The Kaiba Group helicopter, emblazoned with the "KC" logo, was slowly moving through the sky. The legendary figure of the dueling realm, Seto Kaiba, sat inside with his legs crossed, taking the tablet handed to him by a subordinate.
"President, the emergency situation at the park has been resolved."
The subordinate said.
"A young duelist on the scene successfully defeated the hijacked dueling AI, unlocking the venue. The equipment on site is being inspected to determine the cause of the system breach."
"Hmm."
Seto Kaiba responded with a slight frown as he unlocked the tablet.
Another situation like this...
He certainly remembered that such a thing had happened once before years ago.
When the world's first Kaiba Park was completed, they hosted the KC Cup Duel Tournament as the opening event for the official operation of Kaiba Park.
It was during that competition that his former business rival, Kiku Lloyd, hacked into the system, locking the dueling venue and hijacking the dueling AI. The AI had to be defeated to unlock it.
Fortunately, at that time, the annoying Yugi happened to be inside the venue and swiftly defeated the AI.
This incident was simply a replay of the past.
But who could it be this time?
Could it still be Kiku...no, impossible. Eight years ago, the reason they succeeded during the KC Cup was entirely because they were hidden in the shadows while Kaiba was unaware of such a hidden opponent. After the KC Cup, naturally, Kaiba would not leave any opportunity for them to make a comeback.
Moreover, the current Kaiba Park was no longer in its early construction stages, and the system vulnerabilities that Kiku once exploited had long been fixed. Kaiba was confident that even if that guy came again, he shouldn't be able to break into the system.
Then who could it be...
"President, the duel replay with the AI has also been sent over," the subordinate said, "Would you like to take a look?"
"Send it to me," Kaiba swiped open the tablet.
Everything else could be put aside; he couldn't possibly miss watching a duel.
Especially since this duel involved the AI he personally supervised in development, a replication of himself. That should have been classified just like the AI he used to duel with Yugi.
However, since the opportunity had arisen, he was curious to see how a random young duelist managed to defeat his replica.
The replay loaded, and the duel began.
Alright, it looked like his AI was going second. A fairly standard start, with a combination of Dominator and Dragon-Calling Flute bringing out Blue-Eyes and Crystal Dragon in one go. Kaiba nodded slightly, thinking that at least the AI's start didn't embarrass him too much; this scene was passable.
Now, let's see how the opponent responds...
From the replay, Yugen said: "Continuous Trap - Dragon Race Sealing Pot, all dragon races switch to defense mode!"
Kaiba pondered.
Hmm, interesting approach. This scene naturally reminded him of the time he was driven berserk by Beckas's Sealing Pot in Duel Kingdom.
Kaiba let out a sneer.
That was in the past. He had long surpassed Beckas, and such tactics were no longer effective against him now.
He continued watching the moves Yugen made on screen.
"Dragon Rider, taking control of the 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon'! Then tribute summon 'Dragon Slayer'!"
Kaiba's smile slowly vanished.
"Inhaling Flashing Magic Mirror, negate all effects of Light Attribute monsters!"
Kaiba fell into silence.
"Trap Card 'Hellish Aggregation', gain control of your 'True Ultimate Blue-Eyes Dragon'!"
Watching the AI on screen get battered until the visuals distorted and the system crashed under the burst gale beam of True Ultimate Blue-Eyes Dragon, the President quietly closed the screen.
"The young man who won this duel," Kaiba looked up and asked, "What's his name?"
The subordinate responded, "His name seems to be... Fujiki Yugen, from the city's Dueling Dojo. He just passed this year's Duel Academy entrance exam and is expected to enter this year..."
"Oh?" Kaiba showed a look of interest.
That would make him half a student under his charge.
"Fujiki Yugen."
Kaiba interlaced his fingers, leaned back in his seat, and let out a chuckle.
He remembered this name.
...
...
Yugen sat alongside Keihei Kaiba in a car over six meters long, driving on the way to a Kaiba Company branch.
"You were amazing to have defeated Brother's AI," Keihei chatted idly in the car, "That AI was independently developed by our corporation, capable of executing various tactics effortlessly."
"Just lucky."
Yugen smiled brightly, thinking to himself that their AI had a flaw, which was its temperament; it seemed to collapse after a few hits.
Speaking of which, it seemed like he had helped them find another design flaw. Should he ask for more compensation...
"By the way, were you guys just coincidentally nearby?" Yugen asked.
Given that the Kaiba Company main office wasn't here, and Keihei had arrived so quickly, he seemed to have been in the city by chance.
"Yes, we had some matters to attend to. My brother and I will be around here... well, it's okay to tell you." Keihei spoke earnestly.
"Recently, you should be careful when going out at night. We've heard that there might be some dangerous individuals in the area who often like to attack some duelists... especially those with some strength. They're all outlaws."
Yugen immediately thought of the encounter he had the other night.
Hmm, thanks for the reminder; I've already been attacked.
That guy's card deck is still with me.
"Are you saying that the Kaiba President is also in the city? To deal with those Dark Duelists?"
"Yes. We need to find the leaders of this group because they have something we need... Ha, I've said too much." Keihei laughed, seemingly unwilling to delve further into this topic.
"In any case, don't underestimate those people. They're called 'Dark Duelists'; you've probably heard some rumors, but I assure you, their actual prowess is far stronger than what you might have heard."
"I've heard of them," Yugen said, recalling some rumors he had come across online, "There's talk that someone has started pressuring Kaiba Company to produce equipment to weaponize Duel Monsters, right?"
It's only natural such things happen. After all, the Kaiba company originally made their fortune in arms, being one of the world's largest weapon suppliers until Seto Kaiba took over the group. Nowadays, shifting their focus, they are the world's premier Duel Monsters entertainment company, with half the world using the dueling systems they produce.
"But don't worry, that won't happen," Keihei smiled, "Since my brother took over, Kaiba Company has abandoned weapon development; it was abandoned in the past and will be in the future as well.
Dueling should bring smiles to people, rather than be a tool for war and harm."
Bringing smiles through dueling, that I can relate to. Yugen nodded in agreement.
People who watch him duel often end up smiling in the end.
Though, while President Kaiba's decisive move to cut off arms development is commendable, he still kind of wanted to say that times have changed. Printing cards is way more impressive than making planes and missiles...
"Wait, stop the car."
Kaihei suddenly seemed to have spotted something.
The driver obediently stopped the car.
"What is it?" Yugen asked.
Kaihei frowned, looking at his watch. Yugen then noticed that what he was wearing wasn't a watch but some kind of electronic device independently developed by Kaiba Company, and the screen was flickering on and off.
"What's this?"
"It's a duel energy detector, and this reaction implies... it might be a Dark Duel!"
After saying this, Kaihei had already opened the door and jumped out of the car.
Yugen thought for a moment and then followed behind him.
After several turns through the alley, the dense black fog seemed to get thicker. Moving forward appeared to lead up against an invisible barrier.
Looking ahead in that direction, there seemed to be two people dueling.
He didn't recognize the opponent, but this guy seemed kind of familiar over here...
Ryuzaki Kyoryu?
Why would he be in a place like this?