Chapter Nineteen: Isn't This Wanzhangmu? How Have You Let Yourself Go So Much in Just a Few Days?

Soaked in the teacher’s endless droning, the morning passed in a blur, and before they knew it, it was lunch break.

After tidying up his notes, Hayato and his friends headed straight out of the classroom toward the rooftop. As they climbed the stairs, Jonouchi asked, "Who do you think left that note for Hayato, anyway?"

"It has to be someone from our school, right?" Honda reasoned. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have known that Hayato returned the camera to Nosaka-san after school yesterday."

Hayato, walking in the lead, didn't bother turning back as he replied, "No point in guessing blindly. We're almost at the top; we'll find out soon enough."

The school building only had four floors, and since their classroom was on the second, they reached the top level in no time. Looking up from the staircase, they saw that the heavy door to the roof—usually locked for safety—had already been opened. Clearly, the note-leaver had arrived.

Pushing open the door, they filed onto the roof. The first thing Hayato noticed was a boy in a male school uniform standing with his back to them, staring out into the distance.

"You're too slow, Hayato Kobayashi." The boy heard the creak of the door but didn't turn around.

"So, you're the one who left me this note?" Hayato pulled his hand from his pocket, holding the slip of paper he’d found in his locker that morning. "Playing the 'duel challenge' card? Are you still stuck in junior high?"

"Cut the talk! Did you bring your deck? Duel me!" Irritated by Hayato's tone, the boy turned around, his eyes blazing with anger.

As he turned, Jonouchi immediately recognized him. "Wait, you're that guy from the next class—Manjome!"

"Call me Mr. Manjome!" the boy retorted instinctively, then introduced himself. "My name is Shoji Manjome. Remember it well, Hayato Kobayashi, because I am going to crush you in the very field you excel at, to prove that only I am qualified to pursue Miho Nosaka!"

*Shoji Manjome?* The name sounded familiar, though if his name were Eiji, Hayato might have been more concerned. At the mention of "Manjome," Hayato immediately thought of Jun Manjome, the cold-yet-comical rival of the second Duel King, Judai Yuki. But surely, the Duel Academy era was still nearly a decade away. This must be a relative of his.

It wasn't surprising that a member of the Manjome family attended Domino High. Despite the school's lax rules and abundance of delinquents, Domino High was a place where many hidden talents resided, including children of elite families and corporate heirs. Even in Hayato’s own class, there was Seto Kaiba, the heir to the Kaiba Corporation, and the girl Honda had a crush on, "Ribbon" Miho Nosaka, came from a wealthy merchant family. Hayato himself was no exception; his father was a diplomat and his mother was an executive at a major conglomerate.

"Your choice of location is pretty poor, Manjome," Hayato said, glancing around the roof. To prevent students from jumping, the rooftop was usually locked, and the perimeter was lined with high fences—high enough to play tennis. But fences couldn't stop the wind. Didn't he worry about the cards blowing away?

"Hmph, I’ve already taken everything into account, you fool." Manjome snapped his fingers. At his signal, the tarps covering "clutter" piled around the roof were pulled away, revealing a large group of people hiding behind them.

"Damn it, you coward!" Jonouchi looked tense at the sudden influx of people. "How underhanded! An ambush!" While Jonouchi wasn't afraid of a fight, he was worried about whether he and Honda could protect their friends against such numbers—or how long he’d have to scrub the toilets as punishment afterward.

Shoji Manjome frowned, looking at the nervous Honda and Jonouchi with disdain. "You commoners... what do you think the honor of the Manjome Group is? I’m not some brute who only knows how to use raw force!" He waved a hand at his subordinates. "Get everything ready!"

Following his orders, the men hoisted the "clutter" into the center of the roof and began assembling it with practiced ease. Soon, a substantial dueling platform stood ready, and they began connecting it to the rooftop power supply.

"What is that?"

Seeing Yugi’s puzzled expression, Shoji Manjome looked smug. "Be amazed, you bumpkins. This is the latest technology popular among the upper class: virtual projection for Duel Monsters."

"Duel Monsters?" Honda asked.

"Virtual projection?" Anzu echoed.

Yugi didn't say anything, his hand instinctively reaching for the deck at his waist. Virtual projection for Duel Monsters—he hadn't seen it in action yet, but the mere mention of it made his dueling instincts flare.

"Interesting. That’s Kaiba Corporation’s technology, isn't it?" Hayato wasn't overly surprised, though the design of the platform looked familiar. "Looking at the style of this stand, does the Manjome Group have ties to Industrial Illusions? Don't tell me you guys were the ones who assembled the platforms for Duelist Kingdom?"

"You’re surprisingly well-informed, aren't you?" Shoji Manjome’s face remained cold; he wasn't particularly shocked by Hayato’s insight. In high society, such information wasn't exactly a secret—likely something Hayato’s mother, who worked at Paradius, had told him.

"Enough. Let's start the duel and get this over with; I haven't had lunch yet." Hayato drew his deck and stepped onto the platform first.

"Not running away, but walking right into it? Hmph. If you’re that eager to be humiliated, I’ll oblige."

They both stepped onto the platform, shuffled their decks, and placed them in the slots. The platform whirred to life, glowing with a faint blue light. On the side of each of their stations, the Life Point counters illuminated with the number "2000."

"Duel!"

"Duel!"

[Hayato: 2000 LP, 5 cards in hand]

[Shoji: 2000 LP, 5 cards in hand]