Following his gaze, Yugen turned and saw that after the Duel ended, Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning had returned to its Spirit form. It stood behind him like a bodyguard, one hand resting on its sword hilt.
"You can see it?" Yugen asked.
"Yes. My Spirit Affinity is fairly high," Yako Tenma replied with a faint smile. "I see. No wonder you possess such power. You are also a chosen Duelist, aren't you?"
As a former holder of the Dark God, it was only natural that Yako Tenma had strong Spirit Affinity.
"A powerful Spirit may rely on a Duelist, but a first class Duelist is also fortunate to have such a Spirit."
Yako Tenma closed his eyes briefly and smiled.
"I lost. There is nothing more to say. And yet..." He paused and looked at Yugen and the Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning behind him. "That form of Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning did not display all of its power, did it?"
The Card Professors felt a chill at those words.
Even that was not its full strength?
From their perspective, the suppression shown by Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning had already surpassed most monsters.
"Maximillion Pegasus is quite perceptive," Yugen admitted. "That is correct."
The powers granted by Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning and Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Evening Twilight went beyond what had been shown. When Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning was Summoned using both knights as materials, it could activate Dimensional Slash up to twice in one turn, banishing two monsters from the Graveyard. It could also choose between gaining an extra attack after it Destroyed a monster by battle or sealing one card from the opponent's hand until the end of their next turn. (ANIME EFFECT)
In other words, the blank monster not only had effects, it had many. In an actual Duel, it was easy to give the opponent the feeling that since nothing was written on the card, it could do almost anything.
"As I thought. It is a pity I did not witness its remaining abilities," Yako Tenma said with a smile as he turned toward the upper level. "Then may I ask what advice Seto Kaiba has regarding this Duel?"
Everyone followed his gaze and noticed that on the second floor balcony of the arena, Seto Kaiba had appeared without anyone realizing.
"Brother!" Mokuba Kaiba called in surprise.
Without a word, Seto Kaiba vaulted over the railing and landed in a half crouch on the floor below.
Yugen's first thought was that such a landing had to be bad for the knees. His second thought was that normal humans should not be able to handle that height.
Mokuba Kaiba quickly stepped forward. Seto Kaiba walked ahead with his arms folded and met Yako Tenma's gaze.
After several seconds of silence, Yako Tenma spoke first.
"I have long wanted the chance to say this," he said quietly. "I am sorry for what happened back then, Seto Kaiba."
Seto Kaiba studied him for a moment but gave no reply. He simply turned his back.
A few of the Card Professors looked displeased and seemed ready to speak, but Yako Tenma stopped them with a glance.
After taking two steps, Seto Kaiba paused briefly without turning his head.
"You are at least a Duelist," he said. "If you are a Duelist, then grow stronger and challenge me directly."
He tilted his head slightly, revealing a confident smirk.
"Of course, that is if you still have the courage."
Yako Tenma froze for a moment, then smiled.
"I understand," he said seriously. "A promise between Duelists."
Seto Kaiba gave a quiet snort and finally turned his attention to Yugen.
"Yugen was incredible today," Mokuba Kaiba said at once. "First the match against the Card Professor in the Link System, then this Duel. And he only just received the new Black Luster Soldier - Envoy of the Beginning card today, yet he can already use it so skillfully. Right, Brother?"
Seto Kaiba said nothing, but there was clear approval in his eyes.
It had not been long since his last meeting with Yugen, yet the improvement shown in such a short time was striking. The urge to Duel was starting to rise again.
"Duel City. Do not forget," Seto Kaiba reminded him. "When the time comes, do not disappoint me."
"Of course," Yugen replied with a nod.
That was assuming he had the resources.
"By the way, President, there is something else," Yugen added. "I have loved Duel Monsters since I was young. Not just Duel, but also developing Duel Monsters and researching Card design. Recently, teachers at Duel Academy recognized my talent in this area and have been guiding me. With the support of Duel Academy, I am setting up a laboratory."
"Get to the point," the president cut in.
"We need funding," Yugen said plainly.
He had done his research before coming to Kaiba Corporation Headquarters. In recent years, the president had strongly promoted Duel Monsters research across many fields, funding numerous teams and projects under Kaiba Corporation. There was even a dedicated fund for promising Duel Monsters research groups.
Now that Yugen had established his own small laboratory, it qualified as an early stage research team. For the president, approving funding was a simple matter.
Hearing the request, the president showed no displeasure. Instead, there was approval in his expression.
He had always supported scientific card development, and many of his own Blue-Eyes White Dragon forms were the result of such research.
For him, it was a trivial decision.
"Fine."
Even though Yako Tenma first appeared as a villain in the original story, the Yako Tenma that Yugen met in person left a fairly good first impression. He was polite and courteous, and most importantly, generous. After the Duel ended, Yako Tenma did not waste time and directly brought out a limited edition ultra Rare Card personally reprinted by Maximillion Pegasus, "Thousand-Eyes Restrict".
This card was a true legendary monster. It was the ace of the first major arc boss in the history of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime, and when it debuted in Maximillion Pegasus's hands, the mystery and pressure it created likely influenced many later villain monsters. From the perspective of the Card Pool, it was also the first Fusion Monster ever placed on the Forbidden list, sitting there for a full decade before finally being released in 2016.
Its effect that could absorb an opponent's monster as equipment was also an early example of that mechanic, paving the way for many similar monsters in later generations. Overall, Yugen was very satisfied with this harvest.
Kaiba Corporation and Yako Tenma also formed a temporary alliance against the hacker threat. Yako Tenma believed the incident was caused by an AI far beyond its time, while Seto Kaiba remained skeptical. After discussion, both sides agreed to cooperate for now and form a united front against the AI.
That part, of course, was left to the higher ups. After finishing the Duel and receiving his reward, Yugen boarded the helicopter arranged by Mokuba Kaiba and flew straight back to Duel Academy.
It was already late at night when he returned to the island. After such an intense Duel and with classes early the next morning, Yugen washed up quickly and went to bed.
Soon he was back to his routine of studying seriously at Duel Academy and enjoying his Joyful Duel. The trip to Kaiba Corporation had further confirmed that his current study plan was effective. Facing Yako Tenma made him realize that his time at Duel Academy had not been wasted, and both his skills as a Duelist and the strength of his Deck had clearly improved.
Yet the more he progressed, the more he understood how long the road ahead still was. If he wanted to stand at the top in this world, there was still much work to do.
While Yugen focused on studying and training, things at Duel Academy continued to develop. In the past few days, he heard that Manjoume had apparently gone missing.
It seemed that the world line was correcting itself. Even if the process differed, Manjoume still stepped onto a similar path of growth.
The poor guy had been an elite for most of his life, but since arriving at Duel Academy, he kept losing Duels and gradually became withdrawn. Students who once treated him with respect grew distant as his evaluations from professors declined.