Slotting his deck into place and securing his Duel Disk, Kira stood up and left the room.
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a faint tremor from the inside pocket of his jacket.
He paused, reaching in to pull out the mini Millennium Puzzle—the sealing device.
It seemed that just now, this thing had moved slightly.
Up to now, it had only reacted to powerful dark forces, remaining dormant otherwise. Could it be that this next duel, which would determine whether he or Kaiba would face the root of Orichalcos directly, was what triggered the reaction?
Or perhaps it was because of the longstanding connection between Kaiba and Atem. They had always been fated rivals, entwined in a love-hate fate for over three thousand years. That it would respond to Kaiba and the power of his White Dragon wasn't surprising.
But now, holding it in his hand, it seemed to have gone still again.
Kira considered for a moment. Whatever the case, he decided to wear it around his neck.
Who knew if it would help, but better to have it. Not only for his duel with Kaiba—if he had to face the Arbiter at the end, it would probably come in handy.
Walking down the long corridor and stepping onto the dueling field, he saw that Kaiba had already been waiting.
"You're here," Kaiba said, slowly opening his closed eyes to look at Kira.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. President," Kira replied, taking his place opposite.
Kaiba chuckled quietly.
"So much change in just half a year," he said calmly. "Fujiki Kira, let's see if I was wrong about you. I'll use this duel to find out."
Kira said nothing, just activated his Duel Disk.
There was no need for pleasantries with Kaiba—dueling was the best form of communication.
"Duel!" they both declared.
Kira glanced at his Duel Disk. The indicator light for first turn was lit.
"No need for politeness, then. I'll take the first move. My turn, draw."
He drew, quickly selecting two cards.
"I set a monster face-down in defense position, and another card face-down in the back row. End my turn."
Kaiba drew with a shout, and it was as if a whirlwind swept across the field.
"Spell Card: Graceful Charity. Draw three cards, then discard two."
He drew three, then discarded two.
"Next, I activate the Spell Card: Trade-In. I discard an 8-star 'Blue-Eyes White Dragon' from my hand to draw two more cards."
After switching out cards, Kaiba immediately played another.
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell: Different Dimension Hangar!"
The spell card appeared, its power forming a pitch-black vortex in midair.
His Duel Disk glowed pale blue, rapidly searching his deck. Three cards popped out automatically.
He pulled the cards and threw them into the air, where they briefly transformed into three mecha projections before vanishing into the vortex.
"Different Dimension Hangar lets me banish three Union monsters of Level 4 or lower from my deck." Kaiba declared. "'Y-Dragon Head', 'Z-Metal Tank', and 'W-Wing Catapult'—banish them!" (Anime Card)
Kira was no stranger to this. In the anime, it was used by Chazz, but now Kaiba wielded it.
The XYZ series had always been one of Kaiba's primary strategies, even in DM, and in GX Chazz got those rare cards from KaibaCorp. Of course, the president himself would have this support card.
"Next, Normal Summon: 'X-Head Cannon'!"
[X-Head Cannon, ATK 1800]
"Hangar's effect: When you summon or Special Summon a monster that's listed on any of the banished Union monsters, you can Special Summon those banished monsters."
Two beams of gold shot down from the extradimensional vortex, landing left and right of Kaiba, forming a heavy tank tread and a mechanical dragon.
"Appear, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank!"
[Y-Dragon Head, ATK 1500]
[Z-Metal Tank, ATK 1500]
"Now, X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank—combine!" Kaiba commanded.
The three machines began to transform, electromagnetic tracks linking them together. Parts clashed and assembled, merging into the tricolored Dragon Cannon. The heavy treads slammed onto the ground.
[XYZ-Dragon Cannon, ATK 2800]
"He summoned Dragon Cannon right away!" Jaden exclaimed.
"This is the legendary Kaiba Seto duel," Zane observed. "Absolute power, all-out attack from the start."
But Kaiba just smiled faintly.
To him, this was only an appetizer.
"XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect: Discard a card to destroy any card on the field."
He sent a card to the graveyard.
"Destroy the set card in your back row."
The Dragon Cannon's barrel lowered, firing a barrage. Kira's set card was blasted into the air and shattered.
Continuous Trap: Dragon Capture Jar.
"As I thought," Kaiba sneered. "The Dragon Capture Jar. That used to be my weakness. But I've long since surpassed my old self. If you think sealing my attacks with tricks like that is enough, you'll be disappointed."
He knew Kaiba's deck was mostly Dragons, but not pure Dragons—not a surprise.
"Not done yet," Kaiba continued. "I activate the Spell: Iron Call! If I control a Machine-type monster, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Machine from my graveyard."
"The Machine in your graveyard… discarded by Graceful Charity, right?" Kira realized.
"Come forth, V-Tiger Jet!"
[V-Tiger Jet, ATK 1600]
"At this moment, Different Dimension Hangar's effect triggers again," Kaiba said. "When a monster listed on a banished Union monster is summoned, that banished monster is Special Summoned too."
He raised his arm, and the last golden light shot down from the black vortex. Chapters first released on novel⟡fire.net
"W-Wing Catapult, Special Summon!"
[W-Wing Catapult, ATK 1300]
"V-Tiger Jet, W-Wing Catapult—combine! Then fuse with XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" Kaiba declared. "Fusion Summon—
—VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!"