Chapter 696: Don't Be Like This, I Want to Duel!
Although Professor Banner had made the decision to utilize the Sealing Device left behind by Diabolo on the Island to complete the unfinished "Sage's Stone" he left behind, it was, after all, an Alchemy Device he wasn't familiar with. Even learning how to use it would take some time, not to mention the time required to seal the "Sage's Stone" within it.
Since the Device was left here where no one would tamper with it, Professor Banner's idea was that since the goal of this trip had been achieved, they should return first and come back to This Island next time with all the necessary items and materials. Kagemaru also expressed his agreement, but no one knew what he truly thought.
As for Hayato and the others, although they had previously sent a signal for rescue to KaibaCorp, Kagemaru enthusiastically invited them to take the ship he had rented to leave This Island. Although their next destination wasn't directly Egypt, it would at least allow them to return to the Civilized World instead of continuing their wilderness survival routine.
However, before returning to the ship, they first went to find Anasis and Socrates, who had split up from Kagemaru and Professor Banner when they first landed.
Unlike Kagemaru and Professor Banner, who had an important goal to achieve upon landing on the Island, Anasis's reason for coming ashore was purely because he was very interested in this Non-existent Island, and the so-called "Explorer" soul within him had been ignited. Since he chose to split up after landing to visit the Island and see if there was any unique natural scenery, Socrates naturally could only accompany his Boss.
Although he looks like a big Uncle, Anasis's actions weren't weak at all. When Hayato and Professor Banner's group found them, they discovered that Anasis and Socrates had actually run to the edge of the Active Volcano in the center of the Island and were playing by poking the lava with a large pile of tree branches.
When he discovered that Hayato, whom he had only met once before, was also on This Island, Anasis was quite surprised. Although Anasis's exploration ship was theoretically rented to Kagemaru, just like renting a house doesn't mean you can freely sublet it to others, when Anasis learned that Hayato and his group wanted to leave by ship, he readily agreed, only proposing a condition that wasn't too much trouble.
"'When our eyes meet, it's a signal for battle.' Did this Uncle run out of a world where you catch Pokemon, challenge the Elite Four, and become the Champion?" Joey Wheeler, wearing a Duel Disk on his Wrist and standing on the Deck, muttered as he looked at Anasis standing opposite him.
Hayato, standing beside him, spread his hands helplessly and said, "To be honest, Uncle Anasis used this exact reason to duel me back during Duelist Kingdom. So much time has passed, and he hasn't thought of a new reason at all."
"Hahaha, why would you need a reason for battle? Duel Monsters is something you should just play with a smile!" Drawing a card from his Deck, Anasis said with a loud laugh, "Using a duel with me as the boat fare, isn't that a very worthwhile deal? Although there are six of you, as long as three people duel me, you can ride on this ship that I'm particularly fond of. You could say it's a super generous offer."
Just as Anasis said, the condition he proposed was very simple: he just wanted Hayato and a few others to duel him.
The reason goes back to Anasis's own identity. Although he has wide-ranging and often changing hobbies, he has always maintained a rich interest in Duel Monsters, this globally popular game. Otherwise, he wouldn't have participated in the Duelist Kingdom hosted by Pegasus back then.
It's worth noting that although Pegasus sent invitations to most conglomerates at that time, most of those invited only participated as audience members during the final decisive battle between Hayato, Yugi, and Pegasus. Only a small minority, like Putah from the Ghalem Group and Anasis, participated directly as players.
After regrettably failing to reach the Top 8 in Duelist Kingdom, Anasis did not lose interest in Duel Monsters. Instead, his competitiveness was ignited, and he became even more determined to achieve something in the domain of Duel Monsters. Therefore, in addition to utilizing his financial power to collect more Duel Monsters he liked, he also continuously practiced dueling in his daily life.
And dueling practice requires opponents. But who could Anasis find as an opponent? His employees would go easy and put on a show to curry favor with their Boss; they wouldn't duel seriously at all. Other Bosses of conglomerates with the same status as him were rarely interested in Duel Monsters. And those who were interested in dueling and didn't need to please him were often too strong, like Zigfried in Europe, who was already imprisoned in a Dungeon, and Kaiba Seto, the President of the increasingly powerful KaibaCorp.
Being too strong basically meant that these Duelists had their own pride. Even if they were to duel, they would seek out people with similar skill levels and fundamentally looked down on Duelists like Anasis, who, while not completely out of their league, couldn't be considered powerful either.
Therefore, given the opportunity to have a good duel with someone, Anasis naturally wouldn't miss it easily. He invited Hayato, Yugi, and Joey Wheeler to duel him separately, allowing him to learn the dueling style of strong players.
And honestly, Anasis really did learn a lot through dueling. Because the first person he dueled was Yugi, and it wasn't Dark Yugi acting as a stand-in, but Yugi Mutou himself who dueled.
Naturally, Anasis witnessed the legendary "T" setup — one Face-Down Defense Position Monster in the Front Row, and a Back Row full of five Set Cards.
"'Dueling is something you should play with a smile,' Anasis couldn't bring himself to say this phrase at all."
When it was Anasis's turn, no matter how many moves he made, Yugi could always activate a Set Card in the Back Row at the chain timing, as if he had anticipated all of Anasis's strategy and prepared sufficient means to counter them. By the time Anasis had used up all the cards in his Hand, he had only managed to break through three Set Cards in Yugi's Back Row, and he couldn't even figure out what the Face-Down Defense Position Monster was.
Not wanting to continue the struggle, Anasis very straightforwardly chose to surrender, because there was no longer any need to continue the duel. He had once wondered why cards like Harpie's Feather Duster and Storm could be compared to Black Hole and Raigeki, which could destroy all monsters in one go. But after this duel, he finally understood that although Duel Monsters has "Monster" in its name, the pressure of five monsters probably doesn't compare to five Set Spell and Trap Cards.
And now, his duel with Joey Wheeler. It must be said that compared to the "highly interactive" duel with Yugi, Joey Wheeler's dueling style allowed Anasis to experience the fun of Duel Monsters more.
A feeling of passion filled every aspect of Joey Wheeler's duel. Just by dueling with Joey Wheeler, Anasis felt full of youthful vitality. Knights wearing steel helmets, Black Dragons continuously reviving stubbornly from the Graveyard, and the powerful strength unleashed by the combination of weak monsters — *this* is Duel Monsters!
Although he was almost discouraged by Yugi's duel just now, through the duel with Joey Wheeler, Anasis could be said to have rekindled his fiery heart for Duel Monsters.
Of course, it would have been even better if Joey Wheeler hadn't finished him off with the Dice of Archfiend and Graceful Dice combo at the end. Just moments before, it felt like a passionate battle, then two dice rolled on the Field and landed on two sixes. Anasis almost thought he had run off to Las Vegas.
And now, it was Hayato's duel with Anasis. According to Anasis's saying, "I lost to the Duel King back then, so a battle challenging the strongest player in Duel Monsters again must be saved for last."
"It's really been a long time, Hayato. Back then, I thought you used a Warrior-Type Deck, but you suddenly pulled out a Machine-Type Deck and almost caught off guard," Anasis said excitedly to Hayato, finishing organizing the Deck in the Duel Disk on his Hand. "The ocean and my dueling are not unchanging. Witness my dueling now!"
"Oh, I saw it just now, Uncle Anasis, your Deck has indeed changed a lot," Hayato also raised his Duel Disk. "However, I haven't been standing still either. My evolution speed is faster than light!"
"Duel!" x2
[Hayato: 4000LP]
[Anasis: 4000LP]
"I'll take the first turn, Draw!" Anasis took the first turn, drew a card, and played it without hesitation. "I activate the Continuous Spell Card **Water Hazard**! If I control no monsters, once per turn, I can Special Summon a WATER Attribute monster with Level 4 or lower from my Hand! I Special Summon **Hammer Shark** with Level 4 from my Hand in Attack Position!"
[Hammer Shark] [Level 4/WATER]
[Fish-Type/Effect]
[1700/1500]
"Then, I activate **Hammer Shark's** effect! Once per turn, during my Main Phase, I can decrease its Level by 1 and Special Summon a WATER Attribute monster with Level 3 or lower from my Hand! I Special Summon **Swap Frog**!"
[Swap Frog] [Level 2/WATER]
[Aqua Type/Effect]
[100/100]
"Next, I Tribute two WATER Attribute monsters on my Field! I Special Summon **Fortress Whale** from my Hand!"
Without using a Normal Summon, Anasis assembled two monsters on the Field in one go. The Level 7 **Fortress Whale** descended onto his Field.
[Fortress Whale] [Level 7/WATER]
[Fish-Type/Effect]
[2350/2150]
"When **Swap Frog** that is Face-up Position on the Field is sent to the Graveyard, I can Draw a Card from my Deck." After drawing a card from his Deck to replenish his Hand, Anasis pointed to his **Fortress Whale** on the Field again. "**Fortress Whale's** effect can be activated when it is Special Summoned successfully! Select one **Torrential Tribute** from my Deck and Set it on the Field!"
"But I'm not done yet! I haven't performed a Normal Summon this turn! I Normal Summon **Electric Jellyfish - Man-o'-War** in Defense Position! Then, I activate **Electric Jellyfish - Man-o'-War's** effect! Send one **Umi** from my Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon a WATER Attribute monster from my Hand!"
As Anasis spoke, he searched a card from his Deck. However, he noticed that Hayato, who had been standing opposite him, had been holding up several fingers since the beginning, starting from five fingers and now just putting down the last finger. It looked strange and hard to understand.
But, it should have nothing to do with me, right? Anasis thought this as he sent the Field Spell Card **Umi** he searched from his Deck to the Graveyard. "The monster I will Special Summon from my Hand is this one, **Sea Serpent God - Leviathan**!"
[Electric Jellyfish - Man-o'-War] [Level 4/WATER]
[Aqua Type/Effect]
[1400/1700]
[Sea Serpent God - Leviathan] [Level 5/WATER]
[Sea Serpent-Type/Effect]
[2000/1700]
Anasis, with only one card left in his Hand, felt that his Field setup was almost complete. First, the strongest ATK monster, **Fortress Whale**, has the ability to negate and destroy the effect activation of a Spell/Trap/Monster that targets only one WATER Attribute monster, once per turn. Then, **Electric Jellyfish - Man-o'-War** has the ability to negate the effect activation of a Spell/Trap/Monster once per turn if **Umi** is on the Field, and increase its own ATK/DEF.
And the **Sea Serpent God - Leviathan** he just Special Summoned can not only search for **Umi**, **Sea Dragon God** Spell/Trap Cards, and **Submarine** Spell/Trap Cards from the Deck, but when the **Umi** Field is present, it can also limit each player to only one face-up monster that is not WATER Attribute on their Field.
And his **Torrential Tribute** in the Back Row can activate a **Umi** from Hand or Graveyard. If he uses **Sea Serpent God - Leviathan's** effect to search for the other **Umi** in his Deck, his invincible combo is complete!
Thinking this, Anasis looked at his Field, but saw his monsters on the Field suddenly shattering one after another.
"Anasis, if I counted correctly just now, you should have successfully performed a total of five monster Summon/Special Summons in one turn, right?"
Hayato had a smile on his face and played a card from his Hand. "But, I think there's a problem with your Field setup. But don't worry, I'll fix it for you with this card!"
"Can only be activated during the Main Phase of the turn the opponent successfully Summoned or Special Summoned five or more monsters! Tribute all Face-up monsters on Both Fields! **Nibiru, the Primal Being** Special Summon from my Hand!"
"Then, Special Summon a **Primal Being Token** to the Opponent's Field! Its ATK/DEF become the sum of the original ATK and DEF of the monsters Tributed by this effect! This effect can also be activated during the Opponent's turn!"
In the virtual projection, a massive meteor descended from the sky, instantly wiping out Anasis's monsters on the Field, leaving only a Defense Position Token. And a monster with 3000 ATK appeared on Hayato's Field.
[Nibiru, the Primal Being] [Level 11/LIGHT]
[Rock-Type/Effect]
[3000/600]
[Primal Being Token] [Level 11/LIGHT]
[Rock-Type/Token]
[?/?? → 5750/5550]
Anasis: "..."
Don't be like this, I want to Duel!
(Although the duel with Hayato regarding the future is still pending, since the comment section reacted with little interest, I'll skip ahead quickly and accelerate our arrival in Egypt.)
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 697: Who Writes a Diary If They're Serious?
After boarding Anasis's ship and leaving the Island a certain distance, Hayato and the others' mobile devices regained signal and could communicate normally again.
Because of Diabolo's setup on the Island, the entire Island was normally isolated from the Outside World. Without Professor Banner, it would usually be a problem just to enter the Island, let alone maintain communication with the Outside World from the interior. However, now that the signal was restored, Yugi and the others naturally reported their safety to their family immediately.
The airplane crash happened around noon, and now it was almost evening. Being missing for a full afternoon was enough to make Grandpa Solomon, Shizuka, and others who knew about the crash extremely worried. Fortunately, everyone was safe and sound.
As the ship sailed further away from the Island, Yugi and the others also noticed that the Duel Monster materialization phenomenon that had appeared earlier had also disappeared.
Hayato guessed that this might also be related to Diabolo's setup. Although the device he left on the Island collected energy from the entire Island, it also caused the energy around the Island to converge and accumulate like a vortex, creating a special environment that allowed card spirits to materialize.
However, this was just Hayato's guess. He didn't delve too deeply into whether this was the actual reason, because while on the ship, he used the virtual projection system running on his Duel Disk to make two video calls, one to Pegasus and one to Kaiba.
With Diabolo abandoned on the Island in a state indistinguishable from death, the uninhabited Island essentially became ownerless. Kagemaru therefore proposed that, on the one hand, to accelerate the completion of the "Sage's Stone" by introducing rich biological communities to the Island, and on the other hand, to recover costs and avoid loss, he planned to undertake some development on the small Island.
Simple tourist attractions were too much trouble, but an Island of such a vast area was just right for establishing certain institutions. Kagemaru proposed establishing an Academy on the Island, an Academy that systematically taught Duel Monsters knowledge.
However, Kagemaru's group was merely a Medical Group and didn't have much involvement in education or Duel Monsters. But that was okay; in today's globalization, a single group didn't need to be omnipotent, because cooperation was the future. And those he wanted to cooperate with were naturally the two largest groups in the Duel Monsters domain today—Industrial Illusions and KaibaCorp.
Upon receiving Hayato's video call, Pegasus agreed to this cooperation almost without hesitation. After all, for Pegasus, his current life's pursuit was only to create more interesting cards and to make Duel Monsters loved by more people.
An Academy that trained duelists was not as simple as it looked on the surface. Behind it also represented the systematization, standardization, and specialization of the duelist profession. If the Duel Academy could successfully appear, it would basically mean that there would be a sufficient supply of dueling talent for a considerable period in the future, continuously injecting vitality into the Duel Monsters circle so that it wouldn't become a stagnant pool.
It wasn't that the current Duel Monsters circle wasn't good enough; it was just that it could be better. It was like actors who learned on the job versus those who graduated from a proper academy; both types of actors had their strengths and weaknesses. The appearance of academy duelists could further prompt the professional duelists in the current Duel Monsters circle to spontaneously improve their competitiveness to avoid elimination.
Furthermore, besides duelists, the Duel Academy might also cultivate other Duel Monsters-related professional talent, such as Card Designers, professional judges, etc. After all, Duel Monsters was never just a single duelist's battle. With the increasing popularity of Duel Monsters and the increasing formalization of duel events, there might even be Tag Duels in the future, which would require even more specialized Duel Monsters professional talent.
And the Duel Academy could, while teaching students duel knowledge, also screen for talent in this area.
Pegasus was quite optimistic about the prospect of the Duel Academy, and Yugi, who also participated in the video meeting at the time, was also very supportive of the Duel Academy. Along with Hayato, the three major shareholders who collectively held 90% of Industrial Illusions all made the same decision, basically meaning that Kagemaru had the possibility of cooperation with Industrial Illusions. The rest was just haggling over profits such as shareholding.
On KaibaCorp's side, Kaiba, who received Hayato's call, appeared with a terribly sour face at first. "Almost dying for a reason that makes me want to laugh to death... it's too shameful for a duelist," and so on. Anyway, Kaiba tried to demand that Hayato and Yugi be as physically fit as he is, which allowed him to jump from an airplane without a parachute pack.
When the Duel Academy was mentioned, Kaiba, who would originally be one of the founders of the Duel Academy in the future, was instead uninterested.
"A giant dragon that stays with sheep will become a sheep, but a sheep won't be able to defeat a giant dragon just by becoming the king of sheep," Kaiba's original words were probably something like that. Anyway, he didn't think a place like the Duel Academy could cultivate any strong duelists.
However, Keipei, who appeared in the video at the same time, held a different opinion from his brother. Instead, he thought the concept of a Duel Academy was excellent and would definitely have significant help for the development of Duel Monsters. Even if it couldn't cultivate strong top-tier duelists, it could at least ensure that the intermediate layer wouldn't be missing.
Since the birth of Duel Monsters, although there have been many excellent duelists, the current Duel Monsters circle is in a relatively extreme state. That is, the top group of people are constantly gathering at the peak, while duelists who are just starting out or only have a certain strength are slow to improve, like Anasis. Only the intermediate layer that should exist is missing.
Such a structure is very dangerous because the strong duelists at the top either bully weaker opponents or compete with people of the same skill level or even stronger. Over time, it's easy for a complacent mindset to appear, leading to a decline in strength instead of progress. And the duelists at the bottom might also lose interest in Duel Monsters because they are slow to improve and see no hope of defeating those stronger than them.
This requires an intermediate layer, one that isn't too strong to make the bottom-tier duelists feel despair, nor too weak to prevent the strong duelists from experiencing fun.
Keipei's theory was quite reasonable, but Kaiba was just too stubborn and still didn't think the Duel Academy had any necessity. Kagemaru basically felt that his chances of cooperating with KaibaCorp were likely slim, but Hayato only said one sentence and successfully convinced Kaiba.
"That Jellyfish-haired Youth graduated from the Duel Academy, you know." That's what Hayato said at the time. Afraid that Kaiba wouldn't remember who he was talking about, Hayato was about to add a couple of sentences when Kaiba unexpectedly had a good memory. As if he'd been holding a grudge for a long time, he instantly remembered who Hayato was talking about.
Thinking of the crushing defeat that guy had given him, Kaiba immediately agreed to the establishment of the Duel Academy and the cooperation with Kagemaru. It wasn't that he wanted to get revenge on that kid in the future or anything; the main reason was that I, Kaiba Seto, care deeply about the future of Duel Monsters and am very concerned about the development of this circle.
On Anasis's ship, the three parties basically finalized the cooperation on the Duel Academy project and the specific implementation plan for the Duel Academy. However, further cooperation confirmation and project announcement would have to wait until the division of their respective profits and how they would contribute manpower and effort to the Duel Academy were confirmed.
These matters probably didn't have much to do with Hayato. He was more like a go-between. Although he was a shareholder of Industrial Illusions, Pegasus would naturally handle things, and he just needed to sit back and collect his share.
Although Pegasus was actually a lazy dog too. He had already landed in Morocco, Africa, and was traveling all the way to Egypt, waiting to meet up with Hayato and the others. He said that the cooperation matters would be discussed in detail later, but he just handed all the troublesome business matters over to his adopted son, Tenma Tsukihiro, to handle.
Why bother with troublesome business matters when you can read a few fairy tales and print yourself a few ridiculously powerful cards?
However, actually, Anasis was originally supposed to participate in this meeting as well, because Kagemaru thought that if they were going to build an Island Academy, there would naturally be a need to cooperate with Anasis's company.
After all, transporting materials to the Island for construction of the Academy, supplies after the Academy is built, and even the movement of personnel, none of these could be done without ships. Moreover, having only one Duel Academy would definitely not be enough; perhaps other Branch Schools would need to be established globally in the future, and ships would still be needed for transportation then.
However, after his duel with Yugi, Joey Wheeler, and Hayato, Anasis stood on the deck at the bow with a weathered face, facing the sea breeze and smoking. He had no intention of participating in the cooperation.
Most likely, he was defeated too badly while dueling with someone and entered Sage Time, questioning his life? Seriously, who was so excessive? They didn't even hold back. Hayato, walking out of the conference room, looked at Anasis, who was still standing at the bow of the ship, thinking helplessly, completely unaware of himself.
In Hayato's opinion, was his dueling excessive? It was just a Meteor; wasn't it something that could be split with a Sword Finger? And monsters being Tributed was also an important part of the Duel Monsters experience, something you have to experience.
As dusk approached, the exploration ship finally sailed into the coastal waters. Looking at the land that was continuously growing larger before them, Joey Wheeler, who had experienced a complicated day, stood on the deck and couldn't help but exclaim, "The first day of the holiday was so exciting, it's hard to imagine what kind of exciting experiences we'll have in Egypt later."
"Spare me, one such excitement in a lifetime is enough," Tristan said with a look of disgust, having experienced parachuting from an exploding airplane and escaping from a mad scientist. "Do you want something else to happen to us, Joey Wheeler?"
"Hehe, not really. Besides, we've already been through so much today, it's not like we'll be unlucky enough for something else to happen, right?" Joey Wheeler said with a grin. "I was mainly thinking that if there were a lot of things happening just today, but then the next month was calm and uneventful, there wouldn't be much left to write in my diary."
"Diary?" Marik heard this and glanced at Hayato beside him. "Who writes a diary if they're serious?"
"Yeah, who would write their true feelings in a diary?"
Marik raised an eyebrow: "You call what you write down 'true feelings'?"
"Despicable!" (Both)
Watching Hayato and Marik clink glasses with their colas, Yugi smiled helplessly and said to Téa beside him, "Yemen is just ahead. Hayato and I just explained the situation to Mr. Pegasus. He said he has arranged an airplane in Yemen to pick us up and take us to Egypt."
"That's good. I was just worrying about what we would do since none of us had ever been here before." Hearing Yugi's words, Téa couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
The ship gradually approached the dock. However, before Hayato and the others went ashore, Anasis stepped forward to handle the matters after they landed. After all, none of them had prepared passports for entry in Yemen. However, because they were survivors of the crash, the customs in Yemen were quite accommodating, and it didn't take long for Hayato and his group to be granted entry.
The speed of the process must have been the result of the staff's efforts. The stacks of green US dollars that Anasis took out were naturally a reward filled with respect for these diligent people.
Okay, to be honest, Anasis once again used the "Hidden Card" he had once intended to use against Hayato, accelerating the process by bribing the customs personnel. However, Hayato actually didn't actually discriminate against these people.
Because of a movie by a certain martial arts superstar in his past life, Hayato knew about this small country. In Yemen, a country so chaotic due to civil war, everyone lived day-to-day. These staff who accepted bribes weren't so much greedy as they were just trying to earn more money to keep their family alive.
Before boarding the bus to the airport, Hayato seemed to remember something and confirmed one thing with Anasis.
"My ship? There's no problem. All the employees on the ship are people I know, and I myself am the captain."
Hearing Anasis say this, Hayato also felt somewhat relieved. "Oh, that's good. I was worried that a fake captain might sneak onto your ship. After all, we've already encountered an airplane crash before, so Dark Blue Moon after Grey Tower is also a perfectly reasonable occurrence."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing, don't mind what I said." Hayato waved his hand and bid farewell to Anasis. "See you around, Uncle Anasis. If we meet again next time, I can duel you again."
"No, no, no, let's not do that." Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Anasis quickly refused.
Hayato also chuckled and got into the car, leaving his last sentence: "Finally, let me give you a piece of advice, Uncle Anasis! Change the name of your ship!"
"Stop picking nonsensical names like Pegasus and Kaiba do!"
As the bus started and drove away, Anasis, standing in place, heard this and couldn't help but turn back to look at the name "Vasa" printed in orange paint on the hull of his exploration ship docked in the Port. He asked Socrates beside him somewhat strangely, "Is there something wrong with the name Vasa?"
"Whatever makes you happy, Boss." Socrates shrugged. Although he remembered seeing the name Vasa when visiting a museum somewhere, it shouldn't be a problem. It couldn't possibly be the name of a ship like the Titanic that sank on its maiden voyage, could it?
(Author's Note: Vasa, a famous shipwreck, met the same fate as the Titanic, sinking on its maiden voyage.)
(End of Chapter)
"Chapter 698: Dream
At night, under the bright moonlight, a private jet belonging to Industrial Illusions cut through the clouds. The people on the plane were all immersed in their respective dreams due to the day's exhaustion and the time difference.
Honda, lying on his bed, hugged a pillow with a lecherous-like smile, dreaming a sweet dream. "Shizuka, hehehehe, fragrant and soft..."
"I won't hand Shizuka over to you that easily!" Joey Wheeler, lying next to Tristan, seemed to have his dream derailed by Tristan's sleepy mumbling. "Even when Mai and I get married... hehehehe..."
As for Marik, he was even more of a heavyweight. Instead of sleeping properly in bed, he was half-rolled off the bed while asleep, like someone with hyperactivity, with his buttocks sticking up and his face pressed against the floor. But even so, he slept like a log. Hopefully, he wouldn't wake up with a sore waist and neck the next day.
Compared to the three sleeping in the left aircraft cabin, Téa and Yugi on the right side had much better sleeping postures, with only the sound of steady breathing.
Hayato was also in his dream, but the expression on his face while asleep was not very pleasant.
In the dream ---
"Alright, this time we're dueling. After the new card pack came out, Blackwing Dragon got a significant enhancement and finally made it into the archetype, so this time we're playing a pure Blackwing deck. I'm old Crow."
Muttering to himself while drawing from the duel disk, Hayato looked up at the duel platform across from him, which was shrouded in darkness. "But this time we didn't get the first turn, but it doesn't matter, let's see what kind of deck the opponent is playing..."
"Wow, a bald head!"
Hayato wasn't just saying things; he found that in front of the duel platform across from him, which had finally lit up, there was indeed a bald man wrapping white cloth around his head.
Oh, isn't that Shadi? Let's look at the cards in our hand, everyone.
Looking down, Hayato found that there were no cards there. Even the duel platform under his feet and the duel disk on his wrist had disappeared without him noticing. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed a bit strange. Why would he still stand on an old-fashioned duel platform when he had a duel disk?
"We meet again at last, Hayato Kobayashi. I am Shadi."
Hayato was still wondering if he was dreaming when he heard Shadi, who had finished wrapping the white cloth around his shiny forehead, speaking to him.
After the duel platform disappeared, Hayato found himself in a gray world. The surroundings were hazy as if covered in mist, but it was fine up close, he could see clearly. However, further away, it was blurry as if out of focus. Shadi, who was speaking, was standing almost a step away from Hayato.
"Hmm, it must be a dream, no doubt. But it's so strange, why would I dream of Shadi, that bald head?" Hayato said with certainty, crossing his arms over his chest, then muttered to himself with some confusion. "Not only did I not dream of the Underworld God, our sole designated target as duelists, I didn't even dream of cards with strength and beauty like Accesscode Talker or Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring. It's too strange."
While muttering to himself, Hayato even reached out with some curiosity and poked Shadi, who was standing right in front of him. However, the instant Hayato's finger touched Shadi, golden light points emerged from the spot on Shadi's body that Hayato poked and ascended into the air, and Hayato's hand passed through Shadi's body.
Because Shadi's body became slightly transparent with Hayato's movement, Hayato could even see his hand that had entered Shadi's body.
Shadi didn't pay attention to Hayato's actions but continued speaking. "Because of certain existences within you, even using the power of the Millennium Key, I cannot see exactly what kind of existence you are. But I believe you will stand on the side of the Nameless Pharaoh and help him find his memory and return to the Underworld. Therefore, when you approached Egypt, the footage left behind — which is me before you — would be triggered."
"My true identity is a Tomb Keeper, an inheritor of another branch different from the Ishtar Family, and the last inheritor. However, as a human, I died many years ago. To fulfill the important mission of the Tomb Keepers — to help the Nameless Pharaoh return to the Afterlife and find peace — I rely on the power of the Millennium Scale to reconcile the boundary between soul and body, drifting in the human world."
"To retrieve the Nameless Pharaoh's lost memory, one must enter the Memory World itself. The necessary items for this are the seven Millennium Items possessing great power, the tablet used to bear the powerful force of the Millennium Items, and the ultimate shadow game required to open the Memory World."
Although Shadi was saying a lot of important information that others might take seriously, Hayato, listening to Shadi's rambling, basically didn't believe a single word of what Shadi said, except for his name.
As far as Hayato knew, was Shadi on Dark Yugi's side, hoping he would find his memory and return to the Underworld? Yes, without a doubt, Shadi was on the ally's side and wanted to help Dark Yugi. But was it truly as Shadi said, that he, like Ishizu, was purely helping the Nameless Pharaoh to fulfill the Tomb Keepers' ancestral teachings? That might not be the case.
Looking at Shadi, who was speaking, Hayato reached for the Millennium Ring on his chest, gripping the golden wheel like a fist blade in his hand, and looked at Shadi with a half-smile. "I'm sorry to interrupt you, bald brother, but I'm genuinely not interested in all that nonsense you're talking about."
"However, I think you should be very interested in this thing that killed you 'many years ago'."
Saying this, Hayato didn't care that the Shadi before him claimed to be just footage. Gripping the glowing Millennium Ring, he shouted "Eight-Pointed Light Wheel" and smashed it towards Shadi.
Then, Shadi dodged, as Hayato expected, and his incessant babbling came to an abrupt halt.
"Hayato Kobayashi..." Looking at Hayato, who seemed to have seen through from the start that he wasn't just footage but a conscious existence, Shadi was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Are you being vigilant, wary that I might be detrimental to you?"
Shadi didn't ask how Hayato knew about the connection between the Millennium Ring and himself.
But facing Shadi's question, Hayato chose to deny it. "No, I'm quite certain you're on our side and want to help us assemble all seven Millennium Items. You won't be an obstruction to our actions."
"The reason I don't want to hear you ramble on is purely because I'm annoyed with you." Single-handedly pushing back the hair that fell in front of his eyes, making it stand up as if gelled, Hayato's gaze met Shadi's seemingly unfocused, lifeless eyes. "A rat who doesn't even dare to appear before me."
Shadi frowned, finding Hayato a difficult person to communicate with.
Do you think I don't want to appear before you? I already tried to find you during Battle City, okay? You almost completely killed me, almost scattered me to the wind. How could I dare to appear before you now?
This time, I had to utilize the mark left on the Millennium Ring from last time to sneak into the dream, which is separate from the mind, just to meet Hayato Kobayashi. As a result, I said a lot, but this guy didn't listen at all.
He glanced at the Millennium Ring, which hung down on Hayato's chest again as he released his hand. Even Shadi, who was usually without sorrow or joy, felt somewhat annoyed with the Millennium Ring, after all, this thing had repeatedly obstructed Shadi's plan.
More than a decade ago, of the seven Millennium Items in the world, besides the Millennium Necklace and Millennium Scepter/Staff kept by the Ishtar Family, and the Millennium Puzzle slumbering in the Royal Tomb, the remaining four Millennium Items — the Millennium Key, Millennium Scale, Millennium Eye, and Millennium Ring — were all collected by Shadi.
However, at the same time, just like how the Four Heavenly Kings have five members, Shadi found an eighth Millennium Item, named the Quantum Cube, and learned that it possessed the most unique power of dimensional ascension, which could elevate the world into the Dimensional Realm.
Having experienced the beauty of the Dimensional Realm for the first time, Shadi instantly understood that it was an ideal land-like existence. Although one would fall into the Dark Dimension if they became tainted with hatred and darkness in the Dimensional Realm, by using the power of the Quantum Cube and harmonizing the power of the seven Millennium Items, humans could become "complete goodness". At that time, all humanity entering the Dimensional Realm would achieve salvation.
This discovery made Shadi ecstatic, and he eagerly used the power of the Quantum Cube to gradually create a new world. But the good times didn't last long. After only a few years, Shadi suddenly discovered that the Quantum Cube had lost that power.
Following the prevision left by his ancestors a thousand years ago, the soul of the Nameless Pharaoh three thousand years ago seemed to have returned to the human world when someone took out the last Millennium Item from the Royal Tomb and completed the Millennium Puzzle. The Quantum Cube also lost its power due to the return of this a thousand years ago soul and could no longer harmonize the power of the Millennium Items, which had become silent due to the Pharaoh's soul's revival.
Without awakening the power of the Millennium Items, they could not be harmonized into "complete goodness". At the same time, without sending the Nameless Pharaoh back to the Underworld, the Quantum Cube could not perform dimensional ascension. For his own goal, Shadi began his actions.
The first thing to do was to ensure that the Millennium Items were not just objects enshrined in a temple, but were used to awaken their power by those with the qualification. So Shadi first chose to go to the Ishtar Family tribal land and secretly guide Marik's actions, ultimately leading Marik, who had inherited the Millennium Scepter, to kill his father and leave the Tomb Keepers.
And Shadi was not stingy with the Millennium Items in his hand. When Pegasus, who was traveling globally, followed Shadi out of curiosity to the tablet where the Millennium Items were placed, he "gifted" the Millennium Eye to Pegasus and gave him a large amount of knowledge about the Millennium Stone Spirit, indirectly facilitating Pegasus's creation of Duel Monsters and the evolution of the Millennium Stone Spirit into Card Spirit.
However, when giving away the Millennium Ring, Shadi accidentally ran into trouble. He never intended to give the Millennium Ring to that man who had learned of the Millennium Items' existence by accident and developed a greedy heart. He only intended to slightly inflict penalty on the opponent, letting him wear the Millennium Ring to briefly experience the terrifying dark power.
Among all seven Millennium Items, except for the Millennium Scale which symbolizes "balance", three Millennium Items possess the will of justice, and three Millennium Items possess the will of evil. Among these, the dark power within the Millennium Ring, modeled after the symbol of Sun God Ra's other identity — Aton God, was the most powerful.
And the result was as Shadi had expected. The instant it was put on, the Millennium Ring unceremoniously released its terrifying dark power, blasted away and defeated that man who didn't even have the qualification to touch the Millennium Ring.
But before Shadi could recover it, the Millennium Ring was picked up by the man's son who was traveling with him, under his command. The instant the golden wheel was picked up, the dark power within the Millennium Ring was released without reservation, completely flooding into that young boy's body.
The evil soul from three thousand years ago hidden within the Millennium Ring, which even Shadi was unaware of, took over that young boy's body and immediately utilized that dark power to kill Shadi, who hadn't reacted.
Although Shadi managed to remain in this world by utilizing the power of the Quantum Cube, he was almost banished to the Dark Dimension due to contact with the dark power. It was only by relying on the power of the Millennium Scale and Millennium Key that he barely gained the ability to act in the world. But even so, in most cases, Shadi could not interfere with the world too much.
And now he came to find Hayato precisely because of this point.
"Although you are unwilling to accept my help, I will help you at the appropriate time." Looking at Hayato, Shadi paused, then continued, "Perhaps you cannot understand, but the vortex of destiny is concentrating the scattered Millennium Items towards Egypt."
"Oh, possessor of the Pharaoh's great power and Prana, before your time of destiny arrives, accept this gift..."
Reaching out and placing his hand on his chest, Shadi performed a bow, then turned into countless ascending light points and disappeared.
Hayato then opened his eyes and saw the nascent sunshine streaming into the aircraft cabin through the gap in the drawn curtains.
And shining with golden radiance under the sunshine was the Millennium Ring on his chest, and an Ankh symbol-shaped Millennium Key pressed on the quilt."
**Chapter 699: The Chairs Can Be Sat On**
"It's so big! Is that a real pyramid?"
A small commercial vehicle drove through the vast Desert. Looking out the right window of the vehicle, the huge pyramid could be clearly seen. Joey Wheeler, sitting in the back row, exclaimed, "Although there are many cards in Duel Monsters that depict pyramids, this is the first time I've seen a real one."
"Hahaha, after all, the pyramids of Egypt gave me quite a lot of inspiration during the process of me creating Duel Monsters." Hearing Joey Wheeler's words, Pegasus, sitting in front of him, laughed heartily. He glanced at the pyramid outside the window and couldn't help but exclaim, "Revisiting this place after so many years, even I feel a bit excited."
Pegasus realized that he seemed to be getting old. Just seeing the familiar past from his memories reappear before his eyes made him unable to help but start reminiscing about the past. Was he already old?
Thinking about the Duel Academy discussed yesterday, it really was a good suggestion. In a few more years, after a new batch of excellent Card Designers join Industrial Illusions, who knows what interesting cards will be born.
At Cairo Capital Airport in Egypt, after Pegasus picked up Hayato and his group who had arrived by airplane, although they had experienced many twists and turns the previous day, their trip to Egypt had officially begun. The first stop of their trip was Giza, not far from Cairo.
Besides the pyramids that amazed first-time visitors and are actually spread throughout Egypt, there is another famous attraction here, which is the Sphinx.
"Wow, it really doesn't have a nose, it looks like it was sliced off with a knife."
"Move closer, Joey Wheeler, your head is too big and is blocking my entire line of sight!"
"Hey, don't push me, my head is already pressed against the glass. If you want to see, go to the row in front, you can sit in the chairs there."
"No way."
Listening to Joey Wheeler and Tristan arguing in the back, Téa also withdrew her line of sight from outside the window and looked at Yugi, who was sitting next to her with a heavy expression, seemingly deep in thought: "What's wrong, Yugi?"
"Nothing, Téa." Turning his head to look at Téa, Yugi smiled slightly, shook his head, and said, "Just now The Other Me said he doesn't have any impression of the view here."
This doesn't mean that the Sphinx before them hadn't been built when Dark Yugi, the Nameless Pharaoh's Soul, was alive. Actually, based on the analysis of current archaeological findings, the construction time of this Sphinx in Giza is much earlier than three thousand years ago. In the era when the Nameless Pharaoh was alive, this magnificent and mysterious Building had already stood on the Earth.
Even in ancient times when information transmission was relatively slow, Dark Yugi, as the Pharaoh, should have had some knowledge of the peculiar Building within his country. But even for a special Building like the Sphinx, Dark Yugi still had no impression of it.
"The Other Yugi, he doesn't remember this place either..." Hearing this, Téa looked at the Millennium Puzzle Yugi held in his hand. Her voice was a little low, and the hand she put into her pocket subconsciously stroked the souvenir she had specifically bought at the airport.
"The Sphinx, huh? What's so good about this crappy Sphinx?"
Glancing at the Sphinx, Marik, sitting in the passenger seat, rested his head on one hand and said dismissively. As if thinking of something, he turned his head to look at Hayato in the driver's seat, "It's quite an accident that you, Brother-in-law, actually have a Driver's License that can be used in Egypt. But if you're driving, won't you be unable to properly see the view on the side?"
"Just assume I hate everything related to it. Let alone the Sphinx, I'm not even interested in a Human-faced Lion."
Hayato merely glanced at the Sphinx in the distance before withdrawing his line of sight. As he said, Hayato truly had no interest in the Sphinx right now. However, in 'Assassin's Creed: Origins', which he used to play, he took plenty of photos around the Sphinx from various angles. He would remember his grudge against Anubis for a lifetime.
But that was only limited to the Sphinx. Egypt wasn't just about the pyramids and the Sphinx as attractions. When he reached the vicinity of attractions he was interested in, he would also take a few more photos as souvenirs. When he left home this time, he specifically brought his pink camera.
As for the Driver's License,
"Although it's not the first time I've ranted about this, in Japan you can get a motor vehicle Driver's License as long as you're 18. By the way, you can get a Motorcycle Driver's License at 16, but I'm still two years away from the drinking age." Looking straight ahead at the continuous mountain range, Hayato paused, and added, "Finally, what needs to be corrected is, who's your Brother-in-law?!"
"Well, it's been so long, Brother-in-law, how haven't you gotten used to it yet? It's bound to happen sooner or later anyway." Marik chuckled, lowered his head, and glanced at the map spread open on his lap. "Hmm... looks like there's a small town up ahead. We probably don't need supplies, after all, we just set off not too long ago."
Although Ancient Egypt held the title of one of the Four Great Ancient Civilizations, unlike the country that broke free from its cocoon and thrived to this day, Egypt is not Ancient Egypt. Due to several instances of internal division, its current land size is smaller than neighboring countries like Libya and Sudan, and it's not even the size of a single province in some countries.
From setting off from Cairo until now, they had actually only driven for an hour. Let alone resting, there was arguably no need to even drink or eat.
However, if they wanted to visit ancient Building like the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx up close, it was necessary to stop here briefly and switch to transportation tools like camels to approach under the guidance of a guide. Looking at Joey Wheeler, Tristan , and Pegasus in the car, they all seemed to have the idea of going to see them, and even Téa was somewhat eager to try.
Although tourism in Egypt is not as developed now as it will be many years later, the job of being a guide is not outdated at all. Egyptians are professional when it comes to guiding. In fact, the vast majority of ancient objects from their country were guided out of the country by their own people.
Hayato and the others didn't even need to say much. Just seeing Pegasus, who looked like a white person with "Big Spender" and "Rich Fool" practically written on his face, emerge from a rare luxury car among Hayato's group, a crowd of locals enthusiastically swarmed forward, volunteering to introduce themselves and vigorously promoting their familiarity with the approach to the pyramid, as well as how deceitful their counterparts were.
Just the heavily accented foreign language was enough to give Hayato and the others a headache, not to mention the micro-expression performances the guides before them were desperately putting on to demonstrate the truth of their words. Even Pegasus, who had been to Egypt before, was somewhat caught off guard.
Fortunately, Hayato had the most effective trump card for dealing with the volunteering guides.
When Marik got out of the passenger seat, holding a small red flag of unclear meaning that Hayato had given him, the noise from the local guides paused slightly. Recognizing Marik as an Egyptian, they concluded that he was the guide Hayato and his group had hired in advance. Feeling bored, they scattered like winged beasts and squatted back down in the shade at the town entrance, waiting for the next easy mark.
Although Marik was basically just a fake Egyptian who fundamentally didn't know the way, he could serve as the ostensible guide to turn down the self-promoting locals. And Pegasus, the ostensible easy mark, was actually Hayato and the others' real guide.
As for why Hayato and the others, despite having money, weren't willing to hire local guides to save some trouble? In Egypt, there are many ancient Building, but there are even more scammers than ancient Building. Getting robbed by a greedy guide who takes the money and runs off without working is a minor issue. With bad luck, you could very likely encounter outlaws who commit murder and robbery. This is also why Grandpa Solomon repeatedly warned them before they set off to be especially careful of guides.
This was valuable experience that Grandpa Solomon, who had hired two Grave Robber, gained from his personal experience.
Relying on his money power, Pegasus quickly rented several camels for everyone to ride. The path ahead to the Great Pyramid of Giza had no flat roads for vehicles to transit; there was mostly Sandy Ground. After parking the vehicle in a paid parking lot by the roadside, the group took some luggage, mounted the camels, and were about to set off.
---Did you think it would be that simple?
Although the camels they rented were specially trained and suitable for beginners to ride, after all, they were people who had lived in the City for many years and had little opportunity to come into contact with live animal transportation tools. Just getting onto the soft back of a camel was already a considerable challenge, let alone freely controlling the camel's move.
Pegasus, who had traveled the World alone more than a decade ago, was wealthy but not some pampered individual. Although he hadn't ridden a camel in a long time, after mounting the camel hump, he quickly recalled the key points of camel riding he had specifically learned before. He skillfully controlled his camel, pacing back and forth in front of Joey Wheeler and Tristan .
"Heh hahaha, although so many years have passed, but the skill of riding a camel, me still haven't forgotten. But this shouldn't be too difficult for you, Tristan-boy, Joey Wheeler-boy~"
Just riding a camel could be used as capital to show off. Pegasus, with his youthful mindset, spoke like an old child.
Although Tristan and Joey Wheeler had long since obtained their Motorcycle Driver's Licenses, their experience of speeding on the highway was fundamentally useless in front of the silent, docile, and tall camels. To avoid being shown off to by Pegasus with that strange tone again, it took the two best friends quite a while to barely manage to ride the camels and issue the order to move forward.
If two boys with excellent athletic ability on normal days were like this, there's even less need to mention Téa. Although Téa could bravely approach a camel if it stayed still, getting her to ride one was simply too difficult. Helpless, she finally had to sit on the camel Yugi was riding.
Why would Téa, who was usually very outgoing and not at all like an introverted girl, be so afraid of camels? Hayato didn't know the answer, but he thought that the subtle "Plan Complete" smile that appeared on Téa's face when he inadvertently glanced at her sitting on Yugi's camel must have been an illusion, right? Yes, it must have been.
Compared to Téa, the most embarrassing one was Marik. Despite being a local Egyptian, and also from the Ishtar Family, the Tomb Keepers with three thousand years of history, Marik's adaptability to this Desert was even worse than Joey Wheeler and Tristan, who were visiting Egypt for the first time. He couldn't even ride a camel.
Not being able to ride was one thing, but this guy shamelessly started to give up and insisted on hitching a ride on the back of the camel Hayato was riding.
"You say you're an Egyptian, born and raised in the Desert, yet you can't even ride a camel?"
Hearing Hayato say this, Marik, who was in the back holding onto the camel hump in front of him like a stubborn piece of meat, said indifferently, "Isn't that normal? I told you before, I've hardly ever left the Tomb Keepers' Clan Territory since I was a kid. Do you think I had the opportunity to learn to ride a camel?"
Paused, Marik retorted, "What's strange is you, Brother-in-law. Although Mutou Yuugi hasn't learned to ride a camel, it's understandable that when he switches to the Nameless Pharaoh, he would subconsciously know how to ride a camel. But what's going on with you, Brother-in-law? You ride even more steadily than Pegasus."
Regarding what Marik said, Hayato was actually a bit strange as well. Let alone camels, he hadn't even ridden a horse before. But after riding the camel, his body subconsciously adapted to the mount beneath him and prepared for riding. Even the camel actively responded to Hayato's body's reactions and obeyed his commands. Even if Hayato wasn't holding the reins right now, just a slight idea from Hayato to turn would cause the camel beneath him to automatically respond and turn.
"Who knows? Maybe I learned to ride a camel in Hawaii too?" Hayato, not knowing why this was happening, replied casually.
"Oh come on, Brother-in-law. Before, you might have been able to fool me, but Tristan told me long ago that there's a training institution in Domino City called Hawaii."
"I told you, who's your Brother-in-law?!"
While chatting, the group of seven rode five camels, heading in the direction of the Great Pyramid of Giza under the gradually rising sun disc.
Before, just seeing the World's largest pyramid—the Great Pyramid of Giza—from a distance on the highway, everyone could feel its imposing presence. And after setting off from the nearby town, the closer they got to the pyramid's direction, the more the feeling of the giant object continuously growing larger before their eyes gave them a complete shock.
It's no wonder Pegasus would travel the World in this way to find inspiration for Duel Monsters cards.
And as they got closer to the pyramid's direction, both Yugi and Hayato simultaneously felt a very peculiar feeling in their hearts. It was difficult to describe in words; they could only feel as if something was calling out to them.
At the same time, Marik, sitting behind Hayato, said confusedly as they got closer to the Great Pyramid of Giza, "Strange, I should be visiting here for the first time, right? Why does the Great Pyramid of Giza from this angle look so familiar?"
"Huh?" After a moment of pause, Marik turned his head to glance at the Desert in the distance, then turned his head back to look at the Great Pyramid of Giza, and then turned his head again to look in the direction of the Desert. "Huh?!"
"C-Could it be?!"
Author's Note: There's a place in Egypt named Pegasus (found it accidentally while checking a map)
And PS: About the title, it doesn't have any special meaning, yeah.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 700: How Could There Be a Language Barrier in Anime/Manga?
"You mean the Tribal Land of the Tomb Keepers is somewhere nearby?" The camel temporarily stopped on the sandy ground, not being picky and casually nibbling on weeds that might have grown from being watered by some traveler's urine. Marik spread his hands and said helplessly, "I'm not very sure. I just said that this area looks a lot like the view I saw in the tribal land when I was a child."
"Although I didn't leave the tribal land much back then, the low-lying buildings within the tribal land, built to avoid attracting attention, couldn't block the tall pyramid nearby. Anyway, I remember seeing a pyramid of that shape back then."
While speaking, Marik pointed to one side of the Great Pyramid of Giza, then shrugged, saying, "However, I'm not entirely sure if it's this pyramid. After all, that was almost ten years ago. It's already quite remarkable that I can remember there was a pyramid near the tribal land of the Tomb Keepers, okay?"
"The Tomb Keepers, huh..." Pegasus crossed his arms over his chest and said with interest, "Although me came to Egypt many years ago, even then me could say me traveled all over Egypt, but me never went to the mysterious tribal land of the Tomb Keepers. Compared to revisiting old places, me feels that if me goes to the Tomb Keepers, perhaps good, better, best inspiration will emerge."
Glancing at Pegasus, whose tone was incredibly strange, Hayato didn't bother to rant about him. Instead, he looked up at the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was now much closer.
Having endured a thousand years, this massive pyramid before them was already scarred by the ravages of sandstorms, no longer possessing the radiance of the past that Hayato and the others had never seen. Even so, the Great Pyramid of Giza was already the largest pyramid in the world, and such a large, historically significant building possessed considerable potential to become an excellent tourist attraction.
Logically, the Tomb Keepers should advocate for living in seclusion, far from the hustle and bustle. This could be seen from how Rishid was punished almost to the point of losing half his life just because Marik went for a stroll nearby. Theoretically, the more remote a place is, the more likely it is to be the tribal land of the Tomb Keepers.
The tribal land of the Tomb Keepers right next to the Great Pyramid of Giza? Impossible, absolutely impossible. What kind of criminal organization would set up its headquarters next to a police station?
Uh, maybe?
Although Marik only provided a rather unreliable idea, what the group currently had in abundance was time. Anyway, they had camels to ride, and the distance from the city wasn't too far. Advancing towards the Tomb Keepers, whether they were truly there or not, was fundamentally not a problem for them.
For Tristan and Joey Wheeler, it didn't matter where they went as long as it was interesting. Pegasus was also very interested in the Tomb Keepers, who might provide him with inspiration. Téa was fine with just acting together with the group and wasn't picky about where to go. As for Hayato and Yugi, because of that strange attraction in their hearts, they also had the idea of changing direction to the tribal land of the Tomb Keepers.
The sole person among the seven who didn't really want to go to the tribal land of the Tomb Keepers was Marik himself. However, he had promised Ishizu that he would visit the Tomb Keepers if it was on the way. When he agreed at the Domino City Airport, he thought Egypt was so vast that it would be a coincidence if it was on the way. But he never expected to unexpectedly find a clue to the Tomb Keepers at the very first stop.
Although very reluctant, he still had to do what he promised. Marik, sitting behind Hayato on the camel, pointed the way with a helpless expression: "Just head in this direction. Judging by the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza, we might find it after walking about a kilometer. However, if I point in the wrong direction, there's nothing I can do."
At this moment, Marik was still thinking that if he was lucky, they might accidentally go in the wrong direction next. Although he had an impression of one side of the Great Pyramid of Giza, extending a one-kilometer radius from the angle where that side could be seen would still cover a huge area. Even if the tribal land of the Tomb Keepers was really nearby, they might coincidentally avoid it.
However, he had forgotten one thing: they were not just ordinary travelers. Among the seven, three had been involved with the Millennium Items, and Hayato currently held three of them alone. The one that had been with him the longest was the Millennium Ring.
"Ding~"
After the group had advanced a little distance, the five half-circles on the golden disk on Hayato's chest, who was walking at the front, automatically floated up as if defying gravity and all pointed in a direction slightly deviating from their direction of travel.
"Huh, is it this way?" Hayato didn't pull the ropes leading the camel; he just gently squeezed the sides of the camel with his legs, and the "Ship of the Desert" beneath him adjusted its direction of travel according to Hayato's will.
Although the Millennium Ring was something Hayato "borrowed" from Bakura during the Duelist Kingdom - I mean, kept on behalf of Bakura - this Millennium Item, which was said to have an evil will residing in it, had long since taken on Hayato's shape.
While it was usually used by Hayato for Dark Games and as a battery to provide power to Card Spirits, the Millennium Ring's original function was still preserved. Besides its ability to interfere with other Millennium Items, which even Hayato himself couldn't control, there was also its "guidance of direction."
"Hmph, it's really useful, Hayato's Millennium Ring." Joey Wheeler, who was slightly behind Hayato, also saw the glowing golden disk and couldn't help but exclaim, "Not only is it useful as an item during Dark Games, but it must also be very convenient for finding things if you forget where you put them normally."
"I feel like you're referring to a certain Captain Sparrow's compass, be careful of being targeted by the legal department," Tristan, riding alongside Joey Wheeler, joked.
Pegasus, following behind Hayato, seemed to feel competitive and said, "But the Millennium Eye is still more useful, isn't it? Me's Millennium Eye can read minds, and it can even turn videotapes into real-time video calls. It can be used anytime."
"That last function is completely useless, and what's there to compare in a place like this? Besides, Pegasus, I remember your Millennium Eye was already dug out by that evil Bakura whose hair stands up like rabbit ears, wasn't it?"
To Pegasus, Joey Wheeler's casual rant broke through the old man's fragile defenses, easily sending him into a low state.
"Hey, Joey Wheeler, that's too rude." Téa, who was holding Yugi in her arms with composure despite theoretically being less stable while riding the camel, turned her head and said to Joey Wheeler. However, after looking at Pegasus, she paused, "But it's Pegasus, so it's fine."
"You speak too hurtfully, lady, even me gets sad, you know."
Although he said that, looking at Pegasus's frivolous tone, it was clear he wasn't really down. Despite almost dying when his Millennium Eye was taken by a sneak attack, so much time had passed. The experienced Pegasus had long overcome the psychological trauma of almost dying.
In the few minutes they were talking, the camels carried everyone a long distance across the sandy ground. They had strong adaptability to the soft sandy ground, which makes it difficult for people to move forward and consumes a lot of strength. Just then, Dark Yugi, who had appeared in the outside world to better ride the camel, spotted the distant view with his sharp eye: "Over there is..."
The camels reached a higher sand dune. As they moved forward, the sandy ground beneath their feet had unknowingly turned into muddy ground. Looking from afar, a cluster of ancient building complex was hidden in this desert. Yugi's unusually strong intuition told him that it was absolutely the tribal land of the Tomb Keepers - Ishtar Family!
Yugi, who was walking in the middle of the group, had already seen the distant tribal land of the Tomb Keepers. Marik, sitting behind Hayato on the camel, had naturally seen it as well. There was some complexity in his gaze.
That was his home. Even though there were many painful and unbearable memories, there were also many beautiful memories left behind. Ever since he personally killed his father and, under Shadi's guidance, believed that the Nameless Pharaoh had killed his father, Marik had left this place and hadn't returned for many years.
Although he said he wasn't interested in this place, whether Marik felt a moment of nostalgia for it in his heart while wandering overseas was something only Marik himself knew.
Seeing Marik looking at the distant tribal land of the Tomb Keepers with a complex gaze and not speaking, the others also couldn't help but stop here and wait.
But just as they stopped, the next instant, dozens of dark figures suddenly rushed out from all directions, moving quickly and surrounding the group!
"Marik, you traitor!"
In the face of the sudden incident, Hayato, Yugi, and Joey Wheeler immediately tried to draw cards from their bodies to release their Card Spirits. But before they could take action, one of the dark figures surrounding them suddenly let out a loud roar. Although they couldn't quite understand the Egyptian language, they immediately recognized the pronunciation of the name "Marik", and their hand movements paused.
"What are you guys doing suddenly popping out like this!" Joey Wheeler watched the Staff surrounding them with vigilance. All of them held a scimitar in their hands. Looking at the cold light on the blades, it was clear these weapons were not just for show.
Because of this, Joey Wheeler's hand never left the Top of Deck. The power of Red-Eyes Black Dragon was already poised for action.
However, whether it was because of the language barrier or because these Black-Robed Figures around them were deaf, they had no reaction. They merely held the long knives in their hands and pointed them at the group — specifically, at Marik, who was still sitting on the camel.
A man completely covered in a black robe, with his head also wrapped in black cloth, only revealing a pair of eyes, walked out from the encirclement towards Marik while speaking. The area around his exposed eyes was full of wrinkles. Even without removing the black cloth covering his face, it was clear he was quite old.
Moreover, the wrath in his eyes as he looked at Marik was quite obvious. His goal was also very clear; it seems like he had known about Marik's arrival and had been waiting here for a long time.
Opening his mouth, the Black-Robed Figure spoke in Egyptian language, which the others still couldn't quite understand. From his voice, it seemed this was the same person who had just shouted. He was probably the boss of the Staff surrounding them.
"After committing unforgivable grave sin, you stole the important 'God Card' during the chaos and fled the tribal land with the secretly transmitted Millennium Rod, Marik! How dare you return here!"
"I thought it was some stray dog barking, but isn't this the Elder?" Although the Black-Robed Figure's aura was quite strong, Marik looked completely unconcerned. After getting off the camel, he looked contemptuously at the Black-Robed Figure glaring at him. "Anyone who has drunk the Nile River water will return to Egypt no matter how far they leave Egypt. I wanted to come back, so I came back. Can you control it?"
What Marik said was an Egyptian proverb, but clearly, this proverb was not meant to be used here.
Hearing Marik's words, the Black-Robed Figure became so angry that he laughed instead, giving a cold snort: "Hmph, fine, it's good that you're back. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because your Older Sister is the Clan Head. As the Elder in charge of the clan's criminal penalty, I will now carry out the punishment for the sin you committed back then!"
While speaking, the Black-Robed Figure was about to draw a long knife from his waist and slash towards Marik, completely disregarding Hayato and the others beside him, as if thinking they wouldn't dare move if they were surrounded by his Subordinates.
"Bang!"
However, the next instant, Hayato, who had flipped off the camel, kicked the face of the guy who seemed to be the Elder, sending the completely undefended guy flying directly onto the muddy ground. The black cloth on his face also scattered, revealing an aged appearance.
"Yakamashi! You've been jabbering non-stop in Egyptian language since just now! Isn't it common sense that everyone in the world speaks Japanese language!" Hayato showed no apology for kicking an old man flying, saying with a fierce expression, "Speak in a language everyone can understand, you bastard!"
"You... you rude fellow!"
The kicked Elder was helped up by two Black-Robed Figure Subordinates. He glared at Hayato and said, "Since you're with that traitor Marik, I'll just kill you as an accomplice! Anyway, that little girl Ishizu isn't here. What's so great about having a good background? How dare she order me to accept the traitor back into the clan as the Clan Head?"
"Bah! Don't even think about it. If I kill this traitor, what reason could she possibly have to punish me?"
Although his tone was fierce, the Elder, after taking a kick from Hayato, honestly started speaking Japanese language. While speaking, his gaze wandered over Hayato's body and quickly fixed on the three Millennium Items hanging on him.
"The Millennium Ring, the Millennium Key, and the Millennium Rod that Marik stole!? Heh, excellent, you've even prepared the reason for me. You Grave Robber who defiled the Sacred Millennium Items, I will kill you, and your soul will be burned out in the sacred flame!"
While speaking, the Elder, whose face was swollen, reached into his arms and suddenly pulled out a golden item shaped like stacked bird feathers. He wore it on his left hand and unfolded it. It was clearly a Duel Disk made of gold!