The company intending to sign a contract with Tenjo Hikari is an instant noodle company called "Fengguang."
In terms of size, it's quite small and doesn't rank globally. However, because of its small size, it is willing to accept Tenjo Hikari's demands.
After all, what Tenjo Hikari proposed is a "new recipe," and he himself has named it "Instant Fusion" cup noodles.
Before coming to Duel Academy, they had absolutely no preparation for this kind of "technology investment" situation. After all, an academy that studies dueling was not expected to come up with something like this, right?
Tenjo Hikari thought they were being too simplistic.
In this world, "duelists" are synonymous with elites and geniuses. In any case, he could guarantee that their Yellow Academy's Teacher Kabayama, the "Curry Demon" who loves curry, could definitely come up with curry they've never tasted before for them.
However, after hearing that Tenjo Hikari got the "recipe from an Otherworld," they changed their attitude.
On one hand, although Tenjo Hikari is just a student, he had participated in a "world-class duel" in a physical sense, and he is the first super rookie in recent years to defeat an X-Dimensional Duelist, so his fame in the short term is not small.
On the other hand, nowadays, the "Other Dimension" is a brand-new "gold mine." A recipe obtained from another dimension, and from a Duel Spirit at that—as long as it's not particularly unpalatable, someone will buy it.
Finally, this is somewhat akin to buying a thousand gold with a horse's bones. After all, Tenjo Hikari is only a first-year student, and similarly, Marufuji Ryo, appearing in the "world-class" competition, has also achieved his first victory in the professional circuit, which shows that Duel Academy's duelists are indeed promising. Therefore, for a duelist like Tenjo Hikari, who had a duel in a world broadcast and even left behind a famous line like "Fusion is the most noble form of summoning," the future might hold even greater achievements.
By then, they would be a large company with the "eye for talent"!
"Didn't we agree that I would be the main spokesperson!? What's with that kid who appeared out of nowhere!"
One afternoon, after Tenjo Hikari received an outing permit signed by Professor Cronos, he took a boat to a factory located in the southern part of the Island Country. There, they let Tenjo Hikari tour the factory's equipment, check their production line, and also experimented with Tenjo Hikari's recipe to see how it tasted and whether it was "edible."
Meanwhile, while Tenjo Hikari was following the staff around, a quarrel broke out at the other end of the factory.
"Ah, sorry, Tenjo-san." The OL responsible for leading Tenjo Hikari showed a hint of embarrassment on her face and quickly explained, "That's our company's partner duelist. We originally planned to invite him tomorrow to discuss with you, but he decided to come on his own... Please, come this way."
However, before she could lead Tenjo Hikari away, some staff at the other side had already failed to stop the other person, allowing them to rush over.
Looking at the person across, Tenjo Hikari felt a bit confused for a moment.
The duelist in front of Tenjo Hikari gave him a feeling that was both familiar and unfamiliar. At first glance, he seemed very familiar, but upon careful thought, he struggled to recall who it was.
This was a relatively tall young man wearing a red hat, with quite loose hair, and a green coat over a yellow base outfit.
Hmm...
Ah...
"Mr. Dinosaur, why did you come today!" The OL hurriedly spoke, trying to ease the atmosphere, "Your arrival truly graces our company..."
"Don't say unnecessary things. What's going on? Didn't we agree that I would continue to be the main spokesperson!"
"Mr. Dinosaur, that's indeed the case, but our company also needs to develop, and we didn't cancel our partnership with you..."
Tenjo Hikari recognized him.
Dinosaur Ryuzaki.
This is a character who appeared in the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, with a main Dinosaur-Type deck, and this person had a terrifying record in the original—never winning.
In the manga, Dinosaur Ryuzaki could take wins or losses in stride; after losing to Esper Roba, he even reminded Jonouchi to be careful of "superpowers." Though often tricked by Insector Haga, he still considered him a friend...
In short, he's someone who honors his bets and is quite straightforward.
However, Tenjo Hikari remembered that near the ending of the series, this person seemed to be wandering the streets, living in quite poor conditions.
At the same time, while Dinosaur Ryuzaki was arguing with the OL, some staff began explaining to Tenjo Hikari.
It turns out that when "Fengguang Ramen" first started, due to not having a duelist as a face, it was often ridiculed by peers, and its brand promotion efforts frequently hit roadblocks, so they partnered with Dinosaur Ryuzaki, who at the time was in quite a bad spot.
After all, although Dinosaur Ryuzaki was doing poorly, he was indeed a—Legendary Duelist!
Eh...
A Legendary Duelist?
Tenjo Hikari raised an eyebrow.
Is that true?
He reconsidered.
Indeed, in the original, the Maze Brothers had a game against Muto Yugi and Jonouchi Katsuya and became "Legendary Duelists who gave the Duel King a hard time." Someone like Dinosaur Ryuzaki, who dueled Jonouchi countless times and once held a "Red-Eyes Black Dragon," a "Legendary Card," being a Legendary Duelist too made sense.
And he was only ever beaten by the third male lead; if people aren't cheating, his abilities as a duelist are undoubtedly there, easily handling some small fry or professional duelists.
Tenjo Hikari asked the staff, and from them, learned that since Dinosaur Ryuzaki started endorsing their products, he indeed had more wins than losses. Also, since then, he paid great attention to his image, never associating with Insector Haga again, only recommending jobs a few times, living quite a disciplined life otherwise.
After mulling over it twice meticulously, Tenjo Hikari came to a conclusion.
Dinosaur Ryuzaki has done nothing wrong by this company.
"In that case, I think Senior Dinosaur is right."
"Eh?"
"Hmm? Kid?"
Dinosaur Ryuzaki stopped arguing with the staff and looked at Tenjo Hikari.
Tenjo Hikari cleared his throat slightly and said, "It's a simple principle, isn't it, everyone? If today you can cancel over ten years of contracts with seniors like him to pursue someone more famous like me or for reasons involving the Other Dimension, then in the future, you might terminate your cooperation with me anytime you find it beneficial and can afford the damages.
How could I accept that?"
"How could that be! Tenjo-san!" The staff panicked and hastily started explaining non-stop, "We never said we'd cancel our contract with Mr. Dinosaur, didn't we say we would discuss the contract tomorrow—"
A large group quickly began chirping explanations, talking about how long the contracts have been signed, their unchanged ten-year partnership with Ryuzaki, explaining this and that to the two of them...
Looking back, Dinosaur Ryuzaki no longer seemed as furious as before.
Actually, he was a bit fired up at first.
After living a long time wandering, Dinosaur Ryuzaki gained a new understanding of life, and he's also gotten back on his feet thanks to the "Fengguang" company. If he suddenly lost this identity, even if he wouldn't end up on the streets like before, he would still have worries and fears.
Thus, upon hearing that Fengguang wanted to expand its business and find new endorsements, he was quite afraid.
Especially upon recognizing the other person as the "boundlessly promising" young duelist who, just last year, dueled with the X-Dimension and won, his concern intensified.
Yet unexpectedly, this Tenjo Hikari did not fall for the immediate benefit but instead stood up for him.
For him, who had nothing but the title of "Legendary Duelist," Tenjo Hikari's support instantly earned him considerable respect and goodwill from Dinosaur Ryuzaki.
Then there's another issue.
For someone like a stray dog, this company was Dinosaur Ryuzaki's "new home," so...
"Hey, kid." Dinosaur Ryuzaki called out.
"Senior Dinosaur." Tenjo Hikari responded politely.
"Let's duel." He raised his hand, and the old-style duel disk on his arm began to operate and load stiffly.
Seeing this, Tenjo Hikari didn't waste words, put down his backpack, took out his duel disk, and wore it on his hand.
"Ah? Mr. Dinosaur, Tenjo-san?"
"There's no need to duel at such a time, you both—"
"We're truly just cooperating simply."
The few staff present were somewhat panicked seeing them about to duel.
"Alright, stop yapping." Dinosaur Ryuzaki smiled wryly, "Duelists should speak in the language of duelists. When the duel is over, all answers will be revealed."
"Kid, don't you think so too?"
"Being able to duel with a Legendary Duelist — it's my honor!"
"Then—"
"Duel!"
Tenjo Hikari LP: 4000.
Dinosaur Ryuzaki LP: 4000.
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