Chapter 263

After seeing off graduates including Ryo Marufuji, Judai's first year at the Duel Academy ended not long afterward.

Then summer vacation came, and the students went home to their own families. Since her parents were rarely home, Judai went home for a short while and then went on a trip by herself.

Kame Game Shop in Domino City.

"Oh, so this is Yugi Muto's house?"

Judai stood outside the door with great interest. As soon as he arrived in Domino City for tourism, his first stop was Yugi's house.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, it suddenly opened.

"Yugi, are you back?"

A short old man with white hair, wearing a headscarf with the word "double" embroidered on his head, walked out from inside.

He went outside and saw it was the Judai game, and he paused for a moment, "Hmm~, I felt like the Yugi had returned, but it's not..."

The old man stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly deep in thought.

At this moment, Judai stepped forward and asked, "Um... I'd like to ask you something."

"Hmm?" The old man turned his head to look at him curiously.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Yugi's grandfather, Mr. Sugoroku?"

The old man smiled kindly and replied, "Oh, indeed I am Sugoroku."

"Um, isn't Mr. Yugi home...?"

Sugoroku Muto explained helplessly, "Yugi is traveling now, he's not home, and we don't know where he is..."

"Really? That's a real shame."

"What brings you Yugi, young man?"

"It's nothing much, I just came to Domino City for a trip after the academy's break, and I came specifically to visit Mr. Yugi and thank him."

Upon hearing this, Sugoroku asked curiously, "What is it that made you come all this way to thank me?"

Judai explained with a grateful look, "Mr. Yugi gave me two cards before I got into the Duel Academy, which helped me a lot."

"A card? What kind of card?"

"These are them..."

As he spoke, Judai pulled two cards from his pocket and handed them over: [Mask Change] and [Winged Kuriboh].

Curry, curry~~!

The Winged Kuriboh suddenly floated up and greeted Sugoroku.

"Oh~, Winged Kuriboh...? It really is a card given away in the Yugi." Sugoroku suddenly realized.

"Young man, what's your name?"

"My name is Yusei Fudo, nice to meet you!"

While answering the question, Judai noticed that the old man was staring at the mascot phantom floating on his shoulder, and asked in surprise, "Mr. Sugoroku, can you see the spirits of Duel Monsters?"

"Yes, that's right!" Sugoroku Muto nodded, seemingly having figured something out. 'So that's it! He's the Yugi... No wonder I felt like the Yugi had returned just now...'

Thinking of this, he looked at Judai with the same expression he would give his grandson.

He shrugged and asked Judai, "Although Yugi is rarely home, would you like to come into the store and take a look?"

Judai readily agreed, "Of course, that's one of the purposes of my trip. I've long heard that this shop has a collection of cards comparable to those of Kaiba Corporation and Industrial Illusions."

Sugoroku, beaming with pride, said, "Yeah, after all, Yugi is a major shareholder of Industrial Illusions. He often sends me cards to collect, and he even has many rare cards that aren't available on the market."

So the old man led the Judai into the house.

"Yusei-kun, wait here for me."

"Oh..."

Upon entering the store, Sugoroku Muto immediately walked away, leaving Judai alone inside the card shop.

Looking at the dazzling array of rare cards in the display case, Judai began his tour with great interest.

"There are so many rare cards on display, and they're all arranged very neatly. It's clear that Mr. Sugoroku is a card enthusiast."

Curry, curry~~!

The Winged Kuriboh beside it also agreed.

Just as Judai was about to continue reading, Grandpa Sugoroku came out of the warehouse, carrying a box in his arms.

"Yusei-kun, come here for a moment."

Judai:?

Curious, he walked up to the counter. "What's wrong, Mr. Sugoroku?"

Sugoroku Muto placed the box on the counter and asked with a smile, "You're using a [Hero] deck, right?"

"Yes, what's the problem?"

"Then these cards should be just right for you, look..." The old man then opened the box, revealing the cards stored inside.

Judai stepped forward and peered inside, exclaiming in surprise, "It's [Phantom HERO]! Mr. Sugoroku actually has such a rare card?"

Sugoroku smiled smugly, "Hehe, the Yugi just sent me this new card set for my collection not long ago, and now I'm planning to give it to you."

"Isn't this inappropriate? I have the money to buy it..." Judai, embarrassed.

"I'm not short of money."

"Well..."

Sugoroku Muto frowned and pretended to be angry, saying, "I only wanted to give it to you because I thought you were destined to receive it. If you don't accept it, aren't you disrespecting this old man?"

"Oh, this..."

"Besides, I can have the Yugi send me another copy later, it won't make a difference if you send me just a little card."

Since the other party has put it that way, it would be impolite for Judai not to accept it. "Well, alright, I'll accept it. Thank you, Mr. Sugoroku!"

"That's more like it."

After the Judai accepted the card, the old man's kind smile returned.

After chatting for a while longer, Judai prepared to say goodbye and leave, planning to find a place to try out his new deck.

I ran into a passerby as soon as I stepped outside. The man was wearing a blue jacket and had dyed blond hair, looking like a hoodlum.

Seeing that Sugoroku had just come out, the man greeted him, "Good morning, master!"

"Oh, you've come at the right time, Jonouchi!"

That's right, the person passing by was none other than his friend from the Yugi, Katsuya Jonouchi. Judai had just been about to leave when he ran into this legendary figure.

Jonouchi patted his chest and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with? Just tell me!"

So Sugoroku Muto turned to the side and explained, "See the young man next to me? His name is Yusei Fudo. He just finished building a new deck and is about to test it out. If you have some free time, could you lend him a hand?"

"No problem!" Jonouchi agreed without hesitation. "By the way, your name is Yusei Fudo? No wonder you looked familiar."

Judai raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Have we met before, Mr. Jonouchi?"

"Yes, after all, I was watching you when you were a kid asking for autographs from Yugi."

"Is that so? Then please take care of me, Mr. Jonouchi!"

Oh, you too!

The two extended their right hands and shook hands.

Chapter 120 Hero VS Red-Eyes

In an empty open space not far from the Kame Game Shop, Judai and Jonouchi were about to duel, each holding Duel Disk.

Judai spoke first, "I've long wanted to fight a legendary duelist like you, Mr. Jonouchi!"

"Hehe~, really? I'm also very interested in you..." After all, Jonouchi had heard Yugi Judai's potential and strength Jonouchi Yugi quite a few times.

Therefore, Jonouchi, who had been a professional duelist for many years, was unusually eager to challenge him.

"Then let's begin, Mr. Jonouchi."

"Oh, no problem!"

The two optimists soon got started.

"Duel!!" ×2

[Yusei Fudo: LP4000]

[Katsuya Jonouchi: LP4000]

"You go first, Judai."

Jonouchi immediately conceded the first turn.

"Then I won't be polite." Judai readily accepted and immediately drew a card from his deck.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Yusei Fudo's card pack: 5→6]

Judai glanced briefly at his hand, gathered his thoughts, and immediately drew a card, slamming it onto the Duel Disk: "I summon [Phantom Magician] in Defense Position."

Buzz--!!

A flash of white light appeared on the field, and a skeleton clutching a magic wand and wearing a tattered dark red cloak was projected.

[Phantom Magician: Defense 700]

He then hides another card in his hand in the back row, "Set a card face down, end your turn."

[Yusei Fudo's card pack: 6 → 4]

The round of Judai ended quite decisively.

"Alright, it's your turn. Go all out, Mr. Jonouchi!"

Jonouchi wouldn't be polite to him and had no intention of going easy on him.

"My turn, draw a card!"

[Katsuya Jonouchi's hand cards: 5→6]

Jonouchi glanced at his hand, a smirk spreading across his face. He then unleashed the card he'd drawn that turn, shouting, "Here we go! I activate the Spell Card [Red-Eyes Fusion] from my hand. Send monsters from my hand, field, or Deck to the Graveyard, and Special Summon a monster that used [Red-Eyes] monster as Polymerization Material."

[Katsuya Jonouchi's hand cards: 6→5]

"He's unleashing a powerful attack right from the start...?!" Judai was utterly astonished upon seeing this card.

At that moment, Jonouchi chuckled and placed two cards into the graveyard, "Hehe~, I'm Polymerization [Red-Eyes Black Dragon] and [Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys] from my Jonouchi!"

"Fusion Summon! Appear, [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]!"

As soon as he finished speaking, blazing flames erupted from beneath his feet, then transformed into the shape of a dragon and quickly solidified into a jet-black dragon. This dragon was equipped with a full suit of black armor, and sharp blades were attached to its two claws.

[Red-Eyes Black Dragon: Attack Power 2800]

Phew! Thank goodness it wasn't that man who came out...

Judai breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Jonouchi didn't have Red Father on his side, otherwise he probably would have been defeated instantly.

'However, the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys... this monster is quite powerful too. It seems this duel won't be so easy to finish.'

Jonouchi then continued, "The name of a monster summoned by the effect of [Red-Eyes Fusion] is treated as [Red-Eyes Black Dragon], but during the turn this card is activated, you cannot Normal or Special Summon a monster except through this card's effect, therefore..."

As he spoke, he swung his hand to issue the command.

"Battle has begun! [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]'s attack, Black Flame Bullet!"

The Blackblade Dragon opened its sharp maw, and a dark red flame condensed inside.

Jonouchi clenched his fist and shouted, "At this moment, [Red-Eyes Black Dragon]'s special ability activates!"

"When a [Red-Eyes] monster attacks, equip it with a Warrior-type monster from your Graveyard as an Equip Card, and it gains 200 ATK."

The Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys had just been placed in the graveyard, was immediately positioned in his back row.