A future ally

"Do you know Chen Yu?" Tsukasa asked Senku, watching Chen Yu walk away.

"Yeah, we're classmates," Senku said casually.

They knew each other.

Hearing Senku's answer, Tsukasa felt things had become a little difficult.

Right after being revived, he had saved Senku and Taiju from the wild beasts surrounding them. Then he had heard that Senku wanted to revive all of humanity.

That had reminded him of his younger sister, and of how, as a child, he had gone to collect seashells for her, only to be driven away by a man who claimed the beach belonged to him.

If that boy hadn't given him new hope, his life would probably have been miserable.

In the end, he had followed Chen Yu's advice and taken up boxing, so he could protect both his sister and Chen Yu in the future.

When he happened to discover that boxing could earn him money, he entered competitions, unwilling to let Chen Yu's family alone shoulder those enormous medical bills for him.

Afterward, Chen Yu's parents had approached him privately for a talk. Only then had he learned that, before meeting him, Chen Yu had kept to himself and barely interacted with anyone outside his family.

They had only paid for the treatment after hearing Chen Yu call him his friend.

At that moment, Tsukasa had made his decision.

But reviving all of humanity meant reviving those scumbags too.

At first, they might thank him for bringing them back.

Later, however, they might tell him to get the hell off their land.

If Senku really knew Chen Yu, Tsukasa couldn't let Chen Yu witness such a cruel scene.

He hoped Chen Yu would understand. This was his own selfish wish.

He prayed Chen Yu wouldn't blame him.

Chen Yu: "Whatever. Senku will come back to life in the end anyway. You could even stab him, no problem. (^_^)"

Senku: "Thank you. (｀へ´)"

"All right, chew up the herbs or crush them, then apply them to the wound. Wrap it in clean leaves for now. It should heal by the day after tomorrow."

Chen Yu walked over with an armful of unfamiliar herbs. As he spoke, he selected a few, chewed them up, and applied them to the wound. Then he took out some long leaves and made a simple bandage.

"Hurry up and make some cloth, or this is going to be a pain." Chen Yu looked at the area he had wrapped in leaves. If Tsukasa exerted himself, either the leaves would snap or the herbs would fall out.

"Cloth, huh? I think there's someone who could make it," Senku said, thinking of someone.

"Who?" Taiju asked curiously.

"Yuzuriha," Senku said calmly.

"Yuzuriha?" Taiju hadn't caught on.

"Yeah. Yuzuriha is great at handicrafts. With her around, we won't have to wear these crude outfits anymore. We'll have more comfortable clothes instead," Senku replied.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go revive Yuzuriha right now!" With that, Taiju ran straight off.

Senku watched him leave, a little speechless, then followed him.

Seeing the two leave, Chen Yu followed as well.

When he noticed Tsukasa still standing there, he said, "Tsukasa, let's go."

"All right."

As Chen Yu walked along, he looked around at his surroundings, brimming with curiosity.

"Oh, right. I seem to remember we don't have enough ingredients. Taiju, let's go get some more," Senku said, suddenly stopping.

"Ingredients? But aren't the ingredients..." Before Taiju could finish, he noticed Senku's serious expression and remembered something. He changed his answer. "Sure."

"No need. I'll go. I've checked this area, and there aren't any dangerous wild beasts. Tell me where it is. With my speed, I'll catch up in no time," Tsukasa suddenly said.

Chen Yu understood too. Tsukasa still intended to make his move.

His biggest regret over those years was that he hadn't managed to make Senku and Tsukasa friends. But looking at the two of them, one was always in the laboratory, while the other was always at boxing matches. Even during his downtime, Senku kept researching, while Tsukasa went straight to spend time with his sister.

When had Chen Yu ever had a chance?

"Hmm... All right. Head straight back the way we came. There's a rock. Stand on it and look toward the tallest mountain, then head right. Around a bend, there's a cave-the Miracle Cave. That's the one. Here." After thinking for a moment, Senku handed Tsukasa a ceramic vessel shaped like a liquor bottle.

"All right." Tsukasa took the jar, glanced at Chen Yu, and left.

Senku watched Tsukasa hurry away. Once he was certain Tsukasa couldn't hear them, he immediately pulled the ingredients from his backpack and began rapidly mixing revival fluid.

"Taiju, hurry and help. We have to revive Yuzuriha before Tsukasa gets back," Senku said anxiously.

"Huh? Why?" Taiju didn't quite understand.

"How could I possibly not bring enough revival fluid? These ingredients are too important for me to forget." Senku kept working as he spoke.

This time, Senku hadn't made it in his so-called laboratory. He had brought the ingredients straight here instead.

"But why send Tsukasa? I could've gone too." Taiju was confused.

"Tsukasa is a double-edged sword. I had to get him out of the way." Senku stopped and looked at Taiju.

"Why get him out of the way?" Taiju asked.

"I have zero interest in that grand vision of his-the strongest world he can dream up." As Senku spoke, he remembered Tsukasa knocking the head off a stone statue earlier.

That was when he had realized Tsukasa... was his enemy.

"The game of building civilization is what really gets me excited. Right, Chen Yu?" Senku turned to Chen Yu, who had been standing silently beside him.

"Yeah. For you, that's the only thing that could catch your interest, right? And this is the biggest version of it there is. After all, there are seven billion stone statues around the world waiting to be revived, and you're the one who'll bring them back." Chen Yu met Senku's eyes as he spoke.

"Yeah. It's pretty exciting. I've got something to ask you too, Chen Yu." Senku's tone suddenly turned serious.

"What is it?" Chen Yu asked.

"You... know something about the petrification, don't you?" Senku asked.

"Petrification? Chen Yu?" Taiju repeated Senku's words.

"The petrification? I don't know anything about it," Chen Yu replied.

"Then why did you leave right before it happened, in the middle of our most important research? That's not like you," Senku countered.

"I had something to do. I really did. I think that was the day Tsukasa finished a boxing match. I had to head back so we could visit his sister in the hospital together," Chen Yu said after thinking for a moment.

That was true too. Quite a coincidence.

"All right. Whatever you know, you're my ally for now, right?" Senku asked.

"Yeah, I'm your ally. I know how Tsukasa thinks. I'd been hoping to make you two friends for a while. He can't have me as his only friend, so I wanted you two to get to know each other. After all, apart from you guys at school, I don't know anyone else," Chen Yu said.

"The way I see it, your two ideals are the spark that'll ignite a war here," Chen Yu explained.

Yes, one wanted to revive all of humanity. That idea would inevitably make the other, powerful man feel threatened. After all, that man's childhood had been far from whole.

How could less than ten short years possibly undo Tsukasa's painful childhood memories? Though, in the end, Tsukasa had reconciled with Senku and agreed to go to the Americas and revive all of humanity.

"In that case, I'm counting on you, my future ally," Senku said.