Chapter 176: Opening of the Dimensional Friendship Cup

"Humming—"

In a dilapidated sewer, the engine's sound kept rumbling; with a sizzling noise, it slowly ceased turning, and a man with an odd crab-like hairstyle crouched down, continuously adjusting his vehicle.

"Hmm… this is too loose… here…"

Just as he was adjusting it, two people rushed in excitedly from outside—a boy and a girl, one tall and one short; the boy had strange yellow banana-shaped bangs, while the girl sported an odd three-leaf "fan" hairstyle, their styles perfectly matching.

"Yūsei!" the boy shouted first, "So cool! There are cops and D-Wheels everywhere—everyone's preparing for today's event!"

The girl kicked him hard on the shin with a thud and snapped, "Shut up, Yūgo! Can't you see Yūsei's adjusting his D-Wheel?!"

After making minor repairs to the vehicle, Yūsei wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, smiled at the two, and said, "It's fine—I just finished tuning it."

This was the "Satellite Zone," chosen by the city's governor, Golder, as the site for communication with "Otherworlders."

They were said to be people who suddenly entered this world, each with their own world and their own Duel Cards.

But due to Governor Golder of the Public Security Bureau fearing malicious intent from the Otherworlders, no communication had occurred—until recently, when he suddenly reversed his stance and agreed to their exchange event.

And the location chosen for the "Friendship Duel" was precisely this "Satellite Zone," the poorest, most decrepit district of the "city."

These two young children—the boy named Yūgo and the girl named Rin—were both orphans from the Satellite Zone, and the man before them, adjusting the vehicle with a slight air of a developer, was their elder acquaintance, "Dōkō Yūsei."

"They say if you defeat an Otherworlder in duel, you get a chance to enter the Upper District… even qualify directly for the Lucky Cup with Jack present!" Yūgo shouted excitedly, "Rin, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

The "Jack" he referred to was Jack Atlas, the "King" of this world; although Jack, like them, came from the lower classes, he rose through his own efforts to reach the Upper District and became the "King" of Duelists—something Yūgo and Rin deeply admired, viewing him as their idol.

Hearing their enthusiastic discussion, Dōkō Yūsei's smile dimmed slightly, but he didn't interrupt their excitement—only nodded gently.

Over the past two months, they had all participated in this selection tournament—though called a "selection," it was more like a "battle royale"; among countless Satellite Zone Duelists, only they had successfully broken through and earned the chance to become the city-appointed Duelists to face the Otherdimensionals…

At first glance, it seemed a "honor," but in truth, they were mere cannon fodder.

The city's upper class merely wanted to use these bottom-dwellers as test subjects to gauge the opponents' strength.

But…

Dōkō Yūsei gently closed the vehicle.

Victory could grant him a chance to enter the "Lucky Cup" and duel Jack again…

Even if he doubted the motives and nature of this duel, he wouldn't refuse—just this one thing.

He had many things he wanted to discuss again with Jack.

He and Jack were "old friends"—something he'd never told the two children; to him, being "the King's friend" brought him no glory, and he had no interest in such things.

He only wanted to know one thing—why had Jack taken his cards back then? Why had he betrayed him?

As he thought this, loud police sirens suddenly blared outside, accompanied by frantic knocking on the door.

"Hey, contestants—get out now! They're here! If you're late, you're done for!"

"These cops are such a nuisance…" Yūgo muttered under his breath.

"Let's go." Dōkō Yūsei said nothing more, simply told the two children.

"Okay~~" Rin feigned a well-behaved child's tone, then elbowed Yūgo hard in the shoulder to make him respond.

"I know! Let's go, Yūsei!!" he cheered, following his older-brother-like Yūsei away from their base.

Along the way, many Public Security Police patrolled; though called "police," they didn't protect civilians' safety, but rather the safety of the "Upper District." Beyond them, numerous helicopters circled above the Satellite Zone.

For Satellite Zone residents, such a "grand spectacle" was something they hadn't seen in over a decade.

Yūsei and the others said nothing, simply followed the route the Public Security Police had laid out to their destination.

When they arrived, they had already seen the Public Security Bureau's advertised "Otherworlders."

From appearance alone, they seemed unremarkable—most were ordinary humans; though their hairstyles were odd, so were theirs, so it felt perfectly "normal."

Beyond that, the Otherworlders were conversing with local Public Security Police, apparently discussing lodging and meals—they would stay in this area for half a month, and as per Public Security Bureau requirements, they couldn't leave the designated zone; within it, they could do whatever they wished.

They could treat it as a temporary base—tear down anything, build anything.

Over there, people were assembling equipment: some bizarre, magic-gate-like devices, plus lights, sound systems, cameras—clearly preparing for a broadcast.

On their side, helicopters in the sky were frantically transporting and positioning equipment, also preparing cameras.

A person Yūsei recognized jumped out from within, shouting excitedly as he leapt: "Ladies and gentlemen—I'm MC!"

He was a middle-aged man with a pompadour and a mustache; as he jumped from the plane, he explained: "I never imagined—I never dreamed—I'd get the chance to serve as commentator for this historic first contact and exchange with the Otherworlders!!"

"Then—no time to waste!"

He landed with a thud, startling not only the local audience but also many on Tenjō Hikari's side, who gasped in awe: "Master!"

After landing, he raised a leg high, stomped on a broken, filthy trash bin, utterly unconcerned with the dirt, struck a pose, and shouted: "Otherworld friends, and citizens of the city—please watch the rules of this duel!"

As he shouted, several aircraft above pulled a large LCD screen into position; the black screen suddenly lit up, revealing a man with a slicked-back hairstyle and white gloves, looking refined and amiable—he smiled warmly at the Otherworlders present and introduced himself: "Hello, friends from the Otherworld. I am Rex Golder, Director of the Public Security Bureau of this 【city】. Due to official duties, I cannot be present in person—please accept my apologies."

"Still afraid of being taken hostage? Hmph, what a coward." One of the Duelists in Tenjō Hikari's group muttered under his breath.

Tenjō Hikari glanced at him, ignored it, and continued watching the big screen.

"Regarding your schedules and arrangements, we've already communicated with Kaiba Corporation—no need to repeat here. First, let me explain the specifics of this 【Friendship Cup】."

He began explaining the rules.

Primarily, the daily duel schedule and structure: the Friendship Cup isn't meant to crown a "strongest," but to foster mutual exchange between the two worlds; thus, in principle, each participant will duel only once.

Of course, after all duels conclude, they will send their "King," symbolizing the city, to duel one of the visiting Duelists—to showcase their "King's" duel.

Beyond that, including tag duels, all Duelists will be randomly paired via random draw.

After speaking, he invited Kaiba Ryo to operate the machine—somehow, Kaiba Ryo himself seemed quite willing to handle the random draw, and cheerfully stepped forward to the police, diligently shaking the number selector under the tense gaze of several officers.

"Number—1!" Tenjō Hikari heard this and raised an eyebrow.

As the first selected Duelist, he was Number 1.

He hadn't expected to be first.

"Next is—" the police announced upon seeing the second number drawn, "Number 7!"

"Whoa!!" In the Public Security Police's controlled zone, one of the "managed" Duelists burst into an excited cheer; Tenjō Hikari followed the voice and looked over—seeing several silhouettes, he froze, then gasped in shock.

Meanwhile, in "a certain dimension," a man calmly observing from his base suddenly stood up as the camera's gaze shifted with Tenjō Hikari's.

"Huh, that girl looks just like Serina." Asuka, who spent the most time with Serina, was the first to spot 【Rin】 when Tenjō Hikari looked.

"Huh? You didn't say anything—I thought she was a twin! So this is a parallel world? Even identical people exist?!" Judai exclaimed.

"And…" Wan Wan Zhangmu watched the scene, rubbing his chin and frowning, "Judging by appearance, they're roughly the same age… could this really happen? Perhaps they're parallel-world counterparts? Come to think of it, in our world, Duelists of this age aren't allowed to compete."

He looked around at the decrepit surroundings and the filthy-clothed people, forming a rough guess.

But Tenjō Hikari understood the situation far better.

He hadn't expected his first visit to the S-Dimension to encounter not just a "Serina" doppelgänger, but also Yūgo and Crab-Man!

Dōkō Yūsei was the protagonist of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's!

What day is this?

He glanced at Judai and Muto Yugi, who had pulled out a sketchpad and was drawing furiously, and sighed inwardly.

The original Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist is nearly four generations strong!

Tenjō Hikari shook his head.

His first duel in the S-Dimension was also the opening match—he stood properly on his side of the stage, waiting for his opponent to appear.

Banana-head tried to leap straight onto the stage, but two police officers pinned him down; though his body wasn't fully formed, he still struggled fiercely to break free, eager to jump up and strike a cool pose. Rin couldn't watch anymore—she kicked him hard in the stomach, then pointed silently at the duel platform. He sheepishly scratched his head, chuckled, and climbed onto the stage.

On the other side, Dōkō Yūsei encouraged him: "Do your best, Yūgo. Since they're Otherworlders, neither side knows the other—don't worry about being targeted in advance."

"Don't worry, leave it to me—I'll open with a win!" Yūgo kept slapping his chest; despite having just been kicked by Rin, he acted as if nothing had happened.

"Otherdimensional Duelist versus City Satellite Zone Duelist!" MC stood at the center of the stage, microphone raised, shouting excitedly, "Friendship Cup, Day One, Match One!!!"

Otherdimensional Number 1 Duelist, 【The Absolute Fusionist】—Tenjō Hikari!

Versus—

This, uh, Yūgo!!!"

He shouted with all his might.

"Ah, damn it, I didn't think of a cool title!" Yūgo slapped his forehead.

"What—he's called Fusion?!" On Judai's side, everyone gasped upon hearing his name.

How could there be someone named Fusion too?!

"Not Fusion—Yūgo!"

"Duel!" Tenjō Hikari shouted directly.

"Huh? I—I—" he frantically activated his Duel Disk, revealing a bright white Duel Disk.

Yūgo LP: 4000.

Tenjō Hikari LP: 4000.

Chapter Three. Over the next few days, there may be many duels, so I'll add extra updates—please support with monthly tickets~ Please support with monthly tickets~~

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(End of Chapter)