The protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! world might be the same person.

Jaden turned around and looked at the shrinking black sphere behind him, saying with a solemn expression, "He lost in his dark duel with him."

"According to the rules of the Dark Game, he was swallowed by darkness."

As soon as he finished speaking, the black ball completely disappeared into the underground space.

"Disappeared...丿."

Asuka felt a little heavy-hearted. "Did my brother also disappear like this?"

Jaden couldn't manage a smile either. "Who knows..."

Staring at the array on the altar beneath his feet, he said softly, "In short, we have a clue about the mystery of your brother's disappearance, but unfortunately, there is too little information."

Asuka shook her head. "Anyway, you've helped me a lot. Thank you, Judai."

"You are welcome."

The purpose of this trip can be considered as having been achieved.

So the two of them composed themselves and left the old dormitory.

Meanwhile, someone hiding in the woods watched them gradually disappear into the distance.

......

The next morning, while Jaden was still asleep...

Bang bang bang bang—! !

The sudden knocking startled him awake.

"Open the door! Open the door for me!!"

Judai listlessly got out of bed and complained, "What's going on? Are they checking the water meter?"

"If you don't open it quickly, we'll blow this door up!"

"Bomb, bomb it all... wait, wait!? Isn't this a bit too extreme?!"

He was fully awake and quickly went to open the door.

When he opened the door, he found a group of people in military uniforms standing around him.

"You must be Jaden Yuki?"

Judai looked at the woman in the lead and asked in confusion, "It's me. Why are you making such a big fuss? What happened?"

"You've done something wrong at school, and we're taking you to the academic affairs office now."

"I've done something wrong?! Could it be...?"

Judai paused for a moment, then quickly realized something.

......

Not long after, Judai was taken to the interrogation room of the Academic Affairs Office.

He met Asuka, who had arrived there first.

"Asuka!?"

"Tenth generation!?"

The two exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.

Judai walked up to her and whispered, "It seems our plans from last night have been exposed."

Asuka nodded, "We were probably seen leaving the old dormitory."

Shortly after, the large screen in the interrogation room lit up, displaying images of Principal Samejima, Professor Chronos, and the woman who had brought Jaden and the others to the Academic Affairs Office that morning.

The woman spoke first, "Someone reported that last night, Judai Yuki and Asuka Tenjouin entered a special dormitory that was off-limits to visitors and caused trouble inside."

"You have seriously violated school rules and regulations, and according to the rules, you should be expelled."

"However, given that Asuka Tenjouin's brother disappeared in the old dormitory, her punishment can be reduced accordingly."

Upon hearing this, Judai raised his eyebrows slightly.

Clearly, this is only directed at him.

Is someone stirring up trouble?

He glanced subconsciously at Professor Chronos beside him.

It's probably him again?

Jaden had already discovered that Chronos had been targeting him since the start of the school year.

Perhaps because he had defeated him in the exam, he was very resentful and thus made things difficult for Judai.

"Can you give me a chance to salvage this?"

As expected, Chronos finally spoke, saying with ill intent, "Then I'll propose another solution: if you, Jaden Yuki, win the arbitration duel, you'll be exempt from punishment. Otherwise, you'll have to be expelled from the school immediately."

"Of course, the school will send duelists of similar or even stronger strength to you."

Upon hearing this, Jaden looked intrigued. "Hey~, isn't this quite interesting? I accept the challenge."

Chronos glanced to his left and said with a smile, "The headmaster himself agreed."

"Then there's no other way, let's just do as you say."

The bald principal casually agreed to the arrangement.

Asuka, standing nearby, couldn't stay calm any longer. "Wait, I request to receive the same punishment as Jaden!"

"Wait, wait a minute, do you know what you're saying, Tenjouin-kun?"

This unexpected situation startled Chronos.

"Asuka?!"

Jaden's expression was also somewhat surprised.

Asuka stared at him with a serious expression and said softly, "Judai, you risked your life for me, and I can't bear to let you be punished alone."

Judai was somewhat touched and smiled, "Asuka, I didn't expect you to be so loyal."

Chronos panicked immediately, "No, I won't..."

Just as he was about to say 'disagree,' Principal Samejima interrupted him.

"I understand Tenshoin's feelings, and I accept your application."

"Principal, this..."

Kronos tried to persuade the principal to retract his opinion, but the latter firmly approved the plan.

"Okay, it's settled."

"All right......"

Since the principal had said so, he had no choice but to accept it.

He then turned his gaze back to the two people in the interrogation room and continued, "Since you two are both going to be punished, this arbitration duel will be conducted in a team format. I will announce your opponents. No objections?"

Judai and Asuka both shook their heads, indicating that they had no objections.

"Then it's decided. Once we contact our opponents in the next few days, we'll arrange for you to have an arbitration duel."

......

on the way back.

"Team battles sound interesting."

"You can still laugh at a time like this, Judai, you really are..."

"After all, this is my first time playing under these rules, so it's a very new experience for me."

"Is it......"

Judai and Asuka chatted and laughed, showing no concern whatsoever about the upcoming arbitration duel.

"By the way, I'll take you to meet someone in the next few days."

Judai looked puzzled. "Who?"

"Marufuji Ryo!"

Chapter Twenty: The Battle Against Caesar

"Marufuji Ryo?! I've never heard of him. Is there anything special about him?"

Upon hearing this name, Judai became even more confused.

Asuka said in surprise, "You really don't know? He must be quite famous at school. You should have heard of him."

"I really haven't looked into it, sorry."

Seeing his bewildered expression, Asuka sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Sigh~, that guy is a top student in the third year of Obelisk Blue. The students all call him Caesar, the emperor of Duel Academy."

Upon hearing this, Judai's interest was immediately piqued.

"Hey~, Caesar, the emperor of the Duel Academy, in other words, he's the strongest duelist in the entire academy?"

Asuka nodded and replied, "That's right, he is the undisputed No. 1 in Duel Academy, a truly perfect duelist."

"She and my brother were once known as the twin pillars of Duel Academy. She is also my brother's good friend and is concerned about my brother's disappearance as well."

Judai suddenly realized, "I see. So you want to take me to see him and tell him about what happened last night?"

"Correct."

"Okay, then I'll go with you."

Judai readily agreed.

......

Three figures appeared on the shore of Duel Academy Island.

"I see, the Dark Games... There's really no better explanation for Fubuki's disappearance than this, but the legend of the Dark Games is actually true."

The speaker was a tall man wearing an Obelisk blue men's school uniform and with a thick head of dark blue hair.

This person was none other than Marufuji Ryo, also known as Caesar.

This sigh came after Judai explained what happened last night and Asuka confirmed it.

"Unfortunately, there are no more clues."

This is also what Judai and Asuka regret.

Caesar calmly shook his head and said, "It's alright. Knowing my friend as I do, he will be safe and sound. He will return to us one day."

Asuka: "I hope so..."

"I'm more interested in you now than in this matter, Judai Yuki."

As he spoke, Caesar turned to look at Jaden beside him.

Seeing his fighting spirit in his eyes, Jaden couldn't help but smile. "Heh~, I'm also quite interested in you, Duel Academy's No. 1."

The two exchanged a smile, looking like they were about to start a card game at the slightest disagreement.

After realizing what the two were planning, Asuka looked helpless. "Boys really are..."

That's just how card players are; they can't wait to make a move when they encounter someone who's interested.

"Fight me, Caesar!"

"Alright, bring it on, Judai Yuki."

"Exactly what I want!"

So the two went back to their dorms to get their duel disks and came here to duel.

......

As evening fell, Judai and Marufuji stood facing each other, while Asuka watched from the sidelines.

The two quickly set up their duel disks.

"Duel!!" ×2

[Yujo Judai: LP4000]