Battle City's announcement ignited the whole city. Every duelist deemed "qualified" rushed to Kaiba Corp's designated retailers to receive the new Duel Disk.
A week later, the Domino City Central Plaza was packed—so many duelists that even Yugi couldn't stay away.
Yugi walked through the crowd, turning a transparent card over in his fingers, frowning at the embedded microchip and the printed fragment of Domino City on it.
"Mounted on the Duel Disk… and it shows part of the city… what's it for?"
"Yugi!"
Mai Valentine pushed through the crowd, grinning.
"Mai!"
"It's finally starting," Mai said, eyes sparkling. "By the way—where's Joey?"
"He's probably nearby," Yugi answered. "He got third place in Duelist Kingdom. No way he'd skip this."
Mai looked genuinely relieved. "Good! So he's in too. That idiot actually made the cut."
Then—
A clear, cool voice cut in.
"Finally meeting again, Yugi… Mai."
Both of them turned at once.
"Kisaragi!"
"As expected, you joined," Mai said, thumping her chest. "But this time in Battle City, I'm not losing to you!"
"Me too!" Yugi added quickly.
Kisaragi smiled. "Then I'll be looking forward to it."
"Us too!"
Two familiar pests burst out of nowhere—
Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor.
"We haven't forgotten the grudge from the National Duelist Tournament!"
"Wash your neck and wait!"
"And Yugi—Duelist Kingdom too! I haven't forgotten!"
They were getting louder and louder—until Mako Tsunami suddenly appeared and hooked both of them by the neck like misbehaving children.
"I won't lose either," Mako declared. "Yugi—if we get the chance, I'm dueling you again. And this time, I'm not losing!"
Off to the side, under a café parasol, a gloomy man typed rapidly on a laptop. On screen were dossiers labeled:
Kisaragi Aoi. Muto Yugi. Mai Valentine.
"…All three have valuable rare cards."
His fist slammed the table.
"Damn it! I lost to that guy and got punished by the organization… but his Red-Eyes deck really is dangerous!"
(He was the kind of "rare card hunter" who normally preyed on duelists before the tournament began—only this time, Joey had already beaten him.)
With that, the scattered duelists began to split in different directions, hunting for wins and Puzzle Cards.
"We're heading out—no time to chat!" Weevil, Rex, and Mako peeled away.
Mai waved. "I'm off too! Good luck—may your luck in battle hold!"
Then the sky darkened with a shadow.
A blimp drifted overhead. Its balloon carried a massive screen that lit up with Seto Kaiba's face.
"All duelists—welcome to Duel City!"
Everyone looked up.
Kisaragi pinched the bridge of her nose. Kaiba… you really love showing off.
Kaiba continued, voice booming across the plaza:
"I will now explain the rules. Every duelist gathered here has been certified by Kaiba Corp as Level 5 or higher. The Duel Disk on your arm is proof."
"The battlefield is the entirety of Domino City. Any place you duel becomes your arena."
"You must carry a 40-card deck. The loser must surrender the rarest card in their deck to the winner."
"In Battle City, the duelist who keeps winning keeps upgrading their deck."
A ripple of excitement ran through the crowd.
"But only eight duelists will enter the finals. And even I don't know the finals location."
"To find it, you must collect **Puzzle Cards."
Kaiba raised the same kind of transparent card Yugi had been inspecting.
"Win duels to collect six Puzzle Cards. Place them into the five Spell/Trap Zones and the Field Zone of your Duel Disk."
"Only then will your Duel Disk reveal the finals location."
"The first eight duelists to arrive qualify for the elimination stage."
Kaiba's eyes sharpened.
"Now—fight for the title of Duel King of Battle City!"
"…Battle City Tournament—BEGIN!"
The plaza erupted in cheers.
Right then, Joey Wheeler elbowed his way out of the crowd.
"Yo, Yugi—Kisaragi! Been a while!"
"Joey, you made it," Yugi said, smiling.
"Of course! A big event like this can't happen without the great Joey Wheeler!"
Then Joey's expression turned serious.
"But listen—be careful. There are rare card hunters running around."
Kisaragi narrowed her eyes. "You ran into one?"
"Yesterday," Joey said. "He was after my Red-Eyes Black Dragon. I beat him—but still. Watch yourselves."
Yugi nodded. "Got it."
Kisaragi's thoughts flickered. In the original timeline Joey loses here… but now he won. Did I really butterfly-effect this hard?
A low laugh answered her thought.
"Heh heh heh… I finally found you, Joey Wheeler."
The same gloomy man from the café stepped forward, eyes fixed on Joey like a predator.
Joey bristled. "You again? Didn't you learn your lesson yesterday?!"
"I'm here to recover what I lost," the hunter sneered. "Joey Wheeler—duel me again!"
Joey's mouth opened—
But Kisaragi lifted a hand and stopped him.
"Let me take this one."
Joey blinked. "Kisaragi?"
"I want to see what a 'rare card hunter' can actually do," she said calmly.
The man's gaze slid to her, evaluating.
"Kisaragi Aoi… Duelist Kingdom champion. The woman with a Blue-Eyes deck—the only one in the world besides Kaiba."
Then he smiled, sharp and ugly.
"Don't you want more Blue-Eyes?"
Kisaragi's eyes didn't change.
"Fine," he said. "But if you lose, don't cry. Where's your Duel Disk? Did Kaiba hide you to protect you?"
"Of course not."
Right on cue, a Kaiba Corp employee rushed in, bowing.
"Miss Kisaragi—per President Kaiba's instructions, your Duel Disk has completed final calibration. May your martial fortune be strong!"
Kisaragi accepted it, snapped it onto her left arm—
And the crowd nearby immediately reacted.
Joey whistled. "Yo, Yugi—look at that! Hers is Blue-Eyes-themed! Everyone else is mass-production, and she gets a custom model. Man… life's unfair!"
Kisaragi raised her Duel Disk.
"Then let's begin."
The rare card hunter grinned.
"Duel."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 126)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter140)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter89)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter1165)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 145
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 135
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 84
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 150
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 125
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 105
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 53
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 80
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 66
Uma Musume: From Beginner 80
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 52
Uma Musume: I Want All 55
I Can Copy Unique Skills 53
Summoning an Evil God, but the 27
Supernatural Multiverse 27
My Harem Is Indescribable 26
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