"Damn bastard… damn bastard…"
Blasted three times in a row by Junk Barrage, Tetsu fell off the platform, landing headfirst and gritting his teeth in fury.
If it were anyone else, a fall like that would at least cause a mild concussion. But as is well known in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world, to be a good duelist you need a superhuman body—just like in the Pokémon world, you can't be a trainer without an iron constitution. Here, duelists are practically superhuman.
Back in the day, Tetsu chased Yusei on his Duel Runner, leaping from great heights. Even Captain America would've needed his vibranium shield to cushion such a fall, and still take a moment before getting up. But Tetsu? He hit the ground and was immediately back up, ready to ride and duel again—his superhuman body is undeniable.
"Damn it…"
Tetsu climbed up, glaring at the figure on stage.
Until today, the number one duelist he hated was that Satellite crab-head. But from today on, there was a new contender.
The guy on stage, all sunshine and innocent smiles, was just as detestable as the crab-head!
"You okay, Mr. Tetsu?" Kira asked, smiling from the edge of the dueling arena. "Need to go to the hospital?"
"I'm fine!" Tetsu waved grandly.
This was nothing worth making a fuss about. Go to the hospital? What, does he look down on Tetsu Trudge?
The Security lackey's mouth dropped open.
Compared to when he dueled me, this guy's deck and tactics are totally different!
Back then, there was no Sanctuary in the Sky or Junk Barrage. He didn't even bring out any Synchro monsters… Actually, he barely summoned any monsters at all—just a single Gearfried the Iron Knight that wiped me out.
Because I bricked from turn one—hand wiped out!
Six-card hand vanish—how do you fight that?
But before inviting Tetsu for a rematch, I did warn him: This guy is trouble, watch out for his hand-wipe tricks.
But Tetsu didn't take it seriously then, just thinking I was too weak and got outplayed. People always hype up their opponent after losing, claiming they only lost due to bad luck and their opponent was a god of war.
He understood. He'd lost to the Satellite crab-head before, too, and told his team it wasn't his fault—the guy was just abnormally strong.
But to his surprise, this guy changed tactics again.
Giving the opponent an Equip Spell, then using his own monsters as human bombs in suicide attacks—this was a level of strategy that made you question the duelist's sanity.
Kira even found it a bit disappointing.
Only three Nova Summoners and Tetsu was already down. There were still three Shining Angels left in the chain.
If all six went off, each with 1400 ATK, that's 700 damage each. Six self-destructions would deal 4200 damage—an instant kill from full LP.
But Tetsu couldn't hold out, falling after just three. It felt like he hadn't even gotten started before Tetsu was done.
The Security lackey finally muttered, "Tetsu-senpai actually… lost again…"
Tetsu glared. "What do you mean 'again'?!"
You make it sound like I lose all the time.
"Ah—no," the lackey said, "it's just that last time, the guy from Satellite… I heard you lost to him too…"
"That was… an accident!" Tetsu roared. "I didn't expect Satellite scum to know how to Synchro Summon! I just let my guard down!"
The lackey whispered, "But I heard you lost to him twice in a row…"
But he shut up before finishing, because the look in Tetsu's eyes was murderous.
At that moment, Kira hopped off the stage, asking curiously, "A duelist from Satellite? There's actually someone strong enough to beat Boss Tetsu?"
Tetsu, though he'd lost, was pleased by the flattery and replied, "Yeah. Some guy who sneaked in from Satellite."
"Tch, these bottom-feeders… Even now, people are still sneaking into the city. That guy somehow got a Duel Runner and slipped in through the garbage chute."
Kira knew he was talking about Yusei Fudo.
And that Duel Runner wasn't stolen. In Satellite, Duel Runners were rare, but Yusei's was painstakingly built from scrap he scavenged from the dumps.
The skill to build a perpetual motion machine from junk—if it was about technical prowess, Yusei was easily the best in Yu-Gi-Oh! history.
From Tetsu's words, Kira was sure this was early 5D's, before Tetsu befriended Yusei and the others. But he needed further confirmation.
"A Duel Runner, huh? There are duelists that interesting in Satellite?" Kira asked. "So where is he now?"
Tetsu snorted. "Where else? Satellite folks caught sneaking in get sent straight to jail by Security."
"Tch, lucky bastard. If I catch him next time, he won't get off so easy."
Kira now confirmed the current timeline.
Early 5D's, just after the story began. Yusei Fudo had just snuck into the city, and dueled the King, Jack Atlas. But during the duel, something happened: the Mark of the Dragon on their arms awakened, summoning the Crimson Dragon and nearly blowing up the duel arena.
The duel was interrupted by the explosion, and Yusei was arrested and taken to jail.
"So that's how it is. What a shame," Kira sighed. "I'd love to meet a duelist that strong from Satellite."
Tetsu said nothing, just handed over the bet card as promised.
It was a pricey card, quite rare, but useless to Kira. In fact, most of the cards he won were useless to him and were sold for cash to buy other cards.
"By the way, Boss Tetsu, that Goyo Guardian looks really strong," Kira said expectantly. "How about a soul bet—my Junk Warrior against your Goyo Guardian?"
Tetsu's face darkened. "Get lost."
…
…
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