Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Even decks that haven't reached the level of awakened spirits will be forcibly given birth to card spirits under the influence of this power. However, these awakened card spirits are not pure spirits with a deep bond to the user. They are filled with twisted dark power, making them difficult to command. If you're not careful, they might even turn around and control the duelist himself."

Hayato's words might have sounded alarmist, but he wasn't exaggerating at all. As of now, Hayato already has four "Planet" series cards and has encountered three duelists who included "Planet" series cards in their decks.

Tira Muku, whom I encountered and became an opponent of at the KC Cup, used the [Vampire] deck but was controlled by the awakened [Vampire Witch] and became her servant. Her deck included [Flaming Sparks].

Her father, Kobayashi Hiroyuki, who claims to be invincible in London, quickly awakened the Elf's Half-Dragon Maid family in a newly drawn deck because of the inclusion of Tyrant Neptune. However, the compatibility between the two is unimaginably poor, and she is closer to Hayato than Kobayashi Hiroyuki.

Because the International Illusion Society and Kaiba Entertainment Group jointly organized the KC Cup, and Tenma Gekiyuki was in the backstage control area directing and coordinating the overall work, although he seemed normal, in Hayato's eyes he was the most abnormal one. Not only was he not the "perfect duelist" in Hayato's mind, but he also, like Pegasus, had completely forgotten about his younger brother Tenma Yagyō.

After counting them all, it was actually Hayato who received the [Great Saturn] card from the system, and Hayato was also the most normal and serious one among them. When he received the [Great Saturn] card, Hayato remembered the system mentioning that although the [Great Saturn] card was not from the original manga but was a physical card, it was actually an unclaimed card that the system had collected from this world.

Apart from Pegasus Moonwalker, both Tira Muku and Kobayashi Hiroyuki showed signs of awakening card spirits due to their respective "Planet" cards, and without exception, the awakened spirits were not the obedient type.

For example, Hayato discovered that recently, Xiao Lan—also known as the [Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl]—has actually started playing with the [Disruption] brothers and their friends. She has even learned to talk back and shift the blame when her older sisters scold her. If this continues, she will eventually go astray.

However, on the other hand, Hayato discovered that if the duelist himself possesses spirit power, even if he awakens a spirit that would be completely detrimental to the user, like [Vampire Fairy], it doesn't matter. A duelist protected by spirit power will not be affected, and Amelda does indeed have spirits around her.

Hayato glanced at Ameruda's side and saw a phantom of the [Jack Force - Destruction Force]. Although he hadn't witnessed Ameruda and Rafiel's duel in front of the Doma headquarters, it was clear that the [Jack Force - Destruction Force], once a symbol of Ameruda's will for revenge, had now transformed into a symbol of protection because of his resolve and will.

Amelda ignored Hayato's gaze, slightly raising her hand to glance at the [Light Mercury] card in her hand: "Able to awaken the power of a spirit, but in a state of being corrupted by the power of darkness?"

"Such a thing looks wonderful, but only a fool who only has revenge in his eyes would accept such power, although I used to be such a fool."

After a pause, Ameruda flipped the card over with a slight flick of her fingers and stretched out her arm without hesitation. "But that's not right. This thing that's so similar to an 'Orichalcos fragment' is too hot to handle. I don't want it."

As she spoke, Ameruda's eyes were fixed on Hayato: "Although I didn't see you take it out, since you said you've encountered it many times, given your personality, you must have acquired quite a few of these so-called 'planet' cards by now, right, Hayato Kobayashi?"

Hayato frowned upon hearing this: "What gives you the right to slander someone's innocence out of thin air!?"

"Just tell me if you took this so-called 'planet' card from someone else."

"…have."

"Hmph, that settles it then. Your personality is still the same as before. Just like before, even if the opponent was that 'thief' Keith who you had defeated before, you still took out his entire deck after you defeated him, didn't you?"

With a cold snort, Amelda tossed the card in her hand directly to Hayato, watching him catch it, and said, "I'm confident in my intuition. When Seto Kaiba disappeared, there was definitely a similar aura to this card. You can use this card, which hasn't been tainted by my scent, to search for Seto Kaiba."

"Don't make me sound like some kind of drug-sniffing dog," Hayato retorted, but then pulled out the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] that he always wore around his neck and held it in his hand. With a thought from Hayato, a soft golden light shone from the golden ring and spread to the several golden cones around the disc.

"Card swap!" Accompanied by a line of cryptic meaning, Hayato touched the Millennium Wisdom Wheel and the Light Mercury together, making a gesture similar to swiping a card. It seemed that this was how the Millennium Wisdom Wheel remembered the aura of the Light Mercury. Suddenly, the cones on the golden disc started to move and floated up, pointing in one direction.

"Although this isn't the first time I've seen it, the Millennium Wisdom Wheel is indeed very useful." Jonouchi exclaimed as he watched Hayato use the Millennium Wisdom Wheel, seemingly having found the Kaiba. "Sometimes it's even more useful than the Millennium Eye, which can see through the complex thoughts of girls."

“Indeed, just like last time when I couldn’t decide what gift to give Shizuka, it was Hayato who found the answer using the Millennium Wisdom Wheel,” Honda casually agreed.

Jonouchi nodded subconsciously, then belatedly realized what Honda had just said: "Wait a minute, 'giving Shizuka a gift'!? When did that happen, Honda? Why didn't I know about that?"

"Haha, the weather is really nice today!"

"Sure enough, when I borrowed your phone to call Shizuka last time, the call went through without me even dialing. You actually saved Shizuka's number in your phone without my knowledge, didn't you? Listen to me, let me see!"

"Jounouchi, no! What are you doing? Ouch!"

Seeing Jonouchi holding Honda's head between his arms and trying to crush it with his biceps, Hayato didn't stop the two from their usual playful fight. Instead, he glanced at the time and said, "I wonder how Pegasus, Bakura, Yugi, and Kyoko are doing with their shopping. Someone needs to stay behind and tell them where we're going, so they don't get lost."

"I'll go with you to find my brother, Hayato!" Upon hearing Hayato's words, Keihei immediately volunteered, while Ameruda chimed in, "I want to go too, maybe we'll see Seto Kaiba get his comeuppance."

"Me too, me too! I've always wanted to see Kaiba make that embarrassing face." Jonouchi also showed his own exaggerated facial expression and laughed.

Compared to Jonouchi and Ameruda, who were eager to see Kaiba's antics, Honda and Malik seemed less interested. "In that case, Honda and I will stay here," Malik said, beaming as if he'd found money, holding the large bucket of popcorn that Jonouchi hadn't finished.

With the team assignments completed, Hayato and his companions didn't linger. With the idea of ​​setting off as soon as possible, finding their team members, and finishing their work quickly, they immediately followed the direction indicated by the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] and arrived at the main street outside the isolated area, proceeding straight ahead along the street.

"Ameruda, are you familiar with this city?" Hayato asked Ameruda as they walked.

Shaking his head, Ameruda casually said, "Although I did arrive a while earlier than you, only a short time has passed since Doma was dissolved. My time here was very limited, and I was just as unfamiliar with the city. I only had a slight impression of this main street near my workplace."

"Having an impression is enough. The fact that the [Millennial Wisdom Wheel] found its target so quickly means that the seahorse, or something related to the aura on [Light Mercury], should exist on this street and not too far from us. Do you know anything on this street that we should pay attention to?"

"Things worth paying attention to? I don't really know what I should be concerned about." Ameruda frowned and thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "There seems to be a Chinese restaurant on this street called Hongzhou Banquet Hall Taishan, the manager is called Ba, and her Chinese food is so spicy it's hellish. There's also a Japanese restaurant called Yukihira..."

"Fine, forget I asked." Hayato rolled his eyes at Ameruda, and couldn't help but marvel at how much the other had changed. Not long ago, when Doma was still around, Ameruda's mind was filled with nothing but "I need to figure out how to deal with Seto Kaiba." But once that obsession was let go, he had so quickly integrated into his identity as a chef.

But thinking about it carefully, it seems that when Hayato was still in Doma, even the staff meals of an organization like Doma were just as bad. Hayato and Baron used to go to Ameruda for special meals, and sometimes even Darz would come.

Rafael? Rafael is locked in his room taking care of his cards.

This guy is surprisingly talented in this area.

Thinking this to himself, Hayato noticed that the golden light on the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] flickered slightly, seemingly because he had gotten closer. At the same time, a familiar voice suddenly came from afar:

"One generation! Wagatsumashi!"

"Blue-Ace-Tilted-Head-Dragon!!!"

Chapter 874: If you can't hit, it's meaningless.

Although they could only hear his voice without seeing him, Ameluda, Keihei, and Hayato were all so familiar with Seto Kaiba's voice that they knew it all too well, not to mention that the lines Kaiba was shouting were etched into his DNA.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Is that Seto Kaiba?" Ameruda glanced at Hayato, and judging from the expression on Hayato's face, he was sure he wasn't hallucinating. He couldn't help but ask, "We haven't even found him yet, how come Seto Kaiba just popped up on his own?"

"Otherwise what? Do you think he'd be better off without his brother?" Guiping said irritably upon hearing Ameruda's words, glaring at her and prompting her to quickly wave her hand to indicate that she didn't mean it that way.

"Let's leave this guy alone for now, Sabo. Instead of talking nonsense here, let's go over there and see if that's really Kaiba and what he's doing."

Hayato tugged at Keihei's sleeve and offered this advice. Keihei, after hearing Hayato's words, realized that finding his brother was indeed more important right now. He didn't even care that Hayato had called him by the wrong name again, and the two of them ran one after the other toward the place where the sound of the seahorse had come from. Ameruda followed behind without any hurry.

He wasn't in a hurry at all, because deep down he didn't really care about Kaiba's safety. He only came to find Kaiba with Hayato and Keibei because he wanted to have some fun.

Although Jonouchi also had a similar idea of ​​watching the fun, unlike Ameruda, if Jonouchi saw Kaiba in danger, he might take the opportunity to gain some advantage verbally, but he would take immediate action to help Kaiba.

Although Ameruda had previously let go of her resentment and obsession with the surname "Kaiba" and Seto Kaiba, she had only gone from being mortal enemies to strangers. If Kaiba were to encounter danger in front of her, Ameruda would probably just turn around and take a selfie with Kaiba as the background.

After walking about a hundred meters along the street, the three of them soon arrived at the place where the sound of the seahorse had come from earlier, and sure enough, they saw a man wearing a long white trench coat who was raising and unfolding the Duel Disk on his wrist.

While Kaiba's trench coat might be imitated, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that appeared in front of that person was unmistakable. That person was none other than Seto Kaiba, who had suddenly disappeared and was now reappearing in a duel.

Because of their positions, Kaiba, who was facing away from Hayato and the others, did not immediately notice their arrival. Seeing that Kaiba seemed to be about to take action, Hayato told Keihei to keep quiet so as not to disrupt Kaiba's train of thought.

After all, off-field factors always need to be taken very seriously, such as breaking someone's hand when using a forced handshake card, tearing up the magic ball to use, or mischievous Fairy Star players going to the toilet.

If Kaiba were facing an ordinary opponent, Hayato wouldn't have acted this way. After all, although Kaiba is basically always getting the short end of the stick when facing him and Yugi, he is still one of the top three duelists in the world. He can easily defeat ordinary weaklings even if they are not serious.

However---

"Hmph, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, huh? While it certainly has considerable attack power, it's still just a Normal Monster. Even seeing my Destroyer Swordsman on the field, it still summoned its own Dragon-type monster without hesitation?"

The person opposite the seahorse remained completely calm as the powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon descended. His reliance seemed to be solely on the Warrior-Type monster in Attack Position that was on his field.

[?: 5000LP, 0 cards in hand]

[Destroyer Swordsman] [7☆/Land]

[Warrior Race/Effect]

[2600/2300]

[GaiK] X3

Gravesite: [Gluttonous Dragon], [Sacrificial Doll]

(【Gluttonous Dragon】: When Summoned, Flipped, or Special Summoned, it restores 1000 Life Points; when destroyed, it loses 2000 Life Points.)

【Sacrifice Doll】: Tribute one of your monsters to Special Summon a Level 7☆ monster that can be Normal Summoned. That monster cannot attack this turn.

Seto Kaiba: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] [ATK3000]

Gravesites: [Ancient Rules], [Pot of Greed]

(【Ancient Rule】: Special Summon 1 5☆ or higher Normal Monster from your hand)

[Pot of Greed]: Draw two cards)

"【Destruction Swordsman】, I remember it's a card specifically designed to counter Dragon-Type monsters. It can increase its ATK based on the Dragon-Type monsters on the opponent's field or in their Graveyard." Amelda raised an eyebrow. "Seto Kaiba has a 【Blue-Eyes White Dragon】 on his field, so what is the current ATK of 【Destruction Swordsman】..."

[Destroyer Swordsman] [ATK 2600 → 3100]

"Attack power of 3100 points, exactly 100 points more than the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], isn't that a bit too much of a targeting tactic? The designer of that monster." Guiping frowned, saying with considerable resentment, "Unforgivable, Pegasus!"

"Huh? Was that card designed by Pegasus?" Ameruda asked, surprised.

Guiping shrugged: "Actually, I don't know either, but Hayato said that if something happens and you can't find anyone to take the blame, it's always right to pass the buck to Pegasus."

(Pegasus, happily eating a marshmallow: "Achoo!")

Meanwhile, Kaiba sent the Ancient Rule, which he had just used to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon, to the Graveyard, completely ignoring the Destroyer.

"Hmph, you fool, you stopped me for no reason. If your only reliance is this kind of weak monster, then be prepared to anger me and be burned to ashes by the wrath of the Blue Eyes."

As he spoke, Kaiba drew a card from his hand and said, "I heard from Hayato Kobayashi that this line was said by a scheming, child-loving mama's boy. I never thought that even I would have the chance to say this one day."

"No matter how high the attack power is, it's meaningless if you can't hit!"

"I activate this card from my hand, the Spell Card [Destruction Gale Burst]! This card can only be activated if [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] is face-up on my field, destroy all monsters on your opponent's field!"

Out of personal preference, even though it could be perfectly replaced by [Lightning Strike], Kaiba still chose to add this field-bombing card, [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], to his deck and use it here. The [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] standing in front of him opened its bloody maw after the spell card was activated.

Light converged into its mouth, and after the seahorse waved its hand forward, it suddenly spat it out, transforming into a torrent of light: "Crush that trash fish, [Blue Eyes]!"

"Destroy Burst Stream!"

Just as the breath of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon was about to engulf the Destroyer, the mysterious figure opposite Kaiba seemed to have anticipated that Kaiba would use this type of card, and calmly pressed the button on the Duel Disk: "Then at this moment, I will also use my backrow face-down card."

The mysterious figure flipped over his face-down card, revealing a Quick-Play Spell Card, and simultaneously draped a white energy robe over the [Destroyer Swordsman]. The [Destruction Gale Burst], brimming with an aura capable of annihilating everything, struck the [Destroyer Swordsman], yet it seemed like nothing more than a gentle breeze, causing absolutely no damage; the [Destroyer Swordsman] didn't even flinch!

"【Forbidden Cloth】, although you know the effect of this card, I'll explain it again anyway." Pointing to his 【Destroyer Swordsman】, the mysterious man said, "Target my 【Destroyer Swordsman】, reduce its ATK by 600 until the end of the turn, but gain resistance to not being targeted by effects or destroyed by effects."

[Destroyer Swordsman] [ATK 3100 → 2500]

"Tsk, it actually managed to hold off... But at least it has made that monster's attack power lower than that of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Seeing that the Destruction Gale Burst Bullet had failed, Keihei said with some regret, "Now, if the Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacks, it can destroy that Destruction Swordsman just the same."

However, Ameruda shook his head and said, "Although your idea is good, it's a pity that the card [Destruction Gale Burst] not only requires [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] to be on the field to be used, but also prevents [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from attacking for the turn it is used, whether it is the one on the field or one summoned later."

Hearing Amelda's words, even Keihei couldn't help but retort, "So, if both cards destroy all of the opponent's monsters, why didn't my brother use [Lightning Strike]? Even [Lightning Vortex] would be stronger than this card."

"Who knows? Seto Kaiba must be seriously ill to do this," Hayato said casually, glancing at the changed attack power of [Destruction Swordsman] and remarking, "3000 attack points versus 2500 attack points, what a strange number."

"Hmph, I'll take it. But don't be naive enough to think that the Blue-Eyes attack will end here." Kaiba sent the used spell card to the graveyard and played another card from his hand. "Next up is this card, the spell card Chaos Mode. I'll release another Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand as a ritual tribute!"

"Let it rest in the graveyard for a while, [Blue-Eyes]..." He sent the second [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] to the graveyard. Although this time it was rare for Kaiba not to draw all three [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] cards at once as if they were glued together, he still managed to draw two in one go.

Holding up a ritual monster with a blue border, Kaiba shouted, "Unify the power of light and darkness, guide destiny to the limit of chaos, descend, ruler of light and darkness! And then be defeated before her!"

"Ritual Summoning, [Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon]!"