057 Urban Tournament Competition Rules

A week had already passed since Yugi and Kaiba jointly announced the grand Duel City Tournament. And today, at last, marked the official opening of the competition!

Bang! Bang! Bang!...

Early in the morning, as the tournament commenced, fireworks exploded across the sky in celebration. Yet in the bright daylight, only bursts of colorless “white clouds” could be seen blooming above.

“What’s going on with all these people?”

Adjusting his glasses, a plump office worker dressed in a black suit watched as a large crowd streamed past him, each with a strange white device strapped to their left arm. He muttered in confusion.

“I have no idea,” replied his tall, thin friend, also in a suit, scratching his head with equal bewilderment.

“Everyone’s wearing some odd gadget on their arm, and it looks like there are cards inside it.”

The two, sharp-eyed yet unfamiliar with the game, noticed the cards within the devices but couldn’t guess their purpose, being unacquainted with such things.

“Don’t you know?” Suddenly, a scruffy-looking youth, who seemed to have overheard their conversation, darted over.

“W-what?” The abrupt appearance startled the pair. Behind the youth, another similarly rough-looking young man in a yellow jacket rushed up and declared,

“Starting today, this entire Domino City becomes the battleground for duelists—the Duel City!”

“Duel City?” the two echoed in unison.

“If you don’t want to get hurt, you’d better hurry along to work! Hahaha!”

With a burst of laughter, the two ruffians ignored the businessmen’s further confusion and melted back into the crowd, heading toward the central plaza.

Meanwhile, at the city center, Yugi—after a night’s diligent work—had finally completed assembling his brand-new deck for the tournament. With his duel disk secured to his arm, he chatted with Mai Valentine, Rex Raptor, and the others.

Not far from this gathering, at an outdoor café, a mysterious figure cloaked entirely in black sat sipping coffee and tinkering with a laptop. On the screen appeared partial information about Yugi’s group—names, basic details, and images of the rare cards each one possessed.

“All of them are Level 5 or higher duelists, each holding at least one rare card... Whom should I target first?” the figure pondered.

Just then, two amplified voices boomed from citywide speakers above.

“Duelists! Welcome to Duel City!”

“That voice... President Yugi and President Kaiba?!”

Everyone in the city looked skyward in the direction of the announcement. A massive white blimp drifted overhead, a huge digital screen suspended beneath it.

“Now, both of us will explain the tournament rules,” came the announcement.

Kaiba spoke: “Every duelist gathered in this city with a duel disk has been certified by Konami as Level 5 or above!”

As in the original anime, the tournament divided duelists into ten ranks—Level 1 being the lowest, Level 10 the highest, with Kaiba’s new ultimate monster, the ‘Blue-Eyes Photon Dragon,’ representing the pinnacle.

Level 5 and above duelists could collect a free duel disk from any Konami-affiliated card shop or the Game Mall. As for Levels 1 through 4, they would have to purchase a duel disk themselves, since such devices cost a fair sum to produce.

Direct retail sales of duel disks would be deferred until after the tournament, when, by then, duelists worldwide would be clamoring for them—the perfect moment to launch.

Yugi continued, “The stage for this tournament is the entirety of Domino City! As long as you possess a duel disk, any spot in the city can become the arena for your duel!”

The duel disk, worn on the arm, was equipped with a compact virtual projector developed by the R&D department. Once activated, it transmitted signals via Konami’s satellite network, allowing duel monsters to be visually projected as if they were real.

Kaiba: “Duelists must use their own deck of 40 to 60 cards, including at least one rare card. The loser of a duel must hand over one rare card to the victor! Of course, if that card is of no use to the winner, another may be chosen in its place.”

This rule, Yugi’s addition, was notably considerate.

Yugi added, “Furthermore, if any of you have the courage, you are welcome to challenge President Kaiba or me! Defeat either of us, and you will advance directly to the finals—and I will personally design a brand-new card just for you! Unique in all the world, belonging solely to you!”

“Whoa!!!”

The city erupted in cheers at the announcement. To have a card crafted by the new president of International Illusions, tailored personally for you—this was not just an honor, but a symbol of immense strength and the exclusive right to own a card found nowhere else on earth.

Excitement swept through the crowd. On the blimp’s screen, Yugi and Kaiba both allowed a faint, knowing smile to tug at their lips—though from such a height, none below could notice.

Kaiba: “In the end, only eight duelists will reach the final tournament!”

Yugi: “As for the location of the finals, it is hidden within the transparent puzzle cards bundled with every duel disk. These six distinct cards, specially processed and distributed, must be collected and stacked together to reveal the site of the final battle! Remember—they must all be different!”

This rule was directly inspired by Pegasus’s original Duelist Kingdom tournament. There, star chips were required to enter the castle; here, puzzle cards would lead to the finals. Only by collecting six unique puzzle cards from hundreds of duelists could one discover the location.

And a hidden rule remained: before each duel, when puzzle cards were staked as wagers, neither duelist could be certain if their opponent’s card was identical to one they already possessed. The uncertainty added a layer of challenge.

Among hundreds of duelists, each starting with one puzzle card, you would need to gather six different ones to unlock the finals.

Kaiba & Yugi: “Now, let the Duel City Tournament begin! Duelists, seek out your opponents hidden throughout this city! Crush them, claim their rare cards, and seize your place in the finals!”

Duelists: “Whoa!!!”