Red Stone of Aja

“

This is the Red Stone called "Aja"! It is a jewel rarely found in nature!

”

—Kars, Chapter 76: Ripple Teacher Lisa Lisa, Part 6

The Red Stone of Aja (エイジャの赤石, Eija no Sekiseki) is a gemstone sought by the Pillar Men, and the main plot device of the second part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Battle Tendency.

The stone can absorb and refract light hundreds of millions of times, causing it to emit a laser-like beam. When a perfect Aja, known as the Super Aja (スーパーエイジャ, Supā Eija), is combined with the Stone Mask, it would unlock a Pillar Man's full potential, removing all weaknesses, including the inability to withstand sunlight and the Ripple.

Abilities

Normal Aja

“

Light reflects hundreds of millions of times within the jewel and it all gets redirected out from one point! Such is the miraculous power of nature!

”

—Kars, Chapter 76: Ripple Teacher Lisa Lisa, Part 6

The Red Stone is a jewel rarely found in nature, usually appearing as a small irregularly-shaped piece of stone. These stones are able to refract light to a great degree, able to shoot out a small beam of light from the other end when held next to a flame. However, this common form of the Red Stone comes with imperfections that cause them to not refract enough light to power the Pillar Men's Stone Masks to pierce through their skulls, ultimately making these inferior versions useless to them.^[4]

Super Aja

“

This is it... Nature's perfect miracle crystal. Without a single imperfection! The Super Aja!

”

—Lisa Lisa, Chapter 76: Ripple Teacher Lisa Lisa, Part 6

The Super Aja is a perfect one-of-a-kind Red Stone that has no imperfections in its material composition, making it able to refract light to a much greater degree than the regular gems. It is able to channel a beam of light so strong that it causes a small explosion when hitting the back of Lisa Lisa's boat. This one specific stone is the one sought after by the Pillar Men in order to fulfill their needs to power the Stone Mask to become the Ultimate Thing.^[4]

History

Background

About 2,000 years ago, the Super Aja was in possession of an unnamed Roman Emperor.^[5] Kars, Esidisi, and Wamuu pursued it, and although successful in wiping out the entire Ripple clan at the time, they were ultimately unable to obtain it and went to sleep inside a stone wall.^[6] The circumstances under their failure to retrieve it are unknown. Despite the deaths of the Ripple users, they managed to keep the stone protected and somehow hid it. The Stone eventually ended up in the possession of Straizo, who gave it to Lisa Lisa before his death during the events of Battle Tendency.^[7]

Lisa Lisa reveals that there is a legend that claims destroying the stone would make it impossible to defeat the Pillar Men.^[8]

Battle Tendency

The Red Stone is first mentioned by the Pillar Men after their 2,000-year slumber. After promptly defeating both Joseph and Caesar, the three set off to begin their search for it. Caesar takes Joseph to Venice where they meet Ripple Master Lisa Lisa who auspiciously had the stone in her possession.

Esidisi manages to locate the stone and, after his initial defeat, is able to ship it to Switzerland. Before the stone can cross the border however, it is confiscated by the German Army, or more specifically Colonel Rudol von Stroheim. During his and Joseph's encounter with Kars, the red stone goes sliding off a cliff, but Joseph is able to retrieve it after some struggle. Lisa Lisa then hides the stone somewhere in Switzerland before she and Joseph confront the Pillar Men in Kars's fortress. After threatening to blow up the stone with a time bomb, Lisa Lisa forms an agreement to fight with the Pillar Men one-on-one. Joseph is sent back to the hotel where he finds the stone in Lisa Lisa's luggage and sets off to the Skeleton Heel Stone.

At the climax of Part 2, Kars was able to claim the Red Stone of Aja by tricking Lisa Lisa during their fight. He combined the Stone with his customized Stone Mask just as the heroes unleashed a barrage of UV light, enabling him to become the Ultimate Thing. Following his transformation, the Stone fell from Kars's broken mask, and Joseph Joestar grabbed it before running away. Later, Joseph instinctively holds up the Stone to intercept Kars's final attack, amplifying the villain's Ripple several times over into a beam that the Stone fired into the volcano beneath them. This causes the volcano to erupt and blast Kars into space. The whereabouts of the Stone afterwards are unknown.

Video Games

Capcom Fighters (Various)

The Red Stone of Aja first appears in the Capcom fighting games as part of Proud Lineage Joseph's Red Stone of Aja (エイジャの赤石) Super Move, where he uses it to fire a laser in front of him.