It was the fifth day of the Friendship Cup, and today featured the entertainment-oriented "Tag Duel."
Though labeled as entertainment, this world didn't teach Duelists how to tag duel, so Godwin had to recruit a pair of pro Duelists who were close friends. The Council of Elders, meanwhile, provided noble Duelists whom they personally favored.
But regardless of origin, they were all way older than the stated age range, well beyond the "student" category.
Naturally, Godwin had already cleared it with Kaiba beforehand: this Duel was purely for show and wouldn't count toward final results.
"Those two sisters are going up against pros?" Alexis paid particular attention to the Taylor Sisters as fellow girl Duelists. She'd tried reaching out during the past few days, yet the sisters had been nothing but dismissive.
Or rather, outright hostile.
She didn't really understand why, but every time the Taylor Sisters saw her walking by, they looked like they wanted to punch her.
From a "girl" standpoint alone, the sisters were utterly outclassed, a complete defeat.
"Pro Duelists. This world's average Duelists aren't weak, even the supposedly disregarded ones from the Satellite District. So if they're pros, they must be elite. The sisters are students, right? Can they really handle it?" one staffer asked. "What did the President say?"
"He said: 'Real Duelists don't fear a challenge.'"
Yep, that sounded like Kaiba.
"Originally, the other side even allowed our younger Duelists some advantages against the pros, like choosing first or second turn, or restricting opponent monster use. Despite that, it seems the Taylor Sisters refused all of that."
Hearing this, Chazz folded his arms and nodded lightly. "Looks like those two Fusion Army girls are extremely confident in their dueling."
"Confident?" Gloria Taylor spun on her heel, smiling radiantly, waving one hand as if stirring the air, like a proud war general.
Chazz frowned slightly.
"It's not just confidence." Her twin, Grace Taylor, turned gracefully, gave a small curtsy, adjusted her skirt, and addressed the Fusion Club members.
"We are the strongest Tag Duelists.
"And you Fusion Club folks better watch closely."
With that, the twin Duelists marched onto the field, leaving Jaden and Chazz staring after them.
"That confident, huh? American Duelists sure are something," Jesse said in surprise. "But hey, Jaden, what's up between you and them?"
"Didn't you get any of that?" Jaden said curiously.
"Get what?"
"Fusion Army."
Jesse shook his head.
Total knowledge gap.
Despite hanging out often these past days, neither of them knew much about the other's school. Plus, Jesse had a terrible sense of direction; he couldn't even find his way back to base without a Duel Spirit guide. He rarely left campus and was clueless about outside matters.
As a rep from the North Academy Arctic Branch, Jesse's school was so remote that not even Leo Akaba had extended influence there. Being a northerner, he naturally didn't know much about the Fusion Army.
And since he'd spent most of this time with Jaden, he'd never visited the Fusion Army Duelists, making him completely in the dark.
Seeing this, Chazz cleared his throat and gave a brief overview, including Hikaru's year-long efforts and the ongoing feud between the Fusion Club and the Polymerization Club.
To be fair, it was more like they one-sidedly trounced the other club.
Even so, Jesse was fired up. He lamented missing out on such an awesome brawl and swore he would've fought alongside them, despite never using Fusion cards.
"So, those girls... they're your enemies next semester?"
Chazz nodded slightly.
Though Jesse might be an outsider, looking at it now, the tournament contenders were clearly divided: Fusion Club students versus Fusion Army students, two factions with distinct goals.
They were here to have fun, or like Chazz, to show off and earn attention. The Fusion Army, on the other hand, came to flex, gain reputation, and observe Hikaru up close, showcasing their power in the process.
"Fusion Summon! Come forth, Level 8, Amazoness Empress!"
"Me too, Fusion Summon! Arise, Level 7, Amazoness Pet Liger!"
Each sister, in turn, Fusion Summoned their ace monster during their respective turns and launched attacks.
At first, when they saw the cards, Hikaru and the others weren't impressed, just confused.
"Amazoness?" Chazz blinked.
"Hmm... Amazoness..." Jaden folded his arms, frowning.
Alexis rubbed her temples helplessly. "Seriously, Amazoness..."
"What's wrong with Amazoness?" Jesse was puzzled.
"Uh... well... that's another story," Hikaru twitched at the mouth and avoided explaining.
No one knew what Bastion was still watching the stream back in their world, was feeling right now.
"Relax. They're human. Ghosts and gods don't like them."
"Don't make Bastion sound like a perv!" Jaden interjected, defending him.
"I kinda think he is, though..." Alexis muttered under her breath.
Back during the Shadow Riders incident, Bastion had lost to an Amazoness Duel Spirit. Since then, he'd been love-struck and obsessed. Even though that spirit later lost and turned into a tiger, he never got over her.
Now, seeing twin girl Duelists using Amazoness cards, it was hard not to make associations.
Still, Hikaru felt everyone was overthinking it.
Bastion's tastes were either muscle-bound amazons or petite lolis, nothing in between.
Anyway, while they awkwardly discussed this, the Duel quickly concluded.
Though the pro Duelists tried hard to coordinate, their inexperience with Tag Duels showed. Sometimes they even clogged each other's plays. Thankfully, they understood each other's decks well. If it had been strangers using attribute-specific lockdowns, they'd be cursing each other.
Before coming to this world, Hikaru once used an Insect deck with Insect-only special summons and got triple-flamed by his teammate.
In contrast, the Taylor Sisters weren't just tag-dueling specialists, they were literal twins.
They alternated lines seamlessly, their decks were identical, and even their thoughts practically synchronized. Against pros unfamiliar with the tag format and synergy, they crushed them outright, stunning the audience and Security officers alike.
Hikaru wasn't surprised.
In the original series, the Taylor Sisters were the strongest Tag Duelists. In the story, they steamrolled every Tag Duelist from the Xyz Dimension. Even the main cast couldn't beat them in tag format, needing special effort and "Dueltaining" to barely scrape a win.
Honestly, even Jaden and Chazz felt the pressure.
Their performance today proved they weren't bluffing when they called themselves "the strongest Tag Duelists."
No wonder they so confidently declared they'd challenge them after transferring schools.
"But I'll definitely beat them with Hikaru!"
"Hmph, I'll win with Hikaru by my side!"
They shouted at the same time, then froze, locked eyes, and, like gladiators, pressed their hands together in a mini pushing contest, bickering over who was the better partner.
Only one spot left, the Taylor Sisters had already declared a Duel with Hikaru.
"Hahaha..." Hikaru wiped the sweat from his brow.
Bastion, still watching the stream back home, was probably desperate to join the rematch, too.
...
Bonus Chapter @750
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