"Hey, hey, Rohan... are you sure you're not pulling my leg?"
"It's already well past noon and absolutely nothing has happened."
Josuke, Jotaro, Koichi, Okuyasu, and Rohan stood in the middle of the street that Rohan had identified as the Ground Zero for the disaster. They had been waiting for quite some time, yet the atmosphere remained perfectly peaceful.
There was no sign of a rampaging monkey or a city-wide catastrophe.
'...'
'Master... it is possible that the events which were supposed to occur have been altered. Just as it was when we encountered the Saber group.'
Standing beside the silent manga artist, Amber offered her assessment.
"That's likely the case."
"Furthermore, the cause of the rewind was almost certainly the death of that specific Master."
"I suppose it makes sense that Archer shot him. She must have known what would happen."
Recalling the scenes he had witnessed in the previous iteration, Rohan began to piece together the mechanics of the temporal loop.
"So you're saying Archer killed Lancer's Master, and that's what triggered the rewind?"
Jotaro looked at Rohan, seeking confirmation of the information he had just been given.
On the way to this location, Rohan had explained the events of the "Old Future" to the rest of the group.
"Yes. There is no other logical reason for such a massive anomaly to occur. Everything changed the moment that Master died."
Rohan nodded, his conviction unshakable.
"Now that you mention it... there was a warning, wasn't there? Back when this war first started."
"Something about a Master who was better left alive."
"Don't tell me it was actually referring to this guy?"
Josuke spoke up, recalling the hazy fragments of knowledge that had been planted in his mind at his summoning.
"Exactly. That has to be it."
"The trigger for the reset is his death."
"If that's the case, any effort we make could be rendered meaningless in the blink of an eye."
Rohan's voice was heavy with the realization of their opponent's ultimate safety net.
"But Mr. Rohan... didn't you say that man isn't even a Stand user?"
"If he's just a regular human, how can he possess such an overwhelming power?"
Koichi Hirose struggled to wrap his head around the concept. Most of the Masters chosen for this conflict were Stand users with established abilities.
The idea of a non-combatant possessing a power as fundamental as "Time Rewind" was terrifying.
It meant the man could explore every possible outcome of a situation, learning the secrets of his enemies and refining his strategy until his victory was guaranteed.
And he was doing it while partnered with a Heroic Spirit of unimaginable power.
Son Goku.
Koichi felt a thrill of pure, fanatical excitement at the mention of the name.
Even if it was only the boy version of the legend, he was still a figure of unparalleled mythic status.
'I wonder if I can get an autograph... or maybe a photo with him.'
Koichi poked his cheek, his inner manga fan surfacing despite the planetary stakes.
If he could secure a picture with the Monkey King himself, it would be a treasure he would pass down through the Hirose family for generations.
"I can't answer that. Perhaps he is simply an exceptional individual in the history of humanity."
"However, if I can get close enough to use [Heaven's Door], I should be able to peel back those layers and find the truth."
"So the plan is to locate him and neutralize him without accidentally finishing him off."
"Easier said than done. The boy likely retains his own memories of the loops as well."
The group continued their exchange, outlining the broad strokes of their strategy for the coming hours.
"Currently, Lancer's group is in possession of my Dragon Ball."
"To counter Son Goku, our only viable option is to utilize time stops to limit his mobility."
"At least according to Rohan's report, Goku wasn't able to act within a stilled world."
"That is our greatest tactical advantage. With Assassin, Caster, and Mr. Jotaro all capable of stopping time..."
"Archer appeared to have some proficiency with time manipulation as well, but she was unable to match Caster in a direct clash. For the moment, she is a secondary concern."
"The individual capable of negating Assassin's ability... that must be the Dio Brando that Mr. Jotaro mentioned earlier, correct?"
"If possible, we should aim to eliminate him first. Having our primary defense neutralized while we're dealing with the Great Ape would be a death sentence."
"I have a basic understanding of what the Saber's Servant can do, so we just need to be wary of his Master's Stand, [Killer Queen]."
"As for the Berserker... for now, Okuyasu is our only hope for causing him actual physical harm."
Rohan summarized the intelligence they had gathered, laying out the roles for each member of the group.
"We can ignore Berserker for the time being."
"Yoshikage Kira and DIO are our immediate priorities."
"We will handle Son Goku when the opportunity arises. After all, his Master seems capable of moving even when time has reached a standstill."
"The man himself doesn't appear to have any combat proficiency, so his presence isn't an immediate threat."
"It's settled then. We split into two teams and begin our search."
"Archer... your old comrade who participated in a previous war. Did she ever mention how everything actually ended?"
Miyu stood at a quiet intersection, her voice low as she spoke to the spiritual form of Homura Akemi.
She vaguely recalled Homura mentioning a fellow warrior who had shared details of a past conflict.
The mention of multiple wishes by Subaru Natsuki was still playing on her mind.
"Sakura... yes, she did talk about it, but..."
Homura began to answer, but she suddenly trailed off.
In her mind, the memories of her conversation with Kyoko Sakura were vivid and clear... but only up to a certain point.
When she tried to recall the "Ending" of that previous war, she found only a hazy, frustrating void.
She knew for a fact that someone had succeeded in making a wish... but the nature of the wish and the number of ceremonies were completely obscured.
'Ah, it was the Rider group's victory. In the end, he...'
Kyoko's voice in her memory felt fragmented, as if the connection had been severed mid-sentence.
'Interference.'
As a magical girl with her level of experience, Homura knew she wouldn't simply "Forget" something as vital as the outcome of a Holy Grail War.
There was only one plausible explanation.
Someone or something had tampered with her memories, ensuring she couldn't access the details of Kyoko's report.
This realization only served to strengthen her belief in Subaru's theory.
The "Multi-wish" possibility was likely a documented fact that someone didn't want the participants to leverage.
If the information was repressed, it was likely to preserve the "Conflict" between Masters and Servants.
If they knew they could both get what they wanted, the psychological friction and the potential for betrayal would vanish.
The war would lose its edge, and certain factions might cooperate to eliminate everyone else.
It would turn into a "Multiplayer" stomping of the remaining "Solo" players.
Therefore, interfering with "Excessive" memories was a necessary part of the war's maintenance.
This conflict wasn't just a test of power and strategy; it was a trial of character and trust.
It was a systematic evaluation of the human heart under pressure.
Now that she understood the game, Homura felt a strange sense of relief.
If she allied with Subaru Natsuki, she genuinely had a path to securing her wish.
A single wish was all she needed.
A single miracle to end her infinite loop of suffering and rescue Madoka.
With Son Goku's terrifying physical power and her specialized "Support" within stopped time, there wasn't a team in this town that could withstand them.
And even if things went wrong, they had the ultimate safety net of two independent "Time Rewinds" backing them up.
The only remaining question mark was "Berserker."
Accelerator.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]