"You bastard!" Oda Nobunaga shouted as she suddenly leaped into the air and swung a kick toward Yumi's head, forcing him to crouch down at the last second to avoid it. The movement left Yumi looking up at her for a brief moment; his gaze didn't move as he saw the black lingerie beneath her skirt.
Oda immediately noticed where his attention had gone, her face turning red from a mixture of embarrassment and anger before she brought her leg down toward him without hesitation.
Yumi reacted quickly and overlapped his body with Masked HERO Atomic, allowing Oda's kick to crash into his right shoulder with enough force to make the ground beneath his feet crack. The impact pushed him down slightly, but Yumi didn't even lose his balance, simply looking at Oda with the same casual expression as before.
Oda stared at him for a moment, her expression shifting from anger to disbelief as she realized that her attack hadn't even knocked him over.
Hoshino and Illya were also caught off guard by the sight. They knew Yumi was strong, but watching him casually take a kick from a Servant was still another matter entirely. Even if Oda hadn't been trying to seriously injure him, she clearly hadn't pulled the attack as much as she could have, judging from the cracked floor beneath Yumi's feet.
"Hm. Not bad," Yumi said, casually glancing at the black stocking leg still resting against his shoulder, slowly moving up to look up at her with a completely shameless expression. "You've got some pretty good taste."
Oda's eye twitched.
"I don't know if I should call you bold for admiring my legs, or stupid for angering me."
She said, glaring down at him, yet she still didn't bother to move her leg.
"Whatever suits your taste."
That answer somehow made Oda even more irritated. She immediately summoned her matchlock again, pressing the barrel to his head again.
Before she could pull the trigger, Hoshino finally stepped in and grabbed the back of Oda's collar, pulling her away from Yumi.
"I said stop it already! Both of you!"
Hoshino finally lost her patience, dragging Oda back while giving Yumi an equally annoyed look.
"And you, at least have some common sense! Even if someone looks good, that doesn't mean you should just stare at them like that! Have some manners!"
She had officially entered teacher mode.
Part of it came from sheer annoyance, but another part came from her sense of responsibility. No matter which dimension he came from, Yumi was still technically a Duel Academy student, and he was even wearing a Slifer Red uniform.
From Hoshino's perspective, that made him her student whether he liked it or not. And as a teacher, she couldn't just watch one of her students behave like this and do nothing.
If she watched one of her students behave like this and simply ignored it, wouldn't that mean she was failing as an educator?
So Hoshino began lecturing him. For the first few seconds, Yumi actually listened.
Then his attention started drifting. Then he started thinking about something. Then he completely stopped listening.
"Are you even hearing me?" Hoshino asked.
"Yes."
"What did I just say?"
Yumi paused.
"Something about Saint Quartz?"
Hoshino's eyelid twitched.
"You're hopeless."
Hoshino sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. At this rate, she was starting to wonder if dealing with Yumi was actually more exhausting than dealing with an entire classroom of troublesome students.
"Honestly, did you even listen to anything I said just now?"
"Not really."
Hoshino stared at him for several seconds before her eye twitched. Then she punched him on the top of the head.
Because Yumi was still overlapped with Masked HERO Atomic, Hoshino's fist felt less like hitting a person's head and more like punching a metal wall.
"Ow!"
Hoshino immediately pulled her hand back and crouched down, clutching it while shaking her fingers.
"What are you made out of!?" She blew on her reddened knuckles. "Don't tell me you're some kind of robot!"
Yumi looked at her with genuine confusion.
"What kind of question is that? I'm one hundred percent human."
"Then why is your head harder than metal!?" She snapped back.
He casually replied with his usual.
"Because I'm the strongest."
"That's not an explanation!"
Yumi simply shrugged, while Oda Nobunaga couldn't help but chuckle, not sure whether she should be angry for her old Master's sake or laugh upon finding out this situation was a bit funny.
Yumi wasn't particularly bothered by Hoshino hitting him. He had already experienced something similar with Midori-sensei's disciplinary measures.
Although, to be fair, he always found it somewhat strange.
When it came to other students, Midori-sensei was usually pretty gentle and patient, regardless of whether they were boys or girls. But whenever Yumi was involved, her patience seemed to disappear almost immediately, and he would occasionally find himself on the receiving end of one of her disciplinary hits.
Yumi never really minded. He could tell that there was no real malice behind it. If anything, he understood that it came from concern and a teacher's frustration with a troublesome student.
So he usually just let her do it.
It reminded him of a certain white-haired guy with a blindfold who was practically impossible to hit, yet still allowed his teacher to smack him whenever he deserved it.
Yumi might act shameless and indifferent from time to time, but he knew that sometimes he was in the wrong. There is no point in getting angry over something he totally deserved.
"Uh, everyone. I think we should focus on the main issue again." Illya finally spoke up, drawing everyone's attention as the three turned toward the magical girl. "I mean... aren't we supposed to figure out how we're going to deal with the Beast Waves?"
"Illya is correct. And Master, please don't let that vulgar, perverted boy anywhere near-"
Ruby didn't get to finish.
Hoshino quickly grabbed the talking mystic code out of Illya's hand and casually threw her into the distance. Ruby flew through the air with a small cry before disappearing somewhere beyond the treeline.
There was a brief silence.
By now, Hoshino had started to understand Yumi's personality a little better.
He was undeniably powerful, and that overwhelming strength had clearly contributed to his shameless attitude and excessive confidence. However, his common sense hadn't completely disappeared. He could still recognize when he'd done something wrong, and when Hoshino scolded and even hit him, he hadn't tried to retaliate.
Oda Nobunaga was now his Spirit, and despite the fact that she clearly wasn't fond of him yet, Yumi didn't seem particularly bothered by her opinion either.
Ruby, however, was a completely different problem.
That talking mystic code had already made her opinion of Yumi very clear, and the last thing Hoshino wanted was for Yumi to suddenly decide he wasn't going to help them because Ruby couldn't keep her mouth shut.
The three of them stared toward the treeline where Ruby had disappeared as Hoshino casually dusted off her hand.
"Anyway, let's head back to Duel Academy first. Staying out here for too long isn't safe," she said, quickly moving the conversation along.
Suddenly, something shot out from behind Hoshino. Before whatever it was could reach her, all three of them reacted at once.
"Huh? Ugh!"
Illya immediately tackled Hoshino to the ground, while Yumi thrust his hand forward and overlapped it with the arm of Dark Law, catching the sickle blade that had been aimed at the back of Hoshino's neck. At the same time, Oda pulled out her matchlock, aimed it directly at the one-eyed little fiend, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
A loud gunshot echoed through the trees.
The small spirit dropped to the ground before its body began fading away into Spirit Energy.
"Are you okay, Master?" Illya asked, looking up at Hoshino while still lying on top of her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," Hoshino replied, patting Illya gently on the head.
Yumi glanced around the area.
"Interesting. So there are still a few strays hiding around."
Before anyone could even react, Yumi casually reached down and snatched the top two cards from her Heroic Spirit Deck.
"Hey!" Hoshino immediately noticed what he had done and sat up. "Those are mine!"
"I'll be taking these two as payment for clearing out all the strays on the island," Yumi said confidently, slipping both cards into his pocket as though the matter had already been settled.
"You can't just take my cards!"
"I just did, this payment."
"That's not how payment works!"
Yumi ignored her and drew another card from his own deck, placing it onto his Duel Disk.
"Domain Expansion: Kyoutou Waterfront!"
The moment the card activated, darkness spread outward from beneath Yumi's feet.
It didn't stop at the surrounding area.
The darkness rapidly expanded across the entire island, swallowing the trees, mountains, buildings, and everything else in its path. Within seconds, the familiar environment of Duel Academy had been replaced by a sprawling city surrounded by massive amounts of water, with Duel Academy standing at its center like an island within the artificial waterfront.
Hoshino, Illya, and Oda all looked around in surprise.
"What the...?" Hoshino muttered.
The sudden transformation also revealed something else.
The stray Duel Monster Spirits that had been hiding throughout the island were suddenly exposed, their figures appearing all across the newly formed city.
Before any of the three could react, enormous kaiju suddenly appeared throughout the domain.
The massive creatures immediately began rampaging through the city, their movements causing chaos as they charged after the exposed spirits. Despite their destructive behavior, however, they deliberately avoided Yumi, Hoshino, Illya, Oda, and the Duel Academy building, as though their targets had already been clearly decided.
The stray spirits didn't stand much of a chance. One after another, they were trampled beneath the kaiju's massive feet and swept aside as the creatures continued their rampage.
The entire thing lasted barely five seconds. Then the domain disappeared.
The artificial city, the surrounding water, and the massive kaiju all vanished together, leaving the island of Duel Academy exactly as it had been before Yumi activated the Domain Expansion.
For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Oda's eyes shifted toward the spot where one of the stray Spirits had been standing. There was nothing left, only a faint mass of Spirit Energy slowly drifting upward into the air.
Illya noticed it as well.
And once they started looking, they could see them everywhere. Across the island, countless traces of Spirit Energy were slowly fading into the sky, remnants of the stray Duel Monsters that had been hiding throughout Duel Academy.
Yumi remained standing, breathing heavily as visible clouds of hot air escaped from his mouth.
Normally, a Field Spell would only cover a limited portion of the battlefield, with its effective range depending on the function of the card and the capabilities of the Duel Disk being used. Even if one uses it with their Spirit Energy, they can only cover a bit wider a range than a normal Field Spell.
Yumi had completely surpassed that limitation.
He had poured an enormous amount of Spirit Energy into his Domain Expansion, forcing its range far beyond what a normal Field Spell should have been capable of and extending it across the entirety of Duel Academy Island.
And he had done it simply to flush out every remaining stray at once.
"Master, you are drooling," Illya pointed out.
Hoshino immediately realized what she was doing and quickly wiped her mouth, following it up with a fake cough as she straightened herself and tried to regain some of her usual composure.
She couldn't really blame herself, though.
Ever since the Beast Waves began, the Pro Duelists at Duel Academy had been exhausted day after day, constantly being forced to fight in order to protect both the school and the dormitories from the Duel Monster Spirits roaming around the island.
The situation was already bad enough without the constant threat of surprise attacks. With the Beast Waves unleashing more and more Spirits onto the island, everyone had to fight tooth and nail just to keep themselves and the people around them safe, while the strays that remained scattered throughout the island made things even worse. They could appear almost anywhere, waiting for someone to let their guard down before attacking.
Hoshino knew exactly how dangerous things had become.
That was why she had ordered every student to travel in pairs whenever possible, making sure they could watch each other's backs, while the teachers and Pro Duelists were expected to remain on constant alert in case another group of Spirits suddenly appeared.
They were barely managing to keep things under control.
So seeing Yumi clear out the entire island's remaining strays with a single card was almost surreal.
And the more Hoshino thought about what she had just witnessed, the more impressive it became.
She had recognized the monsters running through Yumi's Domain almost immediately.
They are Kaijus.
Those ridiculous monsters that could simply be summoned onto an opponent's field by sacrificing the opponent's monster, effectively taking its place and turning the opponent's own boss monster into their tribute.
Except Yumi hadn't summoned just one. He had summoned enough of them to completely sweep the island clean.
"Yumi, how did you even do that?" Hoshino finally asked, trying to sound mature and composed again after her earlier embarrassment.
Yumi glanced back at her.
"Simple. I'm the strongest, so something like summoning multiple Spirits at once is normal."
His tone was so casual and smug that Hoshino couldn't tell whether he was joking or genuinely believed that explanation was enough.
Then, as if he felt the need to prove his point, Yumi's golden eyes briefly flashed red.
The atmosphere around them immediately changed.
Dark silhouettes began appearing around the group one after another, surrounding them from every direction. Their enormous bodies were hidden beneath a layer of black shadow, leaving only their glowing eyes visible in the darkness.
Hoshino's expression immediately stiffened. Illya tensed as well, instinctively moving closer to her Master.
Even Oda Nobunaga, who had been rather hostile toward Yumi since their contract began, froze where she stood.
She couldn't even begin to count how many Spirits were surrounding them, and the worst part was that since she was now technically a Duel Monster Spirit under Yumi, she could see them more clearly than Hoshino and Illya, and she still couldn't count all of them.
Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, the silhouettes vanished. The oppressive atmosphere disappeared with them, leaving the three of them standing there in silence.
Yumi didn't seem to notice the effect he had caused.
"Anyway, let's head back to Duel Academy first," he said, turning around and starting to walk away. "I wanna see how trashed this place has gotten."
Oda sighed.
"Honestly... Just what kind of Master have I gotten myself into?"
She shook her head before her body faded away, returning to her Card.
Hoshino and Illya remained frozen for another second before finally snapping out of their shock.
"Wait for us!" Hoshino called out as she hurried after Yumi with Illya following beside her.
Neither of them noticed the figure watching them from behind the treeline.
A large red motorcycle was parked there, mostly hidden from view, with its rider casually leaning against it.
The figure was Yumi, or rather, a future version of him.
He watched his younger self walk toward Duel Academy with a faint smirk on his face, his arms resting comfortably against the D-Wheel as he observed the scene from a distance.
He stayed there for another moment, watching until the three of them were almost out of sight.
Then a spatial rift suddenly opened beside him. He climbed onto his D-Wheel, started the engine, and drove straight into the rift. Within seconds, both the motorcycle and its rider had disappeared, leaving the forest completely empty once again.
...
However, as they entered the Academy grounds, Yumi's expression became a little more intrigued.
From the main gates all the way to the inner buildings, almost everything had been damaged in some way. Several structures were still faintly smoldering, suggesting the fires had only been put out recently, while broken walls, scattered debris, and damaged pathways made it clear just how much the Beast Waves had already taken from the Academy.
Now that he was seeing the damage up close, Yumi could also tell that most of the dormitories were still standing, although some had clearly taken more damage than others.
The Slifer Red dorm, however, was a completely different story. There was barely anything left. Only a pile of blackened debris and ash remained where the building had once stood.
"The most severely damaged areas were mostly the auxiliary facilities," Hoshino explained, noticing where Yumi was looking. "Thanks to everyone's efforts, we managed to keep the main teaching building and most of the dormitories standing."
She gave him a quick summary of the situation as they walked, although her voice became noticeably quieter when she glanced toward the remains of the Slifer Red dorm.
"Fortunately, we haven't lost any students. There were quite a few injuries, though, and with so many people already hurt, I'm not sure how well we'll be able to handle tonight's attack."
Hoshino let out a tired sigh before continuing.
"I managed to convince the others that only the teachers and Pro Duelists should go out to defend the Academy from now on. We can't keep sending the students out there just because we're short on manpower."
Her expression became more serious.
"The Beast Waves are dangerous enough for experienced Duelists, let alone students. Not everyone here is particularly strong at Dueling, and their combat abilities aren't exactly suited for something like this either. Sending them out there to fight for their lives while the adults stay behind would be no different from sending children into a war."
Yumi remained quiet as he listened.
Hoshino wasn't exaggerating.
He had only been on the island for a short time, but even he could tell how exhausted everyone had become. The Beast Waves weren't something they could simply deal with once and move on from. They had to keep fighting every time another wave appeared, all while dealing with the stray Spirits that could attack them at any moment.
Hoshino adjusted her glasses before giving him a tired smile.
"Now that you're here, though, I guess we finally have a little bit of hope."
Illya had already dematerialized, leaving only the teacher and student walking side by side toward the Academy building.
As they entered, the two continued to walk to each others about the differences in their worlds.
"So, there really isn't a Hoshino Chiyuki in your world."
It sounded less like a question and more like she was still trying to process the fact. Her gaze shifted toward Yumi as they continued down the hallway.
"You're surprisingly calm about it, though. I would have thought you'd be more surprised to learn that there isn't a Yumi Uzushi in this world either."
"There are already so many differences between our worlds that it doesn't really surprise me," Yumi replied with a shrug.
From everything he had seen so far, this world was much closer to the original GX timeline than the chaotic version of events he was familiar with from his own world. So the fact that another version of himself simply didn't exist here wasn't particularly strange to him.
"Besides, I'm already used to different worlds having different people."
Hoshino nodded slightly.
That made sense when he could freely travel between dimensions, so this meant this wasn't his first time doing something like this.
As they continued through the Academy, Yumi's appearance began attracting more attention from the students and staff around them. After the sudden appearance of the previous Beast Wave, everyone had been on edge, and the strange incident that had just occurred hadn't helped matters.
They had witnessed the massive Kaijus appearing across the island, rampaging through the area, and then disappearing almost as quickly as they had arrived. Even though the immediate threat was gone, nobody really understood what had happened.
So when an unfamiliar student suddenly appeared inside the Academy, even while wearing one of their uniforms, it was only natural that people became suspicious.
Several students glanced at Yumi as he passed, while others whispered among themselves.
Hoshino noticed this and quickly stepped in before the situation could become uncomfortable.
"Don't worry about him. He's my personal disciple. He finally came to Duel Academy to help his teacher out."
The explanation was simple, but coming from Hoshino, it was apparently enough.
The students who had been watching Yumi suspiciously gradually relaxed, and some even greeted Hoshino before continuing on their way.
Yumi raised an eyebrow.
That was surprisingly easy.
"Don't mind their reaction," Hoshino said, giving him a small, reassuring smile. "Everyone's just a little tense right now."
The way she said it almost sounded like a mother explaining to her child why someone had been acting strangely.
Yumi found that slightly amusing.
"You seem pretty popular."
Hoshino glanced at him.
"Hm?"
"I heard some of the students talking about you earlier. Apparently, you even got into a fight with Crowler just to protect them."
Hoshino's expression became slightly awkward.
"Ah... that."
Yumi chuckled quietly. It reminded him a little of Midori-sensei.
Despite constantly disappearing from work whenever she felt like it, Midori had always been willing to help students who genuinely reached out to her. She wasn't the type to chase after everyone and force them to accept her help, but if someone actually asked for it, she would usually lend them a hand without thinking twice.
Yumi could respect that.
After all, he wasn't going to go out of his way to save someone who didn't even want to reach for the hand being offered.
You couldn't save someone who didn't want to be saved.
"This is war," Hoshino said quietly, pulling Yumi's attention back to her. "I don't want children stepping onto the battlefield while the adults stand behind them and watch."
"What about me?"
Yumi pointed at himself.
Hoshino looked at him for a moment.
"You're an anomaly."
She said it so quickly that Yumi actually raised an eyebrow.
"An anomaly?"
"Yes. You're an exception."
She adjusted her glasses and continued walking.
"Besides, you don't exactly act like a normal high school student."
Yumi gave her a slightly offended look.
"I can act perfectly normal."
Hoshino glanced at him.
"You stole three of my cards as payment five minutes after meeting me."
"...That's unrelated."
"You also ignored my lecture."
"I listened."
"You absolutely did not."
Yumi chuckled, finding the back-and-forth between them was quite fun. He quite enjoy strong will women. The clearest example of this is Momoyo, Kazuko, Celina, and Midori; all of them were strong will woman.
Alexis? She doesn't count, having zero feats, zero relevance, and seven disappointing attempts to make an impact. Her strong will isn't that strong, and it isn't enough to make an impact when she is completely hopeless when needed.
Seriously, she was built up as someone with massive potential in the original work; she could have been the pillar for Jaden to lean on when he is tired, or a supporting character that can help lift others up when they are down. But no, she just turned into a damsel in distress and fell whenever an important duel occurred that she needed to step up.
"It can't be helped," he said with a casual shrug. "The path of the strongest is ultimately a lonely one."
Hoshino stared at him for a few seconds.
"You're really just going to use that as an excuse for everything, aren't you?"
"Pretty much."
Hoshino sighed.
Somehow, she already had a feeling that dealing with Yumi was going to be more exhausting than fighting the Beast Waves.
AN: Yo, longer chapter for longer wait. Also, what are your thoughts on this arc? If you get the reference, then cool; if you don't, that is fine too. Also, should I keep using Hoshino Chiyuki for the obvious reference, or should I switch it to Ritsuka Fujimaru because I can't contact the original author for permission?