Duel Monsters was the form in which a Shadow Game could display the greatest power, but it was far from the only form. In fact, Shadow Games came in many varieties, and at the very beginning of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, it had not even centered on card games alone, but on all kinds of contests surrounding Yugi Muto.
"Right. Later, the casino kept taking more and more souls, so we noticed it and went to have a little fun with the owner," the leader said. "We won, killed the bastard, and released every soul he had sealed away."
"Doesn't that sound like a good thing?" Mokuba Kaiba asked in confusion. "So how did that get tied to the police?"
The leader scratched his head awkwardly. He suddenly looked almost embarrassed, which somehow made the answer feel even worse before he said it.
"Oh, on the way out, I casually set the whole casino on fire. Just a habit, really. Then the whole place blew up, and only afterward did we find out that bastard had people backing him from above.
"So once I lit that fire, we got wanted right away..."
Mokuba Kaiba said nothing. He had no words left.
Calling arson a habit was truly something else. From that sentence alone, it was obvious this was far from the first time he had done something like that.
"Relax, it's no big deal. Don't let a tiny thing like this ruin the president's mood."
The leader waved a large hand, sounding as if he were dismissing a minor inconvenience rather than a citywide manhunt.
"Nakamura Kitagawa, bring your people with me. The rest of you, keep escorting the president and the others to rest." He smiled with complete confidence. "We'll shake off those pests in no time and be back soon."
They were being surrounded by an entire convoy and helicopters, yet his tone made it sound as if he were brushing off children begging for candy. That only made Yugen more curious about what methods these Shadow Duelists actually used.
Even in the original story, it was clear that extraordinary people in this world often leaned toward strange powers, especially abilities that affected the mind, such as mental control and illusions. If dark power could turn Card effects into reality, then the range of possible abilities would become far broader.
Weather control, elemental magic, energy projection, almost anything seemed possible. The Duel Disk that Yugen had taken from Alpha during the attack on Duel Academy Island had a similar function, but it could only materialize holograms, and its power was limited by the output of the Duel Disk itself.
If he ever had the chance to learn how to control dark power, that would be ideal. Then again, an easier path might be to obtain a powerful dark artifact.
The Millennium Items had already vanished into the Underworld together with Pharaoh Atem, and even if those divine tools still remained, they chose their own owners and could backlash against anyone unfit to wield them. But those were world-ending artifacts of the highest order, so if he could find something a little lower in rank, Yugen felt he might be able to handle it.
The remaining escorts quickly led them to where they would be staying. Mokuba Kaiba soon went to Seto Kaiba's room, and after the two brothers set up their computers, they immediately became busy.
For the moment, Yugen had nothing to help with. On the way over, however, he had noticed a local arena just one street away, and that piqued his interest.
If there was nothing to do for now, he might as well head there and warm up a little. He could also take a look at the local customs of Duelists here, and generously show them how this year's elites from Duel Academy handled a Duel.
It was already around dinnertime, but he was not very hungry after eating well on the president's plane. Still, there happened to be a snack street nearby, so trying some local specialties sounded good enough.
Before leaving, he asked Mokuba Kaiba if he wanted to come along. But Mokuba Kaiba was hammering at the keyboard so hard that he was obviously busy, so he declined.
Night seemed to fall a little earlier here, and it was already growing cold when Yugen stepped outside. The chill pressed against his skin like fine needles, and there was no lively flow of people or cars on the street, only complete silence.
When he reached the snack street, it was just as deserted at first glance. The air felt unnaturally still, and even the wind seemed to have stopped breathing, as if it did not dare disturb the strange silence.
In the distance, the streetlights glowed alone in the dim evening, scattering broken patches of light across the empty road and making the place feel even more desolate. Something here was wrong.
Yugen had already realized that much. It was nowhere near late enough for the whole area to be this dead, especially not this street.
There was a very high chance that this pointed to only one possibility. He turned around and, entirely unsurprised, found someone standing behind him under the moonlight.
The figure was tall and slender, with red hair and the lower half of his face covered. His eyes carried a teasing expression, and when he spoke, his voice sounded distorted, as though it had passed through a voice changer.
"Yugen Fujiki, a student of Duel Academy, a Duelist acknowledged by Seto Kaiba and even brought along to this city."
As he spoke, the man raised an Duel Disk. The meaning of that action was obvious enough.
"I'd like to test you a little. You don't mind, do you?"
Yugen narrowed his eyes.
He had expected something like this. A strange situation like this was usually caused by supernatural power, which meant the other side was probably far from weak.
Sure enough, Silent Magician floated out beside him at once, lingering close with obvious concern. "You mean this opponent is no ordinary person, right?"
Yugen nodded. "I know. Don't worry, I understand."
He had come with the president in the first place to look for people to duel, and he had also not ruled out the chance of picking up a few new cards along the way. The other side was holding a uniquely shaped Duel Disk he had never seen before, and there was no telling what good cards might be hidden in that Deck.
"Then come on."
Yugen activated his Duel Disk. "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish."
"Oh? Not nervous at all, and this confident too?" The masked man smiled. "Confidence is not a bad thing for a young man. But whether you have the strength to back it up..."
He left the sentence unfinished, but the meaning was obvious enough.
"Duel!" x2
Yugen, LP 4000
Masked man, LP 4000
"I'll go first. Draw."
Yugen drew two cards. "I set one Monster in the Front Row, set one card in the Back Row, and end my turn."
"My Turn! Draw," the masked man said in a hoarse voice. "Then first, I activate Pot of Greed. Draw two cards from the Deck."
Right after his normal draw, he immediately played another card from his hand. "Spell Card Graceful Charity. Draw three cards from the Deck, then discard two cards from my hand."
Yugen raised an eyebrow.