"Crowler! He's back! He's back!" Bonaparte shouted as he ran into the headmaster's office. "Calm down, Bonaparte. Who's back?" Crowler asked, and Bonaparte told him Sheppard had returned and he was resting in the nurse's office. Crowler asked if that was all, and Bonaparte told him to think about what this meant for them, as Sheppard was most likely coming back to take charge again.
"Hm, fair point. I guess this means I'll be demoted to Vice Chancellor," Crowler stated, but Bonaparte quickly pointed out that was his job. "Believe me, you'll be lucky if you keep any job when Sheppard hears how you tried to dismantle the red dorm and replaced the blue dorm with that white one," Crowler responded just as Sheppard walked in. "Well, it sounds like a few interesting things have happened while I've been gone, and we'll discuss them later. For now, I want you to gather the students for me, Crowler," Sheppard requested, and Crowler said he'd get right on it.
Soon after, all the students had gathered in the main lecture hall and were waiting to see what Sheppard would say. "I have to say, it's nice to have Chancellor Sheppard back," Jaden noted, the others sharing the sentiment. Shepherd walked in and greeted the students. "I'm sure all of you are wondering why I've gathered you here this morning. Well, I have a gift for all of you," Sheppard informed.
The students began murmuring amongst themselves, wondering what it could be, but Bonaparte shouted to be quiet so Sheppard could speak. "The gift I have for you all is this!" Sheppard declared before he snapped his fingers, the monitor behind him showing the same symbol on the medal he had given Zane. "It's called the 'Generation Next' tournament, and its purpose is to find the greatest duelist of our time," Sheppard informed.
"Over the past few months, I've traveled the world to recruit the best duelists to participate in this tournament. I've invited duelists not only from other dueling schools, but from professional leagues across the globe, and they will all converge on this island for this grand tournament!" he declared. "No way! We get to face real professionals?" Jaden asked ecstatically.
"Professionals from all over the world? Maybe that means he invited Zane too," Syrus pondered. "The entire island is your battleground, and this is your proof of entry," Sheppard said as he held a medal like the one he gave Zane. "The rules are simple. You are required to duel at least once a day, you must accept the first duel you are challenged to each day, and the winner takes all the medallions of their defeated opponent, and the duelists who collects all the medallions is decreed the winner. Although many duelists have been invited, I hope that the winner will be one of you," Sheppard informed before saying that there would be a special prize for the winner.
Jaden declared he was going to win the prize, but Syrus pointed out that it might be a kiss from Dorothy like the School Duel. Sheppard let everyone leave, and Jaden and the others met up in the hallway to talk things over. "Man, Sheppard doesn't do anything halfway, does he?" Alexis asked. "That's for sure. Have you guys thought about your strategy for the tournament?" Lily inquired, and Jaden shook his head. "I'm just gonna keep dueling until there's no one left!" he declared, but Michael told him he should think this through a little more.
"Jaden, a single loss means you're out. Plus, I'm willing to bet Sartorius will try to use the tournament to his advantage by recruiting as many professional duelists as possible. For now, I think we should try and duel as few times as we have to, and we should avoid Chazz and the stronger members of the Society of Light if we can," Michael advised.
Jaden admitted it was a smart idea, but he hated having to slow down so much. "So I guess we should start with the lower-ranked students, right?" Jaden asked, and Michael said that it would be a good idea before walking off. Shortly after in the white dorm, Sartorius was playing the piano in the main hall when Chazz approached him, assuring him that the Society would win the tournament.
Sartorius said he expected nothing less before leaving, heading to Chancellor Sheppard's office. "Greetings, I do hope I'm not interrupting," Sartorius said as he entered. "So, at long last, we meet, Sartorius. I've heard about you, and your little Society," Sheppard informed. Sartorius asked if Sheppard was intimidated, but Sheppard told the man not to flatter himself. "I've seen my share of evil, and I have my eye on you. I invited that duelist you asked for," Sheppard informed, much to Sartorius' delight.
Meanwhile, Prince Ojin, the heir to the kingdom of Misgarth, was flying towards Duel Academy. "So, what kind of opponents will be waiting at this GX tournament?" he asked, and his assistant said that none of them would stand a chance against him. "That goes without saying. They'll all fall before my special one turn kill," he gloated as he flipped through his deck. On the island, the tournament was in full swing, duels going on all over.
Lily: 1800 LP
Obelisk Blue: 2600 LP
Lily's field: Beautiful Headhuntress
"My move. And I activate Dark Magic Curtain, so by paying half my life points, I can summon Dark Magician from my deck," the Obelisk informed.
Obelisk Blue: 1300 LP
Dark Magician
Level 7/Dark/Spellcaster
ATK 2500/DEF 2100
"Now Dark Magician, take out Beautiful Headhuntress with Dark Magic Attack!" he ordered.
Lily: 900 LP
He then placed a card face-down and ended his turn. "My move. I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Perfect. I summon Imperial Bower in attack mode," Lily declared.
Level 4/Light/Warrior
ATK 1500/DEF 1500
"And since I don't control any other monsters, I can sacrifice this monster to take 2 cards from my deck among Queen's Knight, King's Knight, and Jack's Knight and either add them to my hand or special summon them, so I summon Queen's Knight and then King's Knight from my deck."
Queen's Knight
Level 4/Light/Warrior
ATK 1500/DEF 1600
King's Knight
Level 4/Light/Warrior
ATK 1600/DEF 1400
"And since I controlled Queen's Knight when King's Knight was summoned, I can summon Jack's Knight from my deck."
Level 5/Light/Warrior
ATK 1900/DEF 1000
"So what? You have three monsters, but none of them can beat my Dark Magician," the Obelisk student pointed out. "Maybe, but I have a monster that can. I activate Polymerization to fuse my three monsters to summon Arcana Knight Joker in attack mode!" Lily shouted.
Level 9/Light/Warrior
ATK 3800/DEF 2500
Lily ordered her monster to attack, but her opponent revealed his face-down Magic Cylinder, boasting about his victory. "Sorry, but you haven't won. I activate Arcana Knight Joker's special ability! When he's targeted by a card effect, I can discard the same type of card from my hand to negate that effect, so by discarding Joker's Wild from my hand, Magic Cylinder is negated and my attack continues," Lily explained as Arcana Knight Joker struck Dark Magician with his sword.
Obelisk Blue: 0 LP
Winner: Lily
"That'll teach you for underestimating me," Lily said before taking her opponent's medal.
Michael: 700 LP
SoL Member: 3000 LP
SoL Member's field: Astral Barrier, Spirit Barrier, Raging Flame Sprite
Michael's field: Archfiend Empress
"Thanks to his trap combo, I can't take out his monster or damage his life points, and if I take one more hit from that Raging Flame Sprite, I lose," Michael thought to himself before he started his turn and saw he drew the perfect card. "I equip Archfiend Empress with the spell card Prominence and activate its effect, letting me destroy her," Michael explained as his monster erupted in flames.
"Why would you destroy your own monster?" his opponent asked, and Michael said it was for Prominence's other effect. "When the equipped monster is destroyed by Prominence's effect, all the cards on your field are destroyed, and you take 500 points of damage for each destroyed monster," Michael explained.
SoL Member: 2500 LP
"Now Archfiend Empress's effect activates, letting me summon a non-Empress level 6 or higher dark attribute fiend type monster from my graveyard, so return, Summoned Skull!"
Level 6/Dark/Fiend
ATK 2500/DEF 1200
"Now summoned Skull, attack directly with Magical Lightning!"
SoL Member: 0 LP
Winner: Michael
"Well, I admit that was tougher than I expected it to be," Michael confessed as he claimed his opponent's medal.
Miranda: 700 LP
Ra Yellow: 1900 LP
Ra Yellow's field: Total Defense Shogun
Miranda's field: Gem-Knight Garnet
"My turn. And I activate the spell Gem-Knight Fusion! This card lets me summon a Gem-Knight fusion monster by using monsters from my hand or field as material, so I fuse Garnet with the Gem-Knight Obsidian in my hand to summon Gem-Knight Ruby in attack mode!" Miranda declared.
Level 6/Earth/Warrior
ATK 2500/DEF 1300
"And due to Obsidian's effect, since it was sent from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon a level four or lower normal monster from my graveyard, so I bring back Gem-Knight Garnet in attack mode. Next, I activate Ruby's special ability, so by sacrificing Garnet, its attack points are added to Ruby's this turn," Miranda explained.
Ruby: 2500-4400 ATK
"Now Ruby, attack with Ruby Firestorm! And due to Ruby's special ability, he deals piercing damage when he attacks a monster in defense mode!" Miranda declared as her monster fired a volley of burning gemstones at her opponent's monster.
Ra Yellow: 0 LP
Meanwhile, Jaden was fishing down at the docks, waiting for the pros to arrive. "Maybe they won't be here today? And I was hoping my first duel in a real tournament would be someone I could brag about," he complained as Syrus and Hassleberry approached him, telling him they won their first duels. "So soldier, have you won any duels yet?" Hassleberry asked, and Jaden said he hadn't dueled yet.
"I know Michael said we should take it easy at the start, but I really wanted my first opponent to be some big-shot pro. I mean, I did beat Aster, and he was ranked number one," Jaden pointed out, but suddenly they heard the sound of a helicopter approaching and turned to see Prince Ojin's aircraft arriving at the port. They decided to greet the newcomer, and Hassleberry noted they had to be important to arrive on a private plane.
Syrus noticed the emblem on the plane, identifying it as the crest of the kingdom of Misgarth. Jaden told him he'd never heard of it, and Syrus informed him it was a small kingdom in Northern Europe. "Recently, they launched a satellite into orbit, but no one knows what it's for. Also, the crown prince is supposed to be an exceptional duelist," Syrus continued. Jaden said he was going to challenge the prince, rushing to greet him as he exited the plane.
The prince's guards moved to intercept Jaden, but Prince Ojin told them to wait as Jaden might be a challenger. Jaden tried to call out to him, but Sartorius placed his hand on Jaden's shoulder, sending a shock through his body and causing him to freeze. "I hate to rain on your parade, Jaden, but the prince is my opponent, not yours," Sartorius said before he stepped forward, challenging the prince to a duel.
Jaden issued his own challenge, and Prince Ojin asked which one of them was connected to the Destiny Hero cards. Sartorius said it was him, and Prince Ojin accepted his challenge. They all moved down to the docks, and Alexis walked up, asking what was going on. "Sartorius swooped in and stole my first opponent is what happened," Jaden grumbled, and Alexis looked towards the two duelists, asking if Sartorius' opponent was Prince Ojin of Misgarth, Syrus confirming it was.
"You can imagine my time is valuable, so I'll finish you quick," Prince Ojin declared, and Sartorius said that his predictions said the duel would end before his turn started. "Wait, that would mean Prince Ojin would win the duel on the first turn," Alexis realized, Syrus asking how that was possible.
Ojin: 4000 LP
Sartorius: 4000 LP
"I'll go first, so I draw. And I'll start with Foolish Burial to send Satellite Cannon from my deck to the graveyard, and then I activate Monster Reborn to special summon it in attack mode!"
Level 5/Light/Machine
ATK 0/DEF 0
"My family may rule a small country, but we are worthy of ruling over the world! With the laser cannon equipped to the satellite we launched into orbit, we can take control any time we please!" Ojin declared. "That's what the satellite was for? A laser weapon?" Alexis marveled. "Impressive. I can only imagine how it must feel to have such power at your disposal," Sartorius commented. "Getting back to the duel, I activate the spell card Charge. With this card, any Satellite Cannons I control gain 2000 attack points," the prince explained.
Satellite Cannon: 0-2000 ATK
"That means that end of this turn, Satellite Cannon's attack points would rise to 3000 with its effect, but how does the prince plan to end the duel without letting Sartorius have a turn? You can't attack on the first turn," Alexis pointed out. "Maybe not, but I can attack by using this, the spell card Mischief of the Time Goddess! With this card, I skip straight to the battle phase of my next turn. Additionally, I activate the spell Limiter Removal, doubling Satellite Cannon's attack points," the prince explained.
Cannon: 2000-4000 ATK
"No way! If his attack goes through, Sartorius will lose!" Syrus exclaimed. "Accept your destiny. Satellite Cannon, attack!" Prince Ojin ordered before his monster unleashed a laser blast from orbit, creating a shockwave that nearly sent everyone reeling. The prince smirked, but his smile faded when he saw Sartorius standing calmly across from him.
Sartorius: 4000 LP
"Impossible! How did you survive that attack?" the prince asked, and Sartorius laughed before revealing a monster card in his hand. "Due to the effect of Arcana Force XIV - Temperance, if I would take damage in battle, I can discard this monster to reduce my damage to 0. Destiny is a thing that changes quite easily, isn't it?" Sartorius asked. "I'll admit I'm impressed you evaded my one-turn-kill, but you haven't won the duel yet. I summon Satellite Base in defense mode," the prince declared.
Level 4/Light/Machine
ATK 0/DEF 0
"Satellite Base can't be destroyed in battle with monsters whose level is five or lower, and during each of my end phases, it gains 1000 defense, however, its defense will return to zero after it's attacked," he explained. "Since you summoned a monster, I can discard the spell Intervention of Fate from my hand to activate its effect, allowing me to activate another spell card from my hand, such as Ace of Sword," Sartorius explained as the card appeared above him before it began to rotate.
"Prince, this card represents your destiny. When it's activated, I must choose a monster on the field, and I select your Satellite Cannon. What happens next is up to you. You must declare for the card to stop, and if it lands upright, you shall suffer your monster's attack points as damage. However, should the card land in reverse, I shall receive the damage," Sartorius explained.
"Since Satellite Cannon has 4000 attack points, that means the whole duel comes down to where the card lands," Hassleberry pointed out. The prince called for the card to stop, but his heart sank when it landed upright. Satellite Cannon unleashed its attack on him, bringing him to his knees.
Prince Ojin: 0 LP
Winner: Sartorius
"No way. Sartorius won without even taking a turn," Jaden said, shocked. "To defeat me without even taking a turn, truly magnificent," Prince Ojin declared before turning to his assistant, grabbing for a briefcase she had handcuffed to her wrist. "What are you doing, Prince? That's the controls for the satellite," the woman said as Prince Ojin unlocked the cuffs. "Silence. This man has earned it, and anything else I can offer him," Prince Ojin said as he handed the case to Sartorius. "This can't be good," Alexis said. "With power like that in the palm of his hand, there's no telling what Sartorius could do," Jaden thought to himself as he watched the man walk away.