Chapter Fifteen: Awakening the Giant—No, Wait, There’s Only One Way to Board the Ship...

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Upon entering the [Quest] module, Hayato’s first impression was one of emptiness.

Compared to the densely packed feel of the [Achievements] and [Shop] modules, the [Inventory] and [Quest] modules felt somewhat similar. On the vast screen, only two solitary quests hung in the quest list—

[Main Quest: The Enemy Lies Beyond the Sea]

[As a duelist, how could you miss this upcoming grand event? Find a way to board the cruise ship to the Duel Kingdom 0/1]

[Reward Preview: 1000 dp, R-rank Card Pack *1]

and

[Side Quest: A Skillful Workman Needs His Tools]

[A clever housewife cannot cook without rice; collect powerful cards to strengthen yourself! Collect 0/20 cards (R-rank or higher)]

[Reward Preview: 1000 dp]

These two quests sat in the [Quest] module with a laid-back air. There were only rewards, no strange or harsh penalties, which somewhat touched Hayato’s heart—systems that constantly punish were a nuisance; a chill, relaxed system like this was a sign of civilization.

However—

Looking at the main quest, [The Enemy Lies Beyond the Sea], Hayato was deep in thought.

No need to overthink; the “Duel Kingdom” referred to the island home of Pegasus, president of the International Illusion Society and the inventor of Duel Monsters cards. This was precisely where the first major arc of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the “Duel Kingdom” storyline, took place.

After Yugi defeated Kaiba, Pegasus targeted him, sealing Sugoroku Mutou’s soul with the Shadow Game, forcing Yugi to journey to Duel Kingdom. Of course, the current “Millennium Hostage” Grandpa Mutou had not yet been sealed; after all, Yugi and Kaiba’s initial duel hadn’t even begun.

What Hayato pondered was this—originally, only Yugi was invited; companions like Anzu and Honda, or even Jonouchi who wished to participate, had to sneak aboard. Furthermore, once on Duel Kingdom, dueling Pegasus required collecting stars to qualify; Jonouchi and Yugi had to split the only two stars between them.

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Of course, Hayato could try to sneak aboard with Jonouchi and the others, but the biggest problem awaited after boarding Duel Kingdom. Unless he intended to remain a mere spectator like Honda and Anzu, he would face the awkward predicament of insufficient stars compared to Yugi.

Yugi needed to win back his grandfather; Jonouchi was raising money for his sister’s surgery. Hayato couldn’t just claim the right to duel out of personal desire and snatch their chances.

Ticket-hitching with Yugi was clearly out of the question. That left only one option—

Hayato had to secure an invitation in his own right to board the cruise.

It sounded simple in theory, but was anything but in practice. Pegasus had poured much effort into this upcoming duel tournament, aiming to ignite Duel Monsters’ popularity. Each participant was formidable; being invited meant Pegasus valued them highly.

Although Hayato considered his own skills decent, his biggest problem was that he lacked any fame. Pegasus had the Millennium Eye but wasn’t Professor X; he couldn’t peer across half the globe to judge Hayato’s strength, much less extend an invitation.

As for challenging other famous duelists? Perhaps somewhat feasible, but two major obstacles stood in the way: first, time—building enough renown before Pegasus finalized the invite list was insanely difficult; second, Hayato had no clue where these star duelists were.

Though Duel Monsters tournaments aired often on TV, Hayato couldn’t just fly to every event, track down a star duelist, and say, “I challenge you.” Who would even acknowledge a nobody like him?

Making a name for himself seemed impossible. But since the invitation list was Pegasus’s personal decision, perhaps—

As Hayato brooded on this, Honda was suddenly pushed aside, snapping him back to reality. The system screen, controlled by their mental command, vanished.

After being repeatedly refused purchase requests and then held up with long-winded complaints, Kaiba’s mood was quite sour. He glanced irritably at the cards just gathered by the Kaiba Corp team in the suitcase.

Without another word, Kaiba packed up, scowled at the bothersome Jonouchi, and strode toward the door.

“Farewell!” Though still polite, the unease behind that farewell was unmistakable.

“Bang!”

The door slammed shut; the sound of a car engine starting outside confirmed Kaiba’s departure.

“What an irritating guy. Did you see that? He looked down on everyone like they were beneath his nose,” Jonouchi grumbled. “And he has to ride in a car when he goes out—what a show-off.”

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“Well, at least he’s still humble enough to use ground transportation. Could be worse—he could be flying around in a Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet,” Yugi remarked.

His attention wasn’t on Kaiba’s attitude, but rather on a glimpse of Kaiba’s inner world just now: “Kaiba seems to treat cards merely as tools.”

“The truly important cards are those in which a soul resides.”

Yugi’s words made Hayato suddenly recall something. After his duel with Yugi, during the final draw phase, he had sensed something emanating from the cards.

Whereas Yugi and others had yet to fully understand Duel Monsters’ power, Hayato knew that souls truly dwelled within the cards. At the same time, cards were indeed symbols of power.

Yugi was right to see cards as vessels of spirit; Kaiba’s view of cards as raw power wasn’t wrong either, because spirit and power have never been in conflict—they complement one another.

However, while Yugi and company simply hadn’t grasped the power of the cards yet, Kaiba outright refused to acknowledge the presence of spirit within them.

“That guy seems to have lost his way. It’s worrisome what he might be capable of,” Hayato remarked knowingly.

He was well aware that later Kaiba would arrange for Sugoroku Mutou to be taken away and forced into a duel for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Sugoroku had intended to awaken Kaiba through spiritual communication with his deck but was frightened by the huge Duel Monster projected by Kaiba Corp’s holographic technology, eventually being rushed to the hospital.

Hayato couldn’t say any of this aloud—he had no proof of Kaiba’s actions. Nor did he possess the Millennium Necklace to “see the future” and make such prophecies. All he could do was offer subtle warnings for Sugoroku to stay alert and avoid being abducted.

But considering the reputation of the “Millennium Hostage,” the event’s outcome would likely unfold just as originally told.