"Hmm?"
A suspicious rustle behind him caught Jaden Yuki's attention, and he cast a sharp glance over his shoulder.
Ojama Black and Ojama Green immediately ducked their heads back into hiding. It wasn't until Jaden walked toward them that they realized they couldn't escape. Scratching their brows sheepishly, they floated out with awkward grins.
"JJaden-bro!"
"Big Bro Jaden, what brings you to a place like this today?"
Looking at Ojama Black and Ojama Green standing before Jaden, Chazz Princeton blinked, a bizarre expression crossing his face.
"Hey, Jaden... what are these things?"
Chazz couldn't shake a sense of deja vu. For some reason, these two wretched, ugly little spirits looked incredibly familiar.
"Ah! Black! Green!" Suddenly, Ojama Yellow jumped out from Chazz's side, staring at the two monsters with visible excitement.
"Brother!"
The moment they saw Ojama Yellow, Black and Green burst into tears. The three spirits lunged at each other, embracing and wailing as if they were long-lost siblings.
"Well, I suppose they were lost for a long time..." Jaden muttered, caught between a laugh and a sigh.
"It looks like you've found a new direction for your deck, Chazz." Jaden gave Chazz a playful nudge with his elbow.
Chazz's face soured instantly. He waved his hand in a dismissive, disgusted gesture. "I don't want to use monsters like this! Anyway, now that you've found your brothers, you can just stay here with them!"
Chazz turned to leave, but Ojama Yellow grabbed him by the collar.
"Big Bro! Please, you have to take my brothers with you!" Ojama Yellow looked up at Chazz with watery, expectant eyes.
"If you're Yellow's Big Bro, then you're our Big Bro too! Big Bro!" Ojama Black and Ojama Green piled onto Chazz as well, their eyes shimmering with intense hope.
"..." Chazz's face turned a shade of bruised purple as he crossed his arms. Under the weight of those gazes, he found it impossible to voice a rejection.
"Fine... I get it! Having you around is better than having nothing at all, I guess..." Chazz ground his teeth, speaking with utter reluctance.
"In that case, Big Bro Chazz, please take everyone with you!"
Hearing Chazz's words, Black and Green were overjoyed. They shared a look and then stared upward together.
"Please take us all!"
Before Chazz could even process what was happening, a massive swarm of spirits poked their heads out from the surroundings, staring at him expectantly.
"Wait, what...?" Chazz's eyelids twitched violently. He felt a bit dazed. "Jaden..." He cast a pleading look toward Jaden.
"Good luck." Jaden patted Chazz on the shoulder with a comforting smile, making it clear he had no intention of helping.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Looking at the overwhelming sea of spirits, Chazz felt his energy drain away instantly.
"Chazz, since you're taking in so many spirits anyway, you might as well take these three cards too." Jaden tossed three cards toward Chazz, a smile playing on his lips. "These three wanted to be by your side as well."
"What now...?"
Chazz caught the cards, his eyes widening. Another... another three Ojamas?
"Ah, I recognize that feeling!" Ojama Black, Green, and Yellow huddled close.
Before they could get a clear look, a red Ojama and a blue Ojama leaped out from behind Chazz.
"Black! Green! Yellow! Long time no see!" The two newcomers struck peculiar poses, making a flashy entrance behind Chazz.
"Red! Blue!"
Seeing the two spirits, the original trio cheered. They let go of Chazz's pant legs and pounced on their kin.
"I can't believe we're all reunited here!"
"The Ojama family! Everyone is here!"
The five Ojamas put their arms around each other's shoulders, cheering in unison.
"What is with these guys..." Chazz's eyelids continued to twitch, but his gaze soon drifted to the pink Ojama card in his hand.
Come to think of it, does this one not have a spirit? Or perhaps, the spirit of this card is already...
"Whatever. The number of troublesome pests just keeps growing... By the way, Jaden, where did you find these three"
Chazz turned to ask, only to find that Jaden had already vanished.
"That guy... when did he leave?" Chazz shook his head helplessly. Staring at the cards in his hand, he gradually fell into deep thought.
Soon, the day arrived to decide the ownership of Duel Academy.
Inside the duel arena, students filled the stands, watching the center stage with bated breath. Chazz, wearing his Duel Disk, walked silently onto the platform.
"Heh, Chazz. You're a dropout through and through. I didn't think you'd actually have the guts to show up for this duel."
Chazz's eldest brother, Slade Princeton, had already prepared his dueling equipment. He stood opposite Chazz, a cold sneer on his face.
Chazz remained silent for a moment before speaking coldly. "Brother, I should warn you in advance. According to the regulations, every monster in my deck has an ATK of 500 or less."
"In fact, every single monster in this deck has an ATK of 0!"
All of them 0?!
Upon hearing Chazz's declaration, Slade was stunned. The surrounding students also broke into an absolute uproar.
"How are you supposed to win with 0 ATK?"
"Is this guy throwing the match? Does he actually want Duel Academy to become property of the Princeton Group?"
"Bastard! I knew a guy like him was up to no good!"
The arena was in shambles as students began shouting insults at Chazz.
"This is too much. These people..." Alexis Rhodes frowned as she listened to the toxic discussions around her.
"But why would Chazz use monsters with 0 ATK? Does he actually have the confidence to defeat his opponent with them?" Bastion Misawa had his arms crossed, his expression grave.
In a duel, the most direct way to winbarring special conditionswas to reduce the opponent's Life Points to 0. If your monsters had 0 ATK, how were you supposed to lower the opponent's health? By card effects? Did Chazz even have cards like that?
"Jaden should have been the one dueling!"
"Exactly! we'd rather watch Jaden Yuki duel than watch you Princeton brothers play your games here!"
"Get off the stage!"
The students roared with righteous indignation, clearly disgusted by Chazz's approach.
"This is bad. If this keeps up, a riot might break out... Why did Chazz pick monsters with 0 ATK?" Chancellor Sheppard wiped sweat from his brow, feeling helpless. The students were young and hot-headed, and in their minds, their anger was for the sake of the academy. He had no way to stop them.
Creeaaaak.
Just as the scene was spiraling out of control, the heavy doors of the arena were slowly pushed open. Everyone turned to look, falling silent as a youth clad in red walked calmly into the stadium.
The insults from the students gradually died down. They hadn't expected the usually elusive Jaden Yuki to show up at a time like this.
"Chazz."
Walking up to the base of the platform, Jaden gave Chazz a firm thumbs up.
"...Jaden."
Chazz looked deeply at Jaden, an unidentifiable emotion stirring in his chest.
"Well... you didn't think I'd lose either, did you?" Putting on a cool smirk, Chazz returned the thumbs up. "Just sit in the stands and watch. One day, I'm going to be the one to defeat you."
"Yeah." Jaden smiled faintly and walked toward the spectator seats.
"Jaden, over here." Alexis waved, beckoning Jaden to the seat beside her.
Jaden didn't refuse and walked straight over.
"How rare. You actually came to watch someone else duel of your own accord," Alexis noted as Jaden sat down.
"Really? If there's a duel happening, I usually don't like to miss it." Jaden shrugged, his eyes fixed on Chazz and Slade on the field.
"Do you think Chazz can win? With only 0 ATK monsters..." Alexis looked at the stage with worry.
"Yeah, he'll be fine." Jaden's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to those nearby. "After all, he is Chazz, Thunder."
The surrounding students exchanged looks of confusion. Those who had been insulting Chazz just moments ago now seemed lost.
In the hearts of the Duel Academy students, Jaden was the ultimate representative of the dueling world. If he was certain that Chazz wouldn't lose, did that mean Chazz really could win with 0 ATK monsters?
"Duel, start!"
Dr. Vellian Crowler gave a loud shout. Chazz and Slade simultaneously drew five cards from their decks.
DUEL!
Chazz Princeton: LP 4000
Slade Princeton: LP 4000
The battle was about to explode!
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