Chapter 192 – JOJO, I'm Not Human Anymore!!
"Are you an idiot? There's no such thing as ghosts in this world!"
The police officer stared at the tall, broad-shouldered man before him, completely unconvinced by his rambling. Yet as he took in the man's stern face and towering build, he instinctively swallowed hard.
Something about this guy didn't seem right. He looked like he could snap at any second and beat him senseless.
With that thought, the officer's hand unconsciously moved toward the gun at his waist. If this man made any sudden move, he'd draw and fire immediately.
"You don't need to worry about whether ghosts exist or not. Just lock me in prison!"
Kuujou Joutarou's expression was grave, his eyes serious as he looked straight at the officer.
He knew the police wouldn't believe his story, but that didn't matter. All he needed was to be put behind bars.
This kind of request was something the officer had never heard before.
Someone actually wanted to be arrested? And judging from his clothes, he wasn't a vagrant either. It didn't seem like a matter of desperation.
Just as the officer was debating whether to humor him, a hand suddenly patted his shoulder from behind, startling him.
"He's fine. You can leave. I'll handle this."
"Who are you?!"
The officer turned to see Renji standing there and muttered irritably. He took a moment to steady his nerves, then glanced back and forth between the two men.
When he noticed that Joutarou seemed disinclined to cause trouble, he decided against saying anything more.
He wanted to scold them for wasting police time, but one look at Joutarou's size convinced him otherwise.
Cursing under his breath, the officer turned and hurried away. He didn't want to be stuck dealing with two lunatics.
"Who are you?"
Joutarou tensed up, his entire body on guard. The man before him gave off the presence of a wild beast, like a tiger ready to strike at any moment.
"How long has it been since you awakened that ability?"
Since Joutarou was already here, that meant this was the third generation. So the events of the first two generations must have already passed.
Renji hadn't found any trace of that before—he had only followed the timeline.
That meant the first and second JoJo timelines weren't exactly as they were in the anime.
Most likely, this was still before Joseph Joestar arrived—Joutarou hadn't yet been imprisoned.
"You mean this ghost haunting me?"
Joutarou glanced at Renji, then replied, "It started two days ago."
Two days earlier, a strange "ghost" had begun following him, affecting his life in strange ways.
No one else could see it—only him. That made him realize he might endanger others if it continued.
After much thought, Joutarou decided to have himself locked away to prevent harming anyone.
"You're not being haunted by a ghost. You've awakened a power called a Stand. It's not something your family naturally possesses—it comes from a man named Dio!"
"JOJO, I'm not human anymore!"
Renji smirked slightly. As expected of Lord Dio—he'd forced his way back into the story even after dying, and every JoJo generation ended up getting a Stand because of him.
"Dio?"
Joutarou muttered the name softly. He'd never heard it before, but it stirred something deep within him.
And what Renji described—this wasn't a ghost, but an ability?
A Stand?
"Stand users can control their Stands through their will. You can summon or dismiss it at any time."
"I can control it?"
Joutarou's eyes widened slightly. He realized something—each time that "ghost" had appeared, it had been mimicking his intent or following his subconscious movements.
And whenever he didn't want to see it, it would disappear.
He had thought it was haunting him, but based on Renji's explanation, it now made sense.
In his mind, Joutarou imagined the Stand. A moment later, Star Platinum appeared behind him and, following his will, struck the ground with a single punch.
Instantly, the area around them sank several inches deep, the shock startling nearby pedestrians.
"Injured?"
Joutarou looked at his knuckles—there was a small scrape, and he immediately understood something more about this power.
"When your Stand is injured, the user takes damage as well."
Star Platinum—one of the strongest Stands in existence.
Seeing it in person, Renji couldn't help feeling excited.
This world had Stands now… he was curious what kind of Stand he himself might awaken.
"So, you're a Stand user too?"
Having gotten used to the ability, Joutarou turned his sharp gaze to Renji.
If this man also had a Stand, that would explain how he knew so much.
"No. I don't. I'm a martial artist."
Unfortunately, he didn't have one.
Still, in a world like KOF, having a Stand would definitely boost his power. Renji couldn't help wanting one.
"Then why did you come to find me?"
No one helps a stranger for nothing.
Joutarou didn't believe Renji had approached him out of kindness. If he stayed after explaining everything, it meant he had another motive.
"I want to form a team with you. I'm entering the KOF Tournament—interested? It's the perfect place to test your Stand's power. Fighters from all over the world will be there!"
"KOF Tournament?!"
Though he lived a mostly ordinary high school life and didn't care about much outside school, Joutarou had heard of it.
A global martial arts event where every punch and kick landed for real—what man wouldn't be interested?
"I don't know how to fight."
After a pause, Joutarou admitted it frankly.
He wasn't trained in combat. If he joined Renji's team, he might just drag him down.
Better to refuse outright than become a burden.
Still, deep inside, part of him did want to see what would happen if he fought alongside Renji.
"You can learn. And if it doesn't work out, you can always drop out later. Besides, didn't you take time off from school to avoid your 'ghost'? If you're on leave anyway, you don't need to go back yet, right?"
Renji's suggestion stirred something in him.
He had already taken leave, and truthfully, Joutarou wasn't the model student type—most people saw him as a delinquent anyway.
"I can give it a try."
Since Renji had already put it that way, Joutarou had no reason to refuse.
"Good. Then once we find our next teammate, we can enter the tournament!"
Renji already had an invitation.
The Shiranui Dojo had one too—Mai Shiranui had initially wanted to represent her dojo, but since the Women Fighters Team was already complete, Renji had to find his own teammates.
"We're still short one person?"
Joutarou raised an eyebrow. So if he hadn't joined, Renji would've had no one at all.
It would've been embarrassing to be fully prepared yet unable to participate for lack of a team.
"One short. KOF teams are made of three fighters."
There were plenty of martial artists in this world, so finding someone shouldn't have been hard.
But Renji had his eye on Kagura Chizuru.
After all, she was the organizer of this year's tournament—and there was no rule saying the host couldn't participate.
However, tracking her down wouldn't be easy.
Wait…!
Mai might know her!
Renji suddenly realized something—Kagura Chizuru had teamed up with Mai Shiranui in KOF '97 to form the New Women Fighters Team.
That meant Mai already knew her. There was no reason they'd only have met in '96.
"Hold on, let me make a call."
He pulled out his phone and dialed Mai.
"Mai, do you happen to know Kagura Chizuru?"
When Mai first received Renji's call, she was delighted.
They had just spoken earlier, and now he was calling again—surely because he missed her already. The thought made her smile happily.
But the moment she heard him asking about another woman, her mood soured instantly.
Of course she knew he was probably looking for a teammate…
Still, couldn't he at least start the call by asking how she was?
Holding back her irritation, Mai answered, "Yes, I know Chizuru. Do you want to team up with her?"
She spoke slowly.
"All right."
Hearing Iori Yagami's curt agreement, Weisi and Maizhuo showed a flicker of surprise; he had consented far more quickly than they expected.
But once he agreed, given Iori Yagami's nature, there was no chance he would renege.
After leaving the ancient temple, Weisi reported the situation to a certain person.
Watching the two depart, Iori Yagami roughly guessed who they were.
"Yuri still mad at her father?"
Inside the Kyokugenryu Dojo.
Ryo Sakazaki glanced helplessly at his sister, Yuri Sakazaki.
When invitations for this year's KOF Tournament began, Yuri's first thought was to rejoin the Women Fighters Team she had fought with previously.
However, their father, Takuma Sakazaki, intervened. Since he would not participate this time, the dojo's representative had to be his daughter, Yuri.
After learning this, the siblings argued until Yuri finally relented and withdrew from the Women Fighters Team.
Although she yielded, she still felt uneasy about it.
"I'm not exactly angry. They've already found teammates, so I'll train hard and make sure to beat Kyou and the others when the time comes!"
Excitement returned to Yuri's face, replacing the previous gloom entirely.
She had been upset earlier because she had stood her teammates up; if her withdrawal had caused the team to miss the tournament, she would never have forgiven herself.
Now that Kyou and Mai Shiranui had found a new teammate, she could relax.
Watching his sister enthusiastically prepare, Ryo suddenly understood why women could be so hard to figure out.
One moment she was depressed; the next she was determined and energetic—truly baffling.
"The files are here. The organizers seem fine, but Howard and Geese's people have appeared this time."
Mercenary Headquarters.
Heidern set the tournament dossier before Clark and Ralf and continued, "I won't be participating."
With several major underworld figures involved, Heidern planned to stay behind the scenes to observe their motives.
"Leona will replace me and team with you."
As he finished, a blue-haired young woman stepped from the shadows.
Clark and Ralf were stunned to see her—sending her showed how seriously Heidern took this tournament.
"Master, let's go too! It's the KOF Tournament!" "Yeah, teacher!"
Athena Asamiya and Sie Kensou had longed to participate in KOF for years; after training in the mountains, they wanted to show their skills to the world.
Their master, Chin Gentsai, had resisted, but seeing their hopeful faces, he hesitated.
In the end, worn down by his disciples' persistence, Chin agreed: they would enter this KOF.
At the same time, Chang Koehan and Choi Bounge intensified their training under Kim Kaphwan, doubling the effort to win the championship.
"This KOF will be nearly complete once all the energy is gathered," Goenitz murmured, scanning team dossiers and focusing on Kusanagi Kyo and Iori Yagami.
The Three Sacred Treasure families had disappointed him.
When he met Kyo before, he had expected much—Kyo came from one of the three sacred lineages and had been in two tournaments—yet Goenitz had beaten him easily. He now felt let down by the other two heirs as well.
To Goenitz, Orochi's revival was only a matter of time.
"Renji, have you found teammates yet?"
Mai Shiranui called Renji, worried.
Though embarrassed to face him recently, a day without seeing him made her miss him. If she could not meet him, she would at least call.
Renji had encouraged her to join the Women Fighters Team, but he himself had not yet found teammates, and Mai worried about that.
If Renji truly could not find anyone, perhaps Mai could ask Kyou—surely Kyou still had contacts.
"Don't worry. I'll find them soon!"
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Phew, then I can relax—darling, you're the best, mua!"
Mai's guilt eased. She had feared Renji would end up alone. After a sweet conversation, they reluctantly hung up.
After the call, Renji looked at the sky and roared, "Who the hell am I supposed to team up with?!"
He had said earlier to avoid appearing incompetent, but the truth was he really hadn't found anyone.
Renji was at a loss.
He had left Mai's dojo confident he could find two teammates easily, but he hadn't encountered a single suitable candidate. He couldn't just drag two strangers off the street—who would risk their life on such a team?
This tournament could be deadly; few would take that gamble. Most teams consisted of friends or bonded partners; strangers teaming up was rare.
At the moment, Renji thought Kagura Chizuru might be an option. In KOF '96 she had appeared at the event but didn't participate or team with anyone.
If he could find and invite her, she might agree—but he had no idea where she was.
That left fighters from Street Fighter, but they had to be tracked down as well.
"I told you—I'm haunted by a ghost! Lock me in prison already!"
As Renji pondered possible teammates, a voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Seeing the speaker, Renji froze as if seeing a ghost.
No way… this was already improbable enough—but in this timeline? Too early by far.
Yet Renji suddenly realized he might have found his first teammate.
There, standing before him, was a ready-made partner—and a very good one.
Previously she wanted to introduce a teammate to Renji—Kagura Chizuru—but Renji had refused stoutly, claiming he surely wouldn't fail to find teammates. He hadn't expected the reversal to come so fast.
"Can you introduce her as my teammate? I'm short one member."
Renji had been too embarrassed to ask before because he only had himself—now that he had one teammate, he felt comfortable asking.
"All right. I'll tell Chizuru. I'll ask her now."
Since Renji still lacked one teammate, Mai felt responsible; she thought that position was originally hers and her withdrawal caused Renji to lack a member.
So she was determined to make it up.
"Chizuru, are you participating in this KOF?"
Kagura Chizuru, surprised to receive Mai's call, had not expected to be invited to compete.
"Sorry, Mai. I probably won't participate."
"Oh?"
Rejected, Mai showed a flash of disappointment.
If Chizuru didn't join, who could Renji turn to?
What about Kyou?
Mai looked at Kyou, preparing to ask, when Chizuru hesitated on the phone and then asked, "Mai, is your team missing a member?"
If she participated, perhaps it wouldn't be impossible.
Actually, Chizuru felt a touch of reluctance to refuse Mai.
"It's not me—Renji needs one more teammate. If it's possible, Chizuru, could you help? I was supposed to team with Renji originally."
Mai explained the whole situation to Chizuru.
After listening, Chizuru fell silent.
Mai had blurted everything out; Chizuru couldn't very well feign ignorance.
"All right. Tell Renji I agree. Give him my contact info and have him call me; we'll talk."
Chizuru finally agreed, and Mai rejoiced. After sharing the news with Renji, Mai's heavy worry lifted.
Her greatest fear had been Renji failing to find teammates.
"Well, look at you so happy," Kyou muttered. Renji was a real husband treasure—still not married and already doted on. If they did marry, who knew how Mai would react.
But Kyou's personality seemed well suited to marriage; if Kyou were a man, perhaps he'd be smitten too.
"I stood up Renji before, and this time I'll defeat him—make him realize fighting gets you nowhere. If he loses to me, maybe he'll return, marry me, and quit fighting to stay at the Shiranui Dojo!"
Besides helping Renji find a replacement for her spot, Mai hoped to humiliate him into domesticity.
She had already imagined having three children—ideally a boy and a girl—so they'd have a complete family.
"Have you considered what if Renji beats you?"
Kyou wondered whether Mai was overconfident.
If Mai thought victory was certain, had she considered the consequences?
"If I win, he'll still marry me!"
Mai dismissed the concern. Whether she won or lost, she believed Renji would marry her. If he lost, she could press the advantage to hasten the marriage.
"Marriage-obsessed," Toudou Kasumi labeled Mai in her mind.
Kasumi pondered why Mai wanted marriage so badly. They were not so far apart in age; Kasumi was curious about Renji—what made him so captivating to Mai?
Could it be what Mai hinted at earlier? Coupled with Mai's exaggerated figure, Kasumi considered them oddly well matched.
Lowering her eyes, Kasumi compared herself to Mai and felt deflated; it seemed fate favored Mai in appearance.
Though she wasn't without assets, next to Mai she felt small and almost childlike.
This would affect fighting, she fretted, before reminding herself she was a fighter and still a high schooler—there was room to grow.
"Done. The other teammate is set. By the way, is your personality really like that?"
Renji was in high spirits after securing the final teammate—his team now included Kongtiao Chengtai-lang and Kagura Chizuru—likely among the strongest lineups in KOF '96.
But he still couldn't quite understand Kongtiao Chengtai-lang's personality; it wasn't the sort to trust so readily.
Renji had simply been a little scatterbrained earlier—perhaps overtrained and not thinking clearly. Compared to other versions of Renji, this one might be simpler and thicker-skinned, but not entirely lacking intelligence.
From the start, Renji had the sense that Kongtiao Chengtai-lang was holding something back.
"Because I planned to test your strength during later training," Kongtiao Chengtai-lang admitted when Renji revealed his suspicions.
He hadn't fully trusted Renji; Renji had said they would train together, and although the Shiranui Dojo was well known and the KOF tournament was no mere rumor, Kongtiao wanted to test Renji first.
If Renji turned out to be a fraud, Kongtiao wouldn't let it slide.
Hearing Kongtiao's words, Renji felt relieved; Kongtiao wasn't simply obedient but a person with his own judgment.
That explained why he hadn't contradicted Renji earlier; he had his own plans—perhaps to beat Renji up if Renji proved weak.
"Then let me see your strength before training."
If they were to enter KOF, the team leader's strength couldn't be inferior to the others.
After accepting the Stand situation, Kongtiao decided to test Renji.
Star Platinum appeared behind Kongtiao, and Renji was surprised to realize he could see it despite not being a Stand user. Perhaps after the worlds merged, his fighter's ki let him perceive Stands.
They found a quiet place. Renji didn't immediately attack Kongtiao; instead, he tested himself against Star Platinum.
In a burst of fighting spirit, Renji met Star Platinum's fist with his own.
The impact's feedback told Renji this was indeed an S-class Stand.
"It hurts!"
Kongtiao winced; the returning force almost felt like his knuckles were cracking.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!"
Star Platinum's fists whirled faster and faster; Renji matched pace. Shiranui-style ninjutsu couldn't match Star Platinum in close-quarters speed, but Renji's passive Eight Gates Technique had reached the seventh gate.
He was one breath away from the eighth. The seventh gate's enhanced physicality kept him from being overwhelmed by Star Platinum's unpaused onslaught.
"Kongtiao, you really are fit for fighting!"
Kongtiao's gift for combat was terrifying; a seemingly ordinary high schooler was learning rapidly during their bout.
"Are all fighters like you?" Kongtiao asked calmly, though inside he no longer underestimated fighters. He had once thought the KOF was merely ordinary brawling with some technique—but fighting Renji made him understand why KOF was called the global elite tournament.
If every fighter held Renji's level—or higher—Kongtiao resolved to train hard before attending.
"No, I'm probably stronger than most," Renji answered modestly. He did not claim invincibility, but he knew he was strong.
"I understand."
That suited Kongtiao; if Renji were ordinary, it would be bad news—but the revelation left Kongtiao slightly disappointed. He did not fear battle or mighty foes.
After the spar, Kongtiao exchanged contact details and prepared to inform his mother, Kongtiao Heli, of recent events.
Renji then met with Kagura Chizuru.
As teammates, they needed to communicate and coordinate, so they arranged to meet at a café. Renji arrived first; Chizuru followed soon after.
"Nice to meet you. Mai told me about you. Shall we train together?"
Although KOF is a team-based individual tournament, cooperation and understanding each other's abilities mattered. Chizuru wanted to get to know Renji first.
"Training together would be fine, but—"
Renji's phone rang before he could finish. The caller was Kongtiao—just departed.
"Sorry, I have to take this."
Chizuru nodded and looked outside while Renji answered. From Kongtiao, Renji learned that Kongtiao's mother had suffered an accident. Then, in a call with his grandfather, Kongtiao explained the backstory: involving a man named Dio.
The same Dio Renji had mentioned before.
After hesitating, Kongtiao's grandfather flew in from abroad; Kongtiao needed to know about Dio.
"Dio?"
Renji was surprised—he had not expected Kongtiao's mother to fall ill so soon after Kongtiao returned home.
It felt as if the plot had shifted; by rights, Kongtiao Heli's illness should have occurred after Joseph Joestar's arrival, not now. The timing suggested the Joestar family was awakening to Stands under Dio's influence.
Kongtiao Heli's condition stemmed from losing control of her Stand.
Renji recounted Dio's and the Joestar family's history to Kongtiao.
After thanking Renji, Kongtiao ended the call, feeling conflicted.
If breaking the curse required defeating Dio, then participating in the tournament might be impossible.
Kongtiao was not one to break promises lightly—he had just agreed to join Renji in KOF, and leaving now felt wrong, even if his mother's condition demanded his attention. Renji would likely understand.
"What's wrong?" Chizuru asked.
"It seems a teammate had an emergency."
Renji was not surprised; the plot would unfold like this sooner or later.
"Can they not participate?"
Losing one teammate again so soon worried Renji; they had only just filled the slot.
A strange look passed through Chizuru's eyes.
(End of Chapter)
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