| “ | We don't need to say "I'll kill you"... because by the moment those words come into our minds... our target's already dead and the deed is done! That's why we don't use those words.
— Prosciutto to Pesci
|
” |
Pesci and Prosciutto are two minor antagonists in Vento Aureo, the fifth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Both men are professional hitmen, but the cold-blooded Prosciutto plays minder to the naive Pesci.
Pesci and Prosciutto were Stand-users and members of the Squadra Esecuzioni, a team of hitmen for the Italian gang called Passione. After two of the Squadra's members attempted to discover the identy of Passione's boss, they were tortured to death by Cioccolata and Secco. Enraged, the Squadra decided to revolt against the boss. Upon learning of Trish Una, the boss's daughter, the Squadra decided to try to kidnap her to use her as bait for the boss.
Pesci and Prosciutto were dispatched to capture Trish while she was under the protection of Bruno Bucciarati and his team. The pair tracked Bucciarati down to a train coming out of Naples where Prosciutto used his Stand, The Grateful Dead, to rapidly age the occupants of the train and Bucciarati's team. This plan was almost successful but Bucciarati was able to overpower Prosciutto and throw him off the train.
Now alone, Pesci underwent a significant change of character, the seeming death of his close friend spurring him on and allowing him to grow in confidence. He nearly defeated Bucciarati but was ultimately killed moments before Prosciutto died of his wounds.
Battle vs. Okuyasu Nijimura and Keicho Nijimura (by Wassboss)[]
“Are you sure this is the place Bro?” Pesci asks, looking at the run down house in front of them.
“Yes. This was the one in the picture we were given,” Prosciutto replies. He pushes open the gate and walks into the front garden, with Pesci scurrying after him.
“I just can’t believe someone who owns a Stand arrow would live in such a crappy looking house,” Pesci continues.
“Maybe they don’t want to attract attention to themselves, like the Boss,” Prosciutto says as he eyes up the building. The windows are boarded up but there are gaps which someone could use to look out of. “Pesci, use Beach Boy to see if there is anybody inside,” he orders. Summoning his fishing rod, Pesci casts the line out through the nearest wall and begins searching for any signs of life.
“There’s nobody on the ground floor,” Pesci says. “Second floor is also clear. But there is someone on the top floor. 165 centimetres tall and 110kg in weight. Do you want me to eliminate them, Bro?”
“No. We need to know if the arrow is actually here. Bring them down here and we can question them,” Prosciutto says
“Okay Bro.” There is the sound of banging and clattering as the person is dragged down the stairwell before the front door bursts open and a grotesque green monster flies towards the pair. Pesci immediately panics, releasing his grip on the rod which dissipates and frees the monster.
“Pesci! Calm the hell down,” Prosciutto shouts.
“I’m sorry Bro. But I wasn’t expecting there to be a monster” Pesci says, sweat dripping down his head.
“Pull yourself together you big Mammoni.” Prosciutto approaches the monster, which is writhing about on the floor. “Where is the Stand arrow?” he barks at the creature but it doesn’t respond, instead it starts crawling back into the house. “I don’t think we’re going to get much out of this thing,” Prosciutto says.
“Oi. What the hell do you think you’re doing,” says and angry voice from behind. Prosciutto and Pesci turn to see a teenager in a school uniform striding out from round the back of the property.
“And who are you?” Prosciutto asks.
“Okuyasu Nijimura. I live here. And I asked you a question asshole. What do you think you’re doing?”
“We’re here for the Stand arrow. Give it to use and there won’t be any trouble.”
“Yeah right. As if I’m going to just hand it over dumbass. My big bro isn’t just going to let that happen. And I can’t let you get away with hurting my dad like this.” Okuyasu runs at the pair and Pesci summons Beach Boy, flicking the hook at him. The Hand appears in front of Okuyasu and scraps at the hook with it’s right hand. Pesci moves the hook around it but is surprised when Okuyasu suddenly teleports right in front of him. He slams a kick into the assassin, sending him reeling away before carrying on towards Prosciutto.
“GRATEFUL DEAD” he shouts and his Stand appears. Sensing the power around the right hand it dodges the swing from The Hand and sends a barrage of punches into it’s torso. The punches are not particularly strong however and Okuyasu grins.
“You think you can defeat me with a Stand that weak,” he says triumphantly. The Hand moves in to attack again, forcing Prosciutto to back up. Okuyasu suddenly feels a sharp pain in his hand and looks down to see the hook of Beach Boy slowly inching up his arm. “Ha, you’ve made a big mistake you dumbass. The Hand will easily cut through this line.” He swipes at the fishing line but rather than be erased there is a flash of light which travels down the line towards the hook. He his left arm lighten and when he looks, he sees it has been sliced clean off. “What the hell,” Okuyasu shouts in surprise as he looks at his severed arm lying on the grass. “You bastard. Look what you did to me. You’ll pay for this.”
He runs at Pesci, who desperately tries to reel back in his hook which was still lodged in Okayasu’s now severed arm. He is too slow however and with his uninjured right hand he slams a punch into Pesci’s face, knocking him flat on his ass. He summons the Hand and swipes at Pesci who scrambles away on the ground. Okuyasu follows after him but he feels a wave of tiredness come over him as he approaches. He wipes his brow with his hand and notices his skin has gone all wrinkled like he has been in the bath for too long. Pesci too notices that he has begun to age and he glances over at Prosciutto who is approaching with Grateful Dead.
Okuyasu collapses to his knees as the aging process begins to increase as Prosciutto gets closer. He tries to use the Hand but that too has been effected and his attempted attack is easily avoided. Grateful Dead grabs onto Okuyasu directly, quickly shrivelling him up into a decrepit old man. “Pesci, finish this kid off,” Prosciutto orders. Beach Boy pierces through Okayasu’s ribcage and into his heart, where with one strong tug, it is ripped out of his chest.
-----
Watching from a second floor window, Keicho watches as his brother dies. “All those years I tried to teach you, make you stronger” he says quietly, tears welling up his eyes. His expression quickly hardens however and he blinks away the tears and clenches his fist. “I should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to handle this. This is what happens when you are weak and stupid,” he thinks to himself, ignoring the lump in his throat. He watches as the blonde man in the purple suit tosses something to the cowering man on the floor. On close inspection it appears to be an ice pack and Keicho watches as the man rubs the pack over his body, noting that his wrinkled skin and become unlined and clear.
“So it appears the blonde man has the ability to aged people. But ice seems to reverse it. So it looks like if I keep cool then the effect of the Stand won’t hurt me much,” he muses. He turns the AC system down to the lowest temperature before gathering Bad Company’s units around him. “Now let’s deal with these thieves” he says.
-----
“I’m sorry Bro. I panicked again. Just like I always do. I really screwed up, didn’t I?”
“No you didn’t. You gave me the distraction I needed for Grateful Dead to be able to have it’s full effect. You did well Pesci.”
“You really think so Bro?” Pesci says his face lighting up.
“Yes. All you need is more confidence. Isn’t that what I always tell you,” Prosciutto says.
“So now we just need to go and get the arrow right Bro?”
“Not quite,” Prosciutto says. “Do you remember what the kid said? Before he attacked us? He said ‘my Big Bro won’t let this happen’. Which means there is somebody else here as well. Pesci, are you sure that there was nobody else inside the house apart from the green creature?” Prosciutto asks.
“I’m not sure. I might not have checked every single room. Or maybe they weren’t in the house. Afterall the kid wasn’t that’s why I Beach Boy didn’t detect him,” Pesci says.
“Good thinking Pesci. I want you to check the house again, just to make sure there isn’t anybody else in there. And if there isn’t have it check around the outside as well.”
“Sure thing Bro!” Pesci says. As Beach Boy does another sweep of the house, Prosciutto hears a faint buzzing sound in the distance. Initially dismissing it as just a bee or a dragonfly it gets steadily louder however and when he looks in the direction of the noise, he is surprised to see a miniature attack helicopter floating in the air above. There is a flash and a missile shoots towards Prosciutto, forcing him to bring out Grateful Dead to defend himself. The missile slams into Grateful Dead’s arm and Prosciutto grunts in pain as a bloody hole is blown in his own arm.
“What’s going on Bro?” Pesci asks, looking over and jumping slightly as he sees the helicopter. “Are you alright Bro?” Pesci shouts anxiously.
“I’m fine Pesci, just focus on the house. Try and find the user.” Prosciutto orders. The helicopter opens fire with the machine guns attached to it’s nose and Grateful Dead swipes away all the bullets before lunging at the helicopter but it simply hovers away out of it’s effective range. Meanwhile Pesci gets a reading from Beach Boy.
“Bro. I think I’ve found someone. They’re-.” Pesci notices movement in the corner of his eye and sees several green toy army soldiers appear out of the grass. They crouch down into a formation, raise their guns and fire. Pesci cries out in pain as the bullets hit him in the arm and Prosciutto turns his attention away from the helicopter briefly to see what the commotion is about.
“Don’t panic Pesci, have you found the user?” he says as calmly as he can manage.
“I think so I had a reading of someone. Might have been the monster though. I really don’t know,” Pesci stammers as he moves closer to Prosciutto.
“Well we need to make sure. I’ll try and take the heat from the helicopter and the soldiers you just focus on ensnaring whoever is in that house.” Just as he finishes his sentence, he notices more soldiers emerging from the grass around him and from around the side of the house comes a formation of miniature tanks.
“There are so many of them!” Pesci screeches. The tanks come to a stop and fire at Pesci who retracts Beach Boy from the house to try and defend himself. However the elastic wire is unable to stop the shells and he puts his hands up to his face to protect himself from the impact. After a few seconds pass and he hasn’t been hit, he nervously moves them out of the way to see Grateful Dead has positioned itself in between him and the shells. He looks over at Prosciutto who is backing away from the soldiers marching towards him, defenceless.
“We can’t stay out here or we’ll be blown to pieces. Come on.” Prosciutto says. He dashes towards the house with Pesci following close behind. Once inside Pesci drags a cabinet down to block the doorway. Prosciutto stands leant against the wall and Pesci notices for the first time the severity of his injuries.
“You don’t look so good Bro! This is all my fault. If I’d just found the user in the first place none of this would’ve happened. I’m such an idiot.”
“Pesci,” Prosciutto says. “You did as well as you could have done. Whoever the user is they’re very careful. He probably saw us fighting his brother and figured out how our Stands work. Have you noticed how cold it is in here?”
“Actually now you mention it Bro it is very chilly.”
“Exactly. The user must’ve turned the AC up in here to counteract the effects of Grateful Dead. “Can you use Beach Boy to try and find the AC system and destroy it?” Prosciutto asks.
“No. My Stand can only detect living things. It won’t work on a machine. And without Grateful Dead my Stand is useless. How are we supposed to defeat this guy?” Pesci says trembling.
“No Pesci, your Stand is strong. And you are stronger than you realize. You can do this. I believe in you,” Prosciutto says.
“I’ll do it Bro! If you believe in me then I will do it!” Pesci says, clenching his fist in determination. “BEACH BOY” he shouts, summoning his Stand once more and casting it out into the hallway. “When I thought I detected something outside it was on the second floor. So I’ll look up there.” There is a flash from the rafters and Prosciutto sends forth Grateful Dead which blocks the bullets with it’s forearms. More units start to appear and he cannot defend himself from the sheer volume of bullets, with some breaking through his defences and scoring hits.
“I’ve found him!” Pesci says suddenly. His excitement quickly turns to a familiar nervousness. “I have a problem Bro.”
“What?”
“He’s using his Stand to defend himself. Every time I try and go for his heart something blasts the hook off course. Without seeing him I can’t really avoid the attacks.”
“Then we’re going to have to go to him. Where exactly is he Pesci?”
“He’s on the second floor. Not directly above us but slightly across to the left,” Pesci replies.
“Okay. We do this together Pesci. I’ll defend us from the Stand; you focus on killing the user.” Prosciutto leads Pesci to the bottom of the stairs, keeping an eye out for any of the soldiers. There doesn’t appear to be any and the pair ascend the stairs. As Prosciutto puts his foot on the top of the stairs there is an explosion and he recoils back. His foot has a bloody hole blown in it and he also topples backwards down the stairs but Pesci is there to keep him steady. He peers at the floor and sees a line of miniature mines. “Be careful of the mines Pesci,” Prosciutto says. He sweeps them aside using Grateful Dead before carrying on to the room.
The door is shut and rather than opening it Prosciutto instead uses his Stand to smash the door down. Inside is Keicho, sat on a chair and surrounded by the units of Bad Company. “You should’ve ran when you had the chance,” he says coldly.
“All you needed to do was hand over the bow and arrow. That is all that we’re here for. I’m injured and pissed off but I’m still willing to let you live if you just hand it over. Or else you’ll end up like your brother.”
“My brother was an idiot and a weakling. I won’t ever let you have the bow and arrow.” Beach Boy shoots forward and the nearest units open fire on it and the line twists and turns around to try and avoid the bullets. More of Bad Company’s units open fire on the two assassins and Grateful Dead swoops in to defend them. The hook moves ever closer to Keicho until it is only a few inches away. Suddenly Pesci cries out in pain and the line buckles and swings widely, veering away from Keicho and imbedding itself in the wall. Pesci looks around in shock at several units of Bad Company which had been hiding underneath a dresser. Distracted he doesn’t notice the tank manoeuvring around and it fires off a shell. Prosciutto tires to send Grateful Dead to intercept but he is too slow and the shell hits Pesci dead in the chest, sending him flying into the wall.
With Pesci seemingly dealt with, Keicho turns all his attention to Prosciutto. Under the relentless onslaught of the entirety of Bad Company he is quickly overwhelmed and backs up against the doorframe, blood pouring out of the numerous wounds on his body. “It’s over,” Keicho says triumphantly. “Everything went according to my plan. Your foolish friend is just as weak as my brother was. And now I will get my revenge for him and keep the bow and arrow.”
“Everything went according to plan did it.” Keicho’s eyes widen in shock as he looks over at Pesci who is slowly getting to his feet. “I was never aiming for you with my hook. I just needed to make you think I was. But my actual target was the AC system.” Keicho looks around at the control panel in the top corner of the room, which has Beach Boy’s line trailing out of it. “I disabled it. Haven’t you noticed yourself aging?” he continues. Keicho looks down and sees his hand has started to wrinkle and decay.
“Bad Company” he shouts, directing them towards Pesci. However because of the effects of Grateful Dead they are slow to respond, too slow and Beach Boy swings around, stabbing through Keicho’s chest and into his ribcage. With a flick of the wrist, his heart is wrenched out of his chest and he slumps over in his chair, Bad Company dissipating into the air. Pesci rushes over to Prosciutto who has slid down the doorframe and sits in a pool of his own blood.
“Bro! We did it. He’s dead. We’ve won!”
“Not quite Pesci,” Prosciutto says, his voice strained. “You must get the Bow and Arrow.”
“Of course. I’ll go and find it. You just stay here and rest.” Prosciutto lays his head back, listening as Pesci rummages through the other rooms before heading up the stairs to the top floor. After a few moments he hears him coming back down the stairs. “I’ve got it Bro! The monster was up there but I ran past it and grabbed it.”
“Well done, Pesci,” Prosciutto says, his voice barely above a whisper. “That trick you pulled was smart, I didn’t even realize what you’d done. I knew you could do it. You just needed to believe.” With these parting words he finally loses consciousness from his wounds, safe in the knowledge their mission has been completed.
Winner: Prosciutto and Pesci
Expert's Opinion[]
Votes agreed that the Hitman Bros were the more experienced, both as Stand users and also as working as a team. Okuyasu was too much of a loose cannon, with his lack of intelligence and brash nature meaning he would be quick to fall which left Keicho to try and fight two Stand users by himself. The Nijimura Brothers also suffered from having to have a line of sight on their enemies to use their Stands whereas the Hitman Bros could use theirs from a distance and from behind cover, allowing them to simply stay away from the more combat orientated Hand and Bad Company and use their own Stands to attack.