Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As he spoke, a glint flashed in Samejima's eyes. He, who had always presented himself as a kind and gentle person at the Duel Academy, revealed a side of himself that he hadn't shown in a long time—the stern aura of a contemporary instructor of the Electronic Flow, and became visibly serious.

"Giving it your all in a place like this... Oh well, whatever." Hayato sighed, but he still trusted Samejima, the vice principal, to complete the task diligently. At the same time, he noticed a figure standing outside the office door not far away, through the glass, and then a knock sounded.

"Please come in."

As Hayato finished speaking, the office door opened, and Professor Kunolos walked in, carrying a stack of documents. As he entered, he said to Hayato and Samejima, "Principal Hayato, Principal Samejima, you absolutely have to help me, okay?!"

"Professor Chronos, what's wrong?" Samejima helped Chronos take the documents that were about to slip from his arms and put them on Hayato's desk, then asked, "Where did all these documents come from? Didn't we just send over the new students' enrollment files? Hayato and I just finished processing them."

“These aren’t freshman files; they’re club application forms from the school.” Professor Chronos said with a bitter face, feeling like he was about to turn from the Pot of Greed into a fragment of the Pot of Greed. “Ever since Principal Hayato said at the end of last semester that he wanted to enrich students’ extracurricular life and start club activities at the school, we’ve received so many club application forms in just one summer vacation. No way.”

"Is it my fault? Who told those teenagers to be so restless when they don't have classes? Instead of cherishing their precious days off, they're thinking about exploring the undeveloped areas of the island. Ms. Ayukawa from the infirmary said that last year she had swollen eye bags from working overtime and had to claim reimbursement for her medical expenses for her work injury."

Hayato shrugged. "In the end, you guys just don't give them enough homework. If you gave them more homework like I do, would I have to resort to club activities to burn off their excess energy?"

"It's because Principal Hayato's 'Pocket Monster Coexistence Class' not only teaches things that no one can learn, but also gives few credits and a lot of homework, that no one is signing up. Even Principal Samejima's academic classes at least have one person sign up," Chronos complained.

But upon hearing Chronos's words, Samejima said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, Minazuki-kun became the only one to sign up for my course because of Hayato's punishment... Let's not talk about that anymore, let's deal with these club applications first."

As she spoke, Samejima picked up a form, her smile freezing on her face. She read out the club name on the application form: "Service Club?"

"Wow, are these students really going all out?" Hayato suddenly became excited, took the application form from Samejima's hand, and looked at it. But when he saw the reason for the application, he said with great disdain, "Tsk, they're actually thinking about helping others improve themselves? How disappointing."

"And these, 'Far East Magical Nap Society Summer,' 'SOS Brigade,' are all just random, meaningless clubs. Only this 'Classics Club' seems somewhat acceptable." Chronos said with a bitter face, "But what about the club activities, 'Energizing Curiosity'? What's that all about?!"

With his hand on his neck, Chronos, who had nonchalantly taken on the management responsibilities of the club last semester, was filled with regret for his rash decision: "I feel like I'm suffocating."

"Huh? Why is Daitokuji-sensei's name here?" Hayato pulled out an application form and wrote "Daitokuji Hugo" in the applicant section. "Club name: 'Advanced Alchemy Club,' club activities: 'Alchemy from beginner to mastery (crossed out)'? Doesn't he already have an elective course in alchemy? Why does he need to apply for a club?"

"Uh, I guess it's because he has to link alchemy with dueling in elective courses, but he can teach alchemy more freely in the club? Although I don't believe in that unscientific stuff at all." Chronos paused, then added, "Also, Principal Hayato, you said before that the club can apply for activity funds..."

“Oh, now I understand. No wonder there are so many applications.” Hayato raised an eyebrow and said, “How about this, Professor Chronos, you can take the trouble to review these clubs. As long as they’re not too outrageous, just let them pass. However, after the application is approved, the club applicant must find at least four members who are not members of other clubs, otherwise the club will be canceled.”

"With your words, I can proceed with my work with peace of mind." Chronos nodded in agreement upon hearing Hayato's words. With Hayato, as the principal, speaking up, he now had a standard to follow. The first step was to eliminate the most outrageous groups, such as the "SOX Group." Students should behave like students.

As for the "Advanced Alchemy Club" at Daitokuji Temple, he actually intends to approve it. Although many students choose to take the alchemy course at Daitokuji Temple, most of them are students from the Osiris-Red dormitory. They are mostly doing so to save face for their dormitory head teacher. Do you really think anyone would join that "Advanced Alchemy Club"?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

"So, the next thing to deal with is the students who are moving up to the third year this year. Before we know it, they'll be graduating soon. We need to plan their graduation ceremony a year in advance. After all, they are the first graduating class since the Duel Academy was established. You could say they are a test for our Duel Academy." Samejima glanced at the list and continued to discuss with Hayato.

"Sigh, being a principal is really busy. I really envy Jonouchi and the others." Hayato sighed, glancing at the open screen of his phone. It showed Mai, Jonouchi, Shizuka, Honda, Yugi, Rebecca, and others sitting in front of the stage watching the performance. On the stage was Kyoko, who had successfully made her way onto the stage as a professional dancer. "Since school hasn't started yet, should I ask Isis to go with me?"

Chapter 1045 First Clues in 2004

"Fujiwara Yusuke, Tenjoin Fubuki, Oyama Taira..."

Just like a year ago, Hayato sat in his office, flipping through several files, reading out the names on each student's file one by one. However, unlike a year ago when he was happy for the excellent grades of the newly enrolled students, he now had a serious expression as he looked through the files.

Opposite Hayato was a screen lit up on the wall, on which Seto Kaiba frowned, his expression growing more grim with each name Hayato uttered.

"...The above individuals are currently missing, and all of them are students of the Obelisk-Blue dormitory."

Looking at the files laid out in front of Hayato, Kaiba said with a cold face, "So, they're all honor students?"

"No, although they are all students of Obelisk Blue, there is still a big gap between them. Fujiwara Yusuke and Tenjouin Fubuki are among the top students in the academy in both theory and combat. Last year, although they were first-year students, they already had the strength to fight to a draw with Minazuki Kon, an outstanding third-year graduate. Furthermore, the former won the dueling tournament jointly held with the Northern Branch last year."

"But while Ōyama Hei's theoretical scores have consistently remained at 100, his performance in actual duels is inconsistent. Although he passed the entrance exam and the first-year midterm exam, he only received 60 points in the final exam, almost getting demoted to the Sun God-Yellow dormitory. It was only after Professor Chronos pleaded on his behalf that he was given another chance." Hayato paused, looking at Ōyama Hei's file marked "missing," "The main reason for his inconsistent performance in actual combat is that he often fails to draw the cards he wants when actually drawing cards."

"Hmph, so this is what you used to call a 'perfect hand' when you were bluffing, isn't it?" Kaiba sneered. "You can't even draw the cards you want, and you don't have any cards in your deck to use for mulliganing. Even if you get a perfect score in theory, you're nothing special. In my opinion, you're just a third-rate duelist with a fourth-rate deck."

"It can't be that bad, can it? I remember you described Pegasus as a 'three-and-four' monster too," Hayato retorted. "Anyway, because of his poor card-drawing ability, Ōyama often gets defeated without being able to summon any monsters or activate any cards. If he maintains this level during the midterm exams, even Professor Chronos won't be able to prevent him from being demoted to the Apollo-Yellow dormitory. He might even end up in the Osiris-Red dormitory due to his low average score at the end of the semester."

"They're not all top students... So, besides all being students of the Obelisk-Blue dormitory, what else do these missing students have in common?"

Hearing the seahorse on the screen ask him this question, Hayato glanced at the person next to him and said, "The common point is that, apart from Taira Oyama, both Yusuke Fujiwara and Fubuki Tenjōin have joined the 'Advanced Alchemy Club' founded by Daitokuji-sensei."

"But I really have no idea what Tenjōin and Fujiwara did, meow!" Daitokuji, who had been called to Hayato's office, argued nervously, even adding a strange "meow" as a verbal tic. "Although an alchemical circle was found in their missing dormitory that was used to communicate with other worlds, I absolutely did not teach them that thing, meow!"

"Meow~" A chubby orange cat in Daitokuji's arms also meowed, as if responding to its human, Daitokuji.

"Alchemy... what kind of nonsense is that?" After hearing Daitokuji's words, Kaiba looked at Hayato and asked, "Don't tell me that the student council's disappearances this time are related to some weird thing like 'alchemy'."

"I know you might not believe it, Seth, but it's true." Hayato, rubbing his temples, shrugged helplessly after hearing Kaiba's words.

Under his influence, Daitokuji did not actively guide students to learn about dark games. His Alchemy Advancement Club was just a legitimate club. Furthermore, Professor Chronos, who was in charge of managing the school's clubs, would occasionally conduct spot checks on the clubs and verify the content of their activities.

Who would have thought that the "Advanced Alchemy" club, which anyone who has attended a few alchemy classes at Daitoku-ji Temple would be discouraged by its tedious and boring content, would have someone sign up for it? And it just so happens that it's Fujiwara Yusuke and Tenjouin Fubuki, who were among the top three students in the freshmen who enrolled last year.

The latter, in particular, brought many girls who liked him to join Daitokuji-sensei's "Advanced Alchemy Club." Although many people later couldn't handle it and left the club, they still managed to gather enough members for Daitokuji's club.

Unlike the original storyline where the Dark Game was led by Daitokuji, Fujiwara Yusuke and Tenjōin Fubuki still disappeared. This wasn't the first time Hayato had marveled at the powerful force of fate.

However, in the original story, Hayato only remembered that Fujiwara Yusuke and Tenjōin Fubuki disappeared because of the Dark Game caused by the alchemy circle. They were controlled by a malicious aggregate called "Darkness" that Fujiwara Yusuke had awakened, and their lives were not in danger.

As for Ooyama Hei, it seems that he went to the undeveloped mountains of Duel Academy Island to train because his card-drawing ability was not good enough. Later, it seems that he actually made a name for himself and possessed a god-like card-drawing ability that could rival that of the protagonist, Yuki Jaden? There is even less need to worry about his safety.

But Hayato still asked Daitokuji, "Daitokuji-sensei, you really haven't taught your students the more advanced parts of alchemy?"

"Principal Hayato, you have to believe me. Although I named the club 'Advanced Alchemy,' the content actually only covers the most basic introductory knowledge. It's just a little more serious than the knowledge of Duel Monsters disguised as alchemy taught in class."

Daitokuji sighed, "In the end, Tenjouin-san, Fujiwara-san, and the other students who joined my club, they had no interest in alchemy from the very beginning. They were only here for me, meow~"

"Fujiwara is not only the top student in the first year, but he is also stronger in actual combat than the 'Twin Walls' Tenjouin Fubuki and Marufuji Ryo. Most importantly, he also has the extremely rare ability to see the spirits residing in the Duel Monsters cards."

After Daitokuji finished speaking, Hayato didn't react much, but Kaiba on the screen suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "I can see the power of the card Pokémon? That's amazing! That's exactly what I wanted to see!"

"You're in that city, aren't you? Who was that person who just told me that 'alchemy' and such are all nonsense?"

Seeing Kaiba's intense reaction, Hayato couldn't help but complain, while Kaiba retorted in a matter-of-fact tone: "Of course they're different. Alchemy is just something that ignorant ancient people imagined based on chemical phenomena that were not understood at that time, but the spirits in the Duel Monsters cards are real beings that can be detected by the technology of the Kaiba Corporation."

"Haima Group's science and technology are number one in the world!"

“On this point, I can’t really refute you. At least Daitokuji hasn’t created the Philosopher’s Stone yet. He’s really disappointing.” Hayato shrugged and looked at Daitokuji. “I also know that Fujiwara Yusuke can see the existence of spirits. Speaking of which, Mogi Yuu, who enrolled today, seems to have the same talent.”

"It seems so. However, Fujiwara Yusuke's insight seems to be particularly outstanding. He even believes that in Duel Academy, the strength of the dormitory head teacher is the opposite of the treatment of the dormitory. He thinks that my strength is stronger than Kira-sensei of the Yellow Dormitory and Professor Chronos of the Blue Dormitory."

Daitokuji wore a subtle expression. "Tenjōin Fubuki was also pulled into the club by Fujiwara Yusuke in the same way. If Marufuji Ryo hadn't been so uninterested in alchemy, he probably would have been pulled in too. Now that I think about it, it's a good thing he didn't join."

"After joining the club, Fujiwara kept subtly probing into my other identity—an alchemist, but luckily I'm tight-lipped and didn't reveal a single word to him."

Hearing Daitokuji's confidence, Hayato asked, "What about the alchemy circle found in the missing student's dormitory? You didn't say you didn't teach it, but then you hit the student on the back of the head three times with a ruler and then gave the student extra lessons in the middle of the night, did you?"

"...I live in the Osiris-Red Dormitory, not the Crescent Moon Cave, Principal Hayato." Daitokuji complained, putting down the fat cat he had been holding and letting it roam freely, while he stood there thinking. "I've seen that alchemy circle before, but something that complicated can't be taught casually. Even if you just have them draw it, it would take them ages."

"But speaking of which, many details of that alchemy array do look quite similar to the version I used to write down in my notes, except that the drawing was terrible, and I can find at least ten places that can be merged and optimized..."

"Wait a minute, what did you just say?" Kaiba frowned, noticing the key words in Daitokuji's words.

"Um, ten places that can be optimized and merged? Well, actually there are nine, but I was just trying to round it up to a whole number."

"Who asked you that? It was the previous sentence: you have a notebook?" Hayato pointed out the most crucial point. "And that discovered alchemical array is also recorded in your notebook?"

Daitokuji hadn't quite grasped it yet: "Right, right, I always write down my lab log in my notebook after each experiment, and sometimes I use it as a memo to write in my diary. Isn't that normal?"

"This is so abnormal, okay? Who keeps a diary if they're a normal person?"

Hayato said, looking at the seahorse on the screen, "But at least now, we probably know where those students learned those alchemical arrays from."

"How many times have I told you, I have no interest in that nonsense like 'alchemy'?" On the other side of the screen, Kaiba frowned as he scrutinized Hayato's expression. After a moment of silence, he suddenly leaned back in his chair. "You don't seem worried about the safety of the missing students, Hayato Kobayashi?"

"I know your character all too well. You may harm others' interests without a second thought, but you would never disregard their lives. In other words, do you know the inside story of the disappearance of some students?"

"You could say that I have a general idea of ​​where the missing students went, but I need to go back to the place where they went missing to confirm the specifics."

Seeing the expression on Hayato's face, Kaiba frowned and continued to ask, "Is there no danger...? Then let me confirm one more thing, will this affect the missing student's talent?"

"Not only will it not, but it might even be enhanced," Hayato replied after thinking for a moment.

Fujiwara Yusuke, who joined "Darkness," transformed from an excellent student into a powerful dark duelist. Tenjouin Fubuki, with her quirky personality, also became able to issue orders calmly and even ruthlessly during duels after her "darkening." Oyama Hei, who was not involved in the real disappearance incident, went from having a 1000% bad draw to having a god-tier draw. The missing students have indeed become stronger.

Upon hearing Hayato's reply, Kaiba's furrowed brows completely relaxed, but he didn't let Hayato see his relaxed face. Instead, he turned around, stood up from his seat, and left only his back on the screen: "I understand. I will notify the families of the missing students, and the Kaiba Group will also block and control the spread of information to the outside world."

"Regarding this, among the missing students, only Tenjouin Fubuki actually has family members. Oyama Hei is an orphan who was able to complete his studies for many years thanks to a scholarship provided by the Kaiba Group because of his excellent grades. Fujiwara Yusuke's parents have also passed away, and he has no family members to inform."

Hayato glanced at the spread-out student files. "Only Tenjouin Fubuki has a younger sister, currently attending Duel Academy's middle school, and her grades are quite good. But Seth, you wouldn't resort to those underworld methods of silencing someone to bully a high school girl who's still in school, would you?"

"Hmph, in your impression, am I some kind of villain? Haima Group is an outstanding company dedicated to multiple fields such as entertainment, medical care, and high technology, while also actively participating in charitable causes, social construction, and education."

“Right, right, like the Duel Academy that’s opened all over the world, the sole sponsor of the International Duelists League, and Domino City that’s been turned into your private territory?” Hayato teased, waving his hand at the screen. “Anyway, I’ll leave these troublesome things to you, Seth.”

"As for me... let's go, Daitokuji-sensei, come with me to the missing student's dormitory again. Since it can be activated once, that alchemy circle should be able to be used a few more times, right?"

Hayato called out in his office, and one by one, the spirits that lived there emerged from drawers, under the sofa, and in potted plants, converging on the card box at Hayato's waist. "Although I can follow the original plot, daring to steal someone from my school, I've been the principal for a while and people are looking down on me."

"I will attack in Duel King form!"

Chapter 1046 Dormitory for Top Students

"Snap!" Hayato and Daitokuji snapped a dead branch on the ground as they walked one after the other along the forest path toward the Obelisk-Blue dormitory. More precisely, it was a special dormitory for top students located near the Obelisk-Blue dormitory.

Providing better treatment to students who already receive special privileges is no secret at this Duel Academy. In fact, Yuu Mogi, who just enrolled this year, has the same treatment. Moreover, compared to Yusuke Fujiwara, who at least lives on the island, Yuu Mogi, who is lazy and leisurely and knows how to enjoy life, even chose to build his dormitory on a secluded, uninhabited island attached to Duel Academy Island.

In reality, since Duel Academy Island has only developed a little over one-fifth of its surface area so far, students who do not want to live in the dormitories provided by the school are free to choose another place to build their own house. However, the school will not provide the same assistance as it does for top students.

In the original timeline, Jun Manjoume, who was demoted from Obelisk-Blue to Osiris-Red due to months of absenteeism, couldn't stand the relatively simple environment of the Red dormitory, so he simply paid for a house to build next to the Red dormitory for himself.

Returning to the honor student dormitory where Fujiwara Yusuke lived, because students provided services for the dormitory's construction, and because all the services provided by the school were obtained for free from Kaiba by the principal Hayato, this honor student dormitory was transformed into a small villa.

Although only Fujiwara Yusuke lives here, he would occasionally invite other students, such as Tenjōin Fubuki, to come and play. He even offered to lend the place to Daitoku-ji Temple for the alchemy advanced club's activities.

However, due to the sudden disappearance of a student, this top student dormitory has been sealed off to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering, so as not to destroy any clues left inside that might be helpful in tracing the missing person.

However, Hayato completely ignored the "Keep-Out" warning sign blocking the entrance to the villa garden and crossed the cordon to enter the villa garden. Daitokuji also hurriedly bent down and walked under the cordon to follow Hayato.

Although less than a week had passed since Fujiwara Yusuke, who lived there, disappeared, the two-story dormitory for honor students, despite being in broad daylight, exuded an eerie atmosphere, perhaps due to the dense branches of the trees and the neglected garden lawn. Even Hayato, standing in front of the closed doors, felt as if he were possessed by a ghost, his legs inexplicably heavy as if filled with lead.

"Master Daitokuji, could you please stop clinging to my foot?" Hayato looked helplessly at Daitokuji, who was crouching behind him and still holding onto his foot. "I can't walk at all like this. There aren't any scary ghosts here."

“Courage is just an ornament. Someone as important as you, Hayato, wouldn’t understand!” Daitokuji said, huddled up. “It has nothing to do with being a duelist, an alchemist, or a teacher. Being cowardly is being cowardly. It’s not something I can change just by changing my identity.”

"Besides, people are different. Compared to Principal Hayato, who has card spirits by his side, I am just a weak teacher who can see some special things."

While Daitokuji was talking, Hayato seized the opportunity to break free and ran to the gate. Looking at Daitokuji's "weak, pitiful and helpless" appearance, Hayato said helplessly, "So you're planning to stay here alone? I'm going in."

"No, it's just that this dormitory feels different to me." Hearing that Hayato was going to leave him behind, Daitokuji quickly stood up again and explained, "Everything was normal when I came here before, even when Tenjouin and Fujiwara went missing and I came here. But now, just getting near the dormitory gives me a dangerous feeling of being watched by wild beasts, even though the only difference is that Principal Hayato came along too."

"That's probably because the things in this dormitory are frightening me, Kobayashi Hayato. That's why they're baring their teeth and bluffing like wild beasts that have encountered their natural enemy, trying to scare away the danger, but little do they know that such behavior only arouses my pleasure."

Turning around to face the locked villa door, Hayato kicked it open without hesitation, causing Daitokuji, who was fumbling for his keys behind him, to pause and put the keys back.

“Since you’ve come here looking for trouble, don’t bother taking out your keys and opening the door properly. Just kick it open; that’ll make you look more imposing.” Looking at the pitch blackness behind the open door, unlit by the outside light, Hayato said to Daitokuji behind him, “Then lead the way, Daitokuji-sensei?”

“While it does feel heroic to go into the dark, Principal Hayato, can’t we just turn on the lights?” Daitokuji said, pointing to a switch by the entrance gate.