"But still, he's using a Machine Deck too," Judai Yuki said with a laugh as he patted Sho on the back. "Could it be that Machina is actually really strong?"
Sho Marufuji had nothing to say. Somehow, it felt like the same Machina looked completely different in other people's hands. Other people used Machina to beat opponents until they dropped their Duel Disk, while he was usually the one getting beaten until he dropped his.
Sho started to reflect on himself. Was it possible that it was not the Machina that was bad, but simply that he was bad at using it?
"By the way, that Tenjoin student looks pretty strong too," Judai Yuki said, rubbing his nose with anticipation. "Feels like there's more good stuff to watch."
At this moment, Asuka Tenjoin had already put on her Duel Disk and stepped up in front of Yugen. "You're very strong," she said seriously. "But I will also give it everything I have."
"That's only natural," he replied.
As he spoke, Yugen smoothly pulled the Deck out of his Duel Disk and inserted it into an empty card case behind him. Then he took another Deck from a different case and slotted it into the Duel Disk. The latest Duel Disk supplied by Kaiba Corporation immediately began its shuffle process, rapidly mixing the newly inserted Deck.
Asuka Tenjoin frowned slightly. He changed his Deck?
"I'm standing here as a Duelist, not as a girl," she said. "I hope you will also go all out."
"Don't worry, of course I will," Yugen said with a smile. "Just a normal tactical switch."
In a world with destiny-related forces, using the same tactics two duels in a row carried the risk of being countered. Even if the opponent did not adjust their Deck on purpose, knowing your deck and ideas meant that five random cards could already contain an answer. As one of the early main cast, Asuka Tenjoin likely had strong destiny on her side, especially among the classmates around Judai Yuki.
"Duel!" both shouted.
Yugen, LP 4000. Asuka Tenjoin, LP 4000.
"I'll go first. Card Draw," Asuka Tenjoin said. "I Normal Summon Cyber Tutu in attack position!"
Cyber Tutu, ATK 1000.
"Then I activate the Equip Spell Cyber Shield, equipping it to Cyber Tutu!"
The Spell Card appeared in her back row, and a pair of pure white wings spread out behind the slender machine dancer. A faint white glow covered its body as she explained the effect.
"A monster equipped with Cyber Shield gains an extra 300 battle damage when it inflicts damage to the opponent," Asuka Tenjoin said. (ANIME EFFECT) "Then I set one card and end my turn."
"My Turn!, Card Draw."
Yugen added the drawn card to his hand and slapped down a monster. "I summon Card Trooper!"
Card Trooper, ATK 400.
"Once per turn, Card Trooper can send up to three cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard. For each card sent, its ATK increases by 500."
He sent three cards to the Graveyard in one motion. "I send three cards, so Card Trooper gains 1500 ATK!"
Card Trooper, ATK 400 to ATK 1900.
Yugen paused and glanced at Asuka Tenjoin's back row. He could more or less guess what that set card was. In the anime, whenever Asuka Tenjoin dueled, that Trap was almost always present, just like Kaiser's Cyber Dragon sticking to his hand.
Doble Passe. Effect: When an opponent's monster attacks one of your face-up Attack Position monsters, make that attack a direct attack instead and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK. Also, that monster can attack your opponent directly during your next turn.
Because the idea of monsters dealing direct damage during the opponent's turn was too strange for real cards, the physical version changed it to allowing a direct attack on the next turn. On top of that, Asuka Tenjoin had summoned Cyber Tutu in attack position with only 1000 ATK and immediately equipped Cyber Shield to boost damage. All of this made Yugen ninety percent sure of what the set card was.
Normally, if he attacked with Card Trooper and she activated Doble Passe, she would take 1900 direct damage while he would only take 1300. She would lose more LP, so logically she should not activate it. But judging from her tactics in the original story, the chance that she would still activate it was not low, since she often traded LP aggressively.
From the theory he had learned these days, Yugen guessed this was simply her Duel style. She pushed forward without hesitation, and maintaining that rhythm mattered more to her than a few hundred LP. Since that was the case, he might as well go along with it.
"Battle," Yugen said, waving his hand. "Card Trooper, attack Cyber Tutu!"
With its boosted ATK, Card Trooper lowered its arms and fired several shots straight at the long-haired female machine. Asuka Tenjoin frowned slightly.
"You're completely ignoring my set card. Then I activate it! Trap Card, Doble Passe!"
Yugen narrowed his eyes. As expected.
"This Trap changes the attack into a direct attack on me," Asuka Tenjoin declared. "After that, my monster can attack the opponent directly!" (ANIME EFFECT)
The spectators cried out in shock. "Using yourself as a shield for your monster?" "Trading damage like this right from the start?"
It was a way to trade LP while also keeping her monster alive for further pressure next turn. This was her pace and her style.
"Then Card Trooper switches to a direct attack on Asuka Tenjoin," Yugen said calmly.
The shells fired by Card Trooper twisted through the air, curving strangely around the front-line monster and heading straight for Asuka Tenjoin behind it. At that instant, he revealed another card from his hand.
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card Limiter Removal! Until the end of the turn, Card Trooper's ATK is doubled!"
Card Trooper, ATK 1900 to ATK 3800.
Asuka Tenjoin's expression changed instantly. "What did you say?" Three thousand eight hundred ATK in one moment?
She could accept taking 1900 damage, but that much at once was another matter entirely. This was going to be bad.
Asuka Tenjoin cried out as the blast hit her. As always, there was no mercy at all, and Yugen Fujiki opened with full firepower from Card Trooper. The doubled output from Limiter Removal poured straight over the girl, ending in a loud explosion that sent black smoke into the air.
Asuka Tenjoin's Life Points dropped from 4000 to 200, and the entire arena froze in shock. No one expected this kind of opening. The duel looked like it might end in the very first turn.
Asuka Tenjoin was no ordinary opponent. She was a top elite from the Middle Division, admitted straight into Obelisk Blue from the moment she enrolled. Even ignoring her looks, many people saw her as a strong candidate for the year's best newcomer among all Duelist.
Everyone had expected a fierce clash between experts, with back and forth attacks and a hard-fought result. Instead, the duel already looked as if it were on the verge of ending. The gap between expectation and reality left the crowd stunned.
Seika Kohinata, who had stood outside the field earlier with dull eyes and a blank face after her own loss, finally came back to life. To be precise, she almost looked radiant, the gloom swept from her face and a smile curling at the corner of her mouth. Her expression slowly turned strange as she watched, clearly enjoying the scene far too much.
"Looks like I underestimated you," Asuka Tenjoin said, forcing herself steady as the shock faded. Trading damage by taking hits head on was her usual style, but misjudging it meant losing on the spot and becoming a joke. That kind of ridiculous defeat would probably turn into a lasting laugh at Duel Academy.
She shook her head and focused back on the Duel. "By the effect of Doble Passe, my monster can counterattack. Go, Cyber Tutu, direct attack!" (ANIME EFFECT)
The female cyber idol leapt into the air, spinning with the grace of a ballet dancer. Her sweeping kick cut across the field and struck Yugen Fujiki head on.