The JOJOLands

"This is the story of a boy, in the subtropical islands, who goes on to become extremely rich."

- The JOJOLands premise reveal

The JOJOLands (ザ・ジョジョランズ Za JoJoranzu) is the ninth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It was announced in the author's note of the September 2021 issue of Ultra Jump on August 19, 2021. It entered serialization on February 17th 2023 and will continue from there. Presumably, it represents the third part in the series set in the Steel Ball Run Universe.

Sypnosis
The story begins sometime after the time placement of JoJolion, and follows a young boy, Jodio Joestar. Who plans to become a millionaire in the subtropical islands of.

Jodio Joestar and his brother, Dragona Joestar, are pulled over by the police due to what the officer claimed as them dangerously swerving in the road. Dragona is shocked by this, stating that he did not even notice doing such, to which Jodio stated that he may have gotten a bit excited when a Dua Lipa song came on the radio. The officer checks Dragona's license, and then orders him to leave the vehicle for a pat-down, claiming that they suspect there to be drugs and the like on their persons or in the vehicle. Dragona is confused, stating that he wouldn't have anywhere to hide it, as he was wearing a bikini after returning from a swim. The officer, believing Dragona to be female, begins to make a move on him, groping him while insisting that women have more hiding places than men. He continues groping, sliding his hand into Dragona's bottoms, soon realizing that he is male. Jodio is furious by the way Dragona is being treated and leaves the vehicle. He uses his Stand, November Rain, and pelts the officer trying to stop him with a destructive rain. Meanwhile, Dragona, now semi-free from the officer's grip, uses his colony Stand, Smooth Operators, to rearrange the man's face. Jodio destroys the cameras within the dashboard while Dragona rearranges their license plate and the fake ID. They get back in the car and meet up with some gangsters in a junkyard, Handling their drug deal and collecting their money before leaving. Jodio explains his and Dragona's ties to the Joestar Family, revealing their Mother as the second daughter of Joseph Joestar.

Later, Jodio rides the school bus, getting asked by another student if he has "the goods", being offered money. He beats up the other student, and when they get out of the bus and on the school grounds, he takes the money back, directing the student to walk straight toward a statue. The student does so, and a man on a bicycle passes by him, telling him that what he is looking for is buried deep in a rain gutter. The boy goes to the gutter to retrieve the item, which is revealed to be drugs.

At Iko Iko, Jodio and Paco, along with Dragona, wait on the arrival of Meryl Mei Qi, the school principal and owner of the boutique. She enters and announces that the store will be closing early, clearing out the remaining customers. Afterward, she gives them a new job. To steal the rare diamond of a wealthy Japanese tourist. The heist will be conducted by them in a 4-man group. However, the boy who earlier purchased the drugs enters the building, being revealed to be the fourth member of the party.

On South King Street in Oahu, a woman in a bikini and riding a bicycle approaches Jodio Joestar, who was resting under a tree. She asks if he has any drugs to sell, claiming to be a friend of a woman named Kate. Jodio, perceiving her as a university student, insists that he doesn't know a Kate, beating around the bush to try and get her to purchase the drugs in a more inconspicuous way. After a back and forth, Jodio declares that she seems suspicious, stating that he believes she is a cop. She insists that she isn't, saying that if she were a cop, it would be illegal to deny she is one. She leaves the money for the purchase, and Jodio tells her to walk in the direction of the statue of. As she walks, she steps on a leaf, and Paco Laburantes quickly rides by on his bicycle, telling her she just stepped on it. Looking under the leaf, she finds the drugs and immediately puts Jodio and Paco under arrest, revealing herself to be a member of the DEA. The police officers throw Jodio to the ground, soon determined to be the officers who had pulled Jodio and his brother over previously. Jodio manages to destroy the evidence and break free with the help of his Stand, November Rain, effectively leading to his and Paco's escape.

At Kona Airport on Hawai'i, Usagi Alohaoe arrives, blaming his late attendance on a delayed flight due to maintenance. Incredibly annoyed at him, Dragona Joestar snaps at him, telling him that they need to move quickly to catch the evening flight to get off the island. In the rental car, they drive to the estate in which they will be breaking into, in hopes of stealing the precious diamond they were tasked with retrieving. Preparing to enter the grounds, they spot a security camera. Usagi uses his Stand, THE MATTEKUDASAI, and duplicates the camera, the secondary camera providing faulty footage. As they enter, Jodio sees the Japanese tourist swimming in the pool, immediately recognizing him as the manga artist, Rohan Kishibe

Jodio Joestar infiltrates the home of Rohan Kishibe, casually walking in from the pool area as the latter continues to make laps. He hides behind a chair and proceeds to take the Ipad in the chair and looks through, verifying his target as the legendary Mangaka himself. As he does this, the Stand, Smooth Operators, opens a door, allowing Dragona Joestar, Paco Laburantes and Usagi Alohaoe into the home. Dragona contacts Jodio to tell him that they're in, and Jodio responds by telling them that so long as they stay away from the sash windows, Rohan won't be able to see them. Stepping into the mansion's foyer, Dragona reiterates their objective: Find the diamond and take it. Only the diamond. Right as she says this, she notices Paco and Usagi attempting to pilfer everything from art and clocks to wine. Dragona reminds them that everything they take adds more risk to them as they leave the island and demands that they return it all to the places where they found it. Usagi rips a painting to search for a safe, all while Paco secretly pockets some of the money he was supposed to return. They stumble upon a laboratory that seems to be dedicated to volcanology. As they continue to look through the lab, they find a grouping of pictures depicting a puppy. They believe it to be cute, but it begs the question why a dog owner would keep a cat around. Just then, Rohan exits his pool. Jodio informs his team of the target's movements. At that moment, Rohan notices the cat and wonders where it could have come from. He enters the residence. Jodio begins to call for his team to get out, saying that if he finds them, this job switches from a burglary to a robbery, and that such a thing will get the police on them. Immediately thereafter, Paco and Usagi find the safe and ask Dragona if they're really going to call it off at this moment. Dragona thinks for a moment and decides to try for the diamond anyway, commanding the others to watch for Rohan. As Rohan investigates, Jodio uses the power of his November Rain to cause a sunshower. This forces Rohan to rush back outside to save his items. All the while, the mysterious cat is now making its way deeper into the home, drawing Rohan's attention. It's heading for the group. As it passes their room, Dragona manages to get the vault open. Within they find the diamond and, curiously, more cooled lava rocks. They bag the diamond and prepare to leave only for something like fishing wire to wrap around Paco's ankle. He stops to remove it, but finds it tightening so much that it begins to cut into his skin. The same type of line then wraps around Dragona's wrist. Usagi just barely dodges another line. Usagi finally realizes the string like trap is a Stand, and believes that the stray cat that passed them by is the master. At that moment, Rohan stops and begins to put two and two together. The stray cat, the sudden rainfall that seemed to only be pointed at his table. At that moment, Jodio discovers the truth. Their target can see stands

Rohan Kishibe seems to think something suspicious is up, which he is correct on as Jodio Joestar is currently watching him from his hiding place on the back porch. Jodio desperately tries to contact his team and inform them that Rohan can detect their abilities, which can only mean that he's a Stand just like they are. His message doesn't get through though as Paco Laburantes and Dragona Joestarare both fighting their hardest to get free from this strange new ability. Paco demands that Usagi give him the scissors that he had earlier so he can cut himself free, realizing that this new stand is somehow tightening even further and has already cut through the leather of his boot. Usagi then turns to Dragona and asks if she needs a pair of scissors as well, offering to use his stand, THE MATTEKUDASAI to create a set for her. Paco desperately attempts to free himself with the scissors, but the strange rope is too strong, and the scissors shatter under duress. Paco cries out in pain as the rope tightens. He says that it feels like ordinary material, but is as strong as stainless steel. Dragona still believes this to be some security system, but Usagi tells them that it's a Stand Ability. Dragona asks whose ability it could possibly be, and Usagi points to the strange cat wandering the mansion.

Paco believes this to be a preposterous idea, but Usagi holds tight to his theory. At that moment, Dragona hears Jodio over the radio, warning them that Rohan is coming their way. They panic and raise their masks, trying to decide if they should focus on the string, or trying to escape. They surmise that if they wait and escape instead that they'll be leaving limbs behind, so they attempt to get the string off other ways. Dragona utilizes their Smooth Operators to reposition their thumb and pull the rope off that way. The rope then disappears once it's off, confirming it to be a Stand Ability. Paco then decides to use his ability, The Hustle to quickly cut the rope, which he manages to succeed in doing, freeing himself. The team prepares to escape when Dragona realizes Paco's backpack is open and the diamond has fallen out. Dragona is sure they closed it, but believes that they must have been wrong and attempts to pick it up at the exact moment that Rohan appears around the corner to grab it.

Rohan informs Dragona that if they pick up the diamond again that they'll be in danger. Dragona pulls back. Rohan asks if they're scared now, but Dragona responds that they're just feeling bad for Rohan, who will now need to be tied up. It is then that Paco and Usagi realize what is happening. Suddenly, Rohan uses his ability to open up their hand into a manga and begins to read their information, from their name to their age to their objective. Rohan tells them that they're not in trouble. Though they destroyed a priceless painting and broke into a safe, he disregards this so long as they allow him to take the information stored in their bodies, particularly the information of how they came to learn of the diamond and anything else they might know about it. As he approaches, Paco threatens him, but this doesn't stop Rohan as he summons his stand, Heaven's Door. Paco avoids this with his own stand, which attaches him to the air vents on the ceiling by his flesh. He grips Rohan by the head and commands the others to tie him up as the Diamond falls into Dragona's possession. Usagi attempts to tie up Rohan, but is knocked back by Heaven's Door, his face opening up into the pages of a book. Usagi falls unconscious. Paco is the second to be touched, resulting in the same effect. Rohan proceeds to read the pages of their body and discovers their names and ages, as well as who they're working for, Meryl Mei Qi. Rohan discovers that the info was leaked when the diamond came through customs and that their goal is simply to get a share from selling it. Rohan is relieved that this was all it was, though the Joestar team are all still in an unsavory position. Suddenly, Dragona realizes that the diamond has somehow slipped through their hands, hinting that there is more than meets the eye in regards to this Diamond...

The chapter starts as Rohan Kishibe calls the police. He has both Paco Laburantes and Usagi Alohaoe on the ground and tied up. He tells the officer that there are four thieves on his property, one right in front of him, and one acting as lookout outside of the home. He says he'll stay on the line and then looks up at Dragona who is still confused about why they can't pick up the diamond no matter what they do. Rohan tells them that the police will be there in ten minutes and that Dragona would do well to just let him capture them. But Dragona attempts to pick the diamond back up and run with it. As Dragona flees, they find that the diamond is no longer in their hands, and that it is now on the table. And as that happens, all the money in Paco's pockets suddenly appears before them. Rohan picks up the money, stating that Paco must have shoved all of those banknotes from the drawer into his pocket, but now they've come back, and he reclaims them. He then turns his attention to Dragona, stating that he would then tie them up using the same zip-ties they brought with them to use on him. He asks Dragona to cooperate, but as he goes to capture Dragona, there is a sudden downpour in the den. Rohan quickly turns around to see the entire room drenched in water. Dragona moves safely away from Rohan as the Mangaka slowly begins to look through his den and living room. He knows that Jodio must be close, but where is unknown. He admits it's strange that Jodio would decide to come in and help instead of running away, and continues to examine the room, wondering to what purpose he would have made it rain suddenly in the house and continues to check the room. He stops at the carpet and presses his fingers into it and realizes that the water has soaked into it. Suddenly, he falls into a hole, and from behind a counter, Jodio wraps a zip-tie around Rohan's neck and hands, tying him to the counter. Jodio comes from around the corner and looks to Rohan and respectfully apologizes for what he had to do to him. It was then revealed that Jodio used his stand to pour rain so hard that it ate through the concrete, which is why Rohan fell. At just this time, Usagi and Paco awake, and they're raring for a fight with Rohan, especially now that he's tied up and incapacitates. But Jodio steps between them and stops them, stating that he doesn't want them to beat him because he's a famous mangaka that he respects. Usagi and Paco don't care whether he's a mangaka or not, but Jodio doesn't give in. Dragona steps forward and mentions that he's seen their faces and knows everything there is to know about them, and that even if they could steal the diamond which, for some reason, they can't, they wouldn't even make it past the airport. Jodio instead picks up Rohan's phone and asks him to please call the police back and tell them that this was a mistake and not to come. However, Rohan refuses. Jodio then proceeds to talk about the manga and why he respects Rohan. He talks about how cool it was to see Pink Dark Boy half completed, and how Rohan's work truly speaks to him. Jodio's Crew then begins to ask him what he's doing, thinking that he's just weebing out. But Jodio continues on to explain. He says that he came in from the patio, and maps out where he went in the house, speaking about how he stops in the room with the safe and found these lava rocks in the safe. At that, Rohan begins to sweat. Through deduction, he determines that these rocks must be more valuable than a six-million dollar diamond and asks himself why. He then says he's going to take them, and Rohan will "not refuse" to call the police back and rescind his request. Rohan remains quiet, and so Jodio smashes one of the rocks to show that he means business.

Rohan almost has an aneurysm over it and so Jodio uses this information to confirm that it is indeed important and says that Rohan should call the police back, and that at any time he or his friends are not able to leave for any reason, including "Act of God" reasons, such as a typhoon, he will smash the last rock and throw it into the sea. As they leave, Rohan calls Jodio back and tells him that now that he has it, he has to protect it with his life, tells him not to tell or trust anyone, including his friends. He says that the rock is the mechanism that will make him rich, the key to a law of nature. He must protect it, because he's being followed. He declares that he will cancel his call to the police and that they will see each other again really soon. They then leave the house, with Paco carrying the diamond since Dragona couldn't. As they leave, the cat follows them, but this time, it has companions.

As they escape from Rohan's residence, Jodio thinks back on the events of the burglary and about how Rohan insinuated that the lava rocks were special. Usagi is busy bird watching while they run, and Paco trips on a stump. They begin to wonder if they're even going in the right direction, and Dragona suddenly notices that the Diamond has fallen and is now on the ground. As the diamond falls, the Lava Rock seems to start vibrating. Paco freaks out, knowing he put the diamond in a zipped pocket, but Dragona tells him that this is basically par for the course due to their own past experiences with the diamond. As they discuss this, Jodio notices the stolen drawing of Pink Dark Boy that Usagi stole has also fallen onto the ground. They then begin to assume that these valuable things, the money also that Paco had attempted to pilfer was trying to escape too. They determine that these valuable items were gathering toward the lava rock. Dragona begins to think that they could make a lot of money with this if they use the rock right. They surmise that if Jodio carries these items with the lava rock, it'll all stay in his pockets. Jodio goes to pick up the diamond, but is caught by a trip wire that hauls him up into the trees. The gang peg this wire as the same one that was harassing them in the mansion. While he's trying to get free, Jodio notices something moving in the area around them. The group peg it as the cat, and they surmise that this is the cat's Stand ability. They question why it's following them, and Usagi states he has no clue why a cat would do this. Maybe it was it's instinct to hunt? Dragona tries to help Jodio down, despite Paco's warnings. As they do so, Jodio warns his sibling that these wires are floating down wind toward them. It is then that a wire pierces through Dragona's back. Dragona falls back into Paco as the wire pierces through his arm, seemingly sewing him and Dragona together. He curses the cat and it's Stand ability. Paco begins to reach out for the lava rock and the diamond, but doesn't find it. He realizes that both, as well as the drawing, are gone. Usagi is nowhere to be found, and suddenly they hear their getaway car, a 2023 Chevy Camaro, pulling away. Paco cries out that he'll have vengeance on Usagi for leaving them for dead, and that nothing will save him from it. Jodio begins formulating a plan. He tells Paco and Dragona to get close to him and pull their extremities in right under him. He summons November Rain and causes a downpour, which forces the wires out of the air. With momentary relief, Jodio attempts to free himself, but to his horror, he can't reach the tree trunk as it is a full four meters away. Just then, they see a pack of felines coming closer to them, and they begin to wonder if this assault will ever end...

Jodio, still suspended in mid-air by the string stand. As he hangs there, he wonders why cats of all things would be attacking them. All the while, down below, Dragona and Paco are on the ground, being assaulted by these strings, their bodies sewn together. They tell Jodio that he needs to break the branch with his stand, but Jodio says that it's too far away. It's out of his range, and he begins to wonder if somehow the cats took that into account when they launched the attack. Paco says they need to get up against the tree trunk, but Jodio warns them that they need to stay beneath him. They do as commanded, slowly working closer to the tree trunk. Paco then uses his stand to slowly climb up the tree trunk to hand a pair of scissors to Jodio, but just then, they notice the tree is full of cats. Jodio makes the horrifying discovery that Stray Cats (Jojolands) the cats know distance and understand their ranges. Dragona further elaborates that they don't need to work with the wind, as the strings are now coming down vertically. Slowly, Dragona and Paco are getting the life squeezed out of them. Jodio manages to move his position slightly, which allows him to brind one of the cats into his range. He uses his stand to shoot one of the cats out of the tree, which causes one of the sets of string to go limp. However, this angers the remaining cats, whose attacks intensify. Paco suggests they get into the cleft in the tree to hide. As they do this, Jodio is caught in a net and being strangled by the wire.

Dragona attempts to free Jodio to no avail. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a vehicle smashes into the tree, causing the cats to lose balance and slide out of the tree. The wires go limp due to this. It is revealed that Usagi didn't abandon them. Usagi proceeds to explain that he had already won, as he had swiped some caviar from Rohan's home and mixed it into some hamburgers he had and fed it to the cats. He explains that the caviar was very expensive, and that these cats are being drawn to the most valuable thing. They go to attack Usagi, but he drops the Lava Rock which bounces into the grass, causing the cats to almost slip and fall off of him, proving his point. They're after rock. He then asks Dragona to ask THE MATTEKUDASAI for the net, which Dragona does. With that net, they catch the cats. All the while, the true value of the Lava Rock is slowly becoming more and more aparent, and Jodio remembers the words of Rohan, informing him to be careful who he tells about the rock, and to not trust anyone, even his own friends.

After escaping the jungle, we find the Joestar group outside of a cafe. As Jodio plays around on his phone, he ends up flirting with some girls on their way to the beach. Dragona calls out to him and tells him to stop flirting and hurry over because they're going to a cafe. During this time, some Sheriff's Deputies arrive in a Patrol Vehicle, take one look at the smashed up Chevy Camero, and continue on their way. Paco states his surprise that Rohan has kept his word and hasn't called the police. They still have two hours before their flight begins boarding, so they go to the cafe, where Usagi asks Dragona if he can borrow 20$, promising to pay it back. This causes Dragona to ask if the Camero had rental insurance, because they don't all want to pay for Usagi smashing it up. Usagi assures her that it's fine. He tells her that he is broke from the expenses but can float 20$ back if she hands it over. Dragona decides to start asking personal questions to see if he is good for the money, to which he says his mother and he have some good money on them from when his construction worker father got hit by a bus and died. The story is so sad that Dragona floats him the 20 without further questions. At this time, they switch the conversation to the Lava Rock, asking why it's so important, and how it manages to determine what is or isn't valuable.

Dragona asks if this means he wants to go back to Rohan and ask about it, and Jodio, who understands what Usagi means, explains that he wants to do an experiment on the rock right then and there. They try to figure out how it knows value, and wonders if its some sort of memory, like it remembers owners or objects that have been close to it for a while. So, due to the rock touching Dragona's 20$ for about four minutes, Usagi takes the 20$ from under the rock, crumples it, and tosses it away. Dragona gets up to grab the 20$, but Usagi tells her to wait. At that time, someone snatches the 20$ and spends it. Dragona, angry, begins choking the life out of Usagi. Jodio notes how strange it is that the money didn't come back, and posits that maybe the 20$ wasn't valuable enough. At that time, Paco comes back with the sprite. He mentions that as he was on his way back, a fly flew into the sprite, so he took it back to get a new one, and got a second drink for free. Paco also has 20$ attached to him.

When Usagi grabs it, he looks for the doodle he put on it, and discovers that the 20$ managed to come back. Paco is clueless about what is happening, but the crew is ecstatic about the new discovery and feel they need to do some more "experiments" by taking the rock into a luxury watch store. Jodio and Usagi ask if they really should go that far, and Dragona says they're not doing anything illegal, and just testing the waters. Dragona says they shouldn't get on the flight back anyway, and asks him to hand over the rock. Jodio gives it to Dragona, and Dragona heads in with only Usagi. Meanwhile, outside Jodio and Paco are waiting. Paco asks if he should get the car, and Jodio tells him to pump the brakes because they're not going to be fleeing the seen... probably. After all, they're not doing anything illegal... probably. So instead they get chicken burritos. Inside the store, Dragona is looking at all the watches. Usagi continues playing with Dragona's nerves, telling Dragona that these luxury watches aren't for telling what time it is, but for telling how much time left you have in life.

He tells Dragona that he'll handle the talking, and then proceeds to not only botch the name "Rolex", but also believes that they come in digital. As he wanders around though, the clerk tells him he shouldn't go to the back and that he should instead go over to their digital watches. But just then, the clerk notices the diamond in Dragona's pocket and suddenly changes his tune, telling them that they're free to go to the back if they really want to. The clerk takes them to the back and begins showing them the most expensive watches, the most expensive of which going up to $80,000. Suddenly however, a guard comes in, and the clerk speaks with him before turning on the cameras. The clerk then informs them that he has been respectful and that he's turned on the cameras. At that time, one of the four watches disappears. Outside, Jodio and Paco are talking about why the chicken is so tasty. Suddenly, as Jodio reaches for the bag, he recoils. He realizes that someone has been following them since they left Rohan's house, and they're there to take back the Lava Rock. Paco goes to grab the bag and finds some Stray Cats (Jojolands) inside.

Trivia

 * JOJOLands was announced at the end of JoJolion.
 * JOJOLands was also announced almost at the same time as the Hol Horse and Josuke spin-off, Crazy Diamond's Demonic Heartbreak.
 * Araki had hinted that the future protagonist Jodio would be a direct descendant of Joseph Joestar and part of the main Joestar line.