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Chapter 88. Yare Yare Daze
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The Pillar Men's skin is so tough that even the most delicate cornea can ignore blades and swords. Moreover, it seems to disregard the transmission and damage of Ripple, almost like a beetle scarf in Straizo's hands, directing Ripple away from the body and into the ground like a lightning rod!?
To be honest, if it weren't for Speedwagon's dangerous warning that Santana was not as immune to Ripple as he had imagined, Joseph might have been inclined to escape with Speedwagon first.
Now, Joseph is left with only Speedwagon and Grandma Erina as his family.
However, the old man's warning came at a very timely moment for him.
After all, Santana, unable to devour his body, made a deliberate effort to conduct Ripple into the ground.
Santana's behavior is akin to how animals in the wild have evolved traits to avoid predators, such as camouflage or shedding tails to escape.
Realizing this, and to test it, Joseph decided to inject Ripple internally to see how Santana would respond to this action.
The change in Santana was indeed quite obvious.
Santana's attitude towards them had previously been as if they were mere insects.
Yet, upon Joseph revealing his intent to inject Ripple into Santana's body, Santana began to evade!?
So, you do know how to evade and block!
Although Joseph wasn't entirely sure if Santana's evasion was due to recognizing his intent and planning to counter it, or if Santana was genuinely afraid of Ripple, he had no other choice at this moment.
Moreover, given Santana's contemptuous attitude, Joseph was quite likely to believe that Santana's mind hadn't yet developed the concept of plotting against them!
It turns out he was right!
"If it can't be done from the outside, then let's try from the inside!"
"I think that when I am consumed and digested by him, Ripple should be able to directly enter his body!"
With half of his body swallowed by Santana, Joseph, who had successfully breached Santana's skin defenses, shone with a golden light and confidently said, "I've been waiting for this moment when you swallow me. This plan is perfect!"
"Here it comes! Ripple-----!!"
While his mouth and nose remained outside Santana's body, breathing steadily, the power of Ripple, in sync with the breathing rhythm and the influx of air, began to stimulate and conduct life energy throughout Joseph's body and onto Santana's body, which tightly enveloped him!
In one fell swoop, the Ripple completely evaporated and dissolved Santana's body cells that came into contact with it!
"But! JOJO's Ripple is too weak to kill that guy!" Speedwagon warned.
Having fought alongside Jonathan against DIO, Speedwagon knew very well the vampire's extraordinary regeneration abilities and the effects of Ripple on vampires. Though the Pillar Men are not vampires, their fear of Ripple and the damage Ripple inflicts should be similar.
Santana's injuries, compared to Speedwagon's experience with Jonathan, where even DIO would turn to ashes instantly after being infused with Ripple, have only resulted in minor damage.
The only exception was the minor Ripple left by Dire before his death, which left only a wound that didn't completely destroy DIO's body and allowed him to quickly recover.
Santana's situation now was almost identical!
"So, the battle between Joseph and Straizo was not just about revealing Joseph's character and the Pillar Men's clues. It also showed that Joseph's Ripple cannot compare to Jonathan's."
Noriaki Kakyoin, observing the scene with full-dive helmet, realized with sudden clarity.
Hmm, since Old Joseph started watching with Smokey, the entire Joestar family and those related to them, like Kakyoin, have developed a keen interest in "Battle Tendency", which is essentially a collection of Old Joseph's dark history!
Not only did they watch the first part, "Phantom Blood", in their spare time, but they also planned to watch the new episodes of "Battle Tendency" together when they air.
Thus, the current scene unfolded.
"Although in the battle with Straizo, Joseph hit him solidly with Ripple, it was not Joseph's Ripple that ultimately led to Straizo's death but Straizo's own Ripple."
"From the perspective of story themes, it can be seen as Straizo's golden spirit being reignited by his desire to return to youth. But from a narrative perspective, it's also a hint that Joseph's Ripple training is still lacking."
Having thought it was merely a childish play and having entrusted his cousin with taking care of Jotaro, Kakyoin sincerely praised the handling of the plot and foreshadowing in "Battle Tendency" compared to the more amateurish first part.
"It's really impressive. Compared to the first part's somewhat rough handling of the plot, Jolyne and the others have grown a lot in this second part."
"Hmph, there's still a long way to go."
Jotaro, though speaking dismissively, could not hide the pride in his tone. But Kakyoin didn't spoil his friend's mood.
"Speaking of which, the third part seems to have you as the main character, right? I wonder if we'll have a chance to make an appearance?"
"Ah, could Jolyne be looking for us to act in the show?!"
Polnareff, who had caught only part of the conversation, interjected with interest, "But it's quite a dilemma. Someone as handsome and charming as me should definitely play a brave and dashing knight, capturing the attention of beauties around the world, right?"
"Ah, I'm such a sinful man. Jotaro, do you think I should practice signing autographs?"
"Yare yare daze."
"..."