Sorrowful Successor

Zeppeli's thoughts drift back to his apprentice years learning the Ripple, and to the grim forecast Tonpetty once gave him: a death inside an old chamber, a child showing the path, and a lion set loose as he perished. The room around him now matches that vision exactly. Resigned to what is coming, he still throws himself at Tarkus, determined to buy Jonathan his freedom. Tarkus wraps a chain around him and splits his body apart.

Yet life clings to him a moment longer. Gathering the last of his energy, Zeppeli channels his remaining Ripple straight into Jonathan. The surge heals the young Joestar and lends him the strength to snap his bonds, after which he outclasses Tarkus and finishes him with the technique. Zeppeli tells Jonathan he has made peace with his fate and has handed his purpose over, then dies with his companions grieving around him.

Making their way back toward Windknight's Lot with Speedwagon and Poco, Jonathan runs into a villager named Adams, whose friendly greeting quickly gives way to a thirst for blood. Jonathan puts him down without much trouble, ripping out his tongue and driving the Ripple through his feet into the creature. A second man then lunges at him, and after a scramble of dodges and counters, the stranger reveals he is human and was simply gauging Jonathan's skill. He introduces himself as Dire, a friend of Zeppeli's and a fellow Ripple practitioner.

Straizo arrives next, followed shortly by their master, Tonpetty, and the trio joins Jonathan's journey. The episode also confirms that Poco's sister has fallen into Dio's hands. One piece of foreshadowing sits in plain sight: Jonathan's star shaped birthmark shows on his bared shoulder, a detail the manga would not explain until Part 3.