[Ishizu, LP 0]
The duel is over, Youyu won.
In the end, Ishizu did nothing but stand calmly with her eyes closed and took the Flame Wingman's attack, her LP directly dropping to zero.
It even made Youyu feel a bit puzzled.
Did she really have no counterplay at all?
Youyu put away his Duel Disc and stepped forward. Ishizu opened her eyes and spoke calmly, "I lost."
"But you said the result of this duel..."
"Was predetermined, yes. But I never said that the victor would be me." Ishizu smiled slightly, "I saw various futures, various possibilities. But every outcome of this duel was, without exception, my defeat."
Youyu: "..."
So when she said the result was predetermined, this is what she meant...
Youyu was really curious for a moment, wondering how Ishizu would turn the tables in such a desperate situation... but it turns out she never planned to reverse it from the start.
"I've done my best, but even using the power of the Millennium Item, I still couldn't defeat you." Ishizu said softly, "After all, the Millennium Necklace is just a tool to 'observe the future', it doesn't allow me to rewrite the future I've already seen.
Losing to you here is my destiny and an inevitability. I also believe this is the best arrangement."
Ishizu paused and took out a card from somewhere within her white robe.
"Similarly, the Millennium Necklace has already told me which card you want to take from me." she said, "If it plays a decisive role in the upcoming battle, then take it."
Youyu took the card she handed over and opened it. Sure enough, it was the one he wanted.
Trap Card, Exchange of the Spirit, Super Rare Card.
Just how rare is it?
In the animation, even a dueling master like President Kaiba has never seen this card. It appears to be exclusive to the Gravekeeper Race, demonstrating its rarity.
"But there is one more thing I need to ask of you." Ishizu said earnestly, "Or you might as well see it as a personal request."
Youyu had more or less guessed: "Is it about your brother, Marik?"
"Yes." Ishizu nodded, "In the future I saw, almost all outcomes lead to the destruction of our Gravekeeper Race... and even worse, others could be implicated."
As she spoke, her eyes gleamed with hope as she looked at Youyu.
"But it's different with you. I saw the possibility of you defeating Marik and rescuing him from the darkness." she said.
Youyu pondered for a moment and nodded: "I understand. As long as circumstances allow, I'll do my best."
After all, he was going to compete in the tournament anyway. If he didn't run into Marik, it was fine; but if he did, he couldn't afford to hold back.
If he were to face Marik in a Darkness Game, he would certainly reveal his strongest cards, for losing against him could mean losing his very existence, leaving no room for holding back.
Marik watched his sister whispering to Youyu from below the stage, furrowing his brow—Youyu was standing too close to his sister, speaking quietly amidst the wind on the deck, and he couldn't hear a word they said.
Of course, he also couldn't see what card his sister handed over to Youyu.
But Marik quickly dismissed it.
"Hmph! Whatever it is doesn't matter. In this world, there simply doesn't exist a strategy to conquer the 'Winged Dragon of Ra' in my hand!"
Furthermore, for some reason, seeing that annoying kid talking closely with his sister, murmuring things he couldn't hear, made Marik inexplicably angry!
Moreover, it reminded him of how their Ghouls lost a dozen cards and Duel Discs to Youyu, fueling his anger more!
The six-year-old thought angrily, and when Youyu stepped down from the stage, Marik shot him an evil glare.
"Awesome!" Eager Jonouchi promptly stepped forward, eagerly slapping Youyu's shoulder, "You're really strong!"
Beside him, President Kaiba chuckled dismissively, pretending to be indifferent to Youyu's advancement, but his sidelong glance carried the expression, "As expected of the man I acknowledged."
"The third duel!" Referee Izono raised his arm high, shouting on stage, "The contestants are Kaiba Seto... President!
Against Jonouchi Katsuya!"
Perhaps fearing it would be unseemly to call the boss by name directly, the referee prudently added "President" when calling Kaiba to the stage.
Kaiba flicked his trench coat behind him, stylishly walking onto the stage, and scoffed, "How dull, is my advancing opponent really a Normal Monster?"
Jonouchi, who just hopped onto the stage, limbered up while grumbling, "It's finally time for the grand entrance! Kaiba, you scoundrel, wash your neck and get ready, you're the eleventh duelist making me take this seriously!"
Below the stage, Anzu covered her face, "Why is it such a scattered number like eleven...?"
Honda looked embarrassed, "Maybe... because it seems more convincing that way..."
"Hmph, are fools truly immune to pressure?" Kaiba taunted disdainfully, "Even if I beat you to advance, it won't give me any sense of accomplishment...
...But fine. Let me show you just how vast the difference in our strengths is!"
"Duel!" x2
Already deviated from the original Duel City championship, the third match officially commenced.
Firstly, Referee Izono, according to Kaiba Company's special rules for this tournament, announced that their President would go first...
...Okay, actually, it's decided by Duel Disc randomly.
President Kaiba Normal Summoned a Hunter Dragon (ATK 1700) and set two cards in the back row before ending the turn.
President Kaiba wore a smile of having everything planned—
—the set cards were "Crush Card Virus" and "Shrink."
Later, when Jonouchi launches an attack, Kaiba planned to use the Quick-Play Magic "Shrink" to halve his monster's attack points to below 1000.
Then, when a monster with attack points below 1000 is attacked, Kaiba could further activate "Crush Card Virus," destroying all monsters in Jonouchi's hand, field, and deck with attack points higher than 1500.
This is President Kaiba's most classic deck destruction combo; stepping into this chain, most decks in Yu-Gi-Oh! DM would almost be scrapped.
President Kaiba wore the expression of "none of you can see through my sophisticated tactics."
Below the stage, Youyu saw through everything, "It's Crush Card Virus."
Xue Lang also saw through it in an instant, "Isn't it just the Crush Virus?"
Yugi also realized the issue, "This formation... Kaiba indeed adopted the virus destruction strategy?"
"..."
Alright, truthfully, only the President himself considered this combo his killer trump card.
After all, this deck destruction tactic, the President had been using since over 20 episodes in Yu-Gi-Oh! till the finale, without considering upgrading or changing it, to the point that whenever a new villain popped out, they already knew the President's strategy, resulting in this Trap hardly succeeding in the animation...
Jonouchi calmly assessed the situation on Kaiba's field, his mind working at full speed, thinking carefully.
"Kaiba's field has one monster... two set cards huh..."
Yugi watched Jonouchi on stage contemplating, nodding approvingly.
Good, even Jonouchi sensed something amiss...
"...This is the chance for an attack!" Jonouchi shouted, "Great! I summon the attack point 1800 'Gearfried the Iron Knight', attack the Hunter Dragon!"
Yugi: "..."