"Damn it… I still lost!" Jounouchi stared at the scattered cards on his desk, teeth clenched.
Kaiba folded his arms and looked down at him with icy certainty.
"Per our agreement, you are not to approach Kisaragi again without permission. Understood?"
"I get it." Jounouchi forced himself to breathe. "I'm a Duelist. I keep my word. From now on, I won't go up to her on my own."
Then his eyes sharpened—this wasn't about the girl anymore.
"But even if I lost today, I'll beat you someday. Wash your neck and wait!"
At that moment, Jounouchi wasn't speaking as a rejected suitor—he was issuing a challenger's declaration of war.
Kaiba sneered. "A talentless fool will always be a talentless fool. Then keep crawling along behind my back and cling to life."
"You—!"
"Jounouchi," Honda cut in, dragging him away, "that's just how Kaiba is. Don't take it so personally!"
But Kisaragi wasn't paying attention to their shouting. She was replaying the entire duel in her head, turn by turn.
"Kisaragi," Kaiba asked, voice a shade softer, "what's wrong? You've been thinking since the duel ended."
"I'm just reviewing the duel," she replied.
"Reviewing?"
"Yes. Jounouchi made a serious mistake."
Jounouchi snapped around instantly and rushed over. "Huh?! What mistake did I make?!"
Nearby, Yugi and Bakura were listening too—both of them had assumed Jounouchi lost purely because Kaiba was stronger.
Kisaragi spoke plainly.
"Using Two-Pronged Attack of the Magical Arms to take control of Kaiba's two monsters was smart. The mistake was what you did after that."
"My follow-up?" Jounouchi blinked.
"Kaiba still had two set cards. There was no way you were going to defeat him cleanly. So instead of trying to humiliate him by attacking with his own monsters, you should've used Black Panther Warrior's effect—Tribute it to destroy Kaiba's Luster Dragon, then attack."
She tapped the desk as if laying down the decisive line.
"If you remove Luster Dragon, Kaiba doesn't get to keep it alive for the City of Dragon Souls setup later. Without that, there's no banished Blue-Eyes line, no resurrection sequence, and the duel develops completely differently."
The shadow behind Yugi—another presence, calm and sharp—spoke with certainty.
"She's right. If Kaiba loses Luster Dragon, then City of Dragon Souls can't set up the banish-and-revive route for Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
And as he said it, that unseen gaze lingered on Kisaragi—heavy with interest.
"Aibo… Kisaragi might be a stronger Duelist than Kaiba."
Hearing it out loud, both Kaiba and Jounouchi finally understood.
Jounouchi had gotten emotional. He wanted to beat Kaiba with Kaiba's own monsters—to embarrass him. And that vanity cost him the duel's best tactical path.
Kaiba, on the other hand, felt a quiet jolt of relief.
If Jounouchi had traded off Luster Dragon, Kaiba's set City of Dragon Souls would've become useless. He probably still wouldn't have lost—but finishing Jounouchi would've taken far more work.
"Jounouchi," Kisaragi said, not unkindly, "you'll get stronger. And Kaiba—if you don't keep sharpening yourself, you'll get flipped by a cheap situation one day."
Kaiba scoffed. "Even if I ever fall into a ditch, it won't be because of that talentless fool."
Jounouchi bristled instantly. "Next time I'll beat you and step on you!"
"Jounouchi, calm down—this is school!" Honda grabbed him again before it turned into a fight.
Classes ended. The final bell rang, and students poured out.
"Kisaragi," Kaiba said, already moving like it was natural she'd follow, "let's go. The car's waiting at the gate."
"Okay."
She walked out with him. Under dozens of staring eyes, Kaiba and Kisaragi climbed into the same car and left the school together—fuel for a whole day's worth of rumors.
Then Kaiba's phone rang.
Beep, beep, beep.
"What is it?" Kaiba snapped into the call.
"President—we've found the whereabouts of the fourth Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Kaiba's pupils tightened with excitement. "What? Where?!"
"It's in the home of your classmate, Mutou Yugi. His family runs a Duel Monsters card shop, and they have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in their collection."
"I understand." Kaiba hung up and immediately instructed the driver to head to Yugi's family shop.
Kisaragi looked at him from the side.
"Kaiba… are you sure you want that Blue-Eyes?"
"Of course." His gaze hardened with something close to obsession. "Other than you and me, no one is qualified to own Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
A bell above the shop door jingled.
"Welcome!" an elderly man called out.
"Grandpa, it's me," Yugi said, entering with his friends. "I brought classmates over to hang out."
"Ah, Yugi!" The old man smiled warmly. "Hello, everyone. My name is Mutou Sugoroku. Thank you for looking after my grandson."
"Don't be so formal, Grandpa Sugoroku," Anzu said cheerfully. "Today we're the ones being looked after."
Jounouchi stared at the display cases filled with cards, eyes sparkling… then he glanced at his nearly empty wallet and sighed.
"Whoa… so many Duel Monsters cards…"
"What, you want to buy some?" Honda teased.
"Obviously! If I'm gonna beat Kaiba, I need powerful cards!"
"Too bad you're broke," Honda laughed.
"Tch—my family's not loaded like yours. Guess it's back to part-time jobs again," Jounouchi grumbled.
Just then, the shop bell rang again.
Sugoroku instinctively called, "Welcome—" but his voice stalled when he saw who walked in.
Kaiba—and Kisaragi.
"Kaiba…? And Kisaragi?" Yugi said, surprised.
"What are you doing here, Kaiba?!" Jounouchi demanded.
Kaiba ignored him completely and walked straight to the counter, eyes locking onto Sugoroku.
"Old man. You have a Blue-Eyes White Dragon here, don't you?"
Sugoroku froze for a beat. Then he nodded.
"Yes."
He produced the treasured Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
Jounouchi's jaw dropped. "No way… Yugi, your family has a Blue-Eyes?!"
Kaiba's expression sharpened into hunger.
He opened a briefcase—inside were rare cards, neatly stored like jewels.
Sugoroku and Jounouchi both stared, eyes flashing with unmistakable excitement.
"I'll trade these cards for that Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Kaiba's voice was absolute. "Or name your price. I'll pay anything."
Sugoroku shook his head.
"I'm sorry. That Blue-Eyes is not for sale. In fact, it doesn't belong to me. An old friend entrusted it to me for safekeeping—I have no right to sell it."
"What?!" Kaiba's face tightened. He turned sharply, ready to leave.
"Kaiba, wait," Kisaragi called.
"If they won't sell, what's the point of staying?" Kaiba snapped.
Kisaragi's eyes narrowed, reading him cleanly.
"…Are you planning to use other means to get that Blue-Eyes White Dragon?"
The air in the shop suddenly felt colder.
...
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter50)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter50)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter50)
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