Seto Kaiba

"Duel!" x2

[Kaiba, LP 4000]

[Fujimoto, LP 4000]

"I'll take the First Turn. My Turn, Draw!"

Kaiba drew a card, then calmly revealed a card from his Hand, immediately sending it to the Graveyard.

"I activate the Effect of 'Thunder Dragon' from my Hand!

By discarding this card to the Graveyard, I can add up to two 'Thunder Dragon' from my Deck to my Hand!"

The card was sent to the Graveyard. Then, after the Duel Disk automatically searched his Deck, two cards popped out with a click. Kaiba drew the two cards into his Hand.

"I add two 'Thunder Dragon' to my Hand."

This simple first step alone made Kira feel a bit envious again. He knew that back in the GX era, searching the Deck still required the Duelist to manually pull out the Deck and search through it. After searching, they had to shuffle it manually. For Decks that needed a lot of searching, this was quite cumbersome and inconvenient. It wasn't until the 5DS era that Duel Disks achieved fully automatic searching and shuffling.

President Kaiba truly lived up to his reputation, always equipped with cutting-edge technology. Kira stared at that Duel Disk and instinctively started wondering how he could find a chance to get one for himself.

"I place one Monster on my field in the front, and set three cards in my Back Row," Kaiba said calmly. "I end my Turn."

"Heh, so this is the legendary Duel of Seto Kaiba? I don't see what's so special about it."

Fujimoto tried his best to calm his nerves, but he still kept up his bravado.

My head can be cut off, my blood can flow, but my mouth must remain hard. In many cases, a Duelist's spirit is everything. No matter what, you can't lose in terms of spirit.

Although it sounds mystical, many people found it to be true in practice. Dueling is a strange thing; sometimes, if the person is timid, their cards become timid too. If their spirit collapses and their mindset breaks, their Deck starts bricking. They've already lost a step before the Duel even truly begins.

"My Turn, Draw!"

Glancing at his opening Hand, Fujimoto immediately felt his back straighten a little.

Never before has there been such a beautiful opening hand!

This opening hand has a chance!

"From my Hand, I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity'. I draw three cards from my Deck, then discard two cards from my Hand."

After replacing his Hand, a cruel smile appeared on his lips. He glanced at the seemingly unremarkable Set Monster on Kaiba's field. "Heh, it seems President-sama doesn't think much of me. Unfortunately, it's too late to get serious now!

From my Hand, I Summon—

—Level 8, Terrifying Emperor - Firstborn Demon!"

A massive, pitch-black demon erupted from a burst of blood-red flames. The greatsword in its hand slashed fiercely, releasing transparent sword energy.

"Hoh, a Level 8 Monster right from the start," Mokuba chuckled beside them, setting the mood. "Good spirit!"

"The Effect of Terrifying Emperor - Firstborn Demon allows this card to be Normal Summoned without Tribute, even though it's Level 8," Fujimoto explained. "However, the original ATK of Firstborn Demon summoned this way is halved, and it is destroyed during the End Phase."

[Terrifying Emperor - Firstborn Demon, ATK 3000 → ATK 1500]

"What? Then it's just a paper tiger," Mokuba laughed.

"Heh, that's not necessarily true."

Fujimoto smiled, seizing the opportunity to look cool while also drawing another card from his Hand.

"First, the Effect of 'Terrifying Emperor - Firstborn Demon' activates. Once per turn, by banishing one 'Archfiend' card from my Hand or Graveyard, I can destroy one card on the field.

Therefore, I Banish 'Archfiend Soldier' from my Graveyard, and destroy that card on the left side of your Back Row!"

Kaiba remained calm, his arms still crossed. The Set Card in his Back Row was flipped face-up, then exploded into dust with a crack.

"The Trap Card you just destroyed was 'Statue of the Wicked'," Kaiba said calmly. "When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I Special Summon one 'Wicked Token' to my field."

A golden wicked statue appeared on Kaiba's field, like a wall barrier.

[Wicked Token, DEF 1000]

"Tch, it just had to be the Statue of the Wicked."

Fujimoto frowned, annoyed at his bad luck while continuing his plays.

"Then, from my Hand, I activate the Spell Card 'Double Summon'. This allows me to Normal Summon twice this turn.

Therefore, I Tribute the Firstborn Demon on my field to Tribute Summon!

The ruler of darkness, the king of chaos—

—Level Six, Great Beast - Gazelle, Summon!"

[Great Beast - Gazelle, ATK 0]

"The Effect of Great Beast - Gazelle makes its ATK become double the original ATK of the Monster Tributed for its Tribute Summon.

When this effect resolves, 'Terrifying Emperor - Firstborn Demon', which was Tributed, is already in the Graveyard, so its original ATK is calculated as its initial 3000 points.

Therefore, Gazelle's ATK is—"

[Great Beast - Gazelle, ATK 0 → ATK 6000]

"Six thousand points!" Fujimoto laughed heartily. "In an instant, it reaches double the ATK of Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Kaiba's lips curved slightly. "Hmph, now this is slightly less boring."

"What?"

Fujimoto couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. It was rare for him to have such a strong opening hand, yet it wasn't acknowledged at all.

"As expected of President Kaiba, your vision is truly different. But I'm not done yet," Fujimoto said in a deep voice. "Next, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card 'Deal with Dark Ruler' from my hand!

This card can only be activated during the turn a Level 8 Monster from my field is sent to the Graveyard.

This turn, the Level 8 'Terrifying Emperor - Firstborn Demon' on my field went to the Graveyard as a Tribute. Therefore, I can Special Summon this card from my Deck!"

He spread his Deck and drew the chosen card.

"Intertwined in the raging flames and shadows of death—

——Level 8, Rampaging Death Dragon, Summon!"

[Rampaging Death Dragon, ATK 3500]

"It's Rampaging Death Dragon!" Mokuba exclaimed in surprise.

It wasn't because it was particularly strong, but because this Monster was one of the ace cards used by the "Big Five," the villains who were expelled from KaibaCorp back then.

"Oh, it's this guy." Kaiba snorted lightly. "Brings back memories."

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Shield Crash' from my hand! I can destroy one face-up Defense Position Monster on the field!"

The Spell Card image materialized, and Fujimoto pointed towards Kaiba's field.

"I destroy that Set Monster Card on your field!"

A beam of magical light shot out from the card, directly targeting the Set Monster on Kaiba's field. However, just as the Set Monster was about to be hit, a cloud of black mist suddenly erupted, transforming into a vortex that instantly swallowed the beam.

"What?" Fujimoto was startled.

"Trap Card, 'Dark Sacrifice'," Kaiba said calmly. "When a Spell, Trap, or Monster Effect that would destroy a card on the field is activated by your opponent, that effect is negated."

The black mist devoured the magical impact from Shield Crash, and the Spell image next to Fujimoto also faded and disappeared.

"Tch, blocked again." Fujimoto frowned.

"Furthermore, after negating the effect, I can send one DARK Attribute Monster with 3 Stars or less from my Deck to the Graveyard."

Another card automatically searched and popped out from Kaiba's Duel Disk, and was sent to the Graveyard.

Fujimoto gritted his teeth. "Then I activate the Spell Card 'Spellbook of the Buried' from my hand!

This card allows me to Banish three Spell Cards from my Graveyard to draw two cards from my Deck!" (Anime Card)

Three green cards popped out from his Graveyard.

"I Banish 'Double Summon', 'Deal with Dark Ruler', and 'Shield Crash' from the game! Draw two cards!"

Fujimoto drew cards from his Deck.

"Battle Phase! First, 'Rampaging Death Dragon', attack the Set Monster!"

Rampaging Death Dragon opened its decaying maw, spewing out a vortex of impact mixed with filth. The Set Monster on Kaiba's field was instantly destroyed by the immense impact.

"Hmph, the Monster you destroyed is 'Swift Squirrel'."

Kaiba sneered, drawing the two cards that were automatically searched from his Deck.

"When 'Swift Squirrel' is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I regain 1000 Life Points. Furthermore, I can Special Summon any number of 'Swift Squirrels' from my Deck in Face-down Defense Position.

Therefore, I Special Summon two more 'Swift Squirrels'."

[Kaiba, LP 4000 → LP 5000]

At the same time, two new Set Monsters appeared on his field.

Fujimoto: "..."

Not only were more Monsters appearing, but his Life Points were also increasing.

But he had a countermeasure for this.

"No matter how many weak walls you put up, it's useless," Fujimoto shouted. "The special effect of 'Rampaging Death Dragon'!

This card has an effect that allows it to attack all of the opponent's Monsters once. Therefore, the attack continues! 'Rampaging Death Dragon', attack 'Statue of the Wicked' again!"

With the Death Dragon's effect, he could clear the field in one go, and then the attack of the Great Beast with 6000 ATK could end the Duel instantly.

He could OTK the legendary Seto Kaiba!

Boom!

The Death Dragon's breath descended, a fierce bombardment, a black storm sweeping across the field.

But when the smoke cleared, the Statue of the Wicked remained unharmed, and Kaiba was still in his calm pose, only the corner of his trench coat gently fluttering in the storm.

"Counter Trap, 'Waboku'. Your Monster's attack is negated, and the Battle Phase is forcibly ended."

He paused, then let out a light, mocking laugh.

"Hmph, for a rat, you tried hard enough, but it seems this is still your limit."

"Tch."

Fujimoto gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

"Then I Set two cards on the field, and end my turn."