"Hikaru," said Chazz Princeton, catching up to Hikaru Amagi right after classes ended on the first day of the new semester, just as students began signing up for the memorial tournament. "I've got something I want to discuss with you."
"What's up?" Hikaru had half-expected a challenge. "You entering the tournament too?"
"No." Chazz shook his head. "Of course I'd love to get my hands on one of Yugi's cards, but if I entered… Master Kaiba wouldn't be too happy about it."
Personally, Hikaru didn't think Seto Kaiba would care about something that trivial.
"It's something else I want to talk to you about."
Now that was weird.
What could Chazz possibly want with him?
Don't tell him—could it be like the original series, where Chazz had a thing for Alexis Rhodes and was looking to get advice?
In the anime, it was around then that the Sacred Beasts came into play—but wait, that doesn't add up. If this were about Alexis, wouldn't he be talking to Atticus Rhodes?
"It's about Chairman Kagemaru," Chazz said, lowering his voice, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
"Kagemaru!?" Hikaru's pupils narrowed slightly before quickly recovering—he played dumb. "Lightning, why bring him up? He's already passed away. What more is there to say?"
Chazz nodded slowly, hesitating. "I've… seen him before at KaibaCorp. Well—not in person. I once video conferenced with him over the network."
Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"
"He was terrified of dying. Master Kaiba had a really low opinion of him—said his head was full of garbage, and he wasn't even worthy of being called trash. Every so often, his life support units would get swapped out by his robotic staff. Everything automated. In theory, there shouldn't have been any mechanical failure. And from what I saw in one of the internal reports, even if the system failed, with his physical condition, he should've had at least another month."
"Lightning… you mean?" Hikaru was genuinely surprised. "You're saying the Chairman didn't die naturally?"
Chazz nodded sharply. "I suspect someone from the Shadow Riders' backers."
He raised a hand. "Remember? Professor Banner once mentioned someone had sponsored his research. That means someone knew what he was doing—likely the same person who helped him become a Shadow Rider. And Banner also said this world is full of arrogant fools trying to use the other dimensions for their own ends. Someone like… Professor Reiji Akaba, perhaps?"
"Lightning, you're a genius detective…"
Hikaru stared at him, eyes wide.
Chazz had somehow figured it all out just by observation and logical deduction.
Hikaru already knew about the connection between Kagemaru and Akaba. He knew Kagemaru had survived until the end of the original story, always lingering like a cockroach. So after the shock of his death, Hikaru's first thought was that Baldy might've had something to do with it.
But Chazz? He'd come to the same conclusion just from what he saw. From scraps and hunches.
"I suspect Professor Akaba might've been Banner's sponsor from the beginning." Chazz's expression grew even more serious. "If that's true, then everything he's been doing in the Dimensional Fusion Department makes perfect sense."
It didn't quite line up with what Hikaru knew from the original timeline, but the fact Chazz could deduce so much from so little was insane.
"No wonder they call you Lightning."
"You're not surprised." Chazz narrowed his eyes. "That confirms it—you already suspected Professor Akaba, didn't you? That's why you created the new Fusion Department. Why you sent Syrus over there. You had a plan."
Hikaru nodded internally. Akaba could very well have been the one who murdered Chairman Kagemaru. Given what he'd seen in the original world, the guy absolutely had the capacity to pull something like that—quietly, cleanly, and with zero evidence.
But the Hikaru of this world had never heard of Kagemaru and Akaba having any ties. The only thing he knew was that Reiji Akaba had once improved the dimensional portals and earned recognition from KaibaCorp.
Beyond that—nothing.
"Lightning, I'm suspicious too. But… I've got no proof of anything." Hikaru sighed. That was the awkward part.
He'd told Cronos about being ambushed in Tsudono City. Cronos had reported it to KaibaCorp. But the Super Polymerization he'd used had fused everything away so thoroughly, there wasn't a single trace left. Nothing for KaibaCorp to investigate.
Then again, the less anyone knew about Super Poly, the better. The cleaner the fusion, the better for him.
And the dimension housing the Parasite Research Lab? Even Serena didn't know where that was. She was a prisoner, not a gatekeeper.
"I came to you because you're the only one I could trust enough to talk this through with," Chazz said seriously. "If you thought I was just being paranoid, I'd drop it. But if you also think Akaba's suspicious…"
He clenched a fist. "Then I'll call Master Kaiba directly. Ask him to investigate. Have him look into Akaba's network."
He clearly dreaded the thought.
Seto Kaiba wasn't exactly… warm. From presence to power to pedigree, Kaiba was basically a MAX-level version of Chazz. And under that kind of pressure, studying under Kaiba was like being constantly crushed.
Plus, Kaiba didn't speak kindly. And with that body of his—built like a damn weapon—he'd once lifted Chazz with one hand to beat up an AI.
Chazz wouldn't have dared bother Kaiba over a hunch—unless he was absolutely sure someone else had his back.
"I see."
Hikaru wanted to keep talking, but at that moment, a teacher's voice called out from beyond the hallway.
"Hikaru Amagi! Please report to the Duel Arena! Your match is about to begin!"
Hikaru called back, "On my way!" before turning to Chazz again.
"Lightning—don't let Jaden and the others hear about this."
"I know. That's why I only talked to you," Chazz nodded lightly. "If they heard, they'd probably start overthinking things. Especially if this does lead back to Professor Banner."
Hikaru couldn't help but respect him.
The version of Chazz trained by Kaiba really was solid.
Maybe in the future, he could share some of what he knew with Chazz. Let him in. Talk it through.
Chazz had also reminded Hikaru of something important.
Even though in the original story, most of the main students became background characters as time went on… they were all highly talented in their own right. Each had a unique strength—Chazz's deduction, Bastion's calculation, Jaden's instinctual bond with spirits.
They couldn't be treated like random kids.
There was plenty to learn, to exchange.
But for now, Hikaru ran off to the arena—and found himself facing a Yellow dorm student with… an extremely strange hairstyle.
Of course.
That guy.
Kagemaru's clone copycat—"Copycat" duelist Kagurazaka.
Looks like his first opponent had special talents of his own.