Chapter 13: 1.5 Billion Yen for a Blue-Eyes? That's Not Excessive, Right?
However, when Kaiba called Joey a 'hack,' he didn't look like he was joking, so Joey got angry too. "Well then, Young Master of the KaibaCorp, the great genius Seto Kaiba, to what do we owe the honor of your presence?"
"I just happened to hear about a super Rare Card here and came out of curiosity." Although Kaiba had a smile on his face, it was filled with contempt for the humble Kame Game Shop. "It's just that... how could a place more rundown than a farmer's outhouse possibly have a Rare Card?"
"Really, it seems I occasionally have my own immature fantasies, to think that a place like this would have any decent cards." As he spoke, Kaiba shrugged with a helpless look on his face, making one want to punch him.
No, Joey was already about to make his move. If Tristan and Chumley hadn't held him back in time, Kaiba's face would probably have been rearranged. Even while restrained by the two, Joey was still furious. "You think you can just walk all over me?! What right do you have to badmouth Yugi's grandpa's game shop!"
"Hmph, do you take me for one of you lot?" Seeing Joey being held back, Kaiba took an infuriatingly cocky step forward, completely unafraid. "I am a duelist with Champion Level skills, the winner of the national tournament. The gap between us is like that between a soaring Dragon and the minnows at the bottom of a river. We're not even in the same league."
Kaiba's arrogant demeanor was so infuriating that Chumley even had the thought of letting go of Joey and letting him give Kaiba a good thrashing. What excuse could he use then? A hand cramp?
"Then how about a match with a minnow like me, Kaiba!" Joey, so angry he started to laugh, pulled out his recently adjusted Deck. "I've seen enough of that smug look of yours at school. I've put up with you for long enough!"
"Heh heh, my time is precious. I can tolerate spending it searching for a Rare Card, but a Common Bone like you isn't worth my time." Kaiba sneered and turned to leave. As he did, he unconsciously glanced at the others in the shop.
There was the meek Yugi from his class, the hack Joey and his delinquent friend Tristan, the plain-looking Tea, and... because he was a good student, he had a low presence... what's-his-name? Not that it mattered, he wasn't an important character.
Kaiba's final gaze fell upon the owner of the game shop—Solomon Muto. That trademark family height and hairstyle made his relationship with Yugi obvious at a single glance.
Then, his gaze shifted downward. And with that shift, everything changed. Seto Kaiba found his eyes completely fixed, glued to the card held in Solomon Muto's white-gloved hand.
"What?! That's... the (Blue-Eyes White Dragon)!?"
Unable to contain himself, Kaiba, completely ignoring Joey's fierce, ready-to-fight glare, shoved Yugi and Téa aside. He rushed directly to the counter, leaning over to get his face as close as possible to the (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) on the countertop.
"Why... why would the legendary (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) be in a place like this? Why?!"
Seeing Kaiba lose his composure like this, Joey's smug satisfaction was written all over his face. "Hmph, hmph, Kaiba. 'What kind of trash cards could a place like this have?' What do you think now? I guess even a (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) is beneath your notice, huh?"
But Kaiba seemed not to hear Joey's words at all, lost in his own shock. 'To think that I could find a (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) here... it's unbelievable. I must have it. I absolutely must have it!'
"Alright, alright, that's enough gawking for now." As if seeing right through the desire in Kaiba's eyes, Solomon quickly placed the card back in its case, closed it, and put it away, clearly having no intention of displaying it further. "You're one of Yugi's classmates, aren't you? Kaiba, was it? This card is not for sale, you know."
'Damn old man.' Kaiba was annoyed that Solomon had seen through his intentions before he could even speak. But the poise from his elite upbringing prevented him from showing his emotions. He simply calmed his tone as much as possible and lifted the Aluminum Briefcase he was carrying onto the counter.
*Thud!*
Solomon jumped at the dull thud the briefcase made on the glass countertop. After all, the counter was glass for displaying cards, and he was afraid Kaiba's strength might crack it.
Kaiba, however, paid no mind to Solomon's expression. He opened the briefcase, turned it around, and displayed its contents for Solomon to see. "Grandpa Muto, I'm begging you. Sell me that (Blue-Eyes White Dragon). I'll trade you all of these cards for it!"
Solomon, who had seen his fair share of Duel Monsters cards, couldn't help but show a flicker of desire as he looked into Kaiba's briefcase. It was stuffed to the brim with nearly five hundred cards—a small, mobile card library!
Chumley took a step forward, curious to see what cards had so surprised Grandpa Sugoroku, but a single glance left him speechless. True, the briefcase was packed with cards, but judging from the top layer, their quality was not high. They were either pointless, high-Level, low-Stats (Normal Monster)s like (Electric Snail) and (Impact Beast), or bizarre Fusion Monsters that were a complete waste of resources, like Labyrinth Tank and (Rumbling Great Sea Serpent).
Even the Spell Cards were things like (Red Medicine) and (Curry of Life). The only thing barely worth a look was a single copy of (Polymerization).
So, Kaiba, your cards are just a collection of fodder (Normal Monster)s too, huh? I thought you'd at least have some slightly more powerful cards, like (Sapphire Dragon) or (Emerald Dragon).
"Um, Kaiba, I happen to be missing a copy of (Polymerization), so...?" Chumley interjected, but Kaiba just stared intently at Solomon, seemingly waiting for his answer.
"Mm, no can do." Solomon looked at the case full of cards for a long time before finally suppressing the desire in his eyes and answering firmly.
"If you won't trade, I can also buy it with money. I'll pay any price!" Although Kaiba was surprised that Solomon had refused the trade, he still hadn't given up on the idea of 'obtaining the (Blue-Eyes White Dragon).' He continued to state his terms. "Just name your price. Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions—I'll pay it, as long as you sell it to me!"
Chumley quipped, "I think 1.5 billion yen for a (Blue-Eyes White Dragon) wouldn't be excessive, right? But in that case, Mr. President, your KaibaCorp might cease to exist."
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Author's Notes:
So-called "keeping up with current events."
To be honest, I never thought someone would treat a judicial auction as a joke. It's ridiculous how it skyrocketed from 800,000 to 80 million, which is about 1.5 billion yen.
And Kaiba only spent 1 billion yen to overthrow Gozaburo and take over KaibaCorp. This is a classic case of "Kaiba's assets are worth 10 billion, and three Blue-Eyes account for half of it."
If you ask me, they should just arrest those malicious bidders, lock them all up together, give each of them a Deck, and hold a monthly Prison Cup. The Duel King who takes first place gets released (and then the prison staff start rigging the matches from the top sixteen, bringing in people with meta decks to crush them).
(end of chapter)