IW: Chapter 192 - Jotaro, I'm not human anymore!
"Are you an idiot? Where in this world are there ghosts?!"
The police officer didn't believe the tall, muscular man's crazy talk at all, but after seeing his face and imposing physique, the officer instinctively swallowed.
He felt like this guy had some mental issues; what if he suddenly lashed out and beat him up?
Thinking this, he subconsciously placed his hand on the gun at his waist. If the other party made any move, he would immediately draw his gun as a warning.
"You don't need to care if there are ghosts or not, just lock me in prison!"
Jotaro looked at the police officer with a serious expression and stern eyes.
He knew the police wouldn't believe his story, but it didn't matter. As long as they arrested him and put him in prison, that was all that mattered.
This was the first time the police officer had heard such a request.
Someone actually wanted to be arrested and put in prison. His attire didn't look like that of a homeless person, so it shouldn't be due to financial hardship.
Just as the police officer was considering whether to go along with his idea and arrest him, a hand slapped him on the back, startling him.
"He's fine. You can go. I'll handle this here."
"Who are you?!"
The police officer turned around and mumbled to Bai Ye, calming down slightly. He then looked at the two for a moment, seeing that Jotaro didn't seem to want to say anything more.
He had originally wanted to say some harsh words to tell them not to mess with the police, but after looking at Jotaro's physique, he decided against it.
He could only curse a few times under his breath, then turned and left. He was genuinely afraid of being entangled by these two lunatics.
"Who are you?"
Jotaro looked at the man in front of him, his body tensed to the extreme. He felt like this guy was a ferocious tiger, as if he could take his life at any moment.
"How long have you had this ability?"
Since Jotaro appeared, and he's the third generation, the plot of the first two generations must have passed.
Bai Ye hadn't investigated these situations before, but he had investigated according to the timeline.
This meant that the timelines of the first and second Joestars might not be exactly as they were in the anime.
However, it was highly likely that Joseph Joestar's timeline hadn't reached this point yet; he hadn't gone to prison.
"The matter of me being haunted by a ghost?"
Jotaro glanced at Bai Ye, then continued, "It started the day before yesterday."
A ghost suddenly appeared the day before yesterday, and this incident had a certain impact on him.
Everyone around him couldn't see this ghost except for himself, which made Jotaro realize that if he continued like this, he might endanger others.
So, after much thought, Jotaro decided to lock himself in prison to prevent harming others.
"You're not being haunted by a ghost, but rather you've awakened an ability called a Stand. This isn't something your family possesses; it comes from a man named Dio!"
Jotaro, I'm not human anymore!
Speaking of which, it really is Dio, isn't it? After being forcibly taken offline, he came back online, and after coming back online, he gave every generation of Joestar a cheat.
"Dio?"
Jotaro softly murmured the name. He hadn't heard of it, yet he felt something.
And what he said was an ability, not a ghost?
Called a Stand?
"A Stand user can control its actions according to your will, and you can summon or recall it at will."
"I can control it?"
Jotaro suddenly realized something: it seemed that when this ghost appeared, it had always been imitating or doing the actions he wanted it to do.
And when he didn't want to see this ghost, it just disappeared.
At first, he thought he was haunted, as the ghost appeared when he thought about it, but based on Bai Ye's explanation, he seemed to understand something.
In his mind, Jotaro began to think about the Stand appearing. The next second, Star Platinum appeared behind him, and then, according to his will, he made Star Platinum punch the ground.
The next second, a depression instantly appeared in the area where the two were, and this inexplicable depression directly startled the surrounding passersby.
"Injured?"
Jotaro looked at the slightly abraded skin on his knuckles, gaining a deeper understanding of this ability.
"If your Stand is injured, the user will also be injured."
Star Platinum, huh?
This Stand can be considered one of the strongest.
Given that Stands exist in this world, Bai Ye was quite curious about what kind of Stand he would awaken next.
"So you also have a Stand?"
Jotaro adapted to the Stand ability and, after confirming it wasn't a ghost, he also turned his gaze to Bai Ye.
If this guy was also a Stand user, then it might explain why he knew so much.
"No, I don't. I'm a fighter."
It's a pity he didn't have one.
It's normal for a Stand user to exist in the King of Fighters world to improve one's strength, right?
Bai Ye still really wanted to get one.
"What is your purpose in finding me?"
No one is good to someone for no reason.
Jotaro took Bai Ye's previous explanation as Bai Ye being good to him.
So, after he finished explaining, he didn't leave but waited here for him, clearly having something he wanted to say.
"I want to team up with you. I'm going to participate in the KOF. Are you interested? You can also test your Stand ability there, as there are fighters from all over the world!"
KOF?!
Although he was just an ordinary high school student who didn't do much besides going to school every day, he didn't pay much attention to other things.
But he had heard of the KOF.
After all, as a man, one would more or less pay attention to a fighting tournament where fists meet flesh.
"I don't know how to fight."
After holding back for a long time, Jotaro still felt he wasn't suitable.
He didn't know how to fight at all. If he teamed up with Bai Ye, he might drag him down.
To avoid this situation, Jotaro still politely declined.
Although deep down, he was actually a little excited to participate in this fighting tournament with Bai Ye.
"If you don't know how, you can learn. If it doesn't work, you can always withdraw later. Weren't you thinking of getting yourself locked in prison to avoid the so-called ghost? Then you must have taken leave, right? Since you've taken leave, there's no need to go to school, is there?"
Bai Ye's suggestion made Jotaro's already restless heart even more eager.
Anyway, he had already taken leave from school because of this matter, and Jotaro himself wasn't a well-behaved student. In others' eyes, he was a delinquent!
"I can try."
Since Bai Ye had already said so much, Jotaro had no reason to refuse.
"Great! Then we just need to find one more teammate, and we can participate!"
He had an invitation.
The Shiranui Dojo had one. Mai Shiranui originally wanted to represent the Shiranui Dojo in the competition, but the Women's Fighting Team had just been formed.
So Bai Ye could only find teammates himself.
"Are we still short of people?"
Jotaro was a little surprised. So, if he hadn't joined, Bai Ye wouldn't even have a single teammate.
It would be awkward if he was all ready but couldn't participate because there was no one.
"One less. KOF currently requires three people per team."
There were many fighters in this world, so finding teammates was quite easy.
However, Bai Ye was more concerned about Kagura Chizuru.
After all, she was the organizer of this KOF, and there was no rule saying the organizer couldn't participate.
But finding her wasn't an easy task.
Wait!!?
Mai seemed to know Kagura Chizuru!
Bai Ye suddenly realized a problem: Kagura Chizuru seemed to have formed the New Women's Fighting Team with Mai Shiranui in King of Fighters '97.
This meant that Mai Shiranui actually knew Kagura Chizuru. There was no reason for them to have met in King of Fighters '96.
"Wait, I'll make a call and ask."
With that, Bai Ye directly dialed Mai Shiranui's number.
"Mai, do you know Kagura Chizuru?"
When Mai Shiranui first received Bai Ye's call, she was very happy.
After all, they had just finished a long phone call, and Bai Ye eagerly called her again. She naturally thought Bai Ye couldn't bear to be without her, which made Mai Shiranui start imagining things.
But the next second, after hearing Bai Ye ask about another woman, her mood instantly soured.
Although she knew Bai Ye probably wanted to find a teammate.
Shouldn't you first ask about her when you call?
Putting away her little temper, Mai Shiranui replied, "Mm-hmm, I know Chizuru. Do you want to team up with Chizuru?"
The teammate she had wanted to introduce to Bai Ye earlier was Kagura Chizuru, but Bai Ye had refused very decisively, saying he would definitely not fail to find teammates. She hadn't expected the reversal to come so quickly.
"Then can you introduce her to me as a teammate? I just happen to be short one person."
Bai Ye had been too embarrassed to ask before because he was alone, so of course he was embarrassed.
Now that he had a teammate, it was two out of three, so the nature of the situation was different, and of course he felt comfortable asking.
"Okay, I'll talk to Chizuru now. I'll ask her for you first!"
Once Bai Ye was short one teammate, Mai Shiranui naturally felt obligated, because in her opinion, this position was originally hers, but her withdrawal led to Bai Ye being short one person.
So, of course, she had to fill that spot for Bai Ye.
"Chizuru, are you participating in this KOF?"
Mai Shiranui didn't know that the organizer was Kagura Chizuru, and receiving Mai Shiranui's call also surprised Kagura Chizuru, who was being invited to compete.
"Sorry, Mai, I probably won't participate."
"Okay?!"
After being rejected, a hint of disappointment flashed across Mai Shiranui's face.
If Kagura Chizuru wasn't participating, then who should she find?
How about King?
Mai Shiranui's gaze fell on King, and just as she was about to open her mouth to ask King, Kagura Chizuru on the other end of the phone hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Mai, is your team short one person?"
If she participated, it might not be impossible.
Actually, she was also a little reluctant to refuse Mai Shiranui.
"It's not me, it's Bai Ye. He's short one teammate. If you can, Chizuru, can you help me out? I was originally going to team up with Bai Ye..."
Then, Mai Shiranui relayed this series of situations to Kagura Chizuru.
After she finished speaking, Kagura Chizuru fell silent.
She had just been about to say she didn't know, but Mai Shiranui had blurted out everything to her, so how could she pretend not to know now?
"I understand. Tell Bai Ye that I agree. Give him my contact information, and then we can talk."
Kagura Chizuru finally agreed, which made Mai Shiranui overjoyed. After sharing the good news with Bai Ye, the heavy burden in Mai Shiranui's heart finally lifted.
Before, her biggest fear was Bai Ye not finding teammates.
"Oh, look how happy you are."
Ann muttered. She was truly devoted to her husband! They weren't even married yet; Ann couldn't imagine what Mai Shiranui would be like after marriage.
However, her personality did seem to be like this. She truly was the most suitable girl for marriage. If Ann were a man, she might have fallen for her too.
"I stood Bai Ye up, and this time I'm going to defeat Bai Ye and let him know that fighting is a dead end. If he's defeated by me, maybe after he goes back, he'll marry me and retire from the fighting world, and then he'll just stay at the Shiranui Dojo forever!"
Besides helping Bai Ye find teammates to fill the void left by her withdrawal, Mai Shiranui also hoped that Bai Ye would be deeply affected, never settle, and then live a good life with her.
Mai Shiranui had already planned it: having three children with Bai Ye would be enough, preferably a boy and a girl, so they would have both sons and daughters.
"But have you ever thought about what if Bai Ye defeats you?"
Was Mai Shiranui perhaps overly confident?
Ann felt that Mai Shiranui wasn't guaranteed to win. Had she considered the consequences if she lost?
"If he wins, he still has to marry me!"
Mai Shiranui didn't care at all. Either way, if she lost, Bai Ye would marry her; if she won, Bai Ye would also marry her.
However, if Bai Ye lost to her, she would have the upper hand and could make Bai Ye marry her quickly instead of him being able to keep dragging it out.
"Marriage Maniac."
Kasumi Todoh mentally labeled Mai Shiranui a marriage maniac.
How much did she want to get married?
She wasn't much older than Kasumi Todoh herself. At the same time, Kasumi Todoh was very curious about Mai Shiranui's future husband.
What exactly about him made Mai Shiranui so obsessed with marriage?
Could it be that?
Thinking of what Mai Shiranui had just said, combined with Mai Shiranui's exaggerated figure, she suddenly felt that the two of them seemed quite compatible.
At the same time, she looked down. When she looked down, she could see the ground, which inevitably made Kasumi Todoh feel a little frustrated. Why, as equally human beings, did heaven show Mai Shiranui such favor?
Although she wasn't completely flat, compared to Mai Shiranui, she felt as small and weak as a baby.
This will affect fighting!!
Kasumi Todoh silently comforted herself. She was a fighter and didn't need these things at all. At the same time, she also felt that she was still a high school student, and her potential for improvement was still very great.
"It's done. The other teammate is also settled. But speaking of which, your personality shouldn't be like this, right?"
After Bai Ye settled the last teammate, he was in a pretty good mood. His teammates were Jotaro and Kagura Chizuru. He felt that they should be among the strongest in KOF '96, right?
But he actually didn't quite understand one thing, which was that Jotaro's personality wouldn't be so easily convinced by his words.
He had just been thoughtless and hadn't considered it. Perhaps he had practiced fighting too much and rarely used his brain. His brain might be simpler than other Bai Yes in other worlds, and his nerves might be thicker, but he wasn't completely without intelligence.
From the beginning, he seemed to feel that Jotaro was suppressing himself.
"Because I was originally going to test your strength in the subsequent training!"
Jotaro saw that Bai Ye had already seen through his thoughts, so he simply stopped hiding it.
He hadn't fully trusted Bai Ye to begin with, but Bai Ye had previously said he would train in fighting techniques with him.
He had heard of the Shiranui Dojo; it was a very famous dojo here. Plus, the KOF fighting tournament wasn't just a rumor, so he was naturally willing to participate. However, before participating, he wanted to test Bai Ye's strength.
If Bai Ye was a liar, he wouldn't let Bai Ye off easily!
Listening to Jotaro's words, Bai Ye actually felt it was normal. He had felt that he wasn't quite right before, and it turned out to be because he wasn't someone who would simply obey. Jotaro was a person with his own strong opinions.
And from the beginning, he hadn't refuted Bai Ye's words, which made Bai Ye realize that perhaps he had his own ideas.
Now it could be explained: it seemed he was preparing to beat Bai Ye up later if he found him to be incompetent during their fight.
"So, before training, let me see your strength!"
Since they were participating in KOF, the captain's strength couldn't be weaker than his own!
Having just accepted the Stand concept, Jotaro decided to test it on Bai Ye.
Star Platinum appeared behind him. What surprised Bai Ye was that he, not being a Stand user, could also see Star Platinum. Was it because, after the world fusion, as a fighter, he himself generated the existence of 'Qi,' allowing him to see these things?
The two found a deserted place. Bai Ye didn't immediately attack Jotaro but prepared to fight Star Platinum first.
In his 'bursting with energy' state, Bai Ye's fist met Star Platinum's fist.
The feedback from that powerful force made Bai Ye realize that it truly was a 5A-ranked Stand.
"It hurts!"
Jotaro frowned. The force feedback from Star Platinum made him feel as if his knuckles were somewhat fractured.
"Ora Ora Ora Ora Ora!!"
Star Platinum's fists swung faster and faster, and Bai Ye's fists also kept up. Shiranui-ryu Ninjutsu couldn't keep up with Star Platinum in close combat, but Bai Ye's passive Eight Gates had already reached the seventh level.
Therefore, Bai Ye was just a little bit away from reaching the eighth level. The powerful physical quality provided by the seventh level also made Bai Ye not so worried when facing Star Platinum, which didn't yet have time stop.
"Jotaro, you are truly suited for fighting!"
It was clear that Jotaro's fighting talent was truly terrifying. Just a moment ago, he was an ordinary high school student, but in his fight with Bai Ye, he was constantly learning.
"Are all fighters like you?"
Jotaro's expression was calm, but deep down, he no longer dared to underestimate fighters. He had once thought that the fighting tournament was just ordinary fighters fighting, and that fighters were probably only stronger than him in technique.
But after starting to fight Bai Ye, Jotaro realized why the KOF tournament was called the Global Fighting Elite Tournament.
If every fighter had Bai Ye's level, or even better than Bai Ye, then he would definitely have to train himself well before going to KOF.
"Not the same. I should be considered relatively powerful."
Bai Ye didn't claim to be invincible, but he was definitely very strong.
"I understand."
That was good too. If Bai Ye was considered an ordinary fighter, that wouldn't be good news.
However, this also made Jotaro a little disappointed. He wasn't afraid of combat, nor was he afraid of strong enemies.
After stopping the fight, Jotaro left his contact information and prepared to go home and tell his mother, Holly Kujo, about this matter.
Bai Ye, on the other hand, sought out Kagura Chizuru.
As teammates, Bai Ye still needed to talk with her. The two arranged to meet at a cafe. Bai Ye arrived first, and soon after, Kagura Chizuru arrived at the cafe.
"Nice to meet you. I've heard about your situation from Mai. So, shall we train together next?"
Although KOF matches were all team individual matches, they still required cooperation and knowing each other's abilities.
This meeting, Kagura Chizuru also wanted to get to know Bai Ye first.
"We can, but here..."
Before Bai Ye could finish speaking, his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID: Jotaro, who had just left?
"Excuse me, I'll take this call first."
Kagura Chizuru indicated it was fine and then turned her head to look outside.
After answering the phone, Bai Ye learned from Jotaro that his mother had an accident. Then, in a call with his grandfather, he learned the whole story behind this matter: it was from a man named Dio.
The person Bai Ye had told him about before.
After some hesitation, he decided to contact Bai Ye and ask.
His grandfather had already flown over from abroad, and now Jotaro needed to know information about Dio.
"Dio?"
Bai Ye was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Holly Kujo to fall ill right after Jotaro returned.
It seemed the plot had gone awry. Logically, Holly Kujo should have fallen ill only after Joseph Joestar was invited back. This wasn't an illness but rather the Joestar family being affected by Dio and awakening Stands.
Holly Kujo was like this because she couldn't control her own Stand.
He told Jotaro about Dio and the history of the Joestar family.
After thanking Bai Ye, the other side hung up the phone. At this moment, Jotaro was feeling conflicted.
If he had to defeat Dio to lift the curse, then it seemed unlikely he could participate in this fighting tournament.
He wasn't someone who would easily break a promise. Besides, he had just promised Bai Ye to participate in KOF together, but turning around and leaving now, even if it was due to his mother's critical illness and impending death, he believed Bai Ye could understand.
But...
"What's wrong?"
"A teammate seems to have run into some trouble."
Bai Ye wasn't surprised. Even if the plot hadn't gone awry, this was the expected timing for this part of the story.
"Can't they participate?"
The team was just short one, and now it was short another?
A trace of strangeness flashed in Kagura Chizuru's eyes.
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