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# Chapter 374: Run Away!
Pressing a finger against the back of his neck, Kaiba stretched his neck, feeling the "cracking" sound of his bones cracking from maintaining a single posture for too long. He pulled his gaze away from the computer screen.
Because Mokuba had also registered for this KC Cup, Kaiba couldn't just dump all the trivial matters onto Mokuba like before. Instead, he had to split the workload with Mokuba.
A large amount of equipment needed to be cleared with Customs when transported from Japan to America, the renovation of the Duel Arena which had to be completed within three days before the end of the Audition, the arrangement and design of the Tournament process, and so on – all of this had to be handled by Kaiba. Of course, there was also the most important thing: paying taxes to the Tax Bureau.
In "free" America, you could engage in shady activities, join gangs, do drugs, or get a gun, but the one thing you absolutely couldn't do was not pay taxes. For many big shots with dark backgrounds, even the FBI showing up wasn't a big deal, but the Tax Bureau showing up meant big trouble.
Annoyed, Kaiba closed the document. His procrastination had kicked in, and he decided to put off the work at hand for later. He casually opened a folder on his computer, planning to relax for a bit.
Of course, the normal relaxation methods of an adult male couldn't satisfy the strong desires of President Kaiba. The only way he could truly relax and entertain himself was, indeed—
"Hmph, compared to Duel City, you've become more skilled at commanding your Spellcasters, Yugi..."
Watching the opened video file, Yugi used the combo of **Magician's Valkyria** and **Sage's Stone** to gather both **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl** in a single Turn. Then, he used **Dark Burning Magic** to destroy all cards on the opponent's field and used a Direct Attack to deplete the opponent's Life Points. Kaiba revealed a sinister smile.
"But the Strongest Dragon-Type in my Deck, which has evolved, isn't something that level of Spell Card can conquer. Show me more power and ignite my fighting spirit!"
Scrolling the mouse wheel, Kaiba browsed the Duel Recordings from the Audition today. He had no interest in wasting his precious time on ordinary nameless Duelists. His gaze quickly swept past, searching for Duelists who piqued his interest slightly.
"Samejima Iemitsu? Top 4 of Duelist Kingdom? He uses **Cyber Dragon** just like Hayato, but his Dueling Style focuses on Burn Damage? Hmph, boring."
"Mai Valentine, that mediocrity's girlfriend? Useless except for being good at bullying Third-Rate Duelists."
"This guy is named Ryuzaki? Just an incompetent nobody."
When he clicked on a video, Kaiba's eyebrow twitched, and he opened it with interest to watch.
In this Duel video, both players were relatively unknown in the Duel Monsters world. Logically, Kaiba should have no interest in this Duel, but if one of the Duelists was Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba, then it was a different story.
"My Turn, Draw Card!" In the video, the Indian guy standing opposite Mokuba drew a card and said proudly in heavily accented English, "Hoho, I didn't expect a kid like you would dare to participate in the Match. Meeting me, you're really out of luck."
"Normal Summon **Senju of the Thousand Hands**. When **Senju of the Thousand Hands** is Normal Summoned successfully, I activate its effect! I can Search Deck for one Ritual Monster and Add it to my Hand!" The Indian guy searched Deck for a card and added it to his Hand, then said proudly, "I didn't expect to be able to Summon my Strongest Monster on the first Turn! It must be the blessing of God!"
"Activate Spell Card **Garma Sword Oath**! I Tribute **Sonic Bird** from my Hand and **Senju of the Thousand Hands** from the Field and Send them to Graveyard! Their combined Levels are Level 8!"
"Ritual Summon **Garma Sword**, which I just Added to my Hand!"
The Indian guy's Hand and Field each had a Monster that rose up as a light pillar. Under the sacred Ritual, the Monster that descended onto his Field using two Monster Cards as Tribute was a ferocious Fiend.
[Garma Sword] [Level 8/DARK]
[Fiend Type/Ritual/Effect]
[2800/2300]
"Hahaha, tremble and fear my powerful **Garma Sword**! I'm sure you've never seen such a powerful and terrifying Monster in your life!" The Indian guy looked at Mokuba with arrogance and didn't Set any cards. "My Turn ends, kid."
Seeing the Indian guy end his Turn like that, Mokuba sighed helplessly, "What, I was actually expecting you to play some kind of combo. Is this all you've got?"
"Although comparing you to Hayato Older Brother is a bit much, it's just as Older Brother said, you're just a Third-Rate Duelist using a Third-Rate Deck." With a condescending smile on his face, Mokuba placed his finger on top of his Deck. "My Turn, Drawing Cards!"
"You really gave me the confidence to break through! You're nothing special, old man!"
Mokuba's relaxed smile, as if he didn't take him seriously at all, made the Indian guy very annoyed. "An arrogant kid is really annoying! And I'm only eighteen!"
Stroking his thick beard, which had grown stimulated by the rich periodic table he had ingested from their "sacred river" since childhood, the Indian guy said angrily, "You keep saying such condescending things. Are you saying you can defeat me in a single Turn?"
"It's not necessarily impossible, old man." Mokuba showed a confident smile, which made Kaiba, watching the video, smile for a rare moment. The two brothers smiled with the same confidence. Unbeknownst to him, Mokuba had gradually grown from a child who needed his protection to someone who could stand on his own.
"I activate the effect of **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand! I Discard **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand and Send it to Graveyard. Then, I can Add up to two **Thunder Dragon** from my Deck to my Hand."
"Then I Normal Summon **Keeper of Dragon Magic** in Attack Position! I activate its effect! When this card is Summoned or Special Summoned successfully, I Discard one card from my Hand and Add one **Fusion** Normal Spell Card from my Deck to my Hand."
"I activate the second effect of **Keeper of Dragon Magic**! After I Reveal **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon** to you, I can Special Summon one of **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**'s Fusion Materials from my Graveyard—specifically, the **Thunder Dragon** that was just Sent to Graveyard by its own effect—in Set Defense Position!"
"Activate Spell Card **Offerings to the Doomed**! I Discard one **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand and Target **Garma Sword** on your Field to Destroy it!"
"Finally, I Activate Spell Card **Fusion**! I Send **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand and **Thunder Dragon** from the Field to Graveyard as Fusion Material! Come forth, **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**!"
After a series of brilliant operations, Mokuba was left with the last two cards in his Hand, while on his Field, he had Summoned **Keeper of Dragon Magic** with 1800 ATK and **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**, which lowered the average visual appeal of the **Thunder Dragon** Deck. Meanwhile, on the Indian guy's Field, his proud **Garma Sword** was dragged back to the Underworld, wrapped in bandages that emerged from the ground.
Glancing at **Mirror Force** and **Forbidden Lance** in his Hand, Mokuba looked at the stunned Indian guy and spread his palms casually. "Duel Monsters is surprisingly easy, isn't it? It was a pleasant Duel, old man."
"Th-this is impossible! **Garma Sword**, my **Garma Sword**!" The Indian guy had an expression of being unable to accept reality, but what did his inability to accept the facts have to do with Mokuba? The only thing Mokuba and Kaiba were alike in was their cold attitude towards strangers. He calmly commanded:
"Begin the Full Power Attack! Direct Attack the opponent Duelist, **Keeper of Dragon Magic**, **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**!"
Watching Mokuba command his two monsters to completely deplete the Indian guy's Life Points, Kaiba closed the video with satisfaction.
It seemed Mokuba had a certain talent in the Duel Monsters domain, just like him.
Thinking this, Kaiba casually closed the participant identity form that was opened next to the video.
According to the information retrieved using the Indian guy's name, that guy was just an ordinary person who couldn't stand being oppressed by the high castes in his country and had spent all his money to run to America. The reason he participated in Duel Monsters was just because he had opened **Garma Sword** in a pack of cards he bought and thought that maybe he could get lucky and become the champion.
Regarding Mokuba's Duel video, Kaiba felt that watching one to understand his brother's level was enough. What he was really interested in were the powerful Duelists. And then—
"Alright, the number is six, so the ATK of your monster will be reduced to one-sixth of its original value. Counterattack, **Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon**!"
Watching Jonouchi struggle back and forth with an unknown small fry in the video, his Life Points once dropping below the 1000 point danger line, and then, as expected, relying on luck as if the goddess of fortune was sticking to him, he activated a gambling card to turn the tables and win, Kaiba's face was very ugly.
The dignified Top 4 of Duelist Kingdom, Top 4 of Duel City, the guy who once brought Kaiba a sense of crisis in a Duel, that idiot Jonouchi could also go back and forth with a Third-Rate Duelist, wouldn't that make Kaiba look bad?!
"That idiot, is he the type who won't put in his full power until his Life Points are about to be extinguished!" Kaiba didn't want to see the silly smiling face of Jonouchi after his victory in the screen, closed the video unhappily, and continued searching for Duelists worthy of his attention.
For example, Malik, who once held two God cards.
After finally finding Malik's trace in the complicated Duel recordings, Kaiba exited the video unhappily after watching about five minutes of Malik's Duel recording.
The cards used by Malik in the previous Duels were basically based on the idea of "Summoning God" → "Protecting God" → "Using God to blow up the opponent", but now, after losing all two God cards and having no cards in his Deck with the ability to decide the game, the Dueling idea used by Malik naturally became—
First, five Set cards in the back row, either **Bottomless Trap Hole** or **Blast Armor**, and **Magic Jammer**, to survive in various ways.
Then, use various trash talk to enrage the opponent and lure them into Summoning more than one monster.
When there are two monsters on the opponent's field, he decisively sends a Level 8, 3000 ATK big baby to the opponent's field, and then connects it with **Carth of Demise**, which prevents the monster from attacking or changing its Battle Position, relying on the effect damage caused each turn to play a burn damage strategy.
In the Duel recording that Kaiba clicked on, Malik met Samejima Iemitsu, whom Kaiba had seen before. As the saying goes, "Experience makes a doctor", Malik and Samejima Iemitsu had played burn damage for too long, so naturally they had taught themselves the method of restraining burn damage without a teacher. The result was that the two burn damage players were evenly matched and fought inextricably.
In the end, if Malik hadn't been too young to hold back his anger and activated **Bitter Choice** to add cards from the Deck that could change the battle situation to his hand, but Samejima Iemitsu had used **Skull Invitation** to cut 1500 Life Points, this Duel would have continued until one of the Decks was emptied.
Because of the boring Duel, he couldn't help but yawn. After Kaiba closed the video, his gaze moved down and he was about to look for the names of some familiar Duelists, but he unexpectedly discovered that next to this video, a thumbnail of a Duel recording showed Hayato's laughing face.
After clicking on the video, sure enough, one of the two Duelists appearing in front of Kaiba was Hayato, and the other was a Duelist named "D.D." who had suddenly risen in the professional Duelist circle recently.
However, what made Kaiba a little puzzled was that no matter how he looked at it, it was Hayato, but everyone around him turned a blind eye to him and instead enthusiastically chased after the guy named "D.D.", and even the name Hayato used when participating was "Dan Kuroto", which Kaiba had never heard of.
"Hmph, anyway, he must have used some strange methods, such as hypnosis or something. Instead of focusing on Duel Monsters, he is immersed in those side tricks. He became arrogant and lazy after obtaining the title of Duel King. Don't hold a grudge if I catch up and take away your honor, Hayato."
The corners of Kaiba's mouth slightly raised, revealing a sneer, he muttered to himself.
While watching the Duel video, he recorded the new monsters used by Hayato during the Duel—**Kaiju**—in his memo for further research later. Kaiba casually opened the identity report of "Dan Kuroto". Sure enough, there was no immigration record of the name "Dan Kuroto" in Customs.
That is to say, either this "Dan Kuroto" is just a stowaway who looks very similar to Hayato, or Hayato is using a fake name. After seeing "Dan Kuroto" use **Red Reboot**, Kaiba felt that the latter possibility was the greatest.
Casually enabling the background editing mode of the matching program during the Audition stage, tampering with the data to arrange himself, who also participated in the Audition, and player No. 114514, "Dan Kuroto", together, Kaiba laughed triumphantly.
"He seized the loophole that there is no restriction on the Duel King from participating and wants to compete for the championship as well? Such a competition can arouse my interest." Squinting his eyes, Kaiba couldn't wait to speed up time to tomorrow morning and then have a thrilling and exciting Duel Monsters with Hayato, "But the champion's prize money is not so easy to get. Since you took the initiative to participate, don't blame me for taking the initiative to find you, Hayato Kobayashi!"
—————Made In Heaven———
"Surprise?"
"It's shock, isn't it."
Hayato looked at Kaiba, who was standing opposite him with a smug look, and helplessly covered his forehead.
As expected of Kaiba, he easily saw through my perfect disguise.jpg
Too bad Hayato didn't bring tequila, otherwise he would have really wanted to cosplay this famous scene, but it's a bit of a shame that the role that could replace Kars was taken yesterday.
(The voice actor of D.D. and Kars are both Inoue Kazuhiko)
Inserting the Deck into the Duel Disk, Kaiba ignored the cheers of the surrounding audience who had gathered because of his reputation, and said to Hayato with a high fighting spirit: "Since you participated in the Audition, you shouldn't be surprised to encounter any opponent. After all, Kaiba Corporation's matching program is quite intelligent and will only match players of similar levels together."
"Alright, let's start the Duel quickly, 'Dan Kuroto'!"
Hayato looked at Kaiba, who had a serious face, and his face was also a little serious: "I see, so that's how it is."
"That's right, although I'm a little unhappy, but since I'm facing you, it seems that this is the only way."
While saying this, in Kaiba's expectant gaze, Hayato, without wearing the Duel Disk, patted his left arm and thigh: "The famous President of Kaiba Corporation, the legendary Duelist Seto Kaiba, I can't Duel you without my strong arms and thighs. First of all——"
Hayato's hand reached towards the card box placed on his waist, but just as Kaiba thought he was going to take out the Deck to Duel himself, Hayato suddenly raised his hand: "Referee, I surrender!"
The referee on the side of the Duel heard what Hayato said with his hand raised, nodded, and announced: "Winner, No.1, Seto Kaiba."
"Na, Nani?!" The expression on Kaiba's face was also stunned, and then he reacted - although he didn't know how Hayato did it, but his current identity is not the Duel King, just an ordinary Duelist who has just made a little reputation in the KC Cup, surrendering to the legendary Duelist, the runner-up of Duel City, Seto Kaiba, is not embarrassing at all.
Moreover, this is not a formal match where he loses his qualification, it is just the Audition stage, even if he surrenders, Hayato will only be deducted a little points. The points he has accumulated are still in the top 20 among all participants, and losing one point does not affect his qualification.
Feeling that he had been played by Hayato, Kaiba took a step towards Hayato angrily, but Hayato, who had already planned his escape route, gave Kaiba an evil smile: "Then now, Run Away!~"
Saying that, Hayato told Kaiba what he said earlier about "using his thighs" - a sprint jump jumped out of the world record of about nine meters, drilled into the crowd and disappeared, leaving only countless Kaiba's admirers left on the Duel stand.
"Onorei!"
Hearing Kaiba's angry roar from behind, Hayato smiled. Taking advantage of the fact that the matching system had not arranged a new opponent for him, he began to stroll around the Audition site.
Walking through the crowd, Hayato unexpectedly saw many familiar figures - "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki, Kajiki Fisherman, "Super Power" Alum, etc., and even "King of Maritime Transport" Anasis, who had contributed to collecting star chips for Hayato during the Duel Kingdom, also participated in the KC Cup.
Hayato even heard Uncle Anasis boasting to his opponent that even the Duel King - that is, Hayato himself - had been in a hard fight in his Duel and almost lost. Equivalent exchange, Hayato>Anasis, Hayato>Seto Kaiba, so Anasis≈Seto Kaiba.
Hayato couldn't help but sigh, this uncle with a chin like a butt is really a mathematical genius.
Walking and walking, Hayato saw the side of a Duel stand that had just ended a Duel. I saw on one side of the Duel stand, the loser of that Duel was kneeling on the ground, lost, as if unable to accept his defeat, while his opponent calmly pushed his glasses.
"So strong, obviously just an underage child, but he has such a strong Dueling strength."
"The children of rich people are really different from us ordinary people. They must have been receiving elite education since they were in the womb?"
"Hey? That's not the case. Don't you know him, Amon Garam."
"Garam? Could it be that he is the adopted son?"
"So it has nothing to do with prenatal education. Speaking of which, I seem to have seen several young kids with terrible strength in Duel Monsters."
Hayato's gaze lingered on the face of the boy wearing flat glasses, barely hearing the name "Amon Garam" that was not unfamiliar but not familiar from the mouths of the surrounding passers-by.
In terms of appearance, Amon Garam is not like Ptah Garam, whom Hayato met in Duel Kingdom, after all, he is an adopted son. In terms of age, he looks a little older than Jun Manjoume and Jaden Yuki that Hayato has seen, about eight or nine years old, but the kind of indifference on his face that is not sad or happy because of victory or defeat is difficult for ordinary people to have even at the age of thirty-eight or nine.
Seeming to notice the gaze in the crowd, Amon Garam looked towards Hayato, and after seeing Hayato's face, he was slightly stunned, and then tilted his head in some confusion, as if thinking about why he felt so familiar after seeing Hayato, but he couldn't remember where he had met Hayato.
And just at this moment, Hayato heard the broadcast: "No.114514, Dan Kuroto, Please go to challenge arena 44."
Hayato looked at the stage again and smiled - although the number "44" would make an Italian person unhappy, the Duel stand that Hayato had come to while wandering was just the 44th arena.
That is to say, Hayato's next opponent is Amon Garam.
Pressing a finger against the back of his neck, Kaiba stretched his neck, feeling the "cracking" sound of his bones cracking from maintaining a single posture for too long. He pulled his gaze away from the computer screen.
Because Mokuba had also registered for this KC Cup, Kaiba couldn't just dump all the trivial matters onto Mokuba like before. Instead, he had to split the workload with Mokuba.
A large amount of equipment needed to be cleared with Customs when transported from Japan to America, the renovation of the Duel Arena which had to be completed within three days before the end of the Audition, the arrangement and design of the Tournament process, and so on – all of this had to be handled by Kaiba. Of course, there was also the most important thing: paying taxes to the Tax Bureau.
In "free" America, you could engage in shady activities, join gangs, do drugs, or get a gun, but the one thing you absolutely couldn't do was not pay taxes. For many big shots with dark backgrounds, even the FBI showing up wasn't a big deal, but the Tax Bureau showing up meant big trouble.
Annoyed, Kaiba closed the document. His procrastination had kicked in, and he decided to put off the work at hand for later. He casually opened a folder on his computer, planning to relax for a bit.
Of course, the normal relaxation methods of an adult male couldn't satisfy the strong desires of President Kaiba. The only way he could truly relax and entertain himself was, indeed—
"Hmph, compared to Duel City, you've become more skilled at commanding your Spellcasters, Yugi..."
Watching the opened video file, Yugi used the combo of **Magician's Valkyria** and **Sage's Stone** to gather both **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl** in a single Turn. Then, he used **Dark Burning Magic** to destroy all cards on the opponent's field and used a Direct Attack to deplete the opponent's Life Points. Kaiba revealed a sinister smile.
"But the Strongest Dragon-Type in my Deck, which has evolved, isn't something that level of Spell Card can conquer. Show me more power and ignite my fighting spirit!"
Scrolling the mouse wheel, Kaiba browsed the Duel Recordings from the Audition today. He had no interest in wasting his precious time on ordinary nameless Duelists. His gaze quickly swept past, searching for Duelists who piqued his interest slightly.
"Samejima Iemitsu? Top 4 of Duelist Kingdom? He uses **Cyber Dragon** just like Hayato, but his Dueling Style focuses on Burn Damage? Hmph, boring."
"Mai Valentine, that mediocrity's girlfriend? Useless except for being good at bullying Third-Rate Duelists."
"This guy is named Ryuzaki? Just an incompetent nobody."
When he clicked on a video, Kaiba's eyebrow twitched, and he opened it with interest to watch.
In this Duel video, both players were relatively unknown in the Duel Monsters world. Logically, Kaiba should have no interest in this Duel, but if one of the Duelists was Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba, then it was a different story.
"My Turn, Draw Card!" In the video, the Indian guy standing opposite Mokuba drew a card and said proudly in heavily accented English, "Hoho, I didn't expect a kid like you would dare to participate in the Match. Meeting me, you're really out of luck."
"Normal Summon **Senju of the Thousand Hands**. When **Senju of the Thousand Hands** is Normal Summoned successfully, I activate its effect! I can Search Deck for one Ritual Monster and Add it to my Hand!" The Indian guy searched Deck for a card and added it to his Hand, then said proudly, "I didn't expect to be able to Summon my Strongest Monster on the first Turn! It must be the blessing of God!"
"Activate Spell Card **Garma Sword Oath**! I Tribute **Sonic Bird** from my Hand and **Senju of the Thousand Hands** from the Field and Send them to Graveyard! Their combined Levels are Level 8!"
"Ritual Summon **Garma Sword**, which I just Added to my Hand!"
The Indian guy's Hand and Field each had a Monster that rose up as a light pillar. Under the sacred Ritual, the Monster that descended onto his Field using two Monster Cards as Tribute was a ferocious Fiend.
[Garma Sword] [Level 8/DARK]
[Fiend Type/Ritual/Effect]
[2800/2300]
"Hahaha, tremble and fear my powerful **Garma Sword**! I'm sure you've never seen such a powerful and terrifying Monster in your life!" The Indian guy looked at Mokuba with arrogance and didn't Set any cards. "My Turn ends, kid."
Seeing the Indian guy end his Turn like that, Mokuba sighed helplessly, "What, I was actually expecting you to play some kind of combo. Is this all you've got?"
"Although comparing you to Hayato Older Brother is a bit much, it's just as Older Brother said, you're just a Third-Rate Duelist using a Third-Rate Deck." With a condescending smile on his face, Mokuba placed his finger on top of his Deck. "My Turn, Drawing Cards!"
"You really gave me the confidence to break through! You're nothing special, old man!"
Mokuba's relaxed smile, as if he didn't take him seriously at all, made the Indian guy very annoyed. "An arrogant kid is really annoying! And I'm only eighteen!"
Stroking his thick beard, which had grown stimulated by the rich periodic table he had ingested from their "sacred river" since childhood, the Indian guy said angrily, "You keep saying such condescending things. Are you saying you can defeat me in a single Turn?"
"It's not necessarily impossible, old man." Mokuba showed a confident smile, which made Kaiba, watching the video, smile for a rare moment. The two brothers smiled with the same confidence. Unbeknownst to him, Mokuba had gradually grown from a child who needed his protection to someone who could stand on his own.
"I activate the effect of **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand! I Discard **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand and Send it to Graveyard. Then, I can Add up to two **Thunder Dragon** from my Deck to my Hand."
"Then I Normal Summon **Keeper of Dragon Magic** in Attack Position! I activate its effect! When this card is Summoned or Special Summoned successfully, I Discard one card from my Hand and Add one **Fusion** Normal Spell Card from my Deck to my Hand."
"I activate the second effect of **Keeper of Dragon Magic**! After I Reveal **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon** to you, I can Special Summon one of **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**'s Fusion Materials from my Graveyard—specifically, the **Thunder Dragon** that was just Sent to Graveyard by its own effect—in Set Defense Position!"
"Activate Spell Card **Offerings to the Doomed**! I Discard one **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand and Target **Garma Sword** on your Field to Destroy it!"
"Finally, I Activate Spell Card **Fusion**! I Send **Thunder Dragon** from my Hand and **Thunder Dragon** from the Field to Graveyard as Fusion Material! Come forth, **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**!"
After a series of brilliant operations, Mokuba was left with the last two cards in his Hand, while on his Field, he had Summoned **Keeper of Dragon Magic** with 1800 ATK and **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**, which lowered the average visual appeal of the **Thunder Dragon** Deck. Meanwhile, on the Indian guy's Field, his proud **Garma Sword** was dragged back to the Underworld, wrapped in bandages that emerged from the ground.
Glancing at **Mirror Force** and **Forbidden Lance** in his Hand, Mokuba looked at the stunned Indian guy and spread his palms casually. "Duel Monsters is surprisingly easy, isn't it? It was a pleasant Duel, old man."
"Th-this is impossible! **Garma Sword**, my **Garma Sword**!" The Indian guy had an expression of being unable to accept reality, but what did his inability to accept the facts have to do with Mokuba? The only thing Mokuba and Kaiba were alike in was their cold attitude towards strangers. He calmly commanded:
"Begin the Full Power Attack! Direct Attack the opponent Duelist, **Keeper of Dragon Magic**, **Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon**!"
Watching Mokuba command his two monsters to completely deplete the Indian guy's Life Points, Kaiba closed the video with satisfaction.
It seemed Mokuba had a certain talent in the Duel Monsters domain, just like him.
Thinking this, Kaiba casually closed the participant identity form that was opened next to the video.
According to the information retrieved using the Indian guy's name, that guy was just an ordinary person who couldn't stand being oppressed by the high castes in his country and had spent all his money to run to America. The reason he participated in Duel Monsters was just because he had opened **Garma Sword** in a pack of cards he bought and thought that maybe he could get lucky and become the champion.
Regarding Mokuba's Duel video, Kaiba felt that watching one to understand his brother's level was enough. What he was really interested in were the powerful Duelists. And then—
"Alright, the number is six, so the ATK of your monster will be reduced to one-sixth of its original value. Counterattack, **Red-Eyes Black Meteor Dragon**!"
Watching Jonouchi struggle back and forth with an unknown small fry in the video, his Life Points once dropping below the 1000 point danger line, and then, as expected, relying on luck as if the goddess of fortune was sticking to him, he activated a gambling card to turn the tables and win, Kaiba's face was very ugly.
The dignified Top 4 of Duelist Kingdom, Top 4 of Duel City, the guy who once brought Kaiba a sense of crisis in a Duel, that idiot Jonouchi could also go back and forth with a Third-Rate Duelist, wouldn't that make Kaiba look bad?!
"That idiot, is he the type who won't put in his full power until his Life Points are about to be extinguished!" Kaiba didn't want to see the silly smiling face of Jonouchi after his victory in the screen, closed the video unhappily, and continued searching for Duelists worthy of his attention.
For example, Malik, who once held two God cards.
After finally finding Malik's trace in the complicated Duel recordings, Kaiba exited the video unhappily after watching about five minutes of Malik's Duel recording.
The cards used by Malik in the previous Duels were basically based on the idea of "Summoning God" → "Protecting God" → "Using God to blow up the opponent", but now, after losing all two God cards and having no cards in his Deck with the ability to decide the game, the Dueling idea used by Malik naturally became—
First, five Set cards in the back row, either **Bottomless Trap Hole** or **Blast Armor**, and **Magic Jammer**, to survive in various ways.
Then, use various trash talk to enrage the opponent and lure them into Summoning more than one monster.
When there are two monsters on the opponent's field, he decisively sends a Level 8, 3000 ATK big baby to the opponent's field, and then connects it with **Carth of Demise**, which prevents the monster from attacking or changing its Battle Position, relying on the effect damage caused each turn to play a burn damage strategy.
In the Duel recording that Kaiba clicked on, Malik met Samejima Iemitsu, whom Kaiba had seen before. As the saying goes, "Experience makes a doctor", Malik and Samejima Iemitsu had played burn damage for too long, so naturally they had taught themselves the method of restraining burn damage without a teacher. The result was that the two burn damage players were evenly matched and fought inextricably.
In the end, if Malik hadn't been too young to hold back his anger and activated **Bitter Choice** to add cards from the Deck that could change the battle situation to his hand, but Samejima Iemitsu had used **Skull Invitation** to cut 1500 Life Points, this Duel would have continued until one of the Decks was emptied.
Because of the boring Duel, he couldn't help but yawn. After Kaiba closed the video, his gaze moved down and he was about to look for the names of some familiar Duelists, but he unexpectedly discovered that next to this video, a thumbnail of a Duel recording showed Hayato's laughing face.
After clicking on the video, sure enough, one of the two Duelists appearing in front of Kaiba was Hayato, and the other was a Duelist named "D.D." who had suddenly risen in the professional Duelist circle recently.
However, what made Kaiba a little puzzled was that no matter how he looked at it, it was Hayato, but everyone around him turned a blind eye to him and instead enthusiastically chased after the guy named "D.D.", and even the name Hayato used when participating was "Dan Kuroto", which Kaiba had never heard of.
"Hmph, anyway, he must have used some strange methods, such as hypnosis or something. Instead of focusing on Duel Monsters, he is immersed in those side tricks. He became arrogant and lazy after obtaining the title of Duel King. Don't hold a grudge if I catch up and take away your honor, Hayato."
The corners of Kaiba's mouth slightly raised, revealing a sneer, he muttered to himself.
While watching the Duel video, he recorded the new monsters used by Hayato during the Duel—**Kaiju**—in his memo for further research later. Kaiba casually opened the identity report of "Dan Kuroto". Sure enough, there was no immigration record of the name "Dan Kuroto" in Customs.
That is to say, either this "Dan Kuroto" is just a stowaway who looks very similar to Hayato, or Hayato is using a fake name. After seeing "Dan Kuroto" use **Red Reboot**, Kaiba felt that the latter possibility was the greatest.
Casually enabling the background editing mode of the matching program during the Audition stage, tampering with the data to arrange himself, who also participated in the Audition, and player No. 114514, "Dan Kuroto", together, Kaiba laughed triumphantly.
"He seized the loophole that there is no restriction on the Duel King from participating and wants to compete for the championship as well? Such a competition can arouse my interest." Squinting his eyes, Kaiba couldn't wait to speed up time to tomorrow morning and then have a thrilling and exciting Duel Monsters with Hayato, "But the champion's prize money is not so easy to get. Since you took the initiative to participate, don't blame me for taking the initiative to find you, Hayato Kobayashi!"
—————Made In Heaven———
"Surprise?"
"It's shock, isn't it."
Hayato looked at Kaiba, who was standing opposite him with a smug look, and helplessly covered his forehead.
As expected of Kaiba, he easily saw through my perfect disguise.jpg
Too bad Hayato didn't bring tequila, otherwise he would have really wanted to cosplay this famous scene, but it's a bit of a shame that the role that could replace Kars was taken yesterday.
(The voice actor of D.D. and Kars are both Inoue Kazuhiko)
Inserting the Deck into the Duel Disk, Kaiba ignored the cheers of the surrounding audience who had gathered because of his reputation, and said to Hayato with a high fighting spirit: "Since you participated in the Audition, you shouldn't be surprised to encounter any opponent. After all, Kaiba Corporation's matching program is quite intelligent and will only match players of similar levels together."
"Alright, let's start the Duel quickly, 'Dan Kuroto'!"
Hayato looked at Kaiba, who had a serious face, and his face was also a little serious: "I see, so that's how it is."
"That's right, although I'm a little unhappy, but since I'm facing you, it seems that this is the only way."
While saying this, in Kaiba's expectant gaze, Hayato, without wearing the Duel Disk, patted his left arm and thigh: "The famous President of Kaiba Corporation, the legendary Duelist Seto Kaiba, I can't Duel you without my strong arms and thighs. First of all——"
Hayato's hand reached towards the card box placed on his waist, but just as Kaiba thought he was going to take out the Deck to Duel himself, Hayato suddenly raised his hand: "Referee, I surrender!"
The referee on the side of the Duel heard what Hayato said with his hand raised, nodded, and announced: "Winner, No.1, Seto Kaiba."
"Na, Nani?!" The expression on Kaiba's face was also stunned, and then he reacted - although he didn't know how Hayato did it, but his current identity is not the Duel King, just an ordinary Duelist who has just made a little reputation in the KC Cup, surrendering to the legendary Duelist, the runner-up of Duel City, Seto Kaiba, is not embarrassing at all.
Moreover, this is not a formal match where he loses his qualification, it is just the Audition stage, even if he surrenders, Hayato will only be deducted a little points. The points he has accumulated are still in the top 20 among all participants, and losing one point does not affect his qualification.
Feeling that he had been played by Hayato, Kaiba took a step towards Hayato angrily, but Hayato, who had already planned his escape route, gave Kaiba an evil smile: "Then now, Run Away!~"
Saying that, Hayato told Kaiba what he said earlier about "using his thighs" - a sprint jump jumped out of the world record of about nine meters, drilled into the crowd and disappeared, leaving only countless Kaiba's admirers left on the Duel stand.
"Onorei!"
Hearing Kaiba's angry roar from behind, Hayato smiled. Taking advantage of the fact that the matching system had not arranged a new opponent for him, he began to stroll around the Audition site.
Walking through the crowd, Hayato unexpectedly saw many familiar figures - "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki, Kajiki Fisherman, "Super Power" Alum, etc., and even "King of Maritime Transport" Anasis, who had contributed to collecting star chips for Hayato during the Duel Kingdom, also participated in the KC Cup.
Hayato even heard Uncle Anasis boasting to his opponent that even the Duel King - that is, Hayato himself - had been in a hard fight in his Duel and almost lost. Equivalent exchange, Hayato>Anasis, Hayato>Seto Kaiba, so Anasis≈Seto Kaiba.
Hayato couldn't help but sigh, this uncle with a chin like a butt is really a mathematical genius.
Walking and walking, Hayato saw the side of a Duel stand that had just ended a Duel. I saw on one side of the Duel stand, the loser of that Duel was kneeling on the ground, lost, as if unable to accept his defeat, while his opponent calmly pushed his glasses.
"So strong, obviously just an underage child, but he has such a strong Dueling strength."
"The children of rich people are really different from us ordinary people. They must have been receiving elite education since they were in the womb?"
"Hey? That's not the case. Don't you know him, Amon Garam."
"Garam? Could it be that he is the adopted son?"
"So it has nothing to do with prenatal education. Speaking of which, I seem to have seen several young kids with terrible strength in Duel Monsters."
Hayato's gaze lingered on the face of the boy wearing flat glasses, barely hearing the name "Amon Garam" that was not unfamiliar but not familiar from the mouths of the surrounding passers-by.
In terms of appearance, Amon Garam is not like Ptah Garam, whom Hayato met in Duel Kingdom, after all, he is an adopted son. In terms of age, he looks a little older than Jun Manjoume and Jaden Yuki that Hayato has seen, about eight or nine years old, but the kind of indifference on his face that is not sad or happy because of victory or defeat is difficult for ordinary people to have even at the age of thirty-eight or nine.
Seeming to notice the gaze in the crowd, Amon Garam looked towards Hayato, and after seeing Hayato's face, he was slightly stunned, and then tilted his head in some confusion, as if thinking about why he felt so familiar after seeing Hayato, but he couldn't remember where he had met Hayato.
And just at this moment, Hayato heard the broadcast: "No.114514, Dan Kuroto, Please go to challenge arena 44."
Hayato looked at the stage again and smiled - although the number "44" would make an Italian person unhappy, the Duel stand that Hayato had come to while wandering was just the 44th arena.
That is to say, Hayato's next opponent is Amon Garam.
