Spring was fast approaching, and the village was getting ready. But, there was still a bit of work to be done.
[Y/n] and Senku observed as Gen test drove the S[Y]2 prototype. Gen... didn't look like he was having a good time. He came to a shaky stop. "O-O-Oh, God!" He whined while stepping off the cart with shaky legs, "Wh-Wh-Why am I the test driver?"
Senku and [Y/n] walked closer to Gen, "You're the only one who has a driver's license." Senku said with a cheeky grin.
"Driver's license?! In this world?!" Gen questioned.
"Gotta obey traffic laws." Senku said.
"You're surprisingly upright, huh?"
"I didn't think that for one millisecond." Senku mocked and [Y/n] giggled a bit.
"Which is it?!"
"Umm... the automobile...?" [Y/n] reminded them.
"I don't think wooden wheels are going to hold up, are they? We aren't driving on paved roads." Gen said, and [Y/n] hummed.
"I expected that to be the case." She said and began walking towards the camp.
"Ehh? What do you mean?" Gen asked and looked to see what Suika and the children of the village were doing.
"Don't worry! We're all working hard!" Suika cheered, "We're doing hexagonal bamboo weaves!"
[Y/n] smiled. "Excellent job." She praised.
"Bamboo?" Gen questioned and looked at Kaseki weaving bamboo into the wheel, "What is this?"
"Yeah, they're the airless tired developed by NASA for planetary exploration. And they're made from bamboo weave." Senku explained.
Gen gave Senku a weird look, "You say that like we should all have heard of them, but I had no idea." He said.
Soon the Steam Gorilla was done. "And there we have it!" Kaseki cheered, "It's done! The Steam Gorilla!"
[Y/n] looked at the automobile with stars in her eyes. "I'm confused, but it looks so cool!" Ginro said with excitement.
"Yeah, I'm confused, but it does look cool." Kinro agreed.
"Sure, it's amazing, and I'm impressed too, but what's with their enthusiasm?" Kohaku questioned.
"You can't blame them. Not when it comes to making machines." Gen said, and [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
Suika noticed the sad look on Kaseki's face. "Old man Kaseki seems really sad." She said, and everyone turned their attention to the old man.
Kaseki sniffled, "We need to hurry up and go free Chrome. I can't help but feel sorry for him." He said.
"Tsukasa needs him as a hostage," Kohaku said, "but it's hard to say how he might be treating him."
[Y/n] look saddened. "We have to hurry." She muttered.
"No, I don't mean that." Kaseki said. Him and Senku had smug faces. "He's not here to help us build our awesome automobile. That's why I feel sorry for him!"
"It's so sad, the entirety of the United States is going to weep." Senku cooed, "We need to hurry up and go flex the Stream Gorilla at him."
Everyone gave them deadpanned looks. "The science team is pretty awful, huh?" Gen questioned.
"I suppose that's just what good friends they are." Ruri said, and [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
"It's how Senku shows he cares." [Y/n] said with a smile.
Once the final adjustments were made everyone was ready. "We're ready to move out whenever!" Kokuya announced, "We're moving out en masse to rescue Chrome!"
"All right." Senku said, "Load up the science tools and the pesky old farts who can't walk fast enough."
"Senku..." [Y/n] elbowed him.
One of the elders walked closer to them. "Senku, [Y/n], I don't think we can go." He said, shocking everyone, "We've thought about it. Even with all the science equipment, we could have just made multiple trips. So why did you both build this so-called 'automobile'? You built it for those of us who can't walk long distances. We know that, Senku."
Senku looked away, "I don't care about that." He lied, and [Y/n] smiled a bit, leaning her head on Senku's shoulder, "We just like making sciencey things."
"We'll stay behind in Ishigami Village. We don't want to get in your way while you're in battle."
"You'll be able to bring more science tools with you that way."
"But that's too dangerous." Ruri objected.
"Yeah. What if Tsukasa-kun's army sends reinforcements?" Kohaku questioned.
"You won't stand a chance." Kinro added.
"We must all go together." Kokuya warned.
"You can't stay behind!" Suika pleaded.
"Thank you, everyone. But we aren't the least bit worried about that." The other elders nodded.
"Because..." The elder walked closer to Senku and [Y/n], "Because you will defeat the Tsukasa Empire first. Isn't that, right?"
[Y/n] smiled with little tears in her eyes, "Of course we will! I promise!" She said. With heartfelt goodbyes, the Kingdom of Science set out on their journey to Tsukasa Empire.
Ginro stared longingly at the Steam Gorilla. "Lucky..." He muttered, "I wanna drive, too."
"The Steam Gorilla's holding up really well." Kaseki said, and [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
"As long as we're on level ground." Senku said. [Y/n] looked out towards the direction of the Tsusaka's base. "Still a long way to go." She muttered.
Soon the Steam Gorilla stopped at a hill; it couldn't move any further. Everyone had to band together to push it up the hill, but it was a struggle. "It can't go up hills?!" Magna complained.
"We have to push it together!" Kohaku announced.
"The way the wobbler engine works, it needs some momentum to keep turning." Kaseki said.
"We would have had more...power if we...built a double-cylinder engine." [Y/n] said between breaths as she continued to push on the automobile.
"Trying to save time backfired on us." Senku added then he stopped when he had an idea.
'More power...' He thought.
They finally got the automobile moving. "All right. There's more of a climb up ahead." Kohaku said, and [Y/n] looked over at Senku.
"Senku..." [Y/n] called, and everyone looked at him. Senku laughed with an evil grin on his face.
"He's got a really evil grin." Kohaku said.
"You can tell from his face that he's up to something." Suika said.
[Y/n] smiled, "He has an idea."
Once they made it close enough, the Science Kingdom began to set up camp. "We're setting up camp beneath a cliff." Kokuya announced, "It's simplistic, but it's guerrilla warfare."
"Put all our manufacturing at the bottom." Senku instructed, "We'll hide as much of the smog behind the trees as we can."
[Y/n] began helping unload the automobile, setting things aside until she noticed a small watermelon missing, "Suika...-chan...?" She muttered looking around.
[Y/n] could find her. She began to panic a bit.
After a little while of looking for her, Suika came rolling back in her watermelon. She explained her findings.
"You put yourself in serious danger!" Kaseki said.
"But well done, Suika." Kokuya praised.
"They had so many guards, though." Suika said, and Magma laughed. "We'll just charge in and murder them all!" He yelled.
"That's the worst thing to do." Ginro said.
Senku chuckled. "I don't know about murdering them, but charging in might not be a bad idea this time." He said.
Senku could see the nervous look on [Y/n]'s face.
"Ch-Ch-Charge in?!" Ginro questioned, "I don't mind, as long as I'm not the one doing it. But that's crazy!"
"We're going to bust down the bamboo prison by force." Senku said and crossed his arms, "We've got a mech on our side. The monster of science that is the Steam Gorilla."
[Y/n]'s eyes sparkled with excitement at the idea that resurfaced in her mind.
Senku knew what that adorable, excited twinkle meant. Of course, he is a man of science, and he doesn't indulge in fantasy. But, if soulmates were real, [Y/n] would be his soulmate. She always never what he was thinking, and they always have similar ideas, if not, the exact same.
[Y/n] had a smirk on her face while Senku smirked back at her. "We're advancing to the next phase by giving the Steam Gorilla a tremendous upgrade!" [Y/n] announced and clenched her fist, "Into a tank!"
"I expected this from Senku-chan... But [Y/n]-chan?" Gen said, looking at the couple's matching evil grins.
Everyone looked in shock while Senku chuckled again, and Kaseki cried.
"We're modding my adorable little Steam Gorilla, after all the work we put into it?!" The old man continued to cry.
"'Adorable'?" Gen repeated.
"Adorable isn't the right word." Kohaku said.
"It isn't adorable." Kinro added.
"It's not adorable." Ginro agreed.
"It's not adorable." Suika repeated.
Senku walked over to the Steam Gorilla. "No, we're giving it a power-up." He said while [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
"Yes, please don't cry, Grandpa." [Y/n] pleaded.
Kaseki stopped. "Oh, really?" He questioned then he flexed out of his clothes. "Then let's upgrade it! Now! Now!"
[Y/n] smiled a little.
"But, how could we make it any better?" Kohaku asked.
"We're going to armor it like crazy so it becomes a tank that we can ram through the enemy." Senku explained.
"In iron all around?" Kohaku questioned.
[Y/n] shook her head, "It would weigh too much to be able to move properly. Speed is a key factor in this plan." She said.
"Of course. So what are we making the tank with?" Gen questioned.
Senku tilted his head, cutely, his hair curling down as if it was made of paper. "Paper." He said.
'He's too cute!' [Y/n] cooed in her mind.
"Hair?" Ruri questioned.
"Gods?" Ginro questioned as well.
"I get it!" Gen said, "A paper tank. That would be nice and light." It took in a moment, "WHATT?!?!?!"
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
Suika and the other children of the village went to a nearby field to collect weeds. "We got a ton of weeds!" Suika announced.
"Does it really matter what kind of weeds they are?" Ruri asked while [Y/n] stared in confusion at the mountain of weeds Suika was carrying.
"Just about anything works." Senku said with his arms crossed, "We're going to boil all this grass in sodium hydroxide to loosen it up."
[Y/n] put them in a bowl over the open fire with the solution. Once it was ready, Senku took it off the fire.
"We take that boiled goo, wash it, press it, and dry it." Senku listed, and once they did so, they had paper.
Gen was surprised, "It actually looks legit!" He said, "I never knew paper was so easy to make."
"Blueprints, maps and other illustrations will be much easier to draw, now." [Y/n] said with a smile.
"We wasted a lot of leather up until now." Kaseki said, and [Y/n] nodded in agreement.
"What is that for?" Kinro asked.
Magma stabbed through a page with just his fingers. "What use is this flimsy stuff?" He questioned.
"I hope you aren't going to suggest we make a car with this feeble material, Senku?" Kohaku said.
"Yeah, that's what I'm suggesting." Senku said, laying down a wooden frame. He played a sheet of paper on it and began to glue layers on top.
"Wait, you aren't just making a paper wall, are you?" Gen asked.
"Bingo. Ten billion points for you."
Next, [Y/n] placed a pot of burning wood on top of the paper wall. "Finally, we iron it out, then..." She muttered.
"We have a paper shield." Senku announced and presented in product. "Okay, now we glue these paper shields all over the place and turn the Steam Gorilla into a tank."
"Senku." Kinro called to him, "You may now know..." He stabbed the trunk of a tree, cutting it down, [Y/n]'s eyes widened as she blinked in confusion.
"But a blow from a spearman can bring down even a wooden shield. I have a hard time believing in your so-called paper shield."
"I think so, too!" Ginro chimed in.
"Oh?" Senku said, "That'll be the perfect test, then." Senku chuckled with a smirk that felt [Y/n] weak in the knees, "Wanna fight?"
The two men got ready to face off. "This is bad!" Suika announced, "Senku and Kinro are in battle!"
"What?! What's going on?" Kokuya asked.
"Man, and that spear Senku-chan asked for..." Gen said, "It's not for competitions, is it? It's the real deal."
[Y/n] stood next to Gen with a worried look, seeing Kinro's metal spearhead. She knew the paper shield would work, but the impact of the force could hurt Senku.
"This is dangerous, Senku." Kinro said, and glanced a [Y/n]'s worried look then back at Senku, "I can't-"
"It wouldn't be a test if you didn't attack at full strength. That's the rule." Senku said, "According to you, the rules are the rules, aren't they?"
Kinro got ready, "All right. Then I won't hold back whatsoever."
Kinro stabbed Senku's shield at his full strength the impact created a gush of wind. They could hear Senku grunt and strain.
"Senku!" Kohaku and [Y/n] called.
Surprisingly, Senku and his shield was still standing, and Kinro's spear fell apart.
[Y/n] let out a sigh of relief.
Everyone was impressed. "Senku won!"
"Kinro's spear fell apart." Magma said.
"The paper shield hasn't so much as dented!" Kaseki said.
"With a paper wall? How?" Gen questioned.
[Y/n] walked over to Senku, seeing his body still shaking from the impact. He still tried to hold his confident smile, but he was sweating bolts.
"I don't think he'll be able to answer any questions for a while." Kohaku said.
"He's gone numb." Suika said.
"He stopped the blade, but he still took the impact."
"I was afraid of this." [Y/n] muttered, taking the shield from Senku, "I should examine him. To be sure nothing is fractured."
"That wasn't glue you were painting onto the paper, was it?" Gen asked.
Senku chuckled while [Y/n] held both of his hands, making sure the impact did hurt them. "Bingo. Ten billion points for you." He said, still shaking; he let go of [Y/n]'s hand then picked up the shield, "I painted molten plastic onto it. Combine the flexibility of paper with the rigidity of plastic, and..." He hit it with his fist, "We have carbon resin."
"Carbon fiber?!" Gen questioned, "I think I might have heard of it..."
"It's stupid light and stupid tough." Senku said, "It's used in F1 car bodies and rockets. It's ultimate construction material, with SS agility and SS defense."
｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
After assembling tons of paper shields, the Steam Gorilla was starting to look like a real tank.
"Check out the Steam Gorilla!" Ginro cheered.
"It's ridiculously powered up!" Kaseki said.
"It's starting to look really tough." Suika said.
"The double steam engine, front-wheel drive and larger wheels should do quite a bit of damage as a ram." [Y/n] said and place her finger on her chin, thinking. She wanted to make sure they weren't missing anything.
"We can do it, so long as we have this tank fortified with the ultimate material!" Kohaku said, "We could potentially ram into the prison and destroy it, saving Chrom without causing any bloodshed at all!"
[Y/n] smiled as she looked over the blueprints one more time with Senku leaning close next to her. [Y/n] blushed a bit at his closeness, and Senku snaked his arm around her waist pulling her close to him.
Suddenly, Ginro was pinged with an idea, ruining their moment. "Hey, hey, do you think..." Ginro began, "Once we rescue Chrome, we could use the Steam Gorilla tank to wreak Tsukasa's army? Then we might not even have to fight!" He had a big grin on his face.
Senku chuckled and walked over to the Steam Gorilla, placing his hand on it, "If it's still working after we slam into the prison. It's a one-time-use build, only meant for saving Chrome." He said.
"Really?!"
"It's a one-shot surprise attack mech. If they figure us out and take measures against a vehicular assault, it's over." Senku said with a bit of a worried look.
"It'd be such a waste to only use it once, though." Gen said, "If we spent some time mounting a turret on it, we could use it to take over the miracle cave or something."
"Quit talking in hypotheticals." Senku said and looking at the blueprint again, "It's a waste of time."
"We were attempting to hold off that option, in hopes Chrome could escape himself." [Y/n] said, "Seeing that isn't the case any longer, this has to be our plan of action."
"So, if Chrome were to be able to escape on his own, thing would be different." Kohaku said, and [Y/n] nodded.
[Y/n] had a worried expression on her face. "I just hope he's alright." She muttered, and Senku placed his hand on her head.
"Don't worry, Tsukasa has no use in killing Chrome." Senku said, and [Y/n] looked down then she nodded. "I know."
Tsukasa wanted her and Senku.