"Is that so? You failed...?"
Inside a pitch-black cave, Camula stood with a deathly pale face, remaining silent. Out of the darkness, the voice of an old man drifted through the air.
The withered figure of Chancellor Kagemaru gradually emerged from the shadows. Although he looked old and frail, his eyes were sharp and piercingcompletely different from the man who could only lie in a machine to barely sustain his life.
"Jaden Yuki... he is too strong," Camula said, lowering her head and gritting her teeth. "And the summoning method he used is something I have never even heard of..."
"A summoning method you've never heard of?" Kagemaru was slightly taken aback.
At that moment, a bodyguard stepped forward and opened a laptop, playing the recordings of Jaden Yuki's previous duels. The battles against Darkness and Camula were displayed one by one before Kagemaru's eyes.
"In just a few days, he has evolved his dueling to such an extent?"
"Link Summoning..."
Kagemaru fell silent and slowly closed his eyes. "It seems the plan to seize the power of the Sacred Beasts cannot be carried out too hastily. Jaden Yuki's strength has already completely surpassed all of you..."
"Ugh..." Camula lowered her head, her face filled with a look of extreme pain. "If only I could have used the Illusion Gate... If only..."
"If you had, I'm afraid you would have already become a sacrifice for the Sacred Beasts," Kagemaru said coldly, his figure gradually disappearing back into the darkness.
Camula gritted her teeth tightly, her fists clenched.
Jaden Yuki...
Since the incident with Camula ended, Duel Academy had entered a brief period of peace. The students gradually shook off their fear of the vampire. But this tranquil life did not last long.
Slowly, new rumors began to circulate among the student body.
"Did you hear? Duel Academy is being bought out."
"For real? You've got to be kidding. Who could possibly buy our Duel Academy?"
"Well, about that..."
At first, the news didn't get much attention. But as the event fermented, the rumors grew more intense.
Inside the Slifer Red dorm.
In a cramped room, Chazz stood with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed as he looked at the crowded space. Furniture was piled up, and various daily necessities were stacked like small mountains.
Outside the dorm door, there were even more piles of furniture that couldn't fit inside, each marked with a large character for "Manjoume," stacked high.
Ever since returning from North Academy, Chazz had been demoted to Slifer Red by the academy due to his long absence. Two months had passed since then, but Chazz still found it difficult to adapt to the environment of Slifer Red.
"Damn it, what a hellhole. If it wasn't for Jaden..." Chazz was filled with frustration.
He had been outmatched, and he had to admit it. But the unwilling bitterness in his heart still made it hard for him to sleep at night.
"Big brother! Big brother!"
At that moment, several yellow spirits wearing red underpants popped out from Chazz's deck. Ojama Yellow approached Chazz with a lewd expression, wiggling his butt and rubbing against Chazz's face.
"Big brother Chazz, isn't it about time you helped me find my brothers?"
"Hey! Get lost! Who said I was going to help you find your brothers?" Chazz grabbed Ojama Yellow and tossed him aside, shouting furiously.
"Big brother, you're too much! Waaaaah!"
"Shut up! You annoying brat!"
Swatting Ojama Yellow away, Chazz wanted to lie down for a while longer, but a voice sounded from outside the door.
"Ah, Chazz, the Chancellor wants to see you."
A blue-haired boy wearing small glasses walked to the door of Chazz's dorm and called out to him.
"Huh? You're..." Chazz sat up on the bed and glanced at the shrinking boy.
Wasn't this Syrus Truesdale from Slifer Red?
"I got it." Chazz got up, straightened his clothes, and walked past Syrus with a huff. "Staying with these kinds of students every day... When am I finally going to return to Obelisk Blue...?"
When he arrived at the Chancellor's office, Chazz found that quite a few people had already gathered there, Jaden Yuki notwithstanding. Alexis Rhodes, Bastion Misawa, Zane Truesdale, and even Professor Lyman Banner were there.
"Is this about the Shadow Riders again?"
Chazz's brow furrowed, but before he could ask anything, he noticed that everyone was looking at him with a strange gaze. Chancellor Sheppard stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Chazz with a serious expression.
"Manjoume, there is a duel that you absolutely must participate in..."
"A duel...?" Chazz froze for a moment, realizing something was wrong.
Deep within the Duel Academy jungle.
Jaden Yuki sat cross-legged by the lakeside, holding a fishing rod and resting his chin on his hand, bored out of his mind as he waited for a fish to bite.
Since Camula's defeat, the heavy hitters among the Shadow Riders had fallen into a brief silence. Jaden knew that the next time they attacked, it would probably be at least a week away. This period was almost painfully boring for him.
"Yubel."
"Hmm?" At Jaden's call, Yubel slowly floated out from his side.
"Wanna duel?" Jaden took out his deck and said with a smile. "I can help you strengthen your deck while we're at it."
"Oh? That's rare. You're actually looking for me to duel for no reason... Is it because you're too bored lately?" Yubel didn't refuse. She sat down in front of Jaden and placed a deck on the ground as well.
"I really am bored. Dueling is much more interesting than fishing, isn't it?"
By tacit agreement, the two didn't use Duel Disks. They simply used a playmat on the grass to conduct their duel.
"Heh, I suppose that's true..." Yubel smiled and drew five cards from her deck. "But, Jaden, have you ever thought about what you want to do after you leave Duel Academy? Are you going to continue as a pro duelist? Or maybe..."
"The future, huh?" Jaden pondered for a moment. He looked at the five cards in his hand, and his expression suddenly turned surprised.
"What's wrong?" Yubel blinked.
"Oh, sorry. I guess I win."
Jaden smiled and flipped over the five cards in his hand. They were none other than the five components of Exodia the Forbidden One.
Yubel: "..."
"Play by yourself. I don't want to play cards with someone who gambles their life-force on games like that." Yubel tossed her hand aside and vanished into a blur before Jaden.
"She actually got angry..." Jaden shook his head with a wry smile.
His future...
As Jaden was lost in thought, he suddenly saw Chazz sneaking toward the depths of the forest alone.
"Oh? Chazz is heading in that direction?" Jaden put away his deck and slowly stood up. "Come to think of it, that location is..."
It seemed Chazz's Ojama monsters were about to be reunited.
In that case...
Jaden took three cards out of his card box.
[Ojama Red] [Ojama Pink] [Ojama Blue]
"You three, do you want to reunite with your brothers too?"
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