They tied Miwa up, then surrounded her and looked down at her.
Miwa bit her lip, refusing to explain herself.
"Not talking? Just a moment. A few needles will sort that out." Seeing that Miwa refused to speak, Chen Yu took out his bag and began rummaging through it.
Senku, Kohaku, Kinro, and Ginro peered curiously into Chen Yu's bag, wondering what he kept inside.
Before long, Chen Yu took out an extremely fine bone needle. This was the finest Yuzuriha could make.
Chen Yu examined it. It was only a little smaller than an embroidery needle. In the future, he would have to ask Kaseki and Yuzuriha to make them together, with Kohaku supervising and checking the diameter. After all, it would be a waste not to put her 11.0 eyesight to use.
Miwa looked at the bone needle, completely unfazed. Compared with the training she had endured before, this needle was nothing.
She turned her head away and ignored Chen Yu.
"You're no pushover," Chen Yu muttered when he saw that Miwa had not been frightened.
"What do you need a needle for, Chen Yu?" Kohaku asked.
"Heh heh..." Chen Yu gave off the terrifying, sinister air of a big boss.
Suika was so frightened that she ran away.
"Senku, where are my needles? My needles?" Chen Yu took out three of them and complained to Senku, who was watching from the sidelines.
"What? Can't you use these? Besides, it's not like you haven't used them before..." As soon as Senku finished speaking, he regretted it.
Fear spread across his face.
"What's wrong with him?" Kohaku asked, looking at the dark cloud hanging over Senku's head.
"No idea..." Chrome replied.
"Old man Kaseki, could you do something for me?" Chen Yu turned to Kaseki, who was still making glassware nearby.
"What is it? I'm busy," Kaseki said irritably.
"Well, it's this... and then... also..." Chen Yu walked over and whispered into Kaseki's ear.
"What's so good about that?" Kaseki asked.
"Heh heh, well..." Chen Yu smiled and explained.
At first, Kaseki thought little of it, but as he listened, his clothes burst right off.
"Then it's a deal! I'll make it for you, and you have to promise to draw up the plans for those things so I can try making them too!" Kaseki said eagerly.
"Of course. But in the end, it'll still be up to you," Chen Yu said.
He winked at Kaseki and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Don't worry! I'm a highly skilled master craftsman!" Kaseki laughed loudly.
"What did you tell him?" Senku poked Chen Yu and asked.
"Have you heard of a sword box? Or the weapons unique to the Eastern Great Nation?" Chen Yu asked Senku.
"A sword box?" Senku looked baffled, then suddenly realized something and shouted, "You're really going to build that thing?"
"A sword box? What's a sword box?" Kohaku and the others asked.
Even Gen, who came from the modern world, was a little confused. He had not had much exposure to such things.
"If that thing gets made and ends up in Chen Yu's hands, it'll be a devastating blow to our current Stone Age civilization," Senku said irritably, slapping his forehead.
"A devastating blow?" Ginro asked in terror.
"Wouldn't that give us a better chance against Long-Haired Man?" Kohaku asked.
"But even though Chen Yu has devastating weapons, he's never willing to use force. I don't know how strong he really is, either," Senku said, watching the two men smelting iron and silver beside the large furnace.
That's true. Since Chen Yu doesn't want to hurt anyone, this thing probably won't be lethal either, right? Gen thought.
"Keep an eye on her. We need time, so let's see what Chen Yu comes up with. We'll get back to work first." With that, Senku headed toward the laboratory.
"Hey, wait, Senku! Could you make us a gold spear and a silver spear? With those, we'll definitely beat Magma!" Ginro called after Senku, pleading with him.
"Huh?" Senku looked at the two of them in confusion.
Ginro's eyes were sparkling, while Kinro tried to look aloof.
Evening soon arrived. Working together with Kohaku, who had been roped into serving as an industrial monitor, Chen Yu and Kaseki made seven iron needles and two silver ones.
Once they were finished, Chen Yu gave Kaseki a few acupuncture treatments. The results were good, but unfortunately, all that iron had yielded only these few needles.
Kaseki stared at them with shining eyes. He had never imagined needles could be so fine, let alone treat illnesses.
Ginro picked up one of them and studied its slender shaft, unable to understand what use it could possibly have.
"All right, now it's time for our star to take the stage: Kitano Miwa!" Chen Yu took the needle from Ginro's hand and looked toward Miwa beneath a nearby tree.
The others turned to look at Miwa too.
With so many people staring at her, Miwa suddenly began to feel afraid.
"All right, let's test the waters first." Chen Yu had the others hold Miwa's arms and legs down.
Ginro was put in charge of watching the needles nearby.
"We have so few needles that this is a bit troublesome, so we'll take it slowly. No rush. If you want to explain yourself, you can talk now. There's no need to suffer." Chen Yu took out a needle to intimidate her.
Miwa stubbornly turned her head away.
"All right, then. Here goes. One Needle, Shatter Strength!" Chen Yu drove a needle into the back of Miwa's neck.
Miwa immediately lost all sensation below her head.
"Y-you... what did you do to me?" Miwa asked in terror.
"Nothing much. Just acupuncture," Chen Yu explained with a smile.
"That's strange. Why does she feel limp?" Kohaku squeezed Miwa's arm, then lifted it and let go. Miwa's right hand struck the ground heavily.
"What's going on?" Kinro asked gravely.
"This is an acupuncture technique I developed myself, using all the ancient texts I consulted and modern medicine. This needle goes straight into a nerve without damaging it. It makes the person lose all sensation in their body, leaving them unable to resist. In everyday terms, they become the living dead, or paralyzed. Once the needle is removed, they'll recover in half an hour," Chen Yu explained.
After hearing his explanation, the others let go and saw that Miwa really could not move at all.
"Still not talking?" Chen Yu asked.
Miwa gritted her teeth, still refusing to speak.
"Then let's try another." Chen Yu took out another needle as he spoke.
"Huh? How did it get over there?" Ginro stared at the needle pouch in his hands. Somehow, a needle had flown straight into Chen Yu's hand.
"One Needle, Fix the Stiffness."
"Take one out, then another needle: Water and Fire." Chen Yu pulled the needle from her neck and inserted another.
At once, Miwa felt waves of cold and heat alternating throughout her body.
She wanted to speak, but she could not. Chen Yu's second needle had already frozen her in place.
"Take one out. One Needle, Make Them Spin." Chen Yu repeated the process.
This time, Miwa could finally speak, but she felt dizzy, her head spinning.
"I... I'll talk..." As soon as Miwa said it, she retched and vomited up everything she had eaten that morning and at noon.
The people nearby were badly startled.
In the end, Chen Yu removed Miwa's needles, and she gave a full account of everything.
(The following chapters will be posted on a schedule.)
Before you continue