[Kaiba, 4000 LP]
[Yumi, 4000 LP]
"My turn, draw!"
Kaiba snapped the top card from his deck, eyes narrowing the moment he saw what it was. A slow, sharp smirk formed as his hand hovered over one of his set cards.
"Next, I flip-summon my Cyber Jar."
The face-down monster rotated upright, revealing a bizarre metal jar with a single unblinking eye and jagged teeth lining its lid.
"Cyber Jar's effect activates. When this monster is flipped, every monster on the field is destroyed. Then both players draw five cards and Special Summon any Level 4 or lower monsters among them."
The jar inhaled violently, a crushing suction pulling the chained Doombroker straight into its maw before the jar exploded into shards of light.
Both sides immediately drew five cards.
Kaiba glanced over his spread, Assault Wyvern, Dragon's Fighting Spirit, Spear Dragon, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Stamping Destruction.
Yumi checked his own, Raye, Elemental HERO Airman, Kuribee, Bait Doll, Monster Recovery.
"I Special Summon Assault Wyvern and Spear Dragon, in Attack Position."
Two dragons erupted onto Kaiba's field, wings unfurling as they let out sharp cries.
[Assault Wyvern, 1800 ATK]
[Spear Dragon, 1900 ATK]
"I Special Summon Raye, Airman, and Kuribee in Defense Position," Yumi replied, placing down his cards.
Raye crouched low, Airman landed with a dull thud, and Kuribee puffed up defensively beside them.
[Sky Striker Ace - Raye, 1500 DEF]
[Elemental HERO Airman, 300 DEF]
[Kuribee, 200 DEF]
As the remaining cards were added to their hands, Yumi continued without pause.
"Airman's effect. On Summon, I add one HERO from my deck. I'll take Elemental HERO Blazeman."
Kaiba didn't waste time.
"Spell Card, Stamping Destruction. Because I control a Dragon, I destroy one Spell or Trap on your field, and you take 500 damage."
Spear Dragon stomped the ground, a shockwave blasting through Yumi's set card and scattering it to pieces.
[Yumi, LP 4000 -> 3500]
"The card you destroyed was Spell Calling," Yumi replied calmly. "When it's destroyed by a Spell or Trap, I can set two Spells from my deck."
Two cards slid into place in his back row.
"I set Blade Graveyard and Effect Shut."
Kaiba pointed forward again.
"Battle. Spear Dragon, attack that pink furball."
The Spear Dragon lunged, spear-shaped snout aiming straight for Kuribee.
"I activate Sphere Kuriboh from my hand. By sending it to the grave, your attacking monster switches to Defense."
Spear Dragon abruptly lost momentum, twisting clumsily as it dropped into a defensive stance.
[Spear Dragon, 0 DEF]
"Tch. Then Assault Wyvern, destroy that useless furball."
Assault Wyvern swooped in, shredding Kuribee in a single clean strike.
"Kuribee's effect. When destroyed by battle, I add a Kuriboh Spell or Trap to my hand."Yumi revealed the card. "I take The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh."
Kaiba didn't blink.
"Assault Wyvern's effect activates. When it destroys your monster, I can tribute it, and Special Summon a Dragon from my hand."
Assault Wyvern dissolved into golden particles, reforming into a massive white dragon, wings spreading wide as its roar shook the stadium.
"Show yourself… my pride and soul, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon, 3000 ATK]
"Quickplay spell, Dragon's Fighting Spirit. I target my Blue-Eyes, which was Special Summoned this turn, and it gains an additional attack for each monster you Special Summon this turn."
The President's White-Bride, as soon as she stepped onto the field, had already begun charging up a powerful energy blast from her maws, ready to destroy Yumi's remaining monsters.
"I activate Raye's effect! By tributing her, I can Special Summon a Sky Striker Ace from my Extra Deck!" Yumi waved his hand as Raye's figure glowed brightly.
"Henshin! Sky Striker Ace - Kaina!"
Kaina descended in full armor, four mechanical limbs snapping into position with a metallic crack.
[Sky Striker Ace - Kaina, 1500 ATK]
"Kaina's effect. When she's Summoned, I target one monster you control. That monster cannot attack this turn." Yumi pointed straight at the charging Blue-Eyes. "I target your Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Kaina's mechanical limbs clamped onto Blue-Eyes, pinning the massive dragon down mid-charge. The building blast of energy dissipated instantly.
"Tch." Kaiba clicked his tongue and slid a card facedown. "I set one card. Turn end."
Yumi took a slow breath, fingers brushing the top of his deck.
"My turn, draw!"
The newly drawn card slid cleanly into his hand as he immediately continued.
"I banish the two copies of Take Over 5 in my deck, and the one in my grave, to draw three cards." He removed them without hesitation, the cards vanishing into the banished zone before he drew three more in a single smooth motion.
He flicked through his expanded hand, separating one card and placing it forward.
"Spell card, Bait Doll. I target the left set card on your field. If it's a trap, I destroy it."
Kaiba barely lifted an eyebrow. "Unfortunate for you. The card you chose is a Quickplay Spell, Card Guard."
He revealed it with a sharp flip, the hologram shimmering to confirm it wasn't a trap before flipping back down.
Yumi didn't react. "Bait Doll after activation, returns to my deck instead of going to the grave."
He slid the spell back into his deck and shuffled once before continuing.
"I Normal Summon Elemental HERO Blazeman."
Flames burst upward, and the armor-clad HERO stepped onto the field.
[Elemental HERO Blazeman, 1200 ATK]
"Blazeman's effect. When summoned, he can add one Polymerization from my deck to my hand."
He searched quickly and revealed the spell before placing it into his hand.
"Spell card, Polymerization! I fused the Elemental HERO Blazeman and the WIND monster Airman on my field."
Both HEROes leaped upward and spiraled into the vortex overhead. The wind thickened, forming a violent emerald cyclone.
The air cracked open.
As two golden eyes shone inside the storm.
"Fusion Summon, Elemental HERO Great Tornado!"
The armored warrior emerged, ragged cloak rippling in the roar of rushing wind.
[Elemental HERO Great Tornado, 2800 ATK]
Yumi pointed forward.
"Great Tornado's effect. When he is summoned, all your monsters' ATK and DEF are halved. Down Burst."
A shockwave of compressed air detonated from Tornado, slamming into Kaiba's monsters and forcing them back.
[Blue-Eyes White Dragon, 3000 -> 1500 ATK]
Before the wind even settled, Yumi continued.
"Next, I send Sky Striker Ace - Kaina from my field to the grave to Special Summon a non-EARTH Sky Striker Ace from my Extra Deck."
Kaina's armor tore away in shards of crimson light.
"Cast off! Sky Striker Ace - Kagari!"
[Sky Striker Ace - Kagari, 1500 ATK]
Flame blazing, as high-tech metal wings spread out from behind her, causing her long, pale blonde hair to billow in the hot wind. Her katana glowed as she lifted it.
"Kagari's effect, when she is summoned, I can add a Sky Striker Spell from my grave to my hand." Yumi said as a card popped out from his graveyard. "I'll add back Widow Anchor."
Kaiba frowned, seeing that annoying spell again, but he didn't comment on it.
"And Kagari gains 100 ATK and DEF for each Spell in my graveyard." He added as his grave zone glowed brightly, empowering Kagari.
[Sky Striker Ace - Kagari, 1500 -> 2200 ATK]
"Now I activate the set Equip Spell, Blade Graveyard, equipping it to Kagari and increasing her ATK by 800!"
Old blades fell from the sky, around her like grave markers.
[Sky Striker Ace - Kagari, 2200 -> 3000 ATK]
Yumi raised his hand.
"Battle! Great Tornado attack Spear Dragon!"
The armored HERO charged, cyclone power spiraling around his arm as he smashed into the smaller dragon and shattered it.
"Go, Kagari, attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Afterburner!"
Clenching her sword tightly with both hands, she charged forward, leaving a crimson trail of flame behind her as Kagari closed in on the massive white dragon.
"That won't happen! Trap card, Attack Guidance Armor! With this, I charge your attack target to your own monster!" The President quickly flipped open one of his set cards.
The living armor shot across the field, clamping onto Great Tornado's chest and dragging Kagari's trajectory toward him.
Yumi immediately countered, placing down a card from his hand.
"Quickplay spell, Form Change! I return the Level 8 WIND Attribute, Elemental HERO Great Tornato on my field back to my Extra Deck, and Special Summon a Masked HERO with the same Level but different Attribute from my Extra Deck."
Great Tornado dissolved in a burst of wind. A new figure dropped from within the light, dark armor, horned mask, with a hunter-black silhouette.
"Cast off! Masked HERO Anki!"
[Masked HERO Anki, 2800 ATK]
[Sky Striker Ace - Kagari, 3000 -> 3100 ATK]
"Since your target for Attack Guidance Armor has disappeared, Kagari's attack returns to its original target!" Yumi said as Kagari's burning blade shifted back toward the massive white dragon.
"Quickplay spell, Card Guard!" Kaiba instantly flipped his final face down. "By discarding one card, my monsters can't be destroyed by battle or card effect this turn."
He said calmly before adding. "And since the card I just discarded is the Spell, Card of Compensation, I get to draw two more cards."
"But you would still take battle damage." Yumi added, seeing Kaiba drawing two more cards, and Kagari's blade crashed into the massive white dragon.
[Kaiba, 4000 -> 2400 LP]
"Anki, player direct attack!"
"Another direct attacking monster..." Kaiba murmurs underneath his breath, watching as Anki charged forward, jumped passed his Blue-Eyes and delivered a devastating rider kick toward the President's chest.
[Kaiba, 2400 -> 1000 LP]
"Anki can attack directly, but the battle damage inflicted is only half." Yumi explained before looking down at his hand.
"I set three cards face down, turn end."
Three new holographic cards materialized behind his monsters.
"Not bad. Seems I've gotten a bit rusty after hanging up my Duel Disk and retiring for so long," Kaiba said confidently, arms crossed over his chest and head held high, the embodiment of pride.
The employee in the observer's room nearly toppled off their seat upon hearing the President's declaration.
Although Seto Kaiba had stepped away from public dueling long ago, the researchers and top executives at Kaiba Corp were all too aware of his peculiar daily rituals, spending hours dismantling AI bots designed to resemble his former Duel Rival. It was almost comical how he stomped through those digital challengers, akin to a gamer grinding through daily quests.
Sure, he might have obliterated those Atem-like bots with ease, but deep down, Kaiba knew they could never replicate the miracles his old rival had achieved, those breathtaking moments when the tide turned in a duel, transforming defeat into victory.
"My turn, draw!" Kaiba declared, swiftly snatching the top card from his deck. He glanced at it and let out a boisterous laugh. "Yumi Uzushi, prepare to witness the unparalleled power of Blue-Eyes!"
With a flourish that only he could muster, he placed the drawn card on the field. "Ritual Spell, Chaos Form!"
A colossal, deep blue chaotic gateway erupted behind him, a vortex of energy swirling with a mystic allure.
"With this, I can banish a Blue-Eyes from my grave to Ritual Summon the mightiest of dragons! Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon!"
With that proclamation, purple lightning crackled in the air as the majestic creature emerged, scales gleaming in deep blue and white, its massive wings unfurling majestically.
[Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, 3000 ATK]
"Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon can't be targeted by your card effects, and it can't be destroyed by your card effect," Kaiba smirked, knowing full well that one of Yumi's face-down cards was that pesky Anchor.
"Battle! Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon, annihilate Sky Striker Ace - Kagari!" The thunderous roar of the dragon echoed as it charged up its energy blast.
Though Kagari held a higher ATK, Yumi had already seen right through Kaiba's strategy, thanks to his more advanced understanding of Duel Monsters.
"Since Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon was Ritual Summoned using a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I can activate its special effect! When I declare an attack, I can shift the position of your monsters, rendering their ATK and DEF to zero, allowing my Chaos Dragon to inflict piercing battle damage!"
Kaiba's confidence faltered slightly, the smirk wavering as he noticed Yumi smiling back, a smile that echoed the carefree confidence of his old rival.
"Quickplay Spell, Effect Shut!" Yumi announced, his hand cutting through the air as he activated the card set by his Spell Calling.
"Effect Shut?" Kaiba murmured, his eyes narrowing in surprise as he revealed his spell.
"When your monster activates its effect. I can negate its activation, and if I do, destroy it!"
Kaiba watched in disbelief as golden electricity enveloped his majestic dragon, its roar echoing once more before it shattered into pixels.
"Impossible... Blue-Eyes Chaos Dragon can't be targeted or destroyed by the opponent's card effects," he whispered incredulously, disbelief etched across his features. His gaze shifted toward Yumi before his eyes widened slightly, finally catching on.
"That's right, Effect Shut didn't target your monster; it simply negates your monster effect's activation. And during that moment when your monster has its effect negated, Effect Shut's follow-up effect destroys it."
Yumi explained with a smile, he hadn't expected his AIBO to print out such a good card in the anime, but only used it once before the end of GX.
Unlike other cards that targeted a monster to negate its effect, Effect Shut, if used correctly, could even negate and destroy god cards.
Sure, the god cards might have immunity to spells, traps, and monsters' effects that targeted them. But that immunity would simply vanish the moment their effect are negated, and during that moment of vulnerability, they can still be destroyed like any other monsters.
"Hmmm, I really didn't expect someone like you would be stuck in the Slifer Red dorm." Kaiba admitted before raising the final card in his hand.
"Since a Level 8 or higher dragon was destroyed, I can Special Summon one from the depths of space! Deep-Eyes White Dragon!"
The ground beneath Kaiba cracked, sending tremors through the arena as the massive white dragon emerged, its deep blue eyes glinting dangerously.
[Deep-Eyes White Dragon, 0 ATK]
"Quickplay spell, Widow Anchor! I negate your dragon's effect, and since I have three or more spells in my grave, I can take control of it."
Instead of waiting for the enemy to power up like in those action shows, Yumi quickly stopped Deep-Eyes before it could even charge up its power.
The Deep-Eyes White Dragon finally gets a chance to shine, outside of beating up AI bots daily, didn't even have enough time to react as the metal claws shot out, grabbed its body, and dragged it toward Yumi's side.
Kaiba: "..."
"Turn end."
Seeing that his wife was taken right before his eyes, Kaiba's face grew ashen as he crossed his arms and ended his turn, freeing his White-Bride from the metal anchor.
"Uh, draw." Yumi said, as he observed the President's dark expression.
It was painfully clear who was winning this match, but Yumi found himself in a moral quandary. Beating Seto Kaiba now could lead to an impressive reputation, perhaps even lock him away in a room for exclusive card sessions with the President.
On the flip side, throwing the match could be perceived as an insult, which would undoubtedly earn him Kaiba's ire. The prospect of disappointing the man was daunting, but at least it meant avoiding being locked up for personal card duels, which could be just as terrifying as winning.
"What's the matter? You managed to come this far; aren't you going to see this through to the very end?" Kaiba's voice boomed across the arena, slicing through Yumi's hesitation. "Remember this! Dueling is a sacred act, a show of respect between duelists. Don't you dare dishonor it by holding back!"
Yumi felt the weight of Kaiba's words, recognizing that his hesitance stemmed from their vast difference in status. Kaiba didn't just see a rival in him; he saw potential. The next generation of duelists needed nurturing, and how could Kaiba allow something like status to stifle Yumi's growth?
"I see." Yumi smiled, a flicker of determination igniting within him. Kaiba's encouragement pushed him to embrace the challenge, though doubt still lingered.
Better to deliver a glorious defeat than a hollow victory.
"Battle! Kagari, attack Deep-Eyes!"
Kagari charged forward, her crimson metal wings unfurling behind her as she soared through the air, elegant yet fierce. With a guttural battle cry, she launched herself at the massive white dragon.
"Afterburner!"
The blade struck true, tearing through Deep-Eyes in a dazzling display of power. Explosions of light and energy erupted, scattering fragments of the dragon into the air.
[Kaiba, 1000 -> 0 LP]