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## Chapter 432: Completely Fired Up
After all, Hayato wasn't some minor character in a horror movie who would get called out alone by a random unknown phone call and then be single-killed after triggering the "isolated and helpless" flag. The moment he left the Spectator Area, he called Kaiba and learned that Kaiba hadn't sent him any email at all.
Kaiba said he hadn't sent him an email, yet the first email in his inbox clearly showed Kaiba's name. Either Kaiba had split personalities, or someone was playing tricks.
The result was that, using the hung-up phone, Hayato completely broadcast his conversation with Bakura to Kaiba. The Dark Barrier created by the Millennium Items was merely a Domain to cover things up, not a spatial transfer. It was effective for preventing others from observing the people inside, but it had no effect on phone signals.
This way, Kaiba knew "someone is targeting KaibaCorp" before the agreement was reached, so Hayato didn't violate the agreement.
However, this was all Hayato could do. No matter how much Kaiba understood from their conversation, Hayato couldn't guide or hint at anything more; Kaiba had to figure it out himself and prepare for any unexpected events that might occur at any time.
Hayato had no intention of violating the deal protected by the Dark Game Rules, at least not until he completely understood what the Schroeder Corporation and Doma were planning.
Before Bakura asked him out today, he had been investigating relevant information. But even knowing beforehand that the Schroeder Corporation would cause trouble, their actions were too covert, and Hayato hadn't been able to find any effective clues.
He could certainly refuse Bakura's proposed deal, but in that case, they would completely retreat into the shadows, making it even more impossible for Hayato to find their method of attack.
In that case, it was better to choose to join. While he couldn't stop the opponent, he could at least know their method of attack and prepare in advance.
Moreover, just now, when Bakura was trying to get closer to him by teaching him the "three-seven split," Hayato had secretly dropped a miniature listening device he got from Keipei onto Bakura's cloak, which looked like it hadn't been changed in a long time. With a bit of luck, this might allow Kaiba to gather more information about Bakura, Doma, and Schroeder's interactions.
Similarly, this wasn't a leak by Hayato, but by Bakura himself, so it also didn't violate the terms of the deal.
As for why Keipei would have a miniature listening device that only commercial spies would use? Let's just ignore that for now.
Returning to the Kaiba Dome Venue, since some time had passed since Hayato left, Joey Wheeler and Northwood Reiko had already left the Field, and two other Duelists had taken their place. Hayato could only confirm that he had seen them in previous Matches, but he had no impression of who they were individually.
However, Hayato didn't have much time to take an interest in them, as the Duel was decided within just a few Turns.
One of the Duelists used an Aggro Deck. However, his opponent focused on a Trap-Heavy Deck, with various Attack Declaration Traps appearing one after another. Although neither side's Life Points were damaged, the situation on the Field felt like walking a tightrope.
Either the Aggro Deck would break through the Trap-Heavy Deck's Defense and create a Vulnerability, or the Trap-Heavy Deck would Wear Down the advantage created by the Aggro Deck.
After his Offensive was intercepted time and time again, the Aggro player chose to go all-in, Tributing all the Monsters he had Summoned previously to Summon a "Big Baby" with terrifying ATK – the Level 8☆ **True King Beast, Gazelle**.
This was a rather special Monster Card because although it was a Level 8 Monster, it couldn't be Tribute Summoned directly with two Monsters. Instead, it had to be Special Summoned by Tributing all Monsters on its controller's Field. At the same time, although **True King Beast, Gazelle's** ATK and DEF were both 0, it could absorb all the Power of the Tributed Monsters and combine it.
Furthermore, **True King Beast, Gazelle** had Piercing Damage capability. Theoretically, using it to Attack a Deck focused on Defense Strategy would be very advantageous, especially after the Aggro player Tributed all his previous Powerful Monsters, raising **True King Beast, Gazelle's** ATK to a staggering 6000 points.
But the problem was, the Trap-Heavy player on the other side seemed to have anticipated this. He immediately Activated a Set Card in his Spell/Trap Zone, a **Ring of Destruction**, which instantly turned the newly appeared **True King Beast, Gazelle** into a terrifying bomb.
This wasn't the Real Card Environment Hayato had experienced. In that era, the Effect of the **Ring of Destruction** Card had already been weakened to "During your opponent's Turn, you can Target 1 Face-Up Monster your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to their Life Points. Destroy that Face-Up Monster, and you take Damage equal to its original ATK. Then, inflict Damage to your opponent equal to the Damage you took."
In other words, it could only destroy one of the opponent's Monsters with ATK less than or equal to their Life Points during the Opponent's Turn, and you would take Damage first before the opponent took Damage, making it confusingly weak and not very practical.
But the current **Ring of Destruction** was the version before the Numeron era, and its Effect was quite simple – "Destroy 1 Face-Up Monster on the Field. Both players take Damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK."
There was no Turn restriction, no ATK restriction, and both players took Effect Damage simultaneously. It was practically a divine artifact in a Self-Destruction Field, especially when the chosen Monster was **True King Beast, Gazelle** with a massive 6000 ATK. Both players' Life Points would simultaneously drop to zero due to **Ring of Destruction's** Effect.
However, the Trap-Heavy player was also quite cunning. Chaining to **Ring of Destruction**, he immediately Activated a **Mystical Wok**, Tributing the **Millennium Shield**, a Monster with 3000 DEF that he had used as a Shield on his Field, to Recover 3000 Life Points, leaving him with 7000 Life Points, which was completely enough to withstand the Damage from **Ring of Destruction**.
With a loud "boom," **True King Beast, Gazelle** was detonated. The Trap-Heavy Duelist, whose Life Points had dropped to only 1000, looked at his opponent swallowed by Smoke and laughed wildly. But before he could laugh twice, a Gunshot was heard from within the Smoke, and he was instantly knocked down, his Life Points reduced to zero.
From within the Smoke, the Aggro Duelist's Life Points, which hadn't taken a single point of Damage, Manifested along with a **Spell of Pain** that he had Activated in his Spell/Trap Zone. Thanks to **Spell of Pain's** Effect, the Aggro Duelist completely returned the Effect Damage he should have taken, securing the Victory and presenting the Audience with a spectacular Duel.
Amidst the cheers of the Audience, Hayato returned to his seat but received strange looks from Marik and the others, which left Hayato puzzled.
He shouldn't have done anything, right?
"Which one is this?"
"The sixth, I think. Another guy who can easily Tribute Monsters."
"The influence on young people is immeasurable."
Listening to the complaints from Marik and Joey Wheeler, who had returned to their seats, Hayato completely understood what they meant. These guys were complaining about the strategy of Tributing Monsters that he had started.
"Yakamashi! Don't talk as if I'm the only one who likes using the Tribute Monster strategy! Yugi has Catapult Turtle too!"
Hayato wouldn't admit that he started this trend. And even if he did, what about it? Tributing one Monster as a cost in exchange for Victory was a huge gain, alright? It was completely worth it and perfectly reasonable; it was a Necessary Sacrifice!
My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror; all I do is just!
Then, Hayato noticed that among the group, only Yugi had disappeared again.
"As for Mutou Yuugi, although he said he was eager to Duel, it looks more like he wanted to escape from the so-called 'awkward situation.' Anyway, the next Duel is his turn," Marik said, meeting Hayato's gaze, and handed over the large bag of French Fries Hayato had left behind, not forgetting to shove a large handful into his own mouth.
The KC Cup Tournament lasted a long time, and different Audience members naturally had different preferences for different Dueling Styles. It was normal to feel bored when watching a Duel they weren't interested in.
KaibaCorp seized this opportunity and put effort into this area, specifically arranging staff to sell various Snacks.
These weren't just ordinary Snacks. After each snack was sold, a Stamp was given out. After collecting ten Stamps, you could exchange them for an exquisite Standee. **Gaia The Fierce Knight**, **Dark Magician**, **Dark Magician Girl**, **Red-Eyes Black Dragon**, and many other Signature Monsters of Legendary Duelists were made into Standees.
However, the Monster that appeared on the Standee was random, so collecting them all wasn't easy; you had to buy more snacks. Upon learning this, Hayato exclaimed that Kaiba had completely grasped the Idol Support scheme from Neon.
After a while, Hayato saw Yugi's figure appear on the Duel Field. However, the Aura around Yugi on the Duel Field this time was different from his usual self, and he had taken off his blue jacket and draped it over his shoulder like a Cloak, revealing the black short-sleeved shirt he was wearing underneath, a posture that prioritized style over warmth.
There was no need to guess; the one who came out now was definitely the Pharaoh. After all, he was the tough guy who could make Yugi run around wearing a solid metal chain around his neck.
Compared to Yugi Mutou's strategy, which was politely called Safety-Focused Strategy and bluntly called a Trap-Heavy Deck, the Pharaoh's Dueling Style had much higher Entertainment Value. After all, watching Monsters fall into various Traps of different sizes like idiots was less visually enjoyable than seeing them Annihilated by Spells.
However, the premise for Entertainment Value was that the opponent who appeared wasn't a legendary "Well-Matched Opponent," but at least someone with a similar skill level. If Yugi's opponent was someone whose Ace Monster didn't even have 2500 ATK, the Match would be quite boring.
Thinking this, Hayato looked up at the Big Screen displaying the name of Yugi's opponent.
"Jaden Yuki?"
Hayato blinked.
"Yuki Jaden? Judai Yuki!"
What's up? Mutou Yuugi VS Judai Yuki? This was truly a Dream Matchup, a Classic Rematch.
Amidst the cheers of the Audience, a Jellyfish appeared before the colorful Starfish—ahem, before Yugi—a young Judai walked onto the Duel Field.
"Wow, it's Mr. Yugi! This is awesome, truly awesome!" Seeing that the person standing before him was indeed Yugi, Judai seemed to finally confirm that he hadn't been hallucinating, his face full of excitement. "I never thought I'd get to Duel Mr. Yugi so early!"
Although he usually put on a cool Expression during Duels, the Pharaoh was actually a very gentle person, just like Yugi Mutou. Looking at the excited Judai, he smiled and said, "Hello, Judai. I am Mutou Yuugi."
"Hello, Mr. Yugi!" Judai replied seriously. "You can just call me Judai, Mr. Yugi. Mr. Hayato calls me that too."
"Just thinking about Dueling Mr. Yugi makes me so excited! This way, I'll have Dueled both Mr. Yugi and Mr. Hayato. It looks like I have the Potential to become a Legendary Duelist too."
Looking at Judai's excited Smile, the Pharaoh smiled and raised the Duel Disk on his arm. "I'm also looking forward to Dueling you, Judai. Hayato has also told me about you, saying you have deep Potential in Duel Monsters."
As he spoke, Yugi's gaze couldn't help but glance behind Judai. Although Hayato had applied a Seal, Yubel wouldn't affect Judai for a long time, but the Seal itself was very noticeable, especially to the Pharaoh, who was sensitive to Dark Power.
"Anyway, let's have an interesting Duel, Judai." The Expression on the Pharaoh's face became a little serious. He was gentle, but that didn't mean the Pharaoh would Go Easy just because Judai was a Child. He was always very serious about every Duel. "Although you're still a child, I will treat you as a professional Duelist."
"That's exactly what I was hoping for, Mr. Yugi." Judai smiled and nodded. The child-specific model Duel Disk he was Wearing unfolded as he inserted his Deck. "My Heroes, who Cooperate closely with me, are invincible!"
"Duel!" X2
[Yugi: 4000 LP]
[Judai: 4000 LP]
"Yosh! I'll take the First Turn, Yugi!" Judai's movements were quick. After Drawing a Card, an expectant Expression appeared on his face. "I'm completely fired up! Here I go!"
"I Summon one Monster in Face-Down Defense Position, and Set three Cards in my Spell/Trap Zone. I End Turn."
Yugi raised an eyebrow.
You call this "fired up"? You're burning in a fire pit, aren't you?!
This familiar feeling... it's the vibe of aibo and Hayato!
End of Chapter
After all, Hayato wasn't some minor character in a horror movie who would get called out alone by a random unknown phone call and then be single-killed after triggering the "isolated and helpless" flag. The moment he left the Spectator Area, he called Kaiba and learned that Kaiba hadn't sent him any email at all.
Kaiba said he hadn't sent him an email, yet the first email in his inbox clearly showed Kaiba's name. Either Kaiba had split personalities, or someone was playing tricks.
The result was that, using the hung-up phone, Hayato completely broadcast his conversation with Bakura to Kaiba. The Dark Barrier created by the Millennium Items was merely a Domain to cover things up, not a spatial transfer. It was effective for preventing others from observing the people inside, but it had no effect on phone signals.
This way, Kaiba knew "someone is targeting KaibaCorp" before the agreement was reached, so Hayato didn't violate the agreement.
However, this was all Hayato could do. No matter how much Kaiba understood from their conversation, Hayato couldn't guide or hint at anything more; Kaiba had to figure it out himself and prepare for any unexpected events that might occur at any time.
Hayato had no intention of violating the deal protected by the Dark Game Rules, at least not until he completely understood what the Schroeder Corporation and Doma were planning.
Before Bakura asked him out today, he had been investigating relevant information. But even knowing beforehand that the Schroeder Corporation would cause trouble, their actions were too covert, and Hayato hadn't been able to find any effective clues.
He could certainly refuse Bakura's proposed deal, but in that case, they would completely retreat into the shadows, making it even more impossible for Hayato to find their method of attack.
In that case, it was better to choose to join. While he couldn't stop the opponent, he could at least know their method of attack and prepare in advance.
Moreover, just now, when Bakura was trying to get closer to him by teaching him the "three-seven split," Hayato had secretly dropped a miniature listening device he got from Keipei onto Bakura's cloak, which looked like it hadn't been changed in a long time. With a bit of luck, this might allow Kaiba to gather more information about Bakura, Doma, and Schroeder's interactions.
Similarly, this wasn't a leak by Hayato, but by Bakura himself, so it also didn't violate the terms of the deal.
As for why Keipei would have a miniature listening device that only commercial spies would use? Let's just ignore that for now.
Returning to the Kaiba Dome Venue, since some time had passed since Hayato left, Joey Wheeler and Northwood Reiko had already left the Field, and two other Duelists had taken their place. Hayato could only confirm that he had seen them in previous Matches, but he had no impression of who they were individually.
However, Hayato didn't have much time to take an interest in them, as the Duel was decided within just a few Turns.
One of the Duelists used an Aggro Deck. However, his opponent focused on a Trap-Heavy Deck, with various Attack Declaration Traps appearing one after another. Although neither side's Life Points were damaged, the situation on the Field felt like walking a tightrope.
Either the Aggro Deck would break through the Trap-Heavy Deck's Defense and create a Vulnerability, or the Trap-Heavy Deck would Wear Down the advantage created by the Aggro Deck.
After his Offensive was intercepted time and time again, the Aggro player chose to go all-in, Tributing all the Monsters he had Summoned previously to Summon a "Big Baby" with terrifying ATK – the Level 8☆ **True King Beast, Gazelle**.
This was a rather special Monster Card because although it was a Level 8 Monster, it couldn't be Tribute Summoned directly with two Monsters. Instead, it had to be Special Summoned by Tributing all Monsters on its controller's Field. At the same time, although **True King Beast, Gazelle's** ATK and DEF were both 0, it could absorb all the Power of the Tributed Monsters and combine it.
Furthermore, **True King Beast, Gazelle** had Piercing Damage capability. Theoretically, using it to Attack a Deck focused on Defense Strategy would be very advantageous, especially after the Aggro player Tributed all his previous Powerful Monsters, raising **True King Beast, Gazelle's** ATK to a staggering 6000 points.
But the problem was, the Trap-Heavy player on the other side seemed to have anticipated this. He immediately Activated a Set Card in his Spell/Trap Zone, a **Ring of Destruction**, which instantly turned the newly appeared **True King Beast, Gazelle** into a terrifying bomb.
This wasn't the Real Card Environment Hayato had experienced. In that era, the Effect of the **Ring of Destruction** Card had already been weakened to "During your opponent's Turn, you can Target 1 Face-Up Monster your opponent controls with ATK less than or equal to their Life Points. Destroy that Face-Up Monster, and you take Damage equal to its original ATK. Then, inflict Damage to your opponent equal to the Damage you took."
In other words, it could only destroy one of the opponent's Monsters with ATK less than or equal to their Life Points during the Opponent's Turn, and you would take Damage first before the opponent took Damage, making it confusingly weak and not very practical.
But the current **Ring of Destruction** was the version before the Numeron era, and its Effect was quite simple – "Destroy 1 Face-Up Monster on the Field. Both players take Damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK."
There was no Turn restriction, no ATK restriction, and both players took Effect Damage simultaneously. It was practically a divine artifact in a Self-Destruction Field, especially when the chosen Monster was **True King Beast, Gazelle** with a massive 6000 ATK. Both players' Life Points would simultaneously drop to zero due to **Ring of Destruction's** Effect.
However, the Trap-Heavy player was also quite cunning. Chaining to **Ring of Destruction**, he immediately Activated a **Mystical Wok**, Tributing the **Millennium Shield**, a Monster with 3000 DEF that he had used as a Shield on his Field, to Recover 3000 Life Points, leaving him with 7000 Life Points, which was completely enough to withstand the Damage from **Ring of Destruction**.
With a loud "boom," **True King Beast, Gazelle** was detonated. The Trap-Heavy Duelist, whose Life Points had dropped to only 1000, looked at his opponent swallowed by Smoke and laughed wildly. But before he could laugh twice, a Gunshot was heard from within the Smoke, and he was instantly knocked down, his Life Points reduced to zero.
From within the Smoke, the Aggro Duelist's Life Points, which hadn't taken a single point of Damage, Manifested along with a **Spell of Pain** that he had Activated in his Spell/Trap Zone. Thanks to **Spell of Pain's** Effect, the Aggro Duelist completely returned the Effect Damage he should have taken, securing the Victory and presenting the Audience with a spectacular Duel.
Amidst the cheers of the Audience, Hayato returned to his seat but received strange looks from Marik and the others, which left Hayato puzzled.
He shouldn't have done anything, right?
"Which one is this?"
"The sixth, I think. Another guy who can easily Tribute Monsters."
"The influence on young people is immeasurable."
Listening to the complaints from Marik and Joey Wheeler, who had returned to their seats, Hayato completely understood what they meant. These guys were complaining about the strategy of Tributing Monsters that he had started.
"Yakamashi! Don't talk as if I'm the only one who likes using the Tribute Monster strategy! Yugi has Catapult Turtle too!"
Hayato wouldn't admit that he started this trend. And even if he did, what about it? Tributing one Monster as a cost in exchange for Victory was a huge gain, alright? It was completely worth it and perfectly reasonable; it was a Necessary Sacrifice!
My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror; all I do is just!
Then, Hayato noticed that among the group, only Yugi had disappeared again.
"As for Mutou Yuugi, although he said he was eager to Duel, it looks more like he wanted to escape from the so-called 'awkward situation.' Anyway, the next Duel is his turn," Marik said, meeting Hayato's gaze, and handed over the large bag of French Fries Hayato had left behind, not forgetting to shove a large handful into his own mouth.
The KC Cup Tournament lasted a long time, and different Audience members naturally had different preferences for different Dueling Styles. It was normal to feel bored when watching a Duel they weren't interested in.
KaibaCorp seized this opportunity and put effort into this area, specifically arranging staff to sell various Snacks.
These weren't just ordinary Snacks. After each snack was sold, a Stamp was given out. After collecting ten Stamps, you could exchange them for an exquisite Standee. **Gaia The Fierce Knight**, **Dark Magician**, **Dark Magician Girl**, **Red-Eyes Black Dragon**, and many other Signature Monsters of Legendary Duelists were made into Standees.
However, the Monster that appeared on the Standee was random, so collecting them all wasn't easy; you had to buy more snacks. Upon learning this, Hayato exclaimed that Kaiba had completely grasped the Idol Support scheme from Neon.
After a while, Hayato saw Yugi's figure appear on the Duel Field. However, the Aura around Yugi on the Duel Field this time was different from his usual self, and he had taken off his blue jacket and draped it over his shoulder like a Cloak, revealing the black short-sleeved shirt he was wearing underneath, a posture that prioritized style over warmth.
There was no need to guess; the one who came out now was definitely the Pharaoh. After all, he was the tough guy who could make Yugi run around wearing a solid metal chain around his neck.
Compared to Yugi Mutou's strategy, which was politely called Safety-Focused Strategy and bluntly called a Trap-Heavy Deck, the Pharaoh's Dueling Style had much higher Entertainment Value. After all, watching Monsters fall into various Traps of different sizes like idiots was less visually enjoyable than seeing them Annihilated by Spells.
However, the premise for Entertainment Value was that the opponent who appeared wasn't a legendary "Well-Matched Opponent," but at least someone with a similar skill level. If Yugi's opponent was someone whose Ace Monster didn't even have 2500 ATK, the Match would be quite boring.
Thinking this, Hayato looked up at the Big Screen displaying the name of Yugi's opponent.
"Jaden Yuki?"
Hayato blinked.
"Yuki Jaden? Judai Yuki!"
What's up? Mutou Yuugi VS Judai Yuki? This was truly a Dream Matchup, a Classic Rematch.
Amidst the cheers of the Audience, a Jellyfish appeared before the colorful Starfish—ahem, before Yugi—a young Judai walked onto the Duel Field.
"Wow, it's Mr. Yugi! This is awesome, truly awesome!" Seeing that the person standing before him was indeed Yugi, Judai seemed to finally confirm that he hadn't been hallucinating, his face full of excitement. "I never thought I'd get to Duel Mr. Yugi so early!"
Although he usually put on a cool Expression during Duels, the Pharaoh was actually a very gentle person, just like Yugi Mutou. Looking at the excited Judai, he smiled and said, "Hello, Judai. I am Mutou Yuugi."
"Hello, Mr. Yugi!" Judai replied seriously. "You can just call me Judai, Mr. Yugi. Mr. Hayato calls me that too."
"Just thinking about Dueling Mr. Yugi makes me so excited! This way, I'll have Dueled both Mr. Yugi and Mr. Hayato. It looks like I have the Potential to become a Legendary Duelist too."
Looking at Judai's excited Smile, the Pharaoh smiled and raised the Duel Disk on his arm. "I'm also looking forward to Dueling you, Judai. Hayato has also told me about you, saying you have deep Potential in Duel Monsters."
As he spoke, Yugi's gaze couldn't help but glance behind Judai. Although Hayato had applied a Seal, Yubel wouldn't affect Judai for a long time, but the Seal itself was very noticeable, especially to the Pharaoh, who was sensitive to Dark Power.
"Anyway, let's have an interesting Duel, Judai." The Expression on the Pharaoh's face became a little serious. He was gentle, but that didn't mean the Pharaoh would Go Easy just because Judai was a Child. He was always very serious about every Duel. "Although you're still a child, I will treat you as a professional Duelist."
"That's exactly what I was hoping for, Mr. Yugi." Judai smiled and nodded. The child-specific model Duel Disk he was Wearing unfolded as he inserted his Deck. "My Heroes, who Cooperate closely with me, are invincible!"
"Duel!" X2
[Yugi: 4000 LP]
[Judai: 4000 LP]
"Yosh! I'll take the First Turn, Yugi!" Judai's movements were quick. After Drawing a Card, an expectant Expression appeared on his face. "I'm completely fired up! Here I go!"
"I Summon one Monster in Face-Down Defense Position, and Set three Cards in my Spell/Trap Zone. I End Turn."
Yugi raised an eyebrow.
You call this "fired up"? You're burning in a fire pit, aren't you?!
This familiar feeling... it's the vibe of aibo and Hayato!
End of Chapter
