After school ended, Yugi and his friends—Yugi, Yuto, Joey, Tristan, and Téa—walked into the Muto family game shop.
"Yugi, you're back! Oh oh, Yuto's here too!"
Solomon Muto greeted his important customers warmly.
"Sorry to intrude."
Yuto offered a polite greeting, and Yugi quickly got to the point.
"Grandpa, could you show everyone that super rare card of yours?"
"Oh? You mean 'that card'..."
Solomon paused, as though considering whether or not to bring it out.
"Please!" Yugi pressed his hands together, begging his grandfather.
"Please!" Joey bent at a ninety-degree bow, eager to see the rare card Yugi spoke of.
"Well... alright, I'll show you all a true super rare card!"
Solomon took out a small box and carefully opened it.
"Look, here it is!"
Inside the box lay a Monster Card. Solomon lifted it up and displayed it to the group.
"This card is called [Blue-Eyes White Dragon], and it's an extremely rare card!"
Tristan reached out to take a look, but Solomon quickly slapped his hand away.
"This card is one of only four in the world! It's priceless!"
He carefully placed the Blue-Eyes back into the box.
Just then, the door of the shop swung open. Seto Kaiba strode in, one hand in his pocket, radiating an aura that warned others to keep their distance.
"Kaiba?"
"I heard Yugi's grandfather is a card collector, so I came to see his rare cards."
"Oh? Another Duel Monsters player?"
Joey tried to draw Kaiba into their group; however, Kaiba immediately pushed back.
"You're not worthy yet."
What an arrogant guy... Yuto thought to himself.
"You bastard..."
Joey raised his fist.
"I'm the national Duel Monsters champion. You're nothing compared to me, a stray mutt."
"Damn it!"
Kaiba ignored Joey's anger, and Yuto quickly pulled Joey back.
Leaning in close, Yuto whispered:
"That's the heir of KaibaCorp. You can't afford to mess with him!"
"Let me see what kind of rare cards this little shop has..."
Kaiba's eyes fell on the small box on the counter. Inside was [Blue-Eyes White Dragon].
"What?!"
Kaiba rushed to the counter, staring fixedly at the Blue-Eyes.
"The fourth [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]... to think it would be here!"
Seeing that the visitor knew his stuff—and was KaibaCorp's heir—Solomon quickly put the Blue-Eyes back into the box.
"Alright, that's enough showing."
Kaiba set a suitcase on the counter and opened it, revealing a box full of rare cards.
"Grandpa, I'll trade all of these rare cards for your [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]!"
Solomon shook his head.
"No."
Unwilling to give up, Kaiba made another offer.
"If you don't want to trade, I'll buy it with money. Any price you name!"
"Eh?"
The onlookers gasped. The power of money, huh?
If a no-name had said that, it wouldn't have surprised them so much. That said, this was the famous heir of KaibaCorp.
Even Yuto, as a transmigrator, thought for a moment about selling Kaiba some of his useless Gundam cards.
A unique card like this, Kaiba would surely pay a fortune for it.
The thought flashed through Yuto's mind but he quickly suppressed it.
"Not for sale."
Solomon, who had weathered many storms in his youth, was not shaken like the students were. He rejected Kaiba flatly.
"This card is not for sale, because it was a treasured gift from a dear friend."
He placed the box in the counter's hidden shelf.
"It's a testament to our friendship. No matter how much you offer, I'll never sell it."
"Such touching friendship," Yuto sighed.
"Yes, the truly important cards are the ones that connect to a person's heart..."
Damn it!
The ultra-rare [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] was right before him, but the old man refused to sell.
Kaiba clenched his fist. If persuasion didn't work, he would have to use force.
"Good day."
Closing his suitcase, Kaiba left the game shop.
"What a stuck-up jerk."
Joey grumbled.
Yuto said nothing. He knew that from this moment, the story of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters had begun.
Tonight or tomorrow, Solomon would be "invited" to duel Kaiba and lose.
Should he step in...
After parting with his friends, Yuto returned home deep in thought.
The next morning, a KaibaCorp company car pulled up in front of the game shop. Two suited men and a short man got out.
Abruptly, they were blocked at the entrance.
"Out of the way!"
One of the suited men reached out to shove aside Yuto, who was standing in front of the shop.
Though not as strong as Joey, Yuto wasn't about to lose to a goon like this. He easily knocked the man down.
"I'll say this: if you want to mess with Grandpa Muto, you'll have to get through me first!"
Prepared in advance, Yuto calmly pulled a card from his pocket—[Great Tray-class Land Battleship]—and displayed it directly before the short man.
"Tell Kaiba to duel me. If I win, you're not to touch Grandpa Muto."
The short man was intrigued. The young master loved rare cards more than anything.
"And if you lose?"
"Then this [Great Tray-class Land Battleship] is yours."
The short man fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Very well, come with us."
He opened the car door, motioning Yuto inside.
Good thing this [Great Tray-class Land Battleship] counted as a rare card in this world. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to get a duel with Kaiba.
Yuto wasn't just intervening to keep Solomon's Blue-Eyes from being torn up—he was also aiming for a ticket to Pegasus's Duelist Kingdom.
If he could beat Kaiba in this duel, Pegasus would surely take notice.
Before long, they arrived at the front of KaibaCorp Tower.
Yuto waited quietly in the lounge while the short man went upstairs to report.
Ding—!
The elevator chimed, and the doors slid open.
"Mr. Tenshou, this way please."
A bodyguard in a black suit led Yuto to the duel arena.
Kaiba was already standing on the other side.
"Interesting. Yuto Tenshou, you really are an interesting man."
Yuto stepped onto the arena.
Kaiba declared the rules:
"These are Kaiba's special rules: 2000 Life Points. If either player's Life Points hit zero, or if they go one turn without a monster on the field, they lose!"
"Got it! Let's begin!"
Yuto brought out his Deck, shuffled it, and set it in the designated zone.
"Virtual system, activate!"
The floor beneath them rose to the proper height, giving both duelists a clear view of the entire arena.
"Duel, start!"
...
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