"I Activate the Spell Card, (Monster Reborn)!"
As it was a fairly useful card, Hayato naturally had a copy of (Monster Reborn) in his collection. The Ankh symbol appeared on Hayato's Field, and the (XYZ-Dragon Cannon), which had been bouncing back and forth between the Graveyard and the Field, returned once again.
"Are you trying to use (XYZ-Dragon Cannon)'s Annihilation Mode to destroy my (Blue-Eyes) now that it's lost its (Dragon Shield)? Don't even think about it!" Before Hayato could even Activate the Effect of his (XYZ-Dragon Cannon), Kaiba hastily flipped over his previously Set Card. "(Forbidden Dress)! My (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) on the Field loses 600 ATK, but it cannot be destroyed by effects, nor can it be targeted by effects!"
"In other words, your (XYZ-Dragon Cannon)'s Effect is useless against my (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon)! Even if you were to use a Card like (Dark Hole), you still couldn't destroy my invincible (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon)!"
[(Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) ATK: 4500 -> 3900]
"Tsk." Although Hayato had a follow-up plan, it was still a bit annoying that he couldn't resolve this with (XYZ-Dragon Cannon) as he'd intended. "In that case, I Activate the Effect of (Frontline Base) on my Field to Special Summon (W-Wing Catapult) from my Hand! Then, I Flip the face-down Monster on my Field!"
The blue catapult wing appeared on the Field, and the face-down Defense Position Monster Hayato had Summoned last Turn revealed its true form. It was (V-Tiger Jet). "The two monsters, V and W, combine into one! (VW-Tiger Catapult)!"
"I hacked into the data center of the Duel Arenas used in Duelist Kingdom. That Monster has an Effect that can change a Monster's Battle Position, doesn't it?" Kaiba suddenly said. "But no matter how you change the state of my (Blue-Eyes), you won't be able to destroy it, even in Defense Position!"
"Then I'll just have to show you that I can. Since you hacked the data center, you must know how I won the last Duel in which I used this Monster, right?" Hayato said, proceeding with another Summon. "The two monsters, (VW) and (XYZ), combine once more! Accelerate beyond the limit!"
"This is my pride as a duelist, my Soul! (VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon)!"
Before the invincible Ultimate Dragon, the weak machines harbored a fearless heart, combining, linking, and evolving. The (V-to-Z), with an Attack equal to that of the Blue-Eyes, then appeared on Hayato's Field.
[(VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon) ATK: 3000]
"Its Skill is enhanced after linking, allowing you to Banish a Monster once per turn without discarding a Card from your Hand? It's useless! My (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) cannot be targeted by any effects right now!"
"If I can't Weaken my Opponent, then I'll just have to strengthen myself as much as possible." Hayato revealed the last Card in his Hand. "You should be familiar with the Effect of (Power of Succession), right?"
"I Disassemble the (Z-Metal Tank) equipped to my (X-Head Cannon), and then Target it to Activate (Power of Succe—"
Just as Hayato was about to Activate his Card, a boy's voice suddenly cried out from the nearby woods, causing both him and Kaiba to freeze.
"Help me—!!!"
"That voice... it's Mokuba!!" Kaiba's expression changed in an instant. He quickly gathered the cards on his Field and put them back in his briefcase. Without waiting for the elevator to descend, he leaped from the towering Duel Arena. The image of (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) had yet to completely fade from the Field, but Kaiba was already sprinting towards the forest.
Hayato only heard Kaiba's voice trail off: "We'll settle the outcome of this Duel another day! Until we meet again, Hayato!"
"What the hell? I was just about to win! Kaiba is such a bad sport." Hayato complained, annoyed. All he had to do was successfully Activate (Power of Succession), transfer the 1500 ATK of (Z-Metal Tank) to his 3000 ATK (V-to-Z), and its Attack would surpass that of (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon).
Then, all he had to do was Direct Attack with (X-Head Cannon), and he would have won.
Annoyance aside, Hayato was also quite worried about Mokuba's voice coming from the forest. He guessed that Mokuba must have been captured by the people from Industrial Illusions again. However, glancing at the distance between the Duel Arena and the ground, Hayato didn't dare to jump down directly. Are you kidding me? This is almost four or five meters high. Not everyone is like Kaiba.
Cutting steel wires with cards was one thing, but blocking bullets with a briefcase and jumping off a cliff only to climb back up—these were all superhuman feats Kaiba had performed. Jumping from the height of a two or three-story building was nothing to him.
As he stood on the slowly descending elevator platform, Hayato said to Bakura, who had been watching, "Bakura, hurry and catch up to Kaiba. He's here unofficially. It'll be bad if the people from Industrial Illusions catch him."
Meanwhile, Yugi and his friends were chasing the Industrial Illusions staff who had kidnapped Mokuba.
"Let Mokuba go! He's just a kid!"
"If you've got guts, come after me!" Yugi and Téa, being less athletic, were a step behind. Tristan and Joey were at the very front. Seeing the two Men in Black ahead, they exchanged a glance, sprinted forward with all their might, and slammed into them with a double shoulder tackle.
"Aah!"
Although the two Men in Black were adults, they were burdened by carrying a child. Joey and Tristan caught up to them, and the impact successfully knocked them to the ground. Mokuba was also dropped in the process. However, Mokuba, who had just let out a piercing cry for help, was now sleeping like a log.
Not long before, Mokuba had stolen star chips from someone else. He had pooled them with Hayato's star chips as the Stakes for a Duel against Yugi. However, the Monster cards Hayato had left for Mokuba were either Fodder Monsters with less than 1000 ATK or high-Level Fodder Monsters, like the (Ojama) brothers, (Skull Stalker), and (Lion Sorcerer). Moreover, he hadn't included a single Spell or Trap Card.
It was a massacre. Hearing that the cards belonged to Hayato, Yugi had initially taken the Duel seriously and set up Traps. But by the time Mokuba lost, he hadn't even managed to get through the five cards Yugi had Set in his Backrow on the first Turn.
Yami Yugi had commented that it was a good thing he hadn't taken over for his Aibo; bullying a child like that would have been too disgraceful.
After losing the Duel, Mokuba was taken by Yugi and the others to find the duelist whose star chips had been stolen. But when they reached the docks, they discovered that the duelist had already been sent away from Duelist Kingdom. What's more, the staff at the docks had thrown away all the star chips they were given. Among them were not only Hayato's and the other duelist's chips, but even a few of Yugi's.
A thoroughly annoyed Yugi switched to Yami Yugi mode and challenged the staff member to a Duel. Unexpectedly, one of the Men in Black, who normally wouldn't participate in a Duel, accepted. However, he arranged an opponent for Yugi: a duelist who claimed to be the ghost of "Seto Kaiba."
After an intense Duel, Yugi quickly saw through the imposter. Although the Deck's style was similar, there were two key differences. First, the duelist's Deck only contained the so-called "deceased Blue-Eyes," the (Blue-Eyes Zombie Dragon). Second, the lines he shouted while dueling weren't the least bit dramatic or passionate.
After Yugi defeated the fake "Kaiba" and won the Duel, they suddenly realized Mokuba was missing. It was only when they heard his cry for help that they knew Industrial Illusions had taken advantage of everyone's distraction during the Duel to abduct him.
And that brings us to the present scene.
(end of chapter)