With the duel over, Shunha's D-wheel lost speed, and numerous protective devices automatically ejected. Tenjo Hikari briefly controlled the speed of his own D-wheel and then followed to confirm Shunha was not in any life-threatening danger, only then did he offer him a little help.
Although the opponent was somewhat verbally abusive, it was, after all, just a matter of words, and Tenjo Hikari surely would help if he could.
Moreover, the duel between this person and "him" made Tenjo Hikari realize that the aversion towards 5DS—specifically towards Yusei—might become something relatively normal in this world.
Just as he is greeted while walking in the Fusion Dimension, Yusei has a similar "special protection". However, Tenjo Hikari enjoys this as a "Hero of Humanity," whereas Yusei is instinctively opposed by different types and factions for being that "lone forwarder."
Once Shunha Hifumi stood up again, Tenjo Hikari casually greeted him and then rode on his D-wheel, leaving quietly.
Watching Light's departing figure, Shunha stood in place, somewhat dazed.
Indeed, this man surely hid his appearance, but is that truly a problem?
In this WRGP Tournament, Leyte wasn't the only one hiding identities and posing in disguise. Why did he particularly care about Leyte and suspect him and the 5DS Team of having conspiracies?
That's not like me...
While mounting his D-wheel, Shunha Hifumi silently began to ponder.
However, these thoughts were clearly not something Tenjo Hikari would think about.
Before long, Tenjo Hikari returned to the 5DS Team's preparation area, stopped his vehicle, and greeted a few people.
His D-wheel didn't need testing, or rather, his D-wheel had a "special" method of testing. Instead of these, Tenjo Hikari was more concerned about other matters.
Like the data during the duel, the energy produced by the duel, and such.
But—
Different from him, his teammates in the preparation area were happily watching the commentary on this duel.
Perhaps it's human nature, but along with the unfolding of the WRGP and the operation of "supporter votes," a commentary forum about the WRGP Tournament duels also began operating.
"5DS is quite like a dynasty now, isn't it?"
"Yes, not to mention the KING we all know, the duels of Yusei and that Leyte are also spectacular!"
"Where did Yusei find such a mysterious duelist? I think his cards and duel strategy are very impressive."
"Oh, come on, it's just using powerful cards and effective tactics, without any improvisation. The effect is the same as hitting against a wall, isn't it?"
"Exactly, what's the point in that!"
At first, most commenters were evaluating Tenjo Hikari's performance, but soon, a variety of people flooded into the post, and the tone of the discourse in the post began to change.
There were those praising, belittling, purely bashing, questioning others' judgments, suspecting an inside story of 5DS, and even questioning whether it was all scripted.
Tenjo Hikari shook his head.
Crow yawned, showing little interest, but Jack and Lua were already incensed, transforming into keyboard warriors ready to debate.
"But, if we talk about it... although it's a mixed deck, the construction concept is quite good."
Though there were many cards with unclear purpose, the Bloodline Fusion paired with Genex, and Reasoning paired with Infernoid were clearly reasonable tactics and concepts. Although its execution had some issues, Genex and Infernoid slightly trapping the opponent was unavoidable.
Even Tierra couldn't truly make the deck's cards function as she pleased. Moreover, she hadn't unleashed all the power she possessed. Instead, she only relied on the deck's "Spirit Power" for the duel, following Tenjo Hikari's approach.
Tenjo Hikari noticed that Tierra seemed to be subtly putting her hands on her hips, looking very pleased.
She didn't care about Shunha's evaluation or the audience's feedback, but she was very satisfied now that Tenjo Hikari was actually willing to acknowledge the deck she conceptualized.
In fact, Tenjo Hikari was indeed quite surprised.
During Tierra's earnest duel, her performance was completely different from what he had initially perceived.
Over the past two years, Tierra had indeed been diligently learning.
However.
Although somewhat slightly proud, Tierra was still not satisfied.
Because as long it involves something related to Sofia, particularly matters concerning victory or defeat with Sofia, she is extremely tenacious.
Hence, she asked Tenjo Hikari to accompany her to the DT Dimension whenever he had free time.
Of course, since this first round of WRGP featured randomly conducted duels, Tenjo Hikari couldn't say when he would need to appear, nor could he simply accompany Tierra, so he decided to find opportunities to visit the DT Spirit Realm during every night's suspension period.
As for now, he simply watched each duel and observed each duelist's strategy.
At this moment…
A duel caught his attention.
It wasn't just him.
Some conscious duelists instinctively concentrated their attention on this single duel among the four simultaneous duels.
"Overlay two LV 7 monsters."
Overlay!?
The astonished expressions on the faces of those on either side widened in shock.
And at their center, Tenjo Kaito stood frozen in place.
"...Haruto?"
That frail figure, that duelist, though wearing a mask and riding an entirely different D-wheel, was it not the child he thought about day and night!?