Dr. STONE IF: The World Where Tsukasa Shishio Got the Petrification Cure
When the green light of petrification swallowed the world in 2019, high school genius Senku Ishigami made a promise to his best friend Taiju: someday, he'd wake him up.
3,700 years later, that promise becomes a desperate, solitary war for survival.
Civilization is dust. The cities of man have become forests of stone and vine, patrolled by feral beasts that once were pets. Armed with nothing but a half-ruined notebook of scientific notes, a stone axe, and the sheer force of his own intellect, S
Dr. STONE IF: The World Where Tsukasa Shishio Got the Petrification Cure - First Snow Decisive Battle —The Kingdom of Science, Keep That Flame Alive—
The sea wind carried the smell of rusted iron.
Senku leaned back against a crumbling concrete wall, catching his breath. His left ring finger was splinted with cloth and a scrap of wood. By now, the pain had simply become part of him.
(Just a little farther to the port.)
The three of them had run all night from the high-rises of Shinjuku. Time and again, the footsteps and angry shouts of Tsukasa's soldiers had closed in behind them. Each time, Taiju hurled rubble, Kohaku loosed arrows, and Senku threw every scrap of knowledge he had into throwing off their pursuit.
In the dim light before dawn, what finally came into view was the place once known as Yokohama's waterfront. The port of Yokohama Bay.
"There it is! The ocean!"
Taiju shouted it while carrying Senku on his back—or more precisely, half-dragging him along. With his broken finger, Senku's balance was shot, and his stamina was draining fast.
"Taiju, almost there. We're heading for that abandoned warehouse."
Where Senku pointed stood a large steel-framed warehouse along the harbor's quay. Its walls had collapsed in places, and a huge hole gaped in the roof. Even so, the surrounding fence and the piled-up mass of discarded shipping containers looked like they'd make a natural barricade.
Kohaku kept her bow raised, scanning their surroundings. Her brown braid swayed in the sea breeze. Her big amber eyes swept sharply across the harbor, dyed in the colors of sunrise.
"Pursuers... none for now. But it's only a matter of time. Those guys are fast."
"Yeah. So we move fast too. This port has everything we need to survive."
The three of them stepped into the abandoned warehouse.
Inside it was dim, the smell of salt mixed with the smell of oil. Broken glass and rusted tools littered the floor, and rotting wooden crates were stacked high against the walls. Thin shafts of light filtered down through the holes in the ceiling.
Senku climbed down from Taiju's back and, favoring his broken finger, walked toward the back of the warehouse.
"Taiju, Kohaku. This is our base starting today. And it's also the battlefield where we'll meet Tsukasa's main force head-on."
"Battlefield? We're fighting here?"
Taiju hunched his huge frame down to peer into Senku's face.
"Yeah. Running's over. We stop Tsukasa's forces here. And from here, we rebuild our Kingdom of Science."
There was no hesitation in Senku's voice.
Kohaku slung her bow back over her shoulder and stood beside him.
"The Kingdom of Science! I like the sound of that! So what do I do?"
"First, we survey this port. Kohaku, you check the north side, near the forest. I especially want you to look for traces of wild animals."
"Animals? Like wolves?"
"Yeah. Over three thousand seven hundred years, the dogs people used to keep went feral and formed packs. There should be a pack with a territory near the port too. We're going to use them."
Kohaku blinked her amber eyes rapidly.
"You mean turn wild wolves into fighting strength? That's fun! I'm a hunter, so reading animal behavior is my specialty. I'll give it a try!"
"I'm counting on you. But don't push it. Observation only. Don't feed them. Use their territory."
"I know. Your science really is fascinating. Who'd think to factor in animal instincts?"
Kohaku flashed Senku a smile and darted lightly out of the warehouse.
Taiju crossed his arms and looked at Senku.
"So what do I do?"
"You're on heavy labor. Move the abandoned containers scattered around this port to the spots I designate. I'll draw up the plans later. With your strength, you should manage the crane too."
"You got it! Leave it to me! When it comes to strength, I don't lose to anyone!"
Taiju thumped his broad chest.
Senku walked over to a workbench set against the warehouse wall. Rusted tools and old ship parts lay scattered across it. Among them, Senku spotted several containers of chemicals.
"Marine fuel additive, bleach, rust remover... not bad. With this much, I can recompound gunpowder."
Senku picked up the containers and checked their contents. Most of the labels were too faded to read, but the chemical formulas and properties of each substance were already burned into his head.
(Gunpowder I can get in quantity. The problem is the petrification cure.)
Senku slipped a hand into his inner pocket.
A small glass vial. Inside, a tiny amount of clear liquid remained.
(This is the last vial. And it's less than half full. What I used to bring Taiju and Kohaku back drained almost all of it.)
Senku stood motionless for a while, gripping the vial.
―――
By evening, the three of them had gathered in a corner of the abandoned warehouse.
Senku drew a diagram on the ground with a stick. A map of the port. The quay, the warehouses, the container yard, the crane's position. And the road leading into the port.
"Listen up. Tsukasa's main force is probably around a hundred strong. If we fight them head-on, our chances are zero. So we turn this entire port into one giant trap."
Senku pointed to a spot on the diagram.
"First, we stack abandoned containers along the road at the port entrance to make a wall. Cut off their retreat. Next, we rig gunpowder under the floor of this container yard. Run the fuse back to behind that warehouse. And then—"
Senku pointed to the north side of the diagram.
"Kohaku. Did you find the wolf pack?"
"Yes! Deep in the northern forest, there's a pack of about ten. The boss is a big gray male. He's fiercely territorial—when outsiders come in, the pack drives them off together."
Kohaku explained with gestures. Her amber eyes shone with a hunter's excitement.
"Good. We'll throw that pack at Tsukasa's soldiers. Kohaku, your job is to lure the pack in from outside the port and swing them around behind Tsukasa's main force. Can you do it?"
"I'll make it happen! I can already read most of that pack's movements. If a big crowd of strangers steps into the boss's territory, they'll attack for sure."
"I'm counting on you. But once the wolves drive the soldiers off, pull back immediately. Don't go in deep. No need for you to get caught up in it too."
"...I know. Thanks for worrying about me."
Kohaku smiled, looking a little embarrassed.
Taiju looked at Senku with a serious face.
"Senku. You're hiding something, aren't you. You've looked pale this whole time."
Senku's words caught for just a moment.
Then he let out a small breath.
"...Bad news. Truth is, we're almost out of ingredients for the petrification cure."
Taiju's face went stiff.
"Huh... what does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Bringing you and Kohaku back from stone used up almost all the cure we had. Barely any is left. And what's left is low purity—no telling if it'll even work next time."
Senku took the small vial from his inner pocket and set it in front of them.
"This is everything we've got. The cure to save Kohaku's sister... Ruri... is only in here too."
Silence fell over the warehouse.
Taiju clenched his fists.
"No way... then Ruri..."
Taiju's voice was trembling.
Kohaku quietly rose to her feet.
"Senku."
Senku lifted his head.
Kohaku looked straight into his eyes. Her amber gaze flickered in the dim warehouse, reflecting the light of the fire.
"My sister is still stone. But I believe in your science. I believe that you, of all people, will find a way. I truly do."
Kohaku's voice wasn't shaking.
"So this isn't the end, right? If you're a scientist. The Ishigami Senku I know isn't the kind of man who gives up in a place like this."
Senku looked at Kohaku's face.
There was no despair in her eyes. What was there was unwavering trust in him.
(...That's right. I'm a scientist. Giving up is the same as throwing science away.)
The corner of Senku's mouth twisted, just slightly.
"...You sure know how to talk. Yeah, that's right. It's not over. If we're out of ingredients, we just find substitutes. This world's still got science materials lying around everywhere."
Senku stood up.
"We'll try alternative formulas using materials salvaged from the ruins. No time, but we've got no choice but to do it. Taiju, Kohaku, lend a hand."
"Yeah!"
"Of course!"
The three of them set to work again.
―――
Dawn broke, and then dusk fell again.
The abandoned warehouse at the port had become Senku's laboratory. A crude distillation apparatus assembled from rusted drums. Test tubes fashioned from broken glass bottles. And chemicals of every color, scavenged from all over the port.
Senku worked on, barely sleeping.
The gunpowder refining went smoothly. He extracted nitric acid from the marine fuel additive and refined sulfuric acid from the rust remover. Then he mixed them with sulfur left in the port's warehouses and charcoal gathered from the ruins.
"Done—black powder, complete. That secures what we need for the charges under the container yard and for the fuses."
Hands black to the wrist, Senku lined up cloth bags packed with gunpowder.
Taiju was moving the abandoned containers exactly as instructed. He hoisted the huge rusted steel boxes as if they were cardboard and stacked them in the designated spots.
"Senku! The wall at the port entrance is almost done!"
Taiju shouted, drenched in sweat.
"Good. How's the crane? Think you can get it moving?"
"The wire's about to snap and the pulleys are rusted solid, but with my strength, I can work it by hand!"
"Don't overdo it. The crane is our last trump card. We use it all at once, at the crucial moment."
Kohaku had been shuttling back and forth between the northern forest and the port. She observed the wolf pack's behavior patterns and pinpointed the exact boundaries of the boss's territory.
"Senku! I figured it out! The wolves come near the port to drink water in the evening. If Tsukasa's soldiers pass through the north side of the port at that time, they'll run right into them for sure."
"Good. Then here's the plan. When Tsukasa's main force reaches the port entrance, we block their retreat first. Then we blow the gunpowder and throw the soldiers into chaos. In that gap, Kohaku lures the wolf pack in and drives the survivors out of the port."
Senku traced the diagram on the ground once more.
"And Tsukasa alone will break through this trap. He's got that much power. So the real fight begins the moment Tsukasa stands before me."
"...Senku. You're going to fight him again?"
Tension crept into Taiju's voice.
"Not fight. Win. With science."
Senku's eyes were fixed straight ahead, on the entrance to the port.
―――
It came without warning.
Dusk. Just as the sky began to shift from red to purple.
Kohaku shouted from the warehouse roof.
"Senku! I see them! A huge crowd of soldiers on the road east of the port!"
Senku peered outside through a hole in the warehouse wall.
Countless figures on the distant road. Torch flames wavered as they drew closer. A quick count put them at no fewer than a hundred.
Tsukasa's main force.
"Here they come. Taiju, Kohaku, to your positions. Operation start."
Senku's voice was cold and quiet.
The three of them ran to their posts.
Tsukasa's main force advanced on the port entrance in orderly ranks. At the front walked sturdy young men. And at their center, one shadow larger than all the rest.
Shishio Tsukasa.
Nearly a hundred and ninety centimeters of statue-like muscle. Even in the gathering dusk, his presence was overwhelming.
Tsukasa stopped at the port entrance.
"...Something's off."
The adjutant beside him tilted his head.
"What do you mean, sir? The port seems quiet enough."
"Too quiet. And look at how those containers are arranged. They weren't stacked naturally. Someone moved them on purpose."
Tsukasa's sharp eyes took in the wall of abandoned containers piled at the port entrance.
Then it happened.
BOOOOM!!!
An explosion behind the port entrance.
"W-what was that!?"
The soldiers spun around all at once.
The abandoned containers stacked on both sides of the road they'd just walked had collapsed, completely sealing off their r
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