"Kira… I'll never get used to him, no matter how long it's been," muttered Mokuba as he watched Kira's first duel on the monitor.
Even as a member of the opposing team, he suddenly felt a bit sorry for the other side. In just a few turns, that poor guy endured both deck and hand destruction, and then got hit with an infinite slap loop.
But it looked like the guy ended up falling victim to his own Seal of Orichalcos in the end.
When the LP hit zero, the Seal of Orichalcos spun tightly, its green light converging on Yemo.
Yemo's eyes went blank. He staggered back two steps, about to collapse, but before he could hit the ground, Kira stepped forward and caught him.
Yemo was stunned.
He looked up in surprise at Kira, not expecting the person who had ruthlessly demolished him to step forward and support him after the duel.
What did it mean? Was it comfort?
But in a duel for life, victory meant survival and defeat meant death. What was the value of the victor's pity?
Within a second, he realized he was overthinking it.
Kira, after catching him, immediately yanked the duel disk and deck from Yemo's hand, and then let go.
Without support, Yemo collapsed to the ground like a used rag.
Yemo: "You @%#%&!"
Not only did this jerk rub salt in his wounds, he even took his cards!
He had a thousand things he wanted to curse about, even wanted to lunge at Kira for a brawl, but there was no chance.
The seal's power converged, forcibly pulling his soul from his body, rising upward along the green light, watching helplessly as his body slumped to the ground, and Kira walked away with his cards.
His soul vanished into the vortex of the seal. In his last moment of consciousness, he felt a heavy blow to his chest, as if he were about to cough up blood…
"Tsk, New Doma's members are disappointing. Can't they at least drop some rare cards?"
Kira flipped through the confiscated deck while walking, shaking his head.
"This one might be useful… Actually, maybe not. Might as well sell it."
Mokuba, watching at the monitor, was speechless.
He suddenly thought it might actually be lucky for Yemo to have passed out so quickly. If he'd seen Kira picking through his deck and dismissing it, he might have revived out of sheer rage.
He'd known Kira's duels were the most interesting—good thing he didn't switch the feed.
Mokuba, satisfied, switched the monitor to search for his brother, Seto Kaiba.
Now, Kira's Puzzle Card count was up to 2/6. He wondered if his brother had gotten his first card yet.
Kira was starting to realize this tournament wouldn't be so simple.
He'd originally thought the real challenge would be after qualifying. Kaiba Seto was undoubtedly the biggest threat, but Kira had never been fixated on winning the championship.
To him, dueling Kaiba was just another step in his personal challenge—he'd overcome every trial so far, with no major setbacks.
A duel with Kaiba might bring a breakthrough.
But now, it looked like there were other issues to deal with before the finals.
His acquisition of the "Sealing Device" had clearly drawn New Doma's attention. Their members had infiltrated this Duelist Kingdom tournament; what had happened just now was only the beginning.
That Yemo was clearly just a scout. There were surely others watching, analyzing Kira's tactics, and planning their next assault.
Of course, this wasn't too concerning for Kira. He never used the same deck or strategy twice—if they tried to study him, he'd simply change decks for the next duel.
But the real issue was being marked as a target.
It was clear that the enemy would keep attacking throughout the tournament, trying every trick and dirty tactic. Sitting back and waiting to counter was not wise.
He needed to take the initiative.
Kira walked out of the alley, black mist dissipating behind him. He smiled, lips curling upward.
Hunting time had begun.
…
"Yemo has failed."
In a shadowy room, green light flickered like ghostly flames, as the hooded leader spoke quietly.
His gaze swept over the four remaining people in the room.
"Anyone have something to say?"
No one spoke.
They'd all observed the duel through the power of Orichalcos. After watching, the room had fallen into an awkward silence.
What was there to say?
The Dark Scorpion Bandit deck was known to them—a commoner's deck available in any store.
Unlike in the anime, where these small fry sometimes had moments of brilliance, in reality, they'd been benched ever since their first appearance, never to return.
Even Chazz, who later appreciated the value of small fry, didn't seem to care for them.
And yet, using such a deck, Kira crushed Yemo with deck destruction, then finished him with an infinite loop.
Infinite loops were rare in this world, but not unheard of. In the original Duelist Kingdom, Yugi used an infinite loop to defeat the Egyptian God, "Slifer the Sky Dragon."
Though the rules were different back then, that legendary duel was still talked about today.
Every infinite loop ever recorded in an official tournament was the result of a duelist wracking their brains and pulling off a desperate comeback—legendary moments in dueling history.
But when Kira did it, it looked as easy as a basic attack.
It felt effortless as if he hadn't even tried.
"So, is there anyone else who wants to try next?"
The leader looked around.
No one spoke.
PS: Bonus Chapter at 300 PS