Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

In other words, although Hayato cannot use its regular appearance to remove the resurrection restriction, he can easily summon it using the "Stirring Up Trouble" skill!

Not to mention Hayato, in another world, [Natural Wood Dragon] is one of the most frequently used monsters by card players among the monsters that can be Special Summoned by [Grass-Beater]. It is one of the "Grass-Beater Big Three" along with [Ultimate Falcon], the all-resistant big brother of the [Rapid Raptor] family, and [Alien Final Warrior], which can summon and lock down everything.

【Natural Wood Dragon Beast】【ATK2800】

"It's a card that can Special Summon monsters directly from the Fusion Deck!?" Dark Mask said unhappily as he watched his [Ferocious Emperor of Terror - Primordial Demon] activate its effect, which instead helped Hayato summon another powerful monster on the field. "But my monster still has higher attack power, and even if you can enter the Battle Phase next turn, you'll have to discard the cards in your hand right away."

My turn is over.

【Mask of Darkness: 3000LP, 0 cards in hand】

【Demon General】【ATK2500】

【The Terrifying King - The Primordial Demon】【ATK3000】

In this 2 vs 1 duel, each person can only enter the battle phase after taking their turn. On the surface, Mask of Light, whose field is empty, is in a very dangerous state. With only 3000 Life Points, he will be reduced to almost nothing if Hayato's [Natural Wood Dragon Beast] attacks him. However, another rule in this duel is that when a duelist is directly attacked, his teammate can use their own monster to block the attack.

Furthermore, since both Light and Dark Masks can use monsters on the field and cards in the graveyard, Hayato has to deal with two such powerful opponents all by himself. It's practically the most desperate scene in the world!

—Yeah, right. Hayato's heart is completely devoid of Polish spirit; he even wants to launch a blitzkrieg.

Although the Light and Dark Masks have some skill, it's not much. If it were five years ago, they might have been somewhat formidable, but for Hayato today, they're just two third-rate duelists with a fourth-rate deck. Even if they have some synergy, they're barely second-rate together, probably not even able to beat Malik.

When he drew his current hand with [Nightmare Mirage] in the previous round, the outcome of the duel was already revealed!

"My turn, draw!" Hayato drew a card, but instead of looking at it, he pressed the button to activate the face-down card. "Then, during my Standby Phase, I activate the face-down Quick-Play Spell Card 'Extraordinary Food' to send my 'Nightmare Mirage' in the Graveyard and restore 1000 Life Points to my back row."

While the storm washed away 1000 base points, it also avoided the negative effects of the Nightmare Mirage. Although Hayato has used this strategy for too long, it is just so effective. Who would refuse a two-for-four exchange that also gets you 1000 base points for free?

However, after recovering 1000 Life Points, Hayato immediately played a card from his hand and said, "Life Points are meaningless if you don't use them when you should. During my Main Phase, I pay 1000 Life Points and activate the Spell Card [Easy Fusion] to Special Summon a Fusion Monster of Level 5 or lower from my Fusion Deck as a Fusion Summon."

"A monster of level 5 or lower? Could it be that monster called [Evil Thought] again!?" The Mask of Light immediately thought of [Hellfire Machine Evil Thought] that Hayato had summoned before. As the third level 1 Fusion Monster they had known in recent years, [Hellfire Machine Evil Thought] and its exaggerated effect of accurately filling the graveyard with ten cards had left a deep impression on them.

But Hayato just smiled and didn't answer. Instead, he took out a card with a purple border and held it above his head: "My will is eternal, my power is real. Even in the night when the sun doesn't exist, let the music of celebration play for me!"

"Fusion Summon! [Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale]!"

Just like [Natural Wood Dragon], although one of its required fusion materials - [Lyrical Nightingale] - cannot be exchanged from the shop because it is an Xyz Monster, [Lyrical Nightingale] - Independent Nightingale itself, as a Fusion Monster, is not restricted in any way, and because of its level, it can be easily summoned by [Easy Fusion], also known as "Cup Noodles".

[Hayato: 4000→5000→4000LP]

Both Light and Dark Masks were somewhat surprised and stunned when they saw the little bird that appeared on Hayato's field and landed on the head of [Natural Wood Dragon Beast].

【Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale】【1☆/Wind】

[Bird/Beast Race/Fusion/Effect]

[1000/0]

Hayato glanced at the card "Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale," whose first effect, like other Tuner monsters, was crossed out and hidden. He said, "The main effects of 'Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale' are: this card gains 500 ATK from its Level, is unaffected by other card effects, and can be activated once per turn during my Main Phase to inflict damage to your opponent equal to 500 of its Level."

"But that monster is only a level 1☆. Its original attack power was only 1000 points. Even if it is increased by 500 points, it is only 1500 points. Isn't that just a weak monster?" Mask of Light said disdainfully.

"Even if we still have the ability to deal damage equivalent to [Fireball], we still have a full 3000 points in base stats. It's laughable that we could summon such a weak monster."

Hearing the two masked figures look down on him so much, Hayato didn't react much. On the other hand, Lyric Robin - Solitary Nightingale excitedly jumped around on the tree-like long whiskers of Nature Wood Dragon Beast, looking quite unhappy.

Hayato, on the other hand, remained calm. Watching Nature Wood Dragon Beast soothe Lyrebird-Independent Nightingale, he said, "Although Lyrebird-Independent Nightingale is indeed not strong, I didn't intend to use her in battle, because she can't attack when summoned by Easy Fusion, and she will also destroy herself at the end of the turn."

Holding a card in his hand, Hayato raised it and tapped the side of the card lightly. "But she can summon the true symbol of despair, that invincible tyrant that crushes everything! To deal with you, wouldn't it be better to use this card, which is also a Tribute Summon? Tribute Summon this monster from my field: [Lyrical Nightingale - Independent Nightingale]!"

"Neptune, whose future is blocked by birds, possessing limitless potential, reveal your ultimate power surrounded by nature!"

"【Tyrant Neptune】!"

With an unsurprising expression, [Lyrical Nightingale - Independent Nightingale] calmly accepted her fate of being looked down upon the moment she appeared, and then immediately being freed by Hayato, and sent to the graveyard. At the same time, a monster wielding a silver-handled scythe appeared on Hayato's field, like a tyrant slaughtering lives, or a grim reaper reaping souls.

【Tyrant Neptune】【10☆/Water】

[Crawler Category/Effect]

[0/0]

"A level 10 monster was summoned with just one sacrifice?"

"It should have an ability similar to being able to Tribute a monster to perform a Tribute Summon, right?" Since the decks they were using were all focused on Tribute Summoning, Light and Dark Mask didn't pay much attention to Hayato's ability to summon [Tyrant Neptune] with just one Tribute. "However, its ATK and DEF are both 0? Isn't that even more ridiculous than that bird from before?"

"That's all there is to it!"

Looking at the Light and Dark Mask, who had never heard of the phrase "monsters with 0 ATK and 0 DEF are all monsters," Hayato said, "[Tyrant Neptune] cannot be Special Summoned. As you said, it can indeed be Tribute Summoned by Tributing a single monster. And [Tyrant Neptune]'s ATK and DEF will increase by the sum of the original ATK and DEF of the Tributed monster."

【Tyrant Neptune】【ATK0→1000】

Before Light and Dark Mask could express his opinion, Hayato continued, "Also, when [Tyrant Neptune] is successfully Tribute Summoned, it can select one Tributed Effect Monster in the Graveyard, use it as its name card, and gain the same effect."

"The monster you just released—wasn't that the [Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale]?" Mask of Light raised an eyebrow. "I remember its effect was—"

Even though the Mask of Light didn't continue speaking, both of them had already remembered the effect of the [Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale] that had disappeared for only a few seconds, and their eyes widened at the same time.

Hayato's smile widened: "That's right! [Tyrant Neptune] will receive the effect of [Lyrical Nightingale - Solitary Nightingale]. That means from this moment on, [Tyrant Neptune] will be unaffected by other card effects, its attack power will increase by its level x 500, which is 5000 points, and it can inflict 5000 points of effect damage to the opponent's duelist once per turn!"

"Resilient! Invincible! Strongest!"

Taking advantage of Kaiba's absence, Hayato directly borrowed his catchphrase, waving his hand forward and saying, "Enter my battle phase, and then use [Tyrant Neptune] to directly attack the Mask of Light!"

【Tyrant Neptune】【ATK1000→6000】

"A monster with 6000 attack power!? No, if I get hit by that kind of attack—" Mask of Light turned to his partner beside him, "Hey, Mask of Darkness! Hurry up and help me! At least use your monster to block it for me!"

Looking at his highest attack power on the field, [Ferocious Emperor of Terror - Primordial Demon], with 3000 attack power, and Dark Mask with 3000 base points, considering their long-standing partnership, how could Dark Mask refuse his partner's request for help?

Upon hearing the words of the Mask of Light, the Mask of Darkness fell silent.

Um, he won't refuse, right?

As Tyrant Neptune raised his scythe, but none of the monsters on Mask of Darkness's field moved, Mask of Light panicked. "Why are you just watching, Mask of Darkness! Aren't we partners?!"

Mask of Darkness thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, die."

"Huh?" The Mask of Light was taken aback. "What are you talking about? What do you mean by dead or alive? Help me now!"

"You paid the basic points just like me, and you're so slow-witted, you deserve to die." Seeing [Tyrant Neptune] about to attack Mask of Light, Mask of Darkness revealed a smug expression. "Our partnership was just arranged by Malik, wasn't it? There was never any affection between us, we were just using each other."

"However, in a one-on-one situation, I might not be a match for this ridiculously powerful monster. Thanks to you for diverting its attacks, I have to thank you for risking your life to help me, partner~"

"You bastard!" Upon hearing this, the enraged Mask of Light abandoned the duel and was about to attack Mask of Darkness beside him. But just then, Tyrant Neptune's scythe swung down and struck Mask of Light, who was in front of no monsters. His body immediately collapsed to the ground like a stalk of wheat being cut down, as if his soul had been taken away by Tyrant Neptune's attack.

【Mask of Light: 3000LP→0】

"As expected, what I just saw wasn't an illusion." Setting down the Duel Disk he'd been holding in front of him, Dark Mask looked at the fallen Light Mask with an expression of terror he could no longer conceal, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. "It really is... a Dark Game where people die!"

"My battle phase ends here." Without using [Natural Wood Dragon Beast] to attack the monsters on Dark Mask's field, Hayato ended his battle phase directly, glancing at Dark Mask. "You don't seem too surprised?"

Hearing Hayato's words, Mask of Darkness recalled the suffocating feeling of his heart stopping the moment he paid his life points to lower the level of [Demon Giant God]. A terrifying and chilling dark power seeped into his internal organs as his life points decreased. In that instant, Mask of Darkness was certain that what his opponent was using was not a trick, but a genuine dark game.

"You have the same golden items as Lord Malik... and you can also run Dark Games, who exactly are you?"

"Is that the kind of education you received? Who taught you to answer questions with questions?" Hayato scoffed. "And you made me answer the same question twice? He's just a passing duelist. Remember this!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? Commanding such a powerful and evil monster, how could you possibly be an ordinary duelist? You must be at least the leader of some villainous organization intent on destroying the world!" Dark Mask glared at Tyrant Neptune, gritting his teeth. "But I will not lose!"

"Is that so? Then, in my second main phase, activate the effect of [Tyrant Neptune] and inflict 5000 points of effect damage on the opponent," Hayato commanded emotionlessly. [Tyrant Neptune] opened its mouth like a monster from a tokusatsu drama and unleashed a thick beam of light at Dark Mask.

"If I take this damage, I'll die! I don't want that!" Suddenly drawing a card from the graveyard, Mask of Darkness activated, "I will live, even if it's a struggle! Excluding the [Damage Reduction] card in my graveyard, activate its effect: This turn, all effect damage I receive will be halved!"

"I will survive! Even if I only have 500 points left in my base score, I will survive—"

A smile of relief was about to bloom on Dark Mask's face, but the next moment, he saw his [Damage Reduction], which had just been revealed after being sent to the graveyard by [Dark World's Summoning] in the first turn, about to activate, being suddenly crushed by Hayato's [Natural Wood Dragon Beast]!?

The smile on his face froze instantly.

"When a Spell/Trap Card is activated, banish one card from my Graveyard and send the top card of my Deck to the Graveyard to activate the effect of [Natural Wood Dragon Beast]." Banishing [Extraordinary Food], Hayato glanced at the top card of his Deck—[Summoner - Aleister]—and sent it to the Graveyard, saying, "If [Natural Wood Dragon Beast] is face-up on the field, negate that activation and destroy it!"

"Therefore, without [Damage Slimming], you will suffer 5000 points of effect damage; despair will be your end!"

"boom!"

【Mask of Darkness: 3000LP→0】

Chapter 1092's title was sent to the grave by Xiao Lan.

[Congratulations on your crushing defeat of two more noobs... You have defeated two evenly matched opponents, and the settlement is in progress—]

Seeing the system notification, Hayato was already used to it. He calmly put away the cards on the Duel Disk, walked to the fallen Mask of Light and Darkness to take their decks, and skillfully recycled all the cards into the system shop.

The haul was pretty good. Although the Light and Dark Masks were only so-so in terms of strength, the rarity of the cards in their decks wasn't too low, which brought Hayato about half the DP points of a UR card. This made Hayato sigh that his old profession was still the fastest way to make money—his old profession, of course, refers to fighting evil, not stealing other people's decks. After all, Kobayashi Hayato is a duelist who upholds love and justice.

Meanwhile, as the Dark Game ended and the surrounding environment returned to its original indoor state, Makoto Inozuka and Akiba remained motionless in their previous poses.

The Dark Game is almost like "time stopping," allowing only those involved to move freely. The earliest user of this ability was Pegasus. Although he no longer has the Millennium Eye, who knows why his so-called "residual magic power" hasn't run out after so many years? In any case, even now he can still use some of the methods he used when he still had the Millennium Eye. This kind of Dark Game was taught to Hayato by Pegasus.

Such an ability seems a bit exaggerated? But don't forget that at his peak, Pegasus could not only use this form of dark game at will, but he could even conduct dark games from across the ocean using a videotape as a medium. In terms of the use of the Millennium Items, he can be said to be amazingly talented, far superior to that bald guy who has two Millennium Items but can be easily killed by others if he is not careful.

Although it was a dark game derived from the [Millennium Eye] ability, Hayato managed to learn most of this form of dark game through his own "I think" approach. Although he couldn't automatically deploy it remotely like Pegasus, he had no problem using it normally and could control it freely.

With a snap of his fingers, Hayato released the two people whose time had been "stopped." The moment the magic returned to the Millennium Wisdom Wheel, the projection of the Millennium Wisdom Wheel, which was extracted from memories, also shattered and disappeared.

Hayato wasn't bothered at all; he could always use another one whenever he wanted. Makoto Inuzuma and Akiba, on the other hand, were momentarily stunned to find that the two arrogant Masked Light and Masked Darkness had suddenly collapsed to the ground and somehow "teleported" to Hayato's feet, leaving behind two Duel Disks. The "Golden Disc" on Hayato's chest was shattering and disappearing, leaving the two completely dumbfounded.

"What on earth happened?" After seeing Hayato break in, he was about to tell him to leave and get help, but in the blink of an eye, he realized that he seemed to have skipped four or five chapters of a novel. Inozaki Makoto was completely confused about what was going on and looked at Aruba beside him. "Is this some kind of superpower?"

"I don't even know where the end of the universe is, how could I possibly know the answer to this question?" Aruba retorted, then suddenly remembered, "Wait a minute, I think I've heard of a similar ability, a time-jumping ability that allows someone to be unaware of what happened in between. That's right, it's King Crimson! This is a Stand attack!"

Hayato rolled his eyes, too lazy to bother commenting on the two guys with overactive imaginations. After all, as the principal of the Duel Academy, he was just a civil servant and didn't have any superpowers.

"If you ask me, didn't you used to call yourself the superhuman who could foresee the future by receiving cosmic radio waves, 'Super Aluminum Field'?"

Upon hearing Hayato utter that title, Alumina blushed instantly: "There's no such title here..."

But before he could finish speaking, Aluminum Field deflated: "...Okay, I did have that weird nickname before."

"Because he's still a kid."

Hearing Hayato's words, Aruba said with some confusion, "But that was back in Duel City, five years ago, how could you—"

"You still don't recognize this person, Aruba? His appearance is practically a household name, if not universally known." Makoto Inozuma, though still confused, had at least recognized Hayato without his disguise. "Didn't my brother mention that you'd dueled with him before when he introduced you?"

"The King of Duels, Hayato Kobayashi?!" Only now did Aruba realize Hayato's identity and exclaimed in surprise, also recalling his duel with Hayato in Duel City.

Although Makoto Inozuma remembered that he had dueled with Hayato, he didn't really care about that duel. After all, he had even asked his two younger brothers to help him cheat in the duel, which was not only dishonorable but also set a bad example for children. He was reluctant to mention that he had dueled with Hayato Kobayashi.

As for why Makoto's older brother, Toshiro Toshiro, the contemporary master of telekinesis, would promote this so much and constantly talk about how strong Hayato is in front of others? Being defeated by a pastoral woman carrying a green onion and being defeated by Domon Kashu are two different things. The more you talk about how strong Hayato, the Duel King, is, the more it makes Toshiro Toshiro, who also fought Hayato, seem awesome, right?

"It really is true, so much time has passed, I almost didn't recognize you—" Aruba paused, looked Hayato up and down, "You haven't changed at all! Why do you look the same five years ago and now? You were in your puberty when you were around ten years old!"

"Because men are boys until they die, I'm forever eighteen!" Hayato said with a smile. "What about your younger brothers?"