"Long time no see, Sheppard."
"And you as well."
Stepping out of the submarine that had just docked and onto the shore, the two principals shook hands and exchanged a few polite words.
After the discussion concluded and Jaden was ultimately chosen to compete, he hurried over to look for Chazz, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. However, all he found were groups of students from the North Academy, with no sign of Chazz anywhere.
"Huh? Why can't I see Chazz… did he not come?" After looking around several times without spotting him, Jaden walked up to a cluster of North Academy students, only to be shoved back by them. "Whoa, don't push me… Hey, do you guys know a student named Chazz Princeton?"
Jaden had only meant to ask them to help look for someone, but instead, he ended up lighting their fuse.
"How dare you call Mr. Thunder by his name?!"
"That really ticks me off… he needs to be taught a lesson!"
Not understanding what they meant at all, Jaden scratched his head in confusion. " 'Mr. Thunder'? Never heard of him… I'm looking for 'Chazz Princeton,' not some 'Mr. Thunder.' If you don't know him either, I'll go look somewhere else."
"This guy's doing it on purpose, right?!"
"So annoying…"
As the students grew increasingly angry at Jaden's words, the crowd unconsciously parted, making way for Chazz to step out from behind them. From the uniformity of their movements, it wasn't hard to see just how outstanding his achievements at the North Academy had been during this time.
"There's no need to mind him. He's always been the type to say things that rub people the wrong way. Getting angry at him is like punching cotton at best."
Now dressed in black rather than the Obelisk Blue uniform, Chazz stepped up in front of Jaden. He paused, as if gathering his courage, then spoke. "Long time no see, Jaden. When did you start wearing two accessories at once? With how laid-back you are… you've actually developed some taste now?"
What Chazz was referring to were the Seven Stars Gate Key and the dark artifact hanging around Jaden's neck.
Jaden lifted the two pendants and laughed. "Oh, these? There's a really complicated story behind them."
"And they're not accessories. They're really important things! You'll end up getting one too later on. But none of that matters right now. We can talk about it after. Today's the first-year representative duel for the academy, so you'd better give it your all~"
Somewhat rendered speechless by Jaden's encouragement, all the harsh words Chazz had planned to say were swallowed back down.
Pressing his fingers to his temples, he said with a headache-inducing expression, "Are you an idiot? Right now, I'm representing the North Academy. Who cheers on their opponent like that…"
"From the looks of it, you're the main academy's representative, huh? I never thought Principal Sheppard and Professor Crowler would actually send someone like you—a student who can barely pass the written exams—out here… Where are Youmi, Bastion, and Alexis?"
Jaden explained awkwardly, "Well… Youmi absolutely refused to go out today, and Bastion and Alexis both had things they needed to take care of… Plus, I got a 61 on the last quiz, so they finally allowed it. And Chazz, you definitely wanted to duel me too, right? We've fought before, after all. Even if it was my flashy victory~"
Trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, Jaden struck his signature pose, only making things even more awkward.
"Jaden, you really are…" Chazz was just about to say more when the sound of helicopter rotors drowned out his voice. Looking over, he saw helicopters bearing the Princeton Group logo. "Those two helicopters are Princeton Group's private aircraft… could it be…"
Just as he had anticipated, the two who emerged from the helicopters were his brothers—Slade Princeton and Jagger Princeton.
The first to speak was the older brother, Slade. "Long time no see, Chazz! I hear you've been doing pretty well lately!"
The moment he spoke, Chazz's expression darkened. He shoved Jaden aside and took a few steps forward, craning his neck to shout up at the hovering helicopters. "Slade Nii-san, Jagger Nii-san, why did you suddenly come here? If this were Parents' Day, it wouldn't be today!"
The helicopters slowly descended onto the helipad. The second brother, Jagger, stepped out first, speaking in an officious tone. "Now, now, Chazz. Don't say it like that. Of course, we knew you had a duel today, so we came early to wish you victory~"
Right after him came the eldest brother, Slade, who struck a pose and delivered his pre-rehearsed lines straight to the television cameras. "Even though you've always performed excellently, we still worry about our little brother, Chazz."
"TV crew… Slade Nii-san, Jagger Nii-san, don't tell me you…" Chazz connected the dots, but with the second camera already trained on him, he could only put on a grateful expression. "I see. Thank you very much, brothers."
As one of the public faces of the Princeton Group, he knew when he had to play along.
What he was really thinking, however, only he himself knew.
Jaden still didn't understand what was going on. He wandered right in front of the camera filming Chazz, waved at it, then leaned in and asked, "Huh? Why are there TV crew here? Um, Principal Sheppard?"
Principal Sheppard called Jaden back with an awkward look. "The Princeton Group decided to broadcast this friendly duel nationwide on television. So, Jaden, if you keep standing there, your face is about to become known across the entire country."
"Chazz, it's been a while since we brothers last met. Before the duel, why don't we chat in your preparation room?"
Carrying a briefcase, the second brother, Jagger, walked up to Chazz with a fake smile. "I heard you became the top student at the branch academy during your exchange studies. I even brought you a gift. Make sure you take a good look at it later~"
Suddenly, a Blue-Eyes Jet descended from the sky. Dressed in white, Mokuba Kaiba climbed down the rope ladder.
While he wasn't as bold as his brother, jumping straight out of an aircraft, he still descended rapidly. "Before that, would you mind giving us the Kaiba Corporation—and him—a little time first? Our company has been paying quite a bit of attention to your son as well."
In Mokuba's hand was a silver briefcase emblazoned with the letters "KC," which landed beside Chazz as he touched down.
Mokuba smiled at him and greeted him proactively. "Yo, long time no see, the Princeton family duelist that my brother has taken an interest in~"
Chazz looked at the suddenly appearing Mokuba in surprise. "You're… Mr. Kaiba's younger brother… Why did you suddenly show up here?"
"The Kaiba Corporation… why…"
Mokuba shoved the briefcase directly into Chazz's arms. "It's a gift from my brother. You did pretty well with that deck at the North Academy, after all. This is the Chairman's special reward. As for why I'm here… The chairman of Duel Academy is my brother, Seto Kaiba. There shouldn't be any problem with me coming by to take a look, right?"
While everyone's attention was drawn to Mokuba's sudden appearance, a man wearing a diving suit and a golden dark artifact on his head emerged from the submarine and slipped into the campus.
Following him were several agile black silhouettes.
"Looks like even an academy chaired by the boss of a former military giant like Kaiba Corporation doesn't have particularly great security."
Hidden within the shadows, the man murmured.
...
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