A Second Encounter with Star Platinum

Jotaro hadn't been angered like this in a very, very long time.

He had just learned that his long-lost friend Polnareff had been in danger all along.

Just a minute ago, he had heard Diavolo's wild roar on the phone after cornering Polnareff.

A minute had passed, and Polnareff was still facing a formidable enemy in the Colosseum of Rome, his fate still unknown.

Jotaro felt guilty, anxious, and angry.

This man, who was usually as steady as a mountain, was unusually flustered.

He hurriedly got out of the taxi, summoned Star Platinum, and walked quickly toward the Colosseum with a cold face and an uneasy feeling in his heart.

But Jotaro hadn't taken more than a few steps when he bumped into a middle-aged man with pink hair wearing black stockings and a see-through bodysuit.

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.

"Jotaro?"

"When did this guy appear?!"

Diavolo was horrified:

He was only lost in thought for a moment when this nemesis had already unknowingly moved closer to him.

Is this yet another cruel joke that fate is playing on him?!

Diavolo's body stiffened, and he dared not move.

Jotaro, however, tentatively took a step forward:

"You know me?"

Diavolo's expression changed:

It's too close, the distance is just too close.

Although the King Crimson's strength and speed were enhanced to an extreme level after being awakened by the arrow.

However, when facing Star Platinum, which can stop time, at such close range, even the King Crimson's immense power cannot guarantee his own safety.

What should we do? Should we just cut off time and escape?

But that would definitely expose my identity, making him think I am the current Diavolo.

This could trigger a series of chases and battles.

Will this affect the past, or create Time Paradox?

Because Diavolo has no memory of this period of time, he doesn't know how to ensure he doesn't change the past.

However, he had to be careful, since the Time Paradox was definitely more terrifying than the Star Platinum shoved right in his face.

"Oh, right, I've got it!"

"This guy has only just arrived in Rome and hasn't met up with Polnareff yet."

"He probably only knows my name, but not what I look like."

"I just need to pretend to be a passing tourist. A righteous person like him, bound by morality and principles, will not lay a hand on me if he is not sure."

The Colosseum of Rome is so famous that even though it closes to the public at night, tourists often come to the area to stroll and take photos.

This is not surprising at all, and it is perfectly reasonable as a reason.

So Diavolo hesitated for a moment, then forced himself to remain calm and said:

"I don't know him."

"Well, your expression was a little scary, so..."

He also has over a decade of experience in hiding, and his acting skills are on par with award-winning actor Yoshikage Kira.

"Oh," Jotaro's hostility suddenly subsided.

It was as if he simply regarded Diavolo in front of him as an ordinary passerby, without any suspicion whatsoever.

However, the next second...

"Star Platinum!"

A burly humanoid figure flashed out from behind Jotaro:

"The World!"

Time Stop, Star Platinum threw a punch.

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 pent-up anger erupted at this moment.

"Ora ora ora ora ora!"

"Ora ora ora ora ora!"

"."

Finally, the time stop ended.

Diavolo's body was like a thousand time bombs had been inserted into it, and it began to explode wildly in the tsunami-like force of the punch.

Bones shattered, skin cracked, and blood gushed out.

"Damn it. It's happening again!"

Diavolo, in his excruciating pain and grief, thought:

He had just been yelled at like that yesterday afternoon at the entrance of Morioh train station, and today he experienced it again.

Why should I keep having to repay the debt I owe my dearest friend?!

Pain surged forth like a tidal wave, and Diavolo's spirit could barely hold on.

At this moment, Star Platinum rushed forward and started yelling "Ora Ora" at Diavolo, who was still in a daze.

"If this continues, I'm sure I'll die."

Diavolo was horrified.

As a warrior who survived being beaten to death by Star Platinum, he knew very well the limits of his body's endurance.

It's actually fortunate that Jotaro's time stop on March 27th is only 2 seconds, unlike later when it recovered to 3 seconds after a week of training.

If Diavolo were to be stopped by Euler for 3 seconds like yesterday, he probably wouldn't even have the strength to save himself.

But fate ultimately left him a glimmer of hope:

"The Crimson King—"

"Eliminate time!"

Driven by an intense will to survive, Diavolo finally regained a last glimmer of clarity amidst endless suffering.

He instantly entered his own unique timeline, escaping the deadly iron fist of Star Platinum.

While Jotaro was still unconscious, Diavolo quickly dragged his mangled body and fled into the distance.

The Time Erasure ended a dozen seconds later.

Jotaro stood there blankly, while Star Platinum was throwing a punch at the air.

Only a mottled bloodstain remained on the ground.

In the distance, the faint sound of disordered footsteps could still be heard from the street.

"Did they escape in that direction?"

Jotaro frowned slightly.

But after a moment of silence, thinking of his dear friend whose fate was still unknown, he finally looked away.

Approximately 55 minutes later.

A dark alley in Rome.

The badly wounded Diavolo fled here to rest.

He knew that Li Qing had by this time taken control of the technology group, indirectly taking over the powerful intelligence capabilities that had once belonged to him.

The technology team is monitoring the entire Italy, especially Rome tonight.

Therefore, even though Diavolo was seriously injured, he could not openly go to the hospital for treatment, nor could he mobilize the organization's logistical medical personnel.

He could only flee like a stray dog to this deserted, dark alley, leaning against the cold wall, barely surviving amidst the stench of garbage:

"Damn it. I actually ran into Jotaro and Star Platinum there."

"And this hasn't even triggered Time Paradox."

"So, does that mean I'm destined to get beaten up here?"

Diavolo suddenly felt a deep sense of malice from fate.

Although he was never a favorite of fate, he often cried out that he wanted to defy the heavens and change his destiny.

But this time, he truly felt that he had been targeted too harshly by the goddess of fate.

"The Ouroboros is not entirely useless."

"Without the ability to travel through time, I would have died on March 27th."

"But... but this ability still can't change the predicament I'm facing now!"

Diavolo's mood grew increasingly heavy:

We can participate in the past, but we cannot change it.

So how exactly should he use this ability to solve the difficulties he will face in the future?

The Ouroboros's power can only last for one hour at a time, and that hour is almost over.

He was about to return to that evening of April 6th, back to that road paved with despair.

That evening, Li Qing, Jotaro, and Josuke Higashikata —those formidable guys—were still guarding that place, exuding murderous intent.

"I will definitely return to the moment immediately after I time-traveled."

"To Li Qing and the others, I only disappeared for a brief moment."

In other words...

Diavolo carefully recalled the scene before he traveled through time:

At that time, I had just awakened by inserting the arrow.

Li Qing noticed something was wrong and shouted loudly.

Jotaro activated Time Stop, and together with Star Platinum, they "teleported" to his front.

Right in front of me?

"'Now' Jotaro is crouching right in front of me."

"When I get back, won't I get wrecked by Star Platinum again?"

Thinking of this, Diavolo's face immediately turned as ugly as when he had just woken up in the sewers.

I did it once yesterday, once today, and when I get back, do I have to do it again?

Even an iron man couldn't withstand this kind of torture!

Diavolo felt like dying.

That hour is almost up.

He was about to drag this body, ravaged and wounded in the past, back to the future he wanted to escape, back to Jotaro and Star Platinum.

Ouroboros

"Was this ability awakened so that I could be tortured to death?"

Diavolo's face was pale, and his heavily injured body trembled.

But he could still sense that the one-hour time limit was coming to an end.

A powerful and mysterious force is dragging him toward the indescribable river of time, and he will soon be able to see the people he least wants to see up close.

"No, I'll die if I go back now!"

"We have to escape! We have to find a way to survive!"

In his panic, Diavolo instinctively wanted to escape his fate of death.

But the one-hour time limit for time travel eventually expired.

Diavolo's figure quickly became transparent, his existence was swiftly erased from this point in time, and he was irrevocably sent back to the future.

And it was in this moment of despair, as he frantically tried things out of utter hopelessness, that he finally succeeded.

He was surprised and shocked to discover

It seems that his new ability, "Ouroboros," can always be used again.

That's right, Diavolo was able to use "Ouroboros" back on March 27th.

He had been trapped in despair, confusion, and pain for so long that he had never thought of trying.

"I see."

"The cooldown time for 'Ouroboros' is 10 minutes."

"And each time I use 'Ouroboros,' I can move around near a certain Time Anchor in the past for an hour."

Diavolo's body is being rapidly pulled back to the future by that force of time and space.

But a sudden inspiration struck him, and time seemed to stand still for a moment.

Suddenly, everything became clear, and many troubling problems were solved in an instant.

Diavolo suddenly realized that his awakened third ability wasn't so useless after all.

"The cooldown time of 'Ouroboros' is calculated based on my timeline."

"Even in the past, it would be restored to a usable state 10 minutes after I traveled through it."

Although he would be sent back to Jotaro in the next instant, Diavolo felt no fear:

"I can now use the 'Hollowfication' effect of 'Ouroboros' to protect myself in front of Jotaro."

"By the time he realized what was happening, I was already traveling to another past."

"No, the Ouroboros can do more than that."

"Ouroboros" has a 10-minute cooldown.

The cooldown time for "Epitaph" is approximately ten seconds.

The cooldown time for "Time Erasure" is approximately a few seconds.

Diavolo, on the other hand, can travel back an hour in the past at any time.

One hour is enough time for him to refresh all his skills.

This means

"In the future, for my enemies."

Diavolo, severely injured and with swollen lips, managed a weak, forced smile.

"What I will possess is... unlimited firepower."