Gyro Zeppeli ★ History
A detailed chronological summary of the life of Gyro Zeppeli.
Background
Gyro Zeppeli was born in the Kingdom of Naples, within the prestigious Zeppeli Family.
The Zeppelis being renowned doctors as well as servants of the King of Naples, Gyro lived in certain comfort. During his childhood, Gyro was trained in the arts of the Spin by his father Gregorio Zeppeli, as well as studying medicine to learn how to apply the Spin to people. At the same time, Gyro developed a taste for horseriding and began riding before he was nine. Mysteriously, the King's servant regularly inquired about the boy's age once or twice a month, every time Gregorio was summoned to the King's castle. At age thirteen, Gyro was promptly brought to the King's castle where Gregorio revealed to his son that the Zeppeli Family were secretly a family of executioners at the service of the King, and from now on Gyro started his training as an executioner. He began as an assistant for his father. At the same time, he was an apprentice surgeon for the family. In his late teens, Gyro was to become the next royal executioner as well as a surgeon, following his father in both aspects.
Several incidents ponctuated Gyro's life. One time, a prisoner managed to slip off his handcuffs by bending his joints and took an executioner hostage. Gyro promptly stepped in and threw his Steel Ball in such a way that the Spin safely traversed the executioner and forced the prisoner's body to twist.[1]
One time, Gyro slep with one of the Zeppeli's patients. He was almost caught by his father but used his Steel Ball to wrinkle the woman's body into resembling a malnourished hag and pretending to examine her when Gregorio came to the room. Gyro escaped suspicion but was yelled at for doing this to her. In compensation, he used the Spin to also give her better curves for a time. Gyro's fun was cut short when he spotted the trace of a wedding ring on his girlfriend's finger, meaning that he committed a crime worthy of capital punishment.[2]
One day, Gyro encountered a female patient who fell down the stairs. Her head was bruised and ther shoulder was broken. Although these wounds where the object of the operation Gyro participated in, he also saw her damaged optic nerves. Against his mother's recommendations, Gyro decided by himself to heal these too. However, just as he generated a Spin, his Steel Ball's rotation was disturbed by an accidental steam jet coming out of a pipe.[3] As a result, the woman went completely blind from Gyro's blunder. Gyro was ashamed of his failure.[4] However, he was then told by Gregorio that the woman was the sister of the guard Wekapipo, who was exiled for killing a noble of the court in a duel. Gregorio also told him that it was for the better that he botched his intervention, as the woman's impairment meant her potential enemies didn't have interest in getting revenge against her.[5]
At one point, Gyro botched an execution and didn't kill the prisoner swiftly. The execution was under the supervision of his father, who scolded him. Gyro threw away the Steel Ball that he used during this execution.[6]
At the age of 24, near his 25th anniversary, one woman scheduled for execution became violent and almost killed an executioner. The woman slammed Gyro against the wall but Gyro neutralized her. During the struggle, Gyro lost his collar hanger; his father Gregorio also chastised him for his sentimentality, as he saw Gyro pensive looking at the woman and an old prisoner in a cell. When he found it again, it was in the hands of a little boy named Marco who was found guilty of treason because he served a traitorous lord. Out of duty, Marco has sewn Gyro's collar hanger with a fishbone, which was found and put the boy in trouble for carrying a dangerous item.[7] Disturbed by the false charges as well as the fact that Marco was his first execution, Gyro asked for Marco's appeal. The protestation made the news of the country and Gregorio disapproved of Gyro's behavior. Unfortunately, his efforts were vain, but a the King's servant explained to him that the king would give amnesty to political criminals if the country suddenly gained prestige, such as winning a famous horse race. Thus, against his father's wishes, Gyro subscribed to the Steel Ball Run race.[8]
Steel Ball Run (1890-1891)
Pre-Race, Meeting Johnny Joestar
Gyro departed from Genoa earlier in May and arrived in the US on May 22. As a royal executioner Gyro was granted a VIP treatment and journeyed aboerd a boat owned by royalty.[9]
Gyro then spent some time in the Arizona desert, training in the Spin; during that time he exerciced and pushed the limits of his body by jumping great heights and doing cardio. Incidentally, Gyro trained near the territory of Sandman's tribe, and Sandman also found some of the book he left at his training camp.
Two days before the start of the Steel Ball Run race, Gyro arrives to San Diego beach and presents himself at the registration office. Paying his fee, Gyro is given the number B-636 as well as a commemoration badge. A man approaches him and pretends to be interested in his Steel Balls but Gyro presses the Steel Ball against the man's palm, forcing him to knee. When the employee notes that $20 are missing from the fee, Gyro discovers that the man is a thief who stole one $20 coin from his purse. Gyro takes back the coin and completes his registration. Angry, the thief is arrested but manages to snatch a gun and point it at Gyro from behind, as the Neapolitan leaves the scene. The thief gloats about how easy it is to kill Gyro and swears to come to him during the race to kill him. Angered, Gyro tells the guards to release the man and give him a gun: Gyro accepts to duel the thief. He throws a Steel Ball at the thief's right shoulder and leaves, satisfied, when the thief points his gun again at Gyro, the Spin causes the arm to bend in the direction of his face and the the thief shoots himself in the head. Since it was a fair duel, Gyro is left off the hook by the sheriff.
The duel attracts the attention of a particular man, Johnny Joestar, an ex-jockey who's become paraplegic. Out of curiosity, Johnny touches the Steel Balls and momentarily stands up. Shocked, Johnny wants to touch the Balls again but Gyro prevents him from doing so and tells him to get lost. Johnny swears to follow him during the race and find the secret of his Steel Balls.
Three hours to the start of the race, Gyro prepares his equipment and sorts out what he doesn't need to travel as lightly as possible. He ditches his toilet paper roll, toothbrush, his books, watches, ink bottles and scissors, but allows himself to keep his teddy bear. As he gets out of his tent, he sees Johnny in a paddock, dragged around by his newly acquired horse. When Johnny almost gets trampled by the horse, Gyro comments that Johnny cannot mount his horse, but that it would make him a superhuman if he accomplished it. Gyro then meets Sandman and tells him the way to the registration office. Two minutes before the start of the race, Gyro positions himself at his designated starting point. He meets Johnny again, who reiterates his vow to find the secret of the Steel Ball. Impressed by Johnny's determination, Gyro commends his wise choice of mount and gives Johnny a hint. Johnny thus realizes that the secret is about the Spin, and he rolls up his horse's neck to get in the saddle, just as the race starts.[10]
The First Stage
At the start of the race, Gyro rushes ahead of every participant, which catches the attention of every watcher. The racer Urmd Avdol soon challenges him. Avdol pushes Gyro to unhorse him and has a weight advantage because of his large camel. However, Gyro throws a Steel Ball and sees that there are cacti nearby from a dust motif the Spin creates. He heads towards a specific grove and through he's almost pushed down, surprises Avdol with a sudden slope hiding the cacti. Avdol's camel falls right into the cacti and his camel collapses. Avdol is taken out of the race.[11] Then, Diego Brando the British star jockey challenges him. Diego has noted Valkyrie's habit of swaying left every eighth breath and uses this to his advantage to take the lead. As the two arrive at a wooden bridge, Diego is a horse's length ahead. However, Gyro then applies the Spin to Valkyrie's hind legs, empowering the steps into a sudden leap forward. Gyro gets ahead of Diego but also destroys the bridge with Valkyrie's violent jump. To everyone's shock, the jockey loses to Gyro for now.[12]
Still leading the race, at 6,000 meters from the finish line, Gyro then takes a dangerous shortcut through a fores. He expertly navigates during the trees and soon notices that one racer, Pocoloco, is trailing him.[13] The confident Pocoloco declares that he will definitely get ahead as the two engage a dangerous slope downhill. Pocoloco doesn't control his horse and seemingly trips, but he luckily lands on a cow skin and begins to slide downhill.[14] Faced with the eventually of Pocoloco getting ahead and having his horse rested doesn't sit well with Gyro, who throws his Steel Ball at a nearby rock formation to create a small rockslide and get Pocoloco away from his cow skin. However, Gyro accidentally hinders Sandman's path, as the Indian was on the rock formation at the time.[15] In the final 2,000 meters, Sandman is the one who takes the lead. Frustrated, Gyro accelerates. In the final kilometer, the race then becomes a dash between Sandman, Gyro, Pocoloco, Johnny and Diego. Gyro then turns his cape into a sail, fixing it with the Steel Balls. Helped by the tailwind, Gyro is the first to cross the finish line of the first stage.[16]
However, Steven Steel voids Gyro's performance for endangering the competitor Sandman and relegates him to 21st place, which outrages him. Gyro takes a petty revenge by forcing every bottle of champagne of Steel's party to open, and ruins the beverages by making a water tower spill on the bottles, all with the Spin. Gyro then crosses path with Johnny again. A friendship blooms between them and Gyro imparts his second lesson to Johnny and shows him how to get off a horse despite being paraplegic. The two decide to ride together.[17]
The Arizona Desert
The racers line up, preparing to race across 2000 km of Arizona Desert for the second Stage. Against Johnny's advice, Gyro decides to take another shortcut through 120 km of desert and Johnny follows Gyro, both pursued by the fellow racer Mrs. Robinson.[18]
Six hours into the second stage, Gyro and Johnny momentarily stop to verify that they are on the right path, although Gyro hastily assures Johnny of it, making him nervous. As they carefully navigate the desert trying to keep an eye on Mrs. Robinson, something rapidly flies past them and shoots through Gyro's ear. Soon, they are assailled from all sides by what Johnny discovers to be catcus needles, coming from the explosive cholla cacti scattered in the land. However, they cannot be sure that Robinson, who's keeping away from them, is actually attacking. When a flurry of needles accurately cut his bridle and aim at his face, they is no doubt that Robinson is somehow trying to kill them. Johnny is unhorsed and tells Gyro to go ahead anyway, but Gyro decides to confront Robinson. He tries to throw his Steel Balls but needles hit his arm, making Gyro botch his throw and the Balls falls to the ground. Robinson reveals that he's breeding a swarm of flies inside of him to send them toward the chollas. However, Gyro also reveals that the vibrations of the Spin are still synched up to take out Robinson. The vibrations make some chollas explode near Robinson, who is shot down by a flurry of needles. The two can continue their race.[19]
The Boomboom Family & The Devil's Palm
Night falls, Johnny and Gyro set up camp. Gyro spots another horseman, and raises the question of their own security. When Johnny searches his pack to get his gun, he accidentally stumbles upon some documents alluding to Gyro's motivations for participating in the race, which angers the Napolitan.
Soon, they are approached by Andre Boomboom, a fellow competitor who claims to have been bitten by a poisonous spotted salamander. Andre asks for some fire to heat his knife. Gyro reluctantly kicks him a branch on fire, and Andre proceeds to sever the poisoned skin while he chokes himself. He seemingly loses consciousness and Gyro nonchalantly kicks his knife away. Gyro immediately notices that his boot has been torn for an unknown reason. Meanwhile, Johnny also looks at the competitors' list and notes that Andre is part of a family of three that are competing too. Indeed, the rest of the Boomboom Family approaches.[20] Suddenly, Gyro's feet is invaded by steel and the duo realises that they are dealing with enemies that are assassinating the competition. They realise that the Boomboom's ability is a magnetic power when Johnny's pistol is disassembled and the pieces are attracted to Gyro's feet. Worse, Gyro loses a Steel Ball when he throws one at the patriarch, Benjamin Boomboom, and it disintegrates midair. Andre's knife flies towards Gyro's neck but he thankfully blocks it.Gyro throws his remaining ball at a rock, making a piece of rock shoot through Andre. Seeing the Boomboom Family circle around them, Gyro understands that the magnetism is tied to his proximity to them and thus, the duo flees. As they move away from the Boomboom, the magnetisms weakens but Benjamin still manages to splash some of Andre's blood on Johnny and then tricks the cowboy Mountain Tim into thinking Johnny is the culprit of a murder they committed during the first stage.
Soon, Mountain Tim catches up to Gyro and Johnnyand the three feel the effects of the magnetism. Realising that they risk death of they collide, Gyro turns the nearby rock to dust rich in iron that hit Mountain Tim. Mountain Tim uses his power Oh! Lonesome Me to tie himself to a rock and the misunderstanding between the three is cleared. Mountain Tim also explains his power and presents the concept of Stands to the pair. The Boomboom family appears and binds everyone in iron sand. Mountain Tim empties his revolver on L. A. Boomboom but Benjamin deflects the bullets with his Stand. The heroes are immobilized and collide. Thankfully, Johnny awakens his own Stand and defeas Benjamin and L.A. with his spinning nails. Johnny realises that he's acquired a Stand ability because he's in a Devil's Palm. Angry, L. A. promises that they will be dead as someone from Gyro's country has put a bounty on his head. Since he's involved in this battle, Johnny pushes Gyro to reveal his past as an executioner from the Kingdom of Naples, whose effort to win the Steel Ball Run are undermined by enemies of his kingdom.
Oyecomova & the Zombie Horse
Gyro, Johnny and Mountain Tim reach a checkpoint town together where they can rest their horses. In here, Gyro notably receives a letter from his kingdom informing him that they have prepared a Zombie Horse for him to use, a tool that will help him heal wounds and fatigue. However, the Napolitan terrorist Oyecomova arrives in town. Due to his ability Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure, Oyecomova turns anything he touches into time bombs and he creates an explosion that takes out the hotel. Gyro and Johnny were in a nearby barn and thus are spared the explosion, and a wounded Mountain Tim warns them about Oyecomova but the terrorist sneaks on Gyro and touches his hand.
With bombs attached to his fingers, Gyro must press them as hard as possible to prevent the bombs from setting off. Seeing Oyecomova, Gyro does remember the terrorist's past with the Kingdom of Naples. Oyecomova sends a rat-bomb that explodes near Gyro. The blast almost forces him to let go of his hand; one bomb escape and Gyro has to shove it back into his hand to gain time. Oyecomova then prepares to leave and seize whatever Gyro was granted. Because sweat begins to accumulate in Gyro's palm, the bombs eventually escape and Gyro decides to throw the Ball at the terrorist. Gyro has to use the Spin to harden the vital parts of his body sacrifice a leg to endure the explosion with the use of his two hands. On the other hand, he but he manages to hit Oyecomova once.
Oyecomova leaves to retrieve the Zombie Horse, Johnny and Gyro behind him. In the mountainous area, Oyecomova is able to turn water, wasps and even smoke into bombs. To avoid the explosions, Gyro and Johnny accelerate to go beyond the range of their blasts. Using his Steel Ball, Gyro catches a spider web and spins it to capture the wasp-bombs Oyecomova sent too. Despite their efforts to keep up, Oyecomova manages to stay just out of Gyro's effective range. However, as Oyecomova blows out smoke, Johnny puts his spinning nails on a spider web that Oyecomova pulls, expecting to find wasps he can't be harmed with. With the spinning nails near him, they can boost Gyro's Steel Ball by reinforcing its rotation midair and Gyro is able to smash Oyecomova's face with his Steel Balls. The duo is victorious.[21]
In the mountains, Johnny and Gyro finally acquire the Zombie Horse, a string put on the wall of a cliff like a horse fresco. Using the string, Gyro stitches his leg and heals.
Hunting for the Saint's Corpse
The Saint's Corpse Appears
As Johnny and Gyro continue their journey, they are attacked by another competitor, Fritz von Stroheim. Gyro quickly defeats the German cyborg but Johnny begins to question how important the race prize can be with now several attempts on their lives. Suddenly, Johnny sees a mummified Left Arm fused to his own body, through it quickly fades inside of him. He quickly realises its significance related to his Stand ability and the Devil's Palm.
The duo are in sight of Monument Valley, the end of the second stage. However, Gyro is captured by Pork Pie Hat Kid. Nearly immobilized, Gyro is able to grab a Steel Ball and throw it through the portal Wired creates, indicating Johnny where he and the enemy are. When Johnny finally reaches Gyro and the Pork Pie Hat Kid, the latter ambushes him by using Gyro to make his hooks appears. Johnny is unable to attack Pork Pie Hat Kid and must yield or else the both of them die. Devastated, Johnny ejects the arm and loses his Stand. Johnny despairs but then Gyro reveals that he made the nails on the left arm spin too, acting as a trap for Pork Pie Hat Kid who is killed by the nails.
Gyro retakes the arm under Johnny's anxious eyes, but the Napolitan confirms that he isn't after the Corpse but simple victory and gives Johnny back the Left Arm. Johnny and Gyro discuss the true nature of the race, and Gyro theorizes that this Corpse must belong to some saint, knowing that relics can bless entire nations with good luck. That said, Johnny and Gyro resume their race, determined to get the Saint's Corpse or win it respectively.[22]
The other top contenders have arrived. Johnny and Gyro dash toward the finish line, with Diego Brando and Sandman contesting their lead. Incidentally, Johnny stumbles upon a stray newspaper and sees the photo of a montain whose top exactly resembles the word "movere crus" carved on his arm. Gyro is distracted and ends up finishing fourth, behind Sandman in third place, Johnny in second place and Diego in first place. However, the race doesn't stop and the competitor directly enter the 3rd stage: the Rocky Mountain Breakdown, crossing the eponymous mountain chain towards Cannon City.
Scary Monsters
In the Rocky Mountains, Gyro and Johnny meet with an unhorsed and visibly hurt Diego Brando. While Gyro tries to check up on him, Johnny advocates leaving Diego. Indeed, the British jockey even pridely tells them to go away. Soon enough, Diego catches up to them, strangely lively for someone who was wounded moments ago. The three of them decide to spend the night in a village to avoid the cougars. Gyro goes out to look for food and firewood. When he comes back, Gyro complains about a swarm of flies and discovers the corpse of a bear. Indeed, Diego has turned into a raptor, a ferocious dinosaur.
A fight ensues and Diego whips Gyro out of the house with his tail. He comes back and throws a Steel Ball but the dinosaur has an advantage in his kinetic vision allowing it to discern and avoid fast projectiles. Diego leaps at Gyro and pins him. To counter this kinetic vision, Gyro hides his second Steel Ball in a can, making it fly at Diego from point-blank range. Diego is stunned by the Ball, allowing the duo to escape. Still pursued by Diego, the duo notice on the horizon the "movere crus" mountain and realize where the next corpse part is. To hide from Diego, Gyro and Johnny lay on the bear corpse to mask their scent and stay immobile as dinosaurs cannot discern immobile objects. Diego follows one of Gyro's loose Balls, but thanks to the Spin, it flattens Gyro's leg as it passes on it, and rolls away, leading Diego away too. However, the bear that Diego has killed turns into another dinosaur.
The duo hides in a sewer where they are assailled by small rat-dinosaurs. These dinosaurs are killed by Gyro's Steel Ball but manage to mark their odor on the duo. The sewer leads to a cliff, but even there, some raptors are waiting for them and DIO tracks them thanks to the mark. Worse, Gyro and Johnny have been scratched by the dinosaur and slowly begin their own transformation. Noticing that Johnny's metamorphosis into a dinosaur is slowed by the Corpse Part, the duo try to reach the new Corpse Part on a nearby peak. They jump across a ravine and Gyro uses his Steel Ball on a tree to create a rope. However, both are stopped at the last moment by Diego and the horde of dinosaurs. Diego seizes the Eyes and Gyro, turned enough to become an ally to Diego, protects the former from Johnny.
The true enemy, Valentine's Subordinate, Dr. Ferdinand, appears riding a raptor. In a position of strength, Ferdinand calls Johnny out on his petty goals with the Saint's Corpse, not realizing who he is dealing with. To turn the situation around, Johnny relinquishes his Left Arm. He partially transforms into a dinosaur and uses his tail to propel himself towards Ferdinand, knocking the Eyes out of his hands. Gyro gets one of the eyes and is cured. He throws a Steel Ball at Dr. Ferdinand, who is protected by Diego. However, Gyro has acquired a new ability with the Corpse Part. Gyro pilots his Steel Ball remotely and sends it at Ferdinand's face, wounding him despite Diego's protection. Gyro acquires a supernatural vision. Thanks to it, he is able to hit the enemy even through a crowd of dinosaurs; when Ferdinand hides inside of one of his raptors, Gyro throws his Ball at the ground and sees through their bodies thanks to the vibrations. He thus can see where Ferdinand is hiding and hits him a third time along with Johnny. Ferdinand is defeated and his power is cancelled. Now surrounded by cougars, Ferdinand is mauled to death. Gyro has acquired the Right Eye, but the duo sees Diego with the Left Eye. Diego disappears, having kept the dinosaur powers with him.[23]
Johnny and Gyro then ride safely toward the end of the third stage. As every competitor races to finish first, Gyro and Diego try to take a shortcut through the lake instead of going around it. Johnny admonishes him, criticizing his lack of real, selfish drive he needs to come out on top. This angers Gyro who persists in his path and closely follows Diego. Out of the water, Valkyrie shows he is exhausted but is still running behind. To help his horse, Gyro throws away everything he carries and even uses the Spin to wring the water out of his body. Still, Diego sneakily spits a gastrolith and makes it rebound into Valkyrie's leg. Wounded, the horse slows down and Diego stays ahead of Gyro. Johnny nonetheless finishes before Diego. Thinking about this defeat, Gyro acknowledges that Johnny may have a point and wonders if he can take the Corpse hunt seriously to help him grow spiritually. Surprisingly, Johnny isn't the stage winner: the racer Hot Pants has already crossed the finish line some time before.[24]
The Great Plains
A True Man's World
The fourth stage begins for Johnny and Gyro: 1250km through the Great Plains to Kansas City. They ride peacefully for about 600km.
In a forest, Gyro and Johnny find a fresh cow's corpse and take some meat from it. They then meet Hot Pants, the competitor who won the previous stage. Hot Pants attacks them both with his Stand Cream Starter, believing they killed a cow he specially had placed on his route. Cream Starters sprays flesh, which blinds and chokes Gyro and Johnny. Gyro uses his ability to punch Hot Pants' spine with his Steel Ball, and the Spin blocks his arms. Incidentally, he sees the word "turbo" on her skeleton. Johnny defuses the fight by shooting a nail into the ground, proving that neither of them has the weapon that killed the cow. Hot Pants calls off his attack but doesn't apologize as the two still took meat from the cow. The three go on their separate ways and Gyro mentions that he discerned the word "turbo" during the fight. However, the most important elements are the lines and circles engraved on the letters, from which Gyro guesses a set of coordinates near Kansas City. Suddenly, they notice that they are in sight of the cow carcass again. Likewise, Hot Pants has been going in circles. Gyro still hates Hot Pants but the three decide to cooperate to limit their time loss. They see a nearby house and decide to go ask the residents for direction.
However, the three also meet Gaucho, another competitor who is also lost but also expresses anger against the resident of the house, who said that they would have to kill him to ever go out of theses woods. Gaucho shouts and challenges the inhabitant to a gun duel and the gunslinger named Ringo Roadagain appears. After a quick duel, Ringo kills Gaucho and salutes him. Shocked, the three leave and try to go out of the woods again without success. Resigned to fight, the trio prepares their fight and Hot Pants throws his Cream Starters onto the house's roof beforehand. They confront Ringo, who asks Johnny to be the first duelist. Hot Pants then attacks and melts Ringo's gun hand, but Ringo uses his power Mandom to rewind time to 6 seconds ago. He avoids the ambush. Johnny attacks but is shot in the head while Hot Pants is shot in the chest and taken out. Gyro is also shot in the guts when he retaliates, but Ringo spares him out of disdain since he attacked merely as a reaction to his friend's death. Ringo drags Johnny inside as Gyro yells, defeated. However, when Gyro's Steel Ball returns to him, he notices that Johnny was a barely out of the deadly range of Ringo's gun and thus Johnny should have survived his bullet wound.
Gyro sees a vision of his father Gregorio Zeppeli who questions his motivation and orders him to go home. However, Gyro instead affirms his will to solve all the doubts in him, save Marco and solve the mystery of the Saint's Corpse. With his new determination, Gyro throws a Steel Ball at Ringo's house and checks inside. He throws his second Steel Ball into Ringo's face, forcing the gunslinger to rewind time. However, Gyro has detected an old wound in Ringo, a damaged collarbone on the left shoulder that would paralyze Ringo if it was broken. Breaking in, Gyro confronts his opponent. The two attack at the same time. Gyro is shot in the throat but Ringo's collarbone is broken, paralyzing him. He is forced to rewind time. The two attack again, moving to get a better position. Gyro is shot in the shoulder but Ringo blocks the Steel Ball with his arm. Ringo arms his revolver for a second shot, but inadvertently places himself in the trajectory of a falling piece of wood that impales his collarbone, which was what Gyro was aiming for. Ringo is defeated, but both fighters acknowledges their respective skill. To force Gyro to move forward into the "true man's world", Ringo aims at Gyro again and Gyro finishes him off.
Gyro then heals everybody by using Cream Starter. Gyro comes up with a gag and shows it to Johnny, who seems to appreciate it. However, Johnny then warns Gyro about Ringo's message, which contained the coordinates of the next Corpse Part. Still, the duo is determined to get the Corpse Parts. Gyro then discovers Hot Pants' reserve of sandwches. Sneering, Gyro plans to eat them all or even only eat all the meat to get back at the still unconscious Hot Pants.[25]
Battles in the Storm
Near Kansas City, Gyro and Johnny meet Sandman who warns them of an incoming tempest to pay back his unjustified win in the first stage. Yet, when Sandman informs them of Diego's route, they decide to run after him.[26] In the storm, the duo finally catch up to Diego. Diego lets them approach once but suddenly turns into a dinosaur and leap above them. He warns the two to stay behind or be killed before he leaves. Johnny sees that Diego is systemically using the optimal route and proposes to wait for a mistake, but Gyro takes the initiative and challenges Diego. Still, Diego's optimal route choice only widens the gap between them. Instead of confronting Diego, Gyro decides to listen to his instincts and choose the path that is right for him. Gyro empties his mind of all distractions and seeks his own path... and then comes back to reality, and has caught up to Diego. Diego tries to whip Valkyrie, but the horse takes the whip from him. Gyro is now seriously challenging Diego. From behind, Johnny guesses that Diego is attacking somehow and intervenes, aiming at Diego with his nails. Diego attacks Johnny but Gyro intervenes. He throws a Steel Ball at Diego, who's fooled into not seeing the Ball is going slowly because of its speed relative to his horse. The Ball hits Diego in the face. Not only is the British unhorsed, but his horse Silver Bullet is injured, putting him temporarily out of the race. Gyro hits and yells at Johnny for robbing him of a square victory and apologizes afterwards.
Later, the duo meet Lucy Steel, who learned about the Corpse Parts and unwittingly antagonized he American Government. Asking for help, Lucy gives them the Spine as token of good faith but then Blackmore, Valentine's Subordinate, finds them. Gyro and Johnny attack but the immobile rain drops deflect the projectiles. Moreover, Gyro's arm is pierced by raindrops since his arm moved. The three are cornered by rain blades and Blackmore moves to kill Lucy. Johnny intervenes but is choked by Blackmore's hand. However, Gyro decides to act: by doing his motion backward, Gyro is able to position his arm for a second throw that bounces the Steel Ball between the raindrops and collides with the last one near Blackmore. Blackmore ignores the Ball, but doesn't see that it keeps spinning and through friction, evaporates the raindrop. The agent is hit in the head. Defeated, Blackmore's Catch the Rainbow stops and he succumbs from previous bullet wounds.
The Spin then suddenly enters Johnny's body. Nauseous, Johnny falls from his horse but the ground then draws a map of the Great Lakes indicating where the next Corpse Parts are. Lucy then reveals what she knows about the President's plot and explains that Valentine has the Heart, making him a Stand User. Thus, Gyro shoves Lucy on Johnny's horse. He also lets loose Lucy's horse to erase any trace of her presence. Gyro enlists her in a plan to steal the Heart from the President and though Lucy wanted to ask for their protection, Gyro tells her that she wouldn't want to live her whole life in fear of reprisal. To protect her husband, Lucy will have to go out to steal the Corpse Part. To help her, Gyro gives her the Right Eye since he still has his Spin mastery. Lucy reluctantly agrees and the trio can return to Kansas City.[27]
On the way to Kansas City, Lucy seems to have explained her backstory and then falls asleep. Gyro doesn't believe that Steven Steel wouldn't have touched her.[28] Johnny also asks why he didn't want Lucy on his horse and Gyro explains that the goddess of victory would be jealous and he'd lose sight of victory.[29]
Gyro and Johnny finish the fourth stage in Kansas City in third and fourth place respectively because of their detour. They then see Diego crossing the line, sure that he will get back at them eventually.
Teaching the Golden Rectangle
En route for Chicago, the next finish line, Johnny and Gyro ride peacefully for around 300km.
Near the Mississippi, Johnny and Gyro decide to rest near a barn as other top competitors pass by to think about the way to cross the Mississippi. Gyro thinks of a song, the "Cheese Song", which Johnny seems to appreciate. As they set up camp, the duo discusses a letter the Vatican sent to them. After Gyro asked them if there was any saint who died in America, the letter suspiciously denies it.
Suddenly, Johnny discovers that anything who touches the barn is cut and warns Gyro in time about the trapped barn. The barn crumbles but its pieces are still dangerous. While Johnny scares away the horses, Gyro sees Dot Han coming out of the corn field. However, Dot Han is revealed to only be used by the real enemy when they see his body is also getting destroyed. Gyro loses a first Steel Ball against Dot Han. The barn crumbles on Johnny who tries without success to deflect the planks with his nails and Gyro loses his second ball when he tries to deflect the planks too, and the Ball is destroyed. Thankfully, the pieces of the destroyed Steel Ball dig a hole for Johnny to hide in. Johnny is alive, but Gyro is out of weapon. As they see dinosaurs with sound effects written on them, the duo now knows that there are dealing with Diego, teamed up with another enemy.
Gyro recalls Valkyrie and the duo flees. However, they are still pursued by dinosaurs and Gyro is cut when the pieces of a killed dinosaur touch Valkyrie, making Johnny understand that the enemy's power is linked to sound. The duo reaches the Mississippi and must jump towards its muddy bank. The dinosaurs surround the duo, but Gyro has had enough of Johnny's despair and teaches him the next step in the Spin. The Napolitan thus presents the Golden Rectangle, from which a perfect infinite spiral can be made. If Johnny can spin his nails in this ratio then he will be able to harness the power of infinity, but Johnny exclaims that he cannot do it. As the sounds begin to set their bodies on fire, Gyro declares that if Johnny says he cannot do it three more times then he will give him his specially designed belt buckle as a reference. Spinning a rock, Gyro shakes the dinosaurs off them for Johnny to shoot, but the latter sees that his power hasn't increased at all. They both plunge into the river.
Johnny says he cannot use the Golden Rectangle and asks for the buckle, but Gyro still refuses. A new group of creatures has appeared on the river bank and they begin to spread their sound into the water. Gyro tells Johnny to look for a place where there aren't any sound, where the enemy should be able to produce the sounds they want. As Johnny asks for the buckle again and Gyro refuses, Johnny shoots towards a specific piece of the field, uncovering Norisuke Higashikata. To buy more time, Gyro rotates the water to ward off the sound but some of it still passes through and Gyro is dismembered. Sandman reveals himself as the true enemy but is fortunately defeated and killed as Johnny unlocks Tusk ACT2.
Johnny is victorious but Hot Pants appears. She takes Johnny's Corpse Parts, only leaving a vertebrae, and knocks him out. Nonetheless, Hot Pants has made them cross the Mississippi and healed their wounds.[30]
The duo eventually reaches Chicago and finish the 5th stage of the Steel Ball Run at the 4th place for Gyro and 5th place for Johnny.
To accept loss
Sugar Mountain's Trial
At the beginning of the sixth stage, Johnny and Gyro thus travel North, through the cold and snowy parts of the United States.
One day, Gyro wakes up covered in snow and Johnny preparing breakfast. Since Hot Pants has revealed herself as an agent from the Kingdom of Naples, the duo suspect that the identity of the Saint must be exceptional.
Later, Gyro detects Eleven Men that are trailing them. Gyro loses a Steel Ball in a shallow puddle, only to see a nearby young girl having it. The girl runs away, leading them to a massive tree in the forest. Johnny realizes that the Corpse Parts are near and accidentally makes mushroom fall in another puddle. Nonetheless, the duo investigate the tree where they see that the girl has turned a hole into her home. The blind girl, named Sugar Mountain, soon gives them propositions between items they have lost in the puddles and much more precious versions of said items. Gyro answers truthfully at first because he wants his Steel Ball back, but soon understands that she is handing them both if they answer truthfully. Exploiting this, the duo amasses a small fortune in precious gems, matsutake murshrooms, bank notes and other goods. Eventually, they get the trick and acquire the Ears and the Right Arm. However, Sugar Mountain then warns them that they have to spend everything in a fair trade before sunset or they will be absorbed into the tree itself.
Gyro and Johnny then head to Milwaukee, having to spend their fortune and still pursued by the Eleven Men. When they meet a farmer and try to buy a piece of land, the farmer refuses out of suspicion, showing that the task is not as easy at it seems. Worse, Gyro begins to turn into a tree when he tries to give some money to smoothe things out and thus they cannot even give away their wealth. Thankfully, the duo manage to trade the mushrooms for a hill nearby. In Milwaukee, Johnny and Gyro try their best to spend everything but their wealth keeps increasing despite everything while their spendings are not enough. Worse, their pursuers are catching up. Johnny and Gyro decide to go to an underground casino to gamble their money away, but as soon as the croupier decides to cheat, Johnny and Gyro begin to turn into trees. They are immobilized and cannot either take their money back as the ball rolls and the Eleven Men suddenly barge in.
Johnny must use Tusk ACT2 to cheat and win the round, freeing the duo. One of the men approach, and Johnny shoots him twice. However, the rest of the group has suddenly disappeared. Unbeknownst to them, the Eleven Men are using their collective power, Tatoo You!, to merge together, and they take Gyro by surprise by emerging out of the first dead man. Gyro is shot in the arm and loses one Steel Ball. The shootout continues but while they eliminate some enemies, the duo quickly runs out of ammunition. They are forced to hide behind a column and there are still eight enemies. Johnny kills one, but he only has one nail bullet now, and Gyro is bleeding to death. Gyro tries to negotiate with the gangsters besides them but they prefer to stand aside. Johnny sees a revolver on the ground but Gyro warns him that it is a trap. By dragging the corpses, the men surround Gyro and Johnny. Thankfully, Gyro concludes a trade with the gangsters in the casino. For all of their wealth, the gangster accept to give Gyro and Johnny a roll of string and shoot down the Eleven Men, all of whom die but a last one who flees.[31]
As the sun sets, Gyro suddenly transforms into a tree. Johnny realizes with horror that he must trade the Corpse Parts too and reluctantly trades the Ears and the Right Arm with the last of the Eleven Men at the last moment. For them, the duo acquire a half empty bottle of wine. Still, they have a toast to the next Corpse Part and the goal.
Wekapipo's Wrecking Ball & Magent Magent
Eventually, Gyro and Johnny attempt to cross the Michigan Lake via a frozen strait. However, they deem the ice too thin for the moment to safely cross. More problems arise, as the other top competitors appear to cross the straits, a wild wolf cub has been following them since Johnny gave it scraps of food, and Johnny senses that the Legs are nearby. Gyro mentions the natives' route, a hidden path in the ice that the natives might have built by reinforcing the ice with logs.
Nonetheless, their thoughts are interrupted when they notice two other agents of the government approaching to attack: Wekapipo and Magent Magent. Wekapipo suddenly throws a Steel Ball. Gyro throws his own Steel Ball to stop it, but Wekapipo's Ball shoots the small beads embedded on it at the duo. Indeed, Wekapipo is a former guard of the Kingdom of Naples who also masters a style of Spin, the "Wrecking Ball". While Magent Magent goes to their left on his sled, the pair realises that they cannot see the left side of things anymore. Knowing this ability, Gyro advises Johnny to turn to the right until he sees Magent, allowing Johnny to shoot but the agent also unveils his Stand 20th Century Boy, which makes him invulnerable as long as he's sitting or kneeling. Gyro also throws a Steel Ball but Magent remains impervious to the Spin. Moreover, Gyro's left hand is wounded and Wekapipo throws two Balls. When Gyro tries to counter them, his Balls are pushed aside and Gyro understands Wekapipo's strategy. By attacking them on the water and attacking his hands, Wekapipo has isolated Gyro in a battlefield where he cannot closely observe nature to create a perfect Spin, thus depowering him greatly. Johnny stops the satellites of the second ball, allowing Magent to shoot the wolf. Sadly, Gyro's second hand is also wounded when the Neapolitan protects Johnny from a stray satellite. The attack begins and Magent disappears. Gyro only manage to grab one Steel Ball before the effects fully kick in. He throws his Ball in the general direction of Magent and does hit his shoulder. Gyro ducks to avoid two bullets to the head but receives one in the guts. Gyro uses the bullet as a weapon and throws it at Magent, who deflects the bullet upward. Still makes Magent drop his guard but the bullet then falls down and pierces Magent's face, taking him out.
Gyro subsequently manages to take back his Balls. However, Wekapipo is still more powerful than them. During the next throw, Gyro decides to directly attack Wekapipo, trusting Johnny to shoot down the enemy's Ball. This allows Gyro to run towards the wolf (and the Corpse Parts of which it is the host) which can serve as a reference for the perfect Spin. Wekapipo protects himself from Gyro's Spin and throws his other Ball, which Gyro must counter. The satellites then shoot the ice, hiding the wolf and the Legs underwater. Unfortunately the left side ataxia begins again and Gyro has only one Ball. However, Gyro then throws his one Ball at Wekapipo's own and destroys both. It is revealed that luckily, it suddenly started snowing and Gyro was able to create a perfect Spin by using the snowflakes as a reference. Wekapipo is defeated and tries to commit suicide, but Gyro stops him. Gyro then explains that Wekapipo's sister is in the care of the Zeppeli Family, thus Wekapipo accepts to help them find Lucy Steel. Luckily, they also find the natives' path and acquire the Legs.[32]
Being in a victorious stroke, Gyro and Johnny cooperate to cross a treacherous ravine hidden by the snow, this way, they manage to overtake Pocoloco and finish at the 1st and second place of the 6th stage.
Civil War
Johnny and Gyro ride undisturbed for 12 days, until they are 145 km for Philadelphia, near Gettysburg.
After setting up camp, Johnny and Gyro spot Hot Pants, who hurriedly rides to Gettysburg. Hastily abandoning their camp, the duo pursues her into the town. They reach a strange garbage dump and enter inside from two sides, only to see a nun. Unaware of Hot Pants' true sex, Gyro investigates further inside the building. Confronted by Civil War, Gyro attacks the Stand but it separates into pieces. Gyro then discovers the many Steel Balls he's discarded over his life. Overwhelmed by the amounts of stuff he's discarded over the years, Gyro is easily defeated by Civil War. With a Steel Ball, Gyro is able to use the vibrations to pinpoint Axl RO's location and help Johnny once during this fight, but is otherwise stuck observing the battle.[33]
Unfortunately, Valentine intervenes at the last moment and steals away all the Corpse Parts that they've acquired. Their luck runs out, and Gyro finishes the stage at a disappointing 6th place.[34]
Philadelphia
In Philadelphia, Johnny and Gyro have no Corpse Parts anymore. After dispatching other agents of Valentine on the way, the duo decides to steal the Right Eye from Diego. They follow him his trail and stop near a park. The duo discusses the situation and how to corner him. However, Johnny also sees unknown horse traces, meaning another person is involved and soon enough they also witness Wekapipo following Diego. Johnny want to clarify first that they will have to use lethal force, especially if Diego defends himself. This statement appalles Gyro, who yells at Johnny that they will simply beat him up and take the Eye. Gyro then goes to scout the area.
Battle against D-I-S-C-O
At the corner of a building, Gyro sees the suspicious D-I-S-C-O and notices that Johnny has disappeared. He hears gunshots but when tries to run to Johnny, D-I-S-C-O attacks. With his Stand Chocolate Disco, D-I-S-C-O makes a grid appear on the ground. While Gyro is shocked to glimpse Wekapipo hiding near his horses, Gyro must focus on the enemy. He throws a Steel Ball at D-I-S-C-O, but it is then teleported above him and Gyro is hit by his own Ball. D-I-S-C-O then makes nails fall on Gyro, wounding his leg. D-I-S-C-O then takes bottles of acid out of his pocket. Worried, Gyro throws his Steel Balls, but D-I-S-C-O teleports them again. However, this time, he misses. Gyro reveals that he has created a zone of high pressure that refracts the light and prevents D-I-S-C-O from knowing Gyro's location. The Neapolitan quickly knocks out the agent.[35]
Aftermath
To solve the mystery of the shooting, Gyro takes out a photo of Diego and asks the children playing in the park if they saw him shoot Johnny. However, the situation gets more confusing when the boys confirm Gyro's theory, but then the girls claim that it was Wekapipo who did it and an old painter nearby says he sketched the face of the culprit, incriminating Funny Valentine.
Gyro decides to simply follow Johnny's trail and finds him near the docks, and Johnny explains how Valentine's abilities work to Gyro. Seeing their situation, Gyro tells Johnny that it may be time to drop out of the Corpse hunt. However, Johnny then briefly stands up and reaffirms his will to get the Corpse Parts. Gyro thus accepts to finish the hunt. Gyro thus explains that there is another level to the Spin. Explaining the story of horse stirrups, Gyro states that it is possible to harness the energy of the horse and create a much more powerful Spin. Thankfully, both of them are accomplished horseriders and Spin users. With that information in mind, pursuing the President is still impossible but they decide to go find Lucy Steel.
The Battle Against Valentine
Following Valentine's Train
Gyro and Johnny spot Diego and Hot Pants who have allied themselves. Knowing they have a the President's trail, they also follow the pair to find Valentine. With a pair of binoculars, they observe the fight happening in the cars and Johnny sees Diego dying. Just before engaging Valentine, Johnny and Gyro reveal each others' secret. Johnny learns that Gyro's name is "Iulius Caesar Zeppeli" and he reveals that he's excited by bug bites on girls. That said, they now ride towards the President's train and aim for the engineer at the locomotive. However, Johnny notices that a panel keeps coming towards them from behind. Even more strangely, the duo has already reached New Jersey.
Suspicious, Johnny shoots down the "warning bear" panel. Suddenly, a school of fish jumps out of a hidden pond and attacks them. Johnny is unharmed but Gyro's finger is bitten. As they approach the train, the duo still see the broken panel pursuing them. They realise that the land itself is converging towards the train. When they reach the locomotive, they notice that the train engineer is only one of Valentine's victim, stuck halfway inside of a mirror and forced to hold the lever. The engineer begs Gyro to help him, but Gyro cannot do anything. Meanwhile, Johnny engages Funny Valentine. Gyro then notices that the bite mark from the carp is moving up his arm; he cannot do anything as the wound reaches his carotid. Gyro then witnesses Valentine leap out of the train. Astonishingly, Valentine is secure inside of a wall of light. Johnny's nails reveal themselves to be ineffective as the bad is directed elsewhere and the President suffers no damage. Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap attacks but Gyro throws a Steel Ball at its hand, stopping it. When Gyro approaches, D4C cuts Gyro's hand by sweeping in his direction; Gyro cannot prevent it from reaching his heart. Johnny manages to stop the train by shooting at the coupling and detach the locomotive.
Observing the train from afar, Johnny despairs at the President's power. However, Gyro shows the Ball he's thrown: some of Valentine's hair has stuck itself to the Ball, meaning that it is possible to attack through the light. Gyro tells Johnny to let their horses gallop at their most natural pace, whill will create a natural Golden Rectangle from which the duo can create the Super Spin.[35]The duo now charges at the President with the intent of using the Golden Spin. Valentine dashes between them but using the pocket dimension, can freely flatten himself and stick to the ground beneath the rails. Valentine forces Johnny to separates from Gyro. Although Johnnymomentarily manages to reach the Super Spin, he hits a tree branch, giving Valentine the occasion of cutting off his hand. Johnny is unhorsed and pinned down by D4C. Gyro throws a Steel Ball but it bounces off the wall. When Valentine strikes, it appears that he cannot reach Johnny now. Indeed, Steven Steel has lifted Lucy out of the train and begs Gyro to take her away. Gyro rides to Lucy and manages to take her just before Valentine can reach him. He subsequently head towards the coast, setting the stage for a duel against Valentine.[35]
Final Duel Against Valentine
Gyro finds himself surrounded by water because of Lucy, although it stops before it reaches them. As he observes Valentine slowly approach, Gyro thinks about the situation. The water will allow Valentine to hide in other dimensions but Valentine cannot wait forever inside of the water for fear of drowning. There are only a few places from which Valentine will be attack him, allowing Gyro a great chance to hit Valentine with the Super Spin. However, Valentine then realizes what the Spin can do as he notices his missing ear. Gyro begins to gallop towards the President.
As Gyro's Valkyrie reaches its natural pace and Gyro harness his energy, Valentine hides in another dimension. Johnny appears and warns Gyro that Valentine now knows about the Super Spin, complicating Gyro's situation. Two Valentine reappear, but Gyro knows that he must attack the one with the Stand. Seeing the light in Lucy shift direction, Gyro throws the Ball behind him and hits D4C. The Stand Ball Breaker appears when the Ball hits the wall of light and Ball Breaker breaks in, making Valentine age considerably. Valentine is knocked back to the ground. Then Gyro disposes of the remaining two Valentines.
However, Gyro realizes something is wrong when he takes back his Steel Ball and Valentine stands up. As Johnny tries to join the fight, Gyro shouts to Johnny his last lesson: "The shortest route was a detour; it was the detour that was our shortest path". Gyro charges again and throws his Steel Ball, but it cannot reach Valentine anymore. The President reveals that the Steel Ball has crossed the wall's fissure line and a small part of it was scratched off, turning the Ball into an imperfect ellipse. D4C slashes Gyro's chest. Gyro Zeppeli dies before he can even take back his Ball and he falls off his horse. To ensure his death, Valentine then empties his revolver on the Neapolitan.
Gyro then reappears as a spirit, saying goodbye to his friend and ascends to Heaven. His corpse is retrieved and after the race, Johnny travels by ship to the Kingdom of Naples in order to return Gyro's corpse to the Zeppeli Family, intending to honor him one last time.
