Chapter 315: Three Sentences Make...
"Only six people?"
"Not enough to go around, and Seto Kaiba is already reserved."
"So that leaves only five people?"
"This is bad, truly terrible!"
"In any case, I want Hayato. His body looks the healthiest!"
"That Joey looks like a simpleton; I don't want him. And that shorty Yugi."
Even though Hayato hadn't said a word, The Big Five on the opposite side started arguing amongst themselves, with the content of their dispute being the "division" of Hayato and the other five.
"Hmph, as always, you're a bunch of useless wastes with nothing but your age to show for it. I actually thought someone was impersonating you just now." Kaiba, arms crossed, coldly glared at The Big Five. "It's truly strange, though. I personally confirmed your medical diagnoses; you should all be in a vegetative state. How are you here?"
"Strictly speaking, we haven't 'personally' appeared before you, Seto runt." The speaker was Gansley (Oshita Konosuke) of The Big Five. "After being defeated by you in the DM Online Game World, our physical bodies have remained in a vegetative state, unusable to this day, our spirits drifting endlessly through the Network World."
Crump (Otaki Shuzo) continued, his face still showing traces of fear from recalling the past: "We wandered endlessly, as if we were forgetting who and what we were."
"And just then, after drifting for a year, we were saved by That Lord." Johnson (Ooka Chikuzen)'s face showed gratitude. "Lord Noah Kaiba."
"Lord Noah Kaiba saved us and gave us a chance to live again, provided we defeat you." Nezbitt (Ota Soichiro), known by his nickname "The Ghost Colonel of the Factory," grinned sinisterly, his gaze sweeping over the five people other than Kaiba.
As his words fell, Hayato and the others were horrified to discover intricate patterns appearing on the ground beneath their feet. The patterns looked far too familiar, and coupled with the identity of the people before them, Yugi instantly recalled that these patterns were clearly the same as those that had appeared inside the Duel Game pods when they first entered the DM Online Game!
"Everyone, be careful, this leads to the Virtual World!" Yugi had barely finished his warning when Leichter (Daimon Kogoro) of The Big Five burst out laughing and cut him off: "Too late! You've already been locked into the Virtual World!"
"All right, let's begin the Duel, a Duel wagering the right to use your bodies!"
A dazzling white light stole everyone's vision. Hayato instinctively closed his eyes to alleviate the discomfort from the intense light. Once the light had somewhat dimmed, he opened his eyes again.
However, the figures of the other five people who had been beside Hayato were all gone. Even the surrounding environment had been replaced by a cityscape of towering skyscrapers.
Hayato, realizing he had entered the Virtual World, helplessly ran a hand across his forehead. In his memory, The Big Five's method of pulling people into the Virtual World involved making them fall into suddenly appearing holes beneath their feet. Because of this memory, Hayato had completely misplaced his focus on defense.
"Kuriririri..." (Rainbow Kuriboh)'s figure appeared beside Hayato, its voice filled with apology.
"It's not your fault, Aibo." Hayato hugged (Rainbow Kuriboh), rubbing its smooth skin as if it were a radish, even nuzzling it against his face. "Sure enough, in this World, the Duel Monster Spirits have truly undergone Solid Vision."
"Ah, Big Bro!" (Ojama Yellow) also poked its head out from Hayato's Deck. Not only (Rainbow Kuriboh), but even (Ojama Yellow) and the others had undergone Solid Vision.
Hayato used his foot to block (Ojama Yellow), which was trying to push (Rainbow Kuriboh) away, and scanned his surroundings. "Speaking of which, this is already the Virtual World, right? In that case, these clothes would be more appropriate, wouldn't they?"
Hayato closed his eyes, imagined for a moment, then opened them again, his clothes having changed into the white lab coat he used to wear in the DM Online Game World.
Just then, a familiar figure emerged from around the street corner between the buildings. Seeing Hayato inspecting his lab coat, the figure excitedly shouted, "Hayato!"
Hayato turned his head and saw Joey excitedly running towards him. After stopping, out of breath, he laughed and said, "Finally found someone! We suddenly got separated, and it really startled me."
"Oh, right, Hayato, have you seen anyone else?"
Hayato raised an eyebrow and calmly replied, "I'm not sure, I just arrived here myself. But everyone else should be fine, especially Kaiba, who needs the least worrying."
"Ah, I hope so." Joey wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hand unconsciously brushing past his eye, then he stiffly lowered it, a worried expression on his face. "I just wonder how Yugi is doing."
"More importantly, do you know where this place actually is?" Hayato noticed Joey's strange gesture and turned his head, pretending to look around. "The buildings around here all look exactly the same height; I don't know which way is best to go."
When Joey heard Hayato's words, a confident expression appeared on his face. "Hehe, leave this to me. My luck has always been pretty good."
Seeing the smile on Joey's face, Hayato sneered, "Hmph, three sentences, and you've exposed three flaws. You can't even mimic him properly."
"Ah, wh-what are you talking about, Hayato?" Joey's face stiffened. "I'm Joey, the real deal."
"First, Joey's physical endurance isn't so bad that he'd be out of breath after just a couple of steps. Second, Kaiba and Joey have always been at odds. Even if he didn't wish him harm, Joey would never admit to worrying about him."
Hayato held up three fingers, speaking as he took a step back to stare at the "Joey" before him. "And the third thing is, while Joey's luck is indeed unbelievable, it only ever kicks in at critical moments."
"So, who exactly are you?"
Hearing Hayato list several of his flaws, "Joey" said with some displeasure, "I was hoping to gather as much information on you as possible before making my move. As expected of the King of Duels, your thoughts are truly meticulous."
"It's also my bad luck that I ended up with you."
As "Joey" spoke, he snapped his fingers. The surrounding scenery instantly covered in cracks like glass, then shattered and transformed into a sealed, empty room.
"Joey"'s voice also returned to its original tone. After his blurred form shifted and changed, he became a slender, tall middle-aged man, who raised a hand to adjust the glasses now resting on his nose, and spoke:
"Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am the former legal counsel for KaibaCorp, Johnson (Ooka Chikuzen). Ah, and this is my business card."
(end of chapter)