The tournament where he would represent Duel Academy was next week, and Mokuba Kaiba had said this trip would take no more than two days. So Yugen decided to follow Mokuba Kaiba on a quick trip to the neighboring city first. He could make sure the enemies threatening him were dealt with, and maybe pick up a few new Deck along the way.
"Almost certainly." Mokuba Kaiba was eating an oversized chocolate sundae as he spoke. "We asked some local friends to investigate, and it looks like they found something. But online communication is not safe, so we will talk face to face after we land."
He paused, then lowered his voice. "If it really is what we think, then this incident is tied to an old grudge we failed to settle before. But it does not matter now. This trip will end everything."
"You sound like you already know who the enemy is," Yugen said.
"We cannot be sure yet... well, we will know soon enough." Mokuba Kaiba smiled and shrugged. "It is fine. We are not afraid of anyone now. No matter who it is, my brother will deal with them."
He clearly did not want to keep talking about it, so Yugen followed his lead and changed the subject. "These local friends, are they from a branch of Kaiba Corporation?"
"No. For certain reasons, we cannot completely trust the people inside the company right now." Mokuba Kaiba smiled faintly. "You probably do not know them, but they are reliable."
"Seto Kaiba has friends? I would not have guessed that," Yugen said.
"Well, generally speaking, that is true. But there are occasional exceptions." Mokuba Kaiba set down his sundae and leaned back in his chair, staring absentmindedly at the white clouds drifting past the window. "If I had to name the person closest to being a friend to my brother, it would still be that guy."
There was no need to say more. Yugen immediately knew that Mokuba Kaiba was thinking of Yami Yugi. In fact, even now, all kinds of rumors were still circulating outside. After all, Seto Kaiba had taken control of Kaiba Corporation at sixteen, and over the past few years he had already risen to the top of the world.
Yet everyone also knew he had no partner and no friends. More than that, he had never even attracted the kind of gossip that usually followed public figures. The impression he gave was that of a complete lone wolf.
If one had to sum him up in a single line, it might be, "I am the man who will become the Duel King. Women are nothing but a distraction." But even a person like that had a hole inside him that could never be filled. That hole was the departure of Atem.
It was said that Misaki Takahashi had once joked in an interview, "Atem is everything to Seto Kaiba." Maybe that really was true. Seto Kaiba did not see Atem as a companion, but to him, the other man really was the closest thing to one.
Losing that eternal rival was like losing the purpose of his life. Even reaching the top of the world, or taking the title of Duel King that he had once wanted so badly, had become empty to him. In The Dark Side of Dimensions's The Dark Side of Dimensions, when Pharaoh Atem truly returned once more, even Yugi Muto said he admired Seto Kaiba.
Yugi Muto said that even he had already given up, and only Seto Kaiba had continued to believe he could bring him back. That obsession had already gone beyond what normal people could understand. At the end of the movie, Seto Kaiba even charged into the Underworld and found Atem's palace.
Still, the servants in the palace had probably found it strange. Lord Seto had seemed unusually flashy that day. The movie ended openly, and neither the audience nor the Duelist of this world knew the result of that Duel.
But considering the three-thousand-year entanglement between the president, Atem, and Kuribabylon, he had probably lost again. That was why, even now, he still had not given up on going back for another try. At that thought, Yugen suddenly thought of the Link System.
Wait. He had already discovered that the essence of the Link System was projected consciousness, and it could even be projected into other Dimension. In that sense, it might share something with the technology the president had once used to go to the Underworld.
Maybe that was part of the reason this system had been developed in the first place. If he imagined a little further ahead, then after future map expansions and updates to the Link System, maybe one day a new version would suddenly open an "Underworld" DLC. At that point, the president could go challenge Yami Yugi to duels whenever he wanted.
"By the way, there is still some time left in the flight. Want to try the Duel arena function in the Link System?" Mokuba Kaiba suggested. "I can record some data while we do it and use it for later debugging."
Yugen glanced at him. Looking at the eager smile on Mokuba Kaiba's face, Yugen thought to himself, are you really debugging or not? Looks to me like you just want to watch me duel.
"Welcome to Link Arena."
Saito Tomoki stepped onto the circular arena in a stream of pale blue data. Blue ripples spread like flowing water, unfolding into the Duel field as Tomoki walked to the center of the virtual arena, anticipation plain on his face.
Next week would be his first match as a pro.
Pro Duelist League was the dream stage for countless Duelists around the world. After years of hard work, Tomoki had finally reached that vast stage, and a new life as a professional Duelist was about to begin.
For most people, becoming a professional Duelist meant fame, status, and sums of money and influence beyond imagination. Ever since coming out of a certain Dueling Dojo, Tomoki had already begun to feel that the people around him were no longer enough.
He needed pressure. He needed challenge.
The online competition for this Link System, newly launched by Kaiba Corporation, was the perfect opportunity. He hoped to find fresh motivation in this online arena, and if possible, he wanted to run into veteran pros who had also received beta access.
The one he most wanted to face was still the dazzling rookie of the pro league, "Aster Phoenix," a super-elite player who used a Hero Deck and had maintained a perfect record so far. Only by facing someone on that level could he improve faster.
Otherwise, Tomoki felt it would be difficult for a genius rookie like him to lose.
Link Arena completed the matchmaking. Tomoki glanced at his opponent's ID.
Joyful Duel?
At once, he pictured a hot-blooded young man overflowing with passion for Duel. Probably some enthusiastic Duelist who genuinely loved Duel, right?
Online IDs were fake anyway, but Tomoki, as a professional player, had chosen his real name as his ID. There was no special reason for it. It simply reflected the confidence of a genius rookie.
Their virtual avatars appeared in the arena, and Tomoki got straight to the point. "Are you in the pro scene?"
Yugen, who had just logged in, paused for a moment before smiling. "No."
Tomoki sounded mildly disappointed. "An amateur?"
"Yeah, yeah. Pure amateur."
"All right."
So it was another beginner-stomping match. This was probably going to be very boring.
Tomoki opened his Duel Disk. "Then come on, no need to hold back. Let me test your strength."