Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"When this card is successfully Summoned, Special Summon all other Level 4 or lower [Hero] monsters in my Graveyard except this one. I've chosen Level 4 [E·Hero Sky Warrior]!"

"Spread your wings and fly high, heroes!"

On the battlefield of the tenth generation, elemental warriors clad in armor containing liquid matter unleashed their liquids. Upon contact with the air, the liquids rapidly heated up, boiled, and vaporized, instantly creating a vast cloud of smoke. Then, from within this mist, sky warriors equipped with twin-turbo wings soared into the air, dispersing the mist and transforming it into the backdrop for the heroes' entrance!

【E·hero Liquid Knight】【ATK1400】

【E·hero Sky Knight】【ATK1800】

"When I successfully Summon or Special Summon a monster, the effect of [E·Hero Skyman] activates, allowing me to destroy up to the number of [Hero] monsters I control other than this card!" Jaden said, waving his hand and pointing to the three face-down cards on Kagurazaka's back field. "[E·Hero Tornado], [E·Hero Liquid Man], and [Wool Token] (with its name changed), I now control three [Hero] monsters other than [E·Hero Skyman]!"

"Therefore, I can destroy all three face-down cards in the opponent's back row!"

"Piercing Light Through the Sky!"

With the support of four Heroes on the field, Jaden's E-hero Sky Warrior felt his power was about to burst forth, and he was now invincible!

Surrounding the three cards in Kagurazaka's back row, including the opened [Demon Chain], a large wind barrier was unfolded by [E·hero Sky Warrior] and then quickly compressed. The concentrated, unreleased gale transformed into a tornado capable of shattering the sky, raging across Kagurazaka's back row and easily destroying all the cards in it!

At the same time, with the disappearance of the [Demon Chains], Jaden saw that the chains on his [E·hero Tornado] on the field broke and shattered, and his hero regained his freedom.

Just as he was about to smile, Jaden suddenly looked towards Kagurazaka's backfield. There, among the spell and trap cards that should have been completely destroyed, one spell card remained on the field, still in a fragmented state!?

Sending the destroyed [Divine Shield - Power of Reflection] and [Chain of Demons] to the graveyard, Kagurazaka explained, "It was a good start; even I was thrilled. But Jaden Yuki, you destroyed all the cards in my back row without a care, which actually helped me summon my strongest spellcaster!"

"One of the face-down cards you destroyed was the Quick-Play Spell Card [Destruction Spell - Death Ultimate Curse]. Its effect can only be activated if this card in my Spell & Trap Zone is destroyed by an opponent's card effect. I can Special Summon either [Dark Chaos Magician] or [Chaos Dark Magician] from my Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"

"The strongest mage who wields the power of chaos and destruction, bestow annihilation upon my enemies! Come forth! [Dark Mage of Chaos]!"

A dark blue leather jacket clung to his tall, powerful frame. In his hand lay a long staff adorned with crimson patterns, and beneath a demonic ram's horn helmet was a cold, pale face. The silent [Chaos Black Mage] appeared silently on the Kagurazaka battlefield without any special effects, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression simply by standing there. The [Destruction Spell - Ultimate Death Curse] behind him shattered completely after using its last bit of power.

【Chaos Dark Magician】【8☆/Dark】

[Mage Race/Effect]

[2800/2600]

After Special Summoning [Chaos Dark Magician], Kagurazaka said, "[Chaos Dark Magician]'s effect is that when this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can choose one Spell Card from my Graveyard and add it to your hand. I chose [Destruction Spell - Death Ultimate Spell], which was just destroyed."

"Oh right, the [Chaos Dark Magician] that Kagurazaka is using is Mr. Yugi Muto's version." Seeing Kagurazaka add the card to his hand, and noticing that his hand had actually grown even though it was Jaden's turn, Misawa suddenly realized, "All the [Chaos Dark Magician] cards currently on the market have the effect of only being able to recycle the card on the turn it is Summoned or Special Summoned. But the [Chaos Dark Magician] that Mr. Yugi Muto possesses has the effect of being able to recycle the card when it is successfully Summoned or Special Summoned."

"To see such a special edition card, I'd be willing to die for the ticket!"

Jaden scratched his head: "Is there a big difference? I don't feel any difference. And even if I Special Summon [Chaos Dark Magician], that monster's attack power is only comparable to [E.Hero Tornado], right?"

As he casually remarked, Jaden glanced at the five cards remaining in his hand, drew one card, revealed it, and sent it to the graveyard, saying, "I discard this 'Swamp Demon King' from my hand to the graveyard to activate its effect. I add a second 'Fusion' Spell Card from my Deck to my hand, and then I activate the Spell Card 'Fusion'!"

The vortex of [Fusion] reappeared on Jaden's field. The ever-changing and diverse methods of [Fusion] are the biggest feature of the [E·hero] deck. Jaden is also the most proficient in this aspect, which is why Daitokuji regarded him as the student who is most likely to inherit his alchemy.

Picking up "E·hero Liquid Man" from his Duel Disk, Jaden said, "Using the two monsters on my field, which I consider to be the WIND "Wool Token" of "E·hero Sky Man" and the WATER "E·hero Liquid Man," as Fusion Material!"

Why not pick up the [Cotton Token]? Because tokens don't actually have cards. Although there is a card on the Duel Disk, it's just a projection and will disappear as soon as it leaves the Duel Disk, so there's no need to pick it up.

"When the two elemental souls converge, the atmospheric power awakened by the fusion of water and wind will bring life and hope. Be born to greet the rising sun, hero of the sun!"

Holding up the card, Judai called out,

"Fusion Summon! [E·Hero Sunrise Warrior]!"

A flowing blue cloak billowed in the breeze, revealing a broad chest, sharp eyes peering through a horned helmet, and a striking weapon adorned with two arm armors, each resembling a shimmering sun disc split in two!

【E·hero Sunrise Man】【7☆/Light】

[Warrior Race/Fusion/Effect]

[2500/1200]

"If [E·hero Sunrise] is successfully Special Summoned, its effect can be activated to add one [Miracle Fusion] from my Deck to my hand." Jaden said, replenishing the hand he had just played.

Unfortunately, one of the fusion materials, [E·hero Liquid Man], has its own limitations. Its effect can only be used once per turn. Jaden, who has already used its effect to revive [E·hero Sky Man], will not be able to use its effect to draw cards from the deck this time.

"The second effect of 【E·hero Sunrise Warrior】 is that the ATK of the monsters I control increases by 200 points for each of the monsters' attributes. Since I currently control both WIND and LIGHT attributes, all monsters on my field gain an additional 400 ATK."

【E·hero Sunrise Man】【ATK2500→2900】

【E·hero Sky Warrior】【ATK1800→2200】

【E·hero Giant Tornado】【ATK2800→3200】

Looking at Jaden's [E·Hero Great Tornado], Kagurazaka said, "A monster actually managed to raise its attack power to over 3000 points? Not bad, but it's still far from being the monster that can defeat me."

Judging from the cards currently on the field in Jaden, their attack power is lower than that of the monsters on the field in Kagurazaka. They can barely defeat the newly introduced [Chaos Dark Magician], but the rest, whether it is [Superconducting Fighter - Imperial God Magnet Cannon King] or [Celestial Knight] which has troublesome targeting, are difficult to defeat.

—Unless, there is some card that can increase the attack power of all the monsters in Jaden by about 1000 points at once?

Isn't it a coincidence that Judai happened to have just that one card?

"I discard [E·hero Golden Captain] from my hand to the Graveyard and activate its effect. I add one Field Spell Card [Skyscraper] from my Deck to my hand." Jaden, having retrieved the card, immediately opened the Field Zone of his Duel Disk. "A hero needs a stage to fight on! Now, I activate the Field Spell Card [Skyscraper]!"

In an instant, towering skyscrapers rose from the ground, covering the coastline and leaving only one street in the center of the city for Kagurazaka and his monsters. Meanwhile, Jaden's monsters suddenly disappeared from Kagurazaka's sight as the skyscrapers rose.

Looking around, Kagurazaka couldn't see the [E-heroes] anywhere; he had no idea where they had gone. Suddenly, the moonlight blocked their view, and Kagurazaka instinctively looked up, only to see the vanished [E-hero] monsters standing together on the top of the skyscraper in a rather cool and bizarre pose!?

"【Skyscraper】 increases the ATK of 【E·Hero】 monsters by 1000 points when calculating damage against monsters with higher ATK." Looking at Kagurazaka, Jaden said, "Although you imitate Mr. Yugi Muto and use his deck, you are ultimately not Mr. Yugi. Now, use my heroes, whom you care least about, to defeat your monsters!"

"Enter my battle phase!"

"【E·hero Sky Warrior】Attack【Chaos Black Magician】Wind Stream Magic: Divine Sandstorm!"

"【E·hero Sunrise Warrior】Attacks 【Celestial Knight】! Flame Stream Magic - Strange Flame King!"

"【E·Hero Great Tornado】Attack【Superconducting Fighter - Imperial God Magnet Cannon King】Light Flow Magic·Radiant Blade!"

The Jaden monster launched a series of attacks on the Kagurazaka monsters. With the power of the Skyscraper, the Kagurazaka monsters, each stronger than the Jaden monster individually, were defeated one by one.

This is also the biggest problem Jaden found in the Kagurazaka duel. Having witnessed Yugi's duels since childhood, he knows that in the hands of the real Yugi Muto, there is always a coordinated defense and support between the monsters.

Although Kagurazaka's imitation seemed very similar, after testing, Jaden had seen through that in Kagurazaka's use, each monster existed independently. How could the scattered power reach the monsters that Jaden united and assisted?

The impact of the triple attack landed on Kagurazaka, causing his Life Points to drop for the first time since the start of the duel!

Kagurazaka: 4000→3600→3500→3300LP

Because Misawa had just explained the targeting ability of [Celestial Knight] and the ability of [Superconducting Fighter - Imperial God Magnet Cannon King] to split into more monsters after the opponent's effect leaves the field, Jaden did not activate the effect of [E·Hero Sunrise Knight] to target and destroy cards in this all-out attack.

After watching [E·hero Great Tornado] destroy [Superconducting Fighter - Imperial God Magnet Cannon King], he said to Kagurazaka, "My battle phase is over, and then I will enter the second main phase."

"Now you've witnessed the power of my [Heroes], haven't you, Kagurazaka? Now you should understand that card performance isn't what determines the outcome of a duel, right?"

Kagurazaka, who had been looking down, slowly raised her head to look at Jaden after hearing his words. Under Jaden's gaze, she said, "I see. I think I understand now."

"I made a mistake. Although this deck has two users, the legendary Pharaoh's Soul and the legendary duelist Yugi Muto, I shouldn't have tried to imitate them."

Just when Jaden thought Kagurazaka had realized that simply imitating others wasn't enough, Kagurazaka said, "Thanks for enlightening me, Jaden Yuki. Now I understand—I need to imitate two people at the same time. For me, imitating just one is enough to become strong. Trying to have everything will only result in getting nothing. As a reward for enlightening me, I will now bring you a duel belonging to the Pharaoh's Soul!"

Closing her eyes and then opening them, pretending to have switched personalities, Kagurazaka coldly said, "During the Main Phase and Battle Phase of the turn in which I take damage from battle or an opponent's card effect, I send this card from my hand to the Graveyard to activate this effect!"

Kagurazaka said, showing a card from her hand, "Please, help me one more time, Curry!"

Upon hearing this, the image of Kuriboh dressed as Dark Magician in Kagurazaka's hand—Magical Kuriboh—embarrassed to reveal a "sweating bean" expression.

(Kuriko: Puxin Nan really looks down)

Chapter 1224: The Influence on Teenagers is Immeasurable

"Activate the effect of [Magical Kuriboh] in my hand, Special Summon one [Dark Magician] or [Dark Magician Girl] from my Deck or Graveyard. This effect can also be activated during your opponent's turn."

Since Kagurazaka couldn't see the spirits, he naturally couldn't know the speechless expression on Kuriboh's face like the others present who could see the spirits. As he sent Magical Kuriboh from his hand to the graveyard, he took out a card from the Duel Disk after the search was completed.

"It's clearly a stolen deck, isn't it? They're really overestimating themselves." Manjoume said disdainfully.

"More than that, I just heard the name 'Dark Magician Girl'!" Marufuji Sho looked expectantly at the mysterious monster card that Kagurazaka had drawn and was about to place on the Duel Disk. "Even though I was attacked by 'Dark Magician Girl' at close range before, I'll take another look, and it has to be 'Dark Magician Girl'!"

However, after the Magic Kuriboh was set up in front of Kagurazaka, what rose from it was the Dark Magician, dressed in a black and purple robe, who left Marufuji Sho feeling utterly disappointed.

"Tch, it's actually [Dark Magician]..."

Upon hearing this, [Dark Magician] glared at Marufuji Sho, as if to say, "I'm the one who's here, what are you complaining about?"

[Black Magician] [ATK2500]

"That's... Mr. Yugi Muto's ace monster, Dark Magician!" Jaden exclaimed excitedly as he looked at the newly appeared Dark Magician. "I can feel it! I can feel a completely different aura from before. Now the real duel begins!"

"Because I've already said it, I now fully understand what a duel truly means for Yugi Muto," Kagurazaka said confidently. "With the Yugi Muto deck in my possession, I will be the second Yugi Muto, and right now, the only one!"

Despite being defeated by Jaden's three monsters and having just summoned Dark Magician to avoid being completely empty-handed, Kagurazaka's Life Points remained at a full 3300 points even after being reduced three times in a row, far exceeding Jaden's. This was because the three monsters' attack power was not low.

Moreover, after using [Magical Kuriboh], Kagurazaka still has a full five cards in his hand, while Jaden only has four cards left. After removing one of them, [Miracle Fusion], Jaden can only use a maximum of three cards to defend at the end of this turn.

During his second main phase, Jaden glanced at the cards in his hand, drew one of them, and said, "Activate the Continuous Spell Card [Nightmare Mirage], then set three cards face down. End my turn."

[Junior: 2000LP, 0 cards in hand]

【E·hero Sunrise Man】【ATK2900】

【E·hero Sky Knight】【ATK2200】

【E·hero Giant Tornado】【ATK3200】

[Nightmare of the Mirage Tower] [Given Card] X3

Venue: [Skyscraper]

"You've set up [Nightmare Mirage] to replenish your hand, so the corresponding quick-play spell card [Extravagant Food] should already be set in your back row. Plus [Miracle Fusion], although you seem to have three set cards in your back row, there's really only one trap card among them, right?"

Kagurazaka speculated as he watched Judai cover all his cards.

Upon hearing this, Jaden smiled mysteriously and said, "Yes, how many face-down cards are traps in my back row? I'm also looking for the answer to that question."

Upon hearing this, Kagurazaka frowned and said with slight displeasure, "You idiot, who taught you to answer questions with questions! Even if you're just pretending, it's useless. Struggling and resisting are pointless in front of my powerful and loyal servant—the Dark Magician!"

(Dark Magician: Who are you?)

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Kagurasaka: 3300LP, hand size 5→6]

After Kagurazaka drew his cards, Jaden said, "Then, the moment I enter your standby phase, because of the effect of [Nightmare Mirage], I draw cards from my deck until I have four cards in my hand. Then, because of the negative effect of [Nightmare Mirage], I will randomly discard the number of cards I just drew during my standby phase, which is four cards."

[Junior: 2000LP, hand size 0→4]

Watching Jaden draw four cards in one go, Kagurazaka didn't seem to care: "Even so, I doubt you'd actually be willing to pay the price honestly when the time comes, right? And what's the use of letting you draw cards if you can't play them?"

"As for me, when I get serious and duel as 'Yugi Muto,' I won't even need a single turn to defeat you!"

As she spoke, Kagurazaka played her first card: "If [Dark Magician] is on my field, I activate this Spell Card - [Master-Disciple Bond]!"