Chapter Review: Dr. Stone (81)

Last week's chapter ended with Tsukasa and Senkuu squaring off to face Hyouga. The first time since the beginning of the story when the two have been side by side together, so will they manage to triumph over the masked man? Let's read on and see.

Hyouga boldly remarks that he is the strongest now since Tsukasa has perished, a taunt that Tsukasa clearly sees through. He doesn't deny the claim though, and Senkuu agrees with Tsukasa's assessment of the situation. The scientist then tells the larger man that they will team up and use Science and raw power to defeat Hyouga. To this effect, they both fist bump. I thought this was a pretty cool gesture, kinda reminiscent of Naruto whenever Killer Bee would always fist bump people as his signature greeting. Hyouga then charges at the two, seeing the fist bump as a ruse to cover their actual strategy meeting.

Tsukasa moves to meet him in the middle, and the two immediately break out into a fist fight. The primate is using his fists while Hyouga uses his spear, something which I find a little incredulous honestly. But it further goes to show how physically strong Tsukasa is. Senkuu immediately retreats in the opposite direction, something that Hyouga notices. He then says to himself that there is no way he will let Senkuu out of his sight, clearly aware of how he is capable of coming up with any scientific invention on the fly. Senkuu skids to a halt, shouting 11 o'clock at Tsukasa, clearly as a signal for something. Immediately, Tsukasa leaps into the air, but Hyouga is quick to mark him, following suit with his spear.

Before the spear can make contact though, Hyouga notices a black substance scattered around the ground at his feet. It leads on to a trail to where Senkuu is crouched on the ground, and we see a test tube next to him. The black substance originated from there. With a swift movement of his hand, the scientist immediately sets the trail ablaze, and it explodes in point blank range with Hyouga. The masked man is engulfed in the resounding flames.

Hyouga proceeds to take off his cloak, wraps it around the head of the spear and quickly spins it around, dispersing the flames all around him. I thought this scene was kind of cool since in Smallville, Clark once extinguished a fire with a similar technique. Senkuu and Tsukasa are both left speechless, the scientist remarking whether Hyouga was a monster. Immediately, the masked man charges at Senkuu, and Senkuu looks out of sorts. He sheepishly says that he could kill Hyouga with his finger tip using Science. Hyouga bluntly replies that such a taunt would only work on cavemen, before stabbing him with his spear.

The force is enough to push Senkuu back, and Tsukasa immediately moves in, resuming his earlier assault on his former right hand man. The two engage in fierce combat, with none being able to get the better of the other. Within a short while though, Tsukasa seems to be running short of breath, and Hyouga tries stabbing him similarly to how he attacked Senkuu. This time however, the strongest high school primate grabs onto the spear, stopping the attack short. Hyouga states that in Tsukasa's current form, there was no way he stood a chance against him. A punctured lung was a fatal wound, so he was a dead man walking. This part here makes me happy since after last chapter, I was genuinely worried that they were going to brush Tsukasa's injury under the carpet. So glad that this issue resurfaced, and sadly it seems like this fight is going to be Tsukasa's last stand.

Tsukasa affirms to what Hyouga is saying, and his lieutenant asks him why he's bothering to struggle even with the odds stacked against him. Tsukasa smiles a little, saying that he's not sure why himself, but maybe he just wanted to fight on a little longer. He adds on that he was enjoying his reunion as a friend with Senkuu even in his final moments.Behind him, his friend seems to be planning something, having come back to his senses. Hyouga aims his spear at Tsukasa's neck, saying that it was time the fun came to an end. Tsukasa seems to struggle at keeping the spear at bay as it inches closer and closer to his neck.

Senkuu manages to crawl to where the two are, saying that it's over while pointing his finger at Hyouga. The masked man immediately notices the finger is bandaged, remembering how he had cut Senkuu's hand before. Hyouga is a little startled, and the scientist reminds him what he told him earlier about being able to kill him with his finger. At this point, we get a closer view of Senkuu's finger, where we see two wire ends attached onto it. The bandages keep the wire in check, making the finger act like a mini battery.

Hyouga is visibly shocked at this point, thinking back to the earlier explosion that Senkuu had engulfed him in. How did he manage to start that fire then? The answer was in the wire ends attached at the end of Senkuu's finger. The scientist then adds on that primitive science isn't so bad, a clear retort to what Hyouga said earlier about Senkuu's taunt only being capable of working on cave men. Underneath his shirt, Senkuu proceeds to reveal a manganese battery that he had attached to him, explaining that if it was a lithium battery he had on,Hyouga's attack earlier would have caused it to explode. Manganese batteries are different in the sense that they are rock solid and hence, more durable.

Hyouga's eye widens in visible shock at that point, and Senkuu tells Tsukasa that he enjoyed teaming up with him too. Immediately, the masked man tries withdrawing his spear from Tsukasa's neck so as to stop Senkuu, but Tsukasa holds on to it firmly, putting Hyouga in place. Senkuu then says that what would follow was a Science present from him and Tsukasa, before discharging 100,000 volts of electricity at Hyouga. This is similar to Enel's ability in One Piece where he could discharge electricity at will using his Devil Fruit powers. The chapter ends with Hyouga caught up in the attack, undergoing an electrocution.

Final verdict:
This was a good chapter, once again. We finally managed to see what happens when Science and raw power team up, evident in the tag team between Senkuu and Tsukasa on Hyouga. I am hoping that he honestly isn't beaten yet, since I feel like his character still has more to offer to the story. Then again, I'm not sure how anyone would survive having 100,000 volts of electricity fired at them. In regards to Tsukasa, I am honestly happy that this will be his last stand. Not that I detest him as a character, I just feel as if having him around will honestly be overkill on the side of the protagonists. It depends on what the calibre of future antagonists are like though.

Chapter rating: 7.5/10


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