Chapter 1066: The Warden Reveals Himself
Chapter 1066: The Warden Reveals Himself
Knock, knock.
Ren Hikuro, sitting in his cell, heard knuckles rapping against the wall. He looked up toward the door and saw the scruffy, bearded Warden Hawk Roost standing there, his smile unsettling.
"Someone reported that you're hiding a weapon."
Hawk Roost said.
"A weapon?"
Ren was taken aback, frowning.
"How could I have something like that? If you're so concerned, you can search my room."
Hawk Roost chuckled, "That's not necessary."
He reached under Ren's bed and quickly pulled out a sharp blade.
Ren's face changed in an instant. He shot to his feet, furious. "You bastard—"
As the saying goes, when you want to frame someone, you'll always find a way. Ren now understood he was being set up.
He had heard about Warden Hawk Roost's reputation from other inmates in a different facility—how cruel and brutal he was, taking out his bad moods on the prisoners for his own amusement. But hearing it was different from experiencing it firsthand. His limbs grew cold, and he cursed inwardly.
But before Ren could even move, two guards leaped forward, expertly pinning his arms behind his back and pressing his head to the floor.
"Ah—"
Ren's cries echoed through the entire facility, audible to everyone in every cell.
A few minutes later, the battered Ren was thrown into the central corridor of the courtyard.
Warden Hawk Roost, hands on his hips, bellowed, "Ren Hikuro has committed a serious offense by hiding a weapon! But it's impossible for him to have done this alone, so I believe there are accomplices among you.
However, it would be too tedious to identify each one individually, and I don't have the time for that. Therefore, the responsibility will be shared by all of you!
Starting today, for the next year, everyone's free time will be revoked! You will all be confined to your cells!"
This announcement naturally caused an uproar, with all the inmates craning their necks to see through the bars.
"Wait, this is going too far!"
"I don't even know Ren!"
"This is just like solitary confinement!"
Ren, struggling to breathe on the ground, said, "You... you framed me. You planned this from the beginning."
"Shut up!" Hawk Roost barked. "A bunch of trash, what are you all shouting about? You are all unwanted humans in this world!
You have no freedom and no rights, only a life of scraping by in the Darkness!"
"That's not true."
Yusei couldn't hold back any longer, his voice cold as he addressed Hawk Roost through the bars of his cell.
"There is no one in this world who is unwanted."
Hawk Roost sneered, "Oh? A piece of trash from Satellite thinks he can be a hero?"
Yusei said, "Ren is innocent. He is a true Duelist, and he wouldn't have any schemes."
"Oh?"
Hawk Roost's sneer deepened.
"Are you saying this because you know I'm a Duelist too? Interesting.
When you say he's a true Duelist, are you implying that I'm a fraud?"
Yusei didn't respond, but his cold expression said it all.
"Hmph, fine."
Hawk Roost, who had planned this all along, smirked.
"Then let's settle this with a Duel in front of everyone. If you win, I'll forgive Ren's crime and restore everyone's free time.
But if I win—"
Before he could finish, Yusei interjected, "Then I will follow your orders for the rest of my life."
Hawk Roost laughed heartily.
He didn't speak, but in his mind, he sneered, "Kid, you may not know, but your life won't last much longer.
I'll test today if the Dragon Signers are as powerful as the rumors say, but regardless of the Duel, I'll make you disappear by tonight."
But his laughter was cut short by a voice from behind.
"Wow, Warden Hawk Roost, you have such good spirits today. Impressive."
Hawk Roost felt a chill at the sound of the voice.
"Who's there?"
He turned, wondering who dared to speak to him in such a tone in his own prison.
But when he turned around, he nearly lost his composure.
"Superintendent Godwin!"
The man behind him had silver hair, a handsome face, and stood tall and straight, his hands clasped behind his back. Though he was alone, his presence was commanding.
At this point in the timeline, Yusei had never met Godwin before. After hearing Hawk Roost’s address, he couldn’t help but take a closer look at the silver-haired man.
"Sir? Is he the warden's superior?"
However, at this moment, Godwin was, of course, already Youxuan.
Youxuan smiled and stepped forward. Hawk Roost and the guards on either side hurriedly saluted him.
"Enjoying Duels is a good thing. Duels drive the progress of our world and the development of civilization. I, too, am a strong advocate."
Youxuan continued, "However, challenging someone after confiscating their Deck doesn’t seem like the behavior of a Duelist, does it?"
"Ah, well, this—"
Hawk Roost felt a bit embarrassed and lowered his head, not daring to respond.
In the original anime, he had also challenged Yusei to a Duel but had confiscated the Decks of all the prisoners in the jail. In the end, each prisoner had hidden a card in a secret spot, and they each contributed one card to form Yusei’s Duel Deck.
Hawk Roost was now puzzled. Hadn’t the superior ordered him to eliminate this Dragon Signer? Why would he personally show up here to interfere?
Could it be that the superior really cared about the fairness of Duels and disapproved of such dirty tactics?
At this moment, not only did he think this, but even Yusei, standing behind the bars with an expressionless face, was making a similar guess.
Although the warden was a despicable person, his superior seemed to be a true Duelist.
In the original timeline, when Yusei first met Godwin, he didn’t know that this person was the mastermind behind the scenes. His first impression of Godwin wasn’t very good. However, with the changes in the timeline, Youxuan, playing the role of Godwin, managed to earn a bit of Yusei’s favor from the start.
This was part of Youxuan’s plan.
The person who had sent the future Godwin back to this timeline, regardless of his motives, seemed to have given Godwin a task that involved disrupting history.
This led Youxuan to think about the hypothesis he had heard from Kaiba Corporation’s experts before crossing over to this dimension. It was possible that the original history of the 5D’s dimension had been disrupted, causing the two worlds to attract each other and potentially collide.
This might be the goal of the mastermind.
So, Youxuan decided that if this person wanted to disrupt history, he would work to restore it, guiding the plot back to its original course.
This way, whether history was corrected or the mastermind appeared to confront him, it would be a favorable outcome for Youxuan.
To correct history, the first step was to save Yusei and prevent him from being killed by Godwin’s previous orders.
If possible, he would also earn Yusei’s favor to prepare for the next step.
To restore the original plot, the next step should be for Godwin to host the Lucky Cup tournament, using it to gather the Dragon Signers and awaken the power of the Red Dragon through their battles.
But Yusei was a stubborn person who liked to resist authority. In the original story, Godwin had kidnapped Yusei’s friends in the Satellite to force him to participate in the tournament.
Youxuan disliked hostage-taking, finding it distasteful and troublesome. So, he came up with a better idea.
Yusei, unlike Jou, was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. If you showed him qualities he respected, he would easily consider you a friend.
For example, "a true Duelist."
Yusei respected all Duelists he acknowledged. Their Dueling skills, passion for Duels, and the honor and integrity they upheld would earn his respect. If a Duelist he respected invited him to a tournament, he would likely agree without the need for hostage-taking.
Therefore, Youxuan felt it necessary to create an opportunity to demonstrate these qualities.
"Perhaps we can do it this way, Warden Hawk Roost", Youxuan said with a light laugh.
"I want to make a slight modification to your plan. How about a Duel with me?"
Hawk Roost was shocked and quickly waved his hands, "Wait, Sir, how can I—"
Before he could finish, Youxuan continued, "If you win, I will immediately promote you to headquarters. I’ve reviewed your record. Without this opportunity, you would probably have reached the end of your career as warden, with no chance of further advancement, right?"
With these words, Hawk Roost’s protest died in his throat, and he swallowed hard.
A promotion?
(End of Chapter)
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