# Chapter 169: Aster Phoenix Arrives
After Shun Kurosaki arrived at the Underground Labor Facility, Yūga Hōzumi didn't take much effort to bring him to the Warden's Office where everyone was hiding.
Just then, the second match of the day began playing on the screen: Yuya Sakaki VS DC227. Yūga Hōzumi casually turned off the television, then turned to Shun Kurosaki, who wore a grim expression, and asked, "Long time no see. How have you been lately?"
Seeing Yūga Hōzumi's attitude, and recalling the series of events he had experienced recently, including being forced to perform on the streets, Shun Kurosaki's face immediately darkened. He threw a punch at Yūga Hōzumi's abdomen.
Yūga Hōzumi quickly dodged. Shun Kurosaki, whose punch missed, said with a dark expression, "You have the nerve to ask?"
"You've been through a lot. After things here are wrapped up, let's head back to Heart Garden together," Yūga Hōzumi said. Seeing this, he didn't dare to provoke him further. Mainly, he really couldn't beat him!
"Kaito already told me about your plan. However, I can't be of much help right now since my deck and Duel Disk have been confiscated," Shun Kurosaki said, knowing that this wasn't the time to quibble over minor details with Yūga Hōzumi.
"Don't worry about the Duel Disks. When we start, that Reiji Akaba guy will have someone send your Duel Disks and decks down," Yūga Hōzumi said.
...
Meanwhile, on a street of Neo Domino City, in front of a big screen on a commercial street, a silver-haired man draped in a cloak looked up at the match being shown on the live broadcast.
"Spell Card, Smile World Activate!" On the screen, Tomato was routinely getting bested by his opponent before using a Smile World to turn the tide.
But when the silver-haired man saw this Spell Card, his body trembled.
"Smile World? Yuya... Sakaki?" The silver-haired man shrouded in the cloak muttered repeatedly, then turned to look in the direction of the Duel Palace in the center of Neo Domino City.
Indeed, this person was none other than Aster Phoenix, the former Commander of the Obelisk Force, who had been defeated by Ryo Marufuji and then exiled to the Synchro Dimension.
Aster Phoenix watched Yuya Sakaki on the screen sound the horn for a comeback with Smile World, lost in thought. After the match ended, Aster Phoenix walked towards the Duel Arena.
...
The subsequent matches concluded quickly. Yugo defeated his opponent, followed by Tsukikage, the ninja brother, who intentionally threw his match to cooperate with the operation, arriving at the Underground Facility to rendezvous with the others.
With that, the Quarterfinal brackets for the Friendship Cup were announced.
Yuya Sakaki VS a certain Synchro Dimension Lucky Person who inexplicably defeated Tsukikage
Kaito VS Sergey Volkov the Cyborg
Crow VS Bruno
Yugo VS Shingo Sawatari
Before the Quarterfinal matches began, the participants had one day of rest. During this day, they were free to make their own arrangements, except for being unable to leave the hotel organized by the hosts.
That night, an uninvited guest arrived in Yuya Sakaki's room.
Although he won the duel, Yuya Sakaki was downcast because the Entertainment Duel he believed in was rejected by the Audience of Neo Domino City.
Why was it that despite both being Entertainment Duels, and his opponent also being from Security, Shingo Sawatari's duel gained the Audience's approval, while he only received sparse applause when defeating his opponents?
"Could it be that the Entertainment Duel I've studied since childhood is inferior to someone like Shingo Sawatari, who picked it up along the way?" Yuya asked himself inwardly.
If Yūga Hōzumi were there, he would nod without hesitation, giving him a triple affirmation: "That's right, yes, that's exactly how it is."
Sylvio Sawatari genuinely considers the Audience, mastering the showmanship and entertainment factor, but you only want to bring a smile to the opponent. If they just want to win and not smile, you turn dark. That makes things really difficult for them.
But just as Yuya Sakaki sank into deep self-doubt, the ceiling of his room opened, and a figure descended from above, startling him greatly.
"Who is Yusho Sakaki to you?" The newcomer was Aster Phoenix, who had taken some effort to infiltrate. Upon arriving in Yuya Sakaki's room, Aster Phoenix didn't want to waste words and asked directly.
"Who are you?" Yuya Sakaki asked.
"Answer my question!" Aster Phoenix said, pressing a stun gun he had just taken from Security against Yuya's forehead. "Who is Yusho Sakaki to you?"
"He's my father." With a gun pointed at his head, Yuya didn't dare to act rashly and answered honestly.
"So that's it, father and son?" Having received the desired answer, Aster Phoenix lowered the gun and muttered.
"Have you seen my father? Where is he now?" Seeing Aster Phoenix lower the gun, Yuya quickly asked.
"If you want to know the answer, try to defeat me," Aster Phoenix said, then turned and left the way he came.
"Hey, wait!" Yuya called out to stop him, but Aster Phoenix left without the slightest hesitation.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, followed by Shingo Sawatari's anxious shout from next door, having heard some commotion, "Hey, Yuya, what happened?"
"N-nothing, I just tripped over a chair in the room." Even Yuya himself didn't know why he was covering for this person he had never met before.
"What the hell, even an idiot has limits!" Shingo Sawatari's somewhat displeased voice came from outside. "You made me come all the way here for nothing."
"Sorry..." Yuya said.
...
Two hours later, in the room of the Synchro Dimension Lucky Person whom Tsukikage had helped advance.
Aster Phoenix was disguising himself in front of a mirror, while the owner of the room was stripped, bound, and stuffed into the closet, unconscious.
After completing his disguise, Aster Phoenix looked at himself in the mirror and muttered to himself, "Will your son be able to prove that your path was correct, Teacher?"
...
Two days later, the Quarterfinal matches of the Friendship Cup commenced as scheduled.
The first pair of duelists to appear were Crow and Bruno.
In the Competitor Channel, as they were adjusting their D-Wheels, Crow said to Bruno, "Do you want me to let you advance? I could help you conceal your power for Kiryu's plan."
"Forget it," Bruno shook his head and said, "If it were before my duel with Shinji Weber, that might have been useful, but now most of what needed to be revealed already has been, so there's no point in doing that."
"Besides, I can feel that my Accel Synchro has touched that bottleneck. I'm just one small catalyst away from reaching that realm that surpasses Clear Mirror, Still Water Heart. So, for this battle, please give it your all. I'm counting on you." Bruno looked directly into Crow's eyes and said gravely.
Crow looked at Bruno's determined gaze, gave a sudden smile, and nodded: "Alright."
After receiving Crow's affirmative reply, Bruno turned to prepare his D-Wheel. Crow, on his Blackbird, looked at Bruno's focused expression and couldn't help but reflect inwardly, "He really has grown a lot."
(end of chapter)