Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present.
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[Standard Arc Opening Theme (Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Opening 1: BELIEVE X BELIEVE)]
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Scale 09: Rebellious Falcons (I)
A few days later…
Yuya sat on a park bench alone. His eyes were covered by his goggles that he had always brought with him. While children played together on the playground, Yuya was deep in thought.
"First Yuuji, Sawatari, and now even Reiji…" Yuya muttered. "How are so many other people able to use Pendulum Summoning?"
When he first received these cards, he thought he would be the only one with them at least for a good while. However, that dream was crushed in only a day when Yuuji showed up. Yuya eventually got over it, since Yuuji helped him learn how to Pendulum Summon and got these cards in a similar way to him.
But not even half a month later, Akaba Reiji shows up with Pendulum Cards that he manufactured himself. And with this, brings a devastating reality that Yuya had to face.
Pendulum Summoning is no longer something unique to him.
It didn't help that Sawatari also accused him of assaulting somebody else as well yesterday, along with reminding him that soon enough everybody would have Pendulum Cards.
—Ring! Ring! Ring!
His duel disk suddenly began to ring as he received a call. When Yuya picked up, he nearly turned to death and Sora shouted at him.
[Yuya! Where are you! We were supposed to go looking for opponents to help me qualify for the Maiami Championships today!]
"Yeesh, you don't have to yell so loud!" Yuya covered his ears. "I'll come meet you soon."
[You better not be late! Unlike you, I actually have plans today.] Sora said.
"Plans? Since when?"
[That doesn't matter.] Sora dodged the question. [Just hurry up and get back.]
Sora abruptly ended the call, causing Yuya to sigh as a result.
"Why is he always like this?" Yuya wondered as shook his head. "Hah…whatever. I guess this is better than sulking around all day about things out of my control."
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Meanwhile…
Yuuji stood in an alleyway, leaning against the wall. His expression sour as he continuously tapped his foot on the ground. Much like Yuya, he was in a bad mood today, although for a different reason
Yesterday, the topic of the Maiami Championships was brought up, mainly due to Nico Smiley's appearance at You Show. While Yuuji wasn't there for that, he did hear from those present that he was there on the behalf of the Duel Association to give Yuya a free pass into the Maiami Championships. Yuya ended up declining this offer, wanting to complete his qualifications for the tournament with his own efforts instead of just being handed a free pass.
This ended up reminding Yuuji of his own reasons for even coming to this city. The Maiami Championships was his main reason for coming here, and the main reason he ended up getting into the deathmatch with Black Death a while back. All of the weird stuff happening recently made him forget about it completely.
It's the perfect place for someone like him who wants to duel as many powerful opponents as he can. However, there was one major issue.
His win rate.
Currently, he had around a 35% win rate and had participated in over 60 duels. To enter the Maiami Championships, he would need a win rate of 60% or higher. To qualify, he would most likely need to participate in around 30 or more duels, and win every single one of them within the deadline of a week and a half. A feat that is practically impossible.
—Ring! Ring! Ring!
His duel disk began to ring, when he picked up, his ears were assaulted by the shouting of a certain Shiunin Sora.
[Yuuji! Where the hell are you!?] Sora shouted.
"An alleyway. Why are you asking?"
[You're supposed to be helping me look for opponents to help me qualify along with Yuya!]
"You never told me that."
[Well I am now! Just hurry up and meet us at You Show.]
"Wait, who said that I was going to—"
—before Yuuji could finish his sentence, Sora abruptly hung up the call.
"..."
"That guy…" Yuuji muttered with a tick mark forming on his face.
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A while later, Yuuji arrives at You Show. Sora and Yuya were waiting for him outside, turning their attention to him when they noticed his arrival.
"Finally…" Sora said as he addressed Yuuji. "What took you so long?"
"I don't know? Maybe the fact that I was halfway across the city." Yuuji rolled his eyes. "If you hadn't just brought it up today, maybe I wouldn't have taken so long."
"Whatever," Sora waved him off. "At least you're here now."
"Why did you bring us out here anyway?" Yuya asked.
"I told you on the call already, it's to help me find matches to help me qualify for the Maiami Championships." Sora replied.
"How many matches do you need?" Yuuji asked.
"I thought that I would need at least twenty to fix my faulty win rate, but apparently after looking into it, I only need to win six matches in a row." Sora said.
"Huh? That's a rule?" Yuuji was surprised.
"Yeah, you didn't know? If you have six official documented wins in a row, while having participated in over 50 duels this year, you're automatically qualified for the Maiami Championships." Sora explained.
"I've heard of that rule too," Yuya said. "Though it's a pretty impractical feat to go for since things go wrong in duels all the time. The highest win streak I've ever had was four wins."
Why have I not heard of this?
"Well how do I check?" Yuuji asked.
"You just check your duel disk's battle record," Yuya answered. "There's a neat feature in it where you are able to check your progress in qualifying."
Yuuji quickly pulled up his battle log, pressing a few buttons to bring up a screen with info on his qualifications.
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Maiami Championships Qualifications
A 60% Win Rate (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Win Rate: 35%)
OR
Win Six Official Duels in a Row (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Winstreak: 4)
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"That's so useful!" Yuuji said in awe. "If I had known about this sooner, I would've tried to duel more often."
This meant that all he would need to do is find two more opponents who would be willing to duel him which shouldn't be too difficult.
Though, it's weird that my loss against Ryouga wasn't counted. Yuuji thought.
"Now that that's settled. Let's get going." Sora began walking. "I have plans later so we'll need to be fast."
Yuuji turned to Yuya, "Do you have any idea why he's in such a rush?"
"No idea. He never told me what his plans were." Yuya answered.
"Weird," Yuuji said as he walked off after Sora. Yuya did the same.
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Later…
"Go, Frightfur Bear! Attack him directly!" Sora commanded.
Frightfur Bear's arm extends outward as it smacks his opponent, a widely-built sumo wrestler, into one of the Action Field walls, concluding the duel.
Sumoshi — LP: 1800 → 0
Winner: Sora
"Hurray! That's one down!" Sora cheered as the Action Field dispersed.
"That was probably the fastest duel I've ever seen," Yuya commented.
Sora's opponent barely even managed to put up a fight. The opponent's whole field was wiped out by Sora on his very first turn with the use of his Fusion Monster and Action Cards.
"It's expected though. It's Sora we're talking about after all," Yuuji stated.
Sora made his way over to the two of them with a wide smile on his face.
"What'd you guys think? Pretty cool right?" Sora gloated.
"You just brought us along to watch you show off," Yuuji sighed.
"Did not!" Sora denied as he turned away.
"Uh huh." Yuuji was not convinced.
"Whatever," Sora rolled his eyes. "We're done here. Let's get going."
The three You Show students make their way out of the dojo, deciding to go stop by a food stand to get a bite to eat. Once they finished eating and chatting together, they decided to call it quits when Sora was the first one who needed to go.
"I'm late!?" Sora cried out in shock as he checked the time. "She's going to kill me!"
"Late for what?" Yuya asked. "You've been on a time crunch the whole day, but you never told us why."
"I can't tell you that now. I promised not to." Sora said before quickly running off. "I'll talk to you guys later! Thanks for the help today!"
Before they could say anything else, Sora was already out of sight.
Yuuji sighed, "That guy can be so mysterious sometimes."
"You can say that again," Yuya agreed.
"I think it's about time I head out too," Yuuji said. "I want to look over my deck some more before I go find my qualification matches."
"You just reminded me that I need to look over my deck as well."
"You have a duel tomorrow, right?" Yuuji asked.
"Mhm," Yuya nodded. "It's right before noon."
"That early?" Yuuji sighed. "I probably won't be able to watch it then."
"That's fine. I'll have Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya there to cheer me on," Yuya said.
"Well, that's good," Yuuji smiled. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Yuya smiled back.
The two fist bump each other before parting ways.
Sora arrives at the abandoned harbor, panting heavily. Staring at him with her arms crossed was Yuzu. Based on her expression and body language, Sora could tell that Yuzu was pissed at him right now.
"What took you so long?" Yuzu asked. "You promised me that you would be on time today."
"Finding a duel took a little longer than expected," Sora explained. "I rushed here as quickly as I could when I realized I was running late."
Yuzu's expression softened up upon hearing his excuse, "Well, whatever. Since you graciously agreed to teach me, I'll let you off the hook this time."
Sora let out a breath of relief.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you would hit me with that harrison of yours."
"Why would you think that?" Yuzu "innocently" asked.
"You don't want me to answer that."
Sora then decided to quickly change the subject.
"Let's get started. I need to teach you a bunch of the ground rules of Fusion Summoning first before we could put it to practice."
"Right," A motivated Yuzu nodded.
Unknown to the two of them, a certain onlooker was watching them from the shadows.
"..." Yuto observed quietly as Sora began teaching Yuzu the basics of Fusion Summoning.
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A few days later…
Yuya was at a convenience store, reading a magazine as his mind drifted off to think of the events that had been happening recently. In the past three days, he had managed to win 2 out of the 4 duels he needed to qualify. His first duel was against Michio, a strong duelist who also happened to be a popular cook, while his second duel was against Eita Kyuando, a quiz-game enthusiast who had won many trivia tournaments in his life. However, weird things occurred during those three days as well.
First of all, right before his second qualification match, he was chased by three men from LDS on the orders of Mr. Sawatari, Sawatari Shingo's father and a candidate for mayor. He tried his best to explain to him that he wasn't the one who attacked his son, but Mr. Sawatari ignored everything he said. To get away, Yuya turned into an alleyway.
Which is where he encountered…him.
A tall man with teal-colored hair, wearing a blue coat, sunglasses, and a red mask standing with one of his monster cards already summoned. The man engaged in a duel against the three LDS Personnel who were chasing Yuya, swiftly defeating them after performing an Xyz Summon. Yuya was horrified when he saw that the mysterious man's monster could inflict real damage to their surroundings, without there being any Real Solid Vision Machine in the area.
Yuya wasn't sure what happened after that since he had blacked out, only waking up once Nico Smiley found him. Though he couldn't think much about what had just happened, since his second qualification match against Eita Kyuando was starting soon. He decided to push that matter to the back of his mind so he could worry about his upcoming duel.
Another weird thing was Yuzu. Ever since a few days ago, Yuzu stopped coming to You Show altogether. While she always ended up back at home when it was curfew, Shuzo was extremely heartbroken by his daughter's absence.
Not too long ago however, they learned that the main reason for Yuzu's absence was because she was training with Sora to learn how to Fusion Summon, which also explained why Sora only made minimal appearances at You Show the past few days as well. Her father tried to convince Yuzu to continue her training at You Show, but she always declined the offer.
Yuya supported his friend's decision to grow stronger wholeheartedly since it was something he was working on as well, but he also wished that she could at least drop by at You Show sometimes.
Damn…this is reminding me that I still haven't found my own answer to surpassing Pendulum. Yuya thought.
Everybody had already found their own answers to improving themselves, while he still hasn't. Yuzu by learning Fusion. Yuuji by finding his own way of surpassing Pendulum. Even Gongenzaka seems to know what he needs to do to get stronger (even if he still hasn't told Yuya just how he was going to do it).
"What should I do?" Yuya anxiously rubbed his head when…
—BAM!
Somebody runs right into him, causing them both to fall onto the ground.
"Ouch!" Yuya hissed in pain as he looked up to see who ran into him.
"Don't suddenly get in my way!" Hokuto shouted before getting a better look at who he ran into. The two of them begin pointing at each other when they find out.
[You're—!?] They both cried out at the same time.
"Sakaki Yuya!?" Yaiba cried out.
"Why aren't you apologizing for crashing into me!?" Yuya shouted
"You're one to talk! It's your fault!" Hokuto shouted back.
"Now's not the time, Hokuto! We have to go!" Yaiba reminded him.
"You're right!" Hokuto said as he quickly stood back up.
Yuya stood back up as well before asking, "Did something happen?"
"We found the culprit," Yaiba explained. "The mysterious duelist who had been attacking people associated with LDS!"
"What!?" Yuya was shocked. "Where?"
"The abandoned harbor," Hokuto stated.
That's where Yuzu is! Yuya grimaced.
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Yuya shouted as he began running off to the harbor.
"H-Hey! Wait up!" Yaiba cried out as he and Hokuto began running to catch up with Yuya.
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At the abandoned harbor…
So much had happened in just the span of a few moments, to the point where Yuzu herself could barely keep up.
First, Masumi showed up with an intense expression on her face before yelling at Yuzu to tell her where the mysterious duelist she met when she confronted Sawatari was. This nearly led to them dueling, with Masumi wanting to force Yuzu to talk through a duel. However, this duel didn't come to pass as Yuzu was pushed to the ground after a new person arrived at the scene. The cards in her deck scattered across the floor.
A tall teal-haired man with a blue trench coat, sunglasses, and a red mask which covered the bottom half of his face. The man immediately began challenging Masumi, seemingly targeting the girl due to her association to LDS.
If this wasn't wild enough, that same mysterious duelist that she met a while back actually appeared shortly after, calling the tall mysterious newcomer Shun. The two exchange cryptic talk about whether or not this was their battlefield, along with the mention of someone called Ruri, who Yuzu assumed to be someone close to the two of them.
Masumi began trying to call for backup, prompting Yuzu to try and tell her that it wasn't guaranteed that these two were the culprit she was talking about, which prompted Shun to be surprised once he got a good look at Yuzu's face, to the point of calling her Ruri. However, the mysterious duelist managed to shut that thought down in only a few moments by punching Shun in the gut, knocking him out cold.
Not even a few moments later, Yuzu's bracelet began to glow a bright pink, surprising everyone present. The mysterious duelist was completely engulfed by this light, shortly disappearing once the light died down, just like he had done the other two times Yuzu had encountered him. Similarly to before, when the mysterious duelist disappeared, Yuya showed up shortly after, with Hokuto and Yaiba following closely behind him.
"Masumi!" Hokuto shouted as he and Yaiba ran up to her. "Are you okay?"
"Where's the culprit?" Yaiba asked.
"He vanished..." Masumi, still shocked by what had just happened, muttered.
[Vanished?] They wondered with perplexed expressions.
Yuya ran up to Yuzu with a worried expression on his face.
"Yuzu, are you okay?"
"He disappeared again," Yuzu, who was still looking at her bracelet, responded.
"Huh?"
"They looked at me and said that I'm Ruri and that I'm not Ruri."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I…don't know," Yuzu said as she covered her face with her hands, beginning to break down. "I don't understand anything at all! Why does my bracelet glow? Why do they vanish only when you arrive?"
"Yuzu…" Yuya frowned at his friend's plight, before noticing her cards scattered across the ground. He kneeled down, picking up the cards from the ground. "Your cards are all over the place."
Sora just silently licked his lollipop as he observed from the side. Once Yuya finished picking up Yuzu's dropped cards, he sorts them neatly before handing them along with her duel disk back to Yuzu, who's solemn expression didn't change at all when she received them.
Soon, they could hear vehicles arriving not too far away, as Hokuto mentioned that LDS had arrived. As Masumi ran off to explain the situation to LDS, Sora began ushering Yuzu and Yuya away.
"It's going to get annoying soon if we stay here," Sora said as he began guiding Yuzu away. "Yuya, let's hurry up and get out of here while we still can!"
"R-Right!" Yuya said as he began running to catch up, at least until he was briefly stopped by Yaiba, who was about to walk off to catch up with Masumi and Hokuto.
"Hey, Yuya," Yaiba addressed him. "I heard that you have to win two more times to qualify for the Maiami Championships."
"How did you know?" Yuya asked.
Yaiba didn't answer Yuya's question as he began walking away, "Try your best to win. Even if it might be impossible for someone like you."
"Impossible? What's that supposed to be? Hey!" Yuya tried to confront Yaiba about what he had just said, but quickly remembered that he was supposed to be getting out of here.
He quickly turned around to go follow Sora and Yuzu, but was surprised when he couldn't find them anyway.
"Yuzu! Sora! Where did you guys go!?" Yuya tried to cry out for them, to no avail. "Strange. I guess they already went on ahead. I should catch up."
Before he ran off after them, he noticed something on the ground that caught his eye.
That's…Yuzu's card!
The Fusion Spell that Sora had given to Yuzu. It looks like he had forgotten to pick it up while he was sorting Yuzu's cards. Yuya picked up, being lost in thought while he looked at the card.
"Polymerization, huh? I should keep it safe until I get the chance to return it to Yuzu."
Yuya placed the card in his side deck before running off to try and catch up with Yuzu and Sora.
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The next day…
A blue jay landed on the porch of a hotel, deciding to rest there for a moment. Just as the blue jay was about to doze off to take a short nap—
"GODDAMMIT!"
—the sudden loud shouting of a certain teen scared the blue jay back awake, causing it to fly away in a panic. The source of the yelling was from Yuuji, who had bags under his eyes as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair.
"I just want to duel! Why won't anybody duel me!?" Yuuji whined.
He wasn't usually the type to act this immature, but he just couldn't handle it.
"The past three days, I kept challenging people like I normally would. But…"
Every…single…time, without fail, he would get rejected. Which is weird, because this city was the dueling capital of the world, yet nobody was willing to duel. The fact that more people were willing to duel in the Outpost, a place where finding duelists should be more difficult since almost nobody had both a working duel disk and a deck was absurd to him.
"What was the point of me coming here if I don't get to duel anybody?"
He did try to join some duel tournaments like Sora had been doing, but his win rate was so low that he wasn't even allowed to register. After facing so many rejections, he even considered participating in one of those underground duel circuits like the one he had dueled in when he faced Black Death. But his rational mind pushed off that thought, at least for now.
To make things worse, every night since his duel against Reiji, he had been having the same weird nightmare.
The nightmare went as follows…
A ruined city ignited in flames, the screams of suffering people in the background as they were annihilated by a giant being with the body of a dragon, along with the same line of words that repeated over and over.
"He's coming. The Supreme King of Destruction will be revived once more." Yuuji repeated the phrase as his body began shivering.
He had no idea what this phrase meant, but he was definitely unnerved by it. Whenever he thought about it, his body would begin to shiver in fear, even when he himself wasn't feeling afraid. Like it was some sort of automatic reaction that his body had to that phrase.
"What time is it anyway?" Yuuji wondered as he looked at his digital clock. "Eight!? I'm late!"
Yuuji quickly got up from his bed, making his way to the bathroom to fix himself up. He had promised Yuya that he would come watch his match today since he missed Yuya's previous two, so he didn't want to be late. Once he finished washing up and making himself look as presentable as he could, he grabbed his duel disk and left the hotel, making his way to the location where Yuya's duel would be held, hoping to at least get there before the duel had ended.
He managed to get there right when Yuzu and Sora had arrived, just having come back from Sora's sixth and final qualification duel. The three briefly chatted, with Sora and Yuzu both inquiring about Yuuji's baggy eyes. He quickly dismissed their worries, saying that he just went to sleep a bit late yesterday. The three then quickly make their way inside, arriving just in time to see Yuya's final play.
Yuya revealed a card, causing Yuzu's eyes to widen when she saw what it was.
"That's…my card," Yuzu gasped.
"I activate the Fusion Spell Polymerization from my hand!" Yuya declared.
"What!?" His opponent, Mieru, cried out.
"Yuya is Fusion Summoning?" Sora was similarly shocked.
Yuuji just smirked at the revelation, "So, you've found your answer too, Yuya."
Using Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Yuya Fusion Summoned a new monster, Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon—the very proof of Yuya's resolve to grow stronger. By making use of its effect to attack a certain number of times depending on the Level of the "Spellcaster" Monster used to summon it, Yuya was able to wipe out the rest of Mieru's Life Points, winning him his third of four qualification matches.
The Action Field dispersed as everyone went over to congratulate Yuya.
"You did it, Yuya-oniichan!" Ayu congratulated him.
"That Fusion Summon right after you Pendulum Summoned was the coolest!" Tatsuya commented.
"That duel gave me the shivers!" Futoshi said as he did his little dance.
"You guys…" Yuya smiled at the praise.
"That was incredibly impressive, Yuya!" Sora complimented as he, Yuzu and Yuuji joined them. "You were able to Fusion Summon even though I didn't teach you!"
"Mhm," Yuuji nodded. "Most impressive indeed."
"Sora, Yuuji, and Yuzu, when did you guys get here?" Yuya asked.
"Just now," Yuzu said.
"Oh, sorry…" Yuya then remembered something, pulling out Polymerization and handing it back to Yuzu. "I used your card without your permission."
"Giving it back to me? Are you sure?" Yuzu asked.
"Of course, it's your card after all," Yuya said. "With that card, you're working hard to change. And thanks to you, I was able to get a hint on how to grow stronger. Soon, I'll discover my own way beyond Pendulum myself."
"Right," Yuzu nodded and smiled. The two share a nice moment for a few moments before Mieru comes out of nowhere and tackles Yuya to the ground, pinning him to the ground and hugging him while claiming him to be her soulmate.
Yuuji sweatdropped as he noticed Yuzu's expression darkened besides him. He took a few steps away as he saw Yuzu pull out her giant harrison, preparing for the moment when she would eventually snap and go berserk.
The scene resembled a wild goose chase as Yuzu chased Yuya who was both trying to escape Yuzu's wrath and Mieru's affection. Yuuji could only sigh at his friend's plight.
—BAM! BAM! BAM!
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Once everything was settled, everyone went their separate ways. Yuzu and Sora left to go get Sora registered for the championships, while Yuya, Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya decided to make their way back to You Show. Yuuji decided to go off on his own, adamant on trying to find somebody to duel, even in his sleep deprived state.
However, being as sleep deprived as he was, he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings. After a few minutes of walking, he ends up bumping into somebody, causing them to fall to the ground.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" A teen with brown hair that had striking yellow highlights at the front hissed in pain. "Hey, what's your deal!? Watch where you're going!"
"Huh? Oh sorry." Yuuji apologized as he rubbed his eyes. "I'm just…*yawn*...a bit tired."
"Being tired isn't an excuse," The teen said before turning to his lackeys. "Help me up."
The three lackeys help the youth up, dusting off dirt and dust from the teen's uniform for him. Yuuji almost immediately recognized the three as Lackey 1, Lackey 2, and Lackey 3, the three guys that showed up in front of You Show and started spouting blasphemous accusations towards him and Yuya.
"Hey, I recognize this guy," Lackey 1 said.
"I do too," Lackey 2 agreed.
"What was his name? Baruki Buuji?" Lackey 3 tried to recall.
The three began to laugh as a tick mark formed on Yuuji's face at what he was called, but he tried to maintain his composure.
"I don't care who this guy is. Doesn't he know who he just bumped into?" The teen then began posing, with his lackeys throwing rose petals in the air as he did so. "I'm stylish, beautiful, and great. The son of the next mayor of Maiami City and entertaining extraordinaire, Neo New Sawatari Shingo!"
[Hurray! Hurray!] The lackey's cheer as they had rehearsed many times before.
Perfect introduction, just like we rehearsed. Sawatari gloated. I'm sure he's completely stunned quiet from my greatness.
Yuuji cringed heavily at Sawatari's introduction.
"How long did it take you to rehearse this?" Yuuji asked. "I think it's time to go back to the drawing board."
"Eh?" Sawatari turned to stone.
"I mean, who wrote that script? It sounds like something a snobby fifth grader would write to boost his own fragile ego."
"Gah!" Sawatari felt himself being stabbed through the chest multiple times at Yuuji's comments.
"I mean, it's expected from someone who hides behind his daddy's money and fame since he can't do anything himself."
"Pfft." Lackey 1 almost burst out laughing.
"He's got you there, Sawatari-san," Lackey 2 commented.
"H-Hey! Keep that to yourself!" Sawatari reprimanded his lackeys with an embarrassed look on his face before turning back to Yuuji. "And you, Baruki Buuji. How dare you talk about I, Neo New Sawatari Shingo like that."
"First of all, my name is not Baruki Buuji, it's Haruki Yuuji. Get it right," Yuuji corrected. "Secondly, how many times are you going to repeat that stupid nickname you gave yourself. Neo and New literally mean the same thing, you dumbass."
"T-They do!?" Sawatari was actually surprised by this.
[That idiot.] Sawatari's lackeys all facepalmed at his stupidity.
"W-Whatever!" Sawatari changed the subject to save face. "I won't tolerate this disrespect any longer! I, Sawatari Shingo, challenge you to a duel to regain my honor!"
What honor did he have in the first place? Yuuji thought.
Jokes aside, this is exactly what he had been waiting for. After over half a week of searching, he has finally found another opponent to help him qualify.
"A duel, huh? You're on!" Yuuji accepted the challenge. "I'll teach you a lesson or two about the consequences of trying to get You Show taken down because of your little grudge against someone better than you, AKA Yuya."
"Yuya is not better than me!" Sawatari shouted. "And I'll prove it to you with this duel. Let's take this to the abandoned harbor down south. It'll be the perfect setting for me to beat you down senselessly and pay you back for all those incredulous comments you've made about my competency."
Incredulous, what the hell does that even mean? Yuuji wondered. How does he know words like that, but not know that Neo and New mean the same thing?
Probably just a rich person thing.
"Fine with me," Yuuji agreed to the terms. "However, I won't be the one getting beat down."
After around twenty minutes of walking, the five made their way to the abandoned harbor. Sawatari's three lackeys took their post on the side to spectate, while Yuuji and Sawatari each took their post away from each other.
"I'm ready when you are," Yuuji said as he placed his deck in his duel disk, prompting the auto shuffling system to activate.
"I'm ready too," Sawatari said. "With these custom cards I've personally received from LDS, I'll finally be able to defeat Yuya and his cheap Pendulum Summoning."
"Beat me first before you can even think of challenging Yuya," Yuuji stated as he activated this duel disk.
"That's just what I'll do," Sawatari smirked as he too activated his duel disk.
The two of them each drew their first five cards.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison as the duel begins.
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
"I'll take the first turn!" Yuuji declared as he began his turn. "I activate the Spell Card, Relic of the Antique! By discarding a Level 5 or higher 'Antique' Monster from my hand and paying 1000 Life Points, I can add two different 'Antique' Monsters from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3000
"Lowering your Life Points right at the start, not a very smart choice, Haruki," Sawatari commented.
"It's not like I need the Life Points anyway…" Yuuji stated as he drew his two cards. "...because with these cards, my path to victory is already in sight."
Yuuji then revealed the two cards.
"Using the Scale 1 Antique Mimic Chest and the Scale 6 Antique Compass, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as he placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font as two Pendulum Zones appeared behind Yuuji.
"P-P-Pendulum!?" Sawatari cried out in shock. "Sakaki Yuya wasn't the only one!?"
"I only heard rumors that there was another guy who was able to use Pendulum Summoning," Lackey 1 commented. "But I thought they were fake."
"To think they ended up being true…" Lackey 2 said.
"Sawatari-san might have picked the wrong guy to pick a fight with." Lackey 3 said.
"You guys shut up!" Sawatari reprimanded them. "I can handle this just fine! It's all within my expectations."
You were just shocked when I used these cards. Yuuji rolled his eyes at the blatant lie.
"Let's see if this is within your expectations as well," Yuuji continued. "With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 5 all at the same time! Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters!"
A portal appeared in the sky, with two beams of energy shooting out from it.
"From my hand, welcome Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8) and Antique Maker - Edison (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5/SC: 2)!"
A woman in all black holding a pristine mirror in her hand and a well dressed man in a suit appeared on Yuuji's field.
"When Antique Maker - Mira is summoned onto my field, I can add 1 'Antique' Card from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Then, using my two Level 5 monsters, I construct the Overlay Network!"
A galaxy vortex appears in front of Yuuji, as his two monsters transform into energies that are then absorbed by the vortex. A massive pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as Yuuji began chanting.
"Appear from the digitised world, eight-legged vessel of information!" Yuuji chanted. "I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 5! Accel Hacking Spider (Dark/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 5/OU: 2) in defense mode!"
A machine spider with a body covered in countless blue circuits appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Now an Xyz Summon?" Sawatari was stunned. "Just how much do you plan on doing."
"Quite a bit more, thank you very much. Accel Hacking Spider's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "By detaching one Overlay Unit from it, I can Special Summon a Level 5 or lower monster from my deck! Appear, Antique Ignition Pot (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
(Accel Hacking Spider — OU: 2 → 1)
A large red jar with flames shooting out from the opening on its top appeared.
"Next, I summon the Tuner Monster, Antique Resonance Mirror (Light/Fairy/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 2)!" A floating mirror in pristine condition appeared on Yuuji's field. "And when Resonance Mirror is summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Antique' Monster from my deck! Appear, Antique Tabletop (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
A floating wooden table appeared.
"And with Antique Mimic Chest's Pendulum Effect, I can make Antique Resonance Mirror's Level equal to that of both Antique Tabletop and Antique Ignition Pot."
(Antique Resonance Mirror — LV: 2 → 5)
(Antique Tabletop — LV: 5)
(Antique Ignition Pot — LV: 5)
"Now that I have three more monsters with the same level, care to guess what I'm about to do?" Yuuji inquired.
"Three monsters of the same level…" Sawatari thought about it for a moment before his jaw dropped. "Don't tell me, you…"
"Yup. Doing it once isn't enough for me," Yuuji smirked. "With the now Level 5 Antique Resonance Mirror, Antique Tabletop, and Antique Ignition Pot, I construct the Overlay Network once again!"
Yuuji's three aforementioned monsters are sucked into a galaxy vortex, with a large pillar of light shooting out from its center as Yuuji begins chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright. They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Rise up, Rank 5! The courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A courageous man with striking red hair and sharp, eagle-like eyes, cloaked in black with a matching mask covering his mouth appeared.
"I now activate Revolution Commander's effect!" Yuuji continued. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can Special Summon Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7) from my deck!"
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
A floating, fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared on Yuuji's field.
"Next, Dawning Blaze's effect activates!" Yuuji declared. "I can equip this card to Revolution Commander, increasing its attack by 500 for each monster on the field. Since the only other monster on the field is Accel Hacking Spider, Revolution Commander only gains 500 ATK."
Revolution Commander grabs onto the hilt of Dawning Blaze, whose flames surround the warrior as it powers up.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 3000)
"I set one card facedown and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with a facedown. "You're up, Sawatari."
"...O-Oh right." Sawatari dropped his stunned expression after realizing it was now his turn. "That was quite the impressive turn, Haruki. However I, the Neo New Sawatari Shingo, won't be deterred just from that!"
He went back to using that stupid title again. Yuuji sweatdropped.
"My turn! Draw!" Sawatari drew a card as his turn began.
[Turn 2: Sawatari] [H: 6]
"I activate Yosen Training Grounds! While this card is active, every time I Normal or Special Summon a Yosenju Monster, one Yosen Counter is added to this card, which I can exchange for a specific effect." Sawatari explained as a shine with candles appeared behind him. "Next, I summon Yosenju Kama 1 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A silver-haired weasel warrior dressed in a kimono and holding a sickle appeared on Sawatari's field. At the same time, a candle was lit on the shrine behind him.
(Yosen Counter: 0 → 1)
"Thanks to Yosenju Kama 1's effect, I can Normal Summon another 'Yosenju' Monster from my hand!" Sawatari declared. "Appear now, Yosenju Kama 2 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)!"
Another silver-haired weasel warrior, this time holding a katana, appeared. At the same time, another candle was lit.
(Yosen Counter: 1 → 2)
"Same as Yosenju Kama 1, Yosenju Kama 2 allows me to Normal Summon another 'Yosenju' Monster from my hand!" Sawatari announced. "Make way for Yosenju Kama 3 (Wind/Beast-Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 800/LV: 4)!"
A third silver-haired weasel warrior, brandishing a dagger appeared.
(Yosen Counter: 2 → 3)
"Yosenju Kama 1's other effect now activates!" Sawatari shouts. "If I control another 'Yosenju' Monster on my field, I can target 1 face-up card on your field, and return it to your hand! I plan to send that Revolution Commander that you worked so hard to bring out right back to where it came from!"
The weasel warrior slashes the air, creating a whirlwind that surrounds Revolution Commander and removes it from the field.
"Damn, that sucks…" Yuuji muttered as he placed Revolution Commander back to his Extra Deck facedown.
"All that effort just to lose it, I'm glad I'm not you right now," Sawatari mocked. "But don't think I'm done yet, Haruki! Now here comes my Battle Phase!" Sawatari smiled as Yosenju Kama 2 leapt forward. "Thanks to Yosenju Kama 2's effect, by halving its ATK points, I can attack you directly with it!"
(Yosenju Kama 2 — ATK: 1800 → 900)
Yuuji braced himself as he was slashed by Sawatari's monster, wincing a bit from the pain as his Life Points dropped.
Yuuji — LP: 3000 → 2100
(Yosenju Kama 2 — ATK: 900 → 1800)
"Yosenju Kama 3's effect now activates," Sawatari announced. "When I inflict battle damage to my opponent using a 'Yosenju' Monster, I can add one 'Yosenju' Monster from my deck to my hand!"
Sawatari added a card to his hand and smiled.
"Next, Yosenju Kama 3 attacks Accel Hacking Spider!" Sawatari commanded as his third monster leapt forward, slicing cleanly through the Xyz Monster.
"Now that guy's field is completely bare of monsters," Lackey 1 was shocked.
"Maybe Sawatari-san wasn't lying when he said that he found a way to counter Pendulum users," Lackey 2 commented.
"Now go, Yosenju Kama 1! Attack him directly!" Sawatari commanded.
"Yeah, no," Yuuji simply said as his Trap Card was flipped face up. "I activate the Trap Card, Special Antique Delivery! When I'm about to be attacked while I control no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster directly from my deck in defense mode! Appear, the Tuner Monster, Antique Maker - Tuning Witch (Dark/Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 300/LV: 1)!"
A female monster with long blonde hair, wearing a black witches cloak and holding a black staff with a yellow gemstone at its tip appeared.
"When Tuning Witch is summoned onto my field, I take 100 damage for each Pendulum Monster on my field and in my Pendulum Zones. Since there are currently two, I take 200 points of damage."
Yuuji hisses in pain as his duel disk begins to shock him slightly.
Yuuji — LP: 2100 → 1900
"I'll just destroy your monster then, go Yosenju Kama 1!" Sawatari continued his attack.
"That won't work!" Yuuji announced, much to Sawatari's dismay. "When a monster is summoned via the effect of Special Antique Delivery, it can't be destroyed by battle for the rest of this turn!"
A barrier formed around Tuning Witch, protecting it from Sawatari's attack.
"Tch," Sawatari clicked his tongue. "I activate Yosen Training Ground's effect. By exchanging three of my Yosen Counters, I can add 1 'Yosenju' Monster to my hand."
Sawatari added a card to his hand.
"I set one card facedown and end my turn," Sawatari concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Yosenju Kama 1, 2, and 3's effects all activate. If these cards were Normal Summoned this turn, they return to my hand during the End Phase."
Yosenju Kama 1, 2, and 3 are surrounded by tornados before they return back to Sawatari's hand.
"It's my turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card as his turn began
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 1]
Yuuji looked at the card in his hand. It was a Trap Card, something he couldn't really make use of right now.
That's fine though, since I have other options. Yuuji thought.
"I set one card," Yuuji began by setting the card he had just drawn. "Then, I activate the effect of the Antique Compass in my Pendulum Zone, allowing me to Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster from my graveyard. Return to my field, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
The woman in all black with a mirror in her hand appeared once again.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates, allowing me to add an 'Antique' card from my deck to my hand," Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Now, with my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!"
A portal appeared above him as a beam of energy shot out from it.
"Appear, Antique Maker - Wrenchworker (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 400/LV: 2)!"
A young man in apprentice clothing appeared.
"Now the Level 1 Antique Maker - Tuning Witch tunes the Level 2 Antique Maker - Wrenchworker and the Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira!"
Yuuji announced as the aforementioned monsters transform into a yellow ring and green orbs respectively, lining up as a pillar of green light shot through its center.
"Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (Wind/Spellcaster/Synchro/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8/SC: 1)!"
Appearing on the field now was a man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner, wearing similarly colored gear.
"Now a Synchro Summon?" Lackey 3 said with surprise. "I can't believe he still had a way to bring out a powerful monster like that."
"I'm not done yet!" Yuuji announced. "Freedom Rider's effect now activates! When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy any amount of cards equal to the number of 'Antique' Monsters used as material to summon this card. Since I used three cards to summon it, I can destroy up to three cards on your field! I choose to destroy your Yosen Training Ground, along with that card that you set on your turn! Freedom Gale!"
Freedom Rider drives around in circles, creating a cyclone that sucks up the aforementioned cards and destroys them.
"Now that your field is completely bare, I activate Freedom Rider's second effect! Once per turn, I can banish a card from my graveyard in order to temporarily raise Freedom Rider's ATK by 1000, as well as grant it that monster's effect until the end of this turn! I choose to banish Antique Maker - Wrenchworker in my graveyard!"
A green aura erupts around Freedom Rider as it powered up.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 3000)
"3000 ATK!?" Sawatari cried out in shock.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Now go, Freedom Rider! Attack Sawatari directly! Hyperstream Rush!"
Freedom Rider revs up its engine as it accelerates straight towards. Sawatari had a worried expression on his for a moment before it soon contorted into a sly smirk.
"Kidding~," Sawatari said. "I activate the effect of Yosenju Oyam in my hand! When you declare a direct attack, by sending one 'Yosenju' from my hand into the graveyard, I can Special Summon it to my field!"
A giant monster with a body cloaked in darkness appeared.
[Yosenju Oyam (Wind/Beast/Effect/ATK: ?/DEF: ?/LV: 6)]
"A monster with an unknown ATK and DEF?" Yuuji was surprised.
"While it's on the field, its ATK and DEF are equal to the original ATK of the monster it's battling!"
(Yosenju Oyam — ATK: ? → 2000, DEF: ? → 2000)
However, once the numbers were calculated, Sawatari's jaw dropped.
"Wait? Why does it have 2000 ATK instead of 3000!?" Sawatari said in shock.
"Your effect only copies a monster's original ATK," Yuuji stated. "Freedom Rider's original ATK is 2000, not 3000."
"Oh right!" Sawatari realized as Freedom Rider crashes into Yosenju Oyam, ripping right through the giant monster and creating a shockwave that causes Sawatari to wince.
Sawatari — LP: 4000 → 3000
"Damn…" Sawatari cursed. "When Yosenju Oyam is destroyed, I can add one 'Yosenju' card from my deck to my hand!"
Sawatari added a card to his hand.
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Freedom Rider's ATK returns to normal."
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 3000 → 2000)
"My turn! Draw!" Sawatari began his turn.
[Turn 4: Sawatari] [H: 6]
Sawatari looked at the cards in his hand and smiled.
"I've been meaning to take these new cards on a test run. You've just given me the perfect chance to see what they can do!" Sawatari declared as he revealed two cards in his hand, causing Yuuji's eyes to widen in shock once he recognized the cards.
No way. He has them too!? Yuuji thought.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Yosenju Shinchu L and the Scale 5 Yosenju Shinchu R!" Sawatari announced. "Make way for their dazzling debut!"
Sawatari placed the two cards on opposite ends of his duel blade, as the word [PENDULUM] appeared between them in rainbow font. Two Pendulum Zones appeared behind him, with two stone statues rising into each of them. The numbers 3 and 5 appear on the zones in a strange, golden font.
"Yosenju Shinchu R's Pendulum Effect activates," Sawatari stated. "While I have a 'Yosenju' Monster placed in my other Pendulum Zone, this card's Scale Number becomes 11!"
(Yosenju Shinchu R — SC: 5 → 11)
"Now with my Pendulum Scale, I can summon monsters Levels 4 through 10 simultaneously!" Sawatari announced as he began chanting. "Glorious power born within the abyss, grant me your strength! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monsters!"
Two beams of energy shot out from the portal.
"Appear, Yosenju Kama 1 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 500/LV: 4) and Yosenju Kama 2 (ATK: 1800/DEF: 200/LV: 4)!"
Two silver-haired weasel warriors holding a sickle and katana respectively appeared.
"Next, I summon Yosenju Kama 3 (ATK: 1500/DEF: 800/LV: 4)!"
A third silver-haired weasel warrior, brandishing a dagger appeared.
"When Yosenju Kama 3 is summoned, I can Normal Summon another Yosenju Monster from my hand!" Sawatari declared. "Appear, wind-clad chief of phantoms! Mayosenju Daibak (Wind/Beast/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 3000/DEF: 300/LV: 10/SC: 7)!"
A giant green canine with a wisp-like body appeared.
"He managed to get so many monsters on his field all at once," Yuuji grimaced. "This could get dicey."
"Mayosenju Daibak's effect activates!" Sawatari announced. "When this monster is Normal or Special Summoned onto my field, I can target two cards on the field and return them to your hand!"
"Before that, I chain my Trap Card, Emergency Barrier!" Yuuji cut in. "I can only activate this card when I have less Life Points than my opponent. For the rest of this turn, all battle damage I would take is reduced to 0!"
"And he chained it right after I activated Mayosenju Daibak's effect, so it will activate before mine. So much for a stunning victory," Sawatari frowned. "Using Mayosenju Daibak's effect, I choose to return that Synchro Monster of yours, along with one of your Pendulum Zones back to your hand!"
Mayosenju Daibak uses its horn, creating a whirlwind that returns the aforementioned monsters back into their card form. Yuuji added Antique Compass to his hand, while he sent Freedom Rider to his Extra Deck facedown.
"Yosenju Kama 1's effect now activates as well, sending your final Pendulum Scale back to your hand!" Sawatari declared that as Yosenju Kama 1 slices the air in front of it, creating a whirlwind that destroys Yuuji's remaining Pendulum Zone.
Yuuji added Antique Mimic Chest back to his hand.
"I end my turn," Sawatari concluded, with Yosenju Kama 3 returning to his hand. "You may have managed to buy yourself one more turn, but I don't see a way for you to make a comeback in this scenario."
"I'm sort of a specialist in this kind of thing," Yuuji smiled. "I hope you won't be too surprised when you lose the next turn."
Yuuji placed his hand over the top of his deck and took a deep breath.
It all comes down to this, I lose here, my chances to enter the Maiami Championships will fade away.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji's deck began to glow as he drew with all of his might.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 3]
When Yuuji saw the card he drew, he smiled.
"I set the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol into my Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji announced as a golden bell rose into an empty Pendulum Zone. "Golden Carol's effect than activates! When I don't control anything in my other Pendulum Zone, I can place a 1 'Antique' Pendulum Monster into that empty zone!"
Yuuji added a card to his hand.
"With the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 8 Antique Golden Carol already in my Pendulum Zone, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuuji declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends, the word Pendulum appearing between in rainbow font as a magician in white holding a pendulum in his hand rose into his other Pendulum Zone.
"Tch," Sawatari clicked his tongue.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji shouted. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Come forth, my precious monsters!"
A portal appeared above him, with three beams of energy shooting out from it.
"From my hand, Antique Mimic Chest (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 1) and Antique Compass (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Tuner/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 3/SC: 6)! And from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5)!"
Yuuji's monsters swarm his field.
"When Antique Maker - Mira is summoned onto my field, I can add an 'Antique' card from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Now, the level 3 Antique Compass tunes the Level 5 Antique Mimic Chest!"
Yuuji's two aforementioned monsters transform into green rings and orbs respectively, lining up as Yuuji begins chanting.
"Sonic gale winds that move at the speed of sound. Ride the speeding current as you pave a path to victory!" Yuuji chanted. "Synchro Summon! Accelerate, Level 8! Antique Maker - Freedom Rider (ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500/LV: 8)!"
Appearing once again on the field was a man riding a grey and green colored Duel Runner, wearing similarly colored gear.
"That guy again?" Sawatari frowned. "Can't you come up with anything new."
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Yuuji replied. "Freedom Rider's effect activates! When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy cards on your field equal to the number of 'Antique' Monsters used to summon it. Since I used two cards, I can destroy up to two cards on your field! Freedom Gale!"
Freedom Rider begins spinning around in a circle at sonic speeds, creating a large vortex of wind that threatens to suck up Sawatari's cards.
"Not so fast, Yosenju Shinchu L's effect activates!" Sawatari countered. "By tributing it from my Pendulum Zone, I can negate the destruction of my 'Yosenju' Monsters!"
A barrier formed around Sawatari's field, protecting him and his monsters from the winds produced by Freedom Rider.
"That won't matter. This duel is over!" Yuuji announced. "I activate the Spell Card, Antique Reborn! Thanks to this card, I can Special Summon an 'Antique' Monster directly from my graveyard. Be reborn, Antique Dawning Blaze (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The fiery sword with a golden hilt appeared once again.
"Dawning Blaze now equips itself to Freedom Rider, increasing its attack by 500 for each monster on our field excluding itself!" Yuuji declared as Dawning Blaze transformed into pure flames that then surround Freedom Rider completely. "Since there are three on yours and one on mine, Freedom Rider gains 2000 ATK!"
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 2000 → 4000)
"And since a Pendulum Monster had its ATK increased this turn, Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's Pendulum Effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "Increasing Freedom Rider's ATK by an extra 800!"
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 4000 → 4800)
"Next I activate Freedom Rider's second effect!" Yuuji announced. "By banishing Antique Maker - Edison from my graveyard, I can both copy its effect and increase Freedom Rider's ATK by an extra 1000!"
The flames surrounding Freedom Rider turned blue as it powered up even further.
(Freedom Rider — ATK: 4800 → 5800)
"5800 ATK!?" Sawatari took a step back. "B-But how? There's no way."
"Now for the climax! Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward as he moved into his Battle Phase. "Antique Maker - Freedom Rider! Attack Sawatari's Yosenju Kama 1 and finish this duel! Hyperstream Rush!"
Freedom Rider revs up its engine, accelerating towards Sawatari's monster. The attack makes contact, destroying Yosenju Kama 1 and creating an explosion that sends Sawatari flying away—concluding the duel.
Sawatari — LP: 3000 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
The cards on both of their fields all disappear as the duel ends. Yuuji let out a sigh of relief after the tense duel ended.
I didn't expect him to be as strong as he was. Yuuji thought. I guess does he have at least a bit of skill to back up his boasts.
"Dammit, I was so close this time too," Sawatari sighed as he stood back up and dusted himself off. "That makes the third Yuya lookalike in a row that beat me so far."
While Sawatari was off sulking, Yuuji pulled out his duel disk to check whether or not this duel counted for his qualification.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Maiami Championships Qualifications
A 60% Win Rate (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Win Rate: 35%)
OR
Win Six Official Duels in a Row (the duelist must have participated in fifty Official Duels for this to count):
—Incomplete (Current Winstreak: 5)
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
"Nice, it counted," Yuuji smiled. "I'm one win away from the Maiami Championships now."
—Thud!
Yuuji heard somebody drop nearby. When he looked to see who the source of the noise was, he noticed a tall man wearing a blue trench coat, sunglasses, and a red mask which covered the lower half of his face. His attention was locked on the four LDS students nearby.
"You four are from LDS, right?" Shun asked them.
"Yeah, so what?" Sawatari replied.
Shun activated his duel disk.
"Duel me. All four of you."
"Is this guy crazy?" Lackey 1 wondered.
"He seriously thinks he has a chance against all of us at the same time?" Lackey 2 scoffed.
"I think the three of us should go knock some sense into him," Lackey 3 suggested as he activated his duel disk.
"I like that idea," Lackey 2 agreed as he also activated his duel disk. "I think it's about time we put him in his place."
The three get into position, surrounding Shun on all sides. Sawatari moves away from the scene, making his way to the side. Yuuji does the same, leaving them to their duel.
Yuuji turned to Sawatari to ask something.
"You're not going to help them out?"
"They can handle it just fine. It's a three-on-one."
I'm not sure about that to be honest. Yuuji thought as he looked at Shun. That guy…looks incredibly strong.
Soon after that, their duel began.
[DUEL!] The four shouted in unison.
[BATTLE-ROYAL-DUEL]
Shun — LP: 4000
Lackey 1 — LP: 4000
Lackey 2 — LP: 4000
Lackey 3 — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Lackey 1] [H: 5]
"I'll start!" Lackey 1 shouted. "When I control no cards on my field, I can summon Needle Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 500/LV: 4)!"
A humanoid machine with a body made of green, with one of its hands being shaped like a dart appeared.
"Needle Dart Striker's effect activates!" Lackey 1 declared. "When I don't control any other 'Dart' Monsters on my field, I can Special Summon another 'Dart' Monster from my hand without the need to tribute! Appear, Ultimate Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 2400/DEF: 300/LV: 7)!"
A humanoid machine monster with a body coated in blue, with one of its arms being shaped like a giant dart appeared.
"I set one card and pass my turn," Lackey 1 concluded.
"Then I'm up next, draw!" Lackey 2 began his turn next.
[Turn 2: Lackey 2] [H: 6]
"Since I control no cards on my field, I can also summon Needle Dart Striker (ATK: 1300/DEF: 500/LV: 4) to my field!"
Another Needle Dart Striker appeared.
"Needle Dart Striker's effect activates, allowing me to summon Ultimate Dart Striker (ATK: 2400/DEF: 300/LV: 7) from my hand!"
Another Ultimate Dart Striker appeared.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell, Dart Exchange!" Lackey 2 announced. "Once per turn, I can discard 1 card from my hand, and immediately after that, Special Summon 1 'Dart' Monster from my hand! Appear, Rocket Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1900/DEF: 100/LV: 6)!"
A red humanoid machine with a bulky arm that had multiple darts sticking out from it and a more feminine look overall appeared.
"I set one card and end my turn," Lackey 2 concluded.
"Then it's my go! Draw!" Lackey 3 began his turn.
[Turn 3: Lackey 3] [H: 6]
"Since the other two have brought it out, I might as well join in on the fun," Lackey 3 said. "Since I control no cards on my field, I can Special Summon Needle Dart Striker (ATK: 1300/DEF: 500/LV: 4) to my field!"
A third Needle Dart Striker appeared.
"All three of them are using the same archetype, and also just happened to have the same cards in their hand," Yuuji frowned and crossed his arms. "Yeah, not buying it."
"I don't see anything wrong with it." Sawatari scoffed. "We're not in some tournament game, everything out here is fair game."
"So, it's not that much of a stretch to think that you were also cheating in our duel then?" Yuuji inquired.
"Of course not!" Sawatari immediately denied it. "How would I be able to prove just how good I am if I were to do something as low as cheat?"
"That's surprising," Yuuji simply said before returning his attention to the ongoing duel.
"Just like its predecessors, Needle Dart Striker allows me to Special Summon a 'Dart' Monster directly from my hand!" Lackey 3 declared. "Appear, Ultimate Dart Striker (ATK: 2400/DEF: 300/LV: 7)!"
A third Ultimate Dart Striker appeared.
"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell, Dart Armory!" Lackey 3 announced as a machine factory appeared behind him. "As long as this spell remains on the field, 'Dart' Monsters can't be destroyed by card effects! I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Shun said as he removed his sunglasses and pulled down his mask, revealing his face. "Draw!"
[Turn 4: Shun] [H: 6]
"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A mechanical falcon with green armor appeared
"When Vanishing Lanius is summoned, I can Special Summon another copy of it from my hand!"
Another mechanical falcon with green armor appeared.
[Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
"I set four cards and end my turn," Shun concluded.
"That's all?" Lackey 1 laughed. "I expected more from somebody who was so adamant to challenge us."
"..." Shun remained quiet.
"Well it doesn't matter anyway, we'll finish you off quickly and get this over with." Lackey 1 stated as he began his turn. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 5: Lackey 1] [H: 3]
"Battle!" Lackey 1 moved into his Battle Phase. "Ultimate Dart Striker attacks one of your monsters!"
Ultimate Dart Striker's dart hand shoots out from it, piercing through one of the Vanishing Lanius, creating a small explosion that causes Shun to wince.
Shun — LP: 4000 → 2900
"Needle Dart Striker attacks your final monster!"
Needle Dart Striker leaps forward, piercing its dart arm through the final Vanishing Lanius. Vanishing Lanius begins to short circuit briefly before exploding, taking out Needle Dart Striker with it. At the same time, one of Shun's facedown traps is flipped face up.
"I activate my Trap Card, Raidraptor - Return!" Shun shouted. "When a 'Raidraptor' Monster is destroyed by battle, I can return it to my hand!"
Shun added back one of the destroyed Vanishing Lanius back to his hand.
"I end my turn with that," Lackey 1 then turned to the other two. "You guys make sure you finish him off. I left him completely wide open."
"Right," Lackey 2 nodded. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 6: Lackey 2] [H: 1]
"Battle!" Lackey 2 immediately went to his Battle Phase as well. "Ultimate Dart Striker, attack that fool directly!"
Ultimate Dart Striker shoots its dart hand directly towards Shun, who watches the attack approach him with any concern.
"Trap Card, open!" Shun shouts as another one of his set cards is flipped face-up. "Necro Raptor! When I would be targeted for a direct attack, I can reduce the battle damage I would receive to zero, and Special Summon 1 'Raidraptor' Monster from my graveyard! Be reborn, Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4) in defense mode!"
One of Shun's Vanishing Lanius reappeared on his field. A barrier formed around both it and Shun, protecting them from Ultimate Dart Striker's attack.
"So what? I'll just destroy it!" Lackey 2 shouted. "Rocket Dart Striker attacks Vanishing Lanius!"
Rocket Dart Striker spins around, shooting multiple darts at Vanishing Lanius. However, before any of them could hit it, another one of Shun's set Trap Cards is activated.
"I activate the Trap Card, Defense Draw!" Shun announced. "I can draw 1 card. Then, for the rest of this turn, monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle!"
Shun drew a card as a barrier appeared around Vanishing Lanius, protecting it from harm.
"He just keeps finding a way to weasel out of our attacks," Lackey 1 frowned.
"Whatever, I'll leave it to you," Lackey 2 said to Lackey 3. "I end my turn."
"You got it, I'll finish him off!" Lackey 3 declared as he began his turn. "My turn! Draw!"
[Turn 7: Lackey 3] [H: 4]
"I activate my own Dart Exchange!" Lackey 3 announced. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can Special Summon a 'Dart' Monster to my field! Appear, Power Dart Striker (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1800/DEF: 700/LV: 5)!"
An orange humanoid machine with a dart hand appeared.
"Battle!" Lackey 3 moved into his Battle Phase. "Power Dart Striker attacks Vanishing Lanius!"
Power Dart Striker leaps forward, using its dart arm to pierce through Vanishing Lanius and destroy it.
"Ultimate Dart Striker now attacks you directly!"
Ultimate Dart Striker shoots its dart at Shun, who stands unphased as his final Trap Card is activated.
"Trap Card, open! Raidraptor - Readiness!" Shun declared. "When I could take any instance of damage, I can negate that damage!"
A barrier formed around Shun, deflecting the dart before it could even get close to him.
"Tch," Lackey 3 clicked his tongue. "At least I've snuffed out all of your defenses. You're wide open now!"
Needle Dart Striker leaps forward towards Shun.
"Needle Dart Striker attacks you directly!"
Needle Dart Striker tried to attack Shun with its dart arm, but Shun deflected it with his duel blade, only being slightly harmed by the recoil of the action.
Shun — LP: 2900 → 1600
"I end my turn with that," Lackey 3 concluded. "Now you're all out of defenses. Once our next turn comes around, we'll wipe out the rest of your Life Points!"
"He's right, you've done well to survive all of our attacks so far. But once it becomes any of our turns, we'll be able to easily wipe out your remaining Life Points," Lackey 2 added.
"You might as well give up now, it'll save you the embarrassment," Lackey 1 suggested.
The three begin laughing.
"...Are you done?" Shun asked, completely unaffected by the three's words. "Because if you are, I'll begin my turn now."
Shun placed his hand on the top of his deck, closing his eyes for a moment before forcing them open once again, an intense expression etched on his face.
"My turn! DRAW!" Shun drew with might powerful enough to create a small burst of wind.
[Turn 8: Shun] [H: 3]
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST 23 - A Cornered Duelist]
"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)!"
A green mechanical falcon appeared.
"When Vanishing Lanius is summoned, I can Special Summon a second copy of it from my hand!"
Another mechanical falcon with green armor appeared.
[Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1600/LV: 4)]
"When I control Vanishing Lanius, I can Special Summon Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius (Dark/Winged-Beast/Effect/ATK: 500/DEF: 1500/LV: 4) from my hand!"
A mechanical falcon with dark purple armor appeared.
"How scary, you summon three harmless birds," Lackey 1 mocked. "If this is your best attempt at a comeback, you might want to go back to the drawing board."
No, they're wrong. Yuuji's eyes widened. That guy, he's planning something big.
"Using my two Level 4 Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius and Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius, I construct the Overlay Network!" Shun announced as his monsters were absorbed into a galaxy vortex that appeared in front of him. The ground began to shake as a giant pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center.
"W-What the hell is happening!?" Sawatari asked aloud as he fell to the ground.
This is the same thing that happened when Yuto Xyz Summoned. Yuuji assessed. Could the two of them be related in some way?
"Obscured falcon," Shun chanted, "Raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity; spread your wings of rebellion! I Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon (Dark/Winged-Beast/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/R: 4/OU: 3)!"
Bursting out of the vortex was a large mechanical falcon with a body coated in blue and silver. The monster let out a loud shriek to announce its presence, sending out a shockwave that caused the three lackeys to wince.
"What the hell is that?" Lackey 2 wondered, sweat dripping down his face.
"I don't know…" Lackey 3 responded.
Lackey 1 was the most level-headed of the three, though he still was sweating just as much as the other two.
"Guys…look at its ATK points," Lackey 1 pointed out. "It only has 100 ATK, it can't do anything to us."
"R-Right. We'll be fine…" Lackey 2 let out an unsure smile.
"Raidraptor - Rise Falcon can attack each of your Special Summoned monsters once," Shun stated. "Prepare to face your annihilation, LDS!"
"So what if you can attack all of our monsters? Your monster is way too weak to even leave a dent!" Lackey 1 sneered. "You have no other cards in your hand or field that can help you out either. You're finished!"
"I activate Rise Falcon's effect!" Shun announced. "By using one Overlay Unit, it gains the ATK points of all Special Summoned monsters on your field!"
Rise Falcon bursts into flames and let out a deafening screech as its ATK increases greatly.
(Rise Falcon — OU: 3 → 2)
(Rise Falcon — ATK: 100 + 2400 + 1300 + 2400 + 1900 + 1300 + 2400 + 1800 = 13600)
"13600 ATK!?" Lackey 1 cried out in shock.
"H-Hey, does anybody have a way to stop this?" Lackey 2 wondered. "My set card can't do anything."
"Mine can't do anything either," Lackey 1 admitted.
"Then doesn't that mean we just lose?" Lackey 3 turned blue at the realization.
"Battle!" Shun shouted as Rise Falcon soars into the air. "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon, slice down all your enemies before you! Brave Claw Revolution!"
Rise Falcon soars down, slicing through all of their monsters brutally, creating countless explosions as a result. The shockwaves from the explosions send the three lackeys flying into a crate—their Life Points all being reduced to zero.
Lackey 1 — LP: 4000 → 0
Lackey 2 — LP: 4000 → 0
Lackey 3 — LP: 4000 → 0
Winner: Shun
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
"W-What power…" Sawatari nervously muttered. "It's just like that other guy…"
That monster…it wiped them all out in a single turn. Yuuji was left there stunned. I never knew that a monster could have that much power.
Rise Falcon lets out a shrill screech before disappearing. Shun then begins walking towards the three unconscious lackeys.
What is he doing? Yuuji wondered.
Shun stopped in front of the three for a moment, looking down on them with a hateful expression before pointing his duel disk at them. After pressing a few buttons on his duel disk, a bright, blinding purple light filled the area, forcing both Yuuji and Sawatari to look away for a moment.
When the light died down, the two finally looked back. However, Sawatari's three lackeys were nowhere to be seen. Shun pulled out three cards that were just printed from his duel disk, shaking them off a bit before throwing them in front of the two.
Yuuji knelt down, picking up one of the cards to get a better look. However, when he did…
"N-No way," Yuuji said.
"What's wrong? What did you…oh my god!" Sawatari jumped back after looking at the card.
Printed on the card was the face of the unconscious Lackey 2. Yuuji went to pick up the other two cards Shun had thrown their way, finding Lackey 1 and 3 both in a similar state.
He turned them into cards!? Yuuji couldn't believe it. That's possible!?
Shun then began walking up to the two of them, not even concerned about what he had just done. He reactivated his duel disk.
"Three down, one more to go," Shun said in a cold tone.
"One to go? D-Does he mean me!?" Sawatari pointed at himself. "W-Wait we can talk about this. What do you want, money? Power? I can see if I can arrange that for you. Just turn my friends back to normal and let me go unharmed."
"..." Shun didn't say a word as he kept walking closer to Sawatari.
However, before he could get any closer, Yuuji stepped in between the two.
"Hey, bastard!" Yuuji addressed Shun. "I don't know what kind of beef you have with LDS, but I can't let you step any further."
"I don't have any business with you," Shun said. "Unless…are you a part of LDS too?"
"And if I am?" Yuuji inquired.
"Then you'll share the same fate as those three weaklings," Shun stated.
Yuuji activated his duel disk.
"I dare you to try."
Yuuji then looked at Sawatari, who held the carded forms of his lackeys with shaky hands.
Sawatari won't be much help here. I'm going to have to duel him myself. Yuuji thought.
Not the worst thing in the world, since it saves him the trouble of having to look after somebody else while he duels.
"Sawatari," Yuuji said. "Go find a good place to hide. I'll handle this."
Sawatari was shocked by what Yuuji had just said, "A-Are you sure? This guy is crazy strong."
"It's not like you can duel with your hands shaking that much," Yuuji said.
"O-Oh yeah," Sawatari looked at his hands. "I-I'll get out of your way."
Sawatari quickly moved out of the way, finding a hiding spot inside one of the abandoned warehouses. The place had a good enough vantage point, which gave him a good enough view of the duel.
Once Yuuji was sure Sawatari was far enough away, he turned back to his opponent.
"Before we start, may I know the name of my opponent?" Yuuji asked.
"Shun. Kurosaki Shun," Shun answered, much to Yuuji's surprise.
"You actually answered? I thought you would be one of the types to say, 'there's no need for me to tell my name to someone who's about to die.'"
"It's courtesy," Shun responded, "I'll at least give you the minimum respect before I take your life, an honor your people did not grant to mine."
Here comes the cryptic talk again.
"Does the name Yuto ring a bell?" Yuuji suddenly asked.
"How do you know that name?" Shun turned serious.
"Oh, so you do know him," Yuuji was surprised. "Guess that explains the similar cryptic jargon you both keep saying."
"..." Shun didn't respond, however Yuuji could tell that Shun was even more pissed than he already was.
"Guess I struck a nerve," Yuuji smirked. "Since you don't feel like talking anymore, let's just start this duel."
The two of them drew their first five cards as the duel began shortly after that.
[DUEL!]
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Nearby…
"Where did he run off to?" Rio wondered as she arrived at the abandoned harbor.
She had finally caught on to Shun's tracks a little while ago, finding the aftermath of one of Shun's duels. Following the path of carnage that Shun left in his wake, she eventually found herself here, at the abandoned harbor.
However, she ran into a problem, since the trail that she had been following had gone cold.
"It would be great if he caused another explosion or something with his duel…" Rio muttered before—
—BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Multiple explosions erupted in a distant part of the harbor, along with a familiar screech of a monster that Rio recognized all too well.
"There you are," Rio smiled as she made her way to the source of the explosions.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Custom Cards:
Monster Cards -
Accel Hacking Spider
ATK: 100, DEF: 100, R: 5
Light/Cyberse/Xyz/Effect
2 Level 5 Monsters
Monster Effect: Once per turn: You can detach 1 material from this card; Special Summon 1 Level 5 or lower monster from your Deck.
Needle Dart Striker
ATK: 1300, DEF: 500, LV: 4
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: If you control no cards, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, if you do not control any other "Dart" monsters, you can Special Summon 1 "Dart" monster from your hand.
Spell/Trap Cards -
Relic of the Antique
Normal Spell
Activate this card by discarding 1 Level 5 or higher "Antique" monster and paying 1000 LP. Add 2 different "Antique" monsters from your Deck to your hand.
Special Antique Delivery
Counter Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack while you control no monsters: Special Summon 1 "Antique" monster from your Deck in Defense Position. A monster Special Summoned by this effect cannot be destroyed by battle this turn.
Antique Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 "Antique" monster in your GY; Special Summon it.
Dart Exchange
Continuous Spell
Once per turn: You can discard 1 card; Special Summon 1 "Dart" monster from your hand.
Dart Armory
Continuous Spell
"Dart" monsters on the field cannot be destroyed by card effects.
Defense Draw
Counter Trap
Draw 1 card, then, for the rest of this turn, monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle.