After a brief explanation, Inori managed to bring all three of them up to speed.
A serial killer named Yoshikage Kira, guilty beyond any hope of redemption. His Stand was Killer Queen, with the power to create silent, invisible explosions, plus an automatic pursuit Stand called Sheer Heart Attack, born from Killer Queen's left hand. On top of all that, Inori explained the third, unknown ability she'd discovered.
"So you're saying... that guy has the power to turn back time?"
Rohan's jaw nearly came unhinged. In just two days—since the moment he'd crossed paths with Inori—he'd encountered enough material to fuel a lifetime of manga. But this particular Stand ability was on a different level of terrifying.
Just thinking about it—that someone who could actually rewind time existed in the real world—was enough to send a chill down your spine. And this person was the enemy they now had to face.
"Yes."
Inori gave a grave nod.
"The power to turn back time... Hah..."
Encountering two time-manipulating Stand users in rapid succession—years after his last battle, no less—left even a man as steeled as Jotaro visibly unsettled.
But only for a moment. He accepted it and moved on.
"In other words, everyone—Yoshikage Kira knows all of our Stand abilities, and we know his methods of attack. This is a battle where both sides' intelligence is on the table."
"Tch!" Josuke clenched a fist, fired up. "So what if he's got bombs? Don't worry—with me here, no matter what he blows up, my Crazy Diamond can fix it in a heartbeat!"
Fighting spirit and confidence were admirable, but the current Josuke was still far too green to go up against a Kira who'd looped through this scenario who-knew-how-many times. Not that Inori planned to do one-on-ones or a gauntlet anyway—she'd take Jotaro and Josuke straight into a head-on team fight. Why solo when you could win as a squad?
"True enough."
Inori didn't dismiss Josuke's strength, but she added a caveat.
"But what if the one who gets hurt is you?"
"..."
Josuke faltered, unable to answer. Crazy Diamond couldn't heal its own user—that was its biggest weakness.
"Don't forget, the enemy knows everything about us. If he finds a way to isolate you, things get ugly fast." Inori knew this would sting his pride a little, but with Josuke's personality, he'd think it through and come around. He wasn't the type to let ego override reason.
"All right... I'll stick close and support from behind!"
Josuke understood. This wasn't some schoolyard scrap with local punks. This was a fight to the death against a battle-hardened Stand user—one wrong step and it was over.
But he wasn't afraid. Morioh was his beloved hometown, and as a fellow Stand user, there was no way he could sit idle once he knew a killer like this existed.
"And there's one more thing, Mr. Jotaro."
"He has an Arrow."
"Are you serious?"
Jotaro's eyes went wide, twin flares of cold light igniting in pale blue irises.
If agreeing to help Inori eliminate Kira had been driven by the Golden Spirit, then this changed the equation entirely. Now it was a matter of duty. As the current pillar of the Joestar bloodline, Jotaro bore responsibility for eliminating every last trace of DIO's lingering sins in this world.
"Yes. So while Kira's ability is limited to explosions, he can create other Stand users to fight alongside him. We need to move carefully and avoid acting alone."
"Our Stand abilities are out in the open, but we know nothing about whatever new enemies might appear." Rohan's brow furrowed deep, a string of bitter sighs escaping him. His confidence was shaken. He'd just walked through death's door, and the memory of that hopelessness still made him shudder.
"Not a problem." Jotaro, by contrast, was perfectly composed. "This isn't anything new."
And of course it wasn't. For a man of his experience, having the enemy know your abilities was practically routine. During those fifty days trekking from Japan to Egypt to take down DIO, every Stand user they'd faced had enjoyed an intelligence advantage. Jotaro had long since stopped caring about that sort of detail.
"Wait... Big Sis, you said this thing was made from Killer Queen's left hand?"
"Yes."
The moment she saw that spark in Josuke's eyes, Inori knew exactly what he was thinking.
"I've got a way to find the guy right now!"
Josuke took the ice block containing Sheer Heart Attack from King Crimson's grasp and looked at Inori.
"Big Sis, can you undo the freezing effect?"
"Hold it, steak-head! Didn't she just say that thing explodes on contact?!"
Rohan had seen Josuke reach for the frozen bomb without a shred of hesitation and immediately moved to stop him. Unfortunately, his less-than-endearing personality had just betrayed him again. Josuke had been raring to go—right up until those words hit his ears. His face went dark instantly.
In Rohan's view, they were all on the same side now, comrades-in-arms. A little ribbing should cost no more than a few goodwill points, surely.
Of course, that only applied to normal people. And Josuke was not a normal person.
Inori cleared her throat awkwardly. Jotaro pulled the brim of his cap lower. They both knew, and neither would ever poke that particular nerve.
"You lousy manga hack! What did you just call my hair?!"
The boy who'd been all smiles a moment ago erupted out of nowhere. He seized Rohan by the collar, and behind him Crazy Diamond materialized in a flash of pink light, its face inches from Rohan's.
"Why are you angry? Was anything I said wrong?" Rohan, naturally, was not the type to be intimidated by a high schooler. He fired back without missing a beat.
"Hey! No fighting!"
Inori intervened. King Crimson appeared and pried Josuke's hand loose.
"The second someone insults my hair I can't stop—I just lose it! You, manga man, you have to let me beat this anger out of my system! I'll heal you right after, I promise!"
"Ha?" Rohan crossed his arms, straightened his slender frame, and smirked with open contempt. "It's not just your hair. There's something wrong with your head, too."
"I should've left you to die!"
"Hmph. Do you think I, Rohan Kishibe, would have accepted being saved by a thug like you if I'd been conscious? If you regret it that much, you're welcome to kill me right now. I won't even fight back."
And he might actually mean it. His pride ran that deep—if he truly found Josuke beneath him, he would absolutely refuse the help. But in truth, it would never come to that. These two had always clashed in the original story, yet when an enemy tried to turn them against each other, neither had betrayed the other.
"That's enough, Josuke." Jotaro's broad hand came down on Josuke's shoulder, his commanding voice backed by unmistakable authority. Star Platinum shimmered into view beside him.
King Crimson on his left. Star Platinum on his right. Josuke flinched, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his forehead. His fury cooled considerably—but the resentment toward this manga artist hadn't gone anywhere. He made a silent vow: he would never work alongside this guy. Absolutely not.
"More importantly—what were you planning to do with the bomb-Stand?"
Josuke took a breath, steadied himself, and laid it out.
"Mr. Jotaro. Big Sis Inori. I can restore this severed left hand to its original state. It'll look pretty disturbing, but the hand will automatically return to the body it came from. All we have to do is follow it, and it'll lead us straight to Yoshikage Kira."