Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

After the Dark Game started, "Dark Bakura" completely gave up on hiding the fact that he was no longer the original Bakura. Not only was his face grotesque and twisted, but his hair was also frizzy as if it hadn't been groomed for ten days, and he even had two particularly long hairs that looked like rabbit ears.

The real Bakura, now earnestly thanking him, had a beautiful face and skin so fair it seemed one could pinch water from it. Her white, wispy hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her large, watery eyes held a timid gaze. Her slender figure exuded an air of vulnerability—

What am I thinking!

Hayato quickly pinched his thigh, his eyebrows furrowing as he inwardly grumbled that Jonouchi must have infected him with his strange ideas.

Bakura, oblivious to Hayato's unusual behavior, said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Hayato-kun. My body has been controlled by that demon all this time. I couldn't resist him at all and did many things I shouldn't have done. I even almost hurt you."

Hayato waved his hand: "That doesn't matter. Beating that rabbit-eared demon king is easy enough. What I care more about is your mental state."

"Yeah, my head hurts, but I don't have that groggy feeling anymore. It's like a riverbed without a filter, and my previously blocked thoughts are clear." Bakura gave a wry smile. "Before, I couldn't be aware of the existence of another me no matter what. Even when I was controlled, I could only watch. After waking up, I would forget everything."

Just as Bakura and Hayato were talking, the bushes not far away were pushed aside, and several staff members dressed in black emerged—they were from the International Illusion Society. They paused for a moment upon seeing Hayato and Bakura sitting together, but then approached.

One of them greeted Hayato, saying, "Mr. Hayato, we're here to take Bakura away, who has been disqualified from the competition." The others gathered around Bakura, seemingly politely pointing out the direction they were to take. However, Hayato had no doubt that they would use force if Bakura resisted in any way.

"Tell me, how did you confirm that Bakura was disqualified?" Hayato asked, somewhat puzzled.

The man in black explained, "That's right, Mr. Hayato. We have hidden unique information in each star chip, and when the chip is embedded in the Duel Glove, the glove activates this information and sends it back to the host server."

"While preventing cheating and counterfeiting of chips, can it also promptly track which duelists are worth paying attention to and which duelists have lost all their chips?" Hayato easily understood the logic behind the Star Chips.

As for how the chips and gloves achieve this function, Hayato doesn't care, because the authentication system used by the Duel Monsters cards themselves is even more outrageous than the Star Chips.

Just as the men in black were about to take Bakura away, Hayato thought for a moment and then said, "I remember I haven't used up my special invitation eligibility yet, right?"

“Uh, yes, Mr. Hayato. Three of your special invitation slots have already been used, and there is one slot left.” The man in black recalled for a moment before replying.

"In that case, let's give the last spot to Bakura. He's my classmate. But since he's lost his duelist qualification, you can take back his Duelist Gloves. Is that alright?"

"...Hmm, no problem, Mr. Hayato." The man in black only thought for a moment before agreeing. Although adding a special invitee at the last minute wasn't in line with the work process, Hayato was Pegasus's special invitee this time, and a very important and popular one at that. His request wasn't too unreasonable and could be easily fulfilled.

Watching the men in black leave with their dueling gloves, Bakura looked at Hayato, who was leisurely leaning against a tree trunk to rest, and thanked him again, "Thank you very much, Hayato-kun."

"Don't be so polite. I just thought it would be a bit boring to be alone when I had some free time, so I wanted to keep someone around to chat with." Although he had almost recovered, the side effects of summoning the [Earth Spirit] still left Hayato feeling a little listless. He shook the [Millennium Wisdom Ring] that was pinned to his chest. "But as payment, I'll keep this for now."

"Hayato-kun, you must be careful." Watching Hayato casually playing with the Millennium Wisdom Wheel, Bakura couldn't help but recall his own past experiences and worriedly reminded Hayato, "This is an ominous object."

"An ominous object?! Where is it?!"

The voice that responded to Bakura wasn't from Hayato, who was leaning against the tree trunk; it came from behind him. Both of them turned to look, and saw a large, bearded man, about 1.9 meters tall, running excitedly towards them, shouting, "Where's the ominous creature?!"

"Boss!!!" Behind the bearded man was a man in a suit, carrying a backpack almost bigger than himself and a briefcase in each hand, closely following the running bearded man. "Boss! Please slow down!"

The burly bearded man in front, ignoring the shouts of the man in the suit behind him, ran up to Hayato and Bakura, his face flushed with what looked like exercise or excitement, and yelled in a loud voice, "Where is the ominous thing!"

"Uh...maybe, perhaps, it's here?" Hayato was a little confused. Who was this person? Subconsciously, he raised the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] that he was playing with.

"Oh my god! This is it! But it looks ominous!" The bearded man's eyes lit up as he looked at the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel], and he exclaimed excitedly, "Young man, I'll buy this!"

"Please wait a moment!"

The man in the suit finally arrived in front of the bearded man, carrying two briefcases in one hand and placing the other between Hayato and the bearded man. He first nodded to Hayato apologetically and said, "Please forgive me," then immediately took the bearded man's hand and said, "Boss, please don't buy those strange things anymore!"

"Haha, that won't do." The bearded man laughed heartily, pulled the man in the suit blocking his way aside, and continued to say to Hayato, "Young man, how much are you willing to pay? I'll buy this 'ominous object'!"

"Um, sorry, sir, this isn't for sale." Hayato scratched the back of his head, looking at the strange bearded man in front of him.

"Don't be like that, little brother, the price is negotiable." The bearded man didn't give up easily and wanted to say something more, but then he noticed the dueling glove on Hayato's hand as he scratched his head.

No one knows what the bearded man was imagining, but he suddenly burst into laughter, startling Hayato: "Hahahaha, I see, I see, I understand!"

"Now that our eyes have met, let's have a duel, unknown duelist!"

Chapter 76 Machinery and the Ocean

"what?"

Hayato has been in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! for quite some time now, and has experienced quite a few duels. However, of all the reasons he has ever heard for playing cards, the one from the bearded man in front of him is the most bizarre.

"No, uncle, why are we starting a duel? Just because I didn't sell this to you?"

Because of the rules of the Duel Kingdom, Hayato didn't refuse the duel invitation from the strange bearded man in front of him. He reluctantly stood up and took out his deck. The side effects of [Earth Spirit God] were much milder than those of summoning the Egyptian God cards; it only depleted his stamina, and Hayato was just feeling a bit listless.

But, "a glance is a signal for battle"? Could this guy have just wandered over from the Pokémon set next door for a cameo role?

The bearded man took the deck from the man in the suit and laughed heartily: "Hehehehe, I'm quite fond of your 'Ominous Thing,' but judging from your eyes, you're probably the kind of guy who can't be convinced without a duel, right?"

"You talk like you know me all the time." Hayato scoffed, standing shoulder to shoulder with the bearded man, watching a dueling platform slowly rise from the ground in the distance. While waiting, Hayato noticed that the bearded man's left dueling glove already had four star tokens embedded in it. "You're pretty quick, sir. You've already collected two in just one morning?"

“Young man, aren’t you the same?” Hayato was observing the bearded man, who was also observing Hayato. “You already have five. Besides the two you got from defeating that short guy who plays with insects, you’ve collected one more.”

Hayato didn't explain that he had given one to Jonouchi. He noticed that the man in the suit who had been following behind the bearded man wasn't wearing dueling gloves, the kind that symbolized a duelist's identity: "Hey, old man, are you also Pegasus's special guest?"

“Yes, Pegasus’s International Illusion Company has a pretty big business deal with my company, and I happen to be a bit interested in Duel Monsters, so he invited me. Since the spot was empty anyway, I brought Socrates—you know, that guy, my assistant—to this island. Aren’t you the same, young man?”

Hayato glanced at Bakura: "I just have a lot of interesting ideas about Duel Monsters that Pegasus is interested in. I'm not as good as you, old man, because I was invited for a business collaboration. As for him, he's my classmate."

After the dueling platform was fully raised, Hayato and the bearded man each stepped onto one side of the platform. After placing his deck on the platform, Hayato was about to say something when he suddenly realized, somewhat embarrassed, that he didn't know the bearded man's name: "Um, uncle? My name is Kobayashi Hayato."

"Hahaha, I knew that already. I've seen your duels." The bearded man chuckled, about to introduce himself, when the man in the suit beside the dueling platform—Socrates—suddenly spoke up.

"Listen up, duelist, the man standing before you is the Steel Ship, Aristotle I, Conqueror of the Five Oceans, King of the Seas, King of Ferries, Navigation and Freight Transport, Greek God of War, and Romantic Playboy, Mr. Aristotle Anasis!"

"Where did you come from, Dragon Mom? There's no room for that many people on the dueling platform," Hayato casually remarked. But the name "Anassis" sounded familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before. Maybe in the news? "Anyway, Uncle Anasis, if you want me to bet this 'ominous thing,' you'll have to bet something in return, according to the rules."

“Of course! What I like most is a fair transaction that's mutually agreeable. Hmm, but it's really hard to think of one.” The bearded man looked troubled. “I really can't think of a suitable price for you right now, and you certainly wouldn't be happy to take money. How about this, young man, why don't you make a request?”

"Even if you asked me to suggest something, I couldn't think of anything." Hayato really wasn't that interested in money, unless it could be used to buy DP points in the system. Otherwise, he felt that as long as he had enough, that would be fine. "How about this, I think your beard looks pretty strange. If you lose, you can shave it off."

Hayato noticed that the bearded man opposite him stiffened for a moment, but quickly recovered: "Uh-of course, no problem, hahaha. Then it's settled. If I win the duel, I can get that thing on your chest without spending a penny. If you win, I'll shave off my beard."

Hayato nodded and took two more star chips from his gloves: "But those are all extra conditions; the star chips still need to be wagered. I have two here, is that alright, uncle?"

The bearded man laughed heartily: "Of course, no problem! It's only half, the risk isn't that high. I'll take it. Besides, I'm sure I'll win this duel!"

"Don't speak so soon, uncle."

Hayato and Anasis drew five cards from their decks and shouted, "Duel!"

[Hayato: 4000LP]

Anasis: 4000 LP

"Strike first! I'll go first, draw cards!" Although Anasis looked burly, his hands were quick, and he even drew five cards faster than Hayato.

"I don't really like the environment here, so I'm going to activate a Field Spell Card to change our battle environment!" Anasis laughed, placing a card into the field. "Activate Spell Card, [Sea]!"

"He actually has some rare Field Spells?" Hayato was slightly surprised, but considering that the guy opposite him was probably super rich, he wasn't too surprised that he could collect Field Spells that weren't widely circulated.

As Anasis played the card "Sea", a virtual ocean was immediately projected onto the duel stage. The surging waves instantly engulfed the entire field, leaving not a trace of land.

“I remember you’re good at using Warrior-type monsters, right? That means your warriors won’t have a foothold and will have to fight in the ocean, won’t they?” Anasis chuckled. “Then I’ll summon a monster in face-down defense position. Dive into the sea, my card!”

Anasis played a monster card, but only a faint light appeared in the ocean on the field, and no one knew where the card had appeared.

"My turn is over." Anasis smiled. "My monsters are all the best at fighting in the ocean. Face the threat from the deep sea, lad!"

Anasis: 4000LP, 4 card in hand

[The inside side represents the monster] (hidden)

Venue: [Sea]

Hayato calmly drew a card: "My turn, draw a card."

Looking at the monster now in his hand, Hayato smiled at Anasis opposite him: "Don't get too excited, old man. Now that I know your monster is good at water combat, I'm not going to be stupid enough to go into the water."

"Summon the V-Jet Tiger! Let's have a spectacular aerial battle!"

Chapter 77: Talking nonsense is part of Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Waaah~!"

Accompanied by a strong gust of wind, a jet fighter appeared in the sky above Hayato's field, resembling a crouching tiger. Its jet system even caused waves to splash on the sea below.

【V-Jet Tiger】【4☆/Light】

【Mechanical Race】

[1600/1800]

"Not a warrior?" Anasis asked, somewhat puzzled. "Let me confirm first, you must be the same person as Kobayashi Hayato from before, right? Not his twin brother or anything like that?"

"It's me, no doubt about it. But I didn't say I was using a pure Warrior-Type monster, did I? Even a hero has to keep up with the times and learn to use technology." Hayato smiled, but his hands didn't stop there. "Then I'm going to activate the Spell Card, [Frontline Base]. Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Union Monster from my hand in addition to my Normal Summon."

"After V comes W, come on, [W-Ejection Wing]!"

The spell card [Frontline Base] appeared in Hayato's back row, launching a blue aircraft from the card art, which quickly ascended to the same height as [V-Jet Tiger].

【W-Ejection Wing】【4☆/Light】

[Mechanical Race/Allies/Effect]

[1300/1500]

"It's actually a rare Allied Monster, so next up could be..." Anasis looked up at the V-Jet Tiger and W-Ejector Wing side by side.

Hayato waved his hand forward: "That's right, Union Monsters are cards that can be combined with specific monsters. Let's combine and transform, V and W!"

In the sky, the two aircraft received the names of their owners, and their various parts instantly disintegrated, deformed, and reassembled into a larger aircraft than before.

【VW-Strong Tiger】【6☆/Light】

[Mechanical Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2000/2100]

"To summon a level 6 monster in just one turn, that's amazing! And because it's a flying machine, it's not affected by the [Sea]." Socrates, who was watching, exclaimed. "However, if you can't find the monster the Boss is hiding, no matter how powerful the attack is, it's useless."

You're just talking nonsense. Hayato was too lazy to even comment on how Anasis's monster gained the ability to "become invisible" simply because of the [Sea] field, and how his own [VW] could fly and yet be immune to field buffs. Because the current duel rules really do allow for nonsense.

However, since you've already started talking nonsense, it shouldn't be a problem if I talk nonsense too, right?

"The combination of [VW] not only enhances the performance of the machine, but also enables new functions due to their interconnection: radar and sonar!"

Hayato used the excuse that "although it's not written on the card, it has this effect," and the [VW-Strike Tiger] in the arena actually responded to his command, deploying a rotating radar device from the tiger's head position of the aircraft to scan the surroundings.

"Oh no!" Anasis exclaimed in alarm, his gaze shifting to the location of the monster he had summoned. Almost the instant the [VW-Strike Tiger] activated its radar system, the outline of the monster hidden beneath the sea surface was revealed.

"It's not over yet. I'm going to activate another effect of [VW]." Hayato sent a card from his hand to the graveyard. A card appeared behind [VW-Strike Tiger] on the field, then shattered into a wisp of photon that merged into [VW-Strike Tiger]'s body, as if replenishing its energy.

[VW-Strike Tiger] absorbed the power of that card, activating all the machines in its body, instantly creating a giant waterspout on the sea: "I can discard one card from my hand as the price for activating this ability. Change the battle position of one monster on the field!"