Chapter 41

TL Note: Starting from this chapter, the chapters will be longer as I have combined two chapters into one. This way, you can enjoy the content even more. Thank you for your continued support and happy reading!

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"Pegasus, according to satellite intelligence, Seto Kaiba is approaching Duelist Kingdom." Ending the duel broadcast, suddenly the figures of the Big Five of KaibaCorp. appeared on the screen.

"Oh? Kaiba-boy is coming to visit my island?" Pegasus stood up slowly and looked out at the pitch-black night sky.

"Don't worry, Pegasus, we won't let Kaiba get close to Duelist Kingdom. We'll do everything we can to stop him."

"Make sure Kaiba never reaches Duelist Kingdom, hahaha."

"NO, do not lay a hand on Kaiba-boy," Pegasus sternly rejected the Big Five's 'kind offer'.

"Our contract is only valid until the moment we defeat Yugi-boy, no problem, right?" Revealing the Millennium Eye hidden behind his hair, Pegasus's expression gradually became serious, "At that time, KaibaCorp. will be ours. Whether it's the technology KaibaCorp. possesses or the genius mind of Seto Kaiba, I want it all!"

.

..

...

On the calm sea reflecting the starlight, the sound of the propeller drowned out the waves. Piloting the helicopter, Seto Kaiba's determined gaze fixed on the island ahead.

"Hmph, Duelist Kingdom, huh." Looking at the latest duel system disk beside him, Kaiba felt a mix of emotions.

"Yugi, your duel is truly unparalleled."

("The card I summoned is [Exodia]! Go, EXODIA, OBLITERATE!")

The scene of Yugi using the Exodia to destroy the three Blue-Eyes Ultimate White Dragons replayed countless times in Kaiba's mind.

("No matter how strong the card is, if you can't connect with it spiritually, it's meaningless! As long as you merge with the card, miracles can happen.")

"I really want to duel him again." Unconsciously, a smile appeared on Kaiba's lips, "And there's also..."

("Experience the true wrath of Seto Kaiba! Direct attack with! Burst Stream of Destruction!")

"Chiyuki Hoshino, the duelist who defeated the Blue-Eyes White Dragon deck, huh? Interesting, if possible, I'd like to duel her too." Thinking of this, Kaiba shook his head with a smile. Initially, he only reluctantly got involved with these toy-like cards to develop the most advanced commercial product. Unexpectedly, he became addicted to it; this must be the charm of dueling.

"But before that, I must defeat one person with this new duel system disk." With that thought, Kaiba's gaze grew colder, "To reclaim KaibaCorp, and the man who collaborated with those traitors behind the scenes and kidnapped Mokuba."

"Pegasus J. Crawford! I must defeat you personally!"

.

..

..

Transitioning quietly...

By the creek...

"You split up to look for food and ended up walking alone in this forest?" Strictly scolding the kneeling Chiyuki Hoshino, Mai Valentine looked exasperated, "Please, Chiyuki, as a girl, how can you have no sense of danger?"

"I-I'm sorry..." Each time Mai scolded her, Chiyuki's head lowered further, almost burying her face in her chest.

"Alright, Mai, maybe Chiyuki is experiencing this kind of thing for the first time, don't blame her too much." Though hesitant to speak up, Jonouchi stepped in to defend Chiyuki, feeling sorry for her.

"And you have the nerve to speak, Jonouchi! Don't think you're off the hook." Hearing Jonouchi's voice, Mai's anger shifted towards him, "You, a grown man, watched a girl like Chiyuki ran into the dangerous forest alone without stopping her, thinking you did nothing wrong?"

"Uh, well..." Rendered speechless by Mai's retort, Jonouchi found himself retreating under her fierce aura.

"Nice, Jonouchi!" With her head down, Chiyuki secretly gave Jonouchi a thumbs up for drawing Mai's ire away, "I won't forget your sacrifice."

Seeing Jonouchi's predicament, the rest of the group, including Yugi, could only awkwardly laugh, not daring to intervene.

Though Mai seemed very angry, she was only worried about Chiyuki, and her anger didn't last long.

"So, you guys don't have any food now, right?" Mai's expression softened, taking on a teasing tone.

"Yes, yes, yes!" The six nodded vigorously. Though they had initially gathered some wild food from the forest, it had been discarded during the search for Chiyuki.

"Really, I can't leave you guys alone." Pressing her forehead with her hand, Mai smiled helplessly, "Come eat with me then. I brought plenty of food and camping gear."

"Really, Mai? That's great!" Originally kneeling, Chiyuki jumped up excitedly upon hearing Mai's words. After a duel, the soul's satiation had long faded, and her body craved an energy boost.

...

"This is amazing, food, tents, lanterns, you have everything! Did you bring all this by yourself, Mai?" Chiyuki's eyes sparkled as she watched Mai pull various instant foods and camping equipment from her bag like a treasure chest.

Pleased by Chiyuki's praise, Mai proudly straightened up, hands on her hips, "Of course! As a duelist, it's only natural to be self-reliant. But fetching water and cooking is your job, boys!" Mai pointed at the four men standing nearby.

"Okay, leave it to us." Without hesitation, Honda grabbed a bucket and headed to the creek.

"Damn, taking orders from this woman is really annoying." Jonouchi grumbled, but still moved obediently.

"Idiot, we get to eat, just bear with it." Honda awkwardly laughed, giving Jonouchi a push from behind.

"We'll gather some firewood then." Yugi and Bakura also got to work without delay.

As everyone gradually moved away, Mai sneaked over to Chiyuki's side, leaning close to her ear seductively, "Though I said duelists must be self-reliant, you're different, Chiyuki. Rely on me more."

"Uh, okay..." Startled by Mai's sudden change, Chiyuki didn't know how to respond.

"So, want to take a shower with me? I brought a camping showerhead." Mai's long fingers traced Chiyuki's cheek, making her blush.

"A shower..." Chiyuki swallowed. Girls have a deep obsession with cleanliness. After a day on the island, a shower sounded heavenly. But Chiyuki had never bathed with anyone else before, let alone been naked in front of someone else.

"Chiyuki, you want to shower too, right? Some things only women understand," Mai's words whispered like a devil in Chiyuki's ear.

"I... I..." Chiyuki stammered, struggling internally. On one side, her sense of shame; on the other, the allure of Mai's smooth body. Like choosing between an angel and a devil...

The devil said, "Don't miss the chance to feel the seductive, smooth body of an older sister!"

The angel said, "Don't listen to the devil..."

"Hey... Have you forgotten about me?" Anzu, who was sitting on the side, gave a dry cough to remind everyone of her presence.

"A... Anzu." Hoshino awkwardly scratched her head and looked away, not daring to face Mai.

"Oh? Anzu is interested too? How about the three of us together~" Mai licked her lips seductively, showing a keen interest.

"Wait!" Hoshino suddenly interrupted Mai's temptation. She wasn't intentionally changing the subject; she genuinely heard something. "What's that sound?"

Seeing Hoshino suddenly become serious, Mai, who was good at reading the room, naturally stopped her flirtatious behavior.

"Beep~ Beep~ Beep~? What's that sound?" The noise was getting closer and clearer.

"Why is there a helicopter sound?! At this time of night?" Finally identifying the source of the noise, Hoshino exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hoshino, Anzu, Mai!" The group also heard the unusual aircraft sound and put down what they were doing to come over.

"In the middle of the night, flying a helicopter to this island, how unreasonable must this person be." Looking at the approaching helicopter, Jonouchi grumbled.

But what surprised everyone even more was that the helicopter steadily hovered right above their heads.

"No way, could they have heard what I just said?" As a civilian, this was Jonouchi's first time seeing a real helicopter up close.

With the huge gust of wind kicked up by the rotor, the helicopter slowly landed in front of them. Once the door opened, Kaiba elegantly jumped out, carrying a suitcase.

"Kaiba!" Yugi, looking at Kaiba jumping down from the helicopter, ran over in surprise.

"Long time no see, Yugi." Looking down at Yugi, Kaiba's face was expressionless.

"Here, Kaiba, this is your deck, which I kept for you." Yugi took out the deck from his pocket, which he had safeguarded for Kaiba earlier in the day. "Now it's time to return it to its rightful owner."

"Oh." Taking the deck from Yugi indifferently, Kaiba remained expressionless.

"What's with that attitude!" Unable to bear it any longer, Jonouchi stepped forward. "Yugi went out of his way to keep your deck safe, and you don't even say thank you!"

"Hmph, then I'll say thanks, I suppose." With a proud turn of his head, Kaiba began walking towards Pegasus's castle in the distance.

"Kaiba, have you understood the spirit of the cards?" Yugi asked, looking at Kaiba's retreating figure.

"I haven't found the answer yet." Kaiba clenched the deck in his right hand slightly. "But to protect Mokuba and the Kaiba Corporation, I must defeat Pegasus by any means necessary." Without looking back, Kaiba continued walking, with Pegasus as his sole focus.

"Stop, Kaiba!" Unexpectedly in unison, Hoshino and Jonouchi called out to Kaiba. Surprised to have spoken at the same time, they exchanged smiles.

"Every participant in this Duelist Kingdom is full of dreams, fighting hard to collect ten Star Chips to challenge Pegasus!" Jonouchi, catching up to Kaiba, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Whatever your reasons, Trying to take shortcuts, you're betraying the hundreds of duelists who are fighting with their dignity on the line on this island," Hoshino added, voicing her thoughts. Her real concern, though, was Kaiba winning the prize money early.

Kaiba snorted coldly, shaking off Jonouchi's hand. "Jonouchi, even duelists like you can participate in this tournament. The standard of Duelist Kingdom is really low."

"What did you say! I'm at least a top-eight finisher!" Jonouchi retorted angrily, pointing at himself with his thumb.

"Huh? Jonouchi is a top-eight finisher? I never knew. That's impressive." Hoshino, who always thought Jonouchi was a novice, was genuinely surprised.

"It's only the top eight in the regional preliminaries..." Anzu corrected, shaking her head, revealing the harsh truth. "There were only about twenty participants, and they were mostly kids."

"Stop being so annoying, Anzu! Top eight is top eight, don't add unnecessary details!" Embarrassed in front of Hoshino, Jonouchi stomped his foot in frustration.

"But Jonouchi has improved a lot," Yugi added, "He even defeated Ryuzaki, the regional runner-up, with his own skills."

Ignoring everyone's comments, for Kaiba, it didn't matter whether Jonouchi was a top-eight finisher or had beaten Ryuzaki; it had no relevance to him.

"You're Hoshino Chiyuki, right?" Kaiba turned, his cold gaze landing on Hoshino.

"Y-Yes, that's me." Intimidated by Kaiba's icy stare, Hoshino, who was worried about the prize money being won, instantly cowered.

Kaiba silently stared at Hoshino's face. No one dared to speak as they waited for Kaiba to continue, and the air around them grew cold.

"What's going on? Why did everyone suddenly stop talking?" Hoshino, her mind in turmoil, swallowed nervously under Kaiba's penetrating gaze.

"Hmph!" With a familiar snort, Kaiba turned around, once again showing his aloof back to everyone.

"What kind of personality does this guy have? He starts the conversation but doesn't say anything." Hoshino was deeply exasperated by Kaiba's twisted nature.

Opening his suitcase, Kaiba threw out a newly developed Duel Disk system. The round device landed accurately in Hoshino and Jonouchi's hands.

"Let's duel. I need real combat to test this new Duel Disk system." Kaiba equipped the Duel Disk on his left hand and inserted his deck into it.

"This is the prototype of the legendary Duel Disk." Hoshino recalled, looking at the round Duel Disk in her hand. Although it differed slightly from the cool, transformable Duel Disk she remembered, it was still quite stylish for its time. It certainly was more convenient than having to climb onto a massive duel platform for every match.

"What is this thing?" Unlike Hoshino, Jonouchi had no concept of a Duel Disk. He stared at it dumbfounded.

"Put it on your left hand. The Duel Disk, my newly developed card battle device, allows for virtual image duels without a duel platform." Surprisingly, Kaiba patiently explained to them. "First, place your deck into the slot, then draw a card and place it on the Duel Disk, and finally..."

Kaiba placed a card on the Duel Disk and threw it onto the ground with force. The top of the spinning Duel Disk projected a familiar image. "Through the high-speed 3D engine in the Duel Disk, the image data of the monster card is converted into a 3D solid image! Come forth, Battle Ox!"

Out of thin air, the solid image of Battle Ox roared into existence before everyone.

"Amazing! Kaiba has taken dueling to a new level." Yugi sincerely admired the genius developer Kaiba Seto.

However, Hoshino had a different thought, "What a primitive Duel Disk! You still have to throw the card out to project the image? With this heavy Duel Disk, having to throw out each card in a duel would be exhausting."

Already regretting it, Hoshino wanted to quietly hand the Duel Disk over to Yugi. Knowing her own lack of stamina, she thought it better for Yugi or Jonouchi to duel instead.

"Let's duel, Hoshino Chiyuki!" Kaiba raised his left hand equipped with the Duel Disk, pointing at Hoshino.

"mmp…"

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