Chapter 141: The Legendary Duelist

The company that signed a letter of intent with Tenjo Hikari is a noodle brand called "Fengguang."

In scale, it's tiny, ranking nowhere in the world—but precisely because it's so small, it was willing to accept Tenjo Hikari's demands.

After all, what Tenjo Hikari proposed was a "new recipe"—his own named "Simple Fusion" cup noodle.

Such a "technology-for-equity" arrangement was something they had never prepared for before coming to Duel Academy; after all, how could a school dedicated to dueling possibly produce something like this?

Tenjo Hikari thought they were thinking far too simply.

In this world, "Duelist" is synonymous with elite and genius; to say nothing else, he'd guarantee that Huashan, the teacher from Huang Academy—who adores curry so much he's called the "Curry Demon"—could whip up a curry they'd never tasted.

But upon hearing that Tenjo Hikari's recipe came "from another world," their attitude changed.

On one hand, although Tenjo Hikari was merely a student, he had physically participated in a "world-class duel," and was the first super-newcomer in recent years to defeat an X-Dimensional Duelist, giving him considerable fame in a short time.

On the other hand, "X-Dimensional" is now a brand-new "gold rush," and any recipe obtained from the X-Dimensional—especially one taken from Duel Spirits—would find buyers as long as it wasn't inedible.

Finally, this also carried a hint of "buying a horse's bones"—Tenjo Hikari was only a first-year, yet the same "world-class" competitor, Marufuji Ryo, had just secured his first professional victory, proving that Duel Academy's duelists were indeed worth anticipating. Thus, a duelist like Tenjo Hikari, who had left behind duels in global broadcasts and even the iconic line "Fusion is the noblest summoning method," might achieve even greater feats in the future.

Then, they'd be the "wise company that recognized true talent!"

"Wasn't it agreed that my endorsement would be the main one!? What's with this random brat who suddenly showed up!?"

One afternoon, after receiving Professor Cronos's signed permission to leave campus, Tenjo Hikari took a boat to a factory in the southern part of the island, where he was shown the facility's equipment and production lines, and also tested his recipe to see how it tasted—whether it was even "edible."

While Tenjo Hikari was touring with the staff, a commotion erupted from the other end of the factory.

"Ah, sorry, Student Tenjo," said the OL escorting him, her face flushed with embarrassment as she quickly explained, "It's our collaborating duelist—we planned to invite him tomorrow for a meeting with you, but he came on his own… Please, this way."

Yet before she could lead Tenjo Hikari away, some staff members lost control of the man, who sprinted over.

Seeing the man, Tenjo Hikari was momentarily confused.

The duelist before him gave him a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness—he looked vaguely recognizable, yet when he tried to recall, the name slipped away.

He was a tall young man, wearing a red cap, with messy hair, a yellow undershirt, and a green overcoat.

Hmm…

Hmm…

Ah!

"Oh, Mr. Dinosaur! What brings you here today!" the OL exclaimed, trying to defuse the tension, "Your presence truly honors our humble company…"

"Don't waste time with flattery—what's going on? Wasn't it agreed I'd be the main endorser?!"

"Mr. Dinosaur, that was the plan, but our company must grow, and we're not canceling our partnership with you…"

Tenjo Hikari recognized him.

Dinosaur Long Qi.

He was a character from the Yu-Gi-Oh! original manga, known for his Dinosaur Deck, and had a terrifying record—never won a single duel.

In the manga, Dinosaur Long Qi was good-natured; after losing to Yugi, he warned Cheng Zhi Nei to beware "psychic powers," and though often tricked by Insect Yu E, he still treated him as a friend…

In short, he was a man who accepted defeat gracefully and was straightforward.

But Tenjo Hikari remembered that near the manga's ending, this man had ended up homeless, living in dire poverty.

Meanwhile, as Dinosaur Long Qi argued with the OL, some staff members explained to Tenjo Hikari.

When "Fengguang Noodles" had just started, lacking a duelist face, they were mocked by competitors and repeatedly failed in branding—so they partnered with Dinosaur Long Qi, who was then at his lowest point.

After all, although Dinosaur Long Qi was a failure, he was—The Legendary Duelist!

Huh…

The Legendary Duelist?

Tenjo Hikari raised an eyebrow.

Really?

He thought again.

Of course—Maze Brothers had fought Yugi and Cheng Zhi Nei and become "Legendary Duelists who gave the Duel King a hard time." Dinosaur Long Qi, who had battled Cheng Zhi Nei countless times and once wielded "Red-Eyes Black Dragon," a "Legendary Card," was perfectly justified as a Legendary Duelist.

Besides, he'd only been beaten by the third male lead; under fair conditions, his dueling skill was unquestionable—he could easily defeat minor duelists and even professionals.

Tenjo Hikari asked the staff, who confirmed that since endorsing their product, Dinosaur Long Qi had won more than he lost. Since then, he'd become highly disciplined, cut all ties with Insect Yu E—though he'd occasionally recommended job openings to him—and lived a strictly regulated life.

After careful consideration, Tenjo Hikari reached a conclusion.

Dinosaur Long Qi had done nothing wrong to this company.

"If that's the case, I think Senior Dinosaur is right."

"Huh?"

"Huh? Kid?"

Dinosaur Long Qi stopped arguing with the staff and turned to Tenjo Hikari.

Tenjo Hikari cleared his throat slightly and said: "It's simple logic, gentlemen. If today you can cancel your decade-long contract with Senior Dinosaur just because I'm more famous or because of X-Dimensional reasons, then tomorrow you could just as easily terminate your contract with me for profit, paying a penalty.

How could I possibly accept that?"

"That's impossible! Student Tenjo!" the staff panicked, frantically explaining, "We never said we were canceling the contract with Mr. Dinosaur—we said we'd discuss the contract tomorrow—"

A crowd of people began babbling—talking about contract durations, their unchanged ten-year partnership with Long Qi, and everything else—constantly explaining to both men.

Looking back, Dinosaur Long Qi was no longer as furious.

He'd simply been too emotional at first.

After years of wandering, Dinosaur Long Qi had gained new perspective on life, and it was thanks to "Fengguang" that he'd regained his dignity. Losing this identity—even if he'd never return to the streets—would still fill him with dread.

So when he heard Fengguang wanted to expand and find a new endorser, he was terrified.

Especially when he saw Tenjo Hikari and immediately recognized him as the young duelist who had defeated an X-Dimensional Duelist last year—the "promising" one—he became even more anxious.

Yet he never expected this Tenjo Hikari would be completely unmoved by immediate gain, and instead speak up for him.

For a man who had nothing but the title "Legendary Duelist," Tenjo Hikari's words of support instantly earned him deep goodwill.

That left only one other question.

For Dinosaur Long Qi, who had been like a stray dog, this company was his "new home"—so…

"Hey, kid." Dinosaur Long Qi called out.

"Senior Dinosaur," Tenjo Hikari replied politely.

"Duel me." He raised his arm; his old-fashioned Duel Disk automatically began stiffly activating and loading.

Seeing this, Tenjo Hikari said nothing, set down his backpack, took out his Duel Disk, and attached it to his arm.

"Huh? Mr. Dinosaur, Student Tenjo?"

"There's no need to duel now, both of you—"

"We're just purely cooperating."

Several staff members looked alarmed.

"Enough talking," Dinosaur Long Qi smirked. "Duelists speak through duels. When the duel ends, all answers will be clear."

"Kid, you think the same, right?"

"To duel the Legendary Duelist—I am honored!"

"Then—"

"Duel!"

Tenjo Hikari LP: 4000.

Dinosaur Long Qi LP: 4000.

Third bonus chapter update.

New card looks great—artwork is beautiful, white hair, black stockings. As for the effect, I don't care about anything else—if it revives Light and Dark monsters from the graveyard, it can revive Xiao Mi, so she's strong (50 cents per share, delete if forwarded).

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(End of Chapter)