, but that took tens of millions of years," Gen reminded in a flat tone. "Plus, those people probably had ridiculously powerful legs."

"We don't have that kind of time. Even if we woke up before 3,700 years, that still wouldn't be enough, and you know it..." Sumi sweat dropped at Senku.

"So? We've got ridiculously bad powerful brains and tons of heart," Chrome jerked a thumb to himself. "That'll get us to the other side of the planet!"

"We can't just walk there though, can't we?" Kohaku wondered, since they'd die from exhaustion.

"Of course not," Senku answered with his eyes closed. "We'll be crossing the ocean. Which means...all of us will be working together..."

"To build a ship!" He and Sumi revealed in unison, imagining themselves as the captains.

"We're heading out into the world to solve all its greatest mysteries! This voyage will be the beginning of the stone world's age of discovery!" Senku stated with a big grin. Sumi stood next to him with a big smile, their hair flying behind them.

"This will be the dawn of a new era for the Kingdom of Science! A chance to see what the world has to offer us and more," She replied while holding a rope and hanging onto a rope net.

"Oho!" Kaseki cheered while pumping his fists.

"That's some bad shit!" Chrome chimed in excitement.

"I'm ready to help in any way I can!" Suika jumped around happily, Ruri standing behind her.

Magma chuckled before slamming his fist into his palm. Kokuyo was standing near him. "I know we can build some boats! After all, we Ishigami village people live on the water!"

"YEAAAAAAAH!" Taiju screamed to the sky, his fists raised. "I'm finally getting to travel overseas!"

Yuzuriha popped up behind him. "That's your take?! I guess you're right, though."

"Setting sail on a world-wide adventure," Gen smiled while sitting up above. "I know that everyone is gonna have the time of their lives on this journey. For eal-ray."

Ukyo chuckled next to Nikki, who had her arms crossed. Yo was laughing behind him. "Amazing. The two of them are really serious about this plan."

"You know, the Kingdom of Science is always serious. That's how they get things done!" Nikki pointed out with a smile. Kohaku and Taiju stared at Senku and Sumi.

"It's been two and a half years since we both woke up in this stone world..." He then chuckled at how long it had been. "Nothing's been easy."

"After finally winning the war, we're gonna have a hell of a time getting to that goal," Sumi placed a hand on her hip, looking up to the sky. "I'm not worried one bit."

"Ha!" Kohaku smiled behind them. "We're finally making real headway! Following the roadmap to humanity's future!"

"Yeah..." Senku agreed while looking out. "But we're just getting started. The answer's almost in our grasp," He and Sumi held out a hand. "We'll know what really happened." The two imagined beakers in their hands. "We'll repaint fantasy...with the vibrant colors of truth and science!"

"Time to start on a new chapter, for all of us. I can feel goosebumps just thinking about it," Sumi chuckled a bit. "Science is gonna give us all the answers we want, all the way out there...time to test our limits, you guys."

"This is exhilarating. Get excited!" Senku finished while a statue with his hand held up to snap his fingers was out there somewhere...


Sumi was sitting on the cliff at night, looking out to the moon and rocks. She smiled to herself as she couldn't wait to explore the world. It would take a lot of hard work and time, but that had never stopped them before. She smelled something and turned her head to see Senku standing a few feet away.

"Hey," He greeted casually while walking up to her and she gave a small smile.

"Hey, Senku," She greeted back as he gave a gulp he didn't know he was holding. This should not be that hard, and yet after months of learning how she felt, it was like something was holding him back. He didn't get how other people could do it when in his eyes, it was the same effect of ripping off a bandage.

"Ahh..." He let out a small sigh while taking a seat next to her. "Figured you'd wanna be up here, among all the stars. You always did like looking up into space almost every night..."

"Mmhm," She nodded with a grin. "We have so much to do. I can't believe after 2 and a half years, we're gonna see the world. We're gonna finally get some answers about the petrification!" She hugged her knees to her body, resting her chin on her knees.

"Yeah..." He dug his pinky into his ear; he didn't wanna focus on that tonight, they had other days to do so. "There's one thing that needs to be done, though." She gave a hum of confusion while glancing at him. "Something that's been coming for a long time now."

"What are you talking about?" She blinked rapidly and he leaned back in response.

"Sumire...I always think love is illogical. Or at least...I thought I did," He started off without even looking at her. "But after everything we've been through...why don't you tell me about that guy you've liked we haven't revived? What's he like?" He gave his usual smirk and she recoiled back in alarm. Not once was Senku ever interested in learning more regarding it, since she thought the illusion of it not being Senku was the best option. And she couldn't lie to his face either, because he always could tell without issue. So she needed to be vague once again just like other times.

"Why are you asking me that?" Her eyes saddened a bit while turning back towards to the view. "I told you...it's not gonna happen. He could never feel the same and that's okay. All I need is his friendship." She wasn't wrong, but she couldn't say that it was Senku...she knew this day would come, and yet she was nowhere near ready still.

"No..." He gave a small chuckle and she looked at him wide-eyed. "That's what you keep wanting me to believe..." He placed his hand over his face with a big smirk. "But you were a sly little fox this whole time, weren't you?"

"Huh?" She blinked at the accusation, wondering what that was supposed to mean. Or why he called her that. "What does that-"

"At first, I had the assumption that it was a man who was petrified all these years like the rest of us. You said you didn't need that love potion." Sumi denied having to use it and then Senku stared at her. "That he was no one special. And I didn't think about it much." Senku silently let it go and she walked off to get him an energy drink. "Then you said Tsukasa would probably kill him if he found out, and didn't elaborate further." Sumi gave a sheepish look after Senku asked her if she wanted to revive him, but denied it. "That, coupled with the fact that he's had no description tipped me off that it had to be someone I knew. Heh heh heh...and over the past 2 years, as we grew our army, we denied any wild assumptions of any romantic interest." Senku sat up in alarm from his sleeping bag, explaining things to Kohaku. Sumi and Senku denied having relations to Kaseki. Taiju then asked the two if Senku would be bothered by her being naked, which neither of them answered. "But you...you always made attempts to hide it so that I couldn't decipher it," Senku spoke up as she stared at him in disbelief, a light blush over her nose. "Never stating who it was or what he was like...up until I heard the truth from you." Sumi spoke of her feelings with Senku while heading over to the Tsukasa Empire, unaware of Senku listening in the whole time. "And then everything started to make logical sense. The guy you're in love with...we both know who it is, don't we?"

Sumi's eyes were wide in shock as he looked at her with a knowing smirk on his face. No way...he knows?! But how? I haven't spoken a word of it to him at all, I was too busy with Tsukasa and Ukyo. Did the others tell him? No, they would've told me already if they did. And while Chrome knew, and he has a big mouth, he'd never mention it to Senku. What the hell am I gonna do?!

"Hearing...the truth from me? I...I don't..." She stammered as she couldn't even form a sentence.

"I know it's a lot to process," He stated with a small blush over his nose and cheeks. "But I overheard it. Overheard how you've felt. Was it years? Decades? Heh...gotta give you multiple rounds of ten billion points for managing to keep it up for so long."

"B-But I never told you," She finally snapped out of it. She never spoke of her feelings aloud aside from only two times. The first was when she thought Senku was dead, but there was no way he heard that. And she didn't admit to anything when he was revived. The only other time was when...she gasped in realization that when she spoke to Gen, Chrome, and Magma...the mentalist must've called Senku that day...he was the only person who could've done so too. "Gen! That slimy bastard, I'm gonna-"

She never got to finish her sentence though as Senku had made up his mind. He moved forward and her eyes widened in shock at the feeling she was experiencing right now...

Because Senku had pressed his lips onto hers.