Yugioh [351-355] (Patreon)

Chapter 351: The Arbiter

"We meet again, Seto Kaiba."

A voice echoed in midair. Amid the rolling thunder, a shadowy figure seemed to materialize within the descending lightning.

The figure was half-transparent, ghostly, hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at Kaiba from above.

"This feeling…"

Kaiba looked up and frowned at the man.

"Dartz, is that you?"

The man smiled slightly.

"Very perceptive, President Kaiba. But no, I'm not Dartz," he replied. "As you know, Dartz no longer exists.

The Nameless Pharaoh defeated him, ending his ten-thousand-year plan. As a loser, he could only sink into the sea with his long-lost kingdom of Atlantis."

Kaiba folded his arms. "So now there's another fool wanting to pick up where he left off?"

He paused, frowning.

"'Arbiter'—that's what you call yourself, right? So what are you, the one who passes judgment?"

"No, President Kaiba. Not the one who passes judgment—I am the judgment itself," the man said calmly. "There are countless causes and effects in this world.

When humans make choices, seeking to satisfy their desires and pursue their interests at any cost, they create 'causes.'

And as these seeds grow over the ages, I am the 'effect' destined by history."

"You—"

Kaiba looked up at the crack in the sky, and the massive being whose cold gaze fell through it. Suddenly, he seemed to understand something.

"You're starting to catch on, President Kaiba. Correct."

The Arbiter smiled.

"Dartz was once chosen, because he truly had potential. But he spent ten thousand years proving his limits.

He was betrayed by his own father, who found the Nameless Dragon and led the endless armies of the Spirit World to fight him.

That was his first defeat, and it forced him into ten thousand years of reflection."

The Arbiter waved his arm. The scene around Kaiba and Mokuba suddenly shifted, as if they were immersed in VR. The disaster-ravaged city vanished, replaced by an ancient battlefield.

It was like a tapestry weaving history and myth—a forgotten land under the sunset, the Orichalcos hexagram sigils falling like stars.

Armored warriors charged fearlessly, dragons roared across the field. Elves, demons, goblins, dragons—countless races, armies of humans and elves clashing as the battle raged to the horizon.

It was an endless war, an epic that nearly reset the world order ten thousand years ago.

"Dartz once had such potential, so many resources and power. Yet he was betrayed by his father, who found the Nameless Dragon and led the Spirit World's armies against him.

That was his first failure, forcing him into ten thousand years of repentance."

The Arbiter waved again, and time spun forward, rapidly bringing them to the present.

Now, in the modern city of steel and neon, red dragons swirled in the sky, blue giants and golden divine birds clashed, all under the command of a king with rainbow-colored hair, fighting for justice against a giant serpent god.

"He got a second chance, with all the backing of Orichalcos, but the result didn't change. No, if anything, his defeat was even more crushing.

Not only did he lose completely, but even Orichalcos' power was heavily damaged by the Egyptian Gods."

"Hmph, so what are you trying to say?" Kaiba asked.

"Nothing," said the Arbiter coolly. "Just that, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.

So this time, no more chosen ones, no more agents.

This time, I will do what must be done with my own hands."

Kaiba's face grew solemn as he realized something. "You mean to say—you're that thing?"

"The God of Orichalcos—the will of this planet, and the embodiment of all the negativity of its life.

The task Dartz failed to complete, I will finish myself."

As he spoke, a deafening roar filled the air. The shadow of the giant serpent writhed and fell, roaring furiously at Kaiba.

"Heh." Kaiba sneered. "All that talk, but you're just a stray dog after all."

"That's not for you to say, Seto Kaiba," the Arbiter retorted. "If I recall, you lost to Dartz before.

If you couldn't defeat even my agent, what makes you think you have the confidence to face me?"

"Dartz may have been a bastard, but at least he was a powerful duelist," Kaiba replied expressionlessly. "And you? So-called Evil God—you're just an unleashed stray dog."

"Interesting."

The Arbiter's gaze turned icy.

He waved his hand slowly, and it felt as though the entire sky pressed down. The pitch-black serpent god descended, its crimson eyes locked on Kaiba, roaring winds whipping his coat.

But Kaiba glared up at the colossal beast without a hint of fear. Behind him, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon spread its wings and roared at the serpent god above.

"Ultimate Dragon, hmm. Looks like you've improved over the years—you haven't been idle."

The Arbiter's spirit began to float upwards, hovering in the air as if riding atop the Orichalcos serpent god, looking down at Kaiba and his dragon with undisguised contempt.

"Well, it's just a Blue-Eyes—evolved or not, it's hardly worth worrying about. I don't even need to be at full strength…"

He suddenly paused, his motions stiffening.

Then he frowned oddly, glancing in a certain direction, an expression of distaste on his face.

"On second thought, forget it."

With those words, the storm abated. The typhoon of rage finally subsided, the dark clouds faded, and the serpent god's head slowly withdrew.

"Against you, a duel is more fitting after all."

The Arbiter said flatly, his form rising with the serpent's shadow, growing more translucent.

"On the final stage of Duelist Kingdom, I'll be waiting for you, Seto Kaiba."

With that, the Arbiter and the serpent god's shadow vanished together.

In moments, the clouds dispersed and the storm dissolved, leaving only a ruined cityscape.

"Brother!"

Mokuba hurried to Kaiba's side.

"Why did that guy leave so suddenly? Was he scared of the evolved Blue-Eyes?"

Kaiba frowned, silent.

He didn't think so.

To be honest, though he had confidence in Blue-Eyes, he felt that if he had to fight the Evil God here—even if it wasn't fully revived—it would be a hard battle to win.

The Arbiter had shown great confidence, so why the sudden shift and hasty retreat, as if something had alarmed him…

Kaiba recalled that the Arbiter had glanced at something before leaving, and followed that gaze.

By coincidence, he saw Kira walking up from the main street.

"President? Mokuba?"

Kira approached, looking around in confusion.

"What just happened here?"

Kaiba: "…"

Could it be… was he afraid of this kid?

Chapter 352: Suspension

Seeing Kira appear suddenly, Kaiba frowned, saying nothing but feeling a little suspicious inside.

That slippery serpent… could he really be afraid of Kira?

Not afraid of me, Seto Kaiba, but afraid of this kid?

At the thought, Kaiba folded his arms, the corner of his mouth curling in a meaningful, cold smile.

Interesting.

Kira, not knowing what just happened, had no idea what the President was thinking. He just saw Kaiba staring at him with a strange, unreadable smile, which made him uneasy.

"Ahem, what happened just now?" Kira asked.

 "It suddenly looked like the end of the world. What's going on?"

"It was the New Doma," Mokuba explained. "Looks like this Duelist Kingdom isn't as simple as we thought. The ones you investigated at the local branch were probably just cannon fodder.

The real enemy has already infiltrated the tournament."

"The real enemy—so, top agents from Doma HQ?"

That matched what Kira had heard before.

"We just fought one of New Doma's 'Three Swordsmen.' Honestly, he was pretty strong," Mokuba said. "He used a 'Worm' deck—endless flip effects, and the more you fight, the more bugs there are.

And there was that last monster, 'Worm Zero,' which didn't fully appear but looked like a real threat."

Worm, huh…

Kira was familiar with the archetype, having a couple cards himself, but he'd never seen a full build.

If he got a chance to duel that Swordsman, he'd love to test himself and talk deckbuilding afterward.

"That guy's name is Luca. He doesn't seem to have competed before, so we have little data on him," Mokuba added.

"I'll send you what info we have, especially about his deck—just be careful if you run into him."

"Thanks," Kira nodded.

Many top duelists rarely appear at public events. The old Doma Three Swordsmen were the same—three top-level duelists who seemed to come out of nowhere, with little fame or public record.

Kaiba still said nothing, lost in thought, perhaps still mulling over the interrupted duel.

The three walked back along the docks. Returning to the city streets, the storm had cleared, but the atmosphere was still heavy. The air smelled of damp earth and rotting leaves.

Sand and rain streaked the windows of tall buildings. Trees leaned, branches broken, roots exposed. Streetlights flickered, casting mottled shadows.

"I've contacted the committee to suspend the tournament," Mokuba sighed.

"With the damage, we can't continue for now. We'll have to pause for a couple of days."

He looked up at the sky. The rift had healed, but Mokuba still felt uneasy glancing that way.

"It was terrifying. That thing just showed its face and caused all this…"

"The Evil God of Orichalcos?" Kira asked.

"That's my guess. Looks like Doma's leader is that thing—or its avatar, calling itself 'the Arbiter.'" Mokuba said.

Kira nodded in understanding.

So that ominous power, the storm, and the thunder were all caused by that slippery serpent.

"Things could have been worse," Mokuba muttered. "If it had fought my brother's Blue-Eyes here, the city would've been devastated.

But it's weird—it suddenly changed its mind, said it would leave the outcome for the finals of Duelist Kingdom. I'm not sure what that means, but at least if we settle things in a duel, we don't have to worry about the city being destroyed."

The serpent's sudden change of heart?

Kira recalled Kaiba's earlier gaze and made a bold guess.

Could it be… that thing is afraid of me?

If it were before, Kira would have scoffed—he was just an ordinary Duel Academy student, while the serpent god was a world-destroying demon lord who didn't even fear Kaiba. Why would it care about him?

But after that incident in the Spirit World, he had a hunch.

It wasn't him the serpent feared—it was the "Sealed Device" he held, the Millennium Puzzle derivative.

Back in its heyday, the serpent was crushed by the Pharaoh's three Egyptian Gods. It must have some trauma. Sensing the presence of the Gods, it quickly made a hasty retreat.

But that said… he didn't actually have any Egyptian God cards.

What came out of the puzzle was just residual power—without a card as a medium, he couldn't control it. Even if he had a card, it was unknown if the Gods would accept him.

God Cards aren't toys. Those unworthy of them can be literally struck by lightning if they try to summon them in a duel.

…

Back at KaibaCorp Tower, Kaiba himself ordered the tournament halted, citing extreme dangerous weather for safety reasons.

But while the official reason was weather, many of the contestants were top-tier duelists. After that bizarre storm and the signs in the sky, they could guess something supernatural was going on.

"The committee's issued a notice. All duels during the suspension won't count for the tournament," Mokuba said, handing Kira a water bottle.

Kira, feeling a bit thirsty, thanked him and gulped down a large mouthful.

"You've been efficient, Kira. You already have six puzzle cards and have qualified for the finals," Mokuba commented, sitting beside him. "So far, only three duelists have assembled all the puzzle cards."

"Oh? Who are the three?" Kira asked casually.

"You, of course. And my brother," Mokuba smiled.

"President Kaiba would never let himself get eliminated."

"And the third?"

"That's another strong seeded duelist, already famous," Mokuba said.

"The world's strongest 'Elemental HERO' user—last year's world champion from America—Koyo Hibiki."

Chapter 353: The Mission

"Koyo Hibiki?"

Kira was a little surprised.

So he came to this tournament too…

He was a famous figure in the original series. With "Elemental HERO" cards, he became world champion; he's recognized as the world's strongest HERO user.

He appeared in the GX manga, not only as Jaden's mentor and guide, but also as Chazz's childhood idol.

Even the "Elemental HERO" deck that Jaden used in the manga was inherited from Hibiki. After losing to the manga's ultimate boss "Tragoedia" and collapsing, Hibiki entrusted the deck he'd used to win his championship to Jaden.

So legendary HERO cards like Airman and Absolute Zero—famous among fans—were all originally Hibiki's.

But in the manga's timeline, Hibiki should have been comatose when Jaden was still a child. Now, Jaden is in Duel Academy and Hibiki is competing, so this worldline must be different.

Jaden clearly doesn't have Airman, Absolute Zero, or the other powerful HERO cards. Whether they know each other is uncertain.

After all, Kira had realized he was in a world merging manga and anime elements. Some things followed the historical inertia, others diverged.

Kira thought and asked, "How long is the suspension?"

"Hmm, not sure—maybe a day or two? Or a week?" Mokuba replied. "They have to ensure safety, and the higher-ups need to handle procedures after such a big incident…"

"I see," Kira said. "That's fine. I wanted to ask—do you have a research and development team here? I'd like to learn about something."

"Now?" Mokuba was surprised. "You could, I guess, but are you planning to add new cards before the tournament resumes?"

Most duelists avoid tweaking their decks right before an important event, especially with unfamiliar new cards.

For one, untested cards may not fit the deck, and using them without practice can disrupt your strategy.

Plus, many believe cards need time to bond with their users. Even powerful cards can feel awkward at first, and only the most talented"top-deckers can maximize them right away.

Even drawing Raigeki when your opponent's field is empty, or Harpie's Feather Duster when their backrow is empty, can be useless.

"No, not necessarily to change my deck, just to learn something," Kira replied. "I imagine KaibaCorp has always had a team researching the Egyptian Gods, right?"

Mokuba raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"The Egyptian Gods? You're not planning to—"

He shook his head.

"No, absolutely not."

"Why?"

"You don't understand—this is too dangerous. Not just anyone can get involved," Mokuba insisted. "Even researchers have gone mad—or worse—just trying to study the God Cards.

Ever since the Egyptian Gods disappeared, many have tried to recreate their power. But many have gone insane, some even died mysteriously.

We figure this is a forbidden field for now—or maybe we just haven't found the right way in. Either way, it's too dangerous. For your safety, forget it."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful," Kira said calmly. "I might have some connection with them soon. I just want to understand things, not join the team yet."

Mokuba hesitated, then nodded.

"There is God Card research, but it's high-risk and highly classified. We don't have an independent team; we only have a joint project with Industrial Illusions.

After all, the original God Cards were made by them; they have more experience."

He sent Kira a message. Kira checked his Duel Academy student terminal: it was a digital business card.

"His name is Franz—he's a key researcher for the God Card team at Industrial Illusions," Mokuba said. "I'll notify them; they can brief you on current progress.

But don't get your hopes up. Atem—er, the Nameless Pharaoh—has been gone so long, and no one's managed to reproduce the Gods' power. That team's been stuck for years."

"Thanks," Kira said.

He glanced again at the business card.

Franz, lab coat, glasses.

Wait…

Wasn't he the guy who, in GX Season 2, stole the God Card copy and actually managed to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra?

…

Elsewhere in Duelist Kingdom

As the roar of an engine echoed closer, a motorcycle stopped outside an abandoned warehouse.

Luca cut the engine, took off his helmet, and ducked under the half-opened rolling door.

"I'm back~" he called lazily.

Footsteps approached, and a man stormed over, grabbing him by the collar.

"I told you—Seto Kaiba is mine!" the man snarled. "Which part of that don't you understand?"

"Relax, Loren, he's still alive, isn't he?"

Luca, pinned against the wall, was unfazed, still lazy as ever.

"You'll get your chance."

Loren glared for a moment, then let go and stepped back.

"It's unexpected—the Arbiter appeared early. Didn't expect him to come to this tournament too."

Luca straightened his clothes.

"The 'Sealed Device' showed up, so we've had to accelerate things."

Loren's face was expressionless.

"Exactly. The plan needs to change. We need to absorb more power during the break. You'll have to go to Shimizu Town."

"Me?" Luca frowned, clearly reluctant.

"The Arbiter's orders," Loren said.

"Tch, always making me run errands. Fine." Luca scowled.

"We have evidence the 'Tragoedia' is there. Your job is to find him and bring him under our control. Be careful.

He's likely just awakened, but he's still a formidable monster. Don't be reckless."

"Yeah, yeah."

Luca waved dismissively, ducked under the door, and disappeared into the night.

Chapter 354: Kira’s Unique Perspective

"Are you Fujiki Kira?"

A man wearing glasses and a white coat walked straight over and reached out his hand.

Kira shook hands with him. "Mr. Franz?"

"That's me."

Franz greeted him politely, nodded slightly, and adjusted his glasses.

"I'm Franz, the lead designer of the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' project in the God Cards Research Team at the Industrial Illusions."

Kira sized him up and actually felt he didn't quite match the image he'd built up in his head.

In the anime, Franz always appeared arrogant and aloof, not even putting their president Pegasus in his eyes. He'd swagger up to Pegasus and say "Beat me if you think you can," leaving Kira with nothing but impressions like inflated and conceited.

And this wasn't the type of arrogance born of absolute confidence in one's skill, like Seto Kaiba. It was more like the "It's sunny, the rain's stopped, and now I'm awesome again" kind of misplaced self-assurance—a classic episode villain stereotype.

But the man in front of him right now seemed well-mannered and spoke politely, which surprised Kira in a good way.

Maybe in the anime, as the first person since the Pharaoh's disappearance who could wield the power of the God Cards, he'd just let the power go to his head, which is understandable.

Even though he was just an episode villain and not even a great duelist, his talent couldn't be denied.

He might have strayed down some dubious paths, but the Field Spell "Mound of the Bound Creator" he invented did really manage to restrain Ra and allowed him to harness the power of a God Card in a duel.

Regardless of whether his methods were right, he had truly solved a problem that had troubled even the Doma and the Tomb Keepers for years. He managed to summon a God with a mere mortal body and even used a copy card, breaking two taboos, and yet came out of the story unscathed. That was no small feat.

"Kira, you've made quite a name for yourself in academia lately. I've heard about the achievements of your lab—quite impressive for someone so young."

Franz smiled, pushing up his glasses.

"I can't even imagine how far you'll go in the future."

"You flatter me. I just got lucky with a bit more inspiration than others," Kira replied with a smile.

"Hahaha, that's hardly modest, Kira." Franz said meaningfully, "Only those who've really worked in this field understand—what you call 'a bit of inspiration' is something no amount of effort can match."

Kira smiled and didn't deny it.

He had come to realize how, in research, finding the right direction made things much easier. When you know exactly which support cards and evolutions revolve around a card, and have a clear goal in mind, you're already a big step closer to success.

"But I must admit, I was surprised when you reached out to our team, Kira. God Card research is taboo. Our president once even considered shutting down the project—he felt it shouldn't even exist."

"Mr. Pegasus, you mean," Kira said. "But wasn't he the one who brought the three God Cards into the real world in the first place?"

"Yes, but he often regrets it. Says it's a power mortals shouldn't possess, that it never should have been made, and now that it's buried, it shouldn't be unearthed again, blah blah blah…"

Franz shook his head as he spoke.

It was clear that, while less extreme than his anime version, he and Pegasus didn't really see eye to eye.

"As card designers, we should be striving to reach the very pinnacle of Duel Monsters. Now that we know what the summit looks like, he blocks our way with arguments about danger.

You understand what I mean, right, Kira?"

Since Kira had come to learn about this taboo project, it was natural to assume he supported it.

"Of course. But Mr. Pegasus' concerns are valid. After all, so far, anyone who's tried to recreate the power of the God Cards has been hurt to some degree."

"I don't deny there's risk," Franz said, shaking his head. "But if you want to challenge the highest peak of dueling, danger is inevitable. As designers seeking ultimate power, how can we fear it?

In fact, I already have an idea."

He frowned, a bit annoyed.

"With this method, I'm at least 80—no, 90 percent sure it'll work. Even ordinary duelists could briefly control a God Card's power.

But President shot down my idea."

Kira knew exactly what he meant.

The Field Spell "Mound of the Bound Creator," as the name implies, shackles the Gods. It uses brute force to suppress their power and avoid divine backlash.

It seemed effective in the anime, but the risks were obvious. Sure, you could use the Mound to protect yourself during a duel, but you couldn't hide there forever.

"Using cards that suppress the Gods' power to reduce risk. It's a valid approach," Kira said. "But there are still risks, and the God's power is suppressed. If the spirit and duelist aren't in sync, it could have other consequences."

"I understand," Franz said. "But this is the only method that's worked so far. No one else has come up with anything better."

He paused, then his eyes lit up as he looked expectantly at Kira.

"Wait, does Kira have a unique insight?"

He'd already heard that many other departments had made breakthroughs after getting advice from Kira.

If someone like him suddenly reached out, it was probably for a reason.

"Haha, I wouldn't say unique, but I did just have an idea," Kira said. "Look, what if, instead of trying to copy the entire God Card, we designed cards that only borrow part of the God's power, without replicating the whole thing?"

"Hm?"

Franz was stunned.

As an expert in God Card research, he'd never heard this perspective before.

"All current research focuses on copying and controlling the God Cards. But after all these years, progress has shown that this path is almost impossible.

So why not try a different approach?"

Franz pondered. "You mean fragmenting the God's power, spreading it across various derivative cards to gain part of its power?"

"Something like that. Also, regarding the Sun God—you know, as an expert, that the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' has several forms, right?

If you can't summon the full God, what about just one of its forms?"

The idea was novel and bold—a whole new world for Francis, who fell deep in thought.

Kira stepped aside, smiling as he watched Francis ponder.

Yes, that's right—he wanted Ra's egg.

A bird egg that can devour three monsters at once… who wouldn't want that?

Chapter 355: The Ra's Disciple

Franz was hesitant at first, but after Kira continued to share his ideas, Franz's eyes lit up and he grew more and more excited.

Besides proposing cards for Ra's other forms, Kira also suggested a series of support cards with God-like powers, as well as cards to help search and deploy the Gods.

They had actually tried developing these before. For example, the card "Ra's Disciple," which Franz used in the anime to summon Ra.

That card was also eventually printed, but it was quite different from the anime version.

In the anime, "Ra's Disciple" let you add two more copies of itself from your deck to your hand when summoned.

In the real card, this effect was upgraded—when summoned, not only could you add two more copies from your deck, you could even Special Summon them directly, making it easy to get the three sacrifices needed for Ra.

It sounds strong, but the card was saddled with a crippling self-limitation: as long as a Ra's Disciple is on your field, you can't Special Summon by any means except its effect.

This severe restriction made the real card almost useless in serious strategies.

By contrast, in previous metagames, the anime effect was much more powerful—summoning one and immediately gaining two more cards was an incredible way to gain resources.

"Honestly, I think your 'Ra's Disciple' card has a lot of potential," Kira said seriously. "If possible, could you give our lab a copy for research?"

"I suppose I could…"

Franz found it odd.

"But this card was designed just to quickly summon Ra. If the God Card summoning problem isn't solved, what's the use?"

Kira grinned mysteriously. "Well, even though it's meant for Ra, I think it might have unexpected potential."

Despite its severe restriction, creative players discovered hidden potential in the Ra's Disciple.

With "as long as this card is on the field, its controller cannot Special Summon," the card became a tool for trolling: if you gave your opponent a Ra's Disciple, they couldn't Special Summon anything at all.

So a derivative card meant to summon a God was repurposed into a lock-down strategy—using various means to give a Ra's Disciple to the opponent, so they're stuck, unable to do much of anything.

No Special Summons also meant you couldn't use it as a Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Link material.

You can't tribute it for a normal summon either, because the effect says, "This card cannot be tributed except for the Tribute Summon of The Winged Dragon of Ra."

In other words, the Ra's Disciple is so devout it recognizes only Ra, and in all other cases, it can't be used as tribute by any means. It's like an immovable nail—once you stick it on your opponent's field, their mindset is likely to break.

That's why Ra is the most trollish God Card. It has nothing to do with Marik being the sunshine boy with the strongest God in Battle City. Even its support cards are trolls to the core.

"Alright." Franz agreed readily.

Kira was now quite famous in card design, and many teams wanted his insights. Besides, the Ra's Disciple was just a regular Level 4 monster, only valuable as Ra support, and not much else.

Franz generously promised to send Kira three copies for research.

Kira was satisfied—meeting the lead designer of the Ra team had paid off.

Even if he couldn't figure out the right way to harness a God Card, just getting Ra's egg and a Ra's Disciple was a great haul.

Those two cards alone would be enough to show an opponent what the most valuable God Card really means.

…

When Kira met up with Mokuba again, Mokuba was heatedly talking to someone on the phone—sounded like an argument.

He ended the call and, seeing Kira, let out a long, exasperated sigh.

 "This is a headache. The trouble never ends."

"About the tournament?" Kira asked.

"Yeah. There was a huge disaster during Battle City, and a lot of people got hurt. Luckily, no deaths… but it's still a mess. Some people are demanding the tournament be stopped, saying it's too dangerous."

"But it'll go on, right?"

"Of course," Mokuba said matter-of-factly.

After all, it was the president's tournament. He'd never let it be canceled halfway.

"It just means the next couple of days will be busy. Big Brother has to go back to meet the board. Actually, there's something I want to ask you…"

Mokuba hesitated.

"I'm not sure if it's appropriate…"

"No worries, just say it."

Kira waved it off—no point in holding back between friends.

"Alright. It's about that guy, Luca, the new Doma Swordsman. After his duel with my brother, we looked into him.

No solid leads yet, but the clues point to a town called Shimizu. Ever heard of it?"

Kira shook his head. "No. What's special about it?"

"That's the problem—we don't know. But if the clues are right, and that Doma Swordsman went there right now…"

"You think something's there?" Kira said knowingly.

"We can't say for sure—just a guess."

Kira nodded. "You want someone to check it out. But if it's just to confirm something, you've got enough people for that, right?"

"Yes, but for certain reasons, I want to send a strong duelist, just in case. Because…"

Mokuba hesitated again.

"Honestly, there was a duelist we know pretty well in that area. If it was him, I wouldn't worry. When I first noticed that town, I tried to contact him.

But for some reason, I can't reach him. I've got a bad feeling."

"Oh? Who is it? Do I know him?"

"You probably don't, but you've surely heard the name," Mokuba said. "He's Joey Wheeler, who made the Top Four in the first Battle City."