"Are you leaving?" Youyu asked.
"Yeah, our mission is completed, it's about time to return to our own era." Yusei nodded and said, "There are many companions waiting for me to return in my era."
"I also have many things to do in my own era." Judai smiled.
"I see." Youyu nodded, "Then it seems it's time to say goodbye."
Yusei smiled: "But as long as the history of Duel Monsters hasn't vanished, we'll always be connected by bonds that transcend time."
"Yeah, don't forget me, Teacher Youyu." Judai smiled mysteriously, "And if nothing unexpected happens, we should meet again soon."
Youyu: "?"
But that's all Judai said, stopping without explaining further.
"Sorry for the trouble we've caused you." Yusei was more polite.
After saying goodbye, the two quickly disappeared from Youyu's view.
By the time the KC Cup ended, and Youyu finished handling the tournament matters to leave Kaiba Land, they must have returned to their respective eras.
They walked away, leaving a mess for Youyu to clean up.
...For example, just a few minutes later, he was standing before President Kaiba, racking his brains on how to explain.
Like why he was fighting alongside two mysterious individuals against Lv Bu (let's humor Uncle Pa and say he's Lv Bu), or why Paradox wanted to attack Kaiba and President Pegasus, and most importantly—
——Where did Paradox get that Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
So many questions to explain one by one, just thinking about it gave Youyu a headache...
Unexpectedly, President Kaiba merely glanced at him and asked first: "Is everything resolved?"
Youyu froze for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, it's all settled. There won't be any more surprises."
"Hmph." Kaiba, with his arms folded, said coolly, "Then hurry up and prepare. The KC Cup's qualifying rounds are over, the competition was temporarily halted due to unexpected events, but it'll resume soon.
Next is the finals, and the challenger who makes it to the finals will get the chance to challenge you. Don't disgrace the title of Duel King."
"Oh...oh."
Youyu responded verbally, but was surprised inside, not a single question from the President?
Not even asking what happened, just trusting that I've handled it?
Honestly, the President trusting me this much made me feel a bit guilty...
Youyu thought about it and decided to tell the President everything once the KC Cup was over.
The President's never believed or listened when it came to supernatural phenomena involving Millennium Items and Darkness Games, but time travel at least relates to the "science" the President is obsessed with, he might believe it...
Future technology, it's still technology.
If the President hears that future people have truly used scientific technology to tackle problems like Duel Spirit materialization and Darkness Game, he might even feel reassured.
Just as Youyu was about to leave, Kaiba suddenly spoke again: "The person beside you just now..."
Youyu stopped, ready to listen to what Kaiba was going to say.
Kaiba turned his head, revealing a rare expression of interest: "That's your student, right?"
"!"
Youyu was stunned.
Could it be that the President...has already met Yuki Judai?
Could they have...already dueled?
With this thought, Youyu took a deep breath, almost guessing the outcome.
Though Youyu said nothing, Kaiba assumed from his reaction that he'd guessed the answer.
Kaiba hummed, turned, with arms folded, asked no more, saying lightly: "You've taught a fine student. Your application to go to Duel Academy...I'll reconsider it."
Youyu: "..."
He's becoming increasingly curious now, about what transpired between President Kaiba and the future Yuki Judai while he was away.
To those unfamiliar with Seto Kaiba, they might think, his icy tone and indifferent expression seem as if he's very angry.
But having followed the President for so long, Youyu can clearly hear that when the President mentioned his "student", his attitude was actually one of appreciation and approval.
It seems he's highly acknowledged Youyu's "student".
For Kaiba, that's quite rare, it's no easy feat to earn his recognition.
And despite likely only dueling once, Seto Kaiba's acknowledgment of this student, without even revealing true identity, in terms of card skills, character, or as a Duelist, is clear.
After saying that, Kaiba waved his hand, saying lightly: "Go and prepare well, the finals are starting soon."
"...Oh."
Youyu said no more, exiting directly.
Just as he was busy dealing with Paradox with the future protagonists, another player who advanced to the finals and got the chance to challenge Youyu in the KC Cup had also been decided.
Youyu had been busy before, so he hadn't had the time to check.
Now that Uncle Pa's issue was resolved, Youyu finally had the leisure to browse the player forums while walking, curious to see who his opponent in the final would be.
Will it be Xue Lang?
According to the forum news, after Cola Sprite was eliminated by him in the quarterfinals, it seemed Xue Lang was the only player left in the quarterfinals. If he gets a bit lucky, it's not impossible for him to reach the finals.
Or... will it be the kid from the Lloyd Family?
It was mentioned earlier that Youyu specifically named Zigfried Lloyd and his brother Reyn Wilson (pseudonym) to be banned from the competition.
The President did ban Zigfried, but did not adopt Youyu's suggestion regarding his brother Reyn Wilson.
The reason being Reyn Wilson had participated in many international competitions in his own name and had received personal commendations from President Pegasus. In the President's eyes, he is a "true Duelist."
Whatever the reason, he wouldn't prohibit a "true Duelist" from competing.
That kid, Reyn Wilson, uses a Fairy Tale Deck featuring characters like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, a deck specially customized for him by President Pegasus.
It's clear from this specialized deck that he isn't just a minor player. In the original KC Chapter, Reyn Wilson was indeed the boss-level character challenging Muto Yugi for the Name of the Duel King.
If it were him, he certainly has a chance of reaching the finals.
The player forum was still buzzing with discussions about the side story of three generations of Duel Kings battling Paradox, and it took Youyu quite a while to finally find the information about the KC Cup finals and see his final opponent.
Then he was instantly stunned.
His opponent in the finals was neither Xue Lang nor Reyn, but someone he hadn't even considered would appear.
...
"Sir, the advancement for the KC Cup finals has been decided."
At that moment, a subordinate quickly approached Zigfried Lloyd.
Zigfried's gloomy expression slightly eased—this trip of sabotage at Kaiba Group had hit repeated setbacks, leaving his mood at its worst.
The only card left was his brother Reyn Wilson, who was allowed by that arrogant Kaiba to participate in the KC Cup.
Reyn had a card entrusted by Zigfried, an absolutely invincible card that could instantly defeat opponents in duels and Kaiba Group!
Field Magic, Golden Palace of Torrential Mountain.
Effect: "Once per turn, randomly Special Summon 1 monster with 4 or fewer stars in face-up Attack Position from your deck.
As long as this card remains on the field, neither player can Normal Summon monsters.
Monsters summoned by this card must forcefully battle with monsters on the opponent's field during either player's turn.
If the opponent's monster attacks, destroy the attacking monster and inflict damage equal to half of that attack value to the opponent.
This card cannot be destroyed by Magic, Trap, or Monster effects.
During each of your Standby Phases, half the cards from your deck must be sent to the graveyard as a maintenance cost for this card; however, this cost can be paid by the opposing player."
Is the effect outrageous?
Absolutely outrageous.
Because the card's effect text was modified by Zigfried through special channels without authorization.
Strictly speaking, this card that has been maliciously altered should already count as a fake card.
Zigfried even rewrote the program for this card. As long as Reyn could activate this card in the KC Cup finals, it would hack Kaiba Company's database, deleting all data related to Duel Monsters!
According to his plan, Reyn could use this invincible fake card to defeat Youyu in the finals and claim the title of Duel King, while Kaiba Group would face an irrevocable disaster due to data loss.
At that point, both the title of Duel King and the leading position in the Duel World would be theirs, the Lloyd Consortium!
Plan success!
Of course, the success of this plan hinges on his brother Reyn advancing to the finals and not using this killer fake card before the finals.
If it was exposed too early, it would be meaningless.
That's why Zigfried had strong confidence in Reyn's abilities. He knew his brother's talent in dueling very well, and as long as Reyn didn't face that Duel King before the finals, no other player could stop Reyn's advancement...
"Report!!!"
A servant rushed to stand before him, urgency in his movements.
"Young master, he... he couldn't advance to the finals, he was eliminated!!!"
Zigfried almost spat out blood in fury.
"What!?" Zigfried's face was filled with shock. "Who eliminated him!?"
In the KC Cup, apart from Duel King Youyu, was there really anyone capable of eliminating Reyn?
The servant was sweating profusely: "The opponent seems to be a kid too, no relevant records were found, presumably he has never participated in any public tournaments before.
The kid's name seems to be...
... Yuki Judai!"