Dolomite's Blue Lagoon (Story Arc)
The Man Who Lives by the Pond (池の辺に住む男, Ike no Hen ni Sumu Otoko) is the fourteenth story arc in JoJolion.
Summary
Josuke brings Norisuke's attention toward images taken at 4:08 A.M by the Higashikata House's security cameras. Norisuke is shocked at the sight of a rock appearing to transform into his son Jobin, who then examines a branch in the family's orchard. Norisuke finds it hard to believe that Tamaki Damo had any other allies. However, Josuke states that there is evidence toward Jobin and Damo being business partners, and believes that it is Jobin's job to launder the group's revenue by using Norisuke's fruit parlor to import the Rokakaka into the country. Norisuke is angered about Josuke's accusations toward his eldest son, but Josuke is determined to find the tree with the grafted branch in order to save Holy. Norisuke thinks of how Tsurugi was ill and feels guilty letting Josuke go off on his own, so he gives Josuke a cellphone containing a secret photo of an unnamed plant appraiser that only he knows of. The man is capable of telling apart the grafted branch from ordinary ones. After Josuke is told to go meet him, Norisuke warns him to not let Jobin find out about their plans.
When Josuke leaves, Norisuke notices Kaato relaxing on a hammock in his garden. He angrily mentions that he doesn't plan on giving Kaato anything, and demands for her to get out of his sight. While Kaato is alone, she calls Jobin and informs him that his father and Josuke are starting a secret plan. Jobin thanks his mom for the information and recalls how he witnessed Josuke killing Damo. Jobin drives to a shrine and puts gloves on before throwing fried chicken by the pond. After making noises with his mouth, a rock human attempts to bite him. Jobin dodges and then hands over the bucket of fried chicken to the man. He tells the man how Damo and their other allies were all killed, and asks for a favor.
In a flashback, a rock human and his apparently mentally challenged girlfriend were laying down on the grass. He suddenly realized his companion was wandering near an electrical disconnector and, panicking, rushed to block her path and save her from electrocution. Unfortunately for him, the man accidentally touched the generator and lost all his limbs; partially crumbling while seeing his girlfriend wander away without minding him. In the present, that same rock human claims that he's now happy living at the Mustukabe Shrine near his pond, and expresses his disinterest in any other activity. Jobin doesn't yield and then shows a photograph of Yoshikage Kira and Josefumi Kujo. He explains that the two of them used a new form of equivalent exchange with a modified Rokakaka and a new man, Josuke Higashikata, was created. Jobin pleads the man to help him with success, as the man, whose name is revealed as Dolomite, becomes interested and reveals his Stand.
Meanwhile, Josuke is given a letter by a courier boy. The letter is addressed to "Higashikata Josuke-sama", and the boy says he was told to deliver the letter by a man around the corner of the street who gave him a reward for doing so. While Josuke wonders who it's from, he notices a strange tooth stain in the corner of the envelope and immediately throws the letter on the ground. In fear, he says the letter isn't safe to open and describes something small and hard inside. Suddenly, the courier boy turns around and walks back toward Josuke. Suspicious, Josuke looks around him but spots nothing, and orders the boy to stop coming toward him, asking questions about who exactly gave this letter. The boy doesn't react and continues to walk toward Josuke until he bumps into a bus stop sign. Strangely, the boy continues to try to move forward and repeatedly crashes his face into the sign, nearly popping one of his eyes in the process. Shocked, Josuke approaches to help the boy when the latter manages to slip past the bus sign and begins to attack Josuke. Soft & Wet trips the boy up while Josuke goes away from the boy onto the road.
Still bloodied, the boy still stands up and relentlessly pursues him. A sudden car gets between the two, and the driver, a mature woman, chastises Josuke for staying on the road. As she accuses him of pulling an auto assurance scam, the boy bumps his head into the car's window while Josuke suspects that the tooth in the letter is connected to that phenomenon. The woman opens the window to yell at the boy too, but he then creeps into the car to reach Josuke and touches the woman while doing so. Soft & Wet plunders some coffee and spills it into the boy's eyes to blind him and Josuke uses that distraction to take the woman out of the car. The feral boy trips while trying to get out of the car and when he stands up again, Josuke is nowhere in sight. The boy collapse as people gather to oversee the incident. Josuke is hidden behind a wall and observed the boy from afar. He's plundered the tooth with a bubble and begins to think about this attack. Wondering who would attack him, as Tamaki Damo had no other ally with this kind of power and there is still no gain in attacking him as he hasn't found the Rokakaka yet, Josuke suspects that someone wants to prevent him from reaching the plant appraiser. Still, Josuke thinks that no one is aware of his search for the plant appraiser but his thoughts are interrupted when he see the same mature woman who has become feral as well and is beginning to menacingly creep toward him from the top of a wall.
Appearances
Characters
Stands
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Chapters
- 059 (906). The Man Who Lives by the Pond, Part 1
- 060 (907). The Man Who Lives by the Pond, Part 2
