So, a few minutes later, Youyu arrived at Kaiba Company's headquarters with a look of resignation.
As usual when he came to the company, Mokuba was waiting for him in the lobby downstairs. However, this time Mokuba seemed a bit awkward, and even his greeting seemed less spirited than usual.
"Brother Youyu." He looked a little embarrassed, "My brother insists on seeing you..."
"It's about a duel, isn't it?" Youyu replied helplessly, "Did he get some new cards?"
Mokuba was a bit surprised, "Huh? How did you know?"
But then he understood, "Oh, Pegasus must have told you, right?"
Mokuba knew that Youyu had some cooperation with Pegasus. It wasn't surprising that Pegasus would tell Youyu that his brother went late at night to challenge him for cards.
Mokuba didn't say much more. He led Youyu through the lobby toward the elevators reserved for high-level personnel. He verified his identity, opened the elevator doors, and the two stepped inside.
Until the elevator reached the tenth floor, there was an awkward silence.
This was unusual in regular circumstances. Mokuba was always very cheerful and talkative when he saw Youyu. He would talk to Youyu about anything—work or life—and rarely ran out of topics.
Just before reaching their destination, he hesitated and finally spoke, "Um... Brother Youyu."
"Hmm?"
"This time, you should be careful." He whispered, "Today's my brother is stronger than ever... You might actually lose."
As Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba naturally hoped Kaiba would win. But honestly, he didn't really want to see Youyu lose either...
"Thank you for the reminder." Youyu smiled, "I will be."
Even without the reminder, Youyu was already prepared.
Not to mention Kaiba's impressive display in "Pyramid of Light," even just thinking about how many new disguises Kaiba had printed for the White Dragon made Youyu realize he couldn't underestimate him.
The Kaiba of today was definitely not on the same level as the Kaiba he had faced before.
The growth and upgrade speed of these original animation characters was indeed extraordinary.
But when the elevator doors opened, Mokuba hesitated again as they stepped into the hallway.
"Uh... Maybe we should wait for my brother."
Youyu was puzzled, "Is Kaiba busy?"
He hasn't finished his own business, yet calls me urgently like this? Is the president that eager?
"Well... sort of." Mokuba was a bit sweaty.
Seeing his reaction, Youyu suddenly realized something and was speechless.
"...Never mind, I'll just go in and wait for him."
Mokuba said nothing more. They walked through the corridor, entered a password to verify their identity, and unlocked a heavy alloy door, arriving at a large, empty experimental dueling arena.
At this moment, the huge dueling arena was suspended in mid-air by thick metal pillars, much like the open-air duel platform on the airship during the Duel City Tournament.
President Kaiba stood on the floating field, arms crossed, with the "Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" menacingly positioned behind him, all three of its heads roaring defiantly.
And on the other side...
...opposite him stood AI Youyu, which had been patched countless times and was now at an unknown version.
Mokuba covered his face and turned away.
Even though his brother occasionally liked to practice against AI versions of Yugi and Youyu, doing it in front of the real person was just too embarrassing for Mokuba...
Especially since AI Youyu had some weird lines added.
For example...
"The hero's path of justice will never stop; even if the gods stand in my way, I will crush them! Come on, Kaiba! Bring everything you've got against me!"
This was the AI's line at that moment.
Youyu: "..."
He wanted to say this was slanderous; such a clichéd line sounded more like the president's style, right?
I never said anything like that.JPG.
Of course, as for the result of the duel... it was as predictable as ever.
The Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's triple burst obliterated everything on AI Youyu's field, leaving his monsters in ashes, and even the AI's image seemed engulfed in destructive white light, disappearing completely.
Another day of beating the AI.
As the duel ended, the raised platform began to lower. The metal support rods retracted, and the platform slowly descended to the ground.
Yet President Kaiba was as cool as ever. Perhaps because of his extraordinary physique, he jumped down before the platform even reached the ground.
He landed with just a slight bend of his knees, without needing to roll to absorb the impact. His agility and strength were such that he could probably join the Avengers without a probation period.
Though compared to his daily skydiving, this was nothing, Youyu couldn't help but think he should remind him about the poor old man's coffin...
...Oh, wait, this is Domino, never mind.
Perhaps the old man isn't in charge here, as he might not even play the game.
As the president finished his usual AI thrashing, a group of researchers came to congratulate him, saying the new AI patch by the Kaiba Group was a huge success and could simulate over 90% of the Duel King's strength.
They also said the performance test of the new generation of Duel Discs was flawless and would soon hit the market, bringing a massive impact.
But listening to this, Kaiba suddenly erupted in anger.
"What 90% strength? It's just a computer!" he snorted, "Winning against something like this is meaningless!"
The researchers were stunned by the president's outburst and quickly fell silent.
But each of them glared at the colleague who had compared the AI to Youyu.
Why did you have to say something so stupid as to compare AI to the real person?
Don't you know the president doesn't like hearing that our Duel King is lacking...
It seemed none of them had noticed that the real Youyu was present, who now had a face full of black lines.
So, President, you know defeating a computer is meaningless, yet you do it every few days?
At this point, Kaiba noticed him in the room and looked over.
"You↑yu↓!"
He completely ignored the researchers and strode forward, his white coat billowing as if showing the aura of a modern king.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" he declared, raising the Duel Disc in his hand, "Come, this is our final battle! This time, I must settle things with you once and for all!"
Final battle?
Youyu rolled his eyes and internally scoffed.
I don't believe you...