# Chapter 112: You Underestimate Your Talent Too Much
Having escaped the pursuit of Security, Kiryu led Yūga Hōzumi and the others through the intricate roads of the Satellite for several hours before finally stopping in front of a farm far from Neo Domino City's urban area.
"So this is where you hide?" Yūga Hōzumi asked.
"It's a bit embarrassing, but we have no other choice," Kiryu said, a little apologetically. "After all, compared to Neo Domino City proper, The Top Echelons' control here is relatively weak."
"No, you misunderstood me," Yūga Hōzumi said with a smile, looking around the picturesque farm. "What I meant was, this place is actually quite suitable for a revolution."
"It's good that you don't disdain our humble conditions." Hearing this, Kiryu also smiled, then looked at Bruno. "Arrange accommodations for our new comrade. Also, send out a notification: all members at the base are to gather tonight. Let them all get to know the Revolutionary Army's new vice-leader."
After speaking, Kiryu turned to Yūga Hōzumi. "Is this acceptable? This is the greatest sincerity the Revolutionary Army can offer."
"Is there such a rush?" Yūga Hōzumi frowned. "We haven't done anything yet."
"Just what you told me today is enough reason for us to do this." Kiryu's tone was very solemn. "Thank you for your hard work. Please relay everything you told me to the Revolutionary Army's warriors again, so they know what we are fighting for."
Yūga Hōzumi also nodded solemnly. "I understand."
"I have other matters to attend to," Kiryu said. "If you need anything, find Bruno."
"Alright, we won't delay you then," Yūga Hōzumi said.
After Kiryu left, Bruno and the quiet Eyes Boy from the side approached.
"Yūga Hōzumi," Bruno said, "he's the Xiu I told you about."
Hearing this, Yūga Hōzumi's eyes instantly lit up.
He reached out and pushed Bruno aside, looking at the unassuming Eyes Boy with fervent eyes. He then took out the two hand trap cards Bruno had given him yesterday from his deck.
"Did you make these two cards?" Yūga Hōzumi asked eagerly.
Fujiwara Xiu nodded blankly, somewhat overwhelmed by Yūga Hōzumi's sudden enthusiasm.
Yesterday, when Bruno came to him saying that a very powerful duelist was fond of the cards he created, he thought Bruno was joking. After all, even the Revolutionary Army's own members found the cards he made a bit unappealing, thinking they weren't very useful.
It wasn't until Bruno repeatedly emphasized that he could take him to meet Yūga Hōzumi today that Fujiwara Xiu believed it was true.
So today, he specifically followed Bruno to meet Yūga Hōzumi, but the successive incidents they encountered meant he only now had the chance to converse with him.
"Does the vice-leader really like the cards I make?" Fujiwara Xiu subtly took two steps back. Mainly, it was Yūga Hōzumi's gaze that made him a little scared.
"Don't be so distant," Yūga Hōzumi said, patting Fujiwara Xiu's shoulder. "If you think well of me, just call me Brother Yūga Hōzumi."
"Uh..." Fujiwara Xiu stammered, "Vice... Brother Yūga Hōzumi, as long as you like them. But, I'm just a second-rate card creator who can only make Tuner Monsters. I can't even create a single Synchro Monster; I'm unworthy of your high regard."
As he spoke, Fujiwara Xiu lowered his head, appearing a little self-conscious.
Yūga Hōzumi: ???
"Do you know how much you underestimate yourself? You're a genius!" Seeing the genius card creator before him—the only one he knew who could mass-produce top-tier hand traps—grow dispirited, Yūga Hōzumi couldn't help but encourage him loudly.
"Genius? Brother Yūga Hōzumi, please stop comforting me," Fujiwara Xiu said softly. "What kind of genius can't even create a single vanilla Synchro Monster? Card creators who started at the same time as me can now make almost complete Synchro Decks, yet I can only create these Tuner Monsters that can't be used with other monsters. For other monsters, I can't even successfully copy them when I have their source code."
"Why are you so fixated on whether you can create Synchro Monsters? Don't you realize how strong these Tuner Monsters you've made truly are?" Yūga Hōzumi said with heartfelt grief.
"Are they really... that strong?" Fujiwara Xiu said timidly, utterly lacking in confidence.
"Can you show me all the cards of this type that you've made?" Yūga Hōzumi asked.
"Then follow me," Fujiwara Xiu said, leading everyone toward the farm's residential area. Before long, he brought them to a small, rather dilapidated-looking room.
Fujiwara Xiu opened the door, led them inside, and turned on the light.
Upon entering the room, Yūga Hōzumi's eyes were met with a chaotic mess of cards and blueprints.
"Apologies, I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't tidy up," Fujiwara Xiu said, blushing as he looked at the workshop where there was barely even room to stand.
But Yūga Hōzumi had no time to respond. From the moment Fujiwara Xiu turned on the light, he had noticed a card sketch on the workbench in the center of the workshop.
It was a line art of a card, still only in black and white, but Yūga Hōzumi hurried closer, his excitement plain to see.
There was only one reason: this card art, still in the sketch stage—a beast-eared loli in a robe, with blooming cherry blossoms behind her—he would recognize it even if it were turned to ash.
Pointing at the card art on the workbench, Yūga Hōzumi asked Fujiwara Xiu excitedly, "Did you make this card?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" Yūga Hōzumi's reaction left Fujiwara Xiu somewhat perplexed. The last time he had seen such an ecstatic expression on a duelist's face was when Bruno acquired the Accel Synchro Deck at the Place of Inheritance, a deck guarded by the Revolutionary Army for generations.
"How far have you gotten with it?"
Fujiwara Xiu said lightly, "This card has been appearing in my dreams for a long time. Every time I dream of it, I try to memorize its source code. However, over the years, I've tried many times, and I've never been able to successfully create it. I was on the verge of giving up."
"Absolutely not!" Yūga Hōzumi said quickly. "This card keeps appearing in your dreams; isn't that a gift from the heavens? The more powerful a card is, the more difficult it is to create. I have a premonition that the birth of this card will cause a massive shift in the entire Duel Monsters landscape, and you will become a great card creator, remembered throughout history because of it."
"Really?" A light began to dawn in Fujiwara Xiu's eyes.
"Of course. Moreover, it's not just this card; the two types of Tuner Monsters you've already created are proof enough of your talent!" Yūga Hōzumi said as he picked up several copies of 'Effect Veiler' and 'Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit' from a pile Fujiwara Xiu had carelessly tossed on the floor. "After all, in Heartland City, even the card creator hailed as the most talented of the younger generation can't make these monsters!"
...
Went on Master Duel for a bit today, so the update is late. My apologies.
(end of chapter)