Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

The story naturally includes the love-hate relationship between Mr. Katsuya Jonouchi and Ms. Mai Peacock, Mr. Seto Kaiba who sees Duel Monsters as his lovers, and Mr. Yugi Muto who is still trapped in a love triangle. It also mentions Ms. Kyoko Masaki and Ms. Rebecca Hopkins, who captured the legendary duelist with a gravity field.

"Hmph, how leisurely you are, Tenjouin. With that burden of a child, you're definitely a long way behind me, Mr. Manjoume."

Upon hearing this voice, Asuka shifted her gaze to someone sitting on the other side, her eyes filled with confusion: "Manjoume?"

"It's Mr. Manjoume! Hmph, I can see three parts surprise, three parts confusion, three parts resentment, and one part disappointment in your eyes, but that's only natural, because I am Manjoume!"

The boy arrogantly said, "My goal is to stand at the top of Duel Academy, which is different from you. It's different from a mere woman like you who is bound by boring emotions. The best proof is that you, with your burdens, were much slower than Mr. Manjoume when we arrived at this finish line!"

"You also chase after that Judai guy, but I've already left you behind. Tenjouin, who's been abandoned by me and Judai, can't earn my approval. Just drown your superfluous feelings like that!"

After Manjoume finished speaking, Asuka finally spoke up and retorted, "Putting aside your pie chart and your inexplicable sexism, do I need your approval, Manjoume?"

"But speaking of which, 'the end'? Is this the top of the World Tree?" Seeing the words "[Mission Completed]" displayed on her mission panel, Asuka added, "Also, the reason I only arrived here now is because I was hindered by a being who called himself 'King's War' in another world. Otherwise, I would definitely have arrived faster than you."

"Ha, you think you're the only one like that? I'm the same, okay? I'm also an old woman who calls herself 'Wang Zhan' and is getting in my way."

Upon hearing this, Asuka looked Manjoume up and down: "I see. So that's why you look so disheveled?"

"How could this be—" He paused, though the charred marks on his face had been wiped away, but his hairstyle couldn't be restored for the time being. Wan Zhangmu suddenly didn't want to admit that he had been struck by lightning after arriving in Asgard, which caused him to look like this. He immediately changed his tune, "—Of course that's true, but this is just a little bit of hardship I got in return for teaching that inherently evil 'King's War' woman a lesson."

"It's not very credible." Asuka didn't expose Manjoume, but looked around. She was currently at the edge of a square, and Manjoume and Yugi Muto were sitting on rows of seats built on the edge, which seemed to be the audience seats for watching the duel that would take place here later.

At Rebecca's invitation, Junko and Momoe, acting as spectators, took their seats and curiously and admiringly approached Mai, the idol of female duelists worldwide, to ask for her autograph. However, Asuka noticed that there seemed to be too few seats.

After Junko and Momoe were added, eight seats were already taken, leaving only about ten seats. How could so many teachers and students possibly use such a small number of seats to play the game?

No, considering that the missions given to players in this "Duel-Links" world require them to find their own way to reach the top of the World Tree, and that even top students like Manjoume and herself took so long to reach it, and that even powerful figures like Jaden and Caesar haven't reached the end yet, Asuka has absolutely no confidence in how many people will be able to get there in the end.

It's possible that even after the match is completely over, the stands here won't be full.

“Girl with the power of a priest, you are one of the four qualified to come here for the holy war.”

Hearing the voice startled Asuka, as did Manjoume, because it was [King Todoroki Battle - Howl]. Ever since bringing Yugi and the others here, [King Todoroki Battle - Howl] had stood motionless like a statue, to the point that even Manjoume thought he really was just a statue.

However, although Manjoume did nothing when he arrived, he suddenly took action again after Asuka broke through the blockade and arrived in Asgard, and walked up to Asuka.

"Odin?" At first glance, Asuka also mistook [King Kaio Battle - Howl] for Odin, the king of the gods in Norse mythology, but she quickly realized, "No, although both are one-eyed, you lost your left eye, so it's probably just a coincidence?"

"But what do you mean by 'qualification'?"

"That's right, you startled me when you suddenly moved." Manjoume looked at [King Todoroki Battle - Hal] with displeasure. "Why do you start talking as soon as Tenjouin arrives? I've been here for so long without moving. Are you trying to say something like 'I have no right to speak, Mr. Manjoume'?"

"As of now, there are still eight people approaching the [Todoroki] realm, three of whom are qualified, and you are not one of them." [Todoroki King Battle - Hal] glanced at Manjoume and said contemptuously, "You are not qualified, you are not qualified, and that is why you are not qualified."

"I think I understand for now. It means that because you, Manjoume, were eliminated by Caesar in the previous quarterfinals, you are not eligible to continue to the semifinals like I am, who advanced to the semifinals."

[King Kaio Battle - Hal] Manjoume couldn't understand those strange words, but he did understand Asuka's words. He said unhappily, "Just because of that? Even though I, like you, went through the portal from the initial world to other worlds and then came to this final destination 'Asgard'?"

"While I'm not using this to excuse my previous defeats, if the opponents were reversed—if my opponent were 60% and yours were Caesar—the outcome would have been completely different!" Manjoume muttered resentfully. "Back in middle school, I was always number one, and now I'm being trampled on by a mere Tenjouin..."

"Qualified one, in order to prove that you can achieve the final honor, you, like the other three qualified ones, must undergo trials and defeat your opponents to continue your journey." Ignoring Manjoume, [King Kaio Battle - Hal] continued speaking to Asuka.

Upon hearing this, Asuka frowned: "We have to go through another trial? That's so troublesome?"

"This is not a troublesome matter. It is just to prove that you are qualified to continue standing on this stage of fate that no one can predict. Moreover, your opponent in the trial is not someone else who has been arranged separately, but someone with the same qualifications." [King Todoroki Battle - Hal] explained, "Only two people can pass this trial, and these two people must continue to carry out this bloody trial to determine the final strongest one."

"Only the strongest in the end can stand at the top of the World Tree and proclaim their glory as the strongest."

"To put it another way, it's still the semi-finals and finals, just with a different way of saying it in the words of [King Kaio Battle - Hal]." In the audience, Yugi couldn't help but complain, "Compared to his voice and tone, his chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) is not just similar to Kaiba, it's almost exactly the same."

"That's how it is with Kaiba. When players play his games, they can just skip the story like they're skipping through their lives. But Kaiba, who designs chuunibyou (delusional) storylines, has to consider a lot more." Jonouchi never missed an opportunity to speak ill of Kaiba.

"In the realm of chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur), I would call the Seahorse the strongest."

"Hayato? He's just an ordinary guy living in the seahorse before his chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) kicks in."

As soon as he stepped out of the portal, he heard Yugi and Jonouchi talking badly about him. Hayato looked at them strangely and asked, "Are they Yugi Muto and Katsuya Jonouchi from Domino City?"

"I'm so happy, box!"

"Quack! It's Hayato! Everyone, get back!"

Seeing Jonouchi and Yugi getting into action, Hayato rolled his eyes at them and said, "You two are pretty quick, you got here even before me. But you guys are pretty ruthless, you even took down [Sword King Battle - Frode]."

"Huh? [Frod] is dead?" Jonouchi was somewhat surprised. "When we came over, he was a little weak, but he seemed alright."

"But when I came from the [Sword Realm], that guy was almost dead, and someone even used illusion magic to hide his body." Hayato, who had also obtained a [Radiant God's Stele] there, shrugged. "I originally wanted to go to the [Light Realm] to take a look, but I found a portal near the dead [Sword Realm King War - Frode], so I came to check it out."

"Looking at that injury, I thought it was Jonouchi who stabbed him and then Yugi used [Dark Magician] to cover it up."

"I'm not the kind of villain who goes recklessly into the virtual world and treats the lives of game characters as if they were everything." Looking at Hayato, who used to steal NPCs' things and carry out large-scale purges in other virtual games, and was the very embodiment of the "Fourth Calamity," Jonouchi retorted, "Hayato, you are much more suspicious than me."

"Nonsense, there's no duelist in this world more compassionate than me." Hayato spread his hands to show his innocence. "There's an old saying, 'Death won't come for you when you're fully prepared.' That [Sword King Battle - Frode] probably got ambushed and died because he wasn't prepared, right?"

"What ancient saying is that from which cosmic century?"

While Hayato arrived in the divine realm of Asgard, also known as the "Todoroki Kai," and took his seat in the audience without needing guidance from "Todoroki Kaio Battle - Howl," Asuka stood at one end of the open space during the explanation of "Todoroki Kaio Battle - Howl."

"Even though I'm supposed to prepare for the duel now, neither the number of spectators nor the opponent seems ready," Asuka said, somewhat puzzled. "Am I supposed to stay here preparing forever?"

"Do you believe in gravity?" Without directly answering Asuka's question, [King Kaio Battle - Hal] said something inexplicable, "It's not just gravity that binds humans to the earth, but also the encounters between people are due to gravity, and those who are qualified will attract each other because of gravity."

"When one qualifier reaches the top of the World Tree, the others will soon follow. This fate is like a boulder being pushed down a mountain; it is impossible to slow their arrival, and the prophetic ending will soon arrive."

"prophecy?"

Asuka was a little confused and was about to ask a few more questions when she saw [King Kaio Battle - Howl] suddenly turn his head to look at the other side of the open space and say, "It's here! The attraction between people, the destiny of meeting on this stage that no one can predict, I feel it!"

In the direction that [King Kaio Battle - Hal] was looking, the rubble on the ground rose up against gravity and formed the shape of a door frame. Then, pale green vortex-like energy expanded and filled the door frame, forming a fairly stable portal.

From the portal, a figure gradually emerged. Although she couldn't see the other person's face clearly yet, the hairstyle, which was somewhat similar to that of a jellyfish, made Asuka's expression turn expectant, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly to reveal a smile.

"Could it be... ten—"

Emerging from the portal with her hair so wet it hung down like a jellyfish, Tenjouin Fubuki saw Asuka looking at her so gently from the other side and said happily, "Yo! Asuka-chan, did you miss me, your brother? I missed you too!"

As she spoke, Fubuki gave Asuka a thumbs-up, completely ignoring the fact that Asuka's smile had already frozen when she realized that the person who came was Fubuki.

"Just kill yourself, you idiot brother."

"Aieeeeee! Asuka, Asuka-chan, what's wrong!?"

Chapter 1375 Yes, children, I have no objection.

However, Asuka didn't have to wait long for Judai, who was looking forward to her. He quickly followed Tenjouin Fubuki out of the opened portal and said excitedly, "We've successfully arrived at the highest point of the World Tree—Asgard! Huh? Isn't that Manjoume? Let's take a look at the Golden Palace in the distance."

"Hey! What do you mean, Judai!" Manjoume, who was in the audience, couldn't sit still any longer after hearing Judai's words. He stood up angrily and said, "What do you mean 'Isn't this Manjoume?' It's Mr. Manjoume!"

"Why is this the detail you're focusing on?"

Junko and Momoe, sitting behind Manjoume, initially thought he was going to argue with Jaden, but who knew he was actually correcting the other's form of address? He was so aloof back in middle school, how did he become so humble after entering the Duel Academy High School? The two couldn't help but complain from behind, their image of Manjoume plummeting.

Behind Judai, Marufuji Sho, Maeda Hayato, Daitokuji-sensei, and Kaiser Ryo also walked out one after another. Just as [King Kaio Battle - Howl] had said to Asuka earlier, after she, the "qualified one," arrived, the others would arrive one after another. However, this "one after another" seemed a bit too close. From the appearance of Tenjouin Fubuki to the arrival of Kaiser Ryo, less than a minute had passed.

Misawa was the last person to step out of the portal. It was after he crossed the portal that the earthen and stone-built portal suddenly collapsed as if it had exhausted its last bit of energy, turning back into a pile of rubble on the ground.

Jaden turned around and saw this scene, saying with some surprise, "Huh? Aren't Queen Mador and the others coming over, Yoshi?"

"Don't call me by the wrong name again as soon as we leave the [Light Realm]!" Misawa protested weakly, shaking his head at the rubble on the ground. "Queen Mador of the [Light Realm King War] still has to deal with the affairs of the other two [King Wars], so she can't come with us to the [Bomb Realm]."

“Oh yeah, it seems she did agree to form an alliance with those two giants and the dragon, but we don’t know what they’re planning to do,” Marufuji Sho said to Judai. “It’s already pretty good that she can help us open a portal that goes straight to the end, bro.”

"Unfortunately, even so, we still aren't number one." Jaden sighed somewhat dejectedly.

Meanwhile, Daitokuji looked at Misawa and asked, "Mizawa-kun, is that thing still there, meow?"

"Don't worry, Daitokuji-sensei, I'll take good care of it." Patting his school uniform, revealing the outline of a slender object hidden under the clothes, Misawa said with emotion because Daitokuji could still pronounce his name correctly. "Even in a different world... it really is you, Daitokuji-sensei. You are the best teacher in my heart."

"Shh—" Upon hearing this, Daitokuji suddenly became a little nervous and told Misawa not to continue. He glanced at Hayato in the audience and quickly said, "Don't say anything like that. The best teacher is clearly our hardworking, dedicated, cold-blooded, and kind Principal Hayato. You don't want credits, I want a bonus, meow."

"...Master Daitokuji, did you accidentally blurt out some truth?"

"Really? You must have misheard, you absolutely misheard, meow!"

"A girl wielding the power of a priest, a boy wielding the power of elements, a prodigal son awakening from darkness, a king forging ahead in the darkness... Here, on this stage of destiny where no one can predict the future, the qualified ones have all arrived." The single eye of [King Kaio Battle - Hal] swept over Tenjōin Asuka, Yuki Judai, Tenjōin Fubuki, and Marufuji Ryo, his gaze finally returning to Judai. He declared, "Then, the trial has begun. Those who are not involved, withdraw from this stage!"

With a thrust of his spear tip into the ground, accompanied by a flash of light like a shooting star, Daitokuji, Misawa, and the others found themselves instantly teleported to empty seats in the audience, while only Kaiser Ryo and a few others remained in the open space.

"Are we starting a match right away? I was only released not long ago." Recovering from the disappointment of being teased by her younger sister, Fubuki smoothed her hair. "My body feels full of energy, but my mind hasn't quite caught up yet..."

"Huh? Fubuki, are you not feeling well?" Jaden asked, puzzled. "That shouldn't be the case. Didn't [King of Light - Queen Mador] say that she had temporarily severed your connection with darkness, or Darkness, and that she had you take a bath at [Astral Tree - Light Oak]? You should be feeling much better now."

“You don’t understand, Judai. A clear mind can’t heal the enormous trauma I’ve suffered.” Fubuki said with a sorrowful expression. “Asuka-chan, who used to follow me around when we were little and said ‘I love my brother the most,’ has now become capable of saying such cruel things as ‘Brother, you should kill yourself.’ My heart is ice-cold.”

"Stop making up these baseless stories about the past! I've always disliked you because of the hairstyle you gave me when we were kids!" Asuka exposed Fubuki's lie on the spot, angrily saying, "Being unwell is just an excuse to be lazy, Judai, just ignore him!"

Watching Fubuki, Asuka, and Judai interact, Marufuji Ryo simply crossed his arms and observed everything expressionlessly. No one knew what he was thinking.

“It’s getting late, let’s hurry up and start the first duel.” To avoid Asuka continuing to torture her, Fubuki quickly changed the subject, “How long have we been in this virtual world? It’s better to end the match sooner so that everyone else can return to the real world sooner.”

"Come to think of it, more than ten hours have passed already." Asuka noticed that the time on the system panel had changed from 8 a.m. when they first entered the game to 7 p.m. It was only now that she realized they had been in the game for almost half a day because the sky over Asgard had been overcast and dark from the beginning.

If we convert that to reality, it's around 2 or 3 a.m.? Then we definitely need to end the duel as soon as possible.

"Let me make this clear beforehand, I don't want to be your rival, Asuka." Fubuki waved her hands repeatedly. "You're already so disgusted with me now, if I beat you, I'm afraid I'll have to endure all sorts of scorn every day. I don't want to be unable to even offer my opinion on what to have for dinner."

"You mean you can beat me anytime, Tenjouin Fubuki?" Asuka raised an eyebrow, pressed her knuckles, and looked annoyed, as if she was about to activate Susanoo at any moment.

"I didn't mean that, it's just that I really don't have the fighting spirit to duel with you," Fubuki muttered. "Besides, everyone knows what you're really thinking, you only want to duel with Jaden, right?"

After speaking, Fubuki did not receive a response from Asuka. Looking up, she saw Asuka's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. She turned her face to Jaden and explained, "I... I didn't only want to duel with you, Jaden. It's just that we made a promise to meet in the finals. But I have no objection to facing you now."

"Yes, children, I have no objection either."

"Who asked you!" Asuka glared angrily at Fubuki.

"Huh? Asuka wants to duel me too? I don't care." Jaden has always been indifferent. For him now, as long as they can enjoy the fun of dueling together, it doesn't matter who the opponent is. "But then, Caesar will be dueling Fubuki, right?"

Noticing Judai's gaze, Caesar, whose face had been expressionless until now, curled his lips and sneered, "I don't care. In fact, it's perfect for me to have Fubuki as my opponent, because my 'Reverse Electron Stream' is very effective against her dragon monster. Being able to win easily is just as good as it gets for me."

"Dragon? Is it [Red-Eyes]?" Asuka turned to look at Fubuki, and only now did a hint of concern and worry for her brother, hidden beneath her previous disdain, finally appear on her face. "But didn't Hayato-sensei say before that if Brother uses [Red-Eyes], he'll be affected by that 'Darkness' again..."

"Don't worry about that, Asuka-chan. I'm incredibly strong right now because someone has temporarily severed my connection with the darkness over there. So at least in this world, I don't have to worry about being swallowed by the darkness when I use Red Eyes."

Hearing Fubuki's words, Asuka suddenly remembered that Fubuki and Judai had indeed talked about these things before. Knowing that Fubuki would not be like before, when she chased after Caesar to duel him after the quarterfinals, and was possessed halfway through the card game and then fell into a coma again, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should know the power of the 'Reverse Electron Flow' by now, Tenjouin Fubuki?" Caesar looked at the confident Fubuki and sneered, "Even so, you still want to use the power of the 'Red Eyes'?"

"Well, if I don't use the dark-filled 'Red Eyes,' then I won't be able to get closer to you, who are trapped in darkness." Even though she had vaguely seen that Caesar was not tainted by darkness, but only trapped in darkness but still retained a bright heart, Tenjouin Fubuki thought that at least he should not be able to move forward alone, and as a friend, she had to catch up with him.

"Heh heh, then come closer. I'll enjoy watching you drown in the darkness and sink into oblivion." Caesar said coldly, turning around and walking towards the audience. "It'll be soon, Tenjouin Fubuki. After Jaden Yuki and your sister's duel, you'll be next."

"Yeah, it'll be quick." Seeing Caesar leave first, leaving the stage to Jaden and Asuka, Fubuki knew she should also leave so her sister and brother-in-law... her sister's classmate could have a good chat. She patted Asuka on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Boldly reveal your true feelings, Asuka, fight a confession duel that you won't regret for the rest of your life!"

As she spoke, Fubuki gave a thumbs-up and smiled broadly, revealing her teeth.