Recaps

Li Xiang and Senku expanded the Science Kingdom by recruiting Gen and winning over the villagers with ramen and clothes, while preparing to make antibiotics. After watching the footage, Li Xiang found that fans had cast her as the bottom in multiple pairings and angrily confronted the system about her reputation.

• Li Xiang recruited Gen Asagiri into the Science Kingdom and gave Watermelon her glasses, promising to make him a stronger pair.
• Senku gathered materials for antibiotics, with collecting deadly sulfuric acid remaining the crucial step.
• Watermelon gathered information about the villagers’ needs, and Senku and Li Xiang made ramen and clothes to win their approval and gain more workers.
• Gen and Senku found the ramen difficult to eat, but Li Xiang praised it and persuaded them to finish their bowls by quoting Grandpa Yuan.
• Li Xiang browsed forum fanworks and analysis posts that portrayed her as a softhearted bottom, then complained to the system about being cast as the mommy bottom.

Li Xiang helped Ishigami Village capture Homura and entered the village martial arts tournament, whose winner would become chief and gain the right to marry the priestess. After the first round, Li Xiang, Senku, and Kohaku advanced, and the semifinal draw paired Li Xiang against Maguma.

• Li Xiang exposed Homura tailing her, knocked her unconscious, and Kohaku brought her to the Shackles Wooden House under guard.
• Kohaku announced the tournament's stakes, and Kinro, Ginro, Li Xiang, Senku, Kohaku, Chrome, Gen Asagiri, and Maguma entered.
• The first-round matchups were drawn, and Maguma defeated Kinro by exploiting his poor eyesight.
• Chrome and Gen Asagiri surrendered to Li Xiang and Senku, while Kohaku defeated Ginro, advancing to the semifinals with Li Xiang and Senku.
• The semifinal draw matched Li Xiang against Maguma, while the other matchup was between Senku and Kohaku.

Li Xiang defeated Maguma with a low blow, then surrendered the championship so Senku could become Ishigami Village’s new Village Chief. After visiting the captive Homura, Li Xiang returned to the present and began preparing montmorillonite powder as another underhanded tool.

• Li Xiang dodged Maguma’s attacks until he was exhausted, then tricked him into lowering his guard and kicked him in the groin to win the semifinal.
• Kohaku and Li Xiang forfeited the final, making Senku Ishigami Village’s new Village Chief and securing the competition’s brewing ingredients and stored alcohol.
• Li Xiang brought Homura a warm meal and quilt; after Li Xiang left, Homura ate and admitted the food was only okay.
• The viewing replay ended, and Li Xiang remembered her laxatives but worried their potency could be fatal if misused.
• Li Xiang prepared montmorillonite powder while Senku asked whether she planned to secretly drug someone again, and she confirmed she was stocking up.

As Senku’s group began mining copper to build communication wires, Li Xiang learned about Ishigami Village’s Hundred Tales from the recovered Ruri. She deduced that the village’s founder had been an astronaut who escaped Earth’s petrification disaster, leaving her to reflect on Senku’s connection to the village.

• Senku organized the villagers to mine and process copper for communication wires after Chrome revealed that he had found copper ore.
• Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku headed into the mountains to mine while the other villagers prepared to transport and process materials.
• Li Xiang met Ruri, who said she had fully recovered from her lung disease and thanked Li Xiang and Senku.
• Ruri explained the Hundred Tales, prompting Li Xiang to realize Ishigami Village’s people descended from survivors of the petrification disaster.
• Li Xiang concluded that the village’s founding ancestor had escaped the disaster because he was an astronaut who had not been on Earth.

Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku gathered ore for the communications project, and Li Xiang later told Senku that Byakuya Ishigami was his adoptive father. Senku reflected on Byakuya’s love and protection across 3,700 years, ending the chapter by asking the stars if he had made his father proud.

• Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku mined abundant high-quality ore in a mountain cave for the communications project.
• Kohaku carried the heaviest basket with ease while exhausted Senku struggled to keep up on the return to Ishigami Village.
• Li Xiang welcomed the team and told them she was cooking, prompting Chrome and Little Watermelon to hurry to the vegetable garden.
• Li Xiang took Senku aside and told him what she had learned from Ruri about Byakuya Ishigami.
• Senku confirmed that Byakuya was his adoptive father and quietly grieved that Byakuya had never seen him after the world turned to stone.
• Senku gazed at the stars and asked whether he had made Byakuya proud, and Li Xiang assured him that he had.

The Science Kingdom completed its wires, circuit boards, and batteries, allowing Senku to assemble Ishigami Village’s first primitive telephone. The group realized they would need to build a second one for two-way communication.

• Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku supplied copper ore while Li Xiang mass-produced Montmorillonite Powder for the coming conflict.
• After weeks of setbacks, Chrome and the others produced reliable communication wires and completed the circuit boards.
• Senku assigned Gen to make eight hundred manganese dry-cell batteries, and Gen and Li Xiang finished them in one afternoon as Li Xiang wondered if she could read minds.
• Senku assembled and tested Ishigami Village’s first telephone, and Chrome pointed out that they needed a second device to communicate between two locations.

After the village completed a reliable long-distance telephone test, Gen Asagiri proposed a winter food festival to give everyone a rest. Li Xiang organized the feast and began preparing a menu, leaving Watermelon eager to help.

• Li Xiang called Senku through the newly completed telephone, and the team cheered when the connection proved clear across the woods.
• Gen Asagiri noticed the villagers’ exhaustion and proposed a winter food festival for Ishigami Village.
• Li Xiang agreed to organize the feast and assigned villagers to build two cooking stations and chimney ovens.
• Li Xiang planned a menu of roasted meat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, candied fruit, and vegetables using the village’s stored supplies.
• Watermelon asked to help Li Xiang cook, and she promised him a taste of food from her hometown.

Li Xiang organized the villagers’ preparations for the winter food festival, then led them in slaughtering and processing one bovine and two sheep. The animals were skinned and their organs saved as ingredients, leaving the villagers to continue their orderly work in the clearing.

• Li Xiang assigned the village women and girls to help prepare ingredients for the food festival planned in two days.
• The next morning, the villagers brought a bovine and two sheep to the clearing, and Li Xiang sent Little Watermelon and the younger children away.
• Kohaku and Maguma helped restrain the bovine while Li Xiang knocked it unconscious and slaughtered it.
• Li Xiang and the villagers used the same procedure to slaughter both sheep and collect their blood.
• Li Xiang skinned the animals, removed their organs, and told the villagers to wash and keep every organ for cooking.

Li Xiang and the villagers of Ishigami Village prepared a food festival to celebrate their hard work. The feast brought everyone together, and Li Xiang ended the chapter sharing a warm moment with Senku and looking after the village children.

• Li Xiang organized the villagers to prepare a feast, while Little Watermelon brought back wild mushrooms he had found in the woods.
• Homura helped prepare ingredients, and Li Xiang cooked grilled meat, mushrooms, vegetables, potatoes, organs, soups, and candied fruit.
• The villagers gathered under Senku’s lights to enjoy the feast, and Senku praised Li Xiang’s cooking.
• Little Watermelon gave Li Xiang a candied fruit skewer he had saved for her, and she thanked him by tasting it.
• Li Xiang stopped Kohaku and the others from drinking wine and reminded Ruri to avoid alcohol and cold drinks.

Senku listened to Ruri recount the One Hundred Tales, then discovered a glass record Byakuya had hidden beneath the nameless grave of the astronauts. The group heard Byakuya’s message and Lillian Weinberg’s song, while Li Xiang reflected on how long she had gone without enjoying anything for its own sake.

• Senku asked Ruri to tell him everything in the One Hundred Tales, and she spoke through the night about the petrification catastrophe and the astronauts.
• Chrome found Senku exhausted after the sleepless night and carried him back to his hut to rest.
• Li Xiang found the nameless grave of the NASA astronauts on Back Mountain and gathered Senku, Chrome, and the others there.
• Senku cleared the grave and uncovered a perfectly preserved glass record that he believed Byakuya had left for him.
• Senku and the others built a simple gramophone and listened to Byakuya’s message and Lillian Weinberg’s song.
• Li Xiang listened with the group and realized she had gone a long time without enjoying entertainment purely for its own sake.

Senku sent two teams to prepare a telephone link and disrupt the Tsukasa Faction: Li Xiang's team dosed the enemy's water supply while Kohaku, Chrome, and Gen Asagiri infiltrated its territory. Chrome's sneeze exposed their position, and a white-haired lookout heard the sound.

• Senku assigned Kohaku, Chrome, and Gen Asagiri to infiltrate the Tsukasa Faction's territory and deliver a telephone, while Li Xiang, Ginro, and Maguma were tasked with disrupting the enemy upstream.
• The teams set out together, exchanged a brief greeting, and then separated to carry out their missions.
• Li Xiang calculated the dose, and Ginro scattered the medicinal powder into the river supplying the Tsukasa Faction.
• Gen Asagiri led Kohaku and Chrome through the forest, warning them to stay quiet and hidden.
• Chrome sneezed, and Kohaku covered his mouth as the three froze and listened.
• A white-haired Tsukasa Faction lookout heard the sneeze from a distant hilltop.

Ukyo Saionji discovered Chrome, Kohaku, and Gen Asagiri after they planted a communications phone near Tsukasa's camp, forcing them to flee as the camp's sentries gave chase. Li Xiang, Ginro, and Maguma waited upstream, planning to regroup with the fugitives and withdraw rather than fight.

• Ukyo Saionji heard Chrome sneeze, but Chrome, Kohaku, and Gen Asagiri hid among the rocks before he could locate them.
• Yuzuriha glimpsed a signal in the forest while praying with Taiju, but Nikki soon escorted them away from the clearing.
• After the clearing emptied, Chrome, Kohaku, and Gen Asagiri buried the communications phone beside the cross and started back toward their rendezvous.
• Ukyo Saionji shot an arrow near Gen Asagiri, revealing the trio, who fled as Tsukasa's sentries rushed toward them.
• Chrome, Kohaku, and Gen Asagiri evaded the first pursuers but became surrounded near their emergency hiding place.
• Li Xiang stopped Maguma from attempting a breakout and told Ginro and Maguma to wait for the trio before withdrawing.

Maguma drew Tsukasa's soldiers away from his companions, helping them escape the encirclement and hurling Chrome to safety across a cliff. Ukyo Saionji wounded Maguma with an arrow but stopped his forces from pursuing the retreating group.

• Ukyo Saionji pursued Kohaku, Gen Asagiri, and Chrome through the forest as Tsukasa's soldiers surrounded the rendezvous point where Li Xiang and Ginro waited.
• Maguma told Li Xiang and Ginro to escape, then drew the pursuers away by throwing stones and distracting them.
• Kohaku carried the injured Gen through the perimeter and reunited with Li Xiang and Ginro, then realized Chrome was still trapped.
• Maguma seized Chrome and threw him across the cliff, where Kohaku caught him, but Ukyo Saionji shot Maguma in the forearm as he fled.
• Kohaku led Chrome, Gen, Li Xiang, and Ginro into the forest, while Ukyo Saionji ordered his soldiers not to pursue them.

Li Xiang and the others returned safely to Ishigami Village after completing their mission, and Senku welcomed them at the entrance. Li Xiang treated Maguma’s arrow wound and Gen Asagiri’s sprained ankle, leaving both to recover.

• Maguma caught up with Li Xiang and the others, and Li Xiang checked his injuries before leading everyone back toward the village.
• Li Xiang praised Maguma and Gen Asagiri, while Kohaku teased Gen about causing his own ankle injury.
• Senku welcomed the group as they arrived at Ishigami Village.
• Li Xiang cleaned and bandaged Maguma’s arrow wound, then praised him for saving everyone.
• Li Xiang made a herbal poultice for Gen’s swollen ankle and gave him a bottle of chilled cola as a reward.

While recovering in Ishigami Village, Li Xiang watched Senku and Chrome’s sulfuric-acid expedition unfold, then joined the group on their trip to collect the acid. Cornered by Hyoga’s men and trapped above poisonous fumes, Li Xiang gave Ginro her gas mask and leaped across the deadly gap, where Kohaku caught her; Li Xiang remained shaken but safe.

• During the group’s trip to collect sulfuric acid, Hyoga and the Tsukasa Faction blocked their path, and Senku led everyone into the trees to escape.
• Senku warned that toxic fumes from the Natural Sulfuric Acid Pool made the ground below deadly, forcing Hyoga and his men to retreat.
• As the others crossed the gap or prepared to do so, Li Xiang gave her only gas mask to Ginro and told him to help the group complete the task.
• Despite Kohaku and Senku’s warnings, Li Xiang ran along a branch and jumped across the 7.8-meter gap above the poisonous mist.
• Kohaku caught Li Xiang safely on the other side and comforted her as she trembled from fear.

Ginro overcame his cowardice by saving Senku, and Senku and Chrome developed antibiotics that restored Ruri’s health. As the village prepared to build a telephone network to oppose the Tsukasa Faction, Ruri told Li Xiang the One Hundred Tales and revealed Ishigami Village’s origins, leaving Li Xiang with a sudden ache.

• Watching Li Xiang risk herself inspired Ginro to resolve to become someone his companions could rely on.
• Ginro pulled Senku back from the sulfuric acid pit, and the three collected enough acid before returning to the village.
• Senku and Chrome developed antibiotics, and Li Xiang’s skin test showed Ruri had no allergic reaction; Ruri’s health steadily improved after treatment.
• Gen identified telephone communication as essential against the Tsukasa Faction, and Chrome revealed high-purity copper ore he had found at the Deep Mountain Mine.
• Li Xiang found Ruri standing in the evening wind, and Ruri thanked her and Senku for saving her.
• Ruri explained the One Hundred Tales and revealed how Byakuya Ishigami founded Ishigami Village, stirring an ache in Li Xiang.

Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku returned from a difficult mountain expedition with the high-purity copper ore needed for the communication network. Li Xiang comforted Senku by recognizing his grief over Byakuya, and he ended the night wondering whether he had made his father proud.

• Senku, Chrome, and Kohaku gathered high-purity ore in the mountains and returned to Ishigami Village exhausted.
• Li Xiang noticed Senku's subdued mood and took him aside, where she asked whether Byakuya Ishigami had been his father.
• Senku confirmed Byakuya had been his adoptive father, and Li Xiang comforted him and thanked him for everything he had done.
• Senku reflected that he had friends beside him, including Li Xiang, and wondered whether he was his father's pride and joy.
• Li Xiang answered for Byakuya, telling Senku that she believed in him.

Li Xiang browsed the Anime Forum and found viewers interpreting her reassurance to Senku as proof that she was lonely, though she felt they were reading too much into it. The system confirmed her popularity, and she ended the evening laughing at a fan edit that mocked the Science Kingdom cast.

• Li Xiang opened the Anime Forum and read a popular post claiming her line to Senku revealed her own loneliness and hidden pain.
• Li Xiang dismissed the viewers' interpretation as overthinking, while privately enjoying their affection and concern for her.
• The system told Li Xiang that she ranked among the most popular characters in online discussions and approval.
• Li Xiang watched a fan edit that featured her defiant smile and middle finger, then complained about its mocking caption.
• Li Xiang felt better when she saw that the edit had assigned villain personas to the rest of the Science Kingdom cast too, and she closed the screen.

Yuzuriha and Taiju discovered the Communication Telephone, but Nikki caught them using it until Gen Asagiri impersonated Lilian and persuaded Nikki to join the Science Kingdom. Li Xiang confirmed that Yuzuriha and Taiju were safe and warned them not to drink from the stream she had poisoned.

• Yuzuriha told Taiju she suspected something was happening, and they secretly approached the Communication Telephone while Nikki watched them.
• Nikki caught Taiju and Yuzuriha at the telephone, so Senku urged Gen Asagiri to impersonate Lilian.
• Gen imitated Lilian's voice, and Kohaku played one of Lilian's songs when Nikki demanded proof; Nikki recognized the imitation but agreed to join them.
• Taiju shouted that he was Senku, prompting Senku and Li Xiang to take over the conversation.
• Li Xiang checked that Yuzuriha and Taiju were safe, warned them not to drink from the stream, and apologized to Nikki.

Li Xiang asked Nikki to gauge the Tsukasa Faction’s willingness to fight, while Senku decided the Science Kingdom would build a tank for the coming battle. As preparations continued through autumn and into winter, Ruri waited anxiously for news from the front.

• Li Xiang thanked Nikki and asked her to quietly win over pacifists in the Tsukasa Faction.
• Senku rejected an immediate attack and announced that the Science Kingdom would build a tank.
• Li Xiang explained that her slow-acting drug would weaken the Tsukasa Faction within a month, giving them a narrow window to win.
• Senku said one month was enough, and the Science Kingdom began preparations for battle.
• Autumn passed into winter as Ruri watched the snow and worried about everyone at the front.

Senku and the Science Kingdom built a tank in time for the war, while Nikki persuaded people in Tsukasa's camp to switch sides. After Grandpa Fossil solved the final assembly problems, the others put Li Xiang in the driver's seat, where she panicked that she could not drive a tank.

• Senku explained how the group would build a tank using substitute materials and focus on armor and firepower.
• Nikki discreetly persuaded people in Tsukasa's empire to join the Science Kingdom, and their numbers grew.
• As the twenty-day deadline approached, the group struggled to finish assembling the tank.
• Grandpa Fossil took charge of assembly and used his craftsmanship to solve the remaining problems.
• The group completed the tank, then put Li Xiang in the driver's seat, and she shouted that she could not drive it.

Tsukasa discovered the hidden microphone beneath the Cross Prayer Ground and confronted Senku over the communication line. After they agreed to settle their conflict when spring came, Tsukasa destroyed the equipment and began preparing his forces for war.

• Tsukasa found and pulled a buried microphone and copper wire from the ground near the cross.
• Chrome noticed the communication line filling with static and went to find Senku.
• Tsukasa and Senku spoke through the receiver, acknowledged that they would settle their conflict when spring came, and ended the call.
• Tsukasa crushed the microphone, rejected Hyoga's suggestion to imprison Taiju and Yuzuriha, and ordered the camp to prepare for war.
• Tsukasa told Nikki to watch Taiju and Yuzuriha closely and report any unusual behavior.

For Senku’s seventeenth birthday, Li Xiang, Gen Asagiri, and the villagers secretly prepared a celebration to surprise him. The chapter ended with Li Xiang giving Senku a handmade red scarf and a birthday wish.

• Li Xiang, Watermelon, and Gen Asagiri secretly prepared a birthday celebration while Senku worked in the workshop.
• Gen Asagiri covered Senku’s eyes and led him to an empty house, where the villagers surprised him with birthday wishes.
• Li Xiang presented Senku with a handmade fruit cake marked “Happy 17th,” and Senku cut and shared it with everyone.
• The villagers gave Senku their handmade gifts, including rare minerals from Chrome.
• Li Xiang gave Senku a red scarf she had sewn and wished him a happy birthday.

Ukyo discovered Nikki, Taiju, and Yuzuriha discussing their ties to Senku’s group, but promised not to report them. In Ishigami Village, Li Xiang prepared for Tsukasa’s possible retaliation and agreed to let Homura observe the coming battle if she promised not to fight or let Hyoga be hurt.

• Nikki found Taiju and Yuzuriha and warned them to be careful while watching them for Tsukasa.
• Ukyo emerged from the woods, heard their plans, and promised not to tell anyone.
• Yuzuriha worried they had not warned Ukyo about the stream water, while Nikki said the cut phone line left them unable to send information.
• Li Xiang, Chrome, and Kohaku discussed preparing for Tsukasa’s possible traps and rescue of Taiju and Yuzuriha.
• Li Xiang told Homura she could not fight in the coming battle, then agreed to bring her as an observer after Homura promised not to intervene and asked that Hyoga be spared.

Nan noticed the Tsukasa Empire camp was acting strangely but accepted Ukyo’s explanation, while Li Xiang’s drug weakened most of the camp ahead of the spring showdown. Li Xiang believed her plan had already secured victory, as Taiju, Yuzuriha, and the others who avoided the camp’s food and water remained unaffected.

• Nan observed that many soldiers were using the toilet more often and working less, but Ukyo discouraged her from investigating further.
• Taiju, Yuzuriha, and the others who knew about the drug avoided the camp’s food and water, and Taiju promised to find them food and clean water.
• Over two weeks, most of the Tsukasa Empire camp developed abdominal pain, diarrhea, weakness, and fatigue, while Taiju and Yuzuriha’s group stayed healthy.
• Li Xiang predicted that the drug would leave the enemy too weak to fight before the spring showdown.
• Gen teased Li Xiang about her villainous laugh, while Ruri praised her and Chrome called her cunning.