"Who is that?"
"Seems to be a newcomer, right? It looks like he's here to visit the island at this opportunity."
Not long after, Judai and Mitsuzawa returned to the Fusion Department, greeting Tenjo Hikari from afar, and then curiously looked at Shou and Ed in the open field.
"Actually taking the initiative to challenge Shou to a duel?" Judai smiled, "Shou is quite formidable!"
"Strange, that newcomer feels very familiar." Mitsuzawa rubbed his chin, somewhat hesitant.
"Huh? He feels... familiar?" Manjome looked at Ed and couldn't help but squint his eyes, trying hard to recall.
"It's Ed Phoenix." Tenjo Hikari, listening to their discussions but unable to remember, directly spoke.
"Ed... Phoenix?" Manjome's eyes slowly showed surprise, "Wait, isn't he... a Professional Duelist!?"
"What? Professional Duelist!?"
"Not only a Professional Duelist but a star-level Professional Duelist!"
The group gradually realized that this duel wasn't a simple "newcomer exchange."
On the other side, Tenjo Hikari was also recalling things about Ed.
Ed Phoenix, the character most resembling the secondary male lead in the original Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, as an integral part of the series, Ed truly overshadowed other characters in both dueling ability and resolve, even to the extent that Yuki Judai couldn't match him.
In his first appearance, he engaged in an intense duel with Judai using cards casually bought from a card shop. In the second appearance, he effortlessly defeated Duel Academy's invincible Duelist Marufuji Ryo within a few turns. In the third, he faced Judai in Duel Academy and won against the original protagonist.
It wasn't until Judai obtained the new "Neo-Space Series" that he could defeat Ed using a new deck, and even then, Ed remained as flashy as ever, repeatedly besting formidable opponents, and his team battle with Judai even made Judai exclaim, "No wonder it's Ed, he's too strong!"
Moreover, from the perspective of real cards, Ed has almost always been the savior of "Heroes." From Destiny Heroes to Vision Heroes to Destroyer Phoenix Enforcer... the Hero Deck often needed his cards to be competitive. His ace monster "Destiny Hero - Plasma" also had incredibly overpowering power that even before Tenjo Hikari's time travel, a Plasma summoned on the field caused headaches for most decks.
The only issue is that ever since this high-status Duelist acquired Destiny Hero - Plasma, he never won again.
Additionally, he is one of the rare characters who appeared in the sequel Yu-Gi-Oh! A5...
Tenjo Hikari frowned.
What would this world's Ed be like?
"I summon Truckroid in Defense Position and set a card to end my turn!"
The Truck, resembling a character from some Disney animated movie, appeared on the field, raised its body, and punched with its two front wheels.
Truckroid, LV 4, Earth Attribute, Machine-Type, DEF 2000.
Marufuji Shou set down a card and shook his cloak with flair—
After Kambayashi Kaname, Yamaguchi, and others repeatedly failed, Marufuji Shou became the only remaining face of the Integration Department. He wore a wide robe over his purple uniform, and although he wasn't tall, this outfit made him look impressive, especially given the medal added to his clothing, making him seem like some commander.
Everyone watched Shou end his turn and swallowed, looking at Ed Phoenix.
This is a Professional Duelist!
Shou had dueled with professional Duelists even before Caesar formally entered the professional circle!
Simultaneously, they were very curious about what kind of deck Ed Phoenix, as a Professional Duelist, would use.
Ed glanced at Shou's field, furrowing his brows in confusion.
Is this all?
Was this really enough to trouble Akaba Leo?
Was Saiou deceived?
Still confused, he drew a card, glanced at it, and spoke, "I activate the Spell Card E - Emergency Call."
"Eh!?" Judai was initially dazed when seeing the card, then suddenly excited, "It's Hero!"
"Hero?" Manjome released his crossed arms, quite surprised.
"If it's a Hero Deck, then it might not be that difficult for Shou," Mitsuzawa said.
"Oh!! Is it a Hero Deck!?" Shou recognized the card immediately, "Haha, newcomer, you did right to pick me for the duel! I'm quite familiar with Heroes!"
As he spoke, he lightly lifted his nose.
In the Integration Department, he actually had a pretty good time. Although he was rather timid, no one dared to bully him anymore, and since he received such treatment, ordinary Fusion Army soldiers didn't dare to speak rudely to him. Besides, his dueling level was significantly higher than most students, so he naturally thrived and even started to be a bit cocky.
Of course, as Judai's underling, he wasn't just boasting when he said he knew the Hero Deck.
Ed looked down at his deck, contemplating.
This matched the intel well—saying that Tenjo Hikari's club understood all fusion types thoroughly.
"The effect of E - Emergency Call allows me to add 1 Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand. I add Elemental Hero Stratos to my hand."
"What!!" Judai exclaimed, "It's Stratos!!"
"What's up? Is that Hero really strong?" Manjome looked at Mitsuzawa, who shook his head.
Isn't this a card from the market?
"Spell Card, Polymerization! Fusion summon Feather Windman and Burst Lady from hand!" Ed casually revealed two cards and sent them to the Graveyard.
"Fusion Summon, Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer."
Unlike Flame Wingman, this double-winged hero roared in the wind, landing on the ground, disdainfully eyeing the small truck.
Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer, LV 6, Fire Attribute, Warrior-Type, ATK 2100.
"Phoenix Enforcer?" Manjome asked in confusion, "Shouldn't it be Flame Wingman?"
"Elemental Heroes have the feature of fusing different Fusion Monsters through the same Fusion Material..." Mitsuzawa Daichi explained a bit before looking at Judai.
"Eh, is that the case?"
"What's going on, aren't you a Hero Deck player?" Manjome looked at Tenjo Hikari with some frustration, "Tenjo, explain this, please."
Tenjo Hikari nodded, "Feather Windman and Burst Lady can fuse into various Elemental Heroes, besides the common Flame Wingman, there are Phoenix Enforcers unaffected by battle destruction, evil-minded Inferno Wing, and based on different needs, they can also fuse into Wind Attribute's Great Tornado and Fire Attribute's new star lord... Judai, haven't you collected all these cards?"
"Eh eh eh! Is this how it works?"
He'll definitely prefer Flame Wingman for fusion!
"So... that monster can't be destroyed by battle?" Mitsuzawa and Manjome, already accustomed to Judai's unreliability, looked at each other and said, "This effect, compared to Flame Wingman, lacks damage, but indeed has higher defense."
"No, the key is the other card..." Judai, hearing them change the subject, sensibly coughed and said, "It's Stratos!"