Chapter 197. Iggy Also Wants a Peaceful Life
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Perhaps it was due to the overanalysis of [White Snake], or maybe it was a preconceived notion.
Or perhaps, when Araki-sensei wrote the story of "Stardust Crusaders", that's exactly what he had in mind.
And Pucci, who plagiarized Araki-sensei's story, naturally shot the scenes in the same way.
In any case, as the audience re-watched the story of "Stardust Crusaders", the more they watched, the more they felt that what [White Snake] said might be true!
Not only as a predecessor to the tarot cards, but also as the Nine Glory Gods, symbolizing the nine Egyptian deities.
The Stand Users who inherited the names of these deities stood against Jotaro.
Isn't that what one would call divine trials?
Moreover, the contents of these "trials" were not merely tests of strength.
For example, Darby's [Osiris] Stand.
The trial he imposed on Jotaro and his group was gambling, fitting his nickname.
And Darby, who bore this nickname, was a master of gambling and cheating!
In the venue he carefully selected, not only were all the people in the tavern his subordinates,
Even the stray cat wandering outside was his pet.
Whether it was betting on which food the stray cat would eat,
Or randomly picking a "bystander" from the tavern to deal the cards for poker,
There was no way Jotaro and the others could win against Darby!
In fact, that was precisely the case.
The first to fall victim was the unsuspecting Polnareff.
And due to [Osiris]'s ability to extract the souls of the losers and turn them into chips,
Even though Jotaro and his group, after the surprise attack, had figured out the ability of [Osiris] and realized Darby was a Stand User sent by DIO,
As long as Polnareff's soul was still in Darby's hands, they wouldn't dare to act rashly, let alone defeat the Stand User to see if that would break the Stand's power.
After all, [Lovers] had already shown them that using hostages against them worked. As long as the hostage remained, success was guaranteed!
And if they followed Darby's rules of gambling, with the dealer, the gambling tools, and even the witnesses all being Darby's people, how could Jotaro and the others bet against him?
Thus, the next victim was Joseph, who had confidence in his own cheating skills.
This proved that it was nearly impossible for Jotaro to surpass Darby in gambling and cheating.
That left only resolve!
It was no longer about the size of the poker cards,
But about betting on their willpower — who would break under the escalating pressure first!
After all, while Jotaro's group wagered their souls,
Darby wagered not only his souls but also the risk that if he lost, he would be beaten half to death by Jotaro's group, and even worse, if he revealed DIO's secrets, DIO would certainly kill him.
What started as just a gambling match became more intense than any Stand battle!
Not to mention Jotaro, down to his last chip, didn't even look at his cards.
He kept increasing the stakes, not only betting his and Avdol's souls but also his mother Holy's soul, all to mentally crush Darby through the sheer speed of [Star Platinum]!
And this trial of both wisdom and resolve wasn't just reflected in Darby.
For example, [Sethan], who had the ability to revert people to infants or children, hoped to use the advantage of adults fighting children to deal with Jotaro, but ended up being punched away by a Jotaro who had turned into an elementary school kid!
There was also [Anubis], who could possess and control others;
And [Bastet], whose Stand had no destructive power but could set up a socket, and once someone touched it, even without the Stand User acting, the affected person would be killed by the magnetic environment created by the Stand.
To defeat these Stand Users, power was only one part of it.
Wisdom to solve puzzles and resolve to break through difficult situations were equally essential!
As Jotaro and his group defeated the Stand Users of the Nine Glory Gods one by one, it increasingly convinced the audience that everything [White Snake] had analyzed was true — Jotaro, having passed the divine trials, was indeed qualified to defeat the villain and be a savior!
Although, in this new episode of "Stardust Crusaders", Jotaro and the others were still trying to figure out where DIO's mansion was located…
But isn't wisdom demonstrated in these small details?
As outsiders, Jotaro and his group didn't know the lay of the land in Egypt.
But Avdol, being an Egyptian, knew where to find people who could track down this mansion!
The city's beggars were their best informants!
However, before they could act, Iggy, the dog, leveraging his species' advantages, had wandered off on his own and found DIO's mansion first.
He witnessed a beggar, hired by Avdol to locate the mansion, being easily killed by a Stand-using bird guarding the mansion!
Watching this scene, Iggy cautiously eyed the bird, thinking:
"That bird is a Stand User like me! Its Stand is Ice, and it's guarding this mansion!"
"It just eliminated the living thing trying to enter the mansion… So its next target is… me!?"
But what did that have to do with him?
Even though Iggy had now confirmed that this was the mansion Joseph and the others were searching for, he had been forcibly dragged to Egypt by Joseph and had no personal grudge against DIO.
Why would he risk his life fighting this dangerous bird, Pet Shop, who wielded the [Horus] Stand among the Nine Glory Gods?
"I just want to live freely, find a beautiful female dog, and peacefully live an ordinary life.
Who in their right mind would fight such an evil bird and risk their life for nothing!?"
With Pet Shop staring him down, Iggy, knowing he had been locked onto as a target, though not believing he would lose in a fight, decided to feign ignorance and act like a fool.
After all, there was no need to fight.
Just as humans disdain fools, Stand-using animals, with intelligence nearly equal to humans due to the spiritual energy of their Stands, also looked down on "idiots" among their kind.
As a fellow animal Stand User, Iggy understood this mindset well.
So, it's time to leave.
After all, I'm just a small, weak, and pitiable Boston Terrier passing by…
"..."