After leaving the market, Zuke first made sure to distance himself from where Enya was, taking care not to be spotted by her stand-in before he began gathering funds.
"Gathering funds," in Zuke's case, was similar to how many newly-empowered protagonists go about it—starting with a bit of "rob the robbers."
"This... this is all the money I have..."
In a dimly lit alley, a strangely dressed thug knelt on the ground, trembling as he handed over all the valuables he had to Zuke. Judging by the bruises covering his body, it was obvious he had received some rough treatment prior to this.
Zuke collected the money but didn't immediately let the thug go. Instead, he asked the question he had already asked a few other lowlifes, "Do you know any places nearby where I could make some fast money?"
"Places to make fast money… I don't know," the thug stammered, shaking his head in ignorance. If he knew where to make fast money, he wouldn't need to live like a petty thug.
"What I mean is, are there any places around here where people bet on underground fights or anything of that sort? You're a thug—you should know something, right?" Zuke pressed further, clearly frustrated by his financial desperation. The money he had gotten so far from these thugs was negligible.
"There's really nothing… or maybe there is, but I just don't know." The thug was on the verge of tears. Zuke wasn't particularly imposing in size, but the sight of him kicking a hole in the stone wall left a lasting psychological scar on him. He was terrified that if he didn't satisfy Zuke, he'd end up with a hole in his own body.
"Well, what about Cairo's underground gangs? You should know how to contact them, right?" This wasn't the first time Zuke had heard this answer, so he wasn't too disappointed; he just kept asking questions.
Underground fighting was undoubtedly a fast way to make money, but if he couldn't locate a fighting venue, then maybe he could find one of those wealthy gangsters and pull off a heist.
"I really… don't know."
"Useless!" Zuke was so annoyed with these clueless thugs that he laughed. He kicked the guy in the head, making his eyes roll back as he fell unconscious on the ground.
Zuke felt a sense of frustration. This place wasn't the decadent land of the "Beautiful Country." Back there, even before his mutation, Spider-Man had been just a nerdy student, yet as soon as he transformed, he knew exactly where to find underground fight clubs to make money. Why didn't it work the same way for him?
He initially thought that these small-time thugs might be able to provide him with some information about Cairo's underground world. If he could rob Egypt's gangs, it wouldn't be a problem.
But most of these thugs were just ordinary people with bad attitudes, far removed from actual criminal underworld dealings.
After spending over an hour finding a handful of small-time criminals, he only collected a paltry amount—nowhere near what he needed to buy that arrow. At this rate, even if he spent his entire 8-hour window doing this, he wouldn't even earn one percent of the funds he needed. He had to think of a new plan.
Zuke had already thought of two alternative strategies.
The first was to head to Cairo's city center and rob a wealthy individual. While he didn't want to do anything too immoral, he didn't have any qualms about targeting a capitalist.
After all, these wealthy types were rolling in cash, and taking some wouldn't harm them much. Besides, the amount needed for that arrow was something even the Kira family could afford.
The problem was that Dio's mansion was also located in Cairo's city center, where many of Dio's followers gathered. If Zuke drew too much attention, he might end up on Dio's radar sooner than expected.
He wasn't afraid of ordinary stand users, but Dio had a particularly powerful spatial stand among his followers that Zuke would need to guard against. The last thing he wanted was to end up like 0.5 Gojo.
The second plan was to reach out to one of the protagonists from Part 3—specifically Joseph Joestar, the protagonist of Part 2. By this point in time (1987), Joseph Joestar had amassed considerable wealth in the U.S. and was destined to become a renowned real estate tycoon, backed by the influential SPW Foundation.
If Zuke explained the situation to him, Joseph would undoubtedly send him money without hesitation to help him acquire the arrow from Dio's minions.
The issue with this plan was that Zuke had no way of contacting Joseph Joestar.
In 1987, there were no smartphones. Most people still relied on landlines or payphones for communication. Cell phones from that era were infamous for their size, even earning the nickname "Big Brother."
Zuke was sure Joseph Joestar, that rich guy, owned one, but he'd need Joseph's number to contact him.
As a last resort, Zuke had one final option. If he couldn't gather enough money, he could try handling the arrow under the guise of admiring the artifact and "accidentally" prick his finger on it.
After all, the arrow was a genuine weapon, so accidentally getting pricked while handling it wouldn't seem suspicious, right?
In Part 6 of JoJo, the protagonist Jolyne Cujoh also awakened her stand after being pricked by a fragment of the "arrow," proving that a minor injury was sufficient for stand awakening.
However, Zuke viewed this as the worst option. He wanted to secure the arrow, not leave it in Enya's possession.
Moreover, if he pricked his finger in Enya's presence, she would realize he might awaken a stand and would likely prevent him from leaving.
More importantly, Enya's stand, "Justice," allowed her to control others by injecting her mist into their wounds. If he injured his finger in front of her, that wound could become her entry point.
This was why Zuke refrained from choosing this route earlier when he was handling the arrow.
The main issue was that he didn't have much time in this world—only 8 hours each day. Many approaches that required prolonged engagement were simply impossible under these time constraints.
Without these restrictions, Zuke could have had plenty of money-making opportunities. He could have even taken the time to become a world champion, going down a path similar to Mr. Satan's.
To be continued…
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