Chapter 17: The President Appears with His First-Generation Duel Disk

Night had fallen deep, and everyone was fast asleep. Suddenly, a rumbling noise echoed from beneath the cliff where they rested, like someone holding a small electric fan right up to your ear.

“Ugh~ What’s that sound? It’s so loud!”

“Hiss~ Has the wind picked up? It’s freezing!”

The cacophony and sudden gusts of wind forced everyone from their slumber.

“Damn it! Who’s turning on their high beams in the middle of the night? People who use high beams indiscriminately are some of the people I hate most in this world!”

No sooner had Jonouchi opened his eyes than a blinding light pierced them, forcing his barely awakened self to shield his face with a hand. The same went for Yugi and the others.

People who use high beams deserve no mercy!

“Who’s there?! What are you doing at this hour?!”

Once his eyes adjusted, Jonouchi spotted the source of the glare. The earlier rumbling and the sudden wind gusts all came from a white helicopter hovering above them.

Under their bewildered gazes, the helicopter descended slowly, settling on a patch of grass not far away. When it finally powered down, a pair of long legs appeared first, followed by a handsome, impassive face emerging from the cabin.

“Seto Kaiba?!”

Seeing Kaiba step out of the helicopter, everyone gasped in shock. None of them had expected him to arrive this way, nor to see him here at all.

“It’s been a while, Yugi.”

Catching sight of Yugi—the one who had once defeated him—Kaiba managed a polite greeting. Then, without another word, he turned to leave, intent on fulfilling the purpose that had brought him to this island.

But just as he turned away—

“Nii-san!!”

That voice...

That cry of “Big Brother” sent a tremor through Kaiba’s entire body. When the second call rang out, he was certain—the one calling him was—

“Mokuba! Is it really you?!”

He spun around and, seeing the slightly tanned boy beside Yugi, who stood half a head shorter, Kaiba’s voice trembled with disbelief, even as he recognized his brother’s face.

“Nii-san! It’s me! I’m Mokuba!”

Unable to contain himself at seeing his brother again, Mokuba rushed forward and threw himself into Kaiba’s arms.

“Mokuba!!”

Catching him, Kaiba clung tightly to his brother, as if afraid this was all a dream, afraid Mokuba would be taken from him again.

For Seto Kaiba, his younger brother Mokuba was his only true family in this world. And only Mokuba could ever bring tears to Kaiba’s eyes.

Well, tears were an exaggeration, but Yugi, sharp-eyed as ever, noticed the president’s eyes were already red and moist. Now, in matters concerning his little brother, Kaiba alone revealed such unguarded kindness.

“Mokuba, weren’t you held captive in Pegasus’s castle? How are you here…?”

Reunited at last, Kaiba looked up at his brother in confusion. From what he knew, Mokuba should have been imprisoned in Pegasus’s castle—so why was he now with Yugi and the others?

“I found a way to escape from Pegasus’s castle on my own, and then, to get revenge for you, Nii-san, I sought out Yugi. But with Yugi and his friends’ help, I let go of revenge and waited here with them, hoping you’d come for me!”

Thank you, Yugi, Yuya! You were right—my big brother really did come for me!

“Mokuba’s safety—I owe you all so much!”

Realizing it was Yugi and the others who had protected his brother, President Kaiba straightened and bowed deeply, a full ninety degrees, to express his gratitude.

Yugi and Yuya waved it off, but behind them, Jonouchi and the rest were dumbfounded. The proud, arrogant Kaiba bowing in thanks? Unbelievable!

Had Yuya known what was on their minds, he would have said this: The president only ever acts this way when it concerns Mokuba.

“Let’s go, Mokuba. There’s something more important waiting for us.”

Regaining his composure, Kaiba took Mokuba’s small hand in his own, ready to leave with his brother.

“Hold it right there, Kaiba!”

Watching Kaiba’s retreating back, and recalling what Mokuba had told them when they first met, Jonouchi instantly realized what “more important matter” Kaiba meant.

Annoyed, he dashed out from the group, stepped in front of Kaiba, and grabbed him by the collar, shouting,

“Everyone in this Duelist Kingdom is here for their dreams, collecting ten star chips with all their might just for a chance to challenge that scumbag Pegasus!”

Kaiba said nothing, merely glaring down at Jonouchi, who was shorter than he.

“I don’t care what your reasons are—you’re not taking any shortcuts!”

Yugi entered the tournament to rescue his grandfather. Jonouchi himself was here to win money for his sister’s eye surgery. Even Mai was fighting for a happier life. (Well… come to think of it, Yuya’s dream? He’s never actually said why he’s competing. (-_-)ゞ)

So, seeing Kaiba ready to march straight into Pegasus’s castle for a duel, Jonouchi’s anger flared. He felt Kaiba was trampling on the hard work of all those who struggled here.

“Are you done?”

“What?!”

Kaiba’s indifferent words stunned Jonouchi.

Without another glance, Kaiba shoved Jonouchi aside, straightened his collar, and, with a hint of surprise in his voice, remarked,

“Jonouchi, I’m surprised you’re competing in Pegasus’s Duelist Kingdom tournament.”

Had it been anyone else, Jonouchi might have answered modestly. But coming from Kaiba—the one he most disliked—the comment only infuriated him.

“Don’t look down on me! I was one of the top eight duelists in the region!”

Anzu piped up, “Uh, wasn’t that just the regional preliminaries?”

Jonouchi fell silent.

Anzu, can we still be friends after this?

Kaiba sneered, “Heh! If even you’re competing, the dueling standards on this island can’t be very high.”

With his skill and deck, had Kaiba entered the first Japanese championship, it would have been a complete slaughter. After all, he possessed the single most powerful monster card in the current duel environment—the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. And the maximum of three copies allowed in a deck.

So, while it might sound arrogant, Kaiba had every right to say so.

“You look unconvinced.”

Seeing Jonouchi’s indignant face, Kaiba’s thoughts shifted. Before facing that bastard Pegasus, why not test his new system on this guy?

“Perfect. To test my newly completed Duel Disk system, I’ll use you, Jonouchi. A duel—not for star chips, but for a test.”

“A new… Duel Disk system?”

Everyone was bewildered.

“This. Catch!”

Kaiba squatted down, set his briefcase on the ground, opened it, and pulled out a round device from foam lined with red cloth. He tossed it to Jonouchi.

“What’s this? A flying saucer?”

Catching the strange round device, Jonouchi examined it curiously.

Beside him, Yuya’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

At last—it had arrived.

The very first Duel Disk.