Trader In The World Of Pirates!!!

[TL/N: Read my new work - Detective Conan: I'm a Succubus?!] 

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"Nami... vs. Bakura!?"

As soon as the lottery machine announced the results, a wave of intrigue spread among the onlookers. All eyes immediately turned to the two duelists.

Had it been anyone else, Yugi and the others might have felt a need for caution.

After all, despite Bakura's current calm and composed demeanor, who could guarantee that he wouldn't suddenly succumb to his dark personality—just as he had during the Duelist Kingdom?

His very presence in this tournament was an anomaly in itself.

But if his opponent was Nami?

Then there was nothing more to say.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that at least ninety percent of the reason why Mai was able to defeat Marik—a duelist wielding both a God Card and a Millennium Item—was because of this enigmatic Card Hunter who had suddenly appeared.

Perhaps…

This duel between Nami and Bakura would finally allow Yugi and the others to gauge her true strength, giving them time to prepare for their own upcoming battles.

As soon as the match was announced, countless thoughts flooded the minds of the duelists.

Though their individual perspectives varied, one thing was certain—they all eagerly anticipated the showdown.

However, at that very moment, a brilliant golden light erupted from Bakura's chest.

Yugi and the others immediately tensed, their expressions darkening.

Before their eyes, a mysterious, circular golden ornament materialized on Bakura's chest—as though it had been there all along!

"The Millennium Wheel of Wisdom!!!"

Yugi's eyes widened in shock, his voice rising involuntarily.

Even though they had been prepared for something unexpected, witnessing the sudden manifestation of an ancient artifact still sent shivers down their spines.

Honda, standing beside Yugi, could only stare in utter disbelief.

He remembered—

Back in the Duelist Kingdom, he had personally thrown the Millennium Wheel of Wisdom into a deep ravine, ensuring that no one would ever find it.

Bakura had never left their side during this tournament—there was no possible way for him to have traveled back to that remote island to retrieve it.

So then... What the hell is going on!?

Honda stood frozen, eyes locked onto the artifact, unable to form words.

Meanwhile, Dark Bakura, who had once again emerged into the world, gazed upon the scene with a knowing smirk. His eyes flickered toward Marik, standing silently behind Nami.

With a mocking chuckle, he sneered,

"Heh~"

"So, you've fallen so low that you need to rely on others just to survive?"

Dark Bakura's grin widened with disdain as he addressed Marik directly.

Not long ago, in his pursuit of the Millennium Items, he had encountered Marik.

It was during that time that Dark Bakura realized something—

The dynamic between Marik and his dark counterpart was fundamentally different from the one between him and Dark Bakura.

Bakura and Dark Bakura were not mere split personalities. They were ancient souls, entities who had survived for millennia by clinging to the power of darkness, waiting for a suitable host to manifest in the modern world.

Thus, even though they wielded the power of darkness, both Bakura and his dark half had bright souls at their core.

This was precisely why Yugi and the others could still tolerate Bakura, despite all the suffering he had put them through.

Marik, however, was different.

His dark soul had not existed independently—it was a direct byproduct of his own inner darkness, one that took shape only through the influence of the Millennium Rod.

In other words—

Marik himself had always been a denizen of the dark camp.

And that was exactly why Bakura couldn't help but ridicule him.

To him, nothing was more pathetic than someone from the dark camp blindly swearing allegiance to someone else.

It was shameful.

A disgrace to those who walked the path of darkness.

Yet, despite Bakura's blatant provocation, Marik did not react.

He simply stood silently behind Nami, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Unwavering. Unshaken.

Like a guardian whose sole purpose was to ensure Nami's safety—utterly indifferent to anything else.

The truth was, after experiencing the brink of life and death, Marik's entire mindset had changed.

Not because he had survived, but because…

He had witnessed what true power looked like.

At this moment, Bakura's words barely registered to him.

Thinking back to his past self, Marik could only find it laughable.

How foolish he had been…

But now, he had found a solution—

A complete severance from the past.

All those foolish actions?

They had been done by Marik, the Tomb Keeper.

And as for him?

He was no longer that person.

Now, he was Marik, the God of Death(Shinigami).

His indifference visibly irritated Bakura, but rather than continue focusing on Marik, Bakura turned his attention back to Nami.

After all, they were the stars of tonight's show.

Bakura's voice carried a sinister edge as he sneered,

"Hey, woman. I don't know who you are, but anyone who stands in my way is destined to be swallowed by darkness."

"If you have any sense, you'd tell that guy to hand over the Millennium Rod right now. It would spare you a world of pain."

Nami arched an eyebrow, her alluring eyes gleaming with amusement. A playful smirk tugged at her lips as she responded lazily,

"Oh? You want the Millennium Rod?"

She chuckled, tilting her head ever so slightly.

"Fine. If you can defeat me, I'll get you every Millennium Rod in the world, not just that one."

Then, her golden eyes flickered with greed as she extended a delicate hand, her fingers elegantly pointing toward the gleaming artifact on Bakura's chest.

"But if you lose…" She clicked her tongue, shaking her head as if in disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, tsk…"

Her gaze locked onto the Millennium Wheel of Wisdom, an insatiable hunger burning behind her eyes.

"Then you'll be handing over that little trinket around your neck."

With that, Nami licked her lips teasingly, the tip of her tongue barely grazing her soft pink lips.

A Millennium Item was worth 500,000 points.

The fact that she had refrained from simply taking it by force was already a sign of remarkable self-restraint.

In truth, their exchange just now could be considered a contract of sorts—one witnessed and sealed by the Will of the World itself.

Even without a Shadow Game, if Nami won, the Will of the World would still acknowledge the transfer of ownership.

When that moment arrived, Bakura would have no choice but to surrender his Millennium Item—whether he liked it or not.

The thought sent another flash of cunning through Nami's gaze, though she quickly masked it.

On the other side, Bakura felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

He wasn't sure why, but something about this woman—her voice, her demeanor, her very presence—sent chills down his spine.

"It's just my imagination," he told himself.

Shaking off the feeling, he threw his head back and let out a dark, amused laugh.

"Heh. If you refuse the easy way, don't blame me for what happens next."

"I'll play along to the very end!"

Nami responded with a lazy stretch, placing one hand on her hip before stepping forward, her long legs carrying her gracefully toward the Duel Arena atop the airship.

Bakura followed closely behind.

Neither of them waited for the referee's call.

Without hesitation, they made their way to the Sky Duel Field.

The spectators left behind could only exchange bewildered glances.

Before long, the Sky Duel Arena was packed once more.

Nami and Bakura stood on the stage, the roaring wind whipping around them.

Their gazes locked—both flashing with unconcealed greed.

For the first time, the audience found themselves unsure whom to root for.

Standing among them, Jonouchi leaned toward Mai, his expression laced with concern.

"Hey, Mai… are you sure Miss Nami's going to be okay?" he asked hesitantly.

"Bakura right now… he's not the same guy we used to know."

Jonouchi had his doubts about Nami.

She was mysterious, her methods unpredictable, and she had a notorious habit of stealing rare cards.

Yet, up until now, she hadn't actually done anything against their group.

Dark Bakura, however, was a confirmed villain.

No matter what, Jonouchi found himself instinctively leaning toward Nami's side.

Mai, however, looked at him as if he had just said something ridiculous.

A moment later, she burst into laughter.

"Jonouchi, put your unnecessary worries aside."

"You saw my duel, didn't you? You know that my strength has already surpassed even the God Cards."

Her voice took on a smug edge.

"And that power?" She raised a hand and examined her perfectly manicured nails. "It was nothing more than a casual gift from Miss Nami."

Then, she turned to him with a knowing smile.

"So tell me, Jonouchi—"

"Do you really think Miss Nami is someone we need to worry about?"

As she spoke, Mai folded her arms, pressing her ample chest together.

"Instead of fretting over this duel, you should start thinking about how you'll protect your own rare cards when you face me and Miss Nami in the semifinals."

Her teasing smirk widened.

"Because I assure you—when that time comes, I won't be showing any mercy!"

Jonouchi let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head.

Thinking back to the Shukaku Mai had summoned in her previous duel, he realized—maybe his concern was misplaced.

But what really worried him now…

Was the fate of his rare cards.

His deck wasn't filled with strong cards to begin with.

If Nami and her Card Hunters got their hands on even one of them, his strength would plummet.

Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Suddenly—

A pair of loud, commanding voices echoed across the arena, snapping Jonouchi out of his thoughts.

The duel had begun.

"Duel! ײ"

Bakura smirked as he drew his opening hand.

"Hehehe… my turn!"

"I summon [The Portrait's Secret] in Attack Position and end my turn!"

A simple, unassuming oil painting materialized on Bakura's field.

The next moment, ripples spread across the canvas like water.

Then—an ugly, clawed demon suddenly emerged from the depths of the painting, clambering onto its frame.

[The Portrait's Secret – ATK 1200]

The audience immediately erupted in confusion.

"Huh? He ended his turn after summoning a normal monster?"

"There's not even a face-down card—does he just want to get attacked?"

"Wait… does Bakura even know how to duel?!"

His unusual play instantly raised suspicions among the spectators.

Despite the murmurs of doubt surrounding him, Bakura's heart was filled with sinister delight.

These mere mortals—how could they possibly comprehend the true power of his deck?

This was no ordinary strategy.

This was his perfectly constructed [Death Message] deck!

The reason he had summoned a normal monster in Attack Position without setting any cards was simple—he wanted his opponent to destroy it.

In the first three turns, the chances of Nami summoning a high-attack monster were slim.

If he could endure just three rounds, he would be able to activate the special effect of [Dark Necrofear] from his hand—sacrificing three monsters from the Graveyard to Special Summon it.

And the moment Dark Necrofeara left the field, another ability would activate—allowing him to add the Field Spell [Dark Sanctuary] to his hand and immediately play it.

[Dark Sanctuary] was his domain—an oppressive field spell with the ability to place Soul Counters on his opponent's monsters every turn.

Whenever a monster with a Soul Counter declared an attack—

The attack would be negated.He would recover Life Points equal to the attack power of the negated monster.His opponent would take damage equal to half of that monster's attack power.

But that wasn't all.

With the Continuous Spell Card [Veil of Darkness], both players would be limited to attacking with only one monster per turn.

Together, these two effects formed an unbeatable lockdown!

And there was more.

[Dark Sanctuary] had a secondary ability—it allowed him to place Spell and Trap cards in the Monster Zones.

This effectively expanded his back row by five additional slots!

With this setup, he could unleash the permanent trap [Destiny Board], gradually spelling out the "D-E-A-T-H" message by summoning:

Death Message "D"Death Message "E"Death Message "A"Death Message "T"Death Message "H"

If all five were on the field simultaneously, he would win instantly.

And during this entire process, his other defensive cards would stall for time, ensuring that his opponent had no way to stop the inevitable.

At most, it would take eight turns—

And victory would be his!

He had already won this duel!

Bakura's grin stretched wider as he envisioned the flawless execution of his strategy.

He could already picture it—

Nami, standing across from him, her expression frozen in shock and disbelief at the sheer brilliance of his tactics.

Heh… As expected of a top-tier duelist.

She must have already sensed the horror of what was coming.

Now the question remained—

Would she be able to resist the temptation?

Would she ignore the bait laid out so perfectly before her?

Or would she take the first step into his trap?

The thought thrilled him.

His smirk deepened, his excitement growing more twisted by the second.

At that moment, Nami drew her card.

"My turn! Draw!"

Her golden eyes narrowed slightly as she examined the low-attack monster on the field.

Something felt… off.

This wasn't the kind of battle she had anticipated.

Given that they were both holders of Millennium Items, she had expected Bakura's strength to be on par with Marik's.

The image of Shukaku clashing against the God of War resurfaced in her mind.

And yet, here he was… summoning this?

Was she really about to bring out her full strength just to swat away a mosquito?

It felt… ridiculous.

Still, she wasn't going to let her guard down.

"Since I control no monsters, I activate the effect of [Poké Ball] from my deck!"

"This allows me to add a Poké Ball from my deck to my hand!"

A card automatically ejected from her deck, and she swiftly added it to her hand.

"Next, I activate the effect of [Poké Ball]!"

"By using it, I can Special Summon a Pokémon monster with three stars or lower from my hand, deck, or graveyard!"

She smirked and slapped a card onto her Duel Disk.

"Come forth—Pichu!"

A flash of light burst onto the field—

"Pichu~!"

The tiny Electric Pokémon landed gracefully, sparks crackling at its red cheeks.

The audience stirred in curiosity.

Following Nami's order, the cute little Pichu instantly appeared on the battlefield, showing off his cuteness to everyone.

  [Pichu, attack power 1200]

  Several girls in the audience were instantly attracted by Pichu's cute appearance.

  "Wow! What a cute monster!"

  Anzu exclaimed excitedly.

  But at this moment, Nami continued to take down the cards in her hand.

  "Then, I activate two equipment magic cards [Armament Haki] and [Navy Six Styles]." "

  The effect of [Armament Haki] can increase a monster's attack power by 1000 × monster star rating." "

  Pichu is a three-star monster, so its attack power increases by 3000 points."

  [Pichu, attack power 1200 → 4200]

  "..."

  In the first round, summon a monster with an attack power exceeding that of Obelisk! ?

  Seeing Pichu on the field covered with jet-black Armament Haki, like wearing a suit of armor, a drop of cold sweat suddenly flowed from Bakura's forehead.

  For some reason, a bad premonition arose in his heart at this moment.

  The next moment, Nami continued:

  "Activate the finger gun effect of [Navy Type 6] to increase the attack power of the equipped Pokémon by 1000 points."

  [Pichu, attack power 4200 → 5200]

  Bakura:? ? ?

  The attack power of the portrait's secret is 1200, but the one you came directly only has an attack power of 5200! ?

  You actually want to KO me in one round! ?

  Is there any mistake? ?

  How can anyone be so successful at the start? !

  A duel like yours will not bring happiness to people at all!

  However, no one cared at all about the paleness on Bakura's face at this moment.

  Everyone was shocked by Nami's method of summoning a high-attack monster in the first round.

  After all, in this era where a Blue-Eyes White Dragon with no matching cards can show off its majesty, an attack power of over 3,000 is enough to be jaw-dropping.

  This attack power exceeds 5,000...except for the God Card, this is the first time they have seen it.

  And Nami's operation is not over yet.

  She waved her hand and shouted with great momentum:

  "Activate Pichu's effect once per round to destroy a card on the opponent's field."

  "What I want to destroy is..."

  "The only one on your field, Monster Card!"

  "Pichu, use electric shock!"

  Crack!

  Without the slightest pause, almost at the moment Nami gave the order, a bright electric light penetrated the monster's body.

  Not surprisingly, the only monster card on the field disappeared.

  Bakura was left alone to fight against Pichu, whose attack power surpassed that of a god.

  And this is not the end yet.

  They saw Nami shoot a card again.

  "Activate the quick-attack magic card [Z-move]!"

  "The effect of this card can increase the attack power of a monster three times this round..." "

  I only have one monster on the field, and that is Pichu, so its attack power..."

  Perhaps because she couldn't bear it, Nami suddenly closed her mouth.

  But on the duel stage, a mysterious force appeared out of thin air and suddenly descended on the tiny Pichu.

  "pi~chuu~!!!"

  The cute little Pichu burst out suddenly, and his body was actually condensing.

  [Pichu, attack power 5200 → 15600]

  "One... ten thousand... fifteen thousand six hundred combat power..."

  Pichu's performance completely shocked everyone present.

  At this moment, they even began to feel sincerely grateful that they had watched this game.

  Because this will be a very special duel recorded in the history of duels.

  "Then, Pichu, attack the opponent player directly!"

  "Use Z move..."

  "Ultimate Volt Thunder Flash!!!"