No, I only drink cola.
Cola?
I wouldn't be able to talk business if I got drunk.
Now that the whole village is in one place, I have a message to deliver.
Yeah, let's hear it, mentalist.
What happened in the Tsukasa Empire?
They're coming.
Tsukasa-chan and his army.
Gen, you haven't actually seen Senku's body.
If he is alive out there,
he'll surely discover the village and build a kingdom of science.
That would be the worst conceivable scenario.
As soon as we have an army, we'll take the village by force.
More ridiculously strong men like him are coming?
Probably, yeah.
He's been reviving a ton of people.
We've come to an all-out war between the kingdom of science
and the kingdom of might.
This is exhilarating.
A party sounds like so much fun.
I'd be there, too, if it weren't for a certain stubborn someone
who has nothing to say but "rules are rules"...
Guarding the village is our duty.
If they were to attack the village, they'd do it now, during the celebration.
Ginro, go back and alert the others.
About what?
If they reach the living quarters where the children are, it's over.
Ginro, if I'm killed, cut down the bridge with me on it.
Huh...
He immediately realized he was outnumbered,
and now he's luring us onto the bridge to fight one-on-one.
I like it.
He's very proper.
He's trying to run away!
Are you scared, caveman?
I never would have thought your brain was so melted
that you'd expect to win against a spear on a narrow bridge.
The caveman is a lot more proper than you are.
He broke my nose!
We're sorry, Hyoga-san.
Huh? You have bad eyesight, don't you?
Tsukasa-chan isn't the only one who's really bad news, though.
If he or Tsukasa-chan were to show up, frankly, you'd all have to run.
That man who was revived the other day is Hyoga-chan.
I told them I'd go in as a spy and lead the way, and left first.
But I could only buy so much time—
Guys!
Bad news!
The enemy is here!
This is impossible!
How is he able to throw his spear so fast?
They're already attacking us?
This is seriously bad!
The guy Kinro-chan's fighting is Hyoga!
Kinro!
Stop, Kohaku.
Now!
Cut down the bridge!
Ginro!
Let me go, Father!
Fool! You don't stand a chance against a spear on a bridge!
But Kinro—
Kohaku!
Think about the children!
We have to cut it down!
Come on, hurry!
They're right.
I have to do it.
I have to cut the bridge down to save the village.
That's it.
I can no longer be saved.
I can't do it.
How could I?
Kinro would die if I did that!
I can't do it, Nii-chan!
What are you doing with the iron tube?
Who would have thought we'd be using the last of our gunpowder for a bluff?
Are you serious?
You're the strongest one in the village, right, Magma-chan?
Yeah.
Throw this rock at the enemy...
as hard as you can.
How am I supposed to hit them with that?
Why should I listen to you, anyway?
You don't have to hit them.
You want to take the title of village chief away from Senku-chan, don't you?
The whole village might go away.
You need to cooperate for now.
Magma-chan!
Hyoga-chan, everyone! Retreat!
This village already has guns!
Run!
Damn it!
You'd better run, too, Hyoga-chan!
Which means you must be...
You guys waited too long. We've already finished building
the kingdom of science.
Oh? I'm sure Tsukasa-kun will be very pleased.
Yeah, tell Tsukasa that Ishigami Senku is still alive.
Tell him we've built about ten billion rifles with the power of science.
Kinro's dead!
I'm still alive.
Don't go killing me off, Ginro.
Antipyretic analgesic acetanilide.
We made some while we were making the sulfa drug.
And now...
Here.
Rub it on your wounds, and you should be all better by tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
You're just pulling that out of your ass!
I'm all better.
Holy crap!
Wait, no.
He's just acting tough!
He's still nowhere near okay!
I'm the guard.
I can't be sleeping forever.
There's no telling when those bastards will be back in full force.
How are you so strait-laced?!
Of course he's strait-laced.
He's Kinro.
Not necessarily, though.
We can predict when they'll be coming.
I can't go back to Tsukasa after being so utterly humiliated!
Damn it!
Those twigs would be nothing if they didn't have guns!
Then the best time to attack
would be during a storm, when they can't use matchlock guns.
They'll wait around for a storm because they're afraid
of guns we don't even have.
Gen will talk them into it.
Ah, I see.
So we just wait for a storm.
Setting aside such brain-dead opinions about how humiliated we are,
going on the day of a storm
seems so obvious that we may be marching to our deaths.
Now that we know Senku-kun is alive, the tables have turned 180 degrees.
Let's be proper about this.
We ought to return immediately and build a large army with Tsukasa-kun.
Are you scared, Hyoga?
You're a hopeless little twig without your weapon...
Your kudayari or whatever you call it!
Kudayari?
This thing with the bamboo tube?
I've never seen one before.
I wouldn't touch it if I were you.
Unless you want me to kill you.
Sorry, Hyoga-chan!
The storm!
We attack as soon as the storm hits!
Yeah!
All right!
If they're going to be so aggressive,
letting them fight Senku-kun might not be a bad idea.
We may be able to win,
but if they fight the kingdom of science and lose, we'll have seen their hand.
They're not worth much, even as pawns.
Oh, damn! He looks badass!
He looks good.
That cures his fuzzy sickness?
I'm impressed by this sorcery—I mean, science.
I'm glad Kinro doesn't have the fuzzy sickness anymore.
You had new ones made for you, too, huh?
This just feels more right for me!
That's not all the scientific battle prep we're doing.
The man in the black mask is quite formidable.
Do you have some way to use science to fight him?
Yeah. You and the battle team are going to be in tears when you see it.
Time to show off your skills.
Say what? That sounds awesome!
His body gets thick when he gets excited about making things.
Let's hurry up and get started.
Don't waste time!
We're racing against the storm.
Yeah!
All hands on deck, Ishigami Village!
It's a powerful wind from the mountains.
It's a storm!
It only took three days to arrive.
The heavens are on my side!
Now they can't use their guns.
J-Japanese katanas!
These are the most powerful weapons in the stone world.
The blades of science.
I like it.
The kingdom of science is very proper.
They might be a little ugly, though.
I can see perfectly.
This is the power of glasses!
I have Magma, Kohaku-chan, and Kinro by my side.
We can do this!
It cuts so well.
This is the power of science...
Damn it. How do these exist in the stone world?
We're in trouble. Their weapons are far stronger.
Get it up to 1,200 degrees with pine coals.
When the flame turns purple, it's ready.
Smack the hell out of the metal to get rid of impurities.
And then fold it, fire it up again, and hit it some more.
It's called "orikaeshi tanren."
We're powering up the iron by doing it over and over.
You do this brutal, slow work at least ten times.
Oh, damn!
At least, that's how you'd make a real Japanese katana...
But twice is enough.
It is?!
We have modern science to thank for that.
We looked at the crystalline structure of metal
and realized it was basically done after two folds.
We aren't katana artisans.
We're going for speed.
Any step science lets us skip, we skip.
What's more important is the quenching.
The blade forms into martensite when it's well-done,
and the parts with plenty of clay paste become semi-ferrite.
I don't know much about the science, but the point is...
The blade is made strong for cutting,
and the back is made flexible for parrying.
Is that right?
That's so cool!
You can count on a craftsman to learn quickly.
It's the difference between the two sides
that makes the Japanese katana the most powerful blade in the world.
Katana acquired!!
Our weapons are broken!
It's not just your weapons. Your minds are broken, too.
Though I'm sure that's what Senku-kun's trying to accomplish
by showing off his Japanese katanas.
But your katanas are no match for my kudayari and my Kanryu-style spearmanship!
It's round...
A moon?
What is that?
This spearman Hyoga is in a different league.
Magma, Kohaku-chan, and Kinro-chan are the strongest ones in the village.
Take down those three and you win, Hyoga-chan.
Thank you for the intel, Gen-kun.
Not that I couldn't have seen it for myself.
What the hell is that Gen bastard doing?
Is he an enemy?
Did he betray them to betray us?
That bat bastard!
No.
He's secretly telling us that it'll take all three of us to take him down.
Hand it over!
That's not yours!
Then let's go, Kinro, Magma!
He's not even listening!
That's Magma for you!
Whatever. We'll fight together, whether he likes it or not.
We'll use Magma's huge body as a decoy while you send me up, Kinro.
All right, got it.
S-Send her up?!
He can still react to an attack from above?
If I can just deliver the first blow...
He's twisting his wrist to spin the tip around.
I can't see where the tip is!
The spear tip...
...suddenly broke off.
A cut that's too precise to have been made with stone tools,
and too well-hidden to see...
With enough force, it tears apart.
It's almost like magic, isn't it?
Seriously?!
Who would have done such a thing?
Kudayari?
This thing with the bamboo tube?
Gen-kun, I like you.
You're very proper...
as a dirty bat betrayer.
What are you talking about, Hyoga-chan?!
Why would I do such a thing?
Well, damn.
You had me figured out already.
That's my Hyoga-chan.
Suika, deliver something to Gen for me.
But Gen's with the enemy right now.
We don't even know where he is.
A mentalist would have left signs to follow.
Signs that only we'd recognize.
Work hard, Detective Suika.
I've only seen these flowers in the sun before.
Why are they here in the shade?
The forest is my playground, so I can tell!
These are the signs that Gen left for us!
Do you know this flower?
It's not supposed to bloom in the shade,
so it's perfect to use as a secret signal.
It's called black nightshade.
I used it on the stage a lot. It's one of my favorites.
In floriography, it means "liar."
You're a pretty good swordsman, mentalist.
It cuts exhilaratingly well, doesn't it?
This is the blade of science.
To Modernity
Next Episode
To Modernity
This is a work of fiction, but the plants, animals, and production methods described are based on reality. Foraging and making things on your own accord is extremely dangerous and, in some cases, illegal. Please do not imitate without expertise.