## Chapter 320: Deck Master, [Blue-Eyes White Dragon]?
After the scenery before Noah's eyes shifted, he appeared in the jungle where Hayato was, standing not far behind him.
"You must be Hayato."
The sudden voice from behind startled the unsuspecting Hayato. He turned his head and, upon seeing that the person who appeared was Noah, he finally sighed in relief. "You scared me. Oh, it's just you, kid. I thought it was a ghost!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hayato felt his words might have been a bit off, because in a sense, Noah Kaiba, who had long since died and whose consciousness merely wandered in this Virtual World, could indeed be considered a "ghost."
"Hmph, mortal, first I must congratulate you." Noah arrogantly lifted his chin, as if trying to glare Hayato to death with his nostrils. "As a reward for being the first to defeat those useless The Big Five, you now have the privilege to Duel me, a god."
That kind of arrogant disdain was exactly like Kaiba's.
"A god?"
Noah revealed a smug smile. "Of course, as the Game Administrator of this Virtual World, I possess divine power to change heaven and earth. Everything is under my control. There's no doubt I am a god."
"Ah, indeed. Even the last Game Administrator who called himself a god was quite popular, as long as you don't suddenly yell 'Hayato' at me." Hayato put down the Millennium Ring he was holding and turned to face Noah directly.
Although the Millennium Ring's guidance indicated he was only a short distance from what he sought, Hayato didn't believe Noah's appearance here would allow him to reach his destination so smoothly.
"Is this guy Noah Kaiba?" Marik, from within the Millennium Ring, also had the ability to see things outside. He scrutinized Noah with interest. "He looks so much like Seto Kaiba. Are you sure they're not actually brothers?"
"Even though Seto and Mokuba are actual brothers, I actually think Noah resembles Seto more. It's like how Hela thinks Loki resembles Odin more than Thor does?" Hayato made a Marvel reference that no one else understood.
"Hmph, what are you muttering about over there? And if you ask me, it's clearly Seto who resembles *me*."
As Noah spoke, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Two square stone pillars rose from beneath their feet, like the Duel Stages from the Duelist Kingdom era, lifting them into the air, while the open ground between them became the Duel Field.
Noah didn't use a Duel Disk on his arm. Instead, a Deck of Cards materialized in front of him, floating in mid-air. Simultaneously, behind Noah, a gigantic wooden ship floated impossibly in the sky.
"The Deck Master I use is Miracle Ark, which in the Bible symbolizes God creating all things in heaven and earth in seven days, then destroying and recreating the World with a flood."
Noah stated.
Without waiting for Hayato to prepare, Noah commanded five Cards to fly from his Deck and float before his eyes. He then smiled at Hayato. "Speaking of which, there's something I must explain to you. As the Game Administrator of this world, I strongly dislike the Infinite Combo of Cactus Fighter that you used before."
"Therefore, as Kami, I have decided that in this Virtual World, Cactus Fighter will be forbidden, along with the Card *Summon Limit - Raging Monster*." Noah cast a disdainful glance at Hayato and continued, "As a benevolent god, I grant you the opportunity to rebuild your Deck. Choose the Cards you wish to use, Hayato."
He didn't press the scrolling light screen of Cards that appeared before him. Hayato looked at Noah speaking, as if seeing six red letters on him, and instinctively blurted out, "Fxck Konami."
With old grievances stirred up, and his previous perfect starting hand now interrupted, Hayato's fingers rapidly tapped across several Cards, fueled by a double dose of animosity.
While FTK Decks were satisfying, under the influence of Yugi and his friends, Hayato had developed a bit of "Duelist's honor," making him reluctant to use such underhanded Decks. However, since his opponent was a guy like Noah, Hayato no longer needed to pretend to be a gentleman.
Last Warrior from Another Planet, Treeborn Frog, Summoner Monk, Royal Magical Library... Card after Card flashed before Hayato's eyes. His fingers moved quickly, selecting the Cards he wanted to use.
After his Deck was assembled, Hayato looked at the Miracle Ark behind Noah, which looked more like a "necromancer's ship ferrying souls" than "humanity's last hope," and thought:
'Although after its Real Card release, Miracle Ark is just an ordinary Ritual Spell Card, I remember back in this era, it was indeed quite an annoying Monster with an overpowered Effect.'
'I don't quite remember the specific Effect, but it seemed to Negate the Effects of Monsters in the Graveyard, Negate all Effects that Target Monsters in the Graveyard, and it could also Banish Monsters to recover LP, and even Special Summon Monsters as shields?'
After a moment of thought, Hayato drew a Card from his Deck and showed it to Noah. "My Deck Master is this Card."
The Card in Hayato's hand was quite familiar to Noah. So familiar, in fact, he saw it multiple times a day.
"Blue-Eyes..." Noah, full of resentment towards Seto Kaiba, had spent days and nights thinking of how to torment Kaiba. The composition of Seto's Deck had long been thoroughly analyzed by him, and what Noah particularly loathed was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Hayato's hand. "You didn't choose your usual Deck, but instead used Seto's Card?!"
"After all, there are only three Blue-Eyes White Dragon left in reality, and they're all in Kaiba's hands. If I don't use it now, I might not get a chance to use Blue-Eyes again." Hayato chuckled, patting the leg of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that had appeared beside him, only for the Blue-Eyes to shake its body and shrug him off.
"Tsk tsk, I used to always stand against Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Now that I'm on its side, I realize that Blue-Eyes is indeed very beautiful. No wonder Seto treats it like his wife."
As he admired the figure of Blue-Eyes, Hayato had just finished commenting on its figure when a cold voice, tinged with anger, came from behind him. "Hayato! You have some nerve!"
The person glaring angrily at Hayato was none other than Kaiba!
Seeing his Soul appear in someone else's hands, Kaiba was furious. "How dare you treat my Blue-Eyes as a servant! After we leave this World, I will definitely teach you a good lesson in the Semi-finals!"
Originally, during the Seeding Match, Kaiba had set his sights on Dueling Hayato and Yugi to collect the God Cards. Now, he had one more reason to Duel Hayato.
"Ahaha, you're here too, Seto." Hayato laughed awkwardly.
Did he just commit a "transgression in front of the owner"? This was bad. Kaiba would definitely stir up trouble for him when they got back.
Marik, within the Millennium Ring, watched Hayato's discomfort with extreme delight, feeling more refreshed than a massage. He wished he could conjure up some sunflower seeds to snack on while watching the show, and didn't forget to taunt Hayato. "I'm going to tell your sister, bro-in-law~"
"I told you I'm not your bro-in-law!"
Hayato said, immediately activating his Duel Disk, shouting, "Duel, Noah!"
Noah also glanced at Kaiba who had appeared, and smiled, his words brimming with confidence. "You've come at a truly opportune moment, Seto, arriving just before this Duel begins. Feel honored, for you will witness me, a god, utterly crush your friend, Hayato!"
"Hmph, who do you think you are? A rat." Kaiba looked at Noah with disdain, then turned his head to Hayato and said coldly, "Hey, Hayato, don't you dare lose this Duel. Your Duelist's pride means nothing to me, but if the glory of Blue-Eyes is diminished because of your failure, don't expect me to let you off easy!"
Hayato waved his hand dismissively.
Even if Kaiba hadn't said that, Hayato wouldn't lose. Although losing one's physical body supposedly allowed one to become an immortal Electronic Ghost, Hayato currently had no intention of becoming inhuman. As for using Blue-Eyes White Dragon as his Deck Master, there were two reasons.
Firstly, naturally, because Blue-Eyes White Dragon was simply too appealing. No one could resist the temptation of Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Hayato had long wanted to build a Blue-Eyes Deck to play with, but since all Blue-Eyes White Dragon were in Kaiba's hands and he was reluctant to spend DP Points to buy them from the Shop, this Virtual World was his only chance to fulfill that dream.
Secondly, after Hayato saw Noah appear before him, a Quest that hadn't updated since he received the "Win the Battle City Championship" Quest had finally updated—
Achievement Quest: [Crush! Shatter! Great Cheers!]
[Condition: Defeat Noah Kaiba using a Deck with Blue-Eyes White Dragon as the Deck Master 0/1]
[Reward: Random Dragon-Type Structure Deck]
Achievement Quest: [See Me Clear It in One Life!]
[Condition: Defeat Gozaburo without taking damage, and do not use Monsters of Level 5 or higher]
[Reward: Random Machine Type Structure Deck]
Although the System's Quests were never mandatory, as an achievement hunter, how could Hayato miss the opportunity to unlock a new Achievement?
(end of chapter)