Beep—Beep—
The alarm rang precisely at 7:30 AM.
Linto rolled out of bed and pushed open the window.
When Kawajiri Hayato pushed the door open, intending to rush Linto to eat, the room was already empty.
Yoshikage Kira, arriving a half-step too late, looked at the open window and the curtains fluttering in the breeze, his smug smile slowly freezing on his face.
In the early morning, the roar of motorcycles thundered through the streets of Morioh.
Many residents who had just woken up, cursing, pulled open their curtains to look in the direction of the noise:
"Damn it, what kind of delinquent motorcycle gang rides around at this hour, thinking they're so cool—"
They stopped midway through their sentence.
Because the person sitting on the motorcycle wasn't a delinquent with hair styled like cow dung, but...
A kid about ten years old?!
No Hamon, unable to fly, this was the fastest way Linto could think of to move between cities.
He weaved through the streets and alleys, searching for the figure of "that person."
Villa district... City center... Commercial district...
Linto checked them one by one.
Beep.
A faint chime came from his electronic wristwatch.
8:29 AM.
"Time really flies."
Linto stopped his motorcycle and waved to an office worker waiting for the bus nearby.
"Hey, mister."
"Huh?"
The office worker turned his head, his groggy eyes staring blankly at the child on the motorcycle. He was a bit dazed, wondering if he was still dreaming, when Linto said:
"Yoshikage Kira is impersonating my dad."
BOOM—
Bites the Dust activated.
Fifth loop... Sixth loop...
Linto wandered through the city, like a jigsaw puzzle, each time visiting an area he hadn't been to before, constantly expanding his "visible map."
Each rewind was precisely stuck at the 8:29 AM point, and Linto and Yoshikage Kira never met or spoke a single word.
This meant Yoshikage Kira couldn't infer which loop it was by observing Linto's actions.
The precise detonation at 8:29 AM would also prevent Yoshikage Kira from ever witnessing the deaths of Rohan Kishibe and others, making him hesitant to end Bites the Dust easily.
An endless, unbroken rewind, yet the control wasn't in the hands of the Stand user himself.
This was one of the biggest, and most fatal, weaknesses of Bites the Dust.
And another weakness, one that could end the loop, was "that person," who was—
7:48 AM.
Linto's gaze locked onto an old man pushing an empty baby carriage on the road, his body stooped, his hair white.
"It's you! Joseph Joestar!"
The only person in Morioh who, even after knowing Kawajiri Hayato's identity, wouldn't want to investigate Yoshikage Kira's Stand and Hamon user.
Linto stopped his motorcycle with a squeak in front of the elderly Joseph. Three SPW Foundation staff members who were following behind approached.
After all, he was an old man with Alzheimer's. For Joseph's and the transparent baby's safety, the SPW Foundation would naturally hire security personnel.
Linto ignored them, jumped off his motorcycle, and grabbed the elderly Joseph's hand.
"Come with me."
"Go... Where?"
Elderly Joseph pushed up his bifocal glasses. "Young man, who are you?"
Alzheimer's isn't being completely stupid.
Joseph's cognition had changed, his thinking had slowed, but he had a logical framework for his condition. He wouldn't just be taken away by any stranger to be used as a pawn.
Linto gave him an answer he couldn't refuse.
"Kars is back on Earth. As for who I am—"
Linto took out a colorful cloth band and tied it around his forehead. He accelerated his breathing, and a wisp of extremely fine Hamon glow appeared in his hand.
"I'm Caesar!"
Elderly Joseph was struck as if by a heavy blow.
He had lived a carefree life, defeating the Ultimate Life Form in his youth and an Egyptian vampire in his old age.
The only regret in his life, the one he would take to the grave, was the death of his dear friend Caesar.
Tears blurred his eyes. He looked at the young man before him. Their appearance and ethnicity were indeed different from Caesar's, but Joseph recognized his demeanor—
This was the unwavering, forward-marching demeanor that only a true warrior possessed. And the Hamon in his hand was undeniable.
A genuine Hamon user.
"Let's go."
Joseph handed the baby carriage to the SPW Foundation security guards. Trembling, he got on the motorcycle and patted Linto's shoulder.
He wasn't sure who this child truly was.
But Joseph wanted to see where this child was trying to take him.
The three SPW Foundation security guards tried to stop them, but several marbles hit their calves. They didn't have much force, but they struck precisely into the muscle gaps.
The spiraling power penetrated them, and all three fell to the ground, only able to watch as Linto tricked the elderly Joseph.
One security guard fumbled for his phone and dialed in a panic. A few seconds later, the call connected: "Mr. Jotaro! Something's wrong! Old Man Joseph has been taken!"
"What?"
"The person who took the old man said... 'Kars' is back."
"What?!!!"
Jotaro's expression changed instantly.
Joseph had boasted to Jotaro countless times about how he had once turned the tide and how powerful Kars was.
If an immortal, ultimate monster that preyed on humans truly returned to Earth, the destructive power would be beyond anything Yoshikage Kira could compare to!
Regardless of whether the news was true or false, Jotaro had to get Joseph back.
The SPW Foundation went into full force. Cars drove through the streets, picking up Josuke, Okuyasu, Koichi, and Rohan Kishibe, who had been notified.
Morioh wasn't large; it was a small town with a population of less than sixty thousand. The convoy soon caught up to Linto and Joseph.
Linto glanced back at the pursuing convoy, then at his watch.
8:05 AM.
Joseph heard the honking of horns from behind, looked back, and saw cars chasing them. He then saw familiar faces inside the cars, though he couldn't remember who they were for a moment.
Joseph chuckled with his Alzheimer's acting up:
"Is it the army of Stroheim?"
He saw the pursuing vehicles, their headlights flashing alternately to remind Linto to stop, and Joseph chuckled again:
"They even brought the ultraviolet lights! How reliable!"
Linto, hearing Joseph's words, couldn't help but laugh.
The laughter of the big and small boy echoed through the street.
Jotaro and the others chasing behind looked bewildered.
What were they laughing about?
But as he laughed, Joseph looked distressed: "But I'm too old, I can't use Hamon, and my Hermit Purple can't extend. How can I help you?"
"It's okay."
Linto extended his left hand, and a marble spun rapidly in his palm, faint wisps of Hamon flickering on it. This was the limit of what he could do after half an hour of training.
Because the distance was too close, Joseph, who had presbyopia, couldn't see clearly. He only felt something round, shining with Hamon, appear in Linto's palm. He understood—
It was Caesar's Hamon bubbles!
Joseph's last shred of doubt vanished.
The young man before him was indeed Caesar's reincarnation!
The next second, the marble landed on Joseph's chest. Golden Spin sent that wisp of Hamon power into his heart. Under Linto's three-stage Hamon Ki control technique, it reactivated the vitality in Joseph's blood.
WHOOSH—
Purple vines extended out.
---
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