As night fell, Wutong, Fubuki, and Judai met up at the crescent moon beach, just as they had agreed earlier.
Wutong quickly lit a campfire. The group sat around the flames, eating simple canned food.
"Principal Samejima really thought ahead. He had me bring tons of canned goods and supplies—otherwise, who knows how we'd survive the night on this island," Shoko said as she opened a can and started rambling.
"What's even weirder is why such a major event like the WCS Championship wouldn't even have showers or lodging prepared," Asuka complained. She'd been sweating all day playing on the beach.
"You probably don't know this," Fubuki replied, "but any tournament held on this Duel Kingdom island is symbolic: Only the strongest who survive the grind will become the true champion."
As he spoke, his eyes drifted and stared intently at Reiji.
Only Judai didn't care. "Man, I really miss fried shrimp from the Red Dorm… I haven't had any since we left."
Suddenly, Wutong tossed his empty can into the darkness.
Clang!A muffled yelp followed.
"OWW!!" someone cried out.
Wutong snapped coldly, "Scram! If you keep sneaking around, next time I'll throw a knife instead!"
The shadow darted away and disappeared.
"Whoa! That was awesome!" Reiji clapped her hands, impressed. "Wutong, how did you know someone was there?"
Everyone turned to him with astonished eyes.
"Uh…" Wutong was momentarily speechless.He couldn't exactly explain that he had a "system" in his brain that automatically detected threats and analyzed trajectories. All he had to do was throw.
Fubuki stood up, brushing himself off. "Alright, we've eaten enough. Time for some post-dinner exercise."He slotted his deck into his Duel Disk.
But before he even finished, he noticed that Wutong was already fully prepared.
"Huh? You guys gonna duel? But we're all friends here! Who are we supposed to fight?" Judai interjected, puzzled.
"No," Wutong said, pointing toward the dark woods near the shoreline."They're here—the unwanted guests."
At that moment, the moon was swallowed by clouds. Darkness engulfed the area—so dark that they couldn't see their own hands.
"Hehehe… So you noticed me. Not bad, not bad. It's been over a year, but you haven't changed, have you? The undefeated prince of the academy… Fubuki Tenjoin."
A grim voice came from the woods.
"Hmph. Don't flatter me. Karte, your voice has gotten even creepier with age," Fubuki sneered and strode toward the woods.
"Big bro!" Asuka called out in worry.
"Relax. Karte's an old friend… though he's an eyesore. Wutong, I'll leave my sister and the others to you. Take good care of them—I'll be back shortly."
"..." Wutong nodded silently.
He turned to look at Asuka, and she happened to glance back at him at the same moment.They shared a soft, mutual smile.
Reiji, seeing their quiet connection, pouted with visible annoyance.
"How interesting these three are…" Shoko murmured to herself, just loud enough for only her to hear.
Trying to break the tension, Judai asked, "So what's going on? Is Fubuki-senpai okay going alone?"
Reiji answered while sipping her water, "That Karte guy… he's a bounty hunter from the American circuit. He started appearing a couple years ago, targeting underground and wager-rule duels. Rumor is, he's part of a hunter group codenamed Z."
She continued, "This year's WCS has duelists from all over: Z from the Americas, Domino's Society of Light, and the Pan-American Duel Academy's branches pushed by Professor Mackenzie."
"I hope my brother will be alright…" Asuka said, looking toward the woods.
There, Fubuki stood facing a dark figure—Karte.
"So, Fubuki, rumor has it you disappeared for a whole year. Wonder if your dueling skills have gotten any better?" Karte taunted.
"Every time I see your silver hedgehog hair, I feel nauseous. Just shut up and start. After this duel, I'll have the eight qualifying tickets I need."
Fubuki activated his Duel Disk.
"You're as impatient as ever." Karte spat and inserted his deck.
"DUEL!!"
Karte LP: 4000Fubuki LP: 4000
"I'll take the first turn!" Karte said with a sinister grin."Draw! I activate the Spell Card Card Destruction from my hand. Both players discard their entire hands, then draw the same number of cards!"
Fubuki remained expressionless as he dumped his cards and drew new ones.
Karte couldn't hold back. "Now that I've discarded them, I activate the effects of three monsters: Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World, Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World, and Sillva, Warlord of Dark World!Since they were discarded by a card effect, I can Special Summon them from the Graveyard!"
Boom! Crackle!Lightning struck the shattered rocks along the beach.
Hearing the noise, Wutong and the others ran over, worried that Fubuki had been hit by lightning.
A thick, dark mist spread across the beach as three grotesque, monstrous demons appeared on the field.
"It's the Dark World archetype... from SD21," Wutong recognized them immediately.The system blared in his mind:"Alert! Alert! DARK Duel detected! Maintain distance immediately!"
"Can Fubuki handle this?" Wutong asked with concern.
"We just have to believe in him now…" Asuka stood next to Wutong, her expression tinged with worry.
Then, the spiky-haired Karte laughed menacingly."And I'm not done yet! I Normal Summon Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World!Then I activate the effect of a monster in my Graveyard—return Beiige to my hand!Now, arise from the depths of the demon world—Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World!!"
BOOOOM!!A colossal bolt of lightning struck. A towering, devilish dragon clad in skeletal armor emerged.Its black wings spread wide, black mist spewing from its maw. Its muscular frame loomed like a giant, and its eerie brown eyes glowed as it sneered at everything before it.
"WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS!"The system screamed in Wutong's mind.
For the first time, he was genuinely alarmed.He yelled:"Fubuki, watch out!!"