Chapter 12 At One with the Sword
"Do you think you'll be winning the last one with ease?" A boy wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and pants under a tan jacket with an orange interior (with his LDS badge pinned on the collar) and the sleeves were torn off, brown socks, and burnt-orange and grey shoes walk towards the group of You Show students.
Katrina asks, "Who are you?"
"I'm LDS' Synchro Couse's Yaiba Todo. Which one of you is my opponent?" Yaiba asks.
Katrina says, "Even though You Show already has two wins, but we also need to win one more if our victory is guaranteed.
"Then the man Gongenzaka would like to duel. You Show School is on the line, but I'm an outsider because I'm Gongenzaka Dojo's successor..." He turns to Sora. "Sora, listen! This is a do-or-die situation! You must win!"
"I don't like this uncomfortable situation." Sora says while licking his lollipop. "You can have the next duel if you want, Gon-chan."
"Gon-chan? I'm allowed to duel?" Gongenzaka asks.
Ryu says, "What do you guys think?"
Ron says, "I don't feel like facing them. So I'll pass."
"Me neither." Jean says.
"If Gongenzaka wants to, then there's no reason not to." Katrina adds.
Yuya and Yuni are surprised at the outcome, but they also agree to let him duel. Yuya says, "We're counting on you, Gongenzaka. Since you're my best friend, I feel comfortable entrusting you with this match."
"Same here." Yuni adds.
"Yuya...Yuni... All right, leave this to me. I promise to win in the name of Gongenzaka Dojo's Steadfast Dueling!" Gongenzaka says while he goes up in flames.
"Hey! How long are you going to keep me waiting? Or are you going to forfeit out of fear? Well?" Yaiba asks.
"How inexcusable to treat the man Gongenzaka as a coward!" Gongenzaka is furious as he puts on his Duel Disk. "I'm your opponent!"
Tapping his wooden katana on his shoulder, Yaiba says, "If you think I'm well-mannered like the other two, you'll be in a world of hurt. Because unlike them, I was taught under both Vice Presidents of LDS."
Vivian thinks, "I remember that Brother and Sister will teach Synchro and Ritual together instead of focusing on Fusion or Xyz on their own..."
"How dare he say that we're weak..." Hokuto mutters.
"It's annoying, but we can't do anything because we lost." Masumi says. "However, vice presidents already warned us about the opponents we've faced, so Yaiba might have picked the easiest one of us."
In the operating booth, Shuzo looks at the opponent and says, "The opponent is Yaiba Todo. "Yaiba" means "blade" or "sword". Then I choose this! Action Field on! Field Magic: Sword Cemetery!"
A wasteland with swords and dead trees littered about the landscape appears, with Gongenzaka standing on a low rise. Shuzo says, "Gongenzaka, bury Yaiba in this Sword Cemetery!"
Yaiba smirks as he notices the field, as it is also one of his specialties, but unlike the other two, he is not going to say it out loud. After the chant, both of them start the duel and the Action Cards are scattered. (Gongenzaka:4000)(Yaiba:4000)
"I'll go first." Gongenzaka says, "I summon Superheavy Samurai Kabu-10 from my hand!" (ATK:1000/DEF:2000 LV:4)
A samurai holding a hammer appears on the field, and Gongenzaka says, "I end my turn."
"All you did was summon a weak monster with 1000 ATK." Yaiba says.
"A truly strong man doesn't make unnecessary movements." Gongenzaka says.
"Whatever, you blockhead! My turn!" Yaiba draws a card and says, "I summon XX-Saber Boggarknight from my hand!" (ATK:1900/DEF:1000 LV:4)
As the monster appears, Yaiba continues, "When this monster is summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower X-Saber monster from my hand. I Special Summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster: XX-Saber Fulhelmknight from my hand!" (ATK:1300/DEF:1000 LV:3)
"So that is a Tuner Monster..." Ryu says.
"Superheavy Samurai Kabu-10's effect activates! When you Special Summon a monster, this monster switches into Defense Position! And it gains 500 DEF during this turn!" (ATK:1000-DEF:2000-2500)
Kabu-10 generates a blue spherical field as Gongenzaka says, "Too bad. If you didn't Special Summon, you could have defeated Kabu-10. The one who makes unnecessary moves will lose this duel. Remember that!"
"Nice, Gongenzaka! Show him your Steadfast Dueling!" Yuzu cheers.
"Steadfast Dueling? Whatever! I'll keep going! When there are two or more X-Sabers on my field, I can Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll!" (ATK:2400/DEF:1800 LV:6)
Jean says, "Three monsters already..."
"Maybe this is interesting." Ron adds.
"You'll be surprised after you see this! I tune Level 4 XX-Saber Boggarknight with Level 3 Tuner Monster XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" Yaiba yells as Fulhelmknight swings its chain blade in a spiral around it, bursting into three motes of light that become green rings of light that go through the Level 4 monster.
Yaiba chants, "Wielder of crossed blades of light! Trample over this mountain of corpses! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! X-Saber Souza!" (ATK:2500/DEF:1600 LV:7)
At the same time, Rin appears and she says, "Finally, a Synchro Summon..."
Yuzu asks, "So how was X Sabers in Synchro Dimension?"
"Well, those cards are only for tops to use, which still makes me want to beat them into a pulp." Rin says as her eyes are on fire as well as her body, causing the three girls to sweat drop.
Ruri says, "Woah, Rin, please calm down."
Ray says, "Yeah, you are now burning."
"What's that..." Futoshi asks.
Yuya says, "A Tuner Monster tunes other monsters to bring out a powerful monster from the Extra Deck whose Level equals the total Level of the monsters. This is Synchro Summon."
"Which means, he adds Level 3 plus 4 to summon a Level 7 monster." Yuni adds.
"That's right, and I'm not done! Once per turn, XX-Saber Faultroll can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from the Graveyard." Yaiba says. "I'm bringing out XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!"
Stabbing its blade into the ground, Faultroll revives XX-Saber Fulhelmknight. Vivian says, "He used an effect to resurrect the Tuner Monster he used to Synchro Summon from the graveyard..."
"Can this be..." Yuzu gasps in horror.
"It can be. I tune Level 6 XX-Saber Faultroll with Level 3 XX-Saber Fulhelmknight! Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of all who oppose you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms!" (ATK:3100/DEF:2600 LV:9)
Ron says, "Summoning two Synchro Monsters in his turn, he is quite good."
"He sure isn't bluffing when he said that." Jean says.
Yuni smiles, "He sure has outdone himself."
"What's wrong? Are you so shocked that you can't speak?" Yaiba taunts.
"A man stands firm and doesn't get flustered. You can't win by running around!" Gongenzaka replies.
"Like you know! I'll show you no mercy! Battle! XX-Saber Gottoms attacks Superheavy Samurai Kabu-10!"
Gottoms fires a blast from its sword, destroying Kabu-10. Yaiba asks, "How's that? My X-Saber's blades are sharp! I'm not done yet! X-Saber Souza attacks you directly!"
Souza leaps into the air and swings its swords, unleashing an X-shaped blast of light that pushes Gongenzaka backward. He remains on his feet, his sandals digging gouges into the earth. (Gongenzaka:4000-1500)
"2500 damage..." Tatsuya mutters.
"He withstood it." Futoshi adds.
"That fires me up!" Shuzo yells. "That's why he's the Successor to You Show's rival Gongenzaka Dojo!"
"What are you talking about? I set one card and end my turn." Yaiba says.
"My turn!" Gongenzaka says as he draws a card. He says, "I drew the cornerstone for my Steadfast Dueling. When you have two or more monsters on the field, I can Special Summon Superheavy Samurai TenB-N!" (ATK:800/DEF:1800 LV:4)
After a samurai holding a water pan in his hand appears, Gongenzaka says, "When this monster is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon one Superheavy Samurai from my graveyard! Resurrect, Superheavy Samurai Kabu-10!" TenB-N aligns its water pan and Kabu-10 revives from one of the pans.
"Immovable like the mountains, I shall show you the true form of steadfastness! I release Superheavy Samurai TenB-N and Kabu-10 to Advance Summon a monster in DEF!
Both monsters vanish in a puff of green dust, which become twin green pillars that unite, and the limbs of the monster emerge from it. Gongenzaka yells, "Level 8! Superheavy Samurai Big Ben-K!" (ATK:1000/DEF:3500 LV:8)
"Summon a monster face-up in DEF?" Yaiba gasps in surprise.
"When you summon a monster in DEF, it's usually facedown." Tatsuya says. "But why?"
"One of Big Ben-K's powers is that it can be Advance Summoned face-up in DEF." Gongenzaka says.
"But what's the point?" Yaiba snorts.
"I will win without moving! This is the soul of Steadfast Dueling! Battle! Big Ben-K attacks XX-Saber Gottoms!" Gongenzaka yells.
"Attack while it's in DEF?" Yaiba gasps.
"Big Ben-K is allowed to attack while in DEF." Gongenzaka says. "And its DEF is used as its ATK!"
Boosting forwards, Big Ben-K slams its fist into the ground and blasts a flaming wave at Gottoms. Ayu says, "So that means..."
"It's 3500 vs 3100!" Tatsuya adds. "Big Ben-K is the victor!" (Yaiba:4000-3600)
Katrina says, "That sure is an unusual style of battling..."
"Good." Gongenzaka looks at his hand. "My battle formation is in order. I end my turn."
"My turn." Yaiba says as he draws a card. "I summon XX-Saber Boggarknight from my hand! When this monster is summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower X-Saber monster from my hand. Appear! XX-Saber Ragigura!" (ATK:200/DEF:1000 LV:1)
"Only 200 ATK? What is he planning to do with it?" Jean asks.
"When Ragigura is Special Summoned, I can add 1 X-Saber in my graveyard to my hand. I return Faultroll to my hand!" Yaiba says as he takes the card back. "When there are two or more X-Sabers on my field, I can Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll! Faultroll's effect activates! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from the Graveyard."
"Another Special Summon?" Ayu says with uninterest. "He's playing all by himself." Futoshi adds.
"Resurrect! Tuner Monster: XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" Yaiba yells.
"Does that mean..." Ron widens his eyes as the children is looking with horror.
"I tune Level 6 XX-Saber Faultroll with Level 3 XX-Saber Fulhelmknight! Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of all who oppose you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms!"
"Oh no. Just when he destroyed Gottoms." Yuzu mutters.
"Gottoms has 3100 ATK. It's still no match for Big Ben-K." Katrina adds.
"That's true." Yaiba sprints away and swings his wooden katana hard enough to displace an Action Card. Catching it and saying, "But it depends on this."
He looks at the card and says, "All right. I got the perfect card. I activate the Action Card: Extreme Sword! Extreme Sword increases a Monster's ATK by 1000 during battle." (ATK:3100-4100)
Everyone can look in shock as Yaiba chuckles, "This is what makes Action Duels thrilling. Battle! Gottoms attacks Big Ben-K! Crush it!"
"Big Ben-K..." Yuzu mutters.
"Even though it's destroyed, he won't take damage because it was in DEF." Yuni says.
"How naive! I activate the Trap Card: Meteorain! When I attack a monster in DEF this turn, you take piercing damage equal to the difference in their points. You take 600 damage!" (Gongenzaka:1500-900)
However, when the smoke clears, Big Ben-K is still on the field. Yaiba gasps, "Why?"
"When Big Ben-K was attacked, I sent Superheavy Samurai Soul Fire Armor from my hand to the graveyard. By sending it to the graveyard, a Level 5-or-above Superheavy Samurai isn't destroyed this turn."
"You sacrificed your hand to protect your ace." Yaiba mutters.
"But when I use this effect to negate its destruction, my monster loses 800 DEF." Gongenzaka says. (DEF:3500-2700)
"Its DEF went down!" Ayu gasps. "It's fine. It's still higher than Souza's ATK." Tatsuya adds.
"But what if I get this?" Yaiba draws out his wooden katana again and swings it in front of him, which displaces a second Action Card.
"It fell near him." Yaiba curses, but Gongenzaka isn't going to get the card, much to their surprise, and Yaiba manages to get the card. "Luck is on my side today! I activate the Action Card: Extreme Sword again! Souza gains 1000 ATK!" (ATK:2500-3500) "Souza attacks Big Ben-K!"
Gongenzaka says, "Due to Soul Fire Armor's effect, Big Ben-K isn't destroyed!"
"But you still take damage due to Meteorain's effect!" Yaiba says. This time, the blast of flame flings Gongenzaka backwards. (Gongenzaka:900-100)
"Is he even trying?" Ryu says with a slight annoyance.
"When Soul Fire Armor's effect prevents your monster's destruction, your monster loses 800 DEF." (DEF:2700-1900)
"Yeah, but Gottoms and Souza's ATK return to normal at the end of the battle." Gongenzaka adds. (ATK:3500-2500)(ATK:4100-3100)
"You used the effects of the monsters in your hand to barely survive. For a big guy, you use little annoying techniques." Yaiba muses.
"I believe in my deck, and my deck saved me." Gongenzaka says while rising to his feet.
"Time to put an end to your insolence! I release Boggarknight to activate Gottom's effect. One card in your hand is sent to the graveyard." Yaiba says.
"What?" Gongenzaka gasps in surprise.
"I'll make you discard your last card as well! I release Ragigura to activate Gottom's effect again!" Yaiba says, and now Gongenzaka's hand is empty. "You have 0 cards in your hand. You can't do anything. I set one card and end my turn."
"If nothing changes, Gongenzaka will definitely lose!" Ayu says.
"If he only took that Action Card..." Tatsuya says.
"Exactly! Why didn't he take the Action Card?" Futoshi says. "It's so strange that it gives me shivers!"
"No, it's alright." Yuya says. "This is his dueling style."
(Flashback)
Yuya, Yuni, and Gongenzaka are sitting in the park as Gongenzaka says, "In a duel, you have to believe in your own deck. You don't know what Action Card you'll get, so putting your hopes in them puts you at a disadvantage."
"But not knowing what you'll get is more exciting." Yuni protests.
"She's right, how are you going to battle with this deck?" Yuya says while looking at Gongenzaka's deck.
"This is the perfect deck for Gongenzaka's steadfast Dueling. I believe in my deck and promise to win!" Gongenzaka says.
(Flashback ends)
"Gongenzaka, you believe in your Steadfast Dueling, so use it to win." Yuni says.
"My turn!" Gongenzaka draws a card and says, "I summon Superheavy Samurai Soul Great Wall from my hand! This monster equips on to a Superheavy Samurai monster and increases its DEF by 1200." (DEF:1900-3100)
"You drew a monster that powers up another monster? You're so lucky." Yaiba says.
"It wasn't luck that I drew this monster. It's because I was prepared! Battle! Big Ben-K attacks X-Saber Souza!
Big Ben-K attacks Souza, boosting forward with the rockets on Soul Great Wall and unleashing its flaming shockwave, destroying Souza. (Yaiba:3600-3000)
"Nice job, Gongenzaka." Vivian says.
"How dare you! You don't know when to give up!" Yaiba yells. "I activate the Trap: Gottom's Emergency Call! When there's an X-Saber on the field, this card Special Summons two X-Sabers from the graveyard! Resurrect, X-Saber Souza and Ragigura!"
After two monsters appear, Yaiba says, "Ragigura's effect returns Faultroll from my graveyard to my hand."
"After going through the trouble of destroying Souza, he resurrected it right away." Tatsuya groans.
"He also returned Ragigura from the graveyard and added Faultroll to his hand!" Futoshi adds.
"It doesn't matter if it's the opponent's turn. His monsters keep resurrecting." Hokuto says. "This explosive turn of events shows why his X-Saber deck is scary."
"It's unusual that you praise someone else's deck." Yuni says.
"Is it because you lost? And you're gutless?" Masumi adds.
Freezing up and whitening as the expression arrows hit him, Hokuto topples to the floor and slinks back to the corner again.
"100 LP and 0 cards in his hand..." Sora mutters. "There's no way Gon-chan can win."
"No, it's not over." Yuya says. "He hasn't given up yet."
"My turn!" Yaiba says as he draws a card, and he shows Faultroll and says, "Do you remember this card?"
"XX-Saber Faultroll. You can Special Summon it when you have two or more X-Sabers on your field." Gongenzaka says.
"Since I have at least two X-Sabers on my field, I Special Summon Faultroll!" Yaiba says as he summons the monster. "Next, Faultroll's effect activates! Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Tuner Monster XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!"
"Not again..." Katrina mutters.
"I tune Level 6 XX-Saber Faultroll with Level 3 XX-Saber Fulhelmknight! Let your silver armor shine! Crush the hope of all who oppose you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms!"
After the monster appears, Yaiba says, "I use Souza's effect to release Ragigura. You're wondering why I did that. You'll find out soon enough. Battle! Souza attacks Big Ben-K!"
"Souza has lower ATK..." Ryu says.
"By releasing one X-Saber, Souza can destroy the monster it's battling this turn." Yaiba explains.
"Destroy it regardless of its ATK?" Futoshi gasps.
"I'll slice apart your ace monster that you're doing everything to protect!" Yaiba yells.
"Soul Great Wall's effect activates! By sending it to the graveyard, I can lower my previously-equipped monster's DEF to 0 to negate your attack." (DEF:3100-0)
The blades of Souza dig into the ground instead, and Yaiba grits his teeth, "Damn it. But even if you negate the attack, your monster is useless because it lost all its DEF! My two Gottoms will annihilate it and your LP! The first Gottoms attack Big Ben-K!"
"I was waiting for that! I activate Superheavy Samurai Soul Break Armor's effect from my graveyard!" Gongenzaka yells.
"What? Activate from the graveyard?" Yaiba gasps. "No way! Is that card..."
"It is. You used Gottom's effect to send this card from my hand to the graveyard. This card unleashes its true potential when it's in the graveyard. By banishing Soul Break Armor when there are no Magic or Trap Cards in my graveyard. When you attack my monster, you take damage equal to the change in my monster's DEF!"
"What?" Yaiba gasps.
"Big Ben-K originally had 3500 DEF, and it has 0 right now." Vivian says. "That means it's 3500 damage!"
Sora for the first time is absolutely floored, as he drops his lollipop to the ground, where it smashes.
Yuya says, "In order to deal this blow, he can't have any Magic or Trap Cards in his graveyard. That's why Gongenzaka didn't put any Magic and Trap Cards in his deck. It only contains monsters."
"A deck that only contains monsters?" Masumi is surprised.
"That's crazy..." Hokuto says.
Ron smiles, "Well, Jean, looks like his similar to yours."
Vivian asks, "What do you mean by that?"
Jean says, "My deck has a similar idea to Gongenzaka's, only with Trap Cards and Extra Deck monsters."
"What? So normal monsters and Magic cards?" Sora asks in shock.
Jean rolls her eyes at him and says, "Yeah. I kind of like it."
"I see. That's why you didn't take any Action Cards." Yaiba says.
"That's right. Because Action Cards are either Magic or Trap cards. See? This is the essence of Steadfast Dueling!"
Connected to "Big Benkei" by a stream of red energy, Soul Break Armor blasts four red orbs at Yaiba. "How amusing. I activate the Quick-Play Magic: Saber Reflect from my hand! When there's an X-Saber monster on the field, the effect damage is negated."
"He still had a counter-strategy?" Yuzu gasps.
"That's why this is considered a Tops deck..." Rin says with slight anger.
"A blue shield appears around him and intercepts the blasts, and Yaiba says, "And you take damage that was negated! This is the end!"
The energy surges towards Gongenzaka, and he says, "I will not fail! I activate Superheavy Samurai Soul Big Bang's effect from my graveyard!"
"The other card I sent to the graveyard?" Yaiba gasps.
"When there are no Magic or Trap Cards in my graveyard, I can banish this card to negate your card effect's damage!" Gongenzaka says.
"The damage that I reflected back is negated!" Yaiba is furious as Soul Big Bang sucks in the energy. Gongenzaka says, "That's not all! All your monsters are destroyed, and we both take damage equal to their total Level multiplied by 100!"
"The total Level is 33...that means 3300 damage!" Yuni gasps.
Soul Big Bang explodes, and the blastwave shreds all of the monsters on the field, blowing both Gongenzaka and Yaiba off their feet. (Gongenzaka:100-0)(Yaiba:3000-0)
"So the match is a draw..." Vivian says.
"Gongenzaka!" Yuya rushes towards Gongenzaka, and he asks, "Are you okay? Put yourself together."
Gongenzaka sits up and says, "I am sorry, Yuya. My Gongenzaka's Steadfast Dueling wasn't able to beat him."
"What are you talking about? Only you could've pulled off a draw, Gongenzaka." Yuya adds. "You believed in your deck and I witnessed its power."
"After three matches, it is two wins and a draw. Chairwoman Akaba, you said that you would take this school if you won the four-match contest. But we already have 2 wins and a draw, so please leave." Shuzo says.
"What are you talking about? This duel must settle matters. There is no such thing as a draw!" Himeka says.
"But the duel ended in a draw." Shuzo says.
"After the fourth duel, we'll have a tiebreaker." Himeka says.
"That sounds like a good plan. But don't forget, we still have our fourth duel." Yuni says.
"But where is the fourth duelist?" Katrina asks.
And at the same time, Reiji, who was listening outside, walks in and pulls off his hoodie. "That will be me."
Yuzu, Vivian, Shuzo, and Katrina flinch at his appearance of him, but Yuya and Yuni are smiling at his appearance.
And here is the Duel with Gongenzaka and Yaiba. There is no major change in this chapter, but it will be in the next chapter. I hope you like it.