03x14 - Deal Game, Test of Wit

[bunniefuu]

There it is.

With my eagle-eyed vision, I see Medusa's true face.

Senku, you were spot on yet again.

It isn't a curse or a demonic device without rules.

Though the Medusa of legend used magic... this is science.



It's up to you, Amaryllis.

Tell Senku and the others.

Tell them all the secrets the infiltration team uncovered.

If we're retaliating with science, we can't lose.

All that's left to do is wait

and trust in the power of science.

You're right. It'll turn out okay, I know it.



Ah! Yuzuriha!

Hi, Taiju!



No, we should just shake hands!

Gotta be respectful, even when greeting close friends!

Ugh. Did you revert

to a hover-handing middle schooler just now?

Hm.

Chrome's hands are this size, right?

It's crazy how good she is at this.

Her super memory is something else.

Add in her handicraft skills,

and you've got one hell of a puzzle-solver.

So bad!

So that's how it feels to have your body petrified!

Stoked I finally got the chance to try it!

Kaseki had a very similar reaction.



Chrome and I are cut from the same crafty cloth!

We are the builder duo round here, so it only makes sense!

And speaking of,

I'm gonna need you to hop on this project with me,

now that you're up and at 'em, Chrome!

No way!

Drone-building team's ten billion percent ready

to get to work.

Which means, very soon, our -D warfare commences.

Of course... we're gonna want a -D specialist for this!

Am I wrong?





Ah. So we need some intel on the new enemy, don't we?



Way to get right to the point.

As expected of our sonar man.



We've got it covered.

Kohaku and her team are currently in the enemy--

Hang on.

In the water. Someone's swimming straight for us.

Amaryllis!

It's awful. Simply awful!

Kohaku and Ginro were petrified!





I almost can't believe it!

Soyuz is somehow related to the master?



Well, we can't take Ginro's speculation as concrete fact.

Yeah.

We'll save our theories about Soyuz's family tree for later.

I've got a more pertinent question.

How do these guys operate and what are they packin'?

We may only have bits of information,

but with our combined intellects,

we'll fill in the gaps.

Right. Leave it to me!

Oh, I've for sure got this!

Great. We'll start with organizing our info.

Ah! The kingdom of science is back together,

and it feels so good!

This is awesome!

It's that team of five Kohaku mentioned before,

but what'd she say?

They're like, our brainy generals!



A meeting of the kingdom of science's top brass!



You and the spy team should be very proud.

You put in some excellent work

and it's about to pay off big time,

'cause you just leaked a major secret to us.

Huh?

They've got a petrification w*apon, yes, but only one.

We can deal with that.



Ha. Some critical intel.

That's a game-changer, right there.

My, oh, my!

Considering Ibara's psychology, it makes sense.

Though we can't say for certain, it's a decent theory.

Hey, back it up! What am I missing here?

Sounds obvious to you, but if it's obvious, why am I so lost?

Somebody explain it!

My report really told you that much? But how?

If Senku says he figured it out, he has!

Taiju's accepted that with a smile.

Don't get it? Then listen up!

This is another puzzle we're carefully solving,

but using intel instead of rocks.

As you know, puzzle-solving goes quicker with more hands.

Or, in this case, with more minds.

One especially handy mind is Chrome's.

His instincts are on point,

and he can see things from different angles.

Don't go makin' me sound all smug about it like you.

But sure! Count me in!

First off,

their master doesn't have a petrification w*apon.

And if he did, he used it on himself.

So wouldn't that mean Ibara has one

since he's the real head honcho?

Most likely.

Ibara is very cautious. He must have an extra!

May I interject?

See, he's the type to have insurance out the wazoo.

It's fairly safe to assume

if a second petrification w*apon did exist,

he would be the one to have it.

For, in the event of an emergency,

surely Ibara would want to have his own w*apon ready to go,

but he relied on his righthand lady.

Yes. That's amazing.

You deduced so much from such a small clue.

Uh-huh. Now we know there's only one.

Nice!

At first, it was a little complicated,

but I finally got it at the end!

The thrower's at risk of being petrified as well.

Wary old Ibara watches from a safe distance

while Kirisame does the dirty work.

What? That selfish geezer is just rotten to the core!

Question.

This could tell us another very important thing,

if you confirm it.

Try to remember.

When Kirisame threw her w*apon at them,

you said that she chucked it

high above the master's chambers right?

How high?

Extremely.



I see.

When she threw it, she aimed high enough

to avoid catching the master in the blast.

Yeah.

That's a stupidly helpful piece of info to add to the heap.

Poor Kirisame.

She doesn't know the master she serves is made of stone.

Hmm.

Not sure how you worked that out, but congratulations.

You're right.

Moz!

Even my ears didn't hear him sneak up!



Taiju!

You can take a hit, I'll give you that much.

However...

Me repeatedly b*ating you up will only buy you some time.

Unless you have another plan in mind. Well?

Taiju did just buy us some time.

Precious seconds I can use to save us.

I need to get my head in gear and think, think, think!

As somebody who desires the strength of others,

I can tell even if we all att*ck this guy at once,

it won't change a thing.

Well, it's curtains for us.

If there's a way out of this, I'm not seeing it.

Hopefully at least one person

will manage to get out alive!

I'm so sorry. He must've followed me.

I led him straight to us!

I've been a scavenger ever since I was a little kid,

so I know better than anyone

what a pain in the ass it is to look for stuff in the dark.

It's annoying as crap!

k*lling Amaryllis would've been way easier,

but he went through all the trouble

of tailing her to this cave.

Which means he knew.

This scumbag knew full well

that Amaryllis was one of the trespassers!

Thank you for that illiant-bray deduction,

Captain Obvious.

Of course he knew.

Kohaku outed herself, so naturally,

everyone who associated with her would also be--



Wait. That means--!

Ginro's cover was blown right along with Kohaku's!

That's quite a significant detail,

yet he hid it from his big bossman.

Ibara led an intruder to a private space,

high atop the palace.

And Moz just sat there watching.

Meaning... Moz doesn't care if Ibara dies!

In fact, he might wanna k*ll him!



More pieces of this knowledge battle just clicked.

I was curious about our enemy's state of affairs,

and now I'm starting to see the picture in its entirety.

We have a good sh*t at tearing them down then, yes?

But who among us will...?

Uh...

Oh. Right. Me.

Hey...

Since you're here,

why not spare me an itty-bitty moment of your time.

I have an offer that might interest you.

What say you to teaming up with the kingdom of science?

A thrilling prospect, don't you agree?

Exciting, even!

Hmm.





So do you like our sorcery bird? 'Course you do!

It flies wherever we desire it to go!

And doesn't make a peep!

With one fell swoop, we can snag Kirisame's petrifying w*apon

right out of the air!

"It flies wherever we desire"

is the overstatement of the year.

Our little electric bamboo copter

isn't even stabilized yet.

Details, Senku dear.

Why play your weak card

when you can make it out to be the ace of spades?

It's a good opening move for a gambit, especially in this case.

Should this escalate, Moz will slaughter us all.



If we play our cards right,

we might just get the strongest one

in their deck to join our suit!



Everything is riding on your silver tongue

and empty words.

C'mon! Do your thing!

With my sorcery and your brawn, Moz,

no one could stop us!

The island would be ours for...

When did Gen get over there?

He is a sorcerer!

So what do you say?

Manipulation technique!

Open your minds and follow along, 'kay?

This is actually a pretty popular tactic.

Rather than face someone,

foster a sense of solidarity by facing the same way!

When trying to win someone over,

always choose counter- seating over a table!

Ahh.

Making Moz look at the drone segued into Gen's next move,

sidling up to the one-man army without getting shish-kabobbed.

Nicely done, mentalist.

I mean, you're so amazingly powerful

with all of those big, bulging muscles!

I have no doubt that even if Ibara

and every warrior he had combined their strength,

you'd still be, like, % stronger,

and annihilate them all, wouldn't you, Moz?

No! He's selling him far too short!

Hmm.

The power gap is a little wider than you think.



Did you see what I did there?

Manipulation technique number two: Force a response!

Try offering a comment or claim that holds truth

but is still off the mark.

Cue the urge to correct you!

Even if they were unwilling to talk,

they'll jump into the conversation

because they'll feel compelled to set the record straight!

The more I hear,

the more inhuman this guy's strength sounds.

I want him!

Ooh!

If you're as powerful as you say,

then you could topple Ibara and his measly men

whenever the mood struck, now couldn't you?



Uh-oh.

I get the distinct feeling he's seen through my every play.

To obliterate you and all your meddlesome friends,

or to end that old fool Ibara?

Hmm... What to do...



Well, since I can k*ll you whenever the mood strikes,

no harm explaining what's going on in my head.

Though you seem smart enough to have realized this.

The one who turned the master into a crumbling statue...

...was Ibara.

He played his role well, and I do applaud his efforts,

but it's high time that old fogey bit the big one.

I'm not just saying this for my sake, either.

The girls would love it if I assumed control.



Why not put a hole in that bag of bones

and take his spot, then?

I would've done that ages ago,

but that petrifying beam is a risk.

It was smart to entrust the w*apon to Kirisame.

She's no pushover.

I'd clearly win in a fair fight,

but one sh*t from her unavoidable green glow

and I'm history.

I get it.

If you att*ck Minister Ibara, Kirisame would retaliate

since she doesn't know the truth about the master.

But if you expose him,

the inner palace you've come to enjoy might cease to exist,

or, at the very least, you'd lose access.

That's some deadlock you have between you three.

Ha. The geezer's a schemer and not just an old fool.

He's got a good thing going and he knows it.

Um, this got complicated again, and I can't really keep up.

Right, I'll break it down in a way

that even a big oaf like you can follow.

Basically, Moz wants the petrification w*apon to vanish.

And we'd be more than happy to take it off their hands.

Seems to me our interests are aligned.

Ten billion percent.



Bingo! We want that w*apon more than anything in the world!

Any good negotiation has to be made on equal footing.

And you'll settle for the island, won't you?

A harem and a home are certainly enough.

We'll help you achieve them on one tiny condition,

but it's non-negotiable.

The petrification w*apon will belong to us, not you! Okay?

I'm not asking, by the way, I'm demanding, Mozzy-boy! Ha-ha!

Why say it like that?

He's so skeevy.

That's only gonna make Moz dig his heels in harder.

Equal footing?

Ha. I don't need to honor your conditions, do I?

I'm the strongest, which means I set the terms.

You and your ragtag team

will use your sorcery on my behalf,

and you'll surrender the w*apon to me once you have it.



Wait, wait, wait! Be easonable-ray!

We don't benefit at all like that!

Equal footing! Equal footing!

What'd he expect?



I'll keep your hideout a secret for now.

Your only choice is to do exactly as I say.

That understood?



Yes.



Bet I got you guys, huh?

Manipulation technique three: Reactance!

Or "psychological reactance" is the proper term!

When somebody feels coerced and is told to do things,

they'll reaffirm their right to choose on instinct.

Thus, they'll refuse you in order to maintain control.

Genius! Pure genius! He knew!

Should've figured. Their talk took a sharp turn.

Yeah, I'll say.

The very first topic was Moz trying to decide

if he wanted us to keep breathing or not.

Moz was so determined not to let this glib guy get his way

that, through reactance, Gen moved the goalposts,

and now we're talking about working together.

You don't relentlessly b*at the other person down

to win a deal, like some barbarian.

You set a flowery yet illusive red carpet.

One that leads them down a pathway straight to our goals.

That's what truly matters.

Hm.

I've seen this earring.

This was Kohaku's, unless my memory's playing tricks.

Tee-hee-hee!

Kingdom of sorcery HQ here,

checkin' to see if you copy, Moz.

He's really gone?

Yep, he's gone.



Good going, mentalist!



The way I see it, we just acquired the mightiest force

on the entire island, everyone!

Am I wrong?



That mighty force is ten billion percent planning to m*rder us

once we're no longer useful and he has what he wants.

Well, we'll cross that burning bridge

when we come to it later, I guess!

Um, if it's all the same to you guys,

I would very much like to take an extended break, okay?



Yo! You hearin' me, Master Moz?

Ready to embark on your own cool treasure hunt?

Then follow my directions to the letter.

With our sorcery, we made this super valuable gift,

just for you.



We, the people of the kingdom of science,

are sorely lacking in numbers.

If they chose to att*ck us with brute force,

we'd be mega-screwed.

That's where you're gonna come in, though.

We'll use your strength to make them believe

that we're all tough as hell.

Give 'em a reason to think twice about messing with us.

And if you get them on the ropes,

they'll resort to using the w*apon!

Hmm.

In other words...

Under the cover of darkness,

I'll be a night raider.

Hm?





They're better alive than dead!

Spare 'em so they can tell their friends how strong we are!

Their most dastardly plots always excite them.

The deed's already done.

Oh, I forgot none of them can hear my voice.

This sorcery stuff's such a pain.