Sure enough, Youyu had guessed it.
Don't be fooled by President Haima's intimidating entourage, complete with planes and bodyguards, surrounded by a phalanx of black-suited agents. It looks like he's here with menacing intent...
... but in reality, it's still about card games.
When it comes to card addiction, no one in the world can compare to President Kaiba Seto. His addiction to cards is truly out of this world, to the point where he even spent a fortune developing black technology, trying to use technological power to break the boundaries between the living world and the Netherworld just to find the King to play cards...
A team from the Nightwalker World rushed to the warehouse at the dock full of momentum, only to find nothing. Not to mention, Marik played them like a fiddle. Most people must be feeling incredibly frustrated, silently cursing Marik and his family in their hearts.
But not Youyu.
Seeing the scene outside, and President Haima jumping out of the plane like Batman, Youyu wasn't angry at all. He even felt like saying—
—Nice, Marik!
Lately, he's been planning on finding an opportunity to play cards with President Haima before Duel City begins, to tell him the dueling rules have serious flaws that need fixing. And now, the opportunity has come knocking at his door.
With this thought in mind, Youyu suddenly felt that Marik wasn't so annoying after all.
Who said Marik couldn't be a good guy and do good deeds?
If Marik isn't a good guy, then who was it that went out of their way to deliver Yugi's Slifer the Sky Dragon?
In the anime, Marik actually sent someone all the way from Egypt to Japan to hand deliver Slifer the Sky Dragon to Yugi, without even charging a dime for postage. Who wouldn't believe he's doing charity work after that?
Faced with Haima's provocation, the Nightwalker World duelists hesitated.
President Haima's name has a lot of weight in the Duel Monsters circle. If it weren't for the Millennium Eye's ability to cheat, even Pegasus wouldn't have been his match.
Many in the circle say the only one who can defeat Haima is Duel King Muto Yugi. Haima is considered the true upper echelon, second to none.
However, duelists from the Underworld won't be scared off just by a reputation.
"I'll do it!" someone volunteered immediately.
"No, leave this to me. Let him see the power of my Machine Deck!"
Youyu, of course, didn't miss this opportunity: "Let me give it a shot."
Kusunoki Manager glanced at the crowd, snorted lightly, then took a step forward and opened his Duel Disc.
"With me here, there's no reason to let my subordinates go first." He said in a raspy voice, his scarred face adding to his intimidating aura, "I've heard President Haima's powerful deck is unmatched. Coincidentally, I also specialize in power suppression with a strong deck.
Let's seize today's opportunity to see which of us is stronger!"
Haima laughed confidently, acting as if he didn't consider the opponent at all.
"Duel!"
...
A minute later.
"Ahhhh!!!"
The Dark Duelists watched as their manager was blown away by a blinding impact, falling to the ground and sliding a long distance before crashing into the warehouse's outer wall like a cannonball.
A group hurriedly gathered around.
"Boss!"
"Boss, are you alright?"
"Boss, wake up! Think of your Meimei, Meimei, and Meimei! What will happen to them if you're gone?"
"..."
President Haima crossed his arms, with the majestic white dragon standing behind him. The legendary monster, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, hovered behind him, the aura of the Dragon-Type King seemingly breaking the constraints of 3D projection, exerting a divine beast-like dominion over the scene.
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!"
President Haima let out his classic three-stage laugh. True fans of the game wouldn't even need to see it, and could recognize him by this iconic voice from a block away.
"Hmph, this is why you're not worth a sneeze." Haima scoffed disdainfully, "What Dark Duelist? It's a joke. You third-rate duelists using fourth-rate decks, your skills aren't even as good as that lucky Normal Monster (referring to Jonouchi)!
The path of battle is endless, and the duelist world doesn't need the weak!"
(Innocently roped in Jonouchi: Why does this concern me again?)
President Haima's bias against Jonouchi is indeed peculiar. No matter what, Jonouchi was the Duelist Kingdom's runner-up, and would eventually be recognized globally as one of the Legendary Duelists. Yet, in President Haima's eyes, Jonouchi is always just a useless "Normal Monster."
Perhaps by President Haima's standards, the world's duelists only fall into two categories. If you're better than Jonouchi, you're alright; lower or equal to Jonouchi, you're trash... (which might seem a bit harsh if you think about it)
The crowd could only grit their teeth at Haima's taunts, not daring to speak up.
Because no matter how annoying Kaiba Seto may be, his strength is undeniably real.
This overwhelming power... everyone weighed it in their hearts, estimating that they would likely be instantaneously defeated if they stepped up.
Youyu stepped forward.
"Mr. President," he raised his Duel Disc, "may I give it a go?"
"Hmm?" Haima raised an eyebrow, his tone softening slightly, "Are you new?"
After all, Nightwalker World is a local guild, and Haima has a rough idea of its regulars.
He was sure he'd never seen this young man in the organization's files. If he had, he would remember.
This young man seemed completely different from the others, with charm and aura that nearly matched his own Kaiba's... though just a bit lacking, of course. (Self-pleased President)
"Interesting. Yes, you can, but there's a condition." Haima sneered, "If you duelists come one by one, it'll never end. So you'll represent your whole team, and if you lose, during the upcoming Duel City event, your association can't carry out any actions in Domino City. Do you understand?"
Youyu said, "We're on the same side, President. Our target is also the Ghouls Group..."
"Kaiba Company can handle Ghouls themselves. We don't need a bunch of so-called 'Dark Duelists' meddling." Haima retorted bluntly, "Keep your heads down, and obediently watch from the sidelines."
Youyu turned to signal to the people behind him. Panting heavily in a group of huddled men, Kusunoki Manager hesitated, then nodded, giving Youyu an affirmative response.
Although new, Youyu's strength is well recognized among them. If Youyu couldn't win, it wouldn't matter who else went up.
"Alright, we accept your condition." Youyu said, "But in exchange, through this duel, I have a small proposal I hope the President will consider."
"Oh? You want to negotiate terms with me?"
"Not so much terms, just a personal perspective on the current Duel Monsters game. I'd like to discuss it with the President."
"Hmph, only if you manage to win." Haima, obviously extremely confident in himself, hadn't even considered the possibility of defeat.
"It's settled then." Youyu placed his newly shuffled deck back into his Duel Disc.
"Duel!"x2