Who asked him to play Yu-Gi-Oh!

Chapter 1594 Lost Friendship?
Katsuya Jonouchi opened his heavy eyelids, awakened by a series of crisp and cheerful school bells ringing in his ears.

He looked around and found himself in his classroom. The classroom was empty; desks and chairs were scattered haphazardly, and students' books and stationery were strewn about.

"get out of class is over? Did everyone go to eat?"

Jōnei tilted his head back and lazily yawned.

The scene before him quickly made him realize that he had probably fallen asleep in class again. Although his memory of when he arrived at the classroom was a little vague, it wasn't a big deal, since it wasn't the first or second time he had fallen asleep in class.

Jonouchi stretched and got up, turning around to see his good buddies Honda and Kyoko chatting and laughing as they passed by the classroom window.

Jonouchi hurriedly got up and went out: "Good grief, you guys went to eat without taking me?"

The two men stopped and looked back at the city with strange expressions.

Jonouchi was taken aback: "What's wrong with you guys?"

Kyoko gave him an expression as if she were looking at wet garbage: "Jounouchi, I'm telling you, isn't that enough?"

The man inside the city asked in surprise, "What do you mean by 'enough is enough'?"

"You're always bothering us, playing your self-righteous game of passionate friendship," Kyoko said. "You don't actually think we're friends like this, do you?"

Jōnouchi was stunned: "What are you talking about, Kyoko? I don't think I understand?"

“It means exactly what it says,” Kyoko said coldly, turning to leave.

Honda added, "I think so too, Jonouchi. I'm tired of that routine, and you're starting to get a little annoying, that's all."

He turned and left.

Jonouchi: "Wait a minute!"

He stepped forward to try and stop them, but even with his best efforts, he seemed unable to reach them. The two walked further and further down the corridor and soon disappeared from sight.

But then he caught a glimpse of another familiar figure: the game.

Jonouchi rushed forward as if grasping at a straw: "Yugi! Yugi, let's go eat together!"

Only games are different. He believed that even if the whole world betrayed him, only this game, which was sometimes gentle and sometimes incredibly reliable, and which even gave him precious friendship when he was just a worthless delinquent, would never betray him.

But the way the game looked at him was so unfamiliar that it sent a chill down his spine.

“Let’s not see each other again, Jonouchi,” he said.

Cheng Zhi's heart trembled violently: "What do you mean?"

“It’s my fault, Jonouchi. You’re just a mortal, but I dragged you into a world that doesn’t belong to you,” Yugi said sadly. “I should have known, I should have known I shouldn’t have given you such high expectations.”

I tried to believe in you time and time again, but you disappointed me time and time again. Because in the end, no matter how hard you try, you're just mediocre. You can never stand shoulder to shoulder with me, you can never compare to Kaiba or Pegasus, you can never beat Malik. You can never be my strength, Jonouchi.

Jonouchi stared blankly and said, "Are you serious? A game?"

"Of course, stop bothering me." With that, Yu-Gi-Oh, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and turned to walk away.

Jōnei still wanted to chase after them, but for some reason his legs felt like they weighed a ton, an invisible pressure making it hard for him to breathe and speak. He felt his body uncontrollably kneel on the ground, his throat feeling like it was blocked by something.

Please, please don't.

"Not just anyone will do; don't let them all leave me. I finally escaped loneliness, I finally..."

He felt his body sinking, sinking deeper and deeper, until he reached the deepest part of the world.
"."

In the pitch-black world of consciousness, a figure elsewhere was observing the city from an outsider's perspective, constantly sneering.

His name is Kujo Mahiru, an executive from the "Academy". His mission is to capture and manipulate Jonouchi Katsuya, and to use Jonouchi to get close to Muto Yugi, or more accurately, Muto Yugi's Millennium Puzzle.

Of course, the academy generally assumes that missions are accomplished through duels. But in Kujou Mahiru's view, duels are the most common way to solve problems, but not the only way.

To him, a mere mortal like Jonouchi Katsuya, who possessed no extraordinary talent, was not even worth a duel. Although Kujo Mahiru was confident that as an academy executive, defeating Jonouchi, a mediocre talent from a primitive dueling society, would be no problem at all, he didn't feel the need to do so.

A small illusion, through hypnotic techniques that exert psychological pressure, is deadly enough for someone without extraordinary talent. When a duelist gives up and his will collapses, his mental world is exposed with huge flaws, making him easy to manipulate.

"Katsuya Jonouchi, is the greatest darkness in your heart the loss of friends?" Mahiru Kujo sneered disdainfully. "How boring."

He looked down on Jonouchi, and seeing the fear in the other's eyes only made him look down on him more.

In their academy, anyone who only talks about friendship and bonds is utterly useless and despised by everyone. The academy values ​​strength above all else; everyone believes in their own power. The weak are unworthy to be associated with the strong, let alone engage in any games of friendship.

"Being afraid of losing friends, as if you can't fight without those so-called bonds, is exactly the behavior of a weak person," Kujo Shinshu said calmly.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a voice rang in his ears: "I can tell from your words that you must be a poor wretch with no friends."

Kujo was taken aback. When he turned around, he saw Katsuya Jonouchi panting heavily, standing face to face with him.

This guy... realized he'd infiltrated his mind?
No, before that, the prerequisite for realizing this is that he must confront his greatest fear and break free from the shackles of that illusion.

But how is that possible? Isn't this guy a mortal?
Or is it that this person's willpower has become so strong that it transcends the concept of mortals?
"I don't know who you are, but you don't think this is the first time that I, the old man of this city, have had my mind invaded, do you?"

The inner road of the city.

"And what have you shown me? Being isolated? Being abandoned by friends? You think that's enough to drive this old man of mine, Honjouchi, to a mental breakdown? If that's the case, then let me show you!"

Jonouchi said, standing tall and proud, pointing to himself with his thumb with an air of confidence.

"Master Honjouchi was abandoned and raised as a child!"

Kujo Mahiru: "."

He suddenly found it hard to understand this person's thought process.

Not
Is this something to be proud of?
(End of this chapter)