Yo, how's it going? Everything good? I hope so, because I want to thank you for all the views and visits to the fic. You guys' rock!

Answering my first reviewer (Thank you, dude or dudette, for that), yes, I do. This story is also cross-posted on AO3 and QuoteV, so you should check it out there too.

Well, I have nothing else to say right now, so I bring you the third chapter, hoping you enjoy it and leave your review and/or add the story to your favorites. (It's not mandatory, you know, but I would still be excited to know that there are people out there who like what I do.)

Text in italics = Flashbacks.

Italic and underlined text = Languages other than japanese.

Text underlined = Thoughts.

Disclaimer: Yeah You know this already.

Gen Asagiri had always considered himself a man with great ambitions and refined tastes. He was perhaps the most famous magician and illusionist in all of Asia, a regular visitor to the continent's most prestigious television studios, living a life that many envied, one that was ephemeral, as the green flash that changed humanity's destiny.

If someone had told him he would awaken three thousand years later in a strange yet familiar world, he would have laughed incessantly for days. However, the daylight assaulting his eyes and the surrounding rocks left no doubt about his predicament.

Life in Tsukasa's camp was dull, with dozens of muscle-headed idiots parading around the hard rock that formed their new home, ready to follow the delusions of a lunatic leader without questioning orders or caring whether their enemy even existed.

And there were Taiju and Yuzuriha, another mystery to him. If they truly knew the most wanted man in the empire, as he suspected from the way Tsukasa looked at them, how were they still alive? What made them so important?

He wanted to know more; his instinct demanded it. But he couldn't as he had been tasked with investigating the village of the strange blonde woman Tsukasa fought. A suicidal mission considering there was no way to know where it would lead; ludicrous because Gen was sure that Tsukasa and his thugs were the last people on Earth.

A village full of humans better adapted and stronger than the average.And the bastard fucking sent him! He told him to find valuable information and if possible, to look after Senku there.

He! Someone with no combat training and whose only skill was persuasion, a mission with high chances of dying.

Then he did the most idiotic thing on his life as he smiled and told Tsukasa that he would do it because, what was life without risks?

August 17th, 5739, 00:35.

His thoughts about his first day on the Stone World were replaced by a recapitulation of the last days.

It turned out that the storm needed to make the magnet came four days later, much sooner than Senku expected. In another universe, if they did exist, the storm came at the worst moment forcing Senku to use the gold spear he had given to Kinro as makeshift tool to hold the ingots of iron.

But that wasn't the case, as four days was enough time to make the necessary lightning rod needed to direct the natural electricity on the iron at top of the mountain Chrome found, successfully making the first magnets on thousands of years.

Obviously, Gen stayed with the group, seeing firsthand the dedication they put into bringing back civilization. He saw how, the day before, Senku made a dynamo and tricked the guarding siblings into working for free, with help from Joe, who told the duo that in doing so they would get shields of gold and silver to show off in the village, attracting girls.

He was almost proud of the lie, a feeling Senku didn't share as he hit the other man for making promises he couldn't fulfill.

Then he was as dumbfounded as the other members of the Kingdom of Science when Senku brought back electricity, something that made Tsukasa's best efforts look like nothing. Naturally, after a tiring day of work, he wanted to rest up for the next day, eager to see what crazy thing Senku would do to bring back civilization.

But life had other plans for the mentalist as the moon was still high in the sky, showing it was midnight.

Gen abruptly opened his eyes; a blinding and flickering flash of light pulled him out of his much-needed sleep.

He grunted loudly, seeing a smiling Joe holding the small light bulb in his hand.

Was it too much to ask to be left alone to sleep? Did courtesy had been lost over time? Maybe it did, just like half of the neurons of the idiot sitting before him, Gen reasoned as his eyes got acustomed.

He huffed heavily, annoyance clear on his face, raising his voice just enough not to wake the other sleeping people around.

"What the hell do you think you're doing playing with that thing?! It's the only one Senku made, and there are no replacements." The stupid grin on the other young man's face persisted.

"You know what? I shouldn't care; go ahead and destroy the first scientific breakthrough in millennia if you want. Tomorrow night, I'll report back to Tsukasa, and I'll have him frame your ass on the wall of my future mansion."

Gen was expecting a snarky comment or some jeer from the enigmatic foreigner man, but he got nothing.

"I wasn't playing, I was just practicing. Three thousand years of being trapped in rock might have fucked up my skills You know? Luckily for you idiots, it seems that's not the case.

Joe scratched his head in apology. "Sorry for waking you up, but I just needed to confirm that I can still be useful."

"So, you have a hidden past, huh? And here I thought you were an idiot who ended up in the right place at the right time by pure luck."

Joe chuckled lightly "And I thought you had the ability to read people," He shrugged, "It seems we both were mistaken."

Noticing Gen's bewilderment, he added, "Let me give you a hint: why would someone repeatedly turn a light on and off following a specific pattern?"

Gen instantly recalled an episode that had occurred days earlier in Tsukasa's camp. He had been wandering until he stumbled upon Ukyo, the archer with immense hearing, hitting rocks while following a clear pattern.

"Morse code?" he exclaimed, surprised, his conversation partner nodding and smiling genuinely.

Gen got up and quickly closed the gap between them, intrigue in his eyes, keeping a firm gaze. "Who are you really, Joe? Your appearance suggests you're a foreigner, yet you have some Japanese features. What were you doing in Japan that day?"

Unbeknownst to them, three pairs of ears listened to the conversation, varying levels of interest but the same question in mind. Who was this stranger they had found in the forest?

"I told Senku, and I'll tell you. I was on vacation in Japan." He smiled again, placing his arms behind his head in a carefree gesture.

His smile grew. "But I never said who I was or who I was visiting, right?" He turned his head slightly and pointed at the three not so sleepy people he added. "Why don't you come over here and we'll all talk together? You're obviously not asleep and I don't like repeating things twice, it's time for Papa Joe to tell the kids a few things about himself."

With surprise, Senku, Kohaku, and Chrome approached and took a seat, a little farther away, Suika was sound asleep.

"Well, every exceptional story has a beginning and mine is not much different from the rest. It all started when my mum, a Japanese girl and my dad, a G.I. met in Okinawa and after a few dates they decided to have sex. It seems that doing it without protection results in a child. Who would have thought it, right?"

Kohaku and Chrome blushed heavily, clearly not used to discussing something so private openly. Senku hit his head hard enough to make his annoyance clear but not wake Suika, managing to snap the pair of natives out of their stupor. Gen simply laughed softly, taking note of the valuable information in the story.

"Jiai? What's that?" Kohaku and Chrome questioned in unison with genuine curiosity.

"A soldier from the United States, a former old-world country. In short, a foreigner." Senku added, noticing that the confusion in the two stone age youths continued. "That explains your Western features, the fact that when you were revived you spoke in English, and your knowledge of Japanese."

He raised his finger pointing at the Japanese American in an accusatory manner and with typical annoyance. "Next time try to stick to facts that really matter, bastard. Don't waste my time hearing about your parents' carnal activities or I will use you as fuel for iron. Do you hear me?"

Joe responded in the most mature way he could think of: Sticking out his tongue. "Tch, stupid virgin."

Seeing the unchanging expression of the scientist he continued his story. "Right. Well, my name is Joe F. Vaughn, and yes, the F stands for 'Fuck You' thank you very much. I'm 24 years old, or 3044 years old if you're counting the whole petrification thing. I have A+ blood type, and like my father and his father before him, I come from a lengthy line of soldiers. Until recently, I served as Weapons Sergeant at Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 1st SFG/A.

Looking at the group, he noticed nobody knew what the SFG/A was. They understood he was bred to be a soldier, so he didn't need to reiterate on that. Chrome was itching to ask a question, probably to know if his middle name really was 'Fuck You', so he stifled a laugh at the gullible brunette. Senku wore an unreadable expression on his face, obviously studying every single word he said.

He took pity on their ignorance and added, "I was in the Green Berets, dumbasses. You know, the finest sons of bitches the U.S. Army ever produced."

Five seconds after he said that Gen and Senku screamed disbelievingly at the top of their lungs, "YOU ARE A WHAT?!"

Ignoring Kohaku's attempts to quiet the two, so they wouldn't wake little Suika up, they continued questioning. "How in the hell did they let a moron like you become a Special Force?! Didn't they need at least a 110 score on their science, language, and math tests?!"

Joe did the mature thing and flipped the duo off, "Hey, calm the hell down, fuckers, you'll wake Suika and then Kohaku will tear you both a new one. First off, cry me a river. Secondly, I studied my ass off, Sherlock. Besides, it's an army test, not a doctorate final exam."

Gen wasn't finished; he wanted revenge on the American, so he kept going, "With all the wars your country starts, it's no wonder they made an exception and permitted a monkey like you to serve in their army. After all, they allowed morons more intelligent than you to serve in Vietnam, right?" He finished with a toothy smile on his face, obviously satisfied with his jab.

Joe was about to respond when Suika woke up, startled by the loud conversation. Then, as fast as the wind, Kohaku hit both Gen and Senku on the head with enough force to send them directly to the ground face down.

Seeing that, Chrome thanked every god he knew for his decision to stay silent. He planned to ask his question privately, preferably with no lionesses or gorillas around.

"What time is it? What's going on?" asked the little girl, still sleepy as she rubbed her eyes and looked around for her watermelon helmet. Joe momentarily forgot about the pair as he turned to address Suika with tenderness. "Hi sweetie, I was talking with Chrome, Kohaku, and these two..." he resisted the urge to call them dumbasses for Suika's sake, "gentlemen, yes, fine fellows about my past. Did you know I'm a warrior like Kohaku and Kinro and Ginro?"

He and the rest of the young adults could see stars appearing in Suika's eyes, a fact that made him proud and compelled him to continue.

"As I was saying, I fought in Afghanistan, battling the Taliban and training Afghan militias in the use of weapons—M4s, AKs, RPGs, you name it. If it was a weapon designed for war, I knew how it worked. Our mission was to stop subversive activities, engage them tangos, and enjoy the desert and mountain landscapes. After our assignment ended, we had a standby period. One my mum took advantage of, because she called me the moment I set foot on the States, saying we were going to Japan to visit the relatives."

"So, you're a combat veteran. I'd wager ten billion yen that your hands are covered in blood, right?" Senku asked, smiling sardonically as he picked his ear, as if he hadn't just outright called Joe a killer. "It's good to know I revived a man with your abilities, you bastard."

Gen, being the manipulative little bat he was, added, "I concur, little Senku. With the moron's help, we have an opportunity to stop Tsukasa and his reign of terror. Even a singular brain-cell individual like you can be useful in the Stone World."

Joe laughed at the verbal jab, noticing Chrome's silence as he amassed courage. "What is it, Chrome? Wanna ask something?"

The brunette raised his head to look Joe in the eyes. "Yeah, I was wondering if you're stronger than Kohaku. Could you beat her in combat?"

Both Senku and Joe answered at the same time. "Nah"

After exchanging a glance, the American Japanese allowed Senku to elaborate. "The lioness is physically stronger than this idiot. After all, she grew up in a hostile world, so she's better adapted to melee combat and possesses more brute force. Yet I have no doubt that if this idiot had his modern weapons, he would beat her, but now he doesn't, evening the playfield in the lioness' favor."

He turned to Gen. "Mentalist, just so you know, even Kohaku, with all her stone world brute force, lost to Tsukasa. So, while Joe is a good addition to the scientist kingdom, he's not invincible or a trump card." Then he smiled, raising his hand. "But we don't need him to be. Science is the answer! Whether Joe is a good fighter doesn't matter because we will win with two billion years of accumulated scientific knowledge!"

Cheers were heard as Joe interrupted the explanation. "Yeah, that's why you gotta make an Assault Rifle so I can kill Tsukasa and end this war for real."

Senku looked at him with a deadpan expression, asking if he was serious. "Yeah, how about a hard no for ten billion years, bastard? We're short-staffed right now to help the lioness' sister, and I won't allow a side project. Even if we weren't busy, I wouldn't use science to kill. I'd find a way to save everybody."

Joe didn't argue against Senku's ideals, silently hoping never to face an adversary who would do anything to win, determined to protect his friend's vision of the world.

Then Chrome broke the tension by asking about every term Joe used in his story, hungry for knowledge.

And so ended another night for the newly established scientific kingdom as the group continued talking late into the night, sharing stories and explanations; one step closer to achieving their first goal.

So that's it for this chapter. We got some literal bombs dropped here as Joe keeps annoying Gen. Probably, the next episodes will focus on Joe as he builds relationships with the rest of the main cast (a.k.a. the Scientific Kingdom citizens) while the plot advances.

See you next time and don't forget to drink water.