The early autumn evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, sweeping through the streets of Morioh.
Kira Yoshikage, or rather, him in the skin of Kosaku Kawajiri, stood at the street corner, his gaze calmly fixed on the familiar scene not far away: American soldiers had stopped Kujo Jotaro and his companions.
This was it, this was the moment.
There was not a ripple in his heart, only a sense of almost liberated pleasure. 'Everything will end, right here.'
He could even clearly see the sharp gaze beneath Jotaro's iconic cap brim. That white cap, it would look so good when it exploded.
He saw the weathered wrinkles on Joseph Joestar's face, Higashikata Josuke's vigilant stance as he scanned his surroundings, Koichi's face filled with fear, and Nijimura Okuyasu, whose hands both had strange calluses.
'Hmm, did he look like this before? Did he have calluses on his hands before? Why do these look like demon balls, and two pairs, four eggs?'
But he dismissed the thought in an instant. Anyway, he was about to be blown up by himself, so whether he changed or not didn't matter.
"We meet again. Hello, Jotaro."
"I, Kira Yoshikage, greet you."
This whisper was as light as a sigh, dissipating in the wind. This was not a greeting, but a countdown to the end.
Without a moment's hesitation, Kira Yoshikage's right hand, as if rehearsed a thousand times, swiftly and steadily drew out the sidearm of a nearby American soldier.
The American soldier was startled, then a fawning expression appeared on his face, hoping Kira Yoshikage would directly eliminate these people so he could claim some credit.
But when the cold metal muzzle precisely pressed against Kira Yoshikage's own temple, and his index finger pulled the trigger, that American soldier froze, and the others nearby also froze. Even the protagonists paused for a moment.
Only Joseph's gaze suddenly cleared from its usual turbidity. Before Jotaro could react, several solid, almost corporeal purple thorns grew from his wrist.
The others seemed not to have realized why the opponent suddenly seemed to want to commit suicide. The American commander wanted to stop him but didn't have time to act.
Those thorns bound Kira Yoshikage's hand, pulling his wrist to the side, deflecting his gun muzzle, causing the bullet to merely graze his head.
Although it left a bloody mark, it was not fatal.
His movements were incredibly fluid, almost exceeding the limits of human reaction.
Everyone's attention had previously been on the confrontation between the American soldiers and Jotaro, and they could barely react to the unexpected event, yet he had bound him with pinpoint accuracy.
The suicide was prevented.
A perfect plan, an absolute victory, yet a flaw had appeared.
"Huh?!"
Kira Yoshikage's gun-holding right arm suddenly tightened!
These thorns, like living purple pythons, not only bound his hand at an extremely fast speed but also wrapped around his forearm and wrist with astonishing strength!
This was Hermit Purple! Joseph Joestar's Stand!
But... how was this possible?! This strength... far exceeded what he remembered it should be, but his arm couldn't resist at all. He only broke free with the power of Killer Queen; it must have been at the peak of B-rank!
When fighting Dio, this Stand wasn't this fast or powerful! And how did that old man react?!
Kira Yoshikage sharply turned his head, his gaze crossing the entangled purple vines to meet Joseph Joestar's eyes.
In those eyes, which usually held a hint of senility, an unprecedented sharp light now burst forth, devoid of any old age, only a terrifying, almost precognitive intuition forged through countless life-and-death battles!
His right hand was pointed directly at Kira Yoshikage, veins bulging, clearly having pushed his Stand's power to its limit!
"Bastard! What do you think you're doing?!" Joseph's roar, like thunder, exploded in the morning air, instantly startling everyone present!
His eyes were bright, as if flashing with a golden light. Vaguely, he seemed to see that perfect being from back then again.
Just one second! Maybe even less! But this insignificant second, forcibly delayed and created—
For a top-tier Stand User, it was already enough!
"Star Platinum: The World!"
Kujo Jotaro had just felt the threat of death and made a decisive move. His figure seemed to blur instantly! Time... stopped flowing!
In the decade of hunting Dio's remnants, he had seen death-type Stands, each possessing terrifying power, and just now, even he felt a little apprehension... At the same time, an unknown voice in his ear seemed to be constantly urging him, and for some reason, he inexplicably believed this voice.
'Get out! Get out! Don't be his enemy now, you should go to Cape Canaveral!'
Everything lost its color, sound was completely erased, and flying dust solidified in the air.
In this absolute silence and stagnation, Jotaro unhesitatingly grabbed his companions.
Indeed, he hadn't expected Kira Yoshikage's actions. After all, from previous battles, the opponent wasn't a death-type, but since he was trying to commit suicide now, he probably had related abilities, and he seemed to be allied with the American military.
In that case... it was time to run.
Two seconds! The limit of time stop!
Jotaro threw his companions out like pebbles, then turned and grabbed Joseph, securing him firmly in his hand.
Star Platinum, meanwhile, picked up a car, picked up Jotaro himself, and then also ran wildly into the distance.
The speed was like flying.
Kira Yoshikage, in the stopped time, could only watch helplessly as the other party escaped. For a moment, he almost laughed in anger.
'He's so old, and he's still playing dead with me?!'
When time flowed again, the American soldiers, seeing the figures running wildly into the distance, subconsciously raised their guns and began firing.
Star Platinum and Jotaro had already grabbed their companions and gotten into the car, which was driving desperately forward.
Star Platinum appeared behind the car, desperately blocking bullets.
Jotaro hadn't even fully seen who the attacker was; he only knew that there was a high probability of a fatal threat here now! He had to get away immediately!
Their goal was only one—to run away quickly, back to the safe house.
Kira Yoshikage, however, with a brutal smile, unhesitatingly raised his head and pulled the trigger again, yet.
"A misfire?"
Looking at the pistol that had been triggered but hadn't fired a bullet, Kira Yoshikage paused for a moment, then casually drew a dagger from another soldier. After testing a cut on his shoulder,
He forced back the commander who wanted to dissuade him with a look, then Killer Queen directly slammed its palm out, flipping open the ground beneath him.
He threw himself, along with the ground, flying from the sky, smashing towards the car that had just started and was still accelerating in the distance.
At the same time, his Stand occasionally appeared, pushing him to accelerate and adjust his direction. He was catching up quickly.
Because the car couldn't move during time stop, the opponent hadn't gone far, there was still time. He was going to win!
But as Kira Yoshikage grinned ferociously and thrust the dagger towards his own neck, an anomaly occurred again: a bullet directly pierced his arm.
That group of foolish American soldiers had attacked their teammate, preventing his suicide again, and also damaging one of his arms, slowing him down by a beat.
Meanwhile, in the car,
"Alright, let me use my old bones to buy a way out for you young people."
Joseph glanced at the enemy behind the car, then at the young people, and made a decision without hesitation.
For a moment, he seemed to become young again; a terrifying aura emanated from him.
"Nani, old man, what are you saying?! Are you trying to abandon my mother again?!"
"What?!"
"Ah! Mr. Joseph, this, we..."
As soon as he spoke, the car immediately erupted. Except for Jotaro, who was silently driving and desperately accelerating, everyone else was extremely agitated.
Especially Higashikata Josuke; he directly grabbed Joseph by the collar, but in the face of his furious roar and rising anger, Joseph's expression remained calm, merely patting his arm again.
"No matter what, please say goodbye to Tomoko for me one last time."
Looking at his calm expression, Higashikata Josuke also fell silent. Everyone closed their mouths, watching Higashikata Josuke's expression gradually turn painful and tearful, "You old geezer..."
"You might not feel it, but I just felt a terrifying threat, like a guy named Kars I faced when I was young. That kind of power... neither the current Kira Yoshikage nor Kishibe Rohan, you can't deal with them now, hurry and go!"
Finally, under Joseph's persuasion, Higashikata Josuke silently accepted everything.
And so, Kira Yoshikage saw Higashikata Josuke, with tears streaming from his eyes, wave his hand out of the car, and a purple vine, using that force, flung an old man out, shooting him like a cannonball towards Kira Yoshikage.
The car then sped away, leaving only a trail of smoke.
The old man was Joseph Joestar. He unleashed Hermit Purple like a large net. His expression was exceptionally resolute, carrying a self-sacrificing determination.
This net completely covered Kira Yoshikage, making Kira Yoshikage almost laugh in anger.
"Take one with me!"
Roaring, Killer Queen directly clawed through Kira Yoshikage's heart, activating Bites the Dust Rhapsody.
Everything within a hundred meters centered on Kira Yoshikage collapsed and exploded.
The protagonists ultimately escaped, but Joseph Joestar alone was blown to dust.
However, the protagonists were not unscathed; they were hit by quite a few stray bullets.
Kira Yoshikage also couldn't continue; the cost this time was too great, one arm, he couldn't expand it further.
Killer Queen Rhapsody would only restore and block damage that posed a fatal threat to him, and this shot did not.