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Chapter 77. Absolute Power
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As the final antagonist of "Phantom Blood", DIO undoubtedly proved to everyone the beauty, power, and immortality of vampires!
No matter how long an ordinary person trains or practices,
Whether the techniques they learn are specifically designed to counter vampires, like Hamon,
They are no match for a vampire created in just a few days by wearing the Stone Mask, whose low-temperature vaporization ability and the ability to produce corpses in bulk make for a swift and devastating attack!
Even if that ordinary person were incredibly lucky and managed to defeat the vampire,
As long as their head isn't destroyed, the vampire can resurrect and restore its body indefinitely!
In comparison, how much stamina would be left for the ordinary person who went through so much trouble to defeat the vampire?
Vampires are just that ridiculous of non-human entities!
And as for Straizo, who became a vampire,
His many years of training as a Hamon warrior were incomparable to DIO's street-smart background.
Getting hit head-on by a Tommy gun and being turned into a sieve?
Laughable—his wound recovery rate was faster than the speed at which the bullets caused damage!
Even when Joseph deliberately removed all the pins from a bunch of grenades and faced a massive explosion head-on,
While it was indeed shocking for Straizo,
Joseph's actions only made him realize how powerful his current vampire body truly was!
Even if blasted into pieces by grenades, he could fully recover in just a few seconds!
Moreover, as a Hamon warrior, his understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Hamon was far superior to that of DIO, a mere outsider.
So there was no need to develop vaporization freezing techniques that required close contact to be effective!
After all, having experienced the battle between DIO and JOJO firsthand, Straizo was very clear.
Once a Hamon warrior got close and cracked the vaporization freezing technique, even DIO would ultimately be killed by JOJO.
That's why when DIO and JOJO met again, DIO completely abandoned the vaporization freezing technique and switched to the more effective Space Ripper Stingy Eyes.
Not only was DIO left with just his head at that time, but the Space Ripper Stingy Eyes, with its range sufficient to cut through clouds, was even more effective against Hamon, which required close proximity!
Unfortunately, this technique could be used by anyone who knew its principles, even by Straizo!
With a scarf made from the intestinal weave of the Satiporoja beetle, which effectively conducts Hamon and acts as a lightning rod, already draped over him,
Straizo was well-prepared!
Thus, even though Joseph performed exceptionally in his battle against Straizo,
Whether it was using verbal inducements to ensure the Tommy gun could hit Straizo,
Or skillfully directing Straizo's attention to the Tommy gun,
Then subtly redirecting the gun and shattering the restaurant's light bulbs to create a more favorable fighting environment,
Resulting in Staizo's Space Ripper Stingy Eyes missing its target and revealing its technique to Joseph,
Joseph had ample time to conduct Hamon through Straizo and set more traps!
Strategy, intelligence, martial prowess, courage... Joseph possessed all these elements, and even against DIO, he would likely have played him to death in their first encounter, without giving DIO a chance to retaliate.
Almost all viewers who witnessed Joseph's maneuvers thought so.
Unfortunately, Straizo was also well-informed about the situation~~
"Monster..."
"Do you... have any countermeasures to deal with this monster, JOJO...?"
Smokey trembled as he spoke.
Hamon ineffective, firearms ineffective, explosives ineffective, and with immortality...
Even without knowing the true nature of vampires,
As an African American, Smokey probably knew better than anyone the power of the firearms Joseph had previously used.
Is there really a way for humans to counter this monster?
"Yes, there is!"
To this, Joseph, showing no sign of despair, confidently replied, "I have one last plan!"
Confidence!
Joseph's confident words, like sunlight after a storm, quickly dispelled the gloom in Smokey's heart.
They also alleviated the worries of viewers who had finally realized just how fortunate JOJO's victory over DIO had been.
Indeed, "Battle Tendency" was different from "Phantom Blood".
If the main enemy of "Phantom Blood" was the vampire DIO,
Then in "Battle Tendency", the so-called vampire seen in the initial scenes was merely something created by the Pillar Men,
The relationship between the Pillar Men and vampires might be similar to the relationship between vampires and zombies.
Once the enemy was considered a zombie,
Then Straizo didn't seem so powerful anymore...
With this thought, the audience, already amazed by Joseph's battle intelligence, eagerly anticipated Joseph's so-called final trump card.
Even Smokey, like his character in the plot, could not help but ask Joseph eagerly, "The final plan? What exactly is it...!?"
"That's my trump card!"
Ah, indeed, as they imagined, it's Joseph's trump card!
"Look at his legs. They're too damaged from the explosions and haven't fully recovered."
"What we're going to use is this!"
Pointing to Straizo's still-damaged body, Joseph spoke generously.
"So... what exactly is your final plan...!?"
Nervous.
Along with Smokey,
As Joseph's words continued, Shinbo Akiyuki's unique freeze-frame and rapid-cut camera techniques appeared before the audience, heightening their tension as they eagerly awaited Joseph's next move.
"We'll also use our legs!"
"Use our legs...?"
Legs?
What can legs do?
Can legs enhance Hamon to deliver a Hamon-infused flying kick to Straizo, who hasn't fully recovered, making it difficult to dodge and with his beetle scarf already blasted to bits?
As the audience fantasized about this, Joseph successfully revealed his final method.
Quickly turning and running rapidly in the opposite direction from Straizo, he also shouted a reminder to Smokey, "Nigerundayo, Smokey!!"
"..."
"Eh!!?"