INIIDF-Chapter 03 Oh, the Shadow Clone

Liam discovered that the light rain outside was indeed blocked by the relatively thin armor he wore on his body.

Rainwater originally couldn't touch Stand, but Stand could attack the rain – in other words, the small armor on him had maintained an "aggressive" stance, allowing it to continuously "repel the rain." Liam quickly comprehended the principle.

He walked in the drizzle but remained completely dry.

It was truly a remarkable experience. Liam chuckled and inquired inside the "Iron Man" suit, "You are an automatic-type Stand, right? Can you speak? Do you have a personality? Hey, it's not malfunctioning, is it?"

He raised his hand and tapped his "Iron Man" helmet a couple of times as if adjusting a television signal…

The bright, slender eyes of the Stand seemed to flash for a moment, eventually responding with an electronically synthesized voice that resembled J.A.R.V.I.S. and Friday: "Yes…"

Curiosity filled Liam, and he asked, "What's your name? Do you have any special abilities?"

Usually, Stands had names. Stand users with independent Stand personalities understood the name and abilities of their Stand even when the user was clueless.

Some impressive Stands even coached their users on how to fight against bosses, just like a mentor guiding an apprentice.

"'Back in Black'…" The armored Stand continued, speaking in a magnetic electronic tone that didn't reveal if it was male or female.

Although the voice was strangely pleasant, Liam was puzzled by the words. Why did it have an English name? Could it be translated into Chinese? Or even Pirate Speak?

And so, Liam, wearing the 'B.I.B.' Stand armor, continued to run in the drizzle while inquiring. From 'B.I.B.' Stand's poor language expression, he struggled to piece together its general abilities.

"Extraction? Release? Storage?"

As he walked, Liam looked at his own hands with confusion.

The Stand armor was entirely black, with blue and red flame patterns entwined on the forearm armor. These patterns seemed to contain additional special abilities.

'B.I.B.' attempted to describe with difficulty, but it was too vague in Liam's ears, making him wonder if even the Stand itself wasn't entirely sure of the armor's abilities…

Typically, Stand abilities had six dimensions: strength, speed, precision, range, endurance, and growth.

However, one major attribute of Liam's 'B.I.B.' was that:

The Stand's strength, speed, and precision were solely determined by the user's abilities. In other words, when Liam summoned his Stand, everything about himself was perfectly reflected in it.

If Liam was a weakling like the Cowardly Trio, his Stand would be just as weak.

If Liam was a powerhouse who could punch Shichibukai and kick Celestial Dragons, and take on Admirals, Warlords, and various formidable opponents, then he would have an equally powerful combat ally – his Stand, 'B.I.B.'

Every experience, fatigue, pain, and even the growth and training accumulated by the Stand during its time outside were all transferred to the user when it was recalled.

"In other words, it's like a 'Shadow Clone' Stand, is it really that inconceivable?" This attribute was straightforward, and Liam had a sudden epiphany. He felt both surprised and delighted, but also a little apprehensive.

The delight stemmed from the fact that now he essentially had a personal external "practice mode" with doubled experience as both the user and the Stand improved simultaneously.

The apprehension, however, was because he wasn't certain whether he could handle such a cheating operation.

In the world of Naruto, only someone like Naruto could endure the accumulated mental exhaustion and damage from Shadow Clone Jutsu without self-destructing.

"It's so thrilling, and it gets your heart racing!" Liam licked his dry lips, running through the drizzling rain with 'B.I.B.,' and his heart swelled with endless anticipation.

Out of curiosity, he decided to test it and commanded, "Alright, come back."

In an instant, the Stand armor, invisible to ordinary people, receded into Liam's body like a phantom.

"Hey! How could you understand that I named you 'Black'…?" Just as this thought arose, he was startled by the surge of fatigue that hit him, tingling his scalp.

On a rainy night, a refreshing cry was heard…

"This feeling… is really… indescribable!"

After all, this was Liam's first time trying this kind of operation, and it had left him shivering from head to toe.

Liam's clothes were quickly soaked, leaving uneven footprints all along the way.

Not far behind him, a stray dog, barely visible in the darkness, followed Liam's footprints…

Up ahead, the scattered lights of a desolate town appeared on the horizon.

…

Slap!

A pair of feet broke the surface of rainwater pooled on the brick road.

Pattering sounds echoed through the desolate streets of the town as the disheveled boy trudged through the rainy night.

However, this was the world of pirates, where productivity wasn't well developed. There were no signs of nightlife or entertainment; on rainy nights, most people kept their doors locked, and most shops were closed.

"The former owner of this body seems to have a less than virtuous past…"

Liam clutched the gun in his embrace, along with the stack of damp Belly bills it had obtained, frowning slightly. He struggled to uncover the original owner's memories that still resided in his mind.

Was he being pursued?

Is it a shipwreck or did they wash up here and die?

However, the fragmented memories certainly featured blood and violence! This kid is definitely not a straightforward character…

Unfortunately, those memories only surged into his mind as a response to the initial shock when he first woke up in this new world, and they were already disjointed and fragmented.

Later, he narrowly escaped being taken down by the Black-Clothed Person and discovered his Stand awakening. With all the subsequent excitement and challenges, he couldn't focus on examining the fragmented memories of the original body's previous owner. It's as if they were fading from his memory…

A major awkward moment in bold text!

Behind the windows of a few houses, faintly lit up, it felt like pairs of prying eyes were hiding. As Liam passed by the only tavern in the small coastal town with its lights still on, he heard the loud arguing and laughter of fishermen and traders inside, but he decided not to enter.

He wasn't sure if anyone on this island recognized the previous owner of this body…

Moreover, even the Black-Clothed Person by the garbage heap couldn't guarantee whether they were unconscious or truly dead. In this mysterious world of pirates, where "undying" individuals were prevalent, Liam wasn't completely confident in his assessment of the situation.

After all, he had witnessed situations where Zoro would engage in a lengthy sword fight with someone, both covered in blood, only to find out that they were undying. Who knows how effective the guns he gave that Black-Clothed Robust Man would be in this world's context?

Considering that the original body's owner was already deceased, weakened, and had experienced a series of hardships, Liam managed to find a secluded alley to hide in. He huddled in a corner, planning to take a short rest, and reconsider his options when the day broke.

"At least I don't feel sick… This guy's physique is pretty good!" Liam mumbled sleepily, just before drifting off. Suddenly, he woke up and, after a couple of tries, finally managed to summon the dark Stand energy throughout his body, manifesting a shadowy figure.

Fully black in appearance, with blue flame patterns on the left arm and red flame patterns on the right, converging into a white inverted triangle on the chest, the mechanical-looking Stand, 'B.I.B.,' stood silently by Liam's side.

"Well, just stay here and don't wander off," Liam mumbled in his half-asleep state, and 'B.I.B.,' with its eyes emitting a soft white light, looked over and nodded in silence.

Liam was about to fall asleep but woke up again, uneasy this time. "Pay attention to any movements in the streets and alleys, don't let anyone approach unexpectedly… If it's necessary, remember, just attack their vitals!"

'B.I.B.' nodded again. A few seconds later, Liam "played possum" once more.

Curling up and holding himself tightly, Liam slowly regained his senses, pondering, "If I don't wake up at some point, and things get dangerous, please wake me up…"

This Stand was an automatic type, and some automatic Stands could continue to exist and act even if the user had passed away. Liam was afraid that 'B.I.B.' might just watch him turn cold and lifeless without taking any action.

'B.I.B.' nodded once more.

With his instructions given, Liam finally closed his tired eyes and fell asleep with a faint smile…

In a half-dream state!

Liam found himself standing on top of a pile of trash in the rain. Inside the trash heap, a miserable and disheveled boy reached out his hand for help…

The scene shifted, and suddenly, Liam appeared, delivering a punch to a Black-Clothed Person's head. He turned around, and next to the trash heap was the same miserable boy, Liam's "self"…

The scene shifted again, and Liam, wrapped in "himself," walked through the rainy night…

Liam slowly woke up.

What he had seen in the dream was apparently the memory from the Stand's point of view, which he had consciously recalled after it was first awakened.

"It's dawn!"

The day had brightened, and Liam rose from the corner of the dimly lit alley. He gazed at the entrance, illuminated by the sunlight, and heard distant voices outside.

This was a small coastal town with frequent visits from merchants and fishing ships. It would be quite lively during the day.

"Woof!" There was something nudging at Liam's feet. He looked down and was surprised to see the stray dog from the garbage heap the day before. "You followed me too, huh."

He didn't mind and turned his head to look at 'B.I.B.,' who had stood guard all night. This guy had been on duty the whole night… Liam seriously pondered a question: If he summoned 'B.I.B.' again, what level of exhaustion and satisfaction would it entail?

'B.I.B.,' with its eyes emitting white light, looked at Liam. Liam politely and somewhat embarrassedly smiled at 'B.I.B.' "You've replicated me entirely, right? So, theoretically, all the memories I've ever had in my mind have been mechanically 'copied' over to you, correct?" 'B.I.B.' nodded as expected.

Liam beckoned it with his finger. The armored Stand, a bit sluggish, finally grasped what its master wanted and quietly walked over, merging with him once more.

Wearing the suit, Liam, using the "helmet's" vision, saw things that ordinary people couldn't. It was the memories 'B.I.B.' was "replaying."

It was the residual memories that Liam had forgotten from the time when he first crossed over, things like the beautiful garden in front of a wooden house, and a beautiful woman named "Lily."

Well, this should be this kid's hometown and his mother, right? Liam silently nodded his head and quickly browsed the fragmented memories 'B.I.B.' was "playing." Because the memories themselves were incomplete and fragmented, he found it quite challenging. It depicted a turbulent sea and battles among pirates!

"To be a pirate at such a young age! You should at least have waited until you were 17 to set sail…" Liam muttered. Based on the current set of memories, it appeared that the previous owner of the body had abandoned his mother and left home to join a pirate crew.

Truly a dutiful son! But where could being a pirate possibly lead to? Liam continued to inspect the memories while wearing the "helmet." Sure enough, it revealed the life of burning, killing, and plundering with the pirate crew. It finally ended with a run-in with the authorities.

A pale face repeatedly appeared in these fragmented memories, interwoven with the frightened emotions of the original body's owner.

Liam's pupils contracted, and he recognized that face!

Laffitte! The person from Blackbeard's ship in the future, the one who single-handedly infiltrated the Marine Headquarters and negotiated conditions with the Marines during the Shichibukai meeting. This dutiful son had somehow provoked someone as ruthless as Laffitte?

No wonder he was hunted across the sea and met an untimely end in a foreign land! Liam's emotions were stirred, and he felt the urge to drag out the original body's owner and give him a good beating. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he heard a faint noise from above.

On top of the alley wall, there was a frail figure crouched down.

Seeing Liam, who had been lying on the ground like a lifeless corpse, suddenly look up, Robin silently rose to her feet on the wall. She pursed her dry and pale lips, making a gesture, and immediately, petals fluttered from her feet towards the ground, growing a series of arms on the wall to assist her descent. With Robin maneuvering through the alternating arms, she landed silently in front of Liam.

(End of this chapter)