Although she looked quite young, Raiden Mei remembered that Joseph was Jotaro's grandfather.
"Mei, you guessed wrong. The old man is already sixty-seven this year."
Qin Mo picked up a fish ball and put it into his mouth. "It's just because he practices Hamon. His lifespan has been extended, so he doesn't look old."
"Oh, right. Mr. Joseph, can you teach me Hamon?"
Joseph looked at Qin Mo. "Teaching you Hamon isn't impossible, but what did you just call me?"
"What? Mr. Joseph."
"Not that. You called me an old man just now, didn't you?!"
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry. I'm used to calling you that."
Qin Mo spoke with a hint of false apology.
"What kind of circumstances would make you used to calling someone an old man?"
"Because, old man, your Stand is the most useless one." Qin Mo smiled and said without reservation, "That line is just too famous."
"Hermit Purple..." Avdol said from the side as he looked at the purple vines that appeared on his hand. "Mr. Joestar's Stand may not be particularly powerful, but you can't call it useless, can you?"
Qin Mo waved a hand. "It's not actually useless. It's more like a joke. After all, among Stands, there's only the invincible Star Platinum and the most useless old man. In the future, everyone knows that."
"Good grief."
"Oh my God! My Stand is looked down on that much?"
"But, Qin Mo, since you say you know us from the future, why didn't you learn Hamon?"
Even now, Joseph had not forgotten to question Qin Mo's origins.
"Because in the future, there are no more Hamon warriors. Kars was banished into space, and all the vampires have been wiped out. Hamon became unnecessary. There may still be some practitioners in the world, but they're all ascetics. Even you, old man, neglected your training after defeating Kars, didn't you? After all, effort and perseverance are the two words you hate most."
Qin Mo spoke helplessly. It was not just him—many JoJo fans had complained about it. If the old man had still been around in Stone Ocean, one photo from a camera would have ended everything immediately. It could even be said that the old man's Stand was actually the most useful one.
After all, the old man ranked first in information warfare. Dio's Stand before obtaining "The World" had also been Hermit Purple. Although the story did not elaborate much on it, it was clear that he had relied on Hermit Purple's ability to find so many capable people.
Of course, his own abilities had also played an indispensable role.
"Indeed. I never expected the Hamon legacy in the outside world to end with me. Although there are no more Pillar Men, perhaps vampires created by lost Stone Masks may still appear in the future."
Joseph did not refuse. Instead, he looked at Jotaro. "Jotaro, do you want to learn too?"
"Good grief."
He tugged at his cap without offering any opinion, then picked up the cup in front of him and stood.
Kakyoin Noriaki glanced over, then picked up his own cup and walked toward Qin Mo as well.
Raiden Mei, who had been using a napkin to wipe Kiana's oil-smeared face, saw the two tall figures.
Jotaro Kujo would reach a height of 195 centimeters in the future. Even now, while he was still only a high school student, he was already over 180 centimeters tall, far taller than his peers. Kakyoin Noriaki was also 178 centimeters tall.
The two of them stood beside Mei like two towering walls.
"Um... may I ask what you need?"
Faced with Mei's question, Jotaro said nothing. His face was hidden beneath the brim of his cap, giving off an intimidating air that warned strangers away.
"Sigh..."
Seeing this, Qin Mo sighed and stood up. "Forget it. This is still too difficult for Jotaro. Even decades from now, he'll still be like this."
Just as Qin Mo was about to let it go, Kakyoin Noriaki stepped forward, intending to give Jotaro a way out.
Jotaro suddenly raised a hand to stop them both. "About this afternoon... sorry..."
After saying that, he pulled his cap even lower, took out a cigarette and held it in his mouth without lighting it, then hurriedly left the private room. Kakyoin Noriaki gave the others an apologetic smile. "I'll go check on him."
"That kid Jotaro gets so nervous just talking to a girl."
Joseph said it with disappointment, then turned to Mei and Kiana. "Sorry. Jotaro isn't very good with words."
"It's alright... but why did Mr. Jotaro apologize to us?"
From the stories Qin Mo had told earlier, Raiden Mei knew roughly what everyone's personalities were like. Jotaro's personality in particular was quite distinctive. Besides, compared with the harsh words she had suffered before, this was already much better. As for Kiana... she still had not figured out what had happened.
"It's nothing. Jotaro is just too shy. After we finish eating, we can go out and look around together..."
As Polnareff spoke, he walked over and reached out, intending to put his arms around their shoulders.
Before he could finish speaking, each of his hands was grabbed. On the right, King Crimson stared at him with a regretful expression, while on the left, Qin Mo held his left hand with a smile.
"Polnareff, talk all you want, but don't get handsy."
There is an illustration here, available after updating to the latest version.
Silver Chariot VS King Crimson
"Ah↑↓"
Polnareff glared at Qin Mo with an annoyed expression. "You've been calling me Polnareff, Polnareff ever since we met, and you keep looking down on my Silver Chariot. Qin Mo, right? Do you dare come outside and duel me?"
"This Stand is called King Crimson, right? The Stand you said would cripple me? I don't believe it. How could an ugly freak like that beat my Silver Chariot?"
Polnareff had been holding in his anger for a long time. He had been defeated by Avdol, freed from Dio's control, and learned about his enemy. On top of that, ever since they had met, he had felt that Qin Mo looked down on him.
In truth, it was not that Qin Mo looked down on him. It was just that Polnareff's fate was truly terrible. Time stopped upstairs, time was erased downstairs. He lived his whole life carrying guilt, and in the end, he even became a turtle.
So even though Qin Mo had not deliberately judged him, his words were still filled with pity. Coupled with the fact that Qin Mo possessed the Stand that would cripple him, it felt even more like a provocation.
At this point, Polnareff had not yet experienced the journey to defeat Dio, so he was extremely proud and impulsive.
"Don't fight, don't fight."
Joseph had not expected the two to start fighting without another word. Just as he was about to stop them, he heard Qin Mo speak.
"Mr. Joseph, don't stop us. That's just Polnareff's personality. He's young and arrogant right now. He needs to take a beating."
"Ha! A beating? We don't know who'll beat whom yet. Don't worry, I won't attack your vital points."
Polnareff was furious at Qin Mo's obvious contempt.
"Qin Mo... I'm fine..."
Mei thought Qin Mo had accepted Polnareff's challenge because of her. Kiana also sensed the tense atmosphere and stopped eating. "Yeah, Qin Mo. You've just met your old friends. This isn't good, is it?"
Mei and Kiana truly thought that everyone here was Qin Mo's old friend.
"It's fine. Some things are better dealt with from the start."
After reassuring the others, Qin Mo said to Polnareff, "Let's find an open space to fight. Silver Chariot can perform better in an open area, right?"
"Ha, you've got guts, kid! Let's go!"
Seeing that the two had agreed and were heading out, the others exchanged looks before hurrying after them. Jotaro, who had been smoking outside, tugged at the brim of his cap and followed after learning what had happened.
Standing in an empty, deserted area, Qin Mo said to Polnareff ten meters away, "I won't switch to another Stand. Since you don't believe King Crimson can defeat you, I'll use only King Crimson against you."
"Before we fight, I'll explain King Crimson's ability. After all, I know Silver Chariot's ability, and that would be too unfair to you."
Qin Mo did not hide anything and explained all of King Crimson's abilities except Epitaph. "So, King Crimson is not a Stand suited for direct combat, and I won't follow chivalric principles by attacking only Stands. You don't need to hold back either. Come at me with the intent to kill."
"Don't worry. I'll hold back."
Even after hearing King Crimson's ability, Polnareff remained unconcerned, arrogantly declaring that he would not lose.
"Then... King Crimson!"
In an instant, Qin Mo vanished before everyone's eyes.
"Where did he go?! Silver Chariot!"
As a poor Stand, Silver Chariot had eyes but no vision, so it could not observe the battlefield back-to-back with Polnareff. However, after the sneak attack from behind that afternoon, Polnareff immediately commanded Silver Chariot to perform a circular slash around him.
But naturally, it struck nothing.
"When facing the future..."
Qin Mo slowly walked out from the side and looked at Polnareff's missed attack. "As long as you can see every trap and avoid falling into them, life will never fail. And I will always stand at the top."
Qin Mo gave a soft laugh as he watched Polnareff keep Silver Chariot guarding around him.
"What's wrong? Not coming to attack? In that case..."
"Then I'll attack."
In an instant, Polnareff was suddenly kicked and sent flying.
"This is a trial..."
"A trial to overcome the past..."
Standing where Polnareff had originally been, Qin Mo stood sideways with one hand on his waist. "Only by overcoming one's immature past can a person grow..."
"Hm? You think so too, don't you, Polnareff...?"
Polnareff climbed up from the ground after falling flat on his face, shouted, and immediately removed Silver Chariot's armor.
Although he appeared furious, he was actually extremely calm inside. He had even formed a plan: after the next time erasure, he would pierce King Crimson and Qin Mo together.
Originally, he had been somewhat overconfident and unwilling to attack the user directly. But now, attacking the user was clearly the best choice. After Silver Chariot removed its armor, its speed would be impossible to react to.
Just as Silver Chariot charged out, Polnareff felt a pain in his chest. A white hand pierced straight through it.
"I told you, Polnareff. Before King Crimson, Silver Chariot's speed and swordsmanship are meaningless."
King Crimson flung its hand, tossing Polnareff away. Though severely injured, Polnareff fell to the ground without becoming dejected. Instead, he smiled.
But...
He had already calculated the direction. The blade he had launched by ejecting it somehow passed straight through Qin Mo's body, only to stab into his own leg.
"I told you, Polnareff. Your calculations are meaningless. I just erased 0.5 seconds of time, erased the process of the blade striking me, and left only the result of the blade reaching you."
"This is King Crimson's true ability! Results! The ability to leave only results in this world!"
Just as Qin Mo struck a pose, seeming to relax his guard because he believed he had already won, he had actually activated King Crimson's other ability—Epitaph!
The outcome Epitaph saw was absolute...
Silver Chariot, having lost its sword, should have lost its ability to fight. Yet he saw a future where Silver Chariot's blade tore through his body.
But...
Silver Chariot was a Stand with nothing but speed. Its swordsmanship was not innate to Silver Chariot itself, but came from Polnareff's decades of training for revenge.
Therefore, Silver Chariot should theoretically have lost its attack capability after losing its sword.
But... speed itself was equivalent to power.
At maximum speed, it slammed its entire body into Qin Mo. Meanwhile, Polnareff gripped the blade with his own hand and used his master-level swordsmanship to tear apart the figure before him, which had fallen off balance.
"Polnareff!"
The spectators around them could all see that Qin Mo had been holding back. Even the later killing hand strike had avoided Polnareff's vital points. But this sword strike was different.
It slashed down from his left shoulder all the way to his chest. He had nearly been split into two.
"How could this be..."
He looked at the injuries on his body, then at the blade in his hand, which had torn open his palm from how tightly he gripped it, as well as the blood on it.
"What you witnessed and touched was your future self—the future you that your self from several seconds later had seen. This is King Crimson's ability!"
There is an illustration here, available after updating to the latest version.
Hamon
In the end, the battle between Silver Chariot and King Crimson ended with Polnareff fainting from excessive blood loss.
However, under Crazy Diamond's treatment, Polnareff naturally recovered quickly. Even the burns Magician's Red had inflicted that morning were healed as well.
But Polnareff did not wake up, so Avdol had no choice but to carry him back to the hotel.
Before you continue