TJL Chapter 1

Departure (出発（）), originally titled Mechanism, is the first chapter of The JOJOLands and the nine hundred fifty-eighth chapter of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga.

This chapter was originally published in the March 2023 issue of Ultra Jump, alongside the thirteenth chapter of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak.

Summary
"Some manga artist" describes how Stands are invisible powers that have different forms and shapes and have always existed everywhere. Thus, a new adventure begins. Although it may sound like a joke, this is the story of a boy named Jodio Joestar becoming rich in the subtropical islands.

Somewhere on the island of in the U.S. state of, a pair of police officers stop two teenagers blasting music in a pickup truck in front of them. One of the cops asks them to turn off their music, but the driver is confused as to why they've been pulled over. The cop mentions that they were driving unsteadily and demands to see their license and vehicle registration. The driver asks their passenger, Jodio, to confirm whether they were driving unsteady since it's a straight road, but Jodio quips that it was probably because they got excited while listening to. The officer is unamused while the teenagers laugh and then asks them how old Jodio is. The driver reveals that Jodio is their younger brother and that he's 15 years old, whereas they are 18 years old. The cop then accuses them of stealing the pickup truck but the driver claims it's their parents' vehicle. They also complain about the cop's face being too close because he could have.

Annoyed, the cop forces the driver out of the truck and performs a pat-down, accusing them of having drugs. He starts harassing the driver and puts his hand into their underwear, claiming that women have more hiding places than men. However, as he feels something else there, he realizes that the driver is not simply a woman. After the cop states that he's even more aroused now, Jodio exits from the car and walks toward the officer. The other officer yells at Jodio to stop but Jodio ignores him and threatens the officer to take his hands off of his big brother, or else he'll kill him. The officers point their guns at Jodio, while his brother yells at them to stop since he's only a minor. Suddenly, the officer behind Jodio is pinned to the ground by rain droplets due to Jodio's Stand. Just before the other officer fires at Jodio, Jodio's older brother uses their Stand to slide the officer's eyes to the back of his head, throwing off his aim. Finally, Jodio attacks the officer with rain drops as well, crushing him. He continuously stomps on the cop before his brother stops him, calming him down so that Jodio doesn't kill the man.

Jodio then burns the officers' body cameras and dashboard camera along with their car, so that the officers would have no evidence and won't be able to go after them. Moreover, it's revealed that they actually did steal the truck as his brother uses their Stand to change the numbers on the truck's license plate and gets rid of their fake license. They hug Jodio, happy about what he did, and then they drive to their gang's rendezvous point. The gang members retrieve the drugs that Jodio and his brother smuggled within surfboards. One of the members praises them for doing well but reprimands them for being late. He also asks them if they heard about a police car being burned down but Jodio and his brother pretend to be ignorant. They walk until they get to a major road and then call an to go home.

Jodio has an internal monologue about his and Dragona's mother Barbara Ann Joestar. Barbara Ann gets up early in the morning, runs the washing machine, gets dressed, makes breakfast, gives a good morning kiss to her family, and then hangs the laundry out to dry before leaving for her job at 's duty-free shop. Everyone in the neighborhood loves Barbara Ann and helps her out; she is safely able to commute to the airport every day because her sons protect her safely behind the scenes with their gang business. Jodio then reveals that his older brother's name is Dragona Joestar. Dragona always jogs to the coast when they get up and only eats watermelon for breakfast. They love girl-like fashion and works at a fashion boutique in called Iko Iko. Jodio mentions that the swelling in Dragona's chest is due to cosmetic injections, which is partly why they appear feminine. The family tree is revealed, showing that Barbara Ann is one of the daughters of Joseph Joestar and Suzi Q. Due to complications between Barbara Ann and her husband, she has been raising the children alone.

While Jodio is headed to on the bus, an upperclassman asks him if he brought the stuff he wanted. Suddenly, Jodio pushes him off the seat and makes a scene, asking if the boy is messing with him. Jodio's senior is confused, but as they leave the bus, Jodio calls him over and apologizes. He takes the money from the boy's pocket and gives him directions of where to go next. A different teenager wearing a hat and riding an electric scooter then tells the student that the drugs are deep inside a nearby rain gutter. Meanwhile, Jodio continues to monologue that he does not go to school to learn or make friends. Rather, it is simply a "mechanism"; something that will eventually bring him wealth. When Jodio was 11, someone from his neighborhood invited him to be a gofer for their gang. As he carried out his job efficiently, he gained recognition and trust.

Later that day, Jodio, Dragona, and the teenager wearing a hat who is revealed to be named Paco Laburantes are summoned by their boss Meryl Mei Qi to the fashion boutique Iko Iko. Paco is a 19-year-old kleptomaniac and still in high school. A piece of his left ear was bitten off by his father. Paco attempts to steal from one of the customers but Dragona stops him by grabbing his ear and sliding it with their Stand before Meryl announces to the shop's customers that they will be closing early for the day. Not only is she their gang boss, but also the school principal and the proprietress of the Iko Iko fashion boutique. She orders the three gang members to turn off their phones before showing them her own phone. On the screen is a natural 24-carat blue diamond worth $6 million. It is owned by a Japanese tourist who owns a villa on the Big Island of Hawaii who is planning to stay there for around 12 more days. Their group will be getting a 2% split all together, while Meryl gets an 18% cut after they sell the diamond on the black market. She also informs them that they will be going as a team of four, revealing she has brought on the upperclassman who Jodio and Paco had sold drugs earlier. Jodio and Paco insist that bringing on a customer of their drug dealing is a bad idea, but Meryl guarantees that the other student will be useful to them.

As the four of them set out on their new mission, the three Stands that have been used so far have their names revealed: Jodio's November Rain, Dragona's Smooth Operators, and Paco's The Hustle.

Trivia

 * At 69 pages long, this chapter is the longest in the series, beating a record previously held by SBR Chapter 25.
 * The release of this chapter also concluded the longest hiatus taken by the series' serialization, at 547 days. The record was previously held by SBR Chapter 1, which released 286 days after SO Chapter 158.
 * Jodio's mention of onigiri while describing Paco is likely a reference to its Japanese-American derivative,, a snack commonly found in stores across the Hawaiian islands.