Jotaro frantically gripped the steering wheel, mumbling to himself, completely immersed in the half-true, half-false, anxious memory of his daughter Jolyne's high fever.
He tried to change that painful past he wanted to make amends for, to take on the responsibility of a father.
In the passenger seat, the old man smoking a pipe already wore a chilling, triumphant smile. On his shoulder, the bizarre Stand—Past Recall—composed of flowers, liquor, and smoke, could pull anyone into the past.
It would drag their spirits into their most regretful or most joyful moments, immersing them in a delusion composed of real past events, making it difficult to detect and causing them to gradually sink.
"Hmph… Poor Kujo Jotaro, even with the power to stop time, he ultimately couldn't overcome his inner guilt and weaknesses. Whitesnake was truly right to send this old man."
The old man muttered, taking another deep drag from his pipe. Smoke billowed from his ears and nose. "Just like a drowning man will grasp at a straw, you cannot escape this chance at salvation.
Wander in eternal regret; this is the price for harming Lord DIO…"
He pulled a small phone from his pocket, dialing a number with one hand while still clutching his pipe in the other, puffing away.
"Hmph, is that Whitesnake? This old man's mission is complete. Now just take him to the Hospital, right?"
"Hmph, you don't trust this old man to do things? He is completely under my control now. No one can escape my Past Recall!
Even though my Past Recall has no offensive power, no one can break free from the sinking. They will only fall into the abyss of regret and excitement, like sinking into quicksand!"
With that, the old man angrily took a big drag from his pipe, as if wanting to blow the smoke into the priest's face on the other end, then abruptly hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket.
But the moment the old man hung up, a hand shot out, a precise strike directly to his throat, and a mouthful of smoke instantly caught in his windpipe… "Ugh, uh uh uh…"
Instantly, the old man's breathing stopped. He gasped for air, smoke rolling from his mouth, his eyes rolled back, and tears involuntarily streamed down his face. He seemed to be suffocating.
Jotaro, in the driver's seat, had also raised his head, one hand pressed against the old man's neck. His expression was calm and silent, without a hint of panic, as if his previous controlled state had merely been a disguise.
His eyes, sharp as an eagle's, precisely locked onto his location through the rearview mirror.
"A person's throat is very fragile. It contains many weak points. By gently pressing it, you can compress the trachea, stop breathing, easily cause suffocation, and prevent them from speaking or even struggling for help.
And this is just the beginning. Slowly, you will feel nauseous, but unable to vomit. The smoke in your mouth will also be held back in your lungs, causing you to die bit by bit, in pain and despair."
Jotaro spoke, his words devoid of emotion. He was naturally a silent person, unwilling to express his feelings outwardly.
Watching the old man struggle in the air, his hands twisted, the pipe falling from his grasp and hitting his own leg, burning him, yet he couldn't cry out.
Only then did Jotaro release his grip, allowing the old man, who had been half-suffocated, to gasp for air, clutching his chest and coughing from his own smoke.
"Now, tell me, what's at the Hospital? What ambush have you set? If you want to confess…"
Feeling Jotaro's gaze, the old man reached for the car door, his eyes hardening. He intended to open the door and throw himself out to his death, to prevent himself from confessing under such pain.
But he found a dark hand already pressed on his shoulder… He had been choked too much earlier… His ability had become ineffective at some point, and the three people in the back seat had fully recovered, now grinning at him with very "friendly" expressions.
The old man finally understood. The other party never intended to go to the Hospital. The information about Crazy Diamond was inconsistent with reality… The other party could even heal himself; going to the Hospital was merely a counter-strategy.
The other party had never fallen into their trap; instead, he had fallen into the other party's trap… Jotaro had known all along that it was a trap, that he would be attacked here. The only thing he probably didn't anticipate was that the enemy would bring so many powerful Stand Users, feeling even more troublesome than the enemies he encountered when he fought DIO.
But Jotaro was not happy. When did he realize the other party's illusion?
When he heard his wife chattering away.
Although his wife couldn't be described as particularly calm and often worried about this and that, she never chattered. He understood his wife very well, and his wife understood him; she wouldn't do that.
But after noticing his wife's abnormality, Jotaro realized that this illusion seemed to be a real past event. Looking at Jolyne, he remembered… Some time ago, Jolyne had a high fever and barely survived after emergency treatment. She had a very difficult time during that period, and his wife called him many times to come home.
However, due to the Morioh incident, he kept refusing his wife, even when Jolyne was in extreme danger, possibly dying from a severe illness… He had not fulfilled his responsibility as a father. Perhaps because of this, Jolyne behaved that way when he returned home this time, probably thinking he wasn't a qualified father.
Although he escaped the illusion, this guilt was real and inescapable.
Feeling Jotaro's endless rage, the air pressure around him seemed to drop significantly. He glanced behind him at Crazy Diamond, who wanted to drastically modify his body structure.
The old man finally confessed. For Lord DIO, he was willing to die, but he truly didn't want to be drastically modified and endure eternal pain.
"It's a trap, yes. We set up a trap at the Hospital. We controlled the emergency personnel at the nearest Hospital. As soon as you arrive, we will inject all of you with anesthetics… I don't know anything else."
"That expression… You're lying! Tell me, who arranged all of this? What is their ability?"
Watching the other party's shifty eyes, Jotaro pressed, putting his hand on the other party's throat again, subtly adjusting the pressure of his fingers to let the other party experience the pain once more.
"Hoo-ha, hoo-ha, I'll tell you, stop pressing, stop pressing, it's… it was arranged by 'Whitesnake'… I don't know who exactly… only that the codename is 'Anesthetist'… My mission was just to lure you over."
When Jotaro released his hand again, the old man finally couldn't take it anymore and immediately spilled all the information he knew, his expression growing increasingly terrified.
'Didn't they say this Jotaro was a good person? He defeated Lord DIO back then. How is this guy even more of a hooligan than us?! Shouldn't these methods of torture be used by us?'
Seeing the other party's hopeful expression this time, Jotaro reluctantly believed him. He nodded, and Star Platinum grabbed the old man, pressing him into the seat. At the same time, he glanced at Higashikata Josuke, signaling him.
"OK, got it, Mr. Jotaro!"
Higashikata Josuke grinned, revealing a sunny yet gentle smile, his mouth full of white teeth. But the weak old man felt something was off.
"What do you… want to do?"
Listening to the old man's terrified voice, Higashikata Josuke indeed very gently and friendly took his hand.
"Great, good question! So you bad guys are scared too, huh? Don't worry, I'm not like you. I won't kill you, nor will I torture your family to death. It's just a small punishment."
The old man's heart sank, but he was too close to Jotaro and Higashikata Josuke at this moment. He had specifically hidden in this car to ensure his Stand remained active, but now… "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
"Ugh ugh ugh, no! I already told you! Spare me, spare me…"
Crazy Diamond unleashed a flurry of iron fists, but without causing any damage. Instead, it hammered the old man directly into the car's seatback. Under the power of Crazy Diamond,
The old man fused directly with the car seat, only his head remaining exposed.
And listening to the old man's pleas, Higashikata Josuke wasn't idle either. He snatched up the pipe that had fallen from the old man, then pressed it, fusing it directly with the old man's mouth.
This left the old man completely unable to make any sound, only able to wail, and enjoying the smoke that Josuke personally lit and placed for him.
"Good, this is excellent."
Josuke admired his masterpiece, a satisfied smile on his face. Meanwhile, Okuyasu and Koichi next to him were covered in goosebumps. Okuyasu, who had originally wanted to talk to him about his sudden actions, fell silent.
'Was this guy like this before? Where did my gentle classmate Josuke go?'
'So scary, so scary. If Josuke-kun found out I defected to Kishibe Rohan… I absolutely cannot let him know!'
'Sigh, this child, did the death of both his parents impact him too much? It's true, in just a few months, he first lost his grandfather, who was like a brother, and then his newly acquainted father, and his irritable but loving mother.
Such a change is not difficult to understand. He's only 17 years old… Alas, but even though he lost everything, he still has me. Don't worry, Josuke, I will take care of you like a father from now on.'
Looking at Josuke's somewhat twisted behavior, Jotaro felt a mix of emotions, as if he saw another Jolyne—similarly lacking a father from a young age, with only her loving mother by her side.
Similarly, she almost died from a high fever when she was young, which made Jotaro ponder… After this incident, should he take him back to America and try to persuade his grandmother to accept him, this "convenient" uncle?