[38] Ripple Breathing Technique

Jonathan Joestar...

Dead.

Speedwagon...

Dead.

The corners of Kazuya's mouth twitched slightly. He hadn't expected the story to unfold like this. He had hoped to save as many people as possible, especially Sir Joestar. He liked such people, gentlemen, kindness, and compassion. Helping and saving good people like him would be a good thing.

Even in a dream...

After all, this dream was different from the previous one.

The previous one... well, was it a game? No one was familiar with it, even though he had observed carefully. But the situation was more or less the same.

But here it was different.

Every person fully displayed their personalities, showing the characteristics of being human...

If he continued to use and kill these people like NPCs here...

Although he could do it, he had to do it sparingly because doing it too much might make it difficult for him to distinguish between dreams and reality. It wouldn't be good if he started treating real people as NPCs.

Moreover... the main thing was that it was just the beginning now. He had come here only a few times, and in the future, if he saw them dying and coming back to life repeatedly, he probably wouldn't care too much.

However... he hadn't expected that after Speedwagon was turned into a vampire and infused with DIO's blood, he had completed the transformation into a zombie during the moment when Jonathan and Kazuya were feeling emotional.

He bit into Jonathan's neck.

Although he was eventually killed.

But... Jonathan knew that in his current state, it wouldn't be strange for him to become a zombie at any time. Moreover, he had lost his father, lost his home, and Dio, in his eyes, was dead. He didn't even know that he had a girlfriend who had always been infatuated with him.

He was utterly hopeless, with no will to live.

He... chose death and ended his own life.

"Well, it's fine like this... I can learn the Ripple."

As for whether he would die later or whether he could defeat Dio, it didn't matter. After all, he didn't have the same Ripple aptitude as Jonathan. Just by looking at their physical qualities, it was evident that Jonathan was superior.

"Let's go back..."

However—

Just as he turned around, he saw a man in a white gentleman's suit holding a sandwich—

"Who is this?"

"Jerry Copperdale."

"Who are you?" Kazuya recognized this person. There was no doubt that this person was—

In an instant, the man who was sitting cross-legged on the wall leaped high, reaching a height that a human could never achieve!

"I didn't expect you to survive! You didn't die under the power of Stone Mask!"

Puchi—

In an instant, he extended his pinky finger and pierced it into Kazuya's chest!

"Wow—"

Intense pain...

Although he hadn't deliberately avoided it, he didn't expect it to be so painful!

"Cough, cough—"

"Yes, exhale all the air from your lungs, don't leave a single drop."

"You won't be able to breathe for a while, but don't worry."

"Ugh... this feeling..."

Kazuya felt the sensation of his arm, which had been pierced by a broken sword and was recovering rapidly—itchy, as if it was healing at an extremely fast speed!

"My hand..." Kazuya could feel the mysterious power personally—the power of Ripple that he had been longing for!!!

"I am Baron Zeppeli. Just having courage won't be enough to win against the Stone Mask."

Being able to see the light of Ripple, to feel it... this is it. Remember the rhythm of this breathing, remember this feeling, remember this Ripple!

"Are you called Zeppeli? What did you do?" Kazuya suppressed his inner excitement. He hadn't expected Zeppeli to find him so quickly, but it didn't matter; it was just right.

"It's not what I did, but your own breathing that eliminated the pain and healed your injuries. If you want to know, follow me, and I'll show you! After that, once you know who I am, your fate will change once again!"

Ripple, that's the energy of breathing.

And now... he had vaguely grasped a little bit of it, but to use it proficiently, he needed the training from Baron Zeppeli, the Ripple master!

...

"Ugh—"

Seeing Kazuya, who was rubbing his head and walking out, Kohana, who was sleeping in her small nest, slightly opened her eyes and took a look.

"Meow—"

"Are you awake? Breakfast will have to wait a while longer."

Kazuya glanced at Kohana and said.

He had already awakened from the dream, and the reason for waking up was simple—death.

He didn't have Jonathan's excellent aptitude. Although he could learn the Ripple, he could only use it at a basic level. He couldn't even face Dio again, let alone before that when he was killed by Dio's zombies.

Zeppeli's training was just to allow him to grasp the basics of the Ripple.

Trying to take down a monster like DIO, who had experimented with his own body's limits for so long, was impossible. DIO was far more powerful than the average vampire, making this task even more challenging.

Kazuya's Ripple was nowhere near Zeppeli's level, and Zeppeli was no match for DIO. As Streizo had put it, "DIO has been testing the limits of this body."

In "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part Two," the vampires were all cannon fodder, easily defeated. DIO's exceptional strength set him apart.

One key difference lay in their attitude towards power. One was content with the strength they obtained, while the other continuously pushed their own limits to become stronger. It was like comparing a well-trained martial artist to someone who found walking a few steps tiring. Both were humans, but the difference was vast. DIO, even as a vampire, stood at the pinnacle of vampire power. He had ambition, determination, and worked hard, making him the emperor of evil and, paradoxically, a savior of villains.

However, even with all of this in mind, Kazuya was surprised that he had been defeated so easily without encountering DIO in person.

He hadn't expected to be taken down by DIO's minions without ever meeting DIO himself.

Indeed, he was still too weak, whether it was in his dreams or in reality.

But now, the key to becoming stronger was in his hands.

"Phew—!"

After drawing the curtains and ensuring all doors were locked, Kazuya began practicing the Ripple Breathing Technique.

He wanted to test if this ability could be brought into the real world.

---

If you're interested in reading more, feel free to visit my patreon which already contains 20 chapters: 

https://www.patreon.com/XElenea