Eternal Youth!
Stand Power!
Ripple Breathing!!
10: Chapter 10: Immortality!
Eternal Youth!
Stand Power!
Ripple Breathing!!
In that singular instant of enlightenment, Joseph saw them—the spiritual phantoms of past Ripple warriors standing proudly behind Horne.
(Is that Grandfather Jonathan?
Beside him…
Master Zeppeli?
Lisa Lisa?…
Caesar is there too…
and is that my younger self?)
(I see now…
so this is the living legacy of humanity?)
(Without even realizing it, have I finally reached the point where I shoulder that mantle?)
(Damn it all, what a pathetic Ripple mentor I’ve been!
Not only did I slack off on my training, but I was going to let myself end up as a senile invalid…)
(Hell no!
No matter what it takes, I am resuming my Ripple training immediately!!!)
Following that flash of epiphany, Joseph Joestar steeled his resolve to master the Ripple once more.
“Thank you, Joseph.”
“Don’t give me that formal crap, Horne.
We’re brothers.
That other world of yours desperately needs this Courage, doesn’t it?”
Horne nodded solemnly in silent agreement.
“Still, keeping your Ripple breathing rock-steady in the heat of a brutal life-or-death battle is going to be tough right off the bat.
You need serious reps.
And I’ll be training right alongside you.
Ha!
Feels like I’m twenty years old all over again!”
“Heh~ Our combined Ripple is going to give that arrogant dog bastard Dio a delightfully lethal surprise!!”
“Hell yeah!
We’ll use our Ripple to shatter his mutt skull into pieces!!!”
Despite the massive age gap, the two shared an uncanny compatibility and an identical brand of shameless rogue energy, instantly becoming brothers across generations.
Yet as their laughter died down, Horne leaned in and addressed Joseph with deadly seriousness.
“Joseph, between you and me: you have an illegitimate son.
Back in 1983, a Japanese woman named Tomoko Higashikata—does that ring a bell?”
Though Joseph had known Horne for less than thirty minutes, he knew this man would never fabricate something this heavy.
“Tomoko Higashikata…
Tomoko…
She actually…
Goddammit, this is a massive fucking disaster…”
“Your son’s name is Josuke Higashikata.
As your brother, I get it.
But whether it was a reckless one-night stand or an affair, the boy is already here.
Step up and take responsibility like a real man.
With your wealth and legendary feats, nobody could give you shit even if you took two wives.
Even if you don’t love Tomoko, what about your own flesh and blood?
At the very least, you have to carry the duty of a father.”
Horne’s whisper remained audible only to the two of them.
Joseph’s face hardened as he fell into a grim, brooding silence.
“Joseph, do you honestly think a four-year-old toddler has the physical constitution to withstand a Stand awakening triggered by Dio?
In the original timeline, Josuke fell into a lethal, burning fever the moment his Stand awakened.
Back then, you had no idea he existed, so you weren’t there when he was fighting for his life.
While he barely scraped through, your absence as a father during his darkest hour was absolute fact.
Now, because of my intervention, you have a second chance to rewrite his fate.
What is your choice?”
Horne laid the choice squarely in Joseph’s hands.
“Where are they?”
“Morioh, Jozenji District, Block 1, House 6.”
Without another word, Joseph turned on his heel and strode toward the exit.
“Dad!
Where are you going?!”
Holly called out in surprise.
“I’m going to right a terrible wrong.
I’m bringing your baby brother home.”
His back was turned to the room, yet everyone present could feel the imposing, resolute presence of a true father radiating from his silhouette.
“Wait…
a brother?!”
Completely out of the loop, Holly was left dazed, prompting Horne to gently pat her shoulder.
“Aunt Holly, let Joseph go.
This is a duty he must fulfill as a man.”
Unfortunately, Horne’s wording led her down a bizarre misunderstanding.
“Could it be?!
Did Dad have a baby with that Tequila Girl?!”
“WHAT?!
Tequila Girl?!
NO!
NO!
NO!!
This has nothing to do with Tequila Girl!!”
Even Horne couldn’t keep a straight face at that cursed leap of logic, completely shattering Joseph’s stoic, heroic exit—forcing the old man to deploy the Joestar family’s secret technique: NIGERUNDAYO!!
“Hey, Horne.
What the hell is the old man up to?”
“To put it simply, Jotaro: you’re getting a brand-new, four-year-old uncle.
As for the messy details, let Joseph explain them himself when he gets back.”
Hearing that, Jotaro’s face turned completely pitch-black with disgust.
“Tch!
That shameless, horny old fossil!”
“Jotaro, you know what’s at stake.”
“Yeah, I know.
Regardless of his mistakes, the kid is innocent.
And no matter what, Dio must be slaughtered!”
Both Horne and Jotaro understood the brutal reality of their situation, driving them to push their limits and grow stronger in the precious time they had.
Horne utilized Star Platinum to simulate combat against Dio, while Jotaro used Horne to prepare for the vampire lord.
On top of their sparring, Horne’s routine now incorporated maintaining non-stop Ripple breathing twenty-four hours a day.
“Jotaro, mastering your Stand is vital, but cultivating the Ripple builds true physical foundation.
Join the Ripple training.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Hell yes, absolutely necessary!
If a Stand is the soul and spirit, the Ripple is the flesh and vital spark.
A mighty soul can only reside within a forged mind and a peerless physical vessel.
Even if the Ripple can’t directly damage enemy Stands, its battlefield utility is ridiculously overpowered.
Just practicing it reinforces your body and extends your lifespan, while Ripple energy rapidly knits flesh and mends fatal trauma.
In close-quarters mortal brawling, a trained Ripple master strikes with the destructive force of a Rank B Stand.
Meaning you’d hit as hard as my unarmored body—and now with the Ripple fueling me, my short-burst destructive power easily reaches Rank A.”
Hearing the logical breakdown, Jotaro didn’t argue further.
“Fine.
Count me in.”
Through Horne’s physical conduit, Jotaro was initiated into the sacred Ripple of Courage.
Unfortunately, Jotaro’s innate aptitude for the Ripple was mediocre at best, though Star Platinum’s broken parameters more than compensated for it.
“Don’t sweat it.
In theory, as long as you put in the grueling reps, anyone can master it.”
Horne offered some casual encouragement, though Jotaro was hardly the type to mope.
Next, he turned his attention toward Avdol.
“Want in on this too, Avdoodoo?”
“Me?
If you’re willing to teach me, I’d be honored to learn.”
Likewise, while Avdol successfully awakened his Ripple spark, his natural aptitude was average, requiring intense training to bridge the gap.
Then, Horne suddenly swung his gaze over to Holly Kujo.
“Aunt Holly, want to pick up some Ripple breathing too?
It keeps you healthy and locks in youthful, glowing beauty forever~”
“Wait, really?!
Eternal youth?!
I want in!”
And completely catching everyone off guard, Holly’s innate affinity for the Ripple turned out to be shockingly exceptional.
While everyone in the JoJo universe was diligently practicing Ripple breathing…
Back in the Demon Slayer universe, Horne was attempting to channel Ripple breathing through his demonic flesh.
Deep inside a hidden shelter secured before dawn, Horne sat cross-legged on the dirt floor.
To a demon’s biological vessel, solar energy was lethal poison, and the biological current generated by Ripple breathing was virtually identical to natural sunlight.
Vampires, Pillar Men, or demons—for any creature vulnerable to sunlight, circulating the Ripple through their veins was literal suicide.
Yet Horne dared to pull the trigger anyway, with Shinobu standing guard beside him just in case.
Regulating his pulmonary cadence to the exact rhythm of the Ripple, he mobilized his dormant life energy, having already calibrated the flow in the JoJo world.
The activation was instantaneous—a little too instantaneous—and the micro-spark of Ripple energy coursing through his cells inflicted excruciating agony.
Given Horne’s terrifying talent, even the residual solar radiation leaking from his core roasted his demonic flesh into charred black cinder.
Worse, because the trauma was inflicted by pure solar Ripple energy, his demonic regeneration was completely paralyzed.
Watching Horne instantly char into a smoking, blackened husk, Shinobu nearly jumped out of her skin in sheer horror.
“Horne!
What happened to you?!”
She lunged forward in absolute panic to examine him; this charred human silhouette didn’t have an inch of intact flesh left from the inside out.
The realization that he was somehow still clinging to life shocked Shinobu immensely, bringing a faint sigh of relief.
Horne summoned every scrap of his remaining willpower to raise his charred right hand, prompting Shinobu to instinctively cradle it between her trembling palms.
Right then, the residual traces of Ripple energy flowed gently into Shinobu’s hands.
“So warm…
it feels just like the sun…
so gentle and soothing…”
For reasons she couldn’t explain, tears welled up in Shinobu’s eyes.
Through that charred, faceless skull stripped of skin and eyeballs, she could clearly envision his cocky, unyielding grin.
(It reached her!
The sacred Ripple of Courage!!!)