Chương 33: The "Arrow" that Awakens a Stand
Taking a bus, Zuke arrived in downtown Cairo and successfully located the largest market there.
In 1980s Egypt, nearly all stereotypical images of the country were present: Egyptians dressed in traditional garb, rugged stone buildings, and bustling markets filled with ancient artifacts.
Zuke even saw a stall selling a few skulls — who knows from which pyramid they'd been unearthed.
If this were the Yu-Gi-Oh! set, Zuke might have been scouring the area for an Egyptian carrying a Millennium Item, perhaps even tricking one into giving him such a treasure. But this was the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure set, where Millennium Items were out of the question, and his target was an old lady with two right hands.
The market was quite extensive, so Zuke took his time wandering leisurely, observing each vendor with care.
In the original storyline, Enya made her move after the protagonist's group defeated seven enemies, leaving Egypt for Pakistan to ambush them. However, based on the date Zuke heard from the burly man earlier, it seemed the protagonist's group had not yet reached that point, so Enya should still be in Cairo.
This old lady, Enya, held five arrows purchased from Diavolo, and she was a trusted ally of Dio, providing him with funds, shelter, and helping him create Stand-wielding followers.
Some of the funds Enya provided for Dio might even have been raised by selling these arrows, which would explain why she once sold one as a mere craft item to Yoshikage Kira.
Finding Enya would greatly aid Zuke's main quest — he might even complete half of it in just one day.
Since this was the Cairo city center, Zuke wandered the market for some time without encountering the kind of thugs who had previously tried to extort him.
Though many merchants still tried to overcharge, Zuke didn't intend to buy anything here, so he simply ignored them.
His efforts eventually bore fruit; after more than an hour of wandering, he finally spotted a nondescript stall in a corner of the market.
The stall appeared rather old, displaying various ornaments of unique shapes, and behind it stood a short, elderly woman with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.
Most notably, her two hands faced the same way — she had two right hands!
"Hehe… is there something that catches your eye, dear customer?"
Noticing Zuke's gaze, Enya let out a slightly eerie chuckle, inviting him to take a closer look.
Zuke squinted, refraining from walking over immediately. Instead, he used his ability to sense "ki" to scan the people around Enya's stall.
As a Stand user herself, Enya's Stand, Justice, was composed of fog and could manipulate corpses by injecting them with mist through wounds.
In the original story, Enya brutally killed an entire small town's residents in Pakistan, controlling their corpses to act as if they were still alive — an extremely ruthless act.
However, sensing through "ki," Zuke detected that all those around Enya's stall were living humans, not corpses, indicating they hadn't fallen victim to her.
Reassured, Zuke approached the stall, pretending to browse its wares while secretly searching for the arrows.
The items on display were mainly ornaments, and compared to other stalls, these were notably more beautiful.
No wonder Yoshikage Kira mistook the arrow he bought from Enya as a mere trinket at first — it had likely been displayed alongside these ornaments.
After a thorough search, though, Zuke's heart began to sink.
Though the ornaments covered a range of styles, none of them were arrows.
With Enya's departure for Pakistan not far off, the arrow she planned to sell might have already been purchased by Yoshikage Kira.
In fact, Zuke had always felt that the arrow in Yoshikage Kira's possession would be the easiest to acquire.
Initially, Yoshikage Kira regarded it as nothing more than a decorative piece, unaware of its powers until he and his son were accidentally pricked by it, leading them to discover its significance.
That realization would only come much later; for now, Yoshikage Kira remained an ordinary person who possessed the arrow but knew nothing of its use.
If Zuke wanted, he could travel to Morioh in Japan, guard the Kira household, and rely on his own combat prowess to seize the arrow from Yoshikage Kira before he awakened his Stand.
The problem, however, was that Zuke didn't know when Yoshikage Kira would leave Egypt and return to Japan.
If Kira returned too late, Dio would have already been defeated by the protagonists, and possessing the arrow would be meaningless.
Even with a Stand awakened, the inability to complete the main quest of defeating Dio would leave Zuke's sync rate permanently at 0%, barring him from returning to the real world.
Though these thoughts weighed on him, Zuke kept his expression neutral, concealing his intentions from Enya.
"Is this all the merchandise you have, ma'am? Any other items?" he asked.
"Oh? This customer seems to have a discerning eye."
Enya didn't suspect Zuke's interest in the arrow; after all, she saw many Asian tourists here every day.
Compared to other customers, Zuke merely stood out by traveling alone.
"If you're interested, I do have a rather unique item here," she said, smiling as she slowly crouched down and retrieved a long, narrow box from beneath the stall.
Seeing the box, Zuke's heart skipped a beat — could it be the item he was looking for?
"This is the arrow — a very precious item, but I already have several in my possession, so I'm willing to sell one to raise some funds."
Enya opened the long box, revealing an arrow with a meteorite-crafted head and a wooden shaft clearly added later.
Though not the special "Beetle Arrow," this was indeed an arrow capable of awakening a Stand!
Zuke's heart raced, relieved that he'd asked for additional items instead of leaving.
It seemed Yoshikage Kira hadn't purchased the arrow yet. Perhaps he, like Zuke, had asked an extra question, prompting Enya to bring it out.
To be continued...
Dear readers, this is a new piece of fiction, so please donate your power stones so it can reach the maximum audience. I will be grateful for your magnanimous acts.
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