"Perfection means the limit?" Samejima repeated Hayato's words.
Although he had always treated others with a rather humble attitude, deep down, it would be a lie to say he wasn't satisfied with the Deck he used.
Time and time again, using the Cyber Style Deck he had learned, he could easily defeat his other Fellow Disciples in the dojo. Even the Senior Disciples, who were a generation above him and could already use the symbol of Cyber Style—Cyber Dragon—rarely posed a challenge.
With a 100% win rate and a combat style with absolutely no blind spots, every time he achieved Victory, although Samejima didn't say it out loud, he was indeed filled with confidence in his Deck, just as Hayato said, feeling that his Deck was already perfect.
However, perfection is the limit... This saying wasn't the first time Samejima had heard it, because his Teacher, the Master of the contemporary Cyber Style dojo, had also said the same thing.
After defeating his Deck using the ultimate secret technique of Cyber Style—Cyber End Dragon with an ATK of 8000 points—Samejima remembered his Teacher saying the exact same words as Hayato and guiding him to participate in this Duelist Kingdom Match.
"Just once, you probably won't be able to clearly see the limit of your perfection. Go take a look on that Island," his Teacher had said. "Under the guidance of Draco, I hope you can Transcend your perfection when you return."
"Samejima, let me show you my Transcendence, my Overload!" Hayato Activated that Card, slamming his Hand down on the Duel Platform. "Activate Magic Card, Double Chance!"
A slot machine appeared on Hayato's Field. Its three reels spun rapidly, so fast that it was difficult to make out the patterns flashing by.
"This Card can only be Activated when a Monster's Attack is negated. That Monster whose Attack was negated gets one more chance to Attack again, and its ATK becomes double only for that one Attack!"
"Material Dragon, one more time, Attack Cyber Ogre again!"
As Hayato's words fell, the slot machine's lever was pulled, and on the reels, three identical "7" symbols gradually appeared—Jackpot! A large amount of gold coins spewed out from the slot machine's payout slot, and as soon as they appeared, they transformed into invisible energy that surged into Material Dragon's Body!
"Oh oh oh oh—!!!"
Material Dragon absorbed a large amount of energy, its already enormous Body grew even larger, letting out a roar before charging towards Cyber Ogre on Samejima's Field again!
[Material Dragon] [ATK 4800 → 9600]
"ATK, 9600!?!"
This time, it wasn't just Samejima, who was directly facing Material Dragon, or Yugi and the others watching the Duel who were surprised. Even Lemuria, who usually didn't pay much attention to the Matches and was sitting in the back row, and Pegasus, who was observing the situation from across the screen, couldn't sit still.
"Is this Hayato boy's limit? Unbelievable! Truly unbelievably powerful," Pegasus didn't even care that the Fairy Tale Book in his Hand had fallen to the ground. He stood up from his seat, staring intently at the dazzling Material Dragon on the screen. "The limit of perfect? How interesting. Me is getting more and more curious who between you and Yugi-boy will reach me, Hayato boy~"
"Ultimate Power capable of easily crushing any resistance, is this your strength? Truly, it's an eye-opener, Hayato-kun," Samejima sighed, looking at Material Dragon soaring through the sky and radiating brilliant Light. But he didn't give up resisting just because he saw the terrifying 9600 ATK. Instead, his fighting spirit grew even stronger.
"At the moment Material Dragon Declares an Attack, I open my Set Card, Sakuretsu Armor!" Samejima flipped his Set Card, the "invincible" Sakuretsu Armor. "Although it's beautiful, Hayato! Your strength is not enough to break through my perfection!"
"When Attacking my Monster, Material Dragon will be directly Destroyed by the Effect of Sakuretsu Armor!"
A stream of Light shot out from Samejima's Spell/Trap Zone, actively meeting the diving Material Dragon. A crack appeared on Material Dragon's Body. As Material Dragon charged towards Cyber Ogre, the closer the distance, the more that crack spread and grew.
"Don't underestimate me, Samejima!" Hayato returned a smile. "Since it's your wish, then please watch carefully, my powerful limit, and the Transcendence beyond the limit!"
"The moment Sakuretsu Armor's Effect Activates, Material Dragon's Protective Power joins the Chain!" Discarding a Hand Card and Sending it to the Graveyard, Hayato looked at Cyber Ogre and Material Dragon, who were about to collide, and showed a look of relief.
"Everything has a flaw, perfection does not exist. So-called perfection is merely the pursuit of perfection. But if the Goal is only perfection, you will never achieve perfection!"
"To become strong, you must start by Transcending!"
"Material Dragon's second Effect is, when a Card with the Effect to Destroy a Monster on the Field is Activated, Discard one Hand Card, and that Effect is negated and Destroyed!" Hayato gripped the handrail of the Duel Platform. "My Heart is trembling, my blood is boiling, my Soul is burning fiercely,"
"My Glory, my Tamashii! Deliver the final blow, Material Dragon!"
"Cute Star Flying Crash!"
The Effect of Sakuretsu Armor on Material Dragon shattered, breaking apart behind the high-speed diving Material Dragon like a shed skin. Bathed in stardust, draped in brilliant Light, Material Dragon with 9600 ATK and Cyber Ogre with 3900 ATK finally collided!
"Boom!"
The Impact Simulation System installed on the Duel Platform was designed with Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's 4500 ATK in mind, and even raised the Virtual Projection limit to 9000 points based on that.
However, the people who designed the Duel Platform never imagined that in this Duel between Samejima and Hayato, not only did Samejima's Cyber Ogre reach 3900 ATK, but Hayato's Material Dragon's ATK even exceeded the limit at 9600 points.
The Duel Platform beneath their feet vibrated violently. The Virtual Projection in the arena flickered like a television signal experiencing electromagnetic interference, and even sparks flew out. The Aftermath of Material Dragon's Attack lasted for a while before finally stopping. The Smoke dissipated, revealing Samejima's Scoreboard reset to zero.
[Samejima: 4000 LP → 0]
"You won, Hayato-kun." A smile appeared on Samejima's face. He watched Hayato take off his hat and bow in thanks. "That was truly, an interesting Duel."
"Yeah, it was interesting," Hayato replied with a smile.
The Old Butler appeared at the right time and began to announce the Victory or Defeat of the Duel, but Hayato's attention wasn't there. Instead, he was attracted by the Duel Summary that the System suddenly popped up.
To roughly translate the riddle-like statement at the beginning—
What perfect limit? This old man's High ATK Deck will one-shot you. Burn Damage?
(End of Chapter)