When the Duel had first begun, he had looked at Mokuba Kaiba with the same strange gaze. Back then it was filled with disdain, as if saying, "Is Kaiba Corporation looking down on me by sending such a nobody?"
But after just one Duel, his gaze had shifted from contempt to grievance, as if to say, "We have no grudge. I only wanted a match. Was it really necessary to bring out something this addictive as a weapon?"
Mokuba Kaiba was also a little surprised. He cleared his throat and said, "In any case, you lost. According to our agreement, speak. What conflict do we have with Industrial Illusions? Why attack our servers maliciously?"
Kirk Dixon stood up and composed himself before getting to the point.
"It was a misunderstanding," he said.
"Oh?" Mokuba Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "What misunderstanding?"
Kirk Dixon shook his head.
"I am only a small piece on the board, and this was done online under a virtual identity. No matter what I say, you probably would not believe it. So Maximillion Pegasus has already given instructions.
At seven tonight, he will be waiting at the Foundation Headquarters. He will personally explain everything."
Foundation was an organization related to Duel Monsters that Tenma had established himself, independent from his adoptive father Maximillion Pegasus's Industrial Illusions.
"Yako Tenma, huh?" Mokuba Kaiba frowned slightly.
Yugen roughly understood what he was thinking.
Kaiba Corporation and that Yako Tenma did have a bit of history.
From looking into past events, Yugen knew that the Dimension he was in resembled a Fusion of anime and manga worldviews. Many major events followed the anime version, but although Yako Tenma originally appeared in the manga, he existed here as well.
In the original manga, while Seto Kaiba was in the United States, Yako Tenma seized the Kaiba Corporation Headquarters as his base, hijacked Kaiba Corporation's Duel servers, and challenged Yugi Muto. When Seto Kaiba learned of it and rushed back from the United States, he lost his Duel to Yako, who wielded a Dark God.
In that version, his motive was revenge for his adoptive father Maximillion Pegasus, who had died in Duelist Kingdom. But in this Dimension, Maximillion Pegasus was still alive, so history had changed slightly.
Even so, in this timeline Yako, who once held one of the three Dark Gods, had still been corrupted by its influence. Under the control of the Dark God, he challenged Yugi Muto, who possessed the Egyptian God Cards.
During that incident, he also faced Seto Kaiba, and just like in the original story, Yako won with the power of the Dark God. For Seto Kaiba, it must have been a defeat hard to forget.
Later, Yugi Muto intervened and used Break Strike to break the power of the Dark God, freeing Yako Tenma from its influence and restoring him to normal.
After that turmoil, both Maximillion Pegasus and Yako Tenma realized that the three Dark Gods were too powerful and too evil, too dangerous for anyone to control. The cards were said to have been destroyed afterward.
That had been many years ago.
It was easy to imagine that after such events, there would be some lingering friction between Seto Kaiba and Yako Tenma.
"Maximillion Pegasus guarantees that your company's intrusion has nothing to do with us. In this hacking incident, Industrial Illusions is also a victim," Kirk Dixon said solemnly.
"Please come tonight and discuss it face to face."
"Very well. I understand." Mokuba Kaiba nodded. "I will inform my brother."
"Thank you. Then I will take my leave for now. Oh, and 'Link System' truly is a great invention. We will restore the entire area we entered within 'Link System' and clear all related data."
"Good." Mokuba Kaiba nodded again.
Professor Kirk Dixon then logged out after offering his respects to the two of them. Before leaving, however, he glanced once more at Yugen.
He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, his expression complicated. After hesitating for a long moment, he still said nothing.
In the end, he shook his head, and his body dissolved into a stream of data and vanished.
Judging from his state, he would probably have psychological trauma whenever he saw 'Ojama Trio' for quite some time.
Yugen and Mokuba Kaiba also logged out of the Link System.
After removing the equipment, Mokuba Kaiba asked him to wait a moment, then hurried off to call Seto Kaiba and report what had just happened.
The president was currently on a business trip overseas.
"Yako Tenma, hm?"
Upon receiving the call, Seto Kaiba narrowed his eyes and gave a light snort.
Clearly, like Mokuba Kaiba, he had recalled some unpleasant memories.
"What do you think, brother?"
"Hmph. Interesting. Since they have invited us so formally, there is no reason not to go," Seto Kaiba said with a cold laugh.
"I understand. Then I will go take a look tonight."
After a pause, Mokuba Kaiba smiled.
"By the way, what a coincidence. Do you remember Yugen Fujiki, the first year student at Duel Academy?"
"I remember," Seto Kaiba said calmly.
"When it happened, I was demonstrating Link System to him. This time it was thanks to him again. He represented our company in the Duel and defeated the professor under Yako Tenma."
"Mm," Seto Kaiba replied. "Hmph. Yako's subordinates may have some skill, but their limits are obvious.
If he could not even handle that level of opponent, he would not be worth my attention."
"I thought the same, so I left the Duel to him without worry. But..."
Mokuba Kaiba paused, as if searching for the right words.
"I watched his Duel. How should I put it? It gave me a subtle feeling."
"What? You think he is very strong?"
Mokuba Kaiba scratched his head.
"It is not about whether he is strong or not. He is really that kind of very special..."
For a moment, he found it hard to describe the feeling in words.
"...Anyway, I have the recording. If you are interested, brother, you can take a look. I think his Duel was quite interesting."
As he spoke, Mokuba Kaiba seemed to recall Kirk Dixon's expression during the Duel, the look as if he had swallowed Sho Marufuji. The more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed, and he could not help but laugh.
"In any case, no matter what, at least I found it quite entertaining."
Whether he was truly strong or not, he did not know. But as a spectator, he had enjoyed it thoroughly.
"Oh?"
The moment the topic turned to a Duel, Seto Kaiba's interest was piqued.
"Alright. Send it to me."
Mokuba Kaiba once again generously showed Yugen the rich inventory currently stored at headquarters. When the password lock disengaged and the heavy alloy door slowly opened, even Yugen had to admit the sight was striking. As far as he could see, there were cards everywhere.
Calling it a duelist's romance would not be an exaggeration. It was his first time seeing such a vast space completely filled with a sea of Duel Cards, like a treasure cave waiting to be explored. Tall display cabinets lined both walls like solemn guards.
Inside them were countless varieties of Cards, arranged by year and category. From the earliest versions created after Maximillion Pegasus uncovered the stone tablets and developed Duel Monsters, to the newer releases born from each year of research, and even the many entries of the Level Series. Rather than a warehouse, the place felt more like a library.
What stood here was not just a collection of cards, but the record of time itself. Each cabinet preserved a different era of Duel Monsters, marking the steps of countless explorers who had pushed the game forward. The weight of that history was visible in every row.
Mokuba Kaiba did not set a limit on how much he could take and simply told him to help himself. Even so, Genshin Yu knew he needed some restraint, since clearing out someone's entire stockpile would be shameless. He decided to prioritize what he truly needed from his list.