"We already agreed on the terms beforehand. I don't need to remind you, right?" Yusaku walked up to Kazuki and looked down at him.
Kazuki clenched his fists in frustration, then let out a cold snort as he opened his Duel Disk, pulled out his Deck, and tossed it over.
"Thanks."
Yusaku weighed the Deck in his hand and chuckled. "You people from Red Sun Dojo are really generous. Not only do you hand over tournament points, you even gift me your Deck."
Kazuki: "…"
"We'll win this Deck back sooner or later."
With that, he snorted again, turned around, and left with the trainees from his dojo without looking back.
"Take care! Come challenge us again anytime!"
Kazuki: "…"
Once Kazuki and his group were far enough away, the Takeuchi Dojo students couldn't hold back anymore and burst into applause.
The freelance Duelists who had gathered to watch were also impressed by Yusaku's strength and joined in. Applause surged through the square like a wave.
Among them, Yusaku and Kouki were clapping the hardest.
Yusaku (the spectator one) was even going around telling everyone that this was his senpai from their dojo, that anyone who wanted to join was welcome to come find him, and that as long as they could beat him, they could join.
Even now, he still didn't forget to grind EXP and level up.
The Takeuchi Dojo trainees were no less excited than he was. One by one, they were fired up to the max.
Their dojo finally had a top-tier Duelist!
They couldn't even remember how long it had been since they'd felt this way. In the past, the so-called "Number One Dojo" had spent so long being trampled underfoot that they'd never even dared imagine a day like this would come—today, that very dojo had been stomped flat under their feet.
Hidden among the crowd, watching from a distance, the dojo master Takeuchi had tears streaming down his face.
Takeuchi Dojo had always ranked dead-last among the Four Great Dojos. More than once, they'd come dangerously close to falling out of the rankings entirely and being expelled from the league.
But this time, he believed it. This time, Takeuchi Dojo would no longer be the one stuck at the bottom.
After putting the newly-won Deck away, Yusaku looked around, trying to see if anyone else wanted to Duel.
But the people still lingering nearby were all freelance Duelists without uniforms.
As for the Four Great Dojos and the other small dojo representatives, most of them had probably left the moment this Duel ended.
"Junior, you win a Deck and you're already in such a rush to leave?"
Just as Yusaku was about to go somewhere else and look for more opponents, a voice rang out from the edge of the crowd.
Hearing it, the onlookers froze.
Even after seeing how strong Yusaku was, someone still had the guts to come challenge him?
One by one, they turned their heads to look.
"It's Lion King Dojo, and that's Genichiro, one of their higher-ranked Duelists! I thought he was supposed to be over in the western district—what's he doing here in the east?"
"I heard Lion King Dojo and Red Sun Dojo teamed up. Now that three of Red Sun's people got knocked out by Yusaku, their dojo is right on the edge of elimination, and they've even lost two Decks. Lion King Dojo probably came over to win some face back for their allies!"
"Yeah, this smells like a 'save our teammates' mission. With that monster of a guy backing them, Lion King Dojo's pretty strong right now. Who do you think wins if they go up against Yusaku?"
Heading toward them was a group of Duelists in red uniforms, each with a golden lion's head emblem on their chest.
That iconic outfit made it obvious at a glance: they were from Lion King Dojo.
Walking at the front was Genichiro, one of the top-ten ranked Duelists in Lion King Dojo.
He stopped five steps away from Yusaku and smirked.
"I've been looking for you for ages. Didn't expect you to be hiding out here."
"Hiding?" Yusaku looked at him calmly. "You're the one who was hiding. Last time you lost at our dojo and ran off with your tail between your legs. Remind me again—who was hiding?"
His words hit like a stone tossed into a still pond, instantly stirring up a storm of reactions.
The crowd exploded.
"They've Dued already? And from the way Yusaku's talking, it sounds like Genichiro lost and ran away!?"
"So that's how it is. No wonder Genichiro's been on edge like someone fed him gunpowder. Turns out it's a classic 'enemies meet, rage levels maxed' situation!"
"Looks like the two of them are definitely gonna Duel today. Who do you think takes it?"
…
On the field—
Genichiro's expression turned sour at Yusaku's jab.
"What do you mean 'ran off with my tail between my legs'? I only lost last time because I wasn't using my strongest Deck."
"You're still just someone who lost," Yusaku shot back with a sidelong glance.
Genichiro: "…"
"Come on, enough crap! This time I'm not losing to you!" Genichiro snapped his arm up and snapped his Duel Disk open. "I already took down three people from your dojo on the way here. All that's left is you and that Ushio who's hiding who-knows-where!"
In the crowd, Ushio's face darkened instantly.
"What do you mean I'm hiding? If it's a Duel you want, Yusaku-senpai doesn't even need to lift a finger. I'll take care of you myself!"
Genichiro shot him a sideways look. "A loser like you thinks he can challenge me? Don't worry, once I'm done beating Yusaku, I'll come find you. I just hope this time you've got a Deck that can actually put up a fight."
Then he turned back to Yusaku. "Come on. Enough talk. Or are you scared?"
Yusaku didn't bother answering. He simply unfolded his Duel Disk.
Just as the two were about to start, a clear, pleasant voice floated over:
"So lively over here, huh?"
Genichiro's face lit up at the sound. He turned around, his eyes full of unhidden expectation and excitement.
Another group of Lion King Dojo students approached from not far away, all in the same uniform.
At their head walked a girl.
She was stunningly beautiful, with white hair and violet eyes. A tiny beauty mark rested near her left eye, so small it could be easily missed. A faint smile always hovered at the corner of her lips, soft yet edged with a teasing air.
Her fitted uniform accentuated an already outrageous figure, and her tall, graceful posture made her stand out from the other female students like a crane among chickens.
She was a top-tier Duelist who had only recently joined Lion King Dojo—Lady Silver.
"Shiro-chan, what brings you here?"
Facing Lady Silver, Genichiro's entire face softened into a grin. There was none of the sourness he'd been showing just moments earlier.
Looking at him, Yusaku could only think of two words: simp mode.
And the case was clearly terminal.
"We were looking for other tournament contestants to Duel. Then we noticed things were getting pretty noisy over here, and there seemed to be more participants in this area. So I thought we'd come take a look and see if we could invite someone to Duel…"
Lady Silver tilted her head slightly, eyes shifting toward Yusaku. The moment she saw him, a flicker of surprise flashed through her gaze, then quickly turned into delight. She had just opened her mouth to ask him something when a thought seemed to occur to her, making the corner of her lips curl upward.
"Long time no see."
"You two know each other?" Genichiro frowned.
Yusaku said nothing, but Lady Silver smiled.
"We've met twice before. This is the third time."
She really put extra weight on that word "third."
"I see."
Hearing that, Genichiro let out a small breath of relief and smiled. "In that case, whatever you want to talk about, save it for later. I've already scheduled a Duel with him. Who do you think is going to win, Shiro-chan?"
"He will."
Genichiro: "…"
Hearing that, Yusaku (the spectator) couldn't help snickering. He leaned toward Kouki and whispered:
"I'm dying—she didn't even hesitate."
Kouki nodded. "Don't you think Yusaku and this Lady Silver girl actually know each other pretty well?"
Yusaku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, yeah. The way she talks to Yusaku is totally different from how she talks to anyone else."
"And don't you think Lady Silver looks like someone?" Kouki mused.
"Hm?" Yusaku looked carefully toward the field, studied her for a moment, then sucked in a sharp breath. "Lady Silver… isn't that the boss of Labrynth in Maze Castle? Labrynth herself! We always see her in formal dress, so seeing her in a Lion King Dojo uniform threw me off. But where are her horns?"
"Maybe…" Kouki touched his chin. "Maybe those horns are detachable. Or maybe she can hide them. This game does have Duel Spirits as a concept. Hiding certain features shouldn't be hard."
"But according to official info, Labrynth is supposed to be in the upper city, right? Living somewhere up in the freezing far north. What's she doing down here in the Satellite Zone?" Yusaku frowned.
"You'll have to ask Yusaku about that." Kouki looked toward Yusaku on the field. "Interesting… So even the Labrynth who supposedly lives in the far north has shown up here.
He might not be as simple as we thought—not just some hidden NPC."
On the field—
Yusaku spread his Duel Disk, about to start the Duel, when the speakers on the street suddenly crackled to life.
They announced that the top twenty had been decided and that the elimination rounds were officially over.
Hearing that, Genichiro's brows knotted together. He had originally been all fired up to Duel, but after one of his students leaned over and whispered something in his ear, he closed his Duel Disk with a snap.
"Guess you're lucky this time. I'll crush you in the Challenge Tournament instead!"
Yusaku glanced at him. "If you're scared, just say so. Talking about 'Challenge Tournament' and all that… If you've got any guts, Duel me right now."
"You—!"
Genichiro's temper flared at once. He opened his Duel Disk again, only to hesitate for a few seconds before closing it once more.
"Boring."
Seeing that, Yusaku just waved dismissively and walked away with the students from his dojo.
"Shiro-chan, it's not that I'm afraid of him," Genichiro said quickly. "It's just that a Duel right now would be meaningless. It'd only expose my Deck's secrets."
"Mm."
Lady Silver didn't bother answering his excuse. Instead, she kept her eyes on the direction Yusaku had left, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"I know."
(End of Chapter)
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