Chapter 12: The President’s Younger Brother, Keihei Haima

"Hmm? Someone is dueling?"

After acquiring the last three stars from Ryuzaki, all Yugi needed to do was reach the castle gates, hand his star chips to the guards for verification, and he would advance to the semifinals of the Duelist Kingdom tournament!

However, he hadn’t done that yet. Having analyzed the system’s “Duel Reward (Side Quest)” mechanism, and confirmed he was eligible for the semifinals, he began searching the island for duelists who had been specifically featured in the original anime episodes.

For example, the voluptuous blonde beauty with the Harpie Lady deck, Mai Valentine; the guy with a bandana patterned like the American flag who played a Machine deck, Keith Howard; and his henchman, the ghostly-looking Bonz, who used a Zombie deck... and so on.

These popular characters were like “dungeon bosses” in his previous life’s games; he needed to defeat each one before the semifinals, hoping to squeeze as many Elemental Hero monsters, spells, and trap cards as possible out of the system.

Though his deck was already formidable—on this island, apart from Yugi, the main protagonist, few could hope to challenge him! Especially since its wielder was Yugi, the transmigrator himself!

Still, defeating the Father of Duel Monsters—Maximillion Pegasus J. Crawford—would require more. Pegasus was a master card printer, and possessed the Millennium Eye, a relic capable of reading the thoughts of others. Under such circumstances, what could he possibly use to fight back? His wits?

That was his initial concern, but after consulting the system, Yugi felt reassured:

With the system at his side, no matter how much Pegasus amplified the Millennium Eye’s power, he wouldn’t be able to read Yugi’s mind!

The only remaining issue was the strength of his deck!

That could be solved easily: by challenging almost all the popular characters from the original story and collecting generous rewards from the system.

Returning to the present—

As he wandered the island, searching for these famous duelists and treating the whole affair like a sightseeing trip, Yugi stumbled upon an active dueling platform.

Following the sounds of monster battles projected in 3D, he quickly located the site of the duel.

“Oh! It’s you guys, Yugi!” he exclaimed.

Squeezing out from a thicket, he was greeted by Yugi’s four-person group.

“This boy... Are you Seto Kaiba’s younger brother, Mokuba Kaiba?” Yugi asked.

As Yugi’s group turned at his call, he noticed—emerging from the bushes—a short, dark-haired, yellow-skinned youth who’d been half-hidden beside Yugi due to the angle.

“Yugi!”

Seeing it was him, all four faces lit up with smiles as they came forward.

“Yugi, how did you find your way here?”

Approaching, Yugi instantly forgot whatever he’d been thinking about Mokuba.

“Oh, that? I’ve already collected ten star chips, so now I can wander around the island without a care,” he said, turning his right hand so everyone could see the stars embedded in his dueling glove.

When they saw all ten slots filled, the four—including Mokuba—were stunned. In just half a day, Yugi had collected all the star chips required for the tournament semifinals! Incredible!

“What about you two? How many star chips do you have?” Yugi asked curiously.

Yugi and Joey exchanged glances, then showed their dueling gloves.

Yugi’s glove now had five star chips—including the two he started with, plus one he gave Joey. No surprise there. Of the four extra chips, two came from the earliest duel, with the first contestant eliminated from the tournament—Weevil Underwood.

The other two were likely won from Fisherman Kajiki, who had three chips remaining after Yugi took one. Of course, they could have come from other duelists—since Yugi dueled Kajiki first, Kajiki’s “Sea Monster Concealment” tactic was exposed during that duel. With his tactic revealed and having lost to Yugi, it was possible he refused to duel Yugi again. Still, this was unlikely: dueling challenges in the Duelist Kingdom were generally impossible to refuse, and Kajiki’s dignity as a duelist would prevent him from declining.

Turning to Joey, his star chips matched what Yugi had after dueling Kajiki—three chips.

One chip, as in the original story, was won in a close match against Mai Valentine, using the combination of Time Wizard and Baby Dragon.

The other two were likely won from other duelists.

“By the way, why are you together with Seto Kaiba’s brother?”

After checking their chips, Yugi asked about the five of them being together, though he already knew the plot.

“Oh, it’s like this…”

Over the next few minutes, Yugi listened as Yugi and Mokuba animatedly recounted this part of the original anime’s story.

“I see…”

Yugi nodded in understanding. Yugi, having finished his explanation, called everyone together, planning to return the star chips they’d reclaimed from Mokuba to their rightful owner while there was still time.

“Wait!”

Just as the five were about to head to the small dock where eliminated duelists were sent off the island, Yugi stopped them.

“If Mokuba goes with you to return the star chips, never mind anything else—just being seen by Pegasus’s men in black would probably mean he’s forcibly taken back to the castle.”

The five: !!

Oh no! How could they forget something so important?

Mokuba had escaped from the castle’s high tower, hiding his face with a scarf to avoid being recognized by the men in black until he met Yugi.

If he were to walk out in the open, the moment he was spotted would be the moment he was dragged back to that dark, prison-like castle!

“I have a plan. Yugi, you and Joey go return the chips; I’ll stay here with Tristan and Tea to watch over Mokuba. You two can safely return the chips, and with me here, nothing should go wrong.”

“Great idea!”

Their eyes lit up. Previously, they’d worried whether they had enough time to return the chips, but now, after calming down, they agreed with Yugi’s suggestion.

Yugi and Joey immediately took the star chips and dashed toward the small dock, hoping to return the chips to the innocent duelist in time. Meanwhile, Yugi called the others to sit and rest, while he pondered some things.

“If I protect Mokuba, maybe President Kaiba will owe me a favor? If I could even duel him, it would be perfect!”

After all, Seto Kaiba was the male lead of the original anime (with Yugi as the main protagonist and Joey as the secondary lead), and even in the later Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, he remained an enduring topic.

If he could defeat Kaiba, or at least duel him, surely the reward would far surpass what he’d gotten from Kajiki and Ryuzaki…

Hehe, just the thought of it made him excited!

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