Emperor DIO

"The Fire Bull looked like it came here wounded. No wonder Jo took it down so easily." Flender studied its injuries. Jodio seemed to have left the bruises and puncture wounds, but there were signs of an impact too. Could it be...?

Thinking of the Great Rock Python they had encountered at noon, Flender formed a theory.

"Jo, is the Joestar family a large one?" Flender turned and looked down at him.

"Yes, but it's been wiped out," Jodio answered without thinking. Then he felt that wasn't quite right. It seemed unfair to describe a family with Golden Spirit that way. Besides, the Eastern branch of the Joestars and Giorno Giovanna's line were still around. At most, the direct Joestar line had died out. Oh, wait—there was still Joestar. Shizuka.

"Apart from me, I don't think anyone left with a proper name fits the direct Joestar line. Well, this name of mine comes from Part Nine, anyway. Johnny set a precedent with a two-syllable name, so mine should count." Jodio spoke casually, his hands in his pockets.

This poor child, Flender thought. He's the sole survivor. That meant the other man had to be the survivor's servant. Terrifying! They really were a great family hidden from the world.

"Jo, don't tell anyone you're a Joestar. Your family may have many enemies," Flender said earnestly.

"Come on, it's not that serious. Teacher, you worry too much." Jodio sounded unconcerned, but inside he was laughing wildly. Joseph, don't blame me for borrowing your family name. If I ever get the chance to visit the JoJo world, I'll kill Father for you.

"Cruel Flame Protective Shield, huh? Boss, it doesn't seem to have the shield effect you imagined." Ma Hongjun pulled a long face.

"Bakemono—idiot! It cancels fifty percent of impact. Do you understand what that means? And if it grows stronger with your Spirit Rings later, do you know what that means? Besides, impact nullification is the most valuable Technique of Strength. Ah, forget it. There's no explaining it to attack-type Soul Masters." Jodio shook his head helplessly.

"It may not form a shield, but it's still extremely powerful." Flender considered it for a moment, then nodded.

"Impact reduction works against any Spirit Skill, whether it's an area attack or a single-target attack. It's especially effective against power-attack Soul Masters. Absorbing fifty percent of an impact means that no matter how much an opponent strengthens an attack, only half its force gets through. That's a fixed fifty-percent reduction," Zhao Wuji explained.

"But I'll still get hit, right?" Ma Hongjun asked miserably. The expression on his chubby face gave him the air of a comedian.

"Which is why you need more training," Flender said with a smile, folding his arms.

"Once you're the king of taking hits, you won't be afraid of them anymore."

There was little to say about the journey back. With two Soul Sages escorting three Soul Masters, who would dare stop them? Anyone who spotted them took one look and hurried away.

"One Gold Soul Coin. I can hardly believe it." Oscar, Jodio, and the others marveled as they walked down Spirit Hall's steps. That tiny coin could cover almost a year of Oscar's living expenses. It was hard to imagine, yet somehow not hard at all.

"Spend it carefully. You two should report to Jo before buying anything. He's your class monitor now, and he'll be looking after you," Flender explained.

"Boss Jo, I want something delicious!" Ma Hongjun immediately waved his hand.

"I'll make you something when we get back. We'll buy bread, lettuce, eggs, and some sauce, then add Oscar's sausages. You'll find out what delicious really means." Jodio stretched.

"See? That's how you save money." Flender pointed at Jodio, exasperated with the other two.

"Boss Jo isn't normal."

"No one in the world is more normal than me," Jodio replied lazily.

"Oscar, if a powerful organization killed your mother, would you take revenge?" Jodio suddenly found the question interesting and changed the subject.

"Of course." Oscar didn't know why Jodio was asking, but he answered anyway.

"Would you wipe out every last one of them?" Jodio asked as they walked.

"I... suppose so?" Oscar said uncertainly.

"What if most people in that organization knew nothing about it?"

"Then I could make exceptions..."

"What if that organization had given you financial support when you were little?" Jodio asked.

Spirit Hall? Flender thought. He said nothing and kept listening.

"But I still couldn't just let it go, could I?"

"What if they'd also helped awaken your Martial Soul?"

"Then... that's harder. Maybe I'd only punish the ones responsible?" Oscar racked his brains. At eight years old, he wasn't equipped to untangle a question this complicated.

"No. It would be the same. The organization would have to be dismantled, and most of its people would inevitably face a reckoning." Jodio smiled helplessly.

"Why?" Ma Hongjun asked curiously.

"Leave the roots after cutting the weeds, and they'll grow back in spring. Unless you're a born Emperor, you have to go that far. Without an Emperor's confidence and pride, you have no choice. You can't know whether someone you spared is nursing a grudge. They might gather strength in secret, just as you did, then turn on you in exactly the same way," Jodio explained.

"Oh! Wakatta—I get it! Boss, you're praising yourself! You're saying you're magnanimous enough to spare people!" Oscar realized, his voice rising with excitement.

"Great! Gurarararahaha! Oscar, Oscar, Oscar! You really are brilliant!"

Laughing, Jodio tousled Oscar's blue hair the way Prosciutto would tousle Pesci's. He could always laugh with wholehearted gusto and reproduce all sorts of strange laughs. Jodio considered it a talent. Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, merely thought it was one of Jodio's quirks. He quietly memorized how the laughs sounded so he could join in someday.

Sorry, Yuhao. Bear with it a little longer. I'll succeed soon, Jodio thought.

"That's right. I am the Emperor, and the Emperor is me! I'm the man destined to become a Douluo Star! That's why I'll show kindness to my friends and mercy to most of my enemies. I have absolute confidence in myself. I'm invincible on earth and in heaven!" Jodio declared proudly.

"Wouldn't that bring you a lot of challengers?" Flender asked with a smile, looking down at him.

"I don't mind. As Emperor, I have the patience to await their challenges and the pride to allow them." Jodio spread his arms in delight.

"This era will be fairer than any before it, and it'll all be thanks to me, Jodio Joestar! I'll wait patiently for the future. I'll wait for them to grow up in its fair cradle, brave and strong. Like every hero of legend, they'll come challenge me—the absolute Emperor—and write their own legends." Jodio spoke with utter confidence.

"But right now, we still need to put food on the table. Teacher, do we have anything else planned?" Jodio abruptly changed the subject and turned to Flender.

"This afternoon, you'll study how Martial Souls work. Formal training starts tomorrow. Jo, you three will run five laps around the village tomorrow. Once you're done, you can rest until class." Flender answered with a broad smile.

"Five laps. That's no small number." Jodio shrugged.

"But it'll be good for endurance. Oh! Oscar, Little Ma, your big brother Jo will run up front and break the wind for you tomorrow!" Jodio hooked an arm around each boy and pulled them against his sides, laughing.

Such a cheerful boss. Such a formidable boss. Ah, the hard days are here. Oscar and Ma Hongjun covered their faces in perfect unison.

"The rolling Ussery River! Heroic Fort Vibrant Island!"

"Towering Wada Mountain, reaching up to the clouds!"

Jodio sang at the top of his lungs as he led the run, while the two little boys staggered along behind him. Three months passed in a flash. Jodio had grown bigger and sturdier, with something of Araki's art style about him now. The other two had improved as well and looked noticeably stronger. The difference was that one had the looks of a model, while the others had the look of boys getting fit.

"B-Boss! What... song are you singing?" Oscar asked between gasps as he ran.

"A song from back home! Sounds good, doesn't it?" Jodio called back with a grin.

Three months, three levels. Jodio had fought his way up three whole levels in that time, reaching the peak of level fourteen. Only a thin barrier stood between him and level fifteen. He would probably cross it soon and had a shot at reaching level sixteen before turning seven.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun thought their boss was a monster. The two of them were geniuses among geniuses, yet in those three months they had gained only two levels and one level respectively. Why, Boss? Why were you so ridiculously DIO?

Of course Jodio was impressive. His latent time ability and External Soul Bone both helped accelerate his cultivation considerably. He had another secret, too. Back when he and Huo Yuhao had had time on their hands, they had put together a cultivation method based on what they knew. It was practically tailor-made for young Soul Masters. Otherwise, the other two boys wouldn't have advanced so quickly either.

In the original history, those two had only reached levels twenty-nine and twenty-eight by the time they were twelve to fourteen. With his help, Jodio reckoned they could reach level thirty-four or thirty-five by then—a substantial lead, enough to put them an entire realm ahead of Tang the God King.

"Oh, would you look at that? Level fifteen." A sudden realization struck Jodio, and he stopped running.

"You leveled up?" Oscar asked, green with envy. They had both started with level-ten innate spirit power, so why was the boss so absurd? Oscar's health had been poor, and it had taken him nearly two years to reach level thirteen. It wasn't fair. He wanted to play the arrow-shooting game too!

"Hoho! So that's why Silver Chariot couldn't use Armor Ejection. It was locked behind this level." Jodio broke into a satisfied smile.

"Level fifteen, huh? You really got me. I didn't see that coming."

Currently available information:

Level 15 Stand: Silver Chariot

User: Jodio Joestar

Destructive power: C. Speed: B+. Range: D+. Stamina: C. Precision: C. Development potential: B+.

Stand ability: At level fifteen, Silver Chariot gained Armor Ejection in addition to its basic combat abilities. It could shed its armor to fight with greater mobility. In that state, Silver Chariot was more vulnerable, but its speed became terrifying, and it could even create an effect similar to Shadow Clone.