Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Yugi, and everyone else!" While Yugi and the others were on guard against Hayato and Rafael, Jonouchi was also brought nearby by Mai. "Are you all alright? And what was that monster all about?"

"Jonnouchi! You're really in a sorry state." While teasing Jonnouchi, Honda took the initiative to help the exhausted Jonnouchi, and replied, "You and Mai just left, and then we were suddenly attacked by Hayato and locked in a maze."

"I remember that monster was called [Phantom Demon Emperor - Rabiel]. It was chasing me relentlessly in the maze, and I almost got killed by it."

Recalling his previous experience in the maze, Honda still felt lingering fear and had some complaints.

It was clearly a maze, with many turns and twists, but I basically just ran along one path to the end without any forks. Also, Yugi, Kyoko, and Ryuzaki all reunited safely, so why was I the only one being chased by [Phantom Demon Emperor - Labier] to find Yugi and the others?

It's like a hastily completed, poorly funded maze game with no serious design for the paths, levels, and enemies along the way. In order to save resources, it just throws the only monsters with abnormally high strength into the maze!

"Heh heh, Jonouchi, you finally managed to defeat Baron, but instead of cherishing this life you were given, you've come back here." Hayato stepped forward, looking at the six people gathered in front of him, and said arrogantly.

“Hayato…” Looking at Hayato, who was acting all high and mighty, Jonouchi took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Even if he was controlled by the people of Doma, he still dared to kill his friends. I’m going to give you a good beating!”

"I'll use my duel!"

With his body strained, Jonouchi unfolded his duel disk.

[Within the city: 4000LP]

Looking at Jonouchi, who even needed Honda's help to stand, Hayato smiled contemptuously: "Hey Jonouchi, you don't think that after defeating Baron, you have enough confidence to defeat everyone else, do you?"

"Hmph, let me tell you the truth. There are three duelists as powerful as Baron. He is the weakest of the Three Musketeers of Doma."

—Although Ameruda is actually the weakest, that doesn't stop Hayato from intimidating people a little. Moreover, the phrase "the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings" is the fourth most memorable line Hayato ever uttered.

Faced with the aggressive Hayato, Ryuzaki, who had been silent until now, stepped forward and stood next to Jonouchi: "In that case, I'm here too. I'll help as well!"

"Ryuuzaki?"

Ryuzaki glanced at Jonouchi, and although he still had a psychological shadow over the "Doma" organization, and even just looking at the Doma-style Duel Disks worn by Hayato and Rafael made his legs tremble, he still said firmly: "Even as a reward for you helping me avenge, I will not let Jonouchi fight alone."

"Besides, I am 'Tough Guy' Ryuzaki. A true duelist cannot run away from the battle!" With that, Ryuzaki's Duel Disk was unfolded.

[Ryuzaki: 4000LP]

As Ryuzaki unfolded his Duel Disk, Mai Kujaku smiled helplessly as she saw two boys standing in front of her: "Seriously, you guys, don't act like you're the only ones who would step up."

"dance?"

When Jonouchi called her name, Mai raised her chin proudly like a proud peacock: "Hmph, Ryuzaki is the runner-up in the All-American Duel Monsters competition, but I am the champion. Don't underestimate me, Jonouchi. I'm not just a pretty face."

[Peacock Dance: 4000LP]

"Everyone..." Seeing everyone stepping forward one after another, Yugi touched the [Millennium Puzzle] on his chest, "Aibo..."

'Yes, let's believe in everyone's strength, my other self!'

Even with just a soft call, the surface game within the Millennium Puzzle sensed and understood Yami Yugi's thoughts, encouraging him, "I'll always be by your side."

Their purpose in this game is to go to the headquarters of the Paradis Group to find more clues about the Doma organization, try to turn the passive situation into the active one, and ideally, to directly attack the enemy's lair and eliminate the mastermind behind it. Therefore, the best course of action when faced with interception along the way is to try to evade it.

Especially the two people who intercepted them at this moment: one was Rafiel, whom Yugi had fought once, and who would have been evenly matched if it weren't for the drag from [Divine Flame Emperor - Uria]; the other was Hayato, whom Yugi and Jonouchi challenged together but ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.

While escaping is shameful, it is useful. Yami Yugi's initial idea was to take Kyoko, Honda, and the others away from here. Running away was the best policy and the most appropriate course of action under rational consideration. After all, no matter how you look at it, there was no chance of winning a fight against Hayato and Rafael.

However, under the influence of Jonouchi, Ryuzaki, and Mai, Yugi was somewhat moved and his will and courage to fight were ignited.

"Hayato, and Rafael, we will not surrender!" Stepping to the front, Yugi tossed aside his school uniform, which he was wearing as a trench coat, and raised the Duel Disk. "Darkness can never devour light, and our united will is indestructible!"

[Game: 4000LP]

"The four of us," Jonouchi said with a wide grin, "even if we're covered in wounds..."

Ryuzaki's expression was resolute: "Even if the odds are slim..."

"But our three-person team won't run away!" Mai Kongzak shouted boldly. "Come on, Hayato Kobayashi!"

(Jounouchi, Ryuzaki, Yugi: 'A three-person team?')

As Rafiru watched the people in front of him unfold their duel disks one after another, he frowned and subtly twitched his hand behind his back. The assassins from the Doma organization, who were hiding in houses near the street, received the order and retreated silently.

Based on his understanding of the game, or rather, of the "Nameless Pharaoh" Dark Game, he is a person who values ​​honor, but also one whose rational thinking outweighs his emotions. In the current situation, he should choose to escape with his companions rather than foolishly stay and fight.

Based on this prediction, Rafiru specifically arranged for people in nearby houses to use sniper rifles equipped with riot tranquilizer darts to take a few people hostage when the game was about to end.

In that case, Rafiru could use this to blackmail the "Nameless Pharaoh" into acting alone with him, instead of getting entangled with the others in the castle. Although it was despicable, it was a necessary condition for completing the task assigned by Lord Dartz.

Dartz assigned Rafael and the "Three Musketeers of Dorma" the task of "destroying the 'Legendary Dragon'". Yugi, Jonouchi, and Kaiba are the users of the "Legendary Dragon", but this does not mean that destroying Yugi and the others is equivalent to destroying the "Legendary Dragon".

Either the "legendary dragon" becomes dissatisfied with the user and abandons them;

Alternatively, the "Legendary Dragon" and the user's soul can be sealed together by the "Orichalcos Barrier" during a duel. This is the method Rafael knows for "destroying the 'Legendary Dragon'".

Simply killing the user of the "Legendary Dragon" is like killing the gunman out of fear of guns but not confiscating the gun—it's all a waste of effort. The "Legendary Dragon" can still choose the next user. If it were truly useful, Rafael wouldn't have needed to plan so much; he could have simply had the people of Doma in the town swarm in and kill Yugi and Jonouchi from the very beginning.

This town has been under Doma's influence since its founding hundreds of years ago. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the United States, a country that has only existed for a few hundred years, is directly dependent on the trunk of Doma's tree for growth. Even if he had his subordinates kill people, it wouldn't be a big deal for Rafiru; it would just be useless.

In order to destroy the "Legendary Dragon," Raphael needs to be able to seal them along with the "Legendary Dragon" using the power of the [Orichalcos Barrier] when they unleash their maximum power within the castle. Otherwise, even if the duelists' souls are sealed, it will not affect the "Legendary Dragon."

To achieve this, one-on-one combat is essential; otherwise, with more than one opponent covering for each other, even Rafael would find it difficult to seize the opportunity.

Right now, there are four of them in the game. Rafiru felt that if he were to let Hayato Kobayashi take three people to create a situation for him to fight the "Nameless Pharaoh" one-on-one, not to mention Hayato, even he himself felt it was unreasonable.

However, while it is possible to defeat two opponents by oneself, the important thing is never the victory itself, but the "legendary dragon." Only this is a necessary matter that must be completed first.

Rafael was troubled, but Hayato still acted arrogantly: "Heh heh, instead of running away, you're getting closer to me, Kobayashi Hayato? Then come even closer."

"Kujaku Mai, Ryuzaki, Jonouchi, and Yugi, so what if you have four people? Nine rounds? Eight rounds?"

"No! I don't even need five rounds to defeat you!"

With a smug smile, Hayato glanced at Rafael beside him and casually said, "How's it going, Rafael? I've noticed you seem to be pondering something since the beginning. Are you struggling to choose an opponent? No problem, take your time thinking it over. I can let you choose first. Anyway, for me, any opponent is the same."

"Do you dare disobey me, who possesses the [Hellfire Machine]?"

The arrogant Hayato stood with his hands on his hips, laughing loudly, but all he saw was Rafael finally making up his mind and taking a step back: "Let's retreat for now."

"Oh, a temporary retreat? Not a bad choice, then I'll choose that..."

"Um?!"

Hayato raised an eyebrow and looked at Rafael: "What did you just say?! Retreat? Are you insulting my dignity as an emperor, Rafael?!"

“Yes, I’m saying retreat, unless you want to take on four people by yourself.” Rafiru said calmly, his expression unchanged, even as Hayato stared at him. “Perhaps you don’t care, but I think it’s necessary to report Baron’s death to Lord Dartz first, and to retrieve his body.”

"Tch, Dartz must already know about Baron's death. You chose to run away just to do something so pointless?"

Hayato closed the Duel Disk as he spoke, but inadvertently dropped a card on the ground. He glared at Rafael with displeasure, then turned to the Yugi members who were waiting in ambush and said, "What a pity, everyone. Today's game time is over. You can save your lives for next time."

Seeing that Hayato and Rafael were about to leave, Jonouchi was unwilling to let them go so easily and shouted, "Wait for us—"

However, the moment Hayato finished speaking, a huge poisonous dragon appeared behind him. The [Fierce, Hungry, Poisonous Fusion Dragon] unleashed a powerful attack on the ground, and the explosion shattered the sandy ground with a loud "boom," sending rubble and sand flying and obscuring everyone's vision.

Honda, who was supporting Jonouchi, immediately let go of Jonouchi and chased after him. However, when he rushed into the smoke and dust, Hayato and Rafael had already disappeared without a trace.

"Did they escape?"

Jonouchi sat on the ground in a disheveled state, watching Honda shake his head and walk back. He said with a hint of disappointment, but was poked on the forehead by Mai Kujaku next to him: "You idiot, don't forget your current state! Do you want Hayato Kobayashi to come back after he left? Do you really want to die with him?"

"No way, I don't believe Hayato really joined Doma. He must have been brainwashed!"

"That's just your gut feeling, isn't it? Don't use something without any evidence as a basis for your actions!"

Just as Mai and Jonouchi, these two rivals, were arguing, Yugi noticed that as Hayato attacked the ground with [Fierce Hungry Poison Fusion Dragon], a card was blown from Hayato's feet toward Yugi and landed not far away.

Slightly puzzled, Yugi picked it up and looked at the monster on the card in his hand, exclaiming in surprise, "This is... [Gaia]!?"

Chapter 606 The Dump Truck Will Instantly Kill the Seahorse

[Dump trucks will definitely beat Haima]: "Balong, has it been taken down?"

[Dump truck will definitely beat Haima]: "That guy is really embarrassing."

In the communications group consisting of only Ameruda, Baron, and Raferu, Ameruda, who had learned from Raferu that Baron was dead and that even his body had been recovered, only said a few indifferent words.

There was no anger or sadness one would feel for the death of a companion; instead, it seemed as if he was mocking Baron for dying so easily.

[Dump Truck Will Instantly Destroy Seahorse]: "But Rafael, are you sure Baron was really defeated by that Jonouchi Katsuya? You know, that guy is just a second-rate duelist, right?"

【Ah~ Aiwas】: "A second-rate duelist? What made you judge that?"

【Dump Truck Will Definitely Kill Kaiba】: "Huh? Of course, it was Seto Kaiba who said that. Jonouchi is just a second-rate duelist with a third-rate deck. I remember Seto Kaiba made that assessment of Katsuya Jonouchi. I remember everything I said and did to him very clearly."

[Dump Truck Will Definitely Destroy Seahorse]: "Even with the power of the 'Legendary Dragon' that Lord Dartz is so wary of, can a second-rate duelist really defeat that guy Baron?"

【Ah~ Aiwas】: "If you have something to say, just say it. There are only the two of us here."

【Dump Truck Will Destroy Seahorse】: "What I mean is very simple, Rafael. I still don't believe that guy Hayato Kobayashi. He might have been behind Baron's death, like secretly switching Baron's card when it was just the two of them in a team, causing him to lose or something."

[Dump Truck Will Definitely Destroy Seahorse]: "Kobayashi Hayato is the kind of person who would do something like that. I don't believe that guy. Even if you're within two meters of him, his vile aura gives you the feeling that your heart is being squeezed and that you're being plotted against!"

[Dump Truck Will Instantly Destroy Haima]: "You're the same, aren't you, Rafael!"

【Ah~ Aiwass】: "..."

【Ah~ Aiwass】: "Hayato Kobayashi is an important member of Dartz-sama's plan to create a new world, and Dartz-sama trusts him a lot, so naturally I trust him too."

Ameluda looked at the text that Rafiru hesitated for a moment before sending, and couldn't help but sneer before sending a message.

[Dump Truck Will Destroy Seahorse]: "Heh, if that's really the case, why did you deliberately find an excuse not to act with Baron, but instead went to monitor Kobayashi Hayato alone?"

[Dump Truck Will Destroy Seahorse]: "Let's just assume you're telling the truth. If you want to work with Hayato Kobayashi, then go ahead and work together. But I don't trust that guy."

After sending the message, Ameruda tossed his phone aside and walked out of the room.

Pushing open the balcony window, Amelda stood on the castle balcony overlooking the island's scenery, bathed in bright sunlight. Amelda was currently in the castle on Duel Kingdom Island, which originally belonged to Pegasus and had been used to host Duel Kingdom tournaments.

Although Pegasus had a lover in his early years, he never married after her early death and had no children. Although he adopted a son named "Pegasus Moonwalker," the adopted son does not have any right to inherit Pegasus's property.

After Pegasus was "killed" and his soul was sealed by Hayato, the Doma organization successfully seized half of Pegasus's original shares in the International Illusion Company, which was 20%. Combined with the 30% shares originally held by Hayato, they held a total of 50% of the shares. At the same time, Doma also seized a portion of Pegasus's assets, including the island where the father of Duel Monsters had lived for many years.

Although theoretically the island is more of a family property to Pegasus himself, it cannot be denied that because of his identity as the "Father of Duel Monsters," the island has been imbued with Pegasus's own characteristics, and even the castle has unknowingly concealed many of Pegasus's secrets.

After discovering that Yugi, Jonouchi, and Kaiba actually possessed the "Legendary Dragon" card, Dartz naturally had some suspicions about Pegasus, simply because he was the "Father of Duel Monsters".

Duel Monsters cards aren't printed out randomly; the will of the card spirits is the most important element, and Pegasus, the "father of Duel Monsters," is arguably the person most likely to be inspired by the card spirits and design cards.

For this reason, Pegasus, who was both a duelist and a card dealer, lost his life. Meanwhile, Dartz also arranged for Amelda to come to Pegasus's castle to investigate whether Pegasus had left anything there before his death.

Ameluda was actually somewhat reluctant. He would have preferred to target the Kaiba Corporation and make Seto Kaiba suffer rather than take action against the International Illusion Society. However, Dartz's will was paramount within the Doma organization, so Ameluda could only reluctantly carry out Dartz's orders at first.

However, he intercepted a message from Seahorse, which had been monitoring him. A two-seat jet belonging to the Seahorse Group, which was basically used only by Seahorse, had applied for an international route to fly from San Francisco, USA, to Pegasus's Duel Kingdom Island.

It's obvious that Seto Kaiba is going to Duel Monsters Island.