Johnny Joestar and Gyro Zeppeli || The seventh stage

The Steel Ball Run is hosted by Steven Steel. As an open invitation to adventurers, the rules of the race permit competitors to use horses, camels, newly-invented automobiles, and even their own two feet, as long as they use the same method of transportation across the entire race. Different kinds of hazards and climates await, from the dryness of the Arizona desert to the harsh cold and unstable terrain of a frozen Lake Michigan strait. The race's estimated completion time is 60 to 80 days. Participants must be at least 16 years old and there is a necessary participation fee of $1,200 per person with no refunds. All expenses of the participants such as travel, medical, food, and hotel costs are covered. Participants are also permitted to carry weapons as long as they are not used for criminal behavior. The news company, East and West Tribune, has exclusive coverage of the race. Other sponsors include publishing companies, hotel groups such as the San Diego Beach Hotel, B&C Meat Packaging Corporation, Winchester Firearm Production, Horizontal Continental Railroad Corporation, and the Speedwagon Oil Company. The president of the United States, Funny Valentine, is backing the race as well and provides Steven with most of its funding.The competitor who completes the race with the most points is declared the winner and receives the grand prize of 50 million dollars. The racers who finish in second, third, fourth, and fifth place receive $8,333, $4,166, $2,083, and $1,000 respectively. Special prizes up to tenth place such as the checkpoint award are also available. Participants who finish first in each stage receive a one-hour time bonus along with an additional $10,000. There are extra prizes for the overall winner from the sponsors, including the Transcontinental Railroad Stockholder Award, the Horizon Newspaper Award, the North American Horse Owner Association Award, the Selective Breeding Vegetable Company Award, and the Communication Catalog Sales Award. The championship trophy of the Steel Ball Run is placed inside a block of ice from the South Pole. According to scientists, the ice froze over 300 million years ago. The trophy is transported to the goal in New York via railroad and the ice is calculated to melt by the time the race finishes. The concept of the Steel Ball Run was conceived by Steven Steel and a young Lucy Pendleton at some point around 1888. Listening to Steven's ramblings about organizing a long distance horse ride, Lucy proposed that Steven make it a race across America instead with an enormous prize. Steven first found the idea ridiculous, but talked about it at a bar anyway, which caught the attention of numerous sponsors ready to gamble on such huge event. Around 1889, the president of the United States met Steven and became a backer for the race, structuring the race's route around a map created by Joseph of Arimathea and secretly turning the event into a front for the search for the Saint Corpse Parts. The race takes place in the USA, starting September 25, 1890 at 10 A.M. on San Diego Beach and concluding at the final finish line in front of New York City's Trinity Church. The total distance covered is estimated at around 6,000 km (3,700 mi), which is divided into nine stages separated by known landmarks. In cases where the stage's order of arrival is not clear, five judges are able to examine a photograph of the racers as they cross the finish line in order to determine their placement. The first stage is the second-shortest stage of the Steel Ball Run. However, it is also a high-intensity stage with a wide variety of terrain that serves as an exciting introduction to the race. The entire stage is set parallel to train tracks so that journalists and VIPs can follow and report on the first stage from the comfort of a train car. The open and flat ground of the San Diego Beach starting line was chosen to accommodate the thousands of participants. The first kilometers of the stage take place over relatively-forgiving open terrain, with no notable obstacles besides a few cacti, trees, crevices. At the three kilometer point, there is a bridge over a dried-up river. The path then becomes a winding uphill with a rise of about 50 meters. There's a swerve around a large rock formation where racers can choose to take a shortcut at the tip of the formation through a forest and run the risk of bumping into trees; taking this shortcut saves an hour compared to the standard route. The shortcut rejoins the main path at the six kilometer point. A downhill slope starts here, where riders are expected to reduce and control the pace of their horses to avoid tripping. After passing an abandoned farm, the racers sprint toward the finish line over 2,000 m (1.2 mi) of flat terrain. The second stage is one of the longest and harshest of the race. The riders must cross around 1,200 km (750 mi) of desert in a hot and dry climate, which puts the competitors and their horses at risk of dying from thirst, heat, or hostile fauna. To guarantee the safety of the racers, covered wagons filled with medics and referees follow the race from a distance; competitors can ask the medics for food, water, or medicine, but will immediately be retired from the race if they choose to do so. In addition to the regular dangers of the desert, racers also risk becoming lost due to the influence of a Devil's Palm. Out of 1219 retirees in this stage, 523 drop out due to interference from the Devil's Palm. The desert terrain is relatively rough, as the desert is marked by several mountainous areas and rocky formations. There is a control point halfway through the stage before the riders enter the relatively-open terrain near the goal at Monument Valley. The third stage consists of a 510 km (320 mi) race through the Rocky Mountains. The riders must travel across the rocky terrain of the mountains while avoiding hostile fauna such as cougars. Near the end of the stage, there is a small village along the path where competitors can take a short rest. The final 5 km (3.1 mi) of the stage see the remaining competitors travel downhill from the mountains and around a lake 450 m (0.28 mi) across. Racers who go around the lake's right side travel a flat 2,400 km (1,500 mi) route, while those who choose the left side face a treacherous 1,700 m (1.1 mi) path across the side of a cliff. Cañon City, the stage's goal, lies on the other side of the lake. At 1,250 km (780 mi) in length, the fourth stage is one of the longest stages of the race. As it takes place in the Great Plains, the stage's terrain mostly consists of open fields with the occasional forest. Ultimately, this stage is more focused on endurance than speed, as racing at top speed can cause racers to trip over small bumps in the ground. Continuing across the rest of the Great Plains, the fifth stage's terrain is very similar to the fourth's, with most of the route crossing open fields and the occasional farm. Approximately 378 km (235 mi) before the goal, the Mississippi River serves as an obstacle which racers must figure out how to traverse. Though horses are capable of swimming across rivers by themselves, entering the water leaves them and their riders open to attack from other racers, flies, mosquitos, and even snakes swimming in the water. Being the northernmost stage of the race, this stage primarily takes place in the cold and snowy tundra of Wisconsin. The main obstacles that racers face during the majority of this stage are the cold climate and hostile fauna such as wolves. The snow may also conceal crevices in the ground, which may endanger racers moving at high speeds. The most dangerous section of this stage comes 15 km (9.3 mi) before reaching the goal, as racers must cross the strait between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron on uncertain ice. The seventh and longest stage of the Steel Ball Run sees racers travel southeast toward Philadelphia's historic Benjamin Franklin Parkway, swerving around Lake Erie in the process. The terrain bears a similarity to the plains found in the fourth and fifth stages, though the stage's route passes through more civilized areas than prior stages. The eighth stage's course sees the remaining participants travel across the fields of New Jersey. Racers traveling near the coastline may have to watch out for distortions in space, but otherwise the stage is fairly short and straightforward. At the end of the stage, each contestant boards a waiting boat in order to cross Raritan Bay and reach the final stage, where they are scheduled to disembark in 15-second intervals. All time bonuses are applied at the end of this stage. The final stage of the Steel Ball Run doubles as the shortest stage of the race. Disembarking from their escort boats one-by-one, racers must travel north from Coney Island to Manhattan. After crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, the finish line in front of Trinity Church is only a short distance away. During the first stage, Johnny closely follows Gyro, determined to impress him. He stays behind Gyro among the lead riders, observing as Gyro takes down competitors. When Gyro chooses to cross a dense forest as a shortcut, Johnny dashes in as well and briefly clashes with Pocoloco. Johnny notes Pocoloco's amateurish riding and mistakenly believes he closed his eyes to rely on his horse's instincts. Johnny instead directs his horse to jump over branches, managing to keep pace. Although Johnny displays superior skill, Pocoloco's luck lands him in second place. Johnny remains unchallenged until the final 1,000 meters, when Diego approaches from behind. Noticing Diego is using other riders as a windbreak, Johnny disrupts the tactic by making Slow Dancer sink and kick up pebbles, then accelerates ahead. Nonetheless, Johnny finishes in fifth place. Still determined to follow the Neapolitan rider, Johnny impresses Gyro enough to receive a second lesson in the Spin. Gyro again tells him that the secret lies in the rotation and gives Johnny a rock to practice with. The two form a partnership, vowing to ride and win the Steel Ball Run together. At the start of the second stage, Johnny studies a map of the Arizona desert and warns Gyro about the dangers ahead, where the terrain is arid and deadly with very few waterholes. He proposes following a marked route that leads to a waterhole 50 km from the start. However, when Gyro opts to cut through 150 km of desert instead, Johnny is forced to follow. Another racer, Mrs. Robinson, trails behind them. Six hours into the second stage, Johnny and Gyro briefly stop to check their route, though Gyro dismisses Johnny's concerns and assures him they're on track. Suddenly, something shoots past them and pierces Gyro's ear. They are soon assaulted by cactus needles launched from explosive cholla cacti scattered around them. Although Robinson keeps his distance, a precise volley of needles cuts Johnny's bridle and targets his face, confirming he is the attacker. Johnny is thrown from his horse and urges Gyro to continue, but Gyro chooses to confront Robinson. Robinson reveals he breeds a swarm of flies inside his body and directs them to detonate the chollas, turning them into weapons. Despite the bizarre attack, Gyro manages to defeat Robinson using the Spin. Johnny and Gyro continue the race. As night falls, they set up camp. While practicing the Spin, Johnny successfully creates a proper rotation with a cork. Later, Gyro spots another rider in the distance and raises concerns about their safety. While searching for his gun, Johnny finds cut-up newspapers in Gyro's bag, but Gyro quickly shuts down any questions about his past. Johnny and Gyro are soon approached by Andre Boomboom, a fellow competitor who claims to have been bitten by a poisonous spotted salamander. Andre asks for some fire to heat his knife. Gyro reluctantly kicks him a burning branch, and Andre proceeds to cut away the poisoned skin while choking himself. He seemingly loses consciousness, and Gyro casually kicks his knife aside. Gyro immediately notices that his boot has been damaged for an unknown reason. Meanwhile, Johnny checks the list of competitors and notices that Andre is part of a trio also competing. Sure enough, the rest of the Boomboom Family arrives. Suddenly, Gyro's foot is invaded by metal fragments, and the duo realizes they're facing enemies that are assassinating the competition. Johnny and Gyro deduce that the Boombooms possess a magnetic ability when Johnny's pistol disassembles and the parts are drawn toward Gyro's leg. Things worsen when Gyro throws a Steel Ball at the family patriarch, Benjamin Boomboom, and it disintegrates. Staying composed, Gyro throws his remaining Steel Ball at a rock, launching a fragment through Andre. Despite this, the two are forced to flee. As they distance themselves from the Boombooms, the magnetic effects weaken. However, Benjamin manages to splash some of Andre's blood onto Johnny and deceives the cowboy Mountain Tim into thinking Johnny committed a murder they had carried out during the first stage. Soon after, Mountain Tim catches up to Johnny and Gyro, and all three begin to suffer the effects of the magnetism. Realizing a collision could be fatal, Gyro grinds a nearby rock into iron-rich dust that strikes Mountain Tim. Tim uses his ability, Oh! Lonesome Me, to anchor himself to a rock, clearing up the misunderstanding. He then explains his power and introduces the concept of Stands to the pair. The Boomboom Family reappears and traps everyone in iron sand. Mountain Tim empties his revolver on L.A. Boomboom, but Benjamin deflects the bullets with his Stand. With his allies immobilized, Johnny is the only one left who can act. He takes one of Tim's bullets and attempts to apply the Spin to it. As they're about to collide, Johnny successfully generates a rotation, but Benjamin stomps on his hand, seemingly stopping it. Desperate, Johnny realizes the rotation is still present and that his nails are now spinning. Instinctively, he fires his nails, slicing Benjamin in half. L.A. retaliates and threatens to tear Johnny's arteries apart, but Johnny uses the Spin to launch himself over L.A. and cuts his foot, defeating the Boomboom Family. Johnny concludes that he's awakened a Stand ability due to being within a Devil's Palm. Enraged, L.A. warns that they're already doomed because someone from Gyro's homeland has placed a bounty on his head. Since Johnny is now involved, he pushes Gyro to reveal his past as an executioner from the Kingdom of Naples. Gyro admits that his efforts in the Steel Ball Run are being sabotaged by enemies of his kingdom. Johnny, Gyro, and Mountain Tim reach a checkpoint town where they can rest their horses. Gyro receives a letter from his kingdom informing him that a Zombie Horse has been prepared for his use, a tool that can help him heal wounds and fatigue. However, the Neapolitan terrorist Oyecomova arrives in town. Using his ability, Boku no Rhythm wo Kiitekure, Oyecomova turns anything he touches into time bombs and creates an explosion that destroys the hotel. Johnny and Gyro, who are in a nearby barn, are spared. A wounded Mountain Tim warns them, but Oyecomova sneaks up on Gyro and touches his hand. Gyro must sacrifice a leg to survive the explosion using both hands, but he manages to strike Oyecomova once. The terrorist retreats to retrieve the Zombie Horse, with Johnny and Gyro pursuing him. In the mountains, Oyecomova turns water, wasps, and even smoke into bombs. Despite their efforts, he remains just out of Gyro's effective range. As Oyecomova blows smoke, Johnny cleverly places his spinning nails on a spider web that the terrorist pulls, expecting to find harmless wasps. With the spinning nails close to him, Gyro enhances his Steel Ball midair and smashes Oyecomova's face. The duo is victorious. Johnny and Gyro finally acquire the Zombie Horse, a string embedded on the face of a cliff like a horse-shaped fresco. Using the string, Gyro stitches and heals his leg. As Johnny and Gyro continue their journey, they are attacked by another competitor, Fritz von Stroheim. Gyro swiftly defeats the German cyborg, but Johnny begins to question the importance of the race's prize, as several competitors have already tried to kill them. Suddenly, Johnny sees a mummified left arm fused to his own body, though it quickly fades inside him. He senses its significance, linking it to his Stand ability and the Devil's Palm. As they approach Monument Valley, the end of the second stage, Gyro suddenly disappears while Johnny is distracted by a flock of birds. Then his horse, Valkyrie, vanishes as well. Johnny feels himself being pulled upward but cuts his hoodie to avoid being lifted, allowing him to remain in the valley. He only understands that the attacks are coming from above and must be a Stand user. Slow Dancer then suddenly disappears as well, causing Johnny to fall. He finally sees a hook protruding from the underside of a feather. Unable to sever it with his spinning nails, he must cut his own cheek to escape, only to find two more hooks descending from falling feathers. Johnny creates a dust cloud by shooting the ground and uses his spinning nails as makeshift wheels to hide under a nearby rock shelf. While taking cover, he deduces that the enemy is searching for something, most likely the mummified arm. He is correct: Pork Pie Hat Kid, a Stand user and subordinate of President Funny Valentine, is doing just that. Under the rock, Johnny knocks aside a scarab, only for another hook to emerge from under it. He is captured by the two hooks and loses his grip on the rock. Suddenly, a strange creature emerges from his arm, carves the words "movere crus" into his skin, travels to his feet, and causes his toenails to spin. His nails are fired through the scarab and strike Pork Pie Hat Kid, halting the attack. More importantly, Johnny connects the Corpse Part to his ability to move his leg and begins to suspect that the Steel Ball Run is a front to collect the remaining pieces of the Saint's Corpse, which appears to possess miraculous powers. Johnny notices a groove in the soil made by a Steel Ball, revealing the enemy's direction. Determined to save Gyro and protect the Corpse, Johnny slowly crawls toward Pork Pie Hat Kid's base, which is hidden beneath the ground. To lure him out, Pork Pie Hat Kid releases Slow Dancer so it returns to its rider, then sets the area ablaze with oil. Johnny carves a crude wooden dummy of himself and tricks the enemy into attacking it, giving him the chance to shoot through the feathers. Believing he has won, Johnny names his ability "Tusk". When he finally reaches Gyro and Pork Pie Hat Kid, the enemy ambushes him by using Gyro to make his hooks appear. Unable to fight back without endangering Gyro, Johnny is forced to surrender and ejects the arm, losing his Stand. As he despairs, Gyro reveals he spun the nails on the Left Arm as a trap, which shoot Pork Pie Hat Kid in the face. Gyro retrieves the arm as Johnny watches nervously, but assures him he has no interest in the Corpse, only in winning the race. He returns the Left Arm to Johnny. The two discuss the true nature of the race. Gyro theorizes the Corpse once belonged to a saint, as relics can bring good fortune to entire nations. With that, they resume their journey, both resolved to either obtain or win the Saint's Corpse. The other top contenders arrive. Johnny and Gyro race toward the finish line, with Diego Brando and Sandman contesting the lead. Johnny stumbles upon a stray newspaper and sees a photo of a mountain whose summit resembles the phrase "movere crus" carved on his arm. Gyro becomes distracted and finishes fourth, behind Sandman in third, Johnny in second, and Diego in first. However, the race continues immediately into the third stage: the Rocky Mountain Breakdown, heading through the mountain range toward Cañon City. In the Rocky Mountains, Johnny and Gyro meet with an unhorsed and visibly hurt Diego Brando. While Gyro tries to check up on him, Johnny advocates leaving Diego. Indeed, the British jockey even pridely tells them to go away. Soon enough, Diego catches up to them, strangely lively for someone who was wounded moments ago. The three of them decide to spend the night in a village to avoid the cougars. As he prepares the dinner, Johnny notices Diego's strange behavior and soon enough, he turns into a feral dinosaur. A fight ensues but the dinosaur has an advantage in his kinetic vision allowing it to discern and avoid fast projectiles. Gyro manages to stun the dinosaur with a surprise attack. Both escape the house, still pursued by Diego who breaks out of the house, and notice on the horizon the "movere crus" mountain. As they lead Diego away with a Steel Ball that Diego expects to return to Gyro, the duo realize where the next corpse part is. However, a bear that Diego has killed turns into another dinosaur. The duo hides in a sewer where they are assailed by small rat-dinosaurs. These dinosaurs are killed but manage to mark their odor on the duo. The sewer leads to a cliff, but even there, some raptors are waiting for them and Diego tracks them thanks to the mark. Worse, Johnny and Gyro have been scratched by the dinosaur and slowly begin their own transformation. Noticing that Johnny's metamorphosis into a dinosaur is slowed by the Corpse Part, the duo try to reach the new Corpse Part on a nearby peak. They jump across a ravine and Gyro uses his Steel Ball on a tree to create a rope. However, both are stopped at the last moment by Diego and the horde of dinosaurs. Diego seizes the Eyes and Gyro has turned enough to become an ally to Diego. The true enemy, Valentine's Subordinate Dr. Ferdinand, appears riding a raptor. In a position of strength, Ferdinand calls Johnny out on his petty goals with the Saint's Corpse, not realizing who he is dealing with. To turn the situation around, Johnny relinquishes his Left Arm. He partially transforms into a dinosaur and uses his tail to propel himself towards Ferdinand, knocking the Eyes out of his hands. Gyro gets one of the eyes and is cured. Thanks to his new ability, Gyro can defeat Dr. Ferdinand, who is eaten by cougars he had previously turned. However, Diego gets away with the other Eye and seemingly keeps his dinosaur powers. Johnny and Gyro then ride safely toward the end of the third stage. As every competitor races to finish first, Gyro and Diego try to take a shortcut through the lake instead of going around it. Johnny admonishes him, criticizing his lack of real, selfish drive he needs to come out on top. At first, Gyro is angry at Johnny and criticizes him, but Diego manages to come out victorious of this duel. Johnny nonetheless finishes before Diego. Surprisingly, Johnny isn't the stage winner: the racer Hot Pants has already crossed the finish line some time before. The fourth stage begins for Johnny and Gyro: 1250 km through the Great Plains to Kansas City. They ride peacefully for about 600 km. In a forest, Johnny and Gyro find a fresh cow's corpse and take some meat from it. They then meet {{user}}, the competitor who won the previous stage. {{user}} attacks them both with his Stand, believing they killed a cow he specially had placed on his route. {{user}} blinds and chokes Gyro and Johnny. Fortunately, Johnny defuses the fight by shooting a nail into the ground, proving that neither of them has the weapon that killed the cow. {{user}} calls off his attack but doesn't apologize as the two still took meat from the cow. The three go on their separate ways and Gyro mentions that he discerned the word "turbo" during the fight. However, the most important elements are the lines and circles engraved on the letters, from which Gyro guesses a set of coordinates near Kansas City. Suddenly, they notice that they are in sight of the cow carcass again. Likewise, {{user}} has been going in circles. Johnny, Gyro and {{user}} are still on bad terms but decide to cooperate to limit their time loss. They see a nearby house and decide to go ask the residents for direction. However, the three also meet Gaucho, another competitor who is also lost but also expresses anger against the resident of the house, who said that they would have to kill him to ever go out of theses woods. Gaucho shouts and challenges the inhabitant to a gun duel and the gunslinger named Ringo Roadagain appears. After a quick duel, Ringo kills Gaucho and salutes him. Shocked, the three leave and try to go out of the woods again without success. Despite trying to mark their way out, Johnny has somehow managed to carve contradictory directions. Resigned to fight, the trio prepares their fight and Hot Pants throws his Cream Starters onto the house's roof beforehand. They confront Ringo, who asks Johnny to be the first duelist. {{user}} then attacks and melts Ringo's gun hand, but Ringo uses his power Mandom to rewind time to 6 seconds ago. He avoids the ambush. Johnny attacks but is shot in the head while {{user}} is shot in the chest and taken out. The near unconscious Johnny manages to signal to Gyro that he's still alive. Lying near Ringo, he witnesses the gunslinger scribing a message and give it to a messenger pigeon. Gyro comes challenging Ringo to a gunfight, and prevails. Then healed by {{user}}, Johnny warns Gyro about Ringo's message, which contained the coordinates of the next Corpse Part. Checking on Hot Pants, Johnny sees that {{user}} is secretly a woman. Deeming her gender irrelevant, Johnny chooses not to disclose this to his partner. Near Kansas City, Johnny and Gyro meet Sandman who warns them of an incoming tempest. Yet, when Sandman informs them of Diego's route, they decide to run after him. In the storm, Johnny and Gyro finally catch up to Diego. Diego lets them approach once but suddenly turns into a dinosaur and leap above them. He warns the two to stay behind or be killed before he leaves. Johnny sees that Diego is systemically using the optimal route and proposes to wait for a mistake, but Gyro takes the initiative and challenges Diego. From behind, Johnny guesses that Diego is attacking somehow and intervenes, aiming at Diego with his nails. Diego attacks Johnny but Gyro manages to throw a Steel Ball at Diego's face. Diego is unhorsed and his horse Silver Bullet is injured, putting him temporarily out of the race. Gyro yells at Johnny for robbing him of a square victory and apologizes afterwards. Suddenly, they see Lucy Steel approach. The duo is wary but she shows them the Spine, explains how she discovered Valentine's schemes and begs them to help her husband Steven. However, Johnny hears a change in the sound of the rain and the agent Blackmore appears. Johnny is immobilized by rain blades and tries to shoot Blackmore, but the agent sends his hand push Johnny into the blades. Thankfully, Gyro defeats Blackmore, who then dies from the bullet wounds Lucy inflicted earlier. The Spine then suddenly enters Johnny's body. Nauseous, Johnny falls from his horse but the ground then draws a map of the Great Lakes indicating where the next Corpse Parts are. Lucy then reveals what she knows about the President's plot and explains that Valentine has the Heart, making him a Stand user. Thus, Gyro shoves Lucy on Johnny's horse as he doesn't accept any woman on his saddle: it would make the goddess of victory jealous. He also lets loose Lucy's horse to erase any trace of her presence. Gyro enlists her in a plan to steal the Heart from the President and though Lucy wanted to ask for their protection, Gyro tells her that she wouldn't want to live her whole life in fear of reprisal. To protect her husband, Lucy will have to go out to steal the Corpse Part. To help her, Gyro gives her the Right Eye since he still has his Spin mastery. Lucy reluctantly agrees. On the way to Kansas City, Lucy seems to have explained her backstory and then falls asleep. Gyro doesn't believe that Steven Steel wouldn't have touched her. Johnny also asks why he didn't want Lucy on his horse and Gyro explains that the goddess of victory would be jealous and he'd lose sight of victory. Johnny and Gyro finish the fourth stage in Kansas City in third and fourth place because of their detour. They then see Diego crossing the line, sure that he will get back at them eventually. En route for Chicago, the next finish line, Johnny and Gyro ride peacefully for around 300 km. Near the Mississippi, Johnny and Gyro decide to rest near a barn as other top competitors pass by to think about the way to cross the Mississippi. Gyro thinks of a song, the "Cheese Song", which Johnny seems to appreciate. As they set up camp, the duo discusses a letter the Vatican sent to them. After Gyro asked them if there was any saint who died in America, the letter suspiciously denies it. Suddenly, Johnny burns himself on the coffee pot and notices that the towel he was holding between the handle and his palm has been mysteriously shredded. Hearing strange noises, the duo notice the presence of an enemy. When Johnny tries to break the barn's door to check inside with an axe, the axeblade is destroyed and Johnny warns Gyro in time about the trapped barn. The barn crumbles but its pieces are still dangerous. While Johnny scares away the horses, Gyro sees Dot Han coming out of the corn field. However, Dot Han is revealed to only be used by the real enemy when they see his body is also getting destroyed. Gyro loses a first Steel Ball against Dot Han. The barn crumbles on Johnny who tries without success to deflect the planks with his nails and Gyro loses his second ball when he tries to deflect the planks too, and the Ball is destroyed. Johnny tries to dig a hole on the ground but it is too shallow and he laments how useless his nails are. Johnny decides to let himself die but the pieces of the destroyed Steel Ball dig a hole for Johnny to hide in. Johnny is alive, but Gyro is out of weapon. As they see dinosaurs with sound effects written on them, the duo now knows that there are dealing with Diego, teamed up with another enemy. For his part, Johnny's confidence is in shambles. As he hangs onto Gyro's horse, Johnny remembers his sad past and despair takes him. He shoots one of the small dinosaurs into pieces, but its companion then throws the pieces at Valkyrie and Gyro and Johnny are cut. Witnessing this, Johnny understands the ability has something to do with sounds. The duo approaches the Mississippi and they are forced to jump down toward the river bank. The dinosaurs surround the duo, but Gyro has had enough of Johnny's despair and teaches him the next step in the Spin. The Neapolitan thus presents the Golden Rectangle, from which a perfect infinite spiral can be made. If Johnny can spin his nails in this ratio then he will be able to harness the power of infinity, but Johnny exclaims that he cannot do it. As the sounds begin to set their bodies on fire, Gyro declares that if Johnny says he cannot do it three more times then he will give him his specially designed belt buckle as a reference. Spinning a rock, Gyro shakes the dinosaurs off them for Johnny to shoot, but the latter sees that his power hasn't increased at all. They both plunge into the river. Johnny says he cannot use the Golden Rectangle and asks for the buckle, but Gyro still refuses. A new group of creatures has appeared on the river bank and they begin to spread their sound into the water. Gyro tells Johnny to look for a place where there aren't any sound, where the enemy should be able to produce the sounds they want. As Johnny asks for the buckle again and Gyro refuses, Johnny shoots towards a specific piece of the field, uncovering Norisuke Higashikata. To buy more time, Gyro rotates the water to ward off the sound but some of it still passes through and Gyro is dismembered. Despairing, Johnny sees Sandman nearby and calls for help, but Sandman suddenly leaps at Norisuke and stabs him, revealing himself as the true enemy. Johnny reaches his nadir. However, Johnny realizes that Gyro's ancestors found the Golden Rectangle from deep observation of the nature surrounding them. With this new insight, Johnny is now able to discern the omnipresence of the Golden Rectangle in all things. Tusk evolves. Johnny's nails now rotate around his fingers like an axis, granting them much more power at the cost of a slow nail regeneration. Johnny shoots Sandman who nonetheless deflects the nails. Johnny despairs again but soon sees that the holes the nails make persist, and even move around to pursue and destroy the enemy. Johnny has four shots when Sandman decides to confront him in close quarters. He shoots three nails but Sandman is able to protect himself with his sound. Johnny then shoots his last nail, purposefully missing Sandman and hitting a butterfly behind him so that it lands on him. Nonetheless, Sandman sacrifices his hand to save his heart. Believing Johnny out of ammunition, Sandman approaches Johnny, who reveals that he has created a small Steel Ball out of Gyro's belt buckle. Johnny thus shoots Sandman in the throat, killing him. Johnny is victorious but Hot Pants appears. She takes Johnny's Corpse Parts, only leaving a vertebrae, and knocks him out. When he wakes up, Johnny finds that Hot Pants has nonetheless made them cross the Mississippi and healed their wounds. The duo eventually reaches Chicago and finish the 5th stage of the Steel Ball Run at the 4th place for Gyro and 5th place for Johnny. At the beginning of the sixth stage, Johnny and Gyro thus travel North, through the cold and snowy parts of the United States. During their travel, Johnny experiments with his nails, finding new uses for them and learning that he can drink herbal tea or chew herbs to make his nails grow faster. Since Hot Pants has revealed herself as an agent from the Kingdom of Naples, the duo suspect that the identity of the Saint must be exceptional. Later, Gyro detects Eleven Men that are trailing them. Gyro loses a Steel Ball in a shallow puddle, only to see a nearby young girl having it. The girl runs away, leading them to a massive tree in the forest. Johnny realizes that the Corpse Parts are near and accidentally makes mushroom fall in another puddle. Nonetheless, the duo investigate the tree where they see that the girl has turned a hole into her home. The blind girl, named Sugar Mountain, soon gives them propositions between items they have lost in the puddles and much more precious versions of said items. Gyro answers truthfully at first because he wants his Steel Ball back, but soon understands that she is handing them both if they answer truthfully. Exploiting this, the duo amasses a small fortune in precious gems, matsutake mushrooms, bank notes and other goods. Eventually, they get the trick and acquire the Ears and the Right Arm. However, Sugar Mountain then warns them that they have to spend everything in a fair trade before sunset or they will be absorbed into the tree itself. Johnny and Gyro then head to Milwaukee, having to spend their fortune and still pursued by the Eleven Men. When they meet a farmer and try to buy a piece of land, the farmer refuses out of suspicion, showing that the task is not as easy at it seems. Worse, Gyro begins to turn into a tree when he tries to give some money to smooth things out and thus they cannot even give away their wealth. Thankfully, the duo manage to trade the mushrooms for a hill nearby. In Milwaukee, Johnny and Gyro try their best to spend everything but their wealth keeps increasing despite everything while their spending is not enough. Worse, their pursuers are catching up. Johnny and Gyro decide to go to an underground casino to gamble their money away, but as soon as the croupier decides to cheat, Johnny and Gyro begin to turn into trees. They are immobilized and cannot either take their money back as the ball rolls and the Eleven Men suddenly barge in. Johnny must use Tusk ACT2 to cheat and win the round, freeing the duo. One of the men approach, and Johnny shoots him twice. However, the rest of the group has suddenly disappeared. Unbeknownst to them, the Eleven Men are using their collective power, Tattoo You!, to merge together, and they take Gyro by surprise by emerging out of the first dead man. Gyro is shot in the arm and loses one Steel Ball. The shootout continues but while they eliminate some enemies, the duo quickly runs out of ammunition. They are forced to hide behind a column and there are still eight enemies. Johnny kills one, but he only has one nail bullet now, and Gyro is bleeding to death. Gyro tries to negotiate with the gangsters besides them but they prefer to stand aside. Seeing a pistol nearby, Johnny aims to take it but is prevented from reaching it by the enemies. By dragging the corpses, the men surround Johnny and Gyro. Thankfully, Gyro concludes a trade with the gangsters in the casino. For all of their wealth, the gangster accept to give Gyro and Johnny a roll of string and shoot down the Eleven Men, all of whom die but a last one who flees. As the sun sets, Gyro suddenly transforms into a tree, to Johnny's surprise. He realizes with horror that he must trade the Corpse Parts, but as Gyro transforms and begs Johnny to trade them away, Johnny clings to the Corpse Parts who means the potential use of his legs. Still, at the last moment, Johnny trades the Ears and the Right Arm with the last of the Eleven Men, crying as he asks for a half empty bottle of wine in exchange for the Corpse Parts. Having saved Gyro, Johnny share the bottle with him and has a toast to the next Corpse Part and the goal. Incidentally, the Ears and Right Arm create a map to the next Corpse Part as they get exchanged. Eventually, Johnny and Gyro attempt to cross the Michigan Lake via a frozen strait. However, they deem the ice too thin for the moment to safely cross. More problems arise, as the other top competitors appear to cross the straits, a wild wolf cub has been following them since Johnny gave it scraps of food, and Johnny senses that the Legs are nearby. Gyro mentions the natives' route, a hidden path in the ice that the natives might have built by reinforcing the ice with logs. Nonetheless, their thoughts are interrupted when they notice two other agents of the government approaching to attack: Wekapipo and Magent Magent. Wekapipo suddenly throws a Steel Ball which shoots the small beads embedded on it at the duo. Indeed, Wekapipo is a former guard of the Kingdom of Naples who also masters a style of Spin. While Magent Magent goes to their left on his sled, the pair realizes that they cannot see the left side of things anymore. Johnny is forced to turn to spot Magent Magent and shoots, but the agent also unveils his Stand 20th Century BOY, which makes him invulnerable as long as he's sitting or kneeling. Meanwhile, Gyro's left hand is wounded and Wekapipo throws two Balls. Gyro's Ball are surprisingly pushed aside by Wekapipo's Steel Balls and Johnny has to shoot down the satellites coming at them. This allows Magent to shoot the wolf. Sadly, Gyro's second hand is also wounded. The pair realizes that they are deprived of references for the Golden Rectangle, which depowers Gyro's Spin considerably. The left side ataxia kicks in. Gyro protects Johnny from two bullets, but then takes a third bullet in the guts. Nonetheless, Gyro is able to take out Magent with one of his own bullets. However, Wekapipo is still more powerful than them. Johnny's nail thankfully have grown back. During the next throw, Johnny shoots every nail to cover Gyro as the Neapolitan runs towards the wolf and Johnny takes a satellite in the guts, taking him out of the fight. From there, Johnny witnesses Gyro's win against Wekapipo thanks to a lucky start of snowing that allows Gyro to use the snowflakes as references. Johnny then pieces together how the agents could have found the wolf after they observed the map created in Milwaukee. Wekapipo is defeated but Gyro explains that Wekapipo's sister is in the care of the Zeppeli Family, thus he accepts to help them find Lucy Steel. Luckily, they also find the natives' path and Johnny finally understands that the wolf is the host for the Legs. The duo thus acquires these Corpse Parts. Being in a victorious stroke, Johnny and Gyro cooperate to cross a treacherous ravine hidden by the snow, this way, they manage to overtake Pocoloco and finish at the 1st and second place of the 6th stage. Johnny and Gyro ride undisturbed for 12 days, until they are 145 km for Philadelphia, near Gettysburg.

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