Night fell, the skyline shrouded in purple twilight.
A massive, mysterious ship slowly approached through the mist, parting the sea with its bulk, leaving a trail on the horizon. Waves crashed against metal, blending with the thunder of engines in a grand symphony.
Jaden's eyes widened at the KC-branded vessel.
"It's huge! Looks like a battleship!"
"This is the new stage for the Duel City finals—the Duel Ship!"
"If you have the guts for the ultimate test, step onto this stage!"
The Arbiter followed silently, face impassive. Loren trailed behind, eyes never leaving Kaiba.
The others boarded in turn, and the ship set off.
Back in the original Duel City, Kaiba had a blimp, which even had a jet inside—pretty over the top.
"I see," Kira thought. "Bringing these dangerous people far from the city—if things go south and we have a Pokémon battle, at least civilians won't get caught up."
Before, just a bit of the snake god's power had caused a disaster big enough to halt the tournament. If they fought for real, who knew what would happen.
Kaiba had arranged a lavish banquet for the finalists, held on the top deck.
A long table, draped in white linen, silver cutlery, crystal glasses, and a variety of dishes, with classical music floating in the air.
Contestants could bring one or two relatives or friends, but Kira didn't have anyone in mind, so it didn't matter to him.
Hibiki, however, did bring family.
When Jaden saw a woman in a white shirt and high-waisted jeans smiling at him, he was shocked.
"Sensei? You're entering the tournament too?"
She was a teacher at Slifer Red Dorm. Jaden rarely stayed awake in her class, but he still recognized her.
She smiled. "I taught you for a semester, Jaden. I bet you don't remember my name?"
Jaden scratched his head, embarrassed. "Haha, you got me…"
"My name is Midori Hibiki," she replied. "Try not to forget this time."
"Midori Hibiki, Hibiki… Wait!?"
"Are you related to Mr. Hibiki?"
"She's my sister," Koyo explained, smiling. "Jaden's a good student, isn't he?"
"A good duelist, sure. As a student…"
Midori smiled slyly, arms folded.
"Even among Duel Academy students, it's rare to see so many failing grades in a single semester." ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novᴇlfire.net
"Ahaha…," Jaden could only laugh awkwardly.
"Jaden, your dueling is top-notch, but theory matters too. Don't neglect it."
Koyo patted his shoulder, then gave his sister a meaningful glance.
"And trust me, making my sister mad is a bad idea. Even I stay out of her way then."
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Midori huffed.
Watching their interaction, Jaden couldn't help but say, "That's nice…"
"What is?" Koyo asked.
"Oh, just seeing you two made me think—having siblings must be great. I didn't have many friends as a kid. I always wished for a brother or something."
Koyo smiled, eyes closed.
"Well, if you'd like, Jaden, I could… be your big brother."
"Really!?" Jaden was excited.
"Hey, you didn't ask my opinion," Midori interjected.
"Big sister Midori!" Jaden quickly corrected himself.
"Alright, alright," Midori laughed. "But don't think calling me that will help you pass next semester!"
After the feast, the contestants rested in their rooms, then were called to the top deck.
The dueling arena was already set up, with a Blue-Eyes lottery machine—a chibi Ultimate Blue-Eyes Dragon, its central mouth open behind a glass dome, the other two facing down.
Kaiba, ever extravagant, had even turned the lottery machine itself into a card.
[Spell Card - Bingo Machine, Go!]
[Effect: Reveal 3 "Blue-Eyes" monsters or cards that list "Blue-Eyes White Dragon" or "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon" except this card from your Deck, your opponent randomly chooses 1 for you to add to your hand, shuffle the rest into the Deck.]
Proof that in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world, anything can become a card.
A man in a black suit and sunglasses stood on stage.
"Welcome, duelists. I am Roland, judge for this KaibaCorp Duel City tournament."
Roland, the legendary judge who'd faced every crisis at Kaiba's side, always calm no matter what.
"We will now use this machine to randomly determine matchups. Please wait."
The Ultimate Dragon machine whirred, golden balls with contestant numbers spinning inside. Everyone held their breath.
"Who will I face first?" Jaden was excited.
"Everyone's a great opponent, can't wait!"
Two balls dropped from the dragon's mouths—the first match's contestants.
"Number one—Fujiki Kira!"
Roland held up the two balls and announced,
"Versus Number three—Reggie Mackenzie!"