Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

"He's your student, isn't he? The more you push me, the more power I'll use. Although those dark forces still originate from me, just passing through this puppet will cause him great harm. Can you just stand by and watch your student get hurt because of your actions?"

Despite Kobayashi Hayato's swift action, the fact that Dartz, the last survivor of the previous civilization, saw him as humanity's hope for surviving the planet's trials meant that Darkness believed he couldn't simply watch his student's body be harmed under his control. He reasoned that all civilizations on this planet, whether Atlantis or humanity, possessed a good equal to evil, and that goodness was only useful when exploited.

"Whoosh-"

"Pfft!"

The [Predatory Plant - Spikeleaf Vine Trident Hellflower] was blocked by [Red-Eyes Dark Dragon]. Darkness never expected that while she was talking, Kobayashi Hayato would attack again without hesitation, and once again chose the most shameless sneak attack!

The trap, which had been set up at some unknown time, suddenly activated. Darkness, caught off guard, was still unable to completely dodge the sudden barrage of arrows. An arrow struck his wrist, causing him to lose strength abruptly, and the thick stack of cards slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

As soon as Darkness, who was trying to retrieve the cards that housed his power, made a move, another wall appeared out of nowhere and crashed down from above, separating him from the cards!

(【Rabilins' Chain Formation】)

"Tsk, what a pity, the spike traps didn't even come in handy." The Silver Princess of the Labyrinth Castle, who had appeared next to Hayato at some point, said with some disappointment. It seemed that she was the one who had just created these inexplicable traps for Hayato to ambush and hinder Darkness.

"【Predatory Plants】, and 【Silver Castle】? I've only been asleep for a few years, why has your deck become even stronger, Kobayashi Hayato! And, you actually attacked your own student so easily!?"

Without the Red-Eyes deck in hand and without the medium to help control Fubuki, Darkness suddenly felt much sluggish, and using her own power became difficult. Having spent the years since being defeated by Hayato planning her revenge based on Hayato's past, she never expected Hayato to have produced new cards.

“It’s just a necessary sacrifice. Fubuki said he has no objection.” Hayato raised an eyebrow. “As for the new card you haven’t seen? My changes over the years can’t just be that the ring position has changed from the middle finger to the ring finger, right? If humanity were just stagnating, would we need you to perish?”

Hayato, while complaining, pulled out a card and said, "You're not qualified to use 'Eternal Evil' or anything like that. How about I do as you wish and use this card to cut off your head!"

"【Hellfire Machine - Lift——】"

Before Hayato could even finish speaking, Darkness was already suffering from PTSD. He didn't even want to retract the power he had released into [Red-Eyes Dark Dragon] and the cards scattered on the ground. He hurriedly fled from Fubuki's body, saying, "Tsk, let's not confront that power head-on for now."

(Amazing wisdom)

Although he was running away, Darkness still wanted to throw out a harsh remark to avoid completely ruining his already mediocre image: "But don't get too cocky, Hayato Kobayashi. I just want to watch you humans perish at the hands of the enemies created by your newest creation."

"You've escaped with your lives, cough—!"

Hayato punched Darkness, who was using Fubuki's body to utter threats, expelling the last bit of his power from Fubuki's body. He casually removed the dragon head armor of the [Blood Demon-D] he was wearing, and at the same time, removed the arrow piercing Fubuki's wrist, revealing his completely uninjured wrist. Hayato retorted, "If you're going to run away, just run away. Why all the nonsense? Aren't you just asking for a beating?"

"But speaking of which, what does 'humanity's latest creation' mean? Don't tell me it's another classic scenario where scientists create a father and then lose control?"

"But when it comes to scientists, I think I only know one person, and it's hard not to think about him."

Hayato muttered to himself as he looked at the Blue-Eyes jet landing vertically on the Duel Academy's outlying island helipad in the distance.

Chapter 1321 Duel Academy is my backyard

"Let alone AI-controlled super robots or special drugs to enhance the human body, he's been busy playing cards with you guys Hayato lately and fiddling with that Duel Link World. He hasn't touched anything else."

Guiping said with absolute certainty, "That's why my brother hasn't been researching any other strange or unusual things lately. As for Hayato, what kind of trouble do you think his inventions could cause..."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible."

Hayato also knew where Keihei's confidence came from. After all, all of Kaiba's inventions that he hadn't put on the market were kept in the "museum" of the headquarters building. That absolutely safe place had long since been repaired after Sera invaded it once with the power of "Plana".

Under such circumstances, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to use the seahorse's past inventions to do anything.

In fact, Hayato was just asking casually. After all, what he learned from Darkness was "the latest invention," not "an old invention." Given Darkness's intelligence, Hayato didn't think it would think of lying about this to waste his energy and annoy him. So, he assumed Darkness wasn't lying—

The "latest invention" that He mentioned that "brings enemies to destroy humanity" can only be the Duel Link and the game pod "Cocoon" that Kaiba has been researching recently, right?

Just as Kaiba had great confidence in Hayato's abilities, Hayato also had great confidence in Kaiba's research capabilities. Perhaps there were scientists who could surpass Kaiba in terms of theory, but when it came to the ability to turn theory into practice, Kaiba was undoubtedly the best in the world.

To put it simply, aside from Chigurh Fried of the Schreid Group, who developed their own Duel Disk, even today, several years later, most technology companies still haven't been able to crack the principles of the Kaiba Group's Duel Disk. Chigurh Fried himself was in a similar situation, unable to understand Kaiba's black technology and only able to achieve the virtual projection system from another angle with a seemingly plausible technology.

Therefore, "humanity's latest invention" can only be limited to the seahorse's most recent invention, and the only things the seahorse has recently encountered are the virtual world "Duel-Links" and the fully immersive gaming pod "Cocoon".

The problem is, even Hayato couldn't understand how those two inventions, which were almost inseparable, could attract an enemy capable of destroying humanity. It couldn't be that some computer virus suddenly mutated into a "Hakugen" virus that could infect the human body and affect reality, and then gave the video game its own consciousness and wanted to turn around and play against humanity, like the "Duel Monsters Chronicle" game where the loser dies, could it?

Then shouldn't I hurry up and find a game where I can kill someone with one leg and show off, so I can cheat?

Just as Hayato was lost in thought about whether he should use the Phantom Warriors or the Undying Player, Keipai waved his hand in front of him and said with dissatisfaction, "Seriously, Hayato-kun, are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, I also think that pasta number 5 should be served with chocolate sauce."

"Right? I also think the chocolate sauce is just... no, that's not what I was talking about!" Guiping complained, looking quite unhappy.

Now seventeen years old, Keihei may not have reached the exaggerated height of 186 cm like Kaiba at sixteen, but he is still 17 cm tall. However, he still doesn't seem very imposing next to Hayato, who is 195 cm tall. He seems to be acting like a spoiled child: "I was asking Hayato-nii what my brother's invention is for? If there's nothing else, I'll have someone go and put the jet in the hangar."

"Oh, I heard it from Leorio, the guy who works with you, Gon. He said that humanity's latest invention will attract enemies to destroy humanity, so I was asking you if you know anything about it."

"Putting aside the fact that I've never worked, who is Xiao Jie anyway?!"

"Aren't you called Gon Freecss? Leorio is Leorio Paladin Knight."

"What's with that 'How could you not recognize him?' look? I'm Keipei!"

With practiced ease, Keihei accepted the chocolate that Hayato had prepared for him. He then stormed off to have someone take the Blue-Eyes jet parked on the tarmac to the hangar, with a voice behind him saying, "Happy Children's Day in advance."

Watching the dock workers tow the plane away, preparing for cleaning and refueling, Hayato casually remarked, "Kaiba and Keihei can just fly wherever they want in their jets, but the logistics staff have to think about so many things: cleaning the windshield, checking for wear and tear on parts, and refueling. It's really hard work."

The pilot of the Blue-Eyes jet that Hayato saw land on the island earlier was not Kaiba, since he himself was still on the island and hadn't left. The person who piloted the jet to the island was one of only three people in the world who could touch the Blue-Eyes jet that Kaiba treasured. The third person was Keipai—you ask who the second person was besides Kaiba? Of course, it was me, Hayato Kobayashi!

As the group's president, Kaiba naturally has the authority to decide how much support to provide for this Duel Academy Exchange Tournament to turn what was originally a regular duel into a massive event held in the virtual world. However, as the group's vice president, Guiping also needs to come and see how his spendthrift brother squanders money and what kind of transformation this competition has taken place.

The information confirmed by Keihei led Hayato to focus his suspicions on the virtual world "Duel-Links" and the fully immersive game pod "Cocoon". However, the problem is that although these two things can indeed be considered the latest inventions, their prototypes were experienced by Hayato with Kaiba many years ago. If they were going to attract enemies, they should have attracted them long ago. Why now of all times?

Hayato has experienced full-dive virtual reality games more than once. There was the DM world created by the five elders, the virtual world where Noa lived, and now this Duel Links world created by Kaiba that is purely for playing cards. Why is it that Duel Links attracts enemies?

On the other hand, what kind of enemy is so powerful that Darkness can rely on it to destroy humanity?

"Curry, curry~"

Beside Hayato, [Rainbow Kuriboh] comforted him, saying that if the system had a function to detect Hayato's talent, it would definitely be SSS-level. The translation of "Kuriboh's language" was "Don't overwork yourself."

"This level of exhaustion isn't enough to warrant the adjective 'tired,' is it? It's just a matter of taking precautions," Hayato replied. "Compared to someone like the prison warden who is clearly capable but leisurely drifts around until something happens and an irreparable mistake is made before he starts to take things seriously and work hard, I prefer to nip danger in the bud to avoid regret."

"Curry?" — Who is the jailer?

"Hmm, probably EVA?"

"Curry, curry-curry." — I still don't quite understand, but those responsibilities are ones you don't need to bear, Hayato, right?

“No, that’s not right at all.” Walking uphill back to the academy, looking at the buildings in the distance, Hayato spread his arms and said, “Although it’s not a situation where ‘protecting the members is my duty as the leader,’ in my opinion, Duel Academy is my backyard, and I can’t tolerate anyone other than me picking flowers in my garden.”

"So, Annie thinks only she can cause trouble in the academy, so she's trying to get rid of everyone else who's causing trouble? We were just starting to get that 'with great power comes great responsibility' vibe, and now it's all gone~" [Disruption Yellow] complained from the card box. "You, all you think about is yourself—"

[Disruption Green] and [Disruption Black] covered [Disruption Yellow's] mouth and dragged him back into the card case, while hurriedly apologizing to Hayato, "[Yellow] didn't say anything, Annie, please continue, please continue—"

Hayato didn't bother with the three mischievous brothers, but sighed with a hint of distress, "The point is to nip danger in the bud, but the problem is I don't even know where the danger is coming from. If it's a procedural issue, Kaiba and Keihei are enough, and Rebecca is also an expert in this area."

"But could it really be a programming problem, Master?" [Summoner - Aleister] floated behind Hayato, following and reminding him, "The use of the word 'enemy' means that the existence that brings danger is at least not a fixed danger that cannot be moved, right?"

“Even the most deadly venom, when it exists alone, can only be called a ‘dangerous item,’ far less dangerous than a venomous snake that is carried or used.” Hayato nodded. “Ara, what do you think?”

"Master, I think there's something fishy about this." Playing along with Hayato in a completely outdated joke, Alai smiled, clutching his staff. "If it didn't originate from the program itself in that virtual world, then there are only two possibilities, aren't there?"

"Either that world gave birth to some powerful being capable of interfering with reality, or other beings were attracted to that world and descended here. However, if, as you think, Master, the creator of that virtual world has the ability to monitor everything in that world, the former possibility is reduced to almost nothing."

"I am 100% to 90% certain that the so-called 'humanity being destroyed by enemies brought about by its latest invention' refers to extraterrestrial enemies attracted by that virtual world!"

"Tell me honestly, did you read the script? Otherwise, how do you know I said I was invincible just a few chapters ago?" Hayato complained. "I just set the flag of invincibility and you're already giving me an enemy from outer space, huh? What kind of enemy is so powerful?"

"Light wave, the Seven Emperors of the Barian, or Zark? Don't tell me it's Zoroah?"

"Of course it couldn't be that old man, Absolute Fire. Anyway, it's impossible for Master to fight Sukuna." Alai, who had read a lot of manga through Hayato over the years, complained, tapping his head as he spoke. "The biggest evidence supporting my argument is that when I entered that world with you last time, Master, I could feel the presence of life energy. It wasn't the life energy that surged from your passion when you fought others, but life energy that actually carried the magic from another world."

"I'm not bragging, but neither Endymion nor Sandrion can match my precision in the perception of magic."

(Shanghai King: I have no objection)

"Magic from another world?" Hayato was skeptical of Alai's words.

“Master, it’s normal that you can’t see it. Only a genius like me, who can perceive magic with exquisite precision, can sense it. Specifically, it’s a black magic that’s completely different from the magic in this transparent world, like a tadpole.”

Alai described the otherworldly magic he saw as best he could, saying, "In reality, the [summoning magic] I usually use is essentially about absorbing as much magic as possible from the otherworld to open the door to it, and then tampering with the door to control the creatures that pass through."

(The otherworldly magic in Alai's eyes, and the unfinished first attempt at summoning magic)

At this point, Alai suddenly became quite eager and said, "Although I don't know what kind of enemy it is right now, I can find out everything by using [Summoning Magic], Master."

“But what’s the price, Alai?” Hayato looked at Alai, who was grinning slyly. “You, who usually make up ridiculous excuses like ‘I can’t win,’ are so diligent today. Aren’t you going to state your needs?”

"I'm quite interested in this matter, so you can name your terms."

Seeing Hayato's smile, Alai sensed something was amiss, but he already believed Hayato's words and said happily, "Really? I've wanted to protest for a long time, Master! When I use [Summoning Magic], couldn't you choose a beautiful lady to fuse with? I'm really fed up with fusion with those inhuman beings; it's really uncomfortable. Also, I'm different from beings like [Shadowdew] and [Hellfire]; the graveyard environment really doesn't suit me and makes me very uncomfortable. Can you please not just release me or throw me into the graveyard so casually—"

Before Alai could finish speaking, Hayato raised an eyebrow: "Huh? You really dare to make demands?"

"Just go back to your cards. I can find you a female fusion or something, but you want me to not build up my graveyard or release cards? That's worse than making me lose cards."

Hayato pulled out the [Summoner - Aleister] card and immediately withdrew it from Aleister's bewildered expression, giving him no chance to retract his condition. Then, Hayato pulled out the [Temple's Water Dispatch] card, saying, "You're not the only one who knows otherworldly summoning magic. If you don't want to do it, plenty of others will."

"【The Temple's Water Executioner】, come forth!"

Watching Mizuki fawn over Hayato, showering him with attention without any conditions, and being overjoyed simply for being able to help him, Alai in the card felt like crying.

Didn't we agree that humans are naturally inclined to compromise? I only made a slightly higher request because Master was smiling so happily, and now they won't even give me a chance to discuss it? And that other guy, you didn't even make a request, but instead you went and said, "It's my greatest honor to be able to help Hayato-sama"?

You're using *magician profanity* here!

Chapter 1322 The Woman Who Controls the Campfire

"Ugh... I'm so hungry."

“I remember Maeda went to buy duel bread… Oh right, big brother, you left the duel arena to chase after me.” Marufuji Sho said subconsciously after hearing Jaden’s words, then realized that Jaden hadn’t eaten the duel bread because he had run off on his own, and apologized somewhat dejectedly, “I’m sorry, big brother.”

"It's okay, Sho. After Asuka and the others finish their duel, the quarterfinals to semifinals will be over. It's a bit of a shame I didn't get to eat the golden egg bread, but to celebrate my advancement, we can still go get some fried shrimp soba noodles together! It's on me~"

"Big brother, you really like fried shrimp, but this means your challenge to set a new record for eating golden egg bread has failed again, even if Principal Hayato didn't interfere."

"It's such a pity, I wonder who will get to eat the golden egg bread today..."

"What am I doing...?"

Somewhat dazed, Tenjōin Fubuki opened her eyes and was awakened by the conversation beside her. She looked around and found Judai and Marufuji Sho chatting next to her. "Judai?"

"You're finally awake, Fubuki." Hearing that Fubuki had woken up, Judai quickly turned around and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

With Judai's help, Fubuki, who was lying on the soft grass, sat up and rubbed her temples: "The lie is that I feel pretty good, but the truth is that my head feels like a mess, like I have a blackout after drinking too much."

"All I remember is that I was dueling with Ryo, and then during his turn, Ryo summoned [Chimera Overload Dragon] to attack me, and then..." Fubuki paused here, covering her forehead in discomfort.

“It seems to be a side effect of the mask that controlled you before taking advantage of the situation.” Jaden patted Fubuki on the shoulder. “Then, Fubuki, you used the Life-Swept Ark to revive the Red-Eyes Dark Dragon and strengthen its power, but at the same time you were controlled by that thing called ‘Darkness’.”

Marufuji Sho continued, "As for the duel, although the attack power of the revived [Red-Eyes Dark Dragon] is comparable to that of [Chimera Overload Dragon], my brother used that [Limit Removal] card. However, before you, Tenjouin-senpai, were defeated, Principal Hayato arrived here and stopped the duel, and even scared away that thing called 'Darkness'."