Kaiba's voice fell, and a moment later, a figure emerged from the darkness.
The man wore the red suit Kaiba remembered well. He was an old man with a head of white hair, but his physique was surprisingly robust, appearing far more energetic than in Kaiba's memories.
Perhaps that was only natural. The last time Kaiba had seen the real Gozaburo in the flesh was the day he had forced the man to step down. Back then, Gozaburo had been nothing more than a furious, powerless old man who looked incredibly frail and exhausted.
Now, he looked much more vibrant.
"It has been a long time, Seto," Gozaburo said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back. "I see that you have grown, and you have remembered my teachings. I told you that a man must fight for everything with his own two hands;
it seems you have truly practiced this with your life. You possess the potential to do whatever it takes, even if it means using those means against methe father who taught them to you."
Kaiba sneered. "Are you serious, Gozaburo? There are only two of us here. You can dispense with the hypocritical speeches. We both know what the truth was back then. There's no need to fabricate some touching image of the past."
Kaiba gave a broad sweep of his arm, the hem of his virtual trench coat billowing as if caught in a gust of wind.
"To me, there is nothing in the past worth remembering, especially the parts involving you, Gozaburo," Kaiba barked. "I have already defeated you twice. But since you refuse to stay dead, I don't mind doing it a third time. No matter what form you take for your comeback, even if you return as a vengeful ghost, I will see this through to the end."
"Twice, you say?" Gozaburo mused. "I see. You are referring to that time with Noah."
Kaiba frowned. "What's with the act? We've already had this conversation once before, haven't we?"
He was referring to the incident that occurred during the original Battle City tournament, back when Atem was still around.
Noah KaibaGozaburo's biological son who had died in a car accidenthad his consciousness preserved as an AI. During Battle City, he hijacked Kaiba's airship and forcibly brought everyone into a Virtual World.
However, by the end of that ordeal, it was revealed that Noah was merely a victim. The true ruler of that Virtual World was Gozaburo Kaiba's AI. The old man had backed up his consciousness as data before drawing his final breath, achieving digital immortality.
Furthermore, that AI had evolved the ability to bypass every firewall on Earth, allowing it to move freely across the internet. He had calculated that if he utilized the full extent of KaibaCorp's munitions, weapons, and production lines, he could seize total control of the planet within a single month.
Of course, Gozaburo had been far too optimistic back then. His calculations only considered traditional warfare, completely ignoring the weight that card games carried in this new era. Sticking to the old ways, thinking he could conquer the world with planes, cannons, and missiles, Gozaburo was destined for failure even if left to his own devices.
Regardless, that AI was supposed to have been completely destroyed. The server housing him was bombarded by KaibaCorp missiles until not a speck of dust remained.
"The version you encountered was nothing more than a discarded, old model of 'me,'" Gozaburo said, his hands still behind his back. "Of course, even that version of 'me' was unaware of that fact."
"What?" Kaiba's brow furrowed.
"When Noah had his accident, KaibaCorp's top scientists sealed him within a world of data. But that was our first attempt, and the technology was inevitably immature," Gozaburo explained. "However, the birth of the digital Noah did us a huge favor. He possessed a learning capacity that no human could match,
and the developments in the field of artificial intelligence provided us with a wealth of inspiration and critical data. Consequently, KaibaCorp's technology advanced by leaps and bounds after that."
Gozaburo continued, "Several years passed between the creation of the digital Noah and the day you forced me to hand over KaibaCorp, Seto. That was more than enough time for us to push the technology to a new height."
"What are you trying to say, Gozaburo?" Kaiba asked.
"I am saying that whether it was the Noah you faced or the other 'me,' they were both merely flawed products on the path of development. They should have been phased out long ago."
Gozaburo's voice remained level. "I suppose that version of 'me' didn't know the truth either. He actually believed he was the final backup uploaded by Gozaburo Kaiba before his death. But he was wrong.
He was just an experimental subject, a test product downloaded onto the same old-generation hardware as Noah to verify the feasibility of digital immortality. In fact, he should have been destroyed along with all other similar derivatives once testing was complete. But before I could get around to it, you happened, Seto."
He looked at Kaiba as he spoke, his voice devoid of the old resentment and fury. He spoke as if describing something that had nothing to do with him.
"You took my company and drove me to my death, so naturally, that project was halted. However, just before Gozaburo Kaiba died, he did activate the project one last time, sealing his consciousness into the next-generation equipment that was still in the testing phase. Fortunately, I succeeded. I survived through those means and created the most perfect lifeform in history."
"You aren't referring to yourself, are you?" Kaiba scoffed. "It seems you haven't improved a bit since the old days. Whether in reality or in digital form, you've never been able to see yourself clearly, Gozaburo. That is why you lost to me."
"You only think you won, Seto," Gozaburo said, shaking his head.
"Oh? So this is your version of victory?" Kaiba mocked. "Creating a bunch of substitutes of me to wag their tails like lapdogs?"
"They were all just test products, worthless from the start," Gozaburo said dismissively. "They were stepping stones developed for a much greater project, destined to be scrapped and recycled from the moment they were born. Well, I suppose dying for me allowed them to fulfill the only bit of value they had."
"You really haven't changed, Gozaburo," Kaiba growled, his brow tightening. "You were scum back then, and now you're just scum with power."
"I don't expect you to change your opinion of me, Seto. However, after all these long years of contemplation and possessing a clearer, more rational mind, my view of you has changed." Gozaburo looked at him, his gaze seemingly trying to pierce through Kaiba's virtual eyes into his very soul. "The project I mentioned, all those stepping stones I createddo you know what the final goal of that project is?"
"Hmph. Since it's your idea, it's bound to be something tedious," Kaiba grunted.
Gozaburo remained unbothered. "It is for you, Seto."
Kaiba frowned.
"They thought they were designed to imitate or research ways to defeat you, but that wasn't it. They were necessary calibrations performed so that I could create the perfect you."
"What are you talking about, old man?" Kaiba asked coldly.
"You are a genius, Seto. Over these years, I have let go of my hatred and seen things clearly. You are the only genius I have ever acknowledged, and you are the only one who deserves to achieve immortality alongside me, to share in endless knowledge and absolute power. You took everything from memy wealth, my company, my life. But I forgive you, Seto."
Gozaburo Kaiba reached out a hand toward him.
"I want you to become my son once again."
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