Hunter 86: The Duel

"Your weakness lies in your throat and lungs, and we know how to stop you from breathing. And whenever you come to challenge me, Wamuu, again, I'll say this: kid, come back when you're stronger. So that the next time we meet, I can show you the respect you deserve for your strength—before I completely kill you."

One of the three Pillar Men, Wamuu, pressed two fingers against Caesar's throat, preventing him from using his Hamon breathing technique, as he calmly spoke.

Wamuu then casually tossed Caesar aside, scanned the surroundings, and said to Kars, "It seems there's no one else here who can use the Hamon."

"Cough... cough!"

A deliberate cough drew the attention of the three Pillar Men.

"Hey, over here! Don't miss me!"

Seeing that he had drawn their attention, Joseph pointed to himself and said, "My eyes may be injured, but that won't stop me, JoJo, from defeating you with a well-thought-out and carefully considered move!"

Joseph first struck a pose in front of Caesar, then took out a specially-made steel ball and said to Wamuu, "Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Joseph Joestar, the one who took care of your comrade!"

"Take this Hamon-infused steel ball attack!"

Joseph infused the steel ball with Ripple energy and launched it at Wamuu.

Even Caesar, who was too weak to fight, was shocked: "JoJo, are you kidding? That's just throwing a steel ball!"

Joseph quietly hid another set of steel balls behind his back, intending to surprise Wamuu. But his attack failed as Wamuu's body quickly shifted into various forms, gracefully dodging the oncoming steel balls.

"Interesting! I'm impressed by your steel ball weapon, your courage, and your creativity. I'll give you one minute to fight me, Wamuu!"

At some point, Wamuu had attacked Joseph, slashing his wrist. With the amount of blood loss, Joseph would be too weak to resist after a minute.

"Now, go retrieve your weapon!"

Wamuu, seeing Kars and Esidisi leaving, urged Joseph to pick up his weapon and finish the fight quickly.

"What? You want me to pick it up?"

Joseph placed his hand near his ear, exaggerating his tone, "There's no need!"

From behind a pillar, the steel ball, charged with Hamon energy, suddenly rebounded, leaving a long wound on Wamuu's forehead.

What followed was a lot of talk about a warrior's honor, punishing oneself for being careless—empty words with no substance.

"Divine Sandstorm!"

Joseph was hit hard, and if Wamuu's accuracy hadn't been affected by the blood loss, the story might have ended right there.

"Even if you had hidden behind the pillar, the damage would have been enough!"

Wamuu nodded as he saw Joseph lying on the ground and turned to leave.

He didn't notice Joseph slowly moving his body under the astonished and confused gazes of Speedwagon and Caesar.

"My breathing is erratic, and I can't use Hamon anymore. All that's left is the one trick I know best! Take this!"

Joseph tricked Wamuu onto a minecart and successfully activated it, carrying Wamuu away and buying time for Speedwagon and Caesar to escape.

Wamuu thought to himself, "I never really considered you guys a threat. If you hadn't kept jumping out, I would've left this place long ago. I didn't come here to kill you!"

At the brink of life and death, Joseph successfully used psychological tactics, convincing Wamuu to grant them a month's reprieve in the name of a warrior's honor. But a ticking time bomb had also been placed in his heart and throat.

...

White Sand: "Boss, do you think Joseph and the others will be okay?"

Gentle Youth: "How could anything happen? Even if invincible Jotaro were to die, that old rascal would still survive!"

White Sand: "I mean, could the plot change because of that unknown contractor?"

Summer Flame: "There shouldn't be any issues. We've been observing for the past two days, and nothing's changed."

The five-member contractor team had also quietly followed them to the ruins. To be honest, they weren't too worried about Joseph's safety.

No matter the disaster Joseph faced, he always managed to survive. Even against the Pillar Men, Joseph used his combat skills, courage, luck, strategy, and wit to emerge victorious, making him the most versatile (or luckiest) JoJo of all time.

He even managed to defeat Kars, the strongest enemy in the entire JoJo series, who had become the ultimate lifeform. After being blasted into Earth's atmosphere by a volcanic eruption, Kars still returned safely.

They seriously suspected that every time this old rascal was about to ascend to heaven, Jonathan Joestar, known as the gentleman of the Joestar family, would kick him back down.

The five-member team's wait paid off as they successfully rescued Joseph and Caesar. They even demonstrated an effective healing ability, which looked quite ordinary to outsiders but was the power of a healer. The little girl Linda was the team's healer.

"This should have boosted our favorability quite a bit; that's our advantage. Now, let's head to Venice ahead of time."

After bidding farewell to Joseph and the others, Gentle Youth immediately gave the order.

"Boss, you're so smart!"

The team members weren't fools. It was obvious that although they had fewer clues related to Lisa Lisa's mission than the contractors stationed in Venice, they had aligned themselves with the more important protagonist.

This idea wasn't unique to them, but few contractors were brave enough to execute it. The five-member contractor team was among the elite, and even they dared only to operate on the outskirts, avoiding confrontation with the Pillar Men.

Helping Joseph in battle inside the ruins might have gained them more favorability, but if they encountered Kars, Wamuu, and Esidisi, the odds were high they'd be wiped out.

Operating here might yield rewards, or it might not, but it certainly carries risk. And while Gentle Youth's team was strong, other contractors were reluctant to offend them in a situation where the benefits were uncertain.

Except for the hotheaded ones. These types usually had someone to rein them in, and most of those without such restraint were already dead.

...

"I didn't teach you the Hamon technique to save you; it was to create warriors capable of defeating those monsters."

Lisa Lisa said as she looked at Joseph.

"That damned woman!"

Joseph, noticing the onlookers around them, felt humiliated by the earlier beating.

In the distance, some contractors were observing, and they couldn't help but comment.

"A mother hitting her son, no problem here!"

"Your mom is the best, old man!"

"I can't deny it, even though she's already fifty, she still looks stunning!"

...

"You guys, come over here!"

Lisa Lisa called out to a few contractors. These were people who had shown good combat skills in earlier missions.

The contractors were visibly excited, as they were given a task to test Joseph. This meant they had a chance to beat up the protagonist before his combat power fully developed. How exciting!

"I've already tested your potential and talent; now fight them and show me your combat skills!"

Lisa Lisa said.

"You're just underestimating me, aren't you? Picking random people from the crowd to fight me!"

Joseph complained.

"If any of you get hurt, blame that woman!"

Joseph shouted to the contractors.

The contractors smiled in response, secretly planning to use this opportunity to beat up the protagonist, though they had to maintain a friendly facade to make a good impression.

Little did they know that by accepting this mission, Joseph already had a poor impression of them. They were smiling too fakely.

Given Joseph's cunning, it wasn't hard for him to notice that these people were similar to the five who had helped him in Rome. In other words, these guys likely had special abilities.

"Damn, they screwed up!"

"Haha, you can't even beat a not-yet-fully-developed Joseph!"

"You don't even have the qualifications to participate in the mission, and you still dare to mock?"

"Are you unhappy? Let's fight!"

"Come on, you hit me, I hit you, what now!"

The contractors were indeed stronger than the current Joseph, but their rigid use of skills made it impossible for them to easily defeat someone with Joseph's battle style.

Moreover, Joseph had suspected early on that these people weren't ordinary, and with his careful planning, he managed to outsmart them.