Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Just as Kaiba was beginning to anticipate what would happen next, Jaden surprised him by refusing to use the "battle rollback" rule: "No, I won't back down in a place like this, Mr. Kaiba."

"The final blow is against the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! It's truly exhilarating! Sage Neos will continue the attack!"

Seahorse snorted coldly: "Since it was your own choice, then there's no need to hold back. Counterattack, [Blue Eyes]!"

"Neutron Burst Stream!"

Facing the triple dragon breath unleashed by the three-headed ultimate dragon, [Sage Neocosmos] bravely charged forward despite having 3000 attack points, only to be swallowed up by the attack of [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon].

Seeing this, Kaiba was not surprised, after all, it was only natural that the invincible Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon could do this.

"Humph……"

But before Kaiba could even utter a word, he saw Sage Neos emerge from the torrent of light spewed out by Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, despite being covered in wounds, and deliver an uppercut that sent one of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's heads flying upwards!

"What?!"

Kaiba had no idea what was happening, and just then, Jaden's voice came from across the room.

"The Sage Neos, born from the union of my power and Yubel's, possesses the power of light and darkness. He is very strong; how could he easily fall before creating a miracle?" Jaden said, describing the effects of the Sage Neos.

"When battling with [Sage Neos], at the end of the Damage Step, inflict damage to the opponent's Battle Monster equal to its ATK, and restore my Life Point Battle Monster's DEF equal to its DEF."

After a pause, Jaden said with a smile, "In other words, Mr. Kaiba, you're going to take 4500 points of effect damage. What a coincidence."

"What?!" Kaiba's eyes widened as he watched the battle between [Sage Neos] and [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]. "Yaroo!"

4500 points of effect damage, isn't that the damage that Kaiba almost inflicted on Jaden with the Destruction Wheel?

“However, that effect only activates when the damage calculation is finished. Before that, you will take 1500 points of combat damage!” Kaiba said with a dark face.

For the seahorse, a victory that almost resulted in mutual destruction was not as desirable as a complete and utter defeat. Such a narrow victory was not what he wanted; his goal should have been a complete victory.

Judai didn't answer, but instead pointed to the face-down card on his back field that he hadn't revealed before, and pressed the button to activate the face-down card.

Kaiba's face darkened further. He suddenly realized that he must have been blind to have found Jaden's fighting style pleasing to the eye before.

【E·hero Sky Warrior】also turned around and saw the card that Jaden had opened, his face changed instantly—oh, the helmet was covering it.

"Quick-Play Spell Card [Mysterious Chinese Pot], rather than watching [Sky Hero] disappear after losing the duel, I might as well just stir-fry him and eat him, restoring his 1800 ATK to his base stats." Jaden snapped his fingers to show off, looking at [E·Hero Sky Hero].

"For the greater good, let us sacrifice ourselves!"

[10th Generation: 200→2000→500LP]

"Then, the [Sage Neos] ability! Deals 4500 points of damage to Mr. Kaiba!"

"Specium Ray!"

[Haima: 4000LP→0]

[Tenth Generation: 500 → 4300 LP]

【Sage Neos】disappeared after unleashing his last bit of power, taking with him Kaiba's 4000 life points, which were now as fragile as a candle flickering in the wind. In Kaiba's voice, the duel between the future Jaden Yuki and the 18-year-old Seto Kaiba came to a conclusion:

"Oh, Nore!!!"

Chapter 508 Who is the Traitor Dragon?

Even after summoning the all-resistant Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Jaden still couldn't defeat it until the very end. However, just as the invincible Six-Material Gunner couldn't protect the Duelist, Jaden seemed to be saying, "If I can't defeat the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, why can't I?"

For Jaden, the duel was a victory achieved through the combined efforts of himself and his Spirit—or perhaps his partner, lover?—[Yubel]; but for Kaiba, it was a humiliating defeat.

This is yet another case of having a complete advantage only to have the battle turned around by a single card or monster, and this is especially true given that the base score is a maximum of 4000 points.

His own Blue Eyes has undoubtedly evolved to an extremely powerful level. In terms of the "power" of the cards, he should be stronger than that kid who calls himself "Yuki Judai".

Kaiba snorted coldly at Jaden Yuki, who had a smug smile on his face and was saying, "What an interesting duel."

Although it was a desperate counterattack from the brink of death, and during the duel, Judai was always in a tightrope-walking state, as if he was about to fall into an endless abyss at any moment, it is an indisputable fact that he defeated himself.

To date, Kaiba knows no more than five duelists who are capable of challenging him.

There are two Yugi Mutos, Hayato Kobayashi, Pegasus who possesses the "Millennium Eye" state, and the guy Kaiba encountered in America during the KC Cup who seemed to be a "Guardian" and called himself "Raphael." As for Jonouchi? He's just a defeated opponent.

And now, we have to add another one, "Yuki Judai," who claims to be from the future.

Even Raphael, who rarely appeared in public, left behind a legend in the American professional duelist circle as the uncrowned king codenamed "Guardian." However, before today, Kaiba had never heard of a powerful duelist using this newly released [E·hero] deck.

This greatly increases the likelihood that the other party is indeed from the future.

The seahorse's face turned very pale.

His goal has always been to become the world's number one and dominate the world of Duel Monsters. To achieve this, Kaiba must constantly grow stronger and defeat all his previous opponents. However, before he could even defeat Hayato and Yugi, Kaiba discovered that there were already duelists stronger than himself in the future.

So, how strong will I be in the future? Will I successfully defeat Yugi and Hayato, or will I still be a little short of defeating them?

Or perhaps, my future self will also hit a bottleneck, just like my present self? Even someone as mediocre as Jonouchi might gradually grow stronger and surpass me!?

Unable to know what his future would hold, Kaiba was in a terrible mood. He glanced at the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon that was still on his Duel Disk. Although his expression remained icy, he was extremely agitated inside.

In his pursuit of the "power" of Duel Monsters, he has almost reached his limit. Whether it is the enhancement of [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] by [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] or the [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon] enhancement card [Ultimate Burst] developed by adopting the data of [True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], they are undoubtedly real enhancements.

However, he was still defeated by others before he became stronger than Hayato and Yugi.

Could it be that my pursuit of Duel Monsters focuses more on "power" rather than on the "spirit" of the cards, as Hayato and Yugi mentioned?

A moment of confusion flashed in the seahorse's eyes. A voice was about to reach its ears, but in the next instant, the seahorse's gaze suddenly hardened.

No, there was nothing wrong with the path I took. The only reason I failed was because of one thing.

That is, my pursuit of the card's "power" is only "approaching" the ultimate rather than "reaching" the ultimate. I should focus more on improving the card's power!

The sound of helicopter rotors filled his ears. Kaiba looked up and saw a helicopter bearing the logo of the International Illusion Society appear behind him, while the clock in the central square struck the hour. It was exactly noon when Kaiba's duel with Jaden Yuki ended, and Pegasus arrived precisely on time.

Remembering something, Kaiba turned to Yugi, Hayato, and the others who were watching him, and said calmly, "Based on the duel, I will temporarily believe your claims about the 'future' and 'time travel.' As for that strange Blue-Eyes White Dragon you're holding, the winner takes all, and I will not interfere further."

"You guys are attending Pegasus's so-called 'Duel Monster Tournament' today, right? Well then, continue to enjoy the victor's celebration." As he spoke, Kaiba walked towards his helicopter parked on the ground not far away. "However, I'm not going to play that game of ganging up with you."

The International Illusion Society's helicopter landed on the ground. Pegasus stepped out of the cabin with a strange look on his face, wondering where the participants of the "Duel Monster Tournament" who should have been here had gone. Just then, Kaiba also boarded the helicopter and glanced at Pegasus through the one-way glass.

When Pegasus possessed the "Millennium Eye," he had the bizarre ability to read minds, which once made Kaiba, a superstitious scientist, doubt whether superpowers truly existed, and he himself was defeated by Pegasus. However, after being rescued by Yugi and Hayato, Kaiba suddenly "figured out" Pegasus's tricks.

Can you guess what card I covered on the field?

They must have installed surveillance cameras in his castle!

What card is at the top of my deck?

The dueling arena must have been tampered with!

I'll pass out if I lose the duel?

He used a sleeping drug!

In short, Kaiba successfully "saw through" Pegasus's tricks one by one afterward, and Pegasus, after having his Millennium Eye taken away, no longer possessed the magic to see through people's hearts at will as before, which made Kaiba even more determined in his thoughts.

However, Kaiba's attention to Pegasus at this moment was not because of his strength in the duel, but because of something else.

During the KC Cup, Pegasus, as the president of the International Illusion Society, one of the organizers, naturally made an appearance. However, the day before that incident, which still has an impact today, occurred, Pegasus took the initiative to approach Kaiba and asked him for data on the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, saying that he had inspiration for developing a new card.

At that time, Kaiba casually handed over the data to Pegasus. After all, Kaiba had not yet fully developed the ability of "True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" and could only use the three-hit combo. "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" was a card on the verge of being put into storage in Kaiba's deck, but it stubbornly occupied a place because it was "Blue-Eyes".

Kaiba also hopes that Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon can shine anew with the help of Pegasus's talent.

Now, so much time has passed. Even if Pegasus hasn't fully turned his inspiration into reality yet, he's at least found a design direction based on the data from the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. Given a little more time, Kaiba is confident he'll see a pleasant surprise.

However, he didn't want to meet Pegasus in the presence of both Hayato and Yugi, because Kaiba couldn't be sure if Pegasus would inadvertently mention the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon card data after seeing Kaiba. This important information had to be reserved for when Kaiba officially challenged Hayato and Yugi.

Moreover, it will not be a trivial duel. Kaiba's goal is to make Hayato stake the title of "King of Duel" and defeat Yugi to prove that he has the real strength to become the King of Duel!

————Kisara: OTZ————

After defeating Paradox and Kaiba, who jumped out of the bushes and crashed the event, Yugi and the others successfully restored the original history, allowing Pegasus to hold the first Duel Monster Tournament.

Watching Pegasus receive a warm welcome from the huge crowd, Yusei, who was sitting on a bench with Hayato, said with a sigh, "That must be Pegasus J. Crawford, the father of Duel Monsters. He's completely different from what I remember. And this is the first time I've seen him not in a photograph but in person."

“That’s for sure. After all, history books can only preserve a partial picture. If you didn’t witness it firsthand, you can never keep the whole story, let alone the complexities of human nature.” Hayato sat on the bench, playing with the Millennium Scepter. “However, if Pegasus knew that in the eyes of you, the Yusei from the future, he was basically just a photograph, he might regret sealing people into cards in the past.”

In order to prevent Paradox from changing history, Hayato and his friends dispersed the crowd in advance and set up an illusion of "stage fire". Although they successfully thwarted Paradox's plan, they also caused the audience who had gathered to scatter and flee.

The fact that so many people have gathered in the central square again is thanks to the combined efforts of Hayato and Pegasus.

Hayato, who wields the Millennium Scepter representing "mind," and Pegasus, who, despite losing the Millennium Eye, still retains some magical power, conducted a live hypnosis broadcast on all the large screens near the shopping street in Domino City through the International Illusion Society. They successfully erased the memory of the previous "attack" from the minds of those who knew about it, causing them to forget their reason for leaving the central square and spontaneously return.

Compared to Hayato, who uses the Millennium Scepter, Pegasus, although it wasn't the first time he had used this method, had lost the Millennium Eye after all. This caused him to sweat profusely and exhaust a lot of energy after the hypnosis. He had to pretend to rest for a long time in the guest seats by the stage before he recovered to his current state.

During this time, he was also interviewed by two media outlets that were good at seizing opportunities, but Bekas skillfully brushed it off with seemingly sensational but actually useless news.

"Sealed into a card? That sounds really vicious." Yusei was quite surprised to hear this, glancing at Pegasus in the distance, who was all smiles and getting along well with the children. "I never thought he would use such methods. Was the old Pegasus that kind of person?"

"Yeah, he's the kind of guy who always has a smiling face and can perfectly control the duel as if he's foreseen everything. He always seems nonchalant, but he'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals."

"It sounds like a very standard villain character from a novel."

"Back then, he sealed the game's grandfather—the old man with the same hairstyle as the game who's posing with the [Saint Spirit] over there—and Kaiba's younger brother into a card. His goal was to seize the Kaiba Group, but his main purpose was to use the Kaiba Group's virtual projection system to create an opportunity to see his long-dead lover again."

"Isn't this just a more standard villain character design?" Yusei remarked with a smile. "It really overturns the information I read in the books."

"A genius game designer who created Duel Monsters, created many classic card series during his tenure as president of Mirage International, and designed various special monsters such as Soul and Union. He used a unique 'Cartoon' deck, was very childlike and passionate about the medical field."

Yusei's memory is pretty good. Although he didn't specifically memorize the information about Pegasus back then, he was, after all, the father of Duel Monsters, so his impression was still very deep. He easily recited the information that Pegasus left in the book decades later.

Hayato listened to Yusei's retelling and sighed, "No matter how great a person is, they can only leave a few words in history, and even turning a page can turn the page of countless lives. However, it's not bad to be able to leave your own mark on the vast history in a short life."

"Also, Yusei, do you remember any descriptions of me? I'm quite curious about me."

Seeing that Hayato's words had piqued his curiosity, Yusei looked helpless and apologetic: "Um, Mr. Hayato, I didn't really look into the history of Duel Monsters carefully at the time. I just flipped through a small part out of curiosity. I'm really sorry."

"Regarding your part, I only remember that it was mentioned that you once served as the Duel King, the principal of the Duel Academy, and the president of the International Illusion Society, but I don't remember anything more."

Yusei said he didn't remember, but he actually withheld some of his evaluation of Hayato. After all, in his opinion, no one would like to be recorded in history books as "incredibly cold-blooded towards Duel Monsters, able to sacrifice monsters with a maniacal laugh" or "vicious and perverted, willing to do anything to win, even putting 39 trap cards in a 40-card deck."

After finishing his sentence, Yusei changed the subject again, saying, "However, just as you said, Mr. Hayato, what is recorded in history books is only a partial picture. Rather than relying on written records, it is more authentic to know the person directly."

"Hmm?" Hayato looked at Yusei with a puzzled expression. After their eyes met, Hayato smiled. "If we want to understand each other, I think there's no better way than 'that.' Yusei, you think the same way I do, right?"

“Well, although I watched Jaden and Kaiba’s duel before, it was just an observation, so the feeling is definitely not as deep as a direct duel.” Yusei smiled back and took out his deck. “So, Hayato, please have a duel with me. I want to see the true strength of the legendary Duel King.”

Hayato watched as Yusei inserted his deck into the slot of the Duel Disk, and then reached for the card box at his waist: "Since you've said all that, then let me show you."

"Experience the power of the pinnacle of Duel Monsters that Paradox has ever seen!"

Hayato added a monster with a red border to his deck.