---o---
Star Platinum and The World are the same type of Stand!
Is this what it means to be fated rivals? Even their Stands are of the same type.
Light Curtain Barrage
Yukino Yukinoshita: "If Star Platinum and The World are the same type of Stand, does that mean Star Platinum can also learn to stop time?"
In the My Teen Romantic Comedy world, Yukino stared at the screen, a thought forming in her mind. Jotaro can already move within stopped time, so learning to stop time himself should no longer be impossible.
Kurumi Tokisaki: "Is a power over time really that easy to learn? How much time has passed since Jotaro learned the secret of The World to when he became able to move within the time stop?"
Is this the developmental potential of Star Platinum? To be able to crack even a terrifying ability like time stop in such a short period.
DIO: "Dammit... Dammit all! Why? Why does it have to be a Joestar, Jotaro Kujo!"
Grinding his teeth as he spat out Jotaro's name, DIO was now furious beyond measure. The one thing he could not accept was a member of the Joestar family gaining control of the time stop that only he should be able to use.
Otto Apocalypse: "Both are top-tier Stands. A battle like this holds much more reference value."
---o---
Light Curtain
DIO's throwing knives gleamed with a cold light. Sensing the danger, Jotaro immediately summoned Star Platinum. Covered in a blue aura, he bent his legs and pushed off the ground with all his might.
BOOM!
Like a launching rocket, Jotaro and Star Platinum shot into the sky, trying to quickly escape and dodge DIO's attack.
Running was the only option now. He had to stall for time. If he could just give Star Platinum a little more time, it would be able to move for longer within the time stop, increasing his chances of victory.
Standing still would mean death. Star Platinum's range was a critical weakness; faced with so many knives, he would surely die!
Jotaro's mind raced, but DIO could easily see through his plan. He spread his arms wide and shouted:
"There's no escape! ZA WARUDO!!"
"VMMMM—!!"
The next instant, with DIO as the epicenter, The World released a shockwave like a nuclear blast that swept across the entire world. The screen once again turned black and white. DIO himself leaped up, floating in mid-air.
With a smirk, DIO jumped lightly, bringing himself to almost the same altitude as Jotaro.
"Five seconds left!"
The World produced countless throwing knives and hurled them at Jotaro. In an instant, a swarm of knives surrounded him.
After one wave, another came.
In a flash, dozens of knives hung suspended in the air before Jotaro. The moment time resumed, he would be pierced by them all. The air was thick with them, causing a cold sweat to bead on his brow.
Seeing Jotaro enveloped by the knives, DIO was satisfied with his work. A joyful grin spread across his face, revealing his vampiric fangs.
"Hahahahaha," DIO laughed with delight, looking at Jotaro. "The feeling of being able to see but not move must be even more terrifying, don't you think, Jotaro!"
He then pulled several more knives from his belt, holding them between his fingers.
"Four seconds left!"
The World continued to throw knives, completely encircling Jotaro.
"Three seconds left!"
This time, DIO himself threw the knives.
But in the instant he threw them, Jotaro began to move. Star Platinum started swinging its fists.
Although it was only for a moment, it was enough to knock away more than half of the knives in front of him.
After clearing a path, Jotaro's gaze shifted slightly toward DIO, but he was quickly frozen in time again, turning grey and white.
"Two seconds remain. Is that all the movement you can manage?"
DIO held up two fingers with a laugh. He then slowly flew backward and sat on what looked like a chimney. He didn't press the attack, instead continuing, "As I thought. This proves you can only move for an instant."
Although Star Platinum had deflected over a dozen daggers in that single moment, it was but a drop in the ocean against such a staggering number.
When DIO's time stop ended and time began to flow again, Jotaro would still be killed by the knife execution DIO had set up!
"One second left."
The smile vanished from DIO's face. His expression grew serious as he looked at Jotaro, holding up a single finger.
"Zero."
DIO's lips parted, and he clenched his fist, just as he had when he killed Joseph.
"VMMMM!!!!"
Time began to flow. The knives suspended in front of Jotaro immediately shot forward.
Star Platinum appeared in a flash.
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!!!!!!!!!!"
Star Platinum moved with the greatest speed of its life. Its A-rank power and speed were pushed to their absolute limits.
The air was filled with a blur of phantom fists, moving so fast they were nearly invisible. Clearly... Star Platinum's speed was far greater than when it had clashed with DIO earlier.
"CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!!!"
Under the barrage of near-invisible fists, the sharp throwing knives were continuously knocked away.
In less than a second, over ninety percent of the knives were deflected.
But four or five knives still managed to get through.
The remaining blades broke through Star Platinum's defense and reached Jotaro.
"PFFT PFFT PFFT PFFT PFFT!!!!"
Four or five knives plunged deep into Jotaro's chest, immediately soaking his uniform with blood. He couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood as well.
"It's over."
DIO said the words, but he wasn't smiling. Instead, he raised his arm and produced another dagger.
He looked at Jotaro calmly. "Just to be safe, one more."
The World hurled a single throwing knife toward Jotaro.
Star Platinum raised a hand to defend, blocking the knife, but it still struck Jotaro squarely in the forehead.
His body fell heavily from the sky, as if he were already dead, and crashed onto the ground with a loud thud.
He plummeted from his floating position straight to the ground.
CRASH! Jotaro fell, leaving a trail of blood in the air, and hit the ground hard, his head lolling to the side.
The surrounding passersby cried out in terror at the sight.
DIO, however, watched this scene with a delighted smile finally appearing on his face. He let out a deep sigh of relief but remained vigilant.
"Honestly, being able to take you out this early is a great relief, Jotaro."
"There is only room for one being in the world of stopped time, and that is me, DIO."
DIO smiled and tugged at the collar of his shirt, revealing the star-shaped birthmark exclusive to the Joestar family.
He then dropped from the sky, landing on the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. Jotaro, who had been lying motionless on the ground, slowly opened his eyes.
Seeing DIO gradually approach, Jotaro paid no mind to his injuries, simply opening his mouth to grumble in a low voice.
"Yare yare daze... A pity about my favorite school uniform."
As he spoke, he looked down at his clothes and lifted his inner shirt.
Underneath, a thick stack of manga magazines was padded against his chest.
Although the knives had still hit him, the books had cushioned the blows, and Jotaro himself had not been seriously injured.
He had put them there as a precaution against DIO's potential long-range attacks, and to his surprise, they had actually come in handy.
Even so, he hadn't expected DIO to have so many daggers and to throw them like rain. If Star Platinum's speed had been just a little slower, he would have been dead for sure.
Adjusting his hat, Jotaro lay motionless on the ground.
"The best plan is to play dead for now, trick him, and then look for a chance to strike."
Jotaro held his breath. He had to think of a way to blow DIO's head off, or else he would never be able to kill him.
BOOM!
At that moment, DIO descended from the sky, landing heavily in front of Jotaro.
He took two steps toward Jotaro, then stopped.
"As they say, you can never be too careful. The Joestars are all incredibly lucky. He might be playing dead, trying to fool me."
DIO thought to himself, rubbing his chin, his eyes becoming as sharp as a hawk's.
"I will make sure you are utterly dead!"
"With this!"
DIO slowly reached for a nearby road sign and, with a slight exertion of force, snapped the pole.
CLANG!
DIO swung the road sign in his hand. The two-to-three-meter-long sign felt quite handy, and its range was perfect—just outside Star Platinum's reach.
"Jotaro!!!"
"Now, I'll use this to cut off your head!!!"
DIO let out a great shout and pushed off the ground, the powerful force launching him high into the air like a rubber band.
Gripping the road sign, he brought it down viciously toward Jotaro's neck. The speed was incredible, creating a whistling sound as it cut through the air.
Although the road sign wasn't particularly sharp, with the combination of speed and power, it was now like a razor-sharp blade. If it hit Jotaro's neck...
---o---
This is bad! DIO isn't playing by the rules!
Outside the light curtain, seeing DIO's extreme caution, the audience collectively gasped.
This guy wasn't following the script! Jotaro had already taken a knife to the head, yet he was still being this careful about finishing him off, even using a road sign to avoid getting close.
Hachiman Hikigaya: "He's too tough. DIO is too cautious. He's powerful, and his personality is so meticulous. I can't think of any way to beat him!"
Seiya Ryuuguuin: "Although he's no good man, I must admit... his level of caution is worthy of praise."
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Now I know why he's survived this long. Luck is only part of it; the bigger reason is his cowardly personality that prioritizes survival."
Conan Edogawa: "Although it was a brief clash, Star Platinum's stats are all growing right now. The World's growth rate, on the other hand, is far weaker. Perhaps that's why DIO doesn't dare to face Star Platinum head-on."
---o---
Light Curtain
In Jotaro's eyes, the road sign was about to strike him. Unless he used Star Platinum to block, he would surely die.
However... just as Jotaro was about to drop the act and use Star Platinum, the unexpected happened.
"Lord DIO! It's complete! The experiment is complete!!"
A voice suddenly shouted, interrupting DIO's attack. One of DIO's two minions, Fujiwara, came scurrying over.
"The experiment..." Hearing this news, DIO froze for a moment, then his expression turned to one of pure ecstasy, so much so that he completely forgot about Jotaro on the ground.
"The Blue Spider Lily can indeed cause a demon to undergo a secondary evolution. Their immunity to the sun is merely the next level of evolution."
"As I thought, my previous theory was correct! The Red Stone that can evolve a Pillar Man, the Blue Spider Lily that can evolve a demon... only by fusing these two evolutionary items can I achieve my evolution, the evolution of DIO!"
"Everything is ready. The gates of Heaven will soon open for me, DIO! And the blood of the Joestar family will help me successfully reach them!"
"The Red Stone, the Blue Spider Lily, the fourteen secret words, the Stand 'The World,' the courage to discard my Stand, souls equivalent to thirty-six sinners, and the coming full moon at midnight."
"And of course, the final, most crucial ingredient: the blood of the Joestar family."
Fate favored DIO. He had greatly modified the original diary, transforming the original six necessary conditions into other forms. The method of evolution had also changed from evolving the Stand to evolving the body, which would in turn evolve the Stand.
Though the conditions had changed, the gates of Heaven would still open for him. Soon... soon he would become the true god of this world!
DIO thought this with immense pleasure, completely failing to notice that the Jotaro who had been lying on the ground had vanished at some point.
"Heaven? What are you talking about? It would be strange for someone like you to ever ascend to Heaven." Using some unknown method, Jotaro had now appeared behind DIO, less than two meters away.
"Nani!?" The completely oblivious DIO immediately spun around, only to be met with a colossal force.
"ORA!!!"
Star Platinum, without any hesitation, sent DIO flying with a heavy blow.
Jotaro panted, looking at the shocked Fujiwara with an invincible gaze.
Since he was a demon, there was no need to hold back. Star Platinum swung its fist again, shattering the minion's skull and sending him flying dozens of meters, completely extinguishing his life force.
At this moment, due to the high-intensity battle, Star Platinum's power and speed had increased dramatically.
---o---
Author's Note:
ps: This is my modified method for ascending to Heaven. Because the author's brain isn't that good, I couldn't think of anything more profound, so this is what I came up with. I hope everyone can forgive me.