Chapter 35

Action, Part IV (④) is the thirty-fifth chapter of The Promised Neverland manga. It is adopted into Episode 12 of the anime.

Synopsis
The children who are 4 years old and below will be left behind and the 15 oldest children will escape.

Plot
Atop the wall, Ray has noticed that those four years old and younger are not present. Flashback to one month ago. Don and Gilda report to Emma that those who are at least five years of age have been drawn into their plot. When asked what should be done about those who remain, Emma, naturally, wishes for them to escape with everyone. However, Gilda has a negative outlook about this as she says that the circumstances are different from what they previously believed, and she also asks if “everyone” includes the children from the other plants. After some troubling thought, Emma asks for Phil to be brought to her. When he arrives, she explains the circumstances of the situation to him. Phil: “Ah... so that’s what’s going on.” From observing the state that everyone has been in recently, Phil had come to the realization that somehow, something terrible was going on. Emma opens up to Phil about being lost as to whether to bring everyone with them in the escape or to leave behind those who are younger than four years old. She explains that even if all of the older kids are gone, they estimate that the younger kids will have at least two years before their shipment is set. Phil chooses to stay there and wait obediently for their return. Standing on the wall, Emma swears that they will return within the space of those two years to rescue the children from all the plants. Phil leads Isabella into the forest, where all the younger children had been evacuated. Mama sees nothing suspicious about the crying children who remain and quickly grasps that only those who are over five years old have gone with the escape. She reports the escape using the radio that she extracted from the basement, and alarms go off throughout the entire facility. One of the demons said: “''You can kill any child that isn’t exceptional. If they show themselves, capture them immediately''."

Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:

Trivia

 * In the prototype, there was no deadline for returning to Grace Field. Emma was supposed to return to the farm, but she originally escaped just by herself. It was a story about showing Emma’s hopes disappearing as the characters around her are sacrificed. Eventually, Emma would find a human settlement outside, gain strength, and return to the farm.
 * Posuka originally drew Phil with a pained expression for the scene “I’ll wait!”. Shirai asked her to redraw it. It’s essential for him to have a bright face that expresses his braveness, and would reassure Emma to make the choice to leave him behind. The corrected image that Posuka drew was on spot.