"Hello dear viewers, you are watching the finals of the Moonlight Cup. I am commentator Owatari."
"And I am commentator Sasaki."
The tournament logo flashed across the live broadcast screen, and the two commentators for the pre-match warm-up suddenly appeared on screen.
"After several days of fierce competition, the tournament has finally come to an end today. Honestly, this tournament has given us quite a few surprises," Commentator Owatari said.
"Indeed," Sasaki seconded. "The legendary duelist Dinosaur Ryuzaki, who had been out of the spotlight for many years, returned to the arena and crushed his opponents with an unstoppable momentum, reaching the finals. I think everyone expected this.
But I don't think anyone at the beginning would have predicted that the one challenging this legend in the finals would not be any of the seeded players predicted before the tournament, but our NO. 39 Fujiki Yugen, a newcomer with no prior record whatsoever."
Owatari nodded: "And I believe everyone already knows that this player not only has no competitive experience, but his duelist rank is even only one star."
"To be honest, when I first saw the player list for the main tournament, I thought it might be a mistake," Commentator Sasaki also said. "I thought at the time, 'Huh? A one-star player? Is this a joke?'
Later, I checked the system, and it really was true."
"Sometimes, this kind of situation does occur," Owatari said. "There have been precedents. Some players who have never been to a stadium or appeared in public might have been training in seclusion for many years, and then suddenly debut with a bang, astonishing everyone."
"Indeed, but it's very rare. We can only say that we're lucky this year to have witnessed the rise of a dark horse. If this were a previous tournament, perhaps he could have won the championship, it's hard to say... what a pity."
Sasaki suddenly realized he was about to jinx it and quickly reined himself in.
Sasaki took a deep breath. Close call, close call. Things like jinxing a match before it even begins, maliciously manipulating the outcome with mysterious powers, are not what professional commentators do.
Even if his thoughts were actually consistent with most people's.
No matter how dark this dark horse is, could he really instantly defeat a legendary duelist?
Running into a legend like Dinosaur Ryuzaki in such a small tournament is an extremely low-probability event. Normally, such a big shot wouldn't come to such a low-level tournament to "fish" for wins. It's likely that the big shot, having been in seclusion for many years, is just trying to get back into the feel of things with a simple start.
But for the Moonlight Cup, the appearance of such a big shot was undoubtedly a dimension-reducing blow.
Although this newcomer's strength was astonishing, he must have made ample preparations before the tournament, hoping to seize this opportunity to make a name for himself. What bad luck to run into such a god-tier player.
One can only say that besides strength, sometimes luck is also very important.
"Alright, so now the match has entered its final countdown, and both players should have entered the pre-match preparation stage," Commentator Owatari said. "Will the rising dark horse see it through to the end, or will the legend make a king's return? Let us wait and see!"
Yugen stood on the stage, facing the legendary Dinosaur Ryuzaki, shuffling his deck.
As expected, this person in front of him already looked a bit different from how he remembered him in the anime. In his memory, Ryuzaki and his good friend Haga were both stunted shorties. Yugen estimated they would only reach his waist, but now it seems they've grown quite a bit in the years since DM ended, thanks to good nutrition.
Indeed, he could now barely reach his chin.
But even though he had to look up to face Yugen, his aura was not weak at all, revealing a hidden confidence of a high-level expert.
Yugen was currently observing and comparing the changes in his opponent's appearance to his anime memory, but Ryuzaki noticed his gaze and didn't know what kind of mental processing went through his mind, but he smiled and displayed the demeanor of a master: "Don't be nervous. Just play normally as you always do. Don't feel any burden; participation is what matters, just show your style."
Yugen was stunned, then quickly realized that this guy probably thought he was feeling psychological pressure facing a "legend."
And what the hell "participation is what matters," he spoke as if Yugen had already lost.
However, he also smiled, playing along: "Thank you, but I'm fine. I just suddenly remembered, back when I didn't even know how to duel, I saw you battling on TV at the Duelist Kingdom arena..."
Ryuzaki's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he suddenly felt a surge of pride, his back unconsciously straightening a few inches: "Haha, so you could say I was half your dueling guide."
"Yes, yes, I was most deeply impressed by your ace card, 'Red-Eyes Black Dragon'. The legendary Red Dragon that brought possibility, it left an indelible mark on my weak young soul," Yugen said with a sincere expression.
However, as soon as he said this, Ryuzaki's face immediately darkened.
Damn it, there's nothing to say.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon" was indeed his proud ace card, but anyone who actually watched the Duelist Kingdom tournament back then would know that he lost "Red-Eyes Black Dragon" in the very first duel of the kingdom to the legendary gambler Katsuya Jonouchi.
He didn't believe the opponent didn't know, so deliberately bringing this up in front of him was like mocking him to his face, saying, "Your wife is great, too bad she ran off with someone else."
Ryuzaki's face was grim, he muttered something and said nothing. He was probably already thinking about how he would make this arrogant novice realize how cruel dueling between true powerhouses could be.
"Oh, right, you continued to compete in the Battle City tournament later, and I also continued to follow it."
Yugen's gaze was incredibly sincere; even he himself almost believed it.
"Especially your summoning of 'Serpent Night Dragon' in the Battle City arena, it was so cool."
Ryuzaki's face immediately grew even darker.
He was now certain that this guy was deliberately messing with his mindset. "Serpent Night Dragon" was indeed his ace card in Battle City, no doubt, but he lost it in the very first match to the duelist "Esper Roba," who controlled "Jinzo."
It was like a double whammy of face-to-face mockery: "Your second wife was also great, too bad she ran off with someone else."
No, he had to maintain his composure.
Ryuzaki took a deep breath.
For a master duelist, mental composure is crucial. Even in professional leagues, sometimes pre-match trash talk is part of the game. He had to stay calm; he absolutely couldn't let this guy break his mindset before the duel even began.
He would make this guy realize his strength through dueling.
"DUEL!" x2
Yugen, LP 4000
Ryuzaki, LP 4000
The option for first or second turn randomly went to Yugen. Yugen was not polite and chose to go first.
"I'll go first, draw card."
Yugen drew three cards from his hand.
"I set one monster face-down on the field, and two cards face-down in the backrow. Turn end!"