Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"Young people! To me, Seto Kaiba, you are just newcomers who have just stepped into the world of duels! There are countless unknown duels in this world... The path of battle has no end!"

With his head bowed and fist clenched, Kaiba gave his final piece of advice to the students who dared to challenge him: "So, even if you lose to me today, don't give up!"

As long as you keep moving forward, the road will keep extending, so... don't stop!

……

After the duel on the beach, President Kaiba followed Principal Samejima to the private reception room to rest, leaving everyone present with an extremely dashing back view.

Pretending to be cool is like the wind and always accompanies me!

Young duelists! Challenge me without fear! Hahahahahahaha...

"...Um, President?"

Looking at the man who had just achieved an absolute victory, Principal Samejima wiped the cold sweat from his skin and then asked, "...President, did you come here to resolve the Seven Stars matter?"

"Seven Stars? You mean the mess that Kagemaru caused?"

Seahorse glanced at the bald head in front of him and spoke calmly.

Even without Samejima's detailed explanation, he quickly realized the true identity of the mastermind.

"Uh... it was indeed Chairman Kagemaru who caused this incident... Now he's hiding in the shadows, directing his Seven Star Kings to wreak havoc everywhere... For now, we can only passively accept the challenge..."

"Yes, I know about this. He wants to use the power of the Illusion Demon to rejuvenate his old body, right?" He waved his hand absentmindedly, without much concern on his face.

For him, there are only a handful of people in this world who are worth taking seriously, and the current Kagemaru is clearly not among them.

Since Sheng Yu, He Shengliang?

The game (Atem)... my nemesis! What am I to do in a world without you? Who else is worth fighting for?

Samejima: "..."

Wow! How do you know everything?

This makes me lose face... President!

"Kagemaru... Ha! Foolish fellow! Doesn't he know... that excessive power, when out of control, will devour one himself?"

As the holder of the God Cards, Kaiba understands this all too well.

Even if someone who is not recognized obtains the God's Card, they will be punished by the heavens and struck to pieces by divine lightning.

That old and frail Kagemaru dares to covet these cards? Is he trying to hasten his own demise?

"Um... I think Chairman Kagemaru must have his own plans, right?"

After briefly recounting the series of events that had occurred on the island to President Kaiba, Principal Samejima also offered his own speculation: "Chairman Kagemaru somehow collected a bunch of underworld tools that can trigger dark duels, and then distributed them to the Seven Star Kings... The recent disturbances were mainly caused by these dark tools... I think he might have received help from someone and thus obtained the method to control the power of phantom demons?"

"Mastering the power of the Illusionary Demon?" Kaiba scoffed and said calmly, "If this power were so easily controlled, why would I have chosen to seal it away in the first place?"

"The Three Phantom Demons are like the Three Phantom Gods; only those chosen by them are qualified to possess them and obtain their power... Are you saying that old man Kagemaru is a Jinchūriki chosen by the Phantom Demons?"

"Uh... I'm not really sure either..."

Scratching his bald head, Principal Samejima, who also harbored doubts about the matter, didn't dwell on the topic any further and instead said, "In short... our Key Guardians, through life-or-death duels in the darkness, have already thwarted two attacks by the Seven Star Kings..."

"Oh? A dark duel where lives are at stake?" Upon hearing this familiar yet unfamiliar term, Kaiba's face lit up with interest.

The events caused by Pegasus in the Duel Kingdom, the Card Hunters operating in the shadows in Duel City, the Orichalcum God that Dartz wanted to awaken ten thousand years ago, and the Great Evil God causing trouble in the Pharaoh's memories...

These events all bear the shadow of dark duels to varying degrees.

Upon hearing the name again after many years, the seahorse couldn't help but smile.

Kagemaru and all that, it doesn't matter at all!

All I want is an opponent worthy of my full strength!

The seahorse harbored just such expectations.

"So, what's the name of the person who defeated the Seven Star King?" During his previous duel with Obelisk Blue's group of students, Kaiba hadn't found anyone of note.

In other words, the person who defeated the Seven Stars did not join the main group of challengers.

It's quite possible that he was quietly watching me from the crowd, calmly analyzing his tactics...

"Uh... it's Yusei-kun from Osiris Red..."

The one who defeated the Seven Star King was not an elite of Obelisk Blue, but Osiris Red, the bottom-ranked student of the Inner Duel Academy...

As the principal, Samejima also felt somewhat ashamed of this fact.

Osiris Red doesn't have perfect attendance, nor does she need to worry about being expelled for poor grades. As the dormitory supervisor, Daitokuji-sensei also has a leisurely personality, basically the type who can come and go as he pleases.

Even Hayato, who spent most of his time in bed, rarely attended classes, and was a true bottom of the class in every way, only ended up repeating a year...

Although Principal Samejima had mentioned several times that he wanted to promote outstanding students like Yusei and Jaden Yuki (in terms of dueling) to a higher level, however... they just wouldn't come...

After much persuasion, they finally managed to get Yusei a luxurious single dormitory room in Obelisk Blue.

He had thought that Yusei would feel a desire to join Obelisk Blue after seeing the high-class dormitory.

To his surprise, the luxurious dormitory that originally belonged to Manjoume was used by Yusei as a storage room to store his personal belongings...

He himself rarely goes there; when he does, it's only to change his mood...

It was... kind of awkward.

"Yusei...Yusei..."

Kaiba glanced at Kisara beside him, and after seeing her nod, he asked again, "So, those previous Dark Duels were all resolved by that boy named Yusei?"

"That's right...that's correct..."

After a pause, Principal Samejima replied.

In the end, it was indeed Yusei who brought an end to them.

Other students and teachers also made efforts, but... they all faced defeat for various reasons.

Some of those who were holding back... ended up becoming hostages on the other side...

(Marufuji Sho: ...Just give me your ID card!)

"Okay, I understand. That's settled then."

"……Why?"

Upon receiving Principal Samejima's reply, Kaiba immediately stood up and uttered words that sounded like farewell.

It seems he has achieved his purpose in coming here and is now planning to leave and return to his company.

"Regarding the Seven Stars... with that boy named Yusei around, I don't need to worry about it anymore."

Recalling the hero civil war that took place at Kaiba Park a few months ago when Duel Academy started, Kaiba's lips involuntarily curled upwards.

Even from his perspective, the level of that duel far surpassed that of ordinary professional duelists.

Whether it's the back-and-forth tactical arrangements or the exciting process of anticipating each other's moves... they all deserve our due attention!

The supernova of Duel Academy, the hope for the future.

The two sides in that duel were Yusei and Jaden Yuki...

If they are all here and have become the guardians of the key, bravely raising the banner of rebellion, then I will no longer need to personally deal with the matter concerning Kagemaru!

The future belongs to the young people. As older generations, we just need to hand over the opportunities to them and wait quietly.

"if……"

If they were truly defeated by the Seven Stars or the Three Phantom Demons, then it could only mean that they had misjudged them...

Looking out the window into the distance, the seahorse couldn't help but think of this.

He had many ideas before coming here.

For example... meeting the owner of that meteorite, sparring (or rather, showing off) with the young people I've got my eye on, and incidentally dealing with the clowns jumping around here...

However, after actually arriving here, his thoughts changed.

Human growth takes time and there's no need to rush it.

Letting them experience setbacks and challenges might actually be a good thing!

"...President? Is there something you want to say?"

Seeing the hesitant look on Kaiba's face, Principal Samejima subconsciously asked.

"It's nothing... That's all for now. I'm planning to go back. I'll leave the Seven Stars matter to you."

He shook his head slightly, then patted Principal Samejima on the shoulder, giving him a "do a good job, I have high hopes for you~" look. He then swung the hem of his trench coat and walked out without looking back.

"So... President, you came all the way to Duel Academy just to show off?"

Standing alone and bewildered in the wind, Principal Samejima watched President Kaiba's departing figure and couldn't help but mutter a complaint under his breath...

363, well done!

"Ugh~ I can't take it anymore! I, Mr. Manjoume, can't stand it anymore! It's been almost two months since I came to this dormitory, and all my important paintings, artworks, and high-end furniture... can't fit in this cramped space. They can only gather dust outside the dormitory... This feeling is just too unbearable!"

Duel Academy, a new day.

Early in the morning, Manjoume's complaints, filled with strong emotions, could be heard from Osiris Red Dormitory.

In fact, structurally speaking, his single dormitory room was much more spacious than the four-person room shared by Yusei and the others.

however……

Because Manjoume brought a lot of personal luggage, plus some useless items that he never used and just left lying around, Manjoume forcibly stuffed them into the room, taking up space.

So his room was quickly filled with all sorts of things, leaving no extra space.

"...It's so cramped, so cramped, this space is just too cramped!"

At this moment, Manjoume was holding his head and shaking it, lamenting his bad luck and unfortunate fate...

Having grown accustomed to the life of a young master, returning to the life of an ordinary person can indeed be quite a change.

But... the slightly deliberate look that Manjoume is putting on right now... really does resemble a spoiled child who hasn't had enough homework.