Who asked him to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 1449 Soaring to the Sky

"Ah, I'm back! I'm back!"

After eating and drinking his fill, You Ma patted his chest, eating rice balls and drinking hot tea with a happy expression.

"I really need to eat rice balls to have the energy for a duel."

Yuma's eyes narrowed as he laughed.

The student next to me, who was doing four arithmetic operations, rested his chin on his hand and said, "This sounds so familiar."

Several friends nearby nodded in agreement.

Everyone unanimously recalled that carefree jellyfish-head who only thought about eating and playing cards when they first entered school.

That person was also the only one they knew who would get hungry and want to eat halfway through a card game. Principal Samejima speculated that, as some people in the world are said to be good at thinking with their small intestine, perhaps Judai was such a rare and peculiar individual.

If this theory is true, then everyone has probably met someone like Judai. This lobster-headed boy might also have a small intestine IQ that surpasses his brain IQ.

You know what, that actually makes sense. Looking at the history of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yuma Tsukumo is probably the only one besides Jaden Yuki who suddenly stopped playing midway through a game. And if we had to say, Yuma could even be said to have surpassed his predecessor. After all, Jaden's "stopping" game was just a fun game against the graduate Ryo Marufuji, while Yuma's was a life-or-death game, and it was an early heavyweight boss battle against the Throne of Gods. When he stopped playing, he even fused with Astral into his ZEXAL Saint form.

In the middle of a boss battle, Yuma suddenly lets the boss watch him eat. This is not only unprecedented, but probably unlikely to be repeated in the future.

By now, quite a few people had heard that a lobster head with an extraordinary appetite had suddenly appeared in the academy, and they all gathered around to watch the spectacle.

Despite being in an unfamiliar environment surrounded by strangers, Yuma, as the leader of the "Soaring to the Sky" cult, is all about welcoming everyone. Or, to put it more simply, you could call him a social butterfly.

In short, Yuma is definitely not the type to feel reserved; he can immediately become one with the people around him.

"My name? I am Yuma, Tsukumo Yuma!" Yuma proudly puffed out his chest. "A duelist aiming for the Duel Championship! I will soar to the heavens!"

The students looked at each other in bewilderment.

Duel Champion? Does it mean professional league champion? Or does it mean duel king?
"You just said 'Ichifei'... what?" Asuka asked, bewildered.

The moment this topic was mentioned, the cult leader was wide awake and immediately began preaching: "The so-called soaring to the sky means never giving up, believing in yourself, and persisting in challenging yourself no matter how many times you fall!"
This is the most important thing my father taught me.

As he spoke, he unconsciously gripped the golden pendant on his chest, the one called the "Emperor's Key".

This is the most important treasure his father left him.

"Even now, I will never give up and keep moving forward." Yuma clenched his fist. "As long as I don't give up, I can overcome any difficulty I encounter. One day I will become the Duel Champion, the strongest and most powerful duelist. This is my soaring to the sky!"

However, everyone found it amusing. And seeing that Yuma was still young, even if they had heard it, they only thought it was a bit of childish enthusiasm and didn't take it too seriously.

It's truly difficult for the average person to imagine just how unwavering the cult leader's determination to "soar to the heavens" truly is, or what astonishing willpower he possesses. It is precisely this extraordinary steadfastness that allows him to successfully brainwash one teammate and villain after another in the animation, making them willingly accept the cult leader's proselytizing and become staunch followers of "soaring to the heavens."

Some fans have said that if the protagonist of ZEXAL hadn't been Yuma Tsukumo, but rather any of the previous Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links champions, they might not have been able to achieve the perfect ending shown in the anime. This statement may not be entirely accurate, but it's not without merit.

Yuma Tsukumo is certainly not the strongest protagonist in the series; there are plenty of players with better card skills and better draws. But even with the greatest strength, if he were to enter the ZEXAL instance and sweep through all the villains and win every duel, he might not necessarily achieve a perfect ending.

It was the cult leader's meteoric rise and his unwavering perseverance that ultimately allowed him to save everyone. He protected all his companions and even redeemed all the tragic villains. His world was cruel, so he rewrote its laws. Fate played tricks on him and his best friends, so he reversed that fate, ensuring everyone could achieve a happy ending.

This is why it is said that the cult leader's meteoric rise is not just an empty slogan.

In terms of pure strength, he is probably the weakest protagonist in the series at the beginning. Before encountering the Astral Entity, he couldn't even win a single card game against his classmates, let alone challenge top-tier masters. His dueling level was even below the average level of the world view.

Therefore, while Yuma may not be the strongest card player in the series, he is definitely the protagonist with the most astonishing growth during the anime's run—after all, his disastrous start meant his potential for improvement was unmatched by any other protagonist. If other protagonists progress from level 90 to 100 at the beginning, then Yuma started from level 0 and level 100, making his growth curve incomparable.

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"Duel Academy?"

Yuma became very interested after learning where he was.

"Oh, an academy that specializes in dueling? There are schools like that? That's amazing!"

The students around them felt a little strange.

These days, anyone who's ever played cards, even preschoolers, considers getting into the Duel Academy their ultimate dream. How could anyone not have heard of the Duel Academy?

"So it's a school specifically for learning dueling, wouldn't all the duelists here be incredibly strong?"

Yu Ma was very excited.

"Then let's duel!"

The astral figure floated behind him, casually reminding him, "Yuma, we still haven't figured out where we are. I feel like something's not right here; maybe we should investigate first."

"I know, but the chance to duel in such a fun place might not come again in the future," Yuma said, pouting.

Asuka followed Yuma's gaze to the empty space in the room and asked curiously, "Who are you talking to?"

"Ah, haha, it's nothing. I just sometimes like to talk to myself." Yuma chuckled and scratched his head.

The astral body is attached to Yuma, and it is generally invisible to others except for him.

"Alright, let's have a duel!"

Yu Ma was very excited.

"I can not wait any more!"

The students looked at each other, and no one spoke for a moment.

A few seconds later, Wan Zhangmu stepped forward from the back of the crowd.

"Interesting. Let me try it first."

(End of this chapter)