Chapter 18

**Two days ago, at a seaside villa**

In a room filled with various high-tech devices, everything might look chaotic, but to Seto Kaiba, it was perfectly organized. Fiddling with the machinery in his hands, Kaiba had one unwavering belief.

"Defeat Yugi! I'm not just fighting for myself; I carry the entire Kaiba Corporation and Mokuba's future on my back." Looking at the device he was about to complete, Kaiba smiled with satisfaction.

The device, which resembled a disk, was a portable dueling device Kaiba had poured all his energy into and spent a week developing.

"Fighting to protect the heart of the cards." Kaiba admired the device in his hands. "This new system functions as a supercomputer, allowing duels anytime, anywhere. If I can complete this, at least I can face Yugi on equal terms."

"With this device, I'll surely save Kaiba Entertainment Group from its crisis. This device will the new era for Duel Monsters!" Thinking this, Kaiba couldn't help but laugh. "How about it, Yugi? I can go this far to protect others too."

Although immersed in his new device, Kaiba's keen senses hadn't dulled. The hurried and chaotic footsteps at the door alerted Kaiba, so he quickly put the device into his briefcase.

With a loud "Bang!", the room's door was kicked open by two men in black suits wearing sunglasses.

"Don't move!" one of the men in black warned Kaiba, raising his gun. "Seto Kaiba, come with us!"

"Understood." Kaiba stood up calmly. "Even if I said no, you wouldn't agree, would you?"

Seeing Kaiba's compliance, the men in black smiled smugly.

But in the next moment, a sharp glint flashed in Kaiba's eyes. He kicked the chair in front of him with all his might, sending it flying at the men in black.

Caught off guard by the flying chair, the men in black momentarily panicked. Kaiba seized this moment of confusion and prepared to escape through the window.

"Damn it!" Furious, one of the men in black fired at Kaiba, but the bullets were blocked by Kaiba's sturdy briefcase.

"Pegasus, you're a thousand years too early to catch me, hahahahaha." Leaving behind a trail of laughter, Kaiba leaped out of the window.

Outside the window was a seaside cliff, its towering height leading to the raging sea below. A normal person would surely die jumping from such a height.

The men in black searched Kaiba's room hastily and found that all items related to the new device had been taken by Kaiba. Their only find was Kaiba's deck, left behind in his hurried escape.

"Interesting, you want to duel me?" The man in black wearing sunglasses smirked at the Pharaoh pointing at him.

"Although I'm not supposed to participate in duels, it's no problem." The man in black let go of Jounouchi's collar. "I can arrange someone to duel you, Yugi Mutou."

"A substitute duel?"

"Come with me. I've already arranged a duelist."

"How does he know Yugi's name?" Hoshino thought suspiciously. "And this feels too much like a trap waiting for Yugi to fall into."

After about a ten-minute walk, the group followed the man in black to a designated spot. A dueling platform was already set up, and a duelist stood waiting, validating Hoshino's bad feeling.

"Been waiting for you, Yugi Mutou." The man in black couldn't hold back his laughter. "Your opponent is this person."

"!!!" Everyone looked at the duelist on the platform in shock.

"Kaiba... Mokuba?!" Yugi said in disbelief.

"That's right, Yugi. You are about to duel Seto Kaiba," the man in black straightened his posture and placed his hands behind his back, mimicking a referee. "No, to be precise, you will duel the spirit of Seto Kaiba."

"Seto Kaiba's spirit?"

"Literally. Seto Kaiba no longer exists in this world. He died resenting you, and now the one standing there is his spirit."

"What?!"

The silent "Kaiba" on stage finally lifted his head, revealing his face hidden in the shadows: "Yes, Yugi. I was driven to my death by you. After losing to you, I saw no way out and chose to end my life."

The familiar face was undoubtedly Seto Kaiba.

"That's impossible! My brother isn't so weak-minded. He wouldn't die over something like this!" Mokuba refused to believe the person in front of him was his brother's spirit.

"Mokuba, I am dead. I came back because of my resentment. I want to avenge myself on Yugi Mutou with a bloody duel!" The "Kaiba" on stage grew increasingly hysterical, pointing at the Pharaoh: "It was you, Yugi. You drove me to my death. You must bear this sin."

"Kaiba..." Two drops of sweat fell from the Pharaoh's face, "Did I really drive you to your death? Did I make a mistake back then?"

"Come on, Yugi. Step onto this platform. I will defeat you with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon deck from hell!" With that, Kaiba placed his deck on the table.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon..." Hearing this, even Mokuba couldn't argue anymore. It was well-known that the only three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in the world were in Kaiba's possession. If this person could summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, claiming he was Kaiba's spirit wasn't implausible.

The Pharaoh understood the implication. Though he didn't show it outwardly, his slightly trembling hands revealed that deep down, he feared he had driven Kaiba to his death.

"What's wrong, Yugi? Will you accept the duel, or will you back out?" The man in black pressed Yugi, giving him no room to breathe.

Yugi took a deep breath and steadied himself: "Alright, I will..."

"You're walking right into a trap, Yugi." Hoshino stopped Yugi from stepping onto the platform. "Seto Kaiba, I've never met him, but if this coward is supposed to be Seto Kaiba, he doesn't seem impressive at all."

"I'll go. I'll expose this impostor's true identity." Hoshino's determination grew. She knew the person in front of her wasn't the real Seto Kaiba.

"Hoshino..." The Pharaoh saw Hoshino's resolute expression, and the confusion from his guilt over Kaiba's death began to clear.

"Yeah, someone like this could never be the real Seto Kaiba." The Pharaoh's confident smile returned. "Sorry, Hoshino, I couldn't see through this. How embarrassing."

Feeling relieved to see the Pharaoh regaining his composure, Hoshino placed her deck on the table.

"I will tear off your false mask, fake Kaiba!"