At the start, Kaiba stung him with a line, but the officer was not annoyed. Instead, he seemed a bit...satisfied?
Truly Kaiba Seto, just like the rumors say...no, even more imposing than the rumors!
Mokuba looked at him and, for some reason, found him a bit unpleasant.
Some say this person is somewhat similar to his brother, not in appearance but in a way more akin to his aura.
"My surname is Fujino," the officer introduced himself according to protocol, "head of the D Department."
He spoke while pressing down on his hat, allowing his wide jacket hem to flutter in the gale from the helicopter.
This person clearly understands the art of showing off. Not only did he wear a wide-open coat for style, but he timed it perfectly. Just as the helicopter turned off, the rotors stopped, and the winds calmed, he slipped his hands back into his pockets.
The motions were smooth, without a hint of artifice. If you're gonna pose, do it as naturally and authentically as possible, leaving no signs of posturing.
However, in Mokuba's eyes, he wasn't impressed.
To him, this was someone imitating his brother's moves but failing to capture the essence.
When he sees his brother show off, he doesn't feel awkward or repulsed; instead, he jumps around cheering "Big Bro is the best" in admiration.
But watching others show off, he finds them silly and wanting a punch.
President Kaiba didn't spare any face, merely snorting: "Never heard of you. I suppose you're just another nobody in the Duel World, a third-rate Duelist whose name doesn't deserve to be remembered."
"Duelists must speak with their strength, President Kaiba," Officer Fujino said blandly.
This could be said to be the typical exchange method between the card-playing military units and card-playing company—they meet without discussing projects or cooperation, and without further ado, engage in a tense and exciting Duel Monsters battle.
Any other business can wait until the duel is over...
However, Kaiba didn't reply directly. Instead, he lowered his arm, spun around swiftly, and faced away from the army group, his white trench coat billowing up, then slowly falling.
Handsome is just one word!
It may look like a simple turn around, but this motion has a lot of intricacies.
You can't turn too fast, or it won't look graceful and will lack dignity. But at the same time, you can't turn too slowly, or you won't generate enough airflow, and the trench coat won't fly up.
Heaven knows how many times President Kaiba must have practiced privately to make this turn look so suave.
Kaiba turned his back to them, half-turned his head: "Then let you witness firsthand what a foolish challenge this is."
It's well-known that speaking with your back to others seems cooler. Especially with President Kaiba's unique voice, the tone of "I'm not singling anyone out; you're all trash" is simply perfect.
Officer Fujino followed behind, watching the president's back, and that look in his eyes seemed to silently say—
—Right now, you're stronger.
Receptions, meeting rooms, all steps were skipped, the representatives of the military and the company went straight to the Dueling Arena.
Officer Fujino made a gesture, standing in the back, as two warriors wearing Duel Discs stepped forward simultaneously.
"Ueno and Egawa are our best warriors in the D Department," Fujino said, folding his hands behind his back, "If you can defeat both of them, President Kaiba, today's exchange will count as a victory for your company."
"Oh? You're not planning to fight yourself?"
Fujino smiled: "A commander doesn't easily go into battle himself."
Kaiba squinted his eyes.
To be honest, Kaiba could feel a remarkable fighting spirit from these two individuals.
Strong builds, determined looks, the unique iron will of a soldier perfectly combined with the aura of a Duelist, different from most Duelists Kaiba has encountered before.
These two guys are truly extraordinary.
Given that...
"Hahahahahahahaha!!!" Kaiba burst out in laughter.
Fujino: "?"
"Hmph." Kaiba sneered, "Are these your best warriors? Fine, then let me show you the huge gap between you and a true Duelist!"
He pointed forward: "You both can come at me together!"
The two warriors remained expressionless, neither responding nor showing anger at Kaiba's provocation.
It was as if they were merely two emotionless card-playing machines, standing there waiting for their superior's orders.
Fujino shook his head: "No need. We'll send two people, and your company can send two people as well. We don't want an unfair advantage."
Kaiba smirked: "To deal with you, I'm more than enough by myself."
Honestly speaking, it wasn't entirely because the president wanted to show off and insisted on one-against-two to demonstrate his prowess.
But rather, truthfully, throughout the entire Kaiba Company, aside from the president, there's really no other card player worth mentioning...
What? You say there's You↑yu↓?
...
Hmph!
Who needs that guy's help?
The president asserted that he alone was more than enough!
Of course, just because the president doesn't seek out Youyu doesn't mean no one else will.
Just before entering the Dueling Arena, sensing that things may go wrong, Mokuba quickly picked up his phone and edited a message to Youyu.
The contents shall be omitted here, but to summarize its meaning—
—Brother Yu, the team's in danger, come quickly!
In the end, following Officer Fujino's guidance, the two Duelists he brought did not gang up.
Because they did have an important goal on this mission, which was to verify their strength. Even if they won against Kaiba with the huge resource advantage of a two-on-one, it wouldn't prove that their warriors met the standards they were aiming for.
But that's just as well.
Because these two special Duelists from the D Department were definitely not pushovers.
"Duel!" x2
[Kaiba, LP 4000]
[Egawa, LP 4000]
The first to go was the warrior named Egawa. Upon seeing the Duel Disc indicating he goes first, he expressionlessly placed his hand on the card deck, like a card-playing machine devoid of emotion.
"My turn, draw!" Egawa drew a card, glanced at his hand, and calmly placed down a monster.
"Summon 'Hammer Shark' in attack position."
Transparent blue sprays of water burst from the ground, and a hammerhead shark appeared on Egawa's side of the field, covered in scales.
[Hammer Shark, Attack 1700]
"Hammer Shark's effect can be activated once per turn, reducing its level by one to Special Summon one level 3 or lower Water attribute monster from the hand." Egawa revealed a card.
"Special Summon 'Spined Gillman'!"
[Spined Gillman, Attack 1300]
A gillman warrior covered in spines and wielding a red trident appeared on the dueling field too, with a bulging belly.
Egawa glanced at his hand.
With this, his setup was nearly complete.
He slowly took out another card from his hand.
The next step was to—
"Field Magic - Umi, activate!"