03x19 - Last Man Standing

[bunniefuu]

My plan went off without a hitch,

and I'm the last man standing!

Even I can't help but throw my head back

and laugh at my outrageous victory!



Hm?

Huh...?

They formed a line?

And they're all striking the same strange pose.





Fresh footprints.

Hmm.



That noise sounds like the sorcery earring.

No. It's not a living creature.

Just more of their sorcery.

Affect five meters in one second.





Damn. Did Ukyo get it wrong?

Doubtful. Bet you gotta talk up close and personal with it.

Yo! How goes, Ibara? Heh.

It looks like we're the last ones standing, huh, pal?

Time for a boss fight worthy of a demigod.

Science v. Medusa with us as the proxies.



How? How'd you survive?

With sorcery? It must be!

That last beam covered the whole island!

You should be a statue!

No thanks.

I can't turn to stone when there's a petrification w*apon

up for grabs.

So if you've got no use for it,

I would be thrilled to take that thing off your hands.



Kingdom of science!

That Oarashi dude has the Medusa!

He's gonna turn the island to stone! Stop him!

Think! How do I evade this?

Trying to get out of range is pointless.

I'd never make it in time.

Wait. I could preemptively stick my thumb in revival fluid.

Best case scenario, my whole body turns to stone,

and I simply go back to my normal, fleshy self

a b*at or two later.

But the worst... is that only my thumb would be saved.

No way of knowing what the outcome will be

without experimenting, and if it's the latter,

the digit spared from petrification will rot off,

and that would be that.

Which means my only move is...!

Senku!

I took mental notes and gauged how fast the beam spreads.

That green glow only grows at one speed.

What's this? A flash of insight got you pumped?

Might wanna sit down,

'cause this plan's sickeningly bad!



We all gotta line up, spacing ourselves evenly apart!

What?

If he doesn't have the Medusa, then where could it be?

I just wanna make it to the only safe place!

Minister Ibara said the middle of the island is in the clear!



That guy is the worst!



Let's make the distance the length of the mobile lab!



Okay, so five meters!

Everyone!

Line up single file and do as Chrome says!

Reach out! One hand toward the light!

Soon as your fingers turn to stone,

signal by raising your other hand!

The signals will go up at the same rate,

giving Senku a way to measure the beam's speed

from the back of the pack!

He'll be able to calculate the exact moment

the light will hit him!



About half a second for five meters.

Wind velocity, or rather "beam speed,"

is just under kilometers per hour.

Good gracious!

It's been , years,

but I remember this feeling like it was yesterday.

Best not ungle-bay this, Senku.



I'm confident that Senku will outsmart the beam

and cr*ck out of his stone form all on his own!

Sure, we're just lifting our hands and giving a signal,

but you've got the brains to take what you see

and time it down to the millisecond

like a human stopwatch!

Here's your data, as precise as possible!

I'm glad we were able to offer you this

in one final act!

Let's b*at the crap out of this damn beam!

If we don't, I'll b*at the crap outta you, Senku!

Using the least squares method,

the light's speed is kilometers per hour,

so it'll reach me in . seconds.

Tossing it high gives me more room for error,

but if I miss, we're screwed.

Three meters high sounds doable.

Weight is grams, while drag force is .,

with a gravitational acceleration

at . meters per second squared.

If I throw at a rate of kilometers per hour,

it'll reach the three-meter apex in . seconds.

And once it's in free fall, it'll douse me in...

.... seconds.

So my job boils down to waiting exactly four seconds,

then lobbing this revival fluid three meters into the air.

Too soon and I'll get doused before I'm stone.

Too late and I'll be rock solid before I toss it.

Since one mistake means death, this calls for a countdown

that's ten billion percent accurate.



One. Two...

Luckily, I've got a ridiculous , years' worth

of mind-numbing practice under my belt.

Just as I thought.

The revival effect stops the petrification process

in its tracks.

Any body part submerged in the fluid

would be safe from Medusa's power.

I bet just soaking my thumb would've ended poorly.

Which means, the only surefire way to avoid petrification

is to dive into a pool of revival fluid.

Heh. Except swimming in nitric acid

is pretty bad for your health, too.





Crap! Ibara's already here!

I'll set a trap, kingdom of science style.

Hmm.

Hm?

How? How'd you survive?

With sorcery? It must be!

That last beam covered the whole island!

You should be a statue!

Yeah, no. Maybe I would be if I wasn't a scientist.

And you've got hyper-tech dangling in front of my face

like a freakin' carrot.

You better believe I'm gonna get excited about it.



Oh, I nearly forgot.

Since I had some time to k*ll waiting for your ass,

I took the liberty of crafting

some cutting-edge technology of my own,

the likes of which Google and Toyota

were once working round the clock to develop.

May I present the rebirth of the self-driving car!

Huh?

Rube Goldberg would give this machine two thumbs up.

Oh. Duh.

You wouldn't know since you aren't from the st century,

but here's a tip.

Playing in traffic is very dangerous,

so don't make it a habit.

This boss fight isn't a battle of strength.

The victor will be determined....

...by whoever has the Medusa at the end!

I win!

Where'd he go? Under the lab?

Affect three meters in just three s--



You underestimate just how cautious this old man is.

Wanna know how prepared I was today?

I arrived wearing armor in case you used

your projectiles against me!

That said--heh--your last att*ck with the large beast

did throw me for a bit of a loop.

Earlier, you spoke of a boss fight.

So what do you say we get it started, sorcerer?

The cautious and clever old man versus the haughty child!

Uh?

The second things look grim, their leader runs away.

A horribly selfish coward.

Surely he knows he can't escape

the petrification w*apon once I throw it at him.

Is that why he lured me into the trees?

There's a good chance it'll get caught on the branches,

so perhaps he fled here on purpose!

Hm?

Sorcery.

It was definitely a tactical retreat. Not bad at all, boy.

Damn it! I've got nothing left to use as a w*apon!

I'd applaud you, except you didn't take into account

that no one knows this island better than me!

Oh, well!

Though it's a minor oversight,

it's completely sealed your fate!

You think you're setting a trap

when really, I'm the one driving you out into an open space!



Look, Ibara. Recognize this thing?

It can sh**t projectiles we call "science arrows."

How 'bout I blast a hole in your other hand

so you aren't off balance, yeah?

What an incredibly sad bluff! Cut me some slack.

I've been watching you all day long!

That's not what that tool does.

If it actually fired arrows, I would've been sh*t by now!

However, even if it's harmless,

I'm not fool enough to approach a sorcerer.

Weren't you listening?

I am unbelievably cautious. Meticulously so.

Might I have the pleasure of your name, boy,

before I k*ll you?



He's trying to buy time

while he estimates his distance from me.

Affect five meters, five seconds from now.

My name is Ishigami Senku.

Well, hello.

Though it's been fun, I couldn't be happier

to say goodbye forever, Ishigami Senku!

Hm?

This whooshing sound.

That's right. We're at the cliff of the howling seas.

Huh...?

It appears they've arrived at the cliff

of the howling seas.



The signal will be the next message you hear.

It's almost time.

Might I have the pleasure of your name, boy,

before I k*ll you?

My name is Ishigami Senku.



Wh-What?! What manner of bird is that?

Heh. Boss fights are basically skirmishes

between those at the very top, and what tops this?

Nabbing the Medusa out of the air from the top dog!

What?

I want everything this world has to offer!

So I absolutely want the shiny, super tech of the Medusa!

Behold the zenith of our kingdom's ingenuity, the drone!

Pull!





No!







Sorry, but I won't lose!

Though you think you've got the upper hand

because it's two-on-one,

I'll have you know I used to be quite the warrior!



The only tug-o-w*r in history that's not strength-based!

Yeah! I figured that! Don't insult me!

Fools.

I'm only pretending to lose until the very last second.

I warned them how exceptionally cautious I am.

This has been a battle of wits from the start,

and since they surely know that....

Ryusui, let it go!

Three. Two. One.

Counting is my specialty. I've done it for millennia.



For such crafty brats, you're surprisingly dense.

You honestly thought I wouldn't have practiced

countering the beam?

If your specialty is counting, boy,

then mine is estimating the device's range!

Allow me to impart some wisdom

in the final moments of your lives!

The easiest people in the world to trick or screw over

are the ones who think themselves intelligent!

Perhaps what's most laughable, though,

is how you overconfident twerps

thought you were as shrewd as old man Ibara!







This is what I meant!

You're truly just a gaggle of idiots!

As if anyone could avoid the petrifying light

by charging through it, head-on!

This was the inevitable ending!

Now it's goodbye! For real this time!

You gave a valiant effort, but the last man standing

is and was always going to be me!



He attached the noise-making earring

when he ran through.

You know, Ibara. You made a valid point.

People who think they're smart

are the easiest ones to screw over.

Now affect five meters... in a single second.

No!



Hell yeah!

I'm alone.

Once again... I'm all alone.

--\N--

Senku? Can you hear me?

How're things on your side of the world? Are you doing well?

I'm great.

Because this time, I'm not alone.