Want more chapters?
There are over 20 Chapters available on my Patreon at [patreon.com/kurato6180].
And you can read an Extra 5 Chapters if you join for FREE!
---
Chapter 78. Joseph: Sorry, Smokey...
...
Everyone was stunned.
Whether it was Smokey, who watched Joseph vanish in an instant,
Or the audience, who saw Joseph's confident declaration that his final plan was to run away using his legs,
Or the real Joseph Joestar at home with Old Smokey and Jotaro Kujo, who wanted to see what kind of brilliant and heroic acts his on-screen self would perform next,
They were all dumbfounded.
They could only follow the plot and see how things unfolded.
And then...
"Hahaha! Old man, you weren't wrong after all!"
"It seems Jolyne really understands you well! She even knows your trump card in detail!"
Finally, Jotaro Kujo, who had been waiting for a chance to turn the tables, seized the moment to mock.
After all, when "Battle Tendency" aired,
Old Joseph Joestar had boasted to Jotaro about how Jolyne had made him the protagonist of her project.
Now, Jotaro had his chance to laugh at him!
Joining Jotaro in the laughter was Old Smokey.
"Hahaha! JOJO, Jotaro is right!"
"Why didn't you listen to me? If you had fixed your bad habits earlier and set a good example as an elder, you wouldn't have ended up like this. Now... pfft, your embarrassing moments are probably known worldwide!"
Old Smokey, who had just joined, also managed to suppress his laughter.
Although he didn't know the exact relationship between Old Joseph Joestar and Jotaro Kujo,
He knew Joseph Joestar well enough to understand that Joseph was akin to the disreputable character portrayed by Sakata Gintoki.
Had Sakata Gintoki, the actor, not differed in appearance from Old Joseph,
Old Smokey might have thought that Gintoki was either Joseph himself or his illegitimate son.
Naturally, with this amusing realization, Old Smokey joined Jotaro in laughing at Joseph.
Joseph, who failed to act cool, was left mumbling things like "OH MY GOD," "Running away isn't really running away," and "Can Hamon warriors be considered running away?"—a string of incomprehensible words.
Fortunately, Jolyne still cared for her great-grandfather (as Old Joseph thought).
As the plot of "Battle Tendency" continued,
Joseph and the others, after a desperate run from the commercial district to the Brooklyn Bridge,
Finally stopped running and took a breath.
"If we've escaped here, it should be safe for now...?"
Panting and half-crouching with his hands on his thighs to avoid falling, Smokey said.
Although Smokey had shown disbelief when he first heard about Joseph's trump card,
One couldn't deny that running away, while shameful, was quite effective.
Especially considering Smokey's racial talent for running was highly useful!
Although it still didn't compare to Joseph's natural Hamon energy and Straizo's vampire resilience...
Thus, in response to Smokey's question, Joseph could only regretfully and apologetically say, "No, Smokey, listen to the sounds around us."
"What sound? Oh, the sound of the river..."
"No, not that! The sound is coming from above us!!"
—Straizo!!
...
"...Sorry, Smokey. I dragged you into this."
When Straizo's figure appeared right after that statement, real-life Joseph Joestar spoke with the same apologetic tone to Old Smokey.
Although Joseph had hoped that Sakata Gintoki (whom he previously admired as his youthful, brilliant self but now hastily referred to as Sakata Gintoki after seeing this embarrassing history) would be more reliable,
That wasn't the kind of reliability he was looking for.
Because Joseph had guessed,
Why did Joseph's character in the plot say his trump card was running away with his legs?
For Straizo, who had endured Tommy gun fire, Hamon attacks, and a barrage of grenades,
Even though his vampire transformation had given him far more energy than an average vampire,
How long could this reserve last under Joseph's relentless attacks?
Straizo's difficulty in recovering his body was a clear sign of his dwindling energy.
Joseph had realized this and decided to use his legs to escape immediately.
Not to truly run away,
But like Straizo said before, if his only worry was whether the Joestar bloodline would unleash extraordinary potential like Jonathan did,
Straizo would never let Joseph escape and would pursue him immediately!
In this way, Straizo, already exhausted, wouldn't have time to consume others' life energy to restore and strengthen his reserves.
In other words, Straizo was being led around by Joseph once again!
But this was not what Joseph wanted.
He wasn't worried about himself being in danger; his real concern was for Smokey, who was escaping with him in the plot!
To make the scene more realistic and deceive Straizo, he had indeed involved Smokey's safety!
"I understand, JOJO. I understand the meaning behind your actions. Similarly, I believe this other version of me also realized what JOJO's trump card was and chose to act as bait."
Old Smokey comforted him, "If I didn't know Straizo would definitely follow us, why would I have asked one more question after we stopped?"
"This is the choice in the plot because we all trust you, JOJO!"
"Smokey..."