An ordinary passenger ship would have spent most of a day tossing on the sea to get from the isolated Duel Academy Island to Domino City, but for Kaiba Corporation's antigravity private jet, it was just a matter of stepping on the gas.
In less than half an hour, the streamlined silver-white aircraft passed through Domino City's bustling cluster of skyscrapers and silently descended vertically onto the helipad atop Kaiba Corporation Headquarters.
Hiss!
The pressure equalization valve gave a soft hiss, and the metal cabin doors slid open to either side.
The slightly chilly autumn wind at that altitude swept into the cabin. With his bulging carry-on backpack on his back, Yūki stepped down the boarding stairs and immediately spotted a familiar figure at the edge of the helipad.
A boy with neat, long, layered black hair stood there with his hands on his hips, wearing his signature white sleeveless vest over black leather pants and wrist guards. Behind him were four or five research supervisors in white lab coats, with top-clearance ID badges hanging from their chests.
Welcoming him was once again Kaiba Corporation's second young master, Mokuba Kaiba.
"Long time no see, Yūki! Was the ride comfortable?"
The moment he saw Yūki coming down the boarding stairs, Mokuba Kaiba broke into a bright, friendly smile and stepped forward to greet him.
"Comfortable? It couldn't have been better. Even the water in my cup didn't ripple. It was steadier than the hands of the lady chopping vegetables at our academy's shop."
Yūki greeted him with a smile, casually patted his chest, and said with a look of wonder:
"It's just that your plane's design is way too far ahead of its time. When it landed in the academy plaza earlier, my classmates who haven't seen much of the world