In the morning, Senku began explaining how the gunpowder-making process worked as soon as Taiju and Yuzuriha just opened their eyes from their deep slumber.
"We have the three components we need to make gunpowder." Senku explained while laying many charcoal chunks on the ground.
In addition to his explanation, you just flashed all three of them your typical cunning grin, which clearly resembled a snake, "The only thing left is to mix it up!"
Then, to indicate that there are three components, you raised three of your fingers.
"The first ingredient for gunpowder is the limitless supply of sulfur from the hot spring. Second, charcoal. We can easily get this by burning some wood. And third, the last and the most difficult one, potassium nitrate which takes a lot of time to make. That's why I prepared it beforehand!"
Senku had a very concerned smile on his face, "How in the world did you know that potassium nitrate will be useful in the near future?"
You just gave a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders, "I don't. I created it mainly for fun during the building process of my incredible underground basement, which has been abandoned for six months!"
Thus, in an attempt to simplify the explanation — unlike a particular lettuce head who always delivers things in his scientific terms — you and the others assemble all of the components in a bag.
"Mix potassium nitrate, sulfur, charcoal, and a pinch of sugar to increase its power."
You did exactly what you stated.
Senku proceeded to add a white powder that you accepted since it was grape extract glucose.
"D-Don't you think (Name)'s enjoying herself a bit too much when creating a weapon?" Yuzuriha sweated at the sight. Taiju was somewhat concerned for your sanity as well.
Senku merely shrugged his shoulders, "Let our leader be the madwoman she is."
'Ah... Yeah. Madwoman is absolutely the perfect word for her.' Yuzuriha and Taiju nodded a few times, thinking the same thing.
When it's completed, you pull a small wood out of nowhere and hoist it above your head with a psychotic grin, eager to smash it.
"Alright, guys! Last but not least, pound it down until it's packed solid!"
But just as you're ready to pound the ingredient-filled bag, you get a glimpse of Taiju grasping a boulder out of the corner of your eye.
He shouted, "Need a pounding, bro!? 'Cause that sounds like the perfect kinda job for me!"
That made Senku and Yuzuriha scream aloud, amazed that he could carry it and scared that he would do anything reckless like this. Meanwhile, your eyes were full of sparkles.
"Wait, Taiju-kun! Are you sure it's a good idea?! I-I'm scared if you use all your strength, you could make a spark and go boom! Like a flint!" Yuzuriha questioned frantically.
"POUND IT!" You jumped up and down, commanding like a child with excitement, "Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!"
That caused Yuzuriha stared at you in terror, knowing you only wanted to see an explosion.
However, as Senku placed a hand on your head, you immediately stopped and glared at him.
'GET. YOUR. HANDS. OFF. MY. HEAD!'
'She's like a chihuahua...' Senku chuckled briefly in his brain before turning to face two of his other friends, "Not exactly, Yuzuriha. Hitting stones against one another will not produce sparks."
Following that, while Yuzuriha processed the information, Taiju started to lightly pound the bag filled with gunpowder.
It's true. There was no explosion as a result.
Yet!
"That's because flint is not your ordinary type of stone." You explained enthusiastically, forcing Senku's hand off your head and stood next to Taiju, "The metal in it is what makes the spark. That's why it's safe for you to hit it, Taiju!"
Knowing what would happen if Taiju was the one beating it as hard as possible, you smiled slyly.
Senku was skeptical of your expression, so he thought about about it, "Hot springs, volcanoes, iron pyrite."
Eventually, he started to comprehend that the hot springs you four were standing atop were part of a volcano that might produce iron nearby.
"Iron pyrite... is equal to Taiju's strength!" Senku finally looked into your eyes, which had been staring at him with nothing but wicked intent.
'THAT DAMN GOLDFISH!'
In an instant, his jaw fell open, "WAIT—"
Too late.
Sparks from the gunpowder began to fly.
And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.
At last, one of your wishlist has been fulfilled.
Finally, you see an explosion; A particularly big one in this Stone World!
Taiju immediately took Yuzuriha up in his arms. On the other hand, Senku grabbed your collar because you were still standing there with that goofy pleased grin on your face.
The gunpowder burst into a blaze!
Not that you care, but the four of you were sent flying many meters away in the air right away.
It hurts, but nothing worries you as long as you get to watch the explosion!
"You knew, didn't you?" Senku grumbled, rubbing his head because it hit the ground due to the fall.
"Yeah." You snickered a little before getting to your feet and offering Senku a helping hand, which he gladly took despite the fact that you had just sent the four of you flying.
Glancing at your smile, he only sighed out loud and grinned, declaring with pride, "No problem, you guys. This just proves our gunpowder works on the first attempt."
"I didn't expect gunpowder to be this powerful..." Yuzuriha's mouth was open, shock still keeping her still on the ground.
You then knelt down in front of her, explaining expertly as a strong sense of murder surrounded you, "Y'know, there's plenty of accidents where students were experimenting with it and got their limbs blown up!"
That undoubtedly added to Yuzuriha's concerns.
Your remarks even made her gaze fearfully towards you.
That gaze undoubtedly made you sigh aloud, not wanting anyone to look at you as if you were some maniac or murderer.
Eventually, you stood back up and placed your hands on your hips, "Don't worry, Yuzu. We're not planning to use this on Tsukasa."
She immediately breathed a sigh of relief at your words, giving you back one of her sweet smiles.
"We'll make a deal with him. Remember, Tsukasa isn't some sort of unreasonable homicidal maniac. Under the right circumstances, we can negotiate with him. And with a little gunpowder on our side, we'll have the advantage." Senku went on as Taiju and Yuzuriha exchanged relieved looks.
Thankfully, they will not commit any manslaughter.
Well, not them, at least.
On the other hand, your hands and Senku's will be ready to be covered in blood.
Senku turns to face you, giving you the look in his eyes as if he's prepared to fight — to give or take in a later circumstance — knowing what type of situation the four of you are currently in.
"If the negotiations don't work out in the end..." Senku put his hand on your shoulder, speaking quietly so the other two wouldn't hear him.
You only nodded in response, maintaining the same expression in your eyes while suppressing a smirk, "I know. We'll have to kill him."
Out of nowhere, Yuzuriha gasped in surprise and pointed in a particular direction, "Hey, g-guys?"
That caused you, Senku, and Taiju to take a look where she was pointing. In a flash, questions flooded your minds.
There's a smoke signal.
Senku looked at it, obviously lost in thought.
Tsukasa was in the opposite direction and he got absolutely no reason to reveal his location like that!
Senku swiftly crossed his arms with seriousness, "It's a response to the smoke we created. It looks like we're not alone in this Stone World. What do you think, (Name)?"
Though, you merely remained silent and appeared to be considering the possibilities.
As far as this unknown person know, the explosion could have been from a volcano.
Before the four of you go, you could start another bigger fire to send them a signal.
However, you all will definitely do Tsukasa a favor by letting him know where we are!
"(Name)!" Senku yelled, interrupting your train of thoughts.
That undoubtedly caused you to glance at him in shock, but you quickly became calmer as he gave you his typical, softened gaze.
Losing your friends is the last thing you want. At all costs, you don't want to pick the wrong decision!
But if you make the wrong one...
'Thanks, lettuce head. You've helped me to think clearly now.' You let out a faint chuckle before turning around to face your three friends, locking them with a focused stare.
"Light it up! Fire the smoke signal!"
There you have it.
An order from the big boss.
Your friends quickly follow what you say and gather all the ingredients that have been kept in their respective storage bags before combining everything again to set off another smoke signal.
Sadly, it's still not enough.
"Alright. Sen, you wait here while I and the others bring more firewood." You declared as each of the three of them nodded.
Though Senku was extremely concerned for you, he never had the slightest doubt in your skills.
"Understood." With that, he gave a quick response, pushing you gently, "Now, go!"
You three ran as fast as you could, using all of your strength. Quickly, you soon discovered wood pieces and started gathering them.
Taiju can take care of himself, but Yuzuriha needs protection, so you told him to find some in the woods while you and Yuzuriha collected some nearby.
However, you had a feeling that something would go wrong.
You felt your gut tighten, eventually letting go of whatever you were holding.
'Calm, (Name)... Calm and be patient.' You breathed out.
As Yuzuriha continued to pick up many woods, you slowly positioned yourself next to her whilst paying great attention to the sounds around you.
After a little while, you heard heavy footsteps coming your way — the sound that you were quite familiar with.
In a second, you grasped Yuzuriha by the wrist, leading her to yelp in shock.
"(Name), what are you-?!" But just as she opened her lips to complain, she realized that their opponent was now looking directly at you.
Shishio Tsukasa is back.
Intimidating as always.
"Coming back so soon?" You chuckled and smirked, your chin beginning to drip with sweat. 'He realized what we're up to! He knows where we're going and what we're doing!'
You were cautious.
Extremely cautious.
Nothing except threat could be seen in Tsukasa's glare. His posture also showed that he was ready for an attack.
He is an army all by himself.
It's obvious that engaging in hand-to-hand combat with him is not the best choice.
"This is interesting, isn't it?" You asked, as you gently prepared your position.
"Interesting for you, an easy win for me." Tsukasa replied briefly.
Like you, Tsukasa readily put two fists in front of his face in response. He was preparing to placed one of his feet behind his back.
But you didn't give him any time to be prepare.
With your slender frame and fast reflexes, you were an expert fighter, but Tsukasa was enormous and towered over you.
He was possibly stronger and much larger.
Even so, you did not consider that to be a drawback.
You saw that as an opportunity to launch a faster attack.
With a powerful right hand, he made contact by delivering a punch.
Fortunately, you were able to block with ease, moving to his left and throw a rapid flurry of blows to his torso.
Tsukasa just grinned at your movements, assuming that your power would be of little use to him.
He eventually burst out laughing quietly, "For you to think that a punch this little might hurt-!"
Unfortunately, that is the mistake he made; Underestimating you.
The area you struck suddenly aches so much that it's spreading like wildfire.
Tsukasa instantly groaned and touched it lightly before scowling in discomfort. He then glared at you angrily as though to ask; 'What did you just do to me?!'
"Which do you think won — an elephant or ants?" You inquired, yet your tone was as serious as ever.
Tsukasa, however, chose not to respond and instead aimed his own punch towards your head.
Thankfully, you stepped aside, grabbed his arm, and bent forward. That caused him to tumble forward and meet the ground roughly.
And with that, you quickly locked his arms behind his back and pushed him down firmly.
Your strength is clearly on a different level than how you looked, which startled him.
"An elephant cannot be killed by a single ant." You muttered, firmly grasped Tsukasa's arms.
'She possesses the same strength as Taiju... No. I couldn't exactly compare this to his strength. It's way stronger. Just— How did she have the ability to fight like this?!' Panicking, Tsukasa continued to grumble in silence.
He tried to search for an opening, but your threatening stare caused him to stop dead in his tracks.
Usually, there was a hint of humor in your face.
But, this one isn't the same.
He sensed that he was falling into your web of misery.
A sudden constricting wave of fear overtakes him.
"Elephants are not threatened by a single ant since they are considerably bigger and powerful than them," You explained slowly, tightening your grasp more.
It caused Tsukasa's fingers to crack numerous times, indicating that you had broken it easily.
"A-Agh!"
"However, did you know that an elephant might have difficulties as a result of an ant colony working together?" You muttered threateningly.
A vicious demeanor now surrounds you.
As a result, Tsukasa activated his fight-or-flight mode.
His eyes widened in shock that you could frighten him to that extent. Instantly, he pushed you away with all of his might.
'This girl is nothing but danger.' Tragically, Tsukasa's fingers was trembling when he tried to move them.
After all, you had just cracked them.
You really shatter a few of his fingers.
"I'm impressed. Truly." Tsukasa complimented quietly, giving you a stern gaze that you returned with a pleased snicker.
You're beginning to irritate him.
Good.
"You're an excellent asset to the universe I'm about to create. Why don't you join me, (Name)?" Tsukasa invited honestly, "Why did you join Senku when you knew that my chances of winning were greater in a world without weapons?"
You chuckled as a response, a little too hysterically for your own good.
'Is this man crazy or what?!'
"Hell no." You merely responded, springing quickly in his direction and kicking him in the face to knock him off-balance.
Sadly, he was still standing up, even though it was obvious that his hand was badly harmed and that, if he didn't cure it right now, it would ache forever.
You sprang far enough away from him to leave a huge distance.
"Why is that?" Tsukasa inquired again, but this time he stopped from attacking.
He was aware of your strength now, and he swore never to act hastily towards you ever again.
At first, he didn't think Senku was telling the truth when he stated you're the balancer of the team.
There was never sense of power or fighting ability in you.
And yet here you are, possessing perfect strength he never imagined you would have.
"Is it because you are loyal? Or perhaps you want to go on an adventure?" Tsukasa remained silent for a moment before giving you a menacing look, "Or maybe out of all four of you, you are the mastermind."
His voice sent shivers down your spine. You have never once heard him said things like this; so deep and icy.
"What?" You put on a fake calm smile, "Sen is the mastermind in this. I'm only his apprentice. Don't get it wrong, Tsukasa."
All of a sudden, shocking you, Tsukasa was forced to draw his spear.
A few seconds later, you heard a loud thunk as you witnessed him toss it into the trees with strength and accuracy.
After a few moments, Yuzuriha's shaky appearance appeared.
As soon as you got a good look at her, you stopped trying to reach out for her — your concerned eyes widened.
The spear that Tsukasa had just thrown had left her looking frightened and stunned.
You also observed that a large portion of her hair had been cut short by the spear.
'Yuzuriha!'
You became terrified when you saw your friend in danger; your heart starting to tightened.
Tsukasa is capable of causing physical harm to others, including attempting to murder them for personal gain.
'How selfish of you, Tsukasa..'
Unfortunately, Tsukasa saw that you were extremely taken aback by Yuzuriha's capture.
He therefore quickly swiped your leg, making you stumble and fall on the ground, taking advantage of your distraction.
His right hand quickly clamped down around your throat, slowly suffocating you.
Naturally, you will respond by kicking and struggling to get out of his hold, but if Tsukasa has already grabbed hold of you, he is too powerful for you.
"Shit. Congratulations, Tsukasa. You got the best of me." You managed to stifle a laugh despite the discomfort.
"It's an honour." Tsukasa answered, although shortly.
This is a win-win for both of you; You severely injured his fingers, he was choking you.
"(N-Name)... I'm sorry." Yuzuriha began to cry. Her lips quivered as she saw you being raised off the ground and having a hand around your neck, "I-I should've... I... I c-can't-!"
It was a terrifying sight.
After all, you were her closest friend.
She had to do more than just watch you struggle; she had to move, but she was afraid to.
You attempted to smile gently when you saw her frail appearance.
But, your eyes were somewhat exhausted from the effort of trying to acquire oxygen at this point.
"It's alright, Yuzu.... I'll be fine." Despite the rasp in your voice, you attempted to console her, "We'll be fine."
Afterwards, Tsukasa quickly removed his spear from the tree and frowned at Yuzuriha.
He motioned for her to take the three of you to Senku.
Without any doubt, Yuzuriha did.
It's all because she was terrified — she was shaking with terror — that Tsukasa would kill you with only a slight squeeze of his fingers.
Tsukasa soon maintained the spear pointing at her back as she moved forward.
Upon reaching the top of the mountain, Senku was waiting for the three of you, surrounded by smoke.
Hearing Tsukasa's footstep, Senku turned around confidently and slowly.
But his eyes widened slightly. You could see he was astonished because Yuzuriha's hair was shorter and Tsukasa was holding you by the neck.
'(Name)!!'
Senku gave you a troubled glance. Swiftly you responded with a worn-out grin, as if to reassure him that everything will be okay.
He was aware that you were lying though.
You hide behind those comforting smiles to make others feel better, just for everyone's comfort.
'You damn goldfish.' Senku looked away worriedly, his heart tightening at the sight of your appearance.
"Once the weapons of science come into play, you'll no longer be the strongest. You're acting like a spoiled kid, Tsukasa." Senku gave a sly smirk.
"I suppose that's an accurate way of putting it." Tsukasa replied, not even cracking a small smile, "If you go down this road of developing weapons and start reviving older generations, they're going to fight for their rights and interests again. In the blink of an eye, the world will regress and be tainted again."
"I don't mind getting my hands dirty if that's what it takes to stop that from happening." He concluded it darkly.
Senku sighed heavily, trying to gather his thoughts before answering, looking directly into Tsukasa's eyes, "And by that you mean killing Senku the Science Man, huh? I'm sure the whole world would be moved to tears by your merciful death sentence."
"More like... eliminating the All Role, (Name)." Tsukasa smirked.
In an instant, his grasp on your neck tightened, causing your eyes to widen.
"A-AGH!"
Your airway was blocked, unable to breathe.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT! SHIT! HE'S TOO STRONG!'
You felt like he was going to break your neck.
Literally.
With terror and adrenaline coursing through your veins, you did your best to remain calm, even if your breathing was now like a fish breathing on land.
Senku is obviously seeing right through your attempt to maintain composure, or else you would be yanking like a crazy dog.
"If you wish for her to live, would you mind giving me the recipe for the revival fluid?" Tsukasa repeated his question, now certain that he had finally discovered Senku's vulnerability.
However, the fact that Senku shown no reaction startled Tsukasa.
It's as if Senku had a switch that could turned off emotion.
Senku scowled at Tsukasa, with a chilling coldness, "No, sorry. I'm not as kind as you are, Tsukasa. I could only look at things as being logical or illogical. So, I don't care one millimeter what you do with that girl over there. There's plenty other females to revive-"
As soon as Tsukasa heard such things, he responded in an unthinkable way.
He flung you aside.
Not simply throwing you to the ground.
No.
You were actually thrown off the mountain; Letting you fall several meters.
Right away, Yuzuriha started crying out loud, her tears running down her face, "(NAME)! NO!"
She hurried to the edge of the hot spring in an attempt to reach out to you, even though she knew it was impossible to help.
Unfortunately, Tsukasa aimed the spear at her neck the instant she turned around.
'(NAME)!!' Senku shouted in his head so loudly that it made his heart pound wildly, as though it was trying to escape his chest.
Sweat began to drip from his forehead in many places as his mind went completely crazy.
Tsukasa basically threw you out like you were rubbish.
You probably won't make it from this height!
He couldn't survive without you — neither in this Stone World or before the petrification.
Back when he was alone himself, you were his hope.
He remembered declaring to himself every night when he was free from petrification; 'Please, (Name)... Where the heck are you? I know you're out there but where?!'
You were the reason he remained strong all these time.
Shakily, Senku grinned regretfully and placed both hands on his hips. Eventualy, he started to mention about what Tsukasa wanted.
"The revival fluid is a combination of nitric acid and alcohol. First, you gotta filter the nitric acid from the cave and mix it up with alcohol that's been distilled to as close as to 96% as you can get it."
He was sure that you would give him your usual disapproval stare if you were here.
Damn it.
He never imagined that at this crucial moment, he would miss that expression.
"The ratio is 30% nitric acid to 70% alcohol. If you were off by just a few points, the reaction won't happen." Slowly, Senku looked at the ocean from afar with a bitter expression, "You should fine-tune it by testing it on a petrified swallow feather, Tsukasa."
Tsukasa wasted no time in shoving Yuzuriha out of his way as he leaped from higher ground to have a face-to-face conversation with Senku.
"If I let you live, you'll just keep trying to rebuild civilization. Can you promise not to do that?" With a hopeful expression on his face, Tsukasa seemed to be hoping Senku would agree to spare himself from death.
Senku managed a tired laugh, even though it was obvious he was giving up from the look in his eyes.
He lost you.
"What are you talking about? I can simply make a fake promise-"
"No. Science is the only thing that you'll never lie about. Can you hereby swear to renounce all forms of science for eternity?" Tsukasa enquired again, "If you can swear to that... Senku, I don't have to kill you then."
Senku, on the other hand, shot Tsukasa a hatred look, as if Tsukasa was the object of all his anger.
"You want to bargain with me but not with (Name)? That's illogical of you, Tsukasa."
He then maintained his composure, cracking his neck, focusing his regretful stare to where you had just been tossed, "To answer your question, that's the one thing I won't abandon. Regardless of my answer, it's just a matter of time before you kill me. Make it quick, then. It's not like either of us stands to gain from making me bleed out."
Tsukasa then remained silent for a long time, breathing in and out gently, "I knew you would answer that. Don't worry. I'll burst your cervical nerve in a single blow so you'll faint and die in an instant. It will be painless and I will definitely not make a mistake."
With a little chuckle, Tsukasa shook his head, "If only we had met 3.700 years ago... If only we had met before this planet turned into Stone World, you and (Name) might become my first friend."
"Maybe." Senku responded painfully.
Hearing your name coming out of Tsukasa's mouth appeared to irritate Senku for no apparent reason.
Tsukasa had no right to mention your name after killing you and throwing you down the mountain.
At least not in front of Senku.
———
'HOW THE HELL DID I SURVIVE?!'
Your body rapidly switch into flight mode, jaw fell open.
That's why, out of instinct, your hand clung on a rock that was just about to fall.
Yes, the pain from Tsukasa's choke affects your entire body but you managed to handle it.
Surprisingly, that even though Tsukasa intended for you to die, he managed to give you a 1% chance of surviving.
That's because he tosses you in the direction where a strong person might catch theirselves by grabbing on to a rock.
"Holy shit. I survived..."
You wanted to cry right then and there.
You are very grateful to Tsukasa, yet he is so annoying!
You didn't actually tear up because, of course, you don't want to act too irrationally. You don't want anyone to witness your outbursts of crying or even the last drop of tears in your eyes.
'Ew, that'll be so embarrassing.' You shudder at the thought.
With that, your other hand grabbed another rock. One at a time, your body steadily climbed higher.
The climb was clearly lengthy given that Tsukasa dropped you off in an area without a road.
Your body aches so much, yet you have to keep it to yourself. You must make it through! For the sake of human civilization, yourself, and your friends!
Without you or Senku, Taiju and Yuzuriha will be in danger. That is absolutely not what you want to happen!
When you finally saw the top, you immediately let out a sigh of relief.
After this, you really need to take a nice, quiet nap.
After all, you're exhausted.
'I did it! Dammmnnn, my body is hurting like crazy right n-!?'
There.
Right there.
At that moment, your eyes widened in surprise, as you nearly let go of the rock you were holding.
From a distance, you could see Tsukasa slashed the back of Senku's neck with his spear.
That's when you realized your eyes began to well up with tears.