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

Jaden nodded and replied, "Yes, I visited Domino City during summer vacation and met Mr. Sugoroku as soon as I arrived."

"So that's it. This pretty young lady, you're Judai's girlfriend, right?" Soroku suddenly noticed that the two were holding hands and smiled knowingly.

"Grandpa Sugoroku, hello! My name is Tenjouin Asuka. As you guessed, we've been dating for a while now."

Jaden smiled and said, "Yes, she's also a student at Duel Academy."

"Youth is wonderful...!" Soroku stared at Asuka with the same expression he would give a granddaughter-in-law.

The old man quickly opened the shop door and waved to the two of them, "Come in, come in. Tell me anything you want to see or anything you need."

Seeing how enthusiastic the other party was, the two of them didn't stand on ceremony and followed him inside.

As Jaden walked inside, he asked curiously, "Mr. Sugoroku, is Mr. Yugi still not here?"

"It's a pity that he's still not here. He's never home for months at a time. Just like when I was young, I loved adventure. He often took Xingzi on adventure trips everywhere."

Muto Sugoroku stroked his beard, shook his head, and chuckled.

This wasn't Jaden's first time visiting Kameji Game House, and he was quite familiar with the items on display.

But for Asuka, everything here was new and exciting.

Asuka looked down at the cabinet full of cards and clicked her tongue in admiration.

"Wow, this place has so many different kinds of cards, and many of them are rare and valuable!"

Chaos Emperor Dragon, Hades Dragon, Sky Knight, Revolver Dragon, and more...

Some of these cards have been banned, and some are outdated, but they are all undoubtedly rare cards, and the earliest versions at that. They are precious collectibles with a price but no market value, and their commemorative significance outweighs their practical value. Of course, there are also some new cards that have not yet been released.

It can be said that although this card shop is small, it has the most complete collection of rare cards in the world, making the trip worthwhile.

"Speaking of which, not long ago a young man in a silver suit with silver hair came into the store and bought a set of [Phantom Heroes] cards. He's a [Hero] deck user, just like you, Jaden!"

Upon hearing Sugoroku's description, Judai and Asuka exchanged a glance and simultaneously thought of one person.

“Ed Phoenix!?”

"Yes, yes, that seems to be the name."

Judai stroked his chin and muttered, "Looks like he's gotten even stronger..."

Afterwards, Asuka didn't find any cards she liked, so Jaden simply went to play somewhere else with her.

Muto Sugoroku volunteered to take the two of them on a tour of the city.

Under his guidance, the two visited some of the city's more famous places.

For example, the city square where the legendary Duel City began, the bridge where Yugi and Malik battled Osiris the Sky Dragon, and so on...

These places may not seem particularly special, but they are all associated with legends of battles fought in games, which makes them quite unique.

They didn't linger in these places for long and continued walking towards the city center.

However, as they were traveling through the city, something bad suddenly happened: Judai and Asuka discovered that Mutou Sugoroku was missing.

"Where is Grandpa Shuangliu?"

"I don't know, I can't find them anywhere after turning the corner!"

The two turned around and found that they could not see the old man following them. They waited for a while but he did not come up. They went back the way they came but he was nowhere to be seen. They immediately became nervous.

Jaden didn't sense any trace of dark power around him; it was as if it had vanished into thin air.

"There's something here, the Tenth Generation!"

The observant Asuka picked up a note from the ground.

The sign read: 'Judai Yujo, if you want to save that old man, bring your girlfriend to the top floor of the tallest building. Don't try anything funny, or else...'

Although they hadn't finished speaking, both of them already understood what the next words meant, and the word 'tear up the ticket' popped into their minds.

"Mr. Sugoroku has been kidnapped, and I'm the target?"

"Who on earth would do something so outrageous?"

"You'll know when you go!"

The tenth generation rose, preparing to go there to keep the appointment.

Just then, the surroundings suddenly went dark.

The two looked up and found that the sky had become covered with dark clouds.

"How can the weather change so suddenly?"

Hearing Asuka's words, Judai shook his head. "No, it's not a weather problem. Someone has set up a barrier to surround us."

He looked at the four enormous illusory emperors standing at the four corners of the city, and his expression became solemn.

"At this time?"

"Yes, I'm afraid someone is plotting against us. All the answers lie in building number three."

"let's go!"

"Ok!"

So the two changed their route and headed to the agreed-upon location.

......

Not long after, Jaden and Asuka took the elevator to the top of the Central Building.

The two looked around and saw the glass skylight in the middle.

"Could this be...!?"

Jaden nodded and guessed, "This is probably the place where, in legend, Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba once fought side by side."

Chapter 158 Teaming up with Asuka again for a duel

The two did not linger in this place for long before a sudden change occurred!

Two tall figures emerged from the opposite side at some point. One of them was a muscular man in his early twenties, wearing a knitted hat and sporting a small mustache.

He crossed his arms and arrogantly said to Judai and Asuka, "My name is Hyomaru, and his name is Raimaru."

The man named Lei Wan, standing to the side, had blue-purple hair and was carrying an unconscious old man on his shoulder.

And that was none other than the hostage of a thousand years—Sōroku Mutō!

"Mr. Sugoroku!"

"Grandpa Shuangliu!"

Raimaru's gloomy face was filled with mockery: "You must be Judai Yuki and Asuka Tenjouin. If you want us to let this old man go, then have a duel with us. If you lose, you'll obediently submit to the Society of Light!"

"The Society of Light!? You're also under Saiou's command?"

Raimaru nodded in agreement, "Well, that's about right."

However, neither side knew that the "Zhai Wang" mentioned by the other party was actually not the same person.

"A two-person duel, that's quite a clever plan..." Jaden's eyes narrowed slightly, then he turned to Asuka: "Is everything alright, Asuka?"

The latter nodded: "I'm fine."

Jaden then looked back at the other side and said, "We accept your request. We are ready anytime."

After seeing that they had agreed, Raimaru put Muto Sugoroku on the ground and then walked up to the glass skylight with Hyomaru.

"Pick up these two duel disks and duel us!"

After exchanging a glance, Jaden and Asuka walked up to the skylight together and picked up the Duel Disk that was placed there.

After the two put on their Duel Disks, Jaden shouted at them, "Bring it on!"

"Then get on it!"

All four simultaneously activated their duel disks.

"Duel!!" ×4

[Yujo Judai: LP400乇0]

Asuka Tenjouin: LP4000

【冰丸：LP4000】

【Raimaru: LP4000】

"Life points are separated...?!" Jaden clicked his tongue inwardly.

The man wearing the knitted hat quickly pulled out a card.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Ice Ball Hand Cards: 5 → 6]

After scanning his hand, Hyomaru sneered, "Hmph, I'll activate the Continuous Spell [Front Attack] (Anime Card) from my hand!"

[Ice Ball Hand Cards: 6 → 5]

"Based on the effect of this card, the opponent can only attack the player they are facing. However, for us who have activated this card, if the opponent does not have any monsters, we can directly attack the teammate next to them."

Asuka's expression changed upon hearing this. "It's a card specifically for team duels!? They really came prepared..."

At this moment, Jaden is facing Hyomaru, while Asuka is facing Raimaru.

"Go!" Bingwan drew another card from his hand and revealed it: "I summon [Ice Knight] in attack position!"

hum!

A flash of golden light appeared on the field, and a humanoid warrior made entirely of azure blue ice, wielding a double-headed spear, was projected.

Ice Knight: Attack Power 1300

[Ice Ball Hand Cards: 5 → 4]

"The effect of this card is that your ATK increases by 400 for each Aqua monster you control."

[Ice Knight: Attack Power 1300 → 1700]

"Alright, my turn is over."

With Hyomaru's declaration ending his turn, the control shifted to Judai.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Yuki Jaden's hand cards: 5 → 6]

After drawing a card, Jaden first puts a card from his hand onto the Duel Disk: "I summon [Neo-Spacian Dark Panther] in Defense Position."

hum!

After a flash of light effects, a black panther wearing a cape appeared beside him.

[New Space Ranger - Dark Panther: Defense 500]

"Then, I activate the Dark Panther's special effect!"

Once per turn, you can target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. Until the End Phase, this card gains the same name and effect as that monster.

"My choice is definitely the [Ice Knight]!"

The next second, the Dark Panther mysteriously melted into a puddle of black mud, and then quickly transformed into the appearance of the Ice Knight.

"what are you up to?"

Jaden did not answer Hyomaru's question directly. Instead, he pointed to the mimicked Ice Knight beside him and said, "The effect of [Ice Knight] is to activate once per turn during your Main Phase. During this turn, you can have one additional summoning opportunity in addition to a Normal Summon."

"Of course, this effect can only summon WATER monsters. After activation, you cannot summon or Special Summon any other WATER monsters until the end of the turn."

"Are you suggesting using my monster to summon a second one?!"

"That's right..."

As Judai spoke, he threw out another card from his hand.

"I will now summon [New Spaceman - Water Wave Dolphin] in Defense mode."

Another light effect flashed, and Dolphin Bro appeared.

【New Space Warrior - Water Dolphin: Defense 800】