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Chapter 97. The Overwhelming Kars
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"Old man, as expected, you're slacking off here again, huh."
Jotaro Kujo, having just put on the full-dive Helmet, remarked as he entered the virtual screening room that old Joseph had chosen.
They had previously agreed to watch together, so when Jotaro selected "Battle Tendency" for viewing, he was transported directly into the virtual theater where Joseph was already watching, one hand holding virtual popcorn and the other a virtual soda, completely unconcerned with his real-world body.
"You've gotten used to that ghostly thing, huh?" Jotaro asked, noticing Joseph's relaxed posture.
"Shush, shush, shush! I just want to relax for a bit!" Joseph whispered, despite knowing that in this full-dive world, no matter how loud they spoke, their voices couldn't break the boundary between the virtual and real worlds.
Still, feeling guilty, he instinctively put his finger to his lips, "Besides, that ghostly thing is way too difficult! Not only do we have to use our subconscious to control our bodies in the scripted world, but we also need to divide our subconscious to control this ghost-like double created by the character template... is this something a normal person can do?!"
If Pucci chose DIO, Yoshikage Kira, and Diavolo as new crew members because of their "Stand" abilities, then he chose Kars because of his talents as a "Pillar Man".
What's the most formidable trait of the "Pillar Men" in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"? Their miraculous bodies that can devour all life upon contact? Their immortality? Their ability to control their bodies, morphing them according to their will? None of these!
The true strength of the "Pillar Men", or what makes them most feared, lies in their brains! With just one or two spoken words from others, they can automatically understand the meaning of foreign languages and quickly learn them.
They have a super brain capable of understanding the structure of new things just by taking a quick look.
If the "Pillar Men" could cast aside their pride and view human knowledge with humility, they'd realize the perfect lifeform they've been seeking has always been in the library!
— Why do cells stick together? Because electromagnetic forces cause electrons to attract each other.
— Why don't your fingertips pierce each other when you press them together? Because electrons are fermions that obey the Pauli exclusion principle, repelling each other.
Yet, the "Pillar Men" can insert their fingers into human bodies without causing harm, placing foreign objects inside a person without injury?! This clearly involves the manipulation of electromagnetic forces, specifically, the rearrangement of cells!
In other words—rotating magnetic fields! 500,000 horsepower!!
Of course, that's from another manga universe. However, the Pillar Men's innate control over electromagnetic forces is a fact. If they could spare some time to apply human research on electromagnetism, even without transforming into magnetic field warriors, they could manipulate magnetic fields to achieve anything humans can imagine! Crafting a perfect lifeform's body would be trivial.
Unfortunately, Kars, who wiped out nearly all his kin because they opposed him, is far too arrogant to learn from humanity's knowledge. And the Kars who exists in the real world, not being an actual "Pillar Man", cannot achieve such feats.
However, as previously mentioned, chosen actors often awaken unexplainable supernatural abilities. While it's unclear what powers Kars has gained, he certainly showed extraordinary design and creative abilities when Pucci enlisted him to modify the "Pillar Man" template.
Not only did he meet Pucci's requirements by adding various functions, but he also minimized conflicts between the character templates and the actors' subconscious.
Originally, only those with a strong and distinct subconscious, like DIO, or seasoned actors who had honed their subconscious across various roles, could handle these character templates.
But Kars made them usable for ordinary people! This is why Pucci and his team could populate "Battle Tendency" with vampires, even though they were difficult for most actors to portray. Thanks to Kars, even the most challenging "Stand" templates in "Stardust Crusaders" were no longer an issue.
Moreover, they closely followed the original work. Without needing much backstage adjustment from Pucci, the templates automatically adhered to the source material. Actors with insufficient subconscious control who put on a "Stand" template would lose their lives (safety protocols would kick them out of the scripted world). Whether they could fully utilize their "Stand"'s power depended entirely on the actor's subconscious strength.
But this also meant trouble for Jotaro and his friends. To train their subconscious and ensure their "Stand" abilities matched the script's requirements, they had spent the past few days practicing and familiarizing themselves with their "Stand" operations.
After such a long period of hard work, old Joseph finally found a chance to slack off and wanted to treat himself. But before he could finish watching, Jotaro showed up to catch him slacking...
"Ahem, by the way, how's your practice with that ghostly thing coming along, Jotaro?" Caught in the act, Joseph could only change the subject, "I heard your "Stand" template is the hardest to control among all of us."
"So, how about this? If you call me 'Dear Grandpa, please teach me,' maybe your dear Grandpa here might share some tips with you."
Joseph pointed to the ongoing "Battle Tendency" episode, where the character representing him—despite numerous twists and turns—finally managed to defeat Esidisi using the cunning and resourcefulness of humanity.
"In cheating and trickery, the original version of me has much more to say than this pirated version!"