The Protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! World Might Be the Same Person

"How could this happen? It's completely over..."

White Mask lost the will to fight and knelt down.

"He's lost the will to fight, so this duel ends here. Kaiba, there's no need to continue attacking."

King turned to the President and advised him.

"Hmph, I know. What's more important right now is Mokuba's safety."

The President put down the God Cards he was preparing to summon.

Chapter 18: Death Duel with Jonouchi

After the duel, as usual, Marik controlled White Mask to speak with King and the others. From Marik, they learned the bad news that their companions were being controlled.

"Kaiba, please find out where Jonouchi and the others are. Mokuba must be there too."

King said to President Kaiba with a new resolve.

"Of course, I will rescue Mokuba."

The President responded as a matter of course.

Then he searched White Mask and found two Puzzle Cards, handing one to Yugi.

"This is your Puzzle Card."

King took the Puzzle Card handed to him by the President.

"Let's go."

As the President was about to leave, he suddenly heard a roaring sound from behind him.

King and the President looked up. A helicopter rose and stopped in front of them. Then, a familiar figure emerged from the helicopter door.

"Nii-sama--!"

Mokuba had returned safely.

"Mokuba--!"

The President and King rushed over.

"Mokuba, are you alright!?"

The President was immediately relieved.

"Yeah, Anzu saved me."

Mokuba looked at the President and replied.

"Is Anzu safe now? And what about Jonouchi and Honda?"

King asked with concern.

"I'm sorry, I only know about Anzu's situation. And when I went back to the warehouse, no one was there anymore."

Mokuba replied to King's question with an apologetic tone.

"Get on the helicopter, Yugi. It seems your companion saved Mokuba. I absolutely don't leave debts unpaid."

The President suggested haughtily.

"Kaiba..."

King looked at the President.

So he followed the President to search for their companions' whereabouts. Afterward, they found Jonouchi at the docks.

"Jonouchi-kun..."

King gasped when he saw Jonouchi's eyes filled with malice.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, Yugi."

Jonouchi looked at him as if he were a stranger.

"Jonouchi-kun... he's really been brainwashed by Marik..."

King's fears had come true.

Then, no matter how much King tried to persuade Jonouchi, he couldn't wake him up. He could only watch as Jonouchi walked towards the death duel arena that Marik had set up on the docks.

"It's useless, Yugi. No matter what you say, this duel cannot be avoided."

Marik's voice came from behind King.

"Anzu!"

He saw a familiar figure descend from the ship behind him.

"Jonouchi is my puppet. He's being manipulated by the hateful memories I possess, hmph hmph hmph hmph..."

Marik's voice came from Anzu.

"Anzu has also been brainwashed by him..."

There were two hostages, so the King dared not act rashly.

"Come on, Yugi, Jonouchi is getting impatient on the Death Duel arena."

Anzu was also being manipulated forward.

"Anzu..."

The King had no choice but to follow.

"Before the duel begins, put on these shackles first."

Marik manipulated Anzu to pick up two shackles, and the King could only accept them.

Soon, both the King and Jonouchi were shackled. The two shackles were connected to an anchor hanging above. As soon as a player's life points hit zero, a bomb would detonate after thirty seconds, causing the anchor to fall. They, connected to the anchor, would fall into the sea as well. And beneath their feet were timed boxes containing the keys to open the shackles. The keys could only be retrieved when the opponent's life points hit zero. This meant that for both of them to be saved, they had to reach zero simultaneously.

Upon learning the rules, the President refused to comply.

"I will not allow this duel to take place! I won't let Marik do as he pleases in Duel City!"

After he finished speaking, a crane arrived and lifted a container, suspending it above Anzu, who was locked to a chair.

"Watch carefully, the chain holding that container is rigged with a bomb, just like the anchor. Kaiba, you will stand aside and enjoy this spectacular performance. Oh, and since it's such a wonderful show, this woman must watch too. Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph..."

With that, Marik released his control over Anzu.

"Anzu!"

The King called out to her urgently.

"Where am I? Wait, what is this?"

Anzu woke up to find herself locked up, then she looked ahead.

"Yugi and... Jonouchi!"

Anzu was confused by the situation.

"You're despicable, Marik! Let Anzu go at once!"

The King shouted at the air, but Marik no longer responded.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot, Yugi. I don't care if you end up at the bottom of the sea, but you have to leave Osiris behind first. Take Osiris out of your Duel Disk."

At this moment, Jonouchi spoke, commanding the King.

The King had no choice but to take off his Duel Disk, retrieve the card, and show it to Jonouchi.

"The God Cards are here..."

He said, putting the card back into his Duel Disk and tossing it aside.

"Other Me, I'll handle this duel."

At this point, Yugi finally spoke to the King.

"AIBO!?"

The King was stunned.

"I want to save Jonouchi myself. I don't want to stand by and watch cowardly."

Yugi's voice was firm.

"I understand. Then I'll leave it to you, AIBO."

With that, the King withdrew from Yugi's body, and Yugi opened his eyes.

"I will definitely save you, Jonouchi-kun."

Yugi looked at his opponent with determination.

Afterward, the two of them unfolded their Duel Disks after shuffling their Decks.

"Duel!!" ×2

[Yugi Muto: LP4000]

[Katsuya Jonouchi: LP4000]

Yugi and Jonouchi's death duel finally began.

Chapter Nineteen: Bonds of Kin

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Chapter Twenty: Saved

"My turn, draw!"

[Yugi Muto Hand: 1 → 2]

After drawing a card, Yugi did not use it immediately.

"First, I activate the effect of [Skilled White Magician]."

You can only activate this card by tributing a monster with 3 magic counters on it. Special Summon 1 [Buster Blader] from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.

Yugi flipped over his Deck and selected Buster Blader, then Skilled White Magician shattered.

"Come forth, [Buster Blader]!"

A warrior wielding a greatsword materialized on Yugi's field.

[Buster Blader: ATK 2600]

"A high-level monster with 2600 ATK!?"

Jonouchi frowned.

"That's right. I'll now activate the Equip Spell [Big Benkei] from my hand, equipping it to [Buster Blader]. And since my Life Points are lower than Jonouchi-kun's, the original ATK of the equipped monster [Buster Blader] is doubled."

[Buster Blader: ATK 2600 → 5200]

An illustration is available here. Check the updated version.

[Yugi Muto Hand: 2 → 1]

"With an ATK of 5200, that's even higher than [Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon]'s ATK. I see, so this was the purpose of sacrificing your own Life Points!?"

President Kaiba understood Yugi's strategy.

"Heh, trying to defeat me with two attacks?"

Jonouchi didn't seem panicked by this.

"Battle! I attack [Fuh-Raid the Iron Knight] with [Buster Blader]!"

Yugi went directly into the Battle Phase.

"What!? Why didn't you change your monster to Attack Position!?"