"Ahem, in any case, the real show is just starting now." Marik made an effort to maintain his mystique as a behind-the-scenes boss, "The Master of the Divine Cards, the holder of the Millennium Items, the spirit of the Nameless Pharaoh... the finals of Duel City will put an end to everything."
Youyu nodded in agreement, "No doubt about it. But since you brought it up, I have to say, your Sky Dragon is quite impressive."
Marik: "@#%&*"
Kaiba: "..."
He initially thought that Marik, who possessed the Sun God Card, was a major threat. But now it seems not so much...
"You better be prepared," Marik said solemnly, "After the finals, all three Egyptian God Cards will be in my hands! Then I will exact my revenge, ascend to the pinnacle of the world, and become the new Pharaoh!"
Without waiting for a response, he cut the mental connection abruptly, and the unconscious Mask of Light fell to the ground like a limp noodle.
Maybe he was worried that if he stayed any longer, Youyu would make him disconnect from rage...
Youyu had long wanted to comment on it. Marik's grand ambition of "taking revenge on the Pharaoh" is understandable, but what is "becoming the new Pharaoh?"
Even if Marik were to defeat Yugi and declare himself the new Pharaoh, so what?
When he returns to Egypt with the Egyptian God Cards, he'd find out that the great kingdom of mine has long fallen...
...What era do you think this is, still talking about pharaohs? It's been the Arab Republic of Egypt for a long time now.
At this point, Kaiba pulled out a device resembling a mobile communication terminal, and Mokuba's face quickly appeared on the screen.
"Brother!"
"Mokuba, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now, they've let me go," Mokuba said, "Brother, where are you? I'll come to find you now."
Seeing that his beloved brother was unscathed, President Haima finally regained his composure.
There aren't many things in this world that can make the President panic, and his brother Mokuba is a major weak spot.
The issue is that Mokuba has a remarkable "hostage constitution," getting kidnapped every few days.....
Now that his brother is safe, the thing President Haima cares about the most naturally becomes...
..."Youyu!" He turned and raised his Duel Disc, "No need to wait for the finals, let's settle the score right here!"
The President is at it again...
However, Youyu was a bit busy at the moment and had no time to deal with him.
Kaiba: "...What are you doing?"
He saw Youyu squatting on the ground, pulling the Duel Disc from the hand of the fallen Mask of Dark.
In an instant, the clever Kaiba seemed to understand why Marik voluntarily threw the Duel Disc to Youyu...
Youyu turned and casually tossed the Duel Disc to Miss Yue Hua behind him. The girl, already holding three Duel Discs in her arms, looked rather comical.
Kaiba crossed his arms and said coolly from the side, "According to the rules of the Duel City Tournament, stealing others' Duel Discs and card decks is a violation. You've got some nerve doing this right in front of me, the organizer."
He squinted his eyes, "You know I could disqualify you at any time."
However, although Kaiba talked tough, Youyu wasn't fazed in the least.
The first reason is, right now Slifer the Sky Dragon is in his hands. The very reason Kaiba hosted the Duel City Tournament was to gather the Three Egyptian God Cards, so there's no way Youyu, who possesses the Sky Dragon, would be disqualified.
As for the second reason...
...Heh, although the President claims not to meddle, during their duel, Youyu noticed at least three times the words "Favorability UP" flashed above his brow, suggesting he wouldn't really cancel their qualification...
"Come now, as fellow holders of the Divine Cards, a duel between us is inevitable," Kaiba said with fighting spirit, "There's no need to wait for the finals, let's settle it here and now, wagering the honor of a Duelist!"
Youyu: "..."
Hey, wasn't your brother kidnapped just a minute ago? And now that he's escaped, the first thing you do isn't going to meet him... it's to challenge me to a duel?
It seems you have an incurable card addiction...
To duel the President here and now?
Youyu silently took out six Puzzle Cards.
"Oh, you've already gathered six Puzzle Cards? As expected from the man I have my eye on," Kaiba chuckled lightly.
Youyu thought to himself, President, can you not use such easily misunderstood phrasing? Those fan artists in the background are probably already drawing it up...
"According to the rules, someone possessing six Puzzle Cards has the right to refuse any duel challenge," Kaiba said nonchalantly, "But as a true Duelist, are you planning to shy away from our fated duel?"
Damn it, a "fated duel." Wasn't it Yugi who was supposed to have an epic rivalry with you, what does that have to do with me?
President, you're so caught up with me, what about your King of Games?
"Ahem, if you insist on having a duel, it's not impossible, but to be honest, the previous duel took quite a toll on me," Youyu said, "If we duel now, I definitely won't be in top form, and I won't be able to perform at normal capacity. Under such conditions, even if you win, it wouldn't mean much, right?"
This argument wasn't entirely made up by Youyu, but borrowed from another.
That senior is the S-Class Hero King from the set of "One Punch Man", who, when facing a challenging opponent, claimed with a straight face that he had to go to the bathroom urgently. His reasoning was, "If I hold it in, I definitely won't be able to perform," and thus the opponent genuinely waited for him to find a restroom...
Kaiba pondered for a moment, thinking...
...That kinda makes sense!
Thus, the President snorted, "Alright. We'll leave our duel for the future. But we both know this duel is unavoidable, it's a clash of Duelist honors, the continuation of the duel we couldn't complete last time!"
Only by cutting through all enemies and being the last Duelist standing in this Duel City Tournament will you be the King who reigns supreme in the world!"
Youyu murmured, "By last time, do you mean the time you were unscrewing bolts...?"
"What did you say?" Kaiba frowned.
"Nothing... nothing. I said I'm also looking forward to our rematch."
Though he said so, whether they'd actually meet is another question entirely. It's also possible that by the time they reach the finals, they haven't encountered each other, and Kaiba might already be eliminated by Yugi.
Speaking of which, right now Kaiba has Obelisk, and according to the anime, Slifer should be in Yugi's hands. However, Marik's Ghoul's courier made a mistake, and Youyu ended up receiving it instead. Yugi, lacking a Divine Card, might have a hard time against Kaiba.
But who could say for sure?
After all, President Haima losing to Yugi is practically a universal law, even with Obelisk in hand, Kaiba might not be able to defeat Yugi...