"Giorno, you have a dream, don't you? A dream that is treacherous, yet entirely righteous—one you cannot easily voice to anyone unless they are a like-minded ally."
Along the coastline, Takatsuki and Giorno walked one after the other. Takatsuki, walking slightly ahead, broke the silence suddenly.
Though he made no explicit reference to betraying the Boss, every word subtly underscored that exact ambition.
"..."
Giorno paused briefly, eyeing the seemingly defenseless back walking before him. "Is there something you wish to say?"
"What I mean is... the opportunity will present itself very soon. Right during this operation."
Giorno's footsteps faltered for a fraction of a second before he caught up with Takatsuki's stride. He offered no further response, and Takatsuki refrained from pressing the matter.
Following the shoreline, the two quickly reached a populated embankment where numerous tourists gathered to admire the scenery and await incoming ferries.
"How do you plan to locate him?" Giorno asked, looking around. "Even though we know Sale's appearance, finding him among this crowd without drawing unnecessary attention won't be easy."
"Simple. One of us stays here to place a radio call—using Zucchero's name to lure him into the harbor watch post. The other will be responsible for ambushing him inside."
Takatsuki pointed to the radio Giorno had carried down from the yacht.
"You should be the one to handle it, Giorno. As a newcomer, your face isn't widely recognized yet. You also know his Stand ability. Can you handle him?"
Takatsuki paused for a second before adding, "If you aren't confident, I can go instead. Though he might recognize my face, as long as I exercise caution and get within arm's reach, I can end him in a split second."
"Hmm..."
Giorno considered the options briefly. "I'll go. Just as you said, he doesn't know my face, so he won't be on high alert even if he spots me."
"Fair enough. Just keep one thing in mind: that watch post has a back entrance, and he will enter through that rear door."
Seeing Takatsuki already dialing the radio, Giorno opened his mouth as if to ask something, but refrained. He simply turned and walked silently toward the harbor post.
Connecting through to the administrator inside the post, Takatsuki instructed him to pass the handset directly to Sale. Within moments, Takatsuki watched the administrator step outside, shouting across the shore. Right on cue, Giorno strolled casually past the administrator like an ordinary tourist.
Though Takatsuki couldn't see Giorno's position inside the building, a man's coarse voice soon static-crinkled through the radio handset.
"Did something happen, Zucchero?"
"Calling me out of nowhere... did something go wrong on the yacht? Over."
Hearing Sale's voice, Takatsuki immediately stowed the radio and made his way toward the watch post.
Both Giorno and Sale possessed close-range power-type Stands. However, Giorno held the intelligence advantage and the element of surprise—and as the protagonist, his odds of victory were overwhelming.
Just as Takatsuki reached the entrance of the post, the glass windows exploded outward as a body was hurled straight out onto the pavement.
"Waaaah! What's going on?!"
The surrounding tourists recoiled in terror. The watch post administrator stared wide-eyed at Giorno as he stepped out through the broken frame. "Y-You! Who are you?!"
"Why were you in there?! What did you do to him?!"
Faced with the panicked clerk, Giorno flashed a cold, sharp glare. "Shut up! This is none of your business!"
Giorno's sudden hostility intimidated the crowd instantly.
In Italy, the presence of the mob was common knowledge. Confronted with a scene like this, most bystanders prudently chose to back away.
"You bastard..."
Sale pushed himself up off the ground, clutching his broken nose as blood trickled freely through his fingers. "Who the hell are you?! Why did you attack me?!"
Even now, Sale hadn't realized the true nature of the assault. "Wait... Zucchero's radio call brought me over here. Did that bastard betray me? No... he didn't speak on the radio. Which means... you guys took him out!"
Sale's Stand manifested beside him, glaring fiercely at Giorno. "So you're the new kid in Bucciarati's squad! What is your Stand ability?! It paralyzed my body earlier—is it a contact-type Stand that seals physical movement?!"
Fixing his gaze on Giorno, Sale convinced himself he had deduced Giorno's technique, choosing to maintain his distance.
He quietly slipped several small debris fragments from his pocket, attempting to buy time with talk while preparing his Stand's kinetic ability in secret.
"I ought to thank you for coming straight to me. I was actually wondering if the so-called... gah..."
Before Sale could finish his sentence, an unseen hand clamped mercilessly around his throat, choking off his remaining words.
"How... how..."
Gasping for air, Sale felt his physical energy being rapidly drained away.
"How could I sneak up behind you without you noticing?"
Takatsuki's voice drifted calmly from directly behind Sale's ear. "Isn't this basic assassination work?"
Though he hadn't relied on them in a long time, the stealth techniques he had mastered from Ezio, combined with the footwork of assassination martial arts, allowed him to erase his footsteps completely.
Extracting two Discs straight from Sale's head, Takatsuki looked toward Giorno. "Nice coordination, Giorno. It wouldn't have been this easy if you hadn't drawn all his attention."
"No, your skills are what made it work. He didn't notice you in the slightest."
Though Sale couldn't see behind himself, Giorno had clearly witnessed Takatsuki stride openly right up to Sale's back—without producing a single whisper of sound—before Heaven Stairway clamped its hand onto his neck to pull the Discs.
In that instant, Giorno realized that this man's true strength extended far beyond his Stand ability.
After waiting near the shore for a brief period, the two were finally reunited with Bucciarati's group arriving on the yacht.
Having confirmed there were no further pursuers, the squad followed Bucciarati into a secluded public restroom on the island.
"Everyone, thanks to your hard work, we've arrived safely at Capri. Well done," Bucciarati announced to the group. "The attackers have been eliminated, and we've verified that no more pursuers are following us."
"Then it's about time we move, right? Let's go find that ten billion lira!" Narancia shouted eagerly.
Even the usually stoic Abbacchio showed a rare flicker of excitement. "Where's the cash stashed, Bucciarati? A secret bank vault, or a cave on the island?"
"Hmm... Could everyone wait just a moment?"
Bucciarati glanced at his wristwatch, then looked over toward Takatsuki. "Our guest should be arriving soon."
With that, Bucciarati led the way toward the exit.
Aside from Takatsuki, the rest of the squad followed him outside with puzzled expressions.
Stepping outside, Bucciarati froze for a second as his eyes fell upon an elderly man sweeping the floor alongside a tall, slender woman.
"Excuse me, are you two...?"
The sweeping elder paused his broom and looked toward Bucciarati. "That voice... It seems I've kept you waiting."
Bucciarati straightened instantly, snapping a sharp salute: "Everyone, salute! This is Capo Pericolo!"
"I've come to take custody of the ten billion lira, Bucciarati. Are you truly prepared to hand that sum over to the organization?" Pericolo asked, tipping his hat.
"Yes. The money is right in here."
Under the astonished gazes of the team, Bucciarati led everyone back into the restroom, using Sticky Fingers to unzip the space behind the urinal and retrieve a vast fortune in jewels and precious stones.
Just as Takatsuki had predicted—and exactly as Bucciarati himself had anticipated—upon turning over the ten billion lira, Bucciarati was officially promoted to Capo, inheriting all organizational assets left behind by Polpo.
Yet while the rest of the team cheered for Bucciarati's promotion, Bucciarati remained silent.
"However, Polpo left behind an unfinished assignment before his passing," Pericolo continued. "Since you have taken over Polpo's position, this mission now falls upon your shoulders, Bucciarati!"
Here it comes...
Bucciarati concealed his inner turmoil perfectly. Up to this point, every single event had unfolded exactly according to Takatsuki's "prophecy." Although he refrained from staring at the person dressed as the secondary cleaner, he had already confirmed her identity during his initial glance outside.
Through Pericolo's brief briefing, his suspicions were solidified: she was the target of their new mission—and, as Takatsuki had warned, the Boss's daughter, Trish Una.
He was... completely right...
After Pericolo departed with Trish, Bucciarati turned his eyes toward Takatsuki, though he remained silent.
With so many people gathered, even if his squad members were trustworthy, Trish remained an unknown variable. More importantly, he was hesitant to involve the others in this line of thought just yet.
After all, even to him, the prospect of betraying the Boss was a daunting, monumental path.