Back at the Critical Point, after tidying up a few things, Tenjo Hikari spent a few more days burying the Dimension Gate deeper before leaving this Dimension with Gaia.
Despite the reluctance, there will always be a day to say farewell, and now is that time.
Carrying the surname Tenjo and speaking such words, Tenjo Hikari felt he had quite the authority.
Returning to the starting point, Tenjo Hikari found Judai and Saiou.
Saiou's body had recovered, but he was still in recovery due to bearing an overwhelming power. During this period, the Light Society affairs were handled by his sister, gradually dealing with some internal matters of the Light Society, so participating in the finals was out of the question.
Similarly, Ed had the strength, but as he had been looking for Saiou and DD during that period, he actually didn't have a single mark. Even if he went all out, he couldn't gather 8 within over a month, and he was unwilling to take marks from passing classmates or Professional Duelists, so he just left it at that.
As initially planned, since the Critical Point was now safe, it was time to return to surfing and bid a complete farewell to the past, rotating the hour hand of his clock.
Of course, the same applied to Judai.
Since he had been dueling with The Supreme King at the original point, he hadn't collected extra marks, so participating in the finals was out of the question this time.
But he seemed quite happy lately.
"Good luck, Hikari, go win the championship!!" Judai cheered for Tenjo Hikari.
Tenjo Hikari shook his head, somewhat helpless.
Although there was no Judai,
There were still many good players in this duel.
For example, Manjome and Caesar were strong contenders for the championship, not to mention the elites from other schools.
Like John, Jim, and O'Brien, it's hard to say how strong they are now.
For instance, he had learned that John had already obtained the "Rainbow Dragon."
A Crystal Beast Deck with the Rainbow Dragon was not the same as one without it.
Although the Crystal Beast Deck was somewhat abstract, it still depended on who used it.
John using Crystal Beasts would definitely be different from others using Crystal Beasts.
Additionally, over the past month or so, Judai's situation at the Critical Point wasn't as severe as before.
Most of the Lightsworn Spirits had, after over a month of observation, accepted that "The Supreme King" post-rebirth was not the same person as pre-rebirth.
However, some Spirits still believed The Supreme King's power was evil and dangerous, so they kept an eye on Judai. Nonetheless, the previous restrictions weren't as severe—as long as Judai was willing to collect marks in the recent period, with his performance during the Dark World invasion and previously collected marks, gathering 8 wouldn't be difficult.
But—
Judai currently wasn't very interested in dueling others.
Moreover, he didn't want to leave here.
Even though Tenjo Hikari was there, he could ask for Hikari's opinion, but up to now, he had some of his own thoughts.
He was still mulling over what to do with the remaining Spirits in the Dark World.
Before figuring it out on his own, he didn't plan to leave.
Tenjo Hikari packed up, boarded the train, and Serena excitedly joined the journey again, preparing to be a close spectator for the finals.
The GX Tournament's full name is the "GeniusX" Tournament. Tenjo Hikari didn't know what the original GX stood for, but in this world, the cross-dimensional world-class duel tournament hosted by Principal Samejima was called the GeniusX Tournament.
That is the "Genius X" Tournament.
This tournament has two purposes.
One, to boost students' enthusiasm, providing more opportunities for ordinary students to grow stronger.
Two, to select the strongest Duelist.
Namely [X]—Genius X, the world's strongest genius!
During this period, students will return to various checkpoints to have their badges inspected, then scores will be assessed based on the star level and quantity of badges, and then they will return to the Human World.
The remaining students who wish to participate in the finals must board the train to the Critical Point Dimension Kaiba Company headquarters during this period.
They will engage in a live-broadcast duel tournament lasting more than half a month, which will be broadcast in real-time throughout the Critical Point and the Human World!
In short, it is an opportunity to gain popularity and for all young people to have a moment in the spotlight.
Unlike the previous Friendship Cup in the S Dimension, this final is a genuine competition to decide a "new world-class Duelist."
Besides students from Duel Academy, there are even many Professional Duelists participating, making it an unprecedented grand event.
Although there was a slight "hiccup," for the people of this world, it wasn't a big deal—after all, having experienced incidents like the Orichalcos, something like the Fusion Army or Spirits attacking humans was comparatively minor.
So, people from all over the planet were glued to the screens, watching the live broadcast of the finals.
Tenjo Hikari and Serena got off the train and were greeted by a Kaiba Company employee, who also asked to see their badge. Tenjo Hikari showed his badge, and after it was acknowledged, it was exchanged for a newer, more magnificent badge.
Although it still had GX, the contents printed on the back had changed.
19.
It represented being the 19th qualified Duelist to arrive.
"Your badge has been numbered and archived. After the finals are over, you can look for our staff to retrieve it as a keepsake."
"Okay." Tenjo Hikari nodded.
The badge had many marks left by friends, so keeping it as a memento would be great.
As for Serena, she didn't have enough to get 8, so she came as a spectator. Therefore, the Kaiba Company staff directed her to the spectator passage.
Following the Kaiba Company staff, Tenjo Hikari arrived at the Duelist Hall. Upon entering, he saw a bunch of familiar faces.
There was Mitsuzawa Daichi, Marufuji Ryo, Tenjouin Fubuki, Tenjouin Asuka—familiar faces were everywhere.
Besides them, there were some unfamiliar people, who seemed to be professional duelists or possibly students from other schools.
"Yo! Little Hikari~~" Fubuki waved with a cheerful shout.
Beside him, Caesar, who had always been cold-faced, immediately brightened up upon seeing Tenjo Hikari, showing his interest.
"Senpai," Tenjo Hikari responded, greeted a few people, and then pretended to take something out of his pocket, when in fact he took out a bottle of purple potion from a book.
He threw it to Caesar, who caught it casually, glanced at it without asking, opened the cap, and drank it down.
"Ryo? Tenjo?" Asuka was startled.
What the heck was that all of a sudden?
"Hmm—nice, haha, I feel revitalized!" After drinking it, Caesar's eyes lit up, clutching his chest.
Fubuki's cheerful smile immediately vanished, and a slight concern appeared on his face.
"It's nothing, just some juice I got from a friend recently."
Mitsuzawa Daichi frowned in confusion.
It couldn't possibly be juice—
He was very sure of that.
After a long-awaited reunion, aside from greetings, he did nothing else, didn't talk about ambitions or goals, just tossed him something.
Caesar wasn't someone who enjoyed drinking juice.
Could it be...
An idea flashed through his mind.
"Yo! Isn't this our great Casanova, Yotsuzawa Umi? Looking good, huh? I thought your complexion would turn pale when we met again," Hikari shifted the topic directly.
"What? Casanova?" After Hikari said this, Manjome Thunder appeared from behind the door and asked in confusion, "Has Mitsuzawa started dating?"
Before he became Kaiba Seto's apprentice, he indeed dreamt of a sweet, affectionate romance. But under his master's pressure, he hadn't really thought about it for a long time.
He casually teased a few words, making Mitsuzawa Daichi blush, before looking at everyone in the room and greeting them enthusiastically.
"Long time no see, Tenjo." Manjome's eyes were filled with fighting spirit.
His only goal was the championship. And standing in his way was none other than Tenjo Hikari!
This was not the time to talk about friendship.
As if feeling Manjome's fighting spirit, Caesar chuckled quietly, "No matter what, victory will only belong to me!"
But every duelist present—weren't they all thinking about the championship?
Suddenly, each duelist showed an eager stance, as if they were about to duel before the match even started.
The atmosphere in the hall heated up, and while waiting, Tenjo Hikari saw Jim and O'Brien, greeted them warmly, and introduced them to his friends.
As more duelists filled the hall, the sky gradually darkened.
An employee checked his watch in confusion, then looked at his colleague, who shook his head in bewilderment.
Finally, half an hour later, John arrived at the scene's hall.
Rubbing the back of his head, he apologized for getting lost.
Employees of Kaiba Company, knowing his poor sense of direction, shook their heads helplessly.
Every capable duelist has their own quirks or habits.
John was such a "weirdo."
He opened the notebook and said, "Currently, all duelists with 8 stamps have arrived.
Now, the announcement of the competition rules—"
The staff began the long recitation of rules, which everyone knew broadly before coming.
"Then—GX Tournament Finals, Round One, begins now."
Beside them, the White Dragon Gachapon Machine started to rotate automatically. After a while, two numbered balls dropped out.
"Please—Duelist No. 23 and Duelist No. 31, step forward."