Chapter 405: Determination

With the conclusion of this final match between Xiang Hongye and the Arbiter, the quarter-finals officially came to an end.

According to the schedule, there was a short break after the quarter-finals. Just like the first Duelist Kingdom tournament back then, the quarter-final stage was held during the journey, but there was a special venue for the final stage of the competition after entering the semi-finals.

Back then, it was the Duel Tower that symbolized Kaiba and his past, and he planned to win the title of Duel King on that tower and take the cards of the Three Egyptian Gods, thereby reaching the pinnacle of the world and making a break with his past.

But everyone knows what happened later. The president spent a huge amount of money to organize the largest tournament in the world, gathered the holders of the Three Egyptian Gods, and used the title of Duel King as a bet, but in the end, all the investment was for Yugi.

God knows how much money the president spent in that tournament, but in the end, the Duel King was won by Yugi, and the Three Egyptian Gods ran away with Atem, and the president didn't get anything in the end.

It seems that after that tournament, President Kaiba has been in a semi-retired state. He told the outside world that he would never touch cards again and focus on business, but as everyone knows, he actually played quite a lot later...

The Duel Ship continued to move forward. However, according to the tournament organizers, the destination was not far away, and duelists could take a break, eat something, and adjust their decks.

The place of the final battle was already in sight.

Returning to the room, Judai took out the deck he got from Xiang Hongye, spread the cards one by one on the table, and was lost in thought for a while.

At least half of these were rare cards that were hard to buy on the market, which would undoubtedly be a great enhancement to his commoner heroes. These were the handsome heroes he had dreamed of, but now that he held them in his hands, he only felt a bit empty and heavy in his heart.

The door behind him opened. Judai turned his head and saw Fujiki You Xuan walk in.

"Fujiki You Xuan..."

"How is Mr. Xiang?" Fujiki You Xuan asked.

"Hmm, he's unconscious in the infirmary on the ship, and the medical equipment can't find the cause..."

Judai didn't continue.

But they both knew what state that was. People who were defeated in the Orichalcos barrier, although their bodies seemed to be alive, their souls were actually no longer there.

Defeating the Serpent Deity—that is, the Arbiter himself—was the only way Atem proved in DM to save the souls that were sucked away.

Fujiki You Xuan looked at the deck spread out on his table.

"Mr. Xiang's deck?"

"Hmm, the semi-finalists are all tough guys, so I have to study and reinforce my deck," Judai nodded. "And, now I have to carry Mr. Hongye's share and work hard together."

"Alright, I knew you would say that," Fujiki You Xuan shrugged. "So maybe even if I told you to give up this match, you probably wouldn't listen, right?"

"That's a matter of course, right?" Judai said. "Mr. Hongye fought as a duelist until the last moment, how could I retreat at such a place?"

"I knew it."

Fujiki You Xuan nodded and handed him a piece of paper.

"What is this?" Judai asked strangely.

"This is the list of card information I know about the original Orichalcos deck that the Arbiter might use."

Fujiki You Xuan said.

"Kaiba Seto and I know these things like the back of our hands. You should be the only one in the semi-finals who hasn't seen these cards. If it's really you against the Arbiter in the end, then the situation might be very unfavorable for you."

Judai took it and opened it to look, feeling a bit moved in his heart: "Fujiki You Xuan, you guy... you prepared these long ago..."

"Don't be moved yet, this is just in case," Fujiki You Xuan said in a deep voice. "But I think there is a greater possibility that that guy probably didn't intend to use these cards at all."

"Just as you saw, when he dueled Mr. Xiang Hongye, the Arbiter might be the type who uses a variety of decks to fight."

"Just like you and Misawa?" Judai nodded.

"Uh... you could say that," Fujiki You Xuan said. "In short, these are just in case, because I think his strongest original deck should still be the Orichalcos series."

"It's just that what he will specifically use in the duel... if you really face him, you still have to be prepared for the possibility of facing any tactics."

"Hmm, hmm, I know." Judai nodded repeatedly.

Seeing him agree so quickly, Fujiki You Xuan suddenly realized that his advice might be redundant.

Because for Judai, there has never been a saying of understanding the opponent before the battle and preparing in advance. No matter what deck the opponent uses, he insists on his own set, soldiers come to block, water comes to cover.

But honestly, if Judai really faces the Arbiter, Fujiki You Xuan is not optimistic about the result.

Whether in the anime or the manga, Judai Yuki is a very typical growth-type protagonist. But the current Judai has only passed half of his first year, neither having the Masked HEROes of the late manga nor the Neo-Spacians of the late anime, and the power of the Supreme King hasn't awakened, and Yubel is still drifting outside the sky, which can be said to have no trump cards at all.

He just got the high-level Hero deck entrusted by Xiang Hongye, which can be considered an initial reinforcement. But to face an opponent of the Arbiter's level in this state...

Honestly, Fujiki You Xuan feels that even if he cheats, his winning rate is minimal.

However, it is clear that Judai cannot be persuaded. Fujiki You Xuan, as a friend, has said everything he can say, and the rest depends on Judai himself.

"By the way, just now on the duel field, the Arbiter seemed to have done something to you," Fujiki You Xuan asked. "Do you feel anything wrong?"

Judai frowned and stared out the window for a while.

"I can't say."

"Can't say?"

"That feeling is very strange," he brewed his words. "I saw many fragmented pictures, feeling like... some kind of memory."

"But it's strange, I don't remember having those memories."

Judai remembered something.

"By the way, I also heard someone calling my name repeatedly. 'Judai, Judai', calling non-stop, feeling like it came from a very, very far place..."

Fujiki You Xuan thought for a while.

Saying this, it is possible that it is the memory deleted from Judai's childhood, or his past life.

But no matter which memory it is, it should be related to Yubel. The one calling his name is probably Yubel.

In the anime, Yubel once said that she could still receive feedback from Judai when she was just launched into space. Even though she was far away from Earth, the connection between them as master and servant was not broken.

She kept sending messages to Judai, and at that time Judai would have nightmares every night.

Until Kaiba Corporation's technology deleted Judai's related memories, and the connection was cut off at the same time. Judai completely forgot about Yubel's existence from then on.

Could it be that the Arbiter's interference with his memory made his connection with Yubel show signs of recovery?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 406 =====