Chapter Twelve: The Card That Can Represent the King of Games

"Wait, Hayato, are you buying single cards?" Yugi noticed that Hayato was picking out individual cards rather than purchasing "booster packs." "Wouldn't it be more cost-effective to buy packs instead of buying the singles pulled from them? Besides, the cards here at Grandpa’s shop are..."

"What kind of grandson spends his whole day undermining his grandfather’s business? Honestly." Although Grandpa Sugoroku was getting on in years, he was in excellent health, and since Yugi hadn't lowered his voice, he had heard every word clearly.

However, he couldn't really refute Yugi's point. Most of the cards displayed in his shop were acquired from the discards of others. While they weren't all useless filler like "Larvae Moth" or "Frog the Jam" that would only pollute a deck, most were low-tier fodder with attack points barely over 1000, and few were worth buying.

The only exception was if a duelist happened to be a die-hard fan of the "only true god"—the "Leogun"—of which there were several copies displayed in the glass case.

"It’s not like that. I’m not here to buy monster cards," Hayato said, waving his hand and pointing to a few cards in the corner of the counter. "Grandpa Sugoroku, I’ll take these. Oh, and these as well."

"Hayato, what cards did you pick? Uh... why did you choose these? Are these actually any good?" Jonouchi, holding a few booster packs he hadn't opened yet, leaned over to see what Hayato had selected.

He had expected that someone as "formidable" as Hayato would have his eye on powerful monsters, but to his surprise, Hayato had picked out nothing but weak-looking monsters and spells that seemed entirely useless at first glance.

"Don't underestimate these cards, Jonouchi. Every card has its own unique purpose." Hayato held the three monster cards in one hand and waved them at Jonouchi. "Don't judge them by their current weak appearance; when they unite, their power is immense."

"I really can't imagine what could be so impressive about monsters with 0 attack points." Jonouchi squinted at the cards in Hayato's hand. "Besides, they're hideous."

Hayato smiled, choosing not to explain the function of the cards to Jonouchi. After all, in terms of individual performance, they could indeed be called "trash."

The three cards were: "Ojama Yellow," "Ojama Green," and "Ojama Black!"

All three were Level 2 Light-Attribute Beast-type Normal Monsters, and they shared the exact same stats: 0/1000.

An attack power of 0 meant that even if an opponent did absolutely nothing and let these three monsters attack for three days and three nights, the opponent's Life Points wouldn't drop by even a single point.

However, the three cards shared the well-known "Ojama" archetype. Having an archetype generally meant there were synergy cards available, which made them worlds apart from random cards with no support. But without those support cards... well, they were just garbage. Hayato only bought them because, in his previous life, he quite liked the character who used the "Ojama" deck in the anime. Though, that character probably wouldn't make an appearance for several more years.

After tucking away the three "Ojama" monsters, Hayato looked at the other cards he had purchased with a hint of regret. He couldn't help but ask Grandpa Sugoroku, "Grandpa, is there really only one copy of 'Pot of Greed' here?"

What Hayato had purchased was the legendary "Pot of Greed," a card that almost everyone in the anime seemed to have, but which would eventually be banned in the actual game due to its powerful, mindless "draw two" effect. Along with it, he had picked up other frequent residents of the "forbidden list": the draw-three-discard-two "Graceful Charity," and the anime-effect version of "Card of Sanctity."

Of those, there were three copies each of "Card of Sanctity" and "Graceful Charity," but there was only one "Pot of Greed," which left Hayato feeling quite disappointed. Furthermore, the Kame Game Shop didn't have cards like "Monster Reborn" or "Painful Choice" in stock.

"That's because nobody ever asks for 'Pot of Greed' anyway. The copy you bought was only there because of my personal collecting hobby," Yugi explained. "Besides, 'Pot of Greed' isn't exactly a powerful rare card; it's quite common. If you need more, I'll give them to you if I ever pull them in the future."

"Really? Yugi, you're the best!" Hayato felt like leaning back in tactical triumph. That was what a true best friend was: Yugi.

Of course, that was assuming Yugi hadn't yet started down the path of becoming a "trap-heavy" player.

Jonouchi and Honda opened their own card packs and began sharing them with each other. Seeing them having so much fun, Hayato couldn't resist buying a few packs himself. As expected, he didn't pull anything incredibly powerful, but a few of the cards were decent enough—at least stronger than his original "pile of cards"—and were worth adding to his deck.

Jonouchi and Hayato began adjusting their decks together. Since decks were limited to 40 cards, both of them ended up with quite a few leftover cards. None of these went to waste; Honda took them all and actually managed to cobble together a deck of his own.

Of course, it was just a deck in name only; it had absolutely no competitive strength. Never mind comparing it to Yugi or Hayato—even Jonouchi’s deck was significantly better than his.

Just as the group was immersed in the joy of trading and building their Decks, the door to the toy shop opened again. Grandpa Sugoroku reflexively called out, "Welcome to the Kame Game Shop, we sell Duel Monsters cards h—... oh? Is that a school uniform?"

Hearing Grandpa Sugoroku, the group turned to look at the entrance. The person who had opened the door was indeed wearing a Domino High School uniform, and it was someone they all recognized.

"Kaiba?"

"So this is the toy shop belonging to Yugi Muto's family?" The magnetic voice of Kenjiro Tsuda echoed through the room, making one almost want to blurt out "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack Brynhildr!" Seto Kaiba scanned the room, frowning as he asked, "Are you selling Duel Monsters cards here?"

"So, Kaiba, you play Duel Monsters too?" Jonouchi asked, striking up a conversation with the familiarity of a stranger. "That's great! Now we have one more comrade."

"Comrade? Hmph, you seem to have misunderstood something, you mere amateur." Kaiba remained cold, ignoring Jonouchi’s friendliness. "Don't make me laugh. Do you people even have the qualifications?"

"What did you say!?" Jonouchi’s expression darkened instantly. Although Honda often called him an "idiot" or a "moron," that was because of their close friendship—those terms were more like nicknames between them, devoid of any real malice.