Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 39: Humble Kira?

At the same time, elsewhere.

Rex Raptor was in quite a good mood today.

After several days of seclusion, he found his way to the arena and, after stomping a few newbies in a row, regained his confidence and his dueling touch.

Now this—this is what dueling is supposed to be.

So it wasn't my fault I lost in those previous matches.

After racking up seven straight wins, Rex left the venue satisfied. He grabbed some dinner at a nearby restaurant, and as he stepped outside, he unexpectedly bumped into a fan.

"Ah! It's Rex Raptor!"

A teenage boy's eyes lit up when he spotted him from afar, and he hurried over.

"I'm a big fan! Can I get your autograph?"

Rex was instantly overjoyed. The last time anyone had asked for his autograph felt like it was ages ago—he'd even started to feel like he was already washed up. Not that it was surprising, since he hadn't appeared in tournaments or the public eye for years.

"Kid, you're in luck! I'm in a good mood today."

Rex happily took the autograph board the boy handed him and scribbled his flamboyant signature.

"Thank you!" The boy took his signed board and turned to leave, grinning.

"Hey, wait up, don't be in such a rush."

Rex grabbed him by the collar and hauled him back.

"You're just gonna take my autograph and walk off?"

The boy was confused. "Uh? Isn't that...?"

Rex held out his hand and waggled his fingers.

"Money, kid! My autograph doesn't come cheap. If you've got no cash, pay with cards."

"Huh?" The boy was stunned. "You charge for autographs?"

"What?" Rex acted offended. "I'm the great Rex Raptor! You think my signature is worthless?"

"N-no, of course not..."

...

So a few minutes later, Rex was walking down the street with a few new cards and a wallet in hand.

"Tch, broke kid, nothing valuable."

He curled his lip.

He didn't need the cards or the cash. He just enjoyed doing this kind of thing.

It made him think of his old buddy Weevil. Back in the day, they were inseparable, even pulling autograph scams together—of course, they also got caught and beaten up together. He wondered what his old pal was up to these days.

He came back to his senses and suddenly realized something was off.

It was broad daylight, but somehow the street was deserted. Even the sky had turned gloomy, the heavy air making it hard to breathe.

"Found you at last, Rex Raptor."

A rough voice came from a nearby alley. A man in a suit strode out, his eyes gleaming green, and he wore a uniquely designed duel disk.

Rex: "And you are?"

"I'm Fujimoto, sworn brother of Genichiro—whom you killed."

Rex: "?"

Who the heck is that? Should I know him?

Rex looked completely baffled, but Fujimoto gave him no chance to respond, immediately activating his duel disk.

"Playing dumb won't help! No more words—Shadow Duel, begin! Today, I'll use your soul to honor the dead Genichiro!"

Rex: "???"

So, who exactly are you talking about? Have I even met this guy?

...

Kaiba Land, Duel Arena

As the Duel AI's LP hit zero, the system lock was finally released. The armored shutters over the windows slid open, the rolling gates lifted, and sunlight streamed back into the arena.

The AI's projected image still glitched on stage, repeating, "Bzzz... you... bzzz..."

"Is the AI okay?"

"Maybe it's broken?"

"Yeah, looks like it's completely fried. Poor thing."

The crowd whispered among themselves.

But soon, no one paid attention to the AI—the spotlight was on Kira, who'd just won the duel and unlocked the system.

At least to the audience, this Kira was a god.

The AI had Kaiba Seto's deck data and, in their eyes, perfectly mimicked his thinking, tactics, and even his over-the-top lines.

The AI had shown the Blue-Eyes' overwhelming power, but Kira countered everything with ease. The highlight was when the AI was finally defeated by its own "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's" attack.

The dojo students, led by Sato Koji, were in awe throughout the duel. The whole match felt as if gusts of cold wind blew across the field—yet, from the outside, the more they watched, the more entertained they felt.

As fellow dojo members, they were proud—now they could brag, "I know that guy." But as they idolized him, they also felt uneasy.

If even the legendary power-deck champion at the top of the duel world lost to their kouhai, what would become of dueling's future?

They couldn't help but feel that, as Kira's star rose, a shadow was falling over the entire dueling world.

Kaiba Land staff soon arrived, apologizing and compensating the trapped guests, and shut down the system for repairs. Soon, Kaiba Corp. sent people over—Seto's brother, Mokuba Kaiba, came in person.

"Fujiki Kira, right? You're the one who stopped the rogue duel AI?"

Mokuba shook Kira's hand.

"Thanks to your bravery, on behalf of Kaiba Corp, I thank you."

Kira waved it off. "It was nothing. I just did what any duelist should. No need for cash rewards or rare cards."

Mokuba blinked, then burst out laughing.

"You're a funny one. Tell you what, I'm heading back to the local Kaiba office. There should be plenty of cards in the warehouse there. Want to come take a look? We'd also like to ask about the incident details."

Whoa—direct access to Kaiba's warehouse?

"Heh, you sure? I'd feel bad..."

But as he spoke, Kira was already following Mokuba as if they were old pals.

"No problem. You saved us a ton, that's way more important," Mokuba smiled.

The students watched Kira's silhouette disappear in silence.

After half a minute, Sato Koji muttered, "Why does he seem so good at this...?"

"Heh, you don't get it. That's a talent too."

Takeuchi looked after Kira with approval, nodding slightly.

"You all have a lot to learn from him."

The students: "..."