"I've already sworn not to use [Beach Boy] for fishing."
Pesci mumbled as he fished, his tone a little aggrieved.
"Pesci, relax," Melone advised calmly.
"When we were at the restaurant, the boss said there wasn't enough food. Everyone is hungry now. If you send over the fish you caught with your ability, everyone will have something to eat."
"Prosciutto will definitely praise you," Melone earnestly coaxed.
"Is that so?" Pesci quickly asked.
"That's right. You don't want Prosciutto to lose face, do you? He's the one who introduced you to the Assassination Team," Melone said. "It's time to let everyone discover that your usefulness isn't just as a potted plant!"
Pesci: "!" Melone was right!
Johnson sat to the side, silently watching Melone. Although this guy could be a bit perverted at times, he was mostly quite normal.
However, he thought Prosciutto wouldn't praise Pesci; instead, he'd probably beat him. Using Beach Boy to fish, according to Prosciutto's theory, was simply not gangster enough.
Once Melone said that, Pesci immediately jumped off the rock, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light. He manipulated his Stand, Beach Boy, with the agility of an assassin, a fierce expression on his face, hardly looking like he was fishing.
"Let my Beach Boy flow to deeper waters—" Pesci said in a serious, deep voice, "—to catch the biggest fish!"
Johnson Joffrey's mouth twitched slightly. Calling himself 'Grandpa' (uncle)... well, only a Grandpa would go fishing.
Johnson looked at the dark blue sea. The Assassination Team was too relaxed now. Diavolo was probably about to take his daughter away, right?
If she was taken away, that would be fine too. They might ask Bucciarati to continue the transport. At that time, we would have to rely on Babyface and my tracking ability to track Giorno.
Suddenly, Pesci's fish hook pulled down sharply, and the fishing line made a taut sound.
"?!"
Pesci's round eyes widened in surprise, and the fishing rod bent slightly.
"What did you catch?" Melone asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I don't know..." Pesci whispered, closing his eyes as he maximized Beach Boy's tactile sense, rapidly searching in the sea, then sharply pulling his fishing rod.
A small object was suddenly pulled out of the rippling sea, splashing a little water, and in the gaze of the three, it was flung onto the ground by Beach Boy... —a small yellow fish?
"What did you catch..." Before Melone could finish speaking, this 'small fish' struggled to get up from the ground, holding a bullet in its hand. It opened its large eyes, looked around at the three of them, then began to quietly sob, finally bursting into loud tears.
"Ah wah wah wah!!!"
Johnson & Melone & Pesci: "..."
"Mi—sta!! Mista!! Come get me back! Waaah wah wah!!"
Melone swallowed in surprise. Only then did he realize that this wasn't a fish, but a small yellow person? A small '5' was written on the small yellow person's forehead.
"This thing is a Stand!" Pesci said. His Beach Boy was also a Stand, so he could naturally sense other Stands. He felt the power of a Stand when he discovered this small yellow person.
That's why he reeled it in.
"Mi—sta!! Mista!!"
Is this Mista's Stand, Sex Pistols?? Johnson only now reacted. If that was the case, then Bucciarati was nearby?
Considering Mista's Sex Pistols' attack range—that is, the distance a bullet can travel—there were basically no obstructions on the sea surface. A normal revolver bullet could fly three to four thousand meters.
So, NO.5 must have been manipulating the bullets, right?
Reversed Hierophant emerged from behind Johnson, squatted down, and picked up NO.5. It immediately opened its eyes wide like a mouse, red and swollen from crying.
Damn it! My position is exposed!
The Sex Pistols share vision. Although Mista cannot see what the Sex Pistols see, the other Sex Pistols will definitely tell Mista. And even if I kill NO.5 now, it's useless, the Sex Pistols will recover and can be immediately recalled to him.
"This is the Stand of an enemy I know," Johnson said in a low voice. If it's just Bucciarati's Team, then the Assassination Team can take them out.
I can also get some information about Trish from Bucciarati and find a way to convey the intelligence I know.
Bucciarati, it's your bad luck to run into me.
Reversed Hierophant pulled a thread from NO.5's body.
NO.5's eyes were truly enormous, with two tears hanging, and it shouted loudly, "What are you going to do?!"
"Mi-sta!!"
NO.5 cried incessantly, like a small mouse, struggling non-stop in Reversed Hierophant's hand.
Johnson Joffrey suddenly felt strange. Logically, Mista should have dismissed his Stand by now.
NO.5 was small but its voice was truly loud, crying non-stop without any pause. Reversed Hierophant had a blank expression, extended his thumb to block its mouth, and it began to 'woo woo woo'.
Why hasn't Mista dismissed his Stand yet? Could it be that he recognized me? We only met once in the sewers. Come to think of it, I should have rescued him from Prison. Ever since he was pierced by my arrow, I knew that fate would lead him to Bucciarati's Team.
Until Mista and Giorno joined Bucciarati's Team, he was once very despondent, which is - as Araki, the true creator of this world, said - the fate of this world cannot be changed.
Johnson Joffrey pulled his thoughts back, pondering, could Mista not be dismissing his Stand because he recognized me?
"NO.5!" Johnson Joffrey yelled sharply. NO.5's crying stopped abruptly. "Do you see who I am? You are Mista's Stand, right?"
Reversed Hierophant released the thumb blocking its mouth, then looked at NO.5's surprised little face, as if frozen.
Suddenly, it changed its expression like a mask, revealing an exaggerated smile, as if flowers were blooming around it!
"Mi-sta!! I found Johnson Joffrey!!" This time it wasn't a crying tone, but a sudden change of joy. "I found Johnson Joffrey!! It seems being eaten by a fish was a good thing! NO.3 won't call me stupid anymore!!"
Johnson Joffrey: "?" Could it be that Mista didn't join Bucciarati's Team?
NO.5 happily cupped its head with its small hands, its little yellow face flushed with excitement, and said, "Mista said to tell you to wait for him, he'll come find you in three hours! What incredibly good luck!!"
"I found you before all of them!"
"What does Mista want with me?" Johnson asked, somewhat surprised.
NO.5's intelligence seemed to be only that of a four-year-old child, stammering out words like 'Bucciarati', 'Giorno', 'Moody Blues', 'the organization wants to kill Mista', and so on.
Johnson Joffrey's mind instantly played out a scenario: Mista betrayed Bucciarati?
Because of me?
What about their team's bond?
Wait, why would the organization hunt Mista? Could it be that the organization already knows about Mista's betrayal?
Johnson took a deep breath. NO.5 didn't seem to be lying, because it seemed to be the dumbest and weakest of the Stands. If Mista and Bucciarati were setting a trap to harm me, they wouldn't send it. Moreover, Bucciarati's Team logically couldn't defeat the Assassination Team in a team fight.
It wasn't that he was arrogant, but aside from Diavolo, and the unknown abilities of other potential Bodyguard Team members who didn't appear in the original story, only Diavolo could contend with the Assassination Team.
And Diavolo wouldn't show himself easily; he would certainly rely on sneak attacks.
So Johnson Joffrey wasn't afraid of Mista setting a trap. The Assassination Team was currently in a bottleneck, and what they needed most was information. Since he couldn't reasonably reveal all the information he possessed, perhaps he could use Bucciarati's Team as an excuse to leak some other intelligence.
Bucciarati's Team was the current breakthrough.
It seemed Mista had truly betrayed Bucciarati. Could it be that he saw Moody Blues could replay past messages, worried about Joffrey's safety, and thus betrayed Bucciarati to inform him?
This... what was this world-shaking feeling?
Johnson Joffrey didn't show it, remaining calm, and said, "Go back to Mista. I'll call him over right away."
"Eh?" No. 5's puzzled expression immediately vanished, indicating Mista had dispelled his Stand.
Reversed Hierophant spread its hand, a thin thread connected to its palm. Once Mista dispelled his Stand, the thread would directly transmit to his body. Now, with just a gentle tug, Mista would come over.
"Johnson, who is it?" Melone narrowed his eyes slightly, a dangerous glint flashing within them. He took a step forward, standing in front of Pesci. Although Pesci looked somewhat mature, he was actually only one year older than Johnson.
"A friend of mine."
"Your friend? You only arrived in Italy yesterday. Where did you make a friend?" Melone asked with a frown.
"It's a long story," Johnson hesitated. His original plan was to make an impression on Mista, so he wouldn't look too bad in front of Bucciarati's Team later, essentially leaving himself another option.
Johnson looked at Reversed Hierophant. Its red vertical pupils reflected the gray-blue moonlight. It lightly tapped its fingertip. It could control the thread at any time, and with increasing time and proficiency, Reversed Hierophant's control over the thread grew incredibly fast.
A thread was originally a concept—the impossible ideal process of lossless energy conversion and transmission.
But Reversed Hierophant turned it into reality and could manipulate it at will, including absorbing or not absorbing, except it couldn't reverse high energy absorbing low energy.
Reversed Hierophant's thread tautened in an instant, disappearing the next second, suddenly transforming into a man.
The pulling speed of the thread was too fast; the pulling process was completely invisible, the speed was almost equivalent to disappearing.
The man landed perfectly in Reversed Hierophant's hand, with Reversed Hierophant gripping his collar.
His expression still seemed to be from the previous second, in that state where he hadn't yet had time to react.
Reversed Hierophant looked at the man in its hand, wearing a blue crop-top sweater and a red checkered hat, and slowly tilted its head to the side in confusion.
—Guido Mista.
Confirmed, it was him!
Johnson Joffrey's mouth twitched slightly as he looked at Mista in bewilderment.
"How did I get here?!" Mista exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"I pulled you over with my Stand Ability."
"Oh, I see." Mista, with a bewildered expression, was held suspended in mid-air by Reversed Hierophant, unable to escape his surprise, still in a dazed blank state.
"Eh?!" Mista let out a cry of confusion, "It's you! Johnson! I finally found you!"
Johnson: "?"
Mista struggled free from Reversed Hierophant's hand, spread his arms, and lunged towards Johnson.
"Johnson!! I finally found you!" Mista hugged Johnson tightly.
"Mista," Johnson calmly and forcefully pushed him away, pressing his hand against Mista's head, and said expressionlessly, "Calm down."
It was then that Mista seemed to remember something, pulling at his crop top and saying seriously,
"Johnson, I want to join your Assassination Team."
Johnson & Melone & Pesci: "..."
"Who is this guy?" Melone frowned and whispered.
"He escaped from the Prison when I escaped from Polpo. You could say he's a friend."
"It's great that you still remember me! Of course, Johnson!" Mista patted his chest and said, "I'm not joining your team for nothing!"
"I've brought you intelligence on Bucciarati's Team, who are pursuing you!"
Melone and Pesci exchanged surprised glances, and Melone looked at Johnson Joffrey again.
"I understand," Johnson held out a hand, stopping Mista. "You betrayed Bucciarati's Team?"
"!" Mista's eyes widened, and he looked at Johnson in disbelief, "It's truly you, to have guessed it!"
I really wasn't wrong, Johnson Joffrey isn't just lucky! Mista thought with pleasant surprise.
"It can't really be called a betrayal," Mista corrected himself. "I told them before I joined that I wouldn't go against you. They were just so short-handed that they insisted I come along. But after I thought it over carefully, I decided to infiltrate them. It was actually to tell you their crucial intelligence!"
"I've seen all their abilities clearly!" Mista said proudly.
"Johnson, please let me join the Assassination Team!"
"My ability is best suited for the Assassination Team." With that, he struck a cool 007 Bond pose.
Johnson Joffrey was stunned, not by Mista's sudden appearance, but by how much Bucciarati's Team had changed due to his own existence.
Could it be that destiny can be reversed in this world?