Yugen quietly observed the duel from the sidelines, chin in hand, pondering.
This was Kaiba Seto's duel, eight years after DM. It could basically represent the known duelist ceiling in the current card world.
In the GX Anime, the President never directly participated in a duel. The only close encounter was the duel between Judai and "Ally of Justice Kaibaman." However, that seemed more like Kaiba printing a card spirit based on himself, and it was hard to say how serious Judai was in that duel, as he lost.
Directly taking this current duel as a reference, it's no wonder that everyone in the dueling world now calls Kaiba the number one duelist. Even disregarding his unique "floor-draw" technique, the strength of his current Blue-Eyes Deck truly had surpassed previous generations to a completely different level.
Even the main cast of GX in the early stages of the plot had just emerged from the "you set one, I set one" environment, still stuck in the phase of "I can summon a 2000 ATK big monster on Turn 1." In the early stages, even Judai's duels often started with summoning a Normal Monster and passing without setting any cards. And yet, the Duel Academy was already considered to have top-tier duelists within the larger environment.
In comparison, the President was truly a dimension-shattering force.
Indeed, having money and technology is great. He conducts his own research and prints his own cards, so naturally, his Deck is at the forefront of the era. Or rather, if even someone like Kaiba, with almost infinite resources, was still on the same level as others in the larger environment after all these years, that would be truly illogical.
"We won. As expected of my brother, but it's nothing surprising," Mokuba said with a smile, wiping his nose as he walked up to Kaiba.
The President, satisfied with his card fix, finally turned to Yugen.
"Fujiki Yugen. Right?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"I have a few words for you, but first, let me deal with the rat problem."
Yugen raised an eyebrow.
Something to say to me?
Hiss~ Is he going to challenge me to a duel?
Considering it's President Kaiba, it's quite possible. Perhaps he's annoyed that Yugen messed with his AI at Kaiba Land, or maybe he's simply having a card craving.
Yugen thought about it. If that's the case, it's not a life-or-death duel, so why not? He could even consider charging a "play fee," one rare card per duel. If he got lucky and won, he might even achieve rare card freedom directly.
At this moment, Kaiba's staff also descended from the helicopter. Someone helped the unconscious Fujimoto, who had been blasted by Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's breath, to his feet.
Fujimoto struggled to open his eyes, adjusting to the blinding sunlight, then blinked blankly a few times.
"Huh? I'm still alive."
"I have no use for a rat like you," Kaiba said coldly, his arms crossed. "Compared to your worthless life, there's something else I want."
Apparently, his new Duel Disk could not only provide realistic 3D Duel Monsters projections but also adjust the energy output power. He had limited the output to a non-fatal level, showing mercy and sparing Fujimoto's life.
"I know you have a hideout. Tell me the location," Kaiba said coldly.
Fujimoto finally caught his breath. He gritted his teeth and muttered, "Ha, so that's the objective. You want me to sell out my organization? Bah! Everyone in the organization is my brother, my family. We're like brothers by blood—"
Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a somewhat sinister smirk on Kaiba's face.
In a trance, he seemed to see a phantom giant figure appearing behind Kaiba, transforming into a soaring white dragon, an terrifying pressure that almost made him unable to breathe.
Before his eyes, the final scene of the recent duel, being blasted unconscious by 13,000 ATK, seemed to reappear. His whole body still felt like it was burning.
Fujimoto recoiled, not daring to meet his gaze: "...Actually, we're not that close."
He suddenly reconsidered, realizing that his only true best friend in the organization was Onitsuka. Now that Onitsuka was dead, his relationship with the others was actually quite average.
With this thought, Fujimoto immediately felt a bit more at ease.
He was the fish on the chopping block, and they were the knives. He couldn't be blamed for selling out his comrades. It was truly Kaiba Seto's unfairness and lack of humanity; he was forced into it. He believed his comrades would understand.
"I can tell you the address," he said.
"No need," Kaiba waved his hand. "Lead the way."
Fujimoto: "!"
This attitude, did he want him to personally lead the way?
Fujimoto immediately started sweating again. Revealing information was one thing, but personally leading the way to their doorstep was an entirely different matter.
"What's wrong?" Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Any objections?"
"No, none at all."
Fujimoto struggled to stand up.
At this moment, he felt his battle-hardened legs trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm coming too!"
Mokuba chased after his brother, then exclaimed, "Ah!" as if remembering something, turning to Yugen.
"Sorry, it seems I'll have to delay taking you to the company a bit longer. Why don't you wait a little longer, or I can arrange a driver to take you to a branch office first—"
"It's fine, I'm not in a hurry," Yugen waved his hand.
It was a rare opportunity, and he naturally couldn't miss the front-row seat to the drama. Especially since he had just realized that this Fujimoto seemed to have found Ryuzaki due to some unknown misunderstanding; his real target should have been Yugen himself.
Speaking of Ryuzaki, that guy ran really fast. In the blink of an eye, while the President was dueling, he was gone.
Although this organization didn't seem to realize who their brothers actually died at the hands of, it was still a potential hidden danger. Now that Kaiba intended to pay them a visit, eliminating these people would undoubtedly be like pulling out a thorn for Yugen.
So, Yugen and Mokuba continued to chat and laugh, following behind Kaiba to check the "water meter" at the organization's hideout.
After a journey of over ten minutes.
It was still that hidden alley, still that mysterious bar.
Fujimoto, who reappeared inside the bar, was pale, sitting at the counter with a vacant expression, like a dead man.
His friend with the center part sat down beside him, observing his face: "What's wrong? You look like someone died in your family."
Fujimoto turned his head expressionlessly, looking at his so-called brothers by blood, his family.
"Not yet, but it's coming soon."
Center part: "?"
"Didn't you go to get revenge on Ryuzaki? What happened?"
Fujimoto still shook his head blankly.
"I ran into Seto Kaiba."
His comrades nearby were all startled and crowded closer.
"No way, that's awesome! Did you duel him?"
"Is he really as strong as they say?"
Fujimoto shook his head again.
"You'll probably find out very soon."
He said numbly.
"He's waiting outside for you all to come out."
Everyone: "?"
The next moment, a loud crash echoed as the door was violently kicked open from the outside.
Kaiba strode into the center of the bar, his Duel Disk dramatically unfolding, amidst everyone's stunned gazes.
"Come on, you rats. Duel!" Please log in to continue reading -----
"Lie Flat and Be Invincible, Born a Second Immortal Emperor" - A funny, lazy protagonist, behind-the-scenes, excellent character novel.