Chapter 20: Invincible Old AI Falls—Wait, He Hasn't Fallen Yet

"Ah, it's Insector Haga." Hayato did not have any innate goodwill toward Haga, but Yugi, entirely unaware of Haga's despicable nature, actually held a slight fondness for him because Haga was the one who informed him about the existence of the "new rules." Therefore, seeing Haga appear, he actually welcomed him quite warmly. "Did you manage to trade for any powerful cards, Haga-kun?"

"Heh, those cards used for trading could hardly be the duelists' strongest cards; at best, it's just exchanging useless cards for other useless cards, and besides, I have a lot of confidence in my deck." Haga approached rather warmly, his gaze drifting around the round table before quickly locking onto the golden case where Yugi had just placed the [Time Wizard] without yet closing the lid.

"Besides, no matter how powerful a card is, it could never be a match for your [Exodia], Yugi."

Hearing such a powerful duelist who had won the National Duel Monsters Championship affirm his friend's strength, Joey wore a proud look. "That's for sure! [Exodia] is an invincible monster, after all."

Anyone who didn't know better would think [Exodia] belonged to him rather than Yugi.

"Although there isn't only one set of [Exodia] cards, making it not quite as rare as the [Blue-Eyes White Dragon] which only has four copies in existence, among the duelists I know, you're the only one who has managed to collect all the pieces of [Exodia], Yugi."

Haga seized the opportunity, continually steering the conversation toward [Exodia]. Hayato, knowing his intentions, simply sat on the sidelines watching this malicious fellow, waiting to see when he would expose his true purpose.

Yugi felt a bit embarrassed by Haga's praise, scratched the back of his head, and smiled as he said, "Don't put it that way. Actually, this set of [Exodia] isn't even my card; it was my grandpa who collected them all."

"Collecting the cards is just the basic condition. To be able to assemble [Exodia] during a duel proves that you are amazing too, Yugi." Haga smiled and walked up to Yugi. "Say, Yugi, I've never seen such a rare card as [Exodia] before. Could you show it to me?"

With his pure mind (?), Yugi didn't think much of it. He readily took out the card case from the golden box, selected the five [Exodia] cards from it, and handed them to Haga. "Of course, no problem at all."

"So this is [Exodia]? As long as you gather all five cards in your hand, you can ignore all circumstances and claim victory in the duel. How powerful, truly too powerful." Haga held the five cards in his hand, speaking in an exceedingly dull and artificial tone.

"Say, Yugi, did you know? From the very moment I heard about [Exodia]'s invincible ability, I started pondering a question: if I were to duel you, how on earth should I deal with [Exodia]?" Haga paused, turning his head to look at the sea under the cover of night.

The wind over the sea had grown somewhat stronger, bringing with it much larger waves. The bright moon that had originally hung high in the sky was obscured by dark clouds at some unknown point, leaving nothing but pitch blackness as far as the eye could see across the ocean. It was almost as if time was being deliberately set aside for someone to do something.

Yugi himself was a clever person. Although he tended to trust others easily, even he could now detect a hint of something amiss in Haga's words. "What are you trying to say, Haga?"

"In the end, I finally realized that facing [Exodia]'s infinite power, I cannot defeat you." Haga suddenly flashed a smile, having retreated step by step until his back rested against the railing. "But the moment I held these [Exodia] cards of yours, I finally got my answer—the answer to how to defeat you!"

Seeing Yugi about to rush toward him, Haga abruptly flicked his hand holding the [Exodia] cards outward past the railing, violently hurling the five cards into the air toward the sea. "If I can't defeat [Exodia], all I have to do is destroy it!"

"Grandpa's cards!" Yugi desperately raised his hands, wanting to catch the cards, but the distance between them was simply too great. Amidst Joey's astonishment, Yugi's anxiety, and Haga's joyous gaze, the cards thrown by Haga were about to flutter out of the ship when suddenly, several bug-catching nets thrust out from the lower deck, catching all the cards with absolute precision.

Only then did Hayato leisurely rise from his chair, walk over to the railing, lean over to look down, and speak, "Thanks for waiting so long, everyone. Bring the cards up."

"Understood, Mr. Hayato." The voice of a man in a black suit came from below, clearly indicating that they were the ones holding the bug-catching nets who had caught the falling cards.

Seeing his plan fail, Haga attempted to flee, but Joey, having recovered his wits, grabbed him firmly by the back of the collar and hoisted him up. As Haga's legs flailed and struggled, he looked at Hayato with sheer disbelief. "You bastard actually had a plan prepared in advance! I clearly didn't tell anyone!"

"Ask yourself honestly, could your acting skills possibly conceal your intentions? When I saw you in the cabin, I could already smell it—that unique stench of yours, which is even more foul than a frog's urine." Hayato paused. "To exploit Yugi's kindness and trust in order to destroy his cards, a person like you is even worse than rat droppings in a toilet."

Several men in black carrying bug-catching nets walked up the stairs, one of them holding the five [Exodia] cards they had just rescued. Approaching Yugi, the man respectfully handed them over.

"Yugi, quickly check if all the cards are here," Joey asked with concern. The power of [Exodia] was built on the foundation of all five pieces being present; missing even a single one would not do. Yugi spread out the five cards, and after confirming it, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"Hayato-kun, thanks to you this time, grandpa's cards didn't end up tossed into the ocean." Yugi expressed his sincere gratitude to Hayato. If not for Hayato just now, those five cards would have long since fallen into the sea.

Hayato waved his hand. "I already had my suspicions the moment I saw Haga constantly steering the conversation toward [Exodia]. I just lacked any solid evidence; making a move beforehand would have put me in the wrong."

"Fortunately, though, the VIP treatment Pegasus gave me is the real deal, allowing me to command the people from Industrial Illusions. Even though you guys got a scare, we've caught Haga red-handed."

Seeing that everyone's attention was temporarily diverted away from him, while the agents from Industrial Illusions eyed him like a tiger watching its prey now that he was caught in the act, Haga felt overwhelmed with panic. Having taken such a massive risk—not only failing to destroy [Exodia] but getting caught in the process—he harbored a ruthless, desperate thought in his heart.

Reaching back, he grabbed the hand with which Joey was clutching his collar, turned his head, and bit down hard. Wincing in pain, Joey involuntarily loosened his grip. The moment Haga's feet touched the ground, he immediately lunged directly toward Yugi.