As Senku, Chrome and Ryuusui initiated landing procedures, Team Revival took the Hero Alliance in to the village to meet them.
"Been a while since we've set foot in Ishigami village. I never thought we'd come back here after the war against Tsukasa." Hope said.
"So this is another forbidden world. One where its inhabitants were turned to stone by an unknown phenomenon." 2B said.
"Not completely unknown. All we know is, a strange green light from somewhere in South America turned every single human on the planet to stone." Hope said. "But humanity managed to survive, thanks to the efforts of Byakyua Ishigami and a crew of astronauts who evaded the light, who took it upon themselves to repopulate through as many generations as they could."
"And the people of this village are the result." 2B said. "In a way, the world where 9S, A2 and myself come from isn't so different from this one. We vowed to survive and embrace the world we lived in."
"And we're gonna help everyone in this world take it back." Connor said. "By the way, you caught up on the rules around here?"
"Yes." 2B nodded. "No one can use any weapons that haven't been developed yet, along with any special powers."
"We're also not allowed to use any advanced technology or magic. That's why we had 042 and 153 stay back on the ship." 9S said.
"Not like we could use magic anyway." A2 said. "There's still one problem, won't the villagers be freaked out by us being here?"
"Ah, they won't be bugged by you as long as you guys say you're…unique." Connor said. "Besides, you three look just as human as the rest of us."
"True, we are designed after humans." 9S said.
"But aren't they gonna be freaked out by me being a demihuman?" Makoto asked.
"Relax, the rest of us animal types were around these guys and we fit in just fine." Catra said.
"Kuu's fine as long as he's hiding in my hood." Linne said.
"Pino and the Shining Stars except for Hermit had to stay back though." Weisz said. "Dunno why you'd wanna see all this though, Hermit. There's not a single thing for you to plug into."
"I know I can't hack anything, but I still have my brain." Hermit said. "In this world, science is what advances humanity."
"Good. Because science has never been one of my best subjects in school." David said.
"What're you talking about David, you and your team have done pretty great here." Connor said.
"That's because he's the type that prefers to solve things through logic. And a bit of charisma." Revali said.
"By the way, how's Senku's little arachnid friend doing?" Mari asked as they made their way inside the village.
"Oh, you mean Joltik? Don't worry, he's fine." Senku said as they caught sight of him. "So, Connor called you out here again? Had a feeling that letter he sent was for you guys, couldn't be anyone else. Been a while, huh? Haven't seen each other since our little trip through time."
"Haha! So you're the ones Connor mentioned!" Ryuusui said. "The ones who have desirable talents, am I wrong?"
"And who might you be?" Elisabeth said.
"He's gonna be the one taking us across the planet. This is Ryuusui Nanami. He may be a self-centered rich boy, but he knows his way around a ship." Connor said.
"You've expanded yet again." Jin said.
"Same with you guys, you've bumped up your roster too." Senku said, taking note of Lei, Elisabeth, Shun'ei, Meitenkun, Klonoa, The Shadow Knights, the Ashen Wolves, Darksquad, the YoRHa Trio, The Edens Zero Crew, the Arise Team, Ash K, Hatsume, Kagetsu, Merrin, Trish, Lionel, Ezana and Milo as well as the trainers. However, he noticed that there were a few people missing. "Huh… Cheetah and the others still aren't back with you, huh?"
"Yeah, they're kind of off doing their own thing. Not that big of a deal." David said.
"He doesn't have to worry, though. The way things are going, it won't be like that for much longer." Jexi said.
"And I also see that Teba has left." Senku said.
"He is the chief of his village now. But he made sure that his last outing was a great one, don't you worry." Revali said.
"I see. Good on him, then." Senku said with a small smirk.
"Come, we'll show you all and Ryuusi around Ishigami Village." Kohaku offered with Ukyo as they began the tour. "Senku eventually won us all over to deal with Tsukasa, who had a literal army on his side. As a result, he founded the aptly named Kingdom of Science."
"And if I understand, now he's trying to save this former enemy of his. That right?" Ryuusui said.
"Yeah. Tsukasa got badly wounded by one of his top guys looking to take everything he made for himself. We didn't have the necessary means to heal him in this age, so the only thing we could do for now is cryogenically preserve him." Connor said.
"And there's only one way to save Tsukasa. Senku is going to the source of the light, the other side of the world." Ukyo said.
"He's starting with Tsukasa, but the goal is to revive all of humanity if I recall. Then there's something you guys are gonna need. A captain to steer your ship." Ryuusui said. "So, In other words, you want my navigational help no matter the cost! Am I wrong?" he asked from the observatory.
"Um… Pretty much." Trish said.
"You'll get used to him." Travis assured.
"So, what's the situation?" Hope asked.
"We've started construction on the ship," Connor explained. "Senku designed a motor/sail hybrid boat, and we need fuel for it. So, we're huntin' for a little Black Gold. Tell me David, you heard of the Sagara Oil Field?"
"Yep. It was pretty much the only place we were able to get oil. But production stopped at around 1955, when cheaper imported oil came about. At November 1980, it was proclaimed a natural monument and protected cultural property by the Shizuoka Prefectural Government, and transformed into a public park." David said.
"But lemme guess…we're gonna use it to supply the fuel needed for Senku's ship?" Sachiko asked.
"Bingo. But seein' as how the landscapes changed over a thousand years, we're gonna need to do some surveying, see how much Japan has changed and make ourselves a new map." Connor said. "That's why we went through the trouble of making this hot air Balloon, so we can check everything out from the sky."
"Our first test flight wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, but we were able to pull through." Senku said. "Now we'll fight on two fronts, from the land and the sky. We'll search like hell from above and below, and once we get our oil, we can go anywhere we want."
"Then let's get this started." A2 said.
Before the search began, the villagers remaining in Ishigami threw Senku and the group a welcome back feast, in addition to congratulatory celebration for defeating Tsukasa. Ryuusui was expecting a gourmet dinner…. But it instead turned out to be an all-you can eat Fish buffet.
"The palette is diverse at least… but I'm sensing a theme here." Yuri said.
"Yeah, sorry about that, it's all they've got." Connor said. "Around these parts, Ishigami Village lived off nothin' but seafood since…forever, I guess."
"And we're gonna be here… for how long, exactly?" Ryuusui asked.
"Uh, until we find the oil field, so…if we're lucky, about a year?" Connor replied.
"Oh ho! We'll find one! And food too! From up in the sky! I swear it, I swear it, I swear it, I swear it!" Ryuusui said.
"Huh…guess being greedy isn't bad in a world like this." Nemona said.
The next morning, the search for the Sagara Oil field began. Kohaku was up in the Balloon with Senku and Ryusui.
"This is amazing, I'm truly flying through the sky!" Kohaku awed while hanging over the edge.
"Fun as it is to see our lioness freaking out over this, you should probably get to work." Senku said.
"Hey! I'm not freaking out, and although I haven't heard a lioness joke in a while, it's still not appreciated!" Kohaku protested.
"He's right though, we're depending on your eyesight Kohaku, otherwise I would've killed to be up there in your place." Chrome said through the Stone World cell phone.
"So we're coordinating to make a map." Pit said.
"That's right. It's like filling out a video game map. We'll mark down key treasure spots as we go." Senku said.
As they traveled across the map, they marked down a cedar forest as well as a mountain where a herd of goats had made their home on. Ukyo killed an outlying elder so that they could bring it back to the village. It was the first time in a long while that Ishigami village had ever tasted meat. To them though, it was more than just simple food.
"While it is true that humanity survived thousands of years thanks to the one they call Byakuya… the population of the village is low." 2B said.
"Must've been food shortages. Lucky we're doin' this then." Connor said.
"Before I was born, Ishigami Village used to be much larger. But the population was cut due to a bad fishing season. Lots of people lost their lives, including most of Turquoise's family. It was awful." Kohaku said.
"Fishing isn't always going to be a stable thing. So we should do what we can to make sure they all do not go hungry." Nuna said.
"Yeah…and the perfect way…is with that." Perfuma said as they came to a golden foxtail field.
"Wait…this…this is wheat!" Nuna said.
"I know what you're thinkin', Perfuma." Connor said. "Can't expect to sail the seas without having something that doesn't spoil along the way."
"Haha! So we're baking then!" Ryuusui said.
"It's time to begin growing food with our own hands. Nature will provide the sustenance we need for both survival on land and sea." Perfuma said.
Kohaku used her katana to harvest as much wheat as the group could carry back to the Village, and then they appropriated the grains necessary to bake.
"I want it. I want bread! Brioche, Focaccia, Pain au Chocolat!" Ryuusui said.
"What are those? Attack names?" Kohaku asked.
"Names of different types of bread." Sanji said.
"That's a boujee menu. Who's making that, cuz I'm bettin' it's not you. I'm making biscuits." Senku said.
"After all, if we're going by sea, we'll need to have food that will last. Bread is usually the best choice." Nami said.
"We're not gonna have enough wheat to make every single kind of bread though, will we?"
"Which is why we'll be growing our own wheat." Senku said.
"Ah, now I get it." Connor said.
"Gonna start some farmin', huh?" Applejack asked.
"Yeah, but Ishigami village is way too mountainous to do that, too much drainage." Senku said. "The Kanto Plains are the way to go. Taiju and his gorilla team are gonna have a blast."
Back at the Tsukasa empire, the rest of the Kingdom of Science was busy repairing many of the statues Tsukasa had smashed apart.
"We sure have a lot of statues." Taiju said.
"That's what we get for reassembling so many but reviving none." Ginro said.
"Maybe we should wake them all up and have them do this boring work instead." Magma said.
"We can't just increase our numbers so suddenly like that, we'd run out of food if we did." Nikki said.
"But we also can't wait on reassembling anyone. If the matching ends wear down, then they won't fit back together." Yuzuriha said.
"It's about food, huh? If only I was better at hunting and gathering." Taiju said.
That was when Kohaku arrived. "Worry no more! We can stop relying on nature's charity, because we're taking matters into our own hands! We'll use science and strength to create our own food!"
It was at this moment that those who were used to this sort of work like Taiju, Applejack, Applejack-2, Perfuma, and Nuna went to work creating a farm and sowing seeds.
"Wow…this is amazing." Shiki said. "Say, that garden on the ship, did…"
"Yeah, they helped to cultivate it with all those different gardens, bringing us lots of fresh produce and other goods." Jexi said. "Of course, like this one, one of the fields is a grain field used for growing wheat and soybeans."
"The Galaxy King really is a flying production facility isn't it? I don't really understand why we can't sell any of the products we make on board." Emo pointed out. "I mean, we don't really need the money, but still…"
"It was more for self sustainment than for profit." Jexi said.
"Good point." the wizard acquiesced.
"Besides, it's nice to have all those little levels on the ship. Brings so much diversity. Gardens, a barn, a coop, even places that make cloth, spices and seeds." Twilight said.
"Yeah…it's special…but so is this…" Jexi said watching everyone working hard.
The ones working the hardest were Taiju, Magma and Yo as they worked on making their own fields all throughout the night.
Then came harvest day as Taiju and most of the heroes' fields were already prospering.
"Wheat actually sprang up from where the seeds were planted!" Suika said.
Magma and Yō weren't so fortunate, as not a single seed was able to grow.
"What happened to all our crops, they were just fine when we planted them." Magma said.
"Hmm…let's take a look." Applejack said as she scooped up some dirt from each plot.
"Yeah, might be something with the soil quality. We can test for that. We just wash up some morning glories, grind them up, and soak them in paper." Twilight said, holding two strips of paper.
"Oh, I remember these from science class. It's…that…hm…Oh yeah. A litmus test!" Rainbow said.
Taiju put the litmus paper first in Magma and Yo's and it turned red, he then put one in his and it turned blue.
"There's your answer. Crops won't grow in acidic soil." Perfuma said.
"Wait, so how did Taiju's crops grow so well?" Kieran asked.
"I think you all remember from our first visit here. About a use for this?" Mari asked, holding a bag of powder. "Meet our good old friend, calcium carbonate."
"Right. That stuff can purify the soil and blow away the harmful stuff." Lucy said.
"That's right. What doesn't grow in Acidic soil." Senku said from up in the air via the phone. "The big oaf may not have understood the science behind it, but he neutralized the Ph with Calcium. That said, we didn't know what wheat species we're dealing with. So had he not lucked out and balanced it so well, we would've been stuck with our old friend trial and error."
Following Taiju's example, Magma and Yō did the same process, and their fields soon produced wheat as well. Now that a stable farming economy was built, it was soon time to try baking bread, so the Alliance returned with Senku and Ryuusui to Ishigami village to begin baking.
"Don't expect my first batch to be perfect, I'm far from a professional chef." Senku said as he had a few rolls in the oven.
"This isn't my usual greed talking when I say this, but quality is important." Ryuusui said. "They stocked bread during the age of discovery too. But it was so nasty looking that no one tried to eat it until they nearly starved. I don't know what you'd call it but it definitely wasn't food."
"Shouldn't you be helping them?" Hilda asked Sanji.
"Nah, let 'em fail on their own terms." Sanji said, taking a drag of his cigarette.
"How do you know they're gonna fail?" Hilda asked.
"Just watch." Sanji said.
"And here it is! The first stone oven-baked bread in the Stone World!" Senku said as he took out large burnt stone bread.
"Yep…I called it. These idiots have no idea how to bake." Sanji said.
The residents of the Stone World tasted the burnt bread, and while the Ishigami Villagers didn't have any issues with it thanks to their lack of taste… Senku and Ryuusui nearly died from a single bite.
"Us modern people have pampered tastes. It's not uncommon for someone to starve to death rather than eat this. I heard tales of it from JSDF boot camp." Ukyo said.
"This bread'll kill everyone if they eat it… am I wrong?" Ryuusui groaned.
"Nope… we'll never make it to the other side of the planet if we don't fix this first…" Senku said.
"WE NEED TO REVIVE A TOP CHEF!"
"...They said in stereo." Ukyo said.
Meanwhile, in the Lanes Between, a small UP ship was flying towards the Past Universe.
"So…this world…is it really all stone statues and such? Like…a virus went and did that?" asked a young man with light blue hair.
"Supposedly. It was marked as forbidden to avoid the spread. If people really have been ignoring that law, this could lead to a pandemic and eradication not seen for thousands of years." said a woman with light blue hair.
"We need to find these rule breakers and show them why the law is in place. But…as an inspector of the Universal Police…I gotta uphold my duty." spoke an older man as he looked serious.
Universal Police
Past Universe
Inspector
Wyatt
Universal Police
Adventure Universe
Hired Bodyguard
Tanzanite
Universal Police
Magic Universe
Medical Expert
Lavender
The three of them sat tight as they continued on to the Stone World.