Duel Academy the first-built and one of many schools across the world where aspiring duelists go to train and refine their craft. However, attending such a place is not easy as applicants must undergo a written exam before duelling an exam proctor on a separate date. It was on this very day that one such applicant who had passed the written test was getting ready to head out for the practical portion.

He was a teenage boy about fifteen years old, with spiky, blond hair, bright blue eyes and three whisker-like birthmarks on each cheek. He wore a black shirt with a red spiral-like pattern in the middle of the chest area and dark grey tracksuit pants with similarly-coloured trainers. This was Naruto Uzumaki. Currently, he was shovelling the breakfast his mother Kushina had made for him that largely consisted of rice, salted salmon, miso soup and pickles down his throat.

A transparent, blue, serpentine-like monster with a light-lavender-coloured underside that easily reached the size of a full grown materialised beside the blond and regarded him with a look of surprise and exasperation, "Naruto slow down, you're going to choke." It said in a concerned and oddly soft-spoken voice. This was Codarus, a duel spirit and one of Naruto's partners.

"Sorry Cody," The young boy apologised, using the spirit's nickname as he took a brief break in his eating, "But the faster I eat, the faster I'll get to the exam building, I can pass my exam then-ugh!" The blond tried to explain excitedly between mouthfuls of food, only for him to start choking, exactly as Codarus had said, much to the Sea-Serpent's alarm.

"In fairness Cody did warn you." His mother scolded playfully, handing her son a cup of water that he eagerly took and drank from, sighing in relief once he could breathe again.

"Where's Karin?" The teenager asked.

"She already left, didn't want to get caught in the rush hour traffic." His mother explained, "I'm proud of you, ya know?" She asked kindly, "I know you'll ace the duel exam and if your father could see you now…" She rambled on, trailing off as a slightly solemn expression overcame her features.

Naruto got up, putting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture, his mother smiling gratefully in response, "I know it's been three years since dad disappeared, but I promise if he's still out there, then I'll find him, along with uncle Nagato." The blond swore.

"It's a nice thought Naruto," Kushina admitted, "But don't be doing anything dangerous, alright? It's not worth it if you get hurt."

"And I don't think it'll be that dangerous." Naruto said assuredly, "Love you mom." He said before quickly giving his mother a kiss on the cheek, running off to catch the next subway train into Konoha City Centre, where the exam would be held.

One hour later…

"Stupid train!" Naruto cursed, "Of all the days it could have broken down mid-journey, why did it have to be today?!" The blond continued to shout, thankfully the train had broken down during a stop at a platform that was still some distance from the city centre and his destination building, the Kaiba Building, one of many small buildings used for the sole purpose of dueling dotted across the world as well as judging applicants to see if they had what it took to enter one of the various academies owned by the CEO of Kaiba Corp. Unfortunately, the delay had caused Naruto to realise he would need to sprint for at least a good portion of his journey on foot. Now he was approaching the Kaiba Building, as well as the deadline for entry to it. Once he reached the top of the stairs in front of the temporary exam hall, he saw the attendants were just about to pack up, "Wait!" Naruto shouted desperately, garnering their attention "Naruto Uzumaki, present."

The blond breathed a sigh of relief as he was allowed to enter the Kaiba Building, entering the duel arena, several duels between hopeful students and proctors seemed to be wrapping up. He smirked as he spotted a familiar mane of red hair in an odd fashion, where one side was spiky and the other was straight. Karin was Naruto's cousin and Kushina's niece, she wore a light-purple tank top with black shorts, a set of glasses adorned her face, behind them was the gaze of her red eyes. She was currently facing one of the proctors, a young man with a horizontal scar running across his face with hair tied up in a spiky pony tail, this was Iruka, a teacher and for the moment, Karin's exam proctor.

Iruka: 2200

Karin: 1900

On Iruka's side of the field were two Marauding Captains (A: 1200-1600/D: 400) and a Command Knight (A: 1200-1600/D: 1900) whilst on Karin's side were two face-down defence position monsters, "You've done well to come this far Ms Uzumaki, but you have three monsters staring you down, with their respective abilities preventing them from being attacked even if you summon a stronger monster. Now my Marauding Captains will attack your face-down monsters." Iruka commanded as the blond warriors clad in armour lunged for a face-down each. The two monsters revealed themselves as a jester-like monster dressed in garish clothing and a somewhat creepy mask (A: 500/D: 1200) and a young woman in indigo-coloured robes holding a staff with a crescent moon on the end (A: 300/D: 400). The two were destroyed and due to their position, Karin took no damage.

"Since you destroyed Magician of Faith when it was in face-down defence mode, its flip effect activates, allowing me to retrieve a Spell card from the Graveyard." Karin explained.

"Perhaps, but it won't help you here as Command Knight can attack you directly." Iruka stated, the regally-clothed knight rushed forward, striking the aspiring duelist.

Karin: 300

"Now, you have two options, A: Surrender and try to apply next year or B: Wait for my monsters to deal damage to your Life Points on my next turn. Which one will you pick?" The proctor questioned, his intent clearly being to turn up the heat on Karin.

"I choose C: Neither," Karin retorted without skipping a beat as Iruka's turn ended, allowing her to draw a card, "And I'll start it by summoning this monster: Shadowpriestess of Ohm!" The Uzumaki declared, summoning a woman in dark blue robes with a gold belt, an elaborate black headdress and flowing, grey hair to the field, (A: 1700/ D: 1600), "And though you're right that I can't attack your monsters, I can do this, activate the effect of the Peten the Dark Clown you sent to the Graveyard. By removing him from play, I can summon another one from my deck." A second clown that looked the same as the one destroyed previously appeared on the field in attack mode, "Next, I activate the Spell Card I retrieved from the Graveyard, Dark Room of Nightmare so whenever you take Effect Damage, three hundred extra points are taken away from your Life Points. It just so happens that my Shadowpriestess has an effect that allows her to sacrifice a DARK monster on the field, such as Peten and deal eight-hundred points of damage to you." At her command, Peten turned into an orb of purple light, which Ohm then used as a projectile, launching it clear past Iruka's three monsters and creating an explosion that damaged his Life Points.

Iruka: 1400

"Now, Dark Room of Nightmare's effect activates," Karin said, a surge of electricity shot from the continuous Spell Card, hitting the proctor.

Iruka: 1100

Just when Iruka thought the examinee's assault was over, Karin spoke up, "It also just so happens that I have another Peten in my deck, I think you can see what's coming?" The redhead questioned confidently as she removed the second Peten from the Graveyard, summoning her third, and final one. Iruka's eyes widened in surprise as the process was repeated, Karin's Shadowpriestess once again inflicted eight-hundred points of damage to Iruka, quickly followed by the effect of Dark Room of Nightmare.

Iruka: 0

Winner, Karin: 300

Despite his loss, Iruka smiled approvingly, "Very good, welcome to Duel Academy."

"Thank you, sir." Karin said, bowing to him

"Hell yeah! That's my cousin!" Naruto declared boastfully, proud of his relative's victory.

"Congratulations," Someone a few rows of seats in front of him said, a young woman about his age with long, dark-blue hair and featureless, yet oddly pretty white eyes.

"Thanks," The blond said, "You here for the exam too?"

"That's right, I won my duel and just thought I'd see the rest of the duels, I'm Hinata by the way." She greeted.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Naruto, I just arrived for my duel."

At his statement, Hinata looked a little concerned and slightly confused, "You haven't duelled yet?" Naruto shook his head, "Sorry to say but I think these are the last duels…"

There was a long moment of silence for the teenager before he comically shouted, "What?!"

In another part of the building, situated above the duel fields was the chief proctor, Mizuki. He loved the idea of several hopeful duelists being in his dorm, Obelisk Blue even if they had to share a campus with less prestigious Ra Yellows and Slifer Reds, though the former was much more respectable than the latter, "Excuse me, Mister Mizuki?" One of the attendants asked, the white-haired man cast an annoyed glance at him, "One of the attendees arrived last minute." Typical, there was always at least one person who turned up like this though there was also another reason why he was annoyed with the question, "Did you just call me Mister?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, professor?"

"I have a PhD in duelling." Mizuki said pointedly, "It's Doctor, and if this slacker wants to duel he can apply-" At that moment, his mobile went off, "Hello, I'm very busy-" Mizuki began before he was cut off by a gruff, old voice on the other end.

"Mizuki it's me."

"Ah, Chancellor Hiruzen, nice to hear from you." Mizuki said much more pleasantly, "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to remind you that so long as the students arrived within the deadline, you are to allow them to duel and do not prevent them from taking the exam for some other ridiculous reason. What was it last year? That they referred to you as, Mister or Professor instead of Doctor?" The old headmaster brought up.

"Of course Chancellor." Mizuki said.

"Very good, continue with your work." Hiruzen said before hanging up.

"Old windbag," Mizuki muttered under his breath, "Very well, let the new arrival duel," He continued as he got up.

"Alright Doctor, but what exam deck should we use?" Another of the proctors asked.

"Don't worry, you just leave that to me." The Academy teacher said, with a smirk that he quickly hid from his colleagues. Maybe he couldn't stop the late arrival from duelling, but he could definitely do the next best thing!

"But I got here on time, how can I not be allowed to duel?" Naruto wondered aloud tugging at his hair in frustration so hard it looked ready to come out.

"Naruto, calm down." Codarus said trying to reassure him, the aspiring Duel Academy student shot a look at his duel spirit, quickly taking him to the side so his new potential friend wouldn't think he was talking to himself, little realising that Hinata could see the WATER monster clear as day.

'He can see duel spirits too?' Hinata thought surprised, to find someone who had the same gift as her. Naruto couldn't see her surprised expression as he took Codarus with him.

"How can I be calm?" He asked through gritted teeth, "If I can't duel then I can't attend Duel Academy, kindly explain what I can do to keep calm?" He finished sarcastically.

As if to prove him wrong, an announcement was made, "Will Naruto Uzumaki please make your way to Duel Field 3."

"Shut up." Naruto snapped as he noticed Codarus looking at him smugly.

"I didn't say anything." The Sea-Serpent said nonchalantly, though it was clear he knew exactly what Naruto meant.

As he made his way down the stairs towards the duel fields, he noticed his cousin coming up the opposite way, "Someone's a little late." She sneered playfully.

"Yeah, yeah laugh it up." Naruto responded in a good natured manner, "I'll be joining you soon enough."

"Of course, good luck."

"Thanks Karin."

"I was talking to Cody." The redhead replied, she promptly began laughing at her cousin's comical indignance. When the two parted ways once more, Naruto himself chuckled at the banter between them.

Once he arrived at Duel Field 3, he was given a Duel Academy-issued duel disk, "Welcome!" He was greeted as he entered the field while strapping the duel disk to his arm. The person who greeted him was a white-haired man with a blue blazer, "You're Naruto Uzumaki, correct? I'm Mizuki the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm, congratulations, you've been selected for a rather special condition on your entrance exam."

"What condition?" The blond inquired.

"You see, I'm not really a fan of anyone who turns up late, so your punishment is you have to duel me at eight-thousand Life Points, against my own deck instead of an exam one. When I said 'welcome', I meant it as 'Welcome to the big leagues kid.'." The exam proctor announced.

"What a dirty trick." Karin said as she took a seat on a row where she could get a good view of the duel. The odds would clearly be stacked in Mizuki's favour.

"I would agree." Another voice a little further down the row she was on said, the source of which was a young man with black hair, black eyes and wearing a black trench-coat over a dark-red t-shirt with black jeans, "You're that guy's cousin, right?" The stranger asked.

"That's right, how did you know?" Karin inquired.

"He made it pretty clear for everyone still here when you won your duel." The young man replied with an amused smirk.

Karin snorted at that, "Figures that knucklehead would do something like that. I'm Karin by the way."

"Sasuke." He replied, "Though from what I've heard, Mizuki uses Zombie-Type monsters and supposedly he has quite a few rare ones, maybe we'll get to see them."

"Maybe…" Karin mumbled, despite her cousin's predicament, even she had to admit, seeing not just one but several rare cards was definitely something of a treat, for both the audience and Naruto.

After hearing the news Naruto's head had sunk and he had begun shaking, "What's the matter, are you scared?" Mizuki asked in a thinly-veiled taunt.

"Scared?" Naruto said before he began chuckling, much to the confusion of his soon-to-be opponent. The chuckling soon erupted into full-blown laughter, "I'm excited! This is the type of challenge I was looking for! But if I beat you, there's one thing I want from you in return."

"And what would that be?" The white-haired man questioned.

Naruto pointed a finger at Mizuki and made his condition known, "You have to recommend me for a place at your dorm."

The doctor was stunned, though his shock soon turned into a scowl, "Cheeky and turning up late, I hope you realise that's a bad combination. Very well, I'll accept your offer, not that you have a chance." Mizuki stated as the two of them readied their duel disks.

"Let's Duel!" The two declared.

Mizuki: 8000

Naruto: 8000

"As your senior, I'll begin, I draw," Mizuki said, "And I'll start by summoning a face-down defence monster and setting two cards face down to end my turn."

"That's your best?" Naruto asked, clearly having expected more than such a simple manoeuvre, "Then I'll draw and start by activating the Field Spell, Umi and summoning the monster, Mermaid Knight in attack mode." A mermaid with a green tail, flowing red hair and a purple cuirass armed with a sword and shield appeared on the field, (A: 1500-1700/D:600-800), "Thanks to Umi, not only does she get a boost in attack, but since it's on the field she can attack twice this turn. Now attack his face-down monster Mermaid Knight!"

The face-down monster flipped face-up, revealing it as a turtle with a square-based pyramid on its back (A: 1200/D: 1400), Mermaid Knight brought her sword down, cutting clean through and destroying the monster, "Since you destroyed my Pyramid Turtle, I can summon a monster with two-thousand or less defence from my deck, and I select my Vampire Lord!" A pale-skinned man adorned in gothic yet regal clothing appeared on the field, (A: 2000/D: 1500).

'This isn't good.' Naruto thought as now his monster would be defenceless on his opponent's next turn, "I end my turn." He said reluctantly.

"Very well, then I'll draw, and activate the Spell Card, Pot of Greed." Per the card's effect, Mizuki added two new cards to his hand, "It seems that I'm in luck," The proctor stated, "I summon my Soul Absorbing Bone Tower to the Field in attack mode and activate the Trap card, Coffin Seller." A tower composed of blackened and bare bones with an eerie orange glow appearing from a small cave close to the summit appeared alongside the Continuous Trap, (A: 400/D: 1500).

"So long as there's another Zombie-Type on the Field, Soul Absorbing Bone Tower can't be attacked, but that's not its only effect. I activate the Polymerisation in my hand, fusing my Zombie Dragon and The Snake Hair together to summon Great Mammoth of Goldfine!" A purple dragon with rotting flesh and a woman with snakes for hair dressed in a blue robe appeared briefly before being sucked into a vortex. What emerged next was a golden woolly mammoth skeleton that let out a roar as it took its place on the field, (A: 2200/D: 1800).

"Since he was Special Summoned, my Bone Tower's second effect activates, when a Zombie-Type is Special Summoned the top two cards from your deck are sent to the Graveyard. Naruto discarded the two cards, Salvage and Torpedo Fish, "Since one of the cards was a monster, you take three-hundred points of damage due to Coffin Seller's effect." A mist-like, white projectile shaped like Naruto's monster was launched from the card.

Naruto: 7700

"But I'm not done yet, by removing my Vampire Lord from play while it's on the field, I can summon this, Vampire Genesis!" Mizuki declared, as his vampire was engulfed in a shroud of darkness, a new one took its place. Its skin was dark purple, had two large, bat-like wings protruding from its back, jagged teeth and two piercing, red-coloured eyes. It was easily the biggest monster on the field, standing much taller than the already large mammoth (A:3000/D:2100), "Another Zombie-Type Special Summoned, so you know what that means?" He asked rhetorically, Naruto grunted in frustration as the next two cards in his deck were also sent to the Graveyard, Gruesome Goo and Xyz Reception, "Another monster, another three-hundred points of damage." Just like before another monster-shaped cloud of mist hurtled towards Naruto, damaging his Life Points.

Naruto: 7400

"Now, Great Mammoth of Goldfine destroy his Mermaid Knight!" Mizuki declared, with a charge that shook the ground, the mammoth-like zombie rammed into Naruto's monster. Naruto flinched as his only line of defence was destroyed, "And don't forget about Coffin Seller."

Naruto: 6600

"Next, Vampire Genesis, attack him directly!" Mizuki's strongest monster gave a bellow as it brought a fist down in a hammer strike on the blond.

Naruto: 3600

"Finally, Soul Absorbing Bone Tower, do the same." The tower appeared in front of Naruto, a vacuum pulling on the blond as if the creature was really trying to absorb his soul.

Naruto: 3200

"Those rare cards pack quite a punch, your cousin is going to have to make a big comeback if he wants to even have a chance of beating Mizuki." Sasuke commented.

Even Karin had to admit that Sasuke was right, Naruto's current situation was dire, it would take quite a lucky draw to get him out of it, "I have a feeling he'll do it." A feminine voice behind the two spoke up, they turned to face the young woman behind them with questioning looks, "I was speaking with your cousin earlier," She addressed to Karin, "My name is Hinata."

"You think he can actually get out of this one?" Sasuke asked, "Care to put your money where your mouth is?"

"One-hundred ryo that he wins." (1) Hinata replied, placing her bet as she agreed to Sasuke's wager.

"Then I'll bet the same that he loses." The young man said confidently.

"That's my cousin you're betting on." Karin stated incredulously, "So, how much can we raise the stakes?"

"My turn," Naruto said, "I'll draw." Looking at his card, Naruto grinned, "I activate the Spell, Moray of Greed so, by returning two WATER monsters to my deck, I can draw three cards."

'Please be good.' Naruto thought nervously as the deck finished shuffling, taking the top three cards, internally the blond breathed a sigh of relief, 'Just what I needed.'

Noticing his pause, Mizuki once again decided to taunt his opponent, "What's the matter do you give up?" The white-haired man was surprised and strangely… unnerved when the blond grinned at him.

"On the contrary, I just got the cards I needed." Naruto said, "Come on out, Codarus!" The blue Sea-Serpent appeared on the field, (A: 1400-1600/D: 1200-1400).

"This doesn't look good Naruto." Codarus said in concern.

"Don't worry Cody, I have a plan." Naruto said in a reassuring tone.

"Mind filling me in?" His duel spirit inquired.

"I would, but where would be the fun in that?" Naruto retorted.

"You're a dick." Codarus muttered, realising that his friend was probably doing this for how smug he acted when Naruto was first called up to duel.

"I learned from the best."

"Are you… talking? To your duel monster?" Mizuki asked in clear confusion since he wasn't able to hear the conversation taking place between the duelist and his monster.

"And what if I am?" Naruto asked.

"Reminds me of someone else who believed those myths about seeing monster spirits, Minato Namikaze…"

"They're not myths," Naruto said adamantly, "And he's my dad."

"Well that explains the craziness," Mizuki said, "But I wonder if you're a hack like he was?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto growled in anger at his father being insulted.

"Please, you mean you don't know?" Mizuki asked, "Your father was an intelligent man, I'll give him that much but at the end of the day, he was a fool who spent his time researching fairy tales instead of actual duelling." He elaborated upon noticing Naruto's confused expression.

"Do you know anything about his disappearance?" Naruto demanded angrily.

Mizuki simply shrugged in response, not seeming to care, "Only that he, along with a few others, disappeared three years ago and hasn't been seen since. Maybe they all finally realised how fruitless their efforts for 'studying' these supposed duel spirits would be and packed things in. They could have at least told someone where they were going their disappearances caused a scandal that almost got Duel Academy shut down."

"Then I'll make him tell us where he's been all these years!" The blond stated.

"What?" The proctor asked in a confused tone.

"I came here to search for him, to find answers about what happened, I promised my mom that I would. I won't go back on my word, my pride as a duelist is on the line!"

Mizuki could only sigh in exasperation, "You really are your father's son, obsessed with chasing something so inherently hopeless. But enough blathering, continue with your turn." He said, internally smirking at his current setup, 'Codarus's ability allows it to destroy Umi, then target two cards on the field and destroy them. Chances are that he'll destroy Genesis and Goldfine to target Bone Tower but with Negate Attack face-down, I can stop the attack and end his Battle Phase. Then when it's my turn I can switch Bone Tower to defence mode, Codarus will have lost its boost so it won't be able to destroy it, that's if I don't get a Zombie-Type on my next draw.'

"I destroy Umi," Naruto began, seemingly, Mizuki's prediction was coming true, "By placing another Field Spell." The blond stated, causing the white-haired man to gain a look of surprise, "I activate, A Legendary Ocean." The sea below them was replaced by an ancient city submerged deep beneath the waves. "This card still gives Codarus a two-hundred point boost to attack and defence but also lowers the Level of every WATER monster on the field and in our hands by one. I set a card face-down to end my turn."

'That's it? The kid might even be more foolish than I thought.' Mizuki internally stated, "Very well, I draw. Since it's the only card in my hand, I'll activate it, Monster Reborn and use it to bring back, Dragon Zombie." The decaying dragon reappeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 0), "Another Special Summon, so Bone Tower's effect activates." Once again, two cards were sent from the top of Naruto's deck, another Moray of Greed and Sea Kamen. Coffin Seller's effect then dealt three-hundred points of damage to Naruto's Life Points.

Naruto: 2900

"Now Vampire Genesis, attack and destroy Codarus." The purple monster roared as it swung at the Sea-Serpent.

"I activate the Trap, Aegis of the Ocean Dragon Lord, with this all Level 3 and below Aqua, Fish and Sea-Serpent-Type monsters can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn." Naruto declared, regardless the attack of Mizuki's strongest monster still connected.

"That may be, but you'll still take Battle Damage."

Naruto: 1500

"Goldfine, attack Codarus as well." The mammoth skeleton charged, head-butting Codarus.

Naruto: 900

"And with the effect of your card, there's no point in attacking with Dragon Zombie, I end my turn." Mizuki said.

"Thank you, now it's time for this duel to end." Naruto said as he drew a card.

"Are you joking?" Mizuki scoffed, "I have almost ten times your Life Points, what makes you think you can win?"

"This," Naruto said as he flipped a card around, "The Spell Card, Cost Down, so I discard one card." The blond began to explain as he discarded the monster, Amazon of the Seas, which of course activated the effect of Coffin Seller.

Naruto: 600

"Now all the monsters in my hand are two levels lower and because of that coupled with A Legendary Ocean, a normally Level 7 WATER monster, is now Level 4." There was a collective gasp from most students who had opted to stay and watch the duel, excluding Karin who already knew this part of her cousin's usual strategy. Mizuki's eyes now widened in terror, since there was now a very real possibility of his opponent bringing out a powerful monster with almost no cost.

"What I'm choosing to summon, is Superancient Deepsea King, Coelacanth!" With the declaration, a large grey, fish with jagged teeth, a powerful-looking jaw and most strangely, arm-like appendages that were tipped with claws appeared. Superancient was an understatement as the monster looked like it was from prehistoric times with armour-like plates modern day fish weren't known for having and kelp was growing from between small gaps in the plates, as well as the crown-like formation on its back, (A: 2800-3000/D: 2200-2400).

Mizuki calmed down at that, "It's an impressive monster, I'll admit but it only matches the strength of Genesis and even if Coelacanth isn't destroyed I still have a solid line of defence, whilst you only have two montsers."

"Well, it's a good thing subjects follow their king." Naruto retorted, "Let me demonstrate, I activate Coelacanth's ability, by discarding one card I can summon as many Level 4 or below Fish-Type monsters from my deck as possible." Thankfully the card discarded was Salvage, so Naruto took no damage from Coffin Seller.

"What good will that do?" Mizuki questioned.

"A lot of good actually, when two of the monsters I'm summoning, are Spined Gillman and one Great White." Coelacanth gave a long, reverberating bellow that seemed to shake the very building, once it finished, two blue humanoid, fish-like monsters with barbs running the length of their backs appeared, holding red tridents. The other monster to be summoned was reminsiscent of a great white shark, as the name implied but it also had muscular arms that ended in webbed hands, "Due to the effects of my Spined Gillman, the attack points of all face-up Fish, Aqua and Sea-Serpent-Type monsters goes up by four-hundred since there's two that totals eight-hundred. Plus, A Legendary Ocean's effect gives an extra two hundred."

"A total of one-thousand extra points…" Mizuki mumbled as the two monsters raised their tridents and a blue glow surrounded both themselves and their fellow monsters.

Great White, (A: 1600-2600/D: 800-1000). Spined Gillman, (A: 1300-2300/D: 0-200) x2. Coelacanth, (A: 3000-3800/D: 2400). Codarus (A: 1600-2400/D: 1400).

Mizuki was definitely worried now but calmed himself down when he realised he still had Negate Attack, it would be easy to destroy the two Spined Gillman on his next turn. Yet the proctor couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, "Before my Battle Phase begins, I activate the effect of Codarus. You see, when it's on the field, A Legendary Ocean is known as Umi. By sending it to the Graveyard, I select two cards on the field and destroy them, what am I selecting? Vampire Genesis, and your face-down."

"What?!" Mizuki cried in shock, of course he had expected the blond to use the ability, but that was just when Codarus was on the field. Now with five monsters, each with more than two-thousand attack points staring him down, his confidence in his strategy was at all-time low.

"Good plan, Naruto." Codarus said, beginning to draw in the water from A Legendary Ocean as it disappeared and launched them at the two intended targets in the form of miniature typhoons. The first of them slammed into the vampire, destroying it whilst the second one sucked up the face-down, picking it up and causing it to shatter.

"Unfortunately, my monsters lose the benefit of A Legendary Ocean, but they're still strong enough to take you down." Level 3-4 (A: 2600-2400/D: 1000-800), Level 2-3 (A: 2300-2100/D: 200-0) x2, Level 4-5 (A: 3800-3600/D: 2400-2200), Level 3-4 (A: 2400-2200/D: 1400-1200), "Great White, attack Great Mammoth of Goldfine." The human-like shark rushed forward, the Zombie-Type attempted to defend itself but Great White quickly stopped the tusks and brought its teeth down on Goldfine's skull, shattering the monster.

Mizuki: 7800

"Spined Gillman one, destroy Dragon Zombie." The humanoid monster leapt at the rotting corpse and plunged its trident through the dragon's chest, destroying the monster.

Mizuki: 7300

"Spined Gillman two, attack Soul Absorbing Bone Tower." Like the first one, Naruto's second Spined Gillman attacked, practically dismantling the Bone Tower.

Mizuki: 5600

'This can't be happening, this isn't happening!' Mizuki internally screamed, his defences were completely wiped out, and two of Naruto's monsters still had their attacks…

"Coelacanth, attack him directly." Naruto commanded, despite its size, the giant fish moved quickly, opening its maw and bringing its jaws down on the proctor.

Mizuki: 2000

"Now Codarus, finish this, show him what duel spirits can do!"

"I was planning on it." Codarus said, lunging forward and biting Mizuki's arm.

Mizuki: 0

Winner, Naruto: 600

Mizuki fell to his knees, 'I lost?' He thought incredulously, 'This kid is a slacker, I used my personal deck, and he beat me! How, could this get any worse?!'

"Hey, Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto called, the blond's now soon-to-be teacher looked up from his kneeling position and scowled at him, "Now don't give me that look," He began in a teasing tone, "You still have to recommend me for a place at your dorm, after all you promised to in front of all these people." He finished, gesturing to the room around him.

Mizuki's face fell as he realised that what Naruto was saying was true, he would have to recommend a place for him at Obelisk Blue. Otherwise, he would run the risk of looking like a sore and petty loser throwing a tantrum, a pupil doing that would be one thing, a teacher though likely ran the risk of either demotion or being outright fired. The worst part? If Naruto somehow remained in Obelisk throughout his entire stay at the school, Mizuki would be subject to that blond being a smug little shit about his victory for at maximum, four years. Thus as Naruto turned away and began heading back to the seating area, Mizuki shouted out the only sentence that felt appropriate at the time, "I hate you!"

"I'm sure this is the start of a beautiful friendship!" Naruto called back, Mizuki gritting his teeth in anger as he heard the WATER-user's echoing laughter.

"He actually beat him?" Sasuke mumbled.

"He did indeed, now pay up." Karin said as both she and Hinata held out their hands for the five-hundred ryo that Karin had raised the stakes to. Sasuke grumbled as he took out his wallet and handed the two smirking women five hundred each.

"Were you really betting if Naruto would win or lose?" The familiar voice of Codarus asked, leaning his head on the spot in front of Karin.

"I had the utmost confidence in him!" Karin stated unconvincingly, Codarus raised what would have been an eyebrow curiously, likely not believing the redhead.

"You mean you only betted in his favour when he summoned Coelacanth?" Hinata asked rhetorically.

Both of those she addressed looked shocked, "You can see me?" The Sea-Serpent asked in amazement.

"That's right." Hinata said, a transparent werewolf-like creature with particularly vicious-looking claws wearing tattered, blue trousers appeared, quite a stark contrast to the gentle-looking, petite woman next to it, "This is my duel spirit, Lycanthrope." The werewolf merely grunted out a greeting, "Sorry, he can be a little aloof." The blue-haired woman said apologetically.

It was at that point that Naruto walked up the stairs, still chuckling after his victory against Mizuki, stopping briefly as he noticed the group together, as well as the yellow-eyed Beast-Warrior staring intently at him which became slightly more unnerving as it appeared to start grinning at him, showing off gleaming white teeth. Slowly, the blond walked up to his cousin, "I'm just going to take a stab in the dark here, ignoring the fact that that duel spirit is starting to creep me out and say Hinata can see duel spirits?" He whispered to her.

"Yep." Karin said, nodding her head.

"Sorry," Hinata apologised, "I would have told you sooner, but we didn't exactly have the time."

"Pardon me?" Sasuke spoke up, "You guys have actual duel spirits?"

"Yeah, are you another person who can see duel spirits? And who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Not see, but I can sense them and even if I couldn't I'd still believe in their existence. The name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke explained, "My brother was on the same team that your father disappeared on Naruto and like you I'm going to Duel Academy to find him. If you want to work together, I'd be grateful for the help."

There was no hesitation in Naruto's answer, "Sure, I'm in."

"Count me in too." Karin said, "My dad and Naruto's uncle was with them as well, if they're still on the island, then I'll do whatever it takes to get them back."

"Glad to hear there's someone else who wants to work with us." Sasuke said, smiling almost kindly at Karin, causing a pink hue to briefly dust her cheeks before it faded, "And what about you?" Sasuke asked, the remaining members of the group turned to Hinata, awaiting an answer.

The other young woman looked a little awkward, "I guess I'm the odd one out, I don't have a relative who disappeared on Academy Island, but if you need anything feel free to ask, I think I know someone who could help."

"Thank you," Sasuke said, "How about we have a battle royal when we get to the academy?" He suggested, he noticed his companion's looks before leaning in, glancing around suspiciously as if to make sure no one was listening in, "It's not normal for several people to disappear, not without a trace, something is up. It could be that people in the upper echelons of the Academy, maybe even the chancellor himself are in on the disappearance. If we're going to trust each other completely, we should at least know part of each of our duelling styles. Keep in mind that it's just an assumption, but it's also a distinct possibility that shouldn't be ignored."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Naruto agreed, with the two women of the group also nodding.

"Well, can I suggest something?" Hinata spoke up, the young woman took out her deck, and removed a blue card, a Ritual monster card, not just any one though, it was Lycanthrope, "My mother taught me a way of duelists making a pact together, we put a monster that's sentimental to us in some way together in a silent agreement that we share the same goal, as well as stating what that sentimentality is to show the trust between the participants. For example, Lycanthrope was a going away present from my father." She explained, placing the Ritual monster on the table top in front of them.

Karin was the next to select a card, "She's gotten me out of some tight spots in the past, even if I don't have a duel spirit of my own, she's easily my most trusted monster." The redhead placed Shadowpriestess of Ohm on the table so that the tops of both it and Lycanthrope were touching.

Sasuke took his card out, "A gift from my brother before he disappeared." The Uchiha said, placing the Synchro monster, Exploder Dragonwing so that it partially covered the two previous cards.

Lastly it was Naruto's turn, "My strongest monster, and the first duel spirit I ever saw." He said, though aside from Karin, it was not what the other group members were expecting, Ocean Dragon Lord – Neo Daedalus. Hinata looked surprised at the sight of such a rare monster and Sasuke gave an impressed whistle.

With Naruto placing his card in the final position, a pact was formed between the four of them. A pact to discover the mystery behind the academy's disappearances, to find those who were missing, and most importantly, to look out for each other if the journey they would undertake got dangerous. Little did the group realise that the latter would become reality far more often than not.

A/N: Hey guys, hope you enjoyed this chapter, this was my first time writing a duel so I really hope you guys can give me some constructive criticism on that. But anyway, I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you all next chapter.

1) For those wondering, I did the math and basically Sasuke lost about USD$90/£90.