Steel Ball Run - Chapter 94
Summary
Punctually, Diego stops time to avoid Johnny's attack. He draws a pistol and advances to Johnny's right side, while THE WORLD moves to Johnny's left to attack from a different angle. Diego's pistol jams as he attempts to shoot it, but he manages to get it working when time resumes. At that moment, both him and THE WORLD attack. Johnny manages to move quickly enough to avoid THE WORLD's attack (still taking moderate damage), but he is still shot in the neck by Diego, and drops from his horse. He then haphazardly shoots several nail bullets into the distance, a few striking THE WORLD, but even still only Johnny has sustained major damage. Diego then begins to explain what just happened. Diego intended from the start to force Johnny off of his horse so that he couldn't properly attack with Tusk. Without the power of Slow Dancer, he can't achieve the "infinite spin" that sealed Valentine's fate before. This was all explained by Valentine before the alternate Diego apprehended the corpse.
However, Johnny’s previous shots were already imbued with the Infinite Spin's energy, allowing Tusk to reach the ground and approach Diego. Diego climbs on his own Stand's shoulders as he states the only way to defeat the Infinite Spin is to reflect it upon its user. As ACT4 creeps up THE WORLD's leg to go for the final blow, Diego removes THE WORLD's leg by localizing the energy of the Spin on one point, with the leg landing directly on Johnny. Johnny’s body starts to spin at a cellular level, exactly as Valentine's body did. He tries to use Tusk ACT2 to fire at Diego, but the bullet is thwarted and returns to his finger. Diego is now free to continue the race, reentering at the forefront. Valentine had realized that Diego was the only one who could fulfill his goals, and had essentially appointed him as the corpse's successor. To aid Diego, the president told him everything of Johnny's vulnerabilities. He had even told Diego to "take the napkin" as his replacement. In Valentine's words, with the Infinite Spin turned on himself, Johnny will "disintegrate from this world!".
As Diego nears the finish line, Johnny tries desperately to remount his loyal horse. However, as he reaches for the saddle, his body rotates back into place on the ground.
Johnny lies on the ground in tears, in the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge, with a mere 2000 meters or so to the finish line. The finish line of a race that has tested his soul to its limits and beyond. After having made the greatest friend of his life and watching him die, and after approximately 6400 kilometers and 116 days, 6 hours and 12 seconds of racing across the USA, the winner of the Steel Ball Run is Diego Brando with a total of 442 points.
Diego wastes no time in going down to the shelter Valentine had prepared to house and seal the corpse. As he is does so, Diego reflects on more details that were imparted to him by Valentine before his death. Valentine estimates that the shelter he had built can stay secure for roughly 80 years. Evidently, all Diego has to do is seal the corpse away in the shelter, and in doing so, the Trinity Church, where the shelter is embedded, will become the focus of all the luck and prosperity in the entire world.
