After taking the elevator to the first floor, Hayato hurried out of the KaibaCorp Building, carrying the unconscious Grandpa Muto on his back. As soon as they exited the doors, Téa spotted a black luxury car parked directly in front of the building.
"That's the car," Hayato said, pulling one hand free and waving it. "Hey, come over here and lend a hand!"
As soon as Hayato called out, Téa saw a man with an understated hairstyle step out from the side of the black car and reply to Hayato: "Don't you dare order me around!"
"Chazz Princeton?" Téa had considered that the transportation Hayato found might be a ridiculously expensive taxi, his own family's car, or an ambulance, but she never expected Hayato to have brought along Chazz Princeton, with whom he'd had an unpleasant Duel before?
"Call me Mr. Chazz!" he corrected reflexively. Chazz stepped forward, looking at Grandpa Muto carried by Hayato with a terrified expression. "Hey, hey, hey, Hayato, the guy on your back isn't Yugi, is he!? Is KaibaCorp researching some kind of life-draining weapon? How did Yugi turn into an old man!?"
"No, this is Yugi's grandpa. He passed out because the Duel Monsters projections were too intense," Téa explained. She never imagined Chazz's associative abilities were so rich, mistaking the white-haired Solomon Muto for Yugi, subjected to evil experiments.
"Let's not waste any more time talking! The most important thing is to get Grandpa Muto to the hospital. It'll be bad if we're too late!" Hayato said forcefully to Chazz Princeton. "Chazz, I'll still need you to take us to the hospital."
"So why do I, this great me, have to follow your orders, you of all people?" Because of Hayato's forceful attitude, Chazz Princeton was in a very bad mood. But after looking at the unconscious, frail-faced Solomon Muto, he unhappily pursed his lips. "Tch, just this once. Hurry up and get this old man into the car."
He and Hayato together moved Grandpa Muto into the back seat of the car, securing his seatbelt to prevent further injury from sudden braking or acceleration. Téa sat beside Grandpa Muto, and Chazz sat in the front passenger seat. But just as Hayato was about to get in, he awkwardly realized there were no more seats available.
"It's full here, the car's a bit small," Chazz said, buckling his seatbelt and turning his head to look at the back seat from the front passenger seat. "Hayato, how will you get to the hospital then?"
"You guys go ahead first, I'll catch a taxi right after—" Hayato's words were cut short by Téa. "No, Hayato, you stay here at the KaibaCorp Building."
"But Grandpa Muto needs looking after."
"Chazz and I will take good care of Grandpa Sugoroku." Ignoring Chazz's "When did I say that?" expression as he looked at the back seat, Téa stared seriously into Hayato's eyes. "Kaiba said his Virtual Solid Vision System has an Impact Simulation feature. I'm worried Yugi might get hurt in the Duel too, so someone needs to stay behind as a safeguard."
Seeing Téa's serious demeanor, Hayato knew that Yugi and Kaiba's Duel would inevitably end in Yugi's victory, but he couldn't convince the worried Téa. "I understand, I'll definitely look after Yugi."
Turning to look at Chazz in the front seat, Hayato said, "Then I'll leave Téa and Grandpa Muto to you, Mr. Chazz."
"Ah~" Although he had emphasized it countless times, for the first time ever, someone had finally called him "Mr." Chazz Princeton could barely contain the comfortable expression that threatened to overflow from his face. "This great me is Chazz Princeton! Leave such minor matters to me!"
Watching the black luxury car, carrying Grandpa Muto, disappear around a distant corner, Hayato stopped watching, turned around, and re-entered the KaibaCorp Building.
When he arrived at the top floor again, as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he could hear a majestic, earth-shattering roar emanating from within the enclosed building.
"ROAR!"
"That sound... has Blue-Eyes already appeared?" Speeding up, Hayato entered the building and saw Kaiba and Yugi standing on their respective Duel Stages, and a White Dragon spewing a blast of power entwined with endless swift wind and radiance from its mouth, destroying Yugi's Monster on the Field with a single Attack!
Purity and power coexisted on the monster before him. Its massive wings could even obscure the sky. Bathed in the debris of Yugi's Monster on the Field after it was Destroyed, the most iconic Monster in Duel Monsters history, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, made its grand appearance!
"That's Grandpa's Card! But it wasn't there just now!" Yugi watched his Life Points rapidly decrease due to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's Attack. His body also felt a trace of pain from the Impact Simulation System installed in Kaiba's specially designed Duel Stage, but his mind was enveloped in mystery.
"Hmph! Yugi, you're not the only one in the world who possesses a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. There are only four Blue-Eyes in existence, and three of them are gathered in my hands. To reach the pinnacle and become the strongest Duelist, the fourth Blue-Eyes is the only Monster that can threaten me."
"So, you tore up Grandpa's precious Card, which he treasured as his life!" Yugi's expression was a little frighteningly serious. "To steal someone else's treasure for such a reason, you're truly despicable, Seto Kaiba! I swear on my Grandpa's name, and on my dignity as a Duelist, I will defeat you!"
Kaiba let out a soft chuckle. "Anyone can make grand boasts. If you can do it, then by all means, try, Yugi!"
Although the fury in his heart almost materialized, the oppressive power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon on Kaiba's Field was simply too great. Yugi merely Set a Monster in Defense Position and ended his Turn.
"Cry your heart out before Blue-Eyes! Wail, and then die!" Kaiba unreservedly commanded Blue-Eyes to Attack. Few Monsters in current Duel Monsters could resist Blue-Eyes. And his Attack was indeed successful; Yugi's Set Monster was Destroyed in one hit by the Burst Stream of Destruction, symbolizing annihilation, spewed forth by the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Blue-Eyes is the strongest Monster Card in the world, and with three Blue-Eyes in my possession, I am the strongest Duelist. Come, Yugi, amuse me with your wails as you try to climb a mountain only to stumble and fall into a ravine! Just like that old man." Kaiba repeatedly prodded at Yugi's nerves.
"The screams of your Monster as it's Destroyed by Blue-Eyes are truly delightful. Just standing here, I can hear that old man's last gasps!"
"Damn it, My Turn!"
Angrily, Yugi Drew a Card, his expression freezing. He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Hayato, who was observing from the side. *This Card... is it the one Hayato gave me?*
(end of chapter)