So Yugen found himself at the Kaiba Company once again.
No sooner had he arrived than he was immediately surrounded by the panda-eyed group from the Chaos Warrior research team.
The team leader, without saying much, excitedly dragged him away for testing. He said that the hint Yugen provided last time was crucial, once again leading them to a new direction for the Chaos Warrior series, and they made another breakthrough.
Yugen tried to recall what he had said last time.
Oh, it was that.
This time he didn't even give a bunch of fancy "Spiritual Vision" images like before, he just casually pointed out a general direction.
He only mentioned that Duel King Muto Yuugi used to like combining "Dark Knight Gaia" with "Chaos Warrior." There might be some special significance there, suggesting that they should strengthen research in that direction.
If someone else had said this earlier, the research team would probably just have listened and let it go. After all, besides both being from the Warrior Race and having cool imagery, Gaia and Chaos Warrior had little connection, and there was currently no evidence that these two cards could be played together.
But since it was Yugen who said it, it was different. Yugen had previously given them just a few words which helped them break through bottlenecks that had been stuck for years, achieving results that shocked the entire industry.
So now they didn't dare to easily ignore anything Yugen said.
And again, Yugen was proven right. The reason it hadn't been discovered until now might have been because no research team had ever thought in that direction.
These two ace monsters once used by the former Duel King, Dark Knight Gaia and Chaos Warrior, really had a connection.
And the evidence was the latest forms of Gaia they had developed under Yugen's guidance.
Galloping Dark Knight Gaia, 7 Stars, Attack Power 2300.
The effect is that this card can lower its Attack Power to 1900 to be summoned without a tribute. And when used as a tribute, you can add a "Chaos Warrior" monster from the deck to your hand.
Awakened Dark Knight Gaia, 7 Stars, Attack Power 2300.
The effect is that it can be summoned without a tribute when the opponent has more monsters than you do. And when used as a tribute, you can Special Summon a "Chaos Warrior" from your hand or graveyard.
Additionally, when Ritual Summoning a Chaos Warrior, you can banish this card from the graveyard to replace a Ritual Sacrifice.
The team leader was very excited about this, saying it was yet another breakthrough that opened up new directions for their further research.
They have now contacted another research team under the Kaiba Group related to Gaia, and they are equally excited about this discovery. Both parties have decided to work together for further development.
Moreover, the head of the other team also expressed a strong desire to meet the legendary Yugen, thinking that just a hint or two from such a bigwig could be greatly beneficial to them.
Upon hearing this conveyed by the team leader, Yugen fell into a brief recollection.
About the development of the Gaia Card Deck...
The first thought in his mind was that the key to playing this deck is to shout loudly. When summoning, you must loudly and energetically shout "Gai——a——". If the shout isn't loud enough or the tone is not sincere, the elf won't respond to you...
Ahem, alright, he remembered there are indeed quite a few enhancements that can be made to the Gaia Card Deck.
While they are cards released later, their situation is similar to the Chaos Warrior, where they couldn't keep up with the fierce environment long after being strengthened, making even casual play challenging.
However, if they could have been enhanced earlier, they might have been quite capable.
So Yugen agreed to contact the Gaia research team in the future and help with their research whenever he had time.
The team leader was very pleased and said he would include Yugen's name in their newly published paper, which apparently was on a highly respected international journal.
Yugen thought that now his academic achievements within the first year seemed to be able to outshine all the teachers in the academy, which felt a bit subtle...
Later, Yugen and Keihei also looked at some other recent Card Deck research that the Kaiba Group had released.
Among them, they also saw a deck developed around the "Shimmering Giant Dragon," which was reasonably strong. However, he had already signed for this from courier Alpha, so he didn't need this one.
However, among them was a Card Deck that surprised him a bit.
The moment he saw the cover of that card box, his gaze was locked in.
Whoa, is this possibly...
...the legendary Kurishinryu Ball Form!?
[Spherical Chestnut Ball, Attack Power 300
Effect: When an opponent declares an attack, send this card from your hand to the graveyard, and that attacking monster switches to defense position.
And when Ritual Summoned, you can banish this card from the graveyard to replace a Ritual Sacrifice.]
As an evolved form of the Divine Card Chestnut Ball, its blocking effect upgraded from just preventing battle damage to turning the opponent to defense. Additionally, its appearance resembled the spherical Q-version of the Winged Divine Dragon, thus it was respectfully called Kurishinryu Ball Form.
"Oh this, it's from the series developed for the Chestnut Ball Card Deck."
Keihei handed the card box to him, introducing it.
As he opened it, Yugen couldn't help but gasp. Wow, it was filled with various guises of Chestnut Balls and support cards...
But didn't the president always call this thing a common minion? Didn't he have a feud with Chestnut Ball?
Or perhaps the president spent all these years deciding to finally join what he couldn't beat...
"Big brother told the researchers not to underestimate this card, as it holds potential beyond imagination." Keihei said.
Yugen nodded.
True enough. Although the president still called Chestnut Ball a minion, ultimately it was the lifelong enemy that had tormented him countless times since the Duel Kingdom. The reason he hadn't changed his tone is probably due to habit and some pride, just like how he calls Joey a "Mortal Bone."
But this tiny One-Star Hand Trap had long since earned his respect.
Speaking of which, Yugen suddenly realized that the president seemed quite invested in researching those series related to the early aces used by Yuugi. Such as Chaos Warrior, Gaia, Chestnut Ball...
And naturally, not to mention the Black Mage and Magical Girl series.
He seemed eager to have a whole team research every card Yuugi had used.
At first, Yugen suspected that maybe the president was preparing to print cards for the Pharaoh, just in case he someday resurrected unprepared, but upon second thought, it made little sense. After all, the Pharaoh was a powerhouse who could have whatever he wanted.
Looking from another angle, perhaps the president was thinking with the mindset of "know yourself and your enemy, and you'll never lose." He thought that if someday the Pharaoh returned, and pulled out a whole new Card Deck printed in the Netherworld, it would be troublesome. So why not research it in advance to be mentally prepared...
"I'll take a set of this." Yugen pointed to the Chestnut Ball.
"That's fine, but the current evaluation of this deck's combat capability isn't great." Keihei reminded him.
"No worries, I'm aware of that." Yugen laughed happily.
The Chestnut Ball family mainly relied on being auxiliary hand traps, so it depended on the construction to be effective. A pure Chestnut Ball deck was indeed somewhat for fun...
...Hmm, though maybe not impossible.
Yugen pondered.
With some adjustments, maybe our pure Chestnut Ball deck could fight too.
If someone gets beaten all the way by Chestnut Balls, wouldn't that perhaps break their spirits more easily?