Ginro the Idiot

The branches and leaves of the towering ancient trees swayed in the wind, which carried the faint, acrid fumes from the sulfuric acid pool around them.

Although their pursuers had temporarily withdrawn, none of them felt the slightest relief.

Their current predicament was a hundred times trickier than being surrounded and hunted.

They were stranded halfway up a tree, dozens of meters above a sulfuric acid pool that constantly gave off deadly fumes.

There was no escape in any direction. Gusts howled through the mountains without pause, scattering the corrosive mist everywhere, with no sign of stopping.

"What do we do... how do we get out of here?"

Kohaku was the first to break the silence, her voice heavy with concern.

She looked up at the sky. Clouds raced overhead, and each gust blew harder than the last. She shook her head, certain of her assessment.

"This wind isn't stopping anytime soon. The toxic mist will only get thicker."

The most critical problem was the gas masks. There were only three.

Senku, Chrome, Kohaku, Li Xiang, and Ginro were all trapped, and three masks were nowhere near enough for five people.

"Senku and Chrome are essential to collecting the sulfuric acid, so they need the masks," Li Xiang said. "Besides, two of the masks were meant for them in the first place."

Kohaku spoke up immediately after her.

"I can jump straight to the other side. I don't need a mask either."

Everyone wore a different expression.

With those three ruled out, all the pressure fell on Li Xiang and Ginro.

Ginro's face instantly turned deathly pale. His legs shook uncontrollably, and he lost his nerve completely.

His voice trembled as he babbled in panic.

"Are... are we going to die? I don't want to die... what do we do? What do we do...?"

Having spent years guarding the village, he had never faced such a desperate, near-certain brush with death. The terror of confronting his own mortality swallowed him whole.

Seeing him on the verge of breaking down, Li Xiang took a deep breath, suppressed the anxiety churning inside her, and gently patted his shoulder.

The warm, gentle pressure of her palm steadied the panicking Ginro.

Her voice was calm. "Ginro, don't be afraid. I'm leaving the job of helping Senku and Chrome collect sulfuric acid entirely to you."

Chrome's heart tightened at her words, and he hurriedly asked, "What about you? Li Xiang! How are you getting out?!"

Everyone turned toward the girl at once, their eyes full of worry.

Li Xiang looked at the safe tree several meters away on the other side. An easy smile tugged at her lips, and she spoke lightly.

"Me? I'll just jump across like Kohaku. It'll be fine."

With that, she reached out without hesitation and gently fitted the last intact gas mask over Ginro's face.

Kohaku hesitated no longer. She pushed lightly off the trunk, her figure as graceful as a swallow as she drew on the astonishing jumping power that ranked her among Ishigami Village's very best.

She sprang through the air, easily cleared the gap, and landed securely on the other side.

Once she had steadied herself, Kohaku immediately turned to look at Li Xiang, her expression grave.

Looking back from here, the gap was much wider than it had appeared.

It looked like only a few short meters, but beneath them lay a dizzying drop with nothing to cushion a fall. A single mistake would have unthinkable consequences.

Senku, Chrome, and Ginro stared fixedly from their tree at Li Xiang, now alone on the original tree. Even their breathing instinctively grew quieter.

None of them knew that beneath Li Xiang's calm exterior, her palms were already drenched in cold sweat.

At her sides, her fists opened and clenched, over and over.

Honestly, she was terrified.

She wasn't a born fighter like Kohaku, a superhuman who had grown up scaling mountains. She was just an ordinary person from the modern world, afraid of heights, afraid of falling, afraid of dying.

Facing this life-or-death leap high above the ground, she felt no less fear than Ginro.

But when she turned to see Ginro trembling all over, utterly panicked, she instantly forced down every trace of cowardice.

If even I panic... no. I can't back down.

Stay calm, Li Xiang. You can do this, she silently encouraged herself.

Once Kohaku gauged the distance from the other side, she immediately shouted, "Li Xiang! Don't be afraid! I'm right here! I'll catch you, I promise!"

She quickly calculated the distance, height, and landing point in her head, precisely assessing every risk.

With a horizontal gap of over five meters high above the ground, and gravity accelerating the fall, Li Xiang would have to throw herself nearly seven or eight meters to reach a safe landing area where Kohaku could catch her.

From the tree, Senku instantly calculated the limits of the risk. His heart jolted, and he hurriedly called out to stop her.

"Don't jump! It's too dangerous! It's too far, Li Xiang! You won't make it!"

At that moment, even the supremely rational young scientist couldn't help panicking.

But Li Xiang only shook her head gently and smiled at him.

"It'll be fine!"

She slowly stepped backward, making what little room she could for a running start on the narrow trunk.

One step, two steps, three...

She backed up to build momentum, lowered her body, and tensed every muscle.

Everyone's heart leaped into their throat as they stared fixedly at the girl's slender figure.

Li Xiang's gaze sharpened. She sprinted forward with all her strength and drove the ball of her foot hard against the trunk!

She leaped into the air!

The girl shot upward, tracing a beautiful arc beneath the dazzling midday sun.

Her body swept through the wind, her hair streaming freely. Though her heart was filled with fear, she held herself openly and fearlessly.

Watching from off to the side, Ginro's eyes lit up. In that instant, all his panic gave way to awe.

He had never seen anyone so brave.

The moment she became airborne, an overwhelming sense of weightlessness swept through her. Fear smashed through her mental defenses, and Li Xiang could no longer maintain her composure. She screamed.

"Kohaku-!!! Help!!!"

At the critical moment, Kohaku lunged forward with all her strength, bent down, and reached out!

Thump!

A warm, strong embrace securely caught the falling girl, perfectly absorbing the impact.

She had landed safely!

Even after landing, Li Xiang still shook uncontrollably with fright. Her limbs had gone weak, and she huddled in Kohaku's arms, her fingers gripping Kohaku's clothes tightly and refusing to let go. Her back was already soaked in cold sweat.

That single second she had spent flying through the air had drained nearly all her strength.

Kohaku held her gently, her movements tender as her fingertips slowly stroked Li Xiang's cool cheek.

She brushed the disheveled strands of hair away from Li Xiang's face and softly soothed her.

"It's all right, Li Xiang. You're safe now. You don't have to be afraid anymore."

"You were so brave. Incredibly brave."

In Kohaku's arms, her taut nerves finally relaxed, and her pounding heart slowly settled.

Only after taking a good while to recover could Li Xiang barely stand steady. She raised a hand and gently brushed the dust off her clothes.

She looked up at the three on the opposite tree, her voice clear.

"Senku, Chrome, Ginro, hurry and collect the sulfuric acid. Don't worry about us."

"Kohaku and I will head back first and check things out!"

"Stay safe!"

Senku gave her a thumbs-up to show that he would.

Only then did he finally feel relieved. Thank goodness... thank goodness nothing went wrong.

With everything arranged, she turned her gaze to the masked Ginro one last time, her eyes gentle.

"Ginro, listen to Senku and help them out. You can do it."

Across the several meters of open air, Ginro stared blankly at the girl, safe and sound on the other side. His fingers clutched the gas mask on his face.

Beneath the mask, conflicting emotions filled his eyes, tangling together until his chest felt painfully tight.

The person who had the most reason to shrink back in fear had shouldered all the danger. Someone who could have protected herself had left her only source of safety to him, the biggest coward of them all.

I'm supposed to be the one who can fight, aren't I?

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse and choked.

"Li Xiang... I..."

A thousand things he wanted to say lodged in his throat. In the end, all that remained was the ache filling his heart.