Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

Although the possibility of such a situation is not high due to the effects of the [Dragon King of Light and Darkness] and the [Awakened Dragon - Young Hell Wind God], what if it happens?

However, with the existence of [Dragon's Shadow], he didn't need to worry, because that card could permanently increase the [Light and Darkness Dragon King]'s ATK by 2000 points, turning it back into a powerful monster with 4400 ATK. Even if Marufuji Ryo managed to summon his [Cyber ​​End Dragon] again, it wouldn't be a match for the [Light and Darkness Dragon King]!

Just as Manjoume was smugly recalling his plans, Marufuji Ryo sneered: "[Cyber ​​Dragon]? I never said I intended to continue summoning [Cyber ​​Dragon]. For victory, what I need is not the gentle, mild power of [Cyber ​​Dragon], but the more aggressive 'Inner Electron Stream,' the more ferocious [Cyber ​​Darkness]!"

"For victory, I'm willing to sacrifice my old friend!" With that, Ryo Marufuji retrieved a card from the graveyard. "This Cyber ​​Dragon, which was sent to the graveyard by Cyber ​​Dark Claw, I banish here to activate its effect. This turn, my Fusion Monsters cannot be targeted by my opponent's effects, nor can they be destroyed by their effects!"

"Next, I will Normal Summon this [Cyber ​​Dark Chimera], which I previously added to my hand with the effect of [Cyber ​​Dark Claw]!" in Attack Position!

A golden dragon appeared behind Ryo Marufuji, but it vanished in a flash, quickly shattering and dissipating, leaving only a stardust-like protective layer on Marufuji's field. Although it couldn't benefit other monsters, at least Marufuji's fusion monsters could use the power of this dust to resist damage from cards like [Divine Shield - Mirror Power -] or [Explosive Armor].

Meanwhile, the last of the six Cyber ​​Dark monsters in Marufuji Ryo's deck—Cyber ​​Dark Chimera—finally appeared on his field. When it was sent to the graveyard earlier, Manjoume hadn't had a chance to examine it closely, but now, upon closer inspection, he discovered that the Cyber ​​Dark Chimera was composed of parts from at least three different sources: brown spikes on its back, a green capture device with several pairs of wing-like blades, and purple keel connecting the various parts.

Upon closer inspection, Manjoume even recognized that the three parts clearly originated from the other three [Cyber ​​Dark] monsters previously used by Marufuji Ryo—[Cyber ​​Dark Demon Horn], [Cyber ​​Dark Wing Blade], and [Cyber ​​Dark Dragon Bone]! Its name as a "Chimera" is indeed true.

However, what Manjoume didn't expect was that the Cyber ​​Dark Chimera, which seemed to be able to capture monsters as its own equipment cards like Cyber ​​Dark Horn, just stayed put after it appeared and didn't do anything. It seemed that it didn't have that effect to use, even though it looked quite like the fusion form of those three Cyber ​​Dark Monsters.

Before Manjoume could even breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Marufuji Ryo casually discard the card from his hand that had helped him weaken both the Light and Darkness Dragon and the Light and Darkness Dragon King, sending it to the graveyard without hesitation, saying: "The effect of [Cyber ​​Dark Chimera]: Discard one Spell/Trap Card from my hand to activate this effect, and add one [Power Weld] from my Deck to my hand."

"As a trade-off, non-Dragon/Machine type Cyber ​​monsters cannot be used as Fusion Material this turn, and I can only Fusion Summon a monster once, and I can also banish monsters from my Graveyard as Fusion Material."

Upon hearing the name "Power Welding," Manjoume's brow twitched. Having meticulously studied Marufuji Ryo's deck in preparation for defeating Caesar, how could he not know the effect of this rare and powerful card? Although it had the negative effect of inflicting damage equal to the original ATK of the fused monster at the end of the turn, it also granted the fused monster double the power. It was practically the best proof of the saying that "powerful cards often come with great risks!"

During his previous duel with Judai, he also noticed that the short, green-haired, bespectacled guy next to Judai, who was indecisive, cowardly, and jealous, also had the [Power Welding] card. It was probably a gift from his older brother, Marufuji Ryo. Even if he used [Power Welding] during his duel with Marufuji Sho, it wouldn't make Manjoume feel nervous.

But they are different; Caesar and Marufuji Sho are different!

Not to mention the aftereffect of the [Electronic Dark Chimera] causing his pupils to shrink.

"Using monsters from the graveyard as fusion materials!? Could it be that the [Cyber ​​Terminator Dragon] is coming?!"

Upon hearing Manjoume's words, Marufuji Ryo denied it, saying, "No, this time my Fusion Deck only includes one copy of [Cyber ​​End Dragon], the one that was Special Summoned with [Cyber ​​Tech Revolution] is the only one. Although it can also be Fusion Summoned as [Cyber ​​Twin Dragon] or [Chimera Overload Dragon], it's more appropriate to use this card right now."

As he spoke, he held the [Power Welding] document he had retrieved above his head, his smile growing increasingly unrestrained and arrogant: "Don't blink, Manjoume, this is the last monster you'll ever see! Come and witness the secrets of the 'Inner Electron Flow'—the inner electron flow!"

"Activate the Spell Card [Power Welding], and under the effect of [Cyber ​​Dark Chimera], banish the three monsters [Cyber ​​Dark Dragon Bone], [Cyber ​​Dark Magic Horn], and [Cyber ​​Dark Wing Blade] from my Graveyard as Fusion Materials to perform a Fusion Summon, Level 8!"

As Ryo Marufuji's [Cyber ​​Dark Chimera] on the field released the locks on its various body parts and disintegrated into three [Cyber ​​Dark] monsters, the three monsters in the graveyard were banished. At the same time, a pulsating shock came from the [Cyber ​​Dark World] beneath Ryo Marufuji's feet. Several currents rushed along the green patterns on the ground and converged at a point. The patterns turned red due to overload!

As data appeared and converged on Marufuji Ryosho's field, the [Electronic Dark Chimera] was recombined, and at the same time, [Power Welding] also fused the three [Electronic Dark] monsters together. The large amount of green current generated by the overload surged on the huge dragon-shaped machine and finally completely harmonized and converged!

It wasn't a simple connection like the [Electronic Dark Chimera], but rather a complete nesting around the [Electronic Dark Dragon Bone]. The [Electronic Dark Wing Blade] spread its wings and flew, while the [Electronic Dark Demon Horn] and the [Electronic Dark Dragon Bone] opened their mouths together, emitting a piercing roar like metal scraping!

"【Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon】!"

【Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon】【8☆/Dark】

[Mechanical Race/Fusion/Effect]

[1000/1000]

"Because of the effect of [Power Welding], the attack power of [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] will double from 1000 to 2000. As a trade-off, if it is still on my field at the end of the turn, I will take damage from its original attack power value - which is 1000 points."

"At the same time, if [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] is Special Summoned, select one Dragon-Type monster from both players' Graveyards as an Equip Card and equip it to it. This effect is different from [Cyber ​​Dark Magic Horn] and others, as it has no Level restriction. And the one I want to equip is naturally [Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation] from your Graveyard, Manjoume."

"!?!" Manjoume never expected that the effect of the [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] fused by Marufuji Ryo was actually an enhanced version of the lower-level [Cyber ​​Dark] monsters. It forcibly took the [Dark and Annihilation Dragon] from his graveyard and equipped it on the [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon], causing its attack power to soar!

【Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon】(Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation)【ATK1000→2000→4600】

"After equipping [Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation], did it increase its attack power by the amount of its attack value?" Manjoume glanced at [Dragon's Shadow] in his back row and couldn't help but think, 'If that's the case, can it withstand 200 points of combat damage?'

'We will win!'

But before he could say anything more, the attack power of the [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] didn't stop rising after reaching 4600 points; instead, it suddenly accelerated its ascent!

"You didn't think that [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] only had one effect, did you? Besides increasing the ATK of the equipped monster, [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] also increases the ATK of my Graveyard by 100 times the number of cards in my Graveyard." He chuckled, lifting his deck, which contained only three thin cards and, as he had indeed said at the start of the turn, only took two cards from the deck. "Want to count the number of cards in my Graveyard?"

(Note: This is the effect from the anime version, not every monster but every card. However, even if it were every single card, it wouldn't affect the kill.)

Even before using [Power Wall], Marufuji Ryo already had a total of seventeen cards in his graveyard. After sending thirty-four cards to the graveyard in one go with [Power Wall], even though he didn't have much talent for graveyard stacking and couldn't send any useful cards to the graveyard, he at least greatly increased the number of cards in the graveyard.

At this moment, even after banishing three Cyber ​​Dark monsters used as Fusion Material and Cyber ​​Infinite Dragon, Ryo Marufuji still has a total of fifty-one cards in his Graveyard, which means that Cyber ​​Dark Dragon will gain a whopping 5100 points!

【Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon】(Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation)【ATK4600→9700】

With only 300 attack power points away, the [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] is about to break the 10000-point mark!

"Enter the battle phase, and then wreak havoc, [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon]!"

"Perfect Dark Outburst!"

With his arms hanging down and no intention of opening the face-down card, Manjou had already realized his defeat and was powerless to resist. Although he did not show a despairing expression, he just watched with resentment as [Armored Black Dragon - Cyber ​​Dark Dragon] manipulated [Dragon of Darkness and Annihilation] and released a surge of demonic flames that were more powerful than it could originally release, rushing towards his field.

'Is this... Caesar's power?' Clenching his fists tightly, Manjoume turned to look at Jaden in the audience. 'Tch, he broke his promise... But if there's a next time, I'll never lose again!'

"boom!"

[Manjoume: 2000LP → 0]

Chapter 1317 The rain won't keep falling, but the head will...

"The winner of the third duel is Ryo Marufuji from the Obelisk-Blue dormitory!"

Regardless of the mood or state of others, Professor Chronos's task as referee is to make a judgment in the moment when the outcome is clear.

The moment Manjou's base score was reduced to zero by Marufuji Ryo's attack of the [Armored Black Dragon - Electronic Dark Dragon] with an attack power of 9700, he promptly declared Marufuji Ryo's advancement and Manjou's elimination.

Only after that did he, like everyone else, marvel at the final attack that Ryo Marufuji had just delivered. In the past, even with the use of "Limit Release" or "Power Welding," "Cyber ​​End Dragon" could only reach 8000 attack power, which, while far exceeding the attack power of monsters in ordinary duels, was still somewhat lacking compared to the 9700 points just now.

However, what exactly was Marufuji Ryo's performance during the duel...?

Not far behind him, Jonouchi curiously leaned closer to Hayato and asked, "Did you find out about that thing you were interested in, Hayato?"

"Even if the software is handled by Hikari and the hardware configuration is produced by the Manjoume Group, data retrieval still takes time and delays are inevitable."

Hayato held up a completely transparent display screen whose workings were indiscernible. "Besides, Kaiba is preparing for the final loading checks of the game console 'Cocoon' and the virtual world 'Duel-Links,' which will be launched on a large scale immediately after the semifinals. Even the island's servers are consuming computing power."

"It's like going back from 5G in 2024 to 2G twenty years ago; slow loading is to be expected."

"Huh? Hayato, what are you talking about? It's only 2006 this year, isn't it? Didn't Domino City already have a fully deployed 6G network five years ago?" Jonouchi said, somewhat puzzled. "Although it's just Domino City, and other places, even with Kaiba Corporation's satellite coverage, are relatively much worse, it's still not like we're still using 5G in 2024, is it?"

"Is Hayato suggesting that 5G be used in the most underdeveloped areas?" the game developer speculated.

"Let's just go with your interpretation, it's pretty much the same idea anyway," Hayato said, casually remarking, "Isle is the only one who occasionally gets the jokes I make."

Although the Millennium Jewelry was buried underground along with the other Millennium Treasures, just as Pegasus was able to retain some magic power through his long-term close contact with the Millennium Eye, Isis, who had used the Millennium Jewelry since childhood, also retained some of that special power.

Although he jokingly tells Kaiba every day that he's "thinking about things a thousand years from now," Hayato is actually someone who's always looking to the future. Only Isis, who can also see the future, can keep up with his overly jumpy thoughts, but that's only in the realm of fighting monsters.

In the world of Duel Monsters, those who can rival him are few and far between, and does anyone truly exist who can fight Hayato to a standstill? Last time, even Jonouchi, Kaiba, and Yugi gathered together, and Hayato was still the ultimate victor. Although part of the reason was the infighting among Kaiba and the others, Hayato still didn't unleash his fully-formed "Dragon's Tears," did he?

Not to mention, Hayato has even obtained the [Tearful Lament Clan Type Kusha Wrath Clan], commonly known as the "Red Mermaid," through his duels with the three of them, and has further unlocked the [Kusha Wrath Clan], also known as the "Wrathful Kshatriya." With two super-mainstream factions combined into one, who can possibly be Hayato's opponent?

What in the world can withstand this? Damn it, what in the world can withstand this?!

Hayato felt that if he were the protagonist of a novel, he might have been the protagonist of a tragic novel since he couldn't even handle Pegasus at the beginning. But now, he was clearly the protagonist of a wish-fulfillment novel!

It's impossible for me to be invincible. The title of the next chapter should be "An Enemy from Outer Space," right?

"Dudu lu~"

The loading completion notification sound caught Hayato's attention, reminding him that although he had unlocked the [Kusha Nurarihyon], he didn't have enough DP points to redeem them all, and that he was currently doing something important.

Looking down at the tablet that made the sound, the transparent screen displayed the entire replay of the duel between Jun Manjoume and Ryo Marufuji. However, it was not just a simple video, but a data-driven recording of everything in the duel. You could even adjust the options to clearly see data such as the heart rate of the two during the duel.

Hmm? How was the data collected? Yeah, how did Kaiba manage that? Hayato is also looking for the reason.

In short, Haima Group's technology is amazing, isn't it?

Not particularly interested in the physical data of these adolescent boys, Hayato sifted through the cards and listed all the cards that appeared in the duel recorded by the Duel Disk on the screen. He quickly found a fusion monster card with a purple border—Ryo Marufuji's [Chimera Fortress Dragon].

However, as Hayato opened the card, the upper right corner of the screen automatically filtered out the cards with the same name from the database for comparison, directly marked the differences between the cards and the records in the database, and sent a pop-up prompt to Hayato asking whether to process the abnormal data.

Hayato casually clicked "No" to close the pop-up and began examining the differences in the cards. Yugi, also curious because Hayato hadn't hidden anything and had laid everything out in front of them, looked over curiously as well: "【Chimera Fortress Dragon】, this card also has two versions of its effect."

"The first version of [Chimera Fortress Dragon] can only be Special Summoned by [Fusion], and when it is successfully Fusion Summoned, all other cards on its field will be sent to the Graveyard. Although its ATK is 0 and does not change based on the number of Fusion Materials, it also deals 0 battle damage to both players and cannot be destroyed by battle. It can attack the opponent's monster multiple times depending on the number of Fusion Material Monsters, but each attack declaration deals 400 Effect Damage."

After reading out the effect of the first version of [Chimera Fortress Dragon], Yugi commented, "It seems to be this version from Samejima. The effect is quite in line with the characteristics of his deck, especially when used in conjunction with [Nightmare Torture Chamber]."

(Gian and Suneo, for sure)

"Before the Duel Academy was established, I suffered quite a bit when I encountered Mr. Samejima in the World Championship. Fortunately, Hayato invited Mr. Samejima to the Duel Academy as the vice principal, preventing him from going too far in the World Championship... cough, I mean, letting other players see the power of 'Cyber ​​Flow'." Belatedly noticing that Samejima was looking at Hayato in the distance, and unaware that he actually wanted to ask Hayato for an explanation of "why 'Reverse Cyber ​​Flow' was given to Akira," Jonouchi thought that he had heard him talking badly about him behind his back, and quickly changed his words.

In order to unlock the final secret of "Cyber ​​Flow"—the seal of [Dragon's Radiance Technique]—with Hayato, Samejima almost burned his soul to exhaust the cards he used for [Cyber ​​Darkness]. As a result, Samejima's body was damaged and he could no longer withstand that level of dueling. That's why he reluctantly handed over "Reverse Cyber ​​Flow" to Hayato when Hayato said that he could awaken a new [Dragon's Radiance Technique].

However, "I am injured" ≠ "I cannot duel". Even someone like Malik, whose soul was literally cracked, can pick up the Duel Disk again after recovering, let alone Samejima. Moreover, he only dueled in the World Championship, not in high-intensity duels like in the Dark Games.

I remember it was five years ago, in 2001, the year that Duel Academy was founded, the year Hayato and the others graduated, the year GenX was held for the first time, and also the year Samejima participated in the World Championship for the only time. It seems that it was in the semi-finals that Samejima faced Joey, who had signed with the Duelist Agency under the Kaiba Group after graduation and became a professional duelist. Even a gambling king like Joey was almost defeated by Samejima's burn combo, but in the end, he turned the tables with a Black Flame Bullet using the same burn tactic.

The subsequent finals need no further explanation. What should have been a "battle at the Forbidden City" turned into a massive display of affection between the blonde-haired couple because Jonouchi's opponent was none other than Mai. Samejima, carrying the slight disappointment of his return to the Duel Kingdom after only reaching the semi-finals, accepted Hayato's invitation to become the vice-principal of the Duel Academy, a position he holds to this day.

In that duel, Jonouchi proved that although they were both among the top four in the Duel Kingdom, he was stronger than Samejima. He also experienced the same frustration as Hayato and other opponents who had played cards with Samejima. It was the unpleasant feeling of not being able to break through the opponent's impenetrable defense and being slowly worn down by various troublesome cards. The impression of [Chimera Fortress Dragon] was particularly deep for Jonouchi.

“But, the card that kid named Ryo had just used didn’t have that effect, did it?” Jonouchi looked at the tablet in Hayato’s hand. “The fusion material is the same: Cyber ​​Dragon and one or more Machine-Type monsters. However, it can no longer be fusion summoned. Instead, monsters on both sides’ fields can be sent to the Graveyard as fusion materials for direct Special Summoning. It also gained the resistance of not being able to be used as fusion material, like Five Magicians.”

"The attack power isn't always 0 like in Mr. Samejima's version; instead, it gains the effect of 'converting the original attack power into a value equal to the number of fusion material monsters x 1000.' I still prefer this version a little more than Mr. Samejima's version."

Compared to the blood-burning, torturous imprisoned monster, Jonouchi was more accepting of the version of [Chimera Fortress Dragon] used by Marufuji Ryo. However, at the same time, he had new doubts.

“Mr. Samejima’s style is burn damage tactics, while that kid named Ryo prefers more aggressive attacks, so he used two different versions of cards, which I can understand.” He pointed to the data displayed on the tablet. “But I had a question during the duel just now—why can the aggressive version of [Chimera Fortress Dragon] be summoned using [Fusion] just like the burn damage version of [Chimera Fortress Dragon]? But the effect is still the original version.”

"This is probably what growth is. Changes in the body affect a person's spirit, and similarly, spiritual transformation can also bring about changes in the material world," Hayato said, recalling his card, [Greedy Poison Fusion Dragon]. When he first obtained that card, its effect was the physical card version, but now, through continuously absorbing and devouring the power of other beings, it has transformed into a perfect version that retains the advantages of both the physical and anime versions while eliminating their flaws. Even the cards that evolved later, such as [Greedy Poison Fusion Dragon], are the same.

"It has evolved in terms of summoning conditions, but still retains its underlying effects? It is indeed similar to that child himself." Yugi said as he watched Marufuji leave the field. "He suddenly realized something halfway through the duel and drastically changed his dueling style and even his personality. It seems really scary, but if you feel it carefully, you can also sense that he has never changed the deepest color in his heart from beginning to end."

“Even if the methods used seem ‘darkened,’ they still retain the ‘light’ of a duelist.” After a pause, Yugi smiled. “This is probably what it means to have ‘a dark will’ and ‘a golden spirit’ coexist.’ You’re quite a student, Hayato.”

As he spoke, Yugi turned his head and saw Kyoko looking at him with a subtle expression: "What's wrong, Kyoko?"

"We don't really understand Duel Monsters and stuff, but when it comes to things like how that kid's personality suddenly changes during a duel, we have a lot to say about it," Anzu complained. "The one who has the least right to say this about others is you, Yugi. Back when Atem was still alive, you sometimes acted like you had a split personality. Even your teachers at school told us, as your friends, to take extra care of you."

"Haha, is that so?" Hearing Kyoko say that, Yugi laughed shyly and embarrassedly, as if he had turned back into the shy boy he was in high school.

Upon hearing this, Rebecca suddenly reached out and grabbed Yugi's arm, squinting at Kyoko and saying, "Stop bringing up things from high school that only you two remember. Do you think only you and Darling have special shared memories? Darling and I went to the same university!"

"I can't accept that! If we're going to talk about it, Yugi and I could be considered 'childhood friends,' right?" Kyoko teased Rebecca, wrapping her arm tightly around Yugi's other arm and using her strong chest muscles to increase friction. "Don't even mention high school; I have unique memories with Yugi from middle school and elementary school too~"

Looking at the game with the caption "Oh no! I'm surrounded by my childhood friend and a blonde bombshell," Jonouchi subconsciously remarked, "They're practically just one step away from getting married, and they're already arguing. Is this part of the game's gameplay?"

"You sound like you'd also like to find someone to play that kind of game?" The gentle yet breathtaking voice of Mai Kujaku made Jonouchi's breath catch in his throat. She wrapped her arm around Jonouchi's neck in a very affectionate embrace, but with her other hand, she suddenly grabbed Jonouchi's ear, gradually increasing the pressure, saying, "Tell me honestly, were you just imagining another woman sitting next to you, trying to steal you away?"

"That Kitamori Reiko who signed with a professional duelist agency? That Vivian Wong who was flirting with you at last year's World Championship? Don't tell me you were thinking of Baron!"

"I'm innocent! Although Kitamori Reiko confessed to me, I rejected her in front of Mai. Vivian also asked me if I could get Hayato's autograph. After the competition, I took out his name from the apology letter Hayato wrote for me before and gave it to her. Baron, I don't even know where Baron is!"

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