Who Let Him Play Yu-Gi-Oh!-Chapter 87: The Battle for First Place

"Jaden Yuki... as expected, there's something special about him that no one else has."

Misawa watched from below as Jaden, flashing a confident V-sign, was practically mocking Chazz into a meltdown.

"He doesn't rely on analysis or calculations; he duels entirely on passion and instinct, yet has an unpredictable talent."

Kira thought, "All that talk about complexity—when you break it down, he's just a top-deck god."

Jaden's natural-born draw ability put him above the rest. In the early anime, his Elemental Hero deck looked like it only had seven or eight monsters—each one unique, never a duplicate, with most of them being vanillas, and the rest of the deck full of random, seemingly meaningless spell and trap cards.

If a seasoned deck-builder examined this deck, their first reaction would be: "Can this even function?" But if you assume "he always draws what he needs," then stuffing dozens of situational support cards in the deck could seem impressive.

"I'll have to duel Jaden one day. But before that..."

Misawa stood up, looking seriously at Kira.

"First, I'll solve the problems in Ra Yellow Dorm. I'm not about to give up on being number one so easily."

"Then you'll have to work hard to keep up, Number Two," Kira stood up as well, joking.

"Of course," Misawa smiled, "I've been preparing for today for a long time. I even completed my seventh deck, built specifically for this duel."

From some angles, Kira could see himself reflected in Misawa.

Misawa was the only other student Kira had found in the academy who carried several decks with him, just like he did. He started with an experimental deck at entry, but always carried six decks of different attributes and themes, which he called his Six Harmonies Decks.

In the original story, to duel Jaden, Misawa spent a month researching to complete his seventh deck. But now, that honor belonged to Kira.

"What a coincidence," Kira smiled, "I also spent some time, and just yesterday, I finished my main deck."

"Oh?" Misawa showed a confident, expectant smile, "So I'm the first to face your brand-new main deck? I'm honored."

"Likewise. Being able to face your seventh deck, tailor-made for me, is my honor as well."

"Let's do this, then! Today, we decide who's the strongest in Ra Yellow Dorm!"

Both of them descended to the dueling platform, drawing the attention of all the Ra Yellow Dorm students. These two had crushed the competition in the early stages, and today would determine who the real boss was.

"Duel!" x2

[Kira, LP 4000]

[Misawa, LP 4000]

"I'll go first. Draw!" Misawa declared, "I summon 'Mathematician' in Attack Position!"

A bespectacled, white-bearded old man appeared on his field, holding a thick textbook.

[Mathematician, ATK 1500]

"Mathematician's effect: When summoned, send a Level 4 or lower monster from the deck to the graveyard!"

A very strong effect—tutoring any low-level monster from the deck to the grave, regardless of type or attribute. Plus, if Mathematician is destroyed in battle, you draw a card.

This card was very popular in the real TCG, even hitting the banlist at one point. But many competitive players wouldn't know that this broken card originally belonged to Misawa.

Though in the anime he was often overshadowed, and his ace cards were mostly weak in the real game, many powerful support cards from the competitive meta came from him.

"Next, I activate the Spell Card 'Graceful Charity', draw three, discard two." Misawa quickly cycled his hand, "Finally, I set a card and end my turn!"

Having set up his first turn, Misawa squinted at Kira.

To him, Kira was a difficult opponent to read. Unlike 90% of duelists, Kira also liked to change decks and tactics, and Misawa noticed he, too, liked to study opponents for weaknesses.

So far, Kira's deck types, races, and attributes were completely unpredictable, with ever-changing strategies, making it hard to lock him down.

But the same could be said for Misawa's Six Harmonies Decks, and his newly-completed seventh deck had never been seen before. It wasn't easy for Kira to prepare for it either.

However, after much research, Misawa found one opening.

With that in mind, he smiled confidently.

This duel, he had to win!

"My turn, draw," Kira said. "I'll also use 'Graceful Charity', draw three, discard two. Then I activate the Spell Card 'Delinquent Duo.'"

Misawa narrowed his eyes.

Here it comes!

After tracking and charting all of Kira's cards and tactics, Misawa noticed that a common feature in all Kira's diverse decks was hand destruction.

"Pay 1000 LP, randomly discard a card from your opponent's hand, then your opponent chooses and discards another."

[Kira, LP 4000 → 3000]

"Not so fast!"

Misawa revealed a card from his hand.

"Gemini Imps!' When a card effect makes me discard a card from hand, I can send this card to the graveyard to negate and destroy that card! Then I draw a card!"

Delinquent Duo, usually unstoppable, ran straight into Misawa's counter and fizzled out.

"Therefore, Delinquent Duo's effect is negated, and I draw a card!" Misawa smiled.

"So, you've researched counters to hand destruction. Well done, Number Two," Kira chuckled.

"When facing Number One, I have to be extra cautious," Misawa crossed his arms confidently. "I'm fully prepared for this duel!"

Kira drew three more cards.

"I set a monster, set two cards in my back row, and end my turn."

Misawa frowned slightly.

Three sets just like that. Not attacking?

Still can't see what Kira's so-called main deck is.

"Is it a defense-focused, counterattack deck?"

Misawa smiled even more at the thought.

"If that's the case, this duel is as good as mine!"

Kira smiled: "Why not try and see for yourself?"

"Then I won't hold back," Misawa raised his voice. "My turn, draw!"

"I activate the Equip Spell 'Wonder Wand!' Equip to a Spellcaster, it gains 500 ATK. I equip it to 'Mathematician'!"

[Mathematician, ATK 1500 → 2000]

"Now, watch closely, Number One. My seventh deck was built specifically to defeat you—here comes my first finishing combo!"

Misawa revealed another card.

"I Tribute Summon 'Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast!' With its effect, I can summon it without Tributes, but its ATK/DEF are halved!"

[Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, ATK 2800 → 1400]

"Then, from my hand, I activate 'Shooting Star Bow - Ceal,' equip to Fusilier Dragon! It loses 1000 ATK, but can attack directly!"

[Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, ATK 1400 → 400]

The surrounding students were bewildered.

Lowering Fusilier Dragon's ATK to 400 just for direct attack—what's the point?

"Maybe he has 'Axe of Fool.'"

In the stands, Alexis heard a voice behind her. She turned, "Zane?"

It was Duel Academy's Kaiser Ryo, Zane Truesdale.

"You're here to watch the freshman tests too?"

"Yeah, some of this year's newbies are interesting," Zane nodded.

"Indeed, with 'Axe of Fool,' you could negate Fusilier Dragon's self-effect and add 1000 ATK, offsetting Ceal's penalty. If that's his combo, Misawa could get a 2800 ATK Fusilier Dragon that can attack directly!"

But on the field, Misawa grinned, "You must be thinking I have 'Axe of Fool' in my hand, right?"

Kira: "..."

"The Axe combo would let me have a direct-attacking Fusilier Dragon. That's strong, but my duel will go even further!

I don't just want to deal big damage—I want to win the duel this turn!"

The whole crowd gasped.

The duel had just started, and he was this confident.

"I activate 'Machine Duplication!' Target a Machine with 500 or less ATK and Special Summon up to two copies from the deck! My target is the Fusilier Dragon with 400 ATK!"

The crowd: "!!!"

What a play!

"Shooting Star Bow - Ceal wasn't for direct attack, but to get Fusilier Dragon's ATK below 500!" Alexis exclaimed.

Fusilier Dragon split into three, as two more massive mechas appeared!

[Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, ATK 2800] x2

A student gasped: "He just summoned three Level 7 monsters in one go!"

High above, Crowler nodded repeatedly: "Truly an elite among freshmen! Misawa outshines Chazz!"

Even his earlier frustration at Chazz getting stomped by Jaden and getting promoted to Ra Yellow Dorm was eased.

Alexis: "But... can it go so smoothly? Kira's dueling is..."

She glanced at Kira's set cards in the backrow.

From experience, she knew—never underestimate any card in his backrow.

Sure enough, Kira waved his hand: "I activate my set trap—'Torrential Tribute!' When a monster is summoned, destroy all monsters on the field!"

"As expected," Alexis said.

She knew Kira wouldn't make things so easy.

The duel had already turned into a fierce back-and-forth. Misawa's OTK setup was amazing, but now, with just one card, all his resources would be wiped, leaving him at a huge disadvantage.

But Misawa didn't panic. He even smiled confidently. "Just as I thought. The stats show you always use hand destruction and trap interference.

But I was ready for this! Watch, Number One—here's my answer!"

He raised his hand, and his set card flipped.

"Continuous Trap—'Royal Decree!' While this card is on the field, all other Trap cards are negated!"

Torrential Tribute was nullified—its effect vanished under the Decree.

"It's Royal Decree," Zane mused. "For trap-heavy decks, this card is devastating. Misawa did his homework.

Now, his opponent's in trouble. With traps locked and Fusilier Dragons on the field—unless he can survive this turn, it'll be near impossible to break through next turn."

"That's true. But..." Alexis smiled, leaning on the railing. "Underestimating Kira comes with a price."

"Oh?" Zane glanced at her. "You've dueled him before—did you learn something?"

"Yes."

Alexis recalled the helplessness she felt facing his five-part mech fusion and overwhelming power, giving her all and still losing.

"I think maybe, making everyone think he's trap-focused could be part of his strategy."

"What do you mean?"

"He deliberately built that image, so everyone remembers that as his key trait. So, anyone trying to counter him would naturally target that.

If someone went out of their way to gather intel and study him, it'd usually be a disadvantage. But if he used this image as bait..."

"Then how his enemies counter him becomes predictable, turning his weakness into his advantage," Zane nodded, though he seemed skeptical. "But if that's true, this Kira is pretty cunning.

But that assumes he can handle lots of different strategies, not just his usual ones. Are you sure he's that kind of duelist?"

"I think so. He's strong," Alexis said seriously.

Zane smiled. "For someone you've only dueled once, you sure have confidence in him."

Alexis: "N-no, not really. I just understand because I've played him before!"