You've Grown

Finally, it's here.

Li Qing's lifeless heart trembled slightly.

He may have lost, but they didn't lose.

He endured the pain and bled until now, and heaven has finally rewarded his resolve.

"Call"

Li Qing breathed a long sigh of relief.

The long-suppressed pain burst forth like a flood, and his battered body finally gave way, collapsing to the ground.

He collapsed to the ground, powerless yet relieved, into the still-warm pool of blood.

"Thank you, Mr. Jotaro."

"Just a little bit short of me"

Having survived the ordeal, Li Qing instinctively looked at Jotaro, but the words of gratitude caught in his throat halfway through:

Because the Jotaro he saw was the 70-year-old version.

Jotaro hadn't prepared any ice, nor did he have any companions with him. He walked in alone, enduring the effects of his Stand's the Grateful Dead.

His hair, which blended seamlessly with his hat, had turned silver with age, and his resolute face was etched with deep wrinkles.

Although his figure was still tall and robust, like a small giant, his once-sturdy muscles had inevitably shrunk somewhat.

It wasn't Jotaro came; it was Jotaro's grandfather.

"Big brother, no, uncle."

Li Qing's expression froze, and a question filled with resentment slipped out:

"Didn't you bring any ice with you?!"

"No."

Jotaro strolled over slowly.

His tone was as calm as if he had forgotten his umbrella when he went out.

"N-nothing?"

Li Qing was so choked by this sentence that he almost couldn't breathe:

When he was analyzing the enemy's capabilities, he talked to himself the whole time, like a stand-up comedian, all in order to get all the key information to his partner on the other end of the phone.

Now that we have the intelligence, we should know that we need to prepare ice to keep the enemy from aging and maintain our fighting capacity.

So how could you come without bringing ice?!

Isn't this just suicide mission?!

Although Jotaro's invincible reputation is known throughout the world, Li Qing has also personally witnessed the power of time stop from the phantom Dio.

But Dio is an immortal vampire, can you, Jotaro, compare?

Moreover, other people's time stop lasts 5 seconds, while yours only lasts 2 seconds.

Those invincible monsters were taken down by who-knows-who, Jotaro, what makes you so arrogant?!

Interestingly, even though Jotaro and Polnareff both deliberately avoid mentioning it, Li Qing and the others still have no idea what kind of story Jotaro had with Giorno's father.

Therefore, after learning of Jotaro's existence, Li Qing secretly regarded him as a weaker, knock-off version of Dio.

Although he is still very powerful, he is ultimately just a person.

Humans have their limits and cannot resist aging.

No matter how strong your Stand ability is, it's useless if you're too old to move, how can you fight?

Jotaro's swift support is certainly touching, but such a reckless move may not only fail to achieve the goal of rescue, but may also add unnecessary casualties.

That's what Li Qing was thinking, and then

Jotaro remained unmoved and continued to steadily approach, soon blocking Pesci's way with his still tall and imposing figure despite his old age.

He gently straightened the slightly tilted brim of his hat, and the air of authority he exuded in that movement suddenly made Li Qing feel inexplicably at ease.

"Ice isn't so easy to get; your companions haven't returned from their search for it yet."

"I saw that the situation was urgent, so I tried to enter the station by myself—and the result was acceptable."

"Although my body has aged considerably, I should still be able to fight without any problems."

As he spoke, Jotaro tried to clench his Riot Games.

Those muscles that seemed to have shrunk and degenerated suddenly burst forth with a clench, stretching Jotaro's coat into a taut shape.

"You old geezer."

"Don't come over and get in my way!"

Li Qing had already vaguely sensed something, but Pesci was not intimidated by Jotaro's energy.

Now, Pesci only wants revenge, only wants Li Qing to pay the price for his actions:

"Die, all of you!"

Pesci suddenly raised the fishing rod in her hand.

He had lost his will to fight because he had been fooled by Li Qing, and was so frightened that he lost his backbone. So at the last moment before he was about to kill Li Qing, he pulled back the fishhook.

He will never make such a mistake, such a disgrace, again.

And so, with Pesci's furious swing, the fishhook that had almost pierced Li Qing's heart earlier danced in the air once more.

The fishing hook, pulling the fishing line, twisted and lunged at Li Qing like a swift, venomous snake.

It is very fast, and the fishing line and hook are almost transparent and difficult to distinguish.

In less than a second, it could easily bypass the cumbersome muscular old man and take Li Qing's already broken life in the shortest possible time.

However.

"Star Platinum!"

Jotaro raised his head, a sharp glint flashing in his slightly cloudy eyes.

A muscular humanoid warrior suddenly appeared in front of him and, in that instant, threw a punch at the incoming fishhook.

Star Platinum's punch was not as fierce as his muscular appearance suggested.

Because Li Qing had already provided his companions with information about the rebounding force of the fishing line, Jotaro was now using skill rather than brute force.

The Riot Games flew through the air like a phantom, then transformed into a palm and then into fingers, catching the fishing line with the precision of Zhang Fei threading a needle.

Then, Star Platinum suddenly leaped forward, gripping the long fishing line.

Its arms danced rapidly in the air, creating a blur, and the fishing line spun several times in front of Pesci.

By the time Li Qing and Pesci themselves reacted to the attack...

The fishing line had now wrapped tightly around Pesci's arms, rendering his hands completely immobile and unable to swing the fishing rod.

"So strong."

This was the first time Li Qing had ever witnessed Jotaro in action.

He was deeply impressed by this incredible performance:

Star Platinum's precision and speed when she strikes are monstrous, and this is even after her physical form has been weakened by aging.

Li Qing was taken aback, but instantly felt at ease.

But Pesci, driven utterly insane by this unimaginable and unacceptable failure, went completely mad:

"How could this be? How could this be?"

"I clearly promised to avenge my brother, how could I be defeated so easily by an old man!"

Such a failure is truly devastating.

The opponent completely overwhelmed the opponent with strength and speed, achieving a glorious and overwhelming victory.

This advantage is purely based on an absolute power gap, a gap so large that it's impossible to know how to resist.

But Pesci did not give up.

He's had enough of giving up:

"No. I can't fail like this!"

"If I lose like this, how can I face my older brother who has always been protecting me!"

Pesci struggled frantically, trying to break free from the fishing lines that were already firmly bound to her arms.

He wanted to regain his mobility, grab the fishing rod, and continue the fight.

But such struggles cannot untie the bonds; they only cause the threads to become more tangled and chaotic as they tremble.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

"Untie me!!"

Pesci strained with all her might.

The tangled fishing line got tighter and tighter around his arm.

Those coils of thread quickly tore through the skin and cut into the flesh, digging deep into the bone.

"You'll ruin your hand if you keep doing that."

A slight ripple appeared in Jotaro's usually calm gaze.

"If it's ruined, it's ruined."

"If I can't grow now..."

Pesci's eyes were already brimming with tears:

"My older brother won't be able to see it!"

The intense pain spread from his arms throughout his body, piercing his once weak soul like a sharp blade.

But this pain did not deter Pesci; instead, it made him understand more deeply the enlightenment his older brother had spoken of:

"Brother Prosciutto."

"So you've been fighting with this kind of pain all along?"

"Enlightenment, this is the enlightenment you were talking about."

Pesci exerted all her strength.

He forcefully shaved off a ring of flesh from his arm with fishing line, then painstakingly removed the blood-stained line from his festering arm.

The stark white bones gleamed coldly amidst the crimson flesh.

And Pesci, with such a broken arm, trembled as she gripped the fishing rod:

"Even if your hands are cut off or your feet are chopped off, you must never let go of the fishing rod."

"Big brother, I've remembered what you said!"

Pesci swung her fishing rod with all her might, blood splattering everywhere.

"Yare yare."

Jotaro sighed softly with deep emotion:

"Li Qing, you've really messed with some serious guys this time."

The fishing hook flew in again, this time the fishing line was clearly visible, stained with blood.

Jotaro raised his head and looked directly at this unfamiliar enemy, a hint of respect in his eyes:

"Star Platinum— "

"World!"

Time stands still at this moment.

Blood, fishing line, and Pesci's crazed yet resolute face all froze before Jotaro's eyes.

Star Platinum waved his hand, scattering the fishing line stuck in the air, and took a big step forward to face Pesci:

"Ora ora ora ora!"

"Ora ora ora ora!"

"Ora ora ora ora!"

"Ora ora ora ora!"

In the stillness of time, a raging wind howled.

Soon, the time stop ended, and the accumulated punching power began to take effect in reality.

Pesci was suddenly thrown backward in confusion and despair.

His body slammed into the side wall of the train like a cannonball, creating a shocking dent in the solid steel body.

Then, Pesci's body crashed to the ground.

He fell through the gap between the platform and the train, onto the tracks below, and into a pool of hot blood.

"Hey, why is there blood on the tracks?"

The attack was too fierce, and the defeat was too sudden.

Pesci's brain didn't have time to process what was happening; she only noticed the blood beneath her in a daze.

He just fell here, so the blood on the tracks is definitely not his.

Li Qing has always been on the platform; its blood will not flow here.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

The faint sound of dripping blood rang in my ears.

Already critically injured and on the verge of death, Pesci struggled to lift her head, and what came into view was...

"Brother Prosciutto!"

Tears welled up in Pesci's eyes like a flood breaking through a dam:

"So you were here all along, not far from me."

"I'm sorry, it's all over."

He was trembling all over, and his voice choked with emotion several times:

"I can't even avenge you."

"I'm so useless!"

Prosciutto had long been unable to speak.

He could only watch silently as his younger brother wept in despair, his eyes unfocused.

"Even now, you still haven't gotten rid of your habit of acting cute."

"But."

Prosciutto slowly closed his eyes:

"You've finally grown up, Pesci."

One update today. I'll make some minor adjustments to the later battle arrangements, hoping to make the kind of plot where the Calabash Brothers save their grandfather or the stubborn solo carry refuses to team up more reasonable. (This has been tormenting me for almost half a month. If I weren't too embarrassed to use the same old tricks again, I would really like to send them on another helicopter ride.)