Is this the world of card dealers? Yada thieves!

As for why Hayato followed, it was purely because Isis was a beautiful woman, and Hayato, being the lecherous old man he was, certainly knew what Isis was going to show Yugi and Kaiba. But knowing was one thing; he was still quite interested in witnessing the stone tablet. However, what he didn't quite understand was that although he had obtained the [Millennium Wisdom Wheel] from Dark Bakura, he shouldn't have much connection to the events of ancient Egypt, right?

Or is it that as long as you have a "Millennium Artifact" or something from a past life, that's enough?

Amidst the uproar following the breakdown of the fake master-disciple relationship between Jonouchi and Sugoroku, the four of them boarded a long black luxury sedan driven by Haima, drove over a flower of hope by the roadside, and headed to a location given by Isis.

Shortly after, the car stopped, and the group got out. Looking up at the building before them, Hayato read its name: "The Egyptian Antiquities Traveling Exhibition?"

“Yes, here is the thing I want the three of you to see.” Isis said, standing next to Hayato. A fragrance wafted into Hayato’s nose. Unlike the subtle but discernible perfume on Mai, Isis’s scent was hard to detect unless you smelled it carefully. Just like her, it was mysterious and profound.

Hayato didn't dwell on the scent, which was probably his body odor, for long. Instead, he pointed to the building in front of him and said, "What I'm more concerned about is that I don't recall this building being in Domino City. Where did it come from? Or is it actually a suitcase magnified by Pym particles?"

The seahorse, carrying a briefcase, said disdainfully:

"Hmph, ignorant. The company that undertook the Egyptian artifacts traveling exhibition is the Haima Group. Because this exhibition is related to diplomacy, the Tongshiye City Government has given the Haima Group a lot of leeway. Under such circumstances, completing a building in a short time is a piece of cake for the Haima Group."

Chapter 214 The Stone Tablet

Haima is very proud of the technological capabilities of the Haima Group. After all, the most outstanding feature of the Haima Group, which has withdrawn from the arms industry and transformed into a comprehensive dominant enterprise, is its research and development department.

In particular, Haima himself holds the position of Minister of Research and Development, and at least half of the new technologies in the Haima Group are thanks to Haima. Praising the technology of the Haima Group is practically the same as praising Haima himself.

Looking at the smug-looking Kaiba, Hayato felt that it wouldn't be out of place for him to raise his arm and shout "Kaiba Group's science and technology is the best in the world" any second later.

But once inside the exhibition hall, Hayato looked at the artifacts placed around the hall and the unique atmosphere created between them, and he had to admit that Haima Group was indeed quite capable. Not only had they built such a high-rise building in a short period of time, but even the interior design had been so well thought out.

Hayato even suspects that the manga artist may have used the "China Speed" as a reference when designing the architectural standards of the Haima Group.

"The sheer number of artifacts here is astounding." Looking at the rare artifacts such as sarcophagi, mummies, and stone slabs around him, YuXi couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. "However, the artifacts that can be used for exhibition are probably only those that the Egyptian government doesn't pay much attention to. It's hard to imagine how many national treasures they actually have."

"In this respect, Japan can't even begin to compare. In Asia, perhaps only the ancient countries of the East can compare. Japan doesn't even rank in the top tier," Hayato said, sighing. Unfortunately, many artifacts from both ancient countries have been lost overseas for various reasons. In particular, the British Museum, built by a certain empire that once dominated the world, is so grand that "if all the artifacts were returned, it would become empty."

"Hmph, they're just outdated stuff."

Unlike Yugi and Hayato, Kaiba had absolutely no interest in these precious artifacts from the past. In fact, if it weren't for Keipei's persuasion that he could charge admission for the traveling exhibition, he probably wouldn't have agreed to let the Kaiba Group take on the task of organizing the traveling exhibition.

With a disdainful glance at the surrounding artifacts, Kaiba looked at Hayato with contempt: "You're actually marveling at something like this? Hmph, you're nothing special. If people are willing to pay to see even this, then next time I'll build a Kaiba Museum to showcase cutting-edge technology."

"I can guess what kind of seahorse museum you're going to build without even going there. It'll definitely be filled with Blue Eyes, right? We already experienced your unique aesthetic at the seahorse park last time, Sets-san~" Hayato complained. "No one will buy tickets to your kind of museum that will give kids nightmares at night."

"Hmph!" Kaiba snorted coldly, not arguing with Hayato, but following Isis. She stopped in front of an artifact not far away, waiting for Yugi and the other two who were walking slowly behind.

"Kaiba-kun's aesthetic sense is indeed somewhat unusual." Before he knew it, the person walking beside Hayato had changed to Yami Yugi. Despite being surrounded by ancient Egyptian artifacts, they felt strangely familiar, so he took the initiative to exchange items with Yami Yugi.

"I told you so, didn't I?"

“Hmm, if it were me, I would definitely choose the gold and silver combination, which looks more luxurious.” As he spoke, Yami Yugi lifted the Millennium Puzzle hanging from his chest to show Hayato. “How about it? My suggestion to Aibo, to change to a metal chain, looks pretty good, right?”

Hayato gave Yami Yugi a meaningful look. In the aesthetics of ancient Egypt, gold represented the flesh and silver the bones, but isn't your application of this a bit absurd? The Millennium Puzzle, this solid gold nugget, is already ridiculously heavy, and you actually made Yugi replace the cotton rope with an iron chain? As if Yugi isn't short enough already?

Oh, I get it. So, this is how King Yu made the game require him to wear a gold ring for eight years during his growth spurt, hindering his height and making it impossible for him to find a girlfriend. Then he transformed himself to attract female fans. The reason behind it is heartwarming. You're really something, King Yu!

But on the surface, Hayato forced a smile: "Needle doesn't prick, iron chain doesn't prick either."

The two followed the seahorse to the stone slab where Isis was, only to find that the seahorse, who had arrived a step earlier, was staring at the stone slab with a serious expression, while questioning Isis: "Hey, woman, did you bring this stone slab from some stone quarry to play a trick on me?"

Isis calmly replied, "No, this stone slab was unearthed from a three-thousand-year-old site, and what appears before you is the original stone slab, not a fake. The stone slab is also very well preserved, and what you see is what the stone slab looked like when it was unearthed."

"In that case, wouldn't you like to explain to me why there's a Dark Magician and a Blue-Eyes White Dragon on this stone slab?" Kaiba squinted at Isis, pointing at a spot on the slab through the protective glass. "And who are those two people on the slab?"

Following the direction the seahorse pointed, Hayato and Yugi also began to carefully examine everything drawn on the stone slab.

【slate】

After only a few glances, Yugi was equally shocked: "These are... [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] and [Dark Magician]!?"

"So, you guys have such wild imaginations, don't you?" Hayato thought to himself, looking at the patterns on the stone slab that were barely better than a kindergarten child's abstract drawing. Of all the images, he could only make out the Millennium Puzzle and the Dark Magician.

Dark Magician

Blue-eyed

【Three Illusion Gods】

[Two people]

Putting everything else aside, what Hayato finds most outrageous is this [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]. Kaiba has practically etched his wife's image into his DNA, so it's not surprising that Hayato could recognize it at a glance. But how could Yugi recognize it so easily? It's completely different from the one depicted on the card!

There are also cards featuring the three Egyptian God cards: [Giant God], which looks like a minotaur; [Sky Dragon], a small dinosaur that turns its head after hearing the "minotaur's" scream; and [Winged Dragon of Ra], a griffin with a pigeon's head.

Upon seeing the Egyptian Gods, Hayato couldn't help but feel genuine admiration for Pegasus's talent, who was recuperating far away. To be able to draw such a lackluster Egyptian Gods so imposingly, Pegasus's original ambition to become a painter was not without reason; his talent was truly remarkable. It must have been a lot of work for him to do the post-production work for the lazy person in charge of carving the stone tablets in ancient Egypt.

As for the two people facing each other at the bottom of the stone slab, although there are some differences in their appearances compared to the anime, Hayato, who can recognize people by their hairstyles, can tell them apart at a glance. Putting aside everything else, their hairstyles are exactly the same as those of Yugi and Kaiba.

Especially in the game, Kaiba's hair can barely be described as ordinary, but Yugi's colorful starfish head is truly one in a hundred thousand people. Even if you do find one, it's probably related to Yugi by blood.

Chapter 215 Millennium Jewelry

"Is this me and the seahorse on this stone slab?" Yugi asked Isis, somewhat uncertainly.

Faced with their questions, Isis calmly shook her head, seemingly having anticipated that they would ask such a question:

"What is engraved on the stone tablet is a battle between a priest and a pharaoh that took place three thousand years ago. The two monsters you see on the stone tablet are the prototypes of Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Dark Magician from the Duel Monsters created by Pegasus."

After hearing Isis's explanation, the seahorse looked at the priest on the stone slab who resembled him and was the counterpart to the white dragon, with a puzzled expression.

Meanwhile, the game was also lost in thought, staring at the pharaoh with the starfish head.

"In Egyptian legend, the Pharaoh is the earthly incarnation of the gods, a being who controls all things and phenomena, possessing the power to command the three Egyptian gods, and reigning supreme over everything in heaven and earth." As she spoke, Isis's tone became somewhat excited, as if she were proud of this legend.

"And what is carved on the stone slab is the legendary Pharaoh, which is also the other you in the game hidden in the Millennium Puzzle."

Isis stared intently at the game, causing the newly revealed Dark Game to pause in surprise: "I am Pharaoh?"

"Hmph, all this mystical talk. You're not going to say I'm that priest, or his reincarnation, are you?" Although the seahorse said this, his long-held scientific worldview was beginning to waver, and he was simply resisting accepting this unscientific idea. "That's enough of the jokes!"

Looking at the stubborn Kaiba, Hayato couldn't help but sigh helplessly. After all, he was Kaiba the Shrimp Dumpling. When it came to the stubbornness of his beliefs, this guy was second to none in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! world. Even if you caught a ghost and put it in front of him, he would use all sorts of scientific concepts that he could understand to explain the existence of ghosts.

Then they built a machine for time travel to play cards with the Pharaoh of the Underworld.

Isis really went to great lengths to explain the real Egyptian legends surrounding seahorses. Thinking this, Hayato glanced at Isis.

Noticing the pity in Hayato's eyes, Isis returned his smile, though it was barely visible due to the veil. Seeing that Kaiba was about to turn and leave, Isis had to skip the pharaoh legend she had originally planned to continue and fast-forward to the main point of the invitation for the three.

"As I said before, the Pharaoh possessed the power to command the three Egyptian Gods, and then used this divine power to control all things in heaven and earth. Like other stone tablets excavated by archaeologists, the monsters on this stone tablet were also made into Duel Monsters cards by Pegasus."

As Isis spoke, she pointed to [Dark Magician] and [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]: "The [Dark Magician] and [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], bound by the destiny of struggle, are the Pharaoh and the priest; the God of Duel Monsters, the symbol of the 'Obelisk' [Obelisk the Tormentor]; the symbol of the 'Underworld' [Osiris the Sky Dragon]; and the incarnation of the sun god, [Ra the Winged Dragon of Ra]."

"These are the three strongest, rarest, and most special Duel Monster cards collectively known as the Egyptian God Cards. However, when Pegasus created the Egyptian God Cards inspired by this stone tablet, he probably offended the majesty of the gods and incurred their wrathful divine punishment."

"Everyone involved in the creation of the Egyptian God cards and who had contact with them died mysteriously one after another, with no one surviving except Pegasus himself. After realizing that the Egyptian God cards were great beings that mortals could not control, Pegasus entrusted the Egyptian God cards to the Egyptian Antiquities Authority for safekeeping, until two of them were stolen by the people of Gulus."

"Damn, playing cards is risky, and printing cards is risky too," Hayato muttered to himself, his gaze wandering over the surrounding artifacts, searching for anything slightly interesting. A mummy not far away caught his attention. For some inexplicable reason, Hayato wanted to go closer to take a look, but considering Isis was still earnestly explaining, he refrained.

"You just said that two of them were stolen?" Kaiba precisely ignored everything else Isis said, focusing only on her last sentence. "So, you still have the last so-called God Card, right?"

"Yes, President Kaiba, the stolen cards are [Ra] and [Osiris], and the third card, [Obelisk], is still in my possession. However, you don't need to use a duel to take this card away, because I was originally going to give it to you to use anyway."

To Kaiba's surprise, Isis pulled out the blue-bordered card from her person. It was just a card that hadn't been used in the duel, but the moment Isis took it out, the entire exhibition hall was enveloped in an atmosphere of pressure that seemed to come from ancient times.

"This is... [Obelisk the Tormentor]?!" Kaiba took the card, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, just like when he drew [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] during a duel.

What he didn't know was that the name "Obelisk" meant both "obelisk," representing both the worship of the sun god Ra and the god of power, Set. And the seahorse's previous incarnation was Set, a priest who adopted the name of a god.

As for the game, compared to the [Obelisk] card that Kaiba had just received, he was more interested in Isis's "quick answer." Taking this opportunity, he asked Isis, "Miss Isis, I remember you said that even those who have only come into contact with the three Egyptian God cards have suffered divine punishment?"

“Yes, anyone who dares to touch the body of a god has suffered divine punishment. Only the holder of the [Millennium Artifact] has the ability to be exempt from divine punishment. Pegasus escaped this fate because of this.” Isis nodded.

"So, Miss Isis, are you also a holder of the [Millennium Artifact]?" Yugi asked, but his gaze had already fallen on the string of gold jewelry hanging around Isis's neck, and he already knew the answer in his heart.

Isis nodded, adjusting the gold ornaments hanging on her collarbone: "That's right, I am a user of the [Millennium Jewelry]. Different [Millennium Artifacts] have different functions, and the [Millennium Jewelry] represents the ability to foresee the future."

Hearing Isis's words, Kaiba sneered, "You insane madwoman, how could anyone in the world possibly foresee the future? The so-called 'Millennium Item' is nothing but a lie you've fabricated. If only the holder of the 'Millennium Item' can use the God Cards, then why am I completely unharmed?"

Because you're a seasoned card player.

Chapter 216 Attack

"The ability to foresee the future? Then, Miss Isis, could you help me see if there are any scenes of me regaining my memories in the future?"

Isis shook her head, refusing the game: "I'm sorry, Mr. Muto, although the Millennium Jewelry can see future events, it's only limited to the near future. The distant future is beyond my capabilities."

Seemingly disappointed by the game she had been looking forward to, Isis blushed slightly.

"Is that so? But even if we only look at recent events, the Millennium Jewelry is still very powerful in a duel." Yami Yugi was indeed somewhat disappointed, after all, his biggest obsession was his lost memories.

"Hmph, for the sake of this card, I'll tolerate your nonsense for now." Despite taking Isis's bribe, Kaiba's mouth was still foul, though his attitude was slightly better than before.

"Regarding that 'Gurus,' I'll help you get back the cards they took. However, I won't return the cards that have fallen into my hands."

"In fact, neither I nor my family have any need for the God Cards themselves. The situation I would most like to see is if they could return to the people who are qualified to hold them."

As Hayato spoke, he saw Isis glance at the game meaningfully, pause for a moment, then suddenly turn her head to look in the direction of the gate they had come from, and say in a somewhat urgent tone, "The cards of the three Egyptian God cards are the keys to unlocking the sealed memories of the Pharaoh. This is the last piece of information I know."

"President Kaiba, Mr. Muto, Mr. Kobayashi, we must leave here immediately." Isis's expression was solemn, as if she had seen an extremely dangerous scene in the empty exhibition hall. A golden light flashed from the "Eye of Ugato" in the center of the [Millennium Jewelry].

"Did you see something, Miss Isis?" Hayato asked, somewhat puzzled. In his memory, although Isis had brought Yugi and Kaiba to this exhibition hall for them to see twice, nothing unexpected had happened on either occasion.

It's strange enough that Isis has combined two invitations into one. Judging from Isis's attitude, it seems like something unexpected is going to happen.

“Yes, I saw my Millennium Jewelry. In ten minutes, the people of Gurus will attack this place. We have to get out of here quickly—” Before she could finish speaking, Isis froze. “The future has changed!?”

"Oh!"

With a sharp crack of shattering glass, it wasn't the opening sequence of Ryuki that appeared, but rather several figures clad in black robes descending from the skylight above Hayato and the others, leading to the second floor. As soon as they appeared, two of them lunged towards Kaiba's location!

"Who goes there!" When Haima saw several people attacking him, he nimbly jumped back, dodging the sharp knives swung by the men in black, and opened the briefcase he had been carrying with him since getting out of the car.

Inside his seemingly small suitcase were four rather large, blade-like devices. He took one out, put it on his arm, and wielded it as a weapon. Despite being just a high school student, he managed to fight the two seemingly professional black-robed assassins to a standstill.

"Wow, as expected of Seth, you did something we couldn't do so easily. I really admire you!" Hayato chimed in from the side, but his words immediately attracted the attention of the other two men in black robes, who attacked him with short swords in their hands.

"Watch out, Mr. Kobayashi!" As if she had foreseen the attack on Hayato by using the [Millennium Jewelry], Isis pushed over a soft light next to her that was used to illuminate artifacts, knocking one of the men in black down.

The four men in black who suddenly appeared separated Yugi, Kaiba, Hayato, and Isis. Although Yugi wasn't very good at fighting, Dark Yugi was quite skilled. Together with Kaiba, they managed to suppress the two men in black.

On the other hand, although Isis pushed over the lamppost and accurately hit one of the men in black, the guy seemed to feel no pain. Like a zombie, he pushed away the lamppost that was pressing down on him and got up again.

Seeing the two men in black about to attack with their knives, Hayato glanced at the exact 1 DP balance displayed on the system panel, helplessly raised his hand, and shouted, "How dare you! Put away your weapons in front of me!"

Then he activated the Dark Game's function, using the Millennium Wisdom Wheel as the output point. A massive surge of dark energy erupted from Hayato, enveloping everyone present and initiating a forced dark duel. However, Hayato was temporarily unable to precisely control the target of the duel, and Isis, who was standing next to him, as well as Yugi and Kaiba, who were separated, were also drawn into it.

Under the rules of the Dark Game, the four men in black robes froze instantly, unable to break free no matter how hard they tried. Taking advantage of this, Hayato called out to Kaiba in the distance, "Seth, throw two of those things over here!"