User:Slowerdancer/Sandbox

"Diese Geschichte handelt davon, wie ich wieder anfing zu laufen. Nicht in einem physischen Sinne... aber in einer Art und Weise, die mich von der Kindheit zum Erwachsensein führt... (この『物語』はぼくが歩き出す物語だ. 肉体が…………という意味ではなく、青春から大人という意味で……)"

- Johnny Joestar, SBR Chapter 2

Steel Ball Run (スティール・ボール・ラン) ist der siebte Teil von JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Er erschien ursprünglich im Weekly Shonen Jump vom 19. Januar 2004 bis zum 18. Oktober 2004. Die Veröffentlichung des Teils wechselte später zu Ultra Jump, wo er vom 19. März 2005 bis zum 19. April 2011 fortgesetzt wurde.

Die Geschichte spielt in den USA im Jahre 1890 und folgt Johnny Joestar, einem paraplegischen Ex-Jockey, und Gyro Zeppeli, einem Meister in der mystischen Kunst des Spins, als sie am transamerikanischen Steel Ball Run Rennen teilnehmen und dabei die finsteren Absichten von seinem Auftraggeber aufdecken.

Steel Ball Run markiert den Beginn einer zweiten Kontinuität, die unabhängig von den Ereignissen der Teile 1-6 ist. Dennoch behält die Geschichte einige wesentliche Merkmale von JoJo bei, darunter Stands, sowie zahlreiche Verweise auf das ursprüngliche Universum, wie z.B. Charakternamen.

Countdown bis zum Beginn des Rennens
Sandman wird aufgrund des Besitzes englischer Literatur zur Flucht aus seinem Stamm der amerikanischer Ureinwohner gezwungen. Auf geheimnisvolle Weise entkommt er seinen Verfolgern dank einer mysteriösen Kraft. Sandman trifft seine Schwester in der Nähe einer Klippe, deren Wand mit mysteriösen kugelförmigen Löchern übersät ist, und erzählt ihr von seiner Absicht, am bevorstehenden Steel Ball Run Rennen teilzunehmen.

Der Organisator Steven Steel gibt eine Pressekonferenz, um den Steel Ball Run anzukündigen: Ein Pferderennen, das in mehreren Etappen quer durch Amerika führt und bei dem es sich um einen Preis von $50.000.000 handelt. Teilnehmer aus aller Welt strömen nach Amerika. Zu den Favoriten gehören der Cowboy Mountain Tim, der mongolische Reiter Dot Han und der britische Jockey Diego Brando. Aber auch relativ Unbekannte wie der freigelassene Sklave Pocoloco und Sandman melden sich für das Rennen an.

Gyro Zeppeli wird bei seiner Anmeldung vorgestellt. Er fordert einen Dieb zu einem Duell heraus und bringt seinen Gegner durch den Wurf einer Stahlkugel an die Schulter dazu, sich selbst in den Kopf zu schiessen. Neugierig berührt ein Zuschauer im Rollstuhl die Stahlkugel, während sie sich im Holster dreht, woraufhin er kurz aufsteht. Der Mann wird als Johnny Joestar vorgestellt, ein ehemaliger genialer Jockey, der nach einer Schlägerei zum Paraplegiker wurde.

Obwohl Johnny über das Wunder der Stahlkugel erstaunt ist, weigert sich Gyro, sein Geheimnis zu erklären. Unbeirrt kauft Johnny ein Pferd und nimmt am Rennen teil. Als das Rennen beginnt, gelingt es Johnny, sein Pferd zu besteigen, indem er seinen eigenen Körper dreht.

Die ersten fünfzehntausend Meter
Steven Steel und ein Reporterteam besteigen einen Zug, um die Läufer auf der ersten von neun Etappen zu begleiten. Gyro übernimmt schnell die Führung und setzt zwei der Publikumslieblinge, Urmd Avdul und Diego Brando, mit der Kraft seiner Stahlkugeln außer Gefecht. Gyro wird dann von Pocoloco herausgefordert, der seinen verspäteten Start mit unheimlichem Glück und seiner seltsamen Fähigkeit wieder wettmacht. Obwohl Gyro versucht, Pocoloco anzugreifen, gelingt es ihm nur, Sandman in Gefahr zu bringen. Der amerikanische Ureinwohner zieht jedoch an beiden vorbei und übernimmt die Führung. Nach einem spannenden Kampf kurz vor der Ziellinie verwandelt Gyro seinen Umhang in ein Segel, um den Rückenwind einzufangen, und gewinnt schließlich den ersten Platz.

Zwischenspiel: Die Vergangenheit von Steven Steel
Steven Steels Vergangenheit wird erläutert. Es wird enthüllt, dass der Steel Ball Run von einem jungen Mädchen namens Lucy Steel ins Leben gerufen wurde, die dem niedergeschlagenen und verzweifelten Steven die Idee vorschlug. Nachdem Steven aus seinem Zustand geweckt worden war, wurde er von einer Gruppe Sponsoren angesprochen, die Interesse an der Veranstaltung zeigten und anboten, sie zu finanzieren, was Steven schließlich reich machte. Später heiratete Steven Lucy aus Dankbarkeit.

Ein blutrünstiger Wettkampf
Trotz seiner beeindruckenden Leistung wird Gyro wegen Gefährdung von Sandman zu Beginn des Rennens bestraft und auf Platz 21 zurückgestuft. Nachdem Gyro aus Rache Stevens Party verdorben hat, erklärt er sich bereit, Johnny zu folgen und erklärt ihm, dass nur die Drehung der Stahlkugel selbst zählt. In der Zwischenzeit werden Steven und seine Frau zu einem Tatort gebracht, der auf einen Mörder hindeutet. Der örtliche Sheriff ruft den berühmten Cowboy Mountain Tim, der sich die Hufeisenabdrücke notiert und kurz mit Lucy flirtet.

Die zweite Etappe des Steel Ball Runs beginnt. Diesmal müssen die Teilnehmer 1,200 km der Wüste durchqueren. Gyro und Johnny werden von einem anderen Läufer, Mrs. Robinson, angegriffen, der explosive Kakteen einsetzt, um sie in die Enge zu treiben. Mit den gleichen Kakteen gelingt es Gyro, Robinson zu besiegen. Später, nachdem Mountain Tim Mrs. Robinsons Pferd gefunden hat, stellt er fest, dass die Hufeisen nicht zueinander passen und der Mörder noch immer frei herumläuft.

Johnny und Gyro schlagen ihr Lager auf während Johnny einige Fortschritte im Drehen macht. Sie werden von Andre, Benjamin und L.A. Boomboom angegriffen, die den gemeinsamen Magnet-Stand Tomb of the Boom benutzen. Nach einem kurzen Kampf fliehen Gyro und Johnny, werden aber mit Andres Blut bespritzt. Benjamin verkleidet sich als Johnny Joestar, konfrontiert Mountain Tim und schafft es, Johnny die Morde anzuhängen. Mountain Tim holt Johnny und Gyro bald ein jedoch müssen die drei feststellen, dass der Feind sie immer noch hinter ihnen her ist. Tim offenbart seine Kraft, Oh! Lonesome Me, die er Stand nennt. Er verrät, dass er diese Kraft erlangt hat, indem er in eine Teufelshand getreten ist, ein sich bewegendes Phänomen, das Menschen Stands verleiht. Benjamin Boomboom nutzt seinen Stand, um die Gruppe bewegungsunfähig zu machen, doch Johnny erweckt dabei seinen eigenen Stand, Tusk. In Wirklichkeit ist die Gruppe in die Teufelshand eingetreten, ohne es zu merken. Johnny tötet Benjamin und setzt L.A. außer Gefecht, der verrät, dass er den Auftrag hatte, Gyro zu töten. In der Wüste kommt er später ums Leben.

Gyros Mission und der Terrorist Oyecomova
Auf Johnnys Bitte enthüllt Gyro seine Vergangenheit als Scharfrichter im Königreich Neapel. Bei seiner ersten Hinrichtung sollte Gyro Marco enthaupten, einen kleinen Jungen, der zum Tode verurteilt wurde, nur weil er mit einem verräterischen Fürsten in Verbindung stand. Nachdem er den Jungen kennengelernt und sein gutes Herz gesehen hatte, weigerte sich Gyro, Marco hinzurichten, und beschloss, am Steel Ball Run teilzunehmen, da ein Sieg den König von Neapel zu einer Generalamnestie veranlassen könnte und das Preisgeld auf alle Fälle ausreichen würde, um Marcos Berufung zu finanzieren.

Einige Zeit später folgt ein Terrorist des Königreichs Neapel namens Oyecomova, der Gyro aus Verachtung für das Königreich töten will, dem Duo in ein Relais-Dorf. Mountain Tim stellt Oyecomova zur Rede, wird aber von seinem expplosivem Stand Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure außer Gefecht gesetzt. Der Terrorist verfolgt Gyro und Johnny in Richtung Gebirge, da er durch einen Brief, den Gyro hinterlassen hat, von einem heilenden Gegenstand namens Zombiepferd erfahren hat. Nach einer langen Verfolgungsjagd flussaufwärts setzen Johnny und Gyro Oyecomova mit einem Kombinationsangriff außer Gefecht. Sie erreichen das Zombiepferd, das Gyro benutzt, um eine frühere Beinverletzung zu heilen.

Der wahre Zweck des Steel Ball Runs
In einer Rückblende erfährt man, dass Josef von Arimathäa, der Mann, der Jesus Christus vom Kreuz nahm, eine Karte gezeichnet hatte, auf der ein unbekanntes Land und einige wichtige Orte eingezeichnet waren.

Johnny und Gyro werden von Fritz von Stroheim angegriffen, können ihn aber schnell ausschalten. Johnny, der durch die Häufigkeit der Angriffe verwirrt ist, stellt plötzlich fest, dass sich in seinem linken Arm ein mumifizierter Arm befindet. In der Zwischenzeit unterhält sich Steven Steel mit Funny Valentine, dem Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten. Valentine will die geteilte Reliquie, bekannt als die Leichnam des Heiligen, mit der Karte von Joseph von Arimathäa in seinem Besitz. Lucy belauscht Valentines Plan, den Leichnam des Heiligen zu erlangen, und erblickt dessen Herz in seiner Brust.

Kurz bevor sie Monument Valley erreichen, werden Johnny und Gyro von Pork Pie Hat Kid, einem von Valentines Untergebenen, angegriffen. Pork Pie Hat Kid nimmt Gyro gefangen und isoliert Johnny, jedoch materialisiert sich Johnnys Tusk, um seinem Nutzer zu helfen und flüstert den Satz "movere crus", bevor er verschwindet. Johnny erkennt den wahren Zweck des Steel Ball Runs und schafft es, Gyro zu erreichen und Pork Pie Hat Kid zu besiegen. Johnny lenkt seine Aufmerksamkeit auf den Körper des Heiligen, nachdem er gesehen hat, wie seine Beine von Tusk beeinflusst werden, und überredet Gyro, ihm zu helfen, ihn zu holen.

Während des Endspurts der zweiten Etappe entdeckt Johnny auf einer in der Nähe liegenden Zeitung die Position des nächsten Leichenteils, wodurch Gyro abgelenkt wird und Diego auf den ersten Platz vorrücken kann. Gyro kann Johnny gerade noch zurechtweisen, bevor das Rennen in die dritte Etappe übergeht: eine 510 km lange Wanderung durch die felsigen Berge.

Gyro und Johnny treffen sich wieder mit Diego. Bei Einbruch der Dunkelheit suchen die drei Schutz in einem Dorf. Plötzlich verwandelt sich Diego in einen Raptor und attackiert Gyro und Johnny, die fliehen, als sie feststellen, dass das ganze Dorf dasselbe Schicksal erleidet. Diegos Vergangenheit kommt ans Licht: Einst verbrachte er seine Jugend mit seiner Mutter auf einem Bauernhof, doch die schlechte Behandlung und der Tod seiner Mutter führten dazu, dass Diego ehrgeizig wurde und sich von den Menschen abwandte. Seine Begabung führte ihn auf der Suche nach Ruhm zum Stell Ball Run. Als Gyro beginnt, sich in einen Dinosaurier zu verwandeln, gelingt es den beiden, die Augen der Leiche zu finden, nur um Diego die Leichenteile zu entreißen. Johnny, der durch den linken Arm der Leiche menschlich geblieben ist, konfrontiert Dr. Ferdinand, der ihm erklärt, dass Diegos Scary Monsters das Rudel der Dinosaurier kontrolliert. Johnny verlässt unerwartet den linken Arm und wird teilweise verwandelt, um eines der Augen auf Gyro zu werfen, der daraufhin seine menschliche Gestalt wiedererlangt und eine Fähigkeit namens Scan erhält. Dr. Ferdinand wird außer Gefecht gesetzt und von Pumas gefressen. Diego entkommt mit dem linken Auge und behält seine Dinosaurierfähigkeiten.

Im Endspurt der dritten Etappe fordert Gyro Diego erneut heraus. Johnny, der Gyro schon lange kennt, sagt, dass Gyro nicht die nötige Motivation hat, um zu gewinnen und gegen Diego verlieren wird. Gyro weist Johnny wütend zurecht, jedoch bleibt Diego trotz aller Bemühungen vor ihm. Unerwartet überholt Johnny Diego und erreicht die Ziellinie, nur um zu erfahren, dass ein anderer Teilnehmer namens Hot Pants bereits den ersten Platz belegt hat. Niedergeschlagen gibt Gyro zu, dass ihm die Motivation fehlt, um zu gewinnen.

Zwischenspiel: Die Geschichte von Funny Valentine
In einer Rückblende wird die Vergangenheit von Funny Valentine erzählt. Nach dem Überleben einer Reise in die Wüste wurde Valentine Politiker und Entdeckte die Karte von Josef von Arimathäa. Die Karte zeigte den Verbleib der neun Teile des Heiligen Leichnams: Oberkörper, Herz, linker Arm, rechter Arm, Wirbelsäule, Augen, Ohren, Beine und Kopf. Nachdem er Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten geworden war, unterstützte er den Wettlauf von Steven Steel, um den gesamten Leichnam wieder zusammenzusetzen und in seinen Besitz zu bringen.

Die Welt eines echten Mannes
Die vierte Etappe des Rennens ist eine Strecke von 1.250 km nach Kansas City. Am Waldrand treffen Gyro und Johnny auf Hot Pants, mit der sie kurz um eine gestohlene Kuh streiten. Mit Hilfe eines Scans von Hot Pants' Wirbelsäule entziffert Gyro einen Hinweis auf den nächsten Körperteil, doch Hot Pants' fleischspritzender Stamd, Cream Starter, bringt ihn und Johnny fast um. Johnny enthüllt, dass weder er noch Gyro die Kuh getötet haben, woraufhin Hot Pants Gnade walten lässt. Die drei versuchen weiter zu kommen, kehren aber immer wieder zur selben Hütte zurück. Ein Revolvermann namens Ringo Roadagain taucht aus einer Hütte auf und präsentiert seinen Stand, Mandom, der die Zeit um sechs Sekunden zurückdrehen kann. Es kommt zu einer Schießerei, bei der Johnny und Hot Pants scheinbar getötet werden und nur Gyro überlebt. Ringo schleppt Johnnys Leiche in die Hütte, doch Gyro erkennt, dass Johnnys Wunde nicht tödlich ist und beschließt, den Revolvermann zur Rede zu stellen.

A flashback reveals that Ringo Roadagain was once the sick youngest child of an impoverished family. One night, Ringo's mother and sister were killed by a bandit who tried to assault him, forcing him to shoot and kill the bandit in self-defense. Ringo then became a gunslinger seeking challengers in order to purify himself, drawing the attention of one Funny Valentine. In the present, Gyro overcomes his own doubts and challenges Ringo again, ultimately defeating him by forcing Ringo into a falling splinter's trajectory. Acknowledging his defeat and Gyro's growth, Ringo forces the Neapolitan to finish him off.

Lucy Steel mischt sich ein
After his duel with Ringo, Gyro heals Johnny and Hot Pants with Cream Starter. Johnny accidentally discovers that Hot Pants is a woman, but chooses not to tell Gyro. Near Kansas City, the duo crosses paths with Sandman, who warns the two that Diego is in the lead and that a storm is coming. Johnny realizes that Ringo had sent a message to Valentine before his death, and that Diego already knows the location of the Corpse's Spine.

Upon seeing Ringo's pigeon arrive on the roof, Lucy decides to infiltrate a government building and steal the message it carries. When Valentine and his henchman Blackmore nearly discover her identity, Lucy calls Mountain Tim for help. After escaping the building, Tim confesses his love toward Lucy and advises her to meet Johnny and Gyro before he departs. Blackmore confronts and quickly kills Tim with his rain-controlling Stand, Catch the Rainbow. Discovering that the intruder was a woman, Blackmore rushes toward Lucy's location as she approaches the Spine. Blackmore takes the Spine from Lucy, but the two are suddenly warped into the middle of Kansas City; Lucy takes advantage of Blackmore's confusion and excitement to fatally shoot him and escape with the Spine. However, Blackmore seals his fatal wounds with frozen raindrops and continues discreetly pursuing Lucy.

Meanwhile, Gyro and Johnny catch up to Diego, but are unable to get ahead of him, as his enhanced senses allow him to detect the optimal path. Gyro suddenly catches up to Diego by sensing the optimal path on his own and, after a brief fight, manages to incapacitate Diego's horse. The duo then meets Lucy, with Blackmore in hot pursuit. Catch the Rainbow immobilizes Johnny and Gyro, but the latter utilizes the raindrops' static positions to throw a Steel Ball at Blackmore; the spinning Steel Ball evaporates the raindrops in its way and strikes Blackmore, knocking him down. As the storm clears, Blackmore dies from his wounds, and the Spine reveals the locations of the remaining Corpse Parts to the group. Gyro entrusts Lucy with the task of stealing the Heart from Valentine, lending her the Right Eye and seating her on Johnny's horse to avoid suspicion.

Das Goldene Rechteck
Some time after Johnny and Gyro reach the fourth stage's finish line in Kansas City, Diego meets with Valentine's henchmen. Diego promises that he has information regarding the government traitor, but seeks revenge against Johnny and Gyro before revealing it. The president reluctantly cooperates with the British jockey, granting him a single subordinate Stand user.

Near the Mississippi River, Gyro and Johnny rest in front of a cottage and discuss the Corpse's identity. Suddenly, the two are attacked by a combination of Diego's dinosaurs and a strange ability that destroys anything that touches an affected object via sound waves. The cottage collapses on top of a despondent Johnny, but Gyro saves him by digging a hole with his remaining Steel Balls. Without any Steel Balls, however, the duo is forced to flee into the river.

Johnny remembers his youth in England, before his family fell into ruin and moved back to America. Johnny once brought a white mouse home, which his father promptly ordered him to drown in the lake; at the suggestion of his jockey brother Nicholas, Johnny instead released it into the woods. When Nicholas later fell from his saddle and died, a nearby Diego Brando shouted that his horse had been distracted by a white mouse. Johnny's father never came to terms with Nicholas's fate, and following an argument with him Johnny was kicked out of the house. Thinking that fate wants him to pay for his brother's death, surrounding and betraying him at his happiest, Johnny falls into despair.

An indignant Gyro reminds Johnny that he isn't even close to mastering the Spin and introduces him to the Golden Rectangle, a ubiquitous proportion which is used to form a perfect and infinite rotation. However, the water multiplies the enemy's sound waves, and Gyro is badly wounded. Sandman reveals himself as the enemy and inexorably corners the duo. On the brink of despair, Johnny realizes that the Golden Rectangle is present in nature itself, even in a white mouse. Tusk evolves to ACT2 and an even shootout ensues, but Johnny surprises Sandman with a bullet made from Gyro's belt buckle and kills the Native American. Suddenly, Hot Pants appears and knocks Johnny out, moving him and Gyro to the other side of the river and stealing all of their Corpse Parts save a fraction of Johnny's Spine.

Zwischenspiel: Stands erklärt
An explanation of Stands and the rules governing them, such as their appearances and relationships with their users, is provided. Notably, it is mentioned that the power of a Stand depends on its distance from its user, and that some Stand users have the potential to evolve their Stands. Finally, it is revealed that techniques such as the Ripple and the Spin, inspired by certain tools that can draw out these abilities, approach the power of Stands themselves.

Sugar Mountains Prüfungen
Near the beginning of the sixth stage, Gyro senses that eleven horses are approaching them with unnatural synchronization. Johnny reveals that Hot Pants was an agent sent by the Kingdom of Naples to collect the Saint's Corpse; as both he and Gyro reaffirm their mission to obtain the corpse, one of Gyro's Steel Balls rolls into a nearby lake and disappears. The two spot a girl named Sugar Mountain running away with the dropped Steel Ball in her hand. Chasing her into a large tree, the two are surprised when she offers them a choice between a piece of gold or a diamond; when Gyro asks for his Steel Ball back, the girl surprises them further by bestowing all three items upon them. Johnny and Gyro realize that Sugar's ability recreates the fable of the Golden Axe and, after further exploiting the girl's naivete, use a rabbit's ears and a wolf's paw to obtain the Corpse's Ears and Right Arm. As the two prepare to leave, Sugar warns them that everything they acquired must be used up by sunset, lest they be absorbed into the tree.

Gyro and Johnny head toward a nearby city but find it difficult to spend their fortune, as bribery and charity only accelerate the tree's absorption process. Gyro decides to spend their cash at a casino, but the eleven assassins catch up to them. The eleven men almost kill them with their body-phasing ability, but a group of local thugs come to their aid and kill all but one of the men, having already been paid by Gyro to become their bodyguards. Though all of the cash is spent, Gyro suddenly begins to be absorbed once more, and Johnny realizes that the Corpse Parts they received must be used up as well. Johnny reluctantly trades his Corpse Parts with the last assassin for a bottle of wine, freeing Gyro and breaking the tree's curse on its inhabitants. As the two honest men have a toast, the girl formerly known as Sugar Mountain salutes their resolve.

Lucy infiltriert die Regierung
On the outskirts of Chicago, Diego meets with Mike O., head of Valentine's security staff. Diego reveals that the traitor is a woman weighing less than 51 kg, which Mike O. reports to Valentine. The two agree to investigate a list of 147 suspects and, if necessary, capture their target with Mike O.'s automatic-tracking Stand, Tubular Bells.

After meeting with Hot Pants and learning that the government's search is closing in on her, Lucy investigates the first lady, Scarlet Valentine, and exploits her lesbianism to infiltrate the president's mansion. Separating from Scarlet with the help of a sleeping drug, Lucy uses Cream Starter to disguise herself as the first lady and approach Valentine. Suddenly, Tubular Bells begins to attack the disguised Lucy, and the real Scarlet recognizes Lucy after waking up and investigating the commotion. Lucy kills Scarlet by covering her in her own disguise, causing Tubular Bells to target her. Mike O. appears at a nearby window, but Hot Pants comes to Lucy's rescue and kills Mike O. However, Hot Pants is unable to take Lucy or the Right Arm with her as she escapes, forcing her to disguise Lucy as Scarlet while taking the real Scarlet's body with her. Temporarily separated from her husband and allies, Lucy can only weep in silence.

Wekapipos "Wreaking Ball"
Johnny and Gyro reach a frozen strait which they must pass. Unbeknownst to them, two enemies are observing them from afar, one of them being a man named Wekapipo. Once a member of the royal guard in the Kingdom of Naples, Wekapipo had his sister's marriage annulled after learning that her husband had beaten her until she was half-blind. Furious, the husband forced him into a duel that, despite Wekapipo's victory, led to his exile from the country. Having heard of his sister's death, Wekapipo enters Valentine's service in exchange for citizenship and a government position. For his assassination mission, Wekapipo is paired with Magent Magent, a sardonic and unprofessional man fascinated by the newly-invented airplane.

Johnny and Gyro try to cross the frozen strait, noticing a wolf that seems to be following them. In the middle of the strait, the two are attacked by Wekapipo's steel Wrecking Ball, which can make its victims unable to perceive anything to their left. Johnny locates and attacks Magent Magent, but the latter's 20th Century BOY allows him to create an impenetrable shield around himself while kneeling. As Gyro and Johnny realize that Wekapipo knows where the next Corpse Part is, Magent Magent shoots the wolf to immobilize it before turning to Gyro. Following a tense shootout, Gyro takes out Magent Magent by making him deflect a Steel Ball upward and distracting him as it falls back toward him.

Wekapipo takes care to destroy any possible model for the Golden Rectangle, including Gyro's hand and the wolf's corpse. However, it miraculously begins to snow, and Gyro uses the snowflakes to recreate the Golden Rectangle. At the same time, Johnny notices the Corpse's Legs emerging from the wolf's corpse. Wekapipo, seriously wounded, asks Gyro to kill him. However, Gyro refuses, revealing that Wekapipo's sister is alive and currently in hiding in the countryside. As he and Johnny depart with the Legs, Gyro asks Wekapipo to search for and protect Lucy.

The last dash of the sixth stage sees Johnny and Gyro race against Pocoloco toward the goal. Pocoloco's ability guides him out of the way of a chasm, but Gyro and Johnny combine their abilities to cross it directly with a makeshift steel rope, effectively beating Pocoloco's luck. Gyro finishes in first place, putting him back in the running to win the race. Meanwhile, Magent Magent crawls back to civilization, having overheard that Lucy Steel is the traitor against the government.

Valentine nimmt alles
A flashback details the discovery of Lucy Steel's body from the Fox River, as a distraught Steven Steel comes to the realization that the woman before him is not his wife. Six weeks later, 145 km west of Philadelphia, Gyro and Johnny spot Hot Pants hurriedly racing toward a nearby town. Chasing after her, the two follow her into the town's garbage dump, where they encounter a woman dressed in nun's clothing. Gyro, still unaware of Hot Pants's gender, checks the back of the dump for Hot Pants's Corpse Parts, leaving Johnny to interrogate the racer. All three parties are suddenly attacked by Civil War, a Stand that can manifest people's guilt and attack them with it; in Hot Pants's case, she is immobilized by the brother she sacrificed to a grizzly bear in her youth. Undeterred, Johnny makes up his mind to defeat the Stand user.

Johnny finds Gyro, but is ultimately unable to attack the ghosts of his past, despite a mysterious figure's warning to not shoot with doubt in his heart. Gyro manages to find the Stand user, Axl RO, with his Steel Balls, and Johnny fatally wounds him. However, the final aspect of Civil War's ability revives Axl RO and transfers his sins to Johnny, notably the ghosts of the soldiers he failed to warn of incoming enemy troops at Gettysburg. Johnny suddenly understands the meaning of the figure's words and chooses to shoot himself, evolving Tusk to ACT3. Johnny threatens to destroy the corpse, forcing Axl RO to kill him and thus receive both Johnny's sins and his own. Axl RO lunges toward a purified Johnny, but is suddenly shot from behind: the shooter is none other than Valentine, who shot to defend another person and is thus unaffected by Civil War. Valentine collects all of the present Corpse Parts and departs unscathed, noting that the Skull's location remains unknown and that Diego and another government traitor hold the Left and Right Eyes respectively.

Die Zusammensetzung des Leichnams des Heiligen
A flashback details the past of Lucy Pendleton: she was once the eldest daughter of a farmer indebted with the mafia, who wanted to abduct her and make her work as a prostitute. However, Steven bluffed the mafia by marrying her and telling them that he took her virginity. Despite Steven's promise that she could leave him anytime she wanted, the two became close out of their mutual gratitude and trust.

In Independence Hall, the disguised Lucy attempts to distract Valentine as the Right Eye rolls toward the other hidden Corpse Parts. Valentine describes his motivation for sponsoring the race, declaring his intention to "take the first napkin" and obtain true power over the world. Aroused by his wife's sudden cuteness, Valentine tries to have intercourse with her, only for Lucy to ditch her disguise and stab him in the throat. Agonizing on the floor, Valentine forces a chair to fall on top of him, reappearing unharmed beneath it. Lucy tries to hide from Valentine in the neighboring room, where she finds the hidden Corpse Parts and receives a vision. As Valentine breaks into the room, he sees the silhouette of the Head on Lucy's abdomen and realizes that she has become the Corpse's host.

Meanwhile, ruminating in his coach, Steven finds a photograph of the president and his wife. Comparing them with photos of Lucy, Steven discovers that Lucy is somehow posing as Scarlet Valentine. Suddenly, Magent Magent appears and shoots Steven, as Valentine no longer needs him alive. Wekapipo intervenes to protect Steven, having heard Gyro's suspicion that Hot Pants disguised Lucy as someone else. After a brief fight, Wekapipo wraps Magent Magent in the coach's cables with his Stand active and consigns him to the bottom of a river, where he thinks of Diego coming to save him until he is no longer able to think.

One hour later, Gyro and Johnny enter Philadelphia, the seventh stage's goal. Seeing that Diego has made a comeback and finished the stage in first place, they decide to confront him and steal the Left Eye from him.

Zwischenspiel: Ein Witz von Gyro
Gyro tells Johnny a joke: reciting the days of the week, Gyro acts progressively crazier as the days pass before suddenly regaining his calm at Sunday. Johnny praises and writes down the joke, and the two continue on their way.

Freie Fahrt in Philadelphia
Near Independence Hall, Johnny and Gyro spot Diego with Wekapipo following him. As Gyro sneaks up on Diego, Johnny is suddenly shot by an unknown party and barely escapes into the sewer. Gyro notices the gunshot and attempts to run toward Johnny, but is immobilized by the grid of D-I-S-C-O's Chocolate Disco. Despite D-I-S-C-O's ability to teleport objects wherever he wishes within the grid, Gyro easily disposes of him by tricking him with different layers of air. Interrogating the witnesses in the nearby park, Gyro is surprised to learn that Diego, Wekapipo, and Valentine are all incriminated by different groups.

Meanwhile, Wekapipo meets with Diego, and both parties claim to have shot Johnny: Wekapipo had experienced being attacked by an unknown party while pursuing Diego, but Diego had experienced being attacked by Wekapipo while pursuing Valentine. Suddenly, Valentine attacks the two from above with his Stand, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Valentine reveals that his Stand's true ability allows him to navigate and transport people and objects between neighboring dimensions, with himself being the only entity that can exist in two places at once. Incidentally, it is revealed that Valentine himself had been the one to shoot Johnny, having intentionally muddled the situation to throw off both the witnesses and the suspects.

Diego attempts to kill the president, but Valentine drags his top half into an alternate universe, and both him and his alternate self begin to break apart as the president steals the Left Eye. Suddenly, the alternate Johnny appears from the sewers and shoots Valentine, having been led by Diego's dinosaurs. Valentine is apparently killed, but the absence of the Eye indicates that the president has disappeared with it into another universe. Still merging with his alternate self, Diego uses his spurs to draw Wekapipo closer to him, using him to return to the base universe. The alternate Wekapipo, dragged into the base universe along with Diego, is forced to merge with his base universe self, killing both. Diego's resolve to kill the president is renewed by the conclusion that the Saint's Corpse exists in only one universe.

Valentine ist gesegnet
At Independence Hall, a heavily-pregnant Lucy is contacted by a mysterious voice compelling her to get away. Lucy's guards are incapacitated by a series of coincidences, allowing her to escape by carriage with a wounded Steven. As the carriage approaches the river, Lucy realizes that she has been caught in a trap: with the power of both Eyes, Valentine has lured Lucy toward his own ship to take her to the map's final destination. Meanwhile, Gyro finds Johnny in the sewers. Gyro suggests abandoning their pursuit of the Saint's Corpse, but Johnny stands up briefly, reaffirming his will to obtain the Corpse and fully regain use of his legs. Relenting, Gyro introduces the ultimate level of the perfect spin technique, which can only be used on horseback by making the horse form the Golden Rectangle. The two resolve once more to rescue Lucy Steel, defeat Valentine, and obtain the Corpse.

Lucy is forced to board the ship with her husband, though Valentine promises not to kill Steven. Diego meets Hot Pants, who offers to help him find and defeat Valentine in exchange for the Corpse. Diego accepts the deal and the two pursue Lucy's scent, trailed by Gyro and Johnny. Diego and Hot Pants eventually reach a moving train, where the two attack Valentine directly. Diego eventually manages to throw himself and Valentine out of the train, but the latter narrowly drags them both beneath the train, allowing him to escape and bisecting Diego. As Johnny and Gyro note Diego's loss and continue pursuing Valentine, Hot Pants discovers that Lucy's body is merging with the Corpse before being killed by Valentine. The president notes that good fortune and space itself are converging toward the Corpse, and his Stand evolves into D4C Love Train.

Gyro and Johnny catch up to the locomotive, but Love Train's ability redirects any attack toward Valentine to somewhere else in the world. After Gyro throws a Steel Ball to seemingly no effect, the two narrowly escape the president. Though Johnny begins to despair, Gyro reveals that the Steel Ball he threw scraped some of Valentine's hair off, having been thrown with the perfect Spin. Encouraged by the slight damage they inflicted, Gyro and Johnny charge the train. The president cuts Johnny's arm off and moves to finish him off, forcing Gyro to seemingly waste a Steel Ball to save his partner. Johnny is saved when Steven Steel moves Lucy's body outside of the train and entrusts her to Gyro, dragging Valentine's ability toward the Corpse as Gyro moves toward the approaching Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, Johnny sees Valentine's ear stuck to the Steel Ball as the president finally grasps the danger of the Spin.

Die phänomenale Kraft der Drehung
Valentine disappears beneath the ocean floor as Gyro harnesses the Golden Spin using his horse. Valentine summons several versions of himself, but Gyro finds the real Valentine and throws a Steel Ball at him. The perfect rotation produces a Stand known as Ball Breaker, which bypasses Valentine's ability and ages the left half of his body. Gyro is shot in the stomach by the remaining Valentines, but quickly disposes of them. The real Valentine recovers, however, revealing that a small part of the Steel Ball was scraped away before it could hit him. Aware of his total defeat, Gyro tells Johnny that the detour was their shortest path before collapsing from his wounds and expiring.

Valentine empties his revolver on Gyro's corpse before attacking Johnny. Johnny wastes all but one nail attacking Valentine, who inflicts a serious wound on his horse and knocks him to the ground. At the last moment, Johnny understands Gyro's final words, picks up Gyro's Steel Ball, and uses it on his horse's leg to make it kick him into the air. As both the horse and Johnny form the Golden Rectangle, Tusk evolves once more to ACT4. Tusk ACT4 forces its way past the president's ability and pummels D4C with enough force to form a crater on the ground. Valentine escapes to another dimension, but discovers that his body has been immobilized and is being torn apart by the perpetual effects of ACT4's infinite rotation.

A flashback details a young Funny's meeting with his future father-in-law, Captain Valentine. The captain told Funny that his birth father had a habit of writing his son's birthday on everything he owned; after being captured by the enemy, he hid a handkerchief with the date embroidered on it inside his left eye socket. Given resolve by his father's devotion to his family and country, Valentine recomposes himself.

The president reappears in the base universe, but admits his defeat and offers to summon another Gyro Zeppeli if Johnny nullifies the infinite rotation. As proof of his good will, Valentine tosses Johnny an alternate Cream Starter, which he uses to heal Lucy as the Corpse separates from her, along with his horse. Presenting his father's handkerchief and his promise to Lucy to spare Steven, Valentine almost convinces Johnny to spare his life. The jockey nonetheless tests Valentine's honesty by throwing the president's gun on the ground before him and daring him to pick it up. Valentine hesitates, but ultimately draws the gun he brought from an alternate universe, causing the two to merge. After a final shootout, Johnny sees Gyro's spirit ascend into the sky before finishing Valentine off. The president's corpse is dragged underground by the infinite rotation, and his father's beloved handkerchief is buried with him. The Corpse fully separates from Lucy as Johnny mourns his best friend.

Ein letzter Feind
After healing everyone and demonstrating the full recovery of his legs, Johnny realizes that the Corpse has been stolen by a final unknown enemy. Johnny is able to identify the enemy's tracks as those of a competitor in the race, but cannot remember whose horse they belong to. As Johnny prepares to chase the unknown enemy, Steven warns Johnny that Valentine had prepared an impenetrable vault for the Corpse at the end of the race, which the enemy is heading toward. Johnny pursues his final foe as they seemingly teleport around everything in their path. As Lucy realizes that the horse tracks stem from the crater where Valentine met his end, the final enemy is revealed to be an alternate Diego Brando, equipped with the time-stopping Stand known as THE WORLD.

Valentine had arranged to transport the alternate Diego to the base universe as a backup plan in the event of his death, in order to harness the Corpse and bring prosperity to the president's country. Johnny escapes Diego's first attack and continues pursuing him into the ninth and final stage of the race. Briefly seeing his father in the crowd holding Nicholas's boots, Johnny takes heart and begins devising a plan to finish his final enemy. Before he can, however, Diego enacts his own plan: dousing Johnny in gasoline and setting him on fire while time is stopped. Johnny escapes once more into the sewers and attacks Diego from below, but only succeeds in destroying some of Diego's female admirers. Johnny exits the sewers and rejoins the other racers; as he and Diego cross the Brooklyn Bridge, Diego prepares to make a sacrifice of his own. Meanwhile, Lucy searches for the original Diego's corpse, wondering who the Saint's Corpse will favor in the end.

Fazit und Epilog
Diego stops time and attacks Johnny with both THE WORLD and his own revolver, managing to unhorse him. Predicting that ACT4's energy will approach him from behind, Diego leaps atop THE WORLD and cuts its leg off just as the infinite rotation reaches it. THE WORLD's leg flies toward and strikes Johnny, who is cursed by his own infinite rotation. Diego, victorious, charges toward the race's finish line and finishes both the stage and the entire race in first place. Before he allows himself to celebrate, however, Diego enters the back of Trinity Church and prepares to seal the Corpse away and claim its power for good.

Just as Diego prepares to lock the vault, Lucy enters with a bag in her hand. Diego threatens to kill both her and her husband, but first decides to open the bag, revealing the original Diego's head inside. Diego stops time and tries to get away, but his missing leg prevents his escape. A desperate Diego lunges toward Lucy, but his head is completely destroyed before he can attack her.

Meanwhile, Steven rescues Johnny by allowing him to grab onto his horse, enabling Johnny to shoot himself and nullify the infinite rotation. Steven then visits the vault, where he finds that the Corpse has been sealed away. Ultimately, he concludes, the prized Saint's Corpse belongs to no one, as its last owner was not qualified to possess its power. Lucy hesitates before agreeing with Steven and exiting the vault into the sunlight.

It is revealed that Pocoloco ultimately won the Steel Ball Run race following Diego's disqualification, and that the race's success caused the president's approval rating to skyrocket despite his failure to appear at the finale of the race. With the race concluded, Johnny boards a boat with Gyro's body in order to deliver it to his family, despite the customs staff's attempts to refuse passage to the corpse. The jockey happens to see fellow contestant Norisuke Higashikata and his daughter Rina on the same boat, returning to their own home country of Japan. Reminiscing on his long journey, Johnny prays for a safe voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and toward home.

Years later, the Kingdom of Naples would be abolished following a revolution and would become part of a republic. Marco would be given amnesty upon the dissolution of the monarchy, and would later die from a cold. With the dissolution of their post, the Zeppeli family would reportedly move to a different country, though nobody knows exactly where.

Standorte
Steel Ball Run spielt in den Vereinigten Staaten des 19. Jahrhunderts und folgt der Route des Steel Ball Run. Sowohl reale Städte als auch die Wildnis der Vereinigten Staaten kommen in der Geschichte vor, zusammen mit anderen bizarren Orten, während die Charaktere von San Diego nach New York reisen.



VOMIC
Eine offizielle VOMIC-Adaption wurde im Dezember 2007 erstellt. Die erste Episode wurde am 7. Dezember 2007 und die vierte und letzte Episode am 28. Dezember 2007 veröffentlicht.

Trivia

 * Um die amerikanische Landschaft zu erkunden, wusste Araki, dass er die Vereinigten Staaten nicht in einer einzigen Reise durchqueren konnte, und teilte daher seine Forschungsreisen in drei Abschnitte ein. Der erste führte von der Westküste in die Wüsten, der zweite von den Great Plains nach Mississippi und Chicago und der dritte bis zur Ziellinie in New York. Die Reisen wurden größtenteils mit dem Auto unternommen. Araki war beeindruckt von der Offenheit der Landschaft und spürte, dass er "keinem Gegner entkommen könne" und es keinen Ort gebe, wo er sich verstecken könne. Die Leere der Landschaft vermittelte ihm auch ein Gefühl der Leere und Leblosigkeit. Araki fragte sich, ob es Spaß mache, dort zu leben. Er sagte aber auch, dass die Atmosphäre sehr aufregend sei. Araki konnte seine Erfahrungen beim Zeichnen des Manga umsetzen.




 * Bei der ersten Veröffentlichung im Weekly Shonen Jump wurde Steel Ball Run als eine andere Serie ohne den Titel JoJo's Bizarre Adventure kategorisiert. Die Änderung erfolgte auf Wunsch der Redaktion, um die Aufmerksamkeit der Leser auf eine "neue Serie" zu lenken." Dies wurde rückgängig gemacht, als die Serie 2005 zu Ultra Jump wechselte, und zwar in der Mai 2005-Ausgabe, in der der Name JoJo's Bizarre Adventure wieder zum Titel hinzugefügt und die Kapitelnummerierung zurückgesetzt wurde, obwohl das im August desselben Jahres erschienene Spiel Jump Super Stars sie weiterhin anders einordnete.
 * Araki erwähnte, dass er Steel Ball Run trotz der Namensänderung von Anfang an als den siebten Teil von JoJo's Bizarre Adventure geplant hatte.

Siehe auch

 * Part 7 Interviews