"Report!" As soon as the duel ended, Uncle Izono appeared again in the president's office, "Duel King Youyu, sir, has won this round as well!"
Having just lost a match to Youyu's so-called "disciple," the president was already in a bad mood, and now he looked even more impatient: "Didn't I say you don't need to tell me about such boring stuff?"
As he spoke, the president once again casually closed the duel broadcast on his screen.
It was hard enough for him to resist the urge to duel himself. Denying him the chance to watch was unnecessarily cruel...
However, the president was quite satisfied with what he saw in this duel.
Honestly, he was a bit worried that Youyu might carelessly get defeated by Rafael.
After all, the first man he acknowledged, Muto Yugi, suffered his first loss at the hands of this strong brotherly figure.
If Youyu had also failed, the president might have had a meltdown and made a comeback on the spot...
Fortunately, his You↑yu↓ did not disappoint and successfully defeated this formidable foe.
This makes the victory even more valuable!
Especially after a match with "Youyu's disciple," President Kaiba inwardly decided that once this KC Cup concluded successfully and Kaiba Company was back on track, he would immediately prepare for a comeback!
Before that, he needed to grab Youyu and ask what that disciple of his was about.
Watching Youyu on the surveillance screen, who had just finished the duel and was exchanging compliments with Rafael, the president squinted his eyes.
Just you wait, You↑yu↓!
... And you too, Yugi! Don't think you can escape!
"Brother, Tenma Yako sent a message," Mokuba said, "He's on his way to Kaiba Land with President Pegasus."
According to the plan, President Pegasus was supposed to appear at the KC Cup finals.
As the leader of the International Fantasy Society and the Father of Duel Monsters, his appearance at such a major international event was beneficial for both companies.
"Yako?" the president sneered, "So it's him coming, huh, hmph."
As mentioned before, because of past grudges with Pegasus during the Duelist Kingdom, Kaiba never had a good impression of the International Fantasy Society.
Though it's unclear why, among them, he disliked Tenma Yako the most.
...
At this moment, Tenma Yako was sitting in a helicopter flying to Kaiba Land with Pegasus.
Along the way, Yako talked passionately with his adoptive father and mentor about his views on the future development of Duel Monsters, sharing his insights from the past few days.
He especially mentioned his optimism about the Hero series, saying that the handsome heroes could attract more Duelists to buy them and also set the right example for the new generation.
"Besides, we may have encountered some technical challenges in this area," he said, "We've tried developing Fusion Heroes with 'ice' as a source of power, but it hasn't been smooth.
But it can be assured that if successful, it should produce a hero stronger than all existing Elemental Heroes, a hero significant enough to be the face of this card deck!"
Pegasus listened and nodded slightly: "Are these suggestions from Youyu Boy?"
"Yes." Yako had a somewhat proud and reverent expression, "These are all proposals from Teacher Youyu!"
Pegasus noticed the change in his address.
A teacher now, huh...
In Pegasus's impression, Tenma Yako always had a somewhat arrogant personality and rarely truly recognized anyone.
He used to speak this way only about his most respected adoptive father, Pegasus, and now he seems to do so for Youyu as well...his admiration for Youyu even faintly surpassing that for Pegasus.
This made the president of the Fantasy Society feel a bit complicated...
Tenma Yako: Gradually turning into an idol. JPG
Yako continued to excitedly report what he had learned these past few days beside his idol.
For example, besides selling regular card packs, they could also offer a "Diamond Pack" card box sold once a year, with limited-time availability. This card box would contain the most used and powerful cards released that year, but at a much higher price than regular card packs...
Additionally, they could begin to establish a worldwide ranking system for duelists.
Although Kaiba has already preliminarily sorted duelists' skill levels from one to eight stars, it's not yet been widely promoted worldwide, and the grading is not detailed enough. Besides, there's the possibility of the president adding his personal bias... (a certain two-star Normal Monster player feels very salty)
Yako suggested that they could develop a comprehensive system to rank duelists into bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, master, and so on, according to skill levels and performance in various tournaments...
Pegasus listened, occasionally nodding, while internally wondering what exactly Yako had been learning these days beside his idol...
For some reason, Pegasus felt a vague sense of uneasiness throughout the journey.
After losing the Millennium Eyes, Pegasus lost most of his dark powers. Although he still retained some extraordinary abilities, they were nothing like his peak.
"What's going on?" Pegasus frowned, "There's an ominous premonition in my heart, like something major is about to happen..."
Given his status and influence in the Inner World, there have always been plenty of people wanting to take him down.
There's always some schemer looking to harm me!
Yet even so, Pegasus had never felt as uneasy as he did now.
"... Perhaps it's just an illusion," he comforted himself.
...
The duel between Youyu and Rafael concluded, effectively advancing him directly.
Next up for him was to defeat the last challenger in the finals and uphold the Name of the Duel King.
With Muto Yugi being familiar with both Youyu and Rafael, it was natural for him to come up and greet them after the duel, exchanging a few words.
Especially with Rafael. Previously, when Yugi and Rafael were opponents, they admired each other, and now that their adversarial relationship was lifted, they naturally became friendly competitive partners.
They verbally agreed that they would, given the chance in the future, go all out against each other again without leaving any regrets.
While they were interacting, someone captured this scene.
Both Duel Kings in the same frame!
Chinai quietly watched from the back throughout. Especially upon seeing Muto Yugi stepping in, she couldn't help but tiptoe, trying to get a clear look at this Duel King who was as renowned as Youyu.
That resolute face, straight posture, and an aura of authority that naturally exuded a unique kingly presence just by standing there...
... He was indeed handsome.
Of course, not as handsome as our Youyu!
When Youyu returned, he noticed that little Chinai's affection level gauge surged, and he couldn't help but feel puzzled.
What did I do this time?