Chapter 56: By Any Means Necessary for Victory

As the sphere of light entered Leo’s body, a momentary look of surprise appeared on his face.

“What is this!”

After digesting the memories flooding his mind, Leo gazed at JOJO with deep emotion, his luminous eyes brimming with unshed tears. “JOJO! This is priceless!”

Who could possibly understand the agony of having only two minutes and forty seconds of energy?

The moment Leo absorbed the Ripple technique, his body automatically activated its inner breathing mode. The golden energy it produced, combined with his own light energy, came with a built-in restoration mechanism, instantly remedying his lack of power.

And then there were all those light-based skills.

Leo never imagined there would come a day when he could instantly master so many abilities. He’d been training his own light rays for centuries, and even now, he was barely proficient.

Feeling newfound strength coursing through him, Leo immediately seized JOJO’s hand. “JOJO!”

For a while, his emotions were inexpressible, so intense he was at a loss for words.

“Don’t get too excited just yet,” JOJO poured a bucket of cold water over Leo’s enthusiasm. “Everything in this training ground is simulated. In other words, right now you only have temporary access to all these abilities. When you leave, you’ll be left with nothing but the memory, and you’ll have to relearn them from scratch using what you remember.”

“Huh?” Leo’s face froze at those words—he was never any good at learning light techniques.

Leo’s strengths were extremely unbalanced: unrivaled talent in martial arts, but a total dunce when it came to light-based skills.

JOJO, of course, had no such troubles. Seeing Leo looking worried, he tried to reassure him, “Don’t worry, it’s actually quite simple. Last time I was in the training ground, I learned a lightsaber move from someone, and it took me less than a minute to relearn it in the real world. For something this easy, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble.”

Leo: “???”

No, I think I’ll have a lot of trouble!

Remembering what Master Doryu had once said, Leo glanced at JOJO, hesitating to speak. He had a feeling the problem wasn’t with himself, but with how absurdly talented JOJO was. And judging by JOJO’s demeanor, he seemed completely oblivious to that fact.

If he told JOJO the truth, wouldn’t that just make him look inept?

After struggling for a while, Leo decided not to mention it. Instead, he placed his hand on the energy timer on his chest.

With JOJO imparting him so many abilities, Leo certainly wouldn’t hold back either. He had plenty of light-based skills, though he wasn’t proficient in them, and with his limited energy, he usually relied on hand-to-hand combat.

Cosmic Fist, Light Sphere, Energy Destruction Ball, Shooting Ray, Resurrection Ray, and more.

The young Leo was still an honest soul. Seeing JOJO give so much, he included every skill he knew in a sphere of light.

Feng Yuan, who hadn’t suffered under Astra’s training, was truly a model of sincerity.

When the sphere of light merged into JOJO’s Y-shaped energy core, the sheer volume of information left him momentarily stunned.

After a moment’s pause, he looked at Leo with a complicated expression. “This is too much.”

“It’s fine, we’re friends,” Leo replied with a hearty laugh.

A rough count revealed Leo had transferred over a dozen skills.

JOJO pondered for a moment and said, “In that case, let’s spar for real. To take on the Twin Monsters and the Magma Aliens, you’ll have to change your combat style.”

“Combat style?” Leo’s face showed confusion. “What’s wrong with my fighting style?”

“There’s definitely a problem!” JOJO’s tone was stern as he stepped back to create distance.

“In a life-or-death battle, you can’t hold back. You can’t approach it as a friendly match—once you have the advantage, you must press on ruthlessly until the enemy is destroyed!”

“Come on! Pretend I’m a Magma Alien—attack me!”

Leo was already a master of the Cosmic Fist, but he lacked real combat experience. Especially in critical moments, he’d show mercy to a beaten opponent, helping them back up out of sportsmanship.

In short, he still carried the mindset of a sparring match.

Seeing JOJO take up a fighting stance, Leo also assumed the opening stance of the Cosmic Fist. The two of them circled one another, and JOJO beckoned him forward. “Treat me as your enemy—fight with no holds barred!”

“But…” Leo hesitated, uncertainty in his voice. “JOJO, you’re not like the Magma Aliens. I can’t bring myself to hit you hard.”

JOJO thought for a moment—he was an Ultra, after all, not a Magma Alien. Their colors didn’t match at all.

After considering, JOJO looked at Leo and adjusted his tone, speaking in the manner of a scoundrel: “Sayaka Yamaguchi is truly beautiful. I’m going to steal her away from you!”

Leo’s fist clenched instantly, and suddenly he found JOJO’s face unbearable.

“If Sayaka refuses to obey, I’ll just have to use some underhanded methods. My Ultra Telekinesis can easily hypnotize her.”

“Bastard!” Leo’s anger erupted, and he launched an attack at JOJO!

Each strike of the Cosmic Fist was heavy, clearly fueled by fury.

But for JOJO, Leo’s attacks were still a bit slow.

Seeing Leo’s rage building, JOJO blocked his blows while continuing to taunt him.

“Boxer shorts! Boxer shorts!”

“You haven’t even kissed Sayaka yet, have you? I’ll use Ultra Telekinesis to control her—her very first kiss will be with me, JOJO!”

“JOJO!” Leo’s fury was now a blazing fire, and his punches came even faster!

In his emotional outrage, his energy surged, golden streaks of lightning crackling along his arms as he instinctively unleashed a Ripple barrage!

Scarlet fists wreathed in golden energy rained down in countless afterimages!

JOJO responded in kind, his own Ripple technique sending a flurry of silvery fists to clash with Leo’s red ones.

“Muda muda!”

“I told you! When facing your enemy, you must fight without mercy—like this! Ripple Eye Jab!”

Suddenly, JOJO knocked Leo’s arms aside, his palms transforming light energy into two icicles, which he immediately hurled at Leo’s eyes!

The icicles, charged with Ripple power, struck Leo square in the eyes, plunging his vision into darkness as he staggered back.

JOJO’s lesson continued.

“Ripple doesn’t just stay on your body—it can be turned into ranged attacks! If your energy is limited, using it to create physical constructs like this can be crucial!”

“Monster bodies may be tough, but their eyes are always vulnerable.”

“Once you’ve blinded a monster, you must seize the opportunity to gather your strength and unleash a finishing move. For example—your Leo Flying Kick!”

With that, JOJO leapt into the air, spun around, and delivered a red energy-charged flying kick squarely to Leo’s backside.

Of course, JOJO held back his strength. Leo tumbled forward, landing face-first, and shook his head as his vision returned.

But just then, he sensed something by his neck.

Turning his head, he saw the Eight-Segment Light Wheel spinning rapidly, hovering right by his throat!

JOJO held the Eight-Segment Light Wheel, looking down at Leo. “The handheld Light Wheel is even more effective—just gather energy in your palm and you can quickly form it. This method is perfect for you.”

“And wielding the Light Wheel this way doesn’t weaken its power at all—it can still sever a monster’s head in a single blow. Watch, like this—”

As he spoke, JOJO brought the Light Wheel a bit closer to Leo’s neck.

Leo shuddered from head to toe.

He quickly scrambled away, shouting, “Wait! Hold on! I’m not a monster!”