Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

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!

Chapter 1830 Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: Just kidding, I'm super brave!

Kaiba took a deep breath and yanked a card from the top of his deck: "My turn, draw!"

Seto Kaiba: 700 LP, Hand: 1→2

Although Hayato's hand is almost entirely open and contains traps, Kaiba won't be timid or led by the nose; he will continue the duel at his own pace.

"First, there's the effect of [Ancient White Stone] in my Graveyard." Without playing any cards from his hand, Kaiba activated the cards in his Graveyard first. "You can banish this card from your Graveyard and then target a single [Blue-Eyes] monster in my Graveyard to add it to your hand."

"I chose this [Abyssal Blue-Eyes Dragon]."

"I activate the Spell Card [Molten Hammer], adding the two cards in my hand and this [Molten Hammer] to my deck, shuffling them, and drawing the same number of cards—Draw!"

Seeing the cards he drew from his deck, Kaiba paused for a moment, then burst into wild laughter: "Hmph, hahahaha, as expected, these are the most suitable cards to determine the winner between us, Hayato!"

"First, I will use the effect of this Continuous Trap Card [True Light] on my back field. I will choose one of its two effects to activate. Here, I will choose the same one as last turn: Special Summon one [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from my Graveyard back to the field."

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] [ATK3000]

"It's not over yet! After that, I'm going to banish this Blue-Eyes Dragon from my graveyard to activate its second effect!"

A bright light shone from the ancient stone slab, awakening the sleeping Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Kaiba's graveyard. However, it wasn't just this monster that was awakened by the light; two other Blue-Eyes monsters from Kaiba's hand also appeared!

"【Blue-Eyes Dragon's Roar】In addition to its first effect of being able to Special Summon a 【Blue-Eyes】card from my Deck, Graveyard, or even a banished 【Blue-Eyes】card in Defense Position, it can also be used to perform a Fusion Summon of a card from my hand and a monster on the field by banishing this card from the Graveyard. This Fusion Summon requires a 【Blue-Eyes】card as Fusion Material."

Kaiba laughed wildly as he displayed two cards from his hand. "Of the three cards I drew from my deck using the effect of [Magic Hammer], two of them are [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]—so it's obvious what monster I'm going to fuse summon!"

"The two Blue-Eyes White Dragons in my hand, plus the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon already on my field, the ultimate fusion begins! Transcending the constraints of time and space, revealing your absolute power!"

"O supreme and powerful ultimate dragon of all time, manifest yourself!"

"Fusion Summon, Level 12☆"

"Blue-Ace-Arutimeto-Doragon!!!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon [12☆/Light]

[Dragon/Fusion]

[4500/3800]

Once upon a time, Kaiba summoned Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, his strongest ace in his first battle against Hayato. At the time, its 4500 attack power was practically invincible! But times have changed, and now Kaiba's deck contains many more powerful cards, with countless cards boasting even higher attack power.

However, if Kaiba had to choose one card to determine the winner between him and Hayato, it would undoubtedly have to be this one, only this one: Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Because this was the beginning of their intertwined destinies, it had to end with this card!

Because it is a fusion monster, it is not a normal monster, but it also has no effects. The Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, commonly known as a "plain shell," has only its powerful attack power as its outstanding ability in the current environment. In fact, the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon or the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon would be better choices, but for Kaiba, this is enough.

Because with just over 3200 attack power, Kaiba's monsters can directly break through Hayato's attack position "Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon" and defeat him, thus proving who is the strongest Dragon user and whose Dragon deck is the strongest Dragon in the world, given that both of them are using "Dragon" decks!

At the end of the last turn, Hayato retrieved a card from his hand using the effect of [Saintess of Guidance - Exeria]. Kaiba bet that the card was [Knight of Guidance - Freudris], whose ability to negate monster effects is useless against [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]. As for [Lightning of Guidance - Freudris]—

Hayato's graveyard at this moment does not contain [The Fallen Child of Albus]. Even if he uses [Teaching Thunder - Friedriss] to set a second [Teaching Encounter], he cannot use [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] as fusion material for [The Fallen Child of Albus]. Even [The Fallen Child of White Dragon] and [Albus of Ash], which could be considered [The Fallen Child of Albus], are one returned to the deck and one banished.

In other cases, although Kaiba doesn't know what trap cards [Teaching] has, his last card—the quick-play spell card [Forbidden Lance]—is not just for show!

Its effect reduces the ATK of a monster card by 800 points and grants it powerful resistance to Spell/Trap Card effects other than "Forbidden Lance". It can be used to grant resistance to "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon"—after reducing its ATK by 800 points, it still has a whopping 3700 points, more than enough to destroy "Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon"—and can even be used to seal the ATK bonuses that Hayato's cards give to his monsters!

More importantly, in the end of Hayato's first duel with Kaiba, Kaiba used the Forbidden Cloth, which led Hayato to always say to Kaiba, "If you hadn't run away back then, I would have won." This time, he switched to the Forbidden Holy Lance so that Hayato would have no reason to bring it up again!

Without a doubt—the advantage is on my side!

At the same time that Kaiba played Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, under his gaze, which was both apprehensive and confident, Hayato also revealed a card in his hand—this time without any Pokémon obscuring it.

"Even [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] was not chosen, but instead [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] was Special Summoned? It's really nostalgic to see a vanilla monster like [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] active in the arena these days."

"Then, on my side—if a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck is on the field during either player's Main Phase, I can activate this effect to Special Summon [Teaching Thunder - Flederis] from my hand!"

【Teaching Thunder - Flederis】【DEF2500】

Unfortunately, Kaiba guessed wrong. Hayato added [Knight of Guidance - Freudris] to his hand instead of [Knight of Guidance - Freudris]. Freudris is the only one among all Freudris cards who does not have the ability to "negate monster effects." However, instead of Freudris, she has the ability to manipulate other [Guidance] cards, similar to but different from [Saintess of Guidance - Exeria]!

"If [Teaching Thunder - Friedriss] is Special Summoned from my hand, activate its effect: Set one [Teaching] Trap Card from my Deck to my field. And because there is a Fusion/Synchro Monster with 2500 or more ATK on your opponent's field, the [Teaching] Trap Card set by this effect can still be activated even during the turn it is set!"

Upon hearing this, Kaiba immediately replied, "No way! It doesn't matter what kind of trap card it is. Although Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon doesn't have the same resistance to trap card effects as Blue-Eyes Tyrant Dragon, the Quick-Play Spell Card in my hand—Forbidden Lance—can give it even stronger resistance. Even if your trap card grants your own monster powerful abilities, I can chain it to negate it."

"Your resistance is utterly useless, Hayato!"

The Forbidden Holy Lance combined with the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—this is Kaiba's final and strongest combination, determined to utterly defeat Hayato!

But after Hayato set up the Trap Card [Teaching], he promptly activated it, saying, "[Forbidden Lance]... tsk, it reminds me of that first duel. You're not using [Forbidden Cloth] this time? But don't worry, the card I set up isn't one to bolster our monsters, because the card I set up is this one—[Mortal Spell]!"

"If I had to describe this card, I would say it's a 'Trap Ritual,' a card that requires me to Tribute any 'Teaching' monsters or Fusion/Synchro Monsters on my field until their combined Levels are equal, and then Ritual Summon a 'Teaching' Ritual Monster from my hand or Deck. By the way, 'Guided' belongs to the 'Teaching' category."

Hayato picked up the card "Saintess of Guidance - Acricia" from his Duel Disk and said, "And the card I'm going to release is this Level 4☆ 'Saintess of Guidance - Acricia'!"

"Those who are inscribed in the Glorious Order of the Teachings, may the 666 sacred texts be engraved on their souls and recited daily under the sun. When the Day of the Gospel arrives, your holy mark will shine, and your fallen infant bodies will return to heaven, and you will once again be children of God!"

"Way!?" With a strange cry, the gluttonous saintess, who had only been on the field for a short time, was released by Hayato and sent to the graveyard. However, the holy power extracted from her body remained on the field and was collected into a staff.

The girl holding the staff and the gluttonous saintess are somewhat similar in appearance, but their temperaments are completely different. The former is full of death and indifference, but the latter has a bit more of a sense of life when she looks at Hayato, but that is just a crazy possessiveness.

Hayato retrieved a Ritual Monster card from his deck and held it high, announcing, "Ritual Summon, Level 4!"

"The time for resurrection has come, awaken—[The White Sacred Remains of the Evil Guide]!"

【The White Corpse of the Evil Guide】【4☆/Light】

[Mage Race/Ritual/Effect]

[500/2500]

"If the [White Relic of the Demon] is successfully Ritual Summoned, use its effect!" Hayato pointed to Kaiba's [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] on the field and his own [Ghostly Fusion Dragon] in Attack Position. "Target two face-up monsters on the field, and one of them gains the ATK of the other monster! I choose [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] and [Ghostly Fusion Dragon]!"

If they appeared in the same order and fought solely based on their individual strengths, there would be no doubt that Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon would crush Venom Fusion Dragon, even though both are only the "most basic" forms in their respective evolutionary chains.

However—the battles in Duel Monsters are never just a fight between two monsters. Under the power of the White Relic of the Demon Guide, the power of the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was replicated and added to the body of the Venomous Fusion Dragon, causing the latter's power to increase dramatically!

[Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon] [ATK 2800 → 7300]

With an attack power of up to 7300 points! Absolutely invincible and extremely powerful!

*Tong Shiye's profanity*, what in the world can withstand the current [Ferocious Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon]? What can possibly withstand it!

“Synchro, Fusion, and now this Ritual… Ha, you’re really annoying.” Kaiba recalled that in the first turn, he had used the power of a Ritual Monster, just like Hayato now—but he used the Ritual Monster Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon as Fusion Material.

Although this duel was initially described by both Hayato and Kaiba as a "contest of Synchro Summoning," it has now become a comprehensive contest where each of the three summoning methods—Ritual, Fusion, and Synchro—is used to its fullest potential. Hayato's Ritual Monster, "The White Relic of the Demon," has overwhelmed the offensive of "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon," and seems to be showing off that Hayato has the resources to incorporate a third summoning method, while Kaiba can only use Ritual Monsters for Fusion at most.

"If there's a next time, I'll try to summon Blue-Eyes Chaos Max Dragon as well. If it's her, even if you put some Defense Position monsters on the field that can't be destroyed by battle, it'll be meaningless." Kaiba glanced at the monsters on Hayato's field and waved his hand again. "But for now—even against an invincible enemy, my Blue-Eyes and I will never give up easily!"

"The Quick-Play Spell Card 'Forbidden Lance' reduces the ATK of 'Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon' by 800 and grants it immunity to the effects of other Spell/Trap Cards. Then I enter my Battle Phase—"

Pointing at the [Ghostly Venomous Fusion Dragon], Kaiba launched a valiant attack, "[Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], come at me with me—"

"Ultimate Burst Stream!"

Insisting on adding the Japanese pronunciation "の" to its English special attack name, Kaiba commanded Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to launch a desperate attack on Ghoul!

Meanwhile, Hayato, after adapting to the sudden surge in power of the [Fierce, Hungry, Poisonous Fusion Dragon] and then having his attack power slightly weakened by the [Forbidden Holy Lance], also shouted, "You've got real presence! Well then, I'll bestow upon you this glorious end!"

"【Ferocious, Hungry, and Poisonous Fusion Dragon】, come with me to return it—"

"Extinction Rain of Highly Toxic Acid!"

Chapter 1831 The Power of Science is Truly Amazing!

"When a person is killed, they die."

Hayato suddenly said something strange, which caught the attention of [Summoner-Aleister] beside him: "Hmm? Isn't that obvious?"

"That being said, there are also cases where someone is clearly killed but doesn't actually die." Putting down a medical report, Hayato complained, "For example, a 'broken neck' is a common cause of death in movies and TV shows, right? But in reality, a cervical fracture doesn't necessarily lead to death."

"Especially since Yubel added some dark power enhancements to several students, intending to use them as puppets, but by accident, he saved their lives and only put them in a coma. With the help of the medical team under the Seahorse Group, they are almost fully recovered."

"Huh? Did that human named Seto Kaiba awaken something? This kind of medical skill is already in the realm of magic, isn't it?"

"I thought so too. But the reality is that magic isn't necessarily as powerful as the seahorse's 'science and technology'."

Sitting on the plane flying back to Duel Academy, Hayato idly flipped through a document in his hand to pass the time.

Not long ago, Hayato defeated Kaiba in a duel. To prevent Kaiba from cheating, Hayato deliberately didn't use tricks like "Mysterious Card Albus" but instead chose a direct confrontation that suited Kaiba's tastes better. So, although he lost the duel, Kaiba actually enjoyed it and relaxed by satisfying his card addiction. After losing the duel, he obediently handed over what Hayato needed, just as he had said before.

The "Dimensional Fluctuation Monitoring System" is something that Kaiba developed to help Hayato. Of course, it wasn't originally called that; after all, Kaiba's naming ability is well-known. But since the thing is in Hayato's hands, it's natural for Hayato to decide what to call it.

The new name of this thing perfectly summarizes its function: to monitor "dimensional fluctuations" occurring globally. These "dimensional fluctuations" can be understood as follows: in most cases, worlds are not subordinate to each other but parallel, like continental plates on Earth, floating separately on the surface of a planet and moving without interfering with each other.

However, the planet's space is limited, and the movement of tectonic plates will eventually lead to collisions and compression with other plates, which is the interaction between worlds. "Dimensional fluctuations" are the effects of the movement of "plates" at the world level.

The movement of Earth's tectonic plates can create rift valleys and mountains, and the movement of "world" plates will naturally have a significant impact as well. When two worlds come into contact with each other, they will create special spatial distortion phenomena in certain areas of each world, allowing certain substances in world A to reach world B through "dimensional fluctuations," and the same thing will happen in world B.

It's not that this is the only way to travel between worlds, but rather that this method is the most stable and efficient way to reach another world. It's like sailing a ship through a storm to reach the other side of the ocean; sailing with the wind is always better than rowing against the wind.

This peculiar spatial distortion phenomenon can be detected in real time by the "Dimensional Fluctuation Monitoring System," and even found well in advance. Coincidentally, the "Dimensional Fluctuation Monitoring System" just happened to track a spatial distortion phenomenon leading to the known Pokémon world, located on Duel Academy Island, specifically twelve hours later.

Compared to using methods like the [Phantom Gate] to open the door to the unknown world, returning to Duel Academy through the known "Dimensional Fluctuation" is undoubtedly a more efficient method. It's not surprising that the "Dimensional Fluctuation" will reappear on Duel Academy Island, because the barriers between worlds are like calm water. Throwing a stone into the water can create ripples that spread in all directions, but the ripples will eventually reflect back when they reach the end. This "Dimensional Fluctuation" is precisely the "ripple" left behind by the spatial transfer world that Yubel initiated the "Great Transfer".

If the "dimensional fluctuation" is activated at the right time and in the right place with enough energy, the teleportation channel to the Spirit World opened by Yubel can be reopened. In fact, Jaden and others, who also experienced John's sacrifice in the original timeline, did just that, using the combined power of his and his companions' ace monsters to recreate the spatial transfer.

Jaden and his friends' success that time was somewhat accidental. They only learned from Misawa Sora and Professor Stain that a similar "space-time singularity" was about to reappear on Duel Academy Island, and they succeeded by accident through their "I think" method. This time, Hayato got confirmation from Kaiba in order to avoid situations like the "butterfly effect," so he has an absolute success rate.

Hayato's return to Duel Academy is to assist Jaden and the others in opening the portal—yes, he doesn't intend to take on the entire battle alone; he still plans to have Jaden and the others join him in the battle in the Pokémon world.

It's not that Hayato is trying to pull off a "nanny style" or "follow-the-ship style"; on the contrary, Hayato has always adhered to the philosophy of "using the right method to deal with the right target," and to deal with Yubel, it's definitely more appropriate to let Jaden fight.

Another point is that in the otherworld arc of the original work, the students of Duel Academy rarely satisfied Hayato with their reactions. Whether it was Manjoume, Fubuki, or Asuka and Marufuji Sho, all the students were collectively underwhelming. Caesar and Edward were offline for a long time before the appearance of the Overlord, and Amon was "full of his own thoughts".

Even though O'Brien was considered by many to be "a reliable teammate of the Tenth Generation," he also showed signs of being a deserter who panicked and fled in a sorry state when facing the Overlord. The only one who performed consistently from beginning to end was Jim—at the cost of becoming the only victim in the Otherworld arc. Even though the others were freed by the "Evil Heart Cult" as sacrifices, they were essentially just transferred to other dimensions. But Jim truly burned out his life.

John? John was possessed by Yubel until the final battle between her and Jaden, so there's no record of him.

If we consider that the students trained by the Duel Academy in that timeline were to develop into "professional duelists," and that the students became duelists for their own future, then it is understandable that they would panic when faced with danger.

At most, they might watch Fubuki and the others, who had experienced all sorts of dark games in the past, end up in another world where they can't even draw cards to fight, and then curse the "concept and scriptwriters" or something similar.

While the Duel Academy, led by Hayato, certainly has the function of continuously supplying the professional dueling world with fresh talent—not just referees and commentators, but also in other areas—its more core function remains the cultivation of "powerful duelists."

Simply having superior dueling skills is not enough to be called a "powerful duelist," nor is having exceptional physical strength. And having a good mentality but no skill is even less of a question. It is difficult to give a specific standard for a "powerful duelist," but at least one must have developed comprehensively in the three aspects of "mind, body, and skill."

The topic of "flowers in a greenhouse" is old news. Hayato has been "desensitizing" his students for so many years. When they first entered the Pokémon world, he had already let them break away from the previous turn-based monster battles and experience a subversive real-time monster battle like in Pokémon Tales ZA.