Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1713 The Knight of Hatred

"I wonder how Manjoume and the others are doing." As they walked toward the entrance to the underground laboratory, Judai suddenly said, "I hope he can get along well with O'Brien."

"It's hard to say. After all, Manjoume is always arrogant and looks down on everyone else as an equal."

Hearing Asuka's words, John had a different opinion: "I think Manjoume is alright. Although he looks like a hedgehog and is hard to approach, he is actually a very easy person to understand, isn't he? As long as you call him 'Mr. Manjoume,' he becomes very easy to talk to."

“That’s undeniable.” Asuka smiled helplessly. “But I guess, John, you believe in Manjoume as much as Judai does, not just because he, like you and Judai, can see the existence of spirits, right?”

"Hey, because I think that people who have the ability to see spirits naturally possess talents that surpass others, and naturally also have corresponding responsibilities and virtues." John scratched the back of his head a little embarrassedly, a naive smile on his face, after Asuka saw through him.

“However, saying that Manjoume is easy to deal with is only true in normal times. When it comes to crucial moments, Manjoume is actually quite reliable. The reason he keeps targeting O'Brien is simply because O'Brien used to study under Professor Cobra, whom we are looking for this time.” Judai paused and then said, “But I believe that O'Brien is not one of Professor Cobra’s people, and Jim will also persuade the two of them, so it shouldn’t come to a fight.”

"You're so confident in Jaden after just one duel with Obryan?" Asuka asked, puzzled. "I watched that duel, didn't I? But all I saw was Obryan using his blood-burning tactics to destroy your monsters, Jaden."

"Appearances may be one thing, but I could feel O'Brien's burning heart during the duel, which is enough to prove that he is by no means a bad person."

Asuka shook her head helplessly as she looked at John and Judai, one who believed that "anyone who can see spirits must be a good person" and the other who firmly believed that "anyone with such a burning fighting spirit cannot be a bad person."

She didn't refute Jaden. After all, Duel Monsters are such mysterious things. Not to mention others, didn't she herself quickly become close friends with Jaden after a duel?

—Although it has been two years since they became 'good friends', which is a long time, Asuka has recently been restless and wants to take her relationship with Jaden a step further, stimulated by Rei Saotome.

Thinking about it that way, if John Anderson weren't here, wouldn't it be a "date" between me and Judai?!
Ugh! What time is it? Asuka, why are you thinking about all this nonsense? Everyone here is busy trying to resolve the "exposing duel" issue—you, why are you only thinking about yourself?!
Shaking her head, Asuka tried to shake off the inexplicable thoughts that had welled up in her mind, but looking at Judai with her arm around John, Asuka felt a little jealous. Before, she thought the biggest threat was that precocious little girl, Saotome Rei, but the speed at which Judai's relationship with John Anderson, whom she had known for less than a year and whose total communication time had not even reached a week, had improved was a bit too rapid.

And was it just my imagination? I even had the feeling that among the three of us standing together, I was the third wheel? I was clearly there first!

No, it's an illusion. Yes, it definitely is.

Thinking of this, Asuka quickened her pace and walked to Judai's side.

Although the underground forest was vast, the Jadens were not slow walkers. After walking for a while, they successfully reached the entrance to the underground laboratory in the central area of ​​the forest, but they had to stop there.

The reason was simple: the entrance to the underground laboratory was completely sealed off by a raised steel gate, refusing entry to anyone. The group of Judai and his companions, who had come from the short bridge in front of the entrance, looked around for a long time but couldn't find anything like a combination lock, fingerprint recognition, or facial scan that could open the door.

"Any news from Miss Saotome, Judai?" John asked Judai from the tree branch below, having climbed up to a higher point but still finding nothing suspicious above the entrance gate.

“Rei said that there were no gates or mechanisms in the original design of this place, and even when the Kaiba Corporation came here to re-evaluate the geology, it was not modified.” Judai shook his head and said helplessly, “So if I’m not mistaken, it was Professor Cobra who made the modifications and added the gates later.”

"Damn it, they actually did this in a place like this. It's obvious that guy already discovered we've entered, so he's avoiding a fight."

Hearing Judai's words, Asuka comforted her, "There must be a way to open this place. Or we could try having O'Brien restart the power. Some electronic doors can be opened this way, right?"

“If all else fails, we can go back to O’Brien. He has a lot of explosives—although I think the idea that mercenaries always carry a lot of explosives is a bit of a stereotype.” John climbed down from the tree, offering his opinion and adding a sarcastic remark.

Just as the two finished speaking, before Jaden could say anything, another male voice suddenly rang out: "That's impossible. This door seems to be made of some kind of special alloy. Pure explosions simply cannot penetrate it, nor can they be done using methods like the thermal jet of an armor-piercing projectile. Even laser cutting might not be able to open it."

"Who goes there?!" Upon hearing this, Judai suddenly looked warily towards the direction of the voice. "There are other people here besides us? Could it be—"

“No, that’s not Professor Cobra. Their voices are completely different.” Asuka shook her head. “Besides, even though it’s a course that only starts in the second year, we’ve been listening to it for a year already. Don’t you recognize that’s our teacher’s voice?”

"The instructor of the Duel Construction course - Mr. Koji Sato".

"Clap, clap, clap," the young teacher wearing glasses, Koji Sato, emerged from the woods in a different direction from the path that the Jadens had taken. He smiled and said to Asuka, "Although it was a course limited to second-year students and became an elective course that was not mandatory in the third year, it is very gratifying that you still remember your teacher, Tenjouin-kun."

"It was actually a teacher I knew! What a relief!"

John was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Asuka, still with a serious expression, questioning the appearing teacher, Koji Sato: "But, teacher, you still haven't told us why you're here!"

Although they recognized the person as a teacher, neither Asuka nor Jaden lowered their guard. After all, they had witnessed the Daitokuji incident and knew that even teachers in schools couldn't be completely trusted—even after all, Daitokuji hadn't harmed Jaden and the other students. This was an abandoned SAL research institute, and the underground forest was located quite deep within it. Moreover, this entrance led to an even deeper underground laboratory. And when they arrived at this locked entrance in their pursuit of Professor Cobra, Professor Sato Koji, who should have been at the school, inexplicably appeared here as well. How could they not be suspicious?
“An interesting question, like asking a student going to the cafeteria if they’re going to eat. This is a research institute, right? Even though it’s abandoned, it’s still a fairly spacious institute where people can conduct their own experiments.” Koji Sato pushed up his glasses and said, “Naturally, I also conduct my own dueling experiments here, starting a year ago after this place was abandoned.”

"It started so long ago?" Since Professor Cobra only came to the Duel Academy headquarters this semester, Jaden subconsciously lowered his guard against Professor Sato Koji in front of him. "Teacher, you really love dueling."

After all, being a teacher at the Duel Academy is not an easy job, and Koji Sato even uses his spare time to conduct dueling experiments, so there is probably no other reason than his love for it.

"Of course, I have dedicated my entire life to dueling."

"Yeah, after all, duels are so much fun." Jaden nodded in agreement. Why hadn't he ever thought of himself as being so similar to Mr. Sato before? It couldn't be because he always slept in class, could it?
“I see. I’m sure now. Sato-sensei isn’t a bad person.” Judai suddenly gave Asuka and John a thumbs up. “Because he also loves dueling.”

"Is that really the case? But my girlish intuition tells me that you, Sato-sensei, are definitely holding back something!" Even though Judai acknowledged Sato-sensei's opinion, Asuka still rationally pressed on, "If you've been conducting dueling experiments here since a year ago, then, Sato-sensei, do you know the whereabouts of Professor Cobra—that is, Professor Klaus Wallis?"

Upon hearing Asuka's words, Professor Sato did not respond immediately. Instead, he looked disappointed and said, "While I do not agree with Professor Klaus Wallis's philosophy of sacrificing many others to promote the growth of a few, why give a teacher a nickname like 'Professor Cobra'? It seems you've picked up a bad habit too, Tenjouin-kun."

Turning his head to stare at Judai, Koji Sato's eyes were filled with obvious disgust: "This is all because of you, Judai Yuki. You're still spreading the 'plague' in the academy. As expected, I still hate you."

"Waaah, why are you making it sound so harsh? I actually felt like I got along pretty well with you, teacher." Judai seemed quite hurt by what Sato Koji-sensei said, then sniffed his arm. "Besides, I can't smell anything like 'plague' (sniffs)."

“Something’s not right, Judai.” At that moment, John gently nudged Judai’s arm, gesturing for him to look at the same spot on Sato Koji’s arm. “That spot, I don’t know if I’m seeing things, Judai, do you see anything?”

Upon hearing this, Judai looked at Sato Koji's arm and noticed that outside the Duel Academy's teacher uniform, something seemed to have stuck to him while he was walking through the forest; a dark, unsightly object was pressed tightly against Sato Koji's arm.

"Is that... a scar? Or a clump of mud? Or does it look a bit like fragments of some kind of armor?"

Hearing Judai's mutterings and John's words, Asuka asked in confusion, "Is there something on Sato-sensei's arm?"

"Asuka, can't you see it?" Jaden asked, puzzled, then suddenly realized something. "Could it be... that's some kind of spirit too?"

"But there's no time to worry about that now, Sato-sensei, let's talk later. Right now, we need to figure out how to get through this door, find Professor Cobra, and stop the 'exposing the duel.' So, sensei, you—"

Jaden stopped talking because Koji Sato was raising his right hand, revealing the "death gauntlet" he was wearing under his sleeve: "I wear that thing too."

"Huh!? Teacher, you don't have to worry about being expelled or anything, so why are you wearing that thing?" John was a little confused, but because he was worried that if the other person stayed here, he might not know what had happened in the academy recently, so he kindly reminded him, "But Teacher Sato, you have to be careful, you absolutely can't duel. I don't know if you received Professor Chronos's group notification, but the 'exposing duel' has become quite dangerous now."

"Unfortunately, sometimes the world doesn't change according to people's wishes. People without talent can't become stronger even if they want to climb up, while people without talent squander their talents; people who strive to improve are held back by one trivial matter after another and can't move forward, while people who are alone are content to stay in the same place."

Speaking in a way that was hard to understand, after hearing John's advice, Koji Sato actually took out a duel disk and put it on. "Even if I refuse all the duel challenges I will encounter next, as long as I say one word, those of you who are still trying to persuade me to stop dueling will start to challenge me in the blink of an eye, right? Although I would also like to have a duel here."

Looking at the three people in front of him, Sato Koji first glanced at the top student of the Obelisk-Blue dormitory, Tenjouin Asuka, and then at John Anderson, the outstanding student representative from the Duel Academy North Branch. Sato Koji's gaze was fixed on Yuki Jaden, who was standing between the two. The red Osiris-Red dormitory uniform he was wearing was very eye-catching in Sato Koji's eyes.

"--That door was recently breached, and Professor Cobra prepared a new one. There is only one way to open that door, and that is to defeat me in a duel."

A look of surprise appeared on the faces of all three of them at the same time, even Asuka, who had been suspicious of Mr. Sato since the beginning, was surprised, because even she did not expect Mr. Sato to suddenly say such a strange thing.

"What are you saying?" As if some blond-haired male protagonist had activated his Holy Word D, Jaden looked at Professor Sato in confusion. "That inexplicable setting, are you one of Professor Cobra's people? And what will happen to people who duel while wearing this 'Death Gauntlet'? Don't you understand what we were talking about just now?!"

"I don't care what happens when we duel while wearing the 'Death Gauntlet,' whether it's me or you, Jaden Yuki." Koji Sato looked at Jaden with a calm smile that seemed to be tinged with disgust. "I'm not on Professor Cobra's side, but he seems to have done something to me, amplifying the darkness that's been suppressed in my heart. That's why I'm standing here, filled with hatred, seeking revenge on you, Jaden."

"Revenge? What kind of strange term is that?" Judai frowned. After confirming that Professor Sato Koji was not a friend or neutral party, but a real enemy standing against them, his expression became serious. "We haven't had any interaction except during class, have we? I've only been sleeping during class and haven't disturbed your lecture."

"This is the cruelest thing you've ever done to me, Judai. Because of you, the students' spirit of learning in this school has died, their passion for learning has been buried, and even my passion for teaching has been extinguished."

Squinting at Judai, Koji Sato's face still wore a calm smile, but it looked somewhat distorted, like a contemptuous grin, and his eyes held a murderous intent. "You will be held fully responsible for this, Judai Yuki—for your sins."

"My, sin?" Judai blinked, looking bewildered.

　I suddenly noticed something interesting—the hype surrounding the banana incident isn't even as high as the recent debate about the late Ming Dynasty.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)