# Chapter 219: You Stall, I Stall
"When your opponent activates an effect that Special Summons a monster from their Deck: I send one 'Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring,' a Tuner monster, from my hand to the Graveyard to negate that effect!"
A small girl with a shiny, prominent forehead flew out from Yūga Hōzumi's hand. She stretched out her little hand in front of Nash's Cutter Shark, instantly quelling the blue vortex it had summoned.
"A Tuner monster?" Nash looked on with interest as the little girl, having completed her mission, slowly faded from the field. "Is that a specialty of your world?"
"You could say that," Yūga Hōzumi nodded. In the few days before their return, Fujiwara Xiu had been working at full capacity, running the card-making machine nonstop. He had finally managed to create a playset of this card for each of them before they departed.
"An interesting card," Nash nodded. "However, trying to stop me with just this is still a bit difficult!"
"If I only control WATER monsters, I can activate the effect of Abyss Shark from my hand! I Special Summon this card, and add one Level 3, 4, or 5 Fish monster from my Deck to my hand, except 'Abyss Shark'."
"Appear! Abyss Shark! Next, I add the Level 4 Fish monster, Silent Angler, to my hand."
"When Abyss Shark is used as Xyz Material for a 'Number' monster, it can be treated as a Level 3 or 4 monster. Now, I overlay my two Level 4 monsters!"
"Appear! Number 4: Stealth Kragen!"
As Nash's voice fell, a jellyfish glowing with a cold purple light slowly rose from the cerulean vortex, its two cerulean orbs of light flickering faintly.
Number 4: Stealth Kragen ATK: 1900
Yūga Hōzumi's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the monster. *Isn't that a fake Number monster created by Old Qian?*
But then Yūga Hōzumi glanced at Nash beside him. *Well, with this expert's current level of skill, restoring a fake Number shouldn't be much of a problem, right?*
*So, is the jellyfish going to stall now?*
Yūga Hōzumi felt a headache coming on as he looked at the creature.
This monster could change all other monsters on the field to the WATER attribute, and then once per turn, it could destroy one WATER monster on the opponent's field.
It sounded like a standard Spell Speed 2 destruction effect, right?
But the unbearable part was that when this monster was destroyed, it spawned others!
"I set two cards and end my turn."
Nash smiled as he set two cards down.
"My turn! I draw!"
"You've certainly given me a challenge," Yūga Hōzumi muttered, scratching his head. He glanced at his hand. Including the card he just drew and excluding the Ash he'd discarded, none of his five cards could perfectly deal with this monster.
Although he could destroy it, he was powerless against its floating effect that would spawn more monsters.
All he needed right now was a single Called by the Grave!
"Well then, let's see if I can bring out my own 'sewer'," Yūga Hōzumi thought, revealing a card from his hand.
"I summon in Attack Position, Dodododwarf - Gogogoglove!"
Dodododwarf - Gogogoglove ATK: 0
*Is his deck that similar to that idiot's?* Nash thought. *Then its weaknesses should be similar, too.*
"Your monster's attribute becomes WATER due to Stealth Kragen's effect."
Dodododwarf - Gogogoglove: EARTH → WATER
"Next, I activate the effect of Number 4: Stealth Kragen!"
"Once per turn, I can destroy one WATER monster on your field and inflict effect damage to you equal to half of the destroyed monster's attack points!"
The jellyfish in front of Nash spat out a stream of purple, poisonous bubbles, which completely corroded the Dodododwarf's body in an instant.
"As expected. This guy knows the Onomat engine of my deck like the back of his hand," Yūga Hōzumi thought with a sense of helplessness. The first Normal Summon in an Onomat deck is quite precious; its destruction severely impacts his combos. Nash understood this perfectly, choosing to destroy the Normal Summon instead of getting greedy for the bonus damage from destroying a final boss monster.
Fortunately, Yūga Hōzumi still had an extender in his hand.
"If I control no cards, I can Special Summon this card from my hand."
"Appear! ZS - Ascended Sage!"
"Next, I activate the effect of Astral Kuriboh from my hand!"
"I reveal one 'Number' Xyz Monster in my Extra Deck. Then, I Special Summon this card from my hand, and its Level becomes equal to the revealed monster's Rank."
A card popped out from Yūga Hōzumi's Extra Deck. Nash looked closely and saw it was the one he knew best—Number 39: Utopia.
Astral Kuriboh Level: 1→4
"I overlay the two monsters on the field!"
"Is it coming?" Nash smiled as he watched the golden vortex appear. "Am I going to see that monster facing me again?"
But his gaze quickly sharpened. The number appearing in the golden vortex wasn't the 39 he expected, but a fiery red 59!
"Appear! The strongest barrier! Number 59: Crooked Cook!"
A wave of blazing heat swept out from the golden vortex. Moments later, a chef wearing a tall hat and holding a frying pan emerged from the flames, looking as if he were ready to host a grand feast.
Number 59: Crooked Cook DEF: 200
Nash: ...
"I remember this monster's effect is..." Nash started to get a headache. He was naturally familiar with the effects of Number monsters, having either owned them or fought against them. The monster's effect surfaced in his mind.
If this is the only card you control, it is unaffected by other card effects.
It was simple and brutal protection. Fortunately, the monster's ATK and DEF were low, so it could be destroyed by battle... if not for the small, golden orb shimmering beside it.
Astral Kuriboh: A "Number" monster Xyz Summoned using this card as material cannot be destroyed by battle or by your opponent's card effects.
So, it was a monster with full immunity that couldn't be destroyed by battle.
Seeing Nash's exasperated expression, Yūga Hōzumi smiled. "So we're stalling, are we? Come on, let's see who can out-stall whom."
"I'll end my turn here," Yūga Hōzumi said.
It was Nash's turn. He looked at the two stalling monsters in Defense Position and said with a sigh, "Even though you're using a similar deck, your dueling style is completely different from that idiot's."
*If that idiot were here, he'd be trying everything to break through my defenses this turn. It would never have turned out like this.*
*Is this caution he learned on the battlefield?* Nash wondered.
"My turn! I draw!"
"I summon Left-Hand Shark in Attack Position."
"If I Normal or Special Summon a Fish monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand! Come, Shark Stickers!"
"I overlay the two Level 3 monsters on the field!"
...
(end of chapter)