Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

He didn't seem to be preparing tributes or having special summoning conditions as he would in a typical duel. The moment Bakura placed the card on the unfolded duel disk, a cold, blue arm with ball joints pierced out from the shadows beneath his feet, narrowly missing Jonouchi's eyes.

Feeling the chilling killing intent brush against his nose, Jonouchi broke out in a cold sweat. He had only taken two or three steps when, inexplicably, he paused halfway through. That single moment saved his life; otherwise, he would have been pierced from bottom to top by that extremely dangerous-looking arm!

"Wow, that was close!" Jonouchi was so startled that he involuntarily took half a step back. Then, the sudden fright and his previous dissatisfaction turned into anger. "Bakura, you actually want to kill me? If that's the case, then I'll take action too!"

"Come forth, [Lightning Warrior - Guildford], [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon], and [Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon]!"

In his haste, Jonouchi drew three monster cards in one go, not caring what they were, and threw them all onto the Duel Disk. Just as Bakura's [Dark Doll - Nicolofia] emerged from the shadows, Jonouchi's three monsters also appeared before him.

But upon seeing the appearance of the three monsters within Jonouchi, Bakura sneered, "What an idiot, Jonouchi."

Before Jonouchi could understand what Bakura meant, his [Lightning Warrior - Guildford] and [Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon] attacked [Dark Doll - Nicolofia].

With an attack power of only 2200, [Dark Doll - Nicolofia] was no match for [Lightning Warrior - Guilford] and [Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon], both with an attack power of 2800. She was killed by the two monsters working together in just one exchange.

However, as the Dark Doll - Nicolofia was destroyed, an eerie black mist emerged from the doll's remains, entangling the Lightning Warrior - Guilford and the Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon. Jonouchi's breathing quickened, and his body felt so heavy that he almost knelt on the ground.

"This is……"

"That's why I called you an idiot. You don't actually think that a Duel Monster materialized out of thin air consumes nothing, do you? Even a little knowledge of the law of conservation of energy wouldn't lead you to such a thought, you idiot, Jonouchi."

Bakura said smugly, and two red lights shone from the black mist surrounding him. Then, from the slightly dissipating black mist, the [Lightning Warrior - Guilford] and [Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon] from within the castle actually stepped out and stood on Bakura's side!?

Hayato wasn't surprised. Now that Duel Monsters had materialized into reality, they could no longer follow the rules of the Duel Monsters game. [Dark Doll - Nicolopia] possessed the ability to seize control of the opponent's monster after being destroyed; it seemed Jonouchi's reckless attack had fallen into Bakura's trap.

"The life force that fills the air and is extracted from the bodies of ordinary people is the key to the Duel Monsters' ability to manifest. However, the mere appearance of the Duel Monsters has already drained the surrounding basic elements, and for them to move, duelists need to contribute their own power."

Bakura laughed smugly, "In other words, after your monster, sustained by your life force, destroyed my monster, it became a tool under my control because of the effect of my monster."

"You'll reap what you sow, Jonouchi!"

With a wave of his hand, Bakura ordered the two monsters to attack Jonouchi. He then looked at Yugi and Hayato with malice and said, "Go ahead and try to stop me, Hayato Kobayashi and Yugi Muto. If you attack these two monsters, it will only be Jonouchi who gets hurt."

Upon hearing this, Yuqi said resentfully, "Damn it, why is it the same old trick again? It's so disgusting to use this method every time!"

The negative reviews of the game actually made Bakura very happy: "No, not disgusting at all. This is what they call 'one trick pony'!"

Just like the barrier formed by Honda and his companions' life force, Bakura is now using the same old trick of "monsters controlled by Jonouchi's life force," which is hardly refreshing.

However, the game must also admit that this move is still disgusting. If what Bakura said is true, then he really cannot attack the two monsters controlled by Bakura.

Just as the two monsters previously controlled by Jonouchi were about to attack Jonouchi's final [Demon Dragon - Dark Demon Dragon] and "seek their own death", two pink lights suddenly flew out from the side and landed on [Lightning Warrior - Guildford] and [Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon].

Seeing Bakura's gaze turn in his direction, Hayato shook the card in his hand: "[Change of Heart], because it's no longer a proper duel, it's not a problem to take control of two monsters at once."

"Have you forgotten, Bakura-kun? This is the card you gave me."

"That card was clearly stolen from me by you, you bastard!" How could Bakura not remember [Change of Heart]? Including [Summoning Exophysis], there are still several cards that Hayato stole from Bakura during the Duel Kingdom era that he still uses in his duels to this day.

"Let's play the game."

Jonouchi suffered a setback due to his recklessness, and Hayato was controlling the two monsters he had just acquired. Now it was Yugi's turn to act. Coincidentally, there were no monsters blocking Bakura's path at the moment.

Yugi nodded, drew cards from the top of his deck without even shuffling them, and slammed them onto the Duel Disk, shouting their names: "Go! [Dark Magician]! [Dark Magician Girl]!"

"Black Magic Blast!!"

"Oh no, Kobayashi Hayato!" His plan was so perfect, with each step leading to the next, but this time it was Kobayashi Hayato who ruined it again. Watching Yugi command the [Dark Magician] master and apprentice to comfortably attack him with their magic spheres, Bakura gritted his teeth.

However, the ferocity on his face suddenly turned into a sneer: "You still overlooked one thing, Kobayashi Hayato, you deliberately let Muto Yugi deliver the final blow to me!"

"If I remember correctly, that guy Rafael deliberately appeared in front of you and lost the card [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria] to you, or rather, to you, Yugi Muto!"

"What a pity, what a pity! I knew that card would fall into Yugi Muto's hands, so I tampered with it long ago. You're finished, Yugi Muto! No, the nameless pharaoh!"

"Once I activate the power of the [Millennium Eye] hidden within, triggering a magical outburst from [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria], your [Millennium Puzzle] will be sealed away!"

"Now's the time! I've reached my limit, I'm going to press it!"

Before Yugi's attack could hit him, Bakura, speaking at lightning speed, rattled off a long speech as if in time-stop commentary. He then put his hands on his hips and looked at Yugi expectantly, wanting to see him collapse in pain.

However, to his surprise, even after the attacks from [Dark Magician] and [Dark Magician Girl] hit him, the game status remained unchanged.

Jonouchi, who was barely standing, pulled out a card from his pocket under Bakura's wide-eyed glare: "What a pity, Rafael already told us about that."

"You didn't even choose to help your own collaborators, you're such a failure!"

"Buga—!!!"

Bakura was sent flying by the attack from the Dark Magician master and apprentice, even leaving a large pool of blood in mid-air. But as he flew backward, Bakura laughed loudly: "You fell for it, Hayato Kobayashi! This is my escape route!"

While flying backward, Bakura took advantage of being knocked away to grab a card that was originally some distance away from him, and then his whole body was enveloped in shadow: "When it comes to strategy, you still can't beat me, Bakura!"

The shadow instantly engulfed Bakura and the card in his hand, and in the next second, the Dark Knight Gaia's lance missed its mark by a hair's breadth.

The moment Bakura and the blank card disappeared, the figures of the Duel Monsters that appeared in front of Jonouchi, Hayato, and Yugi also faded quickly, and Jonouchi felt the pressure on his body ease.

The mutation has come to an end.

Amid Seto Kaiba's busy post-event handling, the first KC Cup came to an end, with no one winning the championship or qualifying to duel the King of Duel.

However, what many participants didn't know was that the guy named "Dan Kuroto" who blocked their path to higher rankings was actually the Duel King they wanted to challenge.

Chapter 470 Malik is incredibly brave!

During the KC Cup, a large-scale coma involving more than 10,000 people occurred. How did the KC Cup organizer, Haima Group, the co-organizer, International Illusion Society, and the governor who did not want his political career to end there manage to suppress the incident?

The answer is: gas leak.

The whole "Duel Monster materialization" thing is an illusion caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. The few casualties were simply because they inhaled too much gas and died—how perfectly reasonable!

Moreover, a scapegoat has been found: Chigurhfried von Schreid, the president of the Schreid Group, who participated in the KC Cup under an assumed name.

As for his reasons for doing so, "jealousy of Haima Group" and "conflict of interest" are sufficient. Moreover, the fact that he concealed his identity and participated in the KC Cup, which was open to everyone, makes him an exceptionally suspicious suspect.

Not only did uninformed bystanders believe it, but even the person who made the public relations statement himself believed it.

A street in Times Square, New York.

"I never expected that Chigurhfrid would do something like that."

"Ha, those rich people are always like this. They don't care about other people's lives because of their own jealousy. They're capitalists and nobles at the same time. They've stacked all the buffs."

"But Haima Group is really unlucky. They invested so much here but encountered such a thing, and it just so happens that it was Schreid Group that did it. There was no way to avoid it."

"A fake business war: strategizing and seizing the initiative, using economic gaps to short the stock market; a real business war: the CEO himself directly participates in poisoning, and is arrested if the poisoning fails."

"But after this, Haima Group probably won't do business in the United States anymore, right?"

"You're overthinking it. How could capital possibly abandon a market that no one has yet occupied? I even think there's a good chance that Haima Group will use this incident to play the victim..."

Hayato, sitting on the plastic table at a roadside food stall, watched two passersby walk away. He then put the fries he had been holding in his mouth into his mouth, savoring the aroma of potatoes, the creamy scent of butter, and the sweet and sour taste of ketchup as they mingled in his mouth.

Unlike Hayato, who prefers to savor each bite slowly, Malik, sitting opposite him, tends to grab a handful and stuff it into his mouth, enjoying the crispy texture of frying rather than seasoning.

After swallowing the large mouthful he had just stuffed in his mouth, Malik turned his head and looked at the two people who had just passed by walking in the direction behind him. He sneered, "Making such self-righteous comments about the Seahorse Group and the Schreid Group, when you can't even tell if your own shoes are real or fake."

"It should be true, right? After all, those two seemed to be going to play basketball? It's really mean to be told your shoes are fake on the court." Hayato clapped his hands nonchalantly, brushing the salt off his palms. He looked at Malik, "But you, you actually ran away from the hospital."

"Hehe, I can't stand being cooped up in the hospital bed, so I ran away while my sister wasn't looking." Malik laughed smugly, grabbing another handful of fries.

Although Malik laughed heartily, Hayato hadn't forgotten the frustrated look on Malik's face when he was scolded by Isis after being sent to the hospital.

Of Malik, Lishid, and Isis, Lishid was the oldest.

Although there is a saying that "the eldest brother is like a father," Rishid was always raised to be a servant. Even though Malik always regarded him as his own brother, and Isis had already bestowed upon Rishid the official surname "Ishdar" as the head of the Ishdar family, he still considered himself a servant.

Although he was very grateful to Isis for her forgiveness and thanked Malik for treating him like a brother, Lishid always had a sense of inferiority. It was fine for him to obey the two siblings' orders, but it was too much to ask him to point out and reprimand Malik's recklessness and mistakes.

However, the fact that Lishid wouldn't criticize Malik doesn't mean that Isis wouldn't either.

Although Isis herself has a gentle personality, gentleness does not mean weakness. Having already lost Malik once, and even almost watched her younger brother die, Isis is now quite strict with the reformed Malik.

It's not that she gets angry; she just points out Malik's mistakes again and again, without being sharp, but like cutting flesh with a dull knife, using Malik's own guilt to make him suffer.

It can be said that it has a very strong underworld style inherited from the tomb-guarding clan. Not only do they play cards in the underworld, but they also speak in the underworld. Only in this way can they be considered wholesome.

Malik's reckless act of risking his life had a good outcome: everyone was saved, there were no casualties except for a few accidental deaths, and Malik himself was not in any danger. However, he still received a good lecture from Isis.

Having embarked on his second life, Malik understands the preciousness of family much better than his rebellious self. Therefore, he obediently accepts Isis's lectures without resistance. However, although he can clearly sense the concern in Isis's words, it doesn't prevent Malik from feeling annoyed.

"Speaking of which, it's all because of you, brother-in-law. You actually told my sister that she came to America too." Malik said with a smirk. "If you had helped me keep it a secret, this would have been just between the two of us. Maybe I would have even helped you pursue my sister in the future. Ugh, I got scolded. It's all your fault."

"So how many times do I have to say it? Who's your brother-in-law? It's not even close to happening..."

Hayato paused mid-sentence, his phone vibrating slightly in his pocket. A mischievous smile involuntarily crossed his face, which he forcibly suppressed. Standing up, Hayato, mimicking Malik, stuffed the last handful of fries into his mouth and ate them in a few bites, then said to Malik:

"Alright, but since we're out here, how about you come with me somewhere? I'll show you some good stuff."

"Great news? It's a new game!"

"Wow, this is even better than a new game! Come with me and you'll see!"

Hayato pulled his hand out of his pocket, waving a piece of paper between his fingers. The paper read, "177A Brick Street, Greenwich, New York."

Although the KC Cup is held in San Francisco, which is quite a distance from New York where Hayato and his friends are now, this story begins with the changes that occurred during the KC Cup.

Haima Group has been quite sincere in its public relations approach to handling this "gas leak" incident. It not only publicly stated that its Haima theme park in the United States would be open to the public free of charge for one month, but also expressed its responsibility for the health of all affected visitors.

Haima Group has promised that victims who purchased seats on the day of the incident can receive medical assistance from Haima Group based on their tickets, or receive compensation for mental distress that is less than the quoted price for medical services.

In other words, they used money to settle things. And coincidentally, Haima Group is never short of money.

Of course, among the honest and simple American people, there are some opportunistic individuals who want to use this to extort money from Haima Group. This is when Haima Group's legal team comes into play.

Not only did their extortion attempt fail, but the group was also accused by Haima's legal team of "profiteering from the crisis" and "being instigated by ulterior motives," which ironically helped Haima Group extricate itself from the crisis more quickly.

Of course, such people are only a minority. Most people think that it's just fainting for a short time and then getting a large sum of money without losing anything is just too good to be true. Only a small number of people are suspicious and worried about their health, so they choose to undergo a comprehensive medical examination.

Although some people choose this option because they feel that the value of medical services is higher than receiving money directly.

However, as is well known, although Haima Group was once an arms group, it had already expanded its business into the medical field long before Haima took over and before the group was still in the hands of Haima Gangsaburo. However, it did not officially merge into Haima Group but instead opened a separate company as a front.

Although Gosaburo Kaiba's original purpose was to study the human body, specifically the connection between the brain and electronic signals, even he did not expect that the medical industry could generate such huge profits if it was slightly unscrupulous, especially since the main business of the Kaiba Group was actually selling weapons that could cause injury.

Selling weapons that can harm others on one hand, and medicines that can be used to treat those who have been harmed on the other, is like selling maltose while also selling insulin on the other – it's incredibly profitable.

After Kaiba Gosaburo's death, the Kaiba Group fell into Kaiba's hands, as did the medical group, which came in handy. Although the quoted prices for medical services were high, Kaiba was actually only paying the cost price, which was cheaper than paying outright. Kaiba was happy to have patients generate revenue for his hospital.

Another reason for the hospital's high prices is that the hospital controlled by this medical group is not actually located in San Francisco, where prices are already high, but in New York, where prices are even higher than in California. Many people, including Honda and Malik, were sent here for medical services.

Before Malik was sent away, Hayato had also sent a message to Isis telling her what had happened at the KC Cup. So, shortly after Malik was sent to a hospital in New York, Isis also took a flight to New York.

This led to the scene at the beginning where Malik, overwhelmed with guilt, escaped from the hospital and approached Hayato, who was eating fries in Times Square.

Hayato wasn't exactly idle; the note in his hand was actually his purpose for today. It was given to him by Samejima, whom he had met at the KC Cup, who told him to go to this address.