"The card I'm searching is—Sangen Summoning!"
Hearing Yusaku say that, Karasu paused for a moment. After thinking it over, he realized he'd never seen that card in any Blue-Eyes deck, and he couldn't help frowning.
In his mind, Blue-Eyes decks usually didn't run Field Spells at all. After all, the archetype didn't have one. And if you did see a Field Spell, it was usually only because the deck had splashed in a Chaos Soldier engine—then you'd see Gateway to Chaos.
But Sangen Summoning? This was his first time ever hearing it.
Unlike Karasu, the players in the stands froze for half a beat—then immediately burst out laughing as they put it together.
"Good lord, so you're playing that kind of 'Blue-Eyes,' huh?!"
"I was wondering why a Blue-Eyes deck would pack so many board breakers. If it's that 'Blue-Eyes,' then yeah, that checks out."
"Heh. No Spell negates left on the other side. Field Spell hits the table, and it's over."
Behind Karasu, the Genius Academy students and the Gurus members frowned.
They understood every single word the players were saying, but when it was all stitched together, it made no sense.
"What do you mean 'then it's not strange'?"
"Is there… another kind of Blue-Eyes deck?"
On the field—
"Then let me show you my Blue-Eyes deck!"
With that, Yusaku pinched Sangen Summoning between two fingers and slid it into his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Field Spell—Sangen Summoning!"
The Spell Card was absorbed into the far slot of the Duel Disk, and the entire Duel Field warped in response.
Pale lightning split the sky again and again. Deafening thunder tore through the clouds. Behind Yusaku, three gigantic stone pillars carved with ancient dragon sigils rose slowly from the ground. Atop each pillar sat something like a blazing brazier, flames leaping in three colors—gold, blue, and red—while scorching heatwaves rolled across the arena.
Watching the field transform, Karasu's brow tightened. Then he slammed the last card in his hand onto the Duel Disk.
"Then the moment you activate that Field Spell, I chain to it…"
"I activate Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood—650! I discard this card from my hand. When you Special Summon Effect Monsters during your Main Phase and Battle Phase, I gain LP equal to those monsters' ATK!"
After throwing it down, he folded his arms and looked at Yusaku with blatant disdain.
"Now I don't care what kind of 'Blue-Eyes' deck you're running. As long as you dare to start comboing, my LP will snowball higher and higher."
His eyes flicked to the six monsters lined up across his field, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"My field is full. If you want to break it, you'll have to build a board that completely dwarfs mine. But if you actually manage that, my LP will spike into a terrifying number you'll never be able to climb over. You think you're going to wipe my field easily? Dream on!"
Yusaku swept a calm glance over Karasu's monsters. "Dream on? It's just six monsters plus Ghost Sister & Spooky Dogwood. If you think that's enough to stop me from ending this, you're underestimating my deck."
Karasu's pupils shrank. "What?!"
Yusaku didn't bother arguing. With a flick of his fingers, he dropped three cards in rapid succession.
"I Normal Summon Dora Dora!"
Soft summoning light bloomed, and a goofy little yellow dragon landed on the field—its head topped by another small green dragon—one claw still clutching a half-eaten fruit, looking adorably clueless.
Dora Dora
Level 3 / Dragon / Effect
ATK 400
"Dora Dora's effect!"
Yusaku's voice snapped upward.
"When this card is Summoned, I can add 1 Level 4 or lower FIRE Dragon monster from my Deck to my hand. I add—Tenpai Dragon Genroku!"
He slid the searched card into his hand, then immediately held it up in front of Karasu.
"Tenpai Dragon Genroku's effect. If this card is added to my hand by a method other than drawing, I can activate this effect: I Special Summon it as a Tuner."
"Since I added it with Dora Dora's effect, I can activate that effect and Special Summon it!"
A black vortex split open overhead. A dragon's roar shook the venue hard enough to rattle eardrums. A massive dragon clad in golden scales burst out of the darkness and slammed down onto the field.
Tenpai Dragon Genroku
Level 3 / Dragon / Effect
ATK 0
"I activate Tenpai Dragon Genroku's effect. During either player's turn, I can Tribute this card: Special Summon 1 'Tenpai Dragon' monster from my Deck, except Tenpai Dragon Genroku."
"After this effect resolves, until the end of the turn, I can only Special Summon Dragon monsters."
"I Tribute it, and Special Summon Tenpai Dragon Paidra from my Deck!"
Another vortex tore open—this time the roar was even louder. A snow-white dragon spread its wings and descended, blades of wind swirling as it landed.
Tenpai Dragon Paidra
Level 3 / Dragon / Effect
ATK 1700
Staring at the white dragon now on the field, Karasu blanked for a second—then looked at Yusaku as if he'd lost his mind.
"Th-this… is your 'Blue-Eyes'?"
Yusaku's lips curled into a teasing grin. "Yep. What, are you going to say it's not a white dragon? A white dragon is a white dragon. It's white, so it's a white dragon. Right?"
Behind him, the players in the stands nodded enthusiastically.
"Right, right! A white dragon is a white dragon!"
Karasu: "???"
Before Karasu could recover, Yusaku barked again—
"Tenpai Dragon Paidra's effect! If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add 1 'Sangen' Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand, or Set it!"
"I add the Quick-Play Spell—Sangen Kaimen!"
Yusaku didn't hesitate for even half a second. He fired it immediately.
"I activate the Quick-Play Spell—Sangen Kaimen! Its effect adds 1 Level 4 or lower FIRE Dragon monster from my Deck to my hand. I add—Tenpai Dragon Chundra!"
He pulled the card free and showed it clearly.
"Tenpai Dragon Chundra's effect: If I control a FIRE Dragon monster, I can Special Summon this card. My field already meets that condition, so I Special Summon it!"
A roar like it could split the heavens erupted. A fire-red dragon wreathed in blazing flames stormed out of the vortex, the heat twisting the air around it.
Tenpai Dragon Chundra
Level 4 / Dragon / Tuner / Effect
ATK 1500
Karasu let out a cold snort, contempt flashing in his eyes as he watched the red Tuner hit the field.
"So you've got a Tuner and a non-Tuner. Going for a Synchro Summon, huh? Not happening."
"I don't know what this 'Tenpai Dragon' pile is, but from the way you're moving, it's obviously Synchro-focused. All I have to do is flip your whole field face-down, and you'll never play again."
He swept his arm forward and shouted sharply—
"I activate Ultimate Conductor Tyranno's effect! Once per turn, during either player's Main Phase: I can destroy 1 monster in my hand or field, and if I do, change all face-up monsters my opponent controls to face-down Defense Position!"
"I destroy Souleating Oviraptor—and turn all your monsters face-down!"
The instant he finished speaking, Souleating Oviraptor shattered into glittering motes of light and vanished.
The next moment, the black-scaled tyrannosaur before Karasu released an earth-splitting roar. It raised a massive claw lined with spikes and stomped down violently.
A brutal shockwave exploded from beneath its foot, becoming three blood-red pillars of light that surged across the field like a devouring tide—slamming straight into Yusaku's three monsters.
But the instant the beams touched them, they sank like stones into a bottomless swamp—then vanished without a trace.
Karasu's pupils pinched down to needlepoints. "How is that possible?!"
Behind him, the Gurus members were equally stunned. One after another, they shot to their feet, eyes locked on Yusaku's back row.
Ultimate Conductor Tyranno's effect… didn't resolve?
They could see it clearly: Yusaku's Spell/Trap Zone was completely empty. There were no set cards, no visible negation, no hand trap activation, no monster effect chain.
So why had the effect disappeared into thin air?
"Not going to keep trying?" Yusaku looked at Karasu, open mockery in his tone. "If I remember right, you've got other monsters over there that can activate effects too."
Karasu's face darkened. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles went white. "What did you do?"
Yusaku lifted his gaze, still wearing that flippant expression.
"The Field Spell—Sangen Summoning. As long as it's in the Field Zone, during my Main Phase 1, my FIRE Dragon monsters are unaffected by your activated effects."
"Every monster on my field is a FIRE Dragon, and my Deck is basically packed with them too."
He paused, then let a sharper, more cutting smile show.
"You understand exactly what kind of immunity that is, don't you?"
Unaffected by your activated effects…?
Karasu's face drained to a paper-white. He understood it all too well.
With that effect online, during Main Phase 1, every single disruption he had might as well be a joke. All he could do was watch Yusaku combo without a care.
After a long, suffocating silence, Karasu jerked his fist tight.
"So what if I can't activate effects during Main Phase 1?! Once you finish your board, I'll have plenty of chances to activate effects! And while you're comboing, my LP will keep climbing. The advantage stays on my side!"
Yusaku smiled blandly, the mockery in his voice even heavier now. "Sorry. Even when you reach the Battle Phase, you still won't be able to activate anything."
Karasu: "?"
Yusaku didn't wait for him to process it. He raised his voice.
"Next, I Synchro Summon—using my Level 4 Tuner Tenpai Dragon Chundra and my Level 3 Effect Monster Dora Dora!"
"Synchro Summon! Level 7—Sangenpai Bident Dragion!"
The two monsters dissolved into brilliant streaks of light and shot up into the sky, trailing long tailflames.
In the next instant, a blinding Synchro pillar slammed down from above, spearing through heaven and earth. One red dragon and one green dragon intertwined, coiling around each other as they roared together—then erupted from the ground behind Yusaku in a violent surge, whipping up a gale that made his coat snap and whip in the wind.
Sangenpai Bident Dragion
Level 7 / Dragon / Synchro / Tuner / Effect
ATK 2600
"Sangenpai Bident Dragion's effect! When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can target 1 FIRE Dragon monster in my GY and Special Summon it."
"I activate that effect!"
Yusaku's voice was crisp and absolute.
"I Special Summon Tenpai Dragon Chundra from my GY!"
Tenpai Dragon Chundra
ATK 1500
(End of Chapter)
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