Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Special Summon one Blue-Eyes monster or Chaos Ritual Monster from my Graveyard or Extra Deck! And this card is the one I'm going to Special Summon—"

"【Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon】!"

Kaiba really likes the card "Ultimate Dragon Magister". Although it no longer has the "Blue-Eyes" attribute, the three "pseudo-tricolor combos" it provides can offer much-needed protection for "Blue-Eyes". Moreover, its second effect is exactly what he prepared for his challenge against Hayato Kobayashi.

Whether it's cards like "Albus's Fallen" and "Super Polymerization," or cards like "Lava Demon" or "Turtle Kaiju - Gamesiale," the effect of "Ultimate Dragon Magister" can be triggered unless it's banished face-down or returned to the Extra Deck where card information is lost.

Although this card was ultimately created by Hayato Kobayashi stealing his "Blue-Eyes" and fusing it during a duel, the contrast between its origin and effect is somewhat ironic, but Kaiba doesn't care about that. As long as it works, that's enough!

【Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon】While even Kaiba, a fan of 【Blue-Eyes】, might find its artwork undeniably appealing, its resistances are undeniably powerful. It's essentially a continuous version of the effects 【Blue-Eyes Silver Dragon】 bestowed upon other Dragon-Type monsters—it cannot be targeted by opponent's effects nor destroyed by them, and it retains the 4500 ATK of 【Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon】. It's simply the perfect choice for this situation!

After thinking for a long time, Kaiba waited for the arrival of the Blue-Eyes Ultra Dragon, but a familiar scene appeared before his eyes once again—

"Man!"

When [Ultimate Dragon Magister] left the field, it left behind a summoning circle that allowed Kaiba to Special Summon [Blue-Eyes] and [Chaos] Ritual Monsters from his Extra Deck and Graveyard. In the opened portal, [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] almost poked its head out, but was once again kicked back into the Extra Deck by an elbow.

However, this time, the one that made the move was not the [Heavenly Dragon Demon] that had used up all its power and returned to Hayato's field to rest, but the [Iron Dragon - Blue Nargacuga] that appeared last among all the monsters on Hayato's field?

—By the way, when the seahorse saw the monster appear, it wanted to complain. No matter if the monster was a machine, rock, thunder, fire or even dragon, the seahorse could come up with some nonsense to explain it back. But why was the monster a bird-beast?

As if he had touched on Kaiba's thoughts, Hayato spoke up before he could express his doubts, saying, "The main body of [Iron Dragon - Blue Nargacuga] is not the giant robot or Albus being carried away by its claws, but [Gee] in the pilot's seat. Isn't that amazing, Honey?"

"Just now, Seth asked me if I remembered the effect of [Ultimate Dragon Mage]... It's because I remembered its effect that I prepared [Iron Dragon - Blue Nargacuga] at the end, because I knew you would definitely activate its effect when it leaves the field."

"On the surface, I'm on the first layer with the effect of [Ultimate Dragon Mage] active, while Seth, who's trying to summon a new monster using his exit effect, is on the second layer. But actually, I'm in the atmosphere—because the effect of [Iron Dragon - Blue Nargacuga] isn't that easy to trigger; it can only be activated when the effect of a Fusion/Synchro Monster is activated. And [Ultimate Dragon Mage] is the Fusion Monster I need to activate its effect!"

"Under the effect of [Iron Dragon - Blue Swift Dragon], the effect of [Ultimate Dragon Magister] is negated—and after that, I can return another card from the field to my hand. This effect doesn't target, so the effects of [Blue-Eyes Silver Dragon] and [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] can't provide protection!" Hayato pointed to Kaiba's field, "I return the Defense Position [Blue-Eyes Silver Dragon] to my hand—that is, back to its owner's Extra Deck!"

The elbow flew, stopping the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon from entering the field and shattering the summoning circle of the Blue-Eyes Dragon. The Blue-Eyes Dragon hovered in the air, and the Kit gripped the joystick to adjust the angle and aim at the card on Kaiba's field.

"【Iron Dragon - Blue Velociraptor】Pilot, Kit, sortie—Lock-On!"

The spear-shaped weapon unfolded and transformed into a pair of electromagnetic cannons. Blue electric light propelled the two cannonballs to instantly pierce through the body of the [Azure-Eyed Silver Dragon], knocking it back to its previous tuning ring and level star, forcibly dispelling it!

Hayato only used one monster to attack, yet Kaiba's group of powerful monsters were wiped out in just a few rounds, leaving only the lone Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon.

"...How dare you scheme against me, Hayato!" Looking at the only monster left on his field, Kaiba roared in helpless rage.

Seto Kaiba: 3500 LP, Hand: 2→1

Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon】【ATK3000

Backcourt: [Forbidden Area of ​​Fusion] [True Light]

Venue: [Hall of Light]

"Getting angry so early? It's still early, Seth. Wait until I beat you before you get angry." Hayato still didn't play any cards, but waved his hand and said, "I know you might be thinking, even though my monster has only 2500 attack power, lower than your Blue-Eyes, it still has such a terrible effect. But let me tell you—don't think you can rest easy just because Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon has 3000 attack power."

"My Battle Phase continues. I will use [Knight of the Instruction - Fledelis] to attack [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon]." While seemingly suggesting a low-ATK monster attacking a high-ATK monster in a "suicidal" move, Hayato added, "Then, at the moment of the attack declaration, I will activate the second effect of [Knight of the Instruction - Fledelis] on my field!"

"This effect can only be activated when one of my [Teach] monsters declares an attack. It increases the ATK of all [Teach] monsters I control by 500. At this moment, I control two [Teach] monsters: [Teach Knight - Fledelis] and [Teach Thunder - Fledelis]!"

The seahorse's eyes widened: "So that means—"

"—In other words, [Knight of Guidance - Freudris] and [Thunder of Guidance - Freudris] will gain attack power equivalent to [Blue Eyes], which is 3000 points!"

【Teaching Thunder - Flederis】【ATK2500→3000】

【Knight of Guidance - Flederis】【ATK2500→3000】

An attack power of 3000 is neither low nor high, but it can serve as a dividing line to determine whether a monster's attack power is acceptable. If the final attack power is less than 3000, it is too easy for someone to remove it through battle. Conversely, if a card is bad in other aspects but is easy to play and has an attack power of 3000, then this card can at least be used to destroy monsters and clear the field through battle.

In this duel, 3000 attack power means that the [Knight of Instruction - Friedris], who originally could only be killed by the [Blue-Eyes Jet Dragon] and could not threaten it, now has the ability to take it down with her!

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 - Flederis]... Kaiba hasn't forgotten that card can be summoned automatically. Did he mean 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 Hayato 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 name Blue-Eyes White Dragon that is not on the field or in the Graveyard from my Deck to the 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: "Such power... if I had used it when I had a lot of monsters on the field, it 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]!