Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Chapter 1118 Seven Stars and "Seven Stars"

"Unbelievable! There are submarines that big in the world?!"

Because Judai was called to the principal's office, Marufuji Sho and Maeda Hayato went to have lunch together after class and returned to their dormitory. However, before they even got back to their dormitory, they saw a huge wave suddenly rise up on the cliff near the Red Dormitory, and then a huge submarine docked at the shore.

Unlike Maeda Hayato, who was simply amazed by the submarine's size, Marufuji Sho recognized it. Although it wasn't mandatory, he had a deep understanding of many modes of transportation around the world as a user of the [Machine] deck, and knew that the submarine in front of him was the giant submarine that broke the record for the world's largest submarine set during the Cold War—the INS Puffin!

"Why is the Puffin here? I remember it should be a submarine built by Anasis Shipping Company." Swallowing hard, Marufuji Sho, although he also had monsters based on submarines, such as the [Submarine Robot], how could the chibi-style [Robot] compare to the enormous real thing? Even without getting close, just standing at a distance looking at the giant submarine that almost blotted out the sky, he and Maeda couldn't help but shrink back and hug each other because of their own insignificance.

Although Osiris-Red Dormitory was the furthest of the three dormitories from the main academy building, it was conveniently located next to the road leading directly to the academy's main entrance. Just as the people in the principal's office were heading towards Red Dormitory, under the curious gazes of the Red Dormitory students peeking out from their rooms, an exit opened on the submarine, and several people appeared on the submarine via a lift platform.

In contrast to the original timeline where Kagemaru leisurely allowed the members of the "Seven Stars" organization to line up one by one and slowly hunt for the keys to the "Seven Essence Seal," after cooperating with Tenma Tsukiyuki to distract Hayato, Kagemaru went all in, sending out all the members of the "Seven Stars" to hunt, intending to obtain all seven keys in the shortest possible time to break the seal and ultimately open the "Seven Essence Unlock Gate" to obtain the sealed cards.

Wearing a captain's hat, Anasis, the owner of the "Puffin," looked at the people riding with him on the elevator and said, "Now that I've brought you here, the transaction is complete. Your next actions are none of my concern."

"It's really hard to understand. He specifically asked me to use my favorite vehicle to send you guys to Duel Academy Island, and he even signed a series of trade contracts that were practically losing money for it. I don't know what that guy, Kagemaru, was thinking."

The people on the platform did not answer Anasis's question. They used their own methods to leave the submarine and move to the island. Some rode live tigers and let them leap into the jungle, some opened hang gliders and glided, and one woman even grew bat wings and flew up from behind.

Well, not everyone has their own methods. Anasis saw the most burly man among the group he brought, a big guy wearing a long coat, a mask, and a top hat. Anasis thought he would be the most powerful, but his other companions all used their own methods to "cross the sea." At this moment, he obediently climbed the ladder to the beach and then obediently climbed the rocks to reach the island.

While watching the big guy foolishly climbing without even noticing the path leading to the top of the cliff, Anasis saw a student in a red uniform running up to the edge of the cliff from a distance, near the student dormitory.

"Huff, huff, huff!" Even with his good stamina, Jaden was panting heavily after running all the way from school to his dormitory. After catching his breath, he looked at Anasis, who was standing alone on the submarine, and said, "Hey, you over there, are you 'Seven Stars'?"

Behind Judai, in the jeep driven by Daitokuji, Misawa Daichi and Manjoume got out. Looking at Judai, who was even faster than them, Manjoume complained, "What kind of monster are you? You can run faster than a car?"

"Because this is a hero's basic skill."

"Don't think you can explain that kind of physical ability with such a flimsy reason, hey. You must have been some kind of superhuman with some kind of strange power in your past life," Manjoume said casually.

"Don't worry about those things, Manjou. Look, the enemy is right in front of us."

"It's Mr. Manjoume!"

As Judai pointed in his direction, a microphone rose up beside Anasis. He picked it up and put it to his mouth, saying, "Hey kid over there, what's 'Seven Stars'?"

"Seven Stars? Seven Stars must be the powerful duelist who collaborates with that Chairman Kagemaru and wants to seize the school's secret card 'Three Phantom Demons', right?" Manjoume was a little surprised to hear Anasis's words and wondered who this person who had suddenly appeared here was, but he still answered Anasis on behalf of Judai, because he knew very well that Judai had definitely not remembered what Principal Samejima had said.

As expected, both Jaden and Anasis simultaneously showed an expression that read, "So this is the 'Seven Stars'."

Anasis had indeed never heard of "Seven Stars" before, and he was also unfamiliar with the Duel Academy's secret cards. He was quite intrigued.

Seeing how popular Duel Academy was, Anasis also had the idea of ​​getting involved in this field. After all, anyone with capital and brains in the world could see that Duel Monsters would definitely be the hottest industry in the future, and Anasis, which controlled 80% of the global shipping industry, had enough capital to enter the market.

In fact, he had already prepared more than half of the work for establishing his own dueling academy, including the school's infrastructure, the preparation of teaching staff, and even contacted the highly renowned professional duelist "Fisherman" Kajiki Ryota to promote his "Ocean Duel Academy".

What's missing is the foundation that money can hardly buy, and in the realm of Duel Monsters, "foundation" is the cards, rare and unique Duel Monster cards.

Anasis immediately became interested in the "secret card" that Manjoume had mentioned, and examined his own circumstances—

"A powerful duelist who collaborates with Kagemaru and wants to seize the 'Secret Card'?" Anasis pointed to himself with a thumbs up. "Then I think I'm a Seven Star too!"

Because of Manjou's explanation, which led to a misunderstanding of the meaning of "Seven Stars," a very subtle misunderstanding arose between Anasis and the Jadens. This caused the Jadens to raise their Duel Disks in unison after hearing Anasis "admit" to being one of the "Seven Stars," ready to fight him.

"They attacked so quickly." "But that's exactly what I wanted."

"I, Judai Yuki/Jun Manjoume, will defeat the first 'Seven Stars'!"

After saying this in unison, Judai and Manjoume turned to look at each other with expressions of dissatisfaction.

"Why are you copying me, Manjoume?"

"It's Mr. Manjoume! And you were the one who copied me first, weren't you?"

"I spoke a second earlier than you, so I spoke first."

"Idiot, I'm from the Blue Dorm, so I have a higher priority than you!"

"Where did the Blue Dorm get that messed up priority system from?"

Watching Judai and Manjoume bicker, Anasis scratched his head: "Why should I duel with you? Isn't it just a matter of who gets the card first? I think the other people who came with me, who are probably also 'Seven Stars', have already arrived on the island."

"What? There's more than one 'Seven Stars' who has arrived?" Sanze frowned. "But to break the seal of the 'Seven Essence Gate,' we need to collect all seven seal keys from our side through a duel."

"Master Daitokuji, please inform Professor Chronos and Principal Samejima immediately! The 'Seven Stars' have entered the island!"

"Huh? Oh, okay, meow." Hearing Misawa instructing him, Daitokuji was happy to slack off and didn't have to lift a finger. He took out his phone from the car and started calling Principal Samejima.

Because most matters can be handled at the school, and the dormitory is not too far from the academy, Principal Samejima and Professor Chronos's car, unlike Daitokuji's which needs to return to the Red Dormitory, is rarely used. It takes them some time to drive to the Red Dormitory. Fortunately, this allows them to search for the "Seven Stars" members who have landed on the island much faster than Daitokuji's group.

At the same time, a hand climbed to the top of the cliff. Ever since hearing Judai's voice, the big man in the black trench coat had increased his climbing speed by nearly double. When he reached the top of the cliff, he saw Judai not far away and revealed a cold and venomous laugh: "Hehehehe! Yuki Judai, I didn't expect to see you again so soon!"

"I'm back from hell!"

"That mask...you're that Titan!?" Jaden was startled when he saw the person climbing the cliff. "We actually live right on the edge of hell!?"

“No, that guy just climbed up from over there, and you’re surprised about that?” Anasis retorted. “Anyway, hurry up and let anyone duel me. I can’t wait to become a Seven Star and take the Secret Card.”

But upon hearing Anasis's words, the masked man—the Titan, the underground mercenary duelist who had previously kidnapped Asuka but was defeated by Jaden and fell into the Dark Games—said, "I've been wanting to say this since the beginning: what kind of Seven Stars are you?"

"Huh? He's not one of the Seven Stars?" Jaden and Manjoume, who had just been full of fighting spirit, lowered their Duel Disks after hearing this, looking at Anasis and then at Titan with confusion.

"Hmph, of course he's not one of the Seven Stars. He's just an outsider who brought us to this island because of a deal. The real Seven Stars each possess a Dark Item!"

Upon hearing Titan's words, Jaden's eyes narrowed into a deadpan expression: "You're not going to do it again, are you? Pulling out a bootleg Millennium Puzzle and calling it a Dark Item? Or is it the Millennium Wisdom Wheel this time?"

“No, my dark artifact is this mask I wear. I owe it all to you, Jaden Yuki!” The eyes beneath the Titan mask, completely black with no whites, stared straight at Jaden. “After being defeated by you, I fell into the dark world, where I suffered endless torment. An infinite desire for power arose in my heart, and I am willing to pay the price of my soul for it.”

"And the darkness truly responded to my desire! It bestowed upon me a mask of immense dark power, and granted me the mighty 'Powder'!" the Titan proclaimed, almost maniacally. "The duelist Titan who played with hypnotic tricks is dead in the darkness, and I am reborn. I am, the Titan of the Seven Stars!"

As he spoke, black mist emanated from the Titan's mask, and a golden "Eye of Ugato" appeared on his forehead, spreading outwards with a dark aura!

Jaden immediately raised his Duel Disk on alert, only to see that the black aura had no intention of attacking him at all. Instead, after getting a distance away from him, it suddenly turned and locked onto Manjoume next to him!?

"Idiot, do you think I would choose you as my duel opponent again, you inherently evil Red Dorm brat?"

Recalling his previous duel with Jaden, where his monster was tormented by [Torrent Tribute], [Magic Cylinder], and [Divine Shield - Mirror Power -], Titan had no desire to duel with Jaden again. Looking at the surprised Manjoume, he said, "I have completely seen through your school's ranking system. The seemingly weak Red Dormitory is actually the strongest duelist, so naturally, the seemingly strongest Blue Dormitory is the weakest."

"What 'Jonin fights are all about pots and pans, Genin fights are all about destruction'?" Manjoume scoffed at Titan's bizarre interpretation, but then added somewhat angrily, "I thought you picked me because you had the foresight to choose the strongest, but you actually think I'm the weakest? Weaker than that jellyfish-headed guy is one thing, but you actually think I'm weaker than that arithmetic guy, and even weaker than Daitokuji-sensei!?"

Daitokuji: "Why did you use 'even' when it came to me, meow? That's too much, Manjoume-kun!"

Misawa patted Daitokuji on the shoulder to comfort him, then sighed and said, "I couldn't even get my name pronounced correctly, what did I say?"

"I didn't expect that old man wasn't a Seven Star at all, and that you, Manjoume, even beat me to the real Seven Star." Judai said, looking at Manjoume, who was surrounded by a thin black mist. "But I will definitely defeat the Seven Star before you, Manjoume!"

Hearing that Judai wasn't worried about his danger at all, Manjoume knew that this was because Judai understood his strength and the level of the Titan he had defeated once. He arrogantly said, "It would be too shameful for me to lose to someone who can even defeat you. It's impossible for that to happen to me."

"But don't even think about defeating the first Seven Stars, because I'll defeat this guy very soon, and even hunt down the second and third Seven Stars. You can't catch me, Jaden!" Manjoume pointed to himself with a thumbs-up, a smirk playing on his lips. "And lastly, it's Mr. Manjoume!"

"Hey, can you guys stop starting your duel all by your own!" Seeing that the duel between Manjoume and Titan was about to begin, Anasis on the submarine got impatient and raised his voice, "I want to duel too!"

"Hmm—this guy's voice is way too loud."

Because the speakers amplified the sound, Anasis's shouts became pure noise, causing almost everyone present to cover their ears. Even many students in the Red Dormitory who had closed their doors because of the black mist released by the Titans earlier were disturbed by the noise.

Hearing Judai's complaint, Misawa and the others lowered their voices and let go of his hand, saying helplessly, "But I remember Anasis Shipping Company seems to have a partnership with the school, right? We can't just leave him alone, especially since he keeps making noise."

"But he's not a Seven Star, so I'm not really keen on dueling him."

"Me too. It would be great if someone could hold him off here, regardless of their strength."

Misawa and Judai were saying a few words each when they suddenly turned around and looked at one person at the same time.

Daitokuji covered the orange cat Pharaoh's ears with both hands, and then Pharaoh extended his paws to cover his ears. After feeling that Anasis's noise had stopped, Daitokuji released his hands from Pharaoh's ears and complained, "Wow, that noise was way too loud, meow."

"Huh? Judai-kun, and Itsuki and Misawa-kun, why are you all looking at me, meow?"

A few minutes later, looking at Anasis standing opposite him, enthusiastically drawing his cards, Daitokuji said with a mournful face, "Shouldn't I be the one just filling in? Why am I suddenly being asked to duel, meow?"

"What a misfortune!"

Chapter 1119 Super High, Hot Iron Duck!

Anasis brought a total of four "Seven Stars" to Duel Academy Island. Apart from the one who took a long time to climb to the island and find Titan with the eye of Manjoume, the other three had already scattered in different directions on the island before Jaden and the others arrived.

Compared to Anasis, who considered himself one of the "Seven Stars," they had a much clearer understanding of the seal of the "Seven Spirits Gate." They knew that their goal in coming to the island was to find the person holding the key to the seal as quickly as possible and fight them to break the "Seven Spirits Seal."

No matter how you look at it, splitting up and each choosing a region to search is obviously the fastest way. The arrogant "Seven Stars" are not worried that they will be defeated in the duel with the key guardian if they act alone.

Although the Jadens and the others did not witness the whereabouts of the "Seven Stars" firsthand, it didn't matter, because someone saw which direction they went in.

"I'm counting on you to show me the way, Sho!" Jaden said to Sho in front of him, then excitedly punched the sky, "Fusion Summon! [Dual Bicycle Robot]! Os!"

"No, this is just a regular tandem bicycle, not my Duel Monster Card. And what was that weird interjection?" Sitting in front of Jaden, Marufuji Sho gripped the armrest and complained, then added uncertainly, "Big brother, are you sure we're going to just go like this? Are we the only two people here? And I'm not really sure where the other person went."

“That’s better than us seeing nothing at all.” Misawa Daichi was riding a tandem bicycle with Maeda Hayato, who was sitting in front and Misawa on the back. “Even if we only have a general direction, it’s better than us searching around like headless flies. The most important thing now is to find the ‘Seven Stars’ that have entered the island.”

"After all, even someone as despicable as Titan, who would kidnap someone, can become a 'Seven Star.' I find it hard to trust the other duelists' character and integrity. So, to prevent others from being kidnapped like Asuka, we need to act quickly."

Hearing Judai's words, Sho muttered, "It's not something to be proud of, but I was kidnapped too, but when everyone talked about being kidnapped, they all thought of Asuka and not me, making me feel like I was just there to make up the numbers..."

Although he was a little unhappy, Sho was still full of motivation because of Judai's words. Just thinking about how he saved others from being hurt by "Seven Stars" and gained a good reputation at school, and was admired by other boys and loved by girls, made him feel like his energy had been boosted to the maximum!

"Go! Go! Go!" "Ah, oh, oh, oh, oh!" Singing a completely off-key song, Jaden and Sho went all out and took the lead on the road on their bicycles.

When the other three "Seven Stars" left, Xiang noticed the person who left on a hang glider. Although he couldn't see the person's face and clothes clearly because of the distance, he could only see a long black overcoat. However, Xiang could still tell that the person was using a fairly normal hang glider, which was more like a modern person than the guy who left on a tiger.

In contrast, Maeda Hayato noticed the direction of the "man" who rode away on a tiger, because the man's solid muscles, which could be seen from a distance, gave Maeda Hayato's first impression of "a muscular big guy dressed in light clothing".

Not only that, but Maeda Hayato also went on a picnic to celebrate Judai's successful completion of the trial and accidentally entered the ancient tomb that could be accessed by the ruins in the back mountain. Judai was not the only one who made a gain there.

There, Maeda Hayato unexpectedly discovered that there was a spirit residing in his card. When Maeda injured his knee and couldn't run while escaping the tomb, it was even his spirit, the Death Koala, that carried him out.

Maeda almost thought he was dreaming, but when he saw the half of the stone disc he got from the royal tomb hanging on Judai's chest, he knew it was no dream. After trying to communicate with his cards like a mental patient, he actually managed to awaken the ability to see spirits!

However, compared to Jaden and Manjoume, Maeda Hayato's ability to see Pokémon is not very mature. He can only reliably see his own Pokémon, Deathkoala, and at most, he can also see Winged Kuriboh, which often appears around Jaden. He may not be able to see other people's Pokémon, such as Manjoume's Light and Dark Dragon.

However, even though he couldn't see it, he could still vaguely sense the special aura of the card that contained the spirit, and he felt that special feeling from the muscular guy riding the tiger!

So while Jaden and Sho chased after the person using the hang glider, Maeda Hayato and Misawa Daichi headed towards the jungle where the tiger-riding man had disappeared. The former seemed to be heading towards the dormant volcano at the very center of the academy island, while the latter was heading towards the undeveloped back mountain of the academy, where there was still dense primeval jungle.

The last of the three "Seven Stars" who left was a guy with a pair of bat wings. From a distance, he looked as terrifying as a legendary vampire. Although it was a bit strange for a vampire to appear in the sun during the day, Marufuji Sho and Maeda Hayato were both a little startled and did not carefully check where the other party had gone.

However, while traveling in Daitokuji-sensei's car, Misawa did notice the strange "bats" flying high in the sky. After combining the descriptions of the two, he immediately realized that it was the fourth "Seven Stars". Recalling that the direction the other party was heading seemed to be the lake near the academy, he did not chase after the person.

Because in terms of distance, it would be easier for the group to catch up with the tiger rider and the hang glider. But a vampire with wings who can ignore terrain and altitude would be hard to catch even if they wore out all four pedals on their tandem bicycles. But it was different with Professor Chronos. They had a vehicle and were closer to the lake next to the blue dormitory.

After having Daitokuji inform Professor Chronos, Misawa and Judai confidently handed over the fourth "Seven Stars" to their teacher.

Manjoume was the one who fought the first "Seven Stars," but in reality, just as he and Titan entered the Dark Game, the vampire-like fourth "Seven Stars" had already arrived at her destination.

The bat wings on her back transformed into countless small bats the moment she landed. A wine-red dress draped her graceful figure, and her enormous "hearts" were extremely prominent and eye-catching. Her long green hair cascaded down her back. The fourth "Seven Stars" was clearly a lady dressed as a medieval noblewoman!