Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Besides Jaden and Manjoume, Hayato also saw Amon Garam, whom he had encountered during the preliminary rounds. Garam's Cloud Monster, which cannot be destroyed in battle, was quite troublesome even for professional duelists. After a hard-fought battle, Hayato was defeated and became yet another duelist defeated by a child.

Honestly, many of them came for the prize money and glory of the championship, but in reality, most of them also knew that it wouldn't be their turn. It was enough to make a name for themselves in the official competition and receive investment. Even if they were defeated in the first round, it didn't matter, as long as they could show their strength.

The problem is that no matter how strong you are, when your opponent is a kid who hasn't even reached adulthood, the more serious you are, the more embarrassing it is, not to mention you'll lose.

Although the KC Cup was a tournament that Kaiba intended to use to promote Duel Monsters, so there was no "entry fee" for the participants, there was no concept of profit or loss regardless of winning or losing. However, duelists who lost to kids like Jaden, Manjoume, and Amon could only be described as having lost badly.

He's made a name for himself, but he's a "professional duelist who can't even beat a kid." So, attracting new investors is out of the question, and retaining existing ones is a problem too.

Meanwhile, one person was in a pretty good mood.

Sitting in front of the TV, Masaji Manjoume watched as Jun Manjoume, who had just defeated a professional duelist, was left all alone after his family went to America. He then proudly boasted about it in an online chat room.

He thought to himself, "Maybe some girls will be interested in this."

Clearly, this guy's motives weren't pure at all, but on the internet, who knows if the person on the other end is a human or a ghost?

Chapter 407 Okay, this time our opponent will play electronic flow.

The first day of the KC Cup has come to an end. According to Guiping, the television broadcast of the KC Cup was free on the first day. Any TV station, media outlet, or video platform that wanted to broadcast it could do so.

However, starting the next day, Haima began charging fees, and it was a rather unreasonable price increase, with the broadcasting fee determined based on the previous day's ratings.

The result was that they made a lot of money from the sale, but Hayato estimated that the TV stations that paid for the rights shouldn't lose money. After all, these capitalists are very shrewd, and they can quickly make back the money lost through broadcasting.

Guiping, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. After all, as a fellow KC Cup participant, he had delegated everything to Kaiba, even after he had been eliminated. He was thinking of showing Kaiba just how much responsibility involved in organizing an event.

Whether it was because he had too many responsibilities or some other reason, Hayato didn't look too good when he saw Kaiba early in the morning, even after receiving the broadcast fee. It made people wonder if he was going through early menopause.

Standing on the stage and looking around, Seahorse, who needed to protect his voice because he was going to have a duel today, unusually did not choose to show off in the helicopter, but instead stood "down-to-earth" on the dueling platform in the center of the Seahorse Dome.

Noticing the subtle look Hayato gave him, Kaiba snorted and announced, "Today is the second day of the KC Cup official competition. In yesterday's sixteen matches, thirty-two duelists have completed their debut on this stage."

“So today, the remaining thirty-two duelists will continue their duels, including myself, Seto Kaiba, the well-known duelist Yugi Muto, and,” Kaiba glared at Hayato, a cold smile playing on his lips, “some ‘unknown’ but quite powerful duelists.”

"Well then, let them put on a spectacular show of Duel Monsters. Today's winner will face off against yesterday's top 32 in an ultimate free-for-all tomorrow."

"Look forward to it!"

After saying that, Kaiba's gaze remained fixed on Hayato, giving Hayato a sudden sense of unease.

However, Hayato didn't pay too much attention to it.

Although Kaiba also has a duel today, he and Hayato are not in the same group. Even if he wanted to cheat, he would have to wait until the semifinals of the top four, not now.

However, Hayato clearly underestimated Kaiba's vengeful nature and his displeasure.

Yesterday, Haima sent Isono to capture the audacious hacker who had infiltrated the Haima Group, but an accident occurred halfway there, and Isono and the security personnel in the same vehicle ended up in the hospital. Although they have recovered, Haima insisted that they continue to recuperate in the hospital, "so as not to tarnish the Haima Group's reputation while they are still injured."

That's why Kaiba took over the job that originally belonged to Isono and became the host at the opening ceremony. Of course, there were still referees during the duel, but Kaiba wasn't responsible for that.

What truly annoyed Kaiba was the person he encountered yesterday after arriving at the location of Isono and the others' accident. Because this person seemed to possess the truth behind Isono and the others' incident, Kaiba engaged in a fierce duel with the man who called himself "Rafael."

Kaiba thought that dealing with this cowardly fellow who used a clearly fake name to hide his true identity would be easy, but during the duel, he discovered that the man named Rafael possessed extremely strong dueling skills. Not only could he block Kaiba's overwhelming attacks, but he could also make brilliant and powerful counterattacks time and time again.

On the surface, such an opponent would be very satisfying for Haima's card addiction?

No, because Kaiba discovered that the man named Rafael actually held back a lot during the duel. He could have turned the tide of the battle and won, but time and time again he didn't choose to attack because he wanted to keep the monsters on his field from being destroyed.

How could anyone give up an easy victory just to avoid sending a monster to the graveyard? Because he had played cards with Hayato many times, Kaiba had come to believe that "giving up an old friend for victory" was a perfectly normal thing, so he was extremely annoyed by Rafael's behavior and thought that Rafael was looking down on him.

Despite his anger, what frustrated Kaiba was that even though he repeatedly held back, the man named Rafael was still able to block the attacks of Blue-Eyes White Dragon time and time again, and even when Kaiba used Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and his trump card in the duel.

In the end, Rafael seemed to have achieved his goal of delaying time and testing his abilities, so he stopped the duel and left, leaving behind a "magic circle" that greatly displeased the superstitious Kaiba, trapping him for a long time before it dissipated with the arrival of an ambulance.

Upon returning to the Kaiba Corporation, Kaiba began investigating the man who called himself "Rafael." By comparing and analyzing data collected from Kaiba's specially made Duel Disk, Kaiba discovered that the man named "Rafael" was very likely a legendary figure known as the "Guardian" in the American Duel Monsters professional duelist circle.

The reason it is called legendary is because the "Guardian" never shows his face in public or participates in any competitions. However, many people in the American duelist circle have fought against him and lost. In fact, no one has ever defeated him, which has earned the "Guardian" the title of "Uncrowned King".

To gain the recognition of the American duelists, even becoming the All-American Champion like the former "Thief" Keith or the current Rebecca won't suffice; only by defeating the "Guardian" can one truly be considered the strongest in America.

When the KC Cup was being held, Haima Group naturally extended an invitation to the "Guardian" based on the rumors. However, they received no reply whatsoever. Haima never expected to meet the "Guardian" under such circumstances, especially since he participated in the KC Cup under the name "Rafael".

Even though he had been invited before, he didn't come and instead participated under a concealed name. Kaiba was convinced that there must be some secret behind him, so he casually found the list of participants that Rafael had registered for.

Upon inspection, the seahorse was delighted.

A registration form can register six duelists. On Rafael's registration form, five names could not be found in the data reports obtained by Kaiba Corporation. They were "Rafael", "Baron", "Ameruda", "Kig Lloyd", and "Dan Kuroto", the fake identity used by Hayato.

Apart from one person named "Samejima Iemitsu" who has a confirmed entry record and whom Kaiba has heard of, the other five people are most likely using pseudonyms, which really amused Kaiba.

Alright, apart from "Dan Lidou", the other four people are all under close surveillance.

After issuing such an order to the security department, which was furious about the attack on their leader, Haima also "casually" made a "casual" adjustment to the duel schedule for the second day of the KC Cup.

The duel between "Rafiru", "Baron", and "Ameruda" had already taken place yesterday, and Kaiba couldn't possibly have them have an extra match today. However, the duel with "Chigu Lloyd" hadn't taken place yet, and since he happened to be in the same group as Yugi, Kaiba decided to have Yugi test out that guy for him.

That left only Samejima Iemitsu and Dan Kuroto on the list, and what a coincidence, they were even in the same group! So—

"Yesterday's opening duel was Jonouchi's, and today it's me? I don't believe Kaiba didn't pull some tricks." Hayato muttered to himself as he walked out of the contestants' preparation room and onto the dueling platform.

Although they all know their identities in the game, Hayato is actually still using the power of the Millennium Scepter. It's only because Keihei and Jonouchi are on Hayato's whitelist that they can recognize him. No matter how other viewers look at it, they would never associate "Dan Kuroto" with Hayato.

Hayato naturally chose to continue playing the role of "game administrator".

Samejima was a bit slower. He walked up the steps from the opposite side after Hayato took the stage, holding the deck that had been shuffled by the referee. He looked at Hayato with a slightly hesitant expression.

"My name is Dan Kuroto. Unfortunately, your KC Cup journey will end in my hands." Hayato placed his deck into the Duel Disk slot, and as the Duel Disk unfolded with a "click," a healthy smile appeared on Hayato's face. "So, enjoy this game I'm offering."

Upon hearing Dan Kuroto's words, Samejima simply smiled and said, "I'm sorry, although the philosophy of 'Electronic Flow' is to respect the opponent, I don't want to leave the KC Cup like this."

He activated his deck by placing it into the Duel Disk: "My name is Samejima Iemitsu, the master of Cyberse Freedom, and the current instructor."

“I’ve heard that you also use a cyber deck. Although I don’t know the origin of your Cyber ​​Dragon, I’m sure a duel of the heart will provide the answer. So, I will give it my all in this duel.”

Please enlighten me!

Hayato's smile widened: "Cyber ​​Stream versus Cyber ​​Stream, huh? Well then, as you wish, let's decide the theme of this game be Ultimate Cyber ​​Stream."

"So…"

"Duel!" x2

【Dan Kuroto: 4000 LP】

Samejima: 4000 LP

"I'll take the first turn, draw a card!" Samejima seized the first turn and drew a card from his deck.

After glancing at his hand, Samejima declared: "I activate the Spell Card, Time Capsule, banishing one card from my deck and adding it to my hand during my second Standby Phase after activation."

"Then, I activated the spell card [Angel's Charity], drawing three cards from my deck and discarding two cards from my hand."

After playing two cards from his hand in quick succession, Samejima did not disappoint Hayato, playing the move he was expected to make: "Summon a monster in face-down defense position, then set all four cards in my hand face down, and end my turn."

The mighty Electron Flow launched a preemptive T-shaped attack; well done, Samejima!

Chapter 408 Electron Flow? And Electron Flow?

Samejima: 4000LP, 0 card in hand

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

[Time Capsule] [Gaicard] X4

Despite the complaints, the five card backs that Samejima revealed on the field were quite intimidating, much more dangerous than Jonouchi's card backs that often resulted in empty back rows. Hayato had to be more careful.

"Well then, it's my turn, draw a card!" Hayato drew a card and added it to his hand. The card he drew was [Pot of Greed], a god-tier card draw item with no cost. No matter the situation, it's always right to prioritize drawing more cards.

"I'll activate the card I just drew, [Pot of Greed]." Hayato placed the [Pot of Greed] card into his Duel Disk, while reaching into his deck to draw another card.

Just then, Samejima opened his face card: "Then chain your [Pot of Greed], I open my face card, Perpetual Trap [Illusion of Desire]!"

A card in Samejima's back row was opened, and before Hayato's "Pot of Greed" took effect, some ominous-looking green spores were put into the pot in advance, and the two cards Hayato drew were also contaminated with green bacteria.

"【Illusion of Desire】is a card specifically designed to target card draw actions outside of the draw phase. At the end of the turn in which either duelist has used a card effect to draw a card, they will receive effect damage equal to 500 points for each card drawn."

"Unlimited desires can lead people into darkness, Dan Kuroto."

“Only the weak are controlled by mere desires. My abilities are far more terrifying than you can imagine. Besides, it’s not Dan Kuroto, it’s King Dan Kuroto!” Hayato said, drawing a card. “Cyber ​​Stream Duelist Samejima Iemitsu. You must be familiar with this kind of monster, right?”

"I activate the Spell Card [Power Fusion], and the ATK of the Machine-Type Fusion Monster fused and summoned by this card's effect will increase by its original ATK value!"

"However, powerful cards often come with risks. At the end of this turn, I will have to take damage from the increased attack power of that Fusion Monster."

"Could it be...?" Samejima's eyes narrowed. "They're actually going to summon it in the very first round!"

Hayato drew three cards: "The fusion materials I'm going to use are the three Cyber ​​Dragons in my hand! I have three Level 5 monsters, I'm going to go for it!"

"Witness my power, and the ultimate despair, the perfect and ultimate [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon]!"

As [Power Bond] was activated, the three [Cyber ​​Dragons] in Hayato's hand were projected onto the field, drawing closer together and enveloped in a welding-like glow. For a moment, even Hayato's eyes were filled with a "desire for welding."

After the light faded, under the watchful eyes of everyone inside the seahorse egg, the mechanically constructed three-headed dragon spread its metal wings, and its three uniquely shaped heads slowly raised, looking down at Shark Island and roaring.

【Electronic Terminator Dragon】【10☆/Light】

[Mechanical Race/Fusion/Effect]

【4000/2800→8000/2800】

Compared to the ridiculously large [Ultimate Transducer Terrorbeast] summoned by Ryuzaki in yesterday's opening duel, the size of [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon] can only be described as average. Many people also summoned large monsters yesterday.

However, if we compare attack power, Dan Kuroto's Cyber ​​End Dragon is undoubtedly number one, and it will be difficult for any monster to surpass this number in the upcoming duels.

As the one directly facing Cyber ​​Ender Dragon, Samejima also knew that while Cyber ​​Ender Dragon's attack power was increased by Power Bond, its own Defense Penetration effect, which "when attacking a Defense Position monster, inflict damage on the opponent for the portion of its attack power exceeding its defense power," was also retained.

In other words, even if a monster is in Defense Position, it is useless against Cyber ​​Dragon. And unless the monster that Samejima covers has a Defense Point of more than 4000, Dan Kuroto will only be defeated once Cyber ​​Dragon's attack passes through.

“It would be bad if [Cyber ​​End Dragon] attacked me.” Samejima frowned, probably because he didn’t have an invincible offensive trap like [Explosive Armor] set in his back row. “In that case, it’s fortunate that I set this card…”

"From this moment on, it's my battle phase, Samejima Iemitsu!" Hayato pointed at Samejima. "Do you dare disobey me, who possesses the [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon]?"

"Attack that monster in defense position, Cyber ​​Ender Dragon! There's no room for hidden bettors in this game!"

"A perfect conclusion strikes!"

Upon hearing Hayato's attack command, Samejima immediately pressed the button to activate the face-down card: "Before that, I'm going to activate this card, the Trap Card [Feint Battle]!"

"The effect of this card is that neither player can attack face-down monsters this turn!"

Samejima smiled and said, "It won't do to leave so early. I haven't yet witnessed the limits of your electron flow, Dan Kuroto."

Samejima's words made Hayato frown. Listening to Samejima's words, he felt that he was implying something. Could it be that he had already recognized him?