"Dimensional Exchange Tournament?"
A chorus of students echoed the phrase in unison.
Several days later, inside the principal's office, Hikaru Amagi and the other Key Holders glanced around at one another, clearly hearing the name for the first time. Only Chazz crossed his arms with a heavy sigh, closed his eyes, and assumed the pose of a seasoned veteran.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Syrius, poking his head into the conversation with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Er… even if you ask me, I…" Bastion Misawa scratched his head, beads of sweat forming. Even someone as knowledgeable as him hadn't heard of this.
"The Dimensional Exchange Tournament…" Chazz rubbed his chin. "That's an event set up by KaibaCorp. It's an annual tournament where we duelists face off against duelists from another dimension."
"Though, technically, KaibaCorp's researchers prefer to call it a parallel world," he added.
"You knew about this, Chazz?" Jaden asked in disbelief.
"It's Chazz Princeton for you!" Chazz snapped, veins bulging on his forehead.
"So what's the story, Princeton?" Hikaru asked, sincerely curious. There were still a lot of things in this world he didn't fully grasp—and if Chazz knew, all the better.
"It was around three, four years ago," Chazz said, arms folded, eyes shut in recollection. "Dimensional exploration had hit a wall. No matter which direction researchers went, they couldn't find new realms. Everything stagnated… until someone accidentally collided with a strange ship inside a dimensional rift."
"A… ship?" Jaden blinked.
"Yep. Afterward, they realized that ship belonged to a different world entirely. They dubbed it 'World X.' Honestly, it wasn't even that alien—a complete parallel world, with humans."
"Humans!?" Syrius and Chumley blurted, baffled. "That's not that weird, right?"
"Actually, up until now, that's the only dimension with humans we've ever discovered," Misawa chimed in. "Now that Chazz's brought it up, I remember reading a news article—it was called the Discovery of the Century… or Third Kind Contact or something like that?"
"My master doesn't care about that stuff," Chazz shrugged. "What made him interested in that world… was hearing they had a Dark Magician."
"D-Dark Magician?!"
"That's Yugi Muto's ace card!" Jaden jumped up, instantly fired up.
Before enrolling, he had once met Yugi himself, who gifted him a Winged Kuriboh. Ever since, Jaden had held deep admiration for him. Hearing mention of the Dark Magician naturally stirred his emotions.
"Honestly, I don't get it either," Chazz continued, eyes narrowing. "Yugi Muto's still around, even if he's not dueling anymore and focusing on card design. So why would my master be obsessed with finding another Dark Magician user?"
"In any case, once he heard about it, he wanted to go immediately. But the other side wouldn't allow it. Eventually, KaibaCorp struck a deal."
"KaibaCorp constructed a new city within a vacant dimension: Neo Domino City—as a hub for cross-dimensional exchange. It's a meeting point. Both sides can enter."
He then frowned. "But my master lost interest when it turned out the other duelist wasn't the person he was looking for."
"Exactly," Principal Sheppard nodded. "While President Kaiba no longer personally oversees the connection to that world, Neo Domino City remains—an exchange nexus between both worlds.
Every year, the Dimensional Exchange Tournament is held there. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose—well, no, let's be honest: unless Kaiba himself shows up, we usually lose."
He sighed. "Just recently, our Chairman suggested to KaibaCorp that this year's exchange tournament be held among students—to test the next generation of duelists."
"We usually lose?" Even Zane raised an eyebrow at that.
"So what are you getting at, Principal?" asked Professor Crowler.
"Hehehe…" Principal Sheppard's usual kindness gave way to a gleeful grin. Even a mild old man couldn't help but get fired up at the thought.
"Our academy has been selected to represent this world in the upcoming Dimensional Exchange Tournament! You'll duel the youths of that parallel dimension!
The round trip will take roughly twenty days. This is a grand event for rising duelists! Make a name for yourself there, and your chances of becoming a pro duelist skyrocket!"
"Whoa!" The students lit up instantly, voices rising all at once.
"Principal! Pick me!"
"Pick me, sir, I—I want to go!"
"Hmph. Principal, surely you know—I am a personal disciple of Seto Kaiba himself."
"Shut up, Chazz, that's cheap!"
"Hehehe…" Principal Sheppard laughed, enjoying the attention, before finally speaking: "Alright, alright, calm down! KaibaCorp has already laid out the rules—each grade's top student will be selected."
"Aww, seriously?!" Alexis slumped. Her brief flicker of hope began to fade.
"Hold on—" Hikaru stepped forward, brow furrowed. "Principal, what about the Seven Stars?"
"Ah!""Right!!"Everyone suddenly remembered the looming threat.
"That's the second reason I called you here." Sheppard's face turned grave. "Hikaru. Zane. You two have already been confirmed as delegates. Professor Crowler—you'll be the staff advisor on this trip.
In other words, the three of you—are all Key Holders."
"The rest of you," he said, turning to Jaden, Misawa, Chazz, and Alexis, "may face even greater challenges in your absence."
The four swallowed hard under his gaze. Jaden, of course, stepped forward first, raising his voice with certainty.
"I'll protect the Keys, Principal. You can count on me!"
"Principal—" Zane frowned. "Then I should stay—"
"No way!" Jaden immediately cut him off. "This is important, right? This tournament's for the whole world! And you're our ace, Kaiser!"
He thumped his chest. "You've been protecting us all this time. Let us take care of things this time!"
"Yeah, Kaiser. Don't underestimate us." Chazz smirked.
Hikaru opened his mouth, hesitated… then closed it again.
In the original story, Jaden ended up alone in the end—not because others didn't care, but because the most reliable of them—Zane—was physically removed from the board.
Now, this Zane hadn't been taken out by vampires, but he was about to be sent away again.
Hikaru wanted to let Jaden relax more… but he was also leaving. He had no good answer.
"That said," Principal Sheppard continued, "Hikaru. Zane. Don't lower your guard in Neo Domino City.
The Seven Stars are elusive. They come and go like shadows. Even in another world—they may still strike."
Both nodded grimly.
After all, if a Seven Star like the Vampire Heiress could appear in an alternate dimension, there was no telling who else might.
"Then it's settled."
"I'll notify the other grade-toppers. Professor Crowler, you'll lead the team."
"Leave it to me, Principal!" Crowler puffed his chest proudly, full of confidence.
And just like that, Hikaru, Zane, and Crowler boarded a KaibaCorp private jet, arriving at the towering KaibaCorp HQ.
There, beneath a massive statue of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, they entered the company's stabilized dimensional gate—and were transported to a city that existed in another world:
Neo Domino City.
Honestly, it didn't look that different from the Domino City Hikaru remembered—just with more otherworldly architecture and colorful decorations scattered around. Some cross-dimensional flair here and there.
And the moment they arrived?
Hikaru sprinted toward the nearest card shop with single-minded urgency.
"Boss! Show me every booster pack this world has that ours doesn't! C'mon, hit me with the good stuff!"
I mean, this is exactly why he hoarded his scholarship funds.