Chapter 8: Remember this little table; this was when he was still somewhat sane

Having successfully challenged each other to a duel, Yugi and Hayato immediately sat down at an empty table in the shop, placing their decks into the designated zones on the table. After all, the main business of Sugoroku-jiisan’s toy shop was Duel Monsters, so it was only natural to provide customers who had pulled powerful monsters with a space to test their decks.

Anzu and Honda gathered around the edge of the table with great interest, watching Yugi and Hayato as they got serious. Seeing this, Jonouchi couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. "Seriously? I play Duel Monsters with Yugi all the time, and I’ve never seen you guys this interested!"

"That's true, we do see you two playing together all the time," Anzu said, looking puzzled. "Why is it like this?"

Honda retorted, "You don't even need to think about it. Jonouchi, you're just too weak. You've played against Yugi so many times and haven't won once. Plus, every match is a total blowout; the viewing experience is just terrible."

"Honda, you jerk!"

The bickering between the two didn't affect the pair sitting across from each other. After shuffling his deck and drawing five cards, Yugi spoke up. "Hayato, you go first."

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony, Yugi-boy." Hayato didn't decline and took the first turn.

In the rules of Yu-Gi-Oh!, the player who goes first cannot attack but can set traps and summon monsters, while the player who goes second can attack but must face the first player's traps. On balance, going first is an advantage. However, in the physical card game rules Hayato had played in his past life, the first player could not draw a card during the draw phase, while the second player could draw one as compensation.

But in the world of *Yu-Gi-Oh!*, the rules were the same, with the only difference being that the first player could also draw a card. This clearly put the first player at a significant advantage. Considering he wasn't in a "cooking world where the first to serve always loses," Hayato naturally wouldn't pass up this advantage handed to him on a silver platter.

And so, the first duel of Kobayashi Hayato’s life in the *Yu-Gi-Oh!* world began.

"My turn, draw!"

【Yugi: 2000 LP, Hand: 5】

【Hayato: 2000 LP, Hand: 5 → 6】

Drawing a card with great flair, Hayato began to examine the six cards in his hand.

Five pieces of "trash" with 1000 or less ATK/DEF, and one spell card he’d just drawn that was... of un☆known☆significance. Yep, a perfect hand.jpg.

With a dramatic flourish, Hayato pulled a card from his hand and slammed it onto the monster zone on the table. "The monster I’m summoning is this one! Behold, my glory, my tamashii!"

Yugi, sitting across from him, was startled by Hayato’s sudden outburst and felt a jolt in his heart: *No way, did Hayato pull some powerful monster on his very first turn? Oh no, I haven't drawn any powerful monsters yet.*

But when he looked down, he froze—

"Skull Stalker," a 3-star DARK Warrior-type monster, was placed in face-down defense position with 800 DEF.

"Then I'll set one card in the backrow, and end my turn." Realizing he’d gotten a bit too excited, Hayato quickly set the spell card he’d drawn and ended his move.

【Hayato: Hand: 6 → 4】

*Crap, I got a little too excited because I’m dueling my idol, Yugi Muto. He is the first and greatest King of Games, after all; anyone would be excited, right?*

However, the onlookers, Jonouchi and the others, quickly helped Hayato shake off the awkwardness.

"Huh? Skull Stalker has higher attack than defense, so why put it in defense mode?" Jonouchi asked, confused.

"Do you really expect me to give you an answer when I’ve just started playing Duel Monsters?" Honda pushed Jonouchi’s arm off his shoulder and told him to stand straight. "Just watch, it’s Yugi’s turn."

"My turn, draw."

【Yugi: Hand: 5 → 6】

Compared to the high-energy Hayato, Yugi’s draw was much calmer. Drawing a card from the top of his deck and adding it to his hand, Yugi looked at the set card in Hayato’s backrow and hesitated slightly.

"Then, the monster I’m summoning is this one," Yugi said, pulling a card from his hand and placing it on the field. "'Dark Dragon King'."

In a daze, Hayato heard a dragon’s roar as he watched Yugi summon the 1500/800 'Dark Dragon King' to the field.

*'As expected, it's this one. The first DARK Dragon-type monster to appear in the entire Yu-Gi-Oh! series, though Red-Eyes definitely gets more screen time.'* Hayato wasn't surprised that Yugi’s monster stats were much better than his hand full of trash. After all, Sugoroku-jiisan owned a card shop; Yugi naturally had first dibs on any powerful rare monsters.

*'However, it’s all within my calculations.'*

"How is it this card again?" Jonouchi wailed. "Why can Yugi play such an amazing card so calmly every time? If it were me, I’d be just as excited as Hayato."

"That’s why you always lose to Yugi," Honda added, twisting the knife. In the many duels Jonouchi had lost to Yugi, at least half of them had been decided by this very "Dark Dragon King."

"So, are you going to attack, Yugi-boy? I do have a set card in my backrow, you know?" Hayato goaded him, though it came off as a bit of a bluff.

Yugi wasn't distracted by Hayato’s words; instead, he nodded. "Hmm, stopping because of the fear of traps isn't my style."

"Then, 'Dark Dragon King' attacks 'Skull Stalker'."

1500 ATK against 800 DEF—it was obvious Hayato’s monster would be defeated. However, because "Skull Stalker" was in defense position, Hayato took no damage to his Life Points.

"I see, so that’s why Hayato used a weaker monster in defense position," Anzu said, looking thoughtful. "Do you need to use different monster states to handle the battle situation depending on the circumstances?"

After the attack declaration, Yugi smiled and pointed at the "Skull Stalker" on the field. "Hayato, 'Skull Stalker' has been destroyed and will be sent to the Graveyard."

"Sore wa, dou kana?" (Is that so?)

"Nani?!"

Shamelessly plagiarizing Yugi Muto’s classic line right in front of the original owner, Hayato flipped over his set card and explained, "The card I set is this one."

"'Time Machine'."

"A spell that can return a monster to its state before battle when your or your opponent's monster is destroyed?" Yugi understood the effects of most cards, so even before Hayato explained it, he already understood what he meant.

The moment "Skull Stalker" was destroyed by "Dark Dragon King," Hayato activated "Time Machine," sending Skull Stalker into a rift in time and dodging the fatal blow from "Dark Dragon King."

A bright smile appeared on Yugi’s face. "You’re strong, Hayato. This is going to be an interesting duel. I end my turn."

【Yugi: Hand: 6 → 5】

Hearing this, Hayato’s expression turned slightly sour. He stared fixedly at Yugi’s backrow until Yugi said "End of turn," terrified that he might set the classic "T-shaped" five-card backrow.

*I can handle the snarky comments, but if you pull out a Magic Cylinder, I’m going to summon my fist in attack position,* Hayato thought.