Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Excuse me, Lord Malik, it's Saturday and the mall is having a sale, so there are quite a few people rushing to buy things." Hearing Malik's urging, Lishid quickened his pace and almost slipped and fell when he stepped on an empty can lying in the middle of the road.

——————Malik is being scolded——————

Meanwhile, in the hospital where Yugi and Jonouchi were, they were using Kaiba's abilities to search for information about the Paradis Group.

"The Paradis Group is known as the 'biggest and strongest' company not only in the United States but also in the world, with influence in more than 200 countries and involvement in more than 60 industries, from finance and arms to entertainment and scientific research."

"That 'Daz' is the president of such a group, but I don't know what kind of position Daz holds within the Doma organization."

Hearing the information reported by Guiping, Yugi said with some surprise, "Even the Kaiba Group and the International Illusion Company can't compare to the Paradis Group?"

"Although it's a bit hard to say, that's really the case." Guiping spread his hands helplessly. "The Paradis Group has economic reserves that surpass those of the entire United States. Even if the Seahorse Group were to join forces with the International Illusion Society, it would be difficult to compete with them."

Jonouchi said with a long face, "Are we going to be fighting against such a behemoth next? It's hard to imagine what kind of existence the Doma Organization is. Just the part of its true nature that has been revealed is already something like the Paradis Group."

"Hmph, are you trembling with fear, you mediocre talent?"

Kaiba said dismissively, and with just one sentence, he easily provoked Jonouchi's displeasure, causing Jonouchi to glare angrily at Kaiba.

Yugi looked at Kaiba and Jonouchi, and suddenly seemed to remember something, saying, "Speaking of which, Rebecca and Professor Hopkins came to America with us before, and then went to Florida to investigate artifacts with patterns similar to the [Orichalcos Barrier]. I wonder how things are going on their end."

“Arthur Hopkins?” Seahorse thought for a moment and said, “A well-known figure in the archaeological world, but even if something is unearthed, it has nothing to do with us living in the present. Those things buried in the ground should remain buried in the ground, they are simply—”

Kaiba was halfway through his sentence when Jonouchi, who had long been annoyed with him, suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Speaking of which, isn't your [Eye of Timaeus] recorded in the recently discovered underwater ruins in the Atlantic Ocean?"

His tone was so affected, it was almost obvious; even a fool could tell that he had a purpose in suddenly saying this.

Although it was more obvious, it was indeed effective. Haima almost immediately changed his tune, saying, "--It's a precious cultural relic that must be properly excavated and studied."

Although the seahorse itself doesn't like antiques or anything like that, it's related to playing cards.

However, since Jonouchi brought up the Eye of Timaeus, Kaiba naturally remembered something and proudly pulled out a card from the Duel Disk he always wore on his left hand, showing off: "But Yugi, don't think you're the only one with that strange card. Although I don't know who put it in my deck, I also got this nameless card."

"【The Tooth of Critia】, that's the name I gave it."

The seahorse's expression at that moment was quite like someone who, after the neighbor's child got a super popular toy, specially bought the same one to show off.

He had been somewhat concerned about the power of the Eye of Timaeus he obtained in the game, and had wondered if he could learn a way to counter this power from Pegasus, who might know something about it. He never expected that he would actually get one himself.

Kaiba has already mentally planned how, after dealing with Doma, he'll use the power of the Fang of Critia to clash with Yugi's Eye of Timaeus and see who's stronger. Of course, he hasn't forgotten Hayato either.

"Ah, speaking of these cards..."

However, what Kaiba didn't expect was that after seeing the "Fang of Critia" that Kaiba took out, Jonouchi actually drew a card with a similar appearance from his deck.

Both cards lack names, attributes, star ratings, and effects. The only difference is that Kaiba's "Critia's Fang" is a black dragon with sharp fangs, while Jonouchi's card features a red dragon with long, slender claws.

"Huh? Jonouchi and Kaiba are both here too?"

Yugi looked at the "Legendary Dragon" card that Jonouchi and Kaiba had taken out with some surprise. As the first sword-drawer to awaken the "Legendary Dragon," Yugi naturally remembered that there were exactly three dragon statues he had seen in the Spirit World.

Unexpectedly, Jonouchi and Kaiba also became the sword-drawers after him, awakening and obtaining the power of the "Legendary Dragon".

"Tch, I was thinking it might be a decent power, but even a mediocre person can get it?" Kaiba glanced disdainfully at Jonouchi beside him. "Looks like it's just a third-rate card that only second-rate duelists would use."

Despite saying that, Kaiba still added "Fang of Critia" to his deck.

Jonouchi, annoyed by Kaiba's disparagement, said, "What do you mean by third-rate card? Well then, take that card out of your deck, second-rate duelist Kaiba-sama?"

"Hmph." The seahorse merely snorted coldly, ignoring the castle.

The game did remind the two: "Jonnouchi, and Kaiba, there's no doubt that the Legendary Dragons possess great power, but they are not ordinary Duel Monsters whose effects are directly written on the cards. It's not easy to master how to use them or the limits of their power."

"The power of the Eye of Timaeus is to unleash the potential of monsters to become new monsters. I can sense that some of the powers in your cards are similar yet different abilities."

"But if we add cards to our deck without understanding their power, it will be like climbing a mountain without knowing the route or where the summit is. We will undoubtedly perish, just like drinking soda will make us burp."

Although the game only mentioned the possible risks without explaining the solutions, the seahorse understood what the game meant.

Obviously, if adding unfamiliar cards to a deck is risky, then it's best to just familiarize yourself with the cards. And the best way to familiarize yourself with the cards is to engage in duels and learn their power in battle.

Some in the city were interested, but the seahorse was not so keen on it.

"Hmph, practice? I've never had that habit. All my achievements so far have been based on my talent. Don't compare me to those mediocre people who need to practice to learn how to fight monsters, Yugi."

As he spoke, Seahorse turned and left, saying, "I'm going to prepare for my trip to the Paradis Group. If you want to practice, you can practice with that mediocre guy yourself."

However, as soon as Kaiba stepped out of the ward and confirmed that no one had followed him, he quickly contacted Iso and asked him to free up the calculation center at Kaiba Group's American branch so he could calculate the power of the [Fang of Critia].

Well, Seto Kaiba "never practices," since he always plays against AI opponents directly.

Chapter 590 Clash Town

"I use [Black Dragon Paladin] to attack [Ultimate Teleporting Terror], and then activate the effect of the [Time Magic Hammer] equipped by him. For each monster you control, roll one die, banish each monster and roll its own number for the turn!"

Commanding his newly empowered monsters, Jonouchi said smugly, "Ryuzaki, you only have [Ultimate Conduction Beast] and [Miracle Jurassic Egg] on your field. I'll roll two dice to banish those two monsters!"

At this moment, Jonouchi had left the hospital where he was previously staying and was dueling with someone in the desert beside an interstate highway. However, what was rather strange was that the duelist standing opposite Jonouchi was Ryuzaki, who had also been attacked by the Doma organization in the previous "Duelist Serial Coma" incident.

Ironically, after Ryuzaki was knocked unconscious by Baron's Armor deck (referring to Self-Destruct Switch), Baron, confident in the "damage potential" of his own deck, did not finish him off by sealing Ryuzaki's soul with Orichalcos Barrier.

The main reason is that during the years that Baron worked for Doma, he had done this more than once and found that after killing the opponent, he could not recover anything by retrieving the soul; it was just a waste of effort.

On the other hand, it was also because the ambulance that Ryuzaki had called for the Labyrinth Brothers out of kindness had just arrived at the scene, and Baron, not wanting to expose himself, left.

Under normal circumstances, Ryuzaki, who doesn't have any extraordinary abilities, wouldn't be able to withstand the power of the [Armor] deck. At best, he would become a vegetable that he can't wake up. But by sheer coincidence, Ryuzaki awakened the power of the Card Spirit at the moment he was defeated.

The presence or absence of Card Spirits has a significant impact. Duelists without Card Spirits are merely extras whose lives are filled with demise, but duelists with Card Spirits can become dedicated Spirit Users on the spot. They can not only print cards and draw divine cards, but also, thanks to the protection of the Spirits, Ryuzaki miraculously regained consciousness.

As the only one of all the victims to have regained consciousness so far, Ryuzaki was specially transferred from the hospital where the comatose duelists were previously housed to San Francisco by medical experts who were closely monitoring his condition, so that he could conduct more detailed pathological research. It was because of this that he unexpectedly ran into Jonouchi and Yugi, who were planning to be discharged from the hospital.

After exchanging words, Yugi and Jonouchi learned from Ryuzaki that Baron and the others had mentioned in a casual conversation after Hayato defeated the Labyrinth Brothers that their purpose in collecting souls seemed to be to awaken a certain god. They also learned about the abilities of the [Hellfire Machine] monsters, such as [Beelzebub], that Hayato had not summoned before.

Ryuzaki also learned that the egg he had been able to see ever since he woke up, which he had thought was an illusion, was actually the "card spirit" residing in the card, and that he was able to wake up because his card spirit sacrificed itself to protect him.

The cracking sound he heard before he lost consciousness that day seemed to be the sound of the fairy being born from the egg. However, Ryuzaki was unable to see his fairy even once. When he woke up, he had the ability to see fairies, but his fairy had turned back into an egg.

So when Yugi and the others said they were going to the Paradis Group to look for clues about Doma's existence, Ryuzaki immediately said he wanted to go too. He wanted to avenge the other unconscious duelists, himself, and his Card Spirits by finding that person named Baron.

As for the experts who studied his physical condition? After Ryuzaki learned that his awakening was due to the help of the Card Spirits, he naturally understood that it was impossible to replicate his situation to awaken others, unless he could retrieve the souls of the duelists sealed by Doma, otherwise it would just be a waste of time.

This led to the scene where Ryuzaki joined the group and fought Jonouchi as training on the way to the Paradis Group.

Seeing that Jonouchi was planning to turn the tide with his newly acquired card, which he named "Claw of Hermes," Ryuzaki was naturally not going to just sit and wait for his doom.

"At this moment, I activate my backrow face-down card, the Trap Card 'Friendly Misfire'. When an opponent's Spell/Trap/Monster effect is activated, target another card on the field and destroy it. I choose 'Black Dragon Paladin' on your field!"

Seeing that the monster in Jonouchi was about to attack, Ryuzaki was speechless that Jonouchi had once again obtained a card with a gambling effect that perfectly matched Jonouchi's personal luck, but he still had no intention of admitting defeat.

【Time Magic Hammer】is a card created by Jonouchi using the power of 【Time Magician】 and crafted from 【Hermes' Claw】. Although it is a Fusion Monster, it can be transformed into an Equip Card and equipped to other monsters. This is the ability of 【Hermes' Claw】: to transform the characteristics of a monster into equipment and grant it to other monsters.

However, even such a monster still has a flaw: as an Equip Card, it is subject to the rules of Duel Monsters, and it will be destroyed once the equipped monster is flipped over or leaves the field.

As the black dragon knight hurtled towards him, he saw the incoming attack and, before he was destroyed, he swung down the Time Magic Hammer, which looked more like a child's toy than a lethal weapon.

The dial on the hammer spun rapidly, and to Ryuzaki's astounded expression, his [Miracle Jurassic Egg] and [Ultimate Conduction Beast] were banished together for a full six turns. [Time Magic Hammer], after activating its effect, was also sent to the Graveyard after [Black Dragon Paladin] was destroyed.

"Seriously, you still managed to get out of it, and for a full six rounds at that. Throwing two sixes in a row is just too much luck. But, at least I've managed to block your attack, Jonouchi." Ryuzaki said confidently, glancing at the situation on the field.

[Ryuzaki: 2400LP, 2 cards in hand]

[Within the city: 800LP, 1 cards in hand]

【GaiKa】

Of course, the area around the two in the midst of their duel was not empty. In fact, there was a campervan parked next to them, with several people sitting inside watching the duel between Jonouchi and Ryuzaki.

"Ryuzaki is really amazing. He actually managed to suppress Jonouchi's offensive again." Having watched so many duels, Honda, although still a novice in the world of Duel Monsters, is at least not completely ignorant. "Is this the strength of the runner-up of the All-American Duel Monsters Tournament? He has improved a lot since then."

"The champion is still standing here, it's too early to be lamenting, Honda." Hearing Honda's sentiments, Mai Kongjaku proudly raised her head and said.

It's true that Ryuzaki was the runner-up, but Peacock Dancer defeated Ryuzaki fair and square to win the championship.

"As expected of Mai-nee, you easily accomplished what we couldn't. I admire you so much!" Kyoko praised Mai in a very cooperative manner, but then she looked at Yugi with some curiosity and said, "But why did Jonouchi choose Ryuzaki as his sparring partner? Isn't Mai-nee stronger?"

Hmm, I'm not looking forward to seeing Jonouchi and Mai, those two love-struck idiots, team up for a duel, hmm.

Yugi thought for a moment and said, "In terms of strength, Mai is indeed stronger than Ryuzaki, but Anzu, you forgot that there are compatibility issues between decks, and different duelists have different styles."

"Compatibility? Style?"

"While Mai's Harpy and Amazon decks both excel in combat, their main focus is on disrupting the back row and using the opponent's strength against them. This makes them quite effective against Ryuzaki's Dinosaur decks. Mai's personal style is to gather monsters together for a coordinated attack."

The game explained patiently, "As for Ryuzaki, his dinosaur deck is more direct in comparison, and he has even had a serious battle with a guy named Baron from the Doma organization."

Since it was training, Jonouchi naturally set a goal for himself; otherwise, he would have no direction at all. Jonouchi's goal was to defeat that Baron.

Despite his somewhat slow-witted nature, Jonouchi had noticed the strange look that Baron gave Mai after he appeared. Even though Mai hadn't confirmed any relationship with Jonouchi, Jonouchi still felt extremely displeased with Baron.

Therefore, compared to Hayato, Rafael, and Ameruda, Jonouchi wanted to defeat Baron more. That way, he wouldn't be dueling the Baron who had been hiding his true strength during the KC Cup, but rather facing a serious Baron from the "Doma Three Musketeers," making Ryuzaki the best opponent. Especially since, according to Ryuzaki, Baron's "Armor" deck also focused on a tough fighting style.

However, there's one more thing the game didn't explain, a speculation he didn't confirm. That is, if Jonouchi, who had clearly awakened the ability to see card spirits in his previous duel with Hayato but couldn't activate his own card spirits, were to duel with Ryuzaki, who also had the ability to see spirits but whose spirits were asleep, perhaps both of them could use this opportunity to awaken their own card spirits.

During the battle phase, with only one monster left, Jonouchi looked at Ryuzaki's empty field and laughed smugly, "Hmph, although Time Magic Hammer was sent to the graveyard, I still managed to clear your field of monsters. That has already accomplished my original goal."

"Activate face-down card, [Red-Eyes Soul], Special Summon 1 [Red-Eyes] monster from my Graveyard!"

"Come forth, [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

Seeing the face-down card that Jonouchi had been hiding in the back row for so long open, and the jet-black dragon flying up from Jonouchi's graveyard, Ryuzaki smiled bitterly and helplessly: "I've been completely fooled. Is this your attack route?"

"You actually didn't use your full strength from the start like before, but instead held back. You've really made something of yourself, Jonouchi."

With that, Ryuzaki reluctantly put down the Duel Disk he was holding, clearly having no ability to resist anymore.

Jonouchi, grinning, also put down the Duel Disk and dismissed the [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] he had just summoned. Although this duel was just a regular practice match and not a Dark Game, the impact simulated by the virtual projection system installed on the Duel Disk by Kaiba Corporation was no small matter, and Jonouchi, who had no particular grudge against Ryuzaki, naturally wouldn't bother to deliver a blow.

Seeing that the duel had ended, the others got out of the RV and congratulated Jonouchi on developing the fourth form that his [Claw of Hermes] could awaken. They also didn't forget to comfort the loser Ryuzaki.

The RV was provided by Haima for their trip from California, where San Francisco is located, to Oregon, where the Paradis Group is located.

Although they are two neighboring states, without transportation, who knows when people like the gamer will be able to get there? After all, America isn't a small place like Japan where a single rain cloud can bring rain to the whole country.

Ryuzaki complained that he had previously moved from Washington State to California, but now he had to go back.

The group now consists of six people: Yugi, Jonouchi, Honda, Kyoko, Mai Kujaku, and Ryuzaki. Kaiba and Keihei, the two brothers, did not continue to travel together this time.

Previously, Kaiba went to the International Illusion Society to obtain data from the virtual projection system, but he came up empty-handed because of Pegasus's death. Moreover, the International Illusion Society building is now almost in ruins, making it impossible to retrieve any data.

However, there was a backup plan, which was located on Duel Kingdom Island, Pegasus's lair. Therefore, the Kaiba brothers decided to split up the game into two groups and act independently.

Although they were working separately, Haima helped Yugi and his team with many things, not just the two RVs. In addition, as the president of Haima Group, he also arranged a visit to the Paradis Group for Yugi and his team. He was very helpful, but whether they could find any useful clues from the Paradis Group was up to Yugi and his team.

As Yugi and Jonouchi were exchanging ideas about the power and usage of the "Legendary Dragon," Yugi suddenly frowned, feeling as if something swept past them, followed by an ominous premonition, as if they were being watched by something.

Meanwhile, in a small town a few kilometers away, Baron and Hayato were adjusting a radar device in front of them. Looking at a red dot that appeared not far away, Baron said smugly, "Well, I was pretty accurate. Looks like all my efforts weren't wasted."