When Araki crafted Stardust Crusaders, he compared it to a board game. Here, we'll see a nice reference to that.

DeKurliss had out a map board with several pieces on it, each representing Tarot cards. "The Joestars have the Star, the Magician, the Hierophant, the Hermit, and now the Chariot on their side." One piece, marked over the Hong Kong Sea, was tipped over. "And they've taken out the Tower. We have all the other Tarot cards, save for the Fool. That one is still in the wind." "I like the idea of you treating this has a game, DeKurliss," DIO admitted, "It has delicious sense of apathy to it."

"In a way, this is a game," DeKurliss said, "With the stakes being very high. If the Joestars reach you before the fifty days have elapsed, they have a chance to end their curse. If not, they'll be easy prey. We only had two minions controlled through your cells. But that only means the others won't go against you. I've already observed as the Joestars chartered a boat to take them to the Indian Ocean." He placed a new figure just outside the Hong Kong port. "But they will soon learn that enemies are everywhere... Courtesy of the Moon."

Polnareff had recovered from the fight and was meeting the Kujo group at the dock. "Merci for freeing me from DIO's control," he said, "But if I may... Monsieur Joestar, allow me a bizarre question. I noticed that you didn't take off your gloves even during the meal. Would you by chance have a left hand that is shaped like a right hand?" "How would you hide that with gloves?," Fluttershy asked, "Besides, Mister Joestar's left hand is prosthetic."

Joseph took off his glove to show Polnareff. "I lost it in battle fifty years ago." Polnareff nodded, sensing no deceit in his words. "Pardonne. It seems you're not the man I'm looking for." "Looking for?," Jotaro asked, "Who are you looking for?" "The man who killed my sister," Polnareff replied, "It was only a few short years ago. My sister and her friend Antoinette were walking home when they ran into the man with the two right hands. He stood there in the rain, seemingly shielded from it."

He clenched his fist. "Antoinette is a skilled Stand user in her own right thanks to my training, but this man caught her completely off-guard, somehow slicing open her chest. The man then did the unthinkable... He raped poor Sherry, then killed her. Antoinette only escaped because her Stand lets her become as water, which gave her plenty of options during that rainstorm. She sought me out and told me everything. I was the only one who believed her story. While a hunt for my sister's killer is ongoing... The police are not looking in the right directions because they did not believe Antoinette's full account."

His face became a grimace. "But I know who that man must be! He's clearly a Stand user! And so I decided to use my own Stand to hunt that bastard down and exact revenge for my sister's death!" "This man sounds like a Stand user alright," Joseph noted, "But how does DIO fit into all this?" "I ran into DIO just over a year ago," Polnareff explained, "He was working with an American fortune teller named DeKurliss. DeKurliss and DIO showed me visions with some sort of hand mirror. In it I saw the man with the two right hands."

"DeKurliss sounds like he might be a Stand user himself," Jotaro noted, "He might be the reason DIO is able to keep track of our journey and send out assassins to intercept us ahead of time." Polnareff nodded. "Possibly. After speaking with me, DIO offered to ease my pain and assist me in finding the target of my revenge. That was when he planted the flesh bud in me, and sent me out to kill you." "DIO's always been a skilled manipulator," Jonathan noted, "I'm betting this man you're looking for is working for him."

"Then it seems my destiny is set," Polnareff said, "If you will permit me, I would like join you in your journey to Egypt." Before anything further could be said, two young women walked up to Jotaro. "Excuse me," one of them said, "But could you take a photo of us, please?" Fluttershy sighed. She wondered if she shouldn't be more assertive in pointing out that she had already claimed Jotaro. However, the situation was rendered moot when Polnareff offered to take the girls' picture instead.

The sight of his casual flirting bewildered the group. "He reminds me of Caesar before he and Applejack settled down," Jonathan noted. "His personality certainly changes on a dime," Kakyoin said. Joseph scoffed. "More like he has two brains and he started thinking with the lower one." Fluttershy giggled. "Now that was funny." "Gimme a break...," Jotaro muttered. Ultimately it was decided that Polnareff would join the group, adding his Silver Chariot's speed and swordsmanship to their repertoire.

The boat taking the group to Egypt was crewed only by those who had background checks by the Speedwagon Foundation. The trip was supposed to take three days, stopping in Singapore to resupply. In the meantime, the group was able to relax. Fluttershy smiled as her Stand let her talk with the sea creatures that passed by. "Come on now," Joseph said to her, Jotaro, and Kakyoin, "Aren't you all hot in those high school uniforms?"

"Well we are students," Kakyoin pointed out. "That reminds me," Jotaro said, "I hope those doctors looking after Mom remembered my request to tape Liveman. The series is close to ending, and I want to find out if those guys manage to save their friends." "Jotaro never misses Super Sentai," Fluttershy explained to Avdol and Polnareff, "Not even during JAKQ, maybe the worst series to date. But because we're not likely to get Japanese cable while traveling to Egypt, he asked some of the Speedwagon doctors to tape it for him."

"I guess Jotaro admires costumed heroes," Polnareff noted, "Well, we all have our TV shows we watch religiously." Just then, they got distracted by the sounds of someone yelling, "Let go of me you big jerk!" Joseph looked over to spot on of the crew trying to restrain a young boy. "What's going on here?," Joseph demanded, "We agreed there'd be no other passengers!" "Sorry sir," the crewman said, "This stowaway was found hiding in the lower compartments."

"Look," the kid said, "I'm just trying to get to Singapore to see my dad. Let me work for my ticket, okay?" "I don't think so," the crewman said, "We can't have any exceptions for security reasons." The kid responded by biting the crewman's arm, then jumping overboard. "Kid's got guts," Polnareff said, "But it's too far to shore." "I wouldn't worry," Jotaro said, "He wouldn't have jumped if he wasn't a good swimmer." "But can he out-swim a shark?," Fluttershy asked, "Some of the fish here say that sharks use these waters as a hunting ground."

Jotaro sighed as he got up, while the others tried to call the kid back for his own safety. Before one shark could attack the kid, Star Platinum punched it out of the water. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" The kid watched in surprise, not being able to see Star Platinum, as the shark just exploded into blood and fell limp in the water. Jotaro then grabbed the kid's collar. "Gimme a break, kid. Let's get back." As he dragged the kid along, he noticed something off and felt the kid's chest. His eyes widened and he snatched the kid's hat off, revealing "him" to be a girl.

"Jojo!," Fluttershy said incredulously, "You know better than to feel up a girl's chest!" "Sure, when I actually know it's a girl!," Jotaro argued. The girl growled and tried to slap Jotaro, who blocked it easily and dragged the girl back to the boat. Meanwhile the others saw the shark Jotaro stunned get dragged under and come back up in sliced in two vertically. "Jotaro watch out!," Joseph called out, "There's something else in the water! It's not a shark, and it's fast!"

"There's no way he'll make it in time," Polnareff said worriedly. "Not to worry," Kakyoin said, "At this distance we can reel him in. Hierophant Green!" Fluttershy also made to reel Jotaro in. "Music in the Trees!" Hierophant Green grabbed Jotaro and pulled him in, while Music in the Trees did the same for the girl using its vines. "What was that?," the girl asked, "Why were we flying?" "That was definitely a Stand," Jonathan noted, "One of the Speedwagon dossiers mentioned an aquatic Stand owned by a man known only as Dragon. I guess he's found us."

"Could this girl be Dragon?," Kakyoin wondered. "I doubt it," Fluttershy said, "Did you see how surprised she was at suddenly flying? That's not something you can easily fake, especially at her age. Besides, if she was the Stand user, that shark never would never have even been a threat to her." "Hey!," the girl said, pulling out a switch blade, "If you chumps are gonna talk about me, why not say what you want to my face!?" Fluttershy sighed. "What's your name?" The girl looked stunned. "Anne."

"Who else could be Dragon?," Joseph asked, "All ten of the sailors on this boat had their backgrounds checked." "Dragon could've killed and replaced one of them," Jonathan noted, "Or he could be hiding underwater in a submarine. Don't forget DIO is crafty, and the same can be said for his top servants." "What are these guys talking about?," Anne asked. "Nothing that really concerns you," Fluttershy said, giving her a smile, "So, you said you were trying to find your father?"

However, that was when a large man appeared and grabbed Anne by her shoulders. "I heard there was a stowaway on my ship," the man said, "I'm very strict regarding stowaways. Even if you are a girl I need to set an example, or there will just be more kids sneaking aboard." "Ah, Captain Tennille," Joseph said, "Glad you're here. I need to make sure there were no errors in the background checks on the sailors." "Of course not," Tennille said, "I can vouch for all of them. They've been working this vessel for ten years."

"And you'd remember them all by sight?," Jonathan asked. Tennille nodded. "Sure, though I don't know why you're so insistent about it." He narrowed his eyes when he saw Jotaro smoking and snatched the cigarette out of his mouth. "I won't tolerate smoking on this vessel," Tennille said, "What, were you planning on dumping the butt and ashes into the beautiful ocean? You're a guest on this ship, so you follow my rules." He put the cigarette out on Jotaro's hat, and Fluttershy saw his eye twitch. 'I've seen that look before. So many teachers with bad attitudes wound up retiring in tears after Jotaro got that look.'

As Tennille turned away. "Hey asshole," Jotaro said, "If you really wanted me to put the cigarette out, you should have just said so. There's no reason to be a dick about it." "Come on, Jotaro," Joseph said, "You're the one at fault here." "No, it's definitely the captain," Fluttershy argued, "True he had a point about the cigarette, but just because this is his ship doesn't give him the right to be so rude to a guest." "He's not the captain anyway," Jotaro said, "This guy's the Stand user we're looking for."

Tennille blinked. "Stand?" "Jotaro, what's this all about?," Avdol asked, "Tennille was introduced to us by the Speedwagon Foundation. His background checks out, so we can trust him. There's no way he's a Stand user." "Now hold on," Tennille said, "Just what is a 'Stand', anyway?" "Why do you speak about it like it's a foreign word?," Fluttershy asked, "When you think about it, 'stand' is a pretty common word across multiple languages. It'd be more common to ask what we mean by stand, not ask what a stand is."

Tennille looked shocked at this revelation. "Well, now that's something to be suspicious about," Jotaro noted, "Only a Stand user trying to hide would be worried about pretending not to know what a Stand is. But if you're still gonna try arguing your way out, let me cut you off at the pass. I've found a foolproof way to distinguish a Stand user from an ordinary person. I noticed that when Stand users inhale cigarette smoke, the blood vessels on their nose will show through their skin."

Jonathan, Joseph, Fluttershy, Kakyoin, Avdol, Polnareff, and Tennille all reached for their noses, while Anne just looked confused. Fluttershy then realized something. "Wait a minute! I've been around you while you were smoking for months, and I've never had my blood vessels appear through my nose when I inhaled the smoke!" "You're right Fluttershy," Jotaro admitted, "I was lying just now. But that bluff seems to have caught me an idiot. Isn't that right... Dragon!?" Tennille, really Dragon, gasped in shock at how easily he was tricked.

As the group looked on, Dragon took off his hat, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. "Jotaro, how did you know he was Dragon?," Joseph asked. "I actually didn't until Fluttershy's revelation," Jotaro admitted, "I'd intended to use this trick on all the sailors here just in case. This impostor was just my first victim because of his dick move earlier." Dragon shrugged. "Looks like my desire to see God's blue seas stay clean got the better of me. If not for that I might have been able to pick you off one by one."

"So then where's the real Captain Tennille?," Avdol demanded. "I left him sleeping at the bottom of the ocean," Dragon explained, "I knew the best way to infiltrate the crew was to take the captain's place. Otherwise he'd have spotted me quickly and alerted you all, not to mention I could use that authority to avoid suspicion via respect. But I gotta say, I never saw that little trick coming. Silly me for falling for it hook, line, and sinker. That said... I hope you haven't forgotten my Stand is still swimming out there."

Anne, who had been watching the exchange in confusion, suddenly felt herself get grabbed and lifted into the air by an unseen force. Unseen to her, anyway, as the Kujo group saw perfectly well what was grabbing her. It was a blue humanoid amphibian with fins running down its spine. "My Stand is Dark Blue Moon," Dragon explained, "A fitting name, given the Moon card in the tarot represents a fear of the unknown, just like my Stand can easily hide itself unseen in the water."

"You bastard!," Polnareff growled, "Taking a hostage to protect yourself!?" "What would you have me do?," Dragon asked, "In case you've forgotten, you kinda have me outnumbered seven to one. That's why I was hiding in the first place. My Stand is well suited to the ocean, but even this large a group is difficult for it to fight. That's why I need to even the playing field. And now that I have my hostage, I think I'll just jump into the water with her in tow. That should make things easier."

As he got on the railing, he addressed Jotaro. "I heard your Star Platinum is fast! Let's see if it can outrace my Dark Blue Moon! I'll warn you, it can swim faster than any fish in the sea!" He immediately dove overboard, his Stand with him. "In that case," Jotaro said as he summoned Star Platinum, "I'll take you out before you even reach the sea!" Star Platinum started punching Dark Blue Moon as it fell. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!" As the aquatic Stand let go of Anne, Star Platinum grabbed her and tried to pull her up.

Dragon started dead floating away from the ship. "So much for that Stand user," Polnareff said, "Guess he was too cocky for his own good." "Let's not celebrate just yet," Jotaro said through his grunts, "I can't seem to pull Anne up." Joseph looked confused. "Huh? What's wrong?" "Blistering barnacles," Jotaro said, "Literally!" The group looked over the railing to see actual barnacles were growing on Star Platinum's hands. They seemed to dig into its flesh, causing Jotaro to bleed as a result.

"Looks like Dragon's not done with us!," Fluttershy realized, "Music in the Trees!" Her Stand appeared and created several trees, whose branches grabbed Jotaro and tried to pull him up. "Hurry Fluttershy!," Jotaro called out, "I can feel these things sucking away my strength!" Fluttershy grabbed Jotaro's arm to try pulling it up. Unfortunately, the weight and loss of strength became too much, and both them fell overboard along with Anne. "Kakyoin, catch!," Fluttershy said as she used Music in the Trees to throw Anne toward the deck. Kakyoin quickly caught her using Hierophant Green. "Can someone tell me why I'm doing mid-air stunt shows without any wires?," Anne asked.

Both Jotaro and Fluttershy hit the water, where Dragon was laughing. "Welcome," he said through his Stand, "To the world of my Dark Blue Moon." Fluttershy and Jotaro placed their hands to their mouths. "Now I know what you might be thinking," Dragon said, "How long can this guy stay underwater, right? Most humans can only last two minutes, but I've trained myself to the point where my lung capacity is three times greater than most humans. My personal record for staying under is six minutes and twelve seconds."

"That's nice," Jotaro said, "But what I was really thinking was, 'How did Fluttershy get these seaweed masks to produce oxygen so easily?'" Dragon looked confused, until he saw the couple remove their hands. On their faces were the masks Jotaro was talking about. "Fun fact about plants," Fluttershy said, "They're responsible for oxygen being introduced into most environments. It doesn't take a botanist to know that a plant's respiratory system is the opposite of an animal's, breathing in carbon dioxide while exhaling oxygen. Given that, I can use Music in the Trees to create special masks made from seaweed that work on an accelerated version of that."

She smiled beneath the mask. "It kinda makes it like a scuba mask, but without the heavy tank. For the record, the longest these masks have worked is an hour tops." "So now that you know that we can stay under for even longer than you," Jotaro said, "What sort of seafood would you like us to make you into?" Dragon shook his head as he chuckled. "Clever, but don't think you've got the advantage. Don't forget my Stand is designed to thrive underwater." He proved his point by having Dark Blue Moon slash through the boat's propeller.

"Dark Blue Moon's hands are sharper than any blade forged," Dragon explained, "It can easily rip through steel without issue. There's also that other little matter." He indicated the barnacles still covering Star Platinum's form. "That special oxygen mask won't do you any good if your lungs don't have the strength to even breathe," Dragon said confidently. "Any other little tricks this overgrown sashimi has?," Fluttershy wondered. "As a matter of fact, little lady," Dragon said, "There is one other trick that should really swing the battle in my favor."

From the deck of the ship, the rest of the group saw a giant whirlpool form where Jotaro and Fluttershy had been pulled in. "I can't see Jotaro from here!," Jonathan said. "Hang on," Kakyoin said, "I'll get him." Unfortunately, as Hierophant Green tried to reach into the whirlpool, something started cutting up its hand, Kakyoin feeling the effects. The emerald Stand lifted its hand to reveal several blue scales digging into it. "Those scales!," Kakyoin realized, "This isn't just a whirlpool, it's a large blender!" "If we dive in there we'll be sliced to ribbons!," Joseph realized.

He then saw Fluttershy and Jotaro surface briefly. "What's this? They've gone limp." He smirked. "I think they've got this." Fluttershy already had Music in the Trees toss a few leaves into the whirlpool to test the razor scales. "Good idea going limp Jojo," she noted, "That'll make it harder for those scales to cut us." Dragon started laughing again. "Let me guess, you're thinking about how easy it would be if you could just get to the center of the whirlpool and counter-attack, right?"

"Man you're terrible at this," Fluttershy noted, "I was actually thinking, 'How long until he notices the coral growing on his legs?'" Dragon looked down as large collections of coral pinned his legs to each other, his Stand feeling the same effects, limiting its mobility. "But coral is more animal than plant!," Dragon argued. "That doesn't matter to Music in the Trees," Fluttershy noted, "It's not just a Stand for controlling plants, it can also work with animals. Larger creatures it merely speaks with, but lesser creatures like coral it can control as easily as any plant, even manifesting it in the same way."

"And now that we have you in one place," Jotaro said with a smirk, "Time to make that sashimi." Star Platinum's right index and middle finger burst out of the barnacles and stretched out to incredible lengths. "Star Finger!" The attack pierced through Dark Blue Moon's webbed hand as it tried to block, then struck it in the eyes. Dragon grabbed his face in pain. "You turned out to be even more cocky then we thought," Jotaro noted, "That's the real reason I was going limp, to save up energy for this attack."

Star Platinum used its finger to tear apart Dark Blue Moon's face, causing blood to burst out of Dragon's face. As the maritime assassin sank into the ocean, the barnacles immediately disappeared. Jotaro and Fluttershy then started swimming back to the surface. "Ha ha!," Joseph said when he saw them, "They did it! Just like I thought! That's my grandson all right!" "And Fluttershy has even more tricks than it first appears!," Polnareff noted. "That's one less assassin for DIO to send against us," Avdol said, smiling.