Chapter 91: Detective Lightning

"Tenjou," on the first day of school, after classes ended and sign-ups for the tournament began, Manjoume approached Tenjou Hikari, "there's something I need to discuss with you."

"What?" Tenjou Hikari had assumed he was here to challenge him to a duel, "are you participating in this tournament as well?"

"No." Manjoume shook his head, "of course I want Mr. Yugi's cards, but if I really participated, my Master would probably be very unhappy, wouldn't he?"

Tenjou Hikari personally felt that Kaiba Seto wouldn't mind such a trivial matter.

"What I want to tell you is something else."

That was strange.

What could Manjoume possibly want with him?

Could it be that, just like in the original story, he had feelings for Asuka Tenjoin and wanted to seek his advice?

In the original story, it seemed that event led to the emergence of the Three God Cards—but that wasn't right either? If such a thing were true, he should be asking Fubuki Tenjoin, shouldn't he?

"It's about Chairman Shadow," Manjoume said hesitantly, crossing his arms and lowering his voice.

"Chairman Shadow!?" Tenjou Hikari's pupils contracted slightly, then he relaxed again, asking as if he knew nothing, "Lightning, why bring him up? He has already passed away; could there still be some matter concerning him?"

Manjoume nodded, speaking uncertainly yet hesitantly, "I once saw him at Kaiba Corporation... no, I shouldn't say 'saw' him; rather, I once met him via video call over the network."

Is that so?

"He was a fellow terribly afraid of death; my Master's evaluation of him was very poor, saying there was nothing good in his brain, that he was rotten goods far inferior to even a common bone," Manjoume said while recalling, "his life-support system required his subordinate robots to replace it at regular intervals, the entire process controlled entirely by machinery; logically, there shouldn't have been any mechanical malfunction—and moreover, according to a report I once glimpsed, even if the life-support system failed, given his condition, he could still have lived for over a month."

"Lightning... what do you mean?" Tenjou Hikari asked, quite surprised, "are you suggesting the Chairman did not die of natural causes?"

Manjoume nodded fiercely, "I suspect it was the people behind the Seven Stars!"

He raised his hand and continued, "you remember, don't you? Teacher Daidesi once said someone funded his research, which means at least someone knew about his affairs, and his becoming one of the Seven Stars was inseparable from that person; secondly, Teacher Daidesi also mentioned that this world is full of arrogant fools who want to use another dimension to do something, such as Professor Akama Zeruo?"

"Lightning, you truly are a genius detective..."

Tenjou Hikari looked at him in shock.

As expected of Detective Manjoume.

He himself knew about the matters concerning Shadow and Akama Zeruo, so he could make some connections.

He remembered clearly that Shadow remained alive until the grand finale of the original story; he was a fellow quite capable of enduring, so after the initial shock subsided and he learned about the tournament, he had been pondering whether this was something done by the baldy.

But what about Manjoume?

He deduced this purely using events and details he had witnessed himself!

"I suspect Professor Akama is likely the mastermind behind Teacher Daidesi," Manjoume said with a grave expression, "if that is the case, then everything he did in the Fusion Department becomes understandable."

Although the history Tenjou Hikari knew was slightly different, for Manjoume to guess to this extent was already ridiculously impressive.

"As expected of you, Lightning."

"Indeed, you are not surprised." Hearing Tenjou Hikari praise him rather than express shock, Manjoume finally confirmed his own thoughts, "just as I thought! You suspected Professor Akama from the start, didn't you? Therefore, your earlier establishment of the new Fusion Department and sending Sho to the Fusion Department were all part of your own calculations."

Tenjou Hikari also felt it was possible that Akama Zeruo was indeed the one who murdered Chairman Shadow; after all, judging by his ability to stir up trouble in the original story, it was very possible that in this world, he silently eliminated a man on his deathbed with one foot already in the grave without anyone knowing.

However, he had never heard of any connection between Chairman Shadow and Akama Zeruo; in this world, the only additional identity of Akama Zeruo he knew was that Akama Zeruo had once improved the Dimension Gate and gained the appreciation of Kaiba Corporation.

Beyond that, he knew nothing.

"Lightning, I actually share your suspicions, but I have no evidence to prove anything." This was also the awkward point for Tenjou Hikari.

Previously, he had told Cronos that he was attacked in Neotown, and Cronos had reported it to the people at Kaiba Corporation—but Super Fusion melted everything too cleanly, leaving absolutely no traces, making it difficult for Kaiba Corporation to investigate.

Of course, given the special nature of Super Fusion, Tenjou Hikari did not wish to expose it easily; having the fusion be clean was better for him.

As for the dimension where the Parasite Research Institute was located, even Serena didn't know where it was... after all, she was merely someone locked inside, not the one who opened the door.

"I came to find you because I wanted someone trustworthy to discuss this with," Manjoume said seriously, "if you felt it was unreasonable, I might have let it go, but since you, Tenjou, also find Akama Zeruo suspicious..."

"I will personally call my Master immediately."

"I will ask him to send people to investigate the truth and look into Professor Akama's interpersonal relationships."

He feared Kaiba Seto, because whether in terms of aura, ability, or wealth, Kaiba Seto was a max-enhanced version of himself; under these circumstances, studying under Kaiba Seto only made him more afraid the more he learned.

Plus, Kaiba Seto's way of speaking... wasn't very pleasant either, and physically he didn't look like a human at all; being able to lift him by one hand to go beat up an AI made him even more terrified.

Without someone supporting him, he wouldn't dare contact or even trouble Kaiba Seto based on mere speculation.

"I see."

Tenjou Hikari intended to continue discussing with Manjoume, but outside, a teacher was already calling his name.

"Student Tenjou Hikari, please proceed to the Duel Arena; it is your turn to compete!"

Tenjou Hikari quickly shouted "I'm coming right now" in that direction, then turned back to Manjoume and said, "Lightning, don't let Judai and the others know about this."

"I understand; I only discussed this with you because I was worried they would overthink things," Manjoume nodded lightly, "after all, this could be a matter related to Teacher Daidesi."

This made Tenjou Hikari unable to help but sigh with emotion.

The version of Manjoume taught by Kaiba was truly reliable.

Perhaps later, he could share some other things he knew with Manjoume and discuss them together.

Moreover, Manjoume had reminded Tenjou Hikari.

Although in the original story, most students from the main school later became mere extras, their talents were actually excellent, and they each possessed their own abilities, such as Manjoume's deductive reasoning regarding details and Daichi Misawa's computational skills; these special abilities were talents beyond being duelists!

One truly couldn't treat them as ordinary students; there were always areas where one could exchange ideas.

As for now, Tenjou Hikari rushed to the Duel Arena for the tournament and saw a Yellow Academy student with a strange hairstyle standing directly opposite him.

No sooner said than done; he had immediately encountered someone with a special "talent."

Wasn't this... Kagurazaka?

The "Copy" Duelist, Kagurazaka.

Today's first update, requesting recommendations and monthly tickets~

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(End of Chapter)