"Tenjo," on the first day of school, after class, when it was time to sign up for the competition, Manjome approached Tenjo Hikari, "I have something to discuss with you."
"What is it?" Tenjo Hikari thought he was here to challenge him to a duel, "Are you going to participate in this competition too?"
"No." Manjome shook his head, "Of course, I really want Yugi's card, but if I do participate, the mentor might not be very pleased, right?"
Tenjo Hikari personally thought Kaiba Seto wouldn't mind such a trivial matter.
"What I want to talk to you about is something else."
That was curious.
What could Manjome possibly want from him?
Could it be that, like in the original work, he has a good impression of Tenjouin Asuka and wants to ask for advice?
In the original work, it seemed that this incident led to the Three Egyptian Gods—but that can't be right, can it? If it were true, he should look for Tenjouin Fubuki, right?
"It's about President Kagemaru." Manjome hesitated, crossing his arms, lowering his voice as he spoke to Tenjo Hikari.
"President Kagemaru!?" Tenjo Hikari's pupils slightly contracted, then he reversed course, pretending to not know anything, "Thunder, why are you bringing him up? He's already passed away, is there something else?"
Manjome nodded slightly, uncertain but hesitant, saying, "I once saw him at Kaiba Company… no, I can't say I met him, I should say, I once had a video meeting with him over the internet."
Is that so?
"He was quite a cowardly man, and the mentor had a terrible opinion of him, saying that there was nothing good in his brain, and he was worse than any mortal trash." Manjome recalled while speaking, "His life-support device would have his robots replace it at intervals, and the whole process was mechanically controlled, so there shouldn't be any mechanical failures—moreover, based on the reports I've glanced at, even if the life-support device failed, given his condition, he should have been able to live for over a month."
"Thunder... what do you mean?" Tenjo Hikari was quite surprised, "Are you saying the President did not die of natural causes?"
Manjome nodded vigorously, "I suspect, it's the people behind the Seven Stars!"
He raised his hand, telling Tenjo Hikari, "Do you remember? Teacher Daitokuji once said, someone funded his research, which means at least someone knows about his matters, and his becoming part of the Seven Stars is related to them; furthermore, Teacher Daitokuji also mentioned, this world is filled with arrogant fools who want to use the Other Dimension to do some things, like Professor Akaba Leo?"
"Thunder, you're truly a genius detective..."
Tenjo Hikari looked at him in shock.
As expected of the Famous Detective Manjome.
He knows a bit about the matters between Kagemaru and Akaba Leo, so he can make some connections.
He clearly remembers, Kagemaru was still alive until the end of the original work, he was quite the survivor, so after the initial shock, upon knowing about the competition, he began wondering if it was something done by the bald-headed person.
But Manjome?
He deduced it purely from things and details he had seen!
"I suspect, Professor Akaba is likely the person behind Teacher Daitokuji." Manjome said seriously, "If that's the case, then the things he did in the Integration Department are understandable."
Though it doesn't entirely match the history Tenjo Hikari knew, for Manjome to guess to such an extent was indeed remarkable.
"Just like you, Thunder."
"Indeed, you aren't surprised." Manjome heard Tenjo Hikari praise him without surprise, thus confirming his own thoughts, "As expected! You suspected Professor Akaba from the start, didn't you? That's why you established the new Fusion Department and sent Shou to the Integration Department, all with your own thoughts."
Tenjo Hikari also thought that Akaba Leo indeed might be the one who murdered President Kagemaru, after all, based on his troublemaking abilities in the original work, in this world, secretly killing off an old, half-foot-in-the-grave person was very possible.
But he had never heard of any particular intersections between President Kagemaru and Akaba Leo, in this world, the only additional identity of Akaba Leo he knew was that Akaba Leo had once modified the Dimension Gate and received Kaiba Company's recognition.
Other than that, he knew nothing.
"Thunder, I actually have my suspicions too, but I have no evidence to prove anything." This was one awkward point for Tenjo Hikari.
Previously, he mentioned to Cronos that he was attacked in Domino City, Cronos also reported it to people at Kaiba Company—but Super Polymerization was too thorough, leaving no trace, making it difficult for Kaiba Company to investigate.
Of course, due to the special nature of Super Polymerization, Tenjo Hikari didn't want to reveal it easily, and it was better for it to be thorough for him.
And the dimension where the parasite lab was located, even Serena didn't know where it was… after all, she was just the one locked inside, not the one opening the door.
"I came to you because I wanted to find someone trustworthy and to discuss with," Manjome said seriously, "If you think it's unreasonable, I might just let it go, but since you also suspect Akaba Leo...
I'll call the mentor myself later.
Ask him to investigate the truth, investigate Professor Akaba's social relations."
He was very intimidated by Kaiba Seto, because whether from aura, ability, or wealth, Kaiba Seto was like a MAX version of him, this made him more fearful as he learned more under Kaiba Seto.
Additionally, Kaiba Seto's way of speaking... wasn't pleasant, and with his physique looking nothing like a normal human, being able to lift him with one hand to fight AI, he was even more scared.
If no one supported him, he wouldn't dare contact or bother Kaiba Seto because of mere speculation.
"I see."
Tenjo Hikari wanted to continue discussing with Manjome, but outside, a teacher was already calling his name.
"Tenjo Hikari-san, please come to the Dueling Arena, it's your turn for the competition!"
Tenjo Hikari quickly responded, "Coming!" Then turned back to Manjome and said, "Thunder, don't let Judai and the others know about this."
"I understand, I only came to you because I was worried they'd overthink things." Manjome nodded lightly, "After all, this might be related to Teacher Daitokuji."
This made Tenjo Hikari sigh with emotion.
A Manjome guided by Kaiba is truly reliable.
Perhaps he could also share some of the other things he knows with Manjome for discussion.
Moreover, Manjome reminded Tenjo Hikari.
Although in the original work, the students here became mere side characters in the later stages, their talents were actually excellent, and they had their own abilities, like Manjome's reasoning ability regarding details, Mitsuzawa Daichi's calculation ability, these special abilities are talents beyond being duelists!
They shouldn't be treated just as ordinary students, there are always places for exchange.
For now, Tenjo Hikari arrived at the dueling arena for the competition, facing a Yellow Academy student with a peculiar hairstyle straight across.
Just saying, he encountered someone with special "abilities."
Isn't this… Kagurazaka?
"Copy" duelist Kagurazaka.