This chapter was originally published in the March 2023 issue of Ultra Jump, alongside the first chapter of The JOJOLands.
Summary
Hol Horse struggles about what he could do to stop Ryoko from pulling the trigger on the gun pointed at her head. While trapped in Pet Sounds's ability, Ryoko thinks back about what happened to her. After she split up with Josuke, Pet Sounds dragged her mind into a memory. She heard Joseph Joestar tell Noriaki not to admit defeat. Suddenly, she was sucked into a doll along with Noriaki's soul after his battle against Telence T. D'Arby. Enclosed in a void space within the doll, Noriaki apologizes to Joseph and Jotaro for losing, while Ryoko is shocked to see him.
Meanwhile, Karaiya is about to attack Josuke with the cutting torch from behind him, planning to make it look like an accidental suicide. Josuke attempts to get D'Arby to snap out of his panicked state, though to no avail. He's surprised to learn that D'Arby paid off the entire bar to help him cheat. D'Arby feels utterly defeated because DIO was able to defeat him alone despite D'Arby having so many accomplices. Although D'Arby pulls underhanded tricks, Josuke feels a bit of sympathy for him. When D'Arby says that DIO pulled off his trick right in front of him, Josuke realizes that the solution to breaking free from the illusion is also in front of him. He summons his Stand and punches toward the chair where DIO used to be sitting during the poker match.
Noriaki's soul is able to see Ryoko's soul within the doll and wonders whether Atum defeated her as well, but realizes that can't be possible since she doesn't look defeated and she's much older than she should be. Ryoko blames herself for getting Noriaki possessed by DIO. Noriaki wonders whether his mind is just hallucinating her there, but he comforts Ryoko nonetheless and blames his own immaturity for getting possessed. He believes that if he had a strong enough will, DIO wouldn't have been able to control him with a flesh bud. Ryoko tries telling him that he isn't weak, but Noriaki claims he was able to forgive himself by accepting his own weakness. While they're talking, Noriaki sees that Jotaro and Joseph managed to defeat Telence, and is glad that he could continue his fight. Ryoko attempts to stop him from leaving at first so that he could go home alive without fighting, but realizes that would be the wrong thing to do. Instead, she cheers him on, telling him that she knows he'll win and will be fine. Noriaki is glad that Ryoko grew up safely in the future, letting him know that his journey wasn't for nothing. As he leaves the doll, Ryoko cries that she still has something to tell him.
Back in reality, Josuke successfully broke free from the memory by punching Pet Sounds, who was in front of him in order to make the illusion more realistic. As Pet Sounds lays collapsed on the ground, Karaiya changes his plan and greets Josuke, asking if he's all right. He introduces himself as Ryohei's colleague, saying they got reports of strange noises in the factory. While Josuke's turned around, Karaiya attempts to attack him with the cutting torch but is immediately punched in the face by Josuke's Stand. He's baffled as to how Josuke saw that attack coming. Josuke claims that he isn't the kind of person to trust someone just because they're dressed as a police officer, especially since any normal officer would have stayed away and called for backup if they saw a delinquent like Josuke in an area that's off-limits. Josuke and Karaiya's face-off finally begins.
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Ultra Jump March 2023
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