Dr. STONE IF: The World Where Tsukasa Shishio Got the Petrification Cure - The One Who Breaks the Stone Cage —A Reunion 3,700 Years in the Making—

The smell of the sea stung his nose. Senku knelt on the beach, staring intently at the stone statue before him. A large frame. Short black hair. Still petrified, wearing a smile. Ooki Taiju. His childhood friend, one of his few friends, and—the person he was about to use as a test subject. "Sorry, Taiju. My desire to save you is genuine. But more than that, I'm about to use you as a guinea pig. That's what science is." In Senku's hand was a cracked glass bottle. Inside, a viscous liquid sloshed around. The petrification cure. The first one Senku had desperately created since awakening after 3,700 years. A ruined notebook held fragmented hints about the mechanism of petrification and how to undo it. Relying on his memory and the notebook's descriptions, Senku had mixed salt made from seawater, chemicals scavenged from ruins, and a catalyst crushed from iron pipes. He'd failed countless times. There was almost no material left. "The ratio of sulfuric acid to nitric acid... this should be right. After that, this catalyst accelerates the reaction." Senku gently swirled the liquid in the bottle. The color took on a faint blue tinge. "Scientifically speaking, the probability of success is... well, about fifty percent. Exciting, isn't it?" Senku muttered to no one in particular. —Exciting, huh. Senku gave a slight bitter smile at his own words. (The truth is, I'm scared. If I fail, you'll stay stone forever.) Senku held up the bottle. "Here we go, Taiju. Wake up." Senku poured the liquid over Taiju's stone statue. The liquid ran down the stone's surface, raising fine bubbles. A few seconds of silence. Senku held his breath and watched. —Crack. A small sound. A thin fissure ran across the stone's surface. "It's working...!" The cracks spread rapidly. With a crack-crack-crack, the stone shell crumbled away. Like an egg breaking open, the stone covering Taiju's body peeled off and fell away. And then. "...U, ah...?" Taiju slowly opened his eyes. His brown eyes vaguely caught sight of Senku. "...Hey, are you okay? It's me, Senku." Senku peered into Taiju's face. Taiju blinked repeatedly for a while. Then, slowly, he opened his mouth. "...Se, Senku...?" His voice was hoarse. The first voice he'd uttered in 3,700 years. "Yeah, that's right. Ishigami Senku. Do you understand what happened to you?" Taiju looked at his own hands. Fragments of stone spilled from between his fingers. "I... was turned to stone...?" "Yeah. For 3,700 years." "Three thousand seven hundred...!?" Taiju tried to bolt upright. "Whoa, wait a second! If you move suddenly...!" Before Senku could stop him, Taiju was on his feet. And then, he wrapped his massive arms around Senku and hugged him with all his might. "Senkuuuuu! You were alive! Thank goddddd!" "Gueh! C-Can't breathe! You're way too strong! Let go!" Senku flailed wildly in Taiju's arms. Taiju looked down at Senku, his face a mess of tears and snot. "But, but...! The last time I saw you, you were wrapped in that light... I thought I'd never see you again...!" Senku looked up at Taiju's face. (This guy... he's seriously crying.) Something warm spread slowly in the depths of Senku's chest. "...You really are an idiot. I don't want to save you. I want to use you. I picked you because you'd make a convenient test subject." Senku deliberately spoke in a cold voice. Taiju turned his tear-soaked face toward Senku. "...Yeah, I know. That's the kind of guy you are. But that's fine. You woke me up. That's enough for me." Senku's eyes widened. "...Huh?" "Because you're my friend, right? You don't need a reason to trust a friend." Senku stared at Taiju's face for a while. Then, he let out a small laugh. "...You really are empty-headed. Well, that's the part of you that saves me, though." Taiju finally released Senku. Senku sat down on the sandy beach. "...Alright, that's enough of the touching reunion. Taiju, I've got something I want to ask you." "Yeah! Ask me anything!" "While you were petrified, did you feel anything? A dream, a sound, anything at all." Taiju tilted his head. "Hmm... how do I put it, it felt like I was in a dark place the whole time. But sometimes... I felt like I could see a light." "Light? What kind of light?" Senku pulled out the ruined notebook. "Um, it was white... no, maybe greenish. It flickered in the back of my eyes sometimes. Also, before I woke up... I think it was just a little before, I felt like another stone statue flashed for a moment." Senku's hand stopped. "...Another stone statue flashed?" "Yeah. I'm not sure, but... it felt like that. The stone statues around me, just for an instant, went flash." Senku wrote something in his notebook. "...Interesting. The petrification phenomenon might not be a simple natural occurrence. There could be some kind of intentional force at work." "Huh, what do you mean?" "I don't know yet. But your testimony is an important clue. I'll investigate it in detail later." Senku closed his notebook. —— After that, the two of them began exploring the ruins of Yokohama Bay Side. Three days had passed since Senku awakened. During that time, Senku had been absorbed in securing food and water, crafting tools, and developing the cure—all on his own. With Taiju joining him, the situation changed dramatically. "Senku! Can this iron pipe be used?" Taiju pulled a thick iron pipe from the rubble of a collapsed building. "Oh, nice. I'll process that later. Look for other usable metal scraps too." "Leave it to me! Heavy lifting is my job!" Taiju lifted the rubble with ease. Watching this, Senku once again felt the reality of Taiju's ridiculous strength. (Rubble I couldn't move after hours, this guy lifts with one hand...) Senku keenly felt his own lack of physical strength. "...If only I had a bit more stamina." When Senku muttered this, Taiju turned around. "What are you saying? You're smart, Senku, that's enough. Leave the heavy lifting to me." Taiju grinned. Seeing that smile, Senku felt just a little bit saved. "...Yeah. Your muscles and my brains. We'll just have to make it work with that." The two headed toward the harbor. Rusted tools and broken ship parts were scattered everywhere. Senku sorted through them, picking out anything usable. "This one... the blade's still good. Sharpen it and it'll work." Senku picked up a rusted knife. "Also, this wire here is usable. It can substitute for rope." Senku collected tools one after another. Taiju followed Senku's instructions, carrying heavy things and clearing rubble. "Senku! There's a big warehouse-looking thing over here!" Where Taiju pointed stood a half-collapsed warehouse. "Alright, let's check inside. There might be something left." When the two entered the warehouse, it was dim inside, with a musty smell. "Oh! Senku! Look at this!" Taiju found something in the back of a shelf. "What is this... canned food?" Senku looked at what Taiju was holding. It was a rusted can. The label had peeled off, and the contents were unknown. "Awesome! Do you think it's still edible!?" "Who knows. It's been 3,700 years. The contents are probably rotten. But the can is sealed, so maybe... no, don't get your hopes up." Senku took the can in his hand. "For now, let's take it back to base and open it. If it's edible, it'll be a precious food source." "Oh! I can't wait!" The two left the warehouse. Outside, it was already evening. The sky was dyed crimson. "...It's beautiful. I've never seen a sky like this." Taiju said, looking up at the sky. "Yeah. 3,700 years ago, the air was polluted, so you couldn't see a sunset this beautiful. In a way, thanks to civilization collapsing, the sky became beautiful." Senku also looked up at the sky. "...Ironic, isn't it. Humanity perished, and the Earth became beautiful. Maybe science was only ever meant to pollute the Earth in the end." At Senku's words, Taiju shook his head. "That's wrong. Science is a power that helps people. The medicine you made woke me up. And from now on, you'll make more and more things to help people. I believe that." Senku looked at Taiju's face. (This guy really is straightforward.) Senku gave a small laugh. "...Yeah. If you say so, then let's go with that." —— Night. The two had returned to a room in the collapsed building Senku was using as a base. Sitting around the campfire, Senku opened the can. "Oh...! This is...!" The contents of the can were surprisingly pristine. "Awesome! Meat! There's meat in here!" "Thanks to it being sealed, decomposition didn't progress. ...Alright, it's edible. Tonight's dinner is a feast." The two shared and ate the canned meat. "So good! This is amazing!" Taiju happily stuffed his cheeks with meat. Senku took a bite too. "...Not bad. It tastes like preservatives, but it's edible." "You're always so harsh, Senku!" The campfire crackled. Senku, gazing into the fire, began to speak quietly. "...Hey, Taiju. Do you remember? Back in elementary school." "Hm? I remember lots of things. Like how you were always doing weird experiments by yourself." "Back then, I really had no friends. Everyone treated me like a weirdo, and nobody came near me." Senku fed a branch into the fire. "But you were different. No matter what I said, you never made fun of me. You'd get all excited about the weird machines I made, saying how amazing they were." Taiju listened quietly to Senku's story. "That's because I really thought they were amazing. The things you made always exceeded my imagination." "Because you were there, I could keep doing science. If you hadn't been there, I probably would've given up long ago. ...That's why I chose you first. I wanted to wake you up. Not to use you... the truth is, I just wanted to see you." Senku was surprised by his own words. (What am I even saying...) Taiju grinned. "What's that? See, you really do love me!" "...Shut up. Say that again and you'll be my next test subject." Senku lightly tapped Taiju's head to hide his embarrassment. Taiju laughed happily. "Hey, Senku! With your brains and my strength, we can do anything! From now on, let's make more things and help more people! And someday, let's go to space too!" At Taiju's words, Senku smiled just a little. "...Yeah. Well, that's getting ahead of ourselves. First, surviving in this world comes first." That was when it happened. Taiju suddenly pointed at the sky. "Senku! That! Look!" Senku looked where Taiju was pointing. Far away, in the sky toward Shinjuku, a fire's light flickered. It was clearly larger than when he'd seen it the night before. "...That fire again." Senku stood up. "It's clearly bigger than last night. This isn't spontaneous combustion. Someone is deliberately burning a fire." "Someone's there! There are still people alive besides us! Let's go help them, Senku!" Taiju's eyes sparkled. Senku stared intently at Taiju's face. "...Wait, Taiju. There's no guarantee the one who made that fire is our ally." "Huh? What do you mean?" "In this world, the humans who've survived aren't necessarily friendly. In fact, there's a high chance they're dangerous. We might end up fighting to the death over food and water." At Senku's words, Taiju fell silent. "There are only two of us. We have no weapons, no proper food. Approaching a stranger in our current state is suicide. First, we survive. That comes first." Senku spoke calmly. Taiju thought for a while. Then, slowly, he opened his mouth. "...But, Senku. Maybe there's someone who needs help. If we go, maybe we can save them." "Do you think we have the luxury of saving anyone? What if the one who made that fire is someone like Tsukasa? You and I could both be killed." At Senku's words, Taiju clenched his fist tightly. "...Even so, I can't just abandon someone." Senku looked at Taiju's face. Taiju's eyes were serious. (This guy really is a softie.) Senku let out a sigh. "...Fine. But

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Name: Dr. STONE IF: The World Where Tsukasa Shishio Got the Petrification Cure
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