A Saiyan's Journey

After completely absorbing Yoshikage Kira's Killer Queen, Zuke returned to Morioh Town.

It was clear today that progressing the plot of Part 5 was out of the question. Therefore, his main objective shifted to collecting a few Stand abilities from Part 4.

Rohan Kishibe's "Heaven's Door" could wait until the main storyline was completed. For now, Zuke had only one other Stand ability that piqued his interest.

Or rather, it wasn't entirely certain if it was a Stand ability.

This belonged to Morioh high school student Mikitaka Hazekura, who claimed to be an alien. In the original work, he also exhibited a lack of awareness of Stands.

As a result, whether his ability was actually a Stand remained a mystery.

Zuke, however, didn't care much about the distinction. Whether it was a Stand ability or not, his Black Bird could acquire it by consuming part of Mikitaka's body.

This fact had already been confirmed in the Type-Moon world, where Zuke gained powers by devouring Heroic Spirits.

Mikitaka's "ability" was remarkably straightforward: transformation. He could turn his body into any object or assume the appearance of others.

However, he couldn't transform into things beyond his understanding.

For example, Mikitaka couldn't become a complex mechanical device. However, if a shapeshifter had sufficient mechanical knowledge, it might still be possible.

In the original work, Mikitaka's ability was unnamed, but Zuke recalled that supplementary materials referred to his "Stand name" as Earth Wind Fire.

Zuke held a favorable impression of this "alien," who was portrayed as a genuinely nice person in the story. Thus, he didn't plan to kill Mikitaka, only to take a part of his body.

The ruthlessness he had shown toward Yoshikage Kira, Akira Otoishi, and Tamami Kobayashi stemmed from their inherently malicious natures.

Although Tamami's crimes were far less severe than Yoshikage Kira's, Zuke still found him detestable.

The original protagonist group had a forgiving nature and let Tamami off, but Zuke wasn't inclined to show the same mercy.

Morioh's area was fairly large, and locating someone in this town might have been troublesome for Zuke in the past. Now, however, with the ability of "Red Hot Chili Pepper," he quickly tracked Mikitaka down.

If Diavolo weren't hiding somewhere in Italy—a much larger area than Morioh—Zuke would have already pursued him.

…

Mikitaka Hazekura was eating lunch in a park in Morioh. His lunch consisted of sandwiches from the famous Saint-Germain Bakery, renowned in the town.

In the original story, Yoshikage Kira's initial identity exposure incident was closely tied to these sandwiches.

When Zuke found the "alien," Mikitaka sat expressionless, giving the impression of someone still unaccustomed to life on Earth.

Soon, Mikitaka noticed Zuke and nodded amicably.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?"

Behind Zuke stood his Stand, Black Bird, but Mikitaka didn't glance in its direction at all.

In the original story, he similarly appeared unable to see Stands, though it remained unclear whether this was feigned or genuine.

"It's a small matter. I need a part of your body," Zuke said with a smile. To him, whether Mikitaka was an alien or a Stand user was irrelevant; he simply needed his ability.

If such words were said to an ordinary person, the response would likely be to call the police immediately.

However, Mikitaka nodded calmly. Under Zuke's gaze, he extended his right hand, grabbed his left wrist, and detached his left hand as if disassembling a part.

"Is this enough?" Mikitaka asked.

His left wrist now ended in empty space, yet Mikitaka seemed entirely unbothered, casually handing his detached left hand to Zuke.

Mikitaka's ability wasn't merely transformation. His body could undergo various changes, akin to a soft-bodied organism.

Even when a part of his body was removed, he could reconfigure the rest to compensate and restore himself.

Although Zuke had anticipated this outcome, watching Mikitaka nonchalantly remove his own hand left him slightly taken aback.

"That's enough… Are you always this defenseless?" Zuke asked, taking the detached hand.

"Not usually. A few friends of mine taught me to be cautious around certain people," Mikitaka replied with a smile. "But I don't sense any malice from you."

The "friends" he referred to were likely the protagonist group of Part 4: Josuke Higashikata, Okuyasu Nijimura, and Koichi Hirose.

For now, Zuke had no intention of contacting those individuals, though he was interested in Josuke's and Okuyasu's abilities.

Even so, any action against them would wait until after the main storyline was completed.

Attacking them now would likely alert Koichi and the others, delaying the plan to head to Italy.

"No malice… perhaps," Zuke replied nonchalantly.

As his strength grew, his actions increasingly followed his whims, whether to act or refrain depending entirely on his mood.

…

After leaving Mikitaka, Zuke had Black Bird consume the detached hand, acquiring the ability Earth Wind Fire.

Now, Zuke could also transform—not just into others' appearances, but into various objects.

This ability might prove useful in other worlds since not everyone could see through transformations.

Next, Zuke visited an unusual landmark near Josuke Higashikata's home: Angelo Rock.

This massive, vaguely human-faced rock was considered eerie by many and had an equally eerie origin.

Initially an ordinary boulder, it transformed roughly two years ago after the criminal Anjuro Katagiri—nicknamed "Angelo"—was fused with it by Josuke Higashikata's powers.

Angelo, a Stand user, had murdered Josuke's grandfather. In retaliation, Josuke dismantled and restored him, merging Angelo with the rock.

Since Angelo couldn't move, Zuke considered consuming the Angelo Rock to see if he could acquire its Stand, Aqua Necklace.

After all, it was essentially a free power source—too convenient to pass up.

To be continued...

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