Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Duel!"

【Jounouchi Katsuya: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand】

Although Kaiba was the first to place a card into the Duel Disk, because he didn't shout "Duel," the first duelist detected by the system to be ready was Jonouchi—just like in reality, duelists shouting "Duel" before the duel doesn't mean they're chuunibyou (delusional teenagers), but rather that Kaiba, this older chuunibyou, forcibly added the setting that shouting "Duel" is required to officially start the Duel Disk, even if it's shouted in another language, it doesn't matter, as long as it's shouted out.

"Hmph, you mediocre coward, so eager to come and die? Your duels are nothing compared to my journey to defeat Hayato Kobayashi and Yugi Muto and claim the title of Duel King." Kaiba's words were sharp, but he only showed his utter contempt for Jonouchi. Seeing Jonouchi draw a card, he quickly drew five cards from his deck and shouted, "Pleasure me with your desperate wails, Duel!"

Seto Kaiba: 4000 LP, 5 cards in hand

"Duel".

[Yugi Muto: 4000 LP, 5 card in hand]

While everyone else was throwing out some tough talk before shouting, Yugi was quite cunning. After finishing his deck, he immediately shouted the activation phrase to complete the preparation, and said to Hayato with a smile, "The duel during the test of [Golden Vault of Light] was rather unsatisfying for various reasons. But if we consider that a warm-up, let's have another real, all-out, serious duel, Hayato!"

"You actually dare to say that, Yugi! I was about to win that time, but you just used your fifth speed to sneak up on me and prevent me from winning. You're unforgivable, Pegasus!" Hayato casually made up a accusation and threw it at Pegasus. He also drew five cards from his deck and said, "Although I'm quite touched by your enthusiasm, unfortunately, the winner will still be me, Kobayashi Hayato, Duel!"

[Kobayashi Hayato: 4000LP, 5 cards in hand]

It must be said that the Duel-Links world is better than the real world in one aspect: the order of preparation is no longer determined by hand speed or personal condition, but by the system itself. Even though Jonouchi is the first to finish preparing, there is still a chance that he will be the last to start if he is unlucky.

However, what if "Jounouchi is unlucky"? Let's consider the possibility of Dartz elbowing Kagemaru to win the revival match.

As expected, although the order was determined by a random number generated by the program, under the influence of Jonouchi's innate mystical body, he was still the first to start the duel and gain the initiative. The subsequent order was the same as the order in which the others completed their preparations: "Jonouchi → Kaiba → Yugi → Hayato → Jonouchi".

In the chaotic four-player battle, Jonouchi, Kaiba, and Yugi cannot enter the battle phase to attack the others during their own turns. They can only enter the battle phase during Hayato's turn. However, by then, Hayato will have to face the monster defenses accumulated by the first three players, as well as the traps set up in the back row.

In this respect, it is actually easier for Jonouchi, who can operate freely without too many obstacles.

"I got the first turn! Yay! Now it's my turn, draw!" Excited about winning the first turn, Jonouchi eagerly drew a card from his deck, then grinned mischievously at Kaiba, saying, "Hehe, you're doomed, Kaiba. I drew a perfect hand this time. You won't even last one turn; you'll be the first one eliminated."

"Spell Card [Red-Eyes Fusion] activated! Send the Fusion Material Monsters specified in the Fusion Monster to the Graveyard from my hand, Deck, or field; Fusion Summon a Fusion Material Monster that uses a [Red-Eyes] monster as Fusion Material from the Fusion Deck; and treat the Card Name of the monster Special Summoned by this effect as [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

Jonouchi started with a "Red-Eyes Fusion" as a sign of respect. Before summoning the fusion monster, he proudly explained, "What I sent to the graveyard were my Level 6 Dragon monster 'Red-Eyes Black Star Dragon' and my Level 7 'Red-Eyes' monster 'Red-Eyes Black Flame Dragon'. Then, the fusion summoned monster was 'Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon'!"

"Its effect can easily deal a large amount of effect damage to any target. Then, combined with the [Black Flame Bullet] in my hand, I can use the characteristics of [Red-Eyes Fusion] to add up to 3500 points of effect damage to the original attack power of [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon]!"

"At the start of the duel, with the opponent having no cards to defend, who can withstand the combined damage of 4000 points more than the maximum base score?"

Hearing Jonouchi's words, Hayato laughed and said to Kaiba beside him, "What bad luck, Seth. Jonouchi is so lucky that he's going to eliminate you from the duel right away."

"Hmph, yes, it's really dangerous, because if I'm eliminated from the competition, it means I'll lose my chance to compete for the title of Duel King." Kaiba revealed an arrogant smile. "But you're just a mediocre guy. You think you can stop my victory with this level of skill? That's wishful thinking."

"Then try pushing the meteor back, Kaiba!" Jonouchi said, placing the card on the Duel Disk. "The summoning incantation is too long, let's defeat Kaiba first! Come forth, [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon]!"

[Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon → Red-Eyes Black Dragon] [ATK3500]

"Then, upon successful Fusion Summoning, activate the effect of [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] to send one [Red-Eyes] monster from my Deck to the Graveyard and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of that monster's original ATK!"

Just as Jonouchi was about to take a card from his deck and send it to the graveyard, Kaiba, looking at the meteorite falling alongside the giant black dragon, revealed a mocking expression and played a card from his hand, saying, "Then let's do it your way. It's just a mere meteorite; watch me push it back! But it's not the falling meteorite; it's your eyesore of a black dragon!"

"The effect of the [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon] that is face-up on the field is activated; I use the effect of this card in my hand—"

Chapter 1266 Duel Monsters, Pretty Awesome, Right?

"The effect of the [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon] that is face-up on the field is activated; I use the effect of this card in my hand—"

A white streak flashed through the air, precisely slicing across the neck of the [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon]. A white-haired girl, who had appeared out of nowhere, wielded a scythe and unleashed a devastating slash, instantly slaying the monster within the castle!

"The effect of 'Ghost Rabbit' can be activated by sending this card from my hand or field to the Graveyard when a monster's effect is activated, or when the effect of a face-up Spell/Trap Card on the field is activated." Kaiba sends the card from his hand to the Graveyard, "Destroy that card on the field!"

"What?! That effect is way too overpowered! It destroys the opponent's monster as soon as it activates its effect." Jonouchi said, "No, to be honest, this kind of card doesn't feel like Kaiba's style at all. And it's a monster with 0 attack power?"

“That’s definitely not his style, because Ghost Rabbit isn’t even one of Seth’s cards.” Hayato looked at Kaiba, who had played Ghost Rabbit, with surprise. “That’s a card that Paradox brought from the future to the past in an attempt to destroy the history of Duel Monsters.”

"After 'Paradox' was defeated, that card was naturally taken by me... I mean, I kept it to avoid impacting the current Duel Monsters environment, um."

“Paradocus…” Yugi recalled the past. The future man who sacrificed his own name to save the future world and carried out the ‘paradox’ plan that was as paradoxical as his name left a deep impression on him. He also remembered the experience of fighting alongside the future man Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo.

“Paradocus…” Kaiba was naturally familiar with this name, after all, many of the cutting-edge technologies that Kaiba Corporation had developed over the years were inseparable from the assistance of Paradocus and his “Amazo.” Although Kaiba could develop those technologies even without Paradocus, it was certain that it would take Kaiba much longer. Just for the fact that Paradocus saved Kaiba a lot of time so he could play a few more hands of cards, Kaiba would barely remember the name, but that was about it.

“Paradocus…” Jonouchi sighed, then belatedly realized something, “Wait a minute, who is that? I don’t recognize anyone with that name at all. Hayato is one thing, but why do even Yugi and Kaiba seem to know who it is?”

"What's wrong with me? I feel like I'm the only one who can't do it."

"What do you mean by 'I'? Fine, but what do you mean by 'Jounouchi'?"

Hayato complained, and Jonouchi said matter-of-factly, "Of course it's because Hayato, your social skills are always strangely strong. You can inexplicably turn people into your fans. I think it's completely understandable that you know more people."

"...Although I want to say something, it seems I really can't refute you." Hayato shrugged. "Anyway, the [Ghost Rabbit] card should be in my possession. And when I gave you Seth the other cards, including [Ghost Rabbit], to try to copy, you said you couldn't make cards like that, right?"

"Good heavens, so you can actually make copy cards, but you lied to me and said you couldn't. You actually pocketed the benefits the Imperial Army gave me."

"What nonsense! Do you think I'm the kind of person who would lie about something so trivial?" Kaiba frowned. "Even if you let me research and collect data with the card, in reality, if I say I can't do it, I mean I can't do it. Asking me to spend time on something with an absolute 0% probability in the current era is less worthwhile than bothering Pegasus."

"Wait, that's what you told me before? You didn't say it was impossible in reality, did you?" Hayato immediately grasped the key point in Kaiba's words. "Could it be—"

“Hmph, just as you thought.” Kaiba was quite satisfied with the surprised expression on Hayato’s face. “Just because it can’t be done in reality doesn’t mean it can’t be done in the virtual world ‘Duel-Links’. In addition to linking duelists together, this Duel-Links world can even link cards that are out of reach with duelists, allowing people to get in touch with the power of the future ahead of time.”

"Isn't 'Duel-Links' amazing?"

"As expected of Seth, he easily accomplished what others couldn't. It's truly exhilarating and exciting!" Hayato, who knew Kaiba's personality well, also gave him face and praised him for his boasting.

However, Jonouchi, who had always been at odds with Kaiba, was different. Even he understood Kaiba's words and knew that he meant that the card originated from data collected by Hayato and was then restored in this world. He immediately mocked, "What? In the end, you're just using Hayato's power, you mere Kaiba."

"And I've realized it too. The effect of [Ghost Rabbit] is to destroy, not nullify and destroy, right? In that case, even if [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon] is destroyed by the effect of [Ghost Rabbit], its effect is still successfully activated!"

As he spoke, Jonouchi still retrieved a card from his deck according to his original plan and showed it to Kaiba: "The effect of [Meteor Dragon - Meteor Black Dragon] is to send one [Red-Eyes] monster from my hand or deck to the graveyard and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of that monster's ATK."

"The monster I've chosen is [Red-Eyes Steel Dragon] with 2800 attack power, inflicting 1400 effect damage on you, Kaiba!"

Although the names are quite similar, the one Jonouchi sent to the grave was not the former dragon king, [Red-Eyes Dark Steel Dragon], but the [Red-Eyes Black Steel Dragon] that was bound to [Metalization Magic Reflection Armor]. The former's effect was so strong that it even needed to be nerfed, while the latter was just a blank card with special summoning restrictions. However, the attack and defense values ​​of the two were subtly comparable.

Although the Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon was decapitated and destroyed by the Ghost Rabbit, the meteor shower that followed its descent was not stopped. The meteor shower, which contained the power of the Red-Eyes Black Steel Dragon, crashed down on Kaiba. Although Kaiba himself stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, looking as calm as if Mount Tai had collapsed in front of him, it could not change the fact that his base points had indeed been reduced by more than a third by Jonouchi.

Seto Kaiba: 4000→2600LP

"Hmph, a mere scratch." Kaiba said dismissively, looking at Jonouchi. "Even if it dealt me ​​1400 points of effect damage, so what? Your [Black Flame Bullet] is already unusable because there's no [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] on the field. Besides, the self-restriction effect of [Red-Eyes Fusion] is also well-known."

"You cannot perform any other summons or special summons during this turn; you can only leave this empty space until the end of the turn."

As the person who has fought the most matches in the World Professional Duelist Tournament, most viewers sometimes know more about Jonouchi's cards than they do about the cards used to defeat the King of Fighters—after all, Hayato has so many cards that they simply can't keep track of them all. Since even the viewers know which cards Jonouchi has and what their effects are, how could Kaiba, who signed Jonouchi as a professional duelist under the Kaiba Corporation, not know the effects of Jonouchi's cards?

Ultimately, although he never heard Jonouchi say anything good about him, in Kaiba's proud heart, who should have retired from the meta long ago, he always regarded Jonouchi as one of the few duelists he truly respected. This is exactly what it means to "despise the enemy tactically but take the enemy seriously strategically."

"It's just that it can't be summoned or special summoned." Jonouchi said it lightly, but looking at the [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon] being sent to the graveyard, he couldn't help but feel regret.

When [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon] is sent from the Monster Zone to the Graveyard, whether it is released or destroyed, it can activate its second effect to Special Summon another Normal Monster from Jonouchi's Graveyard. One of the Fusion Materials that Jonouchi selected during his previous Fusion, [Red-Eyes Black Flame Dragon], is a Gemini Monster and can be used as a Normal Monster in the Graveyard.

However, this effect failed to activate when [Meteor Dragon - Meteorite Black Dragon] was destroyed by [Ghost Rabbit] due to the self-restriction of [Red-Eyes Fusion], thus wasting such a useful effect.

However, to be fair, "powerful cards often come with great risks." In other words, the fact that [Red-Eyes Fusion] has such a high self-restraint proves its power from another perspective, doesn't it? After all, theoretically, if Jonouchi wanted to, he could even use this card in combination with cards like [Swamp Demon King] to directly fuse into a powerful and beautiful [Super Magical Dragon Knight - Red-Eyes Dragon Rider].

Keep in mind that Jonouchi has only used one card so far, but he still has five cards left to set up his defenses.

"Spell Card, [Angel's Charity] activated. Draw three cards from my deck and discard two cards from my hand." After changing the cards in his hand, Jonouchi sent the [Black Flame Bullet], which was temporarily useless, along with another card to the graveyard. After glancing at the cards in his hand, he placed a card face down on the field. "Since I can't Normal Summon, I'll place one monster face down in Defense Position on my field."

"Next, I place three cards face down, and my turn ends."

【Jounouchi Katsuya: 4000LP, hand size 5→1】

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

[GaiK] X3

Although Kaiba's "Red-Eyes" deck seems to be just a third-rate deck, like the one he mentioned, Jonouchi's deck is actually a former top-five ranked player in the world. However, just like Jonouchi was actually a former top-five ranked player, the "Red-Eyes" deck is not that weak.

With a decent base combat strength, coupled with a powerful burn combo, an unkillable revival ability, and an exceptional ability to create powerful allies, Jonouchi used [Red Eyes] to get off to a good start in this four-person free-for-all.

Since that's the case, Kaiba, who always has a high opinion of himself, absolutely cannot back down. The moment Jonouchi declared the end of his turn, he also spoke up: "The fun time with the mediocre is over. Now it's my turn to show the might of [Blue Eyes]. Under the radiance of this ultimate dragon, there will be no more obstacles in my path. Neither Yugi nor you, Hayato!"

"My turn, draw!" Kaiba shouted, drawing a card from his deck. "I Normal Summon 'Blue-Eyes Maiden' from my hand in Attack Position, then discard 'Blue-Eyes Sage' from my hand and activate its effect on 'Blue-Eyes Maiden'!"

"Then, when a Spell/Trap/Monster effect targeting [Blue-Eyes Girl] is activated, activate [Blue-Eyes Girl]'s own effect!"

"C1 [The Blue-Eyed Sage] C2 [The Blue-Eyed Maiden]!"

Although he had used up one of his cards because of Jonouchi, Kaiba still had five cards left after drawing cards. He used two of them to start his deck, and unusually, he didn't glue all three [Blue Eyes] and [Fusion] cards together when he drew them – or perhaps it was because this was a virtual world and he couldn't glue them together?

The Blue-Eyed Girl appeared behind Kaiba with light steps and walked onto his field, smiling and nodding to Hayato and Yugi as a greeting.

But immediately, Kaiba put on a jealous look, waved and called the Blue-Eyed Girl back to his side. The Blue-Eyed Girl also waved goodbye to Hayato and Yugi with a helpless expression, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye under the guidance of the Blue-Eyed Sage, whose face resembled Kaiba's.

"First, the effect of [Blue-Eyes Maiden] allows me to Special Summon one [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] from my hand, deck, or graveyard. Then, the effect of [Blue-Eyes Sage] sends [Blue-Eyes Maiden] to the graveyard and Special Summon one [Blue-Eyes] from my deck!"

(Imagine a seahorse's face instead)

"Come forth, [White Spirit Dragon], and Wagatsumashi—[Blue-Eyes White Dragon]!"

With the seahorse's highly recognizable shout, the clouds around the airship were suddenly torn apart, and two giant white dragons descended onto the field amidst the seahorse's cries.

[Blue-Eyes White Dragon] [ATK3000]

【White Spirit Dragon】【8☆/Light】

[Dragon Clan/Effect]

[2500/2000]

"【White Spirit Dragon】? This name doesn't even include the 【Blue Eyes】 keyword?"

Jonouchi still has a deep impression of the [White Spirit Dragon] that Kaiba used when they fought side by side against Dartz in the past. After all, Kaiba actually used one of Jonouchi's monsters as a tribute to Tribute Summon the [White Spirit Dragon] back then. However, what he doesn't understand is how the [White Spirit Dragon], which doesn't have the [Blue-Eyes] attribute, was Special Summoned by Kaiba using the effect of [Blue-Eyes Sage].

"The effect text of 【White Spirit Dragon】 states that 'this card is also treated as a 【Blue-Eyes】 card according to the rules.' Although the card name does not contain the 【Blue-Eyes】 field, 【White Spirit Dragon】 can be used as a 【Blue-Eyes】 card. In contrast, the card name of 【Blue-Eyes Sage】 appears to contain the 【Blue-Eyes】 field, but the more accurate name is 【Blue-Eyes Sage】. It is not that 【Blue-Eyes】 cards do not enjoy related search."

Using the same tone as before with Kaiba, Hayato finished explaining and smiled at Jonouchi, "Duel Monsters, pretty impressive, huh?"

Chapter 1267 Those who use the Life-Slaying Technique are truly shameless and utterly depraved... I'm using it too? Never mind then.

"【White Spirit Dragon】When it is successfully Summoned or Special Summoned, you can target one Spell/Trap Card on your opponent's field and banish that card."

Kaiba waved his hand, pointed at Jonouchi, and sneered, "The card I'm banishing is naturally the rightmost face-down card in the back row of the mediocre player!"

Pure holy light spewed from the mouth of the White Spirit Dragon, engulfing one of the three face-down cards on the back field of the Jojo. The card revealed by the dragon's breath was the Continuous Trap Card Red-Eyes Armor Spin. This card slowly dissipated in the white light, leaving not even a trace behind.

"It's an exclusion...tsk." Jonouchi put the excluded card into his pocket and curled his lip in displeasure. The first effect of 【Red-Eyes Armor Spin】, which can revive a Normal Monster in the Graveyard, requires a 【Red-Eyes】 monster on your field to activate, and the second effect can only be activated if it is destroyed by an opponent's card.

I originally intended to use this card to defend against cards like "Harpie's Feather Duster," and even if it didn't, I could use it during my turn to revive "Red-Eyes" from the graveyard for battle. But it was just banished by Kaiba like that: "Onore Kaiba!"

"Hmph, when a person is bitten by an ant, of course they won't bite back; they'll just crush the annoying ant." The seahorse said, pulling out a card. "That excluded card is a small warning. I have no intention of wasting cards on mere mediocrities."

Then, ignoring the gritting-teeth Jonouchi, Kaiba turned his gaze to Hayato.

"Although this duel is a four-way battle, there is only one most important thing for me: to defeat you, Kobayashi Hayato, and win the glory of the Duel King!"