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

"[Inaba White Rabbit]'s effect allows it to attack the player directly if the opponent has no monsters on their field! Attack directly, Yugi!"

The White Rabbit clutched the injector it was holding and charged towards Yugi.

"Shadamada!!"

"Yugi!!"

The King and his companions were startled by this ability.

However, just as it was about to hit Yugi.

"Come here, [Kuriboh]!"

Yugi suddenly shouted.

"Kurikuri..."

Countless Kuribohs transformed into a wall, blocking Yugi's path and stopping the White Rabbit.

Unable to pass, the White Rabbit could only retreat.

"The attack failed!? Why...?"

Noah stared blankly at the scene.

At this moment, Yugi explained, "It's because of my Deck Master, [Kuriboh]'s, effect. It automatically blocks attacks when the player is in danger."

"Blocks attacks..."

"That's right. Simply put, it negates all battle damage from that attack with no cost."

This was exactly what had happened to the White Rabbit's attack.

"What the heck, Yugi... I thought you were really going to lose. You scared me..."

His companions breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ahahaha, I'm sorry, everyone. I made you worry."

Yugi apologized sheepishly.

"Hmph! Even at the very end, it was all still within your calculations!? Yugi Muto! You truly are the rival I acknowledge!"

President Kaiba praised him with his usual arrogant demeanor.

"How could this be... I lost. I was so close..."

Noah became somewhat dazed.

He had failed at the final hurdle.

Moreover, he had been so caught up in the duel that he forgot he could use the hostage to threaten Yugi.

"My turn!"

Yugi forcibly ended Noah's turn.

The White Rabbit immediately reverted to a card, but Noah was still stunned and didn't catch it, letting it fall to the ground.

"Go! I attack you directly with [Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind], Spiral Spear Strike!"

This time, the MVP struck Noah with a single blow, completely depleting his Life Points.

[Noah Kaiba: LP 2100 → 0]

Afterward, Noah, true to his word, reluctantly released the Millennium Hostage, who was President Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba.

However, having lost to Yugi, Noah was still unwilling to accept defeat.

He then turned his attention to President Kaiba, challenging him with the condition of releasing everyone from the virtual space.

Of course, having witnessed Yugi and Noah's duel and knowing the full effects of Noah's Deck Master and some of his cards, President Kaiba was prepared for the subsequent duel and soundly defeated Noah.

And so, one young boy lost his dream.

Chapter 53: Return to Reality

After President Kaiba defeated Noah, the atmosphere in the virtual space where everyone was located suddenly turned grim.

Ominous dark clouds appeared in the sky, obscuring the blue heavens.

Then, a middle-aged man's face materialized from the dark clouds above everyone's heads.

"You've disappointed me, Noah!"

Hearing the stern voice, President Kaiba's expression changed drastically. "Impossible! That voice is..."

Noah instinctively looked in the direction of the voice. "Dad..."

"Gozaburo!"

The reactions of the three Kaiba brothers made it clear that the man was Gozaburo Kaiba, Noah's father and the adoptive father of President Kaiba and his brother. He was the man who had been "filially" expelled from Kaiba Corporation by President Kaiba and had everything taken from him.

However, it seemed Noah had been kept in the dark. "Why is Dad here? Dad should be dead..."

Gozaburo glanced at Noah and continued, "I am dead. My physical body is indeed dead, but my spirit is not."

"At the moment of my death, I used the device I had tested on Noah to transfer all my memories to the computer, reviving myself as a virtual existence."

Hearing this, Noah's face lit up with surprise. "I miss you so much, Dad! I've been all alone..."

"You're useless now, Noah."

Gozaburo said coldly, as if stating an unimportant fact.

Noah's smile instantly froze.

"The farce has gone on long enough! Now, you tell me! Gozaburo, tell me your foolish intentions!"

Listening to their conversation, President Kaiba was already growing impatient.

"You're still the same, Seto, always so aggressive... Alright, I'll tell you everything."

After that, Gozaburo began to recount his entire plan from life to the present.

Initially, Gozaburo turned Noah into a virtual AI to keep his biological son, who had died in an accident, alive, allowing Noah to exist as Gozaburo's will.

However, during later experiments, he discovered that Noah harbored thoughts of world destruction, which conflicted with Gozaburo's values as a businessman. Thus, Gozaburo abandoned the idea of continuing to nurture his son.

As for adopting the two brothers later, it wasn't to test Noah, but merely as a vessel prepared for him.

"How awful..."

Such despicable words also made others understand why President Kaiba hated him so much.

This led to President Kaiba later seizing Kaiba Corporation from Gozaburo.

Then, at the point of death, Gozaburo himself copied all his memories into the computer. He intended to get revenge on President Kaiba by taking over his body, reviving himself, and reclaiming Kaiba Corporation.

Later, he decided he didn't need to do that and instead planned to infiltrate the world's networks, intending to manipulate the world at will.

Simultaneously, he would seal off the virtual space, trapping everyone there.

This was Gozaburo's entire plan.

After finishing his explanation, Gozaburo disappeared.

"How could this happen? I was just being used..."

Hearing that he was merely a tool, Noah collapsed to his knees in despair, his worldview completely shattered.

"Noah..."

Seeing Noah's dejection, Mokuba couldn't help but feel sympathy.

His attitude towards this unrelated older brother shifted.

Originally, after losing consecutively to Yugi and President Kaiba in duels, Noah's mindset had already begun to question his existence. Later, being discarded by his own father, the once hot-tempered and boisterous child Noah became completely withdrawn.

At this moment, Yugi seized the opportunity of Noah's current state of emptiness and loneliness to unleash his invincible "Talk no Jutsu" ultimate technique. Under Yugi's deeply moving words, Noah was completely transformed into a positive and upright child.

While Noah was still wavering, Mokuba delivered another blow: "Come back with us, Noah! Even without Gozaburo, you still have me and brother as your family!"

"Once we return to reality, I can ask brother to have people create a body to house your consciousness. With Kaiba Corporation's technology, they can definitely create a remarkably sophisticated android. Don't you agree, brother?"

After speaking, Mokuba didn't forget to wink back at President Kaiba.

"Hmph!"

President Kaiba crossed his arms and said nothing, implicitly agreeing.

Thus, after everyone's eloquent persuasion, and under Mokuba's watery, innocent gaze, a twisted father-complex was completely reversed into a brother-complex.

Congratulations! (The audience applauded)

Afterward, the redeemed Noah quietly led everyone towards a backup exit from the virtual space.

However, Gozaburo eventually noticed something was amiss and blocked the exit with his true form. President Kaiba then had no choice but to duel Gozaburo. (Indeed, dueling is the true meaning of the world.)

Then, the old man, unable to keep up with the times, was defeated by President Kaiba again.

Although Gozaburo's use of an "Exodia" deck during the duel startled President Kaiba, who had psychological trauma, it wasn't the orthodox strategy, as it was "Exodia's Undead." Therefore, President Kaiba ultimately won the duel.

Of course, at the very end, Gozaburo resorted to cheating, attempting to destroy everyone's consciousness.

Fortunately, Yugi once again unleashed the true "Seal of the Orichalcos," reducing Gozaburo to ashes, preventing this big boss from surviving beyond one chapter.

Finally, with the greatest obstacle gone, everyone successfully returned to reality.

Chapter 54: Exodia's Approval

The glass door of the capsule rapidly opened, and Yugi, waking up, opened his eyes.

He then turned to look at the row of capsule pods beside him. His other companions were also waking up one after another.

"Other Me, and everyone else... they're all safe. That's great..."

Yugi relaxed and leaned back.

"Yeah, good work, AIBO."

This time, King didn't make a move at all; he just watched Yugi perform the entire time.

"Speaking of which, AIBO, what card is that you're holding?"

King suddenly said to Yugi.

"Huh, a card!?"

Yugi just then realized a stack of cards had appeared in his hand at some point.

So he subconsciously flipped them over and unfolded them to look.

"This is!!"

"Grandpa's cards!!"

King and Yugi were greatly surprised.

"It's actually [Exodia]..."

President, who had just woken up, noticed this scene and immediately had a PTSD episode.

Noah, displayed on the computer screen, exclaimed, "No way, Yugi has [Exodia] too!? Then he's definitely going to be the King of Games, right?"

He had a very deep impression of Yugi's Seal of the Orichalcos Deck.

Hearing this, Jonouchi was displeased. "Uh, I admit [Exodia] is powerful, but it's not that easy to gather all the pieces..."

Noah shook his head at this. "Too naive. Instead of explaining, you should just watch this."

Noah then played a video recording, which was Yugi's first Duel against the Great Five Elders.

"No, no way..."

"How could something like this happen!"

Watching Yugi use the Last Will Seal of the Orichalcos to defeat the Great Five Elders, Jonouchi and President's faces gradually turned ashen.