Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Heroes

The next day, the Exhibition of the King of Games Yugi Mutou's Deck was successfully held!

After witnessing last night's duel, everyone had a newfound respect for the deck. They lingered at each card display for over ten seconds before moving on to the next.

At the same time, Yuuya also spotted Kagurazaka, now full of energy and dressed in cosplay imitating him.

A red baseball cap sat atop a maroon wig, worn tilted downward to cover nearly half of his face. He wore a black casual tracksuit and held a deck of "Pure Elemental HERO" cards.

"Whoa! Not bad at all!"

That was Judai's reaction when he saw Kagurazaka and commented to Yuuya.

"Looks good! Keep it up!"

That was Asuka, covering her mouth with a light laugh as she encouraged Kagurazaka to keep mimicking.

"If the deck weren't unique, this cosplay would've been worthy of a perfect score."

That was Ryo Marufuji's assessment after taking the time to check it out. Finally, some revenge!

Even though he hadn't taken action himself, seeing Yuuya looking like he'd just eaten something bitter made Ryo laugh inwardly despite his expression staying neutral.

Yuuya: "...&%￥#*@"

This guy Kagurazaka… completely missed the point of everything I told him last night!

In the end, after Yuuya threatened, "If you keep mimicking me, I won't help you advance in the dueling cosplayer world anymore!", Kagurazaka reluctantly gave up the act with a sigh.

Kagurazaka: "But this was the best I've ever done! …ε=(ο｀))) sigh…"*

…Scene transition…

On the day after the second monthly exam—

"At this time every year, our sister school located in northern Japan sends students to participate in an academy exchange duel with our main campus."

On the big screen, Principal Samejima explained the most important matter of the moment: the Northern Branch School would soon send representatives to duel the boys from the main campus in an exchange tournament.

"Last year, our school was proudly represented by then-second-year student Ryo Marufuji, who successfully defeated the Northern Branch and brought us victory! A truly glorious achievement!"

"This year's representative has yet to be chosen. That's why I hope all of you work hard every day and strive to earn the title of 'Academy Representative'!"

"That's all."

With that, Principal Samejima ended the video call.

As the students began to disperse, a half-asleep Judai suddenly jolted awake. He dove onto his younger brother Shou's back, hugged him tightly, and grinned:

"Shou! Let's aim to become the Academy Representatives together!!"

He looked quite serious about pursuing that goal—but of course, right on cue came Yuuya's merciless jab:

"You want to be the representative? Sure—but how about you stop dozing off whenever someone's talking first?"

"Uh… well, let's talk about that later!"

Realizing his earlier sleepy behavior had been noticed, Judai scratched his cheek awkwardly and quickly fled the scene. Unless Principal Samejima started giving speeches that weren't so boring, there was no way he could stay awake through them.

"Sigh…"

Watching Judai run off, Yuuya could only shake his head. Just then, a beep came from the student ID in his inner pocket. When he checked, it was a message from Uncle Samejima:

"Come to the academy conference room. We need to discuss this year's representative for the exchange tournament."

…Scene transition…

Inside the academy conference room—

"The annual exchange match with the Northern Branch? Then like last year, it should naturally be Ryo Marufuji—who is now a third-year—representing us again!"

As Principal Samejima asked the staff for their nominations, the other teachers were still contemplating their picks. But Professor Chronos, the head of Practical Duels, immediately offered the same answer as last year.

"Quiet, Chronos!"

Seated just to the left of Principal Samejima, Yuuya frowned and sternly reprimanded him. This is a meeting, not your personal monologue stage!

Chronos: "..."

This little ancestor is not someone I can mess with... I'll shut up and sit down.

Seeing Chronos go silent and sit down, Yuuya rubbed his temples and offered a counterpoint to Chronos's suggestion:

"Ryo is strong—everyone here knows that. If we send him as our representative again this year, there's an 80% chance he'll win for the academy."

It wasn't arrogance, but there was no need to be overly modest either. Yuuya gave Ryo Marufuji an 80% win probability, with the remaining 20% accounting for unexpected variables from the Northern Branch.

Upon hearing this, not only Chronos and Principal Samejima but even Ryo himself nodded in agreement. An 80% win rate was an excellent figure.

"However, Chronos, have you ever thought about what the Northern Branch will say if we send Ryo again this year?"

"After all, not only was he the representative last year, he also represented the school the year before that, when he was just a first-year student!"

"If we send him again, I'm worried the Northern Branch will think we have no other capable duelists besides Ryo!"

"Mm-hmm-hmm!"

Except for Chronos, the other teachers and Principal Samejima all nodded in agreement. Even Ryo gave a small nod—after two consecutive terms, he was honestly starting to feel it was a bit of a hassle, and Yuuya wasn't wrong either.

"Besides," Yuuya added, "I've heard the Northern Branch plans to send a first-year student to represent them this year."

"Nani?! A first-year?!"

Chronos's eyes went wide with shock. If the other side was sending a first-year student, and they responded by sending Ryo Marufuji for a third time, it would likely reflect very poorly on them.

No matter the outcome—win or lose—having Ryo duel would bring more harm than good.

If they won, people would say, "Big deal, a third-year beating a first-year? Total overkill."

But if they lost? Oh boy—

"Wow, the guy who won the last two years—now a third-year—actually lost to a first-year from the branch campus? How pathetic!"

"Th-then… who should we pick?"

Having realized the pros and cons, Chronos now looked like a pitiful kitten, speaking in a meek voice as he passed the decision to Yuuya.

"Since they're sending a first-year, then we should send a first-year too! Right, Ryo?"

"I've got no problem with that."

Ryo waved his hand dismissively. After participating two years in a row, he was honestly tired of it and didn't want the hassle.

He'd much rather spend that time focusing on his younger brother's development—or hanging out with his beloved Cyber Dragons.

"Then a new question arises," said Principal Samejima.

"Among this year's first-year students—who's the most suitable to represent the academy?"

The moment that question was asked, Yuuya and Ryo suddenly perked up.

They spoke in perfect unison, already having the name in mind:

"Yuki Judai!"

They both paused in mild surprise, glancing at each other—then broke into smiles a few seconds later.

As expected of my best bud—we were thinking of the same person!

(End of Chapter)