Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Although I used to think that the effect of banishing cards after drawing cards was a negative effect of the [Treasure of Fate], Hayato told me that 'a true duelist can even make use of the negative effects of cards,' and that even the most useless cards can occasionally come in handy."

"To be honest, I've wanted to say a line for a long time."

Looking at the "Time Magician" on the field, Jonouchi deliberately put on a cold and arrogant expression, but since "goofiness" is etched into his DNA, Jonouchi's pose is undeniably hilarious:

"Wouldn't this card be better for dealing with you?"

At the same time, as Jonouchi finished speaking, the Time Magician on the field stepped out of the pillar of light and landed on the field. He raised his staff high above his head, and the clock hands in the staff began to spin rapidly.

Seeing the familiar [Time Magician], whose spellcasting movements were exactly the same as in his memory, Ryuzaki felt somewhat displeased.

Back in the Duel Kingdom era, I gambled on Red-Eyes Black Dragon because of my greed for Time Magician, which alerted Jonouchi. Jonouchi used Time Magician's effect to destroy my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and send it to the Graveyard, resulting in my biggest defeat during the Duel Kingdom era.

"If a character is successfully Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, and a coin is tossed and lands heads up—"

Jonouchi began explaining the effect of [Time Magician], but before he could finish speaking, Ryuzaki interrupted him, saying, "If it's face up, it destroys all the monsters on my field whose attack power is higher than their defense power. If it's face down, it destroys all of Jonouchi's monsters."

"I remember the effects of the [Time Magician] very clearly."

"Hehe, I was just afraid you'd forget."

Jonouchi scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, only then remembering that if Ryuzaki hadn't been interested in his powerful [Time Magician], he wouldn't have lost to [Red-Eyes Black Dragon].

Jonouchi had already drawn the [Time Magician] card, but if Ryuzaki hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have remembered its effect. In some ways, Ryuzaki understood the [Time Magician]'s effect even better than Jonouchi.

As Ryuzaki watched the clock hands of the Time Magician slow down, at what should have been a crucial moment that would decide the outcome of the duel, he revealed a relieved smile, as if he had let go of the pursuit of victory: "I say, Jonouchi, you still like using these gambling cards so much."

"Do you think it's possible that I'll be lucky this time and the result will be the opposite?"

Upon hearing this, Jonouchi rarely showed a smug expression: "Although I've always believed that relying on luck in duels isn't a good idea, it's not just me, it's everyone doing it. As for me, I'm the best in the world when it comes to luck. And before activating these gambling cards, I can sense what the outcome will be..."

"The result, of course, is positive!"

As Jonouchi spoke, the hands of the clock slowed down more and more, finally almost stopping. In the end, the hands of the Time Magician's clock truly stopped at the "clock" position, representing the positive direction!

"Then, activate the Time Magic!" Jonouchi excitedly waved his hand and gave the order. "Time, fly by!"

The Time Magician, holding his staff high, gripped it with both hands as Jonouchi spoke, and slammed the bottom of the staff into the ground. The magic of time was released through the staff, and the ground suddenly cracked open, revealing the infinite void hidden behind it!

For a moment, both the Rocket Warrior and Red-Eyes Black Dragon on Jonouchi's field and the Velociraptor and Hyperconductive Terror on Ryuzaki's field were unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as the Time Magician, wielding a staff, walked alone through this fleeting space-time.

"No one can defy the destiny ordained by Heaven..."

"Destruction awaits you..."

"Only I can stand at the eternal peak..."

"In a world where time has passed, let us sing a lament!"

A deep voice, completely incongruous with the appearance of the "Time Magician," resounded. As the voice chanted, under the watchful eyes of Ryuzaki and Jonouchi, the "Swift-Footed Velociraptor" and the "Hyperconductive Terror Beast" aged and died almost instantly, turning into fossilized skeletons!

"Time is etched here..."

Putting away his staff, the Time Magician within the castle chanted his final incantation, snapped his fingers to fill the surrounding void, and then vanished.

Regardless of whether the effect is activated successfully or not, Time Magician will be sent to the graveyard after its effect is used, just like a magic card.

Looking at the two dinosaur fossils on his own field, and Jonouchi's [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], Ryuzaki couldn't help but sigh: "I'm really defeated by you, Jonouchi. I always felt like I had a chance to win during the duel."

As he spoke, Ryuzaki straightened his hat and opened his arms: "Then, begin your final attack!"

"Ryuzaki... Hmm, then let's go, [Red Eyes]!" Jonouchi's gaze met Ryuzaki's. From Ryuzaki's eyes, Jonouchi saw no resentment, but rather joy. "This is the final blow, Ryuzaki!"

"【Red-Eyes Black Dragon】, launch a direct attack on 'Dinosaur' Ryuzaki!"

"Black Flame Bullet!"

The pitch-black dragon opened its mouth, and dragon flames, compressed into a sphere, were released, passing through the two fossils on Ryuzaki's field without any hindrance, and landing directly on Ryuzaki.

The 2400 points of combat damage should have been impactful for Ryuzaki due to the virtual projection system, but for some reason, Ryuzaki felt no pain at all.

Bathed in the raging, dark flames, Ryuzaki's gaze met Jonouchi's across the distance.

“We lost…” Ryuzaki’s gaze shifted from Jonouchi to Red-Eyes Black Dragon. “Then Jonouchi, take my place and become the KC Cup champion with Red-Eyes Black Dragon.”

"Yes, I will, Ryuzaki."

[Ryuzaki: 1000LP → 0]

"The duel is over! I declare the victor of this duel to be—"

"Jouchi Katsuya!"

Chapter 390 America-Exclusive Seahorse Park

Witnessing Jonouchi defeat Ryuzaki and win his first victory in the KC Cup, the audience couldn't help but feel happy for him.

Everyone had a happy expression on their face, but Hayato noticed that Keihei, who was sitting next to him, was listening to the report on the communication channel with one hand on his earpiece, and his face was not good at all.

"I wrote that, how could it be wrong?"

"The data channels are all occupied. Haven't you tried shutting down the machines?"

"It's in the same system as the one at the Dome? What idiot designed that?!"

"Brother? Then it's alright."

"I'll be right there."

Hayato wasn't the only one to notice Keipai's serious expression; Yugi did too. Seeing him remove his hand from his earpiece, Yugi asked, "What's wrong, Keipai-san?"

"Well, but not from the Dome area, it's the Seahorse Park building next door." Guiping looked around, sighed, and lowered his voice to say, "It's not convenient to go into too much detail here. Anyway, I probably won't be able to watch the rest of the matches. Sorry, Yugi and Hayato."

As he spoke, Guiping stood up apologetically: "Although I am looking forward to your duel, I must, as expected, fulfill my duties as the vice president of the Haima Group."

"Something happened at the Seahorse Park?" Hayato asked, puzzled. In his memory, the KC Cup in the original timeline had also had problems, but those were in the last few rounds, because of that "Siegfried" thing. It seemed a bit too early for problems to appear now.

Moreover, even if that guy who looks like he came out of Norse mythology is going to cause trouble, he should be here to disrupt the KC Cup that is in full swing at the Seahorse Dome, not to cause trouble at the Seahorse Paradise building next door, which was completed around the same time as the Seahorse Dome.

To maximize the interest of casual viewers unfamiliar with Duel Monsters, the KC Cup preliminary duels, with 64 participants, will consist of 32 matches spread over two days. Before each participant's turn, no one can predict their opponent; the match is entirely randomized on-site.

—Incidentally, Kaiba, unusually, didn't get bored with the old system and instead brought out the "Blue-Eyes White Dragon Lottery Machine GO! GO!" that he used on the "St. Anne" airship in Duel City for the lottery—

However, the participants could find out in advance whether they had matches today, so they could manage their time accordingly. Duelists with matches today naturally waited at the Kaiba Dome, while those without matches could choose to stay and observe to gather information or leave on their own. Of course, most duelists chose the former.

The duels between Jonouchi and Mai are scheduled for today, while Hayato and Yugi's matches are both tomorrow. Kaiba will also be dueling tomorrow.

If they hadn't been assigned to different groups and wouldn't have faced each other beforehand, Hayato guessed that Kaiba had definitely pulled some tricks again to put them together in order to play cards with him; it wasn't like he hadn't done this kind of thing before.

Hayato stayed at the venue to watch the battles because he wanted to see if there were any duelists he needed to be wary of, such as Amelda and the "Three Musketeers of Doma," or whether Jonouchi, Yugi, and Kaiba had printed new cards to surprise him. He also wanted to see what kind of person that guy whose real name was probably "Siegfried" had changed into and whether he needed to expose his conspiracy in advance.

However, since Haima Group is in trouble, and I'm just sitting around doing nothing anyway, I'm happy to lend a hand.

"Do you need me to come with you, Keihei?" Hayato also stood up. "Anyway, it's just a bunch of rotten potatoes and stinky bird eggs coming up, so it's fine if we don't look at them. I'll go with you, so I can lend a hand."

"That would be perfect, thank you, Hayato-kun."

Far away, Baron, sitting in his seat, grabbed a piece of popcorn and tossed it high into the air, tilting his head back slightly so that the falling popcorn would land right in his mouth. Just as he was having fun, his gaze caught sight of Hayato and Keihei leaving their seats and heading off through the emergency exit to some unknown place.

"Hayato Kobayashi? What's that guy up to?"

Tilting his head, Baron looked away, somewhat bored.

Compared to Rafiel, the loyal dog who obeys "that person" without question, and Ameruda, who only has revenge on Seto Kaiba in his eyes, Baron is the least ambitious of the "Three Musketeers of Doma".

This is not meant in a derogatory way, because Baron's personal philosophy is to maintain a peaceful life, finding contentment in self-sufficiency. He is not overly obsessed with winning or losing, nor does he dwell on troubles, nor does he create enemies that keep him up at night. This is his attitude towards the world, and it is also his happiness.

However, if he had to fight with someone, he was confident that he would not lose to anyone else.

The only reason the three of them participated in the KC Cup was because Ameruda wanted to come. Baron had little interest in becoming the first place winner and showing his face. In his opinion, it would be enough for him to be a fourth place winner who was neither too dazzling nor too bad.

If Baron were to encounter Hayato in a duel, he might get serious and go all out. It wouldn't be to prove that he's stronger than the Duel King; he'd mainly be thinking of taking the three Egyptian God cards that "that person" had mentioned as having important significance from Hayato Kobayashi, as a way of repaying "that person" for getting him out of prison.

However, Baron had already seen that Kobayashi Hayato, who was using the alias "Dan Kuroto," was going to fight tomorrow, while his own duel was scheduled for today. It was unlikely that the two would face off in the short term.

Although he does have some desire to win, Baron isn't so desperate for victory that he'd resort to any means necessary. Why go looking for Kobayashi Hayato when he could just enjoy playing with popcorn?

Thinking this, Baron tossed another popcorn into the air, but his other free hand reached into his pocket to send a message to his companions sitting elsewhere:

【Armor Protection】—"I just saw Hayato Kobayashi. That guy left the competition area with a kid. I wonder where they went."

Baron, knowing Amelda's obsession with Seto Kaiba and that she had even included Hayato Kobayashi on her list of opponents to defeat, sent this message to see how Amelda would react to his instigation. However, after a period of silence in their "Doma Three Musketeers" discussion group, Amelda sent another message:

[I heard that the natural enemy of seahorses is sea snakes] - "I have absolutely no interest in that guy Hayato Kobayashi. Baron, if you want to duel him, go ahead. I don't care."

【Ah~ Ethos】—"Ameruda, I remember you really wanted to duel with Kobayashi Hayato before, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

[Armor Protection] – "Have you dueled with him?"

[I've heard that seahorses' natural enemy is sea snakes] — "No way!"

[I heard that the natural enemy of the seahorse is the sea snake] - "Ahem, the main thing is that I think it's not a good thing to disturb Kobayashi Hayato too early, since he is the most famous duelist in the world and has shown his strength in public. For the sake of 'that person's' plan, we should wait until the time is right before challenging him to a duel and taking 'those cards'."

[I've heard that the seahorse's natural enemy is the sea snake] — "I solemnly declare that I have never fought him before, nor have I ever lost, and I've never been disgusted by him!"

【Armor Protection】—"Yes, yes, there is no connection between the two."

Baron gave a perfunctory reply of "Ameruda," and sighed in disappointment.

Ameruda can't even lie properly. Anyone can see that he must have faced off against Kobayashi Hayato at some point during the auditions, and lost, and lost in a very frustrating way.

Just as he was about to put his phone away and check the duel that had already started in the arena to kill time, with a "buzz," Baron noticed that a new message had appeared in their three-person discussion group, and the content of it surprised him quite a bit.

【Ah~ Ethos】—"Indeed, it's not appropriate to reveal our purpose so early. However, I think we should still do some basic observation. I'll go over there."

Rafael went to see Hayato Kobayashi again?

Huh? Why did I say "again"?

————Ah~Sherry————

Seto Kaiba is the president of the well-known Kaiba Group, a genius inventor, a legendary duelist, and a severe card addict who feels uncomfortable if he doesn't play cards for a day.

Although it sounds like a fantasy, Seto Kaiba's most genuine wish is indeed to build Kaiba theme parks all over the world.

The seahorse, who is usually so aloof, has such a childlike wish, which is just as surprising as a Fanma alien claiming that his favorite toy is a pink plush rabbit.

However, the only wish of the seahorse is to build a seahorse park for children to play in. Considering the different customs and traditions of different countries, it is understandable that the game facilities inside the seahorse park should be adapted to local conditions, right?

Following behind Keihei, Hayato passed a game room. Listening to the sounds of whips, wails, and the rustling of cotton leaves as they were being picked, Hayato felt a surge of urge to make sarcastic remarks. However, considering that such comments might lead to the end of the world, he decided to hold back for now.

The difference between this first seahorse park in the American region and the one in Domino City is beyond description; they're practically two different worlds. Hayato's earlier mention of American features is secondary; the biggest difference lies in this seahorse park—

Surprisingly, there was no blue-eyed white dragon!

Seemingly noticing Hayato's confusion, Keipai explained, "Hayato-nii, you must be wondering why there isn't his favorite Blue-Eyes White Dragon in this seahorse park, right?"