Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

(He even wore a shirt printed with Millennium Puzzle patterns.)

But listening to Professor Chronos's description, Maeda Hayato pointed to the posters on both sides of the passage with a strange expression: "Professor, isn't your description exactly the same as Mr. Yugi Muto's?"

"What?! Could it be that the thief is Mr. Yugi Muto?"

"No, that's impossible no matter how you look at it," Judai said, mocking Marufuji Sho's wild idea. "Anyway, everyone, let's get moving and look for suspicious people everywhere."

As they spoke, they immediately sprang into action, leaving the exhibition hall and searching the surrounding area for suspicious individuals dressed as described by Professor Chronos. Above the entrance door of the exhibition hall, the red operating light inside the surveillance camera, which was so inconspicuous that no one noticed it, was faintly lit and flashing.

"By the way, where are Kyoko and Rebecca?"

Watching the Judai group take action in the surveillance footage, Hayato temporarily turned off the now-useless monitor and looked at someone next to him.

"Miss Wu heard from the students on the island that a card sprite from the Amazon had appeared there before, so she organized a wilderness adventure camping trip. Kyoko and Rebecca are also very interested in camping," the starfish-headed youth said helplessly. "I guess their girls' camping and campfire discussion has already started by now."

"You have that 'I'm so relieved' look on your face," Hayato teased with a smile. "Even though both girls like you, and after all these years they've even accepted each other, aren't you ready?"

“It’s not like being mentally prepared solves everything. I feel ashamed too, Hayato.” The young man sighed and looked at Hayato with a wry smile. “I’m not like you, who can just randomly pull out a card and call out ‘Tamashi’ without a second thought.”

"You actually dared to joke about me, you've really grown up, game."

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, casting its light on the face of the young man beside Hayato. It was none other than Yugi Muto, the original owner of the stolen deck.

However, despite clearly seeing the stolen deck he provided for the exhibition from the monitoring screen on Hayato's tablet, Yugi showed no panic. Instead, he asked curiously, "Most people find it difficult to adapt when using someone else's deck. Is it really possible for a duelist to be able to perfectly replicate any deck he gets his hands on with such high fidelity?"

"You didn't see it during the day, but that brat was imitating me. How should I put it? Even with the deck restrictions, he at least managed to imitate me about 80% of the time. It's a pity it wasn't the current me, but the me from Duel Kingdom." Hayato said with a smile. "Otherwise, why would Kaiba bother making AI opponents? He could just call that brat over and have him imitate us and play cards with him."

"Is Haiba still building that AI Duelist?"

"There's no way around it. No matter how hard we try to imitate, we can't do it exactly like us, but at least it can alleviate the card addiction of the seahorse, right? After all, we're not free all the time, and even the seahorse's equipment can't withstand the strain of going to the underworld to play cards with Atum every day."

While they were chatting casually, Hayato and Yugi suddenly heard a sound.

"Curry~" "Curry Curry!"

Looking towards the sound, they saw Kuriboh and Rainbow Kuriboh floating in the air, waving at the two of them. Yugi and Hayato, who were standing on the edge of a cliff, also walked over there. They saw a boy on the shore who had covered his face with a scarf. He was taking off the cloak that was covering his yellow dormitory uniform and excitedly pulling out a deck of cards from his pocket.

Facing the sea breeze, he looked at the cards in his hand and muttered to himself, "Unbelievable, all those legendary cards are now in my hand. Even without the legendary 'God' and the 'Nameless Dragon' whose card art is nowhere to be found, this deck..."

"Without a doubt, I hold the future in my hands!"

As Kagurazaka spread out the deck and examined each card one by one, trying to understand the deck builder's thought process, the smile on his face began to gradually disappear—

"[Dark Magician], [Kuriboh], [Gaia], [Magnet Warrior], [Destruction Sword], [JQK Knight], [Summoning Demon], [Tool], [Gandora], [Silence]..."

The voice talking to itself grew fainter and fainter. After looking at it for a long time, Kagurazaka couldn't help but complain, "There are just too many cards with no clear meaning. Is this a deck? It's more like a card pile."

That said, Kagurazaka could tell from the thick stack of over sixty cards in his hand that the deck he was exhibiting wasn't necessarily the deck Yugi Muto used in duels. To be precise, he brought and displayed all the cards he had used in duels. In addition to regular cards, there were also many spare cards that were only included in certain situations. For example, the "Sacrifice Sealed Mask" was clearly intended to deal with Duel King Hayato Kobayashi, while "Destruction Sword" was aimed at Katsuya Jonouchi, who was good at using Dragon-type cards, and Seto Kaiba.

But it doesn't matter! Although the deck composition is so complex that it's hard to tell exactly which cards are in the deck under normal circumstances, after looking at it for a short while, Kagurazaka has a vague idea of ​​what kind of thinking Yugi Muto had in building this deck.

With that in mind, he immediately began to adjust the deck using the cards at hand, mimicking Yugi Muto's thought process to recreate the deck.

Without even needing binoculars, Yugi easily saw which cards his opponent had added to their deck. Yugi looked surprised: "It's actually pretty much what I expected. Although there are slightly fewer trap cards, almost all the cards I would normally use are included. It's like I'm the one building the deck!"

“Just building a deck isn’t enough. Let’s see what kind of duels he can pull off with that deck.” Hayato pointed to Marufuji Sho, who was approaching the shore. “Look, the test target has arrived.”

Is it really okay to talk about your students like that?

“But Yugi, aren’t you also eager to see what kind of duel that student can put on with your deck?” Hayato said, looking at Marufuji Sho, but then shook his head regretfully. “Unfortunately, even if he imitates your duel, Yugi, he’s no match for that kid. At most, he can only help find some flaws in the current deck and make improvements. To really test how high the level of imitation is, we still need to let a stronger duelist do it.”

"You mean Jaden?" Yugi also realized who Hayato was talking about and looked expectant. "Speaking of which, I also gave him a card, just like you, Hayato. I wonder how he's using it."

"Did you give him a card too? I don't think I've seen it." Hayato thought for a moment, but he really couldn't recall Jaden using any special cards. After all, he had given Jaden Winged Kuriboh in advance to comfort him after losing Yubel, but he didn't delve into it. "If he were to face a duelist who uses your deck and imitates your style, he would probably take out that card and use it too."

“That makes sense.” Yugi nodded, looked at Hayato, and said with a smile, “While we wait here, how about we have a duel, Hayato?”

Seeing Yugi pull a deck from his waist, Hayato said without any surprise, "As expected, how could a duelist leave himself without a deck to use? If I'm not mistaken, that must be your newly created deck, right?"

"Well, I created this deck based on the 'Duel Ritual' I had with another version of myself back then. It's my first creation since I joined the card designer team."

"Even I haven't witnessed the power of this card set yet. Hayato, you're the first person besides me and Pegasus to have seen this card set."

While Yugi Muto, cosplaying as Kagurazaka, duels with Sho Marufuji on the coast to test the performance of his deck, Hayato on the cliff also faces off against Yugi to test the performance of his newly created cards.

"Duel!" x2

[Hayato: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Game: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

Chapter 1217 The Year of the Dragon calls for a red dragon (I'm sure of it)

Although the duels started at the same time, the atmosphere on Hayato and Yugi's side was much more relaxed compared to the tense duel between Kagurazaka and Marufuji Sho, more like two old friends catching up.

"Let's start the attack from my side, game."

Having secured the first strike, Hayato drew a card from his deck and said, "My turn, draw."

"Then I activated the Continuous Spell Card, [Coffin of the King]."

As Hayato placed the Continuous Spell Card, a golden coffin slowly rose from the ground behind him. The deck Hayato used this time was none other than the same [Coffin of the King] deck that Ramses II had used against him not long ago!

Hmm? Why did Hayato get Ramses II's card? You might ask why the sun shines? For Hayato, what belongs to others is his, and what belongs to him is naturally still his.

"This time, I'm playing the 'Coffin of the King' deck, and my monsters are immortal!" With that, Hayato sent a card from his hand to the graveyard, saying, "As long as 'Coffin of the King' is face-up on my field, my 'Horus' monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects that do not target them!"

"Then, up to four times per turn, I can send one Horus monster from my deck to the graveyard by sending one card from my hand to the graveyard."

Explaining the card's effect, Hayato sent two cards from his hand to the graveyard in front of Yugi, saying, "I send two cards to the graveyard to activate this effect twice, sending two Horus monsters from my deck to the graveyard."

Half of his hand was gone in the blink of an eye, but after sending the two cards that were automatically retrieved from his deck to the graveyard, Hayato smiled smugly: "Although I don't know what new cards you made, Yugi, I know that in this era, ordinary cards are probably not enough to test the limits of their power."

"So, I've chosen the four most resilient monsters I can find to greet you. I've nicknamed them 'Coffin Four,' believing they can bring you endless joy."

In Hayato's graveyard, golden light shone as he spoke, and suddenly four monsters appeared on his field at once! Wow! They were four big guys dressed in gold and silver; their glowing red eyes, the condition of being Special Summoned directly from the graveyard, and their aura effects that made them look like the best of the best in Duel Monsters!

"The common effect of the [Horus] monsters is that once per turn, if [King's Coffin] is on my field, this monster can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard."

Hayato placed the cards one by one from the graveyard onto the field. "Each of them has their own unique strengths and skills. Their fighting spirit and patience are astonishing, and their secret weapons can bring unexpected surprises."

【Horus's Glory - Imset】【ATK3000】

[Horus' Forerunner - Hapi] [ATK2400]

【Horus's Blessing - Duamteph】【ATK0→4800】

【Horus's Blessing - Kebshanaf】【ATK2500】

It cannot be destroyed by non-targeting monsters and can only be destroyed by a single target. However, when a single Horus monster leaves the field, it will trigger the effects of other Horus monsters. Even a destroyed Horus monster can be Special Summoned back to the field from the Graveyard in the next turn without any cost due to its own effect.

What does "satisfying" mean? Although it may not seem to have a very strong suppressive force on the surface, its endurance is maximized, making it perfect for testing new card decks in the game.

Even with a defensive line of four monsters already on the field, Hayato didn't waste his normal summon this turn. He played another card from his hand and said, "I haven't made a normal summon this turn. Normal Summon [Inferno Machine Decimal] from my hand."

Beside the four Horus monsters appeared a single Inferno Decimal, its body covered in neon-lit transistors, a stark contrast to their overall style. After Normal Summoning Inferno Decimal, Hayato sent a card from his Deck to the Graveyard, stating: "If Inferno Decimal is Normal or Special Summoned, I send all Inferno monsters except this one to the Graveyard."

"The card I sent to the cemetery is [Hellfire Machine - Lilith]."

As the card [Hellfire Machine Lilith] entered Hayato's graveyard, his [Hellfire Machine Decimal] immediately absorbed its power and injected it into one of the transistors on his body. The purple flames of [Hellfire Machine Lilith] danced within the transistor.

"The level of [Inferno Decimal] will increase the level of [Inferno Lilith], and [Inferno Decimal] will also gain the same card name and effect as [Inferno Lilith].

[Hellfire Machine - Decimal Tube → Hellfire Machine - Lilith] [1☆/Flame → 10☆/Flame]

[Demon Race/□□/Effect]

[500/200]

Although the attack and defense stats of [Hellfire Machine Decimal] appear unchanged on the surface, and it still looks like just an ordinary weak monster, the game is very clear about the effects of [Hellfire Machine Lilith], which was just sent to the graveyard by Hayato.

"Once per turn, the power to negate and banish monster effects by releasing one monster..." Yugi said somewhat helplessly, looking at Hayato. "It's supposed to be a test duel, but Hayato, isn't it a bit much that you managed to disrupt a monster effect with just one Normal Summon?"

"Really? I feel like I went easy on you, okay?" Hayato shrugged nonchalantly, then inserted another card into the back row and said, "I'll activate this card again, the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage], then set another card, and my turn ends."

[Hayato: 4000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【Horus's Glory - Imset】【ATK3000】

[Horus' Forerunner - Hapi] [ATK2400]

【Horus's Blessing - Duamteph】【ATK4800】

【Horus's Blessing - Kebshanaf】【ATK2500】

[Hellfire Machine - Decimal Tube] [DEF200]

[The King's Coffin] [The Nightmare of the Mirage] [GaiKa]

Although Hayato claimed that he set up the field casually and was holding back a lot, in terms of actual performance, the lineup he casually put together was far more powerful than the combos that some duelists painstakingly executed. Even ignoring the monster effects and just looking at the attack power stats, it was a formidable lineup.

Even if the cost is the depletion of all six cards in his hand, just look at the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage] in his back row, and you'll know that his hand will immediately replenish itself at the start of the game.

"My turn, draw a card."

As expected, after Yugi drew a card, Hayato also drew four cards, saying, "The effect of the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage] is that during my opponent's Standby Phase, I draw cards until I have four cards in my hand. However, 'powerful cards often come with great risks,' so as a price, I randomly discard the number of cards drawn by this effect during my Standby Phase."

[Hayato: Hand 0 → 4]

Hearing Hayato's words, Yugi teased, "You call it a price, but Hayato, will you really pay it honestly?"

"Who knows?" Hayato noticed Yugi's gaze as he looked at his back row cards, knowing that Yugi was thinking about the [Extraordinary Food] cards that he always drew along with [Nightmare Mirage]. He didn't say anything, just shrugged and said, "Anyway, start your turn and bring out your new cards. I can't wait."

Yugi smiled, looked at the cards in his hand, drew a card, and said to Hayato, "Hayato, the [Coffin of the King] deck you're using this time is similar to Pegasus' [Toon] deck, revolving around the Continuous Spell Card [Coffin of the King]. Coincidentally, the new card I'm using is the same type of deck as your [Coffin of the King]."

"In Defense position, I normally summon the [Three-Color Gadgets] and activate their effects!"

As Yugi placed the card down, three gear parts of different colors sprang onto his field. They were none other than the classic red, yellow, and green tricolor "Gadget" monsters. However, compared to the original "Gadgets," the gears on the back of the three-colored "Gadgets" had been replaced with silver ones, and many gold lines had been added to the original seams, seemingly incorporating the "Golden Gadget" and "Silver Gadget" that Yugi held into this card.

【Three-color gadgets】【4 stars/location】

[Mechanical Race/Effect]

[1300/1100]

"The effect of [Tricolor Gadgets] can only be activated when it is Summoned or Special Summoned. Add one [Golden Chest of Light] or a Spell/Trap Card with the name [Golden Chest of Light] from my Deck to my hand."

"Golden Vault?" Hayato's first thought was of the [Sealed Golden Vault] card that ended Atem's game in the past, which had a different effect from the other cards with the same name on the market. He immediately understood what Hayato meant by what he had said earlier.

Yugi Muto's connection with Atem began with the golden chest containing the Millennium Puzzle, and their story ended in the light and within the seal of that golden chest. Rather than saying that Yugi created a new deck around that "Duel Ritual," it would be more accurate to say that he created new cards around the "golden chest" where their initial connection began.

By combining this with the phrase "same type of deck," Hayato understood everything.

“Since you’ve already told me that your deck also revolves around a single card, how can I let you pass the search smoothly?” Hayato said, waving his hand. “Once per turn, when the effect of a monster other than [Inferno Decimal] is activated, you can release [Inferno Decimal] itself to activate its effect.”

"Negate and exclude the activation of the [Three-Color Gadget] effect!"