Principal Samejima, the head of Duel Academy where the story of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX unfolds, holds the highest authority in the academy.
This position sounds important, yet throughout the series, Principal Samejima hardly appears in the story.
In fact, he might as well be considered a quest-giving NPC from a role-playing game.
In the arc about the Three Phantasm, he assigns tasks to the protagonists to drive the plot forward, then promptly disappears on a business trip, leaving the well-known Professor Chronos to act as principal, which then leads to the Light Society arc.
In the chapters that follow, the principal invites "Professor Cobra" from another school to host a tournament at Duel Academy. However, when other teachers discover that the dueling students are having their energy siphoned off and suffering severe harm, they try to find the principal to halt the tournament, but... he's off on another business trip!
He lounges in his office, apparently interested in causing big scenes, and then disappears into thin air whenever something happens at the academy. His constant absence and inability to be contacted even make him seem like "the true boss behind the scenes" in the story's early stages...
Of course, when you finish watching GX, you'll find that despite these flaws, Principal Samejima is actually not a bad person overall.
It's just that his teaching skills might be up for debate...
At the moment, Youyu, both as Duel King and a Kaiba Company representative, has arrived at Principal Samejima's dojo—though they should now call him Master Samejima.
Yes, it's indeed a dojo, giving off the strong impression of a Gym Leader from Pokémon...
As revealed later in the GX animation, before becoming the principal of Duel Academy, Samejima was originally the first-generation master of the "Cyber Dojo."
Even before Duel Academy was established, he was already training many children passionate and talented in dueling at his dojo, cultivating them into excellent duelists in his own way.
One of the main characters and a powerhouse in Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, known as Caesar Ryo Marufuji, is Master Samejima's top disciple.
Upon hearing that Youyu has arrived, Master Samejima hurried out to greet him from afar, apologizing for troubling the Duel King to travel such a long way to get here.
Youyu removed his snow goggles, patted the snow off his down jacket, and thought it certainly was troublesome.
Who would believe that just to play a card game, you have to climb a snowy mountain?
Having a dueling dojo located in such a remote place is one thing, but why put it on the top of a snowy mountain?
While warmly leading Youyu inside, Master Samejima explained, "Our dojo is set here to temper the minds of duelists who come here to learn. We of the Cyber style believe that only those with a strong tenacity and outstanding resilience can become top-tier duelists..."
Youyu: "..."
Master Samejima sheepishly touched his bald head, "Sorry for making you go through all this trouble. No matter what, I wanted the students in the dojo to meet you..."
Youyu waved his hand generously, "It's fine, no trouble at all."
Indeed, there wasn't much trouble.
After all, Dark Magician Girl basically flew him up the mountain...
Upon entering the dojo, they were greeted by the loud and rhythmic shouts of the trainees—
—"Draw! Draw! Draw..."
A large group of boys dressed in uniform stood in the hall in formation, performing the standard card draw stance in unison, looking like disciples practicing a martial arts move in a martial arts hall...
Youyu: "..."
This is why it's said that his teaching skills might be debatable.
Because Master Samejima's main teaching philosophy isn't really about reasonable card deck building, nor about developing tactical thought, and definitely not about strategy research.
The core of Cyber Dojo training is the divine draw...
Thus, the students here practice the correct way to draw cards every day.
And astonishingly, the genius boy Ryo Marufuji really mastered the divine draw techniques instructed by Master Samejima.
Ryo Marufuji has honed his skill to the point where he can casually draw three Cyber Dragons and a Polymerization from his deck, maxing out the fusion potential, even causing President Haima to recognize his insider knowledge...
When the boys saw Youyu entering, their eyes immediately lit up, and they swarmed over, chattering excitedly.
It's Duel King Youyu!
Not on TV, he's real!
And alive, he can move...
Fortunately, after all this time, Youyu has become adept at handling enthusiastic fans (or admirers).
What can you do? Being too handsome brings its own set of troubles.
There are many things in life you can't change, so you just have to adapt.
Youyu scanned the room and noticed Ryo Marufuji was nowhere to be seen here.
Looks like it might still be too early, and Ryo hasn't joined the Cyber Dojo yet.
Surrounded by the boys, Master Samejima coughed and stepped forward at the right moment.
"Actually, Mr. Youyu, there's a small favor I'd like to ask of you this time."
"Oh," Youyu nodded, "Do you want a duel?"
"Actually, I... hey?" Master Samejima was surprised, "How did you...?"
Youyu chuckled.
Isn't it obvious?
Since becoming this so-called Duel King, Youyu hasn't met anyone who doesn't want to take him on...
These days, just about anyone who plays cards—even using a Western dubbing tone—wants a piece of him!
"Indeed." Master Samejima uncomfortably touched his bald head, "I know it's a bit sudden, and of course, you can refuse. But I'd like to give my students a chance to see a real duel with a true expert and broaden their horizons..."
"I understand," Youyu smiled, "I accept the duel."
The entire dojo exploded with excitement.
The master himself is dueling, and the opponent is the Duel King!
The kids instantly went into spectator mode, readying their peanuts and seeds for the front-row view.
The quick-witted Youyu had anticipated that his current condition allows him to be "challenged to a duel wherever he goes," so he hadn't forgotten to bring his Duel Disc even while climbing a snowy mountain.
And now, it was indeed proving useful.
"Duel!" x2
[Youyu, LP 4000]
[Samejima, LP 4000]
Since the opponent is the master of the Cyber style, samejima, the deck he's using, of course, is no mystery.
The Cyber Dragon deck is arguably one of the most successfully crafted decks in GX, with a huge fanbase even a decade later, and its popularity can't be underestimated.
However, since the opponent is using Cyber Dragons, Youyu figured that given his pathetic Luck Value of 20, the random outcome of turn order would naturally be...
"I'll go first, draw." Youyu calmly drew a card, as if everything was under his control.