# Chapter 406-410 - Is this the world of duelists? Alright! (Yu Gi Oh!)

## Chapter 406: Day One Ends

Hayato, returning to the Kaiba Dome match venue from Kaiba Land, arrived just in time to see Valon's Phoenix Swordsman - Gearfried perform a direct attack on Mai Valentine.

After the duel ended, Valon seemed to say something to Mai Valentine, but because the microphone on the duel field automatically shut off after the duel, Hayato only saw a hint of hesitation appear on Mai Valentine's face before she resolutely refused.

"It was Valon against Mai Valentine, huh? Should I call it fate or coincidence?" Hayato somewhat guessed what Valon had said that wasn't broadcast; it was likely nothing more than telling her she could gain power by joining Doma.

"But, he's actually using a FIRE Attribute Warrior-Type Gemini Monster theme. In some ways, it really suits him."

Mokuba said, sounding a little confused, "Hayato, do you know that person?"

Hayato shook his head.

"You can't really say I know him; I've only met him a few times."

The two returned to their seats. Soon after, Mai Valentine, who had been eliminated due to her defeat, also returned to the audience seats, looking somewhat dejected.

In this situation, if Joey Wheeler were replaced by any other male, they would likely offer Mai Valentine warm words of comfort, telling her not to be sad about her defeat in the previous duel. However, Mai Valentine happened to fancy Joey Wheeler.

When this simpleton saw Mai Valentine approach, he actually started praising how strong and cool Valon's Gemini Monster was, especially Phoenix Swordsman - Gearfried. He had never imagined that Gearfried could have such a form, with blazing fire, a greatsword, and a greatshield; it perfectly matched his aesthetics.

Hayato could see that Joey Wheeler actually had good intentions, and was somewhat seemingly foolish but actually wise. He knew Mai Valentine was a proud person, and comforting her in the usual way would only sting her pride, so he thought of saying that it wasn't that Mai Valentine wasn't good enough, but that Valon was too powerful, trying to comfort Mai Valentine indirectly.

However, having the idea is one thing; being able to achieve that effect with words is another.

The result of Joey Wheeler incessantly praising how cool and powerful Valon's monster was, was Mai Valentine giving him a "Two-Finger Pinch" — grabbing the soft flesh around his waist and pinching, then performing a Crocodile "Death Roll" rotation of 180°. It hurt the thick-skinned Joey Wheeler so much that he sucked in a cold breath, hunched his waist, and shut his mouth.

But at the same time, some of Joey Wheeler's idea was realized. Mai Valentine successfully emerged from the shadow of her duel defeat. Not only was she no longer dejected, but she also successfully found an outlet for her temper, returning to her previous proud self.

Her expression had returned to normal, but whether Mai Valentine's inner thoughts had changed was something no one could know.

Among their group, the ones whose duels were scheduled for today were Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine. After both of their duels had ended, next up tomorrow were Hayato and Yugi.

However, the end of Mai Valentine and Joey Wheeler's duels didn't mean there were no more duels on the field. One must know that the ticket price for the seats at the Kaiba Dome, where the KC Cup was being held, was not low at all. Although Hayato and the others were guests of the rich guy Kaiba, they couldn't just waste the seat money.

Because the Duelists who could enter the official match had gone through layers of screening, the Audition had already filtered out most of the ordinary duelists who were making up the numbers. The remaining duelists were not weaklings, and their clashes were truly intense battles, showcasing many high-quality duels.

Among them, Hayato also saw the duels of Rafael and Amelda. Just as Valon used a Gemini Monster Deck and Amelda used a Meklord Deck, the Deck Rafael used was not the Guardian Deck Hayato remembered, but a Fairy Type Deck.

Although Hayato wanted to see what kind of wonderful plays Rafael could perform with this Fairy Type Deck, unfortunately, his opponent's strength was not enough. He was defeated and eliminated by Rafael in just three turns.

Meanwhile, Yugi noticed that among the matches held today, there were several young kids, who looked to be less than ten years old, with the oldest one appearing to be only eleven or twelve.

"I didn't expect kids these days to be so amazing! They actually have the ability to participate in the official match of the KC Cup, and they even won," Joey Wheeler said, quite surprised. His gaze fell upon the black-haired boy on the field who had just defeated his opponent and was proudly accepting the audience's cheers. "But that guy looks really familiar."

Tristan subconsciously cracked his knuckles, making a "crack-crack" sound. "Yeah, and I don't know why, but seeing that guy makes me feel like punching someone."

The KC Cup was held in America, and English was the most common language. Although the big screen at the KC Cup displayed the black-haired boy's English name, unfortunately, academic underachievers like Tristan and Joey Wheeler had no idea who he was, only feeling like they had seen him somewhere before.

Yugi and Hayato exchanged glances and smiled helplessly, clearly seeing that Joey Wheeler and Tristan didn't recognize the English name. And Téa directly remarked, "And here you are, Joey Wheeler, still holding the Duel Disk that guy's older brother lost in a duel."

Saying that, Téa pointed to the victor's name displayed on the big screen. "That kid's name is Chazz Princeton."

"Manjoume Jun?!"

Joey Wheeler looked surprised. "Who's that?"

"Idiot, that's Manjoume Shouji's younger brother!"

Tristan slapped Joey Wheeler's back, clearly having been reminded by Téa where he had seen Manjoume Jun before.

"Before Duel City started, didn't Hayato win your Duel Disk from Manjoume Shouji?"

"Oh, I remember now." Joey Wheeler thumped his hand, but was still a little confused. "Manjoume Shouji's younger brother can actually advance into the Top 64 of the KC Cup? His older brother wasn't that strong."

Hayato sat beside them and smiled without speaking. In fact, Chazz Princeton's participation was something he had facilitated.

Because of a phone call from Kaiba that day, he learned that both Manjome and Jaden Yuki wanted to participate in the KC Cup. Since neither of their families were ordinary, they both came to America to participate, accompanied by their parents.

Jaden Yuki seemed quite compatible with Elemental HERO Cards. Although his Deck was full of Commoners, he could always conveniently draw their Support Cards, such as Elemental HERO Avian and Bubble Blaster, and Elemental HERO Sparkman and Spark Blaster. During the Audition, he steadily rose to 30th place.

Manjome's luck was relatively worse. Although he wasn't weak, he always encountered some tricky opponents. He ran into Samejima and Marik, these two Stall Duelists, no less than three times, struggling through endless torment and getting stuck at 64th place to enter the official match.

It's worth mentioning that Manjome's last duel in the Audition was his third duel against Marik. Although Manjome had the Panda Dragon, Light and Darkness Dragon, which could negate any effect, Marik, being Marik, just played Five Set Backrow. After the Panda Dragon negated the activation of one of them, he immediately chained a Divine Wrath, disgustingly dragging the duel for nearly thirty turns.

In the end, the satisfied Marik chose to forfeit, keeping his 65th place ranking, allowing Manjome to advance. However, according to Marik, although he was the victor, that kid Chazz Princeton's expression at the time was awful, both annoyed and frustrated.

Thinking about it, it made sense. No matter how he tried to make his plays, it would be interrupted by the opponent. No matter how he attacked, he couldn't touch the opponent at all. After finally summoning a second powerful monster, the opponent gave him a nasty surprise in the form of a monster tied down by Torture Wheel, and in the end, the opponent even voluntarily surrendered, so he couldn't even get revenge.

That feeling was really... Suddenly, Hayato remembered that he seemed to be the only one who gave others this feeling, and he himself had never encountered this situation. Then it's fine.

Besides Jaden Yuki and Manjome, Hayato also saw Amon Garlem, whom he had encountered during the Audition earlier. His Cloudian, which cannot be destroyed by battle, was quite tricky even for professional duelists. After a bitter battle, he was reluctantly defeated, becoming another duelist defeated by a kid.

Honestly, many of them came for the champion's prize money and glory, but in reality, most people also knew it wasn't their turn to win. It was enough to gain fame and receive investment in the official match. Even if they were defeated in the first round, it didn't matter, as long as they could show their strength.

But the problem was, no matter how powerful the strength shown was, when your opponent is a kid who isn't even an adult, the more serious you are, the more embarrassing it is, let alone losing.

Although the KC Cup, being a tournament Kaiba planned to use to promote Duel Monsters, didn't have a "registration fee" for participants, so there was no concept of profit or loss regardless of winning or losing, the duelists who lost to kids like Jaden Yuki, Manjome, and Amon could only be said to have lost badly.

They did gain fame, but it was the fame of a "professional duelist who can't even beat a kid." In this way, let alone attracting new investors, it was questionable whether they could keep their current investors.

Meanwhile, someone's mood was quite good.

Manjoume Shouji, sitting in front of the television, watched Chazz Princeton, who had just defeated a professional duelist on television. The gloom from his whole family going to America and leaving only him behind was swept away. He quite proudly bragged and showed off excessively in the chat room on the network.

Maybe some girls would be interested in this, he thought.

Obviously, this guy's goal was not simple at all, but on the network, who knows who's really on the other side?

# Chapter 407: Alright, This Time Our Opponent is Playing Electronic Flow

The first day of the KC Cup passed just like that. According to Mokuba, Kaiba made the television broadcast of the KC Cup free on the first day; any television station, media outlet, or video platform could broadcast it if they wished.

However, starting from the second day, Kaiba would begin charging, and it was a rather unreasonable price gouge, with the broadcast fee determined by the previous day's viewership ratings.

The result was a huge sum of money sold to the boss, but Hayato estimated that the television stations that paid wouldn't lose money. After all, these capitalists were very shrewd, and the money lost would quickly be earned back through the broadcast.

Mokuba, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. After all, as a participant in the KC Cup himself this time, he had dumped everything onto Kaiba, even though he had already been eliminated. He thought that he should let Kaiba know just how many things needed to be handled when organizing an event.

It was unclear if it was because there were too many things to handle or for some other reason, but when Hayato saw Kaiba early in the morning, his face didn't look very good. It was the same even after receiving the broadcast fees, making one wonder if he was experiencing early menopause.

Standing on the stage and looking around, Kaiba, who also had a duel today and needed to protect his voice, uncharacteristically chose not to show off in a helicopter but instead stood "down-to-earth" on the duel platform in the center of the Kaiba Dome.

Noticing the subtle gaze cast from Hayato's direction, Kaiba snorted coldly and announced, "Today is the second day of the KC Cup official match. In yesterday's sixteen matches, thirty-two duelists have completed their debut on this stage."

"Then today, the remaining thirty-two duelists will continue to complete their respective duels, including myself, Seto Kaiba, and the renowned duelist Yugi Mutou, as well as," Kaiba glared at Hayato, a cold smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, "certain duelists who are 'not well-known' but possess considerable strength."

"So, let them now offer a spectacular Duel Monsters performance. Today's victors will join yesterday's Top 32 to engage in an ultimate battle royal tomorrow."

"Look forward to it!"

After saying this, Kaiba's gaze remained fixed on Hayato, giving Hayato a sudden bad feeling.

However, Hayato didn't pay too much attention.

Although Kaiba also had a duel today, he wasn't in the same group as Hayato. Even if he wanted to pull something, he would have to wait until the Top 4 semifinals, not now.

But Hayato clearly underestimated Kaiba's vengeful mindset and the annoyance in Kaiba's heart.

Yesterday, Kaiba sent Iso to apprehend the hacker who had audaciously invaded KaibaCorp. As a result, an accident occurred halfway, and Iso and the security personnel in the same vehicle were sent directly to the hospital as a group. Although they had recovered, Kaiba sternly demanded that they continue recuperating in the hospital, "to avoid damaging KaibaCorp's reputation by dragging their bodies around."

It was also because of this that Kaiba took over the task that originally belonged to Iso, becoming the host for the opening. Of course, there were still referees during the duel process, so Kaiba didn't need to be responsible for that.

What truly made Kaiba annoyed was the person he encountered after arriving at the scene of Iso's accident yesterday. Suspecting that the man held the truth behind Iso's accident, Kaiba engaged in an intense duel with the man who called himself "Rafael".

He had thought it would be easy to deal with such a rat hiding his identity with an obvious pseudonym, but Kaiba discovered during the duel that the man named Rafael possessed extremely strong dueling strength. Not only could he block Kaiba's surging offensive, but he could also repeatedly make brilliant and powerful counterattacks.

On the surface, such an opponent should satisfy Kaiba's dueling addiction?

Not at all. Because Kaiba discovered that the man named Rafael repeatedly held back during the duel. He could have turned the duel situation around and achieved victory, but time and again, he chose not to attack because he wanted to keep his monsters on the field from being destroyed.

How could someone give up an easily obtainable victory just because they didn't want their monsters to be sent to the Graveyard? Having dueled with Hayato many times, Kaiba's mindset had accepted that "sacrificing old friends for victory" was a perfectly normal thing, so he was exceptionally annoyed by Rafael's actions, believing that he was looking down on him.

Annoyed as he was, what made Kaiba annoyed was that even while repeatedly holding back, the man named Rafael could still block the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's offensive time and again and even achieve a turnaround victory, even when Kaiba successively brought out Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, and that hidden card in their duel.

In the end, it seemed Rafael had achieved his goal of stalling for time and testing his abilities, directly choosing to stop the duel and leave. He even left behind a "magic circle" that trapped Kaiba, who was extremely annoyed by such superstitious things compared to his belief in science. It only dissipated after a long time, with the arrival of the ambulance.

After returning to KaibaCorp, Kaiba launched an investigation into the man who called himself "Rafael". Using the data comparison and analysis collected within Kaiba's specially made Duel Disk, Kaiba discovered that the man named "Rafael" was very likely a legendary figure known as "the Guardians" within the American Duel Monsters professional duelist circle.

The reason he was called a legend was that "the Guardians" never showed up in public occasions and didn't participate in any matches. However, many people in the American duelist circle had dueled him and suffered defeat, and no one had ever defeated him, earning "the Guardians" the title of "Uncrowned King".

To gain recognition from American duelists, even becoming the US Champion like the former "Thief" Keith or the current Rebecca was useless. Only by defeating "the Guardians" could one truly be considered the strongest in America.

When KaibaCorp was hosting the KC Cup, considering the rumors of "the Guardians", they naturally extended an invitation to him. However, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, with no reply whatsoever. Kaiba never expected to meet this "Guardian" under such circumstances, and furthermore, he had entered the KC Cup using the name "Rafael".

Despite being invited before and not coming, he participated while concealing his name. Kaiba determined that there must be some secret hidden behind him, so he conveniently found the participant list from when Rafael registered.

With a look and a check, Kaiba was amused.

A single registration form could register six duelists. On the registration form where Rafael was listed, the names of five people could not be found in the data reports obtained from KaibaCorp. These were "Rafael", "Valon", "Amelda", "Zigfried von Schroeder", and the pseudonym "Dan Kuroto" used by Hayato.

Except for the name "Samejima Iemitsu", who had a confirmed entry record and whom Kaiba had heard of, the other five people were most likely using pseudonyms. Kaiba was truly amused.

Alright, besides "Dan Kuroto", all the other four people would be placed under key surveillance.

After issuing such a command to the security department, who were furious about the boss being attacked, Kaiba also "conveniently" made "casual" adjustments to the duel schedule for the second day of the KC Cup.

The duels of "Rafael", "Valon", and "Amelda" had already taken place yesterday. It was impossible for Kaiba to arrange an extra match for them today. However, "Zigfried von Schroeder"'s duel had not yet occurred, and he just so happened to be in the same group as Yugi Mutou. So, Kaiba planned to have Yugi Mutou probe that guy for him.

This way, only "Samejima Iemitsu" and "Dan Kuroto" were left on the list. And look how coincidental, the two of them were also in the same group. And so—

"Yesterday's opening duel was Joey Wheeler, and today it's me? I don't believe Kaiba didn't pull some strings," Hayato muttered to himself as he walked out of the player preparation room and ascended the duel platform.

Although Yugi and the others knew his identity, Hayato was actually still using the ability of the Millennium Rod. This meant that only Mokuba, Joey Wheeler, and others who were whitelisted by Hayato could recognize him. Other audience members, no matter how they looked, would not associate "Dan Kuroto" with Hayato.

Therefore, Hayato naturally chose to continue embodying his "Game Administrator" persona.

Samejima's movements were a bit slower. He only walked up the steps from the opposite side after Hayato had ascended the stage, holding the deck that the referee had finished shuffling. His expression was slightly hesitant as he looked at Hayato.

"My name is Dan Kuroto. Unfortunately, your KC Cup journey will end at my hands." Hayato placed his deck into the slot of his Duel Disk. As the Duel Disk began to transform and deploy with a 'clack-clack' sound, a healthy smile appeared on Hayato's face. "So, enjoy this game I'm providing."

Hearing "Dan Kuroto"'s words, Samejima merely smiled. "I'm sorry, but although the philosophy of 'Electronic Flow' is to respect your opponent, I don't want to leave the KC Cup just yet."

He activated his Duel Disk by placing his deck into it. "My name is Samejima Iemitsu, Electronic Flow Menkyo Kaiden, and the current master."

"I heard before that you also use an Electronic Flow Deck. Although I don't know the origin of your Cyber Dragon, I believe that a Duel of Hearts will provide the answer. Therefore, I will use my full power in this duel."

"Please indulge me!"

The smile on Hayato's face became even brighter. "Electronic Flow versus Electronic Flow, huh? Then, as you wish. The theme of this game will be decided as Ultimate Electronic Flow."

"Then..."

"Duel!" x2

[Dan Kuroto: 4000LP]

[Samejima: 4000LP]

"I'll take the first turn, drawing cards!" Samejima seized the first turn and drew a card from his deck.

After looking at his hand, Samejima declared, "I activate Spell Card, Time Capsule! I banish one card from my deck, and add it to my hand during my second Standby Phase after activation."

"Then, I activate Spell Card Graceful Charity! I draw three cards from my deck, then select two cards from my hand to discard."

After playing two cards from his hand in succession, Samejima didn't disappoint Hayato and performed the operation he expected: "I summon one monster in Set Defense Position! I set all four cards in my hand! End Turn."

The esteemed Electronic Flow seizing the first turn for a T-Set (strategy), that's just like you, Samejima!

*Author's Note: I still can't believe the Infinite Pool ended. I only farmed fifty pools this year before it was gone.*

(End of this chapter)

# Chapter 407: Alright, This Time Our Opponent is Playing Electronic Flow

However, starting from the second day, Kaiba would begin charging, and it was a rather unreasonable price gouge, with the broadcast fee determined by the previous day's viewership ratings.

"So, let them now offer a spectacular Duel Monsters performance. Today's victors will join yesterday's Top 32 to engage in an ultimate battle royal tomorrow."

"Look forward to it!"

After saying this, Kaiba's gaze remained fixed on Hayato, giving Hayato a sudden bad feeling.

However, Hayato didn't pay too much attention.

Although Kaiba also had a duel today, he wasn't in the same group as Hayato. Even if he wanted to pull something, he would have to wait until the Top 4 semifinals, not now.

But Hayato clearly underestimated Kaiba's vengeful mindset and the annoyance in Kaiba's heart.

On the surface, such an opponent should satisfy Kaiba's dueling addiction?

With a look and a check, Kaiba was amused.

Except for the name "Samejima Iemitsu", who had a confirmed entry record and whom Kaiba had heard of, the other five people were most likely using pseudonyms. Kaiba was truly amused.

Alright, besides "Dan Kuroto", all the other four people would be placed under key surveillance.

This way, only "Samejima Iemitsu" and "Dan Kuroto" were left on the list. And look how coincidental, the two of them were also in the same group. And so—

Therefore, Hayato naturally chose to continue embodying his "Game Administrator" persona.

Hearing "Dan Kuroto"'s words, Samejima merely smiled. "I'm sorry, but although the philosophy of 'Electronic Flow' is to respect your opponent, I don't want to leave the KC Cup just yet."

He activated his Duel Disk by placing his deck into it. "My name is Samejima Iemitsu, Electronic Flow Menkyo Kaiden, and the current master."

"Please indulge me!"

The smile on Hayato's face became even brighter. "Electronic Flow versus Electronic Flow, huh? Then, as you wish. The theme of this game will be decided as Ultimate Electronic Flow."

"Then..."

"Duel!" x2

[Dan Kuroto: 4000LP]

[Samejima: 4000LP]

"I'll take the first turn, drawing cards!" Samejima seized the first turn and drew a card from his deck.

After looking at his hand, Samejima declared, "I activate Spell Card, Time Capsule! I banish one card from my deck, and add it to my hand during my second Standby Phase after activation."

"Then, I activate Spell Card Graceful Charity! I draw three cards from my deck, then select two cards from my hand to discard."

The esteemed Electronic Flow seizing the first turn for a T-Set (strategy), that's just like you, Samejima!

*Author's Note: I still can't believe the Infinite Pool ended. I only farmed fifty pools this year before it was gone.*

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 408: Electronic Flow? And Electronic Flow?

[Samejima: 4000 LP, Hand 0]

[Face-down Defense Position Monster]

[Time Capsule] [Set Card] X4

Complaints aside, the five Set Cards on Samejima's field were quite intimidating. At least, they were much more dangerous than Joey Wheeler's often empty backrow, forcing Hayato to be cautious.

"Alright, it's my turn! Draw a card!" Hayato drew a card and added it to his hand. The card he drew was [Pot of Greed], a divine artifact for drawing cards with no cost. It's always right to draw more cards regardless of the situation.

"I activate the Spell Card I just drew, [Pot of Greed]." Hayato placed the [Pot of Greed] card into his Duel Disk, reaching for his Deck with one hand, preparing to draw a card.

Just then, Samejima activated his Set Card: "Then, Chain to your [Pot of Greed], I activate my Set Card, the Continuous Trap Card Illusion of Demise!"

One of Samejima's backrow cards activated. Before Hayato's [Pot of Greed] could take effect, it injected some seemingly ominous green spores into the pot. Even the two cards Hayato drew were tainted with green bacteria.

"Illusion of Demise is a card specifically targeting card drawing actions outside of the Draw Phase. Whichever of both players uses a card effect to draw cards during their turn's End Phase will take effect damage equal to 500 points for each card drawn."

"Unlimited growing desire can lead people into darkness, Dan Kuroto."

"Only the weak are controlled by mere desire. My talent is far more terrifying than you imagine. Also, it's not Dan Kuroto, it's Dan Kuroto Ou!" Hayato said, drawing a card. "Electronic Flow Duelist Samejima Iemitsu, I'm sure you're not unfamiliar with this monster, are you?"

"I activate the Spell Card Power Bond! By this card's effect, the Attack of the Machine Type Fusion Monster Fusion Summoned will increase by its original Attack!"

"However, powerful cards often come with risks. During the End Phase of this turn, I must take damage equal to the amount that Fusion Monster's Attack was increased."

"Could it be?" Samejima's gaze narrowed. "You're summoning it on the first turn?!"

Hayato drew three cards: "The Fusion Material I will use are three Cyber Dragons from my hand! There are three Level 5 monsters, I'll directly Overlay!"

"Witness my talent, and the end of despair! The perfect ultimate Cyber End Dragon!"

With the activation of Power Bond, the three Cyber Dragons from Hayato's hand were projected onto the field, approaching each other and enveloped in a light like electric welding. For a moment, even Hayato's eyes were filled with a "craving for electric welding."

After the light faded, under the gaze of everyone in the Kaiba Dome, the mechanical three-headed giant dragon spread its metallic wings. Its three distinct heads slowly lifted, looking down at Samejima and roaring.

[Cyber End Dragon] [10☆/LIGHT Attribute]

[Machine Type/Fusion/Effect]

[4000/2800→8000/2800]

Compared to the exaggeratedly large [Ultimate Conductor Tyranno] Ryuzaki summoned in the first duel of the KC Cup yesterday, Cyber End Dragon's volume was only average. Many people had summoned large monsters yesterday.

However, if comparing Attack, "Dan Kuroto"'s Cyber End Dragon was undoubtedly the first, and it would be difficult for any monster to surpass this number in the upcoming duels.

And as the one directly facing Cyber End Dragon, Samejima also knew that while Cyber End Dragon's Attack was increased by Power Bond, its Piercing Damage effect, which allows it to inflict damage to the opponent equal to the excess Attack over the Defense of a Defense Position monster it attacks, was also retained.

This meant that keeping a monster in Defense Position was useless against Cyber End Dragon. Furthermore, unless the monster Samejima Set had a Defense exceeding 4000 points, if "Dan Kuroto"'s Cyber End Dragon successfully attacked, he would only face defeat.

"It would be bad if Cyber End Dragon attacked me," Samejima frowned, probably because his backrow didn't have an invincible Attack Declaration Trap like [Sakuretsu Armor]. "In that case, luckily I set this card..."

"From now on, it's my Battle Phase, Samejima Iemitsu!" Hayato pointed at Samejima. "Do you dare defy me, who possesses Cyber End Dragon?"

"Attack that Face-down Defense Position monster, Cyber End Dragon! There's no space for sealed players hiding their identity in this game!"

"Perfect Conclusion Impact!"

Hearing Hayato issue the attack command, Samejima immediately pressed the button to activate his Set Card: "Before that, I activate this card, the Trap Card Compulsory Ejection Device!"

"This card's effect is that this turn, both players cannot attack Face-down monsters!"

Samejima smiled: "You can't leave the field so early. I haven't seen the limits of your Electronic Flow yet, Dan Kuroto."

Samejima's words made Hayato frown. Hearing Samejima's words, it felt like he was implying something. Could it be that he already recognized me?

As Samejima's Set Card was activated, a barrier appeared around the Face-down monster on his field. It didn't look very sturdy, but it effectively prevented "Dan Kuroto"'s Cyber End Dragon from attacking.

Due to the restriction of "cannot attack Face-down monsters," Cyber End Dragon, which was ready to attack, could only reluctantly close its mouth and extinguish the laser light within.

"Tch, you actually found such a roundabout way to evade battle," Hayato complained, feeling annoyed. "You keep saying you want to see my limits and that you'll use your full power, but is this all there is?"

"After all, Dan Kuroto, you summoned the ultimate technique of Electronic Flow, Cyber End Dragon, and its Attack has even increased to 8000 points. Only someone with a poor mindset would want to clash head-on."

Samejima wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, he had his own explanation. Samejima wasn't the type of person to change his dueling style and clash head-on with Cyber End Dragon just because of "Dan Kuroto"'s words. Having a good mentality is a basic quality for someone who plays a heavy trap deck.

Moreover, Samejima avoiding battle had its benefits. Since "Dan Kuroto" couldn't defeat him in one turn, he had to face the cost of pursuing a one-turn kill—not only the high effect damage of up to 4000 points from Power Bond, but also the 1000 points of effect damage from Illusion of Demise that Samejima had activated earlier.

Hayato, of course, knew about Samejima's calculations. The phrase "Powerful cards often come with risks" wasn't just for show. Not everyone is like Kaiba, who uses cards that seem to have side effects but are practically non-existent, like Card of Demise, Card of Demise, and Card of Demise.

However, as is well known, if you were to summarize Hayato's basic strategy with one card, it would definitely be—

"In that case, there's no other way. Although it's a bit regrettable, a monster that cannot advance the game to the next expansion pack has no reason to exist on the field." Hayato sneered and played a card. "Become the foundation for me to enter the next expansion pack, Cyber End Dragon."

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card Mystical Wok! I Tribute my old friend Cyber End Dragon to recover Life Points equal to its Attack!"

[Dan Kuroto: 4000→12000 LP]

Cyber End Dragon was sent to the Graveyard by Hayato in silence. It wasn't its first appearance, and it was almost always bound together with Power Bond. It either won in one hit or failed to win and was "fried for food." It was used to it.

As the 8000 Attack Cyber End Dragon left the field like a fleeting moment, "Dan Kuroto"'s field was empty, and he was left with only two cards in his hand.

"He sent his own monster to the Graveyard..." In the audience seats, Rafael frowned slightly, but didn't think much of it. For many duelists, temporarily sacrificing their monster for the final victory is a normal practice. He wouldn't forcefully demand that others also not pursue victory but instead fully protect their monsters like him.

Kaiba, who had returned backstage, saw Hayato's operation through the camera and snorted coldly.

See? Sacrificing monsters for victory is such a normal thing. That guy named "Rafael" must definitely be looking down on me!

"I set both cards in my hand." Hayato emptied his hand. Although it was clear that Hayato was at a disadvantage on the field, looking at his expression, others might even think he was the one with the advantage. "Mhm, successfully passed the first wave of challenge. Looks like a good challenger."

"Then, Dan Kuroto Ou's turn ends here. Bare your fangs at the throne, Samejima Iemitsu."

[Dan Kuroto: 12000→7000 LP, Hand 0]

[Set Card] X2

When "Dan Kuroto" declared the End Turn, the effects of Power Bond and Illusion of Demise took effect simultaneously, dealing a total of 5000 points of high damage to "Dan Kuroto"'s Life Points. However, thanks to the "great tonic" that was Cyber End Dragon, "Dan Kuroto"'s Life Points were still as high as 7000 points after taking such damage.

However, as soon as Hayato's turn ended, Samejima drew a card and immediately activated a Set Card.

"My turn, draw a card. Then I activate the Spell Card Pot of Duality."

On Hayato's field, a wooden box containing the [Pot of Greed] he used last turn appeared.

"This card's effect is the same as [Pot of Greed]; you can draw two cards, but it's you, Dan Kuroto, not me," Samejima said, summoning a monster. "Then, I Flip Summon the monster on my field."

"My monster is Dark Mimic LV1."

What the hell is this Electronic Flow?!

Hayato didn't want to do anything right now except ask Samejima to explain where exactly the "Electronic Flow" was in what he was using?

The Dark Mimic LV1 that appeared on Samejima's field, Hayato looked at it from head to toe and couldn't find anything that resembled an "Electronic Flow" monster. In fact, other than the weapon in its hand being made of iron, there were no other metal objects at all.

And although it had been flipped by Samejima, Dark Mimic LV1 didn't trigger any Flip Effects.

After seemingly unnecessarily flipping Dark Mimic LV1, Samejima played the card he drew this turn: "I Tribute the flipped Dark Mimic LV1 on my field to Tribute Summon Cyber Dragon."

"Then, when the flipped Dark Mimic LV1 is sent to the Graveyard, its effect activates," Samejima's voice carried a hint of smugness. "Both players can select one monster from their respective Graveyard and Special Summon it to the field in Face-Up Attack Position or Face-down Defense Position."

"Both players can summon?" Hayato was a bit strange. Samejima shouldn't have forgotten that he had Cyber End Dragon in his Graveyard, after all, it was just sent to the Graveyard last turn.

"The only monster in my Graveyard that I can Special Summon is Dark Mimic LV1. I Special Summon it in Face-down Defense Position. So, what about you, Dan Kuroto?" Samejima asked with a smile. "You have Cyber Dragon and Cyber End Dragon in your Graveyard. What is your choice?"

Samejima's question was answered by Hayato without any hesitation: "Generally speaking, if I were allowed to select any monster from my Graveyard to Special Summon, without any special effects, I would choose Cyber End Dragon, which has the highest Attack."

"However, I refuse, because my divine talent cannot be seen through by ordinary people's thoughts, so I will choose to Special Summon Cyber Dragon in Attack Position!"

Although he didn't know what purpose Samejima had in specifically flipping Dark Mimic LV1 to activate its effect, Hayato felt that he couldn't let Samejima have his way.

Light pillars simultaneously lit up on both Hayato's and Samejima's fields. Dark Mimic LV1, which had just been Tributed and sent to the Graveyard by Samejima, returned to the field in a Set Position, while Hayato's Cyber Dragon stood opposite Samejima's Cyber Dragon.

[Cyber Dragon] [ATK 2100]

Seeing that Hayato had summoned Cyber Dragon instead of Cyber End Dragon, Samejima couldn't help but show an unexpected expression.

"You made an unexpected choice, but it doesn't matter. Even Cyber Dragon is fine," Samejima said, waving his hand forward. "Enter my Battle Phase. I will use Cyber Dragon to attack your Cyber Dragon, Dan Kuroto."

"Evolution Burst!"

The Cyber Dragons, identical in appearance as if carved from the same mold, attacked each other. Because their basic performance was exactly the same, the result was indeed mutual destruction; both were destroyed and sent to the Graveyard simultaneously.

"Neither here nor there, completely unlike an attack from Electronic Flow. It's terrible, Samejima Iemitsu," Hayato commented indifferently.

Samejima just smiled and didn't retort: "No, this way my Graveyard is complete."

"Then, I will activate the last Set Card on my field." Samejima pressed his finger on the Duel Disk, playing a card that made Hayato gasp in surprise. "What I will activate is the Quick-Play Spell Card Overload Fusion!"

"This card's effect is different from other cards. I can Banish monsters from my opponent's Graveyard to use as Fusion Material!"

Hayato sharply lowered his head and saw the Graveyard Zone on his Duel Disk light up. The two Cyber Dragons that were sent to the Graveyard earlier, and the Cyber Dragon that was just destroyed, a total of three monsters, were ejected.

Samejima drew a card from his hand: "Since your evaluation, Dan Kuroto, is that the attack wasn't up to par, then using this monster should be fine, right?"

"With three Cyber Dragons as Fusion Material, come forth, my Cyber End Dragon!!"

The scene on the field made almost everyone's eyes widen.

Behind Samejima, as if a replica of the summon "Dan Kuroto" performed in the previous turn, an identical Cyber End Dragon stretched its mechanical body in the same form. This time, the person being glared at by the three heads had changed from Samejima to "Dan Kuroto."

[Cyber End Dragon] [ATK 4000]

To be honest, after a full day of the KC Cup yesterday, the audience had seen some bizarre operations, such as using a [Tribute Card] to "Stargaze" and then Special Summoning the card from the top of the deck three turns later, or being defeated by a "Lethal Five Consecutive Attacks" from five monsters with Piercing Damage while in Defense Position.

After all, it takes all kinds to make a world, but they had truly never seen a situation where after one player summoned a Fusion Monster in one turn, an identical Fusion Monster was summoned again in the second turn.

"Damn it, how dare you touch my monster without the Game Administrator's permission!"

Hayato was very annoyed, and at the same time, he understood what Samejima's previous strategy was all about.

The existence of Overload Fusion meant that Samejima could Banish Hayato's Cyber Dragons from his Graveyard at any time to summon his Cyber End Dragon. What kind of NTR card is this?

Now that Hayato's field was cleared again, Samejima's Cyber End Dragon was completely unobstructed. If it successfully attacked, Hayato's Life Points would be deducted by a full 4000 points in one go. Even with 7000 Life Points, such high damage could not be ignored.

"Since the Fusion Summon was performed during my Battle Phase, Cyber End Dragon can still attack," Samejima didn't show excessive joy at summoning Cyber End Dragon; his face remained as calm as ever. "Now, witness my full power, Dan Kuroto."

"Cyber End Dragon performs a Direct Attack on the duelist!"

"Eternal Evolution Burst!"

The three mouths of Cyber End Dragon, which rarely appeared in Samejima's Deck, opened one after another. Three dazzling beams of light, with almost no charging time, fired instantly, attacking Hayato's body without any obstruction—

To Samejima's surprised gaze, "Dan Kuroto"'s body was instantly destroyed by the attack, which should have been a projection. However, at the same time, another "Dan Kuroto" appeared from the side almost completely unharmed.

The reason for putting "almost" in quotes was because the change in "Dan Kuroto"'s Life Points was too small relative to Cyber End Dragon's 4000 Attack.

[Dan Kuroto: 7000→6000 LP]

"Continuous Trap Card Swords of Revealing Light. When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can pay 1000 Life Points to negate the attack," Hayato explained. "The progress towards clearing the game has only advanced by 1%. You are still far from defeating me."

"Using Life Points as a cost to avoid greater losses, this dueling style is truly..." Samejima sighed, but his expression was still relaxed. "Well, I have no more operations to perform. My turn ends here."

"Also, during my End Phase, Illusion of Demise's effect takes effect. Because you drew two cards with Pot of Duality, you must take 1000 points of effect damage."

[Dan Kuroto: 6000→5000 LP]

[Samejima: 4000 LP, Hand 0]

[Cyber End Dragon] [ATK 4000]

[Face-down Defense Position Monster (Dark Mimic LV1)]

[Time Capsule] [Illusion of Demise]

Another 1000 Life Points were deducted. Even though Hayato's Life Points were still abundant, he couldn't help but pay more attention to Samejima's Illusion of Demise.

All in all, Samejima had already deducted 2000 Life Points from Hayato using this one card. Compared to the strategy he used before, which revolved around [Cyber Summon Blaster], this strategy was clearly much more efficient.

No matter how many Life Points Hayato had, they were still limited. Bearing the burden of replenishing a large hand was too much of a burden, but not replenishing his hand seemed foolish.

However, as the saying goes, "Powerful cards often come with risks." Illusion of Demise's effect doesn't target only Hayato; it affects both players. If Samejima draws cards due to a card effect, he will also be affected.

Unfortunately, Hayato hasn't drawn [Card of Sanctity] yet, which could make the empty-handed Samejima draw six cards in one turn. If he could, this move would definitely make Samejima feel extremely good (in a bad way).

Furthermore, the existence of Cyber End Dragon is also troublesome. Monsters that can reach the 3000 mark, surpassing the Attack calculation unit [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], can already be considered top-tier ace cards in various decks. An Attack of 4000 points is enough to dominate the competition, not to mention the tricky Piercing Damage.

However, as a Fusion Monster, Cyber End Dragon also has a weakness that other monsters capable of breaking 3000 Attack on their own do not.

"My turn, draw a card." Hayato glanced at the card he drew, added it to his hand, and took out another card he drew because of Pot of Duality, glancing at Cyber End Dragon.

"The same monster appearing once is enough. Full utilization of the model only leads to Aesthetic Fatigue," Hayato inserted the card into the Spell & Trap Zone, and showed a healthy smile. "Cyber End Dragon, it's better to be out of print from now on."

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card De-Fusion!"

To Samejima's horrified gaze, Cyber End Dragon's Fusion process was reversed, and it disappeared from Samejima's field almost instantly!

The technique of using De-Fusion had become widely known thanks to Joey Wheeler and Kaiba's duel in the Duel City Semifinals. However, in most cases, this technique didn't have many applications.

After all, not everyone has powerful Fusion Monsters, and not everyone can God Draw De-Fusion before the opponent summons a powerful Fusion Monster.

Samejima naturally knew this technique. He slapped his forehead, feeling a bit annoyed:

Oh dear, completely caught off guard.

# Chapter 409: The So-Called God is an Existence That Absolutely Cannot Be Defeated

After using De-Fusion to easily bounce Cyber End Dragon back to Samejima's Deck, Hayato glanced at his Hand, feeling a bit troubled.

Now, Samejima only had one Face-down Position Dark Mimic on his Field. As long as he could Flip it and Destroy it, Hayato could use its Effect to Revive Cyber End Dragon from his Graveyard.

Even if Samejima could Special Summon a Monster from his Graveyard, he only had one Cyber Dragon there right now, which was no match for Cyber End Dragon at all. This was the advantage of De-Fusion; it returns to the Deck instead of being destroyed.

But the problem now was that Hayato found that he had no Monster Cards in his Hand. Including the De-Fusion he just used, all three cards he held were Spell Cards.

But it didn't matter. Who said you couldn't defeat someone without Monster Cards?

"Duel Monsters, in short, is a game of mental warfare, not too different from Chess. In that case, it's fine if I use a few unconventional moves." Hayato Played a Card. "Activate Spell Card, Painful Choice!"

With the Card's Activation, five Cards appeared before Samejima: two Cyberload Fusion, Cyber Dragon Core, and two Proto-Cyber Dragon.

Without Monster Cards, Hayato could simply use a card's effect to Add Monster Cards to his Hand, and because it wasn't "Drawing Cards," it wouldn't Trigger the Effect of Illusion of Desire.

And even if Samejima didn't choose one of the three Monsters he presented, it didn't matter. Hayato could still use Cyberload Fusion to Return the three Cyber Dragons Banished by Samejima's Scrap Fusion to the Deck for Fusion.

Samejima had collected Information on "Dan Kuroto" before. Among the five Cards Revealed by Painful Choice, Proto-Cyber Dragon could Destroy Dark Mimic and Revive Cyber End Dragon, and Cyberload Fusion could Fusion Banished Monsters. Neither was a good choice; it was clearly a trap waiting for him to step into.

As for the remaining Cyber Dragon Core, although he had never seen this Card before, judging by its Name, it should be a Cyber Dragon-related Monster. Its Effect was unknown, but the only thing certain was that its Attack was even lower than Dark Mimic's weak Defense.

Although he felt this Card was also a Trap Card, Samejima had no choice but to step into it. "The Card I choose is Cyber Dragon Core."

"Heh heh, a wise move. Then I will Add Cyber Dragon Core to my Hand, and Send all other Cards to the Graveyard." Hayato took back Cyber Dragon Core, and one by one, he sent the other four Cards to the Graveyard.

Confirming that the four Cards had all entered the Graveyard, Hayato smiled cunningly. "On the surface, Cyber Dragon Core has the lowest Attack, only 400 points. It can't even break through the weak Defense of a Flipped Dark Mimic."

"However, something that looks harmless isn't necessarily without Danger. On the contrary, the weakest can often be more troublesome than the strongest." Saying this, Hayato placed the Cyber Dragon Core he had just Added to his Hand onto the Duel Disk. "I Normal Summon Cyber Dragon Core in Attack Position, and then Activate its Effect."

"When Cyber Dragon Core is successfully Summoned, I can Add one 'Cyber' Spell/Trap Card or 'Cybernetic' Spell/Trap Card from my Deck to my Hand. The Card I will Add to my Hand is Cybernetic Fusion Support."

On Hayato's Field, a mechanical "snake" whose shape was even simpler than Proto-Cyber Dragon, essentially just a few spherical mechanical joints connected together, raised its head. Although it only had 400 Attack, it was as confident as a Commoner with 3000 Attack and 2500 Defense.

An extra Card appeared in Hayato's Hand; it was Cybernetic Fusion Support, which he had just Added to his Hand using Cyber Dragon Core's Effect.

"Cybernetic Fusion Support?" It was another Card Samejima had never heard of, but Samejima could more or less guess that the Card was likely used to Assist Fusion.

"Dan Kuroto" put his hands on his hips proudly. "Most people's Fusion is just Fusing Monsters from their Hand and Field, or using Cards like Dragon's Mirror to Fusion Monsters from the Field and Graveyard. But don't underestimate my Talent! As long as I use Cybernetic Fusion Support, I can choose Fusion Material simultaneously from my Hand, Field, and Graveyard."

"The only Cost is paying half of my Life Points!"

As he spoke, Cybernetic Fusion Support was inserted into the Spell & Trap Zone before it even got warm. "Mere Life Points! As long as they're not Reduced to Zero, they're Infinite! Take them! I will Pay half of my Life Points! Activate Quick-Play Spell Card, Cybernetic Fusion Support!"

[Dan Kuroto: 5000→2500 LP]

Half of the Life Points were Deducted from "Dan Kuroto." At the same time, a highly advanced mechanical device rose from his Backrow. As Hayato revealed the Card he had previously Set on the Field, the Fusion Spell Card, originally intended as bait, now Took Effect.

Not only Cyber Dragon Core on Hayato's Field, but the Monsters in Hayato's Graveyard also appeared one by one on the Field. Cyber End Dragon and the two Proto-Cyber Dragons all raised their heads. After letting out a roar, they turned into particles along with Cyber Dragon Core and entered the Cybernetic Fusion Support Device, which began emitting Electric Light as it Activated and Accelerated.

"The total Fusion Material I will Use is four. Among them, as long as Cyber Dragon Core Exists on my Field or in my Graveyard, its Name is treated as Cyber Dragon." Hayato held up five fingers. "The Fusion Material Requirement is Cyber Dragon and one or more Machine-Type Monsters!"

"Don't blink! This is the last Monster you'll see! I Fusion Summon Chimeratech Overdragon!"

A grating sound of metal rubbing together echoed. A Mechanical Giant Dragon, much longer than Cyber End Dragon, appeared on "Dan Kuroto"'s Field. Simultaneously, Mechanical Dragon Heads extended from its bifurcations, a total of four Mechanical Dragon Heads, majestic and imposing!

[Chimeratech Overdragon] [ATK 3200]

Samejima's expression was very serious. He had thought choosing Cyber Dragon Core was the safest Option, but unexpectedly, "Dan Kuroto" actually used its Effect as a springboard to utilize all the Monsters in his Graveyard, Summoning Chimeratech Overdragon with a high Attack of 3200 points almost instantly.

Each Fusion Material could provide Chimeratech Overdragon with 800 Attack. Having Used a total of four Fusion Materials, Chimeratech Overdragon's Attack had already surpassed the publicly acknowledged Unit of Measurement for Combat Power in Duel Monsters—Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

"Now, entering my Battle Phase, Samejima Iemitsu!" Hayato waved his hand forward. "Although this isn't my Limit, this is more than enough to End you!"

"Chimeratech Overdragon has the Ability to Attack a number of Monsters equal to its Fusion Materials. So, the first Attack—"

"Chimeratech Overdragon, Attack the Set Defense Position Dark Mimic! Meidou Zangetsuha!"

Unlike Cyber End Dragon's pure white Laser Beam, the Attack emitted by Chimeratech Overdragon was an ominous, pitch-black color filled with the Aura of Destruction. In just an instant, it Destroyed the Weak Defense Dark Mimic and Sent it to the Graveyard.

Holding up his arm to block the Impact, Samejima Declared, "Then, at the same time Dark Mimic is Destroyed by Chimeratech Overdragon, its Effect, upon being Flipped, also Activates."

"Both players can choose one Monster from their respective Graveyards that can be Special Summoned, and Special Summon it to the Field in Attack Position or Set Defense Position." Samejima said, and Reminded, "However, Dan Kuroto, all the Monsters in your Graveyard were just Banished by the Effect of Cybernetic Fusion Support, so you cannot Summon a Monster to the Field."

To maximize Chimeratech Overdragon's Attack, Hayato had deliberately Banished all the Monsters in his Graveyard, including Cyber End Dragon. However, Hayato didn't mind. Anyway, no matter what Monster Samejima Summoned, he could still Destroy it.

Could he possibly conjure up a Monster with over 3200 Attack?

Just as this thought crossed his mind, before Hayato could even say it, he saw a large, towering Giant Robot emerging from Underground on Samejima's Field. Its two electronic eyes lit up, and yellow Electric Current crackled on its thick arms. It clearly looked like a tough guy who could rip open a cockpit with his bare hands.

[Perfect Machine King] [ATK 2700→3200]

"3200 Attack?! When did this Monster...?" For a moment, Hayato couldn't recall when Samejima had Sent this Monster to his Graveyard.

Samejima smiled and Reminded him, "At the very beginning of the Duel, I Activated a Graceful Charity to Replace Cards in my Hand. Perfect Machine King was the only Monster in my Hand at the time. Although it's strong, I didn't have enough Tributes to bring it onto the Field in the first Turn."

As he spoke, Samejima glanced at Perfect Machine King. "Perfect Machine King's Effect is that for every Machine-Type Monster on Both players' Fields other than itself, it gains 500 Attack. Since there are only Perfect Machine King and Chimeratech Overdragon on the Field, its Attack is Increased to 3200 points, exactly matching Chimeratech Overdragon."

"So, will you continue to Attack, Dan Kuroto?" Samejima smiled gently, but he didn't tell Hayato one thing.

That was, in Samejima's Graveyard, besides Perfect Machine King, there was also a Shield Warrior among the Monsters he had Sent to the Graveyard with Graceful Charity during the first Turn.

Shield Warrior has the Effect that during Damage Calculation, by Banishing itself from the Graveyard, the Monster on your Field will not be Destroyed by that Battle. This means that if their Attack is equal, when Chimeratech Overdragon and Perfect Machine King, neither of which has the Ability to "not be Destroyed by Battle," Attack each other, only Perfect Machine King, protected by Shield Warrior, would remain.

Even if Chimeratech Overdragon had the Ability to Attack multiple Monsters, if it was Destroyed, attacking more times would be useless.

And if "Dan Kuroto" chose to stop here and maintain the Confrontation with Perfect Machine King, that situation wouldn't last long either. Because in the Next Turn, during Samejima's Standby Phase, the Time Capsule he Activated at the very start of the Duel would Take Effect.

The Card contained within Samejima's Time Capsule was Monster Reborn. Once he obtained the Monster Reborn Card, Samejima could Revive the Cyber Dragon in his Graveyard and then Summon it to the Field.

This way, a Perfect Machine King with its Attack Increased to 3700 points, plus a Cyber Dragon with 2100 Attack, could deal a total of 2600 Damage. How could he possibly lose? Relying on that Light Sealing Spirit Sword on Dan Kuroto's Backrow?

Because of Cybernetic Fusion Support, "Dan Kuroto"'s Life Points were down to the last 2500 points. At most, he could only Use the Effect of Light Sealing Spirit Sword twice. This wave, Advantage is mine!

Although Samejima appeared calm on the surface, he felt a surge of excitement in his heart, anticipating an imminent Victory.

Hearing Samejima's Provocation, "Dan Kuroto" was silent for only a few seconds before showing a confident Smile. "Are you asking me to consider your words just now as a Challenge to my Divine Talent?"

"There's only one answer! I, Dan Kuroto, am not someone who would shrink back and stop because of a little Difficulty! The more difficult and incredible the action, the more it can demonstrate my Divine Talent!"

"Proof of my Talent! Even if it costs my life, it doesn't matter!" Hayato waved his hand. "Second Attack! Chimeratech Overdragon, Attack Perfect Machine King!"

"Purgatory Crush!"

Only a few seconds had passed since Chimeratech Overdragon's last Attack. "Dan Kuroto" once again came up with a strange Name for Chimeratech Overdragon. The pitch-black Beam struck towards Perfect Machine King.

Seeing this, Samejima couldn't help but respond excitedly, "Now! I Activate the Effect of Shield Warrior in my Graveyard!"

"By Banishing Shield Warrior from the Graveyard during Damage Calculation, my Perfect Machine King on the Field will not be Destroyed in this Battle!"

In Perfect Machine King's hand, a massive Shield suddenly appeared. Although it was a medieval Shield, it seemed coated with an anti-particle layer, easily blocking Chimeratech Overdragon's Beam Cannon. Lightning crackled around Perfect Machine King's Fist. It stomped hard on the Ground and attacked Chimeratech Overdragon!

"Boom!"

The steel giant's Fist and the mechanical multi-headed dragon's Body collided, reinterpreting the most primal aesthetic of violence with an extremely sci-fi art style, like the battle between Susanoo and Yamata no Orochi in Japanese mythology.

The spot on Chimeratech Overdragon's Body Hit by Perfect Machine King exploded with a boom. A cloud of Smoke and Dust enveloped most of Chimeratech Overdragon's Body and Perfect Machine King's Arm.

Seeing this, Samejima couldn't help but show a Smile and said to "Dan Kuroto" standing opposite him, "In your Pursuit of Victory, you were too eager for quick success, Dan Kuroto. Duel Monsters isn't just a Contest of Talent and Ability; the Psychological Game is also a very important Aspect."

"It's Regrettable that this Duel Ended without either of us showing our full Limits, but at least I've Proved the Power of the 'Electronic Flow'." Samejima paused, then said firmly, "The Victor of this Duel has been decided."

"Hmph, sore wa dou kana?" Unexpectedly, hearing Samejima's words, "Dan Kuroto" showed a confident Smile. "Even if a Victor has been decided, that spot will only fall to me. If you ask why, it's because I am Dan Kuroto!"

"Roar!!"

"Nani!?"

As "Dan Kuroto"'s words fell, Samejima discovered that Chimeratech Overdragon, which should have been Destroyed and Sent to the Graveyard in the Battle with Perfect Machine King, actually let out a Roar! He couldn't help but look up in surprise!

"How could this be!?"

"Watch closely, and learn well! Don't be scared by just the tip of the iceberg of my Divine Talent!" Hayato looked up and ordered Chimeratech Overdragon, "Stop wasting time over there! Bite and Crush it for me!"

"Crunch!"

"Boom!!"

The second Explosion sounded, and this time, the Impact of the Explosion completely dispersed the Smoke and Dust enveloping Perfect Machine King and Chimeratech Overdragon. The Outcome of the Battle between the two was instantly revealed.

What Samejima found difficult to understand was that Perfect Machine King, which should have been granted the Ability to "not be Destroyed by Battle," was now missing an Arm. And upon looking, he could see the Arm Perfect Machine King had just used to Attack was currently held in the mouth of one of Chimeratech Overdragon's Mechanical Dragon Heads, and then crushed into scrap metal with a single bite.

"If the Attack is exactly the same, Perfect Machine King can naturally use Shield Warrior's Effect to Destroy Chimeratech Overdragon while not taking Damage itself." Hayato's voice rang out. As the Smoke and Dust cleared, Samejima finally saw clearly that Hayato's last Card in Hand had actually been inserted into the Duel Disk and Activated!

Quick-Play Spell Card, Half Shut?

"But if Perfect Machine King's Attack is Lowered, your Plan is Ruined, Samejima!" Hayato said triumphantly. "Chaining to your Shield Warrior's Effect, I Activated the Quick-Play Spell Card Half Shut! Its Effect grants one Monster on the Field the Ability to not be Destroyed by Battle until the End Phase, but as a Cost, its Attack is Halved."

"I decide the Outcome of this Duel! So now, Chimeratech Overdragon, complete the second Attack!"

[Perfect Machine King] [ATK 3200→1600]

[Chimeratech Overdragon] [ATK 3200]

The pitch-black Beam burst forth again. This time, Perfect Machine King, having lost an Arm, although it still held its Shield and Protected itself, it couldn't hold the Shield steady. The deflected Beam struck the Ground in front of Samejima!

"Hmph—!"

[Samejima: 4000→2400 LP]

Suddenly losing 1600 Life Points, Samejima grunted but wasn't significantly affected. Instead, he looked up at the menacing Chimeratech Overdragon. Its two heads that hadn't Attacked yet were wide open, ready to Attack.

"Press the attack! Third Attack! Flying Dragon Strike Thief Sky-Shaking Thunder Cannon!"

[Samejima: 2400→800 LP]

Another Attack landed. Samejima's Life Points were down to the last 800. Perfect Machine King, in this Attack, lost both its Shield and the Arm holding the Shield. It was just two decorations that the higher-ups didn't understand away from being a standard limbless figure.

"The so-called Divine Talent isn't an Ability that surpasses everyone else, but an Ability that absolutely cannot be surpassed, that cannot be defeated, that is beyond even Imagination. And the so-called Miracles are Controlled within my grasp." Hayato said, clenching his Fist. "In other words, this isn't a Miracle accumulated from Drawing Cards once or twice, but the inevitable Result Created by my Talent."

"The Victor is me, the absolutely immortal Dan Kuroto! Be Shattered like a meteor!"

"Chimeratech Overdragon, fourth consecutive Attack, and, the ultimate Final Blow! God Fist Smash!"

"Roar!!"

The pitch-black Aurora completely Engulfed Perfect Machine King. Before this Final Blow, a flash of Light briefly flickered in Samejima's Deck. Although none of this could change the Outcome of the Duel, for that one instant, Samejima, having completely cleared his mind, finally saw through a layer of mist that had been blocking his sight.

"So it was you. No wonder I lost." Samejima looked at "Dan Kuroto" and showed a Bitter Smile. "You truly are the Strongest one that's hard to figure out, Kobayashi Hayato."

"Boom!"

The sound of the Explosion rang out just as it was needed, precisely covering the last Name Samejima uttered.

[Samejima: 800 LP→0]

The Impact wave made Samejima stumble back a step or two before stopping himself. Looking up, his Gaze met Hayato's, who looked a bit Surprised.

"Victor, Dan Kuroto!"

As the Referee's Announcement sounded, Hayato noticed that the Sound Collection System set up along the edge of the Duel Platform had been temporarily shut off. He couldn't help but show a helpless expression and said to Samejima, "As expected of Samejima, to see through my perfect disguise."

"No, no, it was just Unexpected. But Hayato, how did you do it?" Samejima scratched his head, belatedly remembering that he had recently noticed significant hair loss and needed to be careful, so he quickly put his hand down. "Outwardly, 'Dan Kuroto' and 'Kobayashi Hayato' look exactly the same, but I couldn't connect the two until just now."

"Well, that's a bit complicated to explain," Hayato didn't know where to start. "There's probably something that prevents others from linking me to the Identity of 'Kobayashi Hayato'. Originally, no one should have been able to see through it."

Except Kaiba, Yugi Mutou, Marik, Valon, Rafael, Amelda... Strange, why are there so many people? And now Samejima has to be added to the list.

Samejima was also taken aback. As if remembering something, he pulled his Deck from the Duel Disk. After glancing past Cards like Cyber Summon Blaster, Card Destruction, and Dimensional Prison, he flipped out a Card, his face showing understanding. "If I'm not mistaken, it's probably this Card?"

Hayato tilted his head to look. In Samejima's hand was a Machine-Type Monster Card. Its Level seemed to be nine or ten Stars, hard to see clearly from the reverse direction. On the Card Art, a ferocious, giant Mechanical Dragon Head was depicted.

"Cyber Eltanin?" Hayato blurted out subconsciously, not noticing the Unexpected Expression on Samejima's face.

# Chapter 410: The Cyber Style Legacy

"[Cyber Eltanin]?" Hayato looked at the card in Samejima's hand and blurted out its name. But when Hayato looked up, he saw a complicated expression on Samejima's face, revealing a hint of understanding and even a feeling of "it should be so" amidst the surprise and unexpectedness.

"So it's you, Hayato. Yes, it is you, Hayato."

Samejima said something strange, then spoke with a somewhat serious expression, "Then, Hayato-kun, I have something I'd like to ask of you."

"Please tell me, Mr. Samejima." Samejima's expression was too serious, and because Hayato had always thought of Samejima as the future bald principal, Hayato couldn't help but become serious as well.

Of course, both of them at least remembered that they were currently on the duel platform, with many people watching them. So the subsequent conversation did not continue in public but returned to the player preparation room.

And when Hayato and Samejima parted ways and Hayato returned to the audience seats, there was an extra card in his hand. It was precisely the card Samejima had shown Hayato earlier, named after the "Draco" constellation—[Cyber Eltanin].

According to Samejima, the representative monster of the "Cyber Style" he belonged to—[Cyber Dragon]—was said to originate from the power of the "Draco" constellation in the sky. If [Cyber End Dragon] was the ultimate technique of [Cyber Dragon], then [Cyber Eltanin] was the origin power of [Cyber Dragon].

However, there was a rather awkward problem with the [Cyber Eltanin] card. That was, no one could use [Cyber Eltanin] at all.

This didn't mean that the duelists of the Cyber Style were incapable of drawing and using [Cyber Eltanin] in a duel; rather, it meant they were completely unable to unleash its power.

Level, attribute, effect—these fields were always blank on the [Cyber Eltanin] card. Even the name [Cyber Eltanin] was only known because it was passed down through the records of the Cyber Style.

When Samejima said that at the time, if he hadn't specifically found a nearby staff member to show them the [Cyber Eltanin] card and learned that the other person only saw a blank card with nothing on it, Hayato truly wouldn't have believed what Samejima said.

Samejima also said that although there was only one copy of this [Cyber Eltanin] card in the Cyber Style Dojo, and it had always been guarded by the current master of the Cyber Style, in reality, anyone who joined the Cyber Style could try to use it. Because in a sense, compared to [Cyber Dragon], this [Cyber Eltanin] was the true Cyber Style legacy.

Samejima's teacher even told Samejima that whoever could use this [Cyber Eltanin] would be the most legitimate successor of the Cyber Style. This saying wasn't passed down from the previous master; it was passed down from the master before that one to the previous master, and from the master two generations prior to the master one generation prior.

Samejima's previous master of the Cyber Style, who was also Samejima's teacher, was hailed as the person "most likely to inherit [Cyber Eltanin]" among the Cyber Style duelists of several generations. But even he could only see the level of [Cyber Eltanin] and its ATK/DEF which were merely "?", completely unable to figure out how to Summon or use this card.

Even Samejima himself could only barely make out that [Cyber Eltanin]'s level was a noble 10☆, and couldn't even see its name. It was only after the duel with Hayato just now that he unexpectedly discovered he could see the "?" ATK and DEF of [Cyber Eltanin].

But before Samejima could even be happy, Hayato, who wasn't a Cyber Style duelist at all and even somehow got a [Cyber Dragon] deck that was more complete than his own, just glanced at [Cyber Eltanin] and called out its name.

Furthermore, in the card text box of [Cyber Eltanin], which was completely blank in Samejima's eyes, Hayato saw dense text.

[Cyber Eltanin][Level 10/LIGHT]

[Machine/Special Summon/Effect]

[?/?]

[Effect: Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must be Special Summoned (from your hand) by banishing all Machine-Type and LIGHT monsters from your Graveyard and/or face-up on your field.

① This card's ATK/DEF become the number of monsters banished for its Special Summon x 500.

② When Special Summoned: Send all other face-up monsters on the field to the graveyard.]

It was only after Hayato said he could completely see the ability of [Cyber Eltanin] that Samejima somehow got fixated, insisting that Hayato was definitely the user chosen by [Cyber Eltanin], and directly shoved [Cyber Eltanin] into Hayato's hands, refusing to take no for an answer.

Even though Hayato's [Cyber Dragon] was clearly obtained from the system's Machine-Type Structure Deck, Samejima insisted on believing that Hayato had received the recognition of the [Cyber Dragon] card spirit.

After handing this [Cyber Eltanin], which the Cyber Style duelists had guarded for generations before finally finding a user, to Hayato, Samejima showed no regret. Instead, he seemed to have put down a heavy burden and let out a great sigh of relief.

However, in the end, Samejima still made a small request, which was to ask Hayato to go with him to the Cyber Style Dojo. For no other reason than to inform the retired previous master of the Cyber Style that [Cyber Eltanin] had found a successor.

Hayato thought about it. He had received a legacy card from the other party for free, so going there wasn't a big problem. He agreed.

Sitting in his seat, ignoring Marik's protest and using the excuse "your sister said you can't eat too many sweets" to snatch Marik's caramel popcorn, Hayato examined the [Cyber Eltanin] card in his hand.

There were quite a large number of monsters in Duel Monsters, but if one were to classify the strongest terminal monsters, they could be simply divided into several types, such as board presence type, control/disruption type, protection type, weakening type, and aggro type.

For example, Kaiba's [Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon], a monster with 4500 ATK that can attack three times per turn, is definitely an aggro type.

Of course, this classification is somewhat forced. For example, Ryuzaki's [Ultimate Conductor Tyranno] can attack five times or even more in one turn at its limit, primarily focusing on aggro, but if needed, it can also Tribute itself to act as a mass Book of Moon for protection.

For example, [Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon], which Hayato always wanted but hasn't bought yet because it's too expensive, also known as the famous "Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon", simultaneously possesses board presence ability that is non-targeting and cannot be destroyed by effect, control/disruption ability that can counter all effects once per turn, and aggro ability to destroy one monster per turn.

Although in Samejima's hands, the "Cyber Style" was basically a heavy Trap strategy, its essence was still an aggro deck, and it also had cards like [Chimeratech Rampage Dragon] specifically used to break the backrow. [Cyber Eltanin]'s classification also belongs to the aggro type.

The "?" for ATK and DEF represents that the power of [Cyber Eltanin] will not be restricted. As long as its potential can be fully unleashed, it can create infinite possibilities. And the effect of sending all monsters on the field except itself to the graveyard when Special Summoned successfully is aggro among aggro.

Let's assume Hayato first uses [Chimeratech Rampage Dragon] to destroy all cards in the opponent's backrow, then Summons [Cyber Eltanin]. As long as Hayato has sent more than eight LIGHT attribute Machine-Type monsters to the graveyard beforehand, [Cyber Eltanin]'s ATK can reach 4000 or even higher, and it can also send all of the opponent's monsters to the graveyard and then direct attack.

Who can withstand this attack with twenty years of accumulated power? As long as it's not an invincible Kuriboh, no one can stop it.

Especially since [Cyber Eltanin]'s level is a noble 10☆, this shows how powerful the [Cyber Eltanin] card is.

In Duel Monsters, although level doesn't represent everything, such as Maximillion Pegasus's [Relinquished] which is only Level 1☆ but possesses extremely strong dark energy, or [Mystical Elf] which is only Level 5☆ but is number one in the world, to some extent, level can largely represent the power level of a monster.

Especially the Level 10☆, which is basically among the apex in Duel Monsters. The best examples are the "Egyptian God Cards" and the "Three Sacred Beasts".

[Cyber Eltanin]'s level is 10☆, which means that even if its opponent is one of the Egyptian God Cards with strong resistance, it can still use its effect to send them from the field to the graveyard, after all, this is not destruction but simply removal.

Of course, all three Egyptian God Cards are in Hayato's hands, and Hayato also has two of the Three Sacred Beasts, so the possibility of facing them is not high.

Speaking of the Three Sacred Beasts, Hayato is still very annoyed about one thing.

Back during Duel City, in order to collect the puzzle pieces, Hayato's final opponent was Rishid. But unexpectedly, after the duel with him, he was unexpectedly attacked by that guy Bakura, which resulted in Rishid being sent to the hospital and Dark Marik awakening.

Bakura, who successfully attacked at the time, threw down the [Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder] and [Uria, Lord of Searing Flames] cards as a cover to escape. Hayato conveniently picked them up, thinking he had collected the Three Sacred Beasts cards. But before the Finals of Duel City began, he was attacked by Dark Marik, who was holding [Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder].

It was only then that Hayato realized the two cards Bakura left behind were not the true form at all, but merely an avatar that was incredibly well-disguised. Although they shared a common consciousness with the true form cards, the power within the cards was vastly different.

Now, Hayato has the true form of [Raviel, Lord of Phantasms] and [Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder] in his hands, but the [Uria, Lord of Searing Flames] card is probably still in that guy Bakura's hands.

As for whether Bakura might have died in Noah's Sea Fortress that has sunk? Hayato doesn't think that guy would die so easily, after all, he could even crawl back from the abyss after losing a soul-devouring Dark Game.

Marik, whose popcorn was snatched, was quite depressed. That was his only hobby in life, especially since Hayato didn't seriously savor the popcorn after taking it, just stuffing it into his mouth and absentmindedly chewing it while staring at a card in his hand, lost in thought.

What could he say? He was no match for Hayato in either Duel Monsters or melee combat. Hayato was also his and his older brother Rishid's lifesaver, and his sister had an ambiguous relationship with Hayato. All he could do was pout and cross his arms, watching the second duel that had already begun on the duel field.

Back in the Rare Hunters, Marik rarely went out in person, but he often remotely controlled others dueling. To hunt for rare cards, Marik remembered quite a few duelists with strength, but he didn't recognize either of the two people on the field.

Looking at the name displayed on the big screen, one person's name was "Otis Fafnir", and his opponent was a guy wearing a hood and covering his face, occasionally coughing. The pinyin of his name on the screen looked strange, and Marik wasn't good at spelling it. In short, he was using monsters with an alchemy theme.

The guy named "Otis Fafnir", who sounded like he could be easily defeated, used a Dragon deck, which in a sense matched his name.

As is well known, the biggest characteristic of Dragon-Type monsters is that their prices are generally expensive, and the rarer the Dragon-Type, the more expensive it is. But at the same time, the more expensive the Dragon-Type, the more powerful its strength.

Just like now, that "Otis Fafnir" had all his monsters on the field cleared just last turn, but using the effects of [Lord of D.] and [The Flute of Summoning Dragon], he managed to Summon two [Tyrant Dragon] with 2900 ATK in just one turn, achieving a perfect turnaround victory.

[Tyrant Dragon] has the consecutive attack ability to attack again after an attack if there is a monster on the opponent's field, and it is not a target for Trap Cards. Furthermore, under the protection of [Lord of D.], it gained the additional ability of not being an effect target.

In Marik's eyes, the guy with only one [Homunculus the Golden Lord] with 1500 ATK on the field was absolutely going to lose.

Then, Marik watched with wide eyes as the masked guy chained to "Otis Fafnir"'s [Tyrant Dragon]'s attack declaration, successively activating several Set Cards to send his own deck to the graveyard, and then used the effect of a [Macro Cosmos] to banish all cards sent to the graveyard.

The ATK of [Homunculus the Golden Lord] instantly surged from the initial 1500 points to a full 6900 points, giving "Otis Fafnir" exactly 4000 points of battle damage for a turnaround victory.

While everyone was still stunned, the highly professional referee declared the masked man the winner of the duel. After confirming his victory, the guy covered his mouth and nose, coughing, and left the duel platform without hesitation.

"Brother-in-law, did you see that just now? That guy is so strong!" Marik nudged Hayato with his elbow, waking him from his daze, and incidentally took back his popcorn which was almost eaten. "That masked guy actually chained four Trap Cards! He's even better than Rishid; I've only ever seen him chain three at most."

"Oh, really? That's pretty good, that's great." Hayato replied with a string of perfunctory replies, snapping back from the [Cyber Eltanin] card. He looked up at the name displayed on the big screen.

"Daitokuji Amnael?"

"His name is pretty weird, right? Anyway, I looked at it for a long time and couldn't figure out where that name is from. It feels like it's from Japan or maybe he's Czech?" Marik shrugged.

"Daitokuji." Hayato smiled, "Although it's not translated that way, I think you can call him Daitokuji."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 339 - # Chapter 406-410