# Chapter 331: Irreversible Ultimate Power
In the Virtual World, Hayato found what he was looking for, while Yugi and the others were still in a Duel.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
In the Real World, Marik swung the (Millennium Rod) in his hand, smashing a robot's "eye" that he had underfoot.
"Tsk, they're truly relentless. Just how many more are there?"
Marik glanced unhappily at the sealed door behind him.
Let's rewind time to when the "S.S. St. Ann" had not yet been hijacked by Noah, and the fourth Duel of the Top 8 — Yugi VS Marik — had just concluded.
At that time, Marik, in an extremely foul mood after losing the Duel and the last of his Egyptian God Cards, (Slifer the Sky Dragon), felt that since he couldn't defeat Yugi and Hayato in Duels, he would have to resort to some dirty tricks.
However, to be safe, he wanted to find an ally to act with. After all, among the three people currently holding Egyptian God Cards, Yugi had the (Millennium Puzzle) for protection, and Hayato had the (Millennium Ring). The only one without (Millennium Items) protection was Seto Kaiba, but Marik's (Millennium Rod) was precisely ineffective against him, even occasionally rebelling to his side.
Since he was looking for an ally, Marik immediately thought of Ryo Bakura, with whom he had "cooperated pleasantly" in the past.
This is why, when the Airship landed inside this steel fortress, Ryo Bakura and Marik "disappeared" from the infirmary together.
According to Ryo Bakura, he had once tampered with the (Millennium Puzzle) and could remotely sense its location. Evading everyone, the two white-haired individuals meandered through the labyrinthine fortress, and under Ryo Bakura's lead, Marik truly found Hayato and his group, who had inexplicably fallen unconscious.
Following the robots that had taken Hayato and his group, Ryo Bakura and Marik arrived at a place called the "Transmission Room." The large door here was tightly closed, and because it used an electronic lock instead of a mechanical one, Marik's attempt to bypass it with his magic also ended in failure.
Just as Marik thought he had no way to retrieve the "Egyptian God Cards" from Hayato and his group trapped inside, the accompanying Ryo Bakura told Marik that he had a way to unlock the password, but it would trigger an alarm and attract those troublesome robots.
Therefore, Ryo Bakura arranged for Marik to stand guard and block the robots.
After some time, Marik, standing at the door and constantly vigilant of his surroundings, heard the sound of the large door opening from behind him. He turned his head in surprise, only to find that Ryo Bakura, taking advantage of his proximity, had already stepped into the Transmission Room ahead of him.
Although confused as to why the alarm Ryo Bakura mentioned hadn't triggered at all, Marik still walked towards the Transmission Room. But just then, watching Marik approach him, a sinister grin appeared on Ryo Bakura's face. Under Marik's surprised gaze, he smashed the glass cover over a button next to his hand with a single punch!
As the alarm sounded, the open Transmission Room door slammed shut. Marik, who was trying to squeeze inside, hadn't even run two steps before a surge of Dark Power attacked him.
Although he used the (Millennium Rod) to block Ryo Bakura's Attack, Marik consequently couldn't catch up and was locked outside by the heavy iron door. At the same time, the entrance was also surrounded by robot forces that had rushed over due to the alarm.
In the instant before the door closed, Marik also heard Ryo Bakura's "message" to him —
"Cooperate with me? Do you, an idiot like you, even have the qualifications? Hayato really wasn't wrong about you; you're just a mere Six-Year-Old."
Under Marik's furious gaze, Ryo Bakura's face disappeared from his sight. "Consider this as the follow-up payment for our last transaction, you idiot Marik!"
Clearly, Ryo Bakura had never forgotten how Marik had commissioned him to eliminate Odion last time, only for Marik to break the agreement midway. He had been waiting for a long time for an opportunity to retaliate.
The enraged Marik swung the pure gold (Millennium Rod) against the large door, only managing to smash an insignificant dent into the steel. Powerless against both the door and the electronic lock, Marik could only rage in impotent fury while fending off the endless stream of mechanical forces.
Time flowed once more, returning to the present.
Just as the Six-Year-Old Marik, who understood nothing of advanced electronic locks and couldn't violently force the door open, was carving a path through a pile of robots, in the Virtual World, Yugi, Dueling "Téa," used (Absorption Shield) to block the Attack of "[Guardian Angel Jeanne]" on Téa's Field. He couldn't help but frown.
Because just now, for some unknown reason, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. Although the tremor was minor and had little impact, at that instant, Yugi saw "Téa's" appearance flicker like a TV screen with bad reception.
"What was that just now?" Yugi Muto was somewhat puzzled, wondering if he had just imagined things or seen wrongly.
"No, Aibo, I saw it too," Yami Yugi said from within the (Millennium Puzzle). "And I seemed to have seen, beneath 'Téa's' appearance, a robot?"
The ground trembled again. This time, not only Yugi, but the other individuals also noticed something strange about their Opponents.
Especially Joey, who pointed at "Serenity Wheeler" standing opposite him with a look of horror. "What's going on! How did Serenity Wheeler turn into this!"
The "Serenity Wheeler" who had been expressionless in front of him now had a glitch like an error signal appearing on half of her face due to the recent ground tremor, revealing a glowing red electronic eye?!
Kaiba keenly noticed something and questioned Gozaburo, who had just awakened from the ground's trembling not far away. "Gozaburo, you said you had Control over other people's bodies, but you were actually lying, weren't you!"
"Heh, you're too slow to react, Seto. Or is it because Mokuba was involved, which caused you to be unable to think of anything else?" Gozaburo dejectedly got up from the ground, glanced at the shattered floor-to-ceiling window and the large door kicked open by Hayato not far away, then walked to the desk in the office, pulled out the boss's chair, and sat down.
"That's right, I deceived you. What appeared here were not your companions at all; even your current bodies are not your real bodies."
Saying this, Gozaburo clapped his hands, intending to dispel the disguises he had placed on "Téa," "Mokuba," and the others. But looking at "Téa" and the others, whose appearances hadn't changed at all, a bitter smile appeared on Gozaburo's face. "As expected, they've completely gone out of control."
"Heh heh, heh hahahaha, it's over, Seto. The destruction of this World is completely fated. Come with me to hell!"
But Yugi and Kaiba didn't care about Gozaburo, who was suddenly laughing like a madman.
After learning that the Opponents in front of them were not their companions, they, who had been suppressed for so long, unleashed their true Power.
"How dare you impersonate Mokuba's face, Blue-Eyes!"
"Go, (Arcana Knight Joker)!"
"(Red-Eyes Black Dragon), take down that impostor!"
"(Amazoness Queen), let's join in the attack!"
"(Blast Held by a Tribute)!"
Amidst the roars of the four Monsters and the wails of Duke Devlin's "[Dice Nigma the Fiend Ogre]," the "fakes" blocking everyone's path had their Life Points depleted to zero, and five robots collapsed onto the ground.
And accompanying the soaring Will of the group, the ground's trembling intensified, and even cracks began rapidly spreading across the surrounding walls.
The building where this office was located was about to collapse!
Not only that, but looking out from the shattered floor-to-ceiling window, Yugi also discovered that cracks were beginning to spread across the "Earth" outside, and even the Starry Sky beyond Earth was shattering. After the illusory scene shattered, the falling fragments collapsed into the endless deep space hidden behind the scene.
"Hey, Gozaburo, what exactly have you done!" After the Duel ended, Kaiba, who was closest, ran directly to Gozaburo, who was sitting behind the desk, and angrily grabbed his collar. "Let us out!"
"Heh, what a nostalgic feeling, sitting in this chair and watching the brat opposite me rage in impotent fury. My only regret is probably that, in my lifetime, I was actually the one doing the raging." A cold smile appeared on Gozaburo's face, and he didn't struggle free from Kaiba's hand. "It's too late, Seto. That Card is already complete."
"The (Super Polymerization) Card possesses the Power to fuse everything. Ryo Bakura was the one who told me this; my original idea was to use it as the strongest weapon."
He paused for a moment, Gozaburo turned his head and looked at his wrist. The Deck Zone on his Duel Disk was completely empty. "That guy named Hayato took the (Super Polymerization) from my hand. He probably thought to get away from here to slow down (Super Polymerization)'s speed in absorbing your Dueling Will as much as possible."
"But he was still a step too slow. Thanks to your recent decisive blow, (Super Polymerization) is already complete. And because of the joy of its new birth, (Super Polymerization) has spontaneously activated, taking this World as its Fusion Material."
Gozaburo snapped his fingers, but nothing happened except for the increasingly intense tremors around them.
"As you can see, this World, because of (Super Polymerization)'s Power, has completely lost Control. Even I cannot open the path to the Real World now."
Saying this, Gozaburo pried open Kaiba's fingers, straightened his collar, and sat back down in his boss's chair, watching the World outside gradually shattering.
Meanwhile, on Hayato's side.
Looking at the (Super Polymerization) in his hand, which had already spontaneously activated and was unstoppable and irreversible, Hayato ignored Marik's self-deprecating grumbling from the (Millennium Ring), and resolutely slammed it onto a rift in front of him. "Since there's no way to stop (Super Polymerization), then I'll actively guide it!"
"Our destiny will be changed by me! Watch me clear this in one life!"
(end of chapter)
Chapter 332: Noah Arc, End
Half-asleep, half-awake, Yugi heard a soft "beep" sound beside his ear.
Opening his eyes, he saw the door of a Hibernation Pod slowly opening.
His head still a bit groggy, he sat up from inside the pod and looked around. There were over a dozen other Hibernation Pods beside him, identical to the one he had been in. Joey, Kaiba, and the others all looked as if they had just woken up as well.
"Have we returned to the Real World?"
Mai Valentine asked, somewhat confused. Beside her, Joey, still unsure, vigorously pinched his arm. Tears welled up from the pain, and he finally stated with certainty, "Yep, this is definitely the Real World. It really hurts."
"Idiot, you'd feel pain in the Virtual World too, you know," Mai Valentine retorted, glancing at the unfamiliar surroundings. "Where exactly are we? And how did we suddenly get out of that world?"
Yugi recalled.
After defeating the Duel robots Gozaburo had Summoned, which were disguised as their companions, everyone interrogated Gozaburo but gained nothing. Watching as rifts spread across their vision, the world shattered with a crash, engulfed in a vortex, and a white light swallowed Yugi and the others.
Then, here they were, waking one by one from the Virtual World.
Hayato was the last of them to wake up. Ishizu, whose Hibernation Pod was closest to him, found him immediately after waking. Seeing Hayato sit up from his Hibernation Pod, Ishizu asked with concern, "Are you alright, Hayato-kun?"
"I told you Sis has a thing for you, brother-in-law!" Before Hayato could say anything, Marik, from within the Millennium Ring on his chest, spoke with great excitement, looking like he had 'shipped' something.
Ignoring the three-year-old's comment, Hayato stretched his shoulders and neck, which had become stiff from lack of movement, and replied with a smile, "Yeah, completely fine. This simple game can be cleared in one go."
Though he said it was simple, Hayato was quite pained by his DP Points, which had been spent like flowing water once again.
From the moment he entered the Virtual World, based on the strange behavior of Rainbow Kuriboh and Ojama Yellow, Hayato began to suspect that the Virtual World might be connected to the Card Spirit World. After all, Hayato had even obtained the Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca, which had a Duel Monster Spirit dwelling within it, in a highly similar DM online game world.
Thanks to the "direction-guiding" function of the Millennium Ring, after defeating Gozaburo and snatching the incomplete Super Polymerization Card from his hands, Hayato managed to find evidence of the Virtual World's connection to other worlds at the last minute. This was also an entrance to traverse worlds—namely, the rift Hayato ultimately discovered.
Coincidentally, Hayato only realized after finding it that the fissure was indeed caused by Yugi, Kaiba, and himself, just as Bakura had said—that fissure was actually a residual effect of the clash between the attacks of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon Knight and Five-Headed Dragon back then!
In other words, the DM online game and Noah's Virtual World were no longer just similar; they were directly connected!
Gozaburo's goal in completing Super Polymerization was to use it as the ultimate weapon to rule the world. The method he employed was actually quite simple: to fuse the Real World with the Virtual World, which he completely controlled, to create a new world.
Once the Super Polymerization Card was complete, its activation couldn't be stopped, but Hayato hadn't actually intended to stop it. All he did was switch Super Polymerization's target.
While "reality is a terrible game" was a consensus among most people, Hayato wasn't so extreme as to destroy the Real World. Therefore, by utilizing the rift, Hayato excluded the Real World from the fusion target, choosing instead to fuse the Virtual World with other worlds accessible through the rift.
Of course, such an act was not free. Guiding the fusion target to the Card Spirit World, a place whose access was completely unknown, was no easy feat. Hayato's long-saved DP Points were all spent to acquire a card to serve as the fusion coordinate.
That card, which Hayato had just redeemed and barely had a chance to hold, vanished under the power of Super Polymerization. However, now that Super Polymerization had concluded, Hayato received an unexpected surprise.
Raising his wrist to pull his Deck from the Duel Disk, as soon as he fanned it out, Hayato saw two cards appear at the very top of the Deck. One of them was none other than the Super Polymerization completed in the Virtual World.
The other card was the surprise Hayato mentioned.
Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!
Looking at this incredibly versatile Fusion Monster in his hand, due to its lenient material requirements, Hayato couldn't help but mutter. The card he had redeemed earlier was chosen by the System for Hayato, but it had vanished under Super Polymerization just seconds after he received it, meaning Hayato hadn't even seen what monster it had Fusion Summoned.
Now with this monster appearing in his hand, Hayato couldn't help but wonder—had he perhaps Fusion Summoned the three Dragons of the Ice Barrier across multiple worlds?
With that thought, Hayato crawled out of his Hibernation Pod. Seeing Kaiba still researching the electronic lock, which was completely sealed by a broken emergency alarm button, Hayato didn't rush. Instead, he went behind the Hibernation Pod, tinkered with it for a moment, and pulled out something resembling a storage device.
Under the influence of Super Polymerization's power, the two worlds chosen as the fusion target shattered together. Yugi and the others were sent out of the Virtual World by Hayato at the very last moment of the fusion, and with them, Gozaburo.
As the last two individuals with administrator permissions, the moment Gozaburo regained control for a mere instant, he didn't think of intercepting Yugi, Kaiba, and the others. Instead, he took advantage of the shattering world to try and perform Body Snatching on Hayato.
But there was no "then what." The Millennium Ring wasn't just for show; Gozaburo's attempt at Body Snatching met its greatest nemesis.
It wasn't just a failure; he couldn't even reside within the Millennium Ring. Marik told him "This place is full," and then kicked him out, conveniently carrying him along with the data stream.
Currently, Gozaburo was imprisoned within the storage device in Hayato's hand.
"My great achievement, easily destroyed by you brats, damn it, damn it! I could have become the god of the new world!"
From within the storage device Hayato had named "USB drive," Gozaburo raged impotently, but only Hayato and Marik could hear his roar.
Marik, bored inside the Millennium Ring, glanced at Gozaburo and scoffed, "What a weak god. Even ants wouldn't be ruled by you, would they?"
Meanwhile, Marik...
"Tch, finally found this place." Waving the Millennium Rod, Marik smashed the last monitor of a nearby mechanical soldier. Before the next wave of robot troops could arrive, he darted into a control room.
Looking at the vast array of red and green buttons before him, the three-year-old Marik, who had never seen such high-tech equipment, felt a headache coming on.
"What is this? Don't these people know how to label what each button is for?" Gritting his teeth, Marik's gaze fell upon the largest red button on the control panel, which was covered by a glass dome.
Among all the buttons, this one was the most eye-catching. According to Marik's guess, this was definitely the self-destruct button for the fortress.
With a slight twinge of pity, Marik touched the Millennium Rod in his hand, then brought it down hard, smashing through the glass dome and pressing the button!
Then, the sinister grin on Marik's face froze. He realized that the display screen in front of the control panel had actually opened up a famous game, "Galaga," where pixelated spacecraft continuously fired in space to fend off invading attackers.
"Which idiot designed this?!"
Marik was fuming. It went without saying that some slacker, playing games during work hours, had installed this. To avoid detection, they even made it look like a self-destruct button!
Furious, Marik angrily slammed and pounded on the control panel, smashing most of the buttons and displays. He didn't know what he had pressed, but before the projection screen was destroyed, it actually displayed "30:00:00" and began a countdown.
At the same time, a broadcast echoed inside the fortress: "Self-destruct sequence activated. Countdown initiated. Time remaining until self-destruct: 30 minutes."
Seeing that his wild smashing had actually achieved results, Marik gave a triumphant snort and turned to walk out of the control room.
As Dark Marik, he didn't possess Light Marik's obsession with becoming Pharaoh. For him, destroying things was the greatest pleasure. While the Egyptian God Cards possessed immense power, they weren't indispensable. Since Bakura had pulled a fast one on him, the childish Marik decided to go all out and make everyone die here!
What he didn't know was that Hayato and the others had already woken up from the Virtual World just as Marik entered the control room. Moreover, thanks to Marik's recent shenanigans, the completely locked transfer room door, which even Kaiba had been temporarily unable to open, was now unlocked.
As soon as they exited the transfer room, everyone heard the broadcast overhead. Hearing that the place was about to self-destruct, Kaiba quickly pressed a microphone on his collar: "Calling the S.S. St. Ann, is the airship still operational!"
When the airship landed, Noah not only hijacked it but also used several mechanical arms to completely secure the airship inside the fortress, locking it down. This meant that even if Mokuba and the others on the airship accidentally countered Noah's control, they still couldn't escape.
With Noah's death in the Virtual World earlier, due to Gozaburo's attempt to create Super Polymerization, the airship's control system had indeed broken free from Noah's hijacking. However, because of the mechanical arms, even those on the airship couldn't leave, let alone Kaiba and the others who hadn't even returned to the ship yet.
From Kaiba's pocket pager, Mokuba's excited voice rang out: "Brother, Brother, are you alright!"
"The mechanical arms controlling the airship have just been released, and the airship's control system has been restored! We're just waiting for you to get on board!"
Given the presence of the "self-destruct" device, no one had any intention of lingering. Guided by Hayato's Millennium Ring, although they weren't sure how they had arrived there, everyone quickly returned to the airship's landing pad.
As they ran, everyone noticed that ever since they left the transfer room where they had been lying, there had been remnants of mechanical soldiers lining both sides of the path. Many of these mechanical soldiers were still sparking. Judging by the lack of dust on them, they had clearly been damaged recently.
However, no one had enough idle curiosity to stop and study these robots. Without a doubt, these robot soldiers were clearly "guard" types within this steel fortress. Under normal circumstances, Hayato and the others would have been unavoidable in encountering them after exiting the transfer room.
Although they didn't know who was responsible for destroying so many mechanical soldiers, clearing their path, they decided to consider him an ally for now.
Meanwhile, "ally" Marik was once again entangled in a struggle with the mechanical soldiers.
Led by Hayato, as soon as they returned to the airship, Croquet and the others waiting at the boarding hatch were overjoyed to see Kaiba return. They exclaimed excitedly, "President Seto!"
"No time for talk, ascend and leave this place!" Kaiba said calmly. "This is a war fortress; who knows how far its self-destruct will reach."
The airship, bearing the cursed name "S.S. St. Ann," was already prepared due to Kaiba's prior notice. It swiftly departed the landing pad and ascended, escaping the Sea Fortress as the entrance hatch opened, once again seeing the real sky outside.
Shortly after the airship flew off, from a great distance away, those on board heard a mighty "boom" from behind them.
Gozaburo's Sea Fortress, a symbol of his ambition, sank forever into the underwater world. The S.S. St. Ann was finally able to fly towards the ultimate destination of this voyage—"Devil's Island."
Still some distance from "Devil's Island," those who had experienced the Virtual World journey returned to their respective rooms to rest. Hayato also took this opportunity to check his spoils from this trip—the reward for defeating Gozaburo flawlessly using "Library Exodia," which he hadn't yet looked at.
As the "Machine-Type Structure Deck" was opened, Hayato's eyes widened. The deck he had just been silently wishing for had actually appeared!
While regretting that he should have wished for Drytron earlier, Hayato also thought of something else—if that Sheppard guy saw this deck of mine, would he come over to collect royalties?
(end of chapter)
Chapter 333: The Resumed Seeding Match
Alcatraz, the destination of the S.S. St. Ann and also known as Devil's Island, was once the hub of KaibaCorp's military industry, the remnants of Gozaburo's ambition to conquer the world, and a forbidden legacy. Before KaibaCorp's transformation, many highly lethal military weapons were produced here and sold worldwide.
Of course, that was in the past. After Kaiba successfully seized control, he ordered the destruction of all production lines on Devil's Island, not even considering selling them to other arms companies.
Therefore, Devil's Island held a special significance for Kaiba. His eyes were only on the future; the past merely represented relics of what once was, while the future held infinite possibilities.
To seize the title of Duel King here and bid farewell to the past—this is what a true ruler, focused on the future, should do.
As the airship approached, those who had escaped from the Sea Fortress saw that on Devil's Island, a silver-white tower at least a hundred meters high was visible from afar.
Simultaneously, the ruins scattered across the island came into view.
Building such a brand-new, technologically advanced tower amidst the dilapidated, dark ruins created a visual impact that could not be described as merely "strong"; the stark contrast was unforgettable.
After a short flight, the S.S. St. Ann arrived safely above Devil's Island, landing smoothly before the silver-white tower.
"So this is Devil's Island?"
Stepping off the airship, Joey looked around at the scenery, filled with anticipation for the final battleground.
But as for scenery, Devil's Island had none apart from the eye-catching tower; there were only ruins everywhere.
"I had a feeling when I saw this place from a distance, but up close, it looks even more like it. This place really is..."
"Like a junkyard, right?" Chumley finished the sentence Joey was struggling to articulate, earning a glare from Kaiba.
Ignoring the surrounding ruins, Kaiba looked up at the silver-white tower piercing the sky and muttered to himself, "Gozaburo, watch me from hell! Watch me conquer this Duel Tower built upon your remains! And watch as I, the Duel King, completely shatter your soul!"
"This is the final battleground where the world's number one duelist—the Duel King—will be decided!"
"Enter this Duel Tower, duelists!" After delivering his speech, Kaiba walked towards the silver-white tower—the "Duel Tower"—without waiting for the others. "I, Seto Kaiba, grant you special permission to step into this domain of which I am so proud!"
Outside the Duel Tower lay ruins like a junkyard, but the scenery inside was completely different. As far as the eye could see, various high-tech mechanical devices were dotted against a silver-white background.
Of course, Kaiba's favorite Blue-Eyes White Dragon decorations were also present.
"This is amazing. To build such a magnificent tower in a place like this, KaibaCorp is truly wealthy." Like a wide-eyed country visitor in a grand city, Joey looked at the scenery inside the tower with great curiosity.
The silver-white tower amidst the ruins felt as if Kaiba were triumphantly showing off on Gozaburo's corpse.
Mokuba said proudly, "Heh heh, the most incredible thing about this tower isn't just the equipment inside; the construction materials are the key. This tower was created by recycling discarded materials that are normally unusable and applying KaibaCorp's invincible technology."
"That's amazing," Joey said excitedly. "So we're going to decide the Duel King in this tower? The thought that even I have a chance to compete for number one in the world is really exciting."
"Hmph. Didn't get enough sleep last night and you're already daydreaming?" Kaiba shot Joey a cold smile. "Face reality. You only made it into the final four through sheer luck, you third-rate duelist."
"No matter who you face next, your journey ends in the final four. Because without a God Card, you can't defeat either Chumley or Yugi. As for me, I won't even need to use Obelisk the Tormentor to deal with you."
"Kaiba, you bastard!" Feeling so looked down upon, Joey became furious. If Tristan and Duke Devlin hadn't held him back, a brawl between a competitor and the organizer might have broken out before the tournament even began.
However, Tristan's face remained calm, almost as if he were used to it.
For some reason, Joey and Kaiba had never gotten along; they simply couldn't stand each other. Even on the rare occasions they didn't start arguing immediately, Kaiba could infuriate Joey within three sentences, as if it were a daily routine.
After so many times, Tristan had become an expert at restraining Joey. In fact, if Joey and Kaiba ever managed to get along peacefully, he might even find it strange.
The Duel Tower was largely hollow, with four elevators installed around its perimeter. Having already seen them on the S.S. St. Ann, Chumley, Joey, and Yugi immediately recognized their purpose. Without needing an explanation from Kaiba, they exchanged glances and each walked towards an elevator in the same order as on the airship.
Kaiba also boarded his elevator and looked at the professional referee accompanying them—Croquet.
"Although I've explained this once before, the seeding match was interrupted by an accident and is now resuming. I must read the rules of the duel before we begin."
Confirming that the audience had arrived in the viewing area and that the four duelists had their decks and Duel Disks ready, Croquet spoke into the broadcast from the judge's stand: "Each of the four competitors' Life Points will be linked to their distance from the top of the tower. The first two duelists to reach the top will be paired together for the semifinal duel."
"Then, without further ado, we will proceed with the turns one by one, starting from Duelist Yugi Muto and continuing clockwise."
"I declare the Battle City Final Four seeding match has now begun!"
"Duel!" x4
[Yugi: 4000 LP]
[Kaiba: 4000 LP]
[Joey: 4000 LP]
[Chumley: 4000 LP]
"My turn, draw!" Switching to Yami Yugi, Yugi smiled as he looked at the card he drew. "It's certainly been a long journey since the last time."
"Even the cards I draw are no longer the same." Saying this, Yugi immediately activated a card from his hand. "Spell Card, Fusion! I'll use the three Knights in my hand as Fusion Material!"
"Come forth, Arcana Knight Joker!"
As the vortex of Fusion appeared, an elegant and noble knight materialized on Yugi's field. Summoned using Queen's Knight, Jack's Knight, and King's Knight as Fusion Material, it was Arcana Knight Joker—the monster with the highest attack power in Yugi's entire deck!
[Arcana Knight Joker][9☆/LIGHT]
[Warrior/Fusion/Effect]
[3800/2500]
As a powerful monster summoned by consuming four cards from Yugi's hand, Arcana Knight Joker's greatest strength wasn't just its attack power. Once per turn, by discarding a card of the same type, it could negate a Spell, Trap, or Monster effect that targeted it. It was an extremely rare omni-negate in Duel Monsters.
Logically, to maximize Arcana Knight Joker's effect, one would need to keep all three card types in hand. However, after a brief thought, Yugi unhesitatingly set the two remaining cards in his hand, leaving him with none.
"I set two cards and end my turn." Inserting the two cards into his Spell & Trap Zone, Yugi smiled confidently and looked at Kaiba. "It's your turn, Kaiba."
[Yugi: 4000 LP, Hand 0]
[Arcana Knight Joker][ATK 3800]
[Set Card]X2
"Hmph. My turn, draw."
Kaiba's face was stern, but upon seeing the card he drew, he was slightly taken aback, then began to laugh. "Hmph, heh heh, HAHAHAHA!"
"Even though this is just a seeding match, I didn't expect my cards to desire victory even more than I do. I've decided. This very turn, I will show you all the power of Obelisk the Tormentor!"
"I activate the Spell Card, Fusion!"
Following the same sequence as Yugi, Kaiba activated a Fusion spell immediately after drawing. As everyone suspected, he sent three cards to the Graveyard, meaning the monster that appeared could only be—
"Lay the foundation for my ascension to the throne of Duel King! My strongest monster, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" With Kaiba's cry, the virtual projection system in the Duel Tower displayed a soaring, three-headed dragon before him. However, upon seeing the numerous Blue-Eyes White Dragon decorations throughout the tower, the newly appeared dragon cast a strange glance at Kaiba.
[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon][12☆/LIGHT]
[Dragon/Fusion]
[4500/3800]
Kaiba didn't notice that even his own Blue-Eyes didn't approve of his aesthetic choices. Instead, he activated a second card from his hand. "Next is the Quick-Play Spell, De-Fusion! I'm using it to defuse my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Return to my field, my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"
"Finally, I sacrifice the three resurrected Blue-Eyes White Dragons!"
As Kaiba spoke, he held the last card in his hand high. An ancient, primal aura swept through the arena like a storm.
As the three Blue-Eyes that had just appeared on the field dissolved into particles, a powerfully built, imposing monster stood before Kaiba, standing tall like an obelisk in the desert.
"When it descends, a scorching wind will sweep the land, and all living things will become corpses!"
"Descend! Obelisk the Tormentor!"
The blue giant that defeated Bakura in the quarterfinals makes its reappearance!
[Obelisk the Tormentor][10☆/DIVINE]
[Divine-Beast/Effect]
[4000/4000]
After summoning Obelisk, Kaiba was quite pleased, listening intently for the amazed exclamations he anticipated, such as "What a powerful monster!" or "He summoned a God on the first turn!"
But what he heard was Chumley's sarcastic remark: "Drawing three Blue-Eyes, Fusion, and De-Fusion in your opening hand? Kaiba, you must have glued your cards together, right?"
"Besides, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon has higher ATK. This makes no sense," Joey, who had only seen Obelisk attack through Bakura's trap, didn't understand the full power of the God Cards and echoed Chumley's complaint.
This annoyed Kaiba, who hadn't heard the praise he expected. "Hmph. Although Obelisk the Tormentor's attack power is lower than Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's, do you really think you can defeat Obelisk? You third-rate duelist."
"My turn ends!"
[Kaiba: 4000 LP, Hand 0]
[Obelisk the Tormentor][ATK 4000]
"Don't look down on me, Kaiba! I'll show you just how tough I am!" Joey's tone was filled with resentment. "My turn, draw!"
After looking at the card he drew, Joey was pleased, but he also glanced curiously at the other three on the field. His gaze passed over Yugi's Arcana Knight Joker and Kaiba's Obelisk the Tormentor, which he'd summoned using his Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Then, looking at Chumley, he asked:
"Hey, Chumley, let me just confirm, you don't happen to have a Fusion card in your hand, do you?"
Chumley looked down at his hand. He didn't have Fusion. "Nope, why?"
"It's nothing, just feels like this is all a bit too coincidental." Joey sighed and decisively activated a card from his hand. "I activate the Spell Card Fusion, using Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull from my hand as Fusion Material!"
Chumley had just accused Kaiba of not shuffling, and now, on his own turn, Joey was executing the exact same combo he used in the last seeding match.
From the vortex of Fusion, a fiendish dragon breathing scorching flames appeared. Even facing Arcana Knight Joker and Obelisk the Tormentor, both with higher attack points, it didn't falter, challenging them with its defiant gaze.
[Black Skull Dragon][9☆/DARK]
[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]
[3200/2500]
"Next is the Equip Spell, Dark Dragon's Claw! This card can only be equipped to a DARK Dragon monster, increasing its attack power by 600 points." Joey revealed a card and placed it in his Spell & Trap Zone. "I'll equip it to Black Skull Dragon. Then, I set one card and end my turn."
[Joey: 4000 LP, Hand 1]
[Black Skull Dragon](Dark Dragon's Claw)[ATK 3200 → 3800]
[Set Card]
Now, it was Chumley's turn.
(end of chapter)
Chapter 334: Seeding Match Completed
Logically speaking, after experiencing the journey through the Virtual World, the normal arrangement should have been to let everyone rest for a while before holding the Seeding Match later. After all, everyone's bodies and minds had taken a toll due to the Duels within the Virtual World.
But this is the World of Duelists, and common sense is completely useless for Duelists!
Especially since the organizer—Seto Kaiba—was clearly the one with the heaviest Duel Addiction, yet while everyone else was Dueling intensely in the Virtual World, he only Dueled once with a Dueling robot disguised as his own brother.
The previous Seeding Match was interrupted, and he didn't get a satisfying Duel in the Virtual World either. Expect him to wait a few more hours? Impossible!
As it turned out, even after just experiencing the thrilling and exciting adventure in the Virtual World, it had not fazed the Duelists at all.
Yugi, Kaiba, and Joey's opening plays all seemed as if they hadn't shuffled their Decks, starting with a Fusion Summon to bring out powerful Monsters to the Field. And aside from Kaiba, everyone else had two cards set in their Back Row. For a moment, Hayato felt quite a bit of pressure.
Just kidding.
"My Turn, Draw!"
If Hayato hadn't personally seen the other three genuinely shuffle their Cards before the Duel began, he would have really thought none of them had shuffled.
But after glancing at his Hand, Hayato confirmed one thing: for a True Duelist, everything is predestined; a bad Hand is absolutely nonexistent.
As for Hayato's bad Hand when Dueling with Noah in the Virtual World?
That was definitely because the data Cards had no Bonds with him!
"Activate Spell Card, Cyber Emergency! I will add one Cyber Dragon or one LIGHT Attribute Machine-Type Monster that cannot be Normal Summoned, from my Deck to my Hand."
After Hayato Activated a Card, before he could retrieve the Card that automatically popped out of his Duel Disk, he heard Joey's exclamation: "Huh!? Cyber Dragon!"
"Isn't that a Cyber Style Card? Hayato has one too?" Yugi also looked surprised. "I thought you'd use the Exchange of the Spirit strategy again, Hayato, just like last time."
"The Exchange of the Spirit strategy needs to secure the first turn to be most effective, allowing for its combo to develop without the Opponent setting up interruptions. Last time, I only used the Exchange of the Spirit strategy because none of you were prepared to defend. Who knew Noah would interrupt it?"
Hayato sighed. "It's obvious that after seeing my Exchange of the Spirit strategy last time, Yugi, you and the others must have prepared countermeasures. If I'm not mistaken, Yugi, your Back Row should have Dark Bribe or similar Cards Set."
Yugi simply smiled, not answering Hayato. Joey, however, turned his head away slightly, a bit embarrassed. He would never tell Hayato that the Card he Set on the Field was still Graceful Dice.
"I add Cyber Dragon to my Hand." Using the Effect of Cyber Emergency, he retrieved the Card that automatically popped out of his Duel Disk, Hayato added it to his Hand, while feeling a twinge of regret.
Sigh, just a little off. Why was I thinking of Cyber Dragon back then, instead of Drytron? See, this Drytron-exclusive Search Card (exaggeratedly), Cyber Emergency, was drawn too, wasn't it?
Putting those thoughts aside, looking at the Cards in his Hand, Hayato showed a satisfied smile: "Everyone, watch closely! This is my struggle for victory!"
"Activate Spell Card Power Bond! This Card allows me to send Fusion Material Monsters determined by a Machine-Type Fusion Monster, from my Hand and Field, to the Graveyard, to Fusion Summon that Machine-Type Fusion Monster!"
As he spoke, Hayato revealed three Cyber Dragons in his Hand and winked at Joey. "Although I don't have the Polymerization Spell Card in my Hand, is Fusion really such an inconvenient thing?"
"Don't blink, this is the last Monster you'll see! Using three Cyber Dragons as Fusion Material, come forth, Cyber End Dragon!"
This was the fourth Turn of this free-for-all. Hayato performed his fourth Fusion. But the might brought forth by this Fusion was the most powerful yet, even surpassing the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon Summoned by Kaiba earlier!
Massive, sky-obscuring wings, a slender, serpentine body, and three heads. The Machine-Type Dragon that appeared on Hayato's Field was merely a metal construct with no thoughts of its own, but precisely because of this, just being stared at by it, the other three could feel a chilling killing intent, as if they would be annihilated in the next second!
Even more terrifying were the dreadful stats of Cyber End Dragon!
Cyber End Dragon [Level 10 / LIGHT Attribute]
[Machine-Type / Fusion / Effect]
[8000/2800]
"This is Cyber End Dragon?! Its Attack Points are a staggering 8000!" Joey exclaimed, his gaze involuntarily shifting to his Set Card in the Back Row.
Even Black Skull Dragon on his Field, equipped with Dark Dragon Claw, only had 3800 Attack. Although in a regular Duel, 3800 Attack Points was already a terrifying Attack power unattainable for most Duelists, and even enough to challenge Obelisk the Tormentor on Kaiba's Field.
But Hayato's Cyber End Dragon had its Attack skyrocketed to a full 8000 Points?
Hayato could already begin his Battle Phase this Turn. If Hayato were to target him for an attack, he would barely have a chance to survive Hayato's onslaught, unless his Graceful Dice Trap Card in the Back Row rolled a three or higher.
He certainly didn't want to Leave the Field without even launching a single Attack, especially with Yugi and Kaiba still at full Life Points. That would be too embarrassing.
"Cyber End Dragon's Original ATK is only 4000 Attack Points. The reason its Attack Points doubled to 8000 is because Power Bond was used for its Fusion Summon," Hayato said, displaying both Cyber End Dragon and Power Bond in his Hand.
"Because of the Effect of Power Bond, a Monster Fusion Summoned using it increases its ATK by its original Attack."
"However, powerful Cards often come with risks. During the End Phase of the Turn Power Bond is Activated, I will take Damage equal to Cyber End Dragon's Attack increase, which is 4000 Life Points."
Yugi nodded understandingly. "I see, a Card that maximizes Attack in one Turn for a single decisive blow? High risk, high reward. If you can't defeat the Opponent in one Turn, you lose."
"Since this is a Seeding Match, Hayato, you can easily eliminate anyone you choose to Attack. Then, once your Turn Ends, you'll eliminate yourself too. This way, you can effectively choose who you want to Duel against, right?"
Hayato nodded, sweeping his gaze around. His eyes passed over the three Monsters: Arcana Knight Joker, Obelisk the Tormentor, and Black Skull Dragon.
Oddly enough, in this Duel, Hayato, Yugi, and Kaiba all had a very consistent goal, which was for their Opponent to be one of the other two. This way, they could collect all the Egyptian God Cards through the Semi-finals and Finals Matches.
To put it in a less flattering way—anyone but Joey would do as an Opponent.
As for Hayato, compared to Yugi with his complex Deck structure, Kaiba, who focused on Dragon-Type Monsters, was much easier to deal with. Following this line of thought, Hayato naturally chose—
"Cyber End Dragon, prove here that your limits can even surpass a God! Attack Obelisk the Tormentor on Kaiba's Field!"
"Eternal Evolution Burst!"
Watching the white energy waves spew from the three heads of Cyber End Dragon, Kaiba knew that if Hayato's Attack went through, his Opponent in the Semi-finals would most likely be Hayato.
Although this greatly pleased Kaiba, in the eyes of the proud President Kaiba, the way victory and defeat were decided should never be like this. He should be the one defeating everyone else one by one with powerful Monsters and sending them to the Tower Top, not be the first one eliminated by Hayato!
"I don't particularly like being passive, Hayato!"
Knowing that struggle was futile, Kaiba still resolutely commanded: "Withstand the Attack, Obelisk the Tormentor!"
One could say he was quite ungrateful. When needed, he'd call out Obelisk, Kami, and such, but now that it wasn't useful, he called it Obelisk the Tormentor.
Watching the three energy waves merge into one, about to strike Obelisk the Tormentor, who stood with arms crossed over its chest, ready for defense, Kaiba prepared to receive the impact, but to his astonished gaze, Yugi Activated his Set Card in the Back Row?!
"What!? Yugi!"
"Don't thank me too much, Kaiba. I saw the unwillingness in your eyes. If that's the case, then let me take Cyber End Dragon's Attack." Yugi smiled as he Activated his Set Card in the Back Row: "Activate Spell Card Shift!"
"Although it's a Normal Spell Card, Shift can be used as a Trap Card." Yugi watched as Eternal Evolution Burst, which was about to strike Obelisk the Tormentor, made a sharp turn in mid-air and headed towards him, a smile gracing his face. "Opponent can only Attack the Monster on my Field with the highest Attack Points!"
Only then did Joey react: "So, what does that mean?"
"It means that Cyber End Dragon's Target of Attack has shifted from Obelisk the Tormentor to Arcana Knight Joker, and the person about to be eliminated has changed from Kaiba to Yugi!"
Hayato helplessly spread his hands, glancing at the Cards in his Hand.
Although he outwardly adopted a "succeed or die" posture, Hayato still held a Mystical Wok, planning to Tribute Cyber End Dragon at the End Phase to avoid the Damage from Power Bond.
And another Card in his Hand was the invincible Kite-roid, which has the Effect to negate Damage from Direct Attack twice. Combined with the Life Points recovered by Mystical Wok, it would be enough for Hayato to withstand two Attacks after dealing with Kaiba.
But now, Yugi had unexpectedly drawn the Attack to himself.
Although Hayato could have Chained Yugi's Shift and Tribute Cyber End Dragon to prevent Yugi's elimination, while he could have, there was no need for Hayato to do so.
As mentioned before, whether it was Hayato, Yugi, or Kaiba, as long as the Opponent was one of the other two, it was fine. Hayato had chosen Kaiba earlier simply because he felt Kaiba would be relatively easier to deal with. But it didn't matter that the Opponent was changed to Yugi.
Because Duelists are drawn to each other. They would Duel Yugi sooner or later anyway, so—
"Boom!"
[Yugi: 4000 Life Points → 0]
Cyber End Dragon's Attack easily crushed Arcana Knight Joker. Even the Top-tier knight couldn't protect its master against the overloaded Machine-Type Dragon. The elevator beneath Yugi's feet began to ascend rapidly, straight to the Tower Top, as his Life Points dropped to 0.
Only having enough time to wave to Téa and the others in the Audience Seating who hadn't yet reacted, Yugi had to grip the handrails with both hands to maintain balance, disappearing from everyone's sight.
"Yugi, he's the first one to Leave the Field?" Téa blinked, asking Tristan beside her with some uncertainty, "What exactly just happened?"
"Yeah, what exactly just happened?" Tristan turned his head and repeated Téa's question to Duke Devlin.
Duke Devlin turned his head and found Serenity Wheeler beside him, with wide, sparkling eyes, and Mokuba, who was equally bewildered. There was simply no one for him to parrot the question to.
Helplessly turning back, Duke Devlin responded vaguely to Tristan: "I don't even know where the end of the universe is, how would I know what just happened?"
Meanwhile, on the Field, after eliminating Yugi, Hayato looked at a displeased Kaiba and helplessly spread his hands. "I couldn't help it, Seto. You saw it yourself. I initially wanted you as my Opponent, but Yugi interfered like that. There was nothing I could do."
As he spoke, Hayato Declared: "Then, End Turn." As he said this, Hayato snapped his fingers.
Cyber End Dragon, having exerted overloaded Power in the previous Turn, began to emit numerous sparks, then shattered with a crash. The wind generated by its self-destruction ruffled Hayato's hanging hair and allowed Kaiba to catch a glimpse of the corner of the Mystical Wok that Hayato hadn't held firmly enough in his Hand, which was now fluttering in the breeze.
[Hayato: 4000 Life Points → 0]
"That's!" After Kaiba saw the large wok depicted on the Card, he instantly recognized it as Mystical Wok, one of Hayato's most frequently used Spell Cards. "Hey, Hayato! That Card in your Hand is—"
"Ah, discovered. Well, I'll go up and wait for you all first. Arrivederci~"
Similar to Yugi, the elevator beneath Hayato's feet also began to ascend rapidly. It quickly reached the Tower Top after only a short while.
Seeing Hayato's appearance, Yugi, who had arrived earlier, smiled. "It seems we've successfully been grouped together, Hayato."
"Indeed, it's been a while since I've Dueled you, Yugi."
(end of chapter)
Chapter 335: Pre-Battle Preparations
Yugi and Chumley, both eliminated due to Chumley's Mutual Destruction move, were grouped together.
Therefore, the Semi-finals grouping became Chumley vs Yugi, and Kaiba vs Joey. Yugi and Chumley were quite satisfied with this grouping, and Joey was also in a good mood because he could finally give Kaiba a good lesson. The only one who felt unhappy was Kaiba.
Especially since he had just discovered that Chumley actually had a way to continue the Duel on the Field, but still chose to deliberately eliminate himself, not letting others Duel to their heart's content.
It was also because of this, with his Duel Addiction unsatisfied several times in a row, that Kaiba, who arrived at the Tower Top with everyone, saw Chumley and Yugi, who had arrived early and were full of fighting spirit, and said with a scowl: "The Semi-finals will start in three hours."
With that, without any intention of listening to others' opinions, he walked by himself towards the lounge inside the Duel Tower to rest his eyes. Knowing he couldn't Duel immediately, Kaiba inevitably felt a bit tired because the outlet for his Duel Addiction was gone.
What a jerk Kaiba is, abusing his authority for personal revenge!
Internally grumbling that Kaiba had better be stuck as a Duel Bot for the rest of his life, Chumley and Yugi exchanged helpless glances, and ultimately could only obediently follow the power-tripping Kaiba's arrangements to hold the Semi-finals Match three hours later.
Although Kaiba seemed to be taking personal revenge, in reality, waiting three hours to hold the Semi-finals was quite necessary; he wasn't acting without reason.
On one hand, Yugi and Chumley needed to make 'Tuning' adjustments to their Decks.
After seeing Chumley's "Graveyard Control Strategy" and "Cyber Dragon OTK," two powerful Combos, Yugi needed time to think of countermeasures. At the same time, he also had to include (Armed Dragon), (Ojama), (Gaia), (Performapal), (XYZ-Dragon Cannon), and other various Monsters that Chumley had previously used, into his scope of consideration.
At the same time, Yugi also had to remove some cards from his current Deck that were prepared for the Seeding Match, including cards like (Gift Card), which were used to recover Life Points for the Opponent and were completely useless in regular Duels.
Chumley was the same; if his Opponent was Yugi, no amount of Strategy was excessive.
And on the other hand, because the S.S. St. Ann was hijacked previously, causing the originally scheduled "live broadcast" not to be released, coupled with the fact that neither Kaiba nor Mokuba could contact the outside world due to communication interruption, a huge stir was caused online.
Especially since KaibaCorp had also vigorously promoted the Seeding Match after the elimination matches from Top 8 to Top 4 ended.
With Duel Monsters growing increasingly popular worldwide, anyone not completely out of touch with the modern world, any Duelist, or even just a Duel Monster enthusiast, was glued to their TVs and computers, waiting to watch the world's Top-tier Duel Monster event.
And then it was like you, eagerly anticipating getting paid on payday, having finally saved enough money to get yourself a new phone, found that you waited until the next morning and your salary still hadn't been paid, and even your boss seemed to be playing dead, refusing to reply to your messages.
After transforming from a weapons conglomerate into an entertainment company, KaibaCorp's business was on the rise. Their current largest source of income came from the licensing of Kaiba's developed Solid Vision system, and the foundation of this technology's profitability came from the vast number of Duel Monster enthusiasts.
In other words, if they didn't handle the unfavorable trend against KaibaCorp that was already taking shape online, KaibaCorp, which hadn't fully established itself in the Duel Monsters Domain, could very likely, under the guidance of malicious individuals and the unanimous boycott of disgruntled members of the public, ignominiously withdraw from this industry.
On the surface, the situation seemed somewhat severe. But as long as one saw the Kaiba brothers' expressions, no matter how much one worried about KaibaCorp's future, they would feel relieved.
No problem in the World could possibly stump the Kaiba brothers, right? Except for Duel Monsters.
In Yugi's lounge.
Spreading his Deck out on the table, Yugi rested his chin in his hands and, with some hesitation, said to the mirror in front of him: "Yami Yugi, do you think this is okay?"
In the eyes of others, Yugi was just talking to himself in the mirror, but if it were a Duelist with the ability to see Duel Monster Spirits, or an Owner of (Millennium Items), they would see that Yugi's appearance in the mirror looked significantly more mature than the Yugi in front of the mirror.
"Aibo, are you planning to use this Card?" Yami Yugi glanced at a Fusion Monster Card among the spread-out Deck. "Didn't you say before that you planned to save this Card for when you faced Kaiba?"
"(Buster Blader)? Indeed, using him against Kaiba, whose Deck's main Monsters are Dragon-Type, can be most effective."
Yugi nodded, and after a pause, continued: "But, in Chumley's Deck, there also exists (Five-Headed Dragon). Without (Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon) and Black Luster Soldier working together, our Deck simply doesn't have any Monster comparable to (Dragon Master Knight) that can defeat (Five-Headed Dragon)."
"I see, you even considered (Five-Headed Dragon)?" Yami Yugi nodded in sudden realization and said with a smile, "It's truly thanks to you for catching the gaps, Aibo."
"Hehe, since you've made up your mind to retrieve your lost Memory, then let me be your backup, Yami Yugi." Yugi returned a shy smile. "A united 'Yugi Muto' is invincible, I firmly believe that."
"Aibo..."
Just as Yugi and Yami Yugi were having a moment of deep Friendship, a few rooms away, Chumley was also in his own lounge, organizing his Deck.
"First of all, Yugi's Deck definitely has many Trap Cards. Even if there weren't many at the start, if Yugi Muto participated in modifying the Deck, there would definitely be many. In any case, bring along (Red Reboot) and (Dark Bribe) and other Counters."
"(Dark Magician) will also not be absent; bring along (Super Polymerization) too."
"Yugi will definitely use Traitor Dragon, so I'll bring this one too."
Card after Card was placed into Chumley's Deck; after all, his Opponent was Yugi, and one couldn't be too cautious. Furthermore, Chumley had not yet defeated either Yugi Muto or Yami Yugi. This time, Chumley was preparing with the resolve to win.
However, while organizing his Cards, looking at the Card (The Winged Dragon of Ra), Chumley found himself in a dilemma. If he were to pursue entertainment, Chumley would definitely put (Ra) into his Deck; after all, it was a God Card.
But now, his Deck needed power; was there really still a need to include a God Card?
Especially now that he had obtained (Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier), if three Monsters were gathered on the Field, wouldn't a direct Fusion be more appealing than Tribute Summoning a God?
As if hearing Chumley's inner thoughts, suddenly, a golden light began to emanate from the Card (The Winged Dragon of Ra) in Chumley's hand.
(end of chapter)