Senku's death, Chen Yu's snark

Before long, night fell, and Chen Yu slowly began mixing the revival fluid from memory.

He felt he would be able to get it right soon.

Tsukasa came back once that evening, took a look at him, then went out again. He returned with a wild boar, which Chen Yu deftly butchered and cleaned before lighting a fire.

After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Yu went to bed early. It was dark, and there was nothing around for entertainment.

The next day, while Chen Yu was out gathering medicinal herbs, he heard an explosion.

They've figured out gunpowder? Chen Yu wondered.

Then Tsukasa should be heading over there too, right?

All right, it's been thirty-seven hundred years since I last got some proper exercise. I'll head over and have a look.

With that thought, Chen Yu gently circulated his energy. With a single step, he landed on a thick branch, then lightly pushed off and bounded onward.

Following the direction of the sound, Chen Yu darted through the forest.

Just as he neared his destination, someone suddenly struck out to stop him.

Chen Yu hurriedly blocked the attack. Once he steadied himself, he saw a blonde girl with her hair tied back.

Her clothes also seemed rather primitive.

Kohaku?

"Who are you?" Kohaku looked at the man before her. Her instincts told her he was strong.

Although he looked ordinary, anyone who could leap between branches like that had to be skilled. Besides, the black cracks on his face resembled those of the people she had seen earlier. Was he from a new tribe?

"Hot spring water?" Chen Yu looked at the wooden barrel behind Kohaku.

"Huh?" Kohaku immediately tensed, raising both hands into an attacking stance. This was for her older sister, and she would not allow anything to happen to it.

"Hmm, looks like someone's sick. Ah, hang on a second. Let me look." Chen Yu opened his crude homemade backpack, fashioned from yesterday's boar hide. Without Yuzuriha's craftsmanship, it looked ugly as all get-out. (I just made that phrase up. Never mind it; it just means ugly.)

Kohaku watched Chen Yu nervously, afraid he might pull out a stone blade and throw it at her.

"Ha, found it. Hmm, I don't know what illness you're dealing with. As for these herbs, cut them up when you get back, then dry them in the sun to remove the moisture. Finally, hmm... let's use these as units of weight. Two pebbles' worth of this, one of this..." Chen Yu picked up some small stones from the ground and rattled on.

Without realizing it, Kohaku lowered her guard as she listened. She unconsciously moved closer, studying the herbs and committing his instructions to memory, bit by bit.

"All right, once that's done, simmer them over a fire, keep the liquid, and throw away the leftover herbs. It should ease things a little." After finishing, Chen Yu handed the pile of herbs in front of him to Kohaku.

Kohaku: "(・・)"

Kohaku stared blankly at the herbs in her hands, still unsure what had just happened.

"All right, that's it. Oh, right, the medicine will be a little bitter. Remember to mix in something sweet, or it'll be hard to swallow." Chen Yu clapped his hands and left. After being held up by Kohaku, he might have missed all the excitement. Forget watching it. He was going home.

Well, to keep Hyoga from destroying the Miracle Cave, he had better go collect some fluid from it early and stockpile as much as he could. It might come in handy later.

No sooner said than done, but... where was the cave?

Kohaku watched Chen Yu leave, then looked at the herbs in her hands. She recognized some of them, so it seemed he really did know medicinal herbs. Still, she ought to check the place where the heavens had unleashed their fury, in case the village was in danger.

Meanwhile, Tsukasa finished Senku off cleanly, striking the back of his neck with a knife-hand blow.

Senku collapsed to the ground.

Looking down at Senku, who had stopped breathing, Tsukasa silently apologized to Chen Yu.

Yuzuriha arrived just in time to see Tsukasa finish Senku off, and tears immediately spilled from her eyes.

Taiju, rushing over from farther away, also shouted when he saw Senku collapse. The anger in his voice shook even Tsukasa.

(I don't know how to describe it. Any suggestions?)

Taiju and Yuzuriha reached Senku's side. Seeing him lying there without a breath, grief immediately overwhelmed them. Taiju had thought he was prepared, but watching his best friend die before his eyes truly hurt.

"Senku... Senku... say something!" Taiju cried through his tears.

Beside him, Yuzuriha wept silently as well.

"No, this can't be happening! How could you... how could you die here? You can't die here!" Taiju shouted.

Standing nearby without looking at the three of them, Tsukasa said flatly, "He died without pain. That wasn't just his request. I also don't want Chen Yu looking at me like a murderer in the future."

"Then what about those stone statues?" Taiju shot back.

"The statues should be possible to glue back together," Tsukasa said after a moment's thought.

"Now, as the two people here who were closest to him, give him a proper burial." As Tsukasa finished speaking, he suddenly sensed killing intent.

He turned to look at the silent Taiju and the inconsolably sobbing Yuzuriha.

He had just remembered that Taiju would never attack anyone first. But the fact that he could withstand Tsukasa's attacks and recover this much in a single day was enough to show how formidable he was.

If he held Yuzuriha hostage, Taiju would not be able to attack him. That should have been the case, at least. But if Senku's death made Taiju lose his reason, Tsukasa would be facing a crazed beast, numb to pain and surging with adrenaline.

Taiju could already withstand his attacks, which meant his strength should be immense as well. With adrenaline and an inability to feel pain added to that, Tsukasa could get hurt. He might even suffer fatal injuries.

Then I'll have to kill them too. Do I really have to do that? Chen Yu will look at me like a murderer.

He knew Chen Yu despised murderers and anything else, whether an action or a role, that endangered people's physical safety.

He remembered a time when Chen Yu needed a guinea pig for an experiment. He had eagerly volunteered, only for Chen Yu to give him a furious scolding and stick a few needles into him. For the next few days, he had no strength at all. In the end, Chen Yu found a body donated by someone who had died, but he only examined it rather than harming it.

Suddenly, Taiju stood up. Tsukasa watched him nervously, while Yuzuriha stopped crying and looked at him too.

Without a word, Taiju walked over to an enormous rock and slowly lifted it with both hands.

Tsukasa watched him in surprise. His guess had been right: an enraged Taiju really could pose a threat to him. He prepared for battle.

"Taiju!" Yuzuriha stared at him in shock. The way he looked now was truly frightening.

"Don't worry, Yuzuriha... I'm calm..." Taiju replied quietly.

Seeing this, Tsukasa readied himself for battle as well.

"Yuzuriha... if anything happens..." Taiju said.

After hearing him, Yuzuriha replied, "Don't worry, Taiju. Didn't the three of us already make a promise back then? It'll be fine this time too."

With that, she adopted the resolve of someone ready to die.

Hearing her words, Taiju's confidence instantly soared. He thanked her, then strained his body and hurled the rock into the sky.

Tsukasa: "Σ(っ °Д °;)っ"

Tsukasa stared at the rock overhead, baffled. Why had he thrown it into the sky?

Seeing that the rock did not seem likely to hit him, he looked back at Taiju, ready to make his next move.

Suddenly, Yuzuriha turned and ran to their luggage, grabbed a jar, and hurled it at Tsukasa.

Tsukasa kicked the incoming jar to pieces. Black powder scattered through the air. Was this black gunpowder?

They really had developed gunpowder.

Once that sudden exchange was over, Yuzuriha and Taiju stood protectively in front of Senku, watching Tsukasa warily.

Finally, the rock fell, striking sparks against the ground and triggering a violent explosion.

A powerful shock wave blasted outward, leaving Tsukasa no choice but to brace himself defensively.

After the explosion, flames began licking at Tsukasa's body. He simply stripped off his animal-hide clothing and looked at the now-empty clearing.

Taiju won't attack people. He never intended to attack me just now. So that's what this was?

(I don't know either.)

Without advanced medical care here, Senku can only die... so what good will running away do?

That was what Tsukasa thought...

Taiju and Yuzuriha reached a safe spot. Seeing that Tsukasa did not seem to be pursuing them, they sighed in relief.

"We were really lucky. We fooled him, right?" Yuzuriha said, holding a hand to her chest, still shaken.

"I think so?" Taiju replied, catching his breath as well.

"To be honest, I was really scared you'd go straight at him and fight to the death," Yuzuriha said, looking at Taiju.

"Ah... that. I did think about it just now, but then I remembered Senku telling me to do what Chen Yu said, so I followed the plan. All right, enough talking. Let me find the revival fluid." Taiju scratched his head, then rummaged through his backpack.

After finding the revival fluid and checking that it was intact, he sighed in relief and poured it straight onto Senku.

The two of them nervously watched the patch of stone on Senku's neck, terrified that something might go wrong.

At the sound of a crack, both of them immediately lit up with joy.

Life returned to Senku's eyes as well.

Deep within Senku's consciousness, he had also returned to the moment his petrification was undone.

He broke free of petrification, only to be surrounded by monkeys.

Chen Yu: Observe the newly arrived hairless monkey. Monkey-watching!

He started a fire by rubbing sticks together, solving the temperature problem.

Chen Yu: Lighting signal fires to fool the monkeys?

He made clothes to ward off the cold.

Chen Yu: Shocking the monkeys for a whole year?

(It's about time to sign a contract. I'll be able to start earning soon. I'll work hard to write up to the Americas, and the Americas arc hasn't been animated yet, so writing from the manga will be harder. After all, it's hard to convey the text, the sudden scene transitions, and the black, gray, and white coloring.)