Teacher Sato sat in the corner, leaning back, and took a deep breath.
He then looked up at the sky.
"As expected... I lost after all."
He shook his head, a look of regret on his face.
Yugen stood silently in front of him for a moment, then walked forward and sat down beside him.
"From the way you speak, did you anticipate the outcome?" He looked at Sato.
Sato chuckled bitterly twice and said, "You are the undefeated King of the Dueling Realm, and the strong ones you've defeated are countless. And I can't even remember how long it's been since I last set foot in a real arena. Isn't this result self-explanatory?"
Yugen had earlier felt the subtle influence of dark fluctuations from Sato, and he knew it was probably due to Yubel. But now that wave has disappeared.
He could feel that Sato was now back to normal... of course, only freed from the influence of darkness. As for whether his mental state was normal, that was another matter.
Sato noticed the scrutinizing look in his eyes, waved his hand, and said, "There's no need to look at me with doubt, Yugen. I'm powerless to fight again, nor can I... cough cough... trouble you again with this broken body."
He shook his head as he spoke, looking somewhat wistfully at Yugen.
"But Yugen, you really are a master strategist. The Black Scorpion Thief Gang and then the Storm Summoner, were all monsters you intentionally sent my way, weren't they?"
"You knew from the start about the abilities of the Scabbed Scarred Knight, you understood my dueling pattern. You deliberately chose these spies to give me, then used my monsters' abilities to help you achieve an unstoppable combo..."
Yugen neither confirmed nor denied.
"Haha, as one would expect from the King," Sato said, "even if you say my lessons are worthless, even if you say my duels are outdated... in the end, it's you, the one who skips my classes, who understands me best, who understands my duels, my strategies... cough cough..."
He shook his head, chuckling bitterly.
"It's truly ironic."
To be fair, Yugen didn't think he was skipping class as his freedom to choose classes was allowed by the school... but it didn't matter. He didn't correct or argue about it.
Teacher Sato now truly understood why this sunny student before him was so renowned as the Master of the Yellow Robe in the Academy.
Teacher Sato, who had spent a lifetime mastering the Minotaur cards with the Scarred Knight, had never encountered a situation quite like today—enough to turn a decade-long Minotaur into a Pure Love Warrior.
It left him too traumatized to casually bully other's monsters again...
Though it might seem cruel to this dedicated teacher, his outdated teaching methods were a fact. In the animations, besides Judai, fewer and fewer students attended his class, until almost no one went.
Even the model student Asuka Tenjouin eventually skipped his class. Even Asuka felt this teacher's class was too dull and uninteresting.
Sato looked up at the sky, "It seems you proved yourself right, Yugen."
"What?"
"About me." Sato gently closed his eyes, "As a teacher, as a duelist, I'm nothing but... a failure."
Uttering these words seemed to take immense courage.
"No one attending my class, being denied by students, it wasn't because of you, nor any other student. Rather... it was me. Because I failed, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't meet expectations, couldn't be needed, that's why..."
He shook his head.
"I just needed a reason to tell myself it was someone's fault. I blamed you for this, but it really wasn't. This is my failure as a teacher, nothing more."
Yugen sat beside him, patting his shoulder like a friend.
"Maybe I don't like your class, teacher, but some of what I said just now was just trash talk during the duel. You know, pro matches often rely on this to disturb opponents, right?
I said your duels were outdated, had nothing to offer, but that's not true. You're an excellent duelist, teacher. One can tell just by looking at that Scarred Knight, the expectations you place in that monster, your fighting spirit as a duelist.
It's regrettable you can't continue due to health reasons. Otherwise, I'm sure you'd have gone further on the professional path, teacher."
Sato glanced at him sideways, met his gaze for a moment, and suddenly burst into laughter.
"I never expected, Yugen, to hear such comforting and encouraging words from you."
Yugen: "..."
Teacher's words... why do they sound like a dog can't spit out ivory?
Is that how the teacher sees me in his mind?
"Forget it." Sato shook his head, speaking lightly, "I knew I probably couldn't beat you, but I still came. On one hand... I was egged on, that's the truth."
"Professor Kobra, right?" Yugen asked.
Sato smiled, "It seems nothing on this island can be hidden from you, Lord King, you already know."
After a pause, he continued, "On the other hand, it's because... at the last moment, no matter what, I wanted to settle things with you. Whether as a teacher or as a duelist."
He picked up the Scarred Knight card in his hand and smiled.
"In the very end, if I didn't at least have one duel with you, I'm afraid my old friend wouldn't agree, right?"
As he spoke, Yugen was surprised to really see the ghostly spirit of the Scarred Knight appear, floating beside Sato, quietly watching him, its eyes seemingly carrying a hint of wistfulness.
Yugen frowned slightly.
"Teacher, when you say the last moment...?"
"Ah, yes."
Teacher Sato slowly raised his head, looking at him.
"I don't have much time left. It seems the old injuries accumulated from high-intensity combat in the professional arena have now become an incurable disease..."
Yugen pondered for a moment and said.
"The medical technology under the Kaiba Group has advanced greatly. Though I don't know what illness you have, teacher, it's not without hope..."
Sato shook his head.
"It's no use, this is a warrior's fate. A warrior carrying countless expectations and heavy burdens must one day fall.
But before that..."
He took a deep breath, handing the card in his hand to Yugen.
Yugen was somewhat surprised this time.
He looked at the Scarred Knight card in his teacher's hand, but didn't reach out to take it, only furrowing his brow, "Isn't this your most important card, teacher?"
"Yes." Sato nodded with a smile, "I heard the King likes to collect the cards of defeated opponents as a testament of victory, correct?"
Yugen shook his head, pushing his hand back.
"Not this time, not with you, teacher."
"Then I must insist all the more." Sato said seriously, "I said before, I'm not in shape anymore. Even if I miraculously survived, with my body, it would be very difficult to return to the arena for the rest of my life.
But I don't want... nor can I let the Scarred Knight just leave with me. He is a warrior, he should return to the arena... no, I hope he can reach the pinnacle of the world.
Among the people I know, only you, Yugen, you can do it. So please, as my final wish, will you?"
Yugen looked at the card he offered, and his sincere gaze.
After thinking it over, Yugen reached out and took it.
"Alright."