After leaving the Shinomiya household, Shin didn't return to school—he had already taken the day off, after all.
He followed Kiryu back to Shimokitazawa to examine the recruits Kiryu had brought in and see if any of them had Stand potential.
That's right, in just a few days, the Kiryu Group's influence had expanded significantly, taking in mbers from various other criminal organizations.
Though Shin had already secured the loyalty of the Shinomiya family, he couldn't be the one to handle every single issue that ca up.
Creating a few Stand users to handle troubleso tasks using their "special abilities" seed like a necessary move.
The Kiryu Group would expand with Shinomiya's backing, while the Shinomiya family could use the Stand users to handle things they couldn't address openly. This mutual support between the underworld and high society was exactly what Shin envisioned as the ideal outco.
However, having to personally check Stand potential every ti was becoming a bit tireso for Shin.
"Let's see if I can go to the JoJo world tonight and find an ability that could help test for Stand potential."
This thought crossed Shin's mind as he hoped for sothing new from the JoJo world tonight.
According to the main storyline, tonight's mission world should feature the plot from JoJo's Part 5. And within Part 5's storyline, there were indeed Stand abilities that would co in handy.
For instance, Polpo's "Black Sabbath"—the organization's "Arrow" was hidden in its mouth, and once conditions were t, it would co out on its own to help people awaken their Stands.
If Shin could acquire this ability, he could have Blackbird function similarly to "Black Sabbath," staying by Kiryu's side and automatically awakening Stand abilities for others when needed.
That would save him from having to personally make a trip each ti.
Walking into the bar with Kiryu, Shin saw a number of people already waiting inside, all respectfully looking at him and Kiryu.
Many had witnessed Kiryu's power, that strange ability to injure others without even touching them, stirring a sense of admiration in them.
"Let's begin."
Shin picked up the Arrow skillfully and spoke in a calm voice.
…
With Shin absent from school today, Hitori Gotou felt like sothing was missing.
She had expected Shin to pull her along for lunch as usual, but after waiting for a while, he didn't show up.
So, Hitori, doing sothing out of character, went to Shin's classroom only to find that he had taken the day off.
She thought of having lunch with gumi Kato instead, but after searching around, she couldn't find her anywhere.
Yesterday, with Shin by her side, it was easy for Hitori to spot gumi. But with him gone, Hitori, like everyone else, couldn't find gumi.
With no other options, Hitori found a corner by the stairwell, crouched down, and ate her rice ball alone.
Everything was just like before, yet Hitori found herself missing Shin.
Although his behavior was often overwhelming, she felt even lonelier without him around.
While eating, she overheard so nearby girls discussing sothing, vaguely hearing that it was related to guitars.
They seed to be talking about a girl nad Kita, who could play guitar and sing, and had even been in a band. Hitori felt a pang of envy.
While she could play the guitar, she couldn't sing, and she had only just joined a band. She felt a big gap between herself and this "Kita" girl.
Thinking about this, Hitori felt a mix of sadness and curiosity about this Kita girl.
…
"Thank you for your hard work, Master Shin."
At the bar's entrance, Kiryu and his Stand-wielding subordinates bowed to Shin.
Today's outco was disappointing—Shin had tested the recruits with the Arrow, but none of them showed any Stand potential.
This left Kiryu sowhat disappointed, though a small sense of pride also surfaced in his mind.
—After all, the rarer Stand potential was, the more special it made him, right?
Unaware of Kiryu's pride, Shin only sighed and played with the Arrow in his hand, remarking:
"With the Kiryu Group's expansion, the number of people needing Stand potential tests will likely keep growing."
The new mbers already accounted for nearly half of the original Kiryu Group's size—and would surely increase further.
Thinking of this, Shin felt he had to secure a remote Stand-activation ability from the JoJo world tonight; otherwise, he'd end up spending all day just awakening Stands for underlings.
Though he could let Kiryu use the Arrow himself, he had only just gained control over the Kiryu Group a few days ago.
Despite the humility displayed by both the Kiryu Group and the Shinomiya family in the face of his power, Shin wasn't planning on entrusting everything to them so soon.
Aware of the underworld's cutthroat culture, he knew that giving them the Arrow posed no real threat to him, but he wasn't interested in dealing with potential betrayals.
Only after the Kiryu Group's loyalty was ingrained deeply would he consider letting them handle things independently.
As he left the bar and headed toward the nearby parking lot, he noticed that Kiryu had thoughtfully arranged a car and driver for him this ti. With a quick call, the driver would co whenever Shin needed—quite convenient.
Just as he took a few steps, a familiar figure appeared on the street.
"…You again?"
Shin looked at Hitori Gotou, who had appeared before him, with a hint of amusent.
It seed like every ti he visited Shimokitazawa, he'd run into Hitori Gotou. Did this girl have so kind of special connection to him?
"S-Shin…"
Seeing Shin, Hitori Gotou instinctively shrank back, offering an awkward smile.
She wondered the sa thing—why had she been running into him every ti she ca to Shimokitazawa these past two days?
But this ti, she wasn't alone. After her brief greeting to Shin, a red-haired figure erged from behind her.
"Oh? Is this a friend of Gotou-san's?"
Seeing the red-haired girl, Shin imdiately recognized her—it was Ikuyo Kita, the last mber to join Hitori's band in the original story.
Shin rembered that in the story, Hitori Gotou t Ikuyo Kita at school. He hadn't expected that, with his absence today, the two would still et as if by fate.
As the scene unfolded, Hitori Gotou brought Ikuyo Kita along to the LiveHouse after school, as was destined.
"Hello, I'm Ikuyo Kita, Gotou-san's new friend."
Unlike Hitori, Ikuyo Kita had a naturally outgoing personality, so she quickly smiled and greeted Shin warmly.
To be continued…
Advance 50 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
I ssed up the last two chapters so they will be uploaded again!
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