Is this the poker world?Ada thief!

Chapter 1829 Earthbound Fusion
“Even if it’s going to be destroyed—” Kaiba glared at Hayato and shouted, “but at least the Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon can drag one more person down with it!”

"The effect of [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] activates! At the start of the Damage Step when this card battles, you can target 1 card on your opponent's field—return that card to their hand!" Pointing to the monster on Hayato's field, Kaiba intended to avenge [Ultimate Dragon Magister] by knocking [Heavenly Dragon Demon] away, but ultimately chose another card on Hayato's field, "I choose [Ice Sword Dragon - Phantom Ice Dragon]!"

While bouncing away [Heavenly Dragon Demon] eliminated the biggest threat on Hayato's field, it had already attacked. Therefore, eliminating other monsters that hadn't yet launched an attack should be prioritized, at least during this battle phase.

Kaiba understands the effect of 【Ice Sword Dragon - Phantom Ice Dragon】. Its departure from the field triggers a field-bombing effect that takes effect during the End Phase. However, if all of his monsters are destroyed, being bombed again won't make much difference. Moreover, the "return to hand" effect of Fusion Monsters is equivalent to returning them to the Extra Deck. When they return to the Extra Deck, the effect of 【Ice Sword Dragon - Phantom Ice Dragon】 will not be triggered.

The same logic applies to bouncing away [Iron Dragon - Blue Swift Dragon], but the problem is that this card was only used twice by Hayato after his duel with Sugoroku Muto. Before today, Kaiba didn't know what its effect was. To be on the safe side, returning [Ice Sword Dragon - Phantom Ice Dragon] with the same attack power to his hand would be enough.

As for 【Teaching Thunder - Friedriss】, Kaiba hadn't forgotten that card could be summoned by itself. Was he trying to bounce that card back to Hayato's hand so that Hayato could Special Summon it again next turn? It wouldn't be appropriate for him to use it in other ways during Main Phase 2!
【Knight of Guidance - Freudris】 and 【Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon】 collided. The sword pierced the dragon's outer armor, and the dragon's teeth bit through the knight's holy armor. Before both perished, 【Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon】 used the jets of its wings to fire a burst of dragon energy that struck 【Ice Sword Dragon - Phantom Ice Dragon】, which was observing from the edge of Hayato's field, and bounced it back into Hayato's Extra Deck!

In this way, the last monster on Kaiba's field finally disappeared, but Hayato still has two monsters on his field that have not yet been attacked.

[Kobayashi Hayato: 400LP, hand card: 1]

【Teaching Thunder - Flederis】【ATK3000】

【Heavenly Dragon Demon God】【ATK5500】

【Iron Dragon - Blue Nargacuga】【ATK2500】

"You're not planning to send your monster to attack me directly, are you, Hayato? Don't forget that I haven't activated the effect of [True Light] on my back row yet this turn!"

Kaiba reminded, "Once per turn, I can choose one of its 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 the field or in the Graveyard to my back field."

"Here I will Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my Graveyard, and True Light will grant my Blue-Eyes White Dragon on the field the resistance to being targeted by my opponent's effects!"

Just when it seemed like he had reached the end of his rope, Kaiba activated the effect of the red field in his back row and took out the card [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from the graveyard. "And even if you destroy it by any means, it's useless!"

"Because whether it's destruction by battle or effect, the effect of [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] will activate the moment a card on the field is destroyed, Special Summoning it back from my Graveyard!"

In terms of the ability to revive, although Red-Eyes is quite famous in this regard, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon is not far behind. It can be revived by any card being destroyed.

This means that even if Hayato trades his [Teaching Thunder - Flederis], which also has an attack power of 3000, with Kaiba's [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], it will still cause his [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] to return to the field. At that time, [Iron Dragon - Blue Nargacuga], which only has an attack power of 2500, will not be a match for it.

If Hayato's plan is to win by directly attacking Kaiba and reducing its Life Points to 0, then activating "True Light" would be a blow that would extinguish its hopes—if Hayato's only way to win is by directly attacking with the monsters on the field.

Looking at the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that Kaiba had placed on the field, arrogantly positioning itself in attack form, Hayato shook his head: "Did you lose your mind thinking that just because my Life Points are already at rock bottom, you can win the victory you've been dreaming of for so many years just by surviving this turn, Seth?"

"You've already been successfully suppressed by me in terms of attack power once. Do you think it's okay to show off your mighty attack since my monster hasn't shown enough terrifying attack power and you still have so many Life Points left? How arrogant of you."

"Then I will use [Teaching Thunder - Fledris] to attack [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]!"

"Bring it on!" Kaiba laughed wildly, his fighting spirit undiminished. "But your [Teaching Thunder - Fledelis] will disappear after the battle, while my [Blue-Eyes Jet] can take the opportunity to return!"

Just like the battle between [Knight of Guidance - Fledelis] and [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon], [Knight of Guidance - Fledelis] pierced through the body of [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] with lightning, and [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] also destroyed [Knight of Guidance - Fledelis] with a final blow. The two monsters perished together, but after that, another "jet plane" landed on Kaiba Stadium.

Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon】【ATK3000

Even though Hayato had warned Kaiba, he still chose to summon his monster in attack position—partly because Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon's defense was a rather embarrassing 0 points. If he summoned it in defense position, it wouldn't be able to block even an attack from a Blue Nargacuga, so it was better to keep it in attack position to defend against its attack.

Meanwhile, after sending the destroyed card to the graveyard, Hayato played the card in his hand, saying, "Although I've gathered all the materials, it's a pity that I can't summon 'Predator's Ultimate' because of the self-restriction of 'White Dragon's Fall'. But at least I still summoned this card—with two DARK monsters on my field!"

"Instead of using the opponent's cards, I'll use my two DARK monsters on my field—[Heavenly Dragon Demon] and [Iron Dragon - Blue Swift Dragon]—as Fusion Materials to send them to the Graveyard, and activate the Quick-Play Spell Card [Earthbound Fusion]!"

Although "Earthbound Fusion" is a Fusion Spell Card used in the "Earthbound Captives" deck, this card has never been restricted to Fusion Summoning "Earthbound" monsters. Its effect is a version of "Instant Fusion" without the self-destruct side effect. It is only restricted to Fusion Summoning DARK monsters and cannot be activated outside of the Main Phase if there are no cards in the Field Zone.

However, the monster Hayato wants to Special Summon happens to be a DARK monster, and the Field Spell Card necessary to activate it during the Battle Phase has already been provided by Kaiba!

"The required fusion materials are two Dark-attribute monsters—the two-colored eyes that illuminate the night become the pointer of time, giving birth to a new threat from the hell deep within those petals, and opening up a new path!"

"Level 8☆! Fusion Summon! Wagatsumashi!"

"Appear, you venomous dragon with the fangs of hunger—[The Ferocious Venomous Fusion Dragon]!"

[Fierce, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [8☆/Dark] [Dragon/Fusion/Effect]

[2800/2000]

The serpentine dragon appeared, its attack power slightly inferior to the Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon, but its aura was in no way inferior to Hayato's. It stared at Hayato menacingly, as if considering how to enjoy this "delicacy" later.

"This effect can only be activated when Fusion Summoned using only monsters on the field as materials. [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] gains ATK equal to the sum of the ATKs of all Special Summoned monsters on your opponent's field until the end of this turn." This incredibly overpowered attack power is activated, causing the gems on [Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] to glow crimson, and its ATK to surge dramatically!

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK 2800 → 5800]

Kaiba frowned: "If I used such power when I had a lot of monsters on the field, I could have wiped out all my Life Points in one hit, right?"

"Victory or defeat is important, but victory or defeat isn't important. What's important is the atmosphere. Cards should appear when they're supposed to." Hayato smiled and looked at Kaiba. "Just like Seth, didn't you summon [Abyssal White Dragon] early on, even before its effect could clear my Life Points?"

"The [Greedy Poison Fusion Dragon] Special Summoned during the Battle Phase can naturally continue to attack, so the battle continues, I use [Greedy Poison Fusion Dragon] to attack [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon]!"

With an attack power of up to 5800 points, the [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon] has surpassed the power of the [Ultimate Dragon Mage] and the [Heavenly Might Dragon Demon God], becoming the monster with the highest attack power in this duel. Its battle was not as complicated as before, it simply raised its claws and charged up.

Pure power gathered in its claws and teeth, transforming into sheer might that easily crushed the Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon and destroyed it!
Seto Kaiba: 3500 → 700 LP, Hand: 1

After a sudden drop of 2800 points, sweat beaded on Haiba's forehead, but he still smiled: "Well done, Hayato! A truly excellent counterattack!"

"But even you, after that you played all your cards, right? You no longer have any cards left to deal damage, whether in your hand or on the field. Although you reduced my life points to only 700, your life points weren't much higher either!"

"【Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon】. Its ferocious power can only last for one turn. After the next turn, it will turn back into a monster with an attack power of 2800. As long as I can find a way to summon a monster with an attack power of 3200 or more to break through it head-on, victory will be mine!"

At this point, even the seahorse couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "I really didn't expect that it would take me so many years to surpass you, but now I can finally do it—even if you sacrificed the most efficient victory for the so-called 'long road' and 'shortcut,' the victory I can win is ultimately the real deal!"

Kaiba genuinely felt he had a significant advantage, since Hayato had little room to maneuver this turn, and his previous graveyard buildup hadn't yielded any cards like "Bitter Choice" that could flood the graveyard with a large number of cards, putting him in a very favorable position.

He even wanted to say something like, "700 points against 400 basic points, the advantage is in my hands!"

“That’s true to some extent. I’ve run out of options this turn.” Hayato nodded, but then raised his Duel Disk. “After the Battle Phase ends, the second Main Phase ends, and I’ll go straight into the End Phase of my turn.”

"But isn't it precisely at moments like these that the power of the 'Brand' deck is truly revealed?"

As he spoke, a light shone from Hayato's graveyard, and he took out several cards, saying, "The effects of this [Ash Dragon - Fallen Dragon], which was sent from the Extra Deck to the Graveyard due to the activation of [Ice Sword Dragon - Phantom Ice Dragon]'s effect, and [Saintess of Hell - Caltesia], which was sent to the Graveyard as Synchro Material, are activated!"

"First is the effect of [Saintess of Hell - Caltesia]. If a Fusion Monster is sent to my Graveyard this turn, you can activate this effect during the End Phase to add this card from your Graveyard to your hand."

Retrieving one card, Hayato pulled out another. "Then comes the effect of [Ash Dragon - Fallen Dragon]. During the End Phase of the turn this card is sent to the Graveyard, you can activate this effect to add one [Teach] monster or [Albus Fallen] from my Deck to your hand or Special Summon it."

"I Special Summon [Saint of Guidance - Acrecia] from my Deck in Defense Position, and activate its entry effect to add one [Guidance] card from my Deck other than [Saint of Guidance - Acrecia] to my hand."

【Saintess of Guidance - Acrisia】【DEF1500】

After playing the card of the gluttonous saintess, Hayato completed the search and then said, "However, as a price for using this effect, I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck until the end of this turn—even though my turn has already ended."

[Hayato Kobayashi: 400LP, hand cards: 0→1→2]

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK 5800 → 2800]

【Saintess of Guidance - Acrisia】【DEF1500】

Although only two cards were active at the end of Hayato's turn, he played an extra defense position monster on his field and recovered several cards from his hand, and had no face-down cards in his back row, Kaiba would not let his guard down easily.

Although Hayato had just used the effect of [Saintess of Guidance - Exeria] to search for a card, he cleverly only held up the card to show it without revealing its name. While being able to see the spirit was an advantage, Hayato used it to his advantage – he actually had [Fledris] from the card appear to block the card, making it impossible for Kaiba to distinguish whether the card he searched was [Knight of Guidance - Fledris] or [Thunder of Guidance - Fledris]!
Those who have a deep understanding of the "Mark" deck or the "Teaching" deck might be able to tell which card is which at a glance, but Kaiba's observation skills have long been allocated to the "Blue Eyes" cards, so he has no idea what Hayato is searching for.

If there is a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck on the field, both [Knight of the Instruction - Flederis] and [Thunder of the Instruction - Flederis] can be pulled out of Hayato's hand during Kaiba's turn by their respective effects and interfere.

The former, in conjunction with the presence of [Saintess of Guidance - Exia], can negate the effects of a face-up monster on the field; the latter can even set a [Guidance] Trap Card. If Kaiba dares to summon a monster from the Extra Deck with 2500 or more ATK on the field, that card can even be activated in the same turn!

It's getting cold and I have a bit of a headache. I only managed 4k today, which is already the limit for humans, meow~