Dr. STONE (Dr.STONE)

Okay, so we'll be racing like hell to get away from this ruthless Stanley Snyder guy.

And while we do that, we'll be harvesting rubber from trees?

Sounds like a hoot!

And you know I got you.

There are, like, tons of places to look right here.

Yeah!

We'll use what we find to craft some bikes.

And then tear right across South America.

We're near Panama.

I can take us to check out some spots for rubber hunting right by the shore.

I'm scared that if we spend too much time hunting for rubber.

Stanley's gonna catch up to us pretty quickly, don't you think so?

Not that I'm scared or anything like that, of course.

That's the catch, huh?

We'd be in one sour pickle.

Sounds like someone doesn't know how dangerous he is.

She wasn't around when Senku got sniped, was she?

At least it'll be quick.

Because the second they're close enough to send up that plane from the carrier

we are majorly screwed.

Yeah, that all tracks.

And now that they know the revival fluid recipe

there's no reason for those guys to let us live.

Come on, Ukyo!

There's got to be some way that we can lose the bad guy's ship, right?

Like, aren't there any radar battle tactics you can use?

No, sending out any kind of radio signal would be giving away our position.

And from what my ears are telling me, the enemy radar op is top tier.

He won't miss a single blip.

It doesn't matter how fast we go.

They're on us like a hawk.

Wait a minute.

Won't miss a blip?

If only we could jimmy through the old Panama Canal.

Banana what now?

Perhaps a quick explanation is in order.

Welcome to Francois' Geography Lessons.

You see, getting from one ocean to the other is quite difficult.

One would have to travel around the entire continent.

Yeah, that sounds bad bad.

Therefore, in the early 20th century

humanity cut through this narrow part of the continent

and connected the two oceans with a waterway.

That's the Panama Canal.

Thank you for coming to my lesson.

Seriously?

Scientific civilization had the most insane ideas.

All we gotta do is go in one end and out the other and we are gold.

That canal hasn't been used in like literally forever

so it'll be too busted up to squeeze that big ass ship through it.

Okay then, let's set a course for the banana... canal or whatever.

That'll be tough.

I mean, after thousands of years, I'd bet the thing's probably not navigable at all.

That's it.

For our strategy, we'll make two teams.

One for the rubber, the other for the canal.

Oh yeah?

How will we do that?

We're out at sea.

The canal team is just a clever decoy.

Yeah, this'll make the surface area show up like a normal boat

which means their radar op will have no trouble finding it.

Whoever they've got is a true professional

so there's absolutely no way that they'll miss this thing.

We'll use that to our advantage.

But this Panama Canal shortcut isn't usable at all, right?

We're not 10 billion percent sure of that, but the odds are good.

Well, if it is, won't the team just get killed by the bad guys?

Yeah.

The decoy that's headed for the Panama Canal is definitely gonna get shot full of holes.

That's just so reckless.

Are you sure, Senku?

There's no choice.

It's the best course of action.

How can you say that, Ukyo?

I thought you, of all people, would be against this.

I never imagined you were so cold-hearted.

The time has come.

We're gonna have to say goodbye forever.

For real?

MY MOBILE LAB CAR!

I can't believe my precious creation is gone!

Why, Senku?

We crafted that together with our own hands!

I thought you loved our baby!

Oh, come on.

That thing's just an empty shell.

We gutted all the equipment.

That's really how you feel?!

Where's your emotion?!

Well, I guess it's pretty clear these folks don't always agree on everything.

The enemy ship's signature is split into two.

And one of them is headed straight for the Panama Canal.

Are you serious?

That thing's still around?

I mean, there's no way that anyone could know.

But if they're actually able to use it, we'll never catch them.

Since the Panama Canal was such a massive power-up to modern circumnavigation

even if you know we're sending out a decoy, you just have to follow it, don't you, Stanley?

Always got some trick up their sleeve.

Obvious, but still clever.

There's our tree.

It looks like a regular one to me, but you're saying it has rubber inside it?

You just make a cut like so, and collect as much sap as you can.

Hey, this is almost exactly the way we harvested all that lacquer.

Which means that it's a perfect job for an Ishigami native.

Yay!

Even I've done this before!

You're certain you truly want to give your hostage a potential weapon?

You're a super science professional, Xeno.

I know you can't resist trying your hand at making rubber.

And plus, if our vehicles don't end up working out, you're gonna die with us anyway.

Besides, you're not all that different from Senku, are you?

Not one to mix science and deception.

So then...

Don't think that means I'm gonna let you get any closer to the communicator, though!

Yes, of course.

A pity, I was beginning to believe that you're a gullible fool.

It's crazy, that's tree sap!

It looks so jiggly, just like Bavarian cream!

We'll solidify it with some vinegar, a little sulfur powder, and then knead the crap out of it.

This stuff is so bouncy!

This is like nothing I've felt before!

It's so unbelievably stretchy!

So fun, too!

Speaking as a person from the 20th century

I gotta tell you, you're not gonna like what happens next.

You see now?

Sorry, Chrome.

Rubber is bad!

This stuff is insane, isn't it?

Who would have thought that tree juice would be able to stretch and squash just like a spring?

Yeah, it's pretty interesting material.

But how could something so soft be useful for much?

I do see the entertainment value, though.

That's a fair point.

Without special processing techniques, even a god-tier material like rubber is just a fun toy.

Yes.

Matter of fact, after Columbus brought some to Europe long ago

it basically sat gathering dust for 200 years.

Zaiju, all yours.

I hope you're up for some good ol' manual labor.

That's music to my ears!

Let's do it!

It actually turned black?

All you gotta do is warm up some rubber with sulfur and carbon powder in a boiler

then use Taiju's power to stretch it out until it's nice and floppy.

And then... stamp it up.

It's making perfect ridges!

It's starting to look like a real tire!

You're making the inflatable parts separately?

Is that the plan?

Obviously.

Well, look at you.

You're our sworn enemy, but you're actually wanting to cooperate?

Simply for my own safety.

You and the fledgling science team are free to destroy yourselves with absurd experiments

but I'd prefer not to.

That being said, with Senku in charge of things here, I have nothing to worry about.

Okay, we got it all bumpy for you!

Now we put them into these round molds

throw in some wire and cloth as well

then heat them, cool them, and we got ourselves tire casings.

Grab some rubber tubes to inflate them from the inside

and then we fasten them using some more wire.

Now I just need to pump it with my lung power!

We do have a tire pump, you know.