Soon, a taxi sped over, screeching to a halt not far from Kishibe Rohan's house.
Higashikata Josuke and Nijimura Okuyasu practically leaped out of the car; it hadn't even fully stopped before they were already on their feet, braking with their heels, and their Stands were immediately summoned.
They instantly saw Koichi and Hazamada Toshiwazu standing at the entrance, their smiles a bit too bright.
"Koichi!" Josuke shouted, rushing forward.
Koichi turned at the sound, his face still bearing that business-like smile, "Ah! It's Josuke and Okuyasu! Why are you here? Are you also here for Rohan-sensei's story collection meeting? Too bad, it's already over for today!"
His tone and demeanor were almost identical to his usual self, but that smile, no matter how they looked at it, was eerie and completely wrong.
Josuke and Okuyasu froze instantly, alarm bells ringing in their hearts, and their Stands entered a state of alert.
"Koichi, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
Okuyasu frowned and stepped forward, while The Hand guarded him closely, ready to erase space behind him and escape; after all, he couldn't just erase their friend Koichi, could he?
He wasn't Nijimura Keicho; he didn't enjoy killing that much.
Hazamada Toshiwazu instinctively took half a step back, his eyes flickering, as if his body was instinctively still afraid of these two formidable figures; he still remembered being dragged into a bathroom by two burly men because of Higashikata Josuke... Just then, Kishibe Rohan, hearing the commotion at the door, walked out displeased, "What's all the noise? Today's event is already over—"
His words cut off abruptly as his gaze met Higashikata Josuke and Nijimura Okuyasu's wary and angry eyes.
Seeing Josuke's distinctive hairstyle and Okuyasu's tall stature, he instantly recognized the two from Koichi's 'book page' memories.
"It's you..."
Kishibe Rohan's eyes immediately sharpened and filled with hostility; according to Koichi's memories, these two were important associates of Jotaro and also the ones investigating the 'bomber'.
They were a group of so-called very righteous people, aiming to combat criminal Stand Users; now that they had come, were they trying to disrupt his investigation and seize his ultimate material?
"What did you do to Koichi?!" Josuke's anger surged at Kishibe Rohan's expression and Koichi's extremely abnormal state; Crazy Diamond instantly appeared behind him, the blue Stand radiating a powerful oppressive aura.
"Did what?"
Kishibe Rohan sneered, completely fearless, "I just had him 'Passione'-ately help me with a small favor, and I paid him for it. As for you two, what are you doing intruding on my doorstep without permission? Trespassing?"
Since the most dangerous Jotaro, who could stop time, hadn't arrived yet, with these two's current combat experience, it was uncertain who would defeat whom.
"Bastard! Change Koichi back!" Okuyasu had an even shorter temper; The Hand cracked its knuckles, the purple Stand swinging its right hand that could erase space.
"Hmph, it seems communication is impossible." Kishibe Rohan's eyes turned cold, and he unhesitatingly raised the pen in his hand, one hand in his leather wallet, as if holding something, "Heaven's Do—"
Just at this moment of intense tension, with battle on the verge of breaking out!
No one noticed a large bag being forcefully thrown over the side wall of the mansion from outside by a bird, arcing through the air and flying precisely above everyone!
It then opened in mid-air, and a large quantity of gravel poured out directly.
"Hmm?" Jotaro's figure suddenly appeared like a ghost at the street corner; Star Platinum's superhuman vision allowed him to catch the unidentified flying object, "Watch out!"
But his warning was a split second too late; at this moment, he finally understood what Joseph's message meant.
The stones scattered from the bag shattered and emitted dazzling light, directly smashing downwards while continuously expanding.
Boom—!!!
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted!
It wasn't a single explosion, but dozens, even hundreds, of small but violent explosions occurring simultaneously!
Each stone could easily smash a person's hand, and hundreds of them combined could blast several people to pieces.
These countless fragments of crushed stone covered the entire area like deadly missiles, exploding simultaneously upon impact, effectively carpet-bombing the ground.
Smoke and dust instantly filled the air!
"Whoa!"
"What?!"
Hazamada Toshiwazu, being closest to the impact point, bore the brunt, crying out in agony as he was hit by multiple fragments of crushed stone, bleeding profusely, and collapsing unconscious on the spot; it seemed he would likely be in the Hospital for several months again.
Okuyasu reacted slightly faster; The Hand instinctively swung, erasing a portion of space in front of him, diverting most of the crushed stones heading his way, leaving only a few stone bombs near him.
But his arm and side were still gashed in several places, his entire body bleeding, and his arm was bent at almost a right angle, causing him to collapse to his knees on the spot.
At the moment of the explosion, Josuke instinctively tackled Koichi, who was slightly closer and slower to react, to the ground, using his back to shield him from most of the impact and flying debris!
Behind him, Crazy Diamond was desperately using rapid punches, trying to gather and restore the crushed stones behind him to avoid danger.
But what he didn't expect was that these bombs exploded at the same time; although Crazy Diamond restored the crushed stones from the ashes, forming a large rock.
The explosion had already occurred, and the damage it caused to him would not disappear.
Pfft!
Several sharp fragments of crushed stone, splattered by the explosion, embedded themselves like bullets into Josuke's back and shoulder; the intense pain made him grunt, and blood quickly stained his school uniform.
Additionally, over a dozen explosions directly hit Crazy Diamond, dimming its glow for a moment, and the terrifying recoil caused Higashikata Josuke to lose consciousness on the spot.
"Josuke!" Okuyasu exclaimed, a mix of shock and fury.
Kishibe Rohan was also stunned by the sudden explosion; the blast wave and smoke pushed him staggering backward, and his drawing board flew from his grasp.
He completely failed to understand what had happened.
Just moments ago, it was merely a tense standoff, with no actual fighting yet, but suddenly a large explosion appeared in front of him, and the opposite side was inexplicably bombed.
Yet, the explosion somehow didn't affect him; after the smoke cleared slightly, the scene was a mess, but he was completely unharmed, merely a bit disheveled.
And the invincible man, Jotaro, had already appeared on the scene, his face terribly grim, almost dripping with anger, just calmly looking at him.
"If I told you this was an accident, would you believe me?"
Kishibe Rohan forced a strained smile, looking at the man who could stop time, retreating while smiling, ready to pull out his manga manuscript and activate Heaven's Door at any moment.
Jotaro just watched him, too lazy to answer the foolish question; he had just reached the street corner when he sensed something was wrong, noticing those stones falling from the sky were clearly not normal.
He instantly understood what the old man's words meant, probably referring to the fact that those stones would actually explode.
He unhesitatingly activated time stop, having Star Platinum throw him out, but unfortunately, he was still a step late.
"Damn it, two seconds is still too little..."
Looking at his heavily injured uncle behind him, Jotaro's teeth ground together, clenching; two seconds, he had barely made it here, then waved his hand to swat away a few stones, and time flowed again.
Higashikata Josuke, who was the focus and where the stones were densest, was directly bombed and laid out; if nothing unexpected happened, this professional healer wouldn't be able to move normally for the next few days and would have to recuperate in the Hospital.
Kira Yoshihiro watched all of this coldly from a distance.
"The gift has been delivered, Yoshikage. Higashikata Josuke is badly injured, and the scene is chaotic."
"Very good, Father, you can leave now. The rest, leave to 'fate' and their suspicions; they will fill in the blanks of our relationship themselves."
The call ended.
Jotaro swiftly tore through the smoke and dust, Star Platinum guarding his side, his gaze scanning the scene like lightning, finally settling on Kishibe Rohan, who was completely disheveled.
"Kishibe Rohan!" Jotaro's voice was bone-chillingly cold, filled with undeniable rage, "Is this—also a part of your 'story'?!"
Kishibe Rohan looked at the heavily injured Higashikata Josuke, then at Jotaro and Okuyasu glaring at him, and the charred small pit and scattered crushed stones left behind by the explosion on the ground; his face became extremely grim.
He realized he had fallen into a meticulously designed trap, and the one who set the trap was very likely that bombing killer, and possibly also the serial killer he was tracking.
But now it seemed he couldn't explain himself... Looking at the enraged Jotaro before him, he understood that he had become a scapegoat, being treated as an accomplice of the killer.
"This, Mr. Jotaro, I have something to show you..."
"Ora Ora Ora Ora!"