Inside Rohan's mansion, the air seemed to solidify.
In the creatively chaotic space, only the 'shush' of Kishibe Rohan's pen scratching across paper remained, the urgent sound particularly jarring in the room.
The twisted, excited smile on his lips became more pronounced, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Koichi and Hazamada, like a collector who had discovered a rare specimen, "Such interesting information, an interesting story, a Stand? Interesting."
Meanwhile, Hazamada swallowed, opened the envelope, and looked down, his eyes instantly widening.
Inside the envelope were several never-before-seen early character design sketches for 'Pink Dark Boy'! For a manga fan like him, this was an absolute dream treasure!
"This... this is?!"
Hazamada's breathing grew heavy; he instantly cast aside his fear and began greedily flipping through them, muttering incessantly, "This is incredible... so this character was originally designed like this..."
"Hey, Koichi, come take a look, I remember you're a manga fan too..."
Koichi's heart, however, sank. Rohan's behavior was too bizarre. After seeing the existence of 'Surface,' which defied all logic, his first reaction wasn't to question it, but to immediately record it... This was extremely abnormal!
And even if that could be excused by his extreme composure, Rohan's current expression filled him with a certain dread. In his nervousness, he instinctively turned around when he heard a sound, and then he saw that series of character design sketches.
"Wow, they really are amazing! Settings I never would have imagined..."
"Wait, no, that's not the point."
Koichi, who had instinctively complimented them, realized something was wrong, slapped himself without hesitation, then straightened his head and stared at Rohan's crazed expression.
"Rohan-sensei, you..." Koichi tried to speak, his body subtly retreating into a defensive posture.
But it was already too late.
Rohan suddenly looked up, his pen stopping. The smile on his face became extremely dangerous and fanatical: "Deal! Now, let me 'read' the 'stories' you've brought with my own eyes, in the most authentic way!"
His pen waved forward like a conductor's baton!
"Heaven's Door!"
In an instant, Koichi felt a blur before his eyes, as if invisible pages were furiously flipping around him.
He was horrified to discover that his body was uncontrollably rigid, his arms, thighs, and even the skin on his cheeks, were peeling open layer by layer like book pages!
What was exposed was not flesh and blood, but dense text and strange illustrations, recording his past experiences, thoughts, and even some subtle emotions he himself had almost forgotten!
"Wh-what is this?!" Koichi was scared out of his wits. He wanted to struggle, to shout, but found he couldn't even move a single finger.
He could only watch helplessly as he turned into a 'human book,' all his privacy and secrets laid bare before Rohan.
Hazamada, on the other side, was even worse. He was engrossed in the design sketches and hadn't even reacted to what was happening.
By the time he realized something was wrong, he found he had also become the same 'book.' He opened his mouth in terror, but no sound came out, only his eyeballs trembling violently from extreme fear, the precious original manuscripts scattering across the floor.
"Hehehe... hahahaha!"
Rohan looked at the two 'living' 'books' before him, filled with unknown stories, and couldn't help but let out a low, excited laugh.
He stood up, holding paper and his pen, and walked in front of the two completely rigid, statue-like figures, his eyes burning.
"Indeed... indeed, you both are! Is this what a Stand User is? People with superpowers like me, this is amazing! This ability is truly amazing!"
He first carefully examined the records and growth experiences of Koichi's 'Echoes' ability on his 'pages,' nodding, "Koichi Hirose, an interesting growth experience. Your Stand is still evolving... good potential."
Then, his gaze turned to Hazamada. When he saw the 'pages' describing how Hazamada, due to his dark and twisted personality, as well as being reclusive and cruel, was ostracized by his classmates and constantly bullied, until he was pierced by an arrow and became a Stand User.
The subsequent content was all about how he used 'Surface' to injure classmates, how he assisted Otoishi Akira in his misdeeds, and his own lewd and filthy thoughts. Rohan's face revealed undisguised disgust.
"Tsk, trash, indeed a scumbag. He doesn't even qualify as my material."
"However, the way you gained your ability is indeed the same as mine, by being pierced by an arrow. I never thought someone like you would have such aptitude; it's truly a waste."
He commented coldly, his gaze like one looking at social scum, not even bothering to scrutinize Hazamada's sordid thoughts, quickly flipping pages, trying to find any valuable information about recent events.
His finger slid rapidly across Hazamada's 'pages,' his gaze sharp as a knife.
Soon, he found what he was looking for: Hazamada's observations from the Hospital yesterday, and the fragmented discussions and fearful fantasies he overheard about the 'bombing incident,' 'invisible monster,' and 'high-temperature explosion.'
"Is that so? Everyone injured in yesterday's bombing was transported to this Hospital, and you managed to overhear it. You're not a complete waste after all."
This ability to gather intelligence and eavesdrop on gossip made Rohan look at him with a bit more respect, secretly thinking he might as well just use Heaven's Door to turn him into a tool for gathering information.
"High temperature... explosion... invisible..." Rohan murmured, his eyes growing brighter, "It matches what Reimi said about being 'blown to pieces'! There's a connection after all!"
"Is that killer also a Stand User? That narrows down the scope."
Then, he eagerly turned his gaze to Koichi's 'pages,' and began specifically searching based on the information in Hazamada's memory.
He focused on searching for information related to "Jotaro," "investigation," "bombing incident," and "Higashikata Josuke."
When he saw Jotaro's analysis in Koichi's memory about the "suit-wearing office worker," "around 175 cm tall," and "attention to detail."
And the strange footprints found by the lake and the untraceable strand of hair, Rohan was so excited he almost trembled.
"Found it... the clues are connected!"
He abruptly straightened up, his face flushed with extreme excitement, "A well-hidden Stand User with the ability to make things explode and disappear! Right here in this town!"
"Perfect, perfect, a perfect story! This is exactly what I want!"
He even saw the name that had been mentioned countless times in Koichi's mind, the name he now considered his biggest threat.
"Jo...ta...ro..."
Rohan pronounced the name syllable by syllable, as if to chew and swallow it.
His eyes gleamed with the light of discovering the ultimate treasure. All the clues at this moment seemed to connect, pointing to the lurking killer and this Stand User with immense power.
"Excellent... this is truly wonderful! This is the most perfect material! An ultimate villain capable of supporting a great manga! I truly didn't come to Morioh in vain; this is the best decision I've ever made in my life!"
He paced back and forth excitedly, completely immersed in the ecstasy of acquiring crucial information.
"No, I must act now! I must start creating, a truly great work!"
Meanwhile, Koichi and Hazamada, transformed into 'books,' could only stand in despair, helplessly allowing all their secrets to be freely perused by this fanatical mangaka.
This terrifying mangaka would also occasionally tear off a few pieces of paper with interesting memories, then directly pin them aside as manga material.
Koichi's heart was filled with anger and a sense of powerlessness. He finally understood that Rohan's so-called 'story collection' was nothing but a trap!
This trap wasn't specifically aimed at him, but once he fell into it, the other party didn't care about that.
On a distant utility pole, Kira Yoshihiro observed everything happening inside the mansion. Although he followed his son's warning not to look at the specific content of the 'book,' he was still very surprised by Rohan's ability.
He just kept an eye on their reactions, and when he saw them turn into books, he knew the plan was proceeding smoothly.
"Yoshikage, Rohan has made his move. Koichi and Hazamada are both controlled by his ability, turned into... well, a very strange state.
Rohan looks very excited, he must have gotten the information he wanted. Is this really okay? He won't find you, will he!"
Inside the car, Kira Yoshikage listened to his father's report, a cold smile on his face.
"Very good. Greed and curiosity will drive him to search for 'Kira Yoshikage,' but he won't be able to find him.
And when Jotaro and the others discover Koichi is missing and follow the trail here... facing a mangaka who might know many secrets and possesses strange abilities, a conflict will be inevitable."
"Continue to monitor, Father. In at most 12 hours, Jotaro and the others will surely go there."
Hanging up the phone, Kira Yoshikage adjusted his tie and returned to his post.
The workday at Kameyu Department Store had begun, and the first act of Morioh's chaotic stage was already set: Higashikata Josuke beating up Rohan!
Meanwhile, inside Rohan's mansion, the crazed mangaka had stopped pacing.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his inner excitement, his eyes once again becoming calm and dangerous. He looked at the two immobile 'books,' especially Koichi.
"Koichi Hirose, it seems you and your friends are tracking down quite a formidable individual."
"And not just them, your two abilities are also quite good; your combat power is considerable."
He picked up his pen, a smirk on his lips, "But now, this is my story. Until I get everything I want, I'll trouble you two... to be my assistants for now."
He raised his pen, seemingly intending to write some instructions on the 'pages,' and a moment later, the door opened again.
Two teenagers, faces beaming with joy and clutching wads of cash, stood by the door, helping Rohan greet new visitors, "Oh, sir, you're asking me why I'm not leaving?"
"Ah, that's simple. Rohan-sensei hired us as doormen to help him with this event. Look, all this money is our reward."
"Ah, you two are so lucky, I envy you so much..."
"It's okay, as long as you have an interesting story, you can be just as lucky."
Rohan smiled happily, looking at the envious visitors.
Look, look, how happy these people whose perceptions he had altered were! As long as they obeyed him and provided him with a continuous stream of information, they could remain this happy. How blissful!
He decided he would turn this small town into his manga town.
The entire town... would become his manga material!