n-3^07-! (I love you)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Senku and the team were hard at work, trying to figure out a way to successfully infiltrate Tsukasa's Empire. And without spilling any blood.
"There has to be something big enough to scare them," Kohaku spoke aloud.
Before another word could be spoken by anyone else, Suika popped up in the middle of the group. She looked worried and out of breath. "It's Chrome, you guys! He's alive!" In her arms, she held Yae's hawk, whose leg was injured.
"You saw him?" Kohaku was relieved.
"You went on another dangerous mission?" Kaseki said.
However, the former chief was pleased to hear the news, quickly forgetting that a young girl spying on the enemy by herself isn't safe. "Well done, Suika!" He took Yae's hawk from her arms. "I'm surprised this little guy managed to make it out."
"I saw him in the woods on my way back." Suika explained. "The place is full of guards, though." She sucked in a deep breath, trying steady beating heart.
"Thanks, Suika. I'll be sure to take him home to rest and heal."
Magma's voice roared. "We can take 'em! All we have to do is bash their heads in!" He laughed.
Ginro gulped. "Sounds like a recipe for disaster."
"And another thing." Suika quickly pointed out. "They have Yae, too!" Everyone looked to Senku, but the calm and collected scientist remained calm.
"Yae will be alright. Tsukasa would be stupid to hurt even a single strand of hair on her head. Our Yae is smart and dependable. I'm sure she has a plan of her own." He crossed his arms and shook his head, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I don't know about bashing heads, but a head-on approach doesn't seem like a bad idea." The others gaped at him. "We'll use our giant mecha to smash right into them."
Kaseki took a confident step forward. "Does that mean..."
Senku turned to him. "That's right. We're going to upgrade our steam gorilla into a full-blown tank!"

Asagiri Gen's brow twitched. "And just how exactly will you be making this?"
"We'll give our tank armor plaiting, making it capable smashing the enemy away."
"Will you cover it with iron then?" The lioness asked.
"No way. That'd make it way too heavy. It needs to be able to move at ramming speed."
Asagiri Gen nodded in agreement. "Exactly. So what will we be using?"
Senku looked at him and said, "Kami!"
While leaving everyone else confused, the mentalist should have known better. "Right. Of course. Paper." He paused. "HUUUH? PAPER?"

With some help from the other villagers, supplies were quickly gathered to make their new and improved giant mecha.
Ruri handed Senku a bundle of plants. "Are you sure all of this will work? All these plants?"
He nodded to the young priestess. "Just about any. We'll even take this bundle of grass."
"And then what?" She asked, curious.
Senku was more than happy to explain. "We boil them in sodium hydroxide."
"And then what, Senku?" Suika stood on her tip-toes and looked down at the boiling plants.
"Then we rinse it, press it, and dry it."

Within an hour, Senku and his Kingdom of science had their stacks and rows of paper.
Asagiri Gen quickly snatched one. "Oh, wow! Just like the real thing. I never knew it was so easy."
Kaseki huffed. "A shame we wasted all those pelts, though." His words went unheard when Magma jammed his fist through a sheet of paper. "How is this flimsy junk going to do us any good?" He was obviously annoyed.
Kohaku also shared her concerns. "I have to agree, Senku. How is this going to help fortify our car?"
"No doubting just yet." Senku grabbed some paper and a few other pieces of material and got to work.
"Are you making a Japanese paper door?" Asagiri Gen leaned over to watch the scientist get to work.
"Ten billion percent correct!" He stood from his crouched position and raised his creation. "And done! Paper shield acquired!"

Kinro was standing off to the side, assorting the weapons they would use against Tsukasa.
"Hey, Kinro, come over for a sec."
"Hmm?" He pushed up his glasses and walked steadily over. "What do you need?"
Senku pointed over at a tree. "Try putting a dent in that tree with your spear."
He shrugged. "Okay." Kinro was more than happy to comply and cut a large chunk of the tree off. "You may not be aware of this, Senku. But a spear wielder can pierce even through wooden shields. "I can't imagine your paper shields putting up much a fight against Tsukasa and his Empire."
Even Ginro made it a point to put his two senses in. "I have to agree with big bro."
Senku chuckled. "This will make for a perfect test, then. Are you ready?" He asked Kinro.
"Ready for what?"
"I want you to hit me with everything you've got."
"This is risky, Senku."
"It's not a real test unless you give it our all. Okay? Those are the rules, and rules are rules, right?"
Kinro steadied himself into a fighting position. "If you insist. I won't hold back!" He definitely gave it his all, putting a giant dent in the shield and shattering his spear.