The scales of victory are like a seesaw with playful children on either side; the situation can reverse at any moment.
This is a principle that every Stand user should understand.
As a powerful individual honed in the darkness, Bucciarati never relaxed his vigilance during battle.
But even so, he couldn’t fathom why Lee Sin still had the confidence to claim a turnaround now:
“His arms and legs are dismantled, his body can’t move, and his health bar is almost depleted…”
“What kind of trump card does he have left?!”
For a rare moment, Bucciarati felt a wave of panic.
He racked his brain, trying to predict Lee Sin’s possible countermeasures, but ultimately, he could only endure the endless torment of the unknown in this seemingly frozen span of time.
Then, the moment time resumed…
Slap!
Bucciarati staggered slightly.
There wasn’t actually any sound during this process; he just suddenly felt something strike his back. The impact wasn’t strong, more like someone had lightly patted his back.
“What was that…”
“What hit my back just now?”
“It was Sonic Wave.”
Lee Sin provided the answer promptly: “That ‘tracking light sphere’ you know.”
“Impossible!”
Bucciarati’s eyes widened in shock:
“You are clearly lying on the ground in front of me; how could you attack my back with that move?”
“Wait…”
A sudden realization hit him, and his expression turned grim.
Immediately, Bucciarati spun around, and what he saw confirmed his suspicion:
There was an arm.
An arm hanging from a roadside tree a few meters behind him, its fist aimed squarely at him.
“Haha…”
“Have you figured it out?”
With his limbs severed, lying on the ground like a stick, Lee Sin laughed calmly:
“Although I’m lying in front of you, my fist can launch an attack from behind where you wouldn’t notice!”
“And this is all thanks to your peculiar ability, Bucciarati…”
“My severed arm may seem cut off, but it remains connected through some spatial power.”
“Just as I can remotely control my ‘severed’ hand to pull the trigger, I can similarly…”
“Use my Stand ability with this detached arm!”
“And you…”
Had Lee Sin not lost his limbs, he would’ve liked to strike a dramatic pose like Giorno when unleashing a powerful move:
“You disarmed me to prevent my counterattack, but you ended up turning my arm into a ‘hidden turret’ that you couldn’t detect!”
“……”
Bucciarati was deeply shaken:
“So that’s it… Even when you lost your leg, you kept jumping forward, not to escape or struggle desperately.”
“You did it to lure me into chasing you, leading me to the spot where your right fist was aiming, trapping me!”
“I never realized…”
“Your counterattack began the moment you fell into a disadvantage.”
At this moment, Bucciarati understood everything.
But it was too late now. The Sonic Wave emitted from the severed arm had already struck him solidly, and the subsequent marking had started glowing white on his back.
With this mark, nothing could stop Lee Sin’s attack.
“Then…”
Lee Sin’s aura peaked: “Resonating Strike!”
The second segment of his skill activated instantly.
Curiously, even though Lee Sin appeared to be a person with severed limbs, his body was technically “intact.”
And Resonating Strike’s effect required Lee Sin to “wholly” rush to the enemy’s side…
So…
The moment Resonating Strike activated, Lee Sin’s torso on the ground, his right arm hanging on the tree, his left arm and right leg scattered on the road…
These separate “parts” ascended into the air like a transforming robot, converging towards the marked spot from all directions.
Ultimately, Lee Sin’s fragmented body reassembled mid-air.
Simultaneously, his high-speed iron fist, carrying immense force, struck Bucciarati’s back unreservedly.
“Ugh!”
Bucciarati spat a mouthful of blood, collapsing forward due to the immense force striking his back.
With just one blow, he was gravely injured.
Moreover, Lee Sin’s strike targeted a vital area near the neck on Bucciarati’s back, a crucial zone where nerve and blood vessels intersect, a heavy blow here could even kill an ordinary person instantly.
Fortunately, Stand users are hardy, capable of fighting even after losing limbs.
Bucciarati’s body was resilient; he merely fell unconscious from the blow.
In reality, Lee Sin’s body was only temporarily pieced together due to the skill’s effect:
The zippers on his body hadn’t disappeared; once Resonating Strike ended, his body would still fall apart due to the zippers.
But now, Bucciarati was conveniently knocked out with a single punch.
Sticky Fingers vanished with Bucciarati’s unconsciousness, and its effect on Lee Sin dissipated cleanly.
Lee Sin ceased his attack, steadied himself, and his body returned to a whole.
The battle had settled.
“So much pain…”
Bucciarati groggily woke from the darkness, the sharp pain in his back instantly clearing his mind.
He tried moving his body but was almost breathless from the pain, aggravating the red, swollen wound.
After several attempts, with cold sweat beading on his forehead, Bucciarati finally managed to prop himself up with his hand, slowly raising his head.
And as he did…
He was met with the sight of a dark gun barrel.
That dark barrel was so close it was practically pressed against his face. At this moment, Bucciarati could even clearly see the intricate rifling inside the barrel.
“Lee… Lee Sin?”
Bucciarati gasped out the name of the man before him, panting:
“How long was I out…”
“What about Fu… Fugo and the others?”
“Don’t rush.”
Lee Sin replied with a peculiar expression:
“You have a sturdy body… You were out for just one or two minutes.”
“But…”
A cold smile spread across Lee Sin’s face: “Next time you pass out, you won’t wake up again.”
With that, he pressed the gun firmly against Bucciarati’s head:
“Bucciarati.”
“You should have realized by now! If you intend to kill someone, you must be prepared to be killed in return.”
His finger began to squeeze the trigger, the firing pin moving back in a lethal arc under the precise mechanics.
The next moment, death would descend.
“I have that realization…”
“But I know your gun is empty…”
“If you wanted me as your ally, you wouldn’t easily kill me.”
Bucciarati’s expression was calm, even somewhat relieved:
“Lee Sin, I understand your point…”
“You want me to realize I owe you my life, right?”
“Joining you in challenging the boss, no matter how dangerous, only means one death at worst. Since I already owe you this life, I can follow you without burden into the most perilous situations.”
“Haha… You’re right.”
Lee Sin laughed heartily:
“But you actually gambled wrong… My gun does have bullets.”
“And my intention isn’t as complicated as you think. In summary, it boils down to two sentences:”
“Follow me, live.”
“Refuse, die.”
A dangerous smile spread across his face:
“Bucciarati, you’re not the kind of man to break a promise, are you?”
Lee Sin had only watched two episodes of JoJo and wasn’t a fervent fan.
Except for Giorno, whom he had bonded with through life-and-death situations, he had no emotional attachment to the so-called “canon characters.”
From an enemy’s perspective, Lee Sin would never make the mistake of letting a tiger back into the wild.
From a gamer’s perspective, he wouldn’t ignore experience points delivered to his door.
And the recent bout with Sticky Fingers, resulting in his own severe injuries, had genuinely infuriated him.
If Bucciarati was resolute in refusing to join…
Lee Sin would genuinely kill him.
And Bucciarati’s response was:
“Sorry… I can’t agree.”
He faced the gun barrel calmly, his expression resolute:
“If it were just my life, I’d do whatever you ask.”
“But… Fugo, Narancia, Abbacchio… They shouldn’t be dragged into such a dangerous situation because of my choices.”
“The boss is already paying attention to our squad…”
“If I, the captain, defect, they can’t possibly escape unscathed.”
Unlike the Bucciarati in the original story who chose to rebel.
This Bucciarati hadn’t witnessed the boss’s ruthless act of killing his own daughter and still harbored great hope for the organization and the boss.
Without such a shocking event to spur him, it was difficult for him to make a decisive choice in a short time.
However…
“Comrades?”
“Why are you so sure they’ll escape if you die?”
Lee Sin spoke with a strange expression:
“Bucciarati… Have you never wondered…”
“Why didn’t I go help my teammates but stayed here chatting with you?”
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