You Said You Would Make a Bad Movie, But You Made JOJO?

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Chapter 38: Fate

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If sunlight and the energy-infused Ripple technique are the vampires' weaknesses, then the weakness of a Ripple warrior is their breath.

Without the ability to breathe, they cannot harness the life energy within their bodies through the Ripple breathing method, akin to how a stone creates ripples when thrown into water.

This is how DIO devised a way to counter the Ripple technique.

Utilizing the vaporization freezing method, DIO, with his vampire's exceptional control over his body, evaporates the moisture within his body, carrying away heat in the process to achieve rapid cooling.

This allows him to absorb the body heat of a Ripple warrior before the Ripple energy can be transmitted to his body, freezing the opponent along with himself.

For a Ripple warrior, whose blood coagulates, it becomes impossible to channel the Ripple through the flow of their blood into DIO's body.

However, this technique can only be mastered by someone with a vampire's level of body control and regenerative abilities, without the arrogance often induced by the Stone Mask. Currently, only DIO possesses this exclusive technique.

The zombies resurrected and controlled by DIO, even the renowned Dark Knights who protected Mary Stuart, cannot utilize such a technique. Nonetheless, this doesn't mean that Tarkus, one of these Dark Knights, lacks ways to deal with the Ripple.

He was capable of splitting large stones with his sword while alive, and now, empowered further by his zombie state, he's confident he can crush any Ripple warrior who dares come close before they can use their Ripple.

With JOJO's neck bound by the chain, he cannot breathe according to the Ripple breathing technique. He likely cannot use the Ripple's power now, right?

This is the story told in episode six of "Phantom Blood."

JOJO, deeply trapped, is aided by the child hypnotized and manipulated by DIO to lead JOJO and his companions into this trap.

The child, fearing his family might also be killed by the monsters, ultimately overcomes his fear of pain and musters the courage to face the powerful Tarkus, opening the gate for Zeppeli that even the Ripple couldn't break.

And then... the dreaded "←—To Be Continued..." appears.

Eager to see the duel between Zeppeli and Tarkus, modern Ripple warrior versus ancient zombie, the viewers' anticipation builds.

Though Zeppeli struggled against DIO, it was due to a lack of intelligence on the enemy. Facing DIO's vaporization freezing method without prior knowledge would be a tough battle for anyone.

Given DIO's status as the primary antagonist, it's unlikely the writers would let Zeppeli defeat him early on. Zeppeli's struggle was expected by the audience, and it did not diminish their high regard for him. In the face of DIO's nearly invincible vampire transformation, Zeppeli's ability to counteract vampires shone as a beacon of hope.

Even though JOJO became powerful after just a week of training, how strong must Zeppeli be, who trained for an unknown but presumably long period? Whether they were curious about the answer or simply wanted to see the fight, viewers eagerly awaited the next episode.

But instead of seeing the Dragon Hall where JOJO was imprisoned, the screen showed...

-- [1863, Tibet] --

"It's impressive you survived these three years of rigorous training," an old man said, standing steadily on a rope connecting towering snow-covered pillars. Speaking to a young man also standing on the rope, he continued, "Now, you can run ten miles without disrupting your breath."

"Next, we will begin the advanced training of the [Ripple Method]."

"I must warn you again, Zeppeli," the old man advised, "if you continue this training, you won't escape your destined death."

"..."

"...!?"

Hideyoshi, The Best Under Heaven: "You're joking, right? There's no way Uncle Zeppeli will die! That doesn't make any sense!!"

[ ] : "No, this was foreshadowed from the beginning."

[ ] : "If his stumble against DIO was due to narrative reasons, it's understandable. But if it's not just narrative—if the writers aim for realism—then DIO's strength might far exceed our expectations..."

JOJO could grow by learning the Ripple, so why couldn't DIO grow by learning as well? The vaporization freezing method is DIO's learning outcome.

Unfortunately, those who witnessed DIO nearly defeated by JOJO's human form might have overlooked this detail.

Not wearing it is truly cool: "In that case, it could be really troublesome. But there's no need to worry; prophecies of death in stories are usually just flags and rarely come true."

Hideyoshi, The Best Under Heaven: "Really? Then I'm relieved. There's no way Uncle Zeppeli will die. Haha."

[ ] : Yeah, if "Phantom Blood" were just any ordinary story...

Without typing this last line, Sora silently observed the chat comments and the scene where the young Zeppeli accepted his fate.

With his sensitive nature, Sora didn't believe this plot point was added randomly. Especially now, just as the battle between Zeppeli and Tarkus was about to begin.

"Let's hope my prediction is wrong," Sora sighed.