Stone Free

"Yoshikage Kira?"

Dawn threw a punch that forced Jotaro back, and a name surfaced in his mind.

"What's this guy doing here?"

Dawn's thoughts stirred. If this Yoshikage Kira could use the third bomb, Bites the Dust, wouldn't Dawn be caught off guard and lose?

"Retreat, Diavolo."

Diavolo glanced at Dawn in surprise. Dawn had actually chosen to let the enemy go—something that had never happened before.

"King Crimson."

Time Erasure activated. When everything returned to normal, Dawn had vanished from where he stood, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"He disappeared in an instant."

Jotaro caught his breath and straightened up, scanning the wrecked examination room in search of any trace of the enemy.

But he found nothing.

The iron door opened, and Yoshikage Kira walked in.

"Big bro, did the enemy get away?"

There was a hint of teasing in Yoshikage Kira's voice. He pulled on a pair of combat gloves to keep from getting hurt in a fierce fight.

"You're too slow."

Jotaro gave an annoyed snort, then spoke again. "How's the information gathering going? This enemy is different from the ones we've faced before. Don't tell me you've spent all this time chatting with women."

Yoshikage Kira instinctively reached up to touch his nose. Noticing Jotaro's increasingly dangerous stare, he hurriedly spoke up.

"Big bro, don't get worked up. I found out where your daughter is, and I asked someone to bring her something."

Yoshikage Kira changed the subject.

"But this place is a complete mess, and who knows when we'll be allowed to visit again. How about we break her out?"

Excitement gleamed in Yoshikage Kira's eyes. He raised a hand, summoned his Stand, Killer Queen, and struck a pose.

"I can use Sheer Heart Attack to cause a diversion. Once we confirm her identity, we'll rescue her. If it turns out to be a trap, we'll kill them all."

Jotaro considered it. This so-called daughter was definitely connected to the enemy. She might be a way to get a breakthrough and uncover some information.

"Be careful not to hurt any civilians."

Jotaro agreed to Yoshikage Kira's prison break plan.

"OK. We'll move tonight."

Yoshikage Kira added, "Don't worry, Josuke Higashikata will be here tonight. We'll go together."

The salty sea breeze swept by. Dawn leaned against the railing and flicked his cigarette butt into the air. It traced a red arc before falling into the sea.

Footsteps sounded behind him. Father Pucci walked over, his expression grave.

"Dawn, things aren't looking good. Based on my guess, Jotaro may make a move tonight."

Dawn turned to look at Pucci. He had originally just been looking for some fun, but now he had become Pucci's most trusted ally.

Since Dawn was also a close friend of Dio's, Pucci trusted him deeply. Even when he'd had several chances to launch a sneak attack, he had done nothing.

Of course, Dawn wasn't truly letting his guard down.

Kars, the Ultimate Lifeform, was constantly keeping track of Pucci's heartbeat, microexpressions, and even the movements of his limbs.

In the shadows, Diavolo's cautious nature wouldn't allow him to relax. If Pucci got too close to Dawn, King Crimson would immediately activate Time Erasure as a warning.

Dawn lit another cigarette and took a deep drag, his gaze profound.

"Pucci, stay calm."

At Dawn's words, Father Pucci quietly began counting prime numbers. His panic quickly faded, and his expression returned to normal.

"Dawn, I plan to let Jotaro rescue Jolyne without trouble and then take her in, so that I can give Jotaro a weakness."

Dawn nodded. Pucci was as devious as ever. His plan wasn't particularly clever, but it could certainly be called an open plot.

"Something just doesn't feel right."

Dawn frowned inwardly. Jotaro in this world was absurdly powerful. In theory, he should have been more than capable of taking on Pucci and his bunch of good-for-nothings all by himself.

And yet, Jotaro had even called in reinforcements: Yoshikage Kira, the Morioh villain from the original story, now Jotaro's younger brother.

Yoshikage Kira's Stand, Killer Queen, was perfect for assassination. In Passione Organization, he'd easily rank as the leader of an assassination squad.

The conditions for activating its third bomb, Bites the Dust, were extremely strict, but its power was formidable. It could rewind time and blow up everyone who knew the secret.

Still, Dawn believed that Yoshikage Kira in this world had most likely never awakened the third bomb, Bites the Dust.

Bites the Dust had awakened when the arrow pierced Yoshikage Kira at his most desperate, producing an extreme result that was essentially impossible to replicate.

"I'll take things as they come. If I weren't collecting character cards for Yesterday Once More, who'd want to fight the protagonist's crew?"

Dawn glanced at Pucci.

Once Made in Heaven was born, Dawn planned to return to the real world and try out Yesterday Once More's ability.

Villains were always getting mobbed. Better not to be one.

The sky darkened, and before long, Green Dolphin Street Prison grew quiet.

Apart from the guards on duty in the guardroom, most people had drifted off to sleep, sprawled out in all directions. Snores and sleep-talk filled the air.

Yoshikage Kira and Josuke Higashikata sneaked in. With Crazy Diamond's immense destructive power and ability to restore objects, they made their way through without a hitch.

They bent the iron doors out of shape, and did the same to the iron bars. As for the guards, they knocked them unconscious with a single punch and tied them up without wasting any time.

The two entered the prisoners' area. It was heavily guarded, with night patrols constantly making their rounds.

Yoshikage Kira used Killer Queen to create a small tank: Sheer Heart Attack, which was said to be indestructible.

The little tank let out a strange cry and raced around, setting off explosions and successfully drawing the attention of a large number of guards.

"Nice. Let's stick to the plan."

Josuke Higashikata made an OK sign, and the two carefully entered the prisoners' area.

Prisoners' area.

Jolyne Cujoh tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Without thinking, she pulled out the strange object she'd gotten that day.

It was a Scarab Pendant, entirely golden and gleaming with a captivating sheen in the light.

"Ow!"

As Jolyne turned the pendant over in her fingers, she was cut by some sharp object she couldn't identify. A stabbing pain shot through her.

Jolyne's eyes rolled back as intense pain battered her mind, as though it had passed some predetermined threshold.

In an instant, countless fragments of memory flooded Jolyne's mind. She let out a pained groan, and a mass of blue threads stretched out from the wound on her finger.

The threads swiftly wove together, and a man's face gradually took shape.

The pain subsided. Jolyne quickly searched through her memories and identified the person who most closely resembled it.

"That strange prison guard?"

Jolyne was so shocked she could barely speak. Why had those threads turned into the face of a prison guard? It was bizarre.

"Could it be that I have feelings for him?"

Jolyne fanned herself with her hand. She felt hot all over, and a blush flashed across her face before quickly fading away.

"My priority is clearing my name."

Jolyne raised a hand. Blue threads caught the fallen Scarab Pendant and picked it up.

"I can use threads to analyze and assemble most objects. This is my hope of getting out of here. I'll call it... Stone Free."

The figure of a young boy appeared around the corner of the room. Emporio motioned for her to be quiet and beckoned softly.

"Big sis, someone's coming. Hurry over here."