Yu-Gi-Oh! The Pitfall Hero

"Heh... Although I can't see it, I can see through it."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is... well, wouldn't a duel be more appropriate than just talking?" With a mysterious smile, Saiou challenged Manjou, who was staring at him. "So, how about a duel? I want to see your skills. If I like you, I can recommend you to the professional league, you know?"

"...Go to the professional league?"

Upon hearing this tempting suggestion, Wan Zhangmu raised an eyebrow and his expression became serious.

The professional league is the place all duelists aspire to.

If I had to describe it, it would be like some lousy gamer who suddenly gets noticed by a famous agent, receives all sorts of support along the way, and eventually steps onto the big stage of the professional league.

Putting aside the potential results, this opportunity itself is already incredibly rare.

Even a genius like Caesar could only enter that circle after receiving the full recommendation of the Duel Academy.

It's easy to imagine how attractive Saiou's proposal was to a duelist like Manjoume.

"That's right, with my firm's recommendation, you can enter the professional league circle."

"Heh... Interesting." Considering his words, Manjoume, who felt he had a great advantage, couldn't help but feel a slight ripple in his heart.

While he was contemplating the gains and losses, the three brothers, after exchanging glances, also shared their opinions.

Disruptive Huang: "Big brother, I have a feeling that guy is a bit scary!"

Disrupting Green: "It's better not to fight him..."

Disruptive Black: "Let's just give up..."

Wan Zhangmu: "Stop making so much noise! ​​All of you, get out of here!!!"

Disrupting the three brothers: "But..."

Enraged by the three brothers' disruptive declaration of surrender, Manjoume forcefully waved his arm, driving them aside.

Then, facing the smiling Saiou, Manjoume grabbed the Duel Disk and shouted, "Alright, I accept your proposal. Now, let me show you my formidable strength!"

"Remember this well, the one who will defeat you... my name is—Jun Banjou!"

Instead of revealing his ridiculously dramatic nickname "Lightning," Wan Zhangmu, whose expression was now slightly serious, revealed his real name.

"Hehehehe... Manjoume, from this moment on, your destiny will be guided by the card!"

He lowered his body slightly, and upon hearing Manjoume's agreement, Saiō confidently made this declaration.

As his words fell, a thick white mist that obscured the view began to appear out of thin air, spreading outwards from the King of the West as its center.

"This...this is..."

Seeing the strange changes happening around him, Manjoume instinctively uttered a questioning sound.

Could this strangely familiar scene be... also an influence of the Dark Duel?

But... the Seven Stars have already been defeated! Even the mastermind behind it all, Kagemaru, has been sent to the hospital.

what is going on?

Why is this strange phenomenon still occurring?

"Ahhh... I guess we should just run away!" Seeing that the situation was not good, the three brothers decisively abandoned their eldest brother and chose to run away.

Manjōmu, who had noticed all of this, merely clicked his tongue before turning his gaze back to Saiō.

At some point, a round table covered with a white cloth appeared in front of the King of the West.

In the very center of that round table was a rented deck of cards.

"What's going on... This guy, he didn't even bring out his Duel Disk?" With this question in mind, Manjoume raised his left arm and unfolded his Duel Disk: "...Duel!"

“Heh…Duel.” With a faint smile, Saiou drew five cards from the deck in the center of the table, then spread them out face down on the table in front of him.

"What?! Don't you even look at the cards?"

"Heh... there's no need for that."

Faced with Manjōmu's curious question, Saiō smiled faintly and gave an ambiguous answer.

Fate is predetermined. What kind of cards you will draw, what kind of opponents you will fight, and even the outcome of the duel are all foreseen by Saiō.

Therefore, there is no need to specifically look at the cards on the table.

(Manjoume LP: 4000)

(Zaiwang Takuma LP: 4000)

"Is that so? Then... I get to go first. It's my turn. Draw a card!"

Seeing that Sai-o had no intention of attacking first, Manjoume decisively seized the initiative in the round.

After forcefully drawing a new card from the top of his deck, Manjoume immediately placed it on his Duel Disk: "I summon [V-Jet Tiger] in Attack Position (ATK: 1600)."

The glider, resembling a fierce tiger, descended in front of him with a sprint, trailing its exhaust fumes, as Wan Zhangmu finished speaking.

"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Card - Frontline Base. According to the effect of this card, once per turn, I can Special Summon one Union Monster of Level 4 or lower from my hand during my Main Phase."

King of the West: "...Huh?"

"Hmph! Based on the effect of [Frontline Base], I Special Summon [W-Catapult Wing] (ATK: 1300) from my hand!"

After summoning these monsters, Manjoume Dai immediately raised his arm: "Next, I will combine [V-Jet Tiger] and [W-Ejector Wing] to summon [VW-Strike Tiger] in attack stance (Attack Power: 2000)!"

The two monsters spewed exhaust fumes as they hurtled into the sky.

Under the influence of mutual attraction, the base of [V-Jet Tiger] and the base of [W-Ejector Wing] merged together, transforming into a brand new fusion monster.

"Finally, I'll hide one card, turn over!"

After summoning the powerful fused monster, Manjoume finally ended his turn with satisfaction.

The only thing that disappointed him was that the Allied Monster he was facing in this duel was not from the ABC series, but from the older VWXYZ series; otherwise, this would have been a decisive blow.

If [ABC-Dragon Destroyer] is on the field, when Saiou summons his ace monster and attacks with full confidence, Manjoume can give him a big gift and blast him directly into another dimension!

"My turn, draw cards."

Without looking at the card he had drawn, Saiou kept the card face down, pointing the image at Banjou, and said the card's message without hesitation: "I activate the magic card [Vision]."

"You...so you can actually see the cards?" Somewhat bewildered by Saiou's charlatan act, Manjoume couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

“As I said before, it’s not that I saw it, it’s that I saw through it.” With a smile, Saiou placed the card back on the table and said, “Vision, your fate… Based on the effect of the magic card, I draw a new card from my deck.”

As if the scene were being replicated, Saiou still didn't even look at the card he had drawn, and directly showed it to Manjoume.

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【Arcane Power 12 - The Hanged Man】

(Angel/Light/6-star/Attack: 2200/Defense: 2200)

effect:

When this card is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, flip a coin once. If the card is face up, gain its effect; if face down, gain its effect.

●Upright Position: Once per turn, during your End Phase, destroy 1 monster you control, and take damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK.

●Reversed Position: Once per turn, during your End Phase, destroy 1 monster your opponent controls, and your opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's ATK.

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"What?! That creepy card..."

Above the card is the image of a strange green creature hanging upside down on purple vines under the moonlight.

The lower limbs, resembling tentacles, were tightly wrapped around the vines, while the upper body, with four tentacles that could barely be identified as arms, drooped down around the body due to gravity.

That appearance exuded an unsettling atmosphere.

"【Secret Ritual Power 12 - The Hanged Man】...This card is the final result I achieved after seeing through your destiny." With a faint smile, the Prince of Sai explained the message of the card.

"King Zhai! What do you mean by that? Weren't you planning to test my strength? You've been spouting nonsense about fate and destiny since just now, what's going on?"

“…Heh, the effects of the magic card have a follow-up.” Without directly answering Manjoume’s question, Saiou put the Hanged Man he had just drawn back into the deck: “I’m putting [Arcane Power 12 - Hanged Man] back into the deck. Next… Manjoume, you’re in charge of shuffling this deck, with your own hands.”

Manjoume: "..."

"Come here, come over to the table." Seeing the hesitant look on Manjō's face, Saiō pointed to the area in front of him, signaling him to come over and shuffle his deck himself.

"Sorry... I don't believe in fate or any other uncertain factors. I want to create my own future!"

After hesitating for a moment, Manjoume adjusted his mindset, walked to the table, and casually began shuffling Saiou's deck: "Whether it's good or bad, it's my own choice! If I'm intimidated by such bluster, I wouldn't be Manjoume!"

"Oh? Is that what you think?" Watching Manjoume place the deck back on the table, Saiou continued, "Indeed, just like how you shuffle this deck, fate can indeed be chosen..."

"However, one cannot escape the fate that has been chosen once."

"Gulp...!" Annoyed by Saiou's calm and composed expression, Manjoume reached out again, picked up the deck from the table, and shuffled it haphazardly a few more times.

After doing all this, he returned to the spot where he had been standing.

"Hehehe...I really did something interesting~"

Despite Manjōmu's willful behavior, Saiō made no move to resist.

When Manjoume returned to his original position, he slowly spoke, saying something that greatly surprised Manjoume: "By the way, when the card selected according to the effect of [Vision] is used, you will suffer 1000 points of damage."

"Hmph! Do you think it's that simple? Your [Arcane Power 12 - The Hanged Man] has already been shuffled into your deck!" Disdainful of Saiou's words, Manjoume said in a deep voice, "Are you saying that you'll draw that card next and then hurt me?"

"...Heh, let the duel continue."

With his eyes slightly closed, Saiou picked up another card from the table: "Next, I will activate the Spell Card [Sword X] from my hand."

As the king spoke, a huge projection of a magic card appeared above his head.

Like the hands of a clock, this card is also constantly rotating clockwise...

465 Someone is cheating!

"...【Sword X】? What kind of card is that?"

Looking at the card he had never seen before, which appeared in a slightly eerie way, Manjou's face instinctively showed a look of confusion.

At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten that Saiō did not use the Duel Disk in the duel, but instead played with the cards on the table to engage in the duel.

Logically speaking, a board game like this shouldn't have any special effects...