In a hospital in the Tops, Trudge finally managed to usher away the two children's parents who had come to express their gratitude, and couldn't help wiping the sweat from his brow.
The two kids had insisted on seeing their "big brother" and "hero," but this was a hospital after all, patients needed rest. It had taken considerable effort to calm the children down and convince them to come back in a few days.
Today he'd been running around nonstop, doing countless things the old him would never have dared to imagine, leaking information, rescuing people, protecting a wanted criminal, and even escorting Crow to the hospital for treatment.
As a Security officer, he was supposed to stop all Commons from entering the Tops. Yet today, he had voluntarily protected one to bring him here.
Maybe the duels over these past few days really had changed him.
Or maybe he'd simply remembered what his true purpose had been all along.
He scratched the back of his head, wondering half-seriously if he was sick and should get himself checked while he was here. Then he strolled into the hospital room.
Because Crow was from the Commons, even though he'd received treatment in the Tops and even been thanked by Tops nobility, other Commons were still barred from the corridors. So Crow had no family or friends who could visit.
Which meant this thankless job naturally fell to Trudge.
When he entered the room, Crow was already awake, gazing up at the sky. Though conscious, his mind still seemed muddled.
Honestly, Trudge was astonished.
He had watched Crow plummet from the sky and slam into the ground like a ragdoll. Yet that Earthbound Immortal had directly revived Crow, and at full health, no less. The hospital doctors had been astounded after their examination, because Crow's body showed virtually no injuries or ailments. Forget about impact trauma, he was healthier than the vast majority of Tops duelists!
It was common knowledge that Commons, due to years of inadequate nutrition, were generally in worse physical condition than Tops residents. Though the Tops propagandized this as their genes being superior, the doctors here knew perfectly well what the real reason was.
So the doctors were amazed, and quite curious about Crow's physical data.
"Even chronic conditions and hidden health risks were eliminated?" Trudge murmured under his breath.
As a repeat offender who'd been imprisoned multiple times, Crow was someone Trudge knew well. He knew for a fact that Crow was nowhere near as healthy as he appeared on the surface, yet now Crow was in better shape than Trudge himself.
Ridiculous.
Was this the power of an Earthbound Immortal?
"What about those two kids?" Crow asked.
"Their parents already took them home."
Crow lay in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Trudge yawned. After running around all day, he was pretty tired too. He was just about to sit down and doze for a bit when he noticed the room's screen suddenly flicker on. He muttered about the nurses not turning it off beforehand so patients could rest in peace, then saw a bald figure appear on the display.
On screen, the man spoke coldly and severely, announcing his own name, and then another person's name.
Hikaru.
Instantly, both people in the room snapped to full attention.
The man on screen identified himself as Leo Akaba, supreme commander of the Fusion Dimension forces and ally of the nobility. He declared that henceforth, he would represent the nobility in crushing all Commons insurgents who dared to defy the Tops.
"So this guy's the boss of those weird soldiers?" Trudge's expression darkened. "Tch, those nobles are so desperate to keep their status they'd even ally with people from another dimension?"
It was like two factions in an ancient kingdom fighting for power, and one side suddenly inviting barbarians in to pillage their own people.
He'd seen it with his own eyes today. Those Fusion Dimension Security forces showed absolutely zero mercy. Half the time they didn't even bother with arrests, they simply used card power to seal people's souls, or outright gunned Commons down with weapons.
And the nobility was cooperating with people like that??
Leo Akaba didn't waste time with pleasantries. He didn't spout any nonsense about eternal friendship between Fusion and Synchro. Instead, he declared bluntly that he would deploy even more terrifying force to suppress the Commons. And not only that, traitors who dared to help the Commons would also be purged.
Slam
Yusei, watching the broadcast, couldn't stop himself from slamming his fist on the table.
"What is this guy spouting?"
He ground his teeth.
Goodwin, currently under "house arrest," watched the scene unfold. The smile on his face hadn't faded in the slightest. On the contrary, he murmured softly, "Well then, have you decided? Are you going to keep watching?"
His sudden remark startled his adjutant, Lazar, who looked around in every direction but couldn't spot anyone unusual. He was starting to wonder if his superior had lost his mind when a voice abruptly sounded from nearby.
"I'm not your clown anymore, Goodwin!"
Lazar shrieked, then turned to look, and there, having somehow entered the room one step at a time without anyone noticing, stood a tall, blond man.
Goodwin had never worried about being under house arrest.
Even if he didn't take action himself, he knew someone would always come to "rescue him."
Jack entered with a cold expression, followed by Carly, who looked even more nervous than Lazar, trembling as she walked in.
"Jack, it's been a while. I'm glad to see you're in good health," Goodwin said with a smile.
Jack kept his icy demeanor. "Hmph. The streets are crawling with reckless idiots and scum attacking ordinary people, and you're just sitting here doing nothing about it? So you really did get locked up, huh?"
Unlike Crow, when Jack realized the situation had escalated, his first instinct was naturally to confront Goodwin directly, to demand an explanation for why he'd allowed all of this to happen.
But after fighting his way through multiple obstacles to get here, he discovered that this time was different from before. It wasn't that Goodwin didn't want to see him, Goodwin had been imprisoned!
"Right now, change those orders immediately!"
Goodwin remained as calm as ever, nodding, but replied, "However, at this point, to change the situation between the Tops and Commons now that they've plunged into open conflict, my orders alone won't be enough. Jack, as a duelist, as a King, as the shared idol of both the Commons and the Tops, only if you step forward can both sides be calmed, even if only for a few seconds."
"You want me to play the clown again!?" Jack demanded furiously.
"It's not a performance. It's accepting your mission," Goodwin responded.
"Hmph..." Jack's expression remained cold, but he didn't argue back.
The reason he'd arrived so late wasn't because having Carly with him had softened his fists. It was because on the way here, he'd seen the same broadcast the Security officers were watching, the duel between Crow and Hikaru.
He knew that Crow was trying in his own way to change this world and help Yusei. He'd also seen Hikaru, someone who'd only met Yusei a handful of times, yet already understood him deeply and was willing to believe in him.
Hikaru's duel had stirred his blood. And more importantly, he'd already decided to make amends for his past mistakes, to help Yusei, the man who was willing to modify his own body to change the world.
And now, after all that, Goodwin wanted to use him as a pawn again?
He refused to be some false King!
"Jack."
But then, Carly suddenly spoke up.
Jack turned to look at her.
At critical moments, Carly always managed to come up with ideas that were more meaningful and more aligned with what he truly wanted. "Jack, haven't you already decided to become the true King, the King of the children?
But if there's no future at all, you'll never have the chance to become that King, right?"
She smiled at him. "So just keep moving toward becoming that King!"
Jack took a deep breath.
Lazar watched the scene in astonishment.
This was the first time he'd ever seen anyone talk down an angry Jack Atlas!
"Hmph... Fine then. But Goodwin, don't think I'll let you manipulate me again!"
Goodwin smiled, glancing thoughtfully at Carly for a moment before nodding gently in acknowledgment of Jack's words.
And then, at that very moment, Leo Akaba's next words came through the display screen.
"You're watching, aren't you, Hikaru?"
Jack glanced over.
"Since you want to oppose our Fusion forces, I'll give you an opportunity.
Tomorrow morning. The Nobility Hall. I'll have Security clear a path for you, giving you direct access to this location."
Jack's instinctive reaction was immediate: "What kind of idiot is this? Does he think someone would be stupid enough to walk straight into his stronghold and get swarmed?"
No one would think Hikaru would just waltz in to his death.
After all, the Fusion forces had guns, cannons, and had even deployed materialized mechanical giants to attack civilians. If they set up a few hundred armed soldiers in ambush, even someone as strong as Hikaru could be overwhelmed.
Crow listened for a while, decided this guy was an idiot, and lost interest.
But;
"I stake this challenge on the name of Fusion. Hikaru, I will be here, waiting for you personally."
Whoosh
Crow shot bolt upright off the hospital bed, ready to charge out of the room. Trudge had been startled by those words too, but seeing Crow about to storm out, he quickly blocked him.
Despite having known each other for only a few days, both of them now considered Hikaru a friend. Crow especially, after genuinely dueling Hikaru and truly feeling Hikaru's heart through their battle, he believed in Hikaru even more than before.
Before, Crow had been willing to trust Hikaru because Hikaru was Yusei's friend. But now, he trusted Hikaru because of who Hikaru was!
A duel staked on the name "Fusion", there was no way Hikaru could let that stand!
No, he absolutely couldn't just sit here and wait.
Immediately after, Crow realized: since Leo Akaba was using this kind of challenge to lure Hikaru to his "death," it meant he was banking on the certainty that Hikaru would rise to the challenge.
Because Hikaru the duelist, Hikaru the Fusion wielder, would never refuse something like this.
Especially not a provocation from another person who carried the banner of "Fusion"!
And on top of that, it sounded like Hikaru and the Fusion forces had been at odds for a long time!
Crow immediately abandoned any thought of trying to stop Hikaru.
There was no stopping him, and he wouldn't try.
So then... find a way to help him?
But how...
He looked at Trudge, then toward the hallway outside, and remembered those nobles and those children. "Ah."
He had an idea for how to lighten the burden on Hikaru.
"Trudge, could you help me find those parents again? I think I've pretty much recovered."
Trudge blinked, not understanding why Crow had shifted gears so quickly, but after a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
Inside the Security Bureau, Jack listened to the rest of Leo Akaba's announcement with a cold expression. He recalled how Hikaru had looked during his duel with Sayer, knowing Hikaru would never back down from danger. He let out a cold snort. "Consider yourself lucky, Goodwin. What's the plan?"
Now was not the time for hesitation.
"Heh... It's quite simple."
Goodwin smiled and began to speak, laying out his plan for Jack.
Before anyone realized it, the conversation had once again fallen under Goodwin's control. And Goodwin had long since prepared for every angle, top to bottom.
All that remained was for each faction to play their part, and everything would fall into place.
Back at Yusei's base, Yusei watched as Hikaru clenched and unclenched his fists excitedly, showing not the slightest trace of fear. Quite the opposite: he was practically electric with enthusiasm, even more thrilled than Yusei himself had been when he first found Stardust Dragon.
All that earlier fatigue, sighing, headache, and exasperation with Serena had been swept away in an instant. He was visibly more energized by several orders of magnitude.
From the look of things, Hikaru's desire to duel Leo Akaba wasn't something that had developed overnight.
"Hikaru, be careful. He won't make it easy for you to just duel him."
"Ha, I already know that. I know way more about it than you do." Hikaru laughed at Yusei's warning and gave a thumbs-up.
Other people might not know, but how many times had Hikaru dueled soldiers and assassins of various ranks within the Fusion forces? Did they think he wasn't aware?
So that's how it is.
Yusei immediately understood.
As someone from the Fusion Dimension, Hikaru must have tangled with the Fusion forces plenty of times. If that was the case, then there was less to worry about.
Rather than fretting, it would be better to help take some of the pressure off Hikaru tomorrow.
Besides, he couldn't allow those Fusion forces to run rampant in their world.
"Master..." On the other side, Serena hesitated uncharacteristically, calling out to Hikaru in a low voice.
Hikaru looked at her, then at Rin and Lulu. He thought for a moment, then walked over to Serena and said, "Serena, life is full of all kinds of difficulties and trials. On this road called life, sometimes the choices you make matter more than the effort you put in.
In this world, nothing reveals truth and the human heart better than a duel.
Tomorrow, stay here and watch my duel with Leo Akaba."
The other two girls exchanged glances, reading the confusion and worry in each other's eyes.
Why would Serena be worried about the man who had tried to kidnap them?
Just because he called himself their "father"?
The next day.
After waking up and doing some light exercise to make sure he was in peak condition, Hikaru unhesitatingly removed the card hanging from his chest and placed it into the deck he'd carefully prepared and modified the night before.
He had nothing to say to Leo Akaba! He would not hold back in the slightest!
After saying a quick goodbye to Serena and the others, he immediately got in his car and headed for the destination.
Along the way, some Commons spotted Hikaru. They already knew about yesterday's battle between Crow and Hikaru through the ever-present screens, and they knew what Hikaru was setting out to do.
These people, who had banded together to resist the Tops, responded as if answering a rallying cry. The moment Hikaru's car passed, the resistance launched a new wave of rebellion.
On the straightaway leading to Sector 9, countless Security officers in purple uniforms fixed their eyes on Hikaru. They had summoned materialized monsters and were watching him with tense caution.
Hikaru could even spot some familiar faces among them: seniors he'd met during his time in the Fusion Division who had since graduated. He waved at them, which only made them more nervous.
Just as they were about to deploy their machines to attack Hikaru, a streak of green starlight flashed across the sky. Every controlled, materialized machine suddenly lost power, collapsing lifelessly where they stood.
Hikaru glanced behind him. At some point, Yusei had arrived, and alongside him were even more people rising up against the Tops.
Their loved ones, their friends, had been killed by the Fusion forces. Now, rallying behind Yusei's identity as the "new King" and the true symbol of the Commons, they had launched their resistance once again.
Yusei gave Hikaru a nod. Hikaru acknowledged it and pressed forward.
Passing through the connecting corridor and entering Sector 9, Hikaru didn't slow down. He kept driving straight ahead.
Directly above Sector 9 was Sector 6, the true gateway into the Tops' harmonized zone. Here, the Tops' business and leisure districts actually appeared, and real nobility could be found. This area was guarded by the Synchro Dimension's Security forces under the Council of Nobles' command, and they were currently standing at the ready.
At that moment, voices of protest erupted. Several Security officers turned around to see a large crowd of nobles opposing their indiscriminate attacks on the Commons. Among them, Crow wiped his nose with a finger, and alongside Trudge in the crowd, pumped his fist toward Hikaru.
He had considered using yesterday's rescue of the children to rally people from both the Tops and Commons to stop viewing each other as enemies, but he hadn't expected it to go this smoothly.
It was almost as if someone had deliberately coordinated with them, as if they'd been planning to do this all along.
But he didn't mind.
If it helped Hikaru, Crow didn't care even if he was being used.
Hikaru couldn't help but grin. He raised his fist, bumping it through the air with Crow, then pressed on without hesitation.
Past Sector 6, the road ahead became the true corridor leading directly to the Garden in Sector 1.
However, Sector 1 couldn't be reached directly. The transit beacons in Sectors 2 and 3 had to be activated first. And besides, Leo Akaba wasn't in Sector 1 anyway. So Hikaru adjusted his course and headed toward the Council of Nobles.
Along the way, elite Fusion soldiers appeared in force, along with spirits and robots under Fusion control, blocking Hikaru's path, trying to prevent him from reaching their "sun."
But just then...
BOOM!
In the distance, a shell landed squarely in the Fusion army's formation. An Ancient Gear Chaos Giant toppled on impact. Immediately after, a blazing crimson dragon streaked across the sky, knocking Fusion soldiers to the ground.
"Ha." Jack smirked coldly.
At that moment, he was leading the Goodwin-faction Security officers, who had been completely directionless without Goodwin's orders, in a counterattack against the Fusion soldiers and Council forces. He sneered, "Wipe out every last one of these bastards who dare insult our dimension!"
With that, Jack glanced toward Hikaru, lifting his chin slightly to signal him forward. He could hold things here.
"Thanks, Jack!" Hikaru couldn't help but grin.
"Master looks so cool..." Watching the footage from various feeds, seeing Hikaru advance without a single obstacle thanks to the support of countless people, Serena couldn't help but marvel.
"Jack's awesome too!" That was Yugo.
"Yusei is even more amazing though." That was Rin.
Lulu, as something of an outsider to all this, felt a bit awkward, but even she had to admit that the feeling of someone pushing through adversity to challenge a powerful enemy with the support of their friends was truly something special.
Meanwhile, Hikaru finally parked in front of the Council of Nobles. Just as he was about to step out, a voice suddenly came through from inside the car.
"This is bad, Hikaru! Serena's gone missing!"
"That idiot Jaden. I told him to keep a close eye on her. One look at that girl and you could tell she was up to something." Chazz's voice cut in.
Hikaru couldn't help but grumble when he heard this. "Good thing I already know where Serena went. If you'd just dropped that on me out of nowhere, I'd have panicked to death. Can't think straight with that kind of thing filling your head."
"Wait, Hikaru, you know where Serena went?" This time it was Jaden's voice.
"Stop crowding me, you moron! Back off, he can hear you from farther away!" Chazz snapped furiously.
After a moment, Hikaru exchanged information with the two of them. Upon learning that Hikaru was actually about to duel Leo Akaba, they couldn't help letting out groans of frustration despite their worry.
They wanted a shot at Leo Akaba too!
But since the duel was already set, both of them told Hikaru not to lose any points and to teach Leo Akaba a lesson on their behalf as well.
"Make sure you put the transmitter back on your Duel Disk. No way we're missing this duel." The two had complete confidence in Hikaru and were dying to see Leo Akaba lose.
Hikaru nodded and removed the device from his D-Wheel, reattaching it to his Duel Disk.
Then he strode forward and entered the Council of Nobles.
Inside, several nobles sat in the upper gallery, silently observing Hikaru's entrance. Lining both sides of the hall stood the true elites of the Fusion forces: generals of the same rank as Relos.
Even those not present could watch this duel, like Yuri and others stationed back at base.
"Heh, so you came, Hikaru."
"Of course." Hikaru wasted no words. He flicked his left arm and purple electrical current surged to life as his Duel Disk activated and rotated, covering his left side.
Leo Akaba rose to his feet. Behind him, a massive machine roared with ferocious intensity.
"Hikaru, I have warned you repeatedly to stop opposing us with your self-righteous arrogance. But since you refuse to learn, don't blame me for what comes next."
"Don't dress it up so nobly. The only reason I've been opposing you is because you and your Fusion forces have been running amok."
Leo Akaba narrowed his eyes and fixed them on Hikaru. "Hmph. Very well.
You have always respected dueling. Respected Fusion. In that case, let us stake this on the name of Fusion.
Hikaru, if I lose, I will relinquish my authority as leader of the Fusion forces.
If you lose, then you will acknowledge that the Fusion forces' Fusion is the true Fusion. From that day forward, you will serve as the Supreme Commander of my Fusion forces."
Instantly, several Fusion generals in the room visibly wavered, though as soldiers, none spoke or whispered.
Unlike them, the noble elders were far more direct. The moment they heard Leo Akaba's words, they broke into chatter.
The implication was obvious: none of these generals measured up to Hikaru.
And honestly, the generals knew it too.
Why had the Fusion forces never selected a Supreme Commander until now?
The answer was right here. Though they were all excellent, none of them stood head and shoulders above the rest. None was decisively stronger than any colleague.
But Hikaru was different.
He was the first person to ever force the Professor himself to step onto the field!
"Ha, the real question is whether you'll actually follow the rules of the duel." Hikaru couldn't help but laugh after hearing the terms.
Leo Akaba didn't respond to that. He simply activated his Duel Disk.
The next second, the massive machine behind him erupted with brilliant rainbow light.
"DUEL!" x2
The absolute Fusion wielder, Hikaru. LP: 4000.
Supreme Commander of the Fusion forces, Leo Akaba. LP: 4000.