Manjoume sat there in the locker room, staring at the open briefcase and its contents. After the Tag Duel was done, they were given a five-minute intermission, so as to prepare for the next Duel. And here he was spending it on looking at these cards that his brother gave him.
He was told to beat Judai and Kuromu using them. In their eyes, it was the only way that Manjoume could be forgiven for his transgressions. But if he doesn't use them, and he loses, not only will he be embarrassed in front of the whole country, his brothers are going to take matters into their own hands.
"Uhh… are you sure about this boss?" A little voice asked.
Manjoume looked to his shoulder and saw a little yellow creature with two eyestalks and a red speedo appear.
"What are you doing here?" Manjoume sighed irritably. "I'm trying to concentrate for my Duel."
"I wanted to check in on you." The little creature stated, "Especially since we're dealing with those big hero guys."
"Well I'm doing fine thanks." Manjoume said dryly.
"Really? You don't look fine to me." The little creature said.
"Trust me, I'm fine." Manjoume insisted.
To the ace, he honestly didn't expect himself to be seeing Duel Spirits, let alone get one of his own.
"Yeah, I don't buy it."
"Same here. Your face says it all."
Or rather… four…
Suddenly, two other creatures like the yellow creature, one a green cyclops and the other a rather portly creature, arrived. These are the Ojama brothers, Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green, and Ojama Black.
"Don't you three have better things to do other than bother me?" Manjoume growled.
"What? We can't be concerned about our boss? Even the big guy is worried about you!" Ojama Yellow stated, pointing towards Dark Armed Dragon, who was silently leaning on the wall just staring at him.
Manjoume sighed at this, "Look, I appreciate it really, but I need to concentrate on this Duel right now." He thanked the four.
As he returned his gaze to the cards in the briefcase, he heard the sound of a dragon roaring. This roar however, was different from Dark Armed Dragon's guttural roar. One that seemed to resonate with him.
"Boss? Is that…?" Ojama Yellow asked.
Manjoume's face looked surprised as he dug into the briefcase, looking for a particular card until his eyes gazed at what he was looking for.
He soon smirked, this time, victory will be his.
At the same time that this was happening, Rex had to walk away from the arena to get a breather from wearing the disguise. He had to use this intermission as a chance to tell the Taros Imagin what he knew. And wouldn't you know it, the Gladial Beasts showed up, along with the four Taros he wanted to see.
"I see you need our help?" Urataros asked the mutt.
"Yeah. So here's the skinny. Manjoume's brothers might cut the feed if they see their little bro about to lose. Do you think you and the boys can help make sure that those cameras stay on?" Rex asked them.
"Heh, those bastards are gonna try to shortchange Judai's victory?" Momotaros asked.
"It's also to make sure they don't do anything hasty to Kuromu. I know these types of people. Give them a cover, and they'll make people vanish like Houdini's ghost." Rex stated, "Happened to an old running mate once. Never saw him again…"
"Wait, they want Kuro to go poof?" Ryuutaros asked, confused. "Like magic?"
"Like magic." Rex nodded, 'And a loooot of shady dealings.'
"In other words, they want to assassinate Kuromu…" Kintaros guessed.
"Sounds like i- wait, they want to what?!" Momotaros snapped. "Oh hell no! Ain't no way we're gonna let them do that!"
"General. What will you have us do?" Dicearri asked.
"Okay guys, huddle with me." The mutt asked as he and the Duel Spirits performed a huddle, "Now here's the plan…"
Back at the main Duel Arena, Kuromu and Asuka returned back to their seats where all their friends and family were waiting for them. The other Duel Academia students cheered as they went to the crowd, giving their congratulations and praise for the awesome Duel they had. When they finally found their way back to the others, Rika was the first to glomp them into a hug.
"Ooooooooooh, I knew you two would win it!" Rika gushed. "You two were great out there!"
"Thanks, Rika." Asuka smiled, returning the hug.
"Seriously, that was a great Duel you two had!" Judai grinned widely. "It's gotten me all fired up!"
"Though, you two nearly scared us before that last turn." Koji added.
"We got the win in the end, right?" Kuromu grinned.
"We likely could have gotten the win sooner if they had any Extra Deck monsters." Asuka added. "Vishnu's power would have truly shined then."
"Indeed. That does bring up an interesting topic." Misawa mused, "What other possibilities could the Extra Deck bring?"
"What do you mean by that?" Sho asked, confused.
"He means what other types of Special Summoning could be brought out by the Extra Deck." Kuromu guessed.
"What, like inventing a new summoning technique?" Koji raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly. In fact…" Misawa soon brought up his notes, "There have been rumors of Kaiba potentially inventing a brand new Summoning Technique."
"You're kidding, Kaiba of all people?" Kuromu said.
"What's next? Card games on motorcycles? Card games meet arena fighting games?" Judai scoffed jokingly.
"Crazier things have happened. I mean, I'm sure Contact Fusion and Transformation Summoning was likely a glint in Pegasus's eyes." Rika added, "Who's to say a completely new Summoning Technique isn't in the works?"
"And Kaiba does have the technology and money to make it happen, so it's not impossible." Misawa said.
"I guess." Kuromu noted, "But if that is true, then it's going to change the face of Duel Monsters for the future and it'll be looking a lot different than what we know."
"Hey you two!" A familiar voice said, as they turned to see Kyoshiro and Chiyomi approaching them. "Great job out there!"
"Thanks, Tou-chan." Kuromu smiled softly.
"I'm so proud of you, Asuka. You were so impressive out there!" Chiyomi smiled, hugging her daughter. She may have teased Asuka about not finding a steady boyfriend, but she never made light of Asuka's decisions in life.
"Thank you, Okaa-san." Asuka thanked her.
"By the way, Asuka, what was with those summon chants? Did Judai teach them to you?" Kuromu asked, now that the two of them weren't on the spot.
"He and Rex… kinda roped me into it." Asuka smiled sheepishly, "They thought it could give my Special Summons a bit of flair to them."
"Hey, I'm not complaining. I think it's great." Kuromu raised his hands in defense, "Maybe I should try it too."
"I think the transformations the Riders already do are good enough." Rika pointed out. "Besides, you think people would hear your chants over the announcements those belts would make?"
"Yeah, fair enough." Kuromu chuckled. "Speaking of, they should be announcing the next Duel soon." He noticed. "And while we're on the subject of Duels, what's with Manjoume's brothers making a grandstand on this Inter-School Duel anyway?"
Chiyomi grumbled at this. "The Manjoume Group, second only to big names such as Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corp. Chosaku and Shouji, Jun's older brothers, are the ones who took their company from being mediocre to being a powerhouse in only a few short years."
"Wow. They did? How?" asked Rika.
"It's in their skill sets," Chiyomi explained. ""There's the eldest brother Chosaku, the one with the beard. He's a master politician, able to work the government like clockwork. His negotiation skills and political clout have swayed votes and policies all over the country. Politicians run to him for assistance in their reforms, bills, etc.. He's got many politicians in his pocket and could practically run the country if he could get away with it."
"Whoa." Judai blinked. "Not bad."
"Then there's Shouji, the second eldest brother, the one with the pointed hair. He's the name to go for, when it comes to financial investments." Chiyomi continued. "If you give him 100 yen, he can make you 100 million yen overnight. Companies and private investors scramble to have him invest their money. The man is unmatchable in one on one consulting. He's not cheap to hire, but with the potential profits you can make by bringing him in, his costs are negligible. With him working in the Manjoume Group the profits just keep on coming in with all of their ventures."
"No kidding," Koji blinked. "No wonder the jive-turkey is such a jerk. He grew up surrounded by them."
"Yes well, it was the both of them who gave favors to our network to televise the School Duel on the condition that the majority of the airtime is given to their little brother," Chiyomi explained.
"It's a lot of pressure they're putting on Manjoume." Misawa said.
Judai felt his fist clench as he recalled what the ace was lamenting in the locker room.
"But it makes sense considering what I've heard about them," Chiyomi nodded, her motherly instincts wanting to smack the two for the ungodly amount of pressure and expectations they were putting on their teenage brother. "The Manjoume Group has been making a lot of bold moves lately in the fields of finance, politics, and Duel Monsters, trying to become the top names to go to in all three."
"Why?" asked Asuka.
"To control all three means to hold the reins of the world," Ryo answered. "You've seen how much Duel Monsters has taken the world by storm, being the go-to source for ending problems where only politics and money could do the same. All of the biggest players in the world deal in at least one of those areas, but nobody deals in all three."
"So… they're pushing Manjoume to become the tops in Duel Monsters," Kuromu frowned, starting to make the connections. "To become the top in Duel Monsters, you have to be the best in the game, not just somebody who supplies the cards. Manjoume is probably the only one who hasn't become the best in his field and with the losses he's racked up since the year started…" he then sighed at this, scratching his head in frustration, "I mean, I guess I understand why he acted the way he did when he sabotaged my Duel Disk, but still…"
"C'mon Kuro, just forgive and forget," Rika said sadly. "He was backed into a corner, and did what he thought he had to do at the time. You can't exactly blame him for making a choice when he didn't think he had one."
"Mmmmmmmmm…" Kuromu crossed his arms while closing his eyes in thought.
"Son, may I say something?" Kyoshiro spoke up.
"Tou-chan?" Kuromu opened his eyes to look at him.
"What he did to you was reprehensible, that much is certain." Kyoshiro began. "While he needs to make amends for his actions, you can make things easier on him and yourself by forgiving him. Now don't get me wrong. It's not easy to forgive your enemies, but trying to ignore the possibility of them changing their ways is a worse fate. There will be those who are too set in their ways, but I've seen the look in the boy's eyes. He's not like his brothers."
"Those same brothers who are staring at the targets on Kuromu and Judai's backs." Koji figured.
"Huh?" Judai blinked.
"Think about it." Ryo said. "You and Kuromu tainted his win-loss record. The elder brothers want to rectify that by having Jun beat you both in order to wipe the slate clean as it were."
Judai already knew about this, given it was the mutt who also had the same thought.
"Where is the hound dog anyways?" Koji asked, "You'd think he'd at least show up for your Duel, Judai? Is he that camera-shy?"
But before he could answer-
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience!" Chronos announced. "Our main event is about to begin! Duelists, make your way to the stage!"
"Uh-oh, I gotta go!" Judai panicked and quickly made his way to the Duel Arena.
Meanwhile, Rex ran out of the school and found himself literally outside the production truck's door that was parked at the harbor. Lucky for him, the door was wide open, as the crew inside were making sure everything ran smoothly, controlling the panels and watching the screens. They thought that since they were on an island, there was no need for security to guard the truck. Who in their right mind would want to raid it anyway?
'This has to be the stupidest idea I've ever thought up…' Rex thought to himself, but shook his head. No time for him to doubt it now. He made the plan and he was going to see it through. "Taros, are you guys in position?" He asked in his mind.
"Yeah, yeah. We got it, kiddo." Momotaros answered.
"Just remember, senpai. We have to time it right." Urataros reminded the Peach Imagin.
"I know that already, Kameko!"
"Hey! Focus!" Laquer snapped.
"This has to go without a hitch." Dicaerii added.
"Alright, we go in… Now!" Rex quickly slapped down the cards for the Gladial quartet on his Duel Disk before bringing down his hood rushing in with his monsters.
Needless to say, seeing four large animals in heavy armor alongside a hooded figure before them made the crew freak out. Rex quickly knocked them out with judo chops to the necks, making them collapse to the floor.
Once they were knocked unconscious, Rex took off the hood and gave the nod for the others to take their positions.
"Alright, this shouldn't be too bad." Bestrouli said as everyone quickly prepared for the next Duel, with the bird gladiator sitting on one of the empty tables.
"You better hope they'll stay knocked out and not remember anything by the time they wake up." Laquer said to Rex, tying up the production truck staff whilst Dicearri and Murmullo took up two of the empty seats.
"I hope so too." The mutt hoped as well as he looked at the control panels and sat down on one of the empty chairs. "Okay, let's give the country a front row seat for this Duel." He said as he put on the headphones. "Show time!" He then pressed into the intercom, taking care to use the voice changer he packed with him to avoid having his voice recognized. "This is the production truck. Cameras 1, 2, 3, and 4 are a go. Auxiliary backups are checked. We have green lights all across the board, we are good to go. Over."
["Good. Now follow our orders to the letter, got it?"] he heard from the other side of the headset.
"Now, allow me to declare the beginning of the Solo Duel between Duel Academia and North Academia!" Chronos declared to the roar of the crowd, "First, I shall introduce the Hero King of Osiris Red, Yuki Judai!"
Rex smirked, 'Hero King huh? That's a pretty cool title there, mechhead.' he thought.
Judai then made his way up towards the stage, as the Duel Academia students cheered.
"Go for it, aniki! Don't lose!" Sho cheered.
"You got this Judai!" Rika called out.
"And now introducing his opponent, from North Aca-"
"Hold it. I'll introduce myself." Manjoume said, as he too was now on the dueling stage. "You can just shut up and beat it, you damn kappa. Especially after what I heard from Kururugi."
Chronos flinched as he stepped back, allowing the ace to look at the crowd.
"Listen up, all of you!" Manjoume shouted, getting their attention. "To those who were relieved that I was gone! Those of you who went on about how I got what I deserved! Like a phoenix, I was resurrected from the depths of Hell! And now I'm back to take back my place as the number one Duelist! For my name is… ICHI! JU!"
"HYAKU! SEN!" The North Academia students chanted.
"MANJOUME THUNDER!" Manjoume shouted.
"YEAH! THUNDER!" The North Academia students shouted in their war cry. "MANJOUME THUNDER!"
"WHO AM I!?"
"THUNDER!"
"MANJOUME…!"
"THUNDER!"
Kuromu and friends were surprised by the organized chants of the North Academia crowd.
"Wow, never thought I'd see Manjoume have his own cheerleading squad." Koji commented offhandedly.
"No kidding." Kuromu added, "He must have really made a mark on them after he rose to the top spot."
"Let's go, Judai!" Manjoume said, before turning back towards his opponent, activating his Duel Disk. "After all, I can't afford to lose Duel!"
"Bring it, Manjoume!" Judai said as he too activated his Duel Disk and both drew their starting hands.
"I told you, it's Manjoume Thunder!"
'Jun!' Chosaku thought.
'For the Manjoume Group!' Shouji thought as well.
"DUEL!"
Manjoume: 8000
Judai: 8000
"THUNDER! MANJOUME THUNDER!" The North Academia students shouted.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Manjoume declared, drawing his sixth card. "I summon Masked Dragon in DEF mode!" Coming onto the field was a white scaled dragon with red underneath. Its head was strangely shaped, somewhat looking human-esque which was also white, as it were wearing a mask underneath, true to its name (3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1100). "Ta-n endo!"
As the North Academia crowd cheered, Judai quickly started his turn, "O-re no ta-n! Draw!" He drew his sixth card and smiled, "Okay Manjoume, get ready! While you were gone for three months, I picked up some pretty awesome cards! And you'll get to see them first hand! I summon Elemental HERO Airman in ATK mode!"
"What?!" Manjoume gasped.
Appearing onto the field was a blue hero with a dark blue set of shoulder pads, a light blue bodysuit, a white set of pants with dark blue boots, and finally a wing pack with two turbines. (4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 300)
"Pretty cool, huh?" Judai asked with a cheeky grin, "Now I activate his effect. When he's summoned either normally or via Special Summon, I can choose between two effects and I choose to add one HERO monster from my deck to my hand." He then took out his deck and searched for a card before revealing it, "I choose Elemental HERO Edgeman!" He then shuffled his deck and inserted it back in his Disk. "Battle! Elemental HERO Airman attacks Masked Dragon! Air Shooter!"
Airman quickly revved up the turbines on his wing pack and fired a powerful windstorm that shattered the dragon.
"Alright! Aniki got the first hit!" Sho cheered.
"Fool. That went just as I'd planned." Manjoume however chuckled, "Masked Dragon's effect activates! Should this card be destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon one Dragon-type Monster with 1500 ATK or less from my deck!"
"So not groovy…" Koji groaned, as Manjoume took out his Deck to search for a card, taking it out, shuffling the Deck and inserting it back in the disk.
"The card I Special Summon… is Armed Dragon LV 3!"
Suddenly, a rather pudgy and small version of his Dark Armed Dragon, lacking the colors of the original appeared on the field. It was a yellow dragon, coated in silver plating on its face and claws, as it yelled out a roar to intimidate the enemy. (3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 900)
Samejima gasped at the Armed Dragon, "Ichinose-kun, you…"
"Hmhmhm… I've gotten serious, Samejima." Ichinose chuckled, "Soon, that prize will be mine."
"That looks like the Dark Armed Dragon." Kuromu realized, as did the rest.
"And Level?" Sho got out.
"That's the original Armed Dragon in its Level form." Asuka said to Sho. "The Level monsters are an archetype that continues to level up as you meet the requirements." She then smirked at Kuromu, "I'm pretty sure you know how I know that."
Kuromu chuckled, "Right, you also had Silent Magician. Well, you and Yugi-san." the Rider Duelist remembered.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo!" Judai said, placing a reverse card on the field.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Manjoume declared, drawing his next card. "During my Standby Phase, Armed Dragon LV3's effect activates! I can send this card to my hand to Special Summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my hand or my deck! Now evolve, Armed Dragon!"
After letting out a primal roar, Armed Dragon's scales went from yellow and silver to red and black as it now grew to a larger size and gained two large gauntlets on its claws. (5/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700)
"Ichiban-kun, be careful!" Misawa called out, "The increase in Armed Dragon's level means that its effect will become stronger as well!"
"Great, and here I thought Dark Armed Dragon was bad enough." Kuromu feared.
"Aniki…" Sho muttered.
"Now I'll activate Armed Dragon LV5's effect! By discarding a card, I can destroy a monster if the card I discarded has either equal or lower ATK points than it. So I discard another Armed Dragon LV5 to destroy your Elemental HERO Airman!" Manjoume declared, "Destroyed Pile!"
Armed Dragon's back spikes launched out like a barrage of missiles to destroy the wing pack hero.
"Battle! Armed Dragon LV5 attacks your Life Points directly!" Manjoume called out, "Armed Buster!"
Suddenly, Judai looked up to find Armed Dragon bring down it's two gauntlets down on him in a burst of red energy, sending him flying through the air and back onto the platform.
"Aniki/Judai!" Sho and Rex cried out in fear for their friend.
Manjoume: 8000
Judai: 5600
"Is that all you've got?" the ace taunted.
"Get up! Get up, Judai!" Samejima called out.
'This isn't good. You're on national television for crying out loud!' Chronos thought.
Judai, ever the chipper person, quickly kipped back up to his feet despite being slightly dazed from the attack, "Right, this is being broadcast all over the country. I've gotta try and avoid looking too uncool!"
Manjoume sneered at the Elemental HERO Duelist's nervous laughter. He was going to wipe that grin off his face soon.
"I'll place one card face down. Ta-n endo!" Manjoume stated.
Chosaku smiled as he sat alongside Shouji, both of them watching their little brother. "Finally, he's starting to act like a Manjoume!"
"True," Shouji snickered, "I just hope he doesn't win too fast!"
"Huh?" Chosaku turned to him, confused.
Chosaku smiled, turning to look at his brother, "The longer he thrashes this kid, the more we make in commercial revenues!" Both brothers turned back to the duel, laughing at their plan.
Rex rolled his eyes, 'They know I can hear them, right?' he thought.
"O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Judai declared, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to six. "Heh, just what I'm looking for."
"What are you talking about?" Manjoume demanded.
"Let me tell you something, Manjoume." Judai smirked, "Kuro's not the only one that can do Transformation Summoning!"
"Huh?!" Manjoume gasped.
"Yep, time for me to do my own take! First, I activate the Field Spell, Skyscraper - Skyscraper!" He said, as the city the Elemental HEROes reside in rose up from the ground as everyone soon found their seats on two different skyscrapers while the Duel Arena was on one particular skyscraper.
'Damn, now this feels like we're in Battle City.' the mutt thought.
"Next, I summon Elemental HERO Clayman in ATK mode!" Judai called out as a large golem with a red head appeared on the battlefield (4/ATK: 800/DEF: 2000) "Then, I'll use Mask Change to target one HERO monster I control and use it as material to Special Summon one Masked HERO from my Extra Deck with the same Attribute!" he called out, "Let's do this!" Soon, he and Clayman took a stance as the latter summoned forth a large diamond lance-like object.
"Heed the mask of earth and claim the shining sword!"
After both he and the golem performed a downwards slash, a large tornado of diamonds appeared and quickly flew around Clayman as his stone-like body broke apart, revealing a silver Rider-like warrior with a long blue cape, diamond on his belt, shoulderpads, chestplate, and gauntlets, and heel-like boots.
"Henshin Shōkan! Masked HERO Dian!" (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 3000)
Kuromu looked away with a bit of jealousy, 'Wish I could do that with the Riders…'
"What the- Where the hell did you get that?!" Manjoume shouted in shock.
"Just had to keep up with new releases." Judai said, "Not like I'm that different from everyone else 'round here."
"Grrrrr…!"
"Battle! Masked HERO Dian attacks Armed Dragon LV5! Dispersion!"
As the two monsters charged at each other, Dian tapped the diamond on his lance.
GEMSTONE STRIKE!
He then landed a slash onto the Armed Dragon's side before zipping back and forth, landing more slashes until the dragon was destroyed in a ball of fire.
Manjoume: 7600
Judai: 5600
"Now Masked HERO Dian's effect kicks in! Since I destroyed a monster with him, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower HERO from my Deck!" Judai declared, "And I Special Summon Elemental HERO Captain Gold!"
Suddenly, an all gold-armored hero with a red cape appeared and began laughing both heroically but also sinisterly as he stood atop one of the peaks of the skyscrapers. (4/ATK: 2100/DEF: 600).
"Damn fool, you just activated my trap!" Manjoume said, revealing the face-down. "Call of the Living Dead! It lets me bring back my Armed Dragon LV5!" He declared as a grave appeared before Armed Dragon quickly clawed its way back onto the Duel Arena.
"And you seem to have forgotten that if an Elemental HERO battles a Monster whose ATK is higher than them while Skyscraper is on the Field, they gain 1000 ATK!"
Suddenly, a heroic aura began to form around Captain Gold, showing its glow.
Elemental HERO Captain Gold (ATK: 2100-3100)
"Now go, time to send Armed Dragon LV5 back to the grave!" Judai called out, "Go, Elemental HERO Captain Gold! Dynamic Kick!"
After Dian quickly grabbed Armed Dragon into a headlock, Captain Gold pumped his fist and quickly leaped forward, delivering a powerful dropkick that knocked Armed Dragon right back into the grave with a thunderous thud before both heroes returned to Judai's side of the field.
Manjoume: 6900
Judai: 5600
"Ta-n endo." Judai grinned as the Duel Academia students cheered while Manjoume sneered. "Alright buddy, gimme your best shot!" the Elemental HERO Duelist cheered.
"I'm not your buddy! I'm your opponent! And I'm going to make you pay for that! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Manjoume drew his next card, increasing his hand to four. The ace quickly felt the pressure, he wanted to move in with leveling up Armed Dragon to LV7, but Judai's new heroes put the boots to that idea. He has to come up with something quick and fast. "O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Manjoume drew his next card, increasing his hand to four. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" When he drew them, his eyes widened.
Were his prayers… answered somehow? Was this the fabled Destiny Draw?
Manjoume paid it no mind and made his move. "I play Resurrection of the Dead! This will bring back Armed Dragon LV5 back from my Graveyard!" Soon, an ankh quickly flew out of the card and created a bright light that brought Armed Dragon back onto the field. "Then I activate the Spell card, Level Up! This bypasses the requirements a Level Monster would need!"
"You gotta be kidding me. He's evolving that thing again?!" Kuromu growled.
"From my Deck I call forth Armed Dragon LV7! Evolve my dragon!" Manjoume shouted.
Soon, Armed Dragon once more grew until it took on a form that the Duel Academia students recognized all too well. Now in its true form, Armed Dragon let out a defiant roar before he crossed his arms and stared down Judai (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1000).
"Okay, that's not good…" Judai frowned.
Shouji on the other hand frowned at this. "That wasn't in the briefcase."
"What?" Chosaku looked at his young brother in shock. "Are you sure?!"
'I want to lure them into a false sense of security first.' Manjoume thought, 'Then, when they think they have me figured out, then I strike with it. With these North Academia cards, I'll claim victory with my own hands!'
"I activate Armed Dragon LV7's effect! By discarding a Monster, I can destroy all your monsters with ATK less than or equal to that sent monster's ATK! I discard Despair from the Dark from my hand!"
Soon, the familiar dark aura formed around Armed Dragon as he smirked wickedly at both heroes before he swung his tail to knock both heroes off of the skyscraper and plummeting to their doom. Wickedly, Armed Dragon smirked as he watched both Dian and Captain Gold shatter at the bottom of the skyscraper.
"Chumps." was all he could say before returning his gaze back to a scared Judai.
"Now he has no defense." Ryo frowned.
"Aniki!" Sho called out.
"Now, time for a direct attack! Go, Armed Dragon! Genocide Cutter!" Manjoume called out with a wicked grin on his face.
"Not so fast! I activate my trap!" Judai declared, revealing the face-down. "A Hero Emerges! If an opponent's monster declares an attack, you choose a random card from my hand. If it's a monster I get to summon it. If not, it's straight to the Graveyard." Judai then closed his eyes and quickly prepared to choose a card. "Now go ahead and take your pick!"
"Tch, second card on your left." Manjoume clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"Heh, nice choice. For me, that is. I get to summon Elemental HERO Edgeman in DEF position!" he called out.
Suddenly, another golden clad hero quickly flew in and landed on Judai's field, sporting two large arm blades and a bull-like helmet. (7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1800).
"I'll destroy it anyway! Go, Armed Dragon LV7! Continue your attack!" Manjoume growled before Armed Dragon fired out from its belly several energy blades straight at Edgeman, who was pierced then shredded into pieces before being destroyed into pixels.
"Whew, that was a close one." Samejima remarked.
"He got lucky this time around." Ichinose grunted. "Next turn, he won't be."
"Come on, Judai. You can get through this…" Rex hoped.
"I'll place one card face-down. Ta-n endo." Manjoume declared, as a reverse card appeared on the field.
"Alright, let's make this next one count. O-re no ta-n! Draw!" Judai declared, drawing his next card, increasing his hand to three. "I activate Treasure Cards from the Heavens! That means we draw until we have six cards!" After drawing until they got six cards each, the Elemental HERO Duelist looked at his hand. "Alright! Just what I'm looking for! First off I summon Elemental HERO Liquidman in ATK mode!"
From his field, a splash of water fell and out from it came a superhero with a black bodysuit, teal blue chest plate, shoulder pads, and boots, and two gauntlets engulfed in two water bubbles (4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1300)
"And when he's Normal Summoned, I get to target a Level 4 or Elemental HERO from my Graveyard and Special Summon it! And guess who I'm picking!" Judai chuckled.
Manjoume took some time to think before scowling, "You little…!"
"That's right! It's Elemental HERO Airman! Come on back!" he declared as the winged hero returned to the field. "And when Airman's Special Summoned, I can add another HERO from my Deck to my hand." He said, taking his deck out and searching for a card before revealing it. "The card I choose is Elemental HERO Forestman!"
"Tsk, what are you planning on doing, Osiris Slacker?" Manjoume scoffed.
"Well I'm gonna do this! I'm activating Fusion! I'll fuse Elemental HERO Liquidman and Elemental HERO Airman to summon a new Fusion Monster!"
As the swirling vortex appeared, Liquidman transformed into a ball of water that quickly consumed Airman, freezing solid.
"Break the ice and freeze those who plan harm on the innocent!"
When the ice ball shattered, Airman had transformed into a superhero clad in a pure white suit of armor. He was equipped with two gauntlets that had fins on the fronts, followed by a long flowing cape, and large boots that had diamonds embedded at the kneecaps.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Absolute Zero!" (8/AK: 2500/DEF: 2000)
"Tsk, so what? You got a new Fusion Monster. Big deal." the ace dismissively scoffed.
"Oh it's a really big deal." Judai smirked. "But first, I activate Elemental HERO Liquidman's second ability! Since he was used as Fusion Material for a "HERO" monster, I get to draw two cards, then discard one!" He drew his two cards to increase his hand to seven, then discarded one, now having six.
Kuromu was curious, "Hmm, what's he planning on doing this time?"
"And I'm just getting started! Now I'll activate Miracle Fusion! I banish Elemental HERO Edgeman and my Elemental HERO Clayman for another new Fusion Monster!"
Suddenly, the ground began to shake when Clayman and Edgeman's spirits entered the ground.
"Shake the ground and fear the wrath of the earth!"
Suddenly, a large golem soon formed, one sporting black armor with gold trimmings, two large gauntlets that had four ports on them, two large pillars on the back, and red jewels scattered all across the body.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Gaia!" (6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 2600)
"Good golly Miss Molly! Two Fusion Summons in one turn!" Koji exclaimed.
"He's really using the Elemental HEROes to their full potential." Ryo smirked.
"JUDAI! JUDAI! JUDAI!" The Osiris Red students in the Duel Academia crowd all cheered.
"Oh, but the fun's just begun!" Judai affirmed to the currently shocked Manjoume. "When Elemental HERO Gaia is Fusion Summoned, half of Armed Dragon LV7's ATK is added to Gaia's!"
"It what?!" Manjoume gawked as an aura siphoned out of the dragon and transferred over to the golem hero.
Armed Dragon LV7 (ATK: 2800-1400)
Elemental HERO Gaia (ATK: 2200-3600)
"Next I activate Hero's Legacy! Since I have 2 or more Level 4 Elemental HEROes in my Graveyard, I get to draw three more cards!" He drew and his hand was now back at seven.
'Judai better be careful with these draws. The more he takes from his deck, the bigger chance he has at losing by Deck Out.' Rex thought to himself in worry.
"Hahahaha! Man, am I lucky or what?!"
"You gotta be kidding me!" Manjoume growled.
"First, I activate my own Resurrection of the Dead to bring Elemental HERO Airman back once more!" And again, the wing-turbine hero returned.
"Are you serious? Are you planning on flooding your field with Fusion Monsters?" Manjoume gasped.
"That's exactly what I'm doing! But first, Airman's ability kicks in once more and I choose to add Elemental HERO Ocean from my Deck to my hand." Judai said, doing as the card instructed. "Now let's get rid of Skyscraper and replace it with Fusion Gate!" Suddenly, the skyscrapers were replaced by a large polygonal field with the typical fusion vortex in the sky.
"Now the stage is set! First my Elemental HERO Airman that's on the Field and my Elemental HERO Featherman in my hand will fuse together!"
Suddenly, a powerful tornado descended from the vortex and consumed both air-themed heroes.
"Unleash the tempest and heed the freedom of the wind!"
When the tornado died down, there stood a hero with a tattered mantle, a green and black costume with orange stripes, white padded gauntlets and boots, and an angular helmet that only exposed the red eyes of the person underneath.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Great Tornado!" (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2200) "And when he's Fusion Summoned, it halves your dragon's ATK and DEF even further!"
Armed Dragon LV7 (ATK: 1400-700/DEF: 1000-500)
"Now it's time to fuse Elemental HERO Blazeman and Elemental HERO Burst Lady!"
Blazeman and Blaze Lady grasped their hands and lifted them into the sky, transforming the pair into two fireballs that quickly zipped up to the vortex.
"Unleash the bond of flame to ignite a new burning passion!"
A larger fireball quickly fell onto the field, a hero with fiery red, yellow, and orange armor and a red and orange cape walking out of the flames.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Nova Master!" (8/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100)
"Egads, he has gathered all the four classical elements in his monsters!" Misawa gasped.
"And I still got one more spot left!" Judai declared before closing his eyes, 'Ossan, this one's for you.' Opening his eyes he continued. "I fuse Elemental HERO Ocean and Elemental HERO Forestman!" Soon, Woodsman and Ocean leaped into the air and quickly merged into a hero familiar to the mutt and the Rider Duelist.
"Arise, champion of Mother Nature!"
Soon, Terra Firma landed on Judai's field before rising to his full height.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO Terra Firma!" (8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)
"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" The whole crowd shouted in a huge uproar of shock and awe.
"No way!"
"A Legendary Planet Monster?!"
"Where the hell did he get that?!"
"Samejima! What is the meaning of this?!" Ichinose snarled.
"Don't look at me! I didn't know about this either!" Samejima was just as equally shocked.
"What is this?! Ichiban-kun has never summoned that during the practice Duels!" Misawa gasped. Everyone else was just as equally surprised.
"Impossible…" Ryo said with utter shock. "The only other time that monster had shown itself was…"
"Battle City…"
Suddenly, the group remembered what Rex had given Judai, and were left completely shocked.
"Oooh! When I get my hands on that stupid dog!" Rika snarled.
Judai and Rex on the other hand? They just hoped that this could be the turn that Judai wins and gives Duel Academia a sweeping victory.
"Shouji, are you seeing this?" Chosaku said wide-eyed.
"I… there's no way…" Shouji could only mutter in awe.
"Woah! That guy's huuuge!" Ojama Yellow gasped as he and his brothers looked at the monster in awe.
"Hey, the hell are you three doing here?! Get out!" Manjoume snapped.
"Kuri! Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh cooed at Judai.
"Wait, seriously?" Judai asked, to which he looked and noticed Manjoume… talking with Duel Spirits. "Hey, you're right. Manjoume! Who are your friends over there?"
This shocked Manjoume as he scrambled to shoo the Ojama Brothers away, but to no avail. Eventually, he squished them out of existence with a clap and poof. "Don't change the subject, Osiris Slacker! How the hell did you get your hands on a Legendary Planet Monster?!" Manjoume roared, switching Judai's attention from the Ojama's to Terra Firma.
"Oh him? I inherited him from a friend." Judai said.
"There's no way that Rider Reject or that stupid mutt has had that in reserve!" The ace refuted.
"You're right, they don't." Judai said. "But that doesn't matter right now. Because I'm activating Elemental HERO Terra Firma's ability! By sacrificing my Nova Master, Absolute Zero, Great Tornado, and Gaia, he gains all of their ATK points for the turn!"
"Overkill much?!" Rika gawked.
"Guess I'm more than just a simple slacker, huh?" Judai chuckled as the four classical Elemental HERO disappeared into energy and all of them transferred towards Terra Firma's core in his chest, empowering him to the max.
Elemental HERO Terra Firma (ATK: 2500-14000)
"IT'S OVER 9000!" Koji shouted.
"Really, Koji?" Kuromu deadpanned. "You just had to say it."
"Look at those numbers and tell me that's nothing less than overkill!" Koji argued.
"This is getting to Nii-san's numbers!" Sho gasped.
"Oh, and when Elemental HERO Absolute Zero leaves the field, all monsters on your field are destroyed! So it looks like it's back to the Graveyard for your Armed Dragon!" A huge blizzard suddenly froze the dragon, shattering it to pixels. "Battle! Elemental HERO Terra Firma attacks directly! Earth Magma Slash!"
After creating a large blade composed of the four elements, Terra Firma quickly brought the blade down.
"Not so fast, Osiris Slacker!" Manjoume shouted, "I activate my face-down, Trap Card, Attack Nullification! This stops your ATK and ends the Battle Phase!"
"OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the Duel Academia groaned as the blade was sucked into a vortex.
Manjoume's brothers breathed a sigh of relief. Their little brother lives for another turn. They were ready to signal the production truck to cut the feed, but their younger brother managed to save himself.
"Man, and here I thought I was gonna win it!" Judai snapped his fingers, then groaned in frustration. "Ta-n endo…"
"That was so close." Asuka said, amazed.
"Indeed, but now this poses a problem." Misawa frowned.
"What do you mean?" Rika asked.
"He has no cards in his hand, and the monsters he used to Fusion Summon those Elemental HEROes were banished thanks to Fusion Gate." Misawa explained. "And with Manjoume about to have seven cards at his Draw Phase… if he somehow pulls a reversal…"
"He'll be in for an uphill battle to regain the lead." Kuromu muttered.
Manjoume had to take this time to catch a breather. He didn't want to admit it, but he was sure that he was going to lose as well.
"I'll admit, I'm impressed with that play." Manjoume told Judai. "But, you won't be so lucky this time! O-re no ta-n! Draw!" The ace soon drew his seventh card. "I'll start off by activating a Spell Card, Lightning Storm!" Manjoume declared, "Since I have no face up cards, I can activate one of two effects! I'll choose the first one and destroy all Attack Position monsters you control!"
"Crap!" Judai gasped as a powerful lightning storm soon struck Terra Firma and shattered him.
"Next I'm getting rid of your Fusion Gate and replacing it with Mausoleum of the Emperor!" Suddenly, the vortex soon found itself replaced by a large mausoleum straight out of ancient Egypt. "With this Field Spell, I can pay 1000 Life Points times the number of monsters needed to Tribute summon! I pay 2000 Life Points!"
Manjoume: 4900
Judai: 5600
"In order to summon… Light and Darkness Dragon!"
Suddenly, the mausoleum doors opened and out from it came a giant dragon with an angelic white side on the left and a demonic black right side, as well as two tails. The dragon then landed and let out a mighty screech. (8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400)
"Crap, that dragon is as big as Terra Firma!" Rika gasped.
"Light and Darkness Dragon…" Manjoume muttered, looking at it. "It's been a long time, partner…"
The dragon soon let out a surprisingly happy chirp as it nuzzled itself onto Manjoume, to Judai's surprise.
"Manjoume, you…" Judai got out.
"Wait what?" Kuromu said, shocked. "You're kidding me, he of all people can interact with Duel Monster Spirits?"
Rex merely smirked, "So Manjoume actually does have a heart."
"What's it to you anyway?" Manjoume sneered. "I never had the chance to use him during my time at Duel Academia and now here I am about to do that now. Battle! Light and Darkness Dragon attacks directly! Chaos Stream!"
With a powerful burst, Light and Darkness Dragon let out a spiral ray of light and dark energy straight at Judai, nearly vaporizing him as Judai yelled.
Manjoume: 4900
Judai: 2800
"ANIKI!/JUDAI!" All of Judai's friends, and principal Samejima, all cried out as the Elemental HERO Duelist was brought to his knees.
"YEAH! THUNDER!"
"MANJOUME THUNDER!" Soon, there were a lot of fingers to the sky as Manjoume and the North Academia students all pointed upwards.
"Ugh… okay, you got me there…" Judai groaned as he got up to his feet. "But that's not going to keep me down! I'll keep fighting until the last card is drawn!"
"Alright, then do it! Show me the power of Osiris Red, Hero King!" Manjoume called out.
"You want it? You got it!" Judai said. "But before I start my turn, I need to ask you something!" The Elemental HERO Duelist said, much to the ace's confusion, "Did you go to North Academia because your brothers said so, or because you wanted to prove yourself?"
"What does that have to do with anything?!"
"Everything!" Judai shot back. "Back when you were here, all you did was snarl at everyone, even your own dorm mates. But here? I feel like I and frankly all of us here in this school are seeing the real Manjoume Jun for the first time! A guy who wants to be the best in his efforts alone, not tied to your brothers' success!"
"Tch… you don't know what you're talking about…" Manjoume said bitterly, looking away.
"Oh really? Then why did you seem so happy to use Light and Darkness Dragon?" Judai asked, "You said that you never got to use his power here. Why?"
"I…"
"I mean c'mon, look at those Ojamas!" Judai pointed out.
"Gahhhhh, he actually sees us?!" Ojama Yellow freaked out.
"Looks like it." Ojama Green observed.
"Plain as day." Ojama Black added.
"If you were so adamant of not seeing them or wanting to get rid of them, then you would have already thrown their cards out. But you didn't, because you don't want them to leave. Do you?"
That question cut through Manjoume's attempts to deflect Judai's words like a knife.
"I'll ask again. Did you go to North Academia because your brothers said so, or because you wanted to prove yourself?" Judai asked.
"Gh…"
"C'mon, Manjoume! Tell me how you really feel! Show us the real you!" Judai shouted, "Show us the real Manjoume Thunder!"
"Arrrrrgh, just shut up already!" Manjoume shouted in frustration, tugging on his hair. "What would you know about me anyway?! You don't have to deal with brothers who breathe down on your necks telling you to keep winning every time! You don't have to deal with the kind of pressure of everything resting on your shoulders when you're not being the best! The only way I can be rid of this burden is if I win! I won't lose to anybody! Not to you! Not to that stupid mutt! Not even the Kaiser! And especially that Rider Reject! I WON'T LOSE TO ANYBODY!"
"Manjoume…" Kuromu muttered.
"So go on! Bring it!" Manjoume shouted with tears in his eyes.
Judai stared at him for what seemed like forever, before sighing, "Alright then…" He muttered, then put on a determined face. "O-re no ta-n!" Judai declared, drawing his lone card. "I activate the Spell Card Life-Shaving Treasure Cards! I draw until I have five cards, and if I don't use them in five turns, I'll lose them too!" He then looked at his Deck. 'This is it. It all comes down to these five cards. If I don't have what I need, I'm done for. But I believe in my Deck! I know it'll pull through for me!' He then placed his hand on his deck.
"DRAW!"
*WOOSH!*
Judai looked at his new hand, and his eyes widened, the cards in his hand had visualizing the strategy he needed to win this Duel! "Yes! I knew my Deck would come through!" He laughed.
"You're kidding," Manjoume growled.
"Here goes! First, I play Fusion Recovery! This lets me bring back Fusion and a Fusion Material monster to my hand from my Graveyard. I'll choose it and my Elemental HERO Liquidman!" He said, adding the two cards to said hand. "Now I'll summon him to the field!" Soon, the liquid hero rejoined the fight which didn't seem as impressive to the ace at first, but then he felt a gut feeling when he saw what Judai was planning next. "Then, I'll activate Forbidden Holy Grail!" Judai said. "Your Light and Darkness Dragon will gain 400 ATK points, but its effects are negated!"
"Oh no you don't!" Manjoume snarled, "I'm activating Light and Darkness Dragon's effect before you can! Once per Chain, by permanently lowering it's ATK and DEF by 500, I can negate that card's activation!"
Light and Darkness Dragon (ATK: 2800-2300/DEF: 2400-1900)
The half white and black dragon unleashed a stream of white and black flames, burning Forbidden Holy Grail. However, Judai smirked at the fact that it did get destroyed.
"Heh… I got you right where I want you."
"Bullshit! You don't have anything!" Manjoume snapped.
"Wanna bet?" Judai smirked wider. "Because my Forbidden Holy Grail was bait for you to activate your dragon's effect."
"W-What?!" Manjoume gasped.
"He baited him?!" Rika gawked.
"You know, I had a feeling your ace monster would have something to prevent me from fusing if I chose to activate Fusion first." the Elemental HERO Duelist chuckled.
"He actually thought this out." Asuka said wide-eyed.
"Yeah, he usually goes in and thinks with his heart and not his head." Kuromu scoffed with a smile. "Color me impressed."
"Next up, I play Soul Release! I banish Terra Firma, Absolute Zero, Gaia, Great Tornado, and Nova Master from my Graveyard!" Judai declared as the cards came out and pocketed them with the rest.
"What the hell are you trying to pull here?" Manjoume demanded.
"You're gonna see it, right now! I play Fusion to fuse Elemental HERO Sparkman and Elemental HERO Flash!" Judai declared as Sparkman and a seeming younger version of the hero sporting a leaner version of the former's armor (4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1600) quickly unleashed a light that was nearly blinding for everyone in the Duel Arena.
"Fight on and awaken the light of hope!"
When the light died down, a fully white clad hero with yellow lines, red gems on his face, sides of his chest, and belly button appeared before a large golden ring that had eight glowing talons around the edge.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental HERO The Shining!" (8/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2100)
"Yowie Wowie, check out the light show coming from that Daddy-O!" Koji said wide-eyed.
"And here's where I hit the final nail in the coffin! For every Elemental HERO that was banished, Elemental HERO The Shining gains 300 ATK points!" Judai declared. "That's 13 Elemental HEROes that I removed from play throughout this entire Duel, meaning The Shining gains 3900, for a grand total of…!"
Elemental HERO The Shining (ATK: 2600-6500)
"6500 ATK?!" Manjoume gritted with wide eyes.
"NO!" Chosaku and Shouji shouted.
The director seemed to panic, hearing the Manjoume Brothers yell. "Manjoume is gonna lose! Cut the signal!"
"OH NO YOU DON'T! TAROS' NOW!" Rex shouted on the headset.
"FINALLY!" Momotaros shouted as he and the Taros possessed the cameramen, stumbling a bit, before the cameramen regained their footing, but each had streaks of hair in their respective colors. "Time to show off the falling thunder and the rising hero!" Cameraman-Red cheered as he and the others kept the cameras rolling.
"Finish this! Elemental HERO The Shining will attack Light and Darkness Dragon and Elemental HERO Liquidman will attack Manjoume directly! Aquatic Optical Storm!" Judai called out before the glowing talons all fired out and encircled Liquidman as he flew straight towards Light and Darkness Dragon.
Manjoume's eyes widened with fear, "NO!" he cried out and reached for his ace monster.
But it was too late as the talons pierced the dragon and shattered it, leaving Liquidman to fly towards Manjoume and land a flying side kick that sent him flying before rolling to a stop.
Manjoume: 0
Judai: 2800
"Gotcha!" Judai declared, with his two finger salute before his heroes faded away alongside the mausoleum that dissipated.
"T-The winner of this match… is Yuki Judai!" Chronos declared. Everyone on the Duel Academia side cheered their hearts out while the mausoleum dissipated. The Manjoume brothers on the other hand were not happy.
"That good-for-nothing Jun…!" Shouji growled. "Our plans are ruined!"
"He's gonna pay for screwing this up!" Chosaku snarled. The Manjoume Brothers then approached their youngest brother who was now on his knees. "Jun, what the hell were you doing?! You had ONE job and you BLEW IT!"
"You've besmirched and disgraced the Manjoume name!" Shouji snapped.
"I'm sorry, Niisan-tachi…" Manjoume apologized.
"Sorry?! You're SORRY?!" Shouji shouted. "Do you realize how much we've spent on this Duel?! The cameras, the rare cards, none of which you used!"
"I wanted to win this Duel with my own hands… by myself…!"
Shouji reached down, grabbed his coat collar and lifted him clear off the ground, "Yourself!? YOURSELF?! WHEN COULD YOU DO ANYTHING BY YOURSELF?!" Shouji then raised his fist and punched Manjoume in the face, sending him flying a few feet and to the ground stunning the people present.
"Manjoume!" Judai shouted, as he and the rest of the friends rushed towards the Duel Stage.
Shouji started walking over to Manjoume and picked him up by the collar again. "GET UP! GET UP YOU PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A BROTHER!"
"That's right, keep fighting, you guys. You have no idea this camera is still on…" Cameraman-Red chuckled silently as he continued to record them while zooming at the expressions of the Manjoume brothers.
"THIS IS WHY YOU'RE THE BUM OF THE FAMILY!" Chosaku yelled.
"Hey! That's enough!" Judai shouted, catching their attention. "Manjoume battled with all he had!"
"Stay out of our family business!" Chosaku snapped.
"You're brothers aren't you?!" Judai shot back. "You shouldn't treat family like this! Both me and Manjoume… and Thunder… dueled with all we could bring out!"
"We're not interested at all in the process!" Shouji said. "We only care about the results!"
"For us siblings, results are essential!" Chosaku said. "RESULTS ARE EVERYTHING! WINNING IS EVERYTHING!"
"AND THIS PATHETIC PIECE OF SHIT OF A BROTHER DISGRACED US!" Shouji snapped.
*POW! WHAM!*
Everyone was shocked when Chosaku and Shouki were suddenly punched square in the jaw, thanks to… Kuromu?!
"Wha-?!"
"Never… talk like that to him, again…" Kuromu snarled at the brothers, before looking at them with righteous anger. "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"
"You-"
"SHUT UP!" Kuromu snapped. "Manjoume may be a jerk, but the only reason why he is, is because of you two jackasses! He may have lost this Duel, but he fought and won against all the pressure you put on him! Even in his suffering, he surpassed you both!"
"And he did so with his own team, his own monsters!" Judai affirmed before seeing Dark Armed Dragon, or rather just Armed Dragon, giving the nod alongside the Ojamas and Light and Darkness Dragon. "Dueling isn't always about winning and losing…"
"It's about gaining something more important." Kuromu added.
"Shut up, you two…" Manjoume muttered, slowly standing up, the bangs of his hair covering his eyes. "Don't make me any more pathetic than I already am…"
Judai in turn, just placed a hand on the ace's shoulder and smiled. "Dude. It's okay. You can cry if you want to." He reassured him with a calm tone, "None of us will think any less of you."
"Gh…"
"Jun-" Chosaku got out.
"Niisan-tachi… go back home."
"Jun-" Shouji said.
"I SAID GO HOME! GET OUT OF HERE!" Jun ordered, looking at his older brothers with anger and tears in his eyes. "I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACES EVER AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME?!"
That was enough to make both academy crowds boo and jeer at the Manjoume Brothers. As they looked at the angry crowd, Rex decided to say something to them as he heard the groans of the production truck crew, indicating he needed to get out of dodge.
"Um, sirs? I think the cameras are still on." He mockingly panicked on the headset.
"WHAT?!" Chosaku roared, as he looked at Cameraman-Red who grinned.
"Smile for the camera, ya cheeky bastards!"
"What the hell do we pay you for?!" Shouji growled.
"S-Sorry sir…" the mutt fake yelped before letting out his true voice, "But I just can't ignore someone in distress."
That was all they got before the mutt quickly used his speed to place all the production truck crew members back where they were, right as they woke up, and left the place like nothing happened.
"H-Huh?!" The real director of the production truck gasped as he finally put on the headset, "Um, sirs? Is something wrong?"
"Who, who was that?" Shouji asked.
Manjoume scoffed, "Guess that's why that dumb mutt wasn't here."
"Hey, assholes." Kuromu said to the Manjoume Brothers, cracking his knuckles. "Don't make your brother repeat himself."
"I'd follow his words if I were you two." Rex called out from the corner, staying just out of view of the cameras, "You don't want to end up heading back after a mob beating after all. Oh yeah, one more thing. Since you broadcasted this nationwide, I'm sure a lot of your… 'associates' would want to have a little chat."
Chosaku and Shouji were confused, before their phones started buzzing. Multiple messages and notifications were ringing nonstop, making them cringe and grit their teeth in annoyance and anger.
"Word of advice: Mess with one of us, and you mess with all of us!" Judai declared, "Ain't that right?!" He asked the crowd.
"YEAH!"
"MANJOUME THUNDER!"
"THUNDER!"
Both brothers snarled at Judai and Kuromu, but with the cameras still on them, they couldn't do a thing lest they incite way more rage.
"So… I'm sure you'll be hearing this a lot from your buddies, so allow me to be the first to say," Rex said, before taking a deep breath, he yelled, "YOOOOUUUU'RE FIIIIRRREEEDD!"
The two brothers flinched from the sheer volume before having to leave in shame.
"Alright, time for me to do my job." Chiyomi said, as she had a microphone on hand and approached the Dueling Stage. The Taros' let go of the cameramen they possessed, and once they got their bearings, the cameras now focused on the Tenjoin news reporter, "There you have it, with a score of 0-2, Duel Academia sweeps North Academia in an impressive showing!" She then approached Judai, Kuromu, and Asuka. "I'm here now with the winners of the Inter-School Duel. How do you kids feel about your victory?"
"I'll admit, they had us in the first half." Kuromu chuckled.
"But we won in the end!" Judai grinned, placing his arm around Kuromu's shoulders.
"And we showed just why Duel Academia's the best of the best." Asuka finished.
"So to any Duelists out there watching this, if you're coming to this school and want to go toe-to-toe with us! We'll accept it!" Judai smiled widely. "So get your game on!"
That was enough to get a unified cheer from the Duel Academia side of the crowd.
Meanwhile, Samejima was jumping for joy while Ichinose was left stunned and shocked.
"HA HA! IN YOUR FACE!" Samejima laughed victoriously.
"My… my prize…" Ichinose bemoaned.
"Say, what exactly is the prize?" Rex asked Ryo, to which the Kaiser… actually paled. "Kaiser…?"
"THERE YOU ARE, YOU STUPID MUTT!" An enraged Rika roared as she grabbed the mutt by the back of the collar. "My cast iron would like to talk to you…"
"H-Hey! What gives?"
"Oh I don't know. How about giving Judai the equivalent of dirt, water, and a .44 magnum?" She retorted.
"You mean Terra Firma?" Rex asked.
"How the heck did you get your hands on a Legendary Planet Monster?! Do you have any idea what you just did?!" She began shaking Rex violently.
"Uhwahwahwahwahwahwahwahwa! Stop shaking me~!"
Kuromu chuckled, but that ended up pulling Rika's ire to him instead.
"What's so funny?" She snarled.
"Oh, nothing. Don't mind me." Kuromu waved off.
'TRAITOR!' Rex wailed.
'Suffer for your crimes, jackass.' Kuromu chuckled to himself.
"Hey, Kuro knew about it too!" Rex called out, "He even got the deck himself!"
"I have no recollection of the event in question." Kuromu smiled easily.
"Why I oughta-"
"Huh, so you're the American they were talking about?" Chiyomi observed as she didn't get the chance to meet the mutt unlike the rest of Kuromu and Asuka's friends.
"Uh…"
"Wait, you look familiar."
"Gh…!" Rex flinched, "Uh, I just have that face that everyone mistakes." He lied as naturally as he breathed.
"I see." Chiyomi said, before shrugging, "Ah well. Must be my imagination."
Rex sighed in relief. Crisis averted… for now.
Soon, the group learned what Judai, Kuromu, and Asuka were dueling for…
"Ewww!" Rika cringed.
"Egads! That was too much!" Misawa wailed.
Rex was already at the garbage can hurling his lunch.
"Miss Duel Academia, my butt!" Sho cried out. Apparently, this Inter-School Duel was the sole purpose of either Samejima or Ichinose getting a kiss from Miss Duel Academia, who was actually Tome-san.
"You know they could have just played rock-paper-scissors over it." Koji asked with a shrug.
"Wait, how are you not disgusted by this!?" Judai yelped.
"It's old love. It ain't anything that gross." The disco fan reminded them, "You guys are acting like you still believe cooties exist."
"Speaking of… Asuka-chan, where's Kuro?" Rika asked.
"I… actually don't know." Asuka answered.
"If Ryo's reaction was any indication, somewhere to regain his sanity." Rex grumbled before feeling his lunch jump back up his throat.
Meanwhile, Manjoume was standing at the edge of a cliff as he watched the helicopters that carried the brothers fly away from the island and out of sight. "Niisan-tachi…"
"Hey." A familiar voice said, as Kuromu arrived.
"I guess you needed to clean out your eyes?" Manjoume guessed before letting out a shiver of disgust.
"No. I'm not particularly fond of award ceremonies anyways." Kuromu shook his head, "But thanks for getting that image back in my head. I just got it out."
"Heh…" Manjoume scoffed as the two looked out onto the horizon. The two remained silent for a while, before Kuromu spoke.
"Look… I know we had our differences at the start of the year." Kuromu began, looking at Manjoume. "But… after everything that's happened today. I… I understand why you did what you had to do. And… I'm sorry for not realizing it sooner." He then reached out with his hand with a sheepish smile, "So… can we bury the hatchet and start over?"
Looking at his hand, the ace took a moment to consider… before nodding and shaking the Rider Duelist's hand.
"Yeah, we can."
Kuromu sighed in relief with a soft smile, "Thank goodness. And if it's any consolation, you still got a home here in Duel Academia."
"Yeah, but when school's done and I graduate, where do I go from there?"
"That's up to you." Kuromu said. "You're not beholden to your brothers anymore with that stupid dream of world domination. That's Kaiba's job."
"Ain't that the truth." Manjoume chuckled, letting the two laugh for a moment before the ace said, "That being said…" he then gave a determined look, "Don't think I'll give up on asking her out, even if we're not enemies anymore."
"You're two years too late," Kuromu waved off nonchalantly before starting to walk off.
"Figured as much." Manjoume shrugged off, before noticing Kuromu stopping in his tracks then faced him again. "What?" He asked.
"Manjoume…" Kuromu said, then shook his head with a smile, "No… I shouldn't call you that anymore. Jun."
"Just because I'm not my brothers', doesn't mean I'm letting go of my family name." Manjoume reminded him.
"Heh, so-re wa dou~kana~." Kuromu teased, before turning on his heel to finally leave and meet with the others.
"Oi, get back here! We're not done! And when the hell were we on a first name basis?!" Jun called out, as he ran after him.