"This red monster feels kind of familiar."
Giorno helped Dawn up and thoughtfully offered him a cigarette.
"Just as you thought, Giorno. That's Notorious Big. I trapped it inside Cloud Dragon to increase Cloud Dragon's lethality."
Giorno took a deep breath. Mr. Dawn might not be much of a fighter himself, but he certainly had plenty of ingenious ideas.
As the first person to discover Notorious Big's properties, Giorno knew all too well how terrifying this Stand was.
Against fast-moving enemies, Notorious Big had an overwhelming advantage. The faster you were, the faster it became—and, of course, the sooner you died.
On the other hand, the slower you were, the more room you had to maneuver. If you stood completely still, Notorious Big would ignore you.
But with Cloud Dragon controlling it, that weakness was no longer much of a weakness. Basically, whoever the ice crystals pointed at was who Notorious Big attacked, making it the bane of anyone facing them head-on.
"Bucciarati, my Moody Blues has discovered the Boss's true appearance. What do we do next? We'll all follow your lead."
Abbacchio summoned Moody Blues and once again began reenacting Diavolo's past.
And so Diavolo once again began professing his love to thin air in front of everyone.
Narancia couldn't help hugging himself as the cheesy love talk raised goosebumps on his arms.
"So this is the Boss? His red hair should make him easy to recognize."
Bucciarati nodded, then shook his head.
"He could have dyed it red. Either way, his face won't change, so now that we have a target, finding him should be much easier."
Everyone watched the reenactment gravely. All they had to do now was compare faces against the people they could find online. They should be able to identify the Boss and defeat him once and for all.
Then not only would everyone survive, but with the organization leaderless, they could purge the Passione Organization and completely stamp out the drug trade. It wasn't impossible.
Dawn pulled out his lighter, lit his cigarette, and took a deep drag before slowly exhaling.
The phantom pain in the places where he'd been injured gradually subsided. He glanced at Abbacchio, who was still alive and well, and couldn't help smiling.
Although he hadn't managed to kill Diavolo here, Dawn was still glad he'd saved Abbacchio's life.
In a way, he'd changed Abbacchio's fate of certain death.
In the original story, Diavolo killed Abbacchio during the reenactment, punching straight through his chest. With his dying breath, Abbacchio left behind information about the Boss, helping the team.
"Let's find somewhere safe first. I'll pull up information online and compare faces."
Bucciarati looked at the others as he spoke.
They found a secluded spot and left Narancia and Mista on guard. Everyone else climbed inside the turtle to look through the information.
After a long while, Bucciarati's brow furrowed. They'd spent ages comparing the information, but hadn't found a single person who fit.
Dawn said nothing. He knew perfectly well that someone as cautious as Diavolo wouldn't put his personal information online.
He would erase every trace of his existence without leaving anything behind. He'd even tried to kill his own daughter.
Diavolo intended to remain the Emperor of Darkness forever.
Just as everyone was at a loss, the laptop in front of Bucciarati was suddenly hacked.
"Something's happening!"
Bucciarati stood up. Giorno, beside him, thought the Passione Organization had tracked them down and immediately moved to destroy the computer.
"Please wait. I have information about the person you're looking for."
A man's voice came through the computer.
"First: the Boss you're talking about is really named Diavolo."
"Second: his Stand ability is Time Erasure."
Everyone present stared at the computer in shock. Whoever this person was, how did he know so much about the Boss?
If he knew so much about the Boss and was still alive, could he be a Stand User as powerful as Dawn?!
Trish came over and pointed at the computer. "This person... he's one of us, right? He has to be!"
"So far, no member of the organization has known this much and still managed to stay alive."
Giorno was more cautious. He gently raised a hand to stop Trish. "Wait, Trish. Let's hear him out first. We can't reveal anything about ourselves yet."
Bucciarati took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then, after making up his mind, he spoke to the computer screen. "All right. Let's hear what you have to say. First, tell us who you are."
Polnareff's voice came from the screen.
"My name doesn't matter. If you still don't trust me, one sentence will put your doubts to rest."
"Dawn, you're there, aren't you?"
Hearing the mysterious man say Dawn's name, Bucciarati and the others stared at Dawn in shock, while a thought stirred in Giorno's mind.
He still remembered what Dawn had told him in the car on their way to the Venice train station.
"Then let's kill the Boss."
Thinking back on it now, Dawn's goal must have been clear from the very beginning.
Dawn just smiled, stubbed out his cigarette, and stepped forward to answer. "I'm here."
"Dawn is an extremely powerful Stand User. With his help, defeating Diavolo isn't impossible."
"Next, I need you to come to the Colosseum in Rome. I'll give you something there—the Insect Arrow."
Polnareff continued, "The origin of the Insect Arrow goes back a long way. It was the source from which Stand Users came into being.
"According to legend, in the region where the Inuit live, there's a meteorite crater dating back ten thousand years. In 1978, two investigators surveying the crater were infected by an unknown virus. One of them died soon after. The other couldn't escape death either, but before he died, he awakened an unknown power. A bolt of electricity shot from him and severed a medical worker's finger.
"The material used to make the Insect Arrow came from meteorites in that crater. The arrow contains an unknown virus. Anyone infected with this virus who survives receives a reward: they become a Stand User, gaining power beyond that of ordinary people.
"Of course, some of you awakened your Stand abilities on your own. That's a rare occurrence caused by your exceptionally strong mental fortitude attracting a Stand and triggering an awakening."
Polnareff added one final remark.
"My body can no longer fight, and Diavolo's Time Erasure is extremely powerful. Even with Dawn's help, you can't say victory is guaranteed. So I'll wait for you in Rome."
The call ended, and everyone looked at one another.
Bucciarati finally made up his mind. He looked at Dawn, who gave a slight nod.
Bucciarati spread his fingers and slapped them down on the table, his voice firm. "Mr. Dawn is a trustworthy ally. In that case, we'll trust this mysterious man. Prepare the speedboat. We're going to Rome. Let's go!"
Before you continue