Chapter 21: The President Who Brushed Past Death’s Gate

Staring at the twin Blue-Eyes White Dragons, each boasting a staggering 3900 attack points—just a hundred shy of the “Earthbreaker God” that wouldn’t appear until the later City Arc—Yugi couldn’t help but furrow his brow. To be frank, two Blue-Eyes White Dragons with 3900 attack points apiece, plus a Lord of Dragons shielding all his dragons from being targeted by the opponent’s card effects, was an utterly daunting formation, nearly impossible to crack in the current environment.

With a complete set of Elemental HERO cards, dismantling such a setup would be child’s play. But the deck in Yugi’s hands now was, at best, a “half-complete Elemental HERO series.” With this level of strength, he did have some monsters or cards capable of dealing with Kaiba’s field, but not many.

Everything hinged on whether his next draw would yield the few cards that could break through the current predicament.

“My turn!”

Drawing his opening five cards, the most conspicuous was a monster card depicting a hefty fellow, along with a trap card also featuring a similar portly monster.

‘As I thought! The bond between my deck and me truly exists!’

Without even glancing at the other three cards, Yugi promptly set the two face-down—one in the monster zone, the other in the spell and trap zone.

(Flashman: Master! Does love really fade away? ╥﹏╥)

“I set a monster in defense position, and I set a card face-down. Turn end.”

With this simple maneuver, Yugi handed the turn over to Kaiba.

Kaiba, now in control, didn’t draw immediately. Instead, he gazed at the electronic display on his console, which showed his opponent’s field, and frowned slightly.

A single set monster, and a single set spell or trap… much too simplistic.

Yet, it was precisely this simplicity that made Kaiba wary. He hadn’t known Yugi before, nor what kind of deck he ran, but the fact that Yugi was the first in Duelist Kingdom to collect ten star chips—even faster than his own rival, Yugi Mutou—spoke volumes about his dueling skill and the strength of his monster deck.

But for such a player to open with merely a set monster and a set spell or trap? It was suspicious.

Still, even as he remained cautious of Yugi’s unadorned layout, an involuntary pride swelled within Kaiba. Two Blue-Eyes White Dragons at 3900 attack points, plus a Lord of Dragons granting his dragons immunity to opposing card effects—honestly, if the tables were turned and he had to face this field without using Blue-Eyes himself, perhaps he could break it with his own deck, but it would be no easy task.

Yugi’s conservative play likely stemmed from more than just his own tactics—there was another, more obvious reason:

The combined might of two Blue-Eyes White Dragons and a Lord of Dragons was simply overwhelming, forcing Yugi into such a defensive, turtle-like formation.

“Hmph.” With a soft snort and a subtle upward curl of his lips, Kaiba finally drew his card. A single glance was enough for his confident smirk to deepen, rivaling the war gods of legend.

“Yugi! I don’t know what tricks you’re plotting, but before my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, all schemes will crumble to dust!”

The audience—Yugi and the others—were stunned. Did this mean he’d drawn his third Blue-Eyes?

“Now, arise! My final servant!”

With a resounding roar, Kaiba slammed the card onto his console, and between his two already-summoned Blue-Eyes White Dragons, a third identical dragon appeared—the last Blue-Eyes from his deck.

“Crush my enemy! Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Burst Stream of Destruction!”

Obeying their master’s command, all three dragons opened their jaws, white-hot beams gathering within, the aura of destruction expanding to engulf the field. Even those watching from the sidelines could sense the overwhelming power, capable of annihilating all creation.

Of course, though the scene depicted three dragons attacking in unison, in reality only one Blue-Eyes’ attack was valid; the other two were mere holographic effects produced by the duel platform at Kaiba’s command.

Hearing Kaiba declare his attack, Yugi’s heart leapt. This was exactly the reckless, all-out assault he’d been waiting for!

“At this moment, I activate my trap card—Clay Charge!”

It was here! The very cards that had repeatedly served as Yugi’s foundation for victory throughout the Duelist Kingdom tournament—Elemental HERO Clayman and his signature trap, Clay Charge—a strategy known as the “Clay Combo!”

“When my opponent declares an attack, I can activate this trap. Once the targeted monster is confirmed as Elemental HERO Clayman—”

As he spoke, Yugi flipped his Clayman card face-up for all to see.

“—the attacking monster and Clayman are both dragged down into the abyss!”

No sooner had Yugi finished speaking than, empowered by the trap, Clayman faced the Blue-Eyes’ searing beam without flinching, arms crossed and bracing himself as he charged straight toward the attacking dragon.

“Useless! My field includes the lord of dragons, Lord of D!”

Seeing Clayman’s fearless advance, Kaiba immediately activated his Lord of D’s effect.

“As long as he remains face-up, my dragons cannot be targeted or affected by your card effects!”

But before he’d finished, Yugi’s retort followed swiftly, smacking down Kaiba’s confidence.

“Sorry, President Kaiba! Unless a card specifically states ‘unaffected by trap effects,’ every other card is going down to the abyss with Clayman!”

Yugi smiled as he shattered the Lord of D’s protective “effect shield” over the Blue-Eyes, recalling that even before his transmigration, the official ruling on whether Clay Charge “targets” was never clearly defined.

Gritting his teeth, Kaiba gave an order that left Yugi dumbfounded:

“In that case, Lord of D! You’ll take the blow in place of my Blue-Eyes!”

Yugi was speechless.

What the—? You can just reassign which monster takes a trap effect mid-resolution?

Dazed, Yugi watched as Lord of D darted in front of the Blue-Eyes, taking the role of scapegoat and absorbing the lethal damage in its stead.

With an explosive crash, both Lord of D and Clayman were destroyed, and the residual 400 effect damage from Clay Charge was dealt to Kaiba.

(Kaiba Seto: 2000 LP → 1600 LP)

Since Lord of D was in defense position, not a scratch of battle damage reached Kaiba.

“As expected of the first duelist to collect ten star chips! If not for my Lord of D’s intervention, this duel might have ended just now!”

Sending Lord of D to the graveyard and seeing his life points drop by 400, Kaiba put aside his pride, offering genuine admiration for Yugi’s dueling skill.

Had Lord of D not acted in time, Kaiba’s life points would have suffered the Blue-Eyes’ original 3000 attack, halved to 1500, then another 400 effect damage from Clay Charge, plummeting him to a mere 100 LP—a brush with death’s door, indeed.