Text.Chapter 159: My Room Is Quite Spacious, Welcome to Come Play
"Ta-da! A shocking truth!"
As soon as they entered Hayato's Room, Yugi and the others were startled. Because upon entering Hayato's Room, the first thing they saw was Kaiba Seto, sitting on the sofa with his hands crossed, supporting his Chin.
"Kaiba?!"
"Kaiba!"
"Kaiba Seto?"
Yugi was about to ask Hayato how Kaiba could be in Hayato's Room after losing his Duel against Pegasus and having his Soul sealed. But then, he suddenly realized something.
With so many people entering Hayato's Room, the commotion wasn't small at all. Moreover, everyone had just shouted out in unison. Even if he were sitting there asleep, Kaiba should have been woken up by now. However, from the very beginning, Kaiba hadn't shown the slightest reaction. Yugi had seen this kind of reaction before, on his Grandpa, Solomon Muto.
Clearly, the person in Hayato's Room was indeed Kaiba Seto himself, but it wasn't Kaiba—because his Soul was still in Pegasus's hands. What was here was just his Body.
Going back ten minutes, after the Duel ended, Pegasus, Hayato, and Yugi exchanged some harsh words before Pegasus left. Hayato and Yugi returned to the Spectator Area to receive congratulations from their Friends.
"Your Duel just now was truly spectacular, Yugi, Hayato." Joey Wheeler's smile was incredibly bright, looking happier than if he had won the Champion title himself. He was always such a straightforward person, genuinely happy for his two Friends.
"Beautiful Deck Building, amazing Duel." Samejima also said with full praise, "It was as thrilling as dancing on a knife's edge. I doubt I could pull off a Duel like yours even with ten more years."
As he spoke, a thought suddenly occurred to Samejima: Although I've discovered the limits of my own ability, perhaps I can train someone to inherit my Duel style and then surpass Hayato and Yugi?
"Congratulations." Mai Valentine, with her arms crossed, only clapped reluctantly after Joey Wheeler's persuasion. "Congratulations on becoming the Duel Kings, Hayato and Yugi. Honestly, I really wanted that final Prize Money."
"Ah, speaking of Prize Money." Hayato, who had been watching the subtly awkward interaction between Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine with a gossipy look, heard Mai Valentine's last sentence. He pulled out the Card, the [Glory of the King's Hand], from his pants pocket and handed it towards Joey Wheeler. "Since the Duelist Kingdom is over, this Card seems to be usable for claiming the Prize Money?"
"Take it, Joey Wheeler."
Joey Wheeler looked at the Card Hayato handed him and immediately refused, "No, Hayato, I can't take your Card."
He wanted to say more, but then he saw that Yugi had also handed over his Card.
Hayato shook the Card in his hand: "You know my family situation; I'm not really short on money. In fact, my Living Expenses from my mom before coming to the Duelist Kingdom haven't been touched much. I don't really need money, and even if I did, I could ask my family."
"But, Joey Wheeler's sister's Surgery money hasn't been settled yet, right?" Yugi Mutou, who had returned, smiled gently, pushing the Card in his hand further towards Joey Wheeler.
"But..."
Seeing Joey Wheeler still hesitating, Hayato directly pried open Joey Wheeler's hand and stuffed both his and Yugi's Cards into it: "But what? Just take it. Don't think of this as our money, think of it as Pegasus's money. This is a rare chance to fleece a rich guy, don't try to give it back to me."
"Anyway, today, both mine and Yugi's Cards are yours. But if there's extra, remember to give us change. Then, after we go back, let's go have some fun, maybe take a vacation somewhere like Hawaii." Seeing Joey Wheeler about to say something else, Hayato added, "Don't mention thanks either, aren't we Friends?"
"Hayato... Yugi..." Tears welled up in Joey Wheeler's eyes. He held them back, wiping his face with his sleeve. "Yeah, I'll remember your Kindness."
Just as Joey Wheeler was about to say something else, Hayato suddenly showed a mischievous smile, leaned his head close to Tristan Taylor's ear beside him, and lowered his voice just enough for Joey Wheeler to hear, saying, "Speaking of which, Joey Wheeler's sister is named Serenity Wheeler, right? I remember she's a great beauty..."
"Hehehe~"
"Hehehe~"
"You two jerks, don't even think about my sister!" Joey Wheeler was distracted by Hayato's teasing, and his tears instantly vanished. He started roughhousing with the two of them. Tristan Taylor was a bit embarrassed to admit he did have thoughts about Joey Wheeler's sister, Serenity Wheeler. As for Hayato, he kept saying things like "Don't be like that, brother-in-law," and "I'm just taking advantage of your Kindness, understand?"
And it must be admitted, Hayato's tactic worked quite well, successfully persuading Joey Wheeler to accept Hayato and Yugi's "Wealth" Cards. After the post-Battle celebration ended, only one final problem remained before them.
"Pegasus, the Father of Duel Monsters, a genius game designer. Not only does he have the deepest understanding of Duel Monsters, but he also fully utilizes the convenience of being a Card designer, possessing a considerable number of unique Cards." Samejima shared the Information he knew with Hayato and Yugi. "To my knowledge, the true identity of the Deck Pegasus uses is the Toon Deck."
Although the Duelist Kingdom Match had ended, the next day would be the Battle between the two Duel Kings and the Father of Duel Monsters. As Duelists, neither Mai Valentine nor Samejima Iemitsu wanted to miss tomorrow's Match, so they remained in the Castle.
"Ah, I know, we saw Pegasus use them that day." Téa Gardner recalled what happened the day they arrived at the Castle. "He's the only one who has Toon Monsters, and their Effects are incredibly overpowered. It's just too unfair."
"Cannot be Destroyed, Direct Attack, just these two Effects are enough to give you a headache. And Pegasus's every Monster has this kind of Resistance," Hayato said helplessly. "And compared to Toon Monsters, which can still be countered, what's even more troublesome is that guy Pegasus's Mind Reading Ability."
"Mind Reading, that is indeed troublesome," Mai Valentine frowned. "Using that kind of ability in a Duel, isn't that Cheating?"
Joey Wheeler chuckled, "But Mai, you, who put perfume on your Cards, don't have the Qualification to say that about Pegasus, do you?"
"Shut up!"
Tristan Taylor's focus was slightly different: "Speaking of Cheating, I'm worried about something. What if that guy Pegasus is about to lose the Duel from Hayato and Yugi's combined Attack and threatens Mokuba Kaiba and the others?"
Téa Gardner heard Tristan Taylor say this and also became worried: "Pegasus is such a famous figure, he shouldn't do something like that, right?"
"You can't say for sure. Didn't he already threaten Kaiba with Mokuba Kaiba that day?" Yugi sighed. He had just had some ideas for cracking Pegasus's Mind Reading, but now he had to start considering the possibility of that guy Pegasus Cheating.
But at the same time, he also noticed Hayato's calm demeanor. The only time he showed a troubled Expression was when they mentioned Toon Monsters. Afterwards, whether they talked about Mind Reading or Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba as Hostages, he seemed much more relaxed.
"Actually, regarding Mokuba Kaiba and the others, we don't need to worry too much. I've already prepared for this," Hayato said, taking a big gulp of Soda from the cup in his hand, then covering his temples because the Ice Cube froze him, his Expression slightly distorted. "I have some Good Stuff in my Room. Do you guys want to come take a look?"
"Good Stuff? New Cards?" Joey Wheeler said with great interest, but Hayato just waved his hand, "Nah~, it's even more exciting than new Cards, and it can make you guys Mind-Blowing~"
Saying that, he took the lead and brought everyone to his Room, which led to the scene at the beginning.
(Author's Note: In the original DM, Pegasus's Toon Monsters didn't actually have Physical Cards. All Toon Monsters that appeared were normal Monsters transformed by Toon World, such as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon taken from Kaiba, which became Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon.)
(Author's Note: It wasn't until the Doma Arc that Toon Monster Physical Cards appeared in Pegasus's Deck. However, he never showed his Deck before that, so it's possible he already had them (but only possible).)
(Author's Note: Here, let's unify it: Pegasus's Deck has Physical Cards of Toon Monsters, and at the same time, he can also turn other Monsters into Toon Monsters through Cards like Toon World.)
(Author's Note: Also, the next chapter is still a transition, the chapter after that, which is tomorrow, will officially begin the Duel with Pegasus.)
(Author's Note: Also, I clearly did a five-chapter release yesterday, and you still say I'm slow? Get lost.)
(End of Chapter)