Chapter 02 Stand User

It seems that she's hiding in the trash pile or on the other side… So, did she slip away because I scared her off, or did she sense her pursuers?

Liam didn't make any hasty moves as he thought about the possibility that Robin, who was observing from the shadows, had used her Flower-Flower Fruit (Hana Hana no Mi) abilities to help him untie the rope, he kept his gaze fixed on the "Iron Man" standing in the rain.

The sudden appearance…

The guy in front with the gun seemed unable to see it, only this "Iron Man" that only I could see…

Liam continued to act as if he were still bound, sitting on the wet ground, but his heart raced. It seemed that even unfortunate folks who got transported to another world had their perks.

His last memories before the transportation resurfaced: merchandise his roommate bought related to JOJO, the 'Arrows' that could activate 'Stand Abilities' as described in JOJO's settings…

A few idiotic roommates each took a turn, and naturally, Liam did too… Just a moment ago, that sudden appearance in the trash pile and the disappearance of the Blue arm after pulling him out…

It seemed that "Iron Man" sensed Liam's thoughts, as it turned its face toward him. Its long, slender eyes radiated white light as they locked onto Liam.

In the rain, on the ground, Liam stared at it.

"Iron Man" also "stared" at him with its unchanging expression.

What is the silly guy waiting for? You should punch him!

Seeing that "Iron Man" did not follow the "command" in his mind, Liam couldn't help but feel a little perplexed.

Can't it understand my gaze? Or has this Stand betrayed me?

"Who are you, exactly?" The Black-Clothed Person yelled as he approached, disregarding the puzzled look Liam had given him, and was about to kick the annoying kid to question him thoroughly.

However, at this moment, the "Iron Man" whom Liam thought was a bit foolish suddenly acted. It kicked Black-Clothed Person in the side of his knee, causing him to tumble and fall on the rain-soaked ground.

At least it wasn't too foolish; it knew how to protect its user! Liam breathed a sigh of relief. His puny arms and legs couldn't handle a confrontation with the Robust Man in front of him.

But at the same time, Liam noticed that his "Iron Man" Stand didn't seem to be very strong, appearing roughly on par with his own physical strength. Currently, he was only taking advantage of the fact that the other couldn't see it to launch surprise attacks and gain a slight advantage.

"Bang!" The Black-Clothed Person hadn't sustained any real injuries. He seemed disheveled but got up, raising his gun and aiming in the direction where "Iron Man" stood.

A bullet hit nothing but air, passing through the black armored Stand, and disappearing into the rainy mist.

The Black-Clothed Person was on the verge of going insane; what on earth was happening? Did some wicked spirit come into play?

Why aren't you taking advantage of your current position and attacking? Liam was almost breathless, desperately trying to convey with his eyes, but "Iron Man" remained impassive.

"It must be you, isn't it!" The Black-Clothed Person suddenly locked onto Liam and said ruthlessly.

Liam looked extremely innocent and responded with a bewildered tone, "Huh?"

"I think I'll blow your brains out with a bullet and see if you can continue with these strange tricks!" The Black-Clothed Person no longer fell for Liam's naive appearance, aiming the gun directly at him.

Bang!

'Holy crap!' Liam quickly rolled on the ground.

On the other side…

When the user's well-being was threatened, the "Iron Man" took decisive action as it forcefully smashed the Black-Clothed Person's wrist, causing his aim to deviate away from Liam.

Pada!

The gun fell to the rain-soaked ground.

The Black-Clothed Person, drenched and looking like he'd seen a ghost, clutched his aching wrist.

The "Iron Man" stood quietly in front of him. However, the Black-Clothed Person, his face pale, looked around and still couldn't see it.

Liam wiped his face, quickly shouting, "You silly child, pick up the gun for me!"

The Black-Clothed Person jumped in horror while exclaiming, "It must be you! You're one of those so-called Ability users, right?"

Legend has it that in this sea, there are "Devil Fruits" known as the "Sea Secret Treasure." Eating any of these can grant unimaginable and peculiar abilities. One Devil Fruit can even fetch a price of over 100 Million Belly!

The Black-Clothed Person, being involved in the underworld, had heard of this. Despite his faction being suppressed in recent years by the "Bullets" led by that "Tank" Bege, losing territory little by little… one can't come across such fruits and Ability users very often. So, the Black-Clothed Person didn't think in this direction initially.

But now, with Liam shouting like this, where was the room for doubt? The Black-Clothed Person quickly reached for the fallen gun on the ground, but he was suddenly struck by something.

He grunted, thinking, "There is indeed an invisible 'wicked spirit' in the air!" However…

After calming down a bit, he noticed that this so-called "wicked spirit" wasn't all that strong! The Black-Clothed Person regained his composure. Besides not being visible, this "wicked spirit" seemed to have nothing particularly formidable about it.

"You're done for, you brat!" He spoke as he ruthlessly stared at Liam.

Then, with a grunt, he exerted all his strength, gradually pushing away the "Iron Man" that was holding him down.

"Don't move, pal." Suddenly, a gun's barrel came over to his head along with a voice.

It was Liam who, seizing the opportunity as the Black-Clothed Person and the Stand wrestled, swiftly crawled and snatched the fallen gun from the ground, pointing it at the Black-Clothed Person's head.

"You…?!" The Black-Clothed Person was astonished. How could this brat call him "pal"?

Just at that moment, the Stand that Black-Clothed Person had forcefully pushed away, suddenly disengaged from the confrontation, no longer actively attacking and the Black-Clothed Person could no longer touch the Stand.

His body passed directly through the invisible "wicked spirit" that he couldn't see, causing him to tumble awkwardly onto the muddy ground in the rain.

Liam's hand trembled, and the gun accidentally fired with a bang.

The fallen Black-Clothed Person let out a miserable cry, and blood spattered from his buttocks, staining his black pants.

"All this drama startled me! If I knew how to use guns, I would've shot this guy dead just now!" Liam complained to the invisible "wicked spirit" who was standing next to the Black-Clothed Person. "He won't be affected by punches to the stomach with your strength. He's a member of the underworld; he's probably not afraid of these light punches."

…

Two minutes later, near the trash pile in the rain.

Liam raised the gun, pointing it at the Black-Clothed Person, who was now stripped naked, wearing sunglasses, kneeling there with blood still flowing from his buttocks, blending with the rainwater at his feet.

"Is this all the Belly you have?" Liam counted the banknotes he had taken from the Black-Clothed Person's wallet with one hand while showing a disappointed expression on his face.

Naked and kneeling, the Black-Clothed Person was infuriated. He gritted his teeth and said, "Don't go too far— Ahhhhh!"

He let out a wail.

It wasn't because Liam had ruthlessly fired another shot; it was the "wicked spirit" beside him, which he couldn't see, that punched him in the stomach.

"Punching the stomach? What's the use? Your strength isn't great! This guy's from the underworld; he probably doesn't care about these mildly irritating punches," Liam instructed his Stand armor, speaking earnestly. "Punch him in the groin! It's simpler, more direct, and effective…"

The Black-Clothed Person immediately clamped his legs together, shivering all over. He said, "Ask whatever you want, I'll tell you!"

"In that case, who are you? Where do you come from? Which faction are you with? Where are we? What towns are nearby? Where do I need to go to make you lose your mobility?" Liam asked in one breath.

He unconsciously furrowed his brow; being out in the rain for too long was starting to make him uncomfortable. However, he endured it and didn't show any signs of weakness in front of the black-clad, sunglass-wearing man.

"Don't think about stalling for time, waiting for your friends to come," Liam grinned, baring his teeth, making the sunglass-wearing man shudder.

He always felt that the terrifying "wicked spirit" hovering around him, that dreaded feeling of a fist wandering near his Little Brother, was causing his scalp to tingle. This brat's ability is so wicked! I just told him to go there, and he does it so effectively…!

Bang!

After the last depressed gunshot, Liam holstered the gun and gestured for the rain-soaked "wicked spirit" to follow closely, taking disorganized steps away.

A dirty and ragged stray dog whimpered, following Liam's silhouette in the rain.

On the other side of the trash pile, a slender figure moved and walked out, standing alone in the drizzle.

…

West Blue, Chicago Island, not far to the east from here, there is a small port city called Iris Town…

The Black-Clothed Person from earlier was a member of "Gunpowder," one of the five major criminal organizations in West Blue. They had acted immediately when someone reported Nico Robin, the Devil Child, had been sighted in town.

A team from "Gunpowder" had promptly mobilized, spreading out in search of her in the vicinity of the town. Liam vaguely remembered that Supernova Bege hailed from West Blue and that records said he had quickly unified the criminal organizations of West Blue when he was young, getting bored only then before setting sail as a pirate…

Bege was part of the criminal organization called the "Bullets," one of the five. It was possible that within a few years, Bege would behead the old bosses of the other four organizations one by one and absorb their forces as subordinates.

However, for Liam, these matters were currently not relevant…

What mattered most to him right now was finding a place to take shelter from the rain, ideally with some hot soup to warm up his body.

As he ran through the rain, Liam suddenly thought, "Hey, can you protect me from the rain, my buddy?"

His Stand indeed obeyed immediately, approaching him. Astonishingly, it overlapped, contracted, and conformed to his body, just like a real Iron Man armor, fitting Liam within.

It could do that too?

(End of this chapter)