Long ago, an already extraordinary man wished for further power.
He could live like the birds, dwell with the fish,
breathe like the trees, and move like the water.
But he could not face the sun.
So he created a stone mask.
One day he would befriend the sun.
And the world would be his!
Chapter 26: The Ascendant One
Kars...
Did Kars take a lava dive?!
You...worms...
We got him!
I-I need armor.
Like a clam or a crab...
...I'll make armor.
I'll cover myself.
It's not enough!
It's melted rock, idiot!
It's over a thousand degrees!
You're gonna burn to a crisp!
Yeowch!
T-That did it!
Finally!
We finally took down Kars!
JoJo, that shock triggered an eruption!
Let's get to safety before celebrating!
Good idea. Hang on tight!
What a wonderful sound.
It's music to my ears.
I've been longing to hear that song from you, JoJo!
Kars...but how?!
A bit of his shell.
I see. Kars...
First, Kars covered himself in a shell like a crab.
But it was still organic.
It couldn't withstand the lava's heat and burned away instantly.
Kars's secret was in a second layer of armor!
That second layer...
...was bubbles!
The bubbles created a layer of air between Kars's body and the lava.
Heat from lava Air Kars's body
As the outer layer burned, more bubbles came up to replace it.
Kars could survive in lava for a few minutes.
The Earth gave birth to life.
But now! Alas! In the end...
...Kars had conquered the Earth!
Long, long ago, far earlier than man's first recorded history
a certain group of creatures evolved on our planet.
They could only live at night,
as they died when exposed to the sun.
So they lived below ground.
Even without the sun, they led long lives feeding on other living things.
Early humans that appeared feared them as gods or demons.
Few died, so they did not have many children and their population was small.
They knew no strife and lived in peace.
But then...
...a genius was born among them.
There is strength hidden in this body, abilities undreamed of.
I will unlock greater power!
The genius created a stone mask.
The mask granted him undying power, but he required more life energy.
He had to consume more creatures to live.
If left unchecked, he would eventually consume all life.
His brethren began to fear the mask
and its gifted creator!
His existence is a threat!
He has to be removed from this world!
We have to destroy him!
Fool! Don't you wish to conquer the sun?
Don't you wish to rule over all?
Don't you wish to purge your fears?!
Then fall.
The genius slaughtered all his brethren,
including the parents who raised him.
He and one companion took the two surviving babies and left.
They set off on a journey in search of ultimate power.
And ten thousand years later, that power was in his hands!
He's a god. He's become a god.
Humans can't stand before a god!
Submission is our only chance!
What was that? Did you just say something, JoJo?
Die! Overdrive!
Ha...mon?
Did you say Hamon Overdrive?
JoJo!
That shock!
I'm melting! No!
My leg is melting!
What? It's like he used...!
It can't be!
It is! That was Hamon, you dimwit!
I conquered the sun, and you still thought Hamon was beyond me?!
W-What?!
And it looks like my
Hamon is hundreds of times more potent than yours.
Hundreds of times more potent?!
It's like being burned by the sun!
His flesh is liquefying and then vaporizing!
So how do you like that taste of your own medicine?
An excellent response.
Well, let me ease your suffering.
JoJo!
This is it. I'm going to die.
It's over for me.
JoJo accepted this fact completely.
He felt no fear, no pain, no regret.
He thought, I did all I could.
Before the epitome of evil, he watched
his dying self with ice-cold awareness.
Von Stroheim was no different.
Unable to move, he felt he knew how it
felt to be a frog swallowed by a snake.
This way of breathing...
To send a Hamon-user like you into the black pit of death...
...Hamon really is a poetic vehicle!
Hamon...
...far greater than mine...
Sail into the infinite abyss of oblivion!
Hamon?!
What?!
The Red Stone!
What?!
The Red Stone!
The Red Stone of Aja!
Why did JoJo hold the Red Stone toward Kars?
Even he didn't know!
It was instinctive.
He felt the Red Stone being drawn toward Hamon.
But JoJo's body understood.
His body moved in order to survive.
JoJo's will to live pushed his body into action!
T-The Red Stone is a Hamon amplifier.
That energy made the volcano's eruption reach a sudden peak!
T-The whole slab they were on was blasted into the sky!
S-Such tremendous force!
But do you think a little eruption will be enough to get rid of me, JoJo?!
I'll become a bird to escape!
Goodbye forever, JoJo!
Bless our Mother Earth! It shot my arm all the way up here!
Now, Kars!
Your line is, Did you plan this, too, JoJo?!
Did you plan this, too...
For an instant, Kars was distracted by JoJo's arm! One fatal instant!
Hot chunks of rock he could have dodged launched him higher!
Did you plan this, too, JoJo?!
What do you think?! I planned every little detail!
I stacked the whole deck!
That's a total lie, but it'll drive Kars crazy!
The material released in the eruption reached escape velocity!
Even the Earth's power couldn't kill Kars!
But instead...
...it blasted him out of the atmosphere!
Stars?! N-No!
It's over.
Granny...
Von Stroheim...
Speedwagon...
Smokey...
And Lisa Lisa...
Farewell, everyone.
Jo...
JoJo!
Eight hours later, von Stroheim returned alive to tell Speedwagon this:
On February 28, 1939, Joseph Joestar passed away on Isola di Volgano.
I'm in outer space?!
I'll use jets of air to change my trajectory and return to Earth!
I-It's not working!
I-I'm freezing!
The air is freezing around me!
It turns to ice the moment it comes out of me!
I-I can't change direction!
I can't go back!
Kars never returned to the Earth.
He became half-mineral, half-animal and floated forever through space.
And though he wished for death, he was unable to die.
So eventually, he stopped thinking.
Outside New York City April 1939
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth, as it is in heaven.
Goodbye, JoJo.
Now that I think of it, we only met six months ago.
But I'll always remember you.
Always.
Come, Erina, you mustn't catch cold.
Let's go home.
Just a bit longer.
Guess who?
Hey, everybody!
I finally got to New York and nobody was there to meet me!
So I heard you were all at a funeral. I looked high and low!
Hey, Coach Lisa Lisa! Are you all healed up?
Meshina, you're here too!
I want to ask von Stroheim if he can
fix my hand up with some gadgets.
But it looks like war with the Germans.
Hey, now! What are you thinking?!
This is a funeral, you idiot!
Who's an idiot?!
Hey, did you just call me an idiot?!
Just calm down. Let's go have a talk.
It's...
No way!
Hey! Don't start any trouble!
You aren't getting away with calling me an idiot!
JoJo!
JoJo's alive!
Alive?
H-Hang on, now! What's with all the surprise?
It's like you saw a ghost!
Bwah! Why's my name on a headstone?!
D-Don't tell me this is...
JoJo!
You're still recovering, so you shouldn't stand in the rain!
Take this.
I-It's Suzie Q.
What's that ring on her finger?
Y-You don't know about my wife, either?!
Your wife?!
Your wife? Oh, my!
Being introduced as your wife...
It makes me blush!
Right?
Don't right me!
Back when the volcano erupted...
...the rock I was on shielded me and fell into the sea.
A fishing boat picked me up.
Then you nursed me back to health in Venice for two weeks.
But they haven't heard.
You sent a telegram, right?!
T-Telegram?
Yeah, you said you would!
Let's not get all clicky now.
I'm sorry! I forgot!
Oh, no! Unbelievable! What is that woman thinking?!
Get back here!
JoJo is alive!
I said I'm sorry!
Sorry doesn't cut it!
JoJo...
Later, Lisa Lisa, Elizabeth Joestar, told JoJo she was his mother.
They moved to America.
In 1948, she married a Hollywood screenwriter.
Erina Joestar continued her work as a teacher.
In 1950, at age 81, she died peacefully,
surrounded by those who loved her.
Robert E. O. Speedwagon continued with his various enterprises
and helped to further science and medicine.
In 1952, he died of a heart attack at age 89.
He remained single.
Smokey Brown worked his way through college, majoring in political science
and became the first black mayor in Georgia, his home state.
Rudol von Stroheim never saw JoJo again.
In 1943, he died as a proud German soldier, fighting in Stalingrad.
We are the world's greatest!
Time flowed onward...
JFK International Airport, New York 1987
...to a new generation.
And JoJo...
Oh, I bumped you. Are you okay?
Oh, dear. You should watch where you're going.
You're right. I'm fine.
We all make mistakes.
Wait a minute. Are you Japanese?
Yeah, why?
Then I take that back!
Alitalia flight 285 for Tokyo is now boarding.
My only daughter has been married
to a Japanese man for over 20 years now.
Why did she get married on the other side of the world?
My own grandson doesn't know my face!
I'll never forgive the Japanese!
But...
...I do like my Walkman.
From the silent depths
The pillars awaken from ages-long sleep
Crimson blood
Summons the valorous to stand up
If inherited love is called fate
Then take another step with smiling eyes
Mystify the darkness, dodge in a blink
Avoid the blade, find an opening and strike
Conviction tested opens the way to the future
Like a bloody storm Hot like a bloody stone
Destiny written into your veins
The undying bonds of honor arise
Take hold of them
Part 2: Battle Tendency -- Fin
Atlantic Ocean, near the Canary Islands 1983
Y-Yahoo! We finally got it!
R-Relax! Just bring it up!
It's a hundred-year-old treasure chest!
L-Let's pop it open!