Going straight to Seto Kaiba's warehouse? "Ah, that's too embarrassing," Yugen said, yet he was already walking alongside him, like they were old friends. "It's fine," Seto Kaiba replied with a smile. "What you did saved us far more in losses."
The students watched Yugen's retreating figure in silence. After half a minute, Koji Sato finally muttered, "Junior… why does he look so experienced at this?"
"You don't get it," someone said with a chuckle. "That's a kind of talent too." Hall Master Takeuchi looked in the direction Yugen had gone and nodded slightly, a look of approval on his face.
"You all still have a lot to learn from him," he said. The apprentices fell silent.
The helicopter marked with the KC logo moved steadily through the air. Inside, the legendary duelist Seto Kaiba sat with one leg crossed, taking a tablet from a subordinate. The cabin was quiet except for the low hum of the rotors.
"President, the emergency situation at the park has been Release." The subordinate spoke in a careful tone.
"A young Duelist at the scene defeated the hijacked duel AI and Release the arena lockdown. The staff there are checking the equipment and tracing how the system was breached."
"Mm." Seto Kaiba answered as he unlocked the tablet, a slight frown forming.
It was that kind of situation again. He remembered clearly that something similar had happened many years ago. Back then, when the first KaibaLand was completed, the KC Cup was held as the opening event.
During that tournament, his former business rival Chico Lloyd had hacked the system, locking down the Duel Arena and hijacking the duel AI so that no one could leave without winning. By luck, that annoying Yugi Muto had been in the arena and defeated the AI right away. What happened this time felt like a repeat of that incident.
But who could it be now. It could not be Chico, not after what happened eight years ago at the KC Cup, when the enemy struck from the shadows and Seto Kaiba had not even known such a foe existed. After the KC Cup, Seto Kaiba had made sure Chico never had a chance to rise again.
Besides, the current KaibaLand was no longer in its early construction phase. The system flaws Chico once used had long been fixed, and Seto Kaiba was confident that even if that man returned, he could not break in. So who else could it be.
"President, the duel recording against the AI has also arrived," the subordinate said. "Would you like to watch it?"
"Send it to me." Seto Kaiba swiped the tablet.
Everything else could wait. If there were cards to watch, he would never pass it up. Especially since one side of this duel was an AI developed under his direct supervision, a near copy of himself, just like the AI modeled after Yugi Muto.
The video finished loading, and the duel began. His AI went second, opening in a standard way with Lord of D. and The Flute of Summoning Dragon, pulling out Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Crystal Dragon in one flow. Seto Kaiba nodded slightly, satisfied that at least the opening did not embarrass him.
Now it was time to see the response. In the recording, Yugen said, "Continuous Trap, Dragon Capture Jar. All Dragon-type monsters switch to Defense Position!"
Seto Kaiba fell into thought. The scene naturally reminded him of his rage back at Duelist Kingdom, when Maximillion Pegasus had tormented him with Mask of Restrict. He let out a short chuckle.
That was all in the past. He had long surpassed Maximillion Pegasus, and tricks like that no longer worked on him. Then he kept watching as Yugen continued his plays.
"Dragon Rider, take control of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Then I tribute summon Dragon Slayer!"
Seto Kaiba's smile slowly faded. "Light-Imprisoning Mirror, negate all effects activated by Light-attribute monsters!"
Seto Kaiba went silent. "Trap Card, Hellish Amalgamation. I take control of your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
He watched as the AI was driven into visual distortion and system collapse, swallowed by a Burst Stream of Destruction from Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. The president quietly turned off the screen. The cabin returned to its low mechanical hum.
"The boy who won that duel," Seto Kaiba asked as he looked up, "what is his name?"
"It seems to be Yugen Fujiki, from the city's Dueling Dojo. He just passed this year's entrance exam for Duel Academy and is expected to enroll."
"Oh?" Seto Kaiba showed clear interest.
By that count, the boy was half a student under his influence. "Yugen Fujiki."
Seto Kaiba interlaced his fingers and leaned back in his seat with a low chuckle. He remembered the name.
Yugen followed Seto Kaiba's brother into a stretched limousine over six meters long, heading toward a branch of Kaiba Corporation. The car moved smoothly through the city streets. The interior was quiet and spacious.
"To beat my brother's AI is impressive," the brother said casually. "That was our company's top-tier AI, able to handle all kinds of tactics."
"Just luck." Yugen smiled, thinking that the AI had a flaw, namely that its temper seemed weak and it collapsed after a few hits.
Thinking about it, he had helped them uncover another design issue. Maybe he should ask for more pay. "By the way, were you already nearby?" Yugen asked.
After all, the main office of Kaiba Corporation was not here, and the brother had arrived far too quickly. "Yes, we had some business," he replied. "My brother and I have both been staying nearby lately, so I might as well tell you."
He spoke more seriously. "Be careful when you go out at night. We have information that there may be dangerous people active in this area, often attacking Duelist, especially skilled ones. They are desperate criminals."
Yugen immediately thought of his encounter a few nights ago. Thanks for the warning, he thought, they already attacked. That guy's Deck was still with him.
"You mean Seto Kaiba is also in the city," Yugen asked, "handling the Shadow Duelists?"
"Yes. We are trying to find their superiors, because they have something we need." He laughed lightly. "Anyway, I am getting off topic."
He waved it away and continued. "Do not underestimate them. They are called Shadow Duelists. You might have heard rumors, but I guarantee they are stronger than what you have heard."
"I have heard of them," Yugen said. He had seen some rumors online. "There are even claims that people are pressuring Kaiba Corporation to produce equipment to weaponize Duel Monsters."
That kind of talk was not surprising. Kaiba Corporation had once been a major arms dealer before Seto Kaiba took over, and now it dominated the Duel Monsters entertainment industry worldwide. "But do not worry, that will not happen," the brother said with a smile. "Since my brother took charge, Kaiba Corporation abandoned weapons development. We did so in the past, and we will never return to it."
"Duels should bring smiles to people, not war or harm."
Duels that bring smiles, that sounded familiar to Yugen. He nodded in agreement. People who watched his duels often ended up smiling.
Still, while Seto Kaiba's decision to cut weapons development was bold, Yugen could not help thinking that times had changed. Printing cards now was far more powerful than making planes or cannons. "Stop the car."
The brother suddenly seemed to notice something. The driver stopped at once.
"What is it?" Yugen asked.