Walking Heart (story arc)

Walking Heart (ウォーキング・ハート) is the thirteenth story arc of JoJolion.

It features Hato Higashikata tearfully working together with Josuke to defeat Tamaki Damo and save their family.

Summary
At the Higashikata's, Damo is interrogating Norisuke to get information about Josefumi's whereabouts, knowing for sure that he survived. Hato cannot believe that Damo is harming her family, despite what Josuke tells her. Not wanting his family to die, Norisuke reveals to Damo that Josefumi could be Josuke, elaborating that he was found near the springs where Yoshikage Kira died without memories and that the Locacaca's power may have been involved.

Hato barges into the room, asking Damo what he is doing, but he softens her and kicks her out of his way, going to the foyer to confirm that Josuke is Josefumi. Damo is now certain that an equivalent exchanged happened, and attacks Josuke with Vitamin C. Josuke uses Soft & Wet to counterattack, but it has become so softened that he is promptly defeated. Damo, fascinated by the Locacaca's new application, cuts off Josuke's liver and prepares to cut his throat. However, Damo suddenly spots Hato outside of the house, a bubble having plundered her away through the chimney. A heartbroken Hato then repeatedly impales Damo with a stretched heel, retracting it back faster than Vitamin C can soften it. Taken by surprise by her power, Damo takes cover in the family and begs Hato to stop as she summons her Stand and uses her heels to climb to the roof.

Josuke evaluates the situation. Addressing Damo, Josuke concludes that the Rock Humans trafficking the Locacaca are few, and that Damo is their head and last living member. He then warns the suffocating Damo to leave the premise immediately or Hato, currently on the roof and outside of Vitamin C's range, will defeat him. For his part, Damo looks at Josuke, the hybrid between Yoshikage Kira and Josefumi Kujo, and reflects that the new resurrecting Locacaca will be profitable, still confident in his ability to defeat Hato. He hears her walking on the roof, seemingly following him, then dismiss her confidence.

Searching a toolbox, Damo takes a lighter and the softened Norisuke, then proceeds to throw the latter into the chimney and set him on fire. He plans to exploit Hato's overconfidence in her safety from Vitamin C and use Norisuke to infect her with his power again, stealthily going away from the chimney as Norisuke burns and Vitamin C's fingerprints reach the outside on bits of Norisuke. As Norisuke's cries bait Hato near him, Damo declares his victory but is suddenly impaled in the head from through the roof. Damo discovers too late that Josuke has hidden bubbles into his cut up liver and used them to signal his position. Impaled again by a heartbroken Hato, Damo has no choice but to flee, and everyone returns to normal, safe and sound.

Josuke spots Damo and follows the Rock Human, eventually cornering him. Damo begs Josuke to spare him, reminding him of Holy and her illness which the Locacaca can cure, but is unceremoniously punched in the head by Soft & Wet, finishing him off. Josuke now knows his former identity, Josefumi Kujo. Unbeknownst to him, the whole scene was observed by Jobin, who witnessed Damo being killed.

At a prison called "Stone Ocean", a woman passes through the release procedure, being handed all the items she possesses as well as the payment for her work during the last 15 years. After putting on her clothes, the woman takes a cellphone from between two cards of her card deck and calls Jobin to pick her up, wishing to make her release a surprise to her family. Putting the phone back into the deck, the woman is revealed as Kaato Higashikata.

Meanwhile, Joshu, who was drained and lost in a sewer earlier, emerges from a sewage pipe somewhere outside the house.

Chapters

 * 054 (901). 
 * 055 (902). 

Volumes

 * 12 (116). 
 * 13 (117).