Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"A message to Domino City, no, to all duelists worldwide!"

"That voice!" As if he were a new human, Jonouchi instantly realized whose voice it was, and he abruptly looked up at the sky in the direction from which the voice came. "It's Kaiba!"

Driven by the air currents at high altitude, a huge airship floated up to the vicinity of Domino City High School. The airship, hanging directly above the school, blocked the midday sun and cast a huge shadow on the ground, gradually enveloping the rooftop where Hayato and his friends were.

Considering how well Kaiba knows the group, the fact that his voice happened to be broadcast just as the airship arrived at the school building where their classes were located is probably not a coincidence, but rather that he wanted them to know what he was about to announce.

On a cube-shaped device mounted beneath the airship, all five sides except the one connected to the airship lit up simultaneously, revealing Kaiba's ever-present, expressionless face on the giant screen. Looking down at the earth, Kaiba on the screen seemed to feel that his previous statement wasn't good enough, and repeated himself: "To all duelists of the world, I am Seto Kaiba, President of Kaiba Entertainment Group."

"Since its release, Duel Monsters has gradually expanded worldwide, with countless people loving and joining this field, bringing vitality to the future of Duel Monsters." After a pause, Kaiba suddenly said seriously, "But, it's not enough!"

"In the realm of Duel Monsters, experienced pioneers firmly occupy the top positions. Even talented newcomers, lacking direction for improvement, are unable to surpass the useless and mediocre predecessors and can only watch helplessly as some ordinary people who rely solely on luck and are incompetent stepping on their heads."

Hearing Kaiba's speech coming from above, Jonouchi's fist hardened: "That bastard Kaiba, he's talking about me, isn't he? He's trying to pull a fast one on me!"

"Calm down a bit, Jonouchi. It's okay if you get sick from getting angry, but don't spill the bento Shizuka made!" Honda quickly pressed down on Jonouchi, who was trying to get up. "Let's hear what Kaiba is trying to say with all this fanfare."

"Wow, this has caused quite a commotion. It's just like what happened in Duel City before." Kyoko said, glancing at Hayato and Yugi beside her. She noticed that the two of them had an expression that said they had expected this situation and were even "finally waiting for it."

Meanwhile, on the airship in the sky, the seahorse's speech continued.

"My goal is to protect the Duel Monsters environment I live in and the future of Duel Monsters that I love. Therefore, I want to change the current Duel Monsters environment, so that it is no longer an environment where empiricists dominate, or an environment where only second-rate duelists with good luck can live in peace."

"In three months, the Seahorse Entertainment Group, in conjunction with the International Illusion Society, will build an academy on an uninhabited island in the Indian Ocean. This academy will guide duelists, provide a safe space for academic duelists to grow, and inject strong new blood into the Duel Monsters field!"

"In order to provide sufficient teaching staff for the Duel Academy and to allow the next generation of duelists to fully display their talents, in one month, Domino City will hold the GeneX Tournament under the name 'Generation neXt', which will be divided into youth and adult groups."

"Make Duel Monsters great again!"

Two forms appeared next to the seahorse. Under the "Youth Group" it said that the age limit was "12-17 years old", while the "Adult Group" said "20-50 years old".

It's clear that the Duel Academy is designed to compete with regular high schools. The highest age for the youth group is 17, which is the age of a senior high school student. If they don't continue to university after graduating from high school, they can use this competition to showcase themselves and become professional duelists. The age of 12 ensures that the competition's minimum age is not too high, so that there aren't too many elementary school students.

For the adult group, the minimum age limit for adulthood is 20 years old, and the maximum age limit is 50 years old. This is because this competition is a stage for teachers recruited by the Duel Academy to showcase themselves. Fifty years old is probably the maximum age Kaiba judges to be a teacher. Any older and they would be considered outdated.

"That sounds really interesting! Yeah, I want to participate too!"

Jonouchi spoke with some enthusiasm, but upon hearing his words, Honda sighed and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Jonouchi, did you hear Kaiba say that the GeneX race is going to be held in a month, at the earliest on February 10th, right?"

Jonouchi nodded, puzzled, and said, "Yes, is there a problem?"

Hayato and Yugi realized what was going on and looked at Jonouchi, saying, "The problem is, Jonouchi, you're 17 now, but after your birthday you'll be 18."

Jonouchi (Birthday: January 25): "!?"

Chapter 938 The Insult Gravity Unique to New Humans

Unlike its neighboring countries across the sea, in Japan, although children also start school at age six, the start date is not in September, but in April.

Normally, this wouldn't have any special impact, since it doesn't matter whether your birthday is earlier or later. However, because of the age-based grouping rules announced by Kaiba for the GeneX competition, students whose birthdays are before February may lose the opportunity to participate because they are over the upper limit of the youth group but not the lower limit of the adult group after their birthday.

Unfortunately, among Hayato and his friends, only Jonouchi was born before the expected start date of the GeneX tournament—February 10th. Hayato, the closest among the others, was born on February 21st.

"Unforgivable, Kaiba!" Jonouchi said angrily. "That Kaiba guy must be afraid that I, Jonouchi, will rush in and kill him, making him lose face in front of the whole world, so he deliberately set up such an absurd rule to make things difficult for me!"

"No, it shouldn't be. Didn't you hear what Kaiba just said? He made it clear that this duel is for young duelists who want to show themselves and adult duelists who want to become teachers and demonstrate their strength. It's not the kind of duel where the goal is to win and get prize money."

As Honda spoke, he took out his phone and searched for information online. He quickly found information about Kaiba's speech. "Not only in Domino City, but Kaiba also made the announcement globally. He also announced the prizes for the winners."

The others also looked curiously at Honda's phone, reading the text on the screen.

"The third-place winner in the youth group will have the opportunity to join the professional duelist support program planned by the International Illusion Society, and receive one-on-one assistance from a professional agent!" Jonouchi's eyes widened subconsciously.

"If you win the runner-up position, you can get a job offered by both Kaiba Entertainment Group and International Illusion Company, in addition to the third-place position. Even if you don't want to be a professional duelist, you can still get a high-paying job in one step." Bakura's eyes lit up, and he was quite tempted.

"And the champion of the youth group will not only receive the runner-up's bonus of a card customization service from the International Illusion Society, but will also have the opportunity to create their own exclusive card and a duel with the King of Duels?!"

Kyoko also looked at Hayato and said, "Even I can only sigh that the prizes are far too generous, especially for those of the right age who love Duel Monsters. Speaking of which, Kaiba is using the opportunity to duel with you as a gimmick again, Hayato."

“No, this time it’s a little different from the KC Cup. This time, Kaiba discussed it with me and Yugi beforehand.” Hayato said with a smile, “After all, you heard Kaiba say that this tournament is jointly organized by Kaiba Entertainment Group and Mirage International, right? Yugi and I are the first and second largest shareholders, after all.”

"Oh right, you two are still holding the 'spoils' you got after winning the Duel Kingdom tournament. Hmm... I'm a little jealous." Jonouchi gave Hayato and Yugi a rather resentful look, but he didn't feel any jealousy towards them at all.

He hadn't forgotten who brought him, who wasn't even qualified, to the island when he risked everything to participate in Duel Kingdom for Shizuka's medical expenses; who gave him powerful cards to help his naive self grow stronger; and who helped pay for Shizuka's medical expenses after his defeat...

Oh, and the last one is Pegasus, so he doesn't count. Anyway, Jonouchi isn't jealous of Hayato and Yugi, just a little envious of the shares they hold in International Illusion Company. With Duel Monsters at its peak and sweeping the globe, even Pegasus's laziness and inaction can't stop the stock from soaring, and the value of their shares has also increased accordingly.

Even recently, when Pegasus returned to the rebuilt headquarters of the International Vision Agency in the United States after a vacation and was recognized by a reporter who asked him, "Where did the International Vision Agency's current wealth come from?", Pegasus answered rather blankly, "I don't know, it was blown in by the wind."

"Huh? That's not right. I remember you were the one driving in Egypt, Hayato. How can you have a driver's license if you're not an adult?" Honda asked curiously when Hayato said he was still a minor.

"Well, while in Japan the age of adulthood is 20, and in Egypt it's even 21, some countries only require 16." Hayato held up a few fingers, rubbed them together, and said with a smile, "Capital, isn't that amazing?"

Inspired by Hayato's "I'm giving you a little taste of your own medicine," Jonouchi retorted, "Does having money mean you can do whatever you want?"

"Sorry, but money really can buy anything," Hayato said arrogantly, while Yugi made a suppressed laugh expression. "However, Yugi and I probably won't be participating in this tournament, since it's mainly reserved for those who haven't yet made a name for themselves."

"Although there are no hard and fast rules, it really wouldn't be appropriate for Hayato and me to participate in such a duel."

If it were an all-ages, no-holds-barred duel game, the game might consider playing against adult duelists, since the world is so big and the Duel Monsters arena is always full of hidden talents. But dueling with students aged 12-17 is probably out of the question.

Glancing at Honda's phone screen, Yugi smiled and pointed to a rule, saying, "Oh dear, it turns out we misunderstood before. Jonouchi, you did have a chance to sign up."

"After the announcement, registration will open at both the Kaiba Entertainment Group headquarters building in Domino City and Kaiba Park. The age of participants will be determined based on the registration time." Jonouchi read the rules aloud, his face lighting up with delight. "Oh, so that means as long as I register before my birthday, I can participate right on time!"

"Yosh, Jonouchi-sama is totally fired up, his blood is boiling!" Opening the bento box in his hand, Jonouchi looked down at it with great interest, "I'll treat him to the bento Shizuka made for my brother... Huh?"

The colorful lunch that Jonouchi had envisioned never appeared; the bento box contained nothing but liquid black paint, solid black paint, and a mixture of solid and liquid black paint.

"Jonouchi, this is your first time eating a bento, but it seems to be Shizuka's first time making one too. After all, her previous health condition didn't allow her to gain experience in making bento. Otherwise, why would she have gone to Isis to learn how to cook?"

Opening the bento Isis made for himself, Hayato saw a piece of luncheon meat shaped like a heart, which contrasted sharply with the indescribable things in Jonouchi's bento box. "Oh my, I really envy Jonouchi, you get to eat your sister's super delicious bento."

"Are you showing off? Are you provoking me?!" Jonouchi stared at the blackened bento box in his hand, his enthusiasm instantly extinguished. He said bitterly, "Oh, Nore Hayato!"

"Ugh, I have no appetite at all..." Bakura glanced at the wontons in Jonouchi's bento box, shook his head, and picked up his own bento box. "Want some cream puffs, Jonouchi-kun?"

Jonouchi glanced at the cream puff in Bakura's hand, then looked down at the deep darkness in his own hand, agonizing over which way to die.

And this is when the bond between brothers is put to the test.

While looking troubled, Jonouchi felt someone pat his shoulder. He turned around and saw Honda handing him his extremely lavish bento box: "Jonouchi, want to switch with me?"

"Honda, you..."

Jonouchi watched with considerable emotion as Honda stuffed his bento into his hands, then took the black, unappetizing bento from his own hand, which was clearly substandard in terms of color, aroma, and taste. He picked up a clump of solid food that looked like a rice ball with his chopsticks.

"No, Honda, that's hell ahead!" Jonouchi, unable to bear seeing Honda die, quickly grabbed his hand, only to see a relieved expression on Honda's face. "It's alright, Jonouchi, I'll definitely finish the bento Shizuka made."

As he spoke, Honda put the object he was holding with his chopsticks into his mouth.

One bite, two bites. Under the gaze of Jonouchi that seemed to be looking at a god, Honda did not hesitate at all and put the unappetizing food from the bento box into his mouth. In a short time, he actually inhaled nearly half of it!

Kyoko looked at Honda speechlessly: "Just because it was made by Shizuka-chan, I can actually eat it..."

"Kyoko, are you saying that being a simp is really awesome?" Hayato said while eating his bento. "But is it possible that Shizuka's bento is actually delicious?"

“Impossible, absolutely impossible!” Jonouchi said decisively, glancing at the bento box Honda was holding.

“It’s entirely possible,” Yugi, quick-witted and sharp-thinking, had already guessed Hayato’s prank and chuckled. “Think about it, how could Shizuka possibly prepare a bad bento for her brother?”

"That's how it is. Although it does look terrible, Shizuka has actually learned two-thirds of Isis's cooking skills. The aroma is just because it's cold, so you can't smell it." Hayato saw that Yugi had made things clear, so he stopped teasing Jonouchi and told the truth.

He already knew about Shizuka's bento from Isis, but he was just using its extremely misleading appearance to fool Jonouchi. As for why Shizuka didn't tell Jonouchi about her bento... please, Shizuka would never say such a thing.

After thinking for a second, Jonouchi decisively put down Honda's bento and turned to grab the one that hadn't been completely eaten yet: "Honda, stop it! Why are you eating faster and faster! Leave some for me, Shizuka made this for me!"

Honda and Jonouchi were locked in a fierce struggle around the bento box, while the other four watched the fight from the sidelines, eating their own bento boxes without any attempt to break it up.

After finishing the last piece of hamburger patty he had deliberately saved in his bento, Yugi was quite satisfied. He turned to look at Hayato, who had also finished his bento, and leaned slightly closer to him.

"...Hayato, do you really think we can find the eighth [Millennium Item] in this tournament?" Yugi's hushed voice reached Hayato's ears, but because of the wind on the rooftop and the playful banter between Kinmae Jonouchi and Honda, no one else heard his voice.

“I can’t guarantee anything, but this is the best way I know to lure out the person who possesses that Millennium Item,” Hayato replied, also lowering his voice. “That’s why I took the lead in persuading Pegasus and then got Haiba to push for this duel.”

"While it could indeed help establish the Duel Academy incidentally, its main purpose was to fulfill my goal of finding the person who possesses the eighth Millennium Item."

Although the GeneX tournament was just announced by Kaiba, the real driving force and planner is actually Hayato sitting here. The reason is simple: he wants to remove himself and "Duel King Kobayashi Hayato" from the GeneX tournament as much as possible, so that the fish he wants to catch won't bite.

"But can we really lure that person out?" Yugi said somewhat uncertainly. "And if we take someone else's Millennium Item, what if that person also has a special bond with the Millennium Item? Wouldn't we be the bad guys?"

"You can rest assured about that. The person who possesses that [Millennium Artifact] has a purpose that is inherently at odds with us. Even if we don't seek him out, he will come after us sooner or later, and I don't like being passive."

Hayato finished tidying up the bento box, raised his hand to touch the "fish bait" he had prepared on his chest, and continued, "And did you hear what Kyoko just said? That fish actually came to Domino City by following the scent."

"For now, let's let the bullets fly for a while."

The farce between Jonouchi and Honda came to an end when Jonouchi managed to grab the last bite of his bento. Afterward, the two shared Honda's bento and both ate their fill.

Except for Bakura, who still had a few boxes of cream puffs left to finish, everyone had finished lunch. They all got up and left the rooftop, leisurely walking down to the classroom as if to digest their food.

"Ah, what a vibrant youth! I, too, have fond memories of eating lunch with my classmates." Looking at Hayato and his group passing by the office window, Ms. Saotome glanced at them a few more times because of their hairstyles, which suggested they were good at playing cards.

"Wait a minute, I'm only forty years old. How come I'm starting to look like an old man? What if my daughter dislikes me in the future? Damn gravity!"

Saotome-sensei, who casually cursed about gravity like a newbie but was actually a hidden robot anime enthusiast, pushed up her glasses: "Huh? Is that boy following Jonouchi and Honda from our school? Eh? I think he's from the class I teach. What's his name again? Sigh, I guess I'm getting old."

Chapter 939: A Calculation by Fingers Reveals the Title (No Need for a Title)

"Hello, what is your name?"

Behind a desk, an office worker in a suit was writing something on a form titled "GeneX Competition Registration Form," and asked the person in front of him while looking down.

"Huh? You didn't recognize me?" The blond-haired guy standing in front of the desk raised an eyebrow and pointed at himself with his thumb, saying, "The legendary duelist, the immortal who rides the black dragon, the conqueror of fate, the number one most troublesome teacher at Domino High School, Jonouchi Katsuya, that's me!"

However, Jonouchi's impassioned self-introduction failed to stir the office worker's emotions in the slightest. He looked up at Jonouchi and said, "The form can't hold that many names. Only one person can register at a time."

"Ah, no, no, just fill in 'Jounouchi Katsuya', 'Jounouchi Katsuya,' okay." Jonouchi quickly explained, watching the salaryman fill in his name.

"And what is your date of birth?"

January 25, 1984.

The office worker wrote "1984.1.25" on the form and quickly calculated that Jonouchi was exactly 17 years old. He also realized that Jonouchi had almost been unable to participate because of his age. However, his face remained expressionless as he operated a device the size of a rice cooker next to him with a calm, dead-fish-like gaze.

With a "click," a small slot appeared in the side of the strange device, just the right size to hold a deck of cards. The office worker gestured to Jonouchi to put his deck in there.

Meanwhile, as if he had memorized it many times, the office worker explained to Jonouchi fluently: "Considering that after the GeneX tournament is held, both the youth and adult groups will become new blood in the Duel Monsters field, it has been decided through consultation that Kaiba Entertainment Group and Mirage International will obtain permission from the Domino City Government to register and file records for each participant after registration."

"However, binding the deck to the participant does not mean that the participant can only use the cards in the deck to duel or exchange cards with others in the GeneX tournament. This measure is only to prevent criminals from infiltrating Domino City to carry out sabotage activities, and also to prevent the recurrence of incidents like the international criminal organization Gluss hunting rare cards."

"After all, the leader of the international criminal organization Gurus—a vicious criminal named 'Malik'—has still not been caught to this day."

"Achoo!" From behind the castle, someone suddenly sneezed.