*Pata* *Pata* *Pata*
*Gasp*
Yutaka woke up from his nightmare with a gasp, not knowing what was going on or where he was.
Hopefully, he had not transmigrated for a fourth time.
As Yuta's mind started to clear, the sound started to get closer and closer.
*Pata* *Pata* *Pata* *Pata* *Pata* *Pata*
Recognising what that sound was, Yutaka murmured to himself, "Why does that sound like a helicopter?"
That was when the rest of the gang got up as well, curiously looking towards the approaching helicopter.
"Tch, Who would fly a helicopter at this time of the night? It must be a pompous prick." Joey grumbled to himself.
But what surprised everyone was that after reaching their location, the helicopter stopped and hovered above their head.
"Joey... do you think he heard you?" Tristan looked at Joey, wondering why his good friend couldn't keep his trap shut.
Joey also started to sweat nervously. "He shouldn't have... right?"
With the huge gust of wind kicked up by the rotor, the helicopter slowly landed in front of the gang, and once the door opened, someone no one expected to see slowly got off.
"KAIBA!" X7
"Kaiba, what are you doing here?" Mini Yugi ran over in surprise.
"Long time no see, Yu↓gi↑," Kaiba said, almost like a snarl.
Seeing the situation and wanting no part in it, Yutaka also went over.
"Hello Mr Kaiba, I am Yutaka Minami. I think this deck should belong to you," Yuta said as he handed over the deck back to Kaiba and got ready to leave.
"Oh," Kaiba remained expressionless as he took the deck from Yutaka and checked for his prized Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Seeing that they were still there, a big weight was lifted off of his shoulders.
"What's with the attitude, pal!" Unable to bear the indifferent attitude of Kaiba, Joey couldn't help but jump out. He had never liked this prick anyway. "Yuta went through a lot of trouble to get this deck for you, and you can't even say a word of thanks!?" Joey continued with a righteous indignation.
Yutaka, however, was scared shitless. My little ancestor, please shut up! Can't you see that he was trying hard to reduce his presence as much as possible?
Joey didn't look like he got Yuta's hint and even flashed a confident smile towards Yuta, almost as if saying he got this.
"Hmph," Kaiba snorted as he lifted his head towards Joey and then looked towards Yuta. There was a burning desire in his eyes as Kaiba looked towards him.
Oh no!
It looked like he got on the list of people Kaiba wanted to beat because of this stupid idiot Joey. He should have made that deck for him after all.
However, that burning desire in Kaiba's eyes slowly receded.
"Thanks, I guess," Kaiba said venomously. He didn't look thankful at all.
Unwilling to see the situation escalate, Mini Yugi wanted to change the subject and asked, "Kaiba, have you understood the heart of cards?"
And Kaiba's attention was successfully diverted thanks to this.
Kaiba clenched the deck in his hand as he said, "I haven't found the answer yet. But to protect Mokuba and protect the Kaiba Corp from those rats, I will use any means necessary to defeat Maximillion Pegasus!"
Then Kaiba turned around to leave without looking back.
"Stop, Kaiba!" That was when Joey butted in again. Seriously, why was this guy like a bored housewife, sticking his nose in everything?
"Whatever reason you have, there are hundreds of duellists on this island, each fighting for their reasons. I will not allow you to take a shortcut!" Joey said, like a protagonist of a shounen manga trying to force—ahem—bring his friend back to the right track.
"Hmph, even a 3rd-rate duellist like you, Joey, can participate in this tournament. I must say Pegasus' standards are really low." Kaiba snorted as he forcefully shook off Joey's hand.
"Hey! I am at least a top-eight finisher, okay!" Joey retorted furiously.
"What do you mean top-eight?" Yuta asked curiously. He didn't remember this guy attending the nationals, so how could he be a top-eight finisher? If he was so strong, he should have memories of him participating in the tournament. Most importantly, if he were so strong, he would not have brought shame to the name of Red-Eyes Black Dragon in the anime.
Seeing Yuta's confusion, Tea kindly explained, "It was only top-eight in the regional preliminaries... There were only about twenty people, and most of them were kids."
Seeing that his good friend was digging pits for him, Joey got embarrassed.
"Shut it, Tea! I was not in my top condition that day, is all." Joey retorted.
Wanting to help out his good friend Mini Yugi also chimed in, "Joey has improved a lot since then, Tea."
Kaiba ignored everyone's comments; for him it didn't matter whether Joey was top-eight or top-two because he would never be his opponent. However, there was someone that piqued his interest once again.
"Hey you! You said your name was Yutaka Minami, right?" Kaiba's burning gaze landed on Yuta once again, and he had a premonition that this time he would not be able to escape this duel maniac. Probably he will not even be able to sleep soundly, as someone will knock on his door at 3AM and challenge him to a duel because he came up with a new strategy, and Yuta will have to defeat him again.
Yes, Yuta was not afraid of Kaiba because he was scared of being beaten by him.
He was the legendary chosen duellist of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon; how could he lose against the duellist of Blue-Eyes? That was impossible.
"Y-yes? That would be me?" Yuta replied nervously.
Still, this did not change the fact that he did not want to duel against Kaiba at this moment. It was still too soon for Yuta and Kaiba to clash. So he still hoped to postpone it till the Battle City tournament if possible.
Looking at the nervous twerp in front of him, Kaiba doubted for a second whether it really was this guy who had defeated his copycat and dared to call Blue-Eyes trash.
"Hmph." With his iconic snort, Kaiba turned back and walked away once again.
"Ugh, such an annoying guy. He doesn't even finish the conversations he starts!" Joey said as he looked like he was ready to beat Kaiba up at any minute now.
After walking some distance, Kaiba crouched and opened the suitcase he was carrying. Taking out the prototype Duel Disk he had carefully engineered, and he threw this round device to Yutaka without care.
After seeing him catch it haphazardly, Kaiba continued, "Let's duel! I need real combat to test this new Duel Disk system."
Yutaka: I believe you are taking revenge for my duel against the Ghost Kaiba, but I have no evidence...
Looking at the round device in his hands Yuta was a little puzzled. The Duel Disk he remembered did not look like this. It was something cool that you wore on your wrist and transformed when you initiated a duel. Though, he had to admit, it looked quite good, like a BeyBlade.
Did he have to shout 'Let it rip!' when he threw it as well?
Well, one thing was for sure: it definitely was better than climbing those clunky Duel Arenas.
"What is this thingamabob anyway?" Joey jumped out once again.
Unlike Yuta, who had some memories of a duel disk, the rest of the gang had no idea what it was or its functions. So Kaiba started to explain his proud new creation.
"Put it on your left hand. The Duel Disk, my newly developed card battle device. It allows for virtual image duels without a Duel Arena." Because it was something to show off, Kaiba patiently explained its functions.
"First, you place your deck into this slot, then draw a card and place it on the Duel Disk, and finally—"
Kaiba placed a card on the prototype Duel Disk and threw it to the ground with force. The red disk started to spin like a beyblade and projected an image that was familiar to everyone: Blue-Eyes White Dragon!
*ROAR*
As soon as it appeared, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon roared proudly towards the night sky, generating a gust in its wake.
Kaiba continued to explain, unbothered, "Through the high-speed 3D engine in the Duel Disk, the image data of the monster card is converted into a 3D solid image!"
"Wonderful! This will take duelling to the next level!" Mini Yugi commented excitedly. He wanted to ask Kaiba for one when they were finished.
"Minami Yu↑ta↓, Let's Duel!" Kaiba raised his left hand equipped with the Duel Disk, and pointed at Yuta.
Blue-Eyes also cooperated with its master, roaring towards him, creating a terrifying image.
He wanted to refuse, but his blood was also boiling at this moment.
How could he back down from a duel? To the master of the Blue-Eyes, no less!
Unwilling to look weaker than Kaiba, Yuta also put the Red-Eyes into the disk before throwing it to the ground.
Red-Eyes appeared in the field, and the two dragons were in a violent standoff.
"I accept your challenge, Seto Kaiba!" Yuta declared as he pointed his finger towards him.
This would be the first fated showdown between the Black and White Dragons, who both loved and hated each other.