At this moment, at an altitude of two thousand meters, inside the Kaiba Company private jet.
"Brother Nora Tatsu, this time it's a real showdown!"
"Come on, Brother Jie! Last round! Bet on the dignity of a man!"
As they spoke, the locals Nora Tatsu and Jie Nandou each had only one pair of underwear left. Whoever lost this round of rock-paper-scissors would have to strip off the last piece, it was literally the "final dignity"...
Newly joined Cola Sprite still found this strange custom unbelievable. She turned her back, not wanting to watch these two burly men, her fair little face turning crimson.
She curiously glanced at the others in the cabin. Youyu-san was lounging with legs crossed, fiddling with a custom device from Kaiba Company—something like a tablet. Xue Lang was sitting next to him like a statue, ready to follow orders at any time.
Even Yue Hua, the famous steel beauty of the Linked World, seemed completely unfazed, as if she found nothing wrong with this dazzling duel between two nearly naked men.
Cola Sprite couldn't help herself and leaned forward, asking Yue Hua, the rare fellow female in the association: "Um... don't you find this weird?"
"Huh? What did you say?" Yue Hua looked up blankly, glimpsing Jie Nandou brutally tugging at Nora Tatsu's last piece of clothing and suddenly realized.
"Oh, you mean that." She lowered her head, "Don't worry, you get used to it after a while. You will too, sooner or later."
Cola Sprite was thunderstruck.
Get used to it...?
She imagined a scene of a group of weirdos singing and dancing at the association's headquarters, and felt a looming darkness over her future...
Meanwhile, Youyu was heading to Egypt with a few companions, searching for news and information about Egyptian artifacts on the custom terminal from Kaiba Company.
Even though nothing about Egyptian excavations had made the news yet, such information spread swiftly through the Inner World intelligence network.
Given the idea that the Duel Monsters game originates from Ancient Egypt, anything related to archeological excavations or tomb-raiding in Egypt garners significant attention in the Inner World.
For example, the recently unearthed tomb, obviously exuding a strange atmosphere. Before any official announcements, it had already caused a storm in the Inner World, and the Nightwalker World quickly received the intel.
It's said the unearthed sarcophagus was shaped like a jackal and tightly fastened underground with rustproof chains. Based on mythical imagery, it was easy to guess the sarcophagus' owner might be linked with the legendary "Anubis God."
While others were guessing the identity of the sarcophagus' owner, Youyu had already determined its background with the given information.
The King of Destruction Anubis, whose origin wasn't detailed in the anime, was known only for his mission to turn the Pharaoh—currently Dark Yugi—into the Void.
According to the anime, Anubis would secretly hand Kaiba a key card capable of defeating the Three Egyptian God, then covertly influence and control Kaiba's mind, using him to defeat Yugi. Only then would Anubis emerge from the shadows, erasing Kaiba who was no longer useful.
Poor Kaiba probably never dreamed he would one day become a tool...
The development in the Linked World differs slightly from the anime. In the anime, Anubis was unearthed and awakened the moment Muto Yugi completed the Millennium Pendant.
However, in the Linked World, Anubis seems to have been unearthed just hours ago, with the sarcophagus still inside the tomb.
So Youyu acted promptly, dropping everything else, gathered a few reliable companions, and headed to Egypt to nip this potential problem in the bud.
...Of course, on Kaiba's plane, under the pretense of a "business trip," with all costs covered by Kaiba, from travel to lodging and food.
Moreover, traveling on Kaiba's plane while eating Kaiba's food, Youyu felt he had every right and no harm.
After all, strictly speaking, he was doing Kaiba a favor on this trip.
If left unchecked, according to the anime plot, Anubis would first target Kaiba in Domino. Exploiting Kaiba's eagerness for games (referring to dueling), he'd shadow Kaiba like a ghost, whispering devilish words, subtly influencing and controlling his mind, ultimately leading Kaiba to destruction alongside Yugi.
Youyu believed that actively tackling the threat and snuffing it in its cradle, or rather, in its tomb, without asking Kaiba for extra compensation already showed his generosity.
Compared to that, asking for travel reimbursement seemed trivial, right?
Anyway, with Kaiba's deep pockets, he wouldn't mind such small expenses.
At first, seeing Youyu counting them over and taking them to Egypt, the companions were pumped up like they'd been fueled, thinking it was the start of the "King's Memory" storyline.
But shortly after boarding the plane, realizing it was actually the plot of "Pyramid of Light," they weren't just undismayed but even more excited.
Then they started discussing whether the "King of Destruction" Anubis's tomb might hold lots of treasures...
Considering he was the King of Destruction with power rivaling the Pharaoh, he must have been a significant figure in life.
As a prominent figure, his tomb might hold lavish burial items.
"Gold! There must be lots of gold!" said Jie Nandou.
"I heard some wealthy tombs have a 'Hundred Treasures Basin' with various rare treasures, super valuable," said Yue Hua.
Local Nora Tatsu thought a bit: "Aren't there also supposed to be beautiful women buried with them?"
Jie Nandou: "Who knows? Maybe there are handsome men too?"
"But either way, they'd have turned into mummies by now..."
Cola Sprite: "..."
She was now sure, Brother Jie definitely had issues...
"This is the world of Yu-Gi-Oh!" Yue Hua started brainstorming, "Since it's in Yu-Gi-Oh!'s world, maybe there are the cards he used during his life?"
"Possibly rare cards from three thousand years ago!" said Xue Lang, excitedly rubbing his hands, "Maybe a Duel Disc from three thousand years ago! I recall Ancient Egyptian Duel Discs were all crafted as Alchemy Tools! Youyu-san would definitely be interested!"
Youyu: "..."
"Wait, wasn't it cardless three thousand years ago?" Cola Sprite posed, "Three thousand years ago... shouldn't they have used stone tablets?"
"Valid point, stone tablets." Jie Nandou pondered, "Then it might be troublesome. Stone tablets are too heavy, carrying forty of them back home would be too burdensome..."
"Are there any easily portable treasures?"
"I reckon that Pyramid Crystal is quite nice! Seems like a Divine Artifact, how about we snatch it?"
"The sarcophagus itself might be a Divine Artifact! Brother Jie, you're strong, why not haul it back?"
"Actually... mummies seem quite valuable too. Anubis's mummy might be of superior quality, shall we carry the corpse back together...?"
Youyu looked at this excited group, as if they were going on a gold-hunting mission, speechless.
"..."
Anubis, danger!