Although the world line had changed, Sherry LeBlanc still participated in the tournament as in the original story.
However, there were differences this time. In the original, Sherry joined because the clues she uncovered told her that participating in the WRGP was the best opportunity to get close to the organization of Iliaster.
She wanted to uncover the truth about the organization, find out why her parents had been killed and who the culprits were, and avenge them.
But now, the matter of revenge had been completely thrown out of her mind.
Because she had realized that the greatest tragedy of her life—her parents' deaths—was not inevitable or irreversible.
She was still participating in the WRGP to approach the Iliaster organization and uncover its truth. But now she no longer harbored hatred or sought revenge. Instead, she wanted to investigate the truth behind "rewriting history." If it was truly possible, she could return to the past and prevent her parents' deaths.
In that case, she would no longer need to hate, and this painful, sorrowful life would turn into nothing but a bubble. She could still have an ordinary but happy life.
In fact, at the very beginning, Kira had given her an empty promise. But now, he genuinely had the ability to fulfill that promise.
Having become Leader of Iliaster, Kira now possessed all the authority that the Three Pure Nobles of Iliaster held in the original story. In other words, operating the time machine and altering history were naturally within his reach.
Of course, the power to make major changes to the direction of history was still held by Z-ONE himself. He would not allow others to arbitrarily tamper with history without his permission. After all, changing the past touched upon the very founding purpose of Iliaster.
However, as long as the plan proceeded smoothly and this dimension's timeline could ultimately be saved, then—under the premise of ensuring that outcome—making minor adjustments to history would probably not bother Z-ONE.
…
On the second day of the preliminaries, Kira was in his office when a sudden alarm sounded. A holographic screen automatically popped up on his desk, flashing with a striking red alert from the Sector Security's main control room.
"What's the situation?" Kira connected to the head of the technical department.
"Director, hackers have breached our core database. They're searching for some encrypted information…"
The supervisor quickly reported while his fingers flew across the holographic keyboard.
"It's not yet clear exactly what has been leaked, but the intruder has repeatedly entered the keyword 'Iliaster'."
Kira raised an eyebrow.
Someone was trying to investigate Iliaster through his Sector Security again…
The last person to do so was Sherry. But Sherry had already checked before and should know that she couldn't obtain any more information through the Sector Security.
So who was it this time?
The supervisor continued: "The intruder is highly skilled. They bypassed three firewalls, but our counter-tracking program has already locked onto their location."
Kira's gaze fell on the jumping coordinates on the projection screen, and an intrigued expression appeared on his face.
"Location?"
"An abandoned Deep Blue Data Tower in the eastern district. It was a network hub from the old era and may have been repurposed as a base for underground hackers."
The supervisor pulled up the building's structural diagram. "The signal source is in the top-floor server room, but the intruder likely has physical defenses set up."
Kira waved his hand, and the coordinates on the screen instantly enlarged into a 3D architectural model.
"Notify the action team to seal off all exits," he said calmly. "Also, pull up recent entry and exit records for the surrounding area and check for any suspicious individuals."
"Yes!"
The supervisor quickly carried out the orders, then hesitated. "Director, should we request armed intervention? The fact that they could hack into our system suggests they're not ordinary hackers."
Kira smiled.
"No need." He stood up. "I'll go personally."
The supervisor was stunned for a moment, then realized—their new Director was probably not just some desk-bound bureaucrat.
News of the Director's 1v3 performance in the WRGP yesterday had already spread throughout the bureau. Everyone vaguely understood that this new Director was no ordinary person.
…
Deep Blue Data Tower, Server Room.
In the dimly lit server room, the cold glow of the screens illuminated a blurry figure. He was speaking softly into a communicator, his tone carrying a hint of anxiety.
"The Sector Security's system is harder to breach than expected…"
From the other end of the communicator came a cold electronic voice, seemingly processed to disguise identity: "So, you failed?"
"No. I think I've found the information I wanted, but…"
The figure said in a deep voice, "That Director named Kira doesn't have a single clue even in the Sector Security's internal classified files. He's completely like someone who appeared out of thin air. No birth certificate, no identity records, no career history. It's as if this person didn't exist at all before becoming the Sector Security Director…"
"If you want to know about me, you can just ask directly."
—A lazy voice suddenly sounded from behind.
The figure froze, then whipped his head around.
In the shadows, Kira leaned against a server rack with his hands in his trench coat pockets, a faint smile on his lips. His Duel Runner was parked not far away, its engine still humming lowly.
"Digging up dirt is boring." Kira tilted his head slightly. "Come on, ask me directly whatever you want to know. I promise to tell you everything."
The figure's pupils shrank. Without a word, he slammed the button on his wristwatch. A hidden door on the other side of the room burst open. He dashed out in one stride, leaped onto a pre-prepared Duel Runner, revved the engine, smashed through the glass curtain wall, and jumped straight out from the second floor.
Kira clicked his tongue: "People these days really are impatient…"
However, he no longer found the act of "riding a Duel Runner and jumping from the second floor" strange.
It was common knowledge in Yu-Gi-Oh! that anyone who could duel was basically a superhuman. In the anime, when Yusei was being chased by Trudge, the two of them jumped off a building on their Duel Runners with zero issues—the Duel Runners could even keep going afterward.
Kira also mounted his own Duel Runner.
"Don't be in such a hurry. We still have plenty to talk about."
The two Duel Runners streaked through the night sky like blazing trails of light, one chasing the other as they entered the elevated tracks of the eastern district.
The fleeing Duel Runner had clearly been specially modified, weaving rapidly between buildings in an attempt to shake off Kira. But Kira followed at a leisurely pace, sticking close through every turn and even nearly grazing the opponent's rear wing several times.
"Seriously, going so far as to hack the Sector Security just to learn about me, yet when I show up in person, you turn around and run. Fans these days…"
Kira shook his head, then smiled.
"Don't be shy. Since you want to know about me so badly, I'll give you some special treatment…"
Kira narrowed his eyes and pressed the Turbo Duel activation button on his Duel Runner.
"…with my special fan hospitality."
…