"I noticed that young Akemi girl looking at you strangely just now," Old Man Yugi said. "Did she come to you about something?"
When Jaden returned to the house, Old Man Yugi was already there.
"Sort of," Jaden replied. "She wants me to fight a Kengan match. I haven't agreed yet."
Old Man Yugi looked at him.
"Is the opponent very strong?"
Akemi had asked the same question earlier.
Jaden's answer back then had been-
Hard to say.
Now that Old Man Yugi asked again, Jaden smiled faintly.
"I heard he has a secret technique," Jaden said. "But I'm probably still stronger."
"Hm..." Old Man Yugi nodded. "In that case, if you want to fight, then go ahead. Don't worry about me or the children."
Jaden looked at him.
Questioningly.
Old Man Yugi smiled.
"I told you before, didn't I?" he said. "When I was young, I was the King of Games..."
Here we go again.
In the past, Jaden had always felt that Old Man Yugi was probably well-off when he was younger.
But the whole "King of Games" thing-
It really wasn't convincing.
Especially now.
With Jack Hanma's knowledge, Jaden could tell at a glance that even in his youth, the old man hadn't practiced martial arts at all.
Not someone who trained and later stopped.
No foundation whatsoever.
Still, Jaden didn't say anything.
He listened quietly as Old Man Yugi talked about how, decades ago, he had once angrily confronted one of the world's largest companies to protect his family.
After finishing that story, Old Man Yugi looked at Jaden again.
"I have an old friend," he said slowly. "Someone I haven't seen in decades. I received some news about him fifteen years ago."
"I should have gone to see him back then. But too much time had passed. I didn't know how to face him... so I never went."
"But recently, he contacted me."
Old Man Yugi's expression grew serious.
"I think it's time to meet him."
Jaden stayed silent.
"So," Old Man Yugi continued, "his plane will likely come to pick me up today. I'll take the children with me."
"If you stay here, you'll be able to pay more attention to your own safety. You'll also have more freedom to act."
He paused.
"Of course... if you want to come with me, you're always welcome."
Jaden met his gaze.
"Stop lying," Jaden said calmly. "You clearly don't want me to follow."
"Oops," Old Man Yugi laughed. "Was I exposed? Hahaha."
Jaden sighed.
"I won't ask for details," he said. "Since you're taking the kids, your friend's place must be safe."
"But even if I don't go now, I'll need to find you later, right?"
"So how do I find you then?"
Old Man Yugi gave him two words.
"-Kaiba."
"...That's not very helpful right now," Jaden said.
Old Man Yugi smiled.
"With that fellow's ability, you'll understand the name 'Kaiba' in a few years."
"When that time comes, you'll be able to find me just by looking for him."
After saying that, Old Man Yugi reached into his pocket.
He took out something that looked like a train card and handed it to Jaden.
"Your path is one you chose yourself," he said. "I want to help you as much as I can, but there's very little I actually can do."
"Jaden. Take this."
Jaden was confused.
But he still accepted it.
It looked like an amulet.
A transparent crystal protective casing.
Inside were a few small cards.
More than one.
Probably two.
The bottom card was face-down, showing a spiral-like pattern on the back.
The front card-
It had a picture.
Attack power.
Defense power.
Attribute.
A description.
-Isn't this just a children's trading card?
"Kuriboh..."
Jaden muttered helplessly.
He glanced at Old Man Yugi.
The expression on the old man's face was clear.
This is all I can do for you.
Jaden raised an eyebrow, then carefully put the strange "amulet" away.
"This is from me," Old Man Yugi said. "And the one who brought you to me also left you a gift."
"Jaden, keep this amulet with you. It will protect you at critical moments."
They?
Jaden was surprised by the wording.
But he still nodded seriously.
"Since you say so," he replied, "I'll keep it with me."
"Mm."
Old Man Yugi nodded, then turned around and began packing his things.
He refused Jaden's help.
"Akemi is still waiting for you," he said. "You should go think about her matter."
With that, Old Man Yugi left.
Jaden slowly went upstairs.
He turned off the transmitter and computer first.
The first volume of A Certain Magical Index had already been uploaded to Takeshi Ooya.
After that, he casually picked up his phone.
He looked at one name in his contacts.
-Erina.
Jaden didn't know why he wanted to call her.
But he did.
He felt like he should ask her.
Then-
When Erina answered, Jaden's first sentence came out as:
"Erina, I'm going to fight that Heavenly Wolf Fist in a Kengan match next. Is that guy strong?"
On the other end, Erina, who was processing documents, blinked.
"Heavenly Wolf Fist... Oh, you mean Ren Nikaido," she said. "Of course he's strong."
"He's Toyo Electric's fighter, right? Why are you fighting Toyo Electric again?"
"Did you find a company?"
"No."
Jaden denied it immediately.
Then his tone relaxed.
"It's mainly because I just finished learning two new moves," he said. "My hands are a bit itchy."
"When someone approached me to commission a Kengan match, I figured I might as well accept and test them out."
"Oh, right," he added casually. "The one commissioning me is Koyo Academy."
"It seems Toyo Electric is targeting them, and Koyo is finding it troublesome."
Jaden spoke lightly.
But Erina understood.
-Toyo Electric is targeting Totsuki.
And now they're also targeting Koyo.
If it's Toyo Electric...
They really do have the ability to target both at the same time.
"Hmph," Erina said. "If you want to fight, then fight. You don't need to report to me."
"But since we're acquainted, don't worry about the Yuki Orphanage. I'll help keep an eye on it."
"The Old Man has his own arrangements," Jaden replied. "Besides, Totsuki must be busy right now."
"Do you really have the spare capacity to help me? You should handle your own matters first."
"I called mainly to tell you this," he continued. "I'll be heading to Koyo Academy for a while."
"As for cooking for me-although it's a loss for me-I'll give you half a month off."
"...No," he corrected himself. "A week. Be grateful."
"You," Erina said coldly, "if you get seriously injured, I will definitely go to the hospital just to laugh at you."
"Then you'll probably be disappointed," Jaden replied. "But if I win and later find that Toyo Electric crushed Totsuki-"
"I'll be the one laughing at you~"
"Hmph," Erina snorted. "Totsuki is not as fragile as you think!"
They continued bickering like that.
Back and forth.
While talking, Erina pieced things together.
Toyo Electric was pressuring Koyo heavily.
But toward Totsuki, their actions were mostly aggressive posturing-focused on the upcoming Kengan match.
Toward Koyo, however, they had already started fighting seriously.
That meant-
Koyo was the priority target.
Totsuki was being bluffed.
So she could breathe a little.
And if Toyo Electric wasn't pressing too hard for now-
She could start cleaning out the spies they had planted inside Totsuki.
Even if those spies weren't important figures, causing Toyo Electric trouble was still worthwhile.
More importantly-
Jaden was heading to Koyo Academy.
That meant Toyo Electric's plan there would almost certainly fail.
Erina believed this without hesitation.
Jaden also understood.
Totsuki still had breathing room.
The Kengan match wasn't imminent.
Meanwhile, Koyo Academy was likely under immediate pressure.
In that case-
Jaden smiled.
"If Totsuki's defenses are still the same as before, that's hard to say," he said. "But just wait for my victory announcement."
"Hmph," Erina replied. "Since you said that, if you lose later due to carelessness-"
"I'll play this recording for you again and again."
Heh.
"Hmph~"
In the end-
These two troublesome people had reached the same understanding.
Find Advance chapters
And for More Fan fiction
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