Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Before the game could react, Atum continued, "But if someone asks you for help, Aibo, you'll still easily trust them, right? That gentleness and kindness that makes you so trusting of others is probably a habit you'll never be able to shake off."

"That...is indeed undeniable..."

At that moment, Bakura turned around and said, "Everyone, it looks like the graduation ceremony is about to begin."

Upon hearing Bakura's words, the group resumed their serious expressions and sat properly in their seats, ceasing their whispering. The other students of the same grade around them did the same. Atum, meanwhile, was sitting in Hayato's empty seat.

Although he said he planned to return to the underworld immediately at the GeneX tournament a week ago, Atum ultimately stayed behind to join the others in facing the strange looks from the audience because of Malik's performance.

Then, perhaps because Hayato, who had the Quantum Cube, did something, Atum discovered that although he still had a real physical body brought from the underworld, he became like he was when he was still in the Millennium Puzzle, and could no longer be seen by others, except for Jonouchi, Hayato, Kyoko, and the others.

However, Hayato said he didn't do anything. This was a natural sign that appeared when he closed the dimensional gate opened by the Quantum Cube, leaving only a small gap before it was completely closed. If he closed the gate completely, Atum, who did not belong to the present world, would soon be expelled back to the underworld. If the dimensional gate was opened too wide, it would cause considerable trouble. This was the limit of what he could control.

However, Atum was quite satisfied with this situation. He could spend more time with Aibo without having to return to the underworld, and he wouldn't cause Aibo any trouble because of his identity.

Unfortunately, even this state couldn't last long. According to Hayato's calculations, it would only last about ten days at most, until the graduation ceremony of Domino City High School, which would be held after the GeneX tournament. Atum felt that this was enough; there was plenty of time.

That's how it happened that on this day, Atum, who was invisible to others, came to the graduation ceremony with Yugi and the others. It was fortunate that others couldn't see them, otherwise, just seeing two "Yugi Muto" would probably make many people think that they had a mental illness like Ushio Tetsu, who had just been discharged from the hospital.

As for why Atum is sitting in Hayato's seat?

"...Dear graduates, today I offer my heartfelt blessings. I wish you all the best in pursuing your dreams after graduating from our Domino City High School." The principal, who had been speaking for over ten minutes in a row, paused, seemingly feeling thirsty, and concluded, "Today's graduation ceremony is not a celebration of the end, but a cheer for the beginning; not a commemoration of completion, but a declaration of transcendence."

"As the principal of Domino City High School, these are all my blessings for the graduates. Now, please welcome student representative Koji Tadokoro to give a speech."

As he spoke, the principal moved his chubby body away from the microphone and handed it to a precocious high school student who looked to be around 24 years old. He then went to the side to drink water, seemingly to regain his strength so he could speak freely again later.

Backstage, Hayato couldn't help but complain, "Is there any need for such a terrible junior to exist?"

"Is that someone you know?" Sera asked, somewhat puzzled, as she glanced at the student on stage who was reading his speech, wondering what was so special about him.

"Hey, don't look too long, or the marsh gas will explode." Hayato ruffled Sera's hair. Sera, who was only 1.5 meters tall, was just at a height that Hayato could reach out and touch, and her hair felt much better than that of Keihei, who was the same height. "It's just that her name happens to be the same as someone I know, but she's not someone I know."

"Just as Zhang San is not always a criminal suspect, he could also become a victim of Li Si's murder."

Sera, her hair being ruffled by Hayato, showed no resistance, only looking at him with disdain and saying, "I could actually call the police, you know. Your behavior of touching a little girl like this would be considered social death in Japan, wouldn't it? You don't want to end up bowing ninety degrees on TV and saying 'red bean paste private horse racing', do you?"

“You’re right, but if I fight with you, wouldn’t I be able to perfectly avoid being framed?” Hayato said with a smile. “Fighting would only mean going to jail. It’s like rather than letting you control my monster minotaur, I might as well free it myself.”

"I played a turn-based card game developed by International Illusion."

Sera complained, looking from backstage where Hayato was, towards the auditorium, she saw the students sitting neatly in formation, and the parents of the students behind the students' formation. Among them, Sera immediately spotted Muto Sugoroku with his very conspicuous gray starfish hair, Jonouchi's younger sister Shizuka, and Kobayashi Hiroyuki, who looked like Dio and no one dared to sit next to him except for the first two.

Last time in Egypt, Hayato's father, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, was manipulated by Tenma Yagyō because of the "Tyrant Neptune" card in his deck. Even though Hayato had taken "Tyrant Neptune" beforehand and had the help of "Golden Lord Eldridge" in his deck, which was already half-awakened, he was still unable to break free. He only escaped control by falling into a coma after being defeated by Hayato.

While Hayato was defeating Tenma Yagyō, Kobayashi Hiroyuki was also taken to the hospital. The hospital's diagnosis was that he was perfectly healthy, and the physical examination showed that, apart from some cervical spondylosis, he was ten to nine times healthier than a normal adult.

When Hayato and the others went to the hospital, they even saw him energetically telling the nurses things like, "Serve my lunch with the utmost respect, like a flight attendant serving caviar and wine to a first-class passenger!"

Furthermore, Kobayashi Hiroyuki seems to have no memory of the period when he was under control, only his memory of traveling to Italy with Hayato's mother, Kobayashi Sumire. Kobayashi Sumire, who came to see him after receiving a call from Hayato, told him that Kobayashi Hiroyuki suddenly disappeared one day when he went out to buy bread. She had used her connections in Italy to search for him for a long time. If it weren't for Hayato, she would never have known that Kobayashi Hiroyuki had secretly bought a plane ticket and flown all the way to Egypt.

With a chilling smile, Kobayashi Sumire scolded her husband by pulling his ear, but in the end she forgave him. After Kobayashi was discharged from the hospital, the couple didn't even think about going back to Domino City with Hayato and the others. Instead, they flew back to Italy to continue their trip.

It wasn't until today, because it was Hayato's graduation ceremony, that Hiroyuki Kobayashi flew back to Domino City to attend the ceremony, while Sumire Kobayashi stayed at her parents' home in Italy. Although it sounded a bit strange, Hayato was also surprised that his mother's father was Italian, and from his mother's casual mention of "using connections to send her men to find Hiroyuki Kobayashi," it seemed that she wasn't involved in the legitimate world, considering the special circumstances in Italy.

Could he change his mind and say that his dream is actually to become a Yangko star someday?

However, even though it seemed strange—whether it was the hairstyle that Yugi and Muto Sugoroku inherited from each other across generations, or even that was exactly the same as Pharaoh Atum from Egypt three thousand years ago, or Kobayashi Hiroyuki's villainous savior-like aura that was exactly like Hayato's, or the fact that Jonouchi's sister was attending the graduation ceremony instead of her father or mother—Sera didn't care. She just said with some envy, "It's so nice to be able to finish school life perfectly under the watchful eyes of your family."

During the GeneX tournament, after Hayato defeated Ayami and later obtained the Quantum Cube with Atum's help, Hayato discovered that as Atum returned to the human world, although the reaction was initially slow as if the signal was not good, the collective consciousness of Prana, which was connected to Atum, began to collapse after Hayato obtained the Quantum Cube.

It wasn't just that the chat rooms were shut down. Hayato observed that it was more like the very foundation of Prana's existence was destroyed with the arrival of Atum from another dimension, the Underworld. Even the golden inverted triangles on the foreheads of Blue God and Sera's Prana companions, who were being controlled by the Kaiba Corporation's security department, actually detached from their bodies and rose into the air, disappearing on their own.

Speaking of Blue God, after Hayato gradually closed the dimensional gate opened by the Quantum Cube, he was also spat out from the dark side of the dimension. It seemed that the Prana talent within him, with the final help given before the consciousness of the other Prana left, pulled him back and returned him to this dimension. However, the Prana symbol within him, like the others, rose into the air and disappeared.

The only exception was Sera, who was closest to Atum's return to the world at the time. She was the only one who still retained the Prana symbol on her forehead. For this reason, although Seahorse let everyone else, including Blue God, leave, it demanded that Sera stay and take responsibility for the losses caused to the Seahorse Group by their Prana.

—Although Hayato sped up his actions under Keipai's urging, because some time had been wasted earlier, the dimensional gate that was the embodiment of the Quantum Cube still managed to swallow several of the virtual projection devices installed on the dome of the seahorse egg. However, because there were so many devices, they did not affect the virtual projection in the subsequent match.

However, the damage to the device was a fact, and although she had the ability to transfer it and escape from the Kaiba Group, Sera accepted the compensation. However, after learning about Sera and the others' past, Kaiba's final compensation plan was to prevent Sera from leaving Domino City in the near future, and to have Hayato, who possessed the [Quantum Cube] that could sense Prana, supervise her during this period.

And that's how it came to be today, with Sera appearing here with Hayato.

After hearing Sera's words, Hayato glanced outside and said with a smile, "Although I don't like studying, I can't deny that school life is indeed a very happy time, full of memories of youth spent with like-minded friends."

Hayato didn't mention the "family" that Sera mentioned. He couldn't exactly describe the beauty of family to an orphan, could he? Even he couldn't bring himself to do something so despicable, unless he was offered more money.

"So, do you want to go to school too?"

Hearing Hayato's words, Sera paused, then asked, "Huh? Me?"

Am I even allowed to go to school? How could that be possible? I've never even been to elementary school or preschool. How could I possibly be allowed to go to school?

But I'm so tempted...

Seeing Sera's resistant yet conflicted expression, Hayato ruffled her hair again and said, "Hmph, of course I was just teasing you. You think you can escape Kaiba's surveillance and go to school before you pay off the debts of Kaiba Corporation? Hahaha, dream on!"

"You, you vile bastard!"

Hearing Hayato's words, Sera, whose illusions were shattered, became somewhat angry. She made a rare childlike move, throwing a punch at Hayato. However, Hayato, who had already learned "Ultra Instinct" at the Hawaii training center in Domino City, easily dodged Sera's attack with his subconscious reaction and ran offstage onto the stage.

However, whether he was teasing Sera or not, only Hayato himself probably knows, since he hasn't told Kaiba about it yet.

The student representative had already finished reading his speech, while the principal, who looked like Gabe Newell, was still drinking water and muttering, "He can really drink." Hayato, as the graduate representative, walked to the microphone with a speech in hand.

Hayato, who had only glanced at the speech and had absolutely no interest in reading the long, rambling passage, paused for a moment, then crumpled the speech into a ball and tossed it aside without hesitation. He looked at the audience and said:

"A true warrior must fight to the very end as long as he lives, and the road ahead will only continue to extend as long as we keep moving forward! This graduation ceremony is merely a resupply stop. Let's all strive to keep moving forward on the road ahead!"

"Let me see the performance of others from my era!"

"The new era will not be created by the elderly! The glory of victory belongs to you!"

"Therefore, I hereby declare the commencement of the graduation ceremony address for the Class of 1998 of Domino City High School. Now, please welcome the Principal to present the graduation certificates to the graduates!"

The principal, holding a water cup, nodded somewhat bewilderedly, belatedly realizing that his speech had ended before it even began. He had deliberately only spoken for about ten minutes to warm up, and he had memorized his speech for a long time for this annual graduation ceremony, intending to deliver it extemporaneously. This was completely different from what he had rehearsed!

I haven't even finished summarizing yet! Oh, Hayato Kobayashi!

Chapter 1000 The Time of Parting

"That's enough for everyone."

In the airport terminal, Kyoko turned around, smiled at her companions, and took the suitcase handle from Yugi's hands. "It's just a trip to America. It's not like it's my first time going abroad. There's nothing to give you."

"Although it's not my first time traveling abroad, it's just you, Kyoko, all alone this time." Jonouchi clasped her hands behind her head. "Are you sure you're okay, you're a weak woman all alone?"

"In that case, would you like to try a punch from this weak woman, Mr. Jonouchi?"

Upon hearing what Jonouchi said, Kyoko pretended to be angry, clenching her fists and threatening Jonouchi. Although Jonouchi was not afraid of Kyoko at all, he also pretended to be scared to cooperate with her.

Meanwhile, Yugi said to Kyoko, "Although it's not your first time abroad, you're still in an unfamiliar place. Girls should take good care of themselves when they're traveling alone, Kyoko."

The same concern, but said by a different person in a different way, has a completely different effect. Kyoko held Yugi's hand, looked at his slightly flushed cheeks, and said with a smile, "Yugi, it makes me so happy that you care about me so much. It's okay, I'm not a child anymore, I can take good care of myself."

"Besides, you've helped me with the game too."

"It wasn't me who helped. I just asked a professor at Johns Hopkins University in America to help me find a suitable place to stay." Yugi chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "That's what it started with, but Rebecca mistakenly thought I was going to America and volunteered to help me find a house right next to hers, without even giving me a chance to explain..."

Although Professor Hopkins travels extensively in a motorhome to facilitate his archaeological work, he does own a permanent residence. After all, even with so many archaeological sites around the world to be excavated, and given the limits of human energy, Professor Hopkins regularly returns home to rest. Rebecca, who has been working closely with Professor Hopkins, completed her studies through self-study; otherwise, she wouldn't have become a "genius girl" featured in newspapers.

"Hmph, isn't that perfect? ​​It just prevents you from being ambushed at night by an overly precocious brat in the game."

Anzu wore a cold smile, feeling quite pleased that she had unintentionally foiled Rebecca's scheme. She was eagerly anticipating what kind of expression Rebecca, who still didn't know that it wasn't a game but her going to America, would have when she saw her. Just thinking about it made her so excited that she wanted to burst into song. She was absolutely thrilled!

As for why the game asks Professor Hopkins for help in finding a place for Kyoko, instead of other people he knows in America, it's simply because Professor Hopkins is the most suitable person.

First, we can rule out Pegasus. Although he wouldn't refuse such a small favor, and it's even possible he'd give Kyoko a property in a prime area of ​​America—his family is in real estate, and he himself has never been interested in money—Kyoko doesn't want to accept such a favor. She wants to pursue her dreams in America through her own efforts.

Under this premise, Pegasus is not a good candidate to find housing for Kyoko. After all, he is not interested in money and his standards are too high. It is impossible for him to find a house that is suitable for Kyoko's economic level.

Then there are professional duelists like Ryuzaki and Mai Kujaku. Because the professional Duel Monsters tournaments are becoming increasingly mature, they have all signed contracts with the companies that provide them with housing. However, the places they live in are still beyond Anzu's means. Although she has saved money for many years to pursue her dream, she can only say that she is financially secure, but not yet financially independent.

As for Mai, she would naturally be willing to stay with Kyoko, since her house is quite large and Kyoko is very welcome to come over and play. If she gets tired, she can just sleep there without any problem. Kyoko could accept staying for a couple of days, but she's going to America for a long time this time, so she needs her own place.

After much thought, Professor Hopkins was the most suitable candidate. First, his economic level was below the middle class, and the housing he could find was within Kyoko's budget. Second, because of his professorship, the housing he chose was also close to the campus, which meant the security environment was relatively better—after all, there is a well-known proverb, "Free America, gunfights every day."

Kyoko was also quite lucky. The day after she contacted Professor Hopkins in the game and was given the task by Rebecca who volunteered before she could even explain, she learned that there was a house for sale next to Professor Hopkins' house, apparently because the Winchester brothers who lived there were going to search for their missing father.

Because it was a rush, the price of the apartment wasn't very high, but it wasn't cheap after taxes either. Fortunately, Kyoko had been preparing for her dream for many years and could afford it. After buying the apartment, she could continue to earn money for daily expenses through part-time jobs until Kyoko achieved her dream of performing on Broadway.

As for whether there are any other people, well, there are, but—

"Men never know when they'll die, so they always have to wear underwear as their only decent garment. For me, having enough underwear for tomorrow is enough. So, houses and all that are unnecessary." This is what the tough guy in Rafael's memory said when the game contacted him, seemingly still wandering with John.

Although there are some flaws, the game won't criticize Rafael if this is the lifestyle he chooses. However, it's a bit inappropriate to ask him about suitable properties.

"But isn't it a bit too rushed to leave for America just a month after graduation?"

Honda said, while Bakura, who knew some of the details, explained, "Because in addition to buying the house that the seller is eager to get rid of, it seems that Kyoko-chan is going to continue her dance training after going to America."

"That's right. In a few months, it will be graduation season in America. I don't want to compete with other graduates again. Besides, it's always better to pursue your dreams as early as possible."

Glancing at the clock in the airport terminal, Kyoko took a step back and said playfully to everyone in front of her, "It's getting late, I should head to the departure lounge, and it seems like it's time to say goodbye to everyone."

"Next time we meet, everyone must achieve their dreams!"

Anzu's words eased some of the sadness that accompanied their parting, and the others looked at Anzu and began to speak as well:

"Of course! I will definitely become one of the world's top professional duelists!"

"Although it's still in its early stages, I'm serious about becoming an idol."

"That's great, you all have your own dreams." Honda scratched his head. "But I'll also work hard to run the family car factory, and one day we'll dominate the highways of the whole country!"

Jonouchi's dueling prowess is undeniable. Although he sometimes suffers setbacks and defeats due to carelessness or other unexpected reasons, when he gets serious, he is absolutely capable of becoming a world-class professional duelist. He has that kind of strength, not to mention the series of packaging projects for professional duelists jointly provided by Kaiba Corporation and Illusion International, which will definitely make him a star among duelists.

Although Bakura still struggles to shake off his slightly insecure personality, if he fully unleashes his charm, he can definitely gain immense popularity and one day become a top-tier national idol. Not to mention, he is now tied to the Kaiba Group, and his future is bright.

Honda wasn't exaggerating. As far as we know from the game, the wreckage of Paradox's "Truth" motorcycle, which traveled through time, was handed over to Kaiba for research. About four months ago, a prototype was completed to replicate it. Although it hasn't been able to restore all its functions yet, it has at least completed most of it.

While the core technology of that motorcycle was kept secret by Haima, the main structure of the motorcycle itself was specially customized by Honda's car factory at the request of Haima Group.

It's conceivable that if Haima were to overcome all the technical challenges and complete its "D round" of funding, Haima, which is equally uninterested in money but passionate about playing cards, would definitely strive to promote it, just like it promoted the Duel Disk. At that time, Honda's factories might not be without the possibility of dominating the entire country, as Honda claims.

The game had heard Yusei Fudo from the future talk about the situation in Domino City in the future. Playing cards on motorcycles had been a common way of fighting for more than ten years and had even become the mainstream way of fighting. It sounded really cool, and the game was really looking forward to the day when Kaiba completed the D-Wave.

However, the premise is that Kaiba doesn't get distracted by other more interesting topics that come along. As far as the game knows, because of the [Quantum Cube] and the Prana incident at the GeneX competition a month ago, Kaiba seems to have become interested in other dimensions and has put aside the unfinished D-Wheel to study other things. Recently, he has also been building an energy tower that seems to be used to generate solar power in outer space.

Thinking about it this way, the completion of Series D seems to be a long way off. Could it really be like what Yusei said, that it will take decades to complete Series D?

Pulling her wandering thoughts back, Yugi looked at Kyoko and said, "Me too! I'll definitely make the best game. Everyone must come and play the game I make then!"

"In that case, I look forward to the day we meet again." Kyoko smiled gently, glancing at the empty space beside Yugi, a hint of regret in her eyes that not all her companions were there. Atum had returned to the Underworld the night after the graduation ceremony a month ago, and it was unknown when he would return.

The group of friends all believed that the day of reunion would eventually come, but just like when a friend goes far away, even if they meet again, it is difficult to avoid the sadness.