Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter 420 - 420

"Nii-san won, yay!"

Shizuka jumped up excitedly. To her, beating the youngest U.S. champion was already an incredible feat.

Honda, meanwhile, shook his head in frustration.

"That idiot… does he even realize this is being broadcast live around the world? He actually admitted he was an idiot in front of everyone…"

Akasha added in surprise,

"Doesn't that make Jonouchi a world-class idiot now? But honestly, putting 'world-class' in front of anything kind of makes it sound impressive!"

And right now, that so-called world-class idiot was basking in his success.

"Awesome! Now I get to duel with Yugi!"

Rebecca bit into her shirt collar in frustration.

"Darn you, Jonouchi! You stole my chance to duel with Darling… I'm so not okay with this!"

Both she and Jonouchi were in Group A during the preliminaries. Winning this match meant advancing to duel with Yugi. Likewise, the winner of Group B would face Hoshino.

As a side note, Kaiba—the organizer of the KC Tournament—wasn't participating this time. Possibly due to KaibaCorp's recent heavy workload, even someone as dueling-obsessed as Kaiba had passed up a perfect public opportunity to get revenge on Yugi and Hoshino.

"You did really well too, Rebecca. Win or lose, it was a great duel," Yugi said with his usual warm smile.

Hearing Yugi's kind words, Rebecca, who'd been fuming just seconds ago, instantly turned back into a sweet kitten and snuggled up beside him.

"Darling really is the best~ There'll be plenty of chances to duel later. I'll reluctantly give this one to Jonouchi~"

Group B Prelim Final Match—Over!

"No way, another one-turn kill?! That guy is insanely strong! None of his three matches even made it past the first turn… His power is just on a different level!"

"Zigfried?"

The sudden commotion around them caught the group's attention, and they looked over at the screen showing Group B's duels.

Even at the KC Tournament site, KaibaCorp had thoughtfully set up displays all over the venue to allow spectators to watch multiple matches at once.

So while they were watching Jonouchi vs. Rebecca in Group A's area, they could still see what was going on over in Group B.

Group B's final had taken place in a roller coaster-themed arena filled with fire and lava—though of course, it was all just holographic projection.

And just a few minutes after Rebecca and Jonouchi's duel ended, the Group B final had already concluded.

[Winner: Zigfried von Schroeder!]

For many spectators, it was their first time seeing Zigfried, and they were filled with curiosity.

"Another one-turn kill… This guy seems way too strong!"

Yugi frowned slightly.

"But can someone really be that lucky? Drawing the exact combo to win on the first turn every time?"

Even Kaiba—often teased by Hoshino for never shuffling his deck and once pulling off a first-turn Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon—was still a rare case. No one should be able to consistently draw winning hands that perfectly.

Given the random nature of a 40+ card deck, it should be impossible to land a perfect hand every duel.

Yet Zigfried always opened with the Spell Card Ride of the Valkyries to score an instant win. The card requirements were no less demanding than Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon fusion.

Jonouchi added,

"Since he won Group B, doesn't that mean he'll be going up against Hoshino in the semifinals?"

"But where is Hoshino? It's been half a day, and she still hasn't shown up," Yugi said, growing concerned.

Anzu grew anxious.

"Could something have happened to her? Akasha-chan, you said she left the hotel yesterday… That means she's been missing for a whole day and night now, right?"

Shizuka crossed her arms in concern.

"Could she have run into those muggers?"

Jonouchi quickly shook his head.

"No way—that's Hoshino we're talking about. If something like that happened, they'd be the ones in danger. They'd probably consider themselves lucky just to get extorted by her."

"…"

"...True."

After all, this was the same Hoshino who'd once led an airship, split the sea, and escaped from a deep-sea fortress. It was hard to imagine her in any real danger here.

Most likely, she was still in the middle of her so-called "training."

"Well, since the A-Group semifinal is happening first—that's Darling vs. Jonouchi—there's still some time," Rebecca said.

Then she glared at Jonouchi, who had stolen her chance to duel.

"Assuming you don't get instantly destroyed by Darling, that is."

"That's really up in the air~"

Anzu and Honda side-eyed Jonouchi.

"Back in school, you lost to Yugi twice in just ten minutes."

"Don't bring up my black history! I've gone through a ton of brutal duels—I'm a whole new person now!"

Jonouchi waved his arms confidently.

"And even if it's just to buy Hoshino some time, I'll hold my own. Who knows, I might even beat you, Yugi!"

A golden flash from the Millennium Puzzle signaled Yami Yugi's appearance.

"That's the spirit, Jonouchi! Let's see how much stronger you've gotten!"

"Don't worry. If Nee-san still isn't back by then…"

Akasha rolled up her sleeves, eager.

"I'll follow the plan and take her place!"

We told you, Akasha—with your build, you'll need a few more years before you can pull off a convincing Hoshino impersonation.

(***)

Meanwhile, outside Chaldea's control room…

"—Aaaah! It hurts! I can't take it, Mash!!"

Several Heroic Spirits gathered outside looked increasingly concerned at the screams from within.

Shivering, Okita gripped Nobunaga's shoulder.

"What kind of training is Master going through in there?! It sounds terrifying…"

Nobunaga swallowed hard, trying to keep her composure.

"Th-this kind of training… doesn't even faze me…"

"—Aaaah! I'm gonna die, Mash! Have mercy!!"

"What are they doing in there, Okita?!" someone shouted in panic.

Ereshkigal rubbed her hands together, genuinely worried.

"To think Master is undergoing such harsh training for future battles… can a human body even handle that?"

Emiya, now wearing a pink apron, turned toward the kitchen.

"I'll make a meal. We must support them from the rear."

Tamamo: "Tamamo will help too! Meow~!"

Kiyohime: "My poor, precious Master… tonight, Kiyohime will make sure you really relax. Sniffle sniffle~"

But inside the control room, while everyone else worried...

"OWWW! I can't take it anymore! Mash, your hands are too rough! That's not how you're supposed to give a massage!"

Mash replied calmly,

"Senpai, your shoulders are very stiff… If you let the stress build up too much, it's bad for both your body and mind."

With that, she pressed even harder into Hoshino's shoulders.

"I'm gonna die! Please, mercy, Mash!!"

"You're usually soft everywhere else, Senpai. Are you hiding something lately?"

"Hmm… now that you mention it…"

Hoshino tilted her head, thinking back to a few recent stressors—not a short list, to say the least.

"Put some more strength into it, Mash… Let my cute kouhai help crush all this annoying stress away."

"Yes, Senpai!"

"Ah! Ah… ahhhh~~~~!"

(*****)

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