The interior of the mansion was even more… indescribable than it looked from the outside; it could only be described as very "Kishibe Rohan."
Manuscripts, art supplies, and various strange collectibles were seemingly casually yet orderly arranged, creating a sense of creative chaos.
Rohan walked to his desk and sat down, picking up a pen and shaking it, as if ready to record at any moment. Today, he was wearing a loose black sweater and white trousers, looking very casual and relaxed, with a small leather jacket over it.
"Well," he said, his gaze first falling on Hazamada Toshiwazu with an air of scrutiny, "let's start with you, this… gentleman who seems to have quite a lot of experience.
What 'unbelievable' thing did you encounter that makes you want to claim a reward from me?"
As he spoke, he pointed his pen at the newspaper in the other man's hand, which clearly stated a maximum prize of 10 million yen.
Hazamada Toshiwazu immediately became excited and began to gesticulate as he spoke, "Rohan-sensei! It's like this! Look!"
He directly put down the cloth bag on his back, pulled open the zipper, and revealed a giant humanoid puppet inside.
The puppet had no facial features, its face was smooth, and its limbs were equally crude, with no fingers or toes carved out. Its craftsmanship didn't seem very good, causing Kishibe Rohan to frown in confusion.
"What is this…?"
But Koichi Hirose's expression on the side changed to shock; he looked at this guy, who had just said he wouldn't do bad things, with a bewildered expression, "Activate, Surface!"
The next moment, Surface began to twist and twitch, growing directly into the likeness of Kishibe Rohan. Not only his face and height, but even the clothes Kishibe Rohan was wearing were perfectly replicated, making it look like another Kishibe Rohan.
"Hello, Mr. Kishibe Rohan."
When this guy smiled and extended his hand to Kishibe Rohan, a trace of confusion appeared in Kishibe Rohan's eyes, and he found that he couldn't control his hand. He also subconsciously reached out and shook hands with the copy.
Was this a Stand User like him?
He hadn't expected to lure out a Stand User like himself before even catching the killer; his luck was truly good.
Meanwhile, Koichi seemed about to explode with anger; he had already summoned Echoes Act 2 and was starting to write on its tail, as if he was about to directly attack.
The sight of this eerie thing being summoned shocked Kishibe Rohan again, but he suppressed his expression, thinking that his luck was incredibly good to randomly pick two people and have both be Stand Users.
"Hazamada Toshiwazu!"
"Wait a minute, Koichi, I wasn't going to attack Rohan-sensei. I was just showing him my ability, you see? Isn't this an interesting anecdote?"
Seeing Koichi about to act, Hazamada Toshiwazu immediately backed down, Lifted the surface Ability, putting Surface away again.
He smiled awkwardly but politely, his eyes practically sparkling as he looked at Kishibe Rohan, "You see, Rohan-sensei, this should count as a strange tale, right?"
Kishibe Rohan narrowed his eyes, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. He didn't immediately comment, only silently nodded slightly, "You are superpowered individuals?"
"More accurately, Stand Users…"
Hazamada Toshiwazu subconsciously replied, only to be met with an even more furious glare from Koichi, knowing that he would likely be in for a beating later.
Since that was the case, he had to find a way to get more money from Kishibe Rohan later. If he was going to get beaten anyway, he shouldn't take it for nothing.
Then, a trace of shock appeared in his eyes as Rohan's gaze turned to Koichi, "And you? Koichi, right? Besides this ability, what else do you have to say?"
Koichi took a deep breath, thinking to himself, "As expected of a famous manga artist, a successful person who became a renowned manga artist at 20. He's so calm even after seeing Surface's ability."
But he didn't notice that Kishibe Rohan had actually seen his Echoes, too; only his powerful control over his expressions concealed his reaction, making him appear calm at the same time.
Koichi decided not to expose Hazamada's past for now, but instead to ask his own questions, "Rohan-sensei, I just want to know, collecting these stories, especially about that… hidden serial killer, do you know something? Is that so-called serial killer real? A lot has happened in town recently, including yesterday's explosion…"
Just then, Hazamada Toshiwazu seemed to remember something and interjected, "That's right! The explosion! Rohan-sensei, do you think that serial killer might be the one who caused the explosion? I think…"
"Shut up."
Kishibe Rohan coldly interrupted Hazamada Toshiwazu. He was somewhat annoyed by this exaggerated display of eagerness to show off.
His gaze returned to Koichi, with a playful and scrutinizing look, "What I know is far more than you can imagine, Koichi, but information needs to be exchanged.
Perhaps we should use a more 'direct' method to trade. Come, wait for me to finish writing, and you can look at something first."
"You're all manga fans, right? I think you'll be very interested in this."
Rohan's face showed his characteristic, slightly twisted, excited smile. He grabbed an envelope from the side and casually tossed it to Hazamada Toshiwazu, the fountain pen between his fingers seeming to come alive.
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze locked on Hazamada Toshiwazu and Koichi. He pulled another sheet of paper from the side, and the pen in his hand began to write rapidly, his eyes filled with twisted satisfaction and excitement.
Koichi's internal alarm bells rang loudly; he felt an unease but couldn't pinpoint its source. Hazamada Toshiwazu was still bewildered, not knowing what he was about to face, only worried if he would still get the prize money if they made a trade.
But a manga artist's original manga manuscript? He was indeed very interested in this. He hadn't expected to actually see it this time? That was a good thing, after all… On a distant utility pole, Kira Yoshihiro, through the Eye of the Photo, took in the situation inside the house.
"Yoshikage, Koichi and that kid named Hazamada have gone in.
That Rohan guy… looks like he's planning to use his Stand ability."
Inside the car, Kira Yoshikage's smile grew even colder.
"Excellent. That idiot Hazamada Toshiwazu is surprisingly cooperative; let him distract Rohan.
Whatever Rohan gets from their minds doesn't matter; it will only muddy the waters, and that's our opportunity."
"Continue to monitor, Father. The show has just begun. Oh, Father, do you remember what I told you before?"
"Hmm, Yoshikage, I still remember. Don't worry, I won't look at that thing…"
"That's good. I'm counting on you, Father."
Kira Yoshikage hung up the phone, his gaze fixed on the Kameyu Department Store. Beneath his calm office worker exterior was a hunting net slowly tightening.
Everything was currently going according to his plan. With his father's efforts, Koichi was about to be captured by Kishibe Rohan and dealt with severely.
And by the afternoon, Jotaro and his group, realizing that Koichi hadn't shown up, would naturally sense something was wrong and would trace it back to Kishibe Rohan. By then, damage to either side would be a good thing.
However, Higashikata Josuke would have to be dealt with, otherwise, no matter how severely they were injured, they would recover under the effect of Crazy Diamond.