Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

How many times have we dueled?

“It’s hard to say. I remember we were always playing cards when we met.” Hayato tidied his deck and put in a few cards. “—And you were always the one who lost. My win rate was 100%.”

"Where did you learn math? There was one game where we didn't have a winner!" Kaiba was getting a little impatient. Hayato said his win rate was 100%, which meant he was saying his win rate was 0%.

“Yes, there was indeed a match that ended in a draw, and I still remember it to this day.” Hayato looked at Kaiba, his tone quite subtle, “because someone just ran away back then.”

"..." Kaiba's response was silence. What excuse could he possibly offer at a time like this? Hmm, it was all Pegasus's fault after all. Unforgivable, Pegasus!
"In the setting, [Partner of Justice - Kaiba] has a younger brother."

Hearing Kaiba suddenly change the subject to something unrelated, Hayato scoffed, "Really? Why are you telling me this?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted you to know."

Kaiba also pushed his pre-prepared deck into the duel disk—he had no need to adjust his deck on the spot, since there was only one person in the world worth making special adjustments to his deck for, Hayato, and he wouldn't make special adjustments to his deck to counter anyone else, even Jonouchi.

Knowing that Hayato had returned from the other world, he had prepared a deck to deal with Hayato overnight, just waiting to test the power of his current deck. Even he knew that it was okay to practice against AI opponents, but to test the deck's limits, he had to duel with a real person.

"It's time to end our feud, Hayato Kobayashi. Let's use this duel to put an end to this long-standing struggle—to settle things once and for all!"

"Duel!"

Seto Kaiba: 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand

"Is it authentic? I always feel like you're the type who, when you lose, will say 'I'll get my revenge sooner or later' and keep harping on it, and when you win, you'll say 'We've finally settled the score.'" Hayato retorted, pushing his deck into the duel disk. "In short, 'Domino Winning Style'."

"Since your Blue-Eyes has mastered the power of Synchro, I'll also use this deck that originally focused on Fusion Summoning of Dragons, but also has mastered the power of Synchro."

"Duel!"

[Hayato Kobayashi: 4000LP, 5 card in hand]

"To be honest, I'm a little curious. When I crossed over to the Spirit World, weren't you Seth still inspecting the mines to prepare for making 'D-Wheel'? I haven't even seen your finished product, 'D-Wheel,' yet you've already completed Synchro Summoning." While catching the five cards that popped out of the Duel Disk, Hayato chatted with Kaiba and glanced at the cards he had drawn.

'Hmph, a perfect hand!'

"Am I the kind of mediocre person who can't get stronger without external help? Don't underestimate me, Hayato!" Kaiba said confidently, adjusting the order of his hand cards for easier play later. "A mere Synchro Summon can't possibly stop my advance, Seto Kaiba!"

—This is a lie, and one that Hayato can see through immediately. Others may not know, but surely he knows how long Kaiba has been trapped in the Synchro Summoning Domain? Only now that Kaiba has successfully broken through can he make such a bold statement.

"Although in our initial expectations, Synchro Summoning was highly tied to 'Kaiba Particles,' and without completing the 'Dragon Wheel' and the perpetual motion machine, it would be difficult to utilize the existence of 'Kaiba Particles' to increase the synchronization rate between monsters and between duelists and cards, in the process of researching methods to travel through worlds to the Card Spirit World, I ultimately broke through the technical singularity of Synchro Summoning and completed my own Synchro Summoning, belonging to [Blue Eyes]!"

As Kaiba spoke, he actually drew a card from his deck and said, "I'll take the first turn. My turn, Draw!"

Kaiba, who usually prefers to attack later to break through and also to guard against Hayato using cards like [Super Fusion], surprisingly took the initiative today. Even Hayato was taken aback by this unusual move: "He actually went first?"

"Hmph~" Kaiba snorted coldly, a smug smile appearing on his lips. "Isn't that what you always like to say, 'Attack with five cards first, then attack with no cards left, *I only attack after you have five cards left*?' In that case, of course I'll take the first attack."

"But my deck includes monsters specifically designed to counter your Dragon-type monsters, is that alright?"

Kaiba retorted directly to Hayato: "Then I'll ask you this: when have you ever played cards with me without any counter cards in your deck? When you play with me, you counter Dragon cards; when you play with Yugi Muto, you counter Trap cards; when you play with Atem, you counter Spellcaster cards; and even when you duel that mediocre Joey, you counter the graveyard."

"That's why intelligence is such a major factor influencing the combat power of Duel Monsters," Hayato said with a smile.

"Hmph, even if there are counter cards, it doesn't matter, there's always a way." Kaiba revealed a card in his hand and summoned it directly onto the Duel Disk, saying, "Let Hayato witness a brand new power—[The Sage of the Blue Eyes]!"

The Blue-Eyed Sage, which was used by Kaiba in his duel with Saiou Misuchi a long time ago, has returned. However, unlike before, it is not just an effect monster that is discarded from the hand to activate. Instead, Kaiba uses it directly as the starting move of the duel. At the same time it appears, the word "Tuner" on the card, located between "Type" and "Effect Monster", lights up!

[The Sage with Blue Eyes] [1☆/Light]

[Mage Race/Adjustment/Effect]

[0/1500]

"【Blue Eyes】is a 'Blue Eyes' that does not belong to 【Blue Eyes】. Its function is to assist me and 【Blue Eyes】, unveil the veil of Synchro power, and reveal the face of a new world and a higher level of power!" Kaiba's Duel Disk had already completed its search while he was speaking. "Its first effect can only be activated when 【Blue Eyes Sage】 is summoned. Add one Level 1 LIGHT Tuner monster other than 【Blue Eyes Sage】 from my Deck to my hand."

"I chose this Light attribute, Level 1, 【White Maiden】."

(Even though it's not a new card, I still have to complain about how weird the face looks.)
At the same moment that Kaiba drew out the card he had retrieved and displayed it, Hayato could clearly see from his angle that behind Kaiba stood a girl dressed in pure white, with long, sacred silver hair that reached her ankles. She was gently embracing Kaiba's neck, full of affection for him.

But Kaiba still had an indifferent expression. It seemed that although he accepted the existence of the Card Spirits, he was still stubbornly superstitious about science, which made it impossible for him to see the Card Spirits. Just as Hayato was thinking this, he saw Kaiba's little hand mischievously touch the white girl's arm hanging down in front of his chest.

"Hmm!?" Hayato raised an eyebrow. "Seth, you can see her right in front of me, yet you're still taking advantage of her? Oh no, I should call it showing off your love?"

"No, you're mistaken. I was just touching the card hanging around my neck," Kaiba lied without batting an eye. If it weren't for the uncontrollable blush on his cheeks, Hayato would almost have believed his nonsense.

"Tsk tsk, Seth, you're really shameless. Let's see how long you can keep up this act. Before that, shouldn't you let go of their hand and get back to playing cards?"

Upon hearing this, Kaiba suddenly realized that this wasn't his usual situation of being alone with the cards, but rather playing cards with Hayato. After letting go of the cards, he looked lost and dejected. After taking a deep breath, he played the cards in his hand and said, "I don't understand what you're saying, but I'm going to use the effect of [White Maiden]."

"You can activate this effect by sending this card from my hand or field to the Graveyard. Place one 'True Light' from my hand, Deck, or Graveyard face-up in my Spell & Trap Zone! Let it sleep in the Graveyard for a little while, 'White Maiden'."

Sending the card to the graveyard, Kaiba plays the card he retrieved from his deck, "Then, place this [True Light] from my deck!"

The girl disappeared behind Kaiba with a lingering look in her eyes, and then an ancient stone slab rose up in front of Kaiba, depicting the classic image of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The scene shown on this card was exactly the same moment that Kaiba had experienced in the "King's Memory" slab years ago.

"Under the effect of 'True Light,' all my 'Blue-Eyes White Dragons' on the field gain resistance to being targeted by your card effects as long as they are in the Monster Zone!" Kaiba knew that Hayato knew what the card's effect was, but he still gave the necessary explanation, otherwise the game wouldn't be as imposing. "This way, you can't use cards like 'Heart Change' to steal my 'Blue-Eyes'!"

"But at the same time, your monsters will become easier to destroy because of the presence of [True Light]." Having played cards with Kaiba so many times, Hayato already knows the effect of [True Light] by heart: "If a face-up card in the Spell & Trap Zone is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it will also destroy all the monsters on your field."

"Then all I need to do is prevent my [True Light] from being destroyed, right?" Kaiba said, activating the power of [True Light]. "Next, I will use the effect of [True Light], once per turn, I can choose one of its two effects to activate—Special Summon a [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from my hand or Graveyard, or Set a Spell/Trap Card with the same name that is not on my field or in my Graveyard."

"The card I searched for is this one—【The Prayer of the Blue Eyes】."

(And that one is exactly the same)
The card was retrieved by the Duel Disk, and Kaiba drew it and inserted it into the Spell & Trap Zone. He immediately activated it, saying, "Because it's a Normal Spell Card, I can activate this 'Blue-Eyes Prayer' this turn—this card requires me to discard one card from my hand to activate. Add one Spell/Trap Card with the name 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' (other than 'Blue-Eyes Prayer') and one LIGHT Attribute Level 1 Tuner from my Deck to my hand!"

Using the effect of "True Light" to search for "Blue-Eyes Prayer," Kaiba further searches for cards to gain an advantage. It's clear that Kaiba's new cards have made significant progress, at least in terms of card effects. He then directly takes two cards from his deck, saying, "I discard 'Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon' from my hand, and then add the Normal Spell Card 'Blue-Eyes Dragon's Roar' and the second 'Blue-Eyes Sage' from my deck to my hand."

"Next, I activate the Spell Card [Blue-Eyes Dragon Rush]! Special Summon one [Blue-Eyes] monster from my Deck, Graveyard, and banished monsters to the field in Defense Position." After a pause, Kaiba said with a hint of regret, "However, unfortunately, this effect requires [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] to be on my field, otherwise only [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] can be Special Summoned, but that's still enough."

"Come and see the Blue-Eyes with a completely new look, Hayato!"

"I summon my glory and my soul! My—Blue-Ace-Tilted-Head-Dragon!"

The data panel is so famous that even people who don't play Duel Monsters can recite the classic monster that is strong, invincible, and the strongest, [Blue-Eyes] has arrived!
(Putting everything else aside, Blue-Gold has the most alternate art and an outrageous number of versions. With the 30th anniversary coming up soon, K-Band will probably start selling new Blue-Gold again.)
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] [ATK3000]

"Wow, it's been so long! [Blue Eyes], look at you, you've changed exactly the same as before, Seth!"

"What are your eyes for? Look closely at the claw under the left forepaw of [Blue Eyes], it's grown a full three millimeters longer, and the second piece of armor on its chest is also a millimeter thicker than before, and its overall body shape has become more even and fuller!"

Hearing Kaiba excitedly and skillfully point out the changes in [Blue Eyes], Hayato retorted, "I'm not as meticulous about observing cards as you are, because I'm not a dragon fanatic like you, but rather a philanthropist."

"Are you a philanthropist who specializes in taking away other people's monsters, like the Minotaur? Don't make me laugh." Kaiba scoffed, retrieving the card from his graveyard. "If I successfully Special Summon [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], I activate the effect of [White Maiden] in my graveyard—revive this card from my graveyard!"

"The cemetery, a symbol of death, is a cool summer night where one can sleep peacefully without worry—but I refuse. Rest is over. Rise, [White Maiden]!"

【White Girl】【1☆/Light】

[Mage Race/Adjustment/Effect]

[0/0]

The white-haired girl responded to Kaiba's Special Summon of [Blue-Eyes] and returned to the battlefield. At the same time, Kaiba took out another card from his graveyard and said, "Next, I will activate the second effect of this [Blue-Eyes Prayer]—I can banish this card from my graveyard and target one [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] on my field. Equip one [Blue-Eyes] monster from my Extra Deck as an Equip Spell Card that increases its ATK by 400 to the targeted monster. I will equip this [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] to the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] on my field!"

Equipping the 4500 ATK Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the 3000 ATK Blue-Eyes White Dragon seems somewhat illogical at first glance, especially since the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was Special Summoned in Defense Position using the effect of Blue-Eyes Dragon Rush. However, at the very moment the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was successfully equipped as an Equip Spell Card to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kaiba shouted, "At this very moment, shed your old shell and embrace a new life!"

"Tribute the fused Blue-Eyes White Dragon that I control, and Special Summon this card from my Extra Deck!"

"The radiance of the Fang of Critia—Blue-Eyes Tyrannosaurus!"

Blue-Eyes Tyrannosaurus Rex [8☆/Light]

[Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[3400/2900] (End of Chapter)