Chapter 275: Friendly Competition
Chapter 275: Friendly Competition
"What are you two doing here?"
In the lounge before the duel, Manjome scowled at his two older brothers, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"We, the Manjome Group, have specially arranged with the television station to broadcast this year's Duel Academy's friendly competition nationwide," said Manjome's eldest brother, Chosa.
"Broadcast nationwide?" Manjome's heart skipped a beat.
To duel "that guy" under the eyes of the entire nation?
He suddenly felt nervous.
"That's right. This televised duel is part of our brothers' plan to build an empire," Chosa continued. "The three of us will conquer the top of politics, business, and the Duel Monsters field, respectively. Together, we will create a super empire that rivals Kaiba Corporation. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
Manjome: "..."
"We heard from Professor Cronos that you were expelled from this school three months ago," said his second brother, Jusho.
Manjome: "Yes..."
"No need to say more." Jusho stood up. "You've always been the runt of our family. Think about how much we've invested in you, and what have you given in return? You should know this better than anyone. We cannot afford to lose this televised duel. You must win, and win spectacularly, in front of the entire nation! Are we clear?"
Manjome fell silent for a moment.
". Yes."
The Duel Academy's arena was instantly packed with people. The spectator stands resembled a vast, undulating sea, bustling with the voices and movements of the crowd. Cameras from the television station weaved between the audience and the dueling field, capturing the match from every angle and broadcasting it to homes across the country.
"Here we are again, Manjome," said You Xuan, donning his Duel Disk and stepping onto the field with a smile. "I believe this is the third time?"
"But this time will be completely different from the past."
Manjome activated his Duel Disk and replied coldly, "This time, I've climbed back from the depths of hell. I've undergone a complete transformation! Defeating you and overcoming the hurdle that once stopped me is the first step I must take! So this time, victory will be mine."
He glanced at the seats where his two brothers were sitting in the audience.
"...and it must be mine!"
As he finished speaking, a Disturbance Yellow sprite floated out of his deck. "Don't worry, big brother. I'll do my best and give it my all."
"Shut up!" Manjome snapped. "It's obvious that there's no room for a weak monster like you in such an important duel."
"Eh?!?" Disturbance Yellow looked hurt, his eyes drooping in disappointment. "Why?"
"Oh, it looks like you've found yourself a decent companion this time, Manjome," You Xuan smiled.
"What? No, this... this is not that kind of weak monster," Manjome retorted, pushing Disturbance Yellow back into his deck.
Although Disturbance Yellow would become Manjome's signature monster in the future, at this stage, Manjome still looked down on weaker monsters. During his journey to the Northern Academy, he had encountered Disturbance Yellow, but no matter how much the sprite begged, Manjome refused to let it fight, reasoning that it was absurd for such a weak monster to appear in such an important duel.
"My deck is now stronger than it has ever been. Watch closely, You Xuan. This time will be different," Manjome declared.
"Interesting. I've also prepared a deck that's perfect for you," You Xuan smiled. "Let's see what each of us has in store for the other."
"Duel!" x2
[You Xuan, LP: 4000]
[Manjome, LP: 4000]
"I'll start. Draw!" Manjome said. "I activate the magic card 'Angel's Charity' to draw three cards from my deck, and then discard two cards from my hand. Next, I'll set a monster in face-down defense mode and place one card face-down. My turn is over."
"Then it's my turn. Draw!"
You Xuan drew a card and then slowly played a card from his hand into his Duel Disk.
"First, I activate the magic card 'Angel's Charity' to draw three cards from my deck. Then I discard two cards from my hand.
"Then I activate this card...
...Magic Card 'Famous Detective'!"
"Famous Detective?" Manjome recognized this card, as he had used it himself before.
"Indeed," You Xuan continued, "Your opponent declares a level, and you flip cards from the top of your deck until you reveal a monster that can be Normal Summoned. If the level of the flipped monster matches your opponent's guess, that monster is sent to the graveyard. However, if the guess is incorrect, the monster is Special Summoned, and all other cards flipped are sent to the graveyard."
Manjome frowned. While this was their third duel, You Xuan had used a different deck each time, making it impossible to guess the levels of his monsters. However, based on their previous encounters, the first deck Manjome faced was built around excluding monsters with "Dimensional Fissure," and the second was the "VWXYZ" deck. In both cases, the monsters with the highest probability of appearing were Level 4.
"I declare 4-stars," Manjome stated.
You Xuan flipped through his deck and revealed a monster card on the fourth try.
"Haha, it's this guy," You Xuan said as he revealed his monster.
"Unfortunately, the card I expected was 'Magic Canceler,' a Level 5 monster, one star higher than your guess, Manjome.
Therefore, 'Magic Canceler' is Special Summoned!"
[Magic Canceler, ATK: 1800]
"Magic Canceler..." Manjome frowned again, deep in thought.
He knew this card was also a favorite of You Xuan's. It was common knowledge that cards that continuously blocked the opponent's effects were among the most annoying in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! series, and it was only natural for a cunning player like You Xuan to favor them.
"Magic Canceler attacks the face-down monster," You Xuan declared.
Energy beams shot out from the mechanical device, striking the face-down monster. The card flipped over, revealing a 3-star Dragon-Type "Masked Dragon."
"When 'Masked Dragon' is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, its effect activates!" Manjome exclaimed, and a golden light shot out from his deck.
"Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster with an ATK of 1500 or less from your deck!
Behold! I Special Summon this card, my ace from the Northern Academy—Armed Dragon LV3!"
[Armed Dragon LV3, ATK: 1200]
As the ace monster of their school appeared, the students of the Northern Academy cheered enthusiastically, shouting, "Lightning! Lightning! Manjome Lightning!"
Marufuji Sho was surprised. "A Level monster?"
"It's similar to You Xuan's 'Silent Magician' series," said Mizawa, the model student. "As long as certain conditions are met, the Level of this monster automatically increases over time.
But that's a legendary super-rare card."
Principal Samejima, sitting in the stands, was also taken aback. "That card was entrusted to the Northern Academy branch as a treasure. Ichinoseki, you..."
Facing Principal Samejima's questioning gaze, Ichinoseki simply crossed his arms and wore an expression that suggested he had everything under control.
"Hmph, I believe I've mentioned that I'm taking this year's competition seriously. I will claim that reward no matter what."
Hearing this, Principal Samejima jumped to his feet. There was no way he could let this old man win a kiss from Miss Dome! It was unthinkable! He couldn't allow it!
"Don't joke around! This year's reward is definitely mine!" Principal Samejima shouted, his fists clenched with determination.
"You Xuan, you must win! You can't lose no matter what!!!"
You Xuan found the principal's enthusiasm amusing.
The principal, despite his age, was determined to win a kiss from Miss Dome. "Then, I'll also Set a monster in face-down Defense Position," You Xuan said.
He drew two cards and placed one each in his front and back rows.
"Then I'll Set another card and end my turn."
(End of Chapter)
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