Ushio stared at his Life Points dropping to zero, his heart in turmoil. He stayed silent for several seconds before finally speaking, stiffly:
"Since I lost the duel, then as promised, I'll act as though none of what happened today ever happened."
He put away his Duel Disk. Without sparing Daigorō another glance, and without saying anything else, he climbed back onto his D-Wheel, his thoughts clearly heavy.
The engine gave a low, muffled roar. He cast one last look at Dio and Crow standing in the dim shack, his expression complicated, then turned the bike around and rode off into the dark streets of Satellite, soon disappearing into the night.
"W-wait! Officer! Officer Ushio!"
Seeing his biggest pillar of support leave just like that, Daigorō panicked. He looked at Dio's expressionless face, then at Crow's unfriendly stare, let out a strangled yelp, and stumbled off in the opposite direction from Ushio, fleeing in utter disgrace.
Dio's gaze turned cold. His hand was already moving toward a splintered piece of wood on the ground, intending to hurl it and stop that troublemaking rat from escaping.
"No need to chase him, Dio."
An arm blocked him.
Crow smiled.
"Tomorrow, we're launching a full offensive."
He looked in the direction Daigorō had fled, the smile on his face turning icy.
"To pull something filthy like this, and even bring the cops to our base—this isn't some simple provocation anymore."
There was lingering fear in Crow's voice.
If the one who had shown up tonight had not been Ushio—someone at least willing to play by the rules and settle things with a duel—if it had been one of the other, rougher, more unreasonable security officers instead, coming in with force to sweep the place and make arrests...
What would have happened to him and Dio?
Would the rest of Team Satisfaction have gotten dragged into it too?
He did not even want to imagine it.
"So," Crow said, turning back to Dio with blazing eyes, "it's time for a turf war. We take the Gear Gang's territory—all of it—and wipe them completely out of this area."
At that moment, Crow was utterly merciless. Honestly, he felt completely different from the Crow Dio remembered. Even in the anime, Dio had always thought of him as a warm, gentle sort of person.
But thinking about it, someone who could join Kiryu's Satisfaction Team having this side to him made perfect sense too.
Dio did not dislike the change.
In a place like Satellite, blind gentleness would only invite destruction.
To protect yourself—and the people beside you—sometimes you needed exactly this kind of resolve.
And just as that thought crossed Dio's mind, a calm, androgynous voice sounded directly in the depths of his consciousness.
[Cooperator: Crow Hogan]
[Rank: 1 → 2]
Dio was a little surprised, then quickly understood.
Still, unlike the last time he gained something, this time there seemed to be only a rank-up notification. Was it like the original game, where rewards only came at certain levels?
"Still, we definitely can't stay here tonight."
Crow did not notice Dio's brief distraction. He had already returned to his usual self. Looking at the door smashed in by Ushio's D-Wheel and the wrecked mess inside, he scratched his head and said,
"The cops may have left, but there's no guarantee that bastard won't try anything else. Come on, Dio. Crash at my place tonight."
"Okay..."
Dio agreed almost on instinct.
Crow's home was not far from the shack they had been using as a temporary base. It sat on the edge of a quieter abandoned scrapyard.
It was a large modified shipping container, rusted all over on the outside, though the lock at least looked sturdy enough.
When Crow opened the door and they stepped inside, the space was tidier and more modern than Dio had expected.
The furniture was simple, but everything was neatly arranged. There was even a bookshelf.
What surprised Dio most was the old desk against the wall.
On it sat an actual computer tower and monitor.
"Where did that come from?"
Dio pointed at the computer, puzzled.
"Do they still sell those in Satellite?"
"If you mean before the Zero Reverse incident, then sure."
Crow shook his head and walked over to it.
"But now? Basically impossible. That thing was put together by Yusei, piece by piece, over a very long time."
"Put together?" Dio was even more surprised. "Out of the garbage the city dumps here every day? I thought the factory district sorted out anything remotely useful first."
"It wasn't stolen!" Crow said quickly, waving both hands. Then he laughed. "Yusei's just a genius when it comes to this stuff."
"He really did dig through the electronic junk everyone had already agreed was completely useless, slowly searching out parts that still worked, then pieced them together bit by bit until he finally scraped together something that could barely boot."
Dio sucked in a breath.
As expected of Yusei. That really was absurdly impressive.
"Actually, Yusei's dream is to build a D-Wheel of our own."
Leaning against the desk, Crow continued,
"I've heard he's almost finished the frame and engine. What he's still missing is the single most important core chip. And that thing... even for Yusei, making one from scratch or finding a workable one in the junk is just too hard."
Dio nodded thoughtfully. He vaguely remembered that in the anime, Yusei had eventually built one.
Just then, light footsteps and the chatter of children came from outside the container door.
"Crow big brother! Are you home?"
The door opened a crack, and two little heads peeked in.
One was a boy with a strange hairstyle—a single tuft of hair jutting up from his forehead like a banana.
The other was a girl with neat short green hair and big, lively eyes.
Their clothes were old, but very clean.
"Oh! Rin, Yugo!"
Crow looked surprised for a moment, then broke into a warm smile.
"What are you two doing here this late?"
"That's what we should be asking!"
The boy called Yugo squeezed his way in.
"We saw from far away that you were provoking the cops again, and we thought for sure you were finally going to get arrested this time!"
"Yugo! Don't say it like that!"
The girl named Rin came in after him and scolded him, then turned worriedly toward Crow.
"Crow big brother, are you okay? We were worried..."
"Ah, sorry, sorry."
Yugo realized he had said the wrong thing and hastily scratched the back of his head.
"We actually figured that if you got hauled in again, we'd come help clean up your place so it wouldn't be such a mess when you got back."
"Crow, who are these two?"
Looking at the children, who were obviously very familiar with Crow, Dio asked.
"Ah, right, I forgot to introduce them."
Crow slapped his forehead.
"This is Rin, and this is Yugo. They're both kids from Martha House."
"Martha House?"
"Yeah. It's one of the few decent places left in Satellite."
Crow's voice carried real respect as he explained.
"It's basically an orphanage, but they also take in homeless elderly people."
Dio had a vague memory of it, though not a very detailed one. In the original anime, if he remembered correctly, it was where Crow, Jack, and Yusei had grown up.
But that was whatever. They were just kids, after all.
"Huh. So there really is a kid named Fusion."
Dio said it almost absentmindedly.
"It's Yugo! Yugo!"
Yugo instantly jumped like someone had stepped on his tail, shouting at the top of his lungs, his face turning red.
"Not 'Fusion'! Even if it kinda sounds similar!"
"It's different?" Dio asked, confused.
Crow held back a laugh and quickly explained the subtle difference in pronunciation to the thoroughly baffled Dio. Only then did Dio realize he had misheard it.
"Crow big brother, this big brother is...?"
Rin tilted her head, curiously looking Dio over.
"Oh, right. His name is Dio. He's the newest member of our Satisfaction Team," Crow said with a grin, sounding proud. "A really strong duelist."
"A new Satisfaction Team member?!"
Yugo instantly forgot the naming incident and stared at Dio with wide, shining eyes full of admiration.
"Then he's gotta be super strong! Can you duel me? Teach me a few tricks!"
"Yugo, you don't even have a complete deck yet," Rin reminded him helplessly.
"Uh... right..."
Yugo's enthusiasm immediately wilted.
"I've only got about twenty random cards. I can't even make it to forty..."
"That's okay."
Looking at the crestfallen boy, a warm smile appeared on Dio's face without him noticing. He had always liked children.
"Twenty cards? Then that's perfect."
He walked over, crouched down so his eyes were level with Yugo's, and said with a smile:
"I'll teach you a format called Duel Links."
-------
April Special Days *Sale 20%*
patreon.com/RuneA
-------
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon Age of Gods: Starting with a Simulation as Heracles (10 Chapter)
Terra Love Trap: They All Want Me to Themselves (30 Chapter)
Dimensional Ranking: Top Ten Saviors (30 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen: Naoya Zen'in Wants to Stay Alive! (30 Chapter)
Bleach: This Everyday Multiverse Is Seriously Falling Apart! (30 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it