"What?!"
"So Rohan-sensei's Servant can also manipulate time?"
Inside the Morioh Grand Hotel, the group's expressions shifted once Rohan finished explaining his current situation.
"I wouldn't say I can manipulate it in a broad sense. It is limited to stopping time and rewinding it to a specific point," Rohan replied without any attempt to hide the details.
"But even that is incredible! Until now, Mr. Jotaro was the only one who could do that," Koichi exclaimed while observing the tall woman standing beside the artist.
He knew that Jotaro's two seconds of stopped time were already enough to perform countless miracles. The idea of another person having similar, or perhaps even greater, power was staggering.
"So, where is Josuke's Servant?"
Rohan pointed a finger toward the empty air near the teenager. He had already heard the earlier chatter and knew that the massive ten-minute time-stop had been triggered by Josuke's companion.
He was beyond curious about her identity. What kind of existence could possibly sustain a [Time-Stop] on that scale?
"Ah... she doesn't really seem like the social type. She's probably hiding somewhere nearby," Josuke replied with a nervous, awkward laugh.
"..."
Rohan squinted at him with blatant suspicion. It was then that he noticed something missing from the back of Josuke's hand. One of the [Command Spells] was gone.
"Josuke... you didn't use one of those spells for something stupid, did you?"
Rohan's tone was sharp and accusatory, leaving no room for denial.
"Hey, you can't blame me for that one!"
"I saw that she'd taken a few scratches during the fight, so I tried to use [Crazy Diamond] to heal her."
"But she absolute refused to let me near her. I got frustrated and told her 'Don't move!', and the next thing I knew, the mark was gone. How was I supposed to know it would trigger like that?"
Recalling the incident, Josuke felt a massive headache coming on.
That girl's attitude toward them was beyond distant. She was practically hostile. She looked at him, her own Master, with a gaze full of cold suspicion and distrust.
That [Command Spell] had been a pure accident. He hadn't intended to use it to force her into anything.
"I see. Well, at least it wasn't for some truly moronic reason," Rohan remarked, letting out a small sigh of relief.
His greatest fear was that Josuke would irreparably damage his relationship with a Servant of that caliber. If that happened, their chances of survival would plummet.
"Currently, it seems only you and I have been selected as Masters. Koichi and the others are still normal. You all know what this is, right?"
Rohan pulled out the Dragon Ball and held it up for them to see.
"I know it! It's from Dragon Ball! I love Goku! Super Saiyans are the coolest things ever!"
Koichi raised his hands and cheered. As a hardcore manga fan, he was intimately familiar with Akira Toriyama's masterpiece.
"Yeah. Mr. Jotaro explained the basics to us earlier," Josuke added while scratching the back of his head.
"Now that we understand what these things can do, we need to find the remaining five participants."
"Even if we don't have any malicious intentions, we have to assume the other five do."
A man's wealth is his own ruin if he cannot protect it.
Rohan was certain that anyone who truly grasped the wishing power of the Dragon Balls would never let them go without a fight. Even ordinary people would be driven to madness by the potential reward.
"Good grief..."
"Things just keep getting more and more complicated."
Jotaro adjusted the brim of his hat. He could already see where Rohan was going with this.
"The plan for tomorrow remains unchanged. we are still going to Hayato Kawajiri's house."
"However, Josuke and I cannot afford to show our faces openly."
"These things aren't exactly easy to hide," Rohan explained, lifting his hand to show the vibrant red symbols on his skin.
"Right. Those marks would give you away instantly."
"And they aren't exactly easy for our enemies to hide, either."
"Wait... why? Couldn't they just wear gloves?" Koichi asked.
"If someone who never wears gloves suddenly starts wearing them everywhere, people are going to notice. It's unnatural. Unless they can come up with a convincing excuse, like a burn, it's going to draw eyes. And they can't keep them on forever," Rohan explained.
Koichi and Okuyasu nodded as the logic sank in.
"This really is a headache. We could be attacked just walking down the street."
"We have to find Yoshikage Kira and the Dragon Ball Masters at the same time."
"We have to fight Stand users and Servants simultaneously."
"Like Mr. Jotaro said... this is a mess."
"Mr. Jotaro, where are you going?"
"I'm going for a walk."
"Wait, now? At this time of night?"
"Hmph. This town... it smells of interesting things."
"Let me say this one more time. Do not get in my way."
The two men had arrived in Morioh via car, and it was already past 11:00 PM.
The moment they stepped out of the vehicle, Diavolo made it clear he had no intention of remaining with his companion. He turned and vanished into the shadows, leaving his Servant behind.
Being around that man only made him feel a deep, physical sense of revulsion. He would much rather operate on his own terms.
"Hmph."
'When this is over... I'll drain every drop of your blood.'
Watching Diavolo disappear, DIO's lips curled into a predatory sneer.
'1999... so it has been eleven years since Jotaro supposedly killed me.'
DIO stood beneath the night sky, his massive, muscular frame casting a long shadow on the pavement as he checked a nearby clock. He couldn't help but feel that fate was truly in love with him.
Even after death, he had been granted a second chance to claim his throne.
The mere thought filled him with a surge of ecstatic joy. It felt as refreshing as the moment he had first tasted Joseph Joestar's blood.
"I'll start by catching a few humans. They can be my eyes and ears in this little town."
DIO rubbed his chin. He wasn't planning on being careless.
Just a short while ago, he had sensed a massive temporal disturbance. Someone had stopped time.
And what truly disturbed him was the duration of that pause. It had far exceeded his own limits.
'The version of me that lived before would likely have stood no chance.'
'But that doesn't matter. Now that I have become a Heroic Spirit, I am no longer the weakling I once was.'
'That level of time-stop... I will surpass it in due time.'
The faint, spectral image of [The World] flickered behind him as he began to walk toward the heart of the town.
"..."
Jotaro Kujo walked through the quiet streets, his thoughts a tangled mess of memories and possibilities.
Dragon Balls.
If that power was real... then Kakyoin, Iggy, and Avdol could all be brought back.
It was a power that surpassed even the most incredible Stands he had ever encountered. It was a true miracle.
"Good grief... I really must be getting old if I'm starting to indulge in such sentimental delusions."
He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He looked up at the moon and sighed.
It was in that moment that a familiar figure stepped into his field of vision.
The massive build. The face that had remained unchanged by the years.
It was a body that Jotaro would recognize even in his worst nightmares.
"DIO!"
"!?"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]