Although Zigfried Lloyd has a thorough and detailed plan (or so he believes), all of this is contingent upon Kaiba Seto not noticing his little maneuvers and successfully sneaking into the KC Cup Tournament held within Kaiba Land.
If he can't even achieve this prerequisite, he won't even have the chance to make a move.
But after much thought, he feels Kaiba is unlikely to predict that he's preparing to stir trouble. Does this fellow truly have clairvoyant abilities?
So he specifically asked for eyes in Domino to gather some intel, which he heard involved Duel King Youyu visiting Kaiba Company this morning and addressing the matter directly, specifically naming the Lloyd brothers, refusing their participation in the competition.
Zigfried: "?"
If it was Kaiba Seto being clairvoyant, anticipating Zigfried's plans for trouble, that would be somewhat understandable. After all, they had a brief encounter when they were young, and the two companies are nemeses with some entanglements...
...But where did this Youyu spring from?
What does this have to do with him?
Zigfried frowned for a moment and finally made a decision.
"Youyu, huh... Interesting." He said coldly, "Let me meet you first."
...
As expected by Youyu, once the KC Cup Tournament was announced, it immediately stirred up a wave of enthusiasm on player forums.
During the previous Duel City Tournament, players were still new recruits—most lacked even beta testing qualifications.
But this KC Cup is different. Many players have now grinded out their card decks and are itching to jump in, imagining themselves dominating the final stage.
After all, those who've seen the original work know that the KC Cup's participant level is considerably lower than previous tournaments.
The original KC Cup featured participants including, but not limited to, fortune-telling cranks with crystal balls, detective smoking pipes, and even eccentric elder disguises—Yugi's grandfather!
Highlighted is a theme of everyone playing cards.
Compared to past tournaments, this event's participants do indeed appear a bit amateurish.
This gave each player the feeling that there's a big opportunity here!
For players, it's their first chance to step onto the world stage and show off before other players and even NPCs!
Hence, the forum was already abuzz before the preliminaries even began.
These past few days, Youyu has been browsing the forum and even stumbled upon a rather interesting web novel. It's a Linked World fanfic, telling the story of a fallen world champion returning to the league to reclaim the Duel King title...
When Youyu had spare time, he flipped through the novel, finding it quite engaging. The author's writing style is good, with well-captured thrilling climaxes, and most importantly, the protagonist is very stylish, making readers like Youyu feel a strong sense of immersion, as if watching a version of themselves in an alternate universe.
The only flaw is that this author writes short, abrupt chapters and frequently disappears for days, leaving readers waiting for updates...
Youyu quietly noted the author's ID, considering if he met them in-game, perhaps he could invite them for a Darkness Game, defeating them three times in one week, forcing them to stop playing and diligently return to writing for the benefit of waiting readers...
Indeed, I am a considerate and kind person!
Youyu gave himself a thumbs-up.
Sitting in the card shop, browsing the forum, a black sedan suddenly stopped outside.
A suit-clad attendant opened the car door, a slender leg in a flashy pink suit extended out.
Zigfried Lloyd stepped out, striding in a model-like, flamboyant, and graceful manner, flipping his long pink hair and bringing in a scent that could be either perfume or shampoo.
...Overall, it felt quite flamboyant, not like a normal person.
As soon as he stepped in, he immediately caught the attention of players gambling at mahjong and poker nearby.
The players raised their heads, pricking up their ears.
Hmm? Seems like a story is unfolding?
They sensed the air of drama.
"Duel King Youyu... right?" He approached the counter directly, still holding a seemingly meaningless rose in a dramatic fashion.
Ignorant and awed ones might assume this flower was to be given to Youyu...
"First meeting." Although his tone was polite, his gaze was clearly hostile, showing a smile with a hint of threat, "I believe you have taken something that belongs to me."
The spectators of the introductory CG immediately began spreading their ideas.
"Youyu-san took something belonging to him? What does that mean?"
"Isn't that obvious? This is Zigfried, Kaiba's nemesis. What Youyu-san took must be President Haima!"
"Whoa, really?"
"I wouldn't be surprised, that actually seems likely..."
Youyu's face darkened instantly.
Damn, a bunch of idiots, spending their days in wild imaginations.
However, whether Zigfried automatically filtered the fools' words or simply didn't hear them, he seemed to interpret the change on Youyu's face as fear, sneering, "Though I don't know your relationship with Kaiba Seto, nor how you learned certain things you shouldn't have.
But none of that matters. I'm warning you now, this is a matter between me and him, and you? You're just an outsider, a third party..."
The onlookers couldn't help but get even more animated as they listened to these increasingly incriminating words, and they started chatting loudly.
At this point, some spectators had probably already rushed off to post on forums, and those with more talent might have even drafted an outline for a hundred-thousand-word melodramatic fanfic...
Youyu's face looked even more displeased.
He was now pondering—
—Should I just deal with this loudmouthed pink-haired pest and make him shut up forever?
...No, that's not right. It seems like it would only backfire, making the spectators' imaginations run wilder...
"...Of course, you can also see this as a warning."
Jie Ke rambled on for quite a while, finally finishing his threatening speech—completely oblivious to the fact that Youyu hadn't been paying attention at all.
Then, seemingly to intimidate, he gestured, causing several stout men in black suits to step forward in unison, giving off a strong vibe of street thugs.
However, this attempt at intimidation immediately stirred the hornet's nest.
The spectators immediately saw an opportunity to impress Youyu and quickly jumped up one by one.
"Oh hoo? Are you looking for a fight?"
"No, wait, I think he wants a card duel!"
"Hey guys, someone's causing trouble!"
"..."
A noisy group of spectators quickly surrounded Jie Ke and the men in black suits he had brought, enclosing them tightly.
Though he didn't want to admit it, facing this group of rowdy spectators, Jie Ke actually... felt a bit intimidated deep down.
Especially the bespectacled man before him, respected as "Brother Jie" by other players. His sly smile and the way his eyes under the glasses lewdly scanned Jie Ke up and down, made it seem like his expression was spelling out—
—Come on, let Brother Jie see if your development is normal.
Facing him, Jie Ke actually felt his spine chill, and he had a strange delusion—
—This person is my nemesis!
Of course, as a competent villain and gentleman, no matter what one's heart feels, one must remain outwardly calm and composed.
Commonly known as appearing steady as an old dog, but actually panicking inside.
Jie Ke maintained a casual smile—he had to try his best to avoid looking at "Brother Jie" in front of him—to say to Youyu, "What, as the Duel King, surely you wouldn't want to solve problems in such a crude manner?"
"Oh?" Youyu raised an eyebrow.
"I believe you have yet to answer my question," Jie Ke continued. "I heard you rejected my application to join the KC Cup... I consider myself quite authoritative in dueling and I'm pretty confident in my abilities.
I applied to participate as a Duelist fair and square and can't think of any reason to be rejected..."
"Because you're terrible," Youyu replied without hesitation.
Jie Ke's facial muscles twitched briefly.
"In fact," Youyu said calmly, "I believe even President Haima would agree with my opinion."
After a pause, he smiled: "Let's speak openly, Mr. Lloyd. I know your intention—you want to defeat Haima Seto in a duel during the KC Cup, don't you?"
Jie Ke remained silent.
He indeed harbored such thoughts.
The Kaiba Company's transformation from an arms company to dominance in the Duel World, its prestige sky-high, is undeniably linked to Haima Seto's strong abilities and persona as a Duelist.
Or rather, the company's development is heavily reliant on Haima himself as chairman.
If he could defeat Haima directly in the tournament hosted by Haima himself, it would undoubtedly deliver a heavy blow to the Kaiba Group's popularity and reputation.
And Jie Ke Lloyd had confidence in his dueling that was not inferior to Haima!
"As you just said, we're all Duelists who disdain crude ways of problem-solving... So I'm offering you a special opportunity."
Youyu smirked slightly, raised his Duel Disc.
"Duel me," he said, "If you defeat me, not only will I permit your participation, but I guarantee you'll skip the preliminaries and face President Haima directly in the semifinals."
This tournament originally wasn't going to have President Haima participate, which isn't a secret, everyone knows he's been in a "card sealing retirement" phase recently.
But that's not a big issue. Those who understand know what Haima's retirement is about. He's the type that would instantly "unlock the seal" at the mention of needing one more player in a card game...
Jie Ke was stunned, his gaze flickered, he frowned briefly, then sneered.
"Alright then, I'll accept. But..."
He folded his arms, casting a cold glance at Youyu.
"...Don't regret it."