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Chapter 841: An Unexpected Reunion
What troubles a creator endlessly? Lack of inspiration.
What is the pain beyond that? Having too much inspiration and being unable to use it all, forced to make a choice.
And beyond that? Not even knowing which of the two choices you must make will yield a better result.
Pegasus was caught in such a situation. Having unexpectedly obtained seven Ancient Gems, he had the opportunity to create unique Special Cards. At the same time, just the first stop of this trip in Egypt had already given him ample inspiration to create brand new Cards. Two happy things combined should have been double the happiness. But, how could this be...
Hearing Pegasus express his troubles, Hayato could only swallow the words "Children make choices, adults want it all."
Due to the restriction on the quantity of Gems, only one set of Cards could ultimately be completed. If he insisted on "wanting it all," the power of the originally complete set of seven Gems would be divided, resulting in two sets of Cards that would not be in a perfect state. Pegasus could not accept such a result, and neither could Hayato.
Preferring a second-rate comedy over a first-rate tragedy, similarly, rather than powerful Cards separated from the whole and existing alone, Hayato still preferred complete Card series existing as a set. Given the opportunity to create a complete set of Cards, he didn't want to choose to make a cut version.
The result was that the problem returned to the starting point. The question was whether to choose **Crystal Beasts** or **Gem-Knights** as the direction for the designer. Not only Pegasus, but now even the others were feeling troubled from helping him think through the choice. It was no wonder Pegasus said his design progress had stagnated instead of increasing.
In terms of strength, neither **Crystal Beasts** nor **Gem-Knights** are meta Decks or Tier 1 Decks. While they can certainly play some excellent combos with reasonable Deck building, for example, **Gem-Knights** can play FTK, and **Crystal Beasts** can always combine with all sorts of strange Cards, overall, they are definitely not comparable to **Drytron**, **Shaddoll**, or even **Cyber Dragon** in a wheelchair.
However, if forced to compare their strength, **Gem-Knights** has some strength, but **Crystal Beasts** can truly only be described as having only "soul," struggling in the fun Deck world.
But there is a saying, "What's important is not strength, but love." This saying can also be applied to Duel Monsters. For example, Hayato has several powerful Decks in his hand, but the ones he trusts the most are **Gaia** and **Rainbow Kuriboh**.
Hayato couldn't give Pegasus a suggestion for his problem, but he did think of someone. That person was the User of the **Crystal Beast** Deck, a rare Card set that exists only one in the World, which Pegasus, who had honestly completed **Crystal Beast** without **El Shaddoll Construct** opening up new ideas on the original timeline, entrusted to him. He is also one of Judai Yuki's most trusted close friends in the Future, perhaps even the only one, Jesse Andersen.
The others couldn't make a decision, and Pegasus the designer himself couldn't make up his mind, but Hayato felt that the future **Crystal Beast** User, Jesse Andersen himself, had the qualification to make the choice.
But the problem was, Jesse Andersen and Judai Yuki are the same age, and he wasn't a student at the Duel Academy Main Campus, which was currently just a project and not yet built. He was an exchange student representative from the Arctic Circle Branch School. Hayato only remembered that he seems like he was from Northern Europe, but apart from that, there was fundamentally no other information.
Also, the reason Pegasus entrusted the **Crystal Beast** Cards to him was simply because when he was invited to be an award presenter for the World Youth Duel Tournament, he happened to witness Jesse Andersen becoming the champion. Feeling his heartfelt passion for Duel Monsters and the rare ability he possessed to see Spirits, he gifted him the **Crystal Beast** Deck.
Since Hayato had a good relationship with both Kaiba and Pegasus, he could also learn about the tournament plans for various events that would be held in the Future from them. But the problem was that Duel Monsters was still in the global promotion phase, not yet at the stage where it covered the Whole World and enthusiasts spanned all age groups. At least Pegasus and Kaiba both stated that there would be no Duel Tournament plans divided by age group in the next two years, so there was fundamentally no possibility of finding Jesse Andersen.
He couldn't just suddenly appear in front of them, right? He didn't have the ability to make wishes come true.
Hayato thought to himself, ranting like this, but then he heard the sound of several people talking behind him. However, the language they were using was neither Arabic nor English, but Japanese, which was not the mainstream language in Egypt. One of the voices was strangely familiar.
"Are you sure this is the right direction, Teacher? Although the **Guardians** did say they felt a familiar aura, would anyone really buy those ridiculously expensive tickets from outside to come in? It feels a bit unreliable," a somewhat childish voice said. Immediately after, another voice that was quite familiar to Hayato answered him.
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you, Johnny, Lesson 1—Don't have any strange expectations of me." That familiar voice came from around the Corner. "I carry many sins that are hard to count on my body. I'm not a good person. You should have a questioning heart towards others and not trust them so easily."
However, the childish voice seemed to have completely ignored what the voice familiar to Hayato said: "Huh~ But I don't think you're a bad person, Teacher. You clearly have passionate emotions for the **Guardians**, and the **Guardians** deeply love you, Teacher. How could someone who likes Duel Monsters and loves Spirits be a bad person?"
"Johnny," the voice familiar to Hayato said with some helplessness.
The two people talking had not yet come out from around the Corner. Their voices were heard before they were seen. However, it wasn't just Hayato; even Yugi seemed to find the voice of the more mature person called "Teacher" somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
Listening to their conversation and catching the keyword "**Guardians**," Hayato raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Although **Guardian** Cards aren't unique existences like **Blue-Eyes**, you can still buy them to build a Deck if you have money. But Spirits and such, could it be that guy?"
As Hayato was thinking this, the two people conversing in Japanese came out from around the Corner, revealing their true form in front of the party. It was a combination of one adult and one child.
The smaller one looked to be only about ten years old. He had slightly uncommon dark green short hair and was wearing a white knitted hat with many small blue five-pointed stars. He was looking at the tall man beside him with lake-blue eyes.
Upon seeing the man, Hayato also showed a suddenly realized expression: "I knew that voice sounded familiar. So it's you. Speaking of which, we were sort of former colleagues, weren't we?"
The blonde man also noticed Hayato. An unexpected expression appeared on his calm, even stiff, face: "The one giving me and the **Guardians** such an unusually familiar feeling, it was you guys, Hayato Kobayashi, and the Nameless Pharaoh."
"...Blue-haired Earring."
"Don't just give me strange nicknames! My name is Rafael!" Rafael raised an eyebrow and glared at Hayato. "Although I do wear an earring, where did you get the idea that I have blue hair?"
The blonde strong man who appeared before the party was none other than Rafael, the User of the **Guardian** Deck, who had once belonged to Dartz's Doma and even held the extremely high position of one of the Doma Three Swordsmen!
Ever since Joey Wheeler, Kaiba, Yugi, and Hayato defeated Dartz and destroyed the **Orichalcos God**, releasing the souls of countless people it had absorbed over tens of thousands of years, Rafael, whose soul had been sealed by Dartz's scheme before, was naturally revived at that time as well. The same went for Valon. However, this was the first time Yugi and the others had met Rafael since then.
Although Rafael's aura was very recognizable, the image of Rafael appearing before them now had undergone a world upside down change compared to when he was one of the Doma Three Swordsmen. His short yellow hair had grown to shoulder length, and he was wearing a cowboy hat to block the scorching Egyptian sun. The dark blue trench coat he originally wore had also been replaced by a combination of a purple short-sleeved shirt and a brown cape.
To be honest, at first glance, even Yugi and Atem, who had experienced heart-to-heart communication through duels, found it slightly difficult to confirm that the Rafael before them was the Rafael they knew.
"Ah ha ha ha ha, that's a pretty good joke, it's really funny, super awesome."
Beside Rafael, the child who appeared with him seemed to have gotten the joke in Hayato and Rafael's brief conversation and spoke cheerfully. But compared to his genuine smile, his tone of voice was slightly flat, giving the impression that he was just pretending to laugh to be polite, or even being sarcastic.
"That's not a joke, Johnny. Don't learn bad things from that guy Hayato Kobayashi." Looking at the young boy beside him, Rafael pushed up the brim of his hat with some helplessness.
"It's been a long time, Rafael." A golden light flashed on the **Millennium Puzzle**, and Atem came to the Outside World, greeting Rafael. "How have things been recently?"
"Nameless Pharaoh, it's been a long time. Although I say that, it's only been less than a month since Dartz's defeat. There's no need to look at me with eyes like we're meeting again after more than ten years." Rafael said, looking at Atem's gaze. "As for my recent situation, I guess I've been lucky."
"Before, in Doma, for the 'New World' that Dartz envisioned, I acted as his sharp blade and handled many dirty matters. I, who carried this sin, should have faced the Referee, but a long time passed and I never received the penalty I deserved. Then I realized—compared to salvaging Doma's legacy to prevent other competitors from benefiting, killing me, who is protected by supernatural Spirit power, seems like a losing proposition in the eyes of those countries."
"It's just like the so-called relatives and friends I saw fighting over my family property when I returned to Human Society from the Deserted Island back at that time."
Saying this, Rafael shook his head helplessly, sighed, and turned to look at the young boy beside him: "Although I feel I am burdened with sin, I don't have any self-destructive tendencies. I just thought I'd do whatever I could. Then I unexpectedly encountered this child in America and became his guardian."
Hearing Rafael's words, Atem also looked at the young boy beside him named "Johnny." Joey Wheeler, who was behind Atem, also leaned forward and said, "Ah, I heard it just now. His name is 'Johnny,' right? This child?"
"No, 'Johnny' is clearly just a nickname, idiot Joey Wheeler." "Huh? Tristan, whose English grades are just as bad as mine, what are you being proud about?"
Seeing Atem look at him, "Johnny" also politely greeted him and introduced himself: "Hello, Mr. 'Nameless Pharaoh.' I apologize for calling you that. My Teacher told me he doesn't know your name either and can only call you that. 'Johnny' is indeed my Teacher's nickname for me. My name is actually John."
"Hello, John." Looking at the cheerful John, Atem also greeted him. However, he noticed that after John greeted him, he also waved and said hello to his left and right sides.
But there was no one standing on his left and right sides; only **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl** had spontaneously appeared from the Cards, staying by his side in a state invisible to ordinary people and coexisting with him.
"This child, can he actually see them?"
"Yes, Johnny seems like he was born with the rare ability to see Spirits. I believe he has great potential in Duel Monsters, so I am also teaching him as a Teacher." Rafael nodded in affirmation and then asked Yugi, "Compared to me, what about your situation, Nameless Pharaoh?"
Atem smiled upon hearing Rafael's words: "My situation, the answer is that you no longer need to use the title 'Nameless Pharaoh,' but can call me by my name, 'Atem.'"
"You've found your name, huh? That's good news, Name... Atem." Rafael also seemed happy about the news that Atem had found his name.
Meanwhile, John, who was beside Rafael, seemed to have seen something quite interesting. He walked away from Rafael and came in front of Hayato, who was frowning and examining him: "Hello, please tell me, are you Mr. Hayato Kobayashi?"
"The name John is too common, it must be a coincidence... No, it's nothing." Hayato, who was muttering to himself in a low voice, looked at John in front of him. "It's me. What is it?"
"Well, actually, my Teacher recently taught me that a Duelist's Deck often has 'soul' Cards that serve as the core. By Deck building around just a few soul Cards, a Duelist can fully unleash their own strength." John paused, then continued, "My Teacher also gave examples, saying his soul Cards are **Guardian Eatos** and the others, Mr. Kaiba Seto's soul Card is **Blue-Eyes White Dragon**, and Mr. Mutou Yuugi and Mr. Nameless Pharaoh's soul Cards are **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl**."
"Just now, I also saw the Spirits of **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl** beside Mr. Nameless Pharaoh. However, when I asked my Teacher before, he absolutely refused to tell me what the soul Card of Mr. Hayato Kobayashi, the Duel King, is."
Finally stating his goal, John also felt relieved and looked at Hayato with an expectant expression: "So, Mr. Hayato, who is it really, your soul Card?"
Hearing John's words, Hayato spread his arms with some pride: "Haven't you seen the Spirits beside me?"
John scratched the hat on his head with some helplessness: "I did see them, but Mr. Hayato, shouldn't there only be two or three soul Cards?"
"Idiot, how can Tamashii be such an inconvenient thing?" Hayato pointed to himself with his thumb. "All my Spirits are naturally my Tamashii! It's not that I'm scum, it's just that my heart has shattered into countless pieces for the Spirits."
Hearing Hayato's words, John didn't react much, but **Ojama Yellow**, who hadn't appeared for a long time, suddenly ran out from the Deck on Hayato's waist, wiping away snot and tears: "That's so touching, Aniki!"
**Ojama Black** and **Ojama Green**, along with the rest of the **Ojama** type monsters, actually all ran out: "You finally said we are also your Tamashii!" "We finally waited for this day!" "So touching, 'nye!"
"Oh, I forgot to replenish, the **Ojama** Small Fry don't count."
"Don't destroy our sweet dream!"
Thank you for the 500 points from "Blue-haired Sword."
ps1: Neither the anime nor the manga mention John's parents, but considering Cards as family basically means he has already lost his family. Therefore, in this book, John regrettably becomes an orphan.
Also, another thing worth mentioning is that although John is from Northern Europe in the anime, he is from the American Duel Academy in the manga. Theoretically, he can be seen as Batman (in the appearance of the Duelist World).
ps2: The outfits of John and Rafael in this chapter are a reference to Johnny and Gyro from SBR. Also, since they both have the Dueling style of treating Cards as family and refusing to send them to Graveyard, I might as well make Rafael John's Duel mentor in this book.
ps3: Because Pegasus had different encounters in the anime and manga, John, who received Cards from Pegasus who didn't die early in GX, didn't use the Crystal Beast that most people first think of, but an Insect Deck.
ps4: Today's fun quiz question: Why can't Germans call a Taxi on the road?
Because then the Taxi (Volkswagen) will only drive to Poland.
(End of Chapter)
What troubles a creator endlessly? Lack of inspiration.
What is the pain beyond that? Having too much inspiration and being unable to use it all, forced to make a choice.
And beyond that? Not even knowing which of the two choices you must make will yield a better result.
Pegasus was caught in such a situation. Having unexpectedly obtained seven Ancient Gems, he had the opportunity to create unique Special Cards. At the same time, just the first stop of this trip in Egypt had already given him ample inspiration to create brand new Cards. Two happy things combined should have been double the happiness. But, how could this be...
Hearing Pegasus express his troubles, Hayato could only swallow the words "Children make choices, adults want it all."
Due to the restriction on the quantity of Gems, only one set of Cards could ultimately be completed. If he insisted on "wanting it all," the power of the originally complete set of seven Gems would be divided, resulting in two sets of Cards that would not be in a perfect state. Pegasus could not accept such a result, and neither could Hayato.
Preferring a second-rate comedy over a first-rate tragedy, similarly, rather than powerful Cards separated from the whole and existing alone, Hayato still preferred complete Card series existing as a set. Given the opportunity to create a complete set of Cards, he didn't want to choose to make a cut version.
The result was that the problem returned to the starting point. The question was whether to choose **Crystal Beasts** or **Gem-Knights** as the direction for the designer. Not only Pegasus, but now even the others were feeling troubled from helping him think through the choice. It was no wonder Pegasus said his design progress had stagnated instead of increasing.
In terms of strength, neither **Crystal Beasts** nor **Gem-Knights** are meta Decks or Tier 1 Decks. While they can certainly play some excellent combos with reasonable Deck building, for example, **Gem-Knights** can play FTK, and **Crystal Beasts** can always combine with all sorts of strange Cards, overall, they are definitely not comparable to **Drytron**, **Shaddoll**, or even **Cyber Dragon** in a wheelchair.
However, if forced to compare their strength, **Gem-Knights** has some strength, but **Crystal Beasts** can truly only be described as having only "soul," struggling in the fun Deck world.
But there is a saying, "What's important is not strength, but love." This saying can also be applied to Duel Monsters. For example, Hayato has several powerful Decks in his hand, but the ones he trusts the most are **Gaia** and **Rainbow Kuriboh**.
Hayato couldn't give Pegasus a suggestion for his problem, but he did think of someone. That person was the User of the **Crystal Beast** Deck, a rare Card set that exists only one in the World, which Pegasus, who had honestly completed **Crystal Beast** without **El Shaddoll Construct** opening up new ideas on the original timeline, entrusted to him. He is also one of Judai Yuki's most trusted close friends in the Future, perhaps even the only one, Jesse Andersen.
The others couldn't make a decision, and Pegasus the designer himself couldn't make up his mind, but Hayato felt that the future **Crystal Beast** User, Jesse Andersen himself, had the qualification to make the choice.
But the problem was, Jesse Andersen and Judai Yuki are the same age, and he wasn't a student at the Duel Academy Main Campus, which was currently just a project and not yet built. He was an exchange student representative from the Arctic Circle Branch School. Hayato only remembered that he seems like he was from Northern Europe, but apart from that, there was fundamentally no other information.
Also, the reason Pegasus entrusted the **Crystal Beast** Cards to him was simply because when he was invited to be an award presenter for the World Youth Duel Tournament, he happened to witness Jesse Andersen becoming the champion. Feeling his heartfelt passion for Duel Monsters and the rare ability he possessed to see Spirits, he gifted him the **Crystal Beast** Deck.
Since Hayato had a good relationship with both Kaiba and Pegasus, he could also learn about the tournament plans for various events that would be held in the Future from them. But the problem was that Duel Monsters was still in the global promotion phase, not yet at the stage where it covered the Whole World and enthusiasts spanned all age groups. At least Pegasus and Kaiba both stated that there would be no Duel Tournament plans divided by age group in the next two years, so there was fundamentally no possibility of finding Jesse Andersen.
He couldn't just suddenly appear in front of them, right? He didn't have the ability to make wishes come true.
Hayato thought to himself, ranting like this, but then he heard the sound of several people talking behind him. However, the language they were using was neither Arabic nor English, but Japanese, which was not the mainstream language in Egypt. One of the voices was strangely familiar.
"Are you sure this is the right direction, Teacher? Although the **Guardians** did say they felt a familiar aura, would anyone really buy those ridiculously expensive tickets from outside to come in? It feels a bit unreliable," a somewhat childish voice said. Immediately after, another voice that was quite familiar to Hayato answered him.
"This is the first lesson I'm teaching you, Johnny, Lesson 1—Don't have any strange expectations of me." That familiar voice came from around the Corner. "I carry many sins that are hard to count on my body. I'm not a good person. You should have a questioning heart towards others and not trust them so easily."
However, the childish voice seemed to have completely ignored what the voice familiar to Hayato said: "Huh~ But I don't think you're a bad person, Teacher. You clearly have passionate emotions for the **Guardians**, and the **Guardians** deeply love you, Teacher. How could someone who likes Duel Monsters and loves Spirits be a bad person?"
"Johnny," the voice familiar to Hayato said with some helplessness.
The two people talking had not yet come out from around the Corner. Their voices were heard before they were seen. However, it wasn't just Hayato; even Yugi seemed to find the voice of the more mature person called "Teacher" somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
Listening to their conversation and catching the keyword "**Guardians**," Hayato raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Although **Guardian** Cards aren't unique existences like **Blue-Eyes**, you can still buy them to build a Deck if you have money. But Spirits and such, could it be that guy?"
As Hayato was thinking this, the two people conversing in Japanese came out from around the Corner, revealing their true form in front of the party. It was a combination of one adult and one child.
The smaller one looked to be only about ten years old. He had slightly uncommon dark green short hair and was wearing a white knitted hat with many small blue five-pointed stars. He was looking at the tall man beside him with lake-blue eyes.
Upon seeing the man, Hayato also showed a suddenly realized expression: "I knew that voice sounded familiar. So it's you. Speaking of which, we were sort of former colleagues, weren't we?"
The blonde man also noticed Hayato. An unexpected expression appeared on his calm, even stiff, face: "The one giving me and the **Guardians** such an unusually familiar feeling, it was you guys, Hayato Kobayashi, and the Nameless Pharaoh."
"...Blue-haired Earring."
"Don't just give me strange nicknames! My name is Rafael!" Rafael raised an eyebrow and glared at Hayato. "Although I do wear an earring, where did you get the idea that I have blue hair?"
The blonde strong man who appeared before the party was none other than Rafael, the User of the **Guardian** Deck, who had once belonged to Dartz's Doma and even held the extremely high position of one of the Doma Three Swordsmen!
Ever since Joey Wheeler, Kaiba, Yugi, and Hayato defeated Dartz and destroyed the **Orichalcos God**, releasing the souls of countless people it had absorbed over tens of thousands of years, Rafael, whose soul had been sealed by Dartz's scheme before, was naturally revived at that time as well. The same went for Valon. However, this was the first time Yugi and the others had met Rafael since then.
Although Rafael's aura was very recognizable, the image of Rafael appearing before them now had undergone a world upside down change compared to when he was one of the Doma Three Swordsmen. His short yellow hair had grown to shoulder length, and he was wearing a cowboy hat to block the scorching Egyptian sun. The dark blue trench coat he originally wore had also been replaced by a combination of a purple short-sleeved shirt and a brown cape.
To be honest, at first glance, even Yugi and Atem, who had experienced heart-to-heart communication through duels, found it slightly difficult to confirm that the Rafael before them was the Rafael they knew.
"Ah ha ha ha ha, that's a pretty good joke, it's really funny, super awesome."
Beside Rafael, the child who appeared with him seemed to have gotten the joke in Hayato and Rafael's brief conversation and spoke cheerfully. But compared to his genuine smile, his tone of voice was slightly flat, giving the impression that he was just pretending to laugh to be polite, or even being sarcastic.
"That's not a joke, Johnny. Don't learn bad things from that guy Hayato Kobayashi." Looking at the young boy beside him, Rafael pushed up the brim of his hat with some helplessness.
"It's been a long time, Rafael." A golden light flashed on the **Millennium Puzzle**, and Atem came to the Outside World, greeting Rafael. "How have things been recently?"
"Nameless Pharaoh, it's been a long time. Although I say that, it's only been less than a month since Dartz's defeat. There's no need to look at me with eyes like we're meeting again after more than ten years." Rafael said, looking at Atem's gaze. "As for my recent situation, I guess I've been lucky."
"Before, in Doma, for the 'New World' that Dartz envisioned, I acted as his sharp blade and handled many dirty matters. I, who carried this sin, should have faced the Referee, but a long time passed and I never received the penalty I deserved. Then I realized—compared to salvaging Doma's legacy to prevent other competitors from benefiting, killing me, who is protected by supernatural Spirit power, seems like a losing proposition in the eyes of those countries."
"It's just like the so-called relatives and friends I saw fighting over my family property when I returned to Human Society from the Deserted Island back at that time."
Saying this, Rafael shook his head helplessly, sighed, and turned to look at the young boy beside him: "Although I feel I am burdened with sin, I don't have any self-destructive tendencies. I just thought I'd do whatever I could. Then I unexpectedly encountered this child in America and became his guardian."
Hearing Rafael's words, Atem also looked at the young boy beside him named "Johnny." Joey Wheeler, who was behind Atem, also leaned forward and said, "Ah, I heard it just now. His name is 'Johnny,' right? This child?"
"No, 'Johnny' is clearly just a nickname, idiot Joey Wheeler." "Huh? Tristan, whose English grades are just as bad as mine, what are you being proud about?"
Seeing Atem look at him, "Johnny" also politely greeted him and introduced himself: "Hello, Mr. 'Nameless Pharaoh.' I apologize for calling you that. My Teacher told me he doesn't know your name either and can only call you that. 'Johnny' is indeed my Teacher's nickname for me. My name is actually John."
"Hello, John." Looking at the cheerful John, Atem also greeted him. However, he noticed that after John greeted him, he also waved and said hello to his left and right sides.
But there was no one standing on his left and right sides; only **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl** had spontaneously appeared from the Cards, staying by his side in a state invisible to ordinary people and coexisting with him.
"This child, can he actually see them?"
"Yes, Johnny seems like he was born with the rare ability to see Spirits. I believe he has great potential in Duel Monsters, so I am also teaching him as a Teacher." Rafael nodded in affirmation and then asked Yugi, "Compared to me, what about your situation, Nameless Pharaoh?"
Atem smiled upon hearing Rafael's words: "My situation, the answer is that you no longer need to use the title 'Nameless Pharaoh,' but can call me by my name, 'Atem.'"
"You've found your name, huh? That's good news, Name... Atem." Rafael also seemed happy about the news that Atem had found his name.
Meanwhile, John, who was beside Rafael, seemed to have seen something quite interesting. He walked away from Rafael and came in front of Hayato, who was frowning and examining him: "Hello, please tell me, are you Mr. Hayato Kobayashi?"
"The name John is too common, it must be a coincidence... No, it's nothing." Hayato, who was muttering to himself in a low voice, looked at John in front of him. "It's me. What is it?"
"Well, actually, my Teacher recently taught me that a Duelist's Deck often has 'soul' Cards that serve as the core. By Deck building around just a few soul Cards, a Duelist can fully unleash their own strength." John paused, then continued, "My Teacher also gave examples, saying his soul Cards are **Guardian Eatos** and the others, Mr. Kaiba Seto's soul Card is **Blue-Eyes White Dragon**, and Mr. Mutou Yuugi and Mr. Nameless Pharaoh's soul Cards are **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl**."
"Just now, I also saw the Spirits of **Dark Magician** and **Dark Magician Girl** beside Mr. Nameless Pharaoh. However, when I asked my Teacher before, he absolutely refused to tell me what the soul Card of Mr. Hayato Kobayashi, the Duel King, is."
Finally stating his goal, John also felt relieved and looked at Hayato with an expectant expression: "So, Mr. Hayato, who is it really, your soul Card?"
Hearing John's words, Hayato spread his arms with some pride: "Haven't you seen the Spirits beside me?"
John scratched the hat on his head with some helplessness: "I did see them, but Mr. Hayato, shouldn't there only be two or three soul Cards?"
"Idiot, how can Tamashii be such an inconvenient thing?" Hayato pointed to himself with his thumb. "All my Spirits are naturally my Tamashii! It's not that I'm scum, it's just that my heart has shattered into countless pieces for the Spirits."
Hearing Hayato's words, John didn't react much, but **Ojama Yellow**, who hadn't appeared for a long time, suddenly ran out from the Deck on Hayato's waist, wiping away snot and tears: "That's so touching, Aniki!"
**Ojama Black** and **Ojama Green**, along with the rest of the **Ojama** type monsters, actually all ran out: "You finally said we are also your Tamashii!" "We finally waited for this day!" "So touching, 'nye!"
"Oh, I forgot to replenish, the **Ojama** Small Fry don't count."
"Don't destroy our sweet dream!"
Thank you for the 500 points from "Blue-haired Sword."
ps1: Neither the anime nor the manga mention John's parents, but considering Cards as family basically means he has already lost his family. Therefore, in this book, John regrettably becomes an orphan.
Also, another thing worth mentioning is that although John is from Northern Europe in the anime, he is from the American Duel Academy in the manga. Theoretically, he can be seen as Batman (in the appearance of the Duelist World).
ps2: The outfits of John and Rafael in this chapter are a reference to Johnny and Gyro from SBR. Also, since they both have the Dueling style of treating Cards as family and refusing to send them to Graveyard, I might as well make Rafael John's Duel mentor in this book.
ps3: Because Pegasus had different encounters in the anime and manga, John, who received Cards from Pegasus who didn't die early in GX, didn't use the Crystal Beast that most people first think of, but an Insect Deck.
ps4: Today's fun quiz question: Why can't Germans call a Taxi on the road?
Because then the Taxi (Volkswagen) will only drive to Poland.
(End of Chapter)
