Chapter 266: Digital Ascension
Chapter 266: Digital Ascension
As soon as Seto Kaiba finished speaking, a figure emerged from the darkness.
Just as he remembered him, the elderly man wore a red suit, his hair a shock of white, but his build was surprisingly sturdy, and he seemed even more vigorous than Kaiba recalled.
Or perhaps it was to be expected. The last time Kaiba had seen the real Gozaburo in the real world was when he had forced his stepfather to relinquish control. Back then, Gozaburo was just an elderly man, furious yet helpless, appearing weak and exhausted.
But now, he looked much more spirited.
"It's good to see you well, Seto," Gozaburo said, his hands clasped behind his back, his tone indifferent.
"I see you've grown up and heeded my teachings. I told you that a man must strive for everything he wants with his own two hands, and it seems you've truly lived by that principle.
You possess the potential to stop at nothing, even if it means going against me—your father, who taught you all of this."
Kaiba scoffed, "Are you being serious, Gozaburo? There's just the two of us here; no need for pretenses. We both know the truth of what happened in the past, so there's no point in fabricating a false narrative to try and create some touching history."
He waved his hand dismissively, the virtual windcoat's hem rippling with the motion.
"For me, the past holds nothing worth longing for, especially not the parts connected to you, Gozaburo," Kaiba asserted. "I've defeated you twice already, but since your spirit lingers on, I don't mind doing it again.
No matter how you return, even if you become a vengeful ghost, I will face you to the end."
"Twice, huh," Gozaburo mused.
"So, you're referring to that time with Noah," he said.
Kaiba frowned, "Why pretend now? This conversation has already happened once, hasn't it?"
He was referring to the incident during the first Duel Monsters tournament, when Atem was still around, and Gozaburo's true son, Kaiba Noah, who had perished in a car accident, had hijacked Kaiba's blimp and forced the participants into a virtual world.
However, it was only at the end of the incident that they discovered Noah was also a victim. The true ruler of the virtual world was an AI of Gozaburo Kaiba, who had backed up his consciousness as data before his death, achieving digital immortality.
Not only that, the old man had even evolved the ability to effortlessly breach any firewall in the world, roaming the internet with impunity. And he had calculated that with maximum use of the military armaments, weapons, and production lines controlled by KaibaCorp, he could control the entire Earth within a month.
Of course, Gozaburo had been a little too optimistic back then. His calculations only considered traditional armaments and ignored the role that Duel Monsters played in this new era.
The Gozaburo who remained stuck in the old era, thinking he could conquer the world with airplanes, cannons, and missiles, was destined to fail, even if left unchecked.
But that AI should have been completely destroyed as well; the server it inhabited had been bombed to smithereens by KaibaCorp missiles.
"What you've encountered is merely a discarded, outdated version of 'me'," Gozaburo said, his hands still clasped behind his back. "Of course, even that 'me' was unaware of this fact."
"What?" Kaiba furrowed his brow.
"Back then, when Noah met with his accident, the top scientists of KaibaCorp sealed him into the data world. But it was our first attempt, and the technology was bound to have its flaws," Gozaburo explained.
"However, the birth of the electronic Noah proved to be a blessing in disguise. He possessed a learning ability unmatched by humans, especially in the field of artificial intelligence, where he provided us with numerous insights and critical data.
"What are you getting at, Gozaburo?" Kaiba frowned.
"What I mean is, whether it was Noah or that other 'me' that you faced back then, they were nothing but defective products from the early stages of development and should have been discarded long ago."
Gozaburo continued, "I believe that 'me' wasn't even aware of this. He thought he was the final backup of Gozaburo Kaiba uploaded just before his death. But that wasn't the case; he was merely an experimental subject, a test product downloaded onto old-generation hardware identical to Noah's to verify the feasibility of the digital immortality plan.
In fact, he should have been destroyed along with all the other similar derivative models after the test. But before I could do that, your incident happened, Seto."
He looked at Kaiba calmly, without the resentment or rage from years ago, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself.
"You took away my company and drove me to my death, so that project naturally came to a halt.
However, in the end, just before his death, Gozaburo Kaiba did activate the project one last time, sealing his consciousness into the new-generation equipment that was still in the testing phase at that time.
Fortunately, I succeeded. I survived through this method and created the most perfect lifeform ever."
"You don't mean yourself, do you, Gozaburo?" Kaiba sneered. "It seems you haven't improved at all from back then, whether in the real world or in the digital one. You've never been able to see yourself clearly, Gozaburo. That's why you lost to me."
"You only think you won, Seto," Gozaburo shook his head.
"Oh? So this is how you claim victory?" Kaiba scoffed. "By creating a bunch of substitutes of me, all begging for your attention like lapdogs?"
"They, too, are nothing but test products, worthless from the start," Gozaburo said indifferently. "They were mere stepping stones for a greater project, destined to be discarded and recycled from the moment of their creation. Well, at least they served some purpose in dying for me."
"You really haven't changed at all, Gozaburo," Kaiba said, his brow furrowed. "You were scum back then, and now you're just scum with power."
"I don't expect you to change your view of me, Seto. However, with all these years of contemplation and a clearer, more rational mindset, my view of you has changed, Seto."
Gozaburo looked at him, as if trying to see through his virtual eyes and into his soul.
"Where does the project I just mentioned, all the stepping stones I created, where does it all lead to?"
"Hmph, since it was your idea, it's probably something boring," Kaiba huffed.
Unperturbed, Gozaburo continued, "It's for you, Seto."
Kaiba's brow furrowed.
"They thought they were designed only to imitate or research ways to defeat you, but that's not the case. It was necessary calibration to create the most perfect version of you."
"What are you babbling about, old man?" Kaiba asked coldly.
"You're a genius, Seto. In these years, I've let go of my hatred, and I've come to realize that you are the only genius I acknowledge. You are the only one who deserves to attain immortality alongside me, to share the infinite knowledge and all the power.
You took everything from me—my wealth, my company, my life. But I forgive you, Seto."
Gozaburo Kaiba extended his hand towards him.
"I want you to become my son once again."
(End of Chapter)
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