Chapter 44: Following the President to Check the Water Meter

You Xuan silently observed this duel, resting his chin on his hand as he pondered.

This was Seto Kaiba's duel, eight years after the era of DM; it basically represented the ceiling-level strength of known duelists in the current card world.

Throughout the GX anime, the President never directly fought; the only close instance was the duel between Jaden and "Justice Partner Kaibaman." However, that seemed more like a card spirit Kaiba had molded after himself, and since Jaden lost that match, it was hard to say how seriously Kaiba had taken it.

Judging directly by the duel before his eyes, it was no wonder everyone in the dueling world now called Kaiba the number one duelist of the present. Even setting aside his unique skill of "floor-drawing," the strength of his Blue-Eyes deck truly led the era so far ahead that its style differed completely from everyone else's.

Even the companions of the GX protagonist group were only just emerging from an environment of "you play one, I play one" in the early story arcs, still stuck at the stage where "summoning a 2000 ATK monster on the first turn" was shocking; in the early episodes, even Jaden's duels often passed with just summoning a Normal Monster and setting a card, or sometimes nothing at all. Yet those in Duel Academy were already considered first-class duelists within the broader meta.

In comparison, the President was truly delivering a dimensional strike.

Indeed, having both wealth and skill was wonderful; conducting his own research and printing his own cards, it was only natural his deck stood at the forefront of the times. Or rather, if someone with nearly infinite resources like Kaiba still had a deck on the same level as others in the meta after so many years, that would be utterly unreasonable.

"Victory. As expected of my brother, though nothing surprising," Noah smiled, wiping his nose as he approached Kaiba.

Only after satisfying his card-game craving did the President turn to look at You Xuan.

"Fujiki You Xuan, correct?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I have words to say, but first I must deal with the rat problem."

You Xuan raised an eyebrow.

Words for me?

Hiss~ Could he be challenging me to a duel?

Considering this was President Kaiba, it was quite possible. Perhaps he was displeased after seeing You Xuan brutally defeat his AI in the Kaiba Land arena, or perhaps his card-game craving had simply struck again.

You Xuan thought it over; if it came to that, since it wasn't a life-or-death duel, he might as well accept. Even if he lost, there was nothing to lose. He could even consider charging a companion fee—one rare card per match; if he luckily won one game, he might achieve freedom in rare cards outright.

At this moment, the attendants accompanying Kaiba on the helicopter descended. Some lifted up Fujimoto, who had been blasted unconscious by a single breath attack from the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon.

Fujimoto struggled to open his eyes, adjusted to the glaring sunlight, and then blinked blankly.

"Eh? I'm still alive..."

"I have no use for the life of a rat like you," Kaiba said coldly, arms crossed. "More valuable than your worthless life is something I want from you."

Clearly, his new Duel Disk could not only grant physical mass to the solid vision of Duel Monsters but also adjust its energy output power. He had limited the output to a non-lethal range, showing mercy and sparing Fujimoto's life.

"I know you have a base. Tell me its location," Kaiba stated coldly.

By now, Fujimoto had recovered his breath. Gritting his teeth, he grunted twice. "Heh, so that's your goal. You want me to betray my organization? Pah!

Everyone in the organization is my brother, my family; we are all as close as flesh and blood—"

Following this, the corner of his eye caught Kaiba's cold sneer, which appeared somewhat eerie to him.

In a daze, he seemed to see a phantom giant figure emerge behind Kaiba, transforming into the image of a soaring white dragon; a terrifying pressure made it nearly impossible for him to breathe.

Before his eyes, the scene from the end of the duel reappeared, where he had been blasted unconscious by 13,500 points of damage; even now, his entire body still burned with pain...

Fujimoto shrank back, daring not to meet Kaiba's gaze. "...Actually, we're not that close."

Suddenly thinking it over carefully, he felt that the only true best brother he really had in the organization was Onizuka. Since Onizuka was already dead, his relationship with the rest was truly ordinary.

Thinking of this, Fujimoto immediately felt somewhat more at ease.

When others are the knife and chopping block and I am the fish and meat, it's not my fault for selling out my teammates; truly, this Seto Kaiba cheats so outrageously he isn't human, and I was forced by circumstances. I believe my teammates will understand.

"I can tell you the address," he said.

"No need." Kaiba waved his hand broadly. "Lead the way."

Fujimoto: "!"

This posture—could it be that he wanted Fujimoto to personally guide him there?

Fujimoto immediately began sweating again. Revealing intelligence was one thing, but personally leading someone to the door was entirely another matter.

"What?" Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any objections?"

"N-no, none."

Fujimoto struggled to his feet.

At this moment, he felt that his legs, which had endured a hundred battles, were actually trembling uncontrollably.

"I'm going too!"

Noah followed his brother, then let out an "Ah" as something occurred to him, turning toward You Xuan.

"Sorry, it looks like it will be delayed a bit before I can take you to the company. Would you like to wait a little longer, or should I arrange for a driver to take you to the branch office first?"

"It's fine, I'm not in a hurry," You Xuan said, waving his hand.

It was a rare opportunity; naturally, he wouldn't miss the chance to watch the drama unfold from the front row. Especially since he had just realized that Fujimoto approaching Ryuzaki seemed due to some unknown misunderstanding, and his actual target appeared to be himself...

Speaking of which, that fellow Ryuzaki had fled truly fast; in the blink of an eye while the President was dueling, the man had already vanished.

Although this organization seemed unaware of who had actually killed their two brothers, they remained a potential threat. Since Kaiba happened to be planning a raid on their home now, eliminating this group would undoubtedly remove a hidden danger for him.

Thus, You Xuan and Noah continued chatting and laughing as they followed Kaiba to the organization's base to check the water meter.

After a journey of over ten minutes.

It was still that hidden alleyway, still that mysterious bar.

Fujimoto, appearing once again inside the bar, sat at the counter with a deathly pale face, his expression vacant like a corpse.

His good friend with the center-parted hair sat beside him, examining his complexion. "What's wrong? You look as if someone died in your family."

Fujimoto turned his head expressionlessly to look at the family he claimed was as close as flesh and blood.

"Not yet, but it should be soon."

Center-part: "?"

"Didn't you go to seek revenge against Ryuzaki? How did it go?"

Fujimoto still shook his head with a vacant expression.

"I ran into Seto Kaiba."

The brothers nearby heard this and were all startled, crowding over.

"Whoa, awesome! Did you duel?"

"Is he really as powerful as they say?"

Fujimoto shook his head again.

"You'll know very soon too."

He said woodenly.

"He's waiting outside for you to come out."

Everyone: "?"

The next moment, a loud bang echoed as the door panel was violently kicked open from outside.

Amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, Kaiba strode confidently to the center of the bar, his Duel Disk snapping open with a clatter.

"Come on, rats. Duel!"

(End of Chapter)