The gentle sunshine fell softly across Duel Academy's lawn. Jaden Yuki held a fishing rod, lazily seated by the seaside, and let out a long yawn.
"Man, I'm so bored."
Jaden smacked his lips twice, his head bobbing like he was practicing a nodding technique, looking ready to fall asleep at any moment.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
The GX Tournament at Duel Academy had been nearing its finale over the last two days—also the most exciting climax of the event. The students looking to muddle through and the filler duelists had largely been eliminated by this stage, leaving only elites and experts.
It should've been like that.
So where did everyone go?
Jaden was frustrated.
When the GX Tournament first began, he was excited, thinking he'd get to face all sorts of powerful opponents. But as the tournament went on, he realized no one wanted to play with him.
No surprise. Jaden's pretty famous at the academy, and the GX Tournament has that rule where you can't refuse your first duel challenge of the day. So most students would detour as soon as they spotted him from afar.
It was like that in the original anime too, except Sartorius would occasionally send strong duelists after him to try and steal the Satellite SORA keys Jaden was safekeeping. Thanks to Sartorius's "friendly sponsorship," he'd at least get a few duels here and there.
But now even his biggest sponsor, Sartorius, had been taken out early by Kira, leaving Jaden truly bored, killing time fishing by the sea. It was a perfect reflection of his mindset—waiting for a willing fish to bite, hoping a passing duelist might save him from the boredom of having no one to play cards with.
"You're Jaden Yuki, right?"
A voice came from behind.
"That's me—huh?"
Jaden realized, eyes lighting up.
Duel, at last?
He immediately tossed aside the fishing rod and sprang up. Turning around, he saw a guy dressed head-to-toe in white, wearing black sunglasses—an especially cool, aloof look.
Jaden quickly calmed down.
"You're not from the academy, are you?"
"Hmph. Correct." The man sneered. "My name is Gelgo, a duelist from the Pro League. But now, guided by the Light, I've found a path far more meaningful than the professional circuit."
Neos's silhouette appeared behind Jaden, reminding him, "An enemy sent by the Light of Destruction, Jaden."
Jaden nodded. "I know."
He'd already had a hunch when he saw the all-white getup. Kira had told him that people dressed in white from head to toe were especially noteworthy—most likely affiliated with the Light of Destruction.
"Am I your target?"
"Of course, Jaden Yuki." Gelgo took a step forward. "Duel King Fujigi Kira, and the legendary duelist Joey Wheeler—those two being by your side has been quite a hassle.
But now they're both gone. A heaven-sent opportunity."
"Huh?"
Jaden blinked, then laughed.
"Seriously, looks like they've decided I'm the soft target."
In his original worldline where he handled everything big and small and always charged at the front, Jaden would never have imagined that one day he'd be treated like the easy pick.
"Perfect timing. I was just fretting about having no opponent." Jaden smiled. "Since you're here, you can keep me company."
"Duel!" x2
[Jaden, LP 4000]
[Gelgo, LP 4000]
"I'll go first. Draw!"
Jaden took the first turn.
"I summon Dandylion in Defense Position."
[Dandylion, DEF 300]
He then drew a card from his hand, but didn't play it right away. He stared at it for a moment with a strange expression.
In the end, he said nothing and slid it into his Duel Disk.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn."
Gelgo chuckled. "The guidance of the Light shows you possess extraordinary power. Let me see if that's true.
My turn, draw!"
Gelgo drew.
"I activate the Spell Card Graceful Charity. I draw three cards, then discard two."
"Next, I activate Monster Reborn to revive the monster I just discarded to the Graveyard!"
He pulled a card from his Graveyard.
"Reveal yourself—White Knight Swordsman!" (Anime card)
A swordsman in white armor swung his longsword. The shield on his left arm was set with a red, gem-like object, and a pristine white cloak billowed behind him.
[White Knight Swordsman, ATK 1200]
The White Knight is an unprinted archetype, exclusive to the Light of Destruction, and in the anime it was the trump deck of the Whitewashed Chazz.
But with the worldline altered and the Society of Light repeatedly stumbling on Duel Academy Island, many of its members were captured by Chazz. With Chazz not Whitewashed, the White Knight deck naturally ended up in someone else's hands.
"At this moment, I activate the Quick-Play Spell Inferno Reckless Summon!" Gelgo declared. "Inferno Reckless Summon can be activated when your opponent controls a face-up monster and a monster with 1500 ATK or less is Special Summoned to your field.
Special Summon as many copies of that monster as possible from your hand, Deck, and Graveyard in Attack Position!"
He paused, then added,
"Of course, you can also Special Summon copies of the monster on your own field."
Jaden shrugged. "My Deck doesn't have any other Dandylions."
"Then I won't be shy!" Gelgo said. "I Special Summon two more White Knight Swordsman from my Deck!"
[White Knight Swordsman, ATK 1200] x2
"Battle Phase." Gelgo issued the attack command. "White Knight Swordsman, cut down that chaff monster serving as a wall!"
The swordsman dashed forward and thrust. Dandylion's small body couldn't withstand it and was pierced through, bursting into fragments.
"Then Dandylion's effect activates!" Jaden said. "When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I Special Summon two Fluff Tokens to my field.
Come forth, Fluff Tokens!"
The departing Dandylion released countless golden motes that gathered into two clusters, coalescing into tiny tufts that hovered to shield Jaden left and right.
[Fluff Token, DEF 0] x2
"Then the remaining two Swordsmen of the White Knight—attack!"
The other two swordsmen vaulted forth, one slashing horizontally, the other vertically. Both Fluff Tokens vanished under their blades.
"A monster with a deathrattle-style effect—originally you planned to use the tokens for Tribute Summons, didn't you?" Gelgo smirked. "Unfortunately, such shallow tactics don't work before the White Knights."
He slid two more cards into place.
"I set two cards and end my turn!"
...
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