Kingdom Finals: Pegasus vs. Yugi!

"Yugi! Please, I'm begging you! You must win the match and rescue my—our Grandpa!"

After the semifinals ended, Yugi returned to his room to adjust his deck. At that moment, Yugi and his friends entered his room, and as Yugi stared at them in bewilderment, Yugi, Jonouchi, Anzu, and Honda all bowed ninety degrees, earnestly pleading with him to win the match.

"... Uh, didn't I promise Yugi before? No matter who won the semifinals, our main goal in the finals against Pegasus is to rescue Grandpa's soul, which Pegasus sealed away," Yugi replied, scratching his cheek. Hearing this, the others exchanged glances, and Yugi, the person most affected, spoke up:

"We did promise, but this was originally my personal matter. Now that I lost the duel, I lost the chance to save Grandpa myself. In other words, Grandpa's fate now rests entirely in your hands, Yugi!"

Grandpa was, after all, Yugi's only family. Saving him was Yugi's sole purpose in coming to this island. Though they were friends, after losing the opportunity to duel Pegasus, entrusting Grandpa's life to someone else—even a friend—wasn't something he could completely trust without reservation.

Thus, this scene unfolded: Yugi and his friends came together to personally beseech Yugi to win.

Understanding Yugi's feelings, Yugi—having been an orphan in his previous life—could sympathize. If it were him, he wouldn't be able to entrust his only family to a friend he'd only known for a few days.

"By the way, Yugi! You must be careful of Pegasus's 'Mind Scan' ability!"

Yugi agreed, and Yugi remembered Pegasus's special power, wielded through the Millennium Item—the Millennium Eye.

"Don't worry, I have a way to handle it."

Mind Scan—whether watching the anime in his previous life or after arriving on this island, Yugi had always considered how he would counter this power when facing Pegasus in the finals.

Now, he had a plan. Not only would it confound Pegasus, but it would also make Pegasus feel awkward. If the duel was exciting enough, even if Pegasus won, the rumor would spread that Yugi had gone easy on him. But if Pegasus lost—well! Pegasus's reputation as the father of Duel Monsters would be seriously questioned. Losing even when your opponent was holding back? Unthinkable!

"As long as you have a plan," Yugi said. Seeing that Yugi wasn't joking and that everything had been said and done, Yugi called Jonouchi and the others to leave his room.

Once everyone had left, Yugi took out his smartphone, smiled at the latest system quest displayed on the screen.

'Pegasus... Grandpa's soul... system rewards...'

Children make choices; adults take everything!

...

...

Half an hour of rest and adjustment passed.

"Time's up! Challenger 'Yugi', please come to the Duel Arena!"

At the butler referee's instruction, Yugi brought his deck to the blue side of the arena. Once he was in position, his opponent's footsteps echoed from the darkness of the red corridor.

Pegasus, dressed in a red suit and accompanied by two black-suited assistants, approached the duel stage. He motioned, and his assistant brought out the tray with his personal deck. Pegasus took his deck, advancing while speaking with an appreciative tone:

"Yugi Boy~ You are a remarkable duelist! At this moment, I, Pegasus, am delighted to see you advance to the finals and earn the right to challenge me, the father of Duel Monsters!"

"Duel Monsters is an excellent card game! To receive praise from its creator—the father of Duel Monsters, Mr. Pegasus—is my honor!"

Reciprocity and business flattery—Yugi handled it effortlessly. After all, even if he'd never eaten pork, he'd certainly seen pigs run.

After the exchange, the butler referee announced:

"Challenger 'Yugi', please present the proof required to challenge the King of Duel Kingdom—the card 'Glory of the King's Hand' for inspection!"

"Here," Yugi replied, producing the card with the bold title "Glory of the King's Hand," its face otherwise blank.

"Confirmed," the butler nodded, then explained what possessing this card meant:

"Only those holding this card are eligible to earn the honor of defeating the creator of Duel Monsters and the King of Duel Kingdom—Mr. Pegasus J. Crawford! As well as sixty percent ownership of International Illusions Industrial Corporation!"

"What?!"

Everyone on the spectator platform—Mai and the others—were stunned.

The butler continued:

"In other words, if you defeat Mr. Pegasus and are willing, you could become the next president of International Illusions Industrial Corporation!"

In short, one phrase summed it up:

Overnight riches!

A true overnight fortune!

"Hohoho! This is merely a small present from me!" Pegasus laughed. "This is the reward reserved for one strong enough to defeat me!"

'Is this your way of showing confidence that no one can beat you, Pegasus?!' Yugi, on the spectator platform, burned with anger. If he could, he would have traded places with Yugi to duel Pegasus himself!

Not only had Pegasus used the cheating tactic of Mind Scan in their duel, but he had also used the Millennium Eye's dark power to seal and steal Grandpa's soul! That was truly unforgivable!

"To win the highest honor, of course you must risk a considerable penalty!" Pegasus now explained the punishment for losing:

"The card in your hand, 'Glory of the King's Hand,' is blank. However, when you lose, the image of your soul in despair will appear on it! Fair enough, don't you think?"

Yugi: "..."

"That bastard Pegasus!!"

Hearing the penalty for losing, everyone on the spectator platform was furious. They knew the consequence of losing one's soul—Grandpa now lay in a city hospital, eyes dull and lifeless, resembling a vegetative state.

While Pegasus mused about what the soul of the duelist who defeated Yugi would look like, and while Yugi and his friends worried and raged about Yugi's punishment for losing, Yugi himself was thinking about something else.

'Glory of the King's Hand... If it can show my soul's image when I lose, could it also be used as a blank card during the duel to print a card for me?'

He recalled the theatrical crossover between DM, GX, and 5D's, where the villain Paradox stole the protagonist Yusei's ace card "Stardust Dragon"—a blank card was used to snatch it on the spot. If something like that happened now... well, just thinking about it made Yugi excited.

The butler referee's voice pulled Yugi out of his daydream.

"Now, the Duel Kingdom King Championship begins! Both duelists, please shuffle and cut each other's decks."

With the elevator rising, Pegasus's black-suited assistants each carried a tray, one to Yugi, one to Pegasus.

Both placed their decks into the trays. When the assistants crossed to the other duelist, Yugi picked up Pegasus's deck and shuffled it thoroughly, cutting top and bottom cards repeatedly.

As for Pegasus, just as in the anime, he tapped the center of the card on the top of his deck with a finger, signifying he'd finished shuffling.

"Pegasus is really arrogant!" Jonouchi muttered in annoyance, and the others agreed. Only Yugi, knowing Pegasus's special ability, remained serious—Pegasus was more mysterious and unpredictable than ever.

Yugi! Do you really have a way to counter Pegasus's Mind Scan?