Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"Purity, is it useful?" Jonouchi retorted. "Winning a Duel Monster is important, but there are things far more important than victory. Not only Hayato, but Yugi's deck also includes many cards that have fought side by side with me in the past and have deep bonds. Even I always keep the 'Fortress Whale' that Yuta gave me, the 'Time Magician' that Yugi gave me, and the 'Dragon Mirror' that Hayato gave me in my deck."

"...I can understand the last two, but [Fortress Whale]? Ha, it's precisely because of this level that your deck is only second-rate, you mediocre guy. And, so many of your cards were gifts from others? I pity you for being so poor." Kaiba glanced disdainfully at Jonouchi, "Just keep clinging to your childish and weak ideas and let the cruelty of Duel Monsters drown you."

(The poor cavalryman in the castle said)

"Even if I drown, at least I'll have the stamina to drag some people down with me, right?"

"You incompetent idiot!"

"【Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl】Activates upon successful Normal or Special Summon, sending the top three cards of my Deck to the Graveyard." Hayato used the effect of the newly summoned Little Blue to quickly fill the graveyard. "Since I don't have the most compatible Earth Angel to help with graveyard filling, I added Little Blue to my deck to assist. Let them see how powerful you are, Mafti... I mean Little Blue!"

"I'll throw it!" Upon hearing Hayato's command, Xiaolan excitedly tossed aside a basket lying beside her and threw the covered basket directly into a trash can that appeared out of nowhere.

Everyone heard it clearly, Master told Xiao Lan to throw it away. So, Xiao Lan could only throw the basket containing the three cards at the top of Master's deck into the trash can—and then, accidentally forgetting to take out the laundry separately, that's perfectly reasonable, hehehehehehe...

After Little Blue, who had at least three Soul Hall Elders, triumphantly threw out the cards at the top of Hayato's deck, Hayato's graveyard area lit up, seemingly indicating that some effect could be activated. However, for the time being, they would have to wait until the game had finished processing the battle rewind that was about to be triggered.

"Hmph, unlike some lowly duelists who can send powerful cards like Ash Blossom, Meteorite, and Turtle to the graveyard with Little Blue, I have a 1000% success rate in sending suitable cards to the graveyard with Little Blue! I've successfully sent cards that can activate their effects to the graveyard."

After a pause, Hayato looked at Yugi and said, "So now, with Rainbow Kuriboh off the field and replaced by Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Girl with 1600 DEF on my field, Yugi, are you still going to let that weak monster with a mere 1500 ATK - Magical Dark Merchant attack?"

"If we don't attack, how can we reduce your Life Points, Hayato?" Yugi looked at the monsters on Hayato's field. "--That's what I was thinking, but it would be too foolish to just waste your Life Points like this. So I'll have to have [Magical Dark Merchant] cancel its attack declaration."

【Partner Bonds】Special Summoned two monsters in one go. Although 【Black Magician - Dark Magician】provided a higher ATK bonus to 【Unity Power】 compared to 【Black Magician - Dark Magician】, which was previously attempted to be Special Summoned by its own effect but was cleaved in two and sent back to the Graveyard by 【Tearful Lament - Lusaka Mermaid】, both 【Silent Magician - Zero】and 【Silent Swordsman - Zero】only had 1000 ATK.

Even though they are no longer [LV] monsters, [Silent Magician Zero] and [Silent Swordsman Zero] still retain the growth ability of [LV] monsters. As the turn progresses or the opponent draws a card, their level will increase and their attack power will also increase. However, such "growth" takes time. They are in their initial state when they have just entered the game for less than a turn.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl only has 1600 defense points, which may seem low. But those 1600 defense points are enough to overwhelm all the monsters on the field and deprive them of their ability to attack.

Hayato's base score is low, only 1000 points, but the game's base score is even lower, only 700 points. If the [Silent Ones] or the [Magic Dark Merchant] recklessly attack, the reflected combat damage can easily wipe out the game's base score.

The monster in the game canceled its attack, so the next thing to deal with are the three cards that Hayato just sent to the graveyard. A blackish-purple light appeared in the graveyard area of ​​Hayato's Duel Disk, revealing the card images of the three cards that had been sent to the graveyard.

“Since you’re not attacking, then I’ll just have to keep my ‘Pure Pearl Tears’ deck moving around.” Hayato said, waving his hand. The monsters in the three floating card images behind him started to move, poking their heads out of the cards as if trying to break free from their constraints. “If they are sent to the graveyard by card effects, both ‘Shadow Wing - Wendy’ and ‘Half-Dragon Maid’s Welcome’ can activate their effects.”

"Self-chain C1 [Shadow Wing - Wendy] C2 [Half-Dragon Maid's Greeting]!"

The first card to be dealt with is the Continuous Spell Card "Half-Dragon Maid's Welcome". The card depicts maids in dragon form preparing to welcome their master under the command of the Dragon Maid Butler. Although it is a Continuous Spell Card, it has a special effect that can be applied when it is sent to the Graveyard.

"If the Half-Dragon Maid's Welcome is sent to the Graveyard, its effect is activated. During this turn, the Half-Dragon Maid monsters I control cannot be targeted by my opponent's effects. Although it seems a bit wasteful to just apply it to Little Blue, it's better than nothing."

Hearing Hayato's words, Blue on the field said unhappily, "What do you mean it's a waste to give it to me? I'm clearly very, very strong!"

"Yes, yes, Xiao Lan is number one." Hayato casually brushed off Xiao Lan, then began dealing with the effects of the two [Shaddoll] monsters that had been sent to the graveyard. "Next up is the effect of [Shaddoll Wing - Wendy], which Special Summons one [Shaddoll] monster from my Deck, face down in Defense Position, to my field."

"As for whether I will Special Summon something that can be easily defeated, such as the Shaddoll Dragon or the Shaddoll Hound, or something with excellent defensive capabilities like the Shaddoll Priestess Aria or the Shaddoll Flame Core - Dream Prison, that's up to you to decide in the game."

Because it's in face-down defense position, the game can't tell you the exact DEF value of the [Shadowdome] monster that Hayato Special Summoned. But as analyzed before, with only 700 Life Points left, he's basically lost the ability to launch attacks freely. If he's not careful, he could easily lose all his Life Points due to the counter-damage from the battle.

However, after looking at the two cards in his hand and then at the three cards remaining in Hayato's hand, Yugi, who had canceled the attack declaration of [Magical Dark Merchant] and seemed to be about to end the battle phase, suddenly spoke up again: "From four cards against six cards just now, to one card against three cards now, both Hayato and I have used up a lot of cards."

"And the gap in the number of cards on the field is widening." Looking at his own [Silent Magician Zero], Yugi pointed to Hayato's monster in defense position. "In situations like this, it's perhaps the best time to launch a relentless attack!"

"I'm going to attack that face-down Defense Position monster you just Special Summoned with [Silence Magician Zero]! Right now, right here!"

"Silence Demon Blast!"

Completely unconcerned that Hayato's monster might have extremely high defense, Yugi surprisingly sent the [Silent Magician Zero], with an attack power of only 1000, to attack Hayato's monster. After briefly accumulating magic power, the girl unleashed a powerful magic cannon, cleaving through the face-down card that was acting as a shield, revealing the true form of the monster Hayato had set up!

[Inner Side Guardian Monster → Shaddoll Falcon] [DEF 1400]

Hayato's monster was none other than Shaddoll Falcon with 1400 Defense! Since Silent Magician Zero with 1000 Attack attacked Shaddoll Falcon, the game would suffer damage from the difference between the attacking monster's Attack and the attacked monster's Defense!

However, just as Jonouchi was agonizing over his wrong bet on the game, he saw that the magic cannon attack unleashed by [Silent Magician Zero] had successfully destroyed [Shadowfalcon] along with the card it was hiding in?

And he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but the feeling he got from [Silent Magician Zero] was that she seemed to have grown up a bit? She seemed more like a teenage girl than a loli.

Subconsciously, he looked towards the back of the game screen, and only then did he suddenly notice that there was a card open in the back of the game screen, revealing the adult form of [Silent Magician Zero] manipulating magic to construct a magic circle.

"Just now, at the moment the attack declaration was made, I used the last card in my hand, the Quick-Play Spell Card [Silence Against the Future]." Yugi's hand was now filled with six cards, and it was less of an explanation to Hayato and more of an explanation to Jonouchi, who was looking on with a puzzled expression. "This card has a restriction that only one card with the same name can be activated per turn. Its effect is to add one monster with the name [Golden Chest of Light] from my deck to my hand."

"One card? But Yugi clearly limited your hand to six cards." Jonouchi looked at Hayato again, surprised to find that not only Yugi, but even Hayato seemed to have known about the existence and effect of [Silence Against the Future] all along. Before Yugi activated it and even explained it, Hayato had already drawn a card from his deck to make his hand count six. "Even Hayato's hand!? Isn't this the effect of [Treasure from Heaven]?"

“You’re not wrong to say that, because the follow-up effect of [Silence Against the Future] is that if [Golden Chest of Light] and the monster with that card name are on the field when it is activated, and it’s during either player’s Battle Phase, it also grants an additional effect that allows both players to draw cards from their decks up to six cards per hand.” Hayato glanced at the three cards he had drawn, then looked at Yugi and said, “Because when [Silence Against the Future] was activated, I only had three cards in my hand, so I could draw three cards. And then…”

"Then, when the opponent draws a card, the effect of [Silent Magician Zero] activates, increasing its level based on the number of cards the opponent draws. Since you drew three cards, [Silent Magician Zero]'s level increases by 3 stars." Yugi continued, explaining the effect of [Silent Magician Zero], "And if [Silent Magician Zero]'s level is higher than its original level, its attack power increases by the difference multiplied by 500 points. This is also the effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero]."

[The Silent Magician - Zero] [4☆→7☆] [ATK1000→2500]

"Attack power 2500 points, level 7!? That's comparable to [Dark Magician]." Jonouchi said in surprise, "The effect isn't the [Silent Magician LV4] available on the market, but the version of [Silent Magician LV4] used in the game during the Duel Ritual."

"In this way, he will have control of the game—"

“Before Jonouchi pops the champagne in the second half, the effect of Shaddoll Falcon will also activate.” Hayato interrupted Jonouchi, pointing to the cards on his Duel Disk. “Jonouchi never learns his lesson and forgets that almost all Shaddoll monsters are Flip Monsters, but Yugi, you should remember that, right?”

"When [Shaddoll Falcon] is flipped, its flip effect can Special Summon one [Shaddoll] monster from my Graveyard except itself to my field in face-down Defense Position!"

As the magical cannon destroyed Shaddoll Falcon, the former companion of the Gale Clan, now Shaddoll Falcon, used its own threads to hoist a single monster from Hayato's graveyard before losing all its power and dissipating into blackish-purple specks of light. After the magical cannon passed, it was as if nothing had happened; a new monster, face-down in defense position, was placed where Shaddoll Falcon had previously been.

"Time and time again, aren't most of the Shaddoll monsters magicians? Why do they give me the feeling of being undead? We can never finish them off." Jonouchi complained, looking at the peaceful expression on Shaddoll Falcon's face before it disappeared, as if it had returned home.

"The reason why Shaddoll monsters are considered magicians is simply because they are controlled by magicians using threads. However, they themselves are merely considered puppets that are neither living nor dead." Hayato spread his hands and then smiled at Yugi. "Although it can nullify the resurrection of the dead, the effect of the Golden Coffin of Light only lasts for one time, Yugi."

Because Yugi previously used the effect of "Golden Chest of Light" to send "Rainbow Kuriboh" to the Graveyard, even if Hayato Special Summons a monster from the Graveyard while "Golden Chest of Light" is still on the field, Yugi, despite having enough cards in hand to play, still cannot use this effect.

[Kobayashi Hayato: 1000LP, 6 cards in hand]

【Half-Dragon Maid - Laundry Dragon Girl】【DEF1600】

[Inner Side Guardian Monster]

[Yugi Muto: 700 LP, 6 card in hand]

[The Silent Magician - Zero] [ATK2500]

[Silent Swordsman Zero] [ATK1000]

【The Light of the Devil Arrives】(Power of Unity) 【ATK5700】

[Dark Merchant of Magic] [ATK 1500]

【Golden Chest of Light】

Chapter 1291 Kobayashi - Pure Love Party (Seriously) - Cuckold Lover (Confirmed) - Hayato

Looking at the cards in his hand and then at the monsters on Hayato's field, Yugi said helplessly, "It seems that I can't defeat you, Hayato, at least not this turn. But at least, I don't have any Fusion Monsters on my field that can maximize the effect of your [Shadowduck Fusion]."

Of the six cards in Hayato's hand, two are face up: one is the [Shaddoll Fusion] that he previously retrieved from the graveyard using the effect of [Shaddoll Core], and the other is the [Melo Mermaid of the Pearl-Tears] that he retrieved from his deck after [Eternal Elegy] was sent to the graveyard by [Rusaka Mermaid of the Pearl-Tears].

Even without the other cards in his hand, these two cards alone make the game incredibly difficult. This is because these two cards mean that no matter what the other cards are in his hand, Hayato can at least perform the following action in his next turn: "Normal Summon [Tearful Melo Mermaid] to the Graveyard, and then use [Shaddoll Fusion] to send [Tearful Melo Mermaid] to the Graveyard to trigger its effect." These two cards alone can be used for at least two Fusions.

However, it's not like I'm without any countermeasures.

"My Battle Phase ends, and then in my Main Phase 2, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card 'Extraordinary Food' to send 'Unity Power' on my field to the Graveyard, restoring 1000 Life Points to me."

Despite the fact that "Unity Power" could provide a significant attack boost to "Light of the Devil," Yugi decisively used the Quick-Play Spell Card "Extraordinary Food," which Hayato often used with "Nightmare Mirage," to remove "Unity Power" from "Light of the Devil" and send it to the Graveyard, thus restoring some of his Life Points and preventing him from being in too much danger.

After glancing at the five cards in his hand and reserving one spell card as cost for the potential activation of the [Golden Coffer of Light] effect, Yugi decisively inserted the remaining four cards into the Duel Disk, filling the entire row of spell trap zones. "Next, I set four cards face down, and my turn ends here!"

[Yugi Muto: 1700 LP, 1 card in hand]

[The Silent Magician - Zero] [ATK2500]

[Silent Swordsman Zero] [ATK1000]

[The Devil's Light Arrives] [ATK5700→2500]

[Dark Merchant of Magic] [ATK 1500]

[Golden Chest of Light] [Given Card] X4

In the previous duel, Yugi's skillful use of cards and confident strategy reminded Jonouchi and Kaiba of Atem's calm and confident dueling style, which was like that of a king. They couldn't help but sigh that although Atem had gone to the underworld, Yugi was becoming more and more like Atem.

But when the game neatly placed the four cards face down on the back of the table, the two of them widened their eyes in perfect unison, their eyes seeming to say, "That's it, that's the feeling."

"Even though Jonouchi and Kaiba didn't say anything, I still have a feeling that they're talking badly about me." Yugi felt a little itchy in his nose and wanted to sneeze. He was a little confused. This was supposed to be a virtual world. How could they even simulate sneezing?

"They just saw the scene of your duel that matched their initial expectations, and they couldn't help themselves. As expected, Yugi, you really need to have a lot of face-down cards in the back row for the duel to feel right," Hayato said with a laugh. "Otherwise, how would I know if I'm dueling Atem or Yugi?"

“I don’t think the number of face-down cards in the back row is a basis for distinguishing my duel from my other self. Why do you have such an idea?” Yugi sighed. “I just prefer to use Spell Cards and Trap Cards to support my monsters’ battles compared to my other self. Why does it seem like I’m not fighting seriously if I don’t use Trap Cards?”

"Because a game without deep pits isn't the kind of game I want!"

"You're the least qualified to tie a 'trap' setting to me, Hayato! And that line sounds like it was adapted from some light novel!" Yugi complained to Hayato, shaking his head helplessly. "Anyway, let's begin your turn, Hayato."

“Even if you didn’t say it, I’ve already drawn all my cards.” Hayato shook the cards held between his two fingers and added the cards he had drawn this turn to his hand. “Although I was forced to change the monsters on the field, it was thanks to your offensive last turn, Yugi, that my [Nightmare Mirage] was sent to the graveyard.”

"With [Unusual Food] in my hand right now, if [Nightmare Mirage] were still on the field, I'd only be able to keep three random cards in my hand."

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Yugi glanced at Hayato's hand and said with a smile, "Then, the cards in your hand that were sent to the graveyard by the effect of [Nightmare Mirage] can activate their effects again, right?"

“I can’t deny it.” Shrugging, Hayato continued, “This four-person duel has finally turned from a chaotic free-for-all into a battle between just the two of us. But it’s a bit of a shame that the previous melee wore down my patience too much, so now I can no longer keep up the back-and-forth probing with you, Yugi.”

"After all, the point of playing games is to win, isn't it? So let this duel end in my turn!"

"Are you already declaring victory? But my deck and I are not to be easily defeated, Hayato." Looking at Hayato, Yugi prepared to fight back. "If you can achieve the victory you desire this turn, then bring it on!"

"However, the instant you draw a card and enter the preparation phase, the effects of my [Silent Magician Zero] and [Silent Swordsman Zero] activate, and their levels increase by 1 star each!"

[The Silent Magician - Zero] [7☆→8☆] [ATK2500→3000]

[Silent Swordsman Zero] [4☆→5☆] [ATK1000→1500]

As Hayato's turn begins, the Silent Magician Zero and Silent Swordsman Zero, which are based on the [LV] monster, also begin to exert the growth ability inherited from the [LV] monster. Their levels increase by 1 star as the activation conditions of their respective effects are met, and their attack power increases in tandem.

"Attack power increased? But no, no, no! No matter how high the attack power is, it's meaningless if you can't hit. Even if the attack power of those [Silence] characters with no resistance is increased to infinity, they will still just be sitting ducks, and might even be used by me instead." Hayato drew a card from his hand, seemingly intending to activate it. "You're not the only one with deep bonds with others, Yugi. Witness this Bond Card that I'm so proud of!"

Upon hearing Hayato's words, Kaiba's brow twitched. He guessed which card Hayato was going to use, and the terrifying scene of the Blue Eyes standing opposite him, which had appeared more than once, flashed through his mind: "Tsk, that Hayato Kobayashi guy, is he going to use that card again?"

Although it was a question, Kaiba's tone was quite certain, and Hayato certainly didn't disappoint him, flipping the card in his hand to show Yugi and saying, "The card I'm going to activate is this card that binds Bakura and me—the magic card, [Heart Change]!"

“A powerful monster like [Silent Magician Zero] is born to be mine! I must immediately NTR it onto my field!” Hayato pointed at [Silent Magician Zero], whose attack power had just risen to 3000 points and who had transformed from an eighteen-year-old girl into a young man in his early twenties. “I will activate [Heart Change] on [Silent Magician Zero], and until the end of this turn, I will gain control of [Silent Magician Zero]!”

"It's always been hard to accept, Hayato, why would you think 'Heart Change' is the card that represents your bond with Bakura..." Yugi said helplessly, watching Hayato activate 'Heart Change,' but he wasn't surprised at all that Hayato would play such a card. After all, this wasn't the first time he had tried to steal someone else's monster.

Faced with [Heart Change], Yugi remained calm and composed, instead waving his hand casually and saying, "Trying to use [Heart Change] to test my backcourt card, Hayato? But [Heart Change] alone is not enough."

"If your opponent activates an effect that targets [Golden Coffin of Light] on my field or any monster with the name of [Golden Coffin of Light], the third effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero] activates, negating that activation and increasing [Silent Swordsman Zero]'s Level by 1!"

Hayato's activated "Heart Change" card unleashed a pink, almost 18+-rated, brainwashing beam, attempting to manipulate "Silent Magician Zero" on the field. However, as the beam traveled towards it, "Silent Swordsman Zero" suddenly swung his greatsword, the sword energy shooting out at an even faster speed than the beam, shattering the "Heart Change" card and causing the brainwashing beam to dissipate mid-flight.

Having leveled up twice in a row, [Silent Swordsman Zero] has changed from an eight or nine-year-old boy to a fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenager, with his attack power increasing in tandem.

[Silent Swordsman Zero] [5☆→6☆] [ATK1500→2000]

"Did you choose to use the effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero]?" Hayato already knew the effect of [Silent Swordsman Zero] from the previous duel with Yugi. Hayato actually wanted to force out the one-turn magic counter held by the other [Silent Magician Zero], but Yugi obviously didn't intend to let him have his way. After all, magic counters are much more valuable than counters that target effects.