Dark Emperor and the Manga Artist

April 5, 1999, 5:59 PM.

Diavolo appeared at the Morioh train station plaza one minute early.

Before this, he had actually been lingering quietly in the shadows for a long time. Only after confirming that there were no traces of Li Qing and the others nearby did he carefully step into the sunlight at the right time.

The tram station was packed with people during rush hour, creating a lively atmosphere.

Diavolo doesn't really like going to crowded places, but this meeting place was the best option he carefully selected.

The passing crowds provided him with some cover, making his distinctive foreign appearance less noticeable.

Once Li Qing suddenly appears, he can quickly use his Time Erasure to blend into the crowd and use the chaotic throng to interfere with Li Qing's hearing.

Even if he's too unlucky to escape, he can still take these ordinary citizens hostage, making those righteous people bound by morality and humanity hesitant to act.

Diavolo had everything prepared.

But he was still a little nervous:

"Yoshikage Kira."

"Hopefully that guy won't try anything funny."

No matter how cautious he is, he cannot control all the variables.

Diavolo could only try to raise his vigilance to the highest level, and then make a discreet and careful approach to the agreed-upon final location:

That's the public bench in the plaza in front of the tram station, closest to the station exit.

Both he and Yoshikage Kira were cautious by nature. They not only agreed to meet here, but also set up a pre-arranged alarm signal:

Diavolo must be seated on this bench by 6:00 PM sharp.

If Diavolo is not seen near this chair, it means the situation has changed and the meeting has been canceled. Yoshikage Kira will then leave and not reappear.

Therefore, at this moment, Diavolo purposefully moved closer to that bench.

However, his brows quickly furrowed slightly:

Is anyone there?

There were already people sitting on the bench.

He was a young man with a gentle temperament, full of energy, dressed fashionably and appropriately, and with a distinctly artistic air.

His "artistic flair" is the most easily noticeable trait:

Because he was holding a paintbrush in his hand, with a sketchbook on his lap, and was intently sketching on the paper.

Around this young man, several elementary school students in uniforms with childlike faces were chattering away.

"It's the great manga artist Rohan Kishibe!"

"Your comic 'Pink Dark Boy' is our favorite work!"

"I never expected to meet you in a place like this. It's truly unbelievable."

The eyes of the elementary school students were filled with admiration for their idol.

They surrounded the great cartoonist with great enthusiasm, their young faces filled with excitement and fervor.

Rohan Kishibe seemed to have long been accustomed to the enthusiastic onlookers from his young fans.

He stopped painting and smiled at the elementary school students:

"It was great to meet everyone. But I'm a little sorry."

"I'm sketching here right now, so it's not convenient for me to chat with you all."

"If possible, could you let me focus on finishing this painting?"

Although he was actually keeping people at arm's length, Rohan Kishibe spoke in a very gentle and calm tone, which did not make anyone feel uncomfortable at all.

Sensing the meaning behind Rohan Kishibe's request, the few enthusiastic fans immediately nodded obediently in response:

"Okay, Mr. Kishibe, we won't disturb your creative process any longer."

Thank you for your understanding.

"I often sketch here, and I hope we can meet again sometime."

Rohan Kishibe smiled and comforted the children, then calmly watched the young fans walk away.

Once the few fans left, he immediately lowered his head and focused intently on painting the unfinished artwork.

"A cartoonist sketching outdoors?"

"It seems fine."

Diavolo carefully observed Rohan Kishibe, and his vigilance eased slightly:

The enthusiasm and admiration of those elementary school students were genuine. Unless they were all born movie stars, the young man in front of them must be the cartoonist they were talking about.

Diavolo had also observed that when those elementary school students made a commotion, many passersby nearby had cast inquiring glances in their direction.

Judging from those looks that were filled with surprise and excitement, the young man's identity as a famous cartoonist became even more certain.

"He's probably just a cartoonist who happened to be sitting here sketching."

"He shouldn't pose any threat to me. However..."

Just as alert and perceptive as a cheetah Diavolo soon discovered another suspicious detail:

Given the high volume of people at the station, it's not surprising that there were other people on the benches.

But why would a cartoonist go to such a noisy and chaotic place to sketch?

How can you paint in such a noisy place?

Could it be that he did this intentionally?

He was actually in cahoots with Li Qing, so he had laid an ambush here beforehand.

Because of the psychological trauma caused by Li Qing these past few days, Diavolo almost suffers from paranoia.

After calming down and thinking about it carefully:

Li Qing's side clearly had an overwhelming advantage in combat power. If they knew his whereabouts, they could have simply pushed him over without taking any unnecessary risks and engaging in this unnecessary drama.

Diavolo was in a state of deep anxiety, while Rohan Kishibe on a bench nearby, had already finished painting the picture with swift and skillful strokes.

He let out a soft sigh of relief, lowered his paintbrush, and then looked up at Diavolo and said:

"Sir, you seem to have been observing me for almost half a minute."

Are you interested in my paintings?

"If that's the case, I'd like to have someone taste it."

Rohan Kishibe, holding the still-wet ink painting, spoke very earnestly to Diavolo.

"Hmm"

Diavolo hesitated for a moment, then answered smoothly without revealing his true intentions:

"That's right, I am indeed very interested in the art of painting."

"However, there's one thing that I find strange."

"Why do you come here to paint when the environment is so noisy?"

He probed subtly.

"This is just my personal hobby."

"I like to sketch in crowded places, so I can observe all kinds of passersby and experience the real world."

"These things can provide inspiration for my creations, and the noisy environment can also temper my state of mind when I paint."

Artists are known for their quirks, and Rohan Kishibe's reasons are perfectly normal.

"Oh, I see."

"It seems you are a very accomplished painter."

Diavolo calmly uttered a couple of polite words, seemingly intending to end the questioning there.

However, in the instant his expression relaxed, his spiritual energy surged forth like a giant wave:

"King Crimson!"

Suddenly, the King Crimson appearance, appeared out of nowhere.

As soon as it appeared, it slashed out with all its might with a sharp hand chop, seemingly trying to split Rohan Kishibe.

But Rohan Kishibe remained motionless.

He seemed completely oblivious to the King Crimson, his eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

Finally, the King Crimson's hand strike stopped just an inch from Rohan's forehead, barely catching him in Rohan Kishibe. The force of the strike sent Rohan's hair flying wildly.

Why is the wind suddenly so strong?

Rohan Kishibe frowned in confusion.

Then, without changing his expression, he handed the painting to Diavolo:

"This is a painting I just finished."

"Sir, would you like to see it?"

"."

Diavolo fell into a brief silence:

This guy didn't react at all to King Crimson's probing, so it seems he's not Stand User.

Am I being paranoid? No.

To put it another way, if the other party is Stand User who can still ignore King Crimson, that would be a truly terrifying problem.

Diavolo's suspicious nature had been amplified to the extreme as the situation continued to deteriorate.

Despite countless instances proving that Rohan Kishibe was just an ordinary person who happened to appear, he still couldn't shake off his lingering suspicions.

Diavolo hesitated and stared blankly at the painting handed to him by Rohan Kishibe.

Let's wait and see what the future holds.

"Today's meeting absolutely cannot go wrong; we must eliminate all potential problems."

In the end, Diavolo couldn't resist pulling out his trump card:

"The King Crimson - Epitaph!"

The Epitaph's power was activated silently, and the scene of the next ten seconds instantly appeared in his mind.

Diavolo's expression immediately became somewhat subtle:

It wasn't because he saw any danger, but because the future he saw this time was unexpectedly mundane.

In the past, he could always see his bizarre and varied deaths in the future depicted in his Epitaph, but this time...

In the very first second, Rohan Kishibe handed over the painting.

The next second, Diavolo began to admire it.

The painting was indeed exquisitely done, allowing even an amateur like him, who only had a superficial understanding of painting, to see the artist's profound skill.

In the third second, Diavolo began to offer polite praise.

Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth seconds.

Rohan Kishibe and Diavolo kept talking about the painting, making small talk.

In the tenth second, Diavolo finally managed to shake off Rohan Kishibe's excessive enthusiasm for art, allowing the great manga artist to calmly shut his mouth.

Rohan Kishibe his brush and lowered his head, seemingly to continue sketching and painting.

"It seems I was overthinking it."

"I never thought that I, Diavolo, would be forced to such a state of paranoia."

Diavolo sighed softly, feeling quite melancholy.

But he quickly calmed himself down and, following his premonition of the future, took the painting from Rohan Kishibe and began to appreciate it:

"It is indeed a painting that can catch the eye."

"This should be a painting."

Diavolo began chatting casually with an indifferent expression.

Time passed second by second as scheduled.

In the ninth second, their brief chat was about to come to an end.

At the tenth second, Rohan Kishibe closed his mouth, picked up his pen and lowered his head, as if to continue creating.

"As expected, there was no problem."

"My whereabouts haven't been exposed yet. All I have to do now is wait for Yoshikage Kira to arrive."

Diavolo thought this with relief.

However, at that very moment, in the 11th second, which the Epitaph could not have foreseen.

"You are the first person to see this painting."

"The conditions have been met, so, Diavolo..."

Rohan Kishibe, the cartoonist whom Diavolo regarded as a harmless passerby, suddenly called out his real name in an icy tone.

A sudden chill surged through Diavolo's body. He sensed something was wrong and instinctively tried to erase time to escape.

However, his actions came too late.

"Let me see your story—"

Rohan Kishibe picked up his paintbrush, and a human-shaped phantom appeared on his body:

"Heaven's Door!"