A.N: Do I wish this chapter had been a bit longer? Absolutely. Was I expecting Joseph's fight with Vernal to be as long as it was? No. But, I love writing for Joseph Joestar. He's hilarious, and if Jotaro didn't exist, he'd be my favorite JoJo. So, here's an entire chapter dedicated to Joseph's most dangerous weapon: his trollish intellect. Enjoy everyone!

Chapter 21

Joestar Secret Technique

Joseph vs. Vernal

Vernal gave the younger Joseph Joestar a bloodthirsty smirk as she tossed her strange blades into the air before catching them. "Okay then," Joseph said to himself, "best to let her make the first move so that I can figure out how she fights."

Vernal smirked. "Hey now," she said, "if you want me to make the first move that badly, I'll indulge you. But I promise you, you're going to regret it."

Vernal's two blades were then enveloped in two different elements. One lit up in flames while the other was enveloped in a wind blade. "Oh my God!" Joseph yelled in surprise. "That is definitely different from that bazooka I got my hands on!"

"Aww, what's wrong, Muscles? Scared of a little fire? A little bit of a breeze, too?" Vernal taunted. "Then you are going to hate what I'm going to do to you."

"Could I maybe get you to avoid the face?" Joseph suggested. "Maybe the balls too, while you're at it."

"I'll avoid the face." Vernal promised. "But the balls? Meh, something tells me that a guy like you really shouldn't be breeding."

Joseph gasped at that insult. "That cut deep then those blades of yours ever could have, lady!" He yelled. "Just for that, I'm not going to hold back either just because you're a woman!"

"Oh, don't worry, I don't hold back against women either." Vernal taunted.

With that, Vernal swung her wind blade forward, making Joseph yelp and leap to the side, watching as a wind blade tore across the ground. "Hey now, don't forget I have two of these, Muscles!" Vernal continued to taunt, training her other blade on Joseph.

Joseph kept the look of fright on his face. His hand subtly hidden behind his back. "Stay away from me!" Joseph frantically yelled before whipping something out from behind his back. "Hamon Clacker Volley!"

Joseph suddenly threw clackers out from behind his back like a boomerang at Vernal. Vernal's expression turned to confusion. "Wait...aren't those toys?" She muttered before leaning off to the side slightly, thinking she would not have to do much to avoid the clackers.

However, when one of the ends actually did manage to strike her in the face, Vernal let out a yell of surprise when her Aura actually shuddered from the blow. "What the hell kind of clackers were those?" Vernal demanded.

In the stands, Usopp immediately caught on to what Joseph was up to. "So he's all about deception." He noted. Nami and Nico Robin, who were sitting next to him, nodded in agreement.

Usopp could not help but laugh in remembrance. "Wow, watching this guy definitely takes me back. He's basically using tricks and deception the way I did before I trained for the New World." He explained. "The difference is, I did it because I was always scared for my life and the tricks came from my survival instinct."

"This guy seems 100% confident he can win. That fear...is totally fake." Usopp noted.

"Did I seriously just get my Aura damaged by toys?!" Vernal screamed, instinctively clutching her face as she glared at Joseph. "Freaking toys?!"

Joseph gave her a sheepish expression at this. "Definitely hurts your pride, doesn't it?" He noted. "Then again, if that pisses you off, you're not a warrior like Wamuu. It hurt his pride to get hurt by clackers as well, but he stayed cool and composed and recognized my style. He may have killed Caesar, but I always respected that about him."

"I don't give a rat's ass who Wamuu is!" Vernal yelled, slashing her fiery blade and sending it towards Joseph, who dodged that as well.

Vernal then trained the gun attachments in both blades onto Joseph and fired at him. Joseph responded by grabbing onto his headband and infusing Hamon into it, hardening it and allowing it to catch the bullets. "The hell?" Vernal looked at Joseph's techniques in confusion. "That light around his headband...was that how he was able to damage my Aura with toys?"

Joseph smirked. "Curious about my special powers?" He asked in a taunting manner. "If you're that curious, how about I show you my secret technique?"

Vernal frowned. "Eh? A secret technique?"

"Yep, my special attack. My final move. My insta-win attack that has guaranteed victory every time I use it!" Joseph declared. "Don't blink, because I wouldn't want you to miss the sheer spectacle that is my secret move!"

Vernal scowled. "Okay, asswipe, I'll bite, what the hell is this secret technique of yours?"

Joseph grinned and let out a chuckle. Then, much to Vernal's shock, Joseph spun around and began sprinting away from her. "Run away!" He screamed.

Vernal face-faulted at this. As did everyone in the audience who was watching Joseph's fight with Vernal. "This guy's a coward." Katsuki Bakugou muttered in disbelief. "I'm changing the channel on this thing."

Izuku Midoriya, however, was still very much interested in Joseph's fighting style. He's making a strategic withdrawal to find a spot he can create some sort of advantage. And the unexpectedness of it all shocked her into inaction. He's planning out his next move...and something tells me she's going to fall for it!

Ochaco Uraraka smiled slightly at the insightful look on her crush's face. As usual, Deku sees what we don't. She chuckled inwardly.

As Joseph turned a corner and vanished, Vernal snapped out of her shocked state. "HEY!" She screamed in rage. "Don't you run away from me you wuss! You do not smack me in the face with freaking toys and then run away from me! I'm going to carve your face and your balls for that! You're going to wish that you could still use that tournament's wish to save your appearance by the time I'm done with you!"

Vernal sprinted after Joseph, attempting to catch up with him. This stupid moron was not going to humiliate her. She was Vernal of the Branwen Tribe, for crying out loud! Her abilities were recognized by Chief Raven, of all people. She would not be humiliated by a musclebound, cowardly oaf like this guy.

"Get back here you bastard!" Vernal could only scream, trying to catch up with Joseph, who was sprinting at a surprisingly fast rate.

As she continued to pursue Joseph, she noticed that there were several craters in the road. She frowned slightly, wondering if Joseph was leaving some kind of trail for her to follow. Well, whatever he was planning, she just had to be careful not to fall into any of this guy's traps. So, Vernal continued to run, but she found herself slowing down slightly to avoid the craters Joseph had created, just in case he had actually laid any traps for her in said craters. She then turned a corner and saw a giant crater ahead of her, with Joseph Joestar sheepishly sticking his head out from behind the nearest corner.

"Hi." Joseph said simply.

"Don't you 'hi' me, jackass." Vernal growled. "You led me on a damn wild goose chase. Well now it ends here!"

Vernal shot at Joseph, only for Joseph to duck his head behind the corner. "Be a man and face me, you coward!" Vernal yelled.

"Mmm, nah, I think I'll stay right here!" Joseph insisted.

Vernal snarled as she began to advance on Joseph, sending out flying slashes of flames and wind at Joseph to intimidate him. "You're very scary." Joseph acknowledged. "But I promise you this, I'm way scarier!"

Vernal scowled. "See that crater there?" Joseph asked. "I'm going to give you a chance to leave me be so that we can both advance to the elimination rounds together."

"Oh, I'm so touched that you cared enough to give me a chance like that." Vernal said in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Well, no need to be so rude." Joseph shot back. "But let me be very clear with you, Missy. If you cross that crater, I will not hold back on you. I'm being serious this time. No more running away. You cross that crater, and I will defeat you."

Vernal quickly scanned her surroundings, looking for any obvious traps that Joseph had laid out for her. Nothing in particular stuck out to her, however. He had laid out no such traps as far as the naked eye could see. He's clearly no fool. He hit me hard with those damn toys earlier. Vernal shook her head.

Vernal then pointed her fire-covered blade at the crater. Just in case though… And with that, Vernal slashed forward, engulfing the entire crater in flames. "OH NO!" Joseph poked his head out to see the crater burst into flames.

Vernal smirked. "I don't know what the hell you were planning, Muscles, but it won't work on me." She said as she advanced through the fire without a care in the world thanks to her Aura. She was now past the crater. "Now then…"

Joseph then smiled. "Here's what you're going to say next." He declared pointing his index finger at Vernal. "'I may have crossed your crater, but victory will be mine instead.'"

"I may have crossed your crater, but victory will be mine instead!" Vernal declared before her eyes went wide with shock. "HUH?!"

Joseph smirked. He had now officially gotten inside of Vernal's head. Now it was time to really mess with that head. "Actually, from my point of view, it looks like victory is mine." Joseph noted.

Vernal growled. "What, just because you think you're a fortune teller means you can predict your win?" She yelled. "Just because you got one prediction right, doesn't mean you can predict the future!"

If only she knew how many times Joseph had done this successfully…

Vernal then tried to step forward, only to find that her feet were now locked into the ground. "H-huh?" Vernal frantically yelled in surprise.

"For my next glimpse into the future," Joseph spoke up, "you will now say: 'what the hell? Why can't I move my feet?'"

"What the hell? Why can't I move my feet?" Vernal repeated before gasping once more. Oh God, Joseph was inside of her head now.

Joseph then gestured downwards, revealing several pieces of shrapnel from the last crater he had made, glistening with Hamon. And they were stuck to Vernal's feet and the ground. "Not to bring up Wamuu again, but that was a trick I played on him during our final battle. Of course, the only difference is that he had a chariot, and you do not. And because you decided to light the crater on fire, you couldn't see the shrapnel with Hamon until it was too late. You may think you beat my traps, but the truth is you walked right into it. And it all went down like clockwork."

"Screw you!" Vernal screamed. "So what if you've got me trapped like this! I can just shoot you down, burn you, or slash you with wind! You still have to get close enough to me to actually hit me, you know!"

With that, Vernal sent several fire blades at the wall to try and keep Joseph from trying to attack her. The hope was, the Hamon would wear off and she would be allowed to move again and retake the upper hand in this fight.

Joseph then rolled underneath the flames, much to Vernal's surprise. He then tossed his second clacker right at the blade. Much to Vernal's shock, Joseph showed pinpoint accuracy and struck her right in the wrist, making her let go of her first blade.

"No, no, no!" Vernal yelled in frustration. "Not to a damn troll like you!"

Vernal pointed her other weapon at Joseph. She would bring this dumb troll down in one bullet. That was all it took in reality, especially when you don't have Aura like her. Joseph, however, was ready. He pivoted slightly and cocked a fist back, as though he were about to punch.

The hell is he planning? Vernal wondered. He can't possibly expect to hit me when he's that far away. He doesn't have the reach to do it.

"Zoom Punch!" Joseph yelled before punching at a surprisingly incredible range and striking Vernal's other weapon on the flat end of its blade, knocking it out of her hands and giving her a shock of Hamon for good measure.

"WHAT?!" Vernal screamed in disbelief, realizing she was disarmed now.

Zoom Punch; a very basic Hamon technique. The user can use the power of the Ripple to dislocate their shoulder to extend the reach of their punches and then help relocate it. Joseph then smirked and reached behind his back, taking out Junior's bat for the finishing blow. "N-not to you!" Vernal yelled in frustration. "I seriously cannot lose to the likes of you!"

"Yeah, well you're about to." Joseph told her. "I told you, I was never going to hold back just because you're a woman, Missy."

With that, Junior's bat charged up with Hamon. "And now, for a brand new technique, courtesy of the gangster I beat the crap out of earlier."

Vernal's eyes widened in fear, realizing how screwed she actually was. Joseph dropped into a slugger's stance. "Batter Up Overdrive!" Joseph yelled, swinging his baseball bat forward, striking Vernal hard in the ribs with what was basically a baseball bat infused with Hamon.

The force of the blow sent Hamon right through Vernal's body rupturing her Aura and launching her off the shrapnel she had been stuck to thanks to Joseph's Hamon trap. Vernal yelled as she struck the wall of the labyrinth before slumping to the ground, defeated and knocked out cold.

"Heh, eat your heart out, Sultan of Swat!" Joseph declared, referencing Babe Ruth, of all people, in a tournament that spanned across the entire multiverse. "Too bad they wouldn't consider letting a guy with a prosthetic hand in the major leagues. I'd be a star for sure."

Izuku could not help but smile, visibly interested in Joseph's powers and exploits. "He'd be a nightmare to fight if he were in our world." He acknowledged. "His skill in trickery, combined with the fact he seems able to implant that 'Hamon' of his into just about anything...he'd be a match for most Pro Heroes based on that alone."

Vernal's body then vanished. "Vernal is unable to continue." Daisuke announced. "That means of the 120 contestants that started the preliminaries, we are now officially down to 65."

"That means, there can only be one more elimination before Block A is done with this nightmare of theirs." Kaji excitedly announced.

"Vernal was a skilled bandit, strong enough to be recognized by her own bandit chieftain," Daisuke acknowledged, "but Joseph Joestar has been recognized by our oddsmakers as a dark horse in the tournament for his incredibly strategic mind. Remember, everyone, this is just as much a mental tournament as it is a physical one. And as far as brains go, Joseph Joestar is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous individuals in his tier."

"His creativity in applying Hamon and ability to get inside Vernal's head, caused her to make mistakes and ultimately cost her the win. Though I must say, I never expected him to steal and then use someone else's weapon with Hamon against another competitor. Joseph Joestar really is the master of surprises."

"Enough praising Joseph, Dai!" Kaji exclaimed. "I wanna get to the last fight, and it's already going on!"

Daisuke sighed and nodded. "Indeed it is," he said, "we are now taking all of you to what may be the last battle in this preliminary round: Jotaro Kujo vs Hari Kurono, AKA Chronostasis."

"Don't take your eyes off of this one, folks. Because this could very well end up like the gunfights of the old west!" Kaji declared. "Let's find out who has the fastest draw, because it's high noon!"

"...High noon?" Daisuke muttered.

"What, I thought the analogy made sense." Everyone in the audience could practically hear Kaji pouting.

Then, everyone in the audience's attention was drawn to the final fight: Jotaro vs. Chronostasis.

A.N: Again, I do wish this chapter had been a bit longer. But I was honestly not expecting the Joseph v. Vernal fight to take as long as it did. That being said, I am happy with how it turned out. Like I said, you could basically call this entire chapter a chapter dedicated to the fact that Joseph Joestar is a massive troll. Which is why we love him, of course. So, one more chapter before Block A's preliminary ends.

The final battle next time: Jotaro vs. Chronostasis. See you then!