Chapter 47

"Go, Golden Mini Nobu! Use Self-Destruct!" Hoshino expertly threw out both [Golden Mini Nobu] and [Big Explosion NOBU].

"Nobu~" With a weak cry, the Golden Mini Nobu, which had already self-destructed countless times, tiredly hugged the UFO and launched itself at the enemy.

[Silver Mini Nobu has fallen!]

[Silver Mini Nobu ★★★★ (4 stars) Earth] [Warrior/Effect][ATK:1000 DEF:1000]

[① You can only activate this effect when this card is Special Summoned. You gain 500 Life Points. During the turn this effect is activated, this card is changed to Defense Position.]

[Current mission progress: 37/40]

"Perfect, that makes 37 cards." Hoshino pocketed the [Silver Mini Nobu] with a satisfied smile.

Ever since capturing [Golden Mini Nobu] and [Big Explosion NOBU], Hoshino's efficiency in battling monsters had skyrocketed. She didn't have to consider anything about strengths or weaknesses; she simply blew everything up, making it as practical as using Arash.

The downside was that after over 20 explosions, the [Golden Mini Nobu] seemed to be getting weaker. Additionally, the Nobu Corps in her arms looked at her with increasing fear.

In the bushes…

"Master, you a devil" Nobunaga, who had been following Hoshino, trembled on the ground, her face filled with disbelief. "Using such a cute mini Nobu like Arash, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"I can't keep hiding." Watching Hoshino's progress, Nobunaga resolved to take action.

…

"For some reason, I really want to blow something up." Just three Nobu cards away from completing the mission, Hoshino felt very relaxed.

But the day didn't go as planned. She wandered for a long time without finding any Nobus, whereas before, she encountered one every few minutes.

"Did I blow them all up, or are they hiding because they're scared?" Hoshino's relaxed mood turned to irritation as she tightly squeezed the Nobu Corps in her arms.

"Nobu!" The Nobu Corps, whose face was being squeezed, softly expressed its displeasure.

"Come on, cute little Nobus, don't hide. Come out so big sis can love you." Hoshino tried to lure out the Nobus by peeking into the bushes, using a childish lie.

"NOBU!" To her surprise, she actually heard the familiar cry of a Nobu. Though familiar, this cry sounded heavier than usual.

Hoshino didn't think too much about it. Needing only three more cards to complete the mission, she wasn't going to let this Nobu slip away. Pushing through the trees, she finally saw the source of the heavy Nobu cry.

"So big!" she whispered in awe, looking at the giant golden Nobu.

Hiding behind the bushes, Hoshino observed the enormous golden Nobu for a while.

"No wonder the cry sounded so loud." While regular Nobus reached only up to her thighs, this giant Nobu was at least twice her height, its presence far more imposing than any mini Nobu.

"Nobu Corps, can you handle this guy?" she whispered to the Nobu Corps in her arms.

"Nobu!" The Nobu Corps shook its head rapidly.

Sighing softly, Hoshino understood. The giant Nobu was about twenty times the size of the Nobu Corps, so it was natural that they couldn't fight it head-on.

"Let's use the usual method." Hoshino drew [Golden Mini Nobu] and [Big Explosion NOBU], and quietly threw them out.

"Go, Golden Mini Nobu, do what you do best." Whispering from behind the bushes, Hoshino hoped not to attract the giant Nobu's attention.

"Nobu~" The weak cry came as the Golden Mini Nobu once again hugged the UFO and wobbled toward the giant Nobu.

Despite its weak steps, the self-destruct effect was undeniable. The explosion created a huge crater around the giant Nobu.

"Did we get it?" Hoshino eagerly emerged from the bushes, examining the aftermath of the explosion.

"Master, usually when someone says that, it means they didn't get it!" The familiar voice from above made Hoshino look up. As the dust settled, she saw the giant golden Nobu still standing, albeit damaged.

In a flash, a figure in a red cloak jumped down from the trees and stood beside the giant Nobu.

"Oda Nobunaga?!" Hoshino exclaimed in surprise. "Are you here to help me?"

"Hahaha!" Nobunaga burst into laughter. "Master, you're so naïve."

"Since I'm standing by the giant Nobu, I'm here to defeat you!" Nobunaga's expression turned fierce as she aimed her musket at Hoshino and pulled the trigger.

"Nobu!" The Nobu Corps in Hoshino's arms quickly drew its Kiku-Ichimonji Norimune and sliced the bullet in half.

"Corps…" Dumbfounded by the turn of events, Hoshino couldn't react.

"NOBU!" With a heavy cry, the giant Nobu fired a thick golden laser from its mouth.

The laser grazed Hoshino's face, cutting off a few strands of her hair, and exploded in the bushes behind her.

"Oh crap, this is serious!" Realizing the danger, Hoshino grabbed the Nobu Corps and ran. "Isn't this supposed to be a limited-time event? Why is it so dangerous?"

"Run all you want, Master!" Nobunaga laughed maniacally, firing her musket repeatedly as she chased Hoshino.

Behind her, the sounds of gunfire, bullets hitting trees, laser explosions, and Nobunaga's laughter filled the air.

"I'm not built for this!" Already out of breath after running a short distance, Hoshino slowed down.

But waiting ahead was a giant silver Nobu.

"NOBU!" With a loud, heavy cry, the silver Nobu forced Hoshino to retreat.

"Utterly hopeless…" With a giant Nobu ahead and behind, Hoshino felt utterly trapped.

"Don't stop thinking, don't give up, Hoshino. There must be a way out!" Even in this dire situation, Hoshino's strong will to survive forced her brain to work at high speed. In her tension, she hugged the Nobu Corps tighter.

"Nobu~" The Nobu Corps, suffocated by the tight hug, started to turn purple.

"What's the matter? Not running anymore, Master?" Nobunaga's arrogant voice came closer. "Even if you run, it's useless."

"Get ready to surrender, Master!" Aiming her musket at Hoshino, Nobunaga pulled the trigger.

"If it's in this world, this move might work!" Thinking quickly, Hoshino finally came up with a solution.

"Oda Nobunaga!" Hoshino turned and shouted.

"Wh-What?" Nobunaga, expecting Hoshino to surrender, was startled by her sudden outburst.

"Let's duel, Nobunaga!"

"Duel?" Nobunaga repeated, bewildered by Hoshino's words.

"Yes, a duel, the decisive way to settle things in this world!" Hoshino replied, pulling out her Servant deck and looking earnestly at Nobunaga.

"Hahaha, Master, do you take me for a fool? I have an overwhelming advantage right now. Why would I play a child's game with you?" Nobunaga laughed uproariously, not taking Hoshino's words seriously.

Hoshino watched Nobunaga laugh, nervously swallowing. If this didn't work, she might have to surrender. Her life was far more important than the rewards from a limited-time event.

"But, interesting! As the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, I accept your challenge!" Nobunaga stopped laughing, her expression turning competitive, a proud smirk on her lips. "How exhilarating! I feel a burning spirit from within. A duel, huh? Not bad at all!"

"Phew~" Relieved, Hoshino saw Nobunaga couldn't escape the world's rules.

"But I don't have a deck like yours. How can we duel?" Nobunaga asked, holstering her musket and tilting her head at Hoshino.

"I have an extra deck you can use, but it's missing a few cards." Hoshino took out her incomplete Nobu deck. According to the basic rules of Yu-Gi-Oh, a deck must have at least 40 cards to duel.

"Missing cards? You mean the cards that appear after each Nobu explodes. So, we duel with those cards. Interesting." Nobunaga quickly drew her musket again, firing two shots at the giant Nobus.

"NOBU!" Responding to Nobunaga's gunshots, the two giant Nobus cried out and fell, exploding into cards that floated into Nobunaga's hand.

"Now, we're just one card short," Nobunaga smiled, looking at the cards before turning to Hoshino.

"As expected of Oda Nobunaga, how ruthless," Hoshino thought, marveling at Nobunaga's lack of hesitation in attacking her allies.

"Master, where's the last card?" Nobunaga asked, holstering her musket again, eager to duel.

"The last card is..." Hoshino hesitated, unsure how to explain.

"What's the deal with the last card, Master?" Nobunaga asked, even more intrigued by Hoshino's hesitation.

"The last card is you, Oda Nobunaga!"

"What!!! Me?" Nobunaga scanned her body in surprise. "So I turn into a card too?"

"Though I'm not sure, it seems pretty powerful," Nobunaga mused, looking herself over. "But if I'm the last card, how can we make it to 40 cards to duel?"

"Hehehe, looks like it's my turn." A familiar laugh echoed from nowhere.

"Who?" Nobunaga scanned the surroundings warily, finding no one. The voice wasn't nearby—it came from Hoshino's hand...

"Huh?" A card floated out of Hoshino's Servant deck, exploding like a Nobu card to reveal its physical form.

"Arriving just in time, the righteous and beloved Servant Swordmaster, Okita Souji, has arrived!" Amidst the smoke, Okita appeared, striking a cool pose.

"Okita!" Hoshino exclaimed in delight. She had tried to materialize Servant cards like Nobu cards before, but it never worked.

"Long time no see, Master! How's my grand entrance?" Okita stood up, looking at Hoshino expectantly, her face begging for praise.

"Um... very cool!" Hoshino complimented half-heartedly before getting back to the issue at hand. "So, Okita, did you come to save me?"

"No, no, no~" Okita waved her hand, smiling. "Ignoring class advantage, I probably can't beat Nobunaga here, especially on her home turf."

"Then why did you come out?" Nobunaga demanded angrily. "You think you need more screen time? This is my event! If you have nothing to do, go back!"

"Nobu, don't trouble Master too much." Okita sighed, scolding the raging Nobunaga. "You want to duel, right? Since you're one card short, use me instead."

"What! You traitor, Okita!" Hoshino burst out. Okita was one of the two SSRs in her deck, and she was switching sides before the duel even started.

"Master, you've got it wrong," Okita whispered in Hoshino's ear. "If you duel Nobunaga head-on without meeting the conditions, you'll lose for sure. She's the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, a terrifying opponent."

"But if it's a duel you're good at, I believe you can win, Master." Okita gave Hoshino an encouraging gesture. "Then you can defeat Nobunaga and complete the event."

After Okita's persuasive words, Hoshino nodded, convinced. Looking at the puzzled Nobunaga, she felt more confident.

"Okita, go!" With a familiar explosion, Okita turned back into a card, landing in Nobunaga's hand.

"Master, do we have enough cards now?" Nobunaga asked, holding the Okita card.

"Ahem, yes, that's enough." Despite Okita's interference making things feel strange, the Nobu deck finally had 40 cards.

"Great, then tell me the rules, Master!" Nobunaga grinned eagerly. "I can't wait to duel!"

"You mean we have to start from the rules?" Hoshino was shocked. Nobunaga had agreed to the duel without even knowing the rules.

"Of course, I've never dueled before," Nobunaga admitted innocently.

"Sigh, alright." Hoshino sat on the grass, patting the ground beside her. "Sit down, I'll teach you."

"Yay~" Excited like a child, Nobunaga quickly sat next to Hoshino.

"This, like this, and then like this..." Hoshino explained the rules, showing each card to Nobunaga.

"Wow, amazing!" Nobunaga's interest grew as she almost pressed her face against the cards in Hoshino's hand. "So this is a duel! How fascinating, Master!"

[******]

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