Chapter 203

"Where did this girl come from, daring to challenge me, one of the 'Seven Bosses of the Southern District' in Domino City?"

.

..

…

Boss Hachi was in unusually high spirits today. Yesterday's Battle City Tournament felt like the peak of his luck. Even those well-known players fell to his critical draws at key moments.

'Boss Hachi' was just a nickname. His real name was Tadashi, a university student. His greatest achievement was reaching the top 8 in the Duel Monsters Tournament preliminaries for Domino City's Southern District. With his modest reputation in the area, he and the other top eight duelists were nicknamed the 'Seven Bosses of the Southern District.' Embracing his new title, he began calling himself 'Boss Hachi' after his ranking.

What? You ask why there are eight people in the 'Seven Bosses'. Well, that's just common knowledge, my friend.

Yesterday's string of victories won Boss Hachi many rare cards, and it also boosted his confidence as a duelist. Even in his dreams last night, he was imagining himself being the first to collect all 6 puzzle cards, making it to the finals, defeating Seto Kaiba, winning the Battle City Championship, and reaching the peak of his life.

With an optimistic mindset of chasing his dreams, Boss Hachi naturally got up early today. However, it seemed he had overestimated other duelists' ability to wake up early. After wandering the streets for half the morning, he still hadn't seen another duelist as dedicated as him, out on the streets at 4 AM.

"Have you ever seen Domino City at 4 AM?"

But such a small obstacle couldn't dampen Boss Hachi's enthusiasm. After wandering around for two hours, people started to appear on the streets, though most were office workers on their way to their jobs.

Just as Boss Hachi thought he'd have to wait a bit longer to find a duelist, he unexpectedly came across a strangely dressed girl with a duel disk.

What made her outfit odd was the cap, sunglasses, and face mask — completely unnecessary for an early morning stroll. But despite her face being fully covered, her short skirt and white knee-high socks made it easy to tell she was a well-built girl.

"Hm? A duelist spotted. Let's duel!" Without hesitation, the girl unfolded her duel disk the moment she spotted Boss Hachi. With her face covered, it was impossible to tell what expression she wore.

Boss Hachi was ecstatic. He thought he'd have to wander around for a bit longer, but here his prey was, delivered right to him. It seemed his luck from yesterday had continued into today. A victory in this duel would bring him to five puzzle cards. If he thought about it, his dream of collecting six puzzle cards and being the first to do so wasn't just a dream, but a premonition of the future.

"Where did this girl come from, daring to challenge me, one of the 'Seven Bosses of the Southern District' in Domino City?

(***)

Hoshino was ecstatic. It seemed her disguise was working perfectly. No wonder celebrities loved going out like this; it saved a lot of hassle. Plus, a perfect disguise hid her expressions, making it harder for her opponent to read her.

[Boss Hachi (Tadashi) VS Hoshino Chiyuki (Disguise Beta)]

[Duel Start — Duel!]

"Hoshino-nee, even though they won't recognize you in your disguise, won't your deck give you away the moment you use it?" Akasha, who had been following behind Hoshino, quietly reminded her.

Normally, records of duels from the Duelist Kingdom weren't made public, and only a few people knew about the Heroic Spirit deck...

— If it weren't for that battle video that went viral on YouTube.

"Hoshino-nee, it's fine when there are fewer people around right now, but in future duels, you should lure your opponent to a deserted place. And after taking their rare cards, if you can, you should get rid of them to avoid exposing your identity." Akasha's advice was as seasoned as one would expect from a former rare card hunter.

As if! If I could get rid of them, the earlier steps wouldn't even be necessary!

It was only at that moment that Boss Hachi noticed the cute blonde girl, who looked like a porcelain doll, following behind the masked girl. Her mouth was constantly chattering, but none of that mattered to Boss Hachi. Right now, all he cared about was the duel, victory, and his passionate dreams!

"My turn, draw!" Full of excitement for the future, Boss Hachi drew his card.

"Perfect, I have the perfect opening hand! I, one of the Seven Bosses of the Southern District, Boss Hachi, will claim victory in this duel!"

Five turns later, however—

Boss Hachi's luck seemed to plummet off a cliff.

"Why? How are these ridiculous-looking monsters beating me?" Boss Hachi could feel cold sweat trickling down his back. He had already summoned his ace monster, and no matter how he looked at it, the creatures on the other side were just a bunch of nobodies.

"Nobu? (Did someone just call me a nobody?)" The alert Nobu Corp swung their tiny arms, waving their miniature swords, spouting some rather crude and vulgar words.

[Nobu Corps ★★★★ (4 stars)][WIND] [Warrior/Effect][ATK:1900/DEF:100]

"Attack, my ace monster, Luster Dragon!"

[Luster Dragon #2★★★★★★(6 stars)][WIND][Dragon][ATK 2400/DEF 1400]

Determined to win, Boss Hachi signaled his Luster Dragon to attack. "Luster Splash!"

"Nobu! >x<" < p>

[Hoshino Chiyuki LP 3000 → 2500]

Luster Dragon's attack wiped out the last of Hoshino's monsters on the field.

"Turn end!" Boss Hachi, gritting his teeth, reluctantly ended his turn.

Boss Hachi's LP 4000, Monster: Luster Dragon #2, Set Cards: 0

"Hmph, is all you got?" Beneath her mask, Hoshino's voice sounded light and amused.

"Then I'll activate the special effect of 3 [Nobu Corps] cards in my graveyard!"

"No way! Why? Why are these monsters that look like a bunch of nobodies completely unkillable!?" Boss Hachi yelled in frustration

[Nobu Corps Effect: At the end of the turn, this card is sent to the graveyard; you can activate this effect. Special summon this card in face-up Attack Position.]

Pulling three cards from her graveyard, Hoshino placed them onto her duel disk one by one. "Come forth, special summon — three Nobu Corps cards!"

[Nobu Corps ATK 1900] x3

"Nobu, Nobu, Nobu? Nobu!" The voices of three Nobu filled the early morning street like a maddening chant.

Time after time, they were defeated, and time after time, they revived. These unkillable creatures, straight out of a gag manga, drove Boss Hachi to the edge of his patience. "It's useless! No matter how many times your monsters revive, as long as I have my Luster Dragon, my defense is unshakable!" He thought the only thing he could be thankful for was the presence of his Luster Dragon on the field.

"They're nothing but a bunch of small fry monsters that can't even serve as a proper wall. Stop your useless chatter!" Casting a disdainful glance at the Nobu standing proudly before his Luster Dragon, Hoshino sneered and placed down a Spell Card.

"Quick-Play, [Nobu Radiance]!"

[Nobu Radiance Quick-Play Effect: Target 1 [Nobu] monster on the field. ①: That monster's ATK increases by 500.]

"Nobu!" The chosen Nobu Corp felt a surge of power within their body, their muscles swelling dramatically.

[Nobu Corps ATK 1900 → 2400]

"Nani? Its attack is equal to the Luster Dragon!" Boss Hachi's eyes nearly popped out in disbelief as he stared at the simplified, cartoonish monster that had grown in size, now rivaling the Luster Dragon's bulk.

"Launch a special attack, Nobu Corps! Target the Luster Dragon on the other side!"

"Nobu!" The oversized Nobbu confidently responded to Hoshino's command, drawing the blade from its waist and charging headfirst into the Luster Dragon.

Why are you drawing your sword if you're just going to headbutt it?

[Luster Dragon] destroyed

[Nobu Corps] destroyed

"The remaining two Nobbu units, attack the player directly!"

Swoosh—!

Two swift flashes of blades sliced past Boss Hachi.

"Ugh!" [Boss Hachi LP 4000 → 200]

"Unbelievable, I've been pushed to the brink by this ridiculous monster." Gritting his teeth in frustration, Boss Hachi glared at the masked Hoshino across from him. Who was this girl? To possess the strength to defeat one of the Seven Kings…

"But it's not over yet! Even in such a dire situation, as long as I still have life points, I always have a chance to turn things around!" Boss Hachi shouted grandly, determined to utter the protagonist-like line he'd always dreamed of saying.

"No, you don't have any more chances," Hoshino said, pointing at Boss Hachi's feet with her thumb.

The Nobu Corps, having finished their attack, didn't obediently return to Hoshino's side. Instead, they clung to Boss Hachi's legs, one on each side.

"W-What's going on?! They're just holograms! Why do they feel so real? This is disgusting!" Boss Hachi panicked, instinctively shaking his legs to get rid of them.

"Nobu~" The Nobu Corps, hanging onto Boss Hachi's legs, grinned creepily, their simple, cartoonish mouths curling into unsettling smiles.

"And now it's over! I activate the Quick-Play, [Big Explosion NOBU!]"

[Big Explosion NOBU! Quick-Play Spell Card Effect: You can activate this if you control only [Nobu] monsters. ①: Destroy all [Nobu] monsters you control, and inflict 400 damage to your opponent for each monster destroyed.]

"No! Impossible! I can't be humiliated like this!"

BOOM—! A massive explosion silenced Boss Hachi's final scream.

[Boss Hachi (Real name: Tadashi) LP: 200 → 0 ]

"And that takes care of you! Now hand over your rare cards and puzzle cards!" Hoshino said, glancing at the collapsed Tadashi while gesturing to the stunned Akasha behind her.

"Hoshino-nee, I can't believe you had such a deck hidden away all this time."

Akasha's adorable lips formed a round "O" in astonishment.

"And those rare cards! Akasha has never seen cards this rare before!"

She murmured, the instincts of a former rare card hunter kicking in. For a moment, Akasha felt tempted.

"No, no, I can't think like that. I need to stay a good girl!"

Determined to stay on the right path, Akasha quickly slapped her soft cheeks with both hands.

Seeing Akasha suddenly smacking her face, Hoshino, adjusting her sunglasses on the bridge of her nose, smiled and took hold of the girl's smooth hands. "What are you doing? Are you tired from waking up so early?"

"…" Akasha, feeling her cheeks burning from embarrassment, stared blankly at Hoshino's eyes, which curved slightly with her smile. "I-I'm only blushing because I slapped my face, okay?"

"No kidding, if you slap yourself like that, of course, your cheeks will turn red!" Hoshino chuckled as she gently rubbed Akasha's cheeks. "Come on, help me pick out a rare card. You're way better at this than I am."

After all, the only rare cards Hoshino cared about were the practical banned ones. To her, the rarity of other cards was meaningless.

However, as Hoshino flipped through Tadashi's deck, her brows furrowed. Things weren't as simple as she had imagined…

A deck made almost entirely of weak normal monsters, with a pitifully small and seemingly pointless collection of Spells and Traps. Was this the strength of a top-eight finalist in the regional tournament? It was only marginally better than the decks of the kids at the toy shop.

She'd assumed that Tadashi had just had a bad draw during their duel, but now it seemed like this was as good as his deck could get. It was practically a perfect hand, and it was still this weak. There was no way this deck could help Akasha at all.

"Please, don't take my Luster Dragon! I'll give you all my puzzle cards!" Tadashi, whose dreams had been completely shattered, no longer cared about becoming the champion of the Battle City. Right now, all he wanted was to save his precious rare cards.

"Oh?" A subtle smirk appeared beneath Hoshino's mask. "Alright, I won't take your rare cards. I won't even take your puzzle cards."

"R-Really?!" Tadashi's voice trembled with disbelief, but as long as he could keep his priceless rare cards, he could always make a comeback (though, in reality, he couldn't).

"But there's one condition!" Hoshino's crimson eyes locked onto Tadashi's anxious face. "There are seven of you, right? I want you to gather all of them for me as quickly as possible. Tell them someone's come to crash them!"

Gasping, Tadashi wasn't dumb. He instantly understood Hoshino's greedy plan.

"You… You want me to sell out my friends in exchange for my rare cards and puzzle cards?" The fear in Tadashi's eyes was replaced with resolve as he regained the same determined look he had during their duel. "Do you think I am that kind of man?"

"Yes"

Tadashi straightened up. "Remember this! I'm not doing this to protect my rare cards! I'm calling them here because I believe my friends have the strength to defeat you!"

(***)

Domino City, Rare Hunters Hideout—

"Marik, you've been acting strange since last night." Odion once again caught Marik as he nearly collapsed. His voice was deep and calm, but Marik knew his faithful servant well enough to understand that Odion was worried.

"My body… is out of sorts." Marik pressed his hand to his forehead, his body swaying. He had lost count of how many times his legs had given out beneath him. If not for Odion's timely support, he would have fallen long ago.

Watching Marik, who could barely stand but still clutched the Millennium Rod tightly, Odion asked, "Could it be that you've overused the power of darkness? You've been controlling the entire group by yourself in Battle City these past two days. Even if your body can handle it, your mind could easily be overworked."

"I've been in control of the Rare Hunters for quite some time now. Something this small wouldn't cause a problem." Marik shook his head, dismissing Odion's concern. "I have a good guess where the problem lies…"

("Magical providence, oh natural master of this world, return all to its origins— Rule Breaker!")

"Now! This is the trump card I prepared to counter the Millennium Rod, a power that can break all magic, all mysteries—Rule Breaker!)

"You think it's because of what happened last night?" Odion quickly connected the dots after hearing Marik's words. After all, he was present when it happened and saw for the first time how the control of the Millennium Rod was forcibly severed by an external force.

"Could it be that it wasn't just a simple severing of the connection?" But back then, after losing the mark that controlled Akasha's body, Marik hadn't shown any unusual signs. Therefore, Odion didn't give it much thought.

"Since last night, I've felt my sense of self weakening," Marik said, covering his face with his hand as his eyes trembled uncontrollably. "If this keeps up, he will come out…"

"He?!" Though Marik didn't say the name, the implication alone was enough to make Odion, a man nearly two meters tall, show a look of sheer terror.

"Yako sure picked a troublesome opponent!" Marik sneered. The events surrounding Hoshino, which had initially seemed unrelated to him, spiraled into chaos after sending Akasha to obtain the Wicked God cards.

Hearing Yako's name, Odion speculated, "By now, all three of Wicked God cards must have ended up in the hands of Hoshino Chiyuki, right?"

When the copy cards failed last night, the Rare Hunters immediately realized that Yako's plan had fallen through.

Marik nodded, confirming Odion's guess.

"I recall that each Wicked God card is on par with the God Cards in terms of power!" Odion, growing increasingly unsettled after his theory was validated, continued, "Especially that one, The Wicked Avatar, which Yako himself held. It's said to be on the same level as The Winged Dragon of Ra."

"Ha, what good is having the strongest god? Yako was just a puppet, being toyed with by the Wicked Gods." Marik had long seen through the dark purpose hidden behind Yako's plan. Even if the Wicked Gods' resurrection succeeded, at most, one would possess a human body and manipulate the world's darkness from the shadows.

As long as it didn't interfere with Marik's goals, he couldn't care less what chaos the Wicked Gods unleashed. As long as he could punish the amnesiac Pharaoh, nothing else mattered.

"So the plan now is to use the Millennium Rod to control Yugi Muto's friends, Jonouchi and Anzu, and make them fight each other to the death?" Odion asked.

"Hahaha, that was the old plan. Now, we have a much better target, don't we?" Marik forced a smile as he gripped the Millennium Rod tightly, his eyes growing more sinister.

"No matter how strong a duelist may be, a mere mortal can never resist the power of a Millennium Item!"

"You mean… you're going to use the Millennium Rod to control Hoshino?" Odion, suddenly realizing, asked.

"Isn't that the best choice? The only thing we need to worry about is her strange card effects. As long as she doesn't get the chance to use them, we can easily eliminate this troublesome opponent. Once she becomes a puppet controlled by the Millennium Rod, our most dangerous enemy will turn into our greatest weapon against Yugi Muto!"

"..." Odion chose to remain silent. He sensed that Marik was being too hasty. Though he couldn't pinpoint the exact flaw in the plan, the numerous unknowns surrounding Hoshino made it feel too risky. In Odion's view, controlling Jonouchi was still the safest move.

But knowing Marik's mental state was deteriorating, Odion understood his urgency.

Therefore, Odion did not try to stop him.

(***)

"Heh heh, girl! Even though you've beaten the other seven, you're no match for me, the leader of the South City Seven, 'The Boss'!" The man facing Hoshino boasted arrogantly.

Hoshino had just fought seven consecutive duels, each one a landslide victory. However, her Nobu deck's strategy had now been exposed.

And unlike the others, this "Boss" was different—he had real skill. After analyzing Hoshino's tactics, he knew exactly how to counter her weaknesses.

"Your deck may be tricky with its continuous special summons and endless revivals from the graveyard, but you don't have any monsters with enough attack power to land a decisive blow!" The Boss, thinking he had the duel in the bag, smugly pointed out the flaw in Hoshino's deck.

"It's your turn, girl."

The current field:

The Boss: LP 2800, no face-down cards, monsters: [Alexandrite Dragon ATK 2000], [Luster Dragon ATK 1900], [Hyozanryu ATK 2100].

Hoshino Chiyuki: LP 1400, no face-down cards, no monsters, Field Spell [GUDAGUDA Final Honnoji].

Within the roaring flames of the field spell's imagery, the three beautiful dragons representing different gemstones roared in unison, as if heralding their impending victory.

"Looks like you're not aren't all complete pushovers after all. At least there's one decent duelist." Hidden beneath her disguise, it was hard to tell if Hoshino was nervous or calm.

"I was hoping to hold back and play nice, but all you did was take advantage of that and target me. I guess I have no choice but to reveal my hand now~"

(*****)

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