Chapter 185

**Lovely Cleavage Plane** (美 (うつく) しき劈 (へき) 開 (かい) 面 (めん) , *Utsukushiki Hekikaimen*) is the one hundred and eighty-fifth chapter of the *Dr. Stone* manga.

## Summary

The chapter begins with a short recap of the plan: when the American Colony attacks, someone will activate the central medusa, petrifying everyone in a huge radius. Fortification construction is still underway at Fort Medusa, and Kaseki still has not succeeded in creating a powered medusa. Gen asks if they can re-insert the same diamond, similar to what Joel did, however the ones the science team has are too old and damaged for it to work.

Back in North America, we see Joel struggling with the same problem that Kaseki is. They both come to the conclusion that there needs to be something else happening in addition to having the correct shape, size and perfection. Senku says that if Joel isn't able to pull it off either, then there must be something wrong. Chrome says he doesn't think the diamonds are the problem, as Kaseki's are "solid as heck", possibly even stronger than the originals. This gives Kaseki an idea, which he tests by cracking several of the diamonds they took out of the devices. All of them split perfectly down the centre.

Senku and Dr. Xeno hypothesize that the lines may be channeling something, as the creases in the diamond follow the cleavage planes. With the new information, Kaseki's vigour is renewed and he continues his work while everyone else rushes to finish the fort. Joel is unaware of this discovery as they are still no-contact.

Suika is chosen as the one to revive everyone after the device is activated as she's skilled at hiding and it'll supposedly be safer. Francois joins Suika to ensure she has a supply of food and fresh water. Together, they travel along the river to see if Stanley's men have found them yet. Sure enough, three canoes full of camouflaged troops disembark on the shores near where Francois and Suika are hidden. Ginro and Matsukaze are with them as hostages. Suika wants to warn the others at Fort Medusa that they're coming, however Francois says wireless communication is a last resort.

Above them, a spider appears and is repulsed by the army ant spray Francois and Suika are wearing. It scuttles away off a leaf and straight onto Charlotte, who is bitten on the neck and falls to the floor. Francois and Suika witness this and, thanks to Senku, know how to potentially save her. Francois hesitates, as helping Charlotte would give away their location, ruining the whole plan. However, Suika jumps to action, by snatching and putting the nitroglycerine-soaked swab onto the bite, bringing Charlotte back to life.

At the same time, Senku and Xeno are having a conversation about Stanley, with Xeno saying how Stanley will not hesitate to slaughter anyone to save his general. He then goes on to say that Senku's "lovely platitudes" reveal his inherent weakness, just like the cleavage planes on the diamonds reveal their weaknesses.

The chapter ends with Charlotte thanking Suika before the latter is told to freeze by several of Stanley's men, pointing guns. Francois appears to still be hidden.

## Characters in Order of Appearance

* Kaseki
* Senku Ishigami
* Maya Biggs
* Ryusui Nanami
* Suika
* Chrome
* Gen Asagiri
* Ukyo Saionji
* Joel Gear
* Yo Uei
* Minami Hokutozai
* Kohaku
* Luna Wright
* Chelsea Childe
* Xeno Houston Wingfield
* Francois
* Ginro
* Matsukaze *(Pictured)*
* Charlotte Bony
* Taiju Oki *(Flashback)*
* Stanley Snyder

## Chapter Notes

* Kaseki and Joel still have not successfully powered the medusa.
	+ Kaseki realizes the issue may be because of the alignment of the cleavage planes, however he cannot get this information to Joel.
* All the medusa diamonds seem to crack cleanly in half when broken.
* The fortifications are still not complete.
* Suika is chosen as the person to revive everyone after the battle, with Francois going along as support.
* Stanley's men arrive on the banks of the river near Francois and Suika.
* Charlotte gets bitten by a spider.
	+ Suika saves her, at the cost of being spotted by Stanley's men.
* Stanley and his group are shown to have a series of boats.
* Suika and Francois discover Ginro and Matsukaze are prisoners of Stanley.

## Trivia

* In the original Japanese cover, there is text along the left side saying (approximately) "stack up and go even higher!!", which is a reference to Kaseki building on Senku's work so far.
* The spider that bites Charlotte is probably a Brazilian wandering spider, specifically a *Phoneutria nigriventer*, which can cause several symptoms such as priapism (persistent erection), tachycardia (quickened heart rate), arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), and convulsions.
* The river Stanley and his group travelled on was probably the Rio Grande, which is still over 50 kilometres away from Araxá.