Chapter 031 The Underground "Bald Wuke Brothers"

“Is this the place? The site of the tag duel in the Kingdom Arc—the Maze Room!”

Having defeated the thief Keith and taken his star chips, Yugi ignored the remaining three henchmen and retraced his steps back to the Graveyard Duel Arena. Following the storyline as he remembered it, Yugi spent some time searching and finally found one of the classic scenes from the Kingdom Arc: the Maze Tag Duel.

The maze room was about the size of a high school classroom. Aside from the central dueling area, the surroundings were empty, with nothing placed around. Across from Yugi, affixed to the opposite wall, was a large door marked with the characters for “Maze” and “Palace.”

Tap.

Stepping forward, Yugi formally entered the maze room. The moment his foot touched the floor, the sound of rapid motion echoed, and in the next second, two human silhouettes—one in yellow, one in green—appeared in his view.

The legendary “Shaved Wu Brothers”—the Maze Brothers—made their entrance like martial arts heroes from a novel or circus performers, beginning with a dazzling show of acrobatics.

A 360-degree spinning somersault brought them to a stable landing. The man in yellow, with the word “Maze” painted in black on his forehead, and the man in green, similarly marked but with “Palace,” crossed their arms and spoke in perfect unison:

“We are the ‘Guardians of the Underground Maze’—the Maze Brothers!”

Yugi: “…”

Their gleaming bald heads shone under the overhead lights, making Yugi squint. Dressed like martial artists, anyone who didn’t know better would think these two were filming a Hong Kong action movie.

“Oh my, oh my~” The elder brother, “Maze,” assumed Yugi had been so stunned by their entrance that he was speechless, and continued with a smug laugh:

“It’s rare to see someone get lost and wander into this underground maze!”

“No, no, no, brother! If no one got lost here, it wouldn’t be called a ‘maze’!” The younger brother, “Palace,” chimed in, echoing his sibling.

Suddenly, both their expressions turned stern as they declared in loud voices:

“Lost lamb, do you want to know the right direction?” “The right direction!” (repeat)

“If you want to know!”

“Then let the duel guide you to the proper path!”

With that, they gestured toward the duel platform behind them. The meaning was clear: to find the way back to the surface, Yugi would have to duel with the Maze Brothers.

Win, and you leave; lose, and you stay here as their companion.

The brothers looked at Yugi with anticipation. To be honest, in this underground maze, only two or three duelists had strayed in over the past days, and as “duel assassins,” they were famished for a new challenger!

Seeing Yugi enter was like a man, single for decades, suddenly encountering a woman who, with a charming smile, beckons him closer.

Come on, have some fun!

“Dagga…koto waru!”

Maze Brothers: ???

Yugi liked nothing more than to say “no” to those who thought too highly of themselves.

With this thought, Yugi explained aloud:

“Sorry, I’m not the ‘lost lamb’ you mentioned. I didn’t enter here because I got lost or couldn’t find my way back to the surface—I specifically came to find you!”

Maze Brothers: ???

You came specifically for us? Did we know you before? Or did you hear about us somewhere?

“My goal is to duel against you! No need for any more pointless words—let’s start right away!”

Maze Brothers: “……”

Ah, this… A direct challenge! This was the first time, as “Guardians of the Underground Maze,” they had encountered someone who sought them out for a duel. Usually, duelists stumbled in by mistake.

Such are the wonders of the world!

The Maze Brothers took their positions on the duel field, while Yugi chose the spot opposite the younger brother, “Palace.”

“Since it’s just me against the two of you, the rules must be adjusted accordingly.”

Hearing this, the brothers nodded; normally, this duel was two versus two, but only Yugi had come.

“Each of you starts with 2000 LP. To win, I must defeat both of you! As for me, my starting LP is the sum of yours: 4000 LP. Though my LP is doubled, the reduction rules still apply the same way.”

Yugi had to defeat both brothers to win, so his LP being the combined total made no difference.

“As for turn rotation: ‘Palace’ → ‘Me’ → ‘Maze’ → ‘Me’ → ‘Palace’ → ‘Me’... Is that acceptable?”

This means Yugi could draw two cards per full cycle, while the Maze Brothers each drew one on their turns.

“Lastly, the duel field setup! For me, it’s standard—five monster zones, five spell/trap zones. For you, it’s ten monster zones and ten spell/trap zones! Also, during your turns, only your own monsters can attack or defend for you. However, your spell and trap cards can support your teammate. How does that sound?”

“Hmm… Very well!”

After deliberating, the brothers agreed. Overall, the field setup favored them, so there was no reason to refuse.

“Alright! Since you agree, then—”

“Duel!”

Maze: 2000 LP
Palace: 2000 LP
Yugi: 4000 LP

“I’ll take the first move!”

After a dazzling display of hand gestures, the brother in green, “Palace,” selected one of his five cards—a yellow-bordered normal monster—and placed it on the console.

“I’ll set ‘Labyrinth Wall’ on the field and transform the duel arena into a maze!”

As his words fell, a rumbling echoed from the duel field. Looking over, Yugi saw pale yellow walls rising from the black grid lines that divided the arena.

Within seconds, a maze appeared, visible in its entirety from a standing position.

“Labyrinth Wall turns the field into a maze, and accordingly, the duel rules change as well.”

Explaining the effect, “Palace” continued, followed by “Maze” in orange, who described the new strategy:

“In this duel arena, monsters are like chess pieces. If a monster is in attack position, you may command it to move up to a number of spaces equal to its level before the end of the turn.”

Meanwhile, as the Maze Brothers explained the maze’s rules, at the highest point of the kingdom—Pegasus’s castle—

“Oh my, oh my! The Maze Brothers’ tag duel has only one challenger…”

Holding his wine glass and watching the screen before him, Pegasus took a sip and said,

“A magical and powerful boy…”

Since Yugi defeated Rex Raptor, Pegasus had been watching him and his friends, tracking Yugi’s progress.

From defeating the rough-hewn duel assassin at dusk, to besting Kaiba’s ultimate dragon in the dead of night, to vanquishing Ghost Bones in the unfavorable graveyard arena at dawn, and finally, effortlessly shutting out (without losing a single LP or monster) the former American champion, Bandit Keith!

Each of these duels proved that this boy named Yugi was a duelist not only equal to, but perhaps even stronger than, Yugi Mutou himself!

“I can hardly wait! I’m looking forward to your duel with Game Boy, yes~!”