Naruto: Duelist of Numbers
Chapter 4
As he made his way through the forest surrounding his dorm Naruto frowned a bit as he looked over his PDA and read over the notes pertaining to the Abandoned Dorm. Chancellor Shepard had trusted him with the info and given him the only copies of the files due to him not wanting to let it be known.
'I've sat by too long, I need to check this place out as soon as possible' he thought with before arriving at the abandoned building he could only suspect to be the dorm from the reports.
"I was right, this place reeks of Shadow Games" Naruto said as he walked closer before noticing a rose left near the front gate. 'Doesn't surprise me people are mourning the students who disappeared' he thought with a frown before he heard a branch break behind him, causing him to turn around.
"Who's there!" he said as he lifted his flashlight up to see Alexis stepping out from the forest. "Alexis? What are you doing here?" he asked as she walked up to him with a frown.
"I should be asking the same thing to you Naruto" Alexis said as Naruto slipped his PDA into his pocket with a frown.
"I was exploring the island a bit, heard the rumors of students disappearing from this place and I'm not too fond of the rumors of Shadow Games. What about you?" he asked as Alexis walked up to the rose at the gate and placed another just like the first beside it.
"My brother…he was one of the students that went missing" she said while Naruto nodded as he understood her reason.
"I'm sorry to hear that Alexis…I'm sure he'll return safely" Naruto said before he noticed the time on his watch and frowned. "Look we should probably be getting back to our dorms, its late and we don't want to be caught" he said gently as Alexis turned towards him with a soft smile.
"You're right, I'll see you tomorrow. Be safe going back to your dorm" Alexis said with a smile as Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, you too" he said, staying behind as she walked off into the forest before he looked back at the dorm with a frown once she was gone. 'Shame she showed up as I wanted to venture inside but I guess I'll have to try again later' he thought as he narrowed his eyes at the dorm while his hand glowed with the number 39 on the back of it.
"You sense it too Utopia? There is something in that dorm, something not right. The sooner we deal with it the better" he said to himself, the spirit of Utopia behind him nodding along before he decided to head back with Utopia by his side just in case anything unsavory followed.
As school ended the next day Naruto let out a sigh as he walked alongside Syrus and Serenity.
"Is something wrong Bro?" Syrus asked as Naruto shook his head with another sigh.
"No just trying to figure something out, nothing to worry about" he said with a smile before Junko and Momoe ran up to them, both of them looking a bit worried.
"Hey Naruto have you seen Alexis anywhere today?" Momoe asked as Naruto shook his head with a frown.
"No, why?" he asked as his answered only made the worried looks on their faces increase.
"Because we haven't seen her all day after she came back to the dorm late last night! We thought she just left for school before us but when we arrived at school and didn't see her at all today we started to worry! So please, if you have seen her please tell us!" Junko said as she grabbed his coat and somewhat shook him.
"I'm sorry I really haven't but we'll help you look for her" he said as he calmed Junko down and got her to let him go. "We'll find Alexis I promise okay?" he added, trying to reassure them both as the girls nodded.
"Good now we need to split up and go to places Alexis might be at. We all have each other's numbers so call if you find her" he said as Junko and Momoe went off towards the area around the dorms with Serenity and Syrus checking the school and him looking near the pier.
'I have a bad feeling of where she might be…and for once I hope I'm wrong' he thought as he made his way towards the Abandoned Dorms instead of the pier, unaware that Serenity had doubled back to help him out once Syrus told her to go once they ran into Hayato.
'Where is Naruto going? That isn't towards the pier' she thought, confused at where he was going before following him into the forest, only for something in the shadows to pull her off the path.
"You will help ensure the Star child comes to us" a voice said before fading away.
As Naruto arrived at the Abandoned Dorms he clenched his fists as he saw Etoile Cyber on the ground in front of the front gate with various other cards almost leaving a trail into the dorm. 'Damn! I swear whatever has Alexis is going to pay!' he thought with a glare as he headed into the dorm, picking up the cards he saw as he entered the dorm.
Once inside he coughed a bit from the dust but he was immediately unnerved by the two stone tablets on the walls to his sides. 'The Millennium Items…the Rod, Necklace, Scale, Key, Ring, Eye, and Puzzle' he thought, having known the wielder of some of these items, mainly Yugi with the Puzzle and his father with the Eye.
'So the rumors of them researching Shadow Games here is true…definitely not good. I swear I will never understand people and their curiosity into dark and occult things like this' he thought as he looked around a bit more, looking for the path of cards and noticed a small picture of a man that had the autograph of 'Atticus Rhodes' in the corner.
'So this is Alexis' brother' he thought with a frown before he heard a scream only it wasn't from Alexis.
"Serenity!? Damn it! Did they get her too!?" he yelled as he ran deeper into the dorm to where he heard it coming from to come to a large room, quick to notice drag marks in the dust and another card on the ground.
'Cyber Blader…Alexis and possibly Serenity are definitely down this way' he thought with a frown before he followed the drag marks to find himself entering a cave that was attached to the dorm. Thankfully though there weren't multiple paths as he made his way deeper into the cave.
He frowned as he quickly looked around, as he found himself in a large room with strange designs carved into the ground. He though was somewhat relived as he saw Alexis and Serenity safe although laying in two large black coffins.
"Whoever did this come out right now! This isn't funny and depending on your answer I might not kick your ass!" he yelled, looking around before smoke started to gather in the center of the room before rising up into a pillar that quickly changed to a tall black cloaked figure with a large metal tube on its arm.
He couldn't make anything out about what was under the cloak but the eye on the hood and the smirk on the figure's face wasn't a good sign.
"Star child, your power will do our cause wonders. Worry not, the souls of these two are not taken yet but they will be once you are devoured" the figure said as Naruto narrowed his eyes as the metal tube on its arm opened up to reveal a duel disk that resembled a fin or a wing with the spines jutting out of it. "Duel for your and their safety! Let the Shadow Game commence!" it commanded as they were both surrounded in a dome of darkness.
"Guess you really don't waste any time getting down to business" he said as he turned on his duel disk. "But if I have to do this to save my friends then fine! I'll duel you!" he said with a frown, having no time to scroll through his list of decks given his opponent was already drawing their cards before he chose the last deck he had finished.
"This will do as every deck of mine is set up to work with any Numbers! Duel Field open!" he said as he gained the tint around his eyes and his card fields popped out. "Don't worry Alexis and Serenity, I swear I'm going to save you" he said as he looked over to them before he drew his five cards.
'Twin-Headed Behemoth, Graceful Charity, Golem Dragon, Mirror Force, and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. I can do something with this' he thought as he turned his attention to the figure and the shadow game he had got himself roped into.
"I will draw" the figure said as it quickly drew a card. "I will summon Infernalqueen Archfiend (4* 900/1500) in attack mode" it added as Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"An Archfiend deck, perfect to fit the mood but that archetype comes at a price of damage per each Standby phase to keep the monsters out" he said with a frown as the figure motioned its hand towards its monster.
"When this card is on the field the attack of all Archfiend monsters gets raised by 1,000 points" it said, the Infernalqueen's points going up from 900 to 1,900 while moderately ignoring him before it took a card from its hand.
"I then activate the field spell card Pandemonium," it added as the area around them changed to a hellish altar of sorts "this field spell allows me to negate the maintenance cost for all Archfiend monsters and allows for me to gain an Archfiend monster from my deck to my hand each time an Archfiend is destroyed other than battle" it explained as Naruto nodded, knowing of this archetype well enough.
"With that I end my turn, you go Star child" it said as Naruto clenched his jaw.
"The name is Naruto and I draw!" he said as he looked at Monster Reborn, deciding to save it for later while he looked through his hand. "First I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (3* 1500/1200) in defense mode! I then activate my Graceful Charity spell card which lets me draw three cards but then causes me to discard two" he said, discarding Background Dragon and Heliosphere Dragon to keep Exploder Dragon in his hand.
"I'll set down two face down cards and end my turn" Naruto said as while this dragon themed deck wouldn't be his first choice but given that he didn't have time to look through his other decks he knew he had to use it to win, which he knew he could if things went well.
"My turn," it said as it drew its card before summoning it "and I summon Terrorking Archfiend (4* 2000/1500) in attack mode which I am able to summon due to Infernalqueen being on the field. And now due to Infernalqueen's effect Terrorking gains 1,000 more points boosting his attack to 3,000" it said as Naruto frowned a bit at the strength on the cloaked figure's side of the field.
"And now, Infernalqueen! Attack his Behemoth!" it declared as Naruto motioned to one of his trap cards.
"I activate my face down, the trap Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! I can activate this card when you declare an attack I then target the attacking monster and your attack is negated!" he said before six orbs appeared beside the figure.
"I activate my Infernalqueen's effect. When it is targeted by the effect of a card of yours I then roll a die, which these orbs are to represent the sides as a roulette spinner, and if the result is a 2 or a 5 then the card is negated and destroyed" it said as the orbs caught fire before only one was lit with the fire jumping from one to another in order.
He continued to watch the flame before it slowed and landed on a 2, which didn't mean well for him.
"It landed on a two so your Scrap Iron Scarecrow is negated and destroyed so my Infernalqueen's attack continues and destroys your Behemoth" it said as its monster shattered his, leaving his field wide open.
"And now Terrorking, attack him directly!" it declared as Naruto held out his hand.
"I activate my Background Dragon's effect from the grave which activates if it is in the graveyard and I control no cards. Its effect allows me to special summon it to the field and also allow me to special summon one level 4 or lower dragon from my hand in defense as well! So come on out Golem Dragon!" he said as both Background Dragon (5* 1600/1800) and Golem Dragon (4* 200/2000) appeared on his field in defense mode.
"And with Golem Dragon on the field its effect makes it where you can only target it for attacks!" he said as he knew neither was strong enough to stand up to Terrorking but Golem was sturdier of the two.
"Quite resourceful aren't you Star child? But it will not save you as my Terrorking is stronger than both of those now attack his Golem Dragon" it said as Terrorking's chest opened up and a swarm of locusts flew out before exploding against his Golem Dragon, crumbling it and sending it to the graveyard.
"It is your turn now" it said as Naruto smirked as a portal appeared in front of him.
"With your turn ending my Twin-Headed Behemoth returns from the grave in defense position but its attack and defense are lowered down to 1,000 (3* 1000/1000)" he said as his dragon rose up from the portal. "I'll put it in defense mode and draw!" he added as he looked at Pot of Greed, deciding to save it until when he really needed it.
"I summon Exploder Dragon (3* 1000/0) in defense mode and end my turn for now" he said as at least with three monsters on the field and his face down card his life points would be safe for the most part.
"My turn then," it said as it drew and pointed towards its Terrorking "Terrorking, attack his Background Dragon" it said as the beast charged towards his dragon with its sword.
"Since I can't target your monster in danger of the roulette I'll activate something that doesn't target but just works its effect! I activate Mirror Force!" he said as his trap card flipped up and Terrorking's sword clashed with it. "I can activate it once you attack and with it all your attack position monsters are destroyed!" he said before the trap activated, shattering both his Terrorking and Infernalqueen and sending them to the graveyard.
"It is of no consequence as I activate my Desrook Archfiend's effect. When Terrorking Archfiend is destroyed and sent to the graveyard I can sent it to the graveyard to special summon back my Terrorking Archfiend" he said as it discarded the Desrook and Terrorking returned to the field only now with 2,000 attack points due to Infernalqueen no longer being on the field.
"And now Pandemonium's effect activates. When an Archfiend is destroyed other than in battle I can add one Archfiend lower than that card from my deck to my hand and I choose a three star Desrook Archfiend to add to my hand" it said basically saying it could revive Terrorking again if he destroyed it.
"And since I'm still in the middle of my battle phase my Terrorking can attack and destroy your Background Dragon" it said as Terrorking once again charged his dragon only this time the attack connected.
"Sadly due to using my Background Dragon's effect he isn't sent to the graveyard but removed from play" he said as he still had his Behemoth and his Exploder dragon.
"Then I set down two face down cards and with that I end my turn. Please do show me something interesting as defensive has no way to showcase your skills" it said as Naruto narrowed his eyes, knowing it was true as now with its Infernalqueen being gone he could fight back easier against it now.
"Then I draw and with two level 3 monsters on the field I can use them to build the overlay network!" he said as Exploder Dragon and Twin-Headed Behemoth turned into an orange and purple beam of light before colliding in the center of the room as the galaxy that signified the overlay network took shape.
"From the depths of the sea this dragon egg shall hatch and rise to the sky!" he said as a dark purple winged egg rose from the center. "Now take flight Number 17: Leviathan Dragon (Rank 3 2000/0) in attack mode!" he yelled as the egg transformed into the long and thin dragon with its six wings out stretched while the number 17 appeared on the back of his hand and on his dragon's right horn.
"The power that you birthed! It is splendorous and will be ours!" the cloak figure exclaimed as Naruto shook his head.
"No it won't as now by using one overlay unit I can activate my Leviathan Dragon's effect which boosts its attack by 500 points, making it 500 points stronger than your Terrorking!" he said as one of the two orbiting comets flew towards Leviathan Dragon before he devoured it and grew stronger. "Now Leviathan Dragon attack Terrorking Archfiend with Torrential Fire Stream!" he yelled as an indigo blast of fire shot from Leviathan Dragon's mouth, destroying it and dealing the cloaked figure 500 points of damage (Cloak:4000 – 3500).
"And now with that I end my turn" he said as the figure drew a card and turned one card to show its Desrook Archfiend.
"I discard my Desrook Archfiend to return my Terrorking back to the field but not for long as I tribute it to summon Skull Archfiend of Lightning (6* 2500/1200) in attack mode. But that isn't all as I activate my facedown card Archfiend's Roar" it said as the card flipped up.
"With it by paying 500 life points (C:3500 – 3000) I target my Infernalqueen Archfiend (4* 900/1500) and can special summon it to the field. It cannot be tribute and has to be destroyed at the end of this turn but that is all I need it for" it said as it smirked from under its robe.
"And now with Infernalqueen on my field all Archfiend gain 1,000 attack points again" it added as Skull Archfiend went up to 3,500 and Infernalqueen went up to 1,900.
"Now Skull Archfiend attack Leviathan Dragon and destroy it!" it said as the Skull Archfiend blasted his Leviathan Dragon with lightning, dealing him 1,000 points of damage (Naruto:4000 – 3000). "And Infernalqueen Archfiend attack him directly" the figure declared as he got dealt more damage (N:3000 – 1100)
Naruto grit his teeth as the damage shot into him and caused him to fall down to one knee as the pain was very real and even caused his vision to blur a bit from it all. 'D-Damn, Shadow Games don't hold anything back' he thought with a groan as he forced himself to stand up again.
"I end my turn and now my Infernalqueen Archfiend returns to the graveyard but next turn I should be able to win" it said with a smirk as Skull Archfiend's attack returned to 2,500.
"We'll see as it's my turn and I draw!" he said as he smirked at what he could set up. "First I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and I use it to destroy Pandemonium!" he said as the field around them turned back to normal.
"Next I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards" he said as he looked at the two cards and saw an opening. "Now I activate Monster Reborn from my hand to return the other card I discarded with Graceful Charity back at my first turn and summon Heliosphere Dragon (4* 0/1900) in defense mode but that's not all!" he said as he pulled one more card out of his hand.
"I normal summon my Mythic Tree Dragon (4* 100/1400) to the field in defense mode and activate the effect of a monster from my hand which allows me, if I control an earth monster, to special summon it to the field! Now come on out Mythic Water Dragon (8* 1000/2000) in defense mode" he said as the figure shook its head.
"Defense will not win you the duel Star child and soon this power will be ours!" it said as Naruto smirked.
"I don't think so as I activate my Mythic Tree Dragon's effect where once per turn I can target one water dragon type, like my Mythic Water Dragon, and the level of this monster becomes the same as it! So my Mythic Tree dragon becomes 8 starts and I'm not done yet!" he said as he motioned towards his Heliosphere Dragon.
"Heliosphere Dragon also has an effect where once per turn, if I control a level 8 dragon I can make this a level 8 until the end of the turn! So by using my three level 8 monsters I can build the overlay network once again!" he yelled as Mythic Tree Dragon, Mythic Water Dragon, and Heliosphere Dragon become beams of green, blue and purple before entering the overlay network.
"Out of three will come one, and out of one will come great cosmic might! Take flight, Number 60: Legendary Dragon of Starlight!" he yelled as a bright orb rose from the center it burst open and a silver dragon flew out (Rank 8 2800/2200) with the number appearing on the back of his hand and its left wing.
(AN: For all intents and purposes this is Stardust Dragon with appearance)
"Now Number 60! Attack his Skull Archfiend with Cosmic Stream!" Naruto yelled as his monster shot out a stream of light at the Archfiend, destroying it and dealing 300 points of damage (C:3000 – 2700).
"I then activate my Number 60's effect! By using one overlay unit I can revive one monster that has been banished but if it is summoned this way it cannot attack or change positions. I choose my Background Dragon (5* 1600/1800) so bring him back Number 60 with Star Implosion Portal!" he said as one overlay unit flew into its chest and it let out a roar that caused orb to form which grew large before imploding suddenly with his dragon falling down from where it use to be.
"I then set down one face down card and end my turn" he said as he ran out of cards in his hand before the figure frowned but drew a card.
"I summon a Desrook Archfiend (3* 1100/1800) in defense mode and activate my Double Summon spell card from my hand, allowing me to summon my Vilepawn Archfiend (2* 1200/800) in defense mode. Then I activate my face down card Battle-Scarred. Now we both get dealt the damage that requires to keep my Archfiends around and with Vilepawn on my field you have to target it for an attack. Your turn" it said as Naruto smirked and drew his card.
"I activate my face down card, A Wing Beat of Giant Dragon. With it I can return one level 5 or higher dragon from my field to my hand and with it I can destroy all spell and trap cards on the field and right now I only see your Battle-Scarred" he said as Background Dragon disappeared and the trap card shattered.
"Now I summon my Vanguard of the Dragon (4* 1700/1300) in attack mode and activate its effect! By sending one dragon from my hand to the graveyard, such as my Background Dragon, I can increase its attack points by 300 so my dragon now has 2,000 attack points!" he said as the spear wielding dragon's weapon grew larger.
"Now I activate another effect of my Legendary Dragon of Starlight which makes it where if I use one overlay unit I can temporarily remove it from play until my next turn along with its overlay units and destroy as many monsters on your side of the field as there are on mine before the effect is activated! So with it my dragon disappears for one turn but your two monsters are destroyed!" he said as the cloak frowned and clenched its fists.
"With that you activate both my Desrook and my Vilepawn's effects. If either of the roulette's land on 3 your monster is destroyed" it said as Naruto smirked and shrugged his shoulders before pointing to the roulettes.
"Spin the roulette! I trust my dragon and my luck, which when things come down to it, I'm told I have the luck of the devil" he said as he watched the two roulettes spin. His nerves immediately went away as the roulettes landed on 2 and 6.
"And with that, Legendary Dragon of Starlight! Destroy his monsters with Star Shower Passing!" he said as another overlay unit went into #60's chest and a majestic light burst from it, destroying the two Archfiends and leaving only Vanguard of the Dragon on his field.
"Now Vanguard of the Dragon attack directly!" he said as the dragon charged and slashed the figure for 2,000 points of damage (C:2700 – 700).
"Unless you have something up your sleeve it looks like you are finished next turn" Naruto said as the figure clenched its fists and started to tremble once it drew its card.
"I…will not be denied! You will be devoured whether you win or lose!" it yelled as it tried to run at him only for the spirit of Utopia to appear and stab down its blade to stop the figure from advancing.
"No I will not be! Either make a move or end your turn" Naruto said as with Utopia's protection he didn't need to worry about it trying to get to him or the girls nearby.
It didn't answer but the sight of #60 returning was all he needed for an answer.
"I don't know where you came from," he said as he drew a card before his dragon roared with one remaining overlay unit orbiting it "but I'm erasing you so you will leave us alone! Number 60: Legendary Dragon of Starlight! Attack it directly with Starlight Jet Stream!" Naruto yelled as his dragon let out a mighty roar before it took a deep breath and let out a massive blast that left nothing behind as the life points dropped to zero.
"You have not seen the last of the Shadows! We will return! Others will come! You will fall! And your power will be ours!" it yelled before #60's attack destroyed it and left nothing behind.
Naruto let out a sigh of relief as the shadowy area around them faded before he looked to Utopia and Starlight. "Thanks everyone for helping me out again" Naruto said as both Utopia and Starlight nodded with the faint ghost of Leviathan doing the same before they all faded and he rushed over to Alexis and Serenity.
First thing he did was check their pulses to see if they were still breathing or alive and as he felt they were fine he let out another sigh of relief. 'Now….how to get you both out of here' he thought before he carefully picked them up, draping each over one of his shoulders before carefully holding onto their waists as he made his way out of the dorm.
'Boy am I thankful I'm strong enough to carry them out or things would have been tricky' he thought as he gently laid the two girls down on the grass outside the dorm before dialing Momoe.
"Momoe, tell Junko and the others I found Alexis, we are outside the Abandoned Dorm. Also find my sister, tell her it's an emergency and for her to come with a first aid kit, tell her not to let anyone know" he said before he hung up and sat against a nearby tree as he could see his vision becoming blurry from exhaustion.
'This really isn't good. That dorm is definitely the cause for the missing students but whatever they summoned had to be a lot stronger than what I fought. A part of me feels my presence here stirred up that small spirit…I just hope nothing else awakens or the 'others' it mentioned don't show up for a long while' he thought as he felt his eyes droop before he was jolted away as Mirajane and the others showed up.
"Naruto! Are you okay!? I heard it was an emergency!" Mirajane said as Naruto stopped her from hugging him.
"Not now, check on Alexis and Serenity, they were captured by a dark spirit that I just finished beating in a Shadow Game" he said as Mirajane's eyes widened at the mention of a Shadow Game as it was something they both knew was real, especially after their father had been possessed by the Millennium Eye in the past and had started Shadow Games of his own back on Duelist Kingdom.
"Right but then I am checking on you" she said before going over to the two girls as Junko and Momoe worried about Alexis and Serenity.
"What happened to them? Why aren't they waking up?" Momoe asked as Syrus helped Naruto stand up.
"They were captured by a dark spirit hiding out in the dorm that I had to duel in a Shadow Game. I won but they will take a bit to wake up. I suggest bringing them to the Slifer Red dorm, Ms. Hibiki will probably allow it and Mirajane can vouch to allow Alexis to be there if she needs to stay overnight" he said as Mirajane nodded.
"Hayato you take Serenity, I'll get Alexis. Everyone be careful and follow me" Mirajane said as she'd rather not endanger the students from being expelled as she and Naruto were allowed to be here but the others were not.
"Right, I'll be careful" Hayato said as he gently picked up Serenity before Mirajane picked up Alexis and Syrus helped Naruto be able to walk the way back to Slifer Red.
Once there thankfully Ms. Hibiki didn't ask any questions and allowed the others to use Serenity's room and a spare third floor room for the girls, she even helped tend to Serenity while Mirajane worked on Alexis. Naruto though was forced to wait for her outside as he sat against the wall in between the two rooms so he could be checked out after them.
"Good news," Mirajane said as she walked out of the room to his right "Alexis woke up for a bit. We were able to tell her a bit of what happened before she passed out" she said before Ms. Hibiki walked out as well.
"Same with Serenity, Syrus conveyed the message you told him to tell her and while I don't quite believe this Shadow Game story I can't question it…I will though keep quiet about the Abandoned Dorm" she said before Naruto smiled up at her.
"Thank you so much Ms. Hibiki, really means a lot" he said as the Slifer Red dorm head smiled back down at him.
"Anything for my students. Now I will be staying with Serenity through the night, Momoe and Junko are staying with Alexis so no need to worry any more so that means that now you can get looked over" she said before Mirajane gently helped him up to his feet.
"Fine, I can relax knowing they are okay at least" he said as Mirajane walked him down to his room before capturing him in a tight hug once the door was closed behind them.
"I am so glad you are okay…I don't know what Father or I would do if we lost you" she said as he could feel her crying into his shirt with her voice cracking slightly.
"I'm sorry but I had to" he said as he hugged her back. "The spirit….it called me 'Star child'…do you think it has something to do with my cards?" he asked as she gently pulled away with a frown.
"I…don't know as not much are known about them given that you…kind of created them" she said as she and only a very select few of others like their father, Yugi Muto, Kaiba, and the few who were there when Naruto ended up making them.
Naruto himself didn't remember much of when it happened but according to his dad when he arrived at the room where they kept the card blanks, which he was being brought to so his father could show him how duel monsters were made, something had happened to him. He had started to walk towards the center of the room and once he touched a large stack of cellophane wrapped blanks an energy pulse had burst out from him.
Cards had started to float all around him from various stacks, orbiting him as Pegasus recalled the blanks being transformed into the cards he knew and used now. He created an immense number of monsters, spells, and traps as well as the Xyz monsters.
Pegasus had also noted how a small number of cards had almost formed a dome around him before falling neatly all around him. Those cards would later be known as the Numbers which turned out to be very picky in terms of who they allowed to even hold them.
It took a while to figure out what the cards were or how they worked but once they did Kaiba helped them put them somewhere safe, somewhere no one would ever get their hands on them while setting up the pathway for him to teleport them into his duel disk.
"I know still little to nothing is known to how I made them…I just hoped something could maybe be made clearer with that" he said before Mirajane helped sit him down on the edge of his bed.
"I know, I'll tell Father about it tomorrow as he'll be worried as well. I'll ask if he remembers anything. For now I want you to rest, you're probably utterly exhausted from everything you went through" she said as she gently guided him over to his bed, where after a quick look over, let him lay down on and rest.
"I'll come by first thing in the morning and I'll call dad in a bit, you rest for now as its getting late" she said as Naruto could already feel himself drifting off the second he laid down on the bed and his head hit the pillow.
"Okay…night Mirajane" he said as she ruffled his hair with a smile.
"Night Naru" she said with a smile as she was glad that her brother was safe and healthy after the ordeal. She didn't know what trouble he might attract to him due to his Xyz monsters but she knew with them he hopefully could handle it.
-Next Morning-
Naruto groaned in his sleep as he heard a pounding at his door and the loud stomps of feet throughout the dorm. "God dammit I swear I'm not in the mood for whatever this is about" he grumbled to himself as he walked over to the door to see a woman with short fluffy black hair in a green Duel Academy uniform with a beret and cap.
He also noticed men behind her in the same uniform with glasses on to make them look more intimidating.
"Who are you and why are you being so loud!" he groaned out as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as the woman frowned at him.
"Are you Naruto Crawford? Son of Maximillion Pegasus and brother of Mirajane?" she asked, her tone stern as Naruto nodded.
"Yes, now why are you here?" he asked as two men came up to her.
"Alexis Rhodes and Serenity Wheeler have been acquired and ready for transport" one said as Naruto narrowed his eyes and stepped forward towards them.
"What did you do to them!? They are still weak and need to rest" he said as the woman didn't even bat an eye at him.
"Naruto Crawford you as well as the two others are being taken to the Inquiry Board for questioning and this isn't something you can say no to. You have five minutes to get dressed otherwise we are dragging out of here by force" she said before turning around and leaving two men behind, undoubtedly to make sure he didn't try and run.
'Great…what a wonderful way to wake up' he thought with a groan as he knew he could flash his PDA to excuse himself but that would leave Alexis and Serenity defenseless against the Inquiry Board.
It didn't take long for him to get dressed, grabbing his duel disk and PDA before he came out of his room and was escorted to the back of one of the three trucks. "Naruto! They got you too?" Serenity asked as he walked up to her and Alexis.
"Yeah an can't say I don't know why they grabbed us but right now I'm just glad to see you two awake and okay" he said with a smile as the two girls smiled across from him.
"Thank you for saving us…I still can't believe that all happened" Alexis said as she had been briefly conscious when the thing placed her into the coffin and she still had chills from feeling it grab her.
"Same here but I can't say it isn't the first time I've seen something like that but it was my first time dueling in one" he said as the girls understood what he meant but he didn't want to let the others around them know what they were talking about.
"I'm sorry I got pulled into it…I kind of followed you when you headed off and was confused of where you were headed but that led to me getting caught" Serenity said with a frown before he waved her off.
"It isn't your fault. I feel it would have tried to grab you regardless. I'm just glad you two are safe but don't worry, I'll get us out of this" he said as they nodded before they sat back and waited for them to arrive wherever they were heading towards.
Once the truck stopped they others inside the truck were quick to escort them to a large room with three massive monitors in front of them in a half circle.
Naruto stood between Alexis and Serenity as the screens turned on to show the faces of Chancellor Sheppard, Crowler, and the woman from before looking down on them.
"You three have been brought before the Inquiry Board to determine the implementation of your expulsion for breaking the rules of Duel Academy" she said as Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Really? What rule did we break exactly?" he asked as he crossed his arms with a frown.
"Last night Naruto Crawford was seen entering the special dorm and later seen exiting with Alexis Rhodes and Serenity Wheeler in tow. It is well known that it is forbidden to enter as the dorm was closed-off and made off-limits" she said as Naruto stepped forward.
"Oh I'm sorry my friends got kidnapped by a dark spirit to lure me into a Shadow Game!" Naruto yelled as Chancellor Sheppard widened his eyes.
"Wait, you were pulled into a Shadow Game?" Sheppard asked as Crowler scoffed.
"There are no such things as Shadow Games" Crowler said it a dismissive tone as Naruto glared at him.
"There is and I was in one. Plus if you pull up my file you will see I was given top access by Chancellor Sheppard to investigate the dorm with permission by Seto Kaiba and my father. While inside I found stone tablets along the walls detailing the Millennium Items and undoubtedly Shadow Game instructions. Plus there is a cave attached to the inside of the dorm that is the creepiest room I've ever seen that just screams 'ritual room'" he said as Crowler frowned but Sheppard nodded.
"Naruto was indeed asked to investigate as Seto Kaiba and Maximillion Pegasus both acclaimed he was best suited for it. If his words are true then I hereby drop all charges against them" the Chancellor said as the woman to his side nodded with a bit of a frown.
"Fine then I-No!" Crowler interrupted the woman with a glare.
"I refuse to believe such baseless lies and punishment of some kind must be done as while Naruto has permission the other two do not! I am willing to give Alexis a pass but the Slifer I cannot" Crowler said as Naruto narrowed his eyes at the man and stomped his foot.
"What part of they were captured by a spirit against their will do you not understand!? The 'against their will' part or the 'captured by a spirit' part? You might not have dealt with Shadow Games before but they are true and I've seen them before" he said as he clenched his fist before glaring up at him.
"If you seriously want to punish them, or just Serenity as you have a bias against Slifers, then how about we make a deal. You make a challenge for me and if I lose you then punish me as well as whoever you are gunning at all but if I win I get to decide whether you are fired or not" he said as he was normally a calm guy but when someone clearly was gunning for others it wasn't something he could let happen.
"W-What! You dare!?" Crowler said, shocked that a mere student was talking to him like this.
"Crowler accepts" Sheppard said as Crowler looked over with wide eyes before coughing into his fist.
"F-Fine. It will be a punishment tag duel with you and Serenity Wheeler as partners. If you lose Serenity is expelled and you are forced into Obelisk with your duel disk confiscated to force you to duel with common cards all year" Crowler said as Naruto knew what he was doing, he was trying to rid any 'distractions' from around, getting him into Obelisk like he wanted, but also crippling him for the fired comment.
"Bring it, me and Serenity will defeat anyone you send our way" Naruto said with a glare as Crowler smirked.
"Your opponents will be made public by me at a later time so be ready" Crowler said before the screens turned off.
"Naruto! A-Are you sure you want to put yourself in this position? I mean I'll just drag you down" Serenity said as Naruto smiled at her.
"If its to save either one of you I'd do all I can to ensure you aren't kicked out for something you had no control of. I swear we'll win this and I'll give Crowler a piece of my mind" he said as Alexis nodded.
"Naruto wouldn't let you down just like how he fought to save us both despite being able to tell the green coats his approval beforehand. He could have escaped this ordeal but went with it for us. All you got to do is train together and I'm certain it'll be fine, I'll help as well since I owe you both that much" Alexis said with a smile as Naruto patted Serenity on the back.
"So don't worry, we'll get through this. I promise" he said as he felt he could work well with Serenity against whatever challengers Crowler was planning for. Last thing he wanted was for Serenity to get singled out by Crowler and that drive would ensure he wouldn't let them lose.
-Chapter End-
Originally I was going to update Prince of the Grandline first but with Twitch running a Yugioh marathon I got an itch for this story and worked the chapter out. I will also be posting a new story soon to allow me to focus back on Prince of Grandline chapter 3.
This chapter was a bit tricky as I was trying to find a good Number to debut in this duel as the finisher and I felt #60 worked well given its abilities I created which I feel are pretty decent as it is all about bringing monsters back and destroying others at the price of being taken off the field for a turn.
Though no new archetype was shown I did show his skills with a singular monster type deck. Plus I'm contemplating original Number cards to replace the first 4 Numbers as the Numeron Gates aren't too interesting personally and they seem to be anime only type cards from everything I've looked up.
Titan wasn't a thing in this chapter but he will show up with the Shadow Riders as I felt him being one fit better than a sham that he was in the anime.
Also you got to see a bit about how the Xyz cards were made before the reason why he was able to make them being explained later.
I'm contemplating adding two other girls to the harem, one from Zexal and another from 5D's but unsure about it a bit so I'll be thinking that over.
And before suggestions are made I have an idea for Serenity's deck as well as what deck Naruto will use in the tag duel
I hope you all liked it
Until Next Time
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Buh-Bye!