Golden Spin.
So far, Ryosuke knows four levels:
Lesson 1: Don't have any weird expectations of me.
Just like this title, this is merely the most basic spinning technique. Even the dumbest idiot could learn it by burying their head in practice for a few months.
The difficulty is basically on the same level as the yo-yo skills from Blazing Teens.
Lesson 2: Don't let the muscles notice.
This trains unconscious control and energy transmission.
At first, Ryosuke couldn't understand why it was necessary to "not let the muscles notice."
After all, with his level of bodily control, even if the muscles noticed, so what? He could still use even more refined force control to launch the steel ball.
Precisely because his control over his body was too strong, Ryosuke got stuck on Lesson 2 for a long time.
It wasn't until he officially stepped into, and later cultivated to, Lesson 3, and now Lesson 4, that he finally understood the meaning of "don't let the muscles notice".
This was another kind of fundamental training.
Golden Spin has never depended on how strong the user is or how exquisite their technique is. This is not a power that belongs to Ryosuke alone. Put simply, Ryosuke's job is only to aim and release.
As for why a steel ball thrown by a mere mortal can have such terrifying effects, it all comes from the rules of the world.
Based on this, the more Ryosuke wants to control personally, the less he can obtain from the outside world.
So starting from Lesson 2, what Ryosuke trained was "letting go."
Lesson 3: Believe in the spin, just believe, that's all.
This level trains Ryosuke's faith. He has to forget everything and pour all his belief into "spin," allowing his will to resonate with the world in an instant through rotation.
To achieve this, Ryosuke had to use White Snake to draw discs and set up illusions. In the end, he succeeded, using his own belief as a spear to pull in the chaos of the outside world, thus giving the spin a tracking effect.
And now, Lesson 4: Express respect.
Ryosuke was blind in one eye. The life energy in his entire body was almost depleted. The Ripple flames had gone out. The blood-mist jet propulsion had stopped.
From a personal standpoint, Ryosuke was truly at the end of the road.
Kars had seen all these details, which was why he felt victory was assured.
But…
That was only from a "personal perspective."
Ever since the battle with Kars began, Ryosuke had faintly sensed a gaze coming from the heavens. After condensing the Ripple flames, he heard the world's breathing with incomparable clarity, this world was rejecting Kars.
From a personal perspective, Ryosuke had exhausted all his trump cards.
But he knew that the world stood behind him.
Ryosuke also believed that Second JoJo would not fail his instructions and would definitely deliver the Red Stone of Aja into his hands at the most appropriate moment.
Everything unfolded just as he had expected.
The Red Stone of Aja fell into Ryosuke's palm and slowly rotated. With the gemstone's amplification, the Ripple was enhanced hundreds and thousands of times, and along with it, Ryosuke's resonance with the world was also elevated.
Perhaps in the Naruto world, even if Ryosuke were forced into a desperate situation, even if he grasped the true meaning of Lesson 4 through layer after layer of breakthroughs, he still wouldn't be able to see things this clearly.
But in this world...
"Too straightforward."
A cloud behind Kars formed a rectangular frame in perfect golden ratio, framing him within it.
Under Ryosuke's gaze, inside one side of the golden rectangle, a square appeared.
The remaining small rectangle still maintained the golden ratio, and this process repeated infinitely. Connecting the centers of each square formed a curve, creating an endlessly extending spiral.
The "point" at the end of the spiral flowed toward Kars's heart.
The cross-shaped shadow cast by the plane overhead enveloped Kars at the center of the cross.
Ryosuke raised his hand. In his palm, the Red Stone of Aja spun at high speed, radiating dazzling, brilliant light. Strands of light extended from behind it, like a true god-slaying spear.
Ryosuke spoke softly, "Thank you, Second JoJo, Stroheim."
"Thank you, world."
"Thank you, Kars."
Kars was confused.
'What is this kid talking about?'
"Who cares if you've gone mad! Kill you and it all ends!"
Kars roared and charged forward.
At the same time, the crimson spear flew out in a beautiful arc.
Kars tried to dodge, but realized there was no way to evade it. Above and below, every path was sealed. All he could do was watch the spear fly toward him, and then...
Chi!
Kars's heart was pierced through.
The Ripple power inside the Red Stone of Aja exploded, tearing apart his internal organs as countless streams of blood surged out.
He wasn't dead yet.
For an Ultimate Lifeform, wanting to truly kill Kars with Golden Spin alone might require Lesson 5's Cavalry Spin.
But…
Ryosuke had come to undergo a Ripple trial.
If he killed Kars with spin, it would be stealing the spotlight.
Under Kars's despairing gaze, Ryosuke reached out his hand to him.
Under the interference of Golden Spin, the blood Kars had lost control over all flowed into Ryosuke's palm, turning into the purest life energy.
The quantity was unimaginable.
In the entire world, no, even if the scope were expanded to countless parallel timelines, perhaps only Kars, as an Ultimate Lifeform, could provide Ryosuke with such an enormous amount of life energy through blood alone.
Buzz!
The air trembled slightly, as if it had become incredibly heavy.
At this moment, Kars seemed to see a beam of light descend from behind Ryosuke, tearing open a spatial rift. The power that made him shudder was pouring out endlessly.
The Ripple transformed once again from lightning into flames, and finally into golden crystals.
Natural energy appeared as well. Ryosuke stopped his downward fall and hovered in midair.
Golden halos spread outward in rings with Ryosuke at the center, dispersing the clouds and radiating dazzling brilliance under the sunlight.
Stroheim and Second JoJo on the plane stared with their mouths wide open.
'What the hell?!'
'What even is this?!'
Second JoJo stared blankly at Ryosuke, his vision slightly unfocused. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt an indescribable familiarity, as if the two of them had already fought side by side many times before.
Kars, pierced by the Red Stone of Aja and temporarily unable to move, falling downward, was also staring blankly at Ryosuke high in the sky, watching him slowly clench his fist.
Dragon veins and demonic god power, two completely opposite forces, were fused together by Ripple, annihilating each other. The terrifying energy produced was something even Ryosuke couldn't fully control. Strands of purple glow flowed across the sky.
Ryosuke chased after Kars.
A fist smashed down.
Kars looked at Ryosuke, looked at the fist coming down toward him, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Escape. Resistance. Defense. Desperate struggle.
But all those thoughts vanished in an instant.
Kars had to admit that this was not a power he could oppose. Countless thoughts ultimately condensed into a single sigh, "So dazzling…"
The fist symbolizing annihilation landed on Kars's chest.
The world seemed to freeze for a brief moment.
BOOOM!
A thunderous roar like an earthquake echoed through the sky.
Kars's body shot straight toward the ground like a missile.
Another earth-shaking explosion followed as the ground was smashed into a massive crater hundreds of meters in diameter.
Smoke and dust billowed. Kars lay at the center of the deep pit, his limbs twisted.
He could no longer feel his body, no, even the existence called "himself" was gradually fading away.
In Kars's unfocused eyes, the figure of someone slowly descending from the sky was reflected. Backlit, all Kars could see was a human-shaped shadow.
"Ryo… Ryosuke…"
Ryosuke landed and thrust his hand into Kars's chest.
Blood, muscle, bone marrow…
Everything that belonged to Kars gradually merged into Ryosuke's palm.
This time, Ryosuke wasn't absorbing life energy. He was absorbing and reading Kars's genes. After a moment, he slowly opened his eyes.
"So this is… an Ultimate Lifeform."
Ryosuke understood.
Kars had ascended to an Ultimate Lifeform through the Stone Mask and the Red Stone of Aja.
This ritual sounded very mysterious.
But if you thought about it carefully, the Stone Mask and the Red Stone of Aja… were these two things really precious enough to be on par with an Ultimate Lifeform?
The answer was obviously no.
The Stone Mask was an experimental product of Kars. After awakening, he just tossed it to his subordinates to create vampires.
The Red Stone of Aja was indeed valuable, but it was only a one-time item. In the end, it was just a slightly special stone.
The combination of the two was less about pushing Kars into becoming an Ultimate Lifeform, and more like acting as a medium, like… A movie ticket.
Kars obtained the ticket (Red Stone of Aja + Stone Mask), entered the theater, watched the movie (evolution), and became a viewer (Ultimate Lifeform).
And inside Kars's body was stored all the content of that viewing.
If that was the case, Ryosuke didn't need the "ticket." By directly reading Kars's "viewing content," he could follow the same steps and become a "viewer" as well, that is…
A cloud viewer.
The body used in the trial mission couldn't be taken out, but that didn't matter. Ryosuke would remember everything. He only needed a bit of time to complete the replication and become a true Ultimate Lifeform.
Kars glanced at the hand pierced into his chest, feeling himself being devoured bit by bit.
He didn't feel human-like despair. As a Pillar Man, he could calmly accept defeat, of course, an absurd ending like in the original story, being blasted off Earth by a volcanic eruption, was something Kars still couldn't accept.
Kars asked, "Why do you want to become an Ultimate Lifeform?"
"Immortality?"
"Absolute power?"
"Or the right to control everything?"
Ryosuke, who was reading Kars's genes, chuckled when he heard this question. "Those things you mentioned… I already have them. But honestly, they're not very interesting."
Kars could tell Ryosuke wasn't lying. If that was the case, he truly couldn't understand. "Then why do you want to become an Ultimate Lifeform?"
"That's a bit complicated. I guess..."
Ryosuke glanced at the absorption progress. "Before you die, I won't be able to explain it clearly. But if I have to say it, the very first thing I want to do after becoming an Ultimate Lifeform…"
He smiled.
"Have you ever heard of hybrid rice?"
"What?"
Kars's mind went completely blank.
Weren't they talking about Ultimate Lifeforms?
Even Ryosuke, who remained calm and indifferent even in fierce battle, now had light in his eyes as he described to Kars the benefits of hybrid rice, how it could let countless people eat their fill, and not only that, how similar technology could be applied to animal husbandry so more people could have meat, eggs, and milk.
Kars stared blankly at Ryosuke, unable to imagine that he had lost to such a ridiculous, lowly reason.
'Just to eat enough?!'
Absurdity and humiliation engulfed Kars. He looked at the endlessly talking Ryosuke, and in the end... Stopped thinking.
By the time Stroheim found a place to land the plane and arrived with Second JoJo, Lisa Lisa, Speedwagon, and the others, Kars was already gone.
Lisa Lisa asked, "Where's Kars? Is he… dead?"
They had all seen that punch that shook the heavens. Even from several kilometers away, they had clearly felt the vibrations. And now, seeing the crater hundreds of meters wide in front of them…
Forget Ultimate Lifeforms.
Even a mythical creature would have been beaten to death, right?
But they wanted to see the body, dead or alive. Without Kars's corpse, there was always lingering unease.
"He's dead."
Ryosuke gave a definite answer.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Just as they were about to ask where Kars's body was, they saw the blood and bits of flesh between Ryosuke's fingers being absorbed bit by bit, and they all shut their mouths.
Only then did they remember.
The person in front of them was also a vampire.
Sensing everyone's concern, Ryosuke didn't mind. He casually tossed the Red Stone of Aja to Second JoJo.
Second JoJo caught it. Usually lively and carefree, he now showed a rare trace of confusion.
"Have we… met somewhere before?"
Another effect of parallel timelines.
Ryosuke smiled.
"Perhaps someday in the future."
He stood up, looked around, and nodded slightly to everyone.
"Goodbye, everyone."
The Kars trial mission was complete.
———
The sensation of the world flipping upside down appeared again. When Ryosuke came back to his senses, he was already back in the break room from before, still holding half a cup of unfinished coffee.
Ryosuke sipped the coffee little by little, closed his eyes, and made fine adjustments and recombinations based on the genetic data he had read from Kars.
Samui entered the break room. Seeing Ryosuke, she was about to greet him, but suddenly froze in place.
"Ryosuke… looks so good…"
After an unknown amount of time, Ryosuke finished the first round of genetic adjustments and opened his eyes, just in time to meet Samui's gaze.
"You've been waiting here for me this whole time?" Ryosuke asked.
"No, I just got here."
It was the first time Samui had lied to Ryosuke.
She looked away, pretending to pour tea, and said, "You look really good today."
"Thank you."
Ryosuke said, "You look beautiful today too."
This wasn't workplace flattery. Samui usually had a cool, aloof demeanor, but today she seemed to be wearing blush. A faint, perfectly balanced pink tint spread across her face.
However, perhaps it was just his imagination, but after hearing that sentence, the blush on her face became even more obvious. Very quickly, she lowered her head, grabbed some snacks, and fled the break room as if escaping.
Ryosuke didn't pay it much attention and continued thinking about the gains from this trial.
"First, and most importantly, I obtained Kars's genetic blueprint."
Considering that Ryosuke's original genes were human while Kars was a Pillar Man, if Ryosuke wanted to step into becoming an Ultimate Lifeform, he would need to make appropriate adjustments to the blueprint.
It wouldn't be like Kars, put on a mask, get some sunlight, crack, and you're done.
"Fortunately, I should have enough time for the next period."
"The second gain is Lesson 4 of Golden Spin. This is truly an unexpected delight."
Ryosuke spread his palm. A strand of air spiraled in his hand.
'Once I fully master Lesson 4, I can consider taking on the Golden Spin trial mission. But the problem is…'
'How am I supposed to get my hands on the next Ascension Star Core?'