Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Hmm? Is something wrong? I'm telling you the truth, from the bottom of my heart." Balong took another bite of fried rice, somewhat puzzled. "The person who was surrounded just now wasn't me, it was you. I can honestly tell you that not many of the people who surrounded me were actually your fans."

"That's not what I meant; the point is the part before that."

As they were talking, Jonouchi felt someone gently pat his shoulder, walk around the table where he and Baron were sitting, walk to an empty seat, and pull out a chair to sit down. It was a young man wearing a well-tailored suit and a pinkish-purple tie, who looked quite handsome, but for some reason, there was a feeling that he might suddenly make some kind of facial expression.

"Because they are not actually fans of Jonouchi. They are just passersby who came to join the fun because they heard that there was a celebrity. Although it is uncertain, it would definitely be worth it if they could accidentally make some connection with Jonouchi, especially since the ticket price for the hotel's breakfast buffet is not very high."

As the man spoke, he glanced at Jonouchi, "However, there is another reason. Jonouchi, your most well-known appearance is still from the Duel City era. Back then, Keihei used the popularity of Duel City to conduct a marketing campaign for the top four players at the time in order to promote Kaiba Entertainment Group."

"The changes in you now compared to the you back then are like heaven and earth. It's like no one would recognize the current Malik as the Dark Malik from Duel City back then."

Upon hearing the man's words, Jonouchi had a look of sudden realization: "Oh, I see. I'm relieved to hear that. I thought even my fans wouldn't recognize me."

"Huh? Wait a minute, who are you? You look kind of familiar." Jonouchi said, glancing at Baron, who was still enthusiastically showing off his fried rice. "Is he someone you know, Baron?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I forgot to turn this off." The man was taken aback by Jonouchi's words, then seemed to remember something. He raised his hand and conjured a golden staff. He lightly touched his body, and his figure changed like shattered glass, revealing his true appearance. "That was a fake identity I used to cover my tracks. I must say, the Millennium Scepter is quite useful."

As Hayato spoke, he put the Millennium Scepter back on his waist.

"I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Oh, it's you, Hayato Kobayashi. You still have that familiar trick when it comes to lying. You used it at the KC Cup before, didn't you? That look just now, was it called 'Dan Rito'?" Seeing Hayato reveal his true identity, Baron straightened his back and looked at him, saying, "I was fooled by you so badly. I never thought you would actually betray Doma."

"Come on, Doma's been dead for who knows how long. Do you really want to avenge Dartz?" Hayato smiled slightly.

Although Dartz was arguably the most powerful figure in the Doma organization, after he was killed by Hayato and his group, his men scattered and lost all loyalty to him. Not to mention Hayato, who was an undercover agent, the other two of the Doma Three Knights—Ameruda and Rafiru—had betrayed Dartz before Doma's downfall.

In the end, only Baron, who had died early in the battle with the city, could be considered a remnant of Doma's forces.

“No, I have no interest in that. In fact, if it weren’t for how amazing Jonouchi is, I might have betrayed Dartz later.” Waving his hand, Baron scooped up the last spoonful of fried rice. “Compared to those boring things like revenge, it’s more important to be full right now. After all, this is the ‘peaceful life’ I’ve been longing for.”

As Jonouchi watched Baron finish the last spoonful of fried rice, he couldn't help but exclaim, "You can really eat! How long have you been starving?"

"It's not that I'm really hungry, it's just that I feel like the hotel room is so expensive, it would be a waste not to get my money's worth at the buffet."

"Then even if you eat fried rice until you die, you'll never get your money's worth, okay?"

“Urusai, I have nothing to say to you educated people.” Baron said awkwardly, then abruptly changed the subject to Hayato, “Speaking of which, since you’re here, you were the one who led those people away, right? I’m really curious how you managed to lead those blind people away.”

Just now, because Baron recognized Jonouchi, he almost diverted the trouble from the group surrounding him to Jonouchi. Then, someone in the crowd shouted something in Arabic that neither of them could understand, and suddenly the group dispersed and went outside the buffet restaurant. Jonouchi and Baron were able to escape and sit here.

“Oh, it’s nothing. If you know a few simple Arabic phrases, you can do it easily too,” Hayato said casually. “I just need to ask Malik, who has already finished his curry, to come downstairs, and then tell those people who just want to ride the coattails of the fame that there is a ‘Bekas’ outside.”

"Compared to Jonouchi, Pegasus, the 'father of Duel Monsters,' is definitely more attractive to them, even if there are Jonouchi fans among them. And they can't even tell Jonouchi and Baron apart, let alone Malik, whose hair is light blonde but looks somewhat similar to Pegasus's silver hair."

As he spoke, Hayato nodded affirmatively: "Yeah, it's pretty simple, isn't it? The world where only Malik is injured is complete."

"Brother-in-law, you tricked me!" As Hayato finished speaking, Baron and Jonouchi vaguely heard Malik's voice coming from outside the cafeteria.

The two fell silent for a moment. After a long while, Baron sighed and said, "It has to be you, Kobayashi Hayato. When it comes to being good at betraying your teammates, you're the best."

"That's a strange thing to say. What does the bad thing that Dan Rito did have to do with me, Kobayashi Hayato?"

Listening to the conversation between Hayato and Baron, the two "former" colleagues, Jonouchi seemed to remember something and said, "I remember now, Baron, weren't you in America before? How did you end up in Egypt? We even ran into Rafiru before."

“Rafiru? He’s in Egypt too?” Baron’s expression was somewhat surprised, as if he didn’t know Rafiru was also in Egypt. He shook his head and said, “We haven’t been in contact since Doma disbanded. I only just found out he was in Egypt. What a coincidence.”

"And if you ask me why I came to Egypt, on one hand, now that I'm no longer serving Dartz, I'm free from constraints. Whether I want to embark on a thrilling adventure or continue my peaceful life is up to me. But subconsciously, I wanted to come to Egypt, the birthplace of Duel Monsters."

"On the other hand, to live a peaceful life, you need funds to cover your expenses. Without Dazi's reimbursement, I had to find a new job."

As Baron spoke, he stood up with a mysterious smile, grabbed the sides of his coat and flung them open like an exhibitionist. Jonouchi was even prepared to close his eyes to avoid going blind.

However, when Baron opened his jacket, what was revealed was not something that shouldn't be shown in public, but a hoodie he was wearing underneath. Judging from the fabric, it seemed to be just an ordinary mass-produced hoodie, neither particularly good nor bad. However, the logo printed on the hoodie looked very familiar to Hayato.

"What's this?" Jonouchi asked, seemingly seeing the logo for the first time. Baron answered without hesitation, "Is this the first time you've seen this logo? It's part of my new job, so I'll explain it to you. The logo on this hoodie is the 'Electronic Flow' logo."

"Electron Flow?" Jonouchi looked thoughtful, then clapped his hands. "I remember now, isn't it Samejima-san's 'Electron Flow'?"

"Oh? You know more than I thought, Jonouchi. As expected of the man I value." Baron heard Jonouchi mention Samejima and knew he could explain less than he expected. "You must have experienced my [Armor] deck, right? That power that fundamentally damages a duelist's spirit."

Upon hearing Baron mention the [Armor] deck, Jonouchi couldn't help but recall his duel with Baron, a faint phantom pain throbbing in his ribs: "Ah, even after all this time, it still aches faintly when I think about it now."

“When I was working under Darz in Doma, I could use that power without restraint. But if I wanted to live a peaceful life, that power wouldn’t be suitable for me.” Baron spread his hands helplessly and gave an example: “For instance, when I want to spar with someone, even if I want to hold back, I can’t precisely control my strength to avoid hurting my opponent. It’s very difficult to control the force when you want to step on an ant without crushing it.”

"Although I feel a little reluctant, I have decided to seal away the [Armor] deck and no longer use it. As its replacement, I joined the 'Cyber ​​Flow' dojo and gained the power of 'Cyber ​​Flow'."

"How could he make such a decision?" Jonouchi looked at Baron with great surprise. You see, it's not a simple matter for a duelist to change their deck. The stronger the duelist, the deeper the bond between them and their deck. Even if the strength of the cards increases significantly after changing the deck, it's difficult to make up for the loss of that bond.

Of course, the kind of person who changes decks more frequently than a waifu in anime, and whose decks have increasingly deep bonds, is a very small minority.

"There's nothing to regret. Since you know about 'Electronic Flow,' you should also know the strength of [Electronic Dragon], especially you, Hayato Kobayashi. I've heard Samejima mention that you seem to have obtained the ultimate power of 'Electronic Flow' passed down through generations. You're really something, Hayato Kobayashi."

As he spoke, Baron added with some regret, "It's a bit of a pity. I've only had the basic 'Cyber ​​Ogre' cards for a short time, and I've only just managed to get familiar with using them and can't unleash their full power yet. Otherwise, I really wanted to have another proper duel with Jonouchi."

"Hmph, I won't lose to you, Baron. You're already my defeated opponent." Jonouchi paused, his tone changing as if he were moving closer to someone, "Anyone who loses to me once has lost the chance to beat me again."

"Yosh, you've said the line I've always wanted to say."

"I knew it was Seto Kaiba from that tone," Baron said helplessly, pulling his coat tighter. "Anyway, I've joined 'Cyber ​​Stream,' and it seems that Samejima Normal School organized a trip to Egypt to raise funds or something. They said it would allow students to experience firsthand the Duel Monsters, the passage of time, and the eternal brilliance of 'Cyber ​​Stream.' Since I have some skill and am the oldest, I'm kind of the tour leader."

"It's not that Samejima said I could get a share of the money or anything, it's mainly because I think children are the future of the world, and we have to let them grow up."

Baron picked up his plate, seemingly still not finished eating, and reached for something else, but just then, a boy appeared behind him.

"Uh, Marufuji? How did you end up here—"

“Mr. Baron…” A boy with short, bluish-green hair, who looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, interrupted Baron with a rather serious expression. “You said last night that we would meet at the entrance this morning, so why haven’t you shown up?”

Hearing this, Baron looked flustered: "Oh no, I completely forgot about the buffet and meeting up here!?"

Chapter 855 What kind of wheelchair do you have? What kind of wheelchair do I have?

"Marufuji, listen to my excuse, no, listen to my explanation."

For some reason, Baron was quite humble when facing the boy named "Marufuji," giving the impression that he had some fatal weakness in the other's hands and was completely at the other's mercy.

Somewhat puzzled, Jonouchi asked Baron, "Why do you seem so afraid of this child?"

“It’s not something you can understand just by talking about it. You, Jonouchi, who hasn’t even graduated from school yet, can’t understand the hardships of an adult who’s already struggling in society,” Baron said with some resentment. “Although I’ve joined ‘Electronic Flow,’ I’m just a temporary worker. If someone complains to Samejima Normal School, I definitely won’t be able to keep my job.”

"As for Marufuji, he can be said to be a direct disciple of Samejima Master, and he even reached the level of Master of 'Electronic Flow' three years ago. Although he is not very old, he is the second person in charge of this training trip besides me. Jobs like 'Electronic Flow' with few tasks and good pay are too hard to find, so of course I am afraid that he will complain."

After saying that, Baron remembered that Marufuji was still standing in front of him, and his face stiffened: "Uh, should I not have said that in front of you?"

The boy named Marufuji shook his head: "It has nothing to do with that kind of thing, Mr. Baron. I will not be prejudiced against you because of your reason for joining 'Electronic Flow', nor will I gossip about it."

After a pause, seeing the relieved and hopeful look in Baron's eyes, Marufuji continued calmly, "When we return to America, I will only truthfully report to the teachers' college that you have abandoned other students five times during this trip, and I also saw you negotiating with the gas station attendant to overcharge for gas last time—"

"Marufuji, no, please don't do that kind of thing."

“I’ve been an orphan since I was a child and I’m terrified of poverty. I didn’t dare touch a single penny of that money.”

Seeing this, Jonouchi sighed, "So the adult world is so difficult. Baron looks so pitiful."

“No, even a normal adult wouldn’t go to this level.” Hayato remarked, but then stepped forward and looked at the boy named “Marufuji” with great interest. “Marufuji of Electron Stream, even if it’s just a coincidence of names, they shouldn’t look so alike. I didn’t expect that Caesar was actually quite cute when he was little.”

“I’m not called Caesar, my name is Ryo Marufuji, sir.” The boy frowned, a puzzled expression on his face, not immediately recognizing Hayato. “Is it just my imagination? Why can I sense the power of the [Cyber ​​Dragon] from you?”

Hayato glanced at Ryo Marufuji with some surprise, raised an eyebrow, reached into the card box at his waist and precisely pulled out a card, showing it to Ryo Marufuji, and said, "Your senses are actually quite sharp. There's no mistake, I do have [Cyber ​​Dragon] on me."

As Hayato took out the card, the Cyber ​​Dragon Pokémon vaguely appeared beside him. However, Hayato also noticed that after he took out the card, Ryo Marufuji was only staring at the Cyber ​​Dragon card and did not notice the Cyber ​​Dragon Pokémon.

Ryo Marufuji, also known as "Kaiser" Ryo, the emperor of the Future Duel Academy, is nicknamed "Kaiser" because of his kingly and equal fighting style that crushes all enemies with his "I came, I saw, I conquered" style. He is a more famous cyber duelist than the current cyber duelist master, Iemitsu Samejima.

Among the group of terrible teammates around Jaden Yuki, Ryo Marufuji, who graduated two years ahead of him, is one of the few characters whose character wasn't ruined by the writers, and he has gained immense popularity due to his outstanding strength and dueling performance.

This is one of the reasons why Cyber ​​Dragon, a deck whose strength is only second-tier, has gained top-tier popularity; the personal charisma of its user, Ryo Marufuji, also plays a significant role. For one thing, words like "wheelchair" and "struggle" are practically ingrained in the minds of card players, instantly bringing to mind Ryo Marufuji's Cyber ​​Dragon.

Of course, even though they were all nerfed, not all decks are created equal. Some decks were practically dead after being nerfed, while others could still crush other decks after being nerfed, like the Tear of the Gods deck.

The mere appearance of Baron was already unexpected. Even after hearing him mention that he had joined Cyberstream, Hayato hadn't anticipated seeing Marufuji Ryo from his childhood here. As for the fact that Baron seemed unable to see Cyberdragon's Pokémon, it wasn't actually surprising to Hayato.

In the story that takes place at the future Duel Academy, many people form bonds with spirits, such as John Anderson, whom we just met, who regards spirits as family; Four Arithmetic, who has fallen in love with spirits; Dilano Kenzan, who can transform into a spirit by burying a dinosaur in his leg; and Jun Manjoume, who is currently plagued by the [Dragon of Light and Darkness] and often has a bad hand.

As for Jaden Yuki, he's even more of a heavyweight, he directly fused with a Pokémon, can you believe it? It's just that times are different, otherwise Jaden and Yubel's combined move might have been renamed "Different Heat Together" and then they could have openly performed "Flash Draw".

However, among these many people, Ryo Marufuji was different. He didn't display any talent as a Spirit Master, appearing quite ordinary compared to Judai and Manjoume. But this doesn't mean Ryo Marufuji was weak. On the contrary, being able to do what others could only do through their bond with Spirits with sheer willpower and awareness is quite remarkable.

Some people are geniuses in terms of talent, while others are geniuses in terms of effort; Ryo Marufuji belongs to the latter. However, even so, Ryo Marufuji was recognized and awarded the "Electronic Terminator Dragon" at the age of nine, making him a true genius.

"Sir, could you tell me who you are and why you possess the [Cyber ​​Dragon] card, which even apprentices in the 'Cyber ​​Flow' must pass a series of tests to obtain?"

Although he couldn't see the Pokémon's abilities, Ryo Marufuji could still recognize that the card in front of him was a genuine Cyber ​​Dragon card. However, at the same time, new doubts arose.

Even without superpowers like absolute memory, Ryo Marufuji believed he could remember most of the people in the dojo, but he had no recollection of the person in front of him wielding the Cyber ​​Dragon.

This is to be expected, since although the illusions of Baron and Jonouchi were shut down, the Millennium Scepter on Hayato was still activated. Therefore, in Marufuji Ryo’s eyes, Hayato was not his original appearance, but his “smaller” version of Dan Rito.

If Hayato were to reveal his true face, Ryo Marufuji would definitely recognize him. This is not only because Hayato is the "King of Duels," but also because Ryo Marufuji was one of the disciples present when Hayato went to the Electro-Style Dojo to receive the secret technique of the Electro-Style lineage—[Dragon's Radiance Technique]—from Samejima Iemitsu and the previous Electro-Style master. He witnessed Hayato's duel with the previous master.

Hayato, also in a playful mood, didn't intend to reveal his identity to Marufuji Ryo so easily. Instead, he said with a wicked smile, "I have no obligation to answer your questions. Rather than me telling you the answer, why don't you guess for yourself why I have this [Cyber ​​Dragon] card?"

"Think about it carefully, Ryo Marufuji. Why would Baron, who is not a beginner in dueling, give up his cards to join the Cyber ​​Stream? Why does he, as the leader of the tour group, always disappear on his own? Why do I, who do not belong to the Cyber ​​Stream, have the [Cyber ​​Dragon] card in my hand!"

"There's only one answer, Ryo Marufuji!"

Because of Hayato's imposing manner, twelve-year-old Ryo Marufuji subconsciously took a step back. Following Hayato's line of reasoning, he naturally arrived at a perfectly reasonable answer: "Mr. Baron, he's your mole!? You actually want to steal the [Cyber ​​Dragon] card in this way?!"

"That's not true at all! I really just wanted to live a peaceful life like a plant, that's why I joined the 'Electron Stream'!"

From the very beginning, Baron had sensed something was off. He didn't know why, but Marufuji Ryo, under Kobayashi Hayato's guidance, had come to such an absurd answer. The conditions on the surface were indeed fine, but who knew where Hayato got that card? There was no need to be so clear about the duelist's situation.

Upon hearing that Marufuji Ryo actually thought he was Hayato's mole with the aim of stealing the "Cyber ​​Dragon" signature card of "Cyber ​​Stream", Baron quickly denied it.

But Marufuji Ryo glanced at him and said coldly, "Although I'm not very old, do you think I would believe your nonsense?"

"I trusted you so much, Mr. Baron, and I always thought of you as a failed adult who lacked ambition, was forgetful, and had little self-control. I never expected you to be so well hidden. Samejima Normal School really misjudged you by letting you join the 'Electronic Stream'."

"As the master of 'Electronic Flow,' I will today stand in for Samejima Master and cleanse the house!" With that, Marufuji Ryo pulled out a duel disk. "Let's duel! I will use the brilliance of 'Electronic Flow' to completely shatter your evil heart!"

"Even if you say that..." Baron looked troubled upon hearing Marufuji Ryo's words. Using a duel to build a bond seemed quite feasible. If he showed enough sincerity in the duel, he might be able to persuade Marufuji Ryo, this idiot who was easily fooled by Kobayashi Hayato.

But the problem is, what deck should I use? I sealed away the [Armor] deck to avoid harming others, and I can't just take it out again now after sealing it away not long ago. Besides, I don't intend to harm Marufuji Ryo.

As for using the "Cyber ​​Dragon" deck, based solely on his familiarity with this new deck, he probably wouldn't last two turns. Anyone who has seen the explosive power of [Cyber ​​Dragon] would have no doubt that he would be instantly killed before he could even engage in a duel with that kid, Ryo Marufuji.

Subconsciously, Baron looked to the side, only to find Hayato standing there as if it were none of his business: "Tsk tsk, I never thought Baron was this kind of person."

"Yeah, yeah, that's awful." Jonouchi chimed in, also sporting a schadenfreude expression, clearly wanting to see Baron humiliated.

"You two! In the end, isn't this situation caused by you, Hayato? Why were you just standing by and watching?!"

Seeing that Baron seemed genuinely anxious, Hayato laughed and said, "Hehe, are you asking me, Danrito, for help? In that case, I'll help you, my partner who stole the Cyber ​​Dragon card."

"You're clearly just making things worse!"

Baron watched Hayato pull out a deck and complained, but seeing Hayato take his place against Ryo Marufuji, he knew the outcome. Without a doubt, Hayato would win in the end, and if they could connect through a duel, that idiot Ryo Marufuji would definitely realize that Hayato Kobayashi was not the kind of evil person who would steal other people's cards.