Truthfully, Yūga Hōzumi, currently staying in the Elite Student Dormitory of Duel Academy, in the highest-numbered room of Obelisk Blue, was a bit bewildered.
After showing off at the enrollment site that day and getting accepted, he took a ship to Duel Academy.
Upon arriving at Duel Academy, Akaba Leo was already waiting at the dock with a large group of teachers and soldiers. The whole scene made Yūga Hōzumi think he had been exposed, and his hand was already gripping the Emperor's Key in his pocket, ready to transform and flee.
However, Akaba Leo's reaction startled him. Not only was he treated to fine food and drink, but he was also directly admitted into Obelisk Blue.
After using another charge of his deck, Yūga Hōzumi successfully defeated the strongest student in this year's Obelisk Blue class, instantly skyrocketing to become the Chief of Duel Academy.
The process was so smooth that Yūga Hōzumi himself felt that Akaba Leo might have seen through him from the start, wanting to placate him first before trapping him like a turtle in a jar. This made Yūga Hōzumi sleep restlessly for the past few days.
However, after learning about the recent situation in Duel Academy, Yūga Hōzumi understood. Akaba Leo, that old bastard, had suffered heavy losses during his recent coup to become the underground emperor of the Fusion Dimension. Coupled with the loss of the ten thousand elite troops they had eliminated along with Ryo Marufuji, Duel Academy's power could be said to be at its lowest point in years.
Ordinary duelists were another matter. After all, Duel Academy was like a holy land for duelists in the Fusion Dimension. A single enrollment drive could replenish a large number of soldiers. However, dueling was a matter of talent, and relying solely on ordinary duelists was meaningless.
What truly determined the outcome of a war were top-tier duelists, at the very least reaching Aster Phoenix's level. But this level couldn't be achieved through effort alone. Ryo Marufuji fell in Heartland City, Aster Phoenix went to Neo Domino City and vanished, and even Yuri, whom Akaba Leo had always been wary of, was nowhere to be found.
As for Akaba Leo himself? Don't be ridiculous. A boss who could be defeated by Gatling Ghoul was never a concern for Yūga Hōzumi.
Therefore, his sudden emergence at this moment was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for Akaba Leo. To revive his daughter, Akaba Leo was practically ready to worship him as his own father.
However, even though Yūga Hōzumi was now second to only one man in Duel Academy, he had only been there for a short time. Akaba Leo didn't fully trust him yet and was probably still investigating his past. Therefore, Yūga Hōzumi did not have permission to enter the core of the Academy, the tower in the middle of the island.
This was also something that troubled Yūga Hōzumi. Reiji Akaba had created a fake identity for Yūga Hōzumi, whose birthplace was a small island nation on the other side of the Earth in the Fusion Dimension. The people Akaba Leo sent to investigate his identity were already en route, meaning Yūga Hōzumi didn't have much time before he was exposed.
"Anyway, I need to figure out a way to get Yao and the others in first," Yūga Hōzumi thought, carrying his fishing rod and buckets of all sizes as he walked out of his dormitory toward the seaside.
Yūga Hōzumi strode along Duel Academy's paths with a swagger. Occasionally, passing students would instantly fall silent upon seeing him.
"Is he the Academy's new Chief? It's class time now, shouldn't he be in class?" a student whispered.
"Shush, keep your voice down. Don't let Chief Judai hear you; he has a bad temper," his companion quickly pulled him back, looking at Yūga Hōzumi's back with reverence as he carried a fishing rod and hummed a song.
A day ago, Yūga Hōzumi used one of his deck's cooldowns to once again brutally defeat a teacher. After leaving with the words, "You can't even beat me, and you want to teach me? Study? Study my ass!" he gained the privilege of not attending classes and began his second favorite pastime from his previous life, besides dueling: fishing.
...
At the seaside, the warm sea breeze brought waves crashing against the cliffs, but Yūga Hōzumi's face, sitting above, grew darker and darker.
As everyone knows, fishermen can catch anything but fish.
After reeling in a broken Duel Disk yet again, Yūga Hōzumi glared at the Obelisk Force soldiers patrolling back and forth behind him and roared:
"Are you guys sick or something? What are you doing walking back and forth? You're scaring away all the fish! Piss off!"
The patrolling soldiers were startled by Yūga Hōzumi's sudden reprimand. They weakly replied, "But, Lord Judai, we're on patrol here."
"Do you not understand what I'm saying? All of you, scram!" Yūga Hōzumi said.
"But, strengthening patrols during this period is Professor Akaba Leo's order..." the patrolling soldier hesitated.
"Are you telling me how to do my job?" Yūga Hōzumi raised an eyebrow and said angrily, "Me standing guard here is much better than a few useless fools like you wandering around, isn't it?"
"But..." The patrol captain tried to argue, but seeing Yūga Hōzumi already reaching for his Duel Disk, he quickly fell silent and fled with his subordinates.
After they had gone far, Yūga Hōzumi's lips curled into a smile. Looking at the empty sea surface, he spoke, "Stop hiding. Come on out."
On the sea surface below the cliff, a purple light flashed, and Sea Fang Dragon's dark red body broke through the waves. The few people riding on its back jumped down and came to Yūga Hōzumi's side.
"Looks like you're doing pretty well for yourself here. Why didn't I ever see you bossing people around like this back at Academia?" Sugihara Yo teased as soon as he landed.
Yūga Hōzumi couldn't be bothered with him, looking instead at the people behind him. The entire group from Heartland City was present, along with Bruno, and Tsukikage, who was delivering messages from the Lancers.
"Lord Yūga Hōzumi, Lord Reiji Akaba has already bought a ship. As long as you're ready, the Lancers can arrive at any time," Tsukikage said to Yūga Hōzumi.
"Have you found any news about Ruri?" Yuto and Shun Kurosaki asked in unison.
"She should be in there, but I can't get in," Yūga Hōzumi said, pointing at the distant tower that soared into the clouds.
Eager to save his sister, Shun Kurosaki immediately tried to rush towards the tower upon hearing this, but Yūga Hōzumi held him back firmly.
"Don't be impulsive. Although there's practically no one in Duel Academy who can beat you now, all the students here could still overwhelm us through sheer numbers," Yūga Hōzumi said.
"Then what do you propose we do?" Shun Kurosaki asked.
"The day after tomorrow is the new student welcome ceremony. At that time, all the students will gather in the auditorium, and I will give a speech as the new student representative. Then, just as I wrote in my letter to Reiji Akaba, he can lead an attack. I can use that as an opportunity to incite the students and lead them to fight back. That's when you'll have a chance to infiltrate," Yūga Hōzumi said.
"The day after tomorrow?" Shun Kurosaki calmed down upon hearing this and nodded. "And after that?"
"After that?" Yūga Hōzumi chuckled. "After we get Ruri and Rin out, we'll have to collect some interest from Duel Academy. After all, we're already here."
(end of chapter)