Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Heroes

"...Damn it!"

Bang!

Kagurazaka pounded the ground with a clenched fist the moment his Life Points hit zero, completely disregarding the fact that he was standing atop a massive reef.

"I perfectly imitated the King of Games—even used a replica of his deck! So why couldn't I change the outcome of failure!?"

"Don't tell me... I don't have the talent for dueling?"

This wasn't his first time mimicking someone. He had copied countless duelists—famous names from the dueling world, legendary duelists, and even outstanding upperclassmen, or peers at school. He had even tried imitating the academy's top practical examiner.

But every time—almost without exception—he lost!

The few victories he did manage were only because the opponent was far weaker. His cosplay or the deck itself didn't matter.

"Talent for dueling? You have it."

"Huh?"

Tears still in his eyes, Kagurazaka looked up to see Yuuya Sakaki standing just two or three meters away, watching him calmly.

"You're able to imitate other duelists with near perfection—not just their dueling styles, but their personalities, their manner of speaking, even their unique quirks and catchphrases. And the decks you use in those duels also closely resemble the ones they used."

Yuuya reached out and took the replica deck that Clean Kuriboh had secretly removed—an imitation of Uncle Yugi's. After a bit of rummaging, he pulled out the unique version of "Dark Magician in Black Robes", "Dark Magician's Apprentice" from Uncle Atem's deck, and the Kuriboh they both used.

"You can duel almost on par with the real thing under those conditions. Tell me—who else can do that besides you?"

It was phrased as a question, but Yuuya immediately answered it himself:

"No one! I've seen some duel cosplayers like you before, but most of them are all surface-level. They lack the soul!"

"But you're different! You've put effort not just into the appearance, but even your deck handling shows a degree of mastery!"

"Take that duel just now—as a personal evaluation, I'd say you used about 20 to 30% of the deck's true power."

"Only 20 or 30 percent? That low?"

Kagurazaka instantly fell into despair again upon hearing Yuuya's rating.

"That's already a really good score—don't be ungrateful!"

Uncle Yugi was his uncle—Yuuya knew firsthand how terrifyingly strong that deck could be when used by its original owner.

To put it bluntly, if it had been Yugi himself using that deck in the previous duel, there's no way Yuuya could have won! The match probably wouldn't have even lasted that many turns—he'd have been wiped out several turns earlier!

So for Kagurazaka—a guy using this deck for the first time—to have fought him to that degree was honestly incredible.

On top of that, Kagurazaka didn't even draw the key powerful cards—like the master-and-apprentice combo spell "Dark Magic Twin Burst", or the ritual upgrade form of Dark Magician, "Chaos Magician," and the corresponding ritual spell… not to mention many others.

"So—do you want to know the reason you keep losing?"

After finishing his evaluation, Yuuya finally touched on the heart of the matter: why Kagurazaka had lost so many of his duels.

"I do! Please tell me!"

Kagurazaka immediately dropped into a formal bow, head to the ground.

Satisfied, Yuuya nodded and slowly explained the conclusions he had reached from his research and the duel:

"There are three major reasons why you fail!"

Kagurazaka listened intently. Even the students relaxing on the nearby beach quieted down, curious to hear Yuuya's insights.

"First—you lack genuine sincerity toward your deck!"

"Yes, the decks you imitate are indeed strong. Their original users were legendary in their own right."

"But have you ever asked yourself—why is it that when those decks are in your hands, even though you seem to wield their power well, you still can't win?"

"It's because you lack heart. Those decks are just copied tools to you—means to boost your win rate, not true partners in battle."

"There are countless duelists in the world, and sure, many of their decks may have overlapping cards. But even so, every deck is built by its duelist—handpicked card by card from among thousands, chosen with care, time, effort, and even money."

"And because they spent so much to build those decks, they treasure them—from the bottom of their hearts. And that heartfelt connection allows them to fight in harmony with their decks—soul to soul! When you strive for victory, your deck responds. It hands you the key cards—the 'key' to the door of victory—when you need them most!"

Kagurazaka & everyone: ?! (○o○)

"Second reason—you were dueling against me, Sakaki Yuuya!"

"If it were anyone else, sure—you've studied lots of powerful duelists. You've probably done your research on their decks."

"Maybe not every duelist in the world, but for those you believe are worth mimicking, I bet you've at least grasped the general structure of their decks."

"But me? Before this duel, you knew what I used, right? A 'Pure Elemental HERO' deck—similar to Judai's."

"But in this duel—even though I still used Elemental HERO monsters—they weren't the ones you all know. You'd never seen them before, right?"

"Because this time, I used something completely different—my Masked HERO deck!"

"As they say, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you'll never be defeated in a hundred battles.' That's exactly the situation between you and me."

"I've practically mastered every detail of the deck you used—Mr. Yugi's Magician Deck. I know it inside and out!"

"But you? Aside from those generic staple cards, how much do you know about my Elemental HERO and Masked HERO cards?"

"The answer is—zero!"

"I completely outclassed you when it came to intel. That was also one of the major reasons you lost this duel."

Kagurazaka & everyone: !!! w(°ｏ°)w

"And now the final point—and the most important one."

What?!

This last point was more important than the previous two.

That was the first thought in everyone's mind after hearing Yuuya say that.

But as soon as Yuuya revealed what that reason was, everyone understood why he claimed it to be the most important of all—

"The truth is—

I'm just way stronger than you!"

<{{=... (Caw~ Caw~ Caw~)

(Crickets chirping in the background)

Kagurazaka & everyone: (ΩДΩ)

What the heck is that answer?!!

"Remember Manjoume and Judai? One of them I beat with a defensive counter-strategy. The other I OTK'd by turn 3!"

"And Shou in that tag team duel? He only managed to fight shoulder to shoulder with his big brother Judai after a week of tutoring from me!"

"Oh, and let's not forget—Chronos-sensei... Ryo Marufuji... Fubuki Tenjoin…"

Everyone: "..."

Once Yuuya brought up Shou, everyone's brains collectively shut off. From that point on, they completely tuned him out—either they didn't register what he was saying at all, or their minds automatically filtered everything as background noise.

It was like… in one ear, out the other.

How had no one realized before that this mysterious dueling boy in the red cap—nicknamed "Little Red Riding Hood" by the freshmen because of the red hat he always wore—was such a narcissist?!

Honestly, you couldn't blame Yuuya.

It's just that he'd stayed mysterious for too long—way too long—so now that he finally had a good opportunity, he couldn't help but dump all the thoughts he'd been bottling up inside.

So to everyone else, it now felt like his "cool persona" had completely collapsed in an instant.

Yuuya:

"Hold it in long enough and it's bound to explode… especially in front of you adorable readers." (ω)

(End of Chapter)