"[Inaba White Rabbit] can only attack the opposing player directly while there are monsters on the opponent's field! Direct attack on Yugi!"
The white rabbit clutched its mortar fitted with a jet engine and charged toward Yugi.
"Washimada!!"
"Yugi!!"
King and the others were all startled by that ability.
But just as it was about to hit Yugi—
"Come here, [Kuriboh]!"
Yugi suddenly shouted.
"Kuriku ri..."
Countless Kuribohs formed a wall in front of Yugi, blocking the white rabbit's path.
Unable to get through, the white rabbit could only return the way it came.
"The attack failed!? Why..."
Seeing this, Noah stood there in a daze.
Yugi explained, "That's because of my Deck Master, [Kuriboh]. Its effect automatically blocks attacks when the player is in danger."
"Blocks attacks..."
"That's right. Simply put, it turns that attack's battle damage into zero at no cost."
Just like the white rabbit's failed attack just now.
"What the heck, Yugi... I thought you were really going to lose. You scared me..."
The others immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ahahaha, sorry, everyone. I made you worry."
Yugi apologized awkwardly.
"Hmph! So even at the very end, everything was still within your calculations!? Mu↓to↑ Yu↓gi↑! You truly are an opponent worthy of my recognition!"
President Kaiba remained as arrogant as ever as he praised him from the side.
"How could this be... I actually lost. I was so close..."
Noah looked utterly lost.
At the final hurdle, he had failed to break through.
And he had gotten so caught up in the duel that he had forgotten he could use the hostages to threaten Yugi.
"My turn!"
Yugi forcefully ended his opponent's turn.
The white rabbit immediately reverted to a card. However, Noah was still too stunned to catch it, so it simply fell to the ground.
"Go! I attack you directly with [Dark Knight Gaia the Fierce Wind]! Spiral Spear Strike!"
This time, the MVP pierced Noah with a single spear thrust, completely emptying his Life Points.
[Noah Kaiba: LP 2100 → 0]
Afterward, Noah, who at least kept his word, reluctantly released the Millennium Hostage—President Kaiba's younger brother, Mokuba.
However, after losing to Yugi, Noah remained unwilling to accept it.
So he turned his attention to President Kaiba, challenging him on the condition that he would release everyone from the virtual world.
Naturally, having watched Yugi's duel against Noah and learned the full effects of Noah's Deck Master and several of his cards, President Kaiba came prepared for the following duel and thoroughly crushed Noah.
And so, a young boy lost his dream.
Returning to Reality
After President Kaiba knocked Noah flat, the atmosphere in the virtual space where everyone stood suddenly darkened.
Ominous clouds appeared in the sky, obscuring the blue heavens.
Then, the black clouds above everyone's heads formed the face of a middle-aged man.
"You have disappointed me greatly, Noah!"
Hearing that stern voice, President Kaiba's expression changed dramatically. "Impossible! That voice is..."
Noah also instinctively looked toward where the voice came from. "Father..."
"Gozaburo!"
The reactions of the three Kaiba brothers made it obvious that the man was Gozaburo Kaiba—the man who had fathered Noah, adopted President Kaiba and his brother, and was ultimately driven out of Kaiba Corporation by his "filial" adopted son, who took everything from him.
But Noah had clearly been kept in the dark as well. "Why is Father here? Father should already be dead..."
Gozaburo glanced at Noah before continuing. "I am dead. My physical body is indeed dead, but my spirit is not."
"On the verge of death, I used the device that had once been tested on Noah to transfer all my memories into a computer, reviving as a virtual existence."
Hearing that, Noah's face filled with delight. "I missed you so much, Father! I've always been all alone..."
"You are no longer useful, Noah."
Gozaburo spoke coldly, as if he were describing something completely insignificant.
Noah's smile instantly froze.
"This farce has gone on long enough! Fine, then say it! Gozaburo, tell us about your stupid scheme!"
Listening to their conversation, President Kaiba had already grown impatient.
"You have not changed at all. Still as aggressive as ever, Seto... Fine, I will tell you everything."
After that, Gozaburo began recounting his entire plan, from before his death until now.
At first, Gozaburo had turned his biological son Noah, who had died in an accident, into a virtual AI so that Noah could continue existing as an extension of Gozaburo's will.
But later, during his experiments, he discovered that Noah had developed thoughts of destroying the world, which conflicted with Gozaburo's values as a businessman. So Gozaburo gave up on continuing to cultivate his son.
As for adopting President Kaiba and his younger brother afterward, it had not been to test Noah at all. They were merely vessels prepared for Noah.
"That's awful..."
Those scumbag remarks also made the others understand why President Kaiba hated him so much.
And that was what led to President Kaiba later seizing Kaiba Corporation from Gozaburo.
After that, as Gozaburo himself was on the verge of death, he copied all his memories into a computer. To take revenge on President Kaiba, he had planned to seize his body, revive himself, and reclaim Kaiba Corporation.
Later, he decided that was no longer enough. Instead, he intended to invade the entire world's network and manipulate the world as he pleased.
At the same time, he would seal off the virtual space and trap everyone here forever.
That was Gozaburo's entire plan.
After saying his piece, Gozaburo disappeared.
"How could this be? I was only being used..."
Upon learning that he had merely been a tool, Noah collapsed to his knees in a daze, his entire worldview crumbling apart.
"Noah..."
Seeing Noah in such despair, Mokuba could not help but feel sympathy for him.
His attitude toward this older brother with no blood relation to him changed.
After all, Noah had already begun doubting his entire life after repeatedly losing duels to Yugi and President Kaiba. Then his biological father treated him as a discarded pawn, completely shutting down Noah, who had originally been nothing more than a hot-tempered brat.
At that moment, Yugi took advantage of Noah's hollow and lonely state and unleashed his invincible art of persuasion. Under Yugi's deeply moving words, Noah completely transformed into a positive, well-behaved child.
While Noah was still wavering, Mokuba came over and drove the point home. "Come back with us, Noah! Even if you no longer have Gozaburo, you still have my brother and me as your brothers!"
"Once we return to reality, I can ask my brother to have someone make you a body that can contain your consciousness. With Kaiba Corporation's technology, they can definitely create an extremely sophisticated Cyber Person. Right, Brother?"
After saying that, he did not forget to turn around and wink at President Kaiba.
"Hmph!"
President Kaiba folded his arms and said nothing, silently giving his approval.
And so, after everyone's sweet talk, and beneath Mokuba's innocent, watery-eyed gaze, a twisted father-obsessed boy was completely transformed into a brother-obsessed one.
Congratulations~! (The audience applauds.)
Afterward, the reformed Noah secretly led everyone toward the backup exit that could take them out of the virtual space.
However, Gozaburo soon noticed something was wrong and personally blocked the exit gate. President Kaiba had no choice but to step in and play cards against Gozaburo. (As expected, card games were the true law of the world.)
Then, the outdated old fossil once again lost to President Kaiba.
Although Gozaburo's use of an [Exodia] deck during the duel startled President Kaiba, who had psychological trauma over it, Gozaburo was using [Exodia's Undead] rather than the orthodox strategy, so President Kaiba still won in the end.
Of course, at the very last moment, Gozaburo still tried to cheat, attempting to erase everyone's consciousness.
Fortunately, Yugi once again brought out the true Seal of the Orichalcos and ground Gozaburo to dust, ensuring that this final boss did not survive even one chapter.
With the greatest obstacle finally gone, everyone successfully returned to reality.
Exodia's Recognition
The glass doors of the capsule chambers slid open rapidly, and the awakened Yugi opened his eyes.
Then he turned to look at the row of capsule chambers beside him, where the other companions were also waking up one after another.
"Other Me, and everyone else... You're all safe. That's wonderful..."
Yugi relaxed and lay back down.
"Mm, you worked hard, AIBO."
This time, King had not acted at all. He had spent the entire time watching Yugi perform.
"Come to think of it, AIBO, what cards are you holding?"
King suddenly asked Yugi.
"Huh, cards!?"
Only then did Yugi realize that a stack of cards had somehow appeared in his hand.
So he instinctively turned them over and spread them out for a look.
"This is!!"
"Grandpa's cards!!"
King and Yugi were both stunned.
"They're actually [Exodia]..."
President Kaiba, who had just awakened nearby, also noticed the scene and immediately suffered a PTSD episode.
Noah, displayed on a computer screen, cried out, "No way, Yugi has [Exodia] too!? Then isn't he guaranteed to become King of Games?"
He had an extremely deep impression of Yugi's Seal of the Orichalcos deck.
Jonouchi was not pleased to hear that. "Uh, I admit [Exodia] is powerful, but collecting all the pieces isn't that easy..."
Noah shook his head. "Too naive. Rather than explain, you should take a look at this."
Noah played a recording. It was Yugi's very first duel against the Great Five Elders.
"No, no way..."
"How can something like this be possible!"
Watching Yugi use Last Will and Exodia to defeat the Great Five Elders, Jonouchi and President Kaiba's faces gradually turned livid.
Before you continue