"Still want to continue?" Yusaku asked with a faint smile.
Hiroshi pressed his lips together without answering. His knuckles had turned white from gripping the Duel Disk so hard, his stare locked on the field in front of him—every zone completely sealed.
Five Monster Zones, five Spell & Trap Zones. Every single space that could hold a card looked as though it had been bound by invisible chains that gleamed with cold light. Even the mechanical texture under his fingertips felt like it was transmitting bone-deep despair.
The stands had gone so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Thousands of eyes clung to the two Duelists on the platform like spotlights.
At that moment, the same thought churned through everyone's mind.
If it were them standing where Hiroshi stood—after playing only a single card from start to finish, with their proud Deck never even getting the chance to unfold, and the entire field being sealed airtight—
Duelists in the audience ran the scenario over and over in their heads. If it were them up there, the outcome would be the same. No—some of them wouldn't even get to play a single card.
With every zone locked down, the only apparent way to break out was to Tribute away the two Shangri-Ira machines on the field.
But Yusaku's back row held [Mask of Restrict].
As long as that card remained in the Spell & Trap Zone, neither player could send anything to the GY by Tributing.
In this situation, it was simply unsolvable.
On the platform, Hiroshi's gaze drifted back and forth between Yusaku's monsters and his own dead field. Silence rolled over his shoulders like a tide.
After a long time, he slowly shook his head. His voice came out hoarse and tired.
"You win…"
The moment Hiroshi conceded, the massive central screen—covering half the wall—lit up with Yusaku's portrait. A cold, synthetic voice clearly announced the end of the Duel.
"Duel End. Victor—Yusaku!"
Normally, the instant a match ended, the commentator's passionate voice would thunder through the arena, and applause would erupt like a clap of lightning.
But this time, it was as if someone pressed pause on time. Deathly silence hung in the air for several seconds, to the point where breathing sounded loud.
"T-The match is over! Congratulations to Duelist Yusaku for winning this match!"
The applause came several seconds late, starting as only a few scattered claps, like the crowd still hadn't fully snapped back from the suffocating, razor-edge control chain they'd just witnessed.
Then someone shouted, "Yusaku is insane!"
The thin clapping instantly swelled into a tidal wave of cheers, a roar so strong it felt like it might rip the stadium roof clean off.
But joy and sorrow never match from person to person. The more people placed themselves in Hiroshi's situation and replayed it, the more they realized the ending wouldn't change. From the start of the Duel to the end, they probably wouldn't even be able to summon a single monster—only watch, helpless, as their field was sealed step by step.
On the platform, Yusaku put away his Duel Disk and turned toward the players' tunnel. At that moment, a staff member in a blue uniform hurried over and spoke.
"Duelist Yusaku, hello. Your next opponent has already been matched and is on the way. Please wait briefly in the rest area."
Yusaku gave a small nod and stood still with his arms folded. He'd assumed the next Duel would take some time, but the matchmaking had been far faster than he expected.
Meanwhile, in another arena, on another Duel platform.
A Duelist stood with his arms folded, looking down at his defeated opponent with a condescending posture. His voice dripped with undisguised mockery.
"With your half-baked level, you dared challenge me? Go back and train for another three to five years. Maybe then you'll be qualified to stand in front of me."
With that, he ignored his opponent's ashen expression, turned, and walked toward the players' tunnel.
The moment he stepped into the red-carpeted corridor, he couldn't wait to pull out his phone and log into the official forum to see whether anyone was talking about his match.
At that moment, a female reporter holding a silver microphone hurried up. Behind her, a camera operator quickly adjusted the angle and followed.
"Duelist Eto Kaito, we're the official media for the tournament. Could we do a brief post-match interview?"
Hearing the words "official media," Kaito paused. Then he slipped his phone back into the pocket of his black tracksuit and let a faint smile curl at his lips.
"Go ahead."
The reporter immediately gestured for the crew to aim the camera at them. The footage was sent live through the broadcast feed, transmitted in real time to arenas across the tournament—including the Dragon Arena.
"Duelist Kaito, how would you evaluate the opponent you just faced?" The reporter raised the microphone to his mouth.
Kaito smiled lightly.
"My opponent's strength? Not bad. At least better than some of the Duelists I used to run into. But compared to me, he's still missing something. Train for another two years, and maybe he'll be able to exchange a few proper blows with me."
As he spoke, Kaito deliberately adopted a warm, mentor-like posture, even slowing his pace of speech on purpose.
"I don't know if my next opponent will see this interview, but there's no need to be nervous. Just play like you normally do and perform steadily. It's a tournament, after all—the point is participation. As long as you show your own style and presence, that's enough."
"I'm sure your opponent will perform even better after hearing such encouragement," the reporter said, nodding.
Then her earpiece suddenly crackled with the director's urgent voice. She listened quickly, then looked back up at Kaito at once.
"I've just received the latest information. Your next opponent is named Yusaku. That name has been exploding in the Upper City's Duel scene lately. Are you confident you can defeat him?"
At the name "Yusaku," Kaito froze for a split second. Then, as if he remembered something, he looked into the camera and smiled with full confidence.
"A lot of people have that name lately. I've beaten at least three with that name recently."
"So I'm curious. I hope this one really is him. I want to see whether his strength truly matches the legend."
Watching the interview footage, Yusaku lifted an eyebrow.
This next opponent was going to be interesting.
"Participation matters," and "just play normally," huh?
The reporter asked a few more questions about Deck strategy, then ended the interview. Kaito flashed a victory sign to the camera, clearly satisfied with how flawless he'd sounded. He was convinced that if he won the next Duel, his name would spread across the entire Upper City.
Ten minutes later, guided by staff, Kaito arrived at the White Dragon Arena's players' corridor. Another staff member in the same uniform had already been waiting.
Upon seeing Kaito, the staff member stepped forward half a pace and spoke respectfully.
"Duelist Kaito, hello. Your next opponent is already waiting on the Duel platform. Since both of you have just finished the previous round, the rules allow a ten-minute intermission."
"Oh?" Kaito raised an eyebrow. "My opponent also just finished?"
"So confident, huh? Then no break. Let's start right away. I want to see who it is—who's that confident."
With that, he strode toward the corridor exit. As he rounded the corner, he collided head-on with Hiroshi coming from the opposite direction.
"Yo, isn't this Hiroshi?" Kaito folded his arms and sized him up, his tone teasing. "What, you're my opponent? When did you change your name to Yusaku?"
"With your strength, you don't need to chase someone else's hype."
Hiroshi shot him a glance. The humiliation of having been crushed by Yusaku still lingered in his eyes. He was too drained to trade barbs.
Seeing Hiroshi ignore him like that, Kaito froze in place, taking a long moment to process.
"What's his problem? Wishing me luck?"
He muttered it to himself, then hurried off down the corridor without looking back.
At the same time, the on-site host, Sasaki, received word from staff that Kaito had reached the corridor entrance.
He immediately raised the microphone, his energetic voice blasting through the surround speakers to every corner of the arena.
"Ladies and gentlemen, good morning! It's your old friend Sasaki! Now, let's welcome today's two Duelists with your warmest applause! First, I'll announce the competitors' information!"
"First up is Duelist Kaito, who just ended his last Duel cleanly and decisively! He comes from the Glory Dojo, ranked 45th among the Hundred Dojos!"
"And in last year's tournament, he fought his way all the way to an excellent 36th-place finish!"
"For this year's tournament, he trained behind closed doors for two full years, returning with an all-new build: the [Kaguya Ring Beasts] Deck!"
"He's cut his way into the qualifiers with unstoppable momentum! According to statistics, across all matches he's played, his going-second win rate has reached a terrifying ninety percent!"
As the introduction ended, Kaito adjusted his collar, lifted his chin, and walked out of the players' tunnel wearing a smile that radiated certainty.
On his way to the Duel platform, he didn't forget to wave to different sections of the stands.
In the past, his entrance would always be met with enthusiastic cheers and chants.
But this time, only scattered applause answered him. Most spectators looked at him strangely, like they were watching a man about to get struck by bad luck.
Kaito couldn't help feeling a vague, uneasy confusion.
Then Sasaki's voice rang out again—several times more impassioned than the introduction he'd just given.
"And his opponent is from Satellite—!"
"The Duelist who just defeated the dark-horse contender Hiroshi!"
"The Savior of Satellite, the strongest Duelist of Satellite, the only Duel Tower clear, the undefeated genius who ended the academy's invincible myth!"
"The white moonlight every Upper City dojo has sought and failed to obtain!"
"Undefeated since his debut, the creator of a one-hundred-percent win rate—Yusaku!!!"
The moment the announcement hit, the crowd detonated into a deafening roar. Many players leapt to their feet, waving support boards bearing the name "Yusaku."
Kaito's pupils contracted sharply. He jerked his head up toward the Duel platform—and when he saw the familiar figure standing there, his pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his feet stopped moving on their own.
Yusaku noticed his stare and gave a small nod of greeting. A meaningful smile curved at his lips.
"Hello, Duelist Kaito. I'm glad to Duel you."
Kaito: "..."
Staring at the figure who had made countless Duelists tremble, Kaito fell into a petrified silence.
That interview just now had been nothing more than him trying to look cool on camera.
He'd never imagined he would actually run into the real Yusaku.
At that moment, the same thought that had appeared in Hiroshi's mind not long ago surged up in Kaito as well.
Is the organizer insane?
This guy's skill is already pro level. He should be directly seeded into the top 64. Why is he in the qualifiers?
And what kind of trash matchmaking system is this?
Why did I have to run into him?!
(End of Chapter)
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