Some players joined the Ghouls' faction during the beta test, and this number only increased after the official release.
The Ghouls were a notorious villainous group from the original animated series. Although the group was relatively new in the Underworld, to players familiar with the world through the anime, this was undoubtedly the most famous dark organization.
Game players don't care about justice or evil — at least most don't. They only care about how to earn more money to buy more cards and how to level up faster.
Because the Ghouls were often up to no good and involved in many tasks related to Dark Duels, the rewards for leveling up were naturally richer.
Discovering that joining the Ghouls' faction could quickly yield profits and rewards, naturally attracted players to join.
As for opposing the protagonist group? Modifications to the existing plotline?
Who the heck cares about that in a game? Aren't these issues for those damn planners to consider?
However, the fearless players were starting to feel uneasy.
"Wait, that NPC over there looks familiar, but I can't quite remember who they are. Was this character in DM?"
"What are you saying, which NPC...!!? Damn it... is that the Youyu that's been spamming the forums recently?"
"Holy crap, it really is!"
"Wait, does Youyu have any ties to the DM main storyline? How come nobody said he was enemies with the Ghouls?"
Players on the Ghouls' side began to panic.
Although joining the Ghouls had its perks, it seemed less rewarding when compared to what's shown in Youyu's personal store.
Even if they joined the Ghouls, players could only acquire cards through task rewards and the System Card Pool. They still couldn't obtain things like Pot of Greed or Graceful Charity, which are not found in the card pool.
Only Youyu, who was simultaneously both a player and NPC template with transferable and interchangeable cards, was the sole way for players to obtain those specific cards within the Yu-Gi-Oh World.
This determined that Youyu was the most valuable ally in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh World. Even the sons of various versions of the game would have to step aside for him.
Players on the Ghouls' side had received a task to follow Rishid's lead to defeat the vanguard force of the Nightwalker World.
Originally, the reward for this task seemed quite generous to the players, but now they were starting to hesitate.
Was it worth it to stay in this faction, whose leader would likely soon be defeated and reformed by Yugi, possibly disbanding at any moment, and thereby offend the most valuable ally in the game?
...The answer seemed obvious.
After hesitating for a while, a player emerged from the ranks behind Rishid.
Rishid was shocked: "You, what do you intend to do?"
That player ignored the leader, walked straight up to Youyu, and asked directly: "Hey, uh, is it too late to switch factions now?"
Rishid: "?"
Nightwalker World crowd: "?"
What does it mean? Is this player saying...they want to defect?
Everyone on both sides wore puzzled looks, but Youyu wasn't surprised at all. He nodded kindly with a smile: "Sure, no problem. The Nightwalker World welcomes all strong duelists at any time."
Of course, he didn't make the decision alone but turned to consult the person in charge: "Right, President?"
President Tosawa Mukuro regained his senses and laughed, "Ah...yes, that's right. Join! Anyone who wants to join our association can join!"
It's hard to refuse when people on the other side start defecting before the battle even begins, isn't it?
The undecided players saw that the first guy was accepted so easily and that it was even possible to switch faction ties, so they hesitated no more.
In a short time, half of the Hunters from the Ghouls' faction swarmed over like a tide. Among them were some eccentric types who were jumping and rolling as they ran and calling out to Youyu-san affectionately, scaring some of the big men on the Nightwalker World side.
President Tosawa Mukuro wiped his small eyes, momentarily dazed.
He thought that after years of crawling through the Underworld to reach this position, he'd seen all sorts of storms and waves.
Then today, he saw something new...
Players defecting en masse before a battle even starts, what kind of operation is this?
President Tosawa Mukuro glanced aside at Youyu.
Could it be...being handsome really allows you to do anything?
While accepting these players, Youyu calmly said, "No rush, take your time, there's plenty of space with us..."
Rishid was also dumbfounded; he had never heard of such an operation.
Unable to hold back, he drew out the Millennium Rod (fake) and shouted, "Stop! Have you all forgotten? You've been brainwashed by the power of the Millennium Items, and if you dare betray us, you'll meet a doomed fate!"
The wave of players halted briefly. They stood midway between the two factions, looking at each other, puzzled.
Come to think of it, they remember being brainwashed when they joined, right?
Back then, the system interface prompted that they entered a "brainwashed state," which left a trace of Marik's dark power in their consciousness. If Marik desired, the power in their minds could erupt at any moment.
Notably, even if Marik used the Millennium Rod to see players' memories, he could only view their experiences within the Linked World, akin to video replay, without truly impacting their mental state.
Players faced a temporary dilemma and exchanged thoughts among themselves...
...shortly after, they collectively decided to continue flocking to Youyu.
What? Brainwashing? Mental bombs?
Who cares.
Such things, just die once and it's gone, right?
It's just a life, who can't afford to die?
As said before, players have three lives a week, with each death requiring a few hours of waiting for revival. Once they use up all three, they cannot log in again within the week.
But after resurrection, all negative conditions are reset, and all states return to full, making the mental influence of brainwashing nonexistent.
Since card duels don't have many life-consuming places, defecting factions at the cost of a life doesn't feel like a loss.
All players sided with the Nightwalker World faction, instantly cutting the number of Hunters in the Ghouls' faction by half, placing them at an absolute numerical disadvantage.
"Alright, no one's preparing to jump ship now, right?" Youyu stepped forward, raising his Duel Disc, "Shall we formally start then?
According to Underworld tradition, group battles are directly conducted in free-for-all mode during Dark Duels, where anyone whose LP hits 0 is the loser. How about that?"
The free-for-all rules are a feature of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime, designed for team battles. Essentially, it's like a brawl.
In a free-for-all, the side with more people has more LP, more cards, and even potentially more field space, gaining a significant advantage, winning more than half the battle even before it begins.
Clearly, this so-called free-for-all rule is quite a headache and not very scientific, so there isn't such a mode under the Yu-Gi-Oh physical card rules.
Of course, Dark Duels are historically associated with fairness, and disadvantaged sides aren't left without options.
Rishid raised his staff, directly pointing at Youyu, "But before that, I wish to challenge you."
This was another Dark Duel mode, under Underworld rules. The disadvantaged side can opt out of the overwhelming free-for-all rules and let the strongest individuals from both sides decide the outcome.
It feels a bit like ancient battles where each army sends out a general to duel while the soldiers cheer them on.
There's only one challenge opportunity. If the challenging side wins, they can at least retreat unharmed today.
"Sure." Youyu accepted without hesitation.
That was within his plan. Rishid had a Rare Card suspected to be unique in the DM World, which was his original target.
"You also have a Puzzle Card, right?" Youyu raised his Duel Disc and asked, "Since we're still within Domino territory, how about this duel also follows Duel City rules?"
Rishid said calmly, "That suits me just fine."