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
At the Higashikata House, Josuke and Norisuke discuss what they ought to do, hiding from the rest of the family under the pretense that Josuke wants to try out Norisuke's motorcycle. Josuke shows a footage of Jobin creeping in the garden, and suspects that he is in collusion with the Rokakaka Smuggling Organization, exposing Jobin's possible use as a cover for their smuggling. Norisuke refuses to believe that his eldest may be conspiring behind him, but as Josuke needs to find the Rokakaka for his own mother Holy and his own grandson Tsurugi's life is at stake, he cooperates further with Josuke. Norisuke tells him to go find an unnamed plant appraiser that only he knows of who will be able to find the branch.
Relaxing on a hammock in Norisuke's garden, Kaato Higashikata has been eavesdropping on them and after a brief fight with her ex-husband, Kaato calls Jobin and warns him that Josuke and Norisuke are planning to meet someone. Jobin thus heads to a pond near a shrine. In here he meets with a rock human named Dolomite. Dolomite was crippled in the past when he electrocuted himself while trying to save his apparently mentally challenged girlfriend, and then abandoned by her. Although Dolomite claims he is happy living his life near the pond, Jobin exposes him to the miraculous new properties of the grafted Rokakaka fruit, catching Dolomite's interest who decides to use his Stand.
Some time later, Josuke is given a letter by a courier boy. In the letter, there is a tooth, and the boy starts to act feral, pursuing straight in Josuke's direction even if it means bashing his head against obstacles. 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 creeps inside the car, and reaches for Josuke, touching the woman in the process. Josuke blinds the boy, saves the woman, and then tries to take refuge far from the boy and at the same time observing. The boy collapse as people gather to oversee the incident. 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
|
Chapters
- 059 (906). The Man Who Lives by the Pond, Part 1
- 060 (907). The Man Who Lives by the Pond, Part 2