116 I, You Yi, seize the initiative! I become the "villain"!

“Gozaburo Kaiba, founder of Kaiba Corporation, biological father of Noah Kaiba, and adoptive father of Seto and Mokuba Kaiba.”

Looking at the stern old man before him—dressed in a red suit and sporting thick, straight eyebrows—Yuya Sakaki sat in a burgundy armchair with one leg crossed over the other. Resting his cheek against the loose fist of his left hand, he tilted his head to the side and said,

“Well then! You’re already dead, so why summon me here alone? What is it you want to discuss?”

Gozaburo Kaiba had clearly been the one to call Yuya over, yet Yuya had somehow taken control of the situation, making the virtual office feel more like his own room.

“Yuya Sakaki, seventeen years old. In the final match of Duelist Kingdom, he defeated Pegasus J. Crawford, the creator of the Duel Monsters card game, and became the new president of Industrial Illusions.”

Yuya stated his own identity, and Gozaburo returned the courtesy by stating his.

Beneath Yuya’s otherwise calm expression lay a hint of coldness. Gozaburo crossed his hands in front of the lower half of his face and leaned his elbows against his burgundy desk.

“I, Gozaburo Kaiba, am the founder of Kaiba Corporation and its first chairman. And you, Yuya Sakaki, are the current president of Industrial Illusions. Don’t you think the two of us are a perfect match?”

“Huh?”

Yuya was instantly dumbfounded. What did this old man and a handsome young guy like him possibly have in common?

“In the beginning, Kaiba Corporation was a military enterprise specializing in the production of weapons and equipment for war. Your Industrial Illusions, on the other hand, is now collaborating with the New Kaiba Entertainment Group led by Seto to jointly develop virtual imaging technology for Duel Monsters. Don’t you think the two of us could work together as well?”

“…”

At this point, Yuya had more or less figured out Gozaburo’s intentions. It was nothing more than having Industrial Illusions sell its virtual imaging technology to nations involved in military conflicts, allowing their soldiers to enter virtual worlds and conduct training that would reduce the consumption of real-world resources while maintaining normal training standards.

After that, Gozaburo would simply sell his company’s weapons and equipment to the countries that purchased the virtual imaging technology.

“Why should I cooperate with you?”

“Mutual benefit. Together, we can become two of the supreme rulers of this world! Isn’t that wonderful?”

Ruling the entire world could be called Gozaburo Kaiba’s lifelong dream. Even with Yuya’s arrival in this world, Gozaburo’s ambitions remained exactly as they had been portrayed in the anime: to create the world’s largest arms-dealing empire and thereby dominate the entire world through war.

“Even if I agreed, could you accomplish any of that in your current state?”

As he spoke, Yuya looked Gozaburo up and down. Compared with the photographs Yuya had once seen, the man before him was merely a younger version of the same person—except that now he was an old man. More importantly, this Gozaburo was nothing more than a consciousness that had transferred itself into the network before death, an existence akin to a ghost.

“Now that I’ve become a ghost within the network, I can travel through cyberspace to any place on Earth whenever I wish! Even satellites in outer space are within my reach!”

Every loss brought a gain. He had lost his human body, but in exchange, he had become an existence that was nearly immortal.

Modern human society could not abandon the network. As long as the network continued to exist on this planet, Gozaburo Kaiba would never disappear. With the network at his disposal, he could accomplish anything he desired.

In other words, he was the only “person” in the world who was both immortal and invincible.

“But I refuse!”

“What?”

Yuya rolled his eyes.

“Duel Monsters is the thing I love and cherish most in this world. And now you want me to use it to cooperate with you in carrying out something so filthy? I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

“…Heh. Your answer was exactly what I expected.”

Before meeting Yuya, Gozaburo Kaiba had already investigated what kind of young man he was. His personality was difficult to judge, but personally, Gozaburo felt that Yuya’s existence resembled that of his “pride and joy”—his adopted son.

At least when it came to the game of Duel Monsters, the two of them were exactly alike.

“Since you refuse to see reason, young man, don’t blame your uncle here for being impolite.”

“Raaaargh!”

With a bestial roar, Gozaburo instantly transformed from a human figure into a demonic being composed of crimson energy.

“That young body… will be mine!”

From the very beginning, Gozaburo had never intended to cooperate sincerely with Yuya. If Yuya agreed, Gozaburo would first gain his trust, acquire a physical body, return from his existence as a network ghost to the world of humans, and then plot how to seize Industrial Illusions from the young man.

Yuya’s refusal had also been within his calculations. He had estimated the probability of Yuya agreeing at only—

0.0000…001 percent!

“So you’re finally showing your true colors…”

Looking at Gozaburo, who had transformed into a crimson energy demon and was lunging toward him, Yuya showed not the slightest trace of fear or concern. Instead, the corners of his lips curled into a devilish smile.

“Humph! Has he been scared witless? Just as I thought—a mere youngster!”

Seeing Yuya standing motionless, Gozaburo sneered inwardly.

He was just about to touch Yuya and unleash the power of a “creator god”—erasing Yuya’s consciousness within the virtual world and then seizing his body in the real world—

“Roar!”

“Graaah!”

“Shriek!”

Three sudden cries rang out. Red, blue, and gold light erupted from Yuya’s position and spread in every direction, forming a three-colored barrier. It blocked Gozaburo’s demonic charge, and the tremendous force rebounded against him, sending him flying and restoring him to human form.

“What… what is this? What have you done?”

Gozaburo stared in astonishment at his restored human body. This made no sense. As the creator god of this world, how could he have been knocked away by a young man? Shouldn’t he have successfully erased Yuya’s consciousness and seized his body?

“I didn’t do anything. But…”

Yuya slightly turned his head and glanced at the three adorable beings behind him. Then he turned back and looked down at Gozaburo, who lay sprawled on the floor.

“You could always ask the three cuties behind me.”

“What?”

Still bewildered, Gozaburo slowly raised his head and looked toward the three enormous figures gradually taking shape behind Yuya.

“This… this…”

He was so shocked that he could not form a complete sentence.

A scarlet dragon coiled on Yuya’s right. A blue giant stood tall and imposing on his left. And in the very center of the three stood a golden divine bird, radiating overwhelming majesty.

The pinnacle of Duel Monsters—the Three Egyptian Gods!

“H-How is this possible?! How can the Egyptian Gods exist in the world I created?!”

Even when he had monitored Yuya and seen the Elemental HERO deck that was absent from Kaiba Corporation’s records—especially the “Elemental HERO: Ultimate Immortal Hero,” a card Yuya had printed himself—Gozaburo had never been this shocked.

“These three are not lowly beings like you! The power of the Egyptian Gods is beyond the comprehension of a creature that isn’t even human!”

The look in Yuya’s eyes as he gazed at Gozaburo had completely transformed into the expression one reserved for the vilest scum in existence.

“Damn you!”

Gozaburo clenched his teeth. Yet at this moment, there was truly nothing he could do to Yuya, all because of the three supreme beings behind him.

Still, if he thought about it carefully, it was not as though he had no options.

“That’s it! A duel! I challenge you to a game of Duel Monsters!”

Noticing the virtual Duel Disk manifested on Yuya’s right arm, Gozaburo shouted the words breathlessly, like a drowning man clutching at a life-saving straw.

Judging by the change in Yuya’s attitude, if Gozaburo did not do something immediately, he might not make it out alive today.

“A duel, huh…”

In the anime, Gozaburo and Seto had also fought a duel. He had never expected things to be reversed, with Gozaburo now begging Yuya for one.

“Roar…” “Graaah…” “Shriek…”

At that moment, the Three Egyptian Gods lowered their heads and called softly to Yuya.

All three were system-created, “special-edition” versions of the Egyptian Gods. As a result, they treated Yuya like children treating their parent—obedient, honest, and utterly docile.

Now, the three of them were pleading with Yuya to accept the duel and summon them during the battle.

After all, ever since appearing in this world, they had yet to participate in a single duel.

Watching their older brothers and sisters charge across the battlefield without them had made them envious. Pretending otherwise would have been impossible.

“…All right. I understand.”

Looking at the three little cuties, Yuya agreed to their request.

“Gozaburo Kaiba!”

Yuya turned around and looked down at Gozaburo, speaking in the tone of a villain.

“This is your final chance! Defeat me in a duel head-on and earn the right to keep living!”