Star Platinum
It's not surprising to see a middle-aged person with pink hair; after all, there are people with all sorts of hair colors in this world.
It's not surprising to see middle-aged people wearing black stockings and see-through bodysuits; after all, these days people have freedom of dress, and there are all sorts of weirdos who wear whatever they want.
However, seeing such a sneaky and mysterious fellow outside the Colosseum of Rome where Polnareff was fighting was certainly something to be wary of.
Whether this guy was a little dazed or had just been busy with something, it was unclear.
Jotaro was already five meters away from him before he finally noticed Jotaro's presence.
Then, Jotaro calmly looked straight ahead, while the pink-haired middle-aged man turned his head to look back.
The moment their eyes met
The middle-aged man with pink hair and black stockings immediately looked away as if he had been electrocuted.
"You"
"You know me?"
Jotaro took another small step forward.
The pink-haired middle-aged man, Diavolo, changed his expression at a speed visible to the naked eye:
"I don't know him."
"Well, your expression was a little scary, so..."
"Oh"
The hostility surging in Jotaro's eyes suddenly subsided.
It was as if he regarded Diavolo in front of him as just an ordinary passerby, without any suspicion whatsoever.
Then, the next second.
"Star Platinum!"
A burly humanoid figure flashed out from behind Jotaro.
"King Crimson!"
Diavolo was shaken and summoned his Stand with all his might to deal with the situation.
However, he was ultimately a step too slow.
Jotaro Kujo, who arrived here with boundless rage, was a step faster than him in action and a hundred times more eager to fight.
Before King Crimson could regain its footing, Star Platinum had already activated its Stand ability:
"The World!"
Time stood still.
This time, time truly stood still; it wasn't slowed down by the narration.
Diavolo's panicked expression and the King Crimson's unsteady figure were both frozen in this sudden stillness.
This is Star Platinum's ability: time stop.
At his peak, Jotaro Kujo can Time Stop for up to 5 seconds.
But in recent years, Jotaro has been busy getting married and having children, pursuing his doctorate, helping his grandfather find his illegitimate child, and observing starfish at the beach for his doctoral dissertation.
Over the years, without any real-world training, Star Platinum's time-stop ability has gradually declined from 5 seconds to 2 seconds.
At this moment, Jotaro can only Time Stop for 2 seconds.
But that's enough.
Because Diavolo had been distracted, Jotaro had already closed to within 5 meters of him.
In a mere five meters, two seconds is more than enough time.
1 second:
Jotaro leaped forward like a tiger bursting from a ravine.
Star Platinum then soared into the air and landed in front of Diavolo in one step:
Do you think I wouldn't recognize your voice?
Will I forget those who harmed my companions?
"I still vividly remember that phone call you made, the way you yelled at my best friend, Diavolo!"
Jotaro's suppressed anger erupted at this moment.
Diavolo, however, was completely unaware of this; his consciousness had long since frozen in this stillness of time.
2nd second:
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"."
A storm suddenly arose, and phantoms Flash.
In a mere second, it's unknown how many hundreds or thousands of punches Star Platinum delivered to Diavolo.
The terrifying force of the punch accumulated continuously in that fragile body during the stillness of time.
It's like a great river that has dried up.
That vast torrent, capable of destroying everything, is now accumulating and gathering strength under the "dam" of time.
Once the floodgates are opened, the vast torrents will rush forth for miles.
Finally, the time stop ended.
Diavolo was not even aware of what had just happened.
His body felt as if it had been filled with ten thousand bombs, and began to explode wildly in the tsunami-like force of the punches.
Bones shattered, skin cracked, and blood gushed out.
Diavolo's body flew backward like a shredded paper bag blown away by a Category 10 typhoon.
However, he didn't even have time to fly backwards.
Star Platinum slammed his mangled body down from mid-air, dragging Diavolo back from his backward flight and pulling him back in front of herself and Jotaro Kujo.
Then
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Ora ora ora ora!"
"Ora ora ora ora!"
The King Crimson stood by, watching helplessly as his master was beaten like a punching bag.
It's not that it's weak, but rather that its master Diavolo, is currently so badly beaten that he's barely able to recover.
The relentless, heavy blows overwhelmed him like a flood, and indescribable pain surged into his brain, leaving him so disoriented that he couldn't even issue a single effective command.
But Diavolo is still Diavolo.
He was afraid of death, a fear that went to the very depths of his soul, and there was nothing shameful about saying it.
As a king, he was unwilling to die in disgrace in defeat.
This fear of death allowed Diavolo to finally regain a last glimmer of clarity amidst his endless suffering:
"The Crimson King—"
"Eliminate time!"
Click.
Jotaro felt a moment of disorientation.
He only felt the scene flash before his eyes.
Diavolo and King Crimson were nowhere to be seen, leaving only Star Platinum frantically punching the air.
Moreover, he didn't know how long he had been swinging, and when Jotaro regained his senses, he actually felt a little tired.
"It was only a moment, but Star Platinum looked as tired as if he had been throwing punches for more than ten seconds."
"And that guy just disappeared without a trace."
"Could this be what they call Time Erasure?"
Jotaro's expression changed slightly.
He knew nothing about Diavolo's Stand ability beforehand, until Polnareff mentioned it briefly in his "last words" over the phone not long ago.
Now that he has witnessed firsthand the power of time erasure, Jotaro can't help but feel wary of this troublesome ability:
Although it may not be as good as time stop.
However, if the opponent makes the first move, there is no doubt that you will be unable to stop their Time Erasure.
"Diavolo."
Jotaro silently murmured Diavolo's name.
He looked around with intense vigilance and murderous intent, but still couldn't find any trace of the enemy.
Only a mottled bloodstain remained on the ground.
The faint sound of disordered footsteps could still be heard from the distant streets.
"Did they escape in that direction?"
Jotaro frowned slightly:
Although he was confident he could defeat Diavolo head-on, he couldn't guarantee he could keep him.
After all, if Diavolo can continue to use Time Erasure, even Star Platinum won't be able to stop the enemy from escaping during the reduced time.
"."
Jotaro remained silent.
He first glanced in the direction Diavolo had seemingly fled, then turned to look at the ancient amphitheater standing before him:
Smoke billowed in the Colosseum, and the flames had dimmed.
The atmosphere was perfectly calm, yet faint, low moans of pain could still be heard in the darkness.
Polnareff
Jotaro couldn't help but think of his best friend once again:
Are you still alive?
Most of his comrades-in-arms from that year sacrificed their lives in the Egyptian war more than a decade ago; only his maternal grandfather and Polnareff survived.
Jotaro knew in his heart that he couldn't afford to lose another friend.
If Polnareff is still alive but seriously injured, then he must hurry to his friend's side to help him.
With that in mind, he finally made a decision.
Jotaro turned around and took one last look in the direction Diavolo might have fled.
Then, without hesitation, he turned around and stepped into the now-calm Colosseum of Rome.
It's all over.
Jotaro disappeared into the shadow of the Colosseum.
Behind him, at his feet, which he hadn't noticed at all before.
Beneath a tightly closed sewage manhole cover, a faint breath was heard.