Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

Just as he had previously refused his brothers' help, Manjoume now resolutely rejected his rival's offer of assistance: "I am the one who will duel! I, Mr. Manjoume... do not intend to accept anyone's help! I will definitely win this duel!"

After saying that, he left the principal's office without looking back, leaving behind the crowd who were stunned and ready to help him.

……

Ever since rumors began circulating that the Manjoume Group was about to acquire Duel Academy, Manjoume's position within the academy has become somewhat awkward.

The way everyone looked at him clearly carried a subtle hint of something else.

"Hey! Have you heard about that?"

"Oh...that matter! Well, this is clearly a hostile takeover!"

"...Yes, yes, yes! This must be the strategy of the Manjoume brothers. They plan to take over the Duel Academy through this inside-outside cooperation to achieve some ulterior motive!"

"So... Manjoume intended to concede defeat from the very beginning? To hand over victory to his brother?"

"I think... that's right, isn't it? If Duel Academy becomes part of the Manjoume Group, then Manjoume will basically become the boss here!"

"Gulp... Manjoume, that guy, his mind is so dark! I really misjudged him! I thought he had changed his bad habits after coming back this time..."

"Tsk tsk tsk... Old habits die hard! You've realized this too late, buddy!"

As Wan Zhangmu walked down the corridor after leaving the principal's office, he unconsciously frowned as he listened to the increasingly outrageous rumors circulating among the onlookers.

How dare these opportunists slander someone's innocence out of thin air!

If I really cared about status and reputation, why would I have returned to this dueling academy? Wouldn't it be better to be the king of the Northern Academy?

"……enough!"

How could you say that!

Just as Manjoume stopped and was about to refute these rumors, the rebuttals from Yusei and Judai Yuki had already reached out to everyone before him.

Seeing the two people chasing after him from behind, Manjou subconsciously raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

However, he did feel a warmth he had never experienced before...

It turns out that someone really does care about me.

I am not fighting alone, and I am not making a fool of myself!

"Manjoume is a student here! Once you've fought him once, you'll know... he's not that kind of person, right?"

With his arms outstretched, Jaden Yuki shouted to the crowd that was gradually gathering around him: "...Instead of mocking us here, shouldn't we unite and get through this crisis together?"

"This……"

"really……"

"What he said makes so much sense, I'm speechless..."

Upon hearing Jaden Yuki's heartfelt words, the group that had been mocking him just moments before exchanged bewildered glances and began to reflect on their own mistakes.

As Yuki Judai said, they really shouldn't have done this to kick someone when they're down at this time.

Instead of slandering Wan Zhangmu's sincerity, what they should do is work together to protect the Duel Academy where they live!

"Tenth generation..."

Looking at Jaden Yuki beside him, who had convinced everyone with a righteous expression and fully demonstrated his heroic nature, Yusei couldn't help but nod slightly, revealing an expression of approval.

The situation was almost exactly as expected.

Having taken on some of the responsibilities and difficulties that he should have faced, Jaden Yuki is now on a path completely different from the one in the original world.

He did not lose his true self or fall into confusion because he witnessed the cruelty of the dark duel. On the contrary, he gained an even stronger fighting spirit from this dark truth.

"You two...you're really meddling in other people's business..."

Although his words still contained a sense of rejection, Manjoume's attitude was much better than before.

So arrogant...

This term is perfectly suited to describe Manjoume now.

"...That's right, now is not the time to argue!"

"There's something we can do, so please tell us, and we'll help you."

Misawa Daichi, whom we haven't seen for a long time, appeared together with Asuka at the gathering place, and behind them, Caesar could be seen walking towards them.

"...Kotovallo (I refuse)!"

Manjou instinctively refused the two men's request for help.

If you accept help here, wouldn't that be tantamount to indirectly admitting that you were just being stubborn?

"Don't be so sensitive, Manjoume! If you lose this duel... then we'll all be affected!"

Hearing Manjoume's refusal, Caesar slowly walked up to him, then calmly looked into Manjoume's eyes: "I think... you're troubled by the card issue right now, aren't you?"

Manjoume: "..."

He neither nodded nor shook his head.

Judging from Wan Zhangmu's reaction, he had clearly tacitly accepted Caesar's guess.

"No card? What's going on?" Upon hearing the unexpected situation from his brother, Marufuji Sho couldn't help but ask.

Masaka... was the card the problem that Manjoume was troubled about just now?

That can't be true... How could a duelist not have cards?

"To be precise, there are no cards with an attack power below 500..."

Speaking calmly, Manjoume continued to explain, "My deck was originally a powerful deck, so there couldn't possibly be any monsters with less than 500 attack power..."

"The only exception is this shameless guy."

As he said this, Manjou took out a card from the pocket of his trench coat and showed it to everyone present.

[Disrupt Yellow] Attack Power: 0

Above the card is an ugly yellow... snail-man.

It wiggled its rear end, which was clad in red underwear, while snot and saliva dripped from its nose as it sized up the crowd in front of it.

It's simply disgusting...

What's even more frustrating is that this card harbors a Duel Spirit...

And it's the kind of stubborn, clingy thing that's impossible to shake off, like a piece of chewing gum...

"Sigh... You think this is all you can use? If that's the case... then you can't even build a deck, Manjoume?"

Looking at the card in Manjoume's hand, even Yuki Jaden, who had maintained an optimistic and positive attitude, couldn't help but feel speechless.

Needless to say, the reactions of the other onlookers were also...

Unlike Yusei, who is a transmigrator, Manjoume and Judai, who are local natives, do not have so many crooked thoughts. They would never come up with such a crooked idea as to build a deck full of trap cards!

Yusei: "Is it okay to only use Disruption Yellow...?"

Oh, I see, it's this card...

Seeing the helpless look on Manjoume's face, Yusei immediately understood his thoughts.

If he possessed such a uniquely designed card, he would probably show a similar expression to Manjoume...

In this limited duel, if you can't use the 0-ATK Disruptor Yellow to pull out components of an XYZ Union Monster, then what's the point of this card?

What's the point of having just this one card?

My condolences, Wan Zhangmu.

"Don't worry about the cards~ Meow!"

Just as everyone was troubled by the awkward situation, the somewhat leisurely voice of Master Daitokuji suddenly came from beside them: "There's a rumor... on this island, there's only one place where you can get those cards..."

Approaching the group, he lowered his voice, reached out to stroke Pharaoh's teacher, Daitokuji, and continued, "It is said... deep in the forest of this island, there is a place that no one dares to approach, and in that place there is a dry well..."

"Wait... I already said no one would approach, so how did you know there were cards there, Daitokuji-sensei?"

The blind student noticed the key point, but Marufuji Sho, who couldn't grasp the atmosphere, subconsciously raised a question.

"Uh……"

The interrupted teacher, Daitokuji, looked slightly embarrassed: "...That's not important! What's important is...the students of the Duel Academy used to throw their extra weak cards into that dry well. If you're planning to help Manjoume, you could go take a look over there, meow~! Maybe you can find the card you want!"

"However, it's important to note... anyone who gets close to that well will be cursed by the card's resentment, and who knows what might happen?"

Having recounted the gains and losses of the rumors, Master Daitoku-ji fell silent and patiently awaited the reactions of the crowd.

While petting the cat, he maintained a mysterious smile, making him a complete eccentric of pleasure!

"It's alright... Even if I'm cursed, I have to get those cards!"

Having fully revealed his thoughts to everyone, Manjou was filled with unwavering determination.

There's no need to rush into arranging duel tactics for now.

The first thing to do now is to collect all the cards in your deck.

Therefore, we must first go to the location of the dry well.

With my boundless eyes, I am determined to protect this Duel Academy from my brothers' clutches!

"Then, if you're planning to go find the cards, count me in!" Yusei patted Manjoume on the shoulder and gave him a friendly smile typical of people from the mortal world.

Hmm, I'll take this opportunity to see if I can find any usable cards...

Maybe we can find some Beast cards that have been abandoned because of their 0 attack power...

"Hehehe... How could I miss out on something this interesting?" Jaden Yuki laughed and echoed when he heard Yusei's words.

"...Do as you please!"

Seeing that the two seemed to be planning to set off with him, Manjoume, who had been forced to agree, could only sigh helplessly and quicken his pace toward the academy's exit.

Even if you choose to refuse here, they'll probably still sneak up on you without a care in the world.

Since that's the case, there's no need to waste any more breath here.

How about love!