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

After seeing off graduates including Ryo Marufuji, Jaden's first year at Duel Academy ended not long afterward.

Then summer vacation came, and the students went home to their own families. Since her parents were rarely home, Judai went home for a short while and then went on a trip by herself.

......

Outside the Kame-ki Game House in Domino City.

"Oh, so this is Yugi Muto's house?"

Jaden stood outside the door with great interest. As soon as he arrived in Domino City for tourism, his first stop was Yugi's house.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, it suddenly opened.

"Game, are you back?"

A short, white-haired old man wearing a headscarf embroidered with the character "双" (double) came out from inside.

He went outside and saw it was Judai, and paused for a moment, "Hmm~, I thought the game had returned, but it's not..."

The old man stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly deep in thought.

At this moment, Judai stepped forward and asked, "Um... I wanted to ask you something."

"Hmm?" The old man turned his head to look at him curiously.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Gamer's grandfather, Mr. Sugoroku?"

The old man smiled kindly and replied, "Oh, indeed I am Sugoroku."

"Um, isn't Mr. Gamer home...?"

Sugoroku Muto explained helplessly, "Yugi is on a trip right now, he's not home, and we don't know where he is..."

"Really? That's a shame."

"What do you need a game for, young man?"

"It's nothing much. I just came to Domino City for a trip after the academy's holiday, and I came here specifically to visit Mr. Game and thank him."

Upon hearing this, Sogoku asked curiously, "What is it that made you come all this way to thank me?"

Jaden explained with a grateful look, "Mr. Yugi gave me two cards before I was admitted to Duel Academy, which helped me a lot."

"A card? What kind of card?"

"These are them..."

As he spoke, Jaden pulled out two cards from his pocket and handed them over: [Mask Transformation] and [Winged Kuriboh].

Curry Curry!

The winged chestnut ball suddenly floated up and greeted Shuang Liu.

"Oh~, Winged Kuriboh...? It really is a card given away in the game." Sugoroku suddenly realized.

"Young man, what's your name?"

"My name is Judai Yuki, nice to meet you!"

While answering the question, Jaden noticed that the old man was staring at the mascot phantom floating on his shoulder, so he asked in surprise, "Mr. Sugoroku, can you see the spirits of Duel Monsters?"

"Yes, that's right!" Muto Sugoroku nodded, seemingly having figured something out. 'So that's it! He's the game... No wonder I felt like the game had returned just now...'

Thinking of this, he looked at Judai with the same expression he would give his grandson.

He shrugged and asked Jaden, "Although Yugi is rarely home, would you like to come into the store and take a look?"

Jaden readily agreed: "Of course, that's one of the purposes of my trip. I've long heard that this shop has a collection of cards that rivals the collections of Kaiba Corporation and International Illusion Company."

"Yes, after all, Yugi is a major shareholder of International Illusion Company. He often sends me cards to collect, and even many rare cards that are not available on the market are collected here."

So the old man led the tenth generation into the house.

......

"Jūdai-kun, wait for me here for a moment."

"Oh......"

Upon entering the store, Muto Sugoroku immediately walked away, leaving Judai alone in the card shop.

Looking at the dazzling array of rare cards in the display case, Jaden began his tour with great interest.

"There are so many rare cards on display, and they're all arranged very neatly. It's clear that Mr. Sugoroku is a card enthusiast."

Curry Curry!

The Winged Kuriboh beside it also agreed.

Just as Judai was about to continue reading, Grandpa Sogoku came out of the warehouse, carrying a box in his hands.

"Jūdai-kun, come here for a moment."

Judai: ?

Curious, he walked up to the counter. "What's wrong, Mr. Sugoroku?"

Sugoroku Muto placed the box on the counter and asked with a smile, "You're using the [Hero] deck, right?"

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

“Then these cards should be just right for you, look…” The old man then opened the box, revealing the cards stored inside.

Jaden stepped forward and peered inside, exclaiming in surprise, "It's [Phantom Hero]! Mr. Sugoroku actually has such a rare card?"

Shuanglu smiled smugly: "Hehe, the game just sent me this new set of cards for my collection not long ago, and now I'm planning to give them to you."

"Isn't this a bad idea? I have the money to buy it..." Judai said, embarrassed.

"I'm not short of money."

"Uh......"

Muto Sugoroku frowned and pretended to be angry, saying, "I only wanted to give it to you because I thought you were destined to receive it. If you don't accept it, are you disrespecting this old man?"

"Ah this..."

"Besides, I can have the game send me another copy later, so I won't miss this little card."

Since the other party has put it that way, it would be impolite for Judai not to accept it. "Well, alright, I'll accept it. Thank you, Mr. Sugoroku!"

"That's right."

After the tenth generation accepted the card, the old man once again showed that kind smile.

After chatting for a while longer, Jaden prepared to say goodbye and leave, planning to find a place to try out his new deck.

As soon as I stepped outside, I encountered a passerby. The man was wearing a blue jacket and had dyed blonde hair, looking like a hoodlum.

Seeing that Shuangliu had just come out, the man greeted him, "Good morning, master!"

"Oh, you've come at the right time, Jonouchi!"

That's right, the person passing by was none other than his friend from the game, Katsuya Jonouchi. Jaden had just been about to leave when he ran into this legendary figure.

Jonouchi patted his chest and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with? Just tell me!"

So Muto Sugoroku turned to the side and explained, "See the young man next to me? His name is Yuki Judai. He just finished building a new deck and is about to test it out. If you have time, could you lend him a hand?"

“No problem!” Jonouchi agreed without hesitation. “By the way, is your name Yuki Judai? No wonder you looked familiar.”

Judai raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Have we met before, Mr. Jonouchi?"

"Yes, after all, I was watching you ask for autographs from games when you were a kid."

"Is that so? Then please take care of me, Mr. Jonouchi!"

"Oh, you too!"

The two extended their right hands and shook hands.

Chapter 120 Hero VS Red-Eyes

In an empty open space not far from the Kame Game House, Jaden and Jonouchi were about to duel, each holding a duel disk.

Jaden spoke first: "I've long wanted to fight a legendary duelist like you, Mr. Jonouchi!"

"Hehe~, really? I'm also very interested in you..." After all, Jonouchi had heard about it from Yugi quite a few times, and Judai's potential and strength should be similar to Yugi's.

So even Jonouchi, who had been a professional duelist for many years, was unusually eager to challenge him.

“Then let’s begin, Mr. Jonouchi.”

"Oh, no problem!"

The two optimists soon got started.

"Duel!!" ×2

[Yujo Judai: LP4000]

【Katsuya Jonouchi: LP4000】

"You go first, Judai."

Jonouchi immediately conceded the first turn.

"Then I won't be polite." Jaden readily accepted and immediately drew a card from his deck.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 5 → 6]

Jaden glanced at his hand briefly, gathered his thoughts, and immediately drew a card and slammed it onto the Duel Disk: "I summon [Phantom Magician] in Defense Position."

Om-! !

A flash of white light appeared on the field, and a skeleton holding a magic wand and wearing a tattered dark red cloak was projected.

Phantom Magician: Defense 700

He then places another card in his hand in the back row, "covering a card, end the turn."

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 6 → 4]

The round of the tenth generation ended quite decisively.

"Alright, it's your turn. Go all out, Mr. Jonouchi!"

Jōnei wouldn't be polite to him either, and had no intention of going easy on him.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Jouchi Katsuya’s hand cards: 5→6]

Jonouchi glanced at his hand and grinned wildly. Then he threw out the card he had drawn that turn and shouted, "Here we go! I activate the Spell Card 'Red-Eyes Fusion' from my hand. Send monsters from my hand, field, or Deck to the Graveyard and Special Summon a monster that uses 'Red-Eyes' monsters as Fusion Material."

[Jouchi Katsuya’s hand cards: 6→5]

"He's going to unleash a powerful attack right from the start...?!" Jaden was shocked upon seeing this card.

At that moment, Jonouchi chuckled and placed two cards into the graveyard: "Hehe~, I'm fusing my deck's [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] and [Kya Fried, the Divine Phoenix Sword Saint]!"

"Fusion Summon! Appear, [Red-Eyes Blackblade Dragon]!"

As soon as he finished speaking, blazing flames erupted from beneath his feet, then transformed into the shape of a dragon and quickly solidified into a jet-black dragon. This dragon was equipped with a full suit of black armor, and sharp blades were attached to its two claws.

Red-Eyes Blackblade Dragon: Attack Power 2800

Phew! Thank goodness it wasn't that man who came out...

Judai breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Jonouchi didn't have Red Daddy on his side, otherwise he probably would have been defeated instantly.

'However, the Divine Phoenix Sword Saint... this monster is quite powerful. It seems this duel won't be so easy to finish.'

Jonouchi then continued, "The name of a monster summoned by the effect of [Red-Eyes Fusion] is treated as [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], but during the turn this card is activated, you cannot Normal or Special Summon monsters except through this card's effect, therefore..."

As he spoke, he swung his hand to issue the command.

"Battle has begun! [Red-Eyes Blackblade Dragon]'s attack, Black Flame Bullet!"

The Blackblade Dragon opened its sharp maw, and a dark red flame condensed inside.

Jonouchi clenched his fist and shouted, "At this moment, the special ability of [Red-Eyes Black Blade Dragon] is activated!"

"When a Red-Eyes monster attacks, equip it with a Warrior-Type monster from your Graveyard as an Equip Card, and it gains 200 ATK."

The Divine Phoenix Sword Saint, who had just been placed in the graveyard, was immediately positioned in his back row.