Chapter Thirteen: Hayato: I Anticipated Bekas's Move

Page 1/3

Hayato led Chicken Sauce and the others out of the living room and closed the door behind them. Almost simultaneously, Yugi inserted the videotape into the television.

Snowflakes flickered on the screen at first, but soon, amid a swirl of distortion, the image of a silver-haired man appeared. The man greeted Yugi with a friendly wave and a smile: “Hello, Yugi boy, you’ve really kept me waiting.”

“Is that... Bakus, the one who just appeared on the TV!?” Yugi had considered many possibilities, but never imagined that this tape would feature the father of Duel Monsters—Bakus. Surprised to see the very figure they had just been discussing, Yugi’s astonishment grew.

“Nice to meet you, Yugi boy~ This is a videotape I’m sending to dear Yugi boy. As Hayato boy just explained, it’s because I recognize your dueling skills, having defeated Kaiba boy.” Bakus smiled, but then casually uttered words that made Yugi’s face darken.

“Hayato just explained?! But this is only a videotape.”

Yugi murmured instinctively. To his surprise, Bakus on the tape replied: “Of course, it’s just a videotape. But I anticipated what would happen in the future—whether Hayato boy would explain, or the actions you, Yugi boy, would take next.”

“For example, your next sentence: ‘Predicting the future!? That kind of thing can’t be true!’”

“Predicting the future!? That kind of—how could that possibly be!” Yugi blurted out, but halfway through, he was shocked to realize his words matched Bakus’s ‘prophecy’ exactly.

“Although we could talk for a long time, unfortunately, my time is very limited; so is the tape.” Bakus’s smile faded somewhat, though a faint curve remained on his lips. “Now, let’s quickly start testing you, Yugi boy.”

Yugi was about to say he had no intention of participating in the tournament Hayato had mentioned. To him, the title “Duel King” was an elusive, insignificant name. But just as he was about to refuse, an invisible ripple surged from the television screen, quickly spreading and filling the entire room.

Outside the room, Hayato was explaining to Jonouchi and the others why he had brought them out.

“Ah, I really wonder what’s recorded on that tape,” Jonouchi’s curiosity clawed at him like a restless cat. Though outside the door, his eyes kept glancing toward the living room.

Hayato moved a chair for Grandpa Sugoroku to sit and said, “Think, think, Jonouchi. Who would be qualified to invite Yugi to that tournament? And why would they record this videotape?”

Page 2/3

“Even if you ask me, I don’t know.”

“Actually, the answer isn’t important. What matters is that the sender must be a very significant figure. There might be some extremely confidential information on that tape. If possible, we should—”

Hayato’s words were cut off abruptly by a powerful dark force coming from behind. He felt his consciousness dulling bit by bit, and his body becoming completely immobile.

The others in front of him—Grandpa Sugoroku, Anzu, Honda, and Jonouchi—were also swept by that invisible wave, their bodies instantly stiffening, eyes turning vacant, as if frozen in place.

Though Hayato’s state was slightly better, allowing him to sense what was happening, his thoughts were also freezing bit by bit. On the verge of losing all self-awareness and sensory perception, Hayato summoned his last strength to speak:

“You guys, time to work!”

At his command, five glowing orbs flew out from Hayato’s pocket, attaching themselves to various parts of his body.

The taciturn Dark Knight Gaia restored Hayato’s left hand’s freedom;

The Disrupt brothers grabbed his left foot, right foot, and right hand, dancing oddly in excitement;

Finally, a multicolored Chestnut Orb landed on Hayato’s hair.

The five monsters each guarded a part of Hayato’s body, combining their strength like the sealed Exodia. With their combined power, Hayato’s previously limp hair stood on end, resembling someone aggressively spraying hair gel.

The dark force spreading from the living room clashed with the power of the five spirits. The stalemate soon broke—the force that seemed to want to freeze time was shattered by the spirits’ combined might. Hayato shuddered violently, then dropped to one knee, his clothes soaked with sweat as he gasped heavily.

“Phew~ That was close. Good thing Gaia awakened before today; otherwise, the others wouldn’t have been much help.” Hayato smiled wearily, looking at the five cards that had slipped from his pocket. He regarded the figures before him and said, “Thanks for your hard work, Gaia.”

Page 3/3

“Honored to have served.” Dark Knight Gaia’s face was hidden behind his helmet, so Hayato couldn’t see his expression, only hearing the muffled voice from within. Gaia accepted Hayato’s praise calmly. However, the others weren’t quite so pleased—

Disrupt Yellow jumped off Hayato’s arm and joined his brothers, reproaching him: “Ani, that was so harsh! We put in a lot of effort too!”

“Yeah! I worked so hard I used up all my muscles!” Disrupt Green flexed his nonexistent muscles, trying to show off.

“Ani, you owe us a meal before we forgive you. So what should we eat?” Disrupt Black blinked his tiny eyes, struggling to look serious, but drool soon betrayed his silly nature—though he never tried to hide it.

Hayato ignored the playful Disrupt brothers and turned to the colorful Chestnut Orb flying into his palm—the Rainbow Chestnut Orb. “Thanks again, aibo.”

“Hey! Completely ignoring us?” “And you called the newbie ***bo!” “We were here first, you know!”

“Kurii~ Kurii Kurii~” The Rainbow Chestnut Orb squinted and rubbed Hayato’s finger, casting a disdainful glance at the three Disrupt brothers below, as if saying:

“This is the expression I’ve wanted to see—the look of jealousy! Hahaha~”

“That guy’s so infuriating!” *3