Heroic Spirit Deck in Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon?! I've never heard of such a thing," Hoshino muttered, momentarily stunned. Adding the word "Neo" to the name might seem like a simple change, but it carried far more weight than just sounding cooler.

"Kaiba's new power, huh..." The fact that the already powerful Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon could evolve further left everyone in awe.

With arms crossed and a slight smile, Yugi nodded approvingly. "So even Kaiba has attained new strength? This is truly exciting." The way he said it almost made it sound as though he, too, had undergone some kind of upgrade.

So after all of Noah's scheming, it just turned into a stage for you two to show off your power-ups, huh?

While everyone marveled at the new monster, the image of three white dragons overlapped on Kaiba's field. The roar of this newly evolved Ultimate Dragon shook the heavens, its sheer intensity dwarfing everything before it.

"Behold! This is the ultimate Blue-Eyes that transcends the past, surpasses the gods, and forges the future with ultimate radiance!" Kaiba proclaimed, slamming the fusion card onto his Duel Disk with dramatic flair.

[Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon ★★★★★★★★★★ (Level 12)][LIGHT][Dragon/Fusion/Effect][ATK 4500/DEF 3800]

"Roooar!!" The massive Neo Ultimate Dragon was no less imposing than Exodia Necross. Reborn as the king of dragons, it let out a deafening roar, as if to erase the humiliation of its past defeats.

The sheer presence of Neo Ultimate Dragon made Gozaburo instinctively step back, his hand no longer stroking his thick mustache. "Summoning a monster with 4500 attack points straight away? This is absurd!"

"Right? I completely agree!" Hoshino nodded, sharing the sentiment. But since she wasn't the one facing Kaiba, she couldn't help but enjoy the spectacle.

"Attack now, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Obliterate Exodia Necross into dust!" Kaiba commanded, his voice filled with fury.

"—Ultimate Jet White Lightning!!"

The blazing white light from the dragon's three heads tore across the barren wasteland, ripping through the earth and air. The destructive beam engulfed Exodia Necross's colossal form.

"Ahhhhhh!!" Gozaburo screamed as the blinding light swallowed him whole, his pupils dilating in terror.

[Gozaburo LP 4000 → 1300]

Clutching his chest, Gozaburo gasped for breath. "Unbelievable... it only took one attack to cut down so much of my Life Points! But Exodia Necross's attack power increases after surviving the battle!"

[Exodia Necross ATK 1800 → 2800]

"Even an immortal specter like Necross cannot withstand the might of Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba declared. "Now, I activate its special ability—by sending Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon from the Extra Deck to the Graveyard!"

As Kaiba sent the Ultimate Dragon card to the Graveyard, Neo Ultimate Dragon absorbed its energy, condensing even more destructive power.

"No way! Impossible!" Gozaburo panicked.

"This is the effect of the True Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

[Effect: At the end of the Damage Step, if this is the only face-up card you control and it attacked: You can send 1 [Blue-Eyes] Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck to the Graveyard; this card can attack again in a row.]

"Your Necross belongs where all specters do—back in the afterlife!" Kaiba's commanding presence was amplified as he prepared to deliver the coup de grâce. "This will end it! Blue-Eyes, attack again!"

"—Ultimate Burst Stream of Destruction!!"

The dragon's three ferocious maws unleashed a second wave of relentless light that struck Exodia Necross's dark form.

"No!! This can't be! My ultimate Exodia Necross, defeated without resistance?!"

[Gozaburo LP 1300 → 0]

"That's right. I've overcome my past failures—whether it's Exodia or the shackles of your control!" Kaiba declared, retracting his Duel Disk and pointing at the defeated Gozaburo, who was visibly shaken.

"I will never be bound by the past! I will destroy anyone who stands in my way and carve out the future with my own hands!"

[Duel End. Winner: Seto Kaiba.]

When Kaiba launched his second attack with Neo Blue-Eyes, Hoshino was completely dumbfounded. "He actually pulled off a first-turn kill! A literal OTK! And that's with a 4500-attack monster capable of multiple attacks—who can possibly counter this?"

Yugi crossed his arms with a satisfied grin. "Kaiba's newfound power... it's strong enough to instill fear even in the gods themselves."

As Gozaburo regained his composure, his frustration boiled over. "To think I've lost to you again, Seto!"

Kaiba shot back, "Then fulfill your promise, Gozaburo. Release us from this twisted world!"

"Hahaha! How naive you are, Seto! You truly think that defeating me in a mere game would compel me to acknowledge you?"

"Ugh, old fox!" Kaiba spat, already expecting this betrayal.

"You will all remain trapped in this virtual world forever, wallowing in your loneliness!" Gozaburo declared, laughing maniacally.

Hoshino shot him a disgusted look. "Gozaburo, as both a father and a person, you're nothing but a complete failure. No wonder Kaiba and Mokuba feel ashamed to even mention you."

"Does that mean... we're really stuck here?" Anzu asked worriedly.

"Chirp chirp! (Look over there!)" Jonouchi, in his monkey form, excitedly pointed toward the horizon.

The virtual world, which had only partially collapsed earlier, began disintegrating again from the edges.

Gozaburo frowned deeply. "What's happening? I already halted the collapse of the virtual world!"

"It's over, Father..." Noah's soft voice broke the tension. "We've lost. In the final battle, Seto showed me his undeniable brilliance and determination to face the future."

"You betrayed me, Noah?!" Gozaburo roared.

Raising his hand, Noah emitted a bright white light that illuminated the darkened skies. "At the moment you were struck by Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, I transferred control back."

"You..." Even Hoshino was surprised. The one who saved everyone in their moment of crisis turned out to be the twisted Noah.

"Wait... does this mean my 'Twisted Personality Correction Punch' actually worked? That was just a name I made up!"

"Chiyuki, since I created this world, it's also my responsibility to destroy it." Tossing the glowing light into the sky, Noah watched as the virtual world began crumbling from the center outward.

"You were right—those of us who are already dead have no place lingering here. Seeing Father again made me realize that we're not gods. We're merely vengeful spirits clinging to the past."

"Curse you! If that's the case..." Betrayed and humiliated, Gozaburo pulled out a strange device from his pocket. "Then I'll launch the cruise missiles and destroy Domino City along with us!"

"Damn it!" Yugi exclaimed. No one expected Gozaburo to resort to such desperate measures.

Whoosh—!

A flash of golden light darted past Gozaburo, snatching the device from his hand.

"Chirp chirp! (I did it! Jonouchi-sama has saved the world!)"

The monkey version of Jonouchi leapt around in excitement, clutching the missile control device triumphantly.

"Nice work, Jonouchi! Just as planned!"

"Eh? Oni-chan actually pulled it off!" Shizuka gasped as Jonouchi, still holding the controller, jumped onto her shoulder.

Mai, surprised, asked, "Did you predict this would happen, Hoshino? Is that why you turned Jonouchi into a monkey?"

"Ahem, who knows?" Hoshino scratched her face with a sheepish grin.

How could that be? Hoshino had turned Jonouchi into a monkey purely for fun long before Gozaburo had even appeared.

Anzu stroked the fur of monkey-Jonouchi with a fond smile. "You did an amazing job, Jonouchi. You were the savior of Domino City."

"Hmph. You're more useful as a monkey," Kaiba sneered smugly before glaring sharply at Gozaburo. "Gozaburo, your life, your plans, and your schemes—all have failed! You're finished!"

"No! It's impossible! Me? Defeated by you twice? I won't accept it!" Gozaburo roared in frustration, now reduced to a hysterical old man.

"It's over, Father," Noah said. After destroying the virtual world he had created, his gaze looked clearer than ever.

The shattered virtual world, Gozaburo's shattered dreams, and Noah's shattered self—all lay in ruins.

From birth to death, and even with his consciousness transferred into a computer, Noah had been nothing more than a tool for Gozaburo to expand KaibaCorp.

"Hoshino, in my existence as nothing but a tool, the most meaningful moment was the ten minutes I dueled against you," Noah said, his voice tinged with gratitude. "No wonder Seto is so obsessed with card games. The tension of this clash of wits and souls made me feel truly alive."

Hoshino smiled. "If you can promise not to cheat next time, I wouldn't mind playing with you again."

"There won't be a next time," Noah replied wistfully. "But thank you. Now, I'll take control of the underwater fortress and send you all out as my final compensation."

As the virtual world completely collapsed, it revealed the seaweed-filled, dilapidated interior of the underwater fortress.

Kaiba issued a loud command, "Everyone, return to the airship and prepare to leave!"

Jonouchi instinctively looked at his hands, which now appeared human again, and touched his head in delight. "I'm back to normal!"

Mai crossed her arms and smirked. "We've left the virtual world; of course, you'd turn back. Or do you prefer staying a monkey?"

"Watch your tone! I am the savior of Domino City!" Jonouchi declared, his ego inflating the moment he regained his ability to speak.

"Not good! The control system for the underwater fortress has been damaged!" Noah's urgent voice echoed. Since they'd left the virtual world, Noah could no longer manifest a physical form and could only communicate through the fortress's systems.

"Wait, are you saying we're not the only ones who left the airship?"

"Of course not. There are other contestants... oh no, we completely forgot about Marik!" Hoshino exclaimed, realization dawning on her.

After the group had left the airship, the only contestants left onboard were the Egyptian trio. Ishizu was likely in the infirmary caring for Odion, leaving the unrestrained, wild-spirited Dark Marik free to wreak havoc—true to his nature.

Noah's voice trembled with anxiety. "Not only has the fortress's ascent system malfunctioned, but the only escape pod has also been taken. Moreover, there's extensive internal damage and flooding."

It was obvious who had taken the escape pod—Marik himself. Not content with escaping, he had added insult to injury by sabotaging the fortress, forcing the group into a desperate situation.

"In such a short time, he caused this much destruction? Is he some kind of king of troublemakers?!" Hoshino muttered, reminded of Ishizu's warning the night before:

"Marik has no plans or goals, only a pure desire for destruction."

Jonouchi pounded his fist against the airship wall in frustration. "Damn it! We barely escaped death, and now we're trapped again!"

"No, I don't want to die here!" Anzu cried, overwhelmed by the rollercoaster of events, collapsing onto the ground in despair.

Everyone else felt the same. Even Kaiba, who had remained silent since the flooding began, was clearly tense.

Suddenly, Hoshino looked up. "Noah, you said the ascent system is malfunctioning, but can the fortress still open up, like when it let our airship inside?"

Noah hesitated. "I can open it, but you must know: if we open the fortress without surfacing, it won't just leak—it will flood completely in an instant."

"Then we'll take the gamble!" Hearing Noah's response, Hoshino's eyes lit up with a spark of hope.

"Kaiba, get the airship into standby mode and prepare to take off."

Kaiba looked at Hoshino as though she had lost her mind. "Are you daydreaming? Take off? We're underwater! Without surfacing the fortress, opening the gate will drown the airship!"

Jonouchi snapped, "Why doesn't your airship have a submarine mode, Kaiba?!" Though, admittedly, the request seemed extreme.

Ignoring them, Hoshino calmly wiped her wristband and fixed Kaiba with a serious look. "Do you want to sit here and wait to die, or do you want to trust me? Your choice."

"Ugh..." Pressed by Hoshino's question, Kaiba had no immediate retort.

When faced with certain death or the faintest chance of survival, even a fool knew which to choose.

"Tch!" Clicking his tongue in frustration, Kaiba reluctantly seated himself at the airship's controls. "Mokuba, get the airship ready for takeoff at any moment!"

"Got it! Leave it to me!" Mokuba responded enthusiastically, his unwavering faith in Hoshino shining through.

"So, what's the plan, Hoshino?" Mai was the first to ask. Everyone else onboard, aside from Hoshino, looked utterly baffled.

"We're going to carve a path to survival!" Flashing a confident smile, Hoshino grabbed Yugi's wrist.

"Yugi, come with me to the platform. Everyone else, for safety's sake, stay inside the airship."

Suddenly yanked along by Hoshino, Yugi was momentarily taken aback. "The platform? What can I do there?"

"Of course, you're crucial to the plan!" Winking at him, Hoshino pulled him into the elevator leading to the platform.

"I'm going to borrow your dark powers, Yugi—to split the ocean!"

(*****)

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