In STEEL BALL RUN Episode 6, we leave the Wild West for the Kingdom of Naples to learn Gyro Zeppeli’s backstory: his family has served as the King’s executioner for 380 years. At 13, Gyro himself trained in the Steel Spin, later witnessing his first execution as his father’s assistant, and is poised to inherit the role.
That all changes with Marco, a child who polishes shoes who was wrongly sentenced to death. Unable to accept the injustice, Gyro defies his father to enter the Steel Ball Run in America. Why? A messenger of the King tells him that winning this race is considered equivalent to winning a war, and if that happens, the king will grant a royal pardon as a celebration ritual.
This explains Gyro’s clash with race organizer Steven Steel. For him, losing is not an option. Gyro doesn’t care about the $50 million; he must win because an innocent child’s life is at stake, and he’ll do whatever it takes to save him.
