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Chapter 858: If His True Identity is Discovered, Dan Lito's Dueling Career is Over

"I... lost..." Looking at his Life Points reduced to zero, Ryo Marufuji lowered his head somewhat dejectedly, even though he had known the final duel result from the moment Super Polymerization appeared.

No matter how strong Ryo Marufuji would become in the future, it had no relation to the Ryo Marufuji of now. After all, he was still just a twelve-year-old child.

Losing the duel was one thing; after all, Ryo Marufuji had lost plenty of times while training at the Cyber Style Dojo, and he had always believed he wasn't someone who only cared about winning or losing. However, in this duel, Ryo Marufuji couldn't even unleash his full power.

From the start of the duel, he had been restricted by **The Last Warrior from Another Planet**. Let alone summoning **Cyber End Dragon**, the ace card of his Deck and symbol of his graduation from the Cyber Style, he could only barely summon **Cyber Twin Dragon** at the very last moment, and it even ended up becoming the opponent's Fusion Material.

This didn't align with Ryo Marufuji's requirement for himself to respect the duel. Not being able to unleash the full power of his Deck in a duel was a great disgrace.

Hayato also put away his Duel Disk and came before Ryo Marufuji. "Heh heh, the famous 'Cyber Style' is nothing special after all. You're no match for me, who possesses divine talent. And you talk about 'respect the duel'? Weak, weak!"

But looking at "Dan Lito" who stood before him, Ryo Marufuji, with a thoughtful expression, was silent for a moment before calmly saying, "I did indeed lose this duel, but even if I hadn't lost the duel, I no longer have the need to reclaim that **Cyber Dragon** from your hand."

"Hmm?" Hayato was taken aback upon hearing this.

"Although I don't know what method you used, there were simply too many flaws revealed, especially that last **Super Polymerization** card. I saw it once during your duel against Ms. Ishizu Ishtar in Battle City." Ryo Marufuji lowered his voice slightly so the surrounding onlookers couldn't hear him. "It's not strange at all for you to have a **Cyber Dragon** card in your hand, Dan Lito... no, Mr. Hayato Kobayashi."

Tsk, how could I forget about this?

Only then did Hayato remember that although he had tried his best to use cards he didn't usually use in public to hide his identity, and even though **Rainbow Kuriboh** was already in his hand before, he hadn't used her. Did he end up exposing his identity because of **Super Polymerization**?

Since Ryo Marufuji had said that much, Hayato helplessly removed part of his disguise and said to him, "A kid who is too smart isn't likable."

Although he had already guessed Hayato's identity, seeing Hayato release the power of the Millennium Rod and reveal his true form, Ryo Marufuji couldn't help but show a surprised expression. "It really is you, Mr. Hayato!"

"Shh~ Keep your voice down, don't let others hear." Hayato said, glancing at the audience who had been drawn by the previous duel. As the duel ended, most of these onlookers offered applause and then left.

After all, in their eyes, this duel was just a spar between two unfamiliar nameless duelists, not a duel between Important Figures, and it wasn't particularly exciting either. They watched it and that was that.

However, the speed at which the passersby dispersed varied. Many still lingered nearby, and if Ryo Marufuji's voice was too loud and let them know he was here, it would be even more trouble than Valon being mistaken for Joey Wheeler.

Glancing at Joey Wheeler and Yugi standing together, Hayato pointed towards them and said to Ryo Marufuji, "If you have anything you want to say, let's go over there to talk."

After leaving the Duel Field and arriving at the less noticeable location where Yugi and the others were, Ryo Marufuji, who had followed behind Hayato, hesitated several times before asking Hayato, "Mr. Hayato, although it might be presumptuous, I wanted to ask you, what are your thoughts on that duel just now?"

"That duel just now?" Hayato heard Ryo Marufuji's words but just smiled, not answering him directly. "That's something others can't give you the answer to. Instead of asking me, why not try to find the answer yourself?"

Hayato naturally knew the problem that arose in Ryo Marufuji's duel just now. Leaving aside the fact that at the start of the duel, he noticed Hayato's unusual attempt to take the first turn but still let Hayato go first and set up his field setup, the mere fact that he had a card in his hand that could break through **The Last Warrior from Another Planet** but didn't use it for the sake of so-called "respect the opponent" and "respect the duel" was a big problem.

Of course, he wasn't talking about **Forbidden Droplet**. Hayato was talking about the **De-Fusion** that Ryo Marufuji sent to the Graveyard as the cost for **Forbidden Droplet**. It should be known that the target for that card was never restricted to only his own monsters; it could also be used on the opponent's Fusion Monster.

Ryo Marufuji drew **Forbidden Droplet** on his second turn. By working backward from this, it can be deduced that his six cards in hand after the first turn began were **Proto-Cyber Dragon**, **Cyber Dragon**, **Power Bond**, **Wall of Disruption**, **De-Fusion**, and the useless **Sakuretsu Armor**.

With this setup, he could have used **De-Fusion** on the first turn to break through **The Last Warrior from Another Planet**, which had a powerful locking effect but not even a bit of resistance, then summoned **Cyber Twin Dragon** to destroy the Scumbag Aleister (Aleister: Hey!) in face-down Defense Position, and then direct attack Hayato for the victory.

But precisely for the sake of so-called "respect the opponent," Ryo Marufuji didn't even consider the aspect of "using **De-Fusion** on the opponent's monster."

Everyone has their own persistence in dueling. For example, Johan and Rafael, who regard their monsters as family; Kaiba, who absolutely must summon **Blue-Eyes** no matter what once he draws it; and Hayato himself, who feels uncomfortable if he doesn't tribute a monster at least once in a duel...

Oh, the last one doesn't count. Is that tributing a monster? That's a necessary sacrifice.

However, if these persistences only add a little trouble in a duel, it's not a big deal. But if a duel is lost because of such persistence, then this persistence becomes extremely fatal. After all, at the end of the day, the essence of dueling is a derivative of the ancient ceremony of the duel, something where you cannot survive without victory.

Not just in the present, but in the future that Hayato knows, Ryo Marufuji continued to hold that mindset of "respect the duel," "respect the opponent," and "respect the Deck" for a long time afterward. This persistence was even stronger than his desire for victory.

But if you don't choose to pursue victory, what reason does victory have to approach you?

This truth was something Ryo Marufuji only came to understand after graduating and entering society, encountering several setbacks until he fell into a hell-like situation, and experiencing life-threatening underground duels. It made him realize that he had always had a desire for victory in his heart, allowing him to transform and grow into a duelist truly worthy of the name "Kaiser" - Hell Kaiser.

Because of this, Hayato didn't expect this single duel to make Ryo Marufuji realize this point. The reason he provoked this duel was just to give Ryo Marufuji a heads-up beforehand.

After all, the cost for Ryo Marufuji's growth from the academy's "Kaiser" Ryo to "Hell Kaiser" was his excessive use of the Artificial Dark Game's Impact Amplifier in underground duels, which laid the groundwork for him to suffer heart disease from Dark Games in subsequent duels. The genius duelist Ryo Marufuji was forced to put down his Duel Disk before reaching adulthood because of this, and Hayato felt quite regretful about it.

After all, he is kind-hearted, and there is no duelist in this world with more love/compassion than him. It would be best if Ryo Marufuji could realize this point before entering the Underground Duel Arena.

"I should find the answer myself?" Ryo Marufuji heard Hayato's answer. Although his intuition told him that Hayato definitely knew how he could improve, he couldn't demand it if Hayato wasn't willing to say, so he could only nod to indicate that he understood. However, he didn't notice the slightest bit of what Hayato wanted him to realize.

Leaving aside the fact that Ryo Marufuji was only 12 years old at the moment, and had only graduated from the Cyber Style for three years, the idea of "respect the duel" was deeply ingrained. Just this one duel from Hayato was simply unable to shake it.

After all, after realizing Hayato's identity, Ryo Marufuji could no longer associate this duel with ideas or anything of the sort. Who could blame him when his opponent was the Duel King? Even if his opponent didn't use his full power, he was still no match for Hayato. The result would be the same even if his Teacher came. Ryo Marufuji also knew about the Secret Card that Hayato obtained from Samejima.

This was one of the reasons why Hayato had hidden his identity at the start, but he didn't expect Ryo Marufuji to actively see through it halfway through.

However, Ryo Marufuji didn't think for too long, because when Hayato led him to a less noticeable corner in the Buffet Restaurant, he suddenly noticed something—Hayato Kobayashi, as the Duel King standing at the apex of Duel Monsters, his connections were naturally not bad at all.

"'Father of Duel Monsters' Mr. Pegasus J. Crawford, the legendary duelist Mr. Mutou Yuugi, and Mr. Katsuya Jounouchi, whom Mr. Valon often mentions!" Ryo Marufuji was full of shock, almost stunned. "I actually saw them alive!"

"Why do you say that like we're dead people? And why is it so strange when you get to me? It sounds like Valon and I have some kind of shady relationship," Joey Wheeler retorted.

Ryo Marufuji's description was even worse than that kid named Johan before. Skipping it would have been better than that gay-sounding description.

"I heard someone witnessed you, Mr. Joey Wheeler , and Mr. Pegasus appearing here before. I thought it was fake news, but it turns out it's true?"

Ryo Marufuji still had an expression of disbelief, and Joey Wheeler scratched his head upon hearing his words. "Well, that one actually was fake news. Don't worry about that kind of thing."

"No, you might not care, but I do!" Marik said excitedly, looking at Hayato beside him. "Brother-in-law, you definitely calculated me just now, right?! You called me saying 'The wind today is quite noisy' and 'potato chips are on sale downstairs' to trick me into coming down, and then I was surrounded as soon as I got out of the Elevator! You were definitely calculating me!"

"When I was being bothered by those guys who wouldn't listen, why were you just watching?! Aren't we companions?!"

"Ah, that." Hayato looked into the distance. "It's a bit embarrassing to say, those were mistakes made in my youth."

"Hmm? What did you say?"

Just as Marik was persistently trying to borrow money from Hayato to buy a new motorcycle, Valon returned late after the duel ended, holding a large bowl of peanuts and melon seeds in his hand.

As he walked, he asked Joey Wheeler confusedly, "Hey Joey Wheeler , are you sure this stuff will let me get my money's worth? I didn't go to school, so don't lie to me."

"Don't ask anymore, Valon. If you keep asking, your image will completely turn into comic relief. Although I did tell you to eat more things with shells, eating this is worse than drinking ten pounds of soda." Joey Wheeler was a bit sweaty, and changed the subject. "Right, you said before that this child is a disciple from Uncle Samejima's Dojo, right? It's a pity, the duel result was Hayato's victory."

Valon also shrugged. "Yeah, completely unsurprising. And I bet the process of the duel was either Hayato tributed his own monster to recover Life Points, or he forcibly used someone else's monster, or he tributed his own monster to deliver the last blow."

"Uh, except for the last point, the other two points were indeed there." Joey Wheeler scratched his head, looking at Valon somewhat strangely. "But is that all? Aren't you worried about what this child will feel after losing the duel?"

"Why would I care about his feelings?" Valon was also asked somewhat strangely by Joey Wheeler and asked back.

Joey Wheeler looked at Valon, then at Ryo Marufuji, and said, "Although your appearances are quite different, and your personalities aren't very similar, your voices sound exactly the same, huh? Aren't you two brothers who were separated for many years or something?"

"Right, Hayato?"

Joey Wheeler turned back to ask Hayato, But saw Hayato holding up a sign that said "Kouko.NTR," which had no meaning, as his response to him.

"Ah, speaking of brothers, Marufuji, you'd better hurry back." Valon said casually. "When I went to get food just now, I observed the kids we brought. It seems many of them are arguing because neither of us is there. We need to hurry over and manage them."

"Especially your younger brother, he's been telling others things like 'Cyber Style' is a scam that kidnaps children. If it weren't for your sake, I would definitely teach him a good lesson. Even though I only joined 'Cyber Style' recently, I can't stand that kid saying things like that."

Upon hearing this, Ryo Marufuji also put away the paper and pen he had somehow taken out, intending to ask someone for a signature, and said seriously and sternly, "Sho? You don't need to have any concern for me. Just manage him directly. And since you've already noticed, why aren't you going over?"

Valon looked at a cheap electronic watch on his hand and whispered somewhat guiltily, "There's still over half an hour left for meal time, can't waste it—I know, let's go together!"

Under Ryo Marufuji's strict gaze that seemed capable of killing, Valon quickly corrected himself.

Ps1: In both Yu-Gi-Oh! DM and GX anime, there are annoying green-haired characters. In DM, it's Weevil. At least he helped the subsequent enemy deal with Exodia, that unfair cheat, provided the initial Flickering Candle Flag, and the later Berserker Soul Famous Scene. In the GX anime, it's Sho Marufuji. One can only say he lives up to his name. When there's trouble, it's the boss monster; when there's nothing, it's Judai. He's even more annoying than his manga counterpart, who has less presence.
Ps2: Valon's voice actor, Takeshi Maeda, is also Ryo Marufuji's voice actor. Tane-da.jpg

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