Chapter 46: National Duel Monsters Tournament

Despite his intense curiosity about the contents of the box, Yugi restrained himself. He placed the box at his feet, looked up at the television screen, and said, "It looks like the match has already started."

His words drew everyone's attention back to the program on the TV. After a segment of those universally loathed yet indispensable sponsor commercials, the finals of the Japan Regional National Duel Monsters Tournament, spearheaded by Industrial Illusions, had begun.

The first player, representing the black side, was "Insect" Hagari, who specialized in combining Insect monsters with Spell cards. The second player, representing the white side, was "Dinosaur" Ryuzaki, whose specialty lay in the immense power and high precision of Dinosaur-type monsters.

"My turn, draw." Glancing at the card he drew, Hagari set three cards face-down in his backrow. With a sinister smirk, he summoned a monster in face-down Defense Position and ended his turn.

"Setting three traps in the backrow all at once... Hagari's deck is so shady," Hayato muttered. Watching Hagari's "T-shaped" opening move, Hayato felt a wave of irritation, largely due to his poor impression of the duelist himself.

Jonouchi shot Hayato a speechless glance. When it came to starting a match with three face-down cards, wasn't Hayato the one who used that tactic most often? Among everyone present, he was the only one unqualified to call someone else "shady"—just as he thought this, Jonouchi caught sight of Yugi.

Lately, even Yugi had started to show a growing preference for battling with various set cards. It seemed the "shady duelist" trait was becoming hereditary.

"My turn!"

Though they were both fourteen, Ryuzaki clearly didn't possess the exaggerated height of a certain precocious, delinquent priest with facial tattoos and bleached hair. However, the sheer aura he exuded the moment he drew his card made one instinctively forget he was only fourteen.

Glancing at the monster on Hagari's field, Ryuzaki grinned and summoned his monster: "Mere defense is useless against my invincible dinosaur army! I summon [Wilderness Raider Dragon]!"

"Roar!"

Unlike Hagari's flat opening, Ryuzaki's summon was accompanied by a pitch-black dinosaur descending onto the field. With thick, sturdy legs that looked capable of tanking any hit and sharp claws that could tear through an entire deck in one go, it was utterly domineering!

[Wilderness Raider Dragon] [Level 4 / EARTH / Dinosaur / Normal / ATK 1500 / DEF 800]

*I've seen this move before. Double Summon a second monster and then Xyz Summon [Shenxuan Dragon], right?* Watching Ryuzaki's play, Hayato couldn't help but think of the "fun" Dinosaur decks he used to play in his previous life. Using [Support Rabbit] to pull out two [Wilderness Raider Dragons] for an Xyz Summon was one of his most common combos.

"An attack power of 1500! This is bad, my monster!" Hagari played along perfectly with Ryuzaki's momentum, wearing an expression that was a complex layer cake of fear, panic, and despair.

Seeing Hagari fall into confusion, Ryuzaki was overjoyed and immediately commanded, "Go, [Wilderness Raider Dragon]! Use your claws to crush that monster!"

The face-down monster on Hagari's field was easily torn apart by the charging [Wilderness Raider Dragon], revealing its true form: the Level 2 Insect monster, [Demon Scorpion].

[Demon Scorpion] [Level 2 / EARTH / Insect / Normal / ATK 900 / DEF 200]

Facing the 1500 ATK of [Wilderness Raider Dragon], [Demon Scorpion] was instantly destroyed, but strangely, its corpse did not vanish immediately.

Seeing his monster destroyed, Hagari's expression shifted instantly. "Haha, you fell for it, Ryuzaki! I happen to have a Trap card on my field that responds to 'a monster being destroyed.' I activate it now!"

It turned out his previous panic was all an act, purely to lure Ryuzaki into attacking his monster. One of the three face-down cards in Hagari's backrow flipped over, revealing its identity: [Fellow Traveler]!

"This card can be activated when a monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard; target one monster on the field and destroy it." Hagari flashed a sinister smile, pointing his finger at the [Wilderness Raider Dragon] that had just attacked. "Industrial Illusions has released quite a few new cards lately. By fighting so recklessly, you're about to lose the match!"

"I destroy [Wilderness Raider Dragon]!"

As the corpse of [Demon Scorpion] remained on the field, it twitched while [Wilderness Raider Dragon] was off guard. Suddenly, the scorpion's stinger lunged at the defenseless dragon. Lethal toxins were injected into [Wilderness Raider Dragon]'s body, and without even a struggle, the dragon collapsed. The remains of both monsters dissolved into light particles.

Not only that, but Ryuzaki's Life Points dropped by 750 due to the destruction of [Wilderness Raider Dragon].

[Ryuzaki: 2000 LP → 1250 LP]

"Kee-kee-kee~ Now you have no monsters on your field. You'll lose the match automatically at the end of the turn," Hagari stated his plan, while adding a mock sense of regret. "What a shame. You finally made it to the finals, only to be taken out before your first turn was even over."

"Don't underestimate me! My turn isn't over yet, Hagari!" Instead of looking solemn, Ryuzaki's face showed an expression of "I expected as much." "During my Main Phase 2, I activate the Spell card [Double Summon], and then I summon [Corpse-Greedy Dragon]!"

"Roar!"

With a similarly high-decibel roar, a similarly pitch-black body standing upright, Ryuzaki summoned another dinosaur monster—and its attack power was even higher than the destroyed [Wilderness Raider Dragon]!

[Corpse-Greedy Dragon] [Level 4 / EARTH / Dinosaur / Normal / ATK 1600 / DEF 1200]

"I had my suspicions the moment I saw your face-down cards. [Wilderness Raider Dragon] was just bait. Don't look down on me, Hagari!"

The two on the television fell into a fierce back-and-forth of offense and defense: one using Traps to destroy monsters, the other using Spells to bolster defense and reflect attacks. They were evenly matched.

"So... so amazing!" Jonouchi watched, completely stunned. Before the match started, he thought the insect user, Hagari, would be quickly crushed by Ryuzaki's dinosaurs, but now it seemed both duelists possessed formidable skill.

Watching the Trap cards used by both sides, Hayato flashed a satisfied smile, thinking to himself: *That guy Bakura... he refuses to implement the 4000 LP rule, but he sure is proactive about printing new cards.*

(One chapter left until Chicken's misfortune)

(End of Chapter)