Hikaru and Zane met in private to talk about the Number cards.
There were two things Hikaru had never been fully sure of.
First: how Zane got his Photon gear. That wasn't something you just "found." At minimum, it was the Tenjo family's technological masterpiece from the Xyz Dimension, a terrifying system said to freeze time itself. Precisely because it wasn't easily obtained, Hikaru had hesitated to ask. If it had come from Kite Tenjo or someone on that level, the implications would be… complicated.
Second: Hikaru didn't know how many Numbers Zane, in his current state, could safely hold. After all, Zane was Zane, not Kite Tenjo, and not Reginald "Shark" Kastle. What was his upper limit for withstanding a Number's will? How could Hikaru know? In the original A5 timeline, Zane didn't even show up, Asterand Alexisdid. For uncertain matters, Hikaru preferred to watch first.
Now, with Atticus's help, Zane had even managed to bring out Dark Armed Dragon and seemed to no longer need the electric-resistance potion. It felt like the right moment to sit down and be frank.
From their talk, Hikaru learned that the "Photon System" on Zane really had been given to him by Kite Tenjo, but not as a simple gesture of cross-dimensional friendship. It came with a contract.
As the Number Hunter of the Fusion Dimension, Zane would collect Numbers and make regular deliveries to Kite in Next Domino City. In return, Kite would outfit him with Photon gear so he could perform Xyz Summons normally outside the Xyz Dimension, and even send him a few support cards.
"For example," Zane said, fishing in his case, "Kite handed me three copies of Galaxy Soldier."
Zane had tried them, but shrugged. The card felt only average to him, less explosive than Cyber Jormungardr in a Cyber-Style build, so he'd cut it from the list.
Hikaru considered that. Jormungardr's ceiling looked higher than Galaxy Soldier inside a tuned Cyber shell. But Jormungardr only Special Summoned itself if the opponent already controlled a monster, no good when you're going first. If Zane ever aimed for Cyber Dragon Infinity, then Galaxy Soldier remained a serious option.
Casually, Zane also brought up the oddity of the shared surname between Kite Tenjo and Hikaru. The name Tenjo was rare. For two people from two different Dimensions to share it, it was a coincidence worth raising an eyebrow at.
Following that thread, Zane laid out his arrangement with Kite in more detail. It was strictly professional. Kite cared deeply about Numbers, and when he realized they could manifest in other Dimensions, he'd gotten fired up. After a short discussion, he had his AI robot draft the terms.
In short: besides the Photon gear, each Number Zane hunted would be exchanged for specific cards.
Zane turned the two cards over in his hands and whistled. "Number 85: Crazy Box and Number 24: Dragulas the Vampiric Dragon. As expected of you, Hikaru."
He'd only captured one Number himself so far; Hikaru bringing in two had genuinely surprised him.
"Actually, Kite also gave me something else," Zane said after a beat. He dug into his pocket and produced something like an invitation.
"They're calling it a pass to Heartland City in the Xyz Dimension," he recalled, then looked back at Hikaru. "You know, right? Our Next Domino City is a cooperative artificial Dimension, linked with the Xyz Dimension."
"And besides that," Zane added, "Next Domino City actually has special Dimensional Doors that link to two Dimensions.
If you've got the right clearance, you can use a pass to travel there."
"He's busy and doesn't know how often he can swing by Next Domino," Zane went on, "so he gave me a few of these. Said if I want to keep studying Xyz Summoning, I can go to their Dimension anytime."
"I figured… you might need one right now."
Hikaru turned the pass over in his hands, reading the embossed text.
"Mm."
"Because the Fusion Army attacked the city, relations between the Xyz Dimension and our side are cracked wide open," Zane said. "I can still work with Kite Tenjo, but other people? It won't be easy.
Maybe the Xyz Dimension has its own Fusion Monsters, maybe unique Fusion tools, but either way;
One thing's certain. If it's you, you'll want to go to the Xyz Dimension and take care of Fusion Army business, right? There are a lot of lost spirits over there."
Hikaru nodded. Zane had said exactly what he'd been thinking.
When the Fusion Army's surprise raid on the Xyz Dimension failed, they abandoned a lot of spirits to cover their retreat, things like Frightfur, who had willingly fought alongside them, and others, like the so-called One-Eyed Fighter, who'd been forced under their control.
Unlike the Synchro Dimension, which Hikaru had reached thanks to the Duel Dragon, he had no path to the Xyz Dimension. They had their own dimensional tech, and more importantly, they could seal and shield their world. In that field, the Xyz Dimension had gone even further than KaibaCorp.
So all Hikaru could do was wait.
Now that Zane had put this pass in his hand, once the tournament eased up, he finally had a way to go.
"Heh. If nothing goes sideways, I'm heading to the Xyz Dimension after the tournament too," Zane said, handing Hikaru one of the passes. "It's been a while since I dueled Atticus…
But Dueling evolves forever, and so does Cyber Dragon. Maybe I should take a page from you, travel every Dimension, learn every style, and refine Cyber Dragon the way you refine Fusion."
"Dueling, ideals, everything has to be tested and evolved in the Duel," he laughed, tipping his head back. "Even the convictions I thought were already at their peak… maybe they weren't the limit at all. Just like your 'ultimate Fusion', but Fusion has no ultimate, right? Absolute? Hahahaha..."
"Even if you butter me up, I won't go easy on you in the finals," Hikaru said with a soft chuckle.
Zane blinked, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! You too, Hikaru! I'm evolving without end. Don't lose on the way to me, see you in the semifinals."