Disclaimer: Some of Naruto's cards will be using the effect from the anime. Those cards will be denoted with a * when they first appear in the chapter. Characters from the ZEXAL anime will be using anime effects by default.
Kotori could barely pay attention to class today. As her instructor droned on in the lecture, all she could do was stare at the empty seat where Yuma used to sit.
"Oh? It looks like Tsukumo-kun is absent again today." Their teacher noted mid-class. "I wonder if he's feeling well. It's been well over a week…"
"Well, he would just be sleeping on his desk right now anyway! It doesn't matter if he comes or not!" One of their classmates joked. .
"I guess that's true! Hahahahah!" Some of Yuma's other classmates joined in with the laughter.
But Kotori wasn't amused. In fact, she was so worried that she could barely sit still.
The expression on his face that night as they walked home from collecting Numbers was forever etched in her mind…
Never did she think that Yuma of all people could wear the blank thousand-yard stare of someone who's given up on life.
I almost lost a duel again… She remembered him telling her.
It didn't make sense to her at the time that she heard it. One second, they were walking home like usual, the next second Yuma just dropped to his knees and claimed that he had just been dueling.
If Yuma's words were to be believed, he somehow managed to have a duel within less than a second of time.
It was just something that she couldn't wrap her mind around. So when Yuma broke down into tears, all she could do was pat him in the back and offer empty promises that "everything would be okay."
When school ended, she met Tetsuo by the front gate of the school once again. During Yuma's absence, she'd asked Tetsuo to help her with a certain thing — something that she was sure would help lift Yuma's burden.
Today, she didn't want to go to a cafe like they usually did. Instead, she asked Tetsuo to go with her to Yuma's house.
There was something that she wished to tell Yuma personally.
"Stop… Stop it!" Yuma begged as he clasped his head in pain. He was crouched in the corner of his lightless room, desperate to hold on to a tiny bit of his sanity. The boy's eyes darted around the room with a squirrely wildness, as if paranoid that something would attack him at a moment's notice.
He had been cooped up in his room ever since his run-in with Kaito. Even more terrifying than that man's ability to stop time, was his impeccable dueling ability. The absolute terror that he felt as that man read his every move was almost the same as when he was dueling Naruto.
If he lost a duel where both duelists summoned a Number monster, then Astral's life would come to an end as well. Yet, despite knowing this, he still let himself be played like a fool.
It was only by miraculous luck that Kaito suddenly decided to call off the duel and rushed away abruptly. If he hadn't done that, then Yuma was certain that he would have lost.
At this rate, he doubted that he would ever be able to protect Astral – let alone help Astral regain his memories.
"It's alright…Astral is not here anymore…" There it was again, the chilling voice that Yuma had come to identify as the "Devil." His head throbbed at the thing's every word.
"You don't have to worry about Astral anymore~" The thing spoke again.
"S-shut up!" Yuma barked.
"Yuma?" He could hear his sister's voice from outside his door. She sounded a bit annoyed."Are you okay in there?"
Yuma didn't respond. He knew that she wouldn't understand.
"That's right… only I can understand you~ Only I will stand by your side! Even Astral abandoned you, didn't he?"
"Astral…" Yuma repeated the name as he casted his mind back to the evening just after his encounter with Kaito.
He still remembered it clearly. That night, when he was wallowing in self-doubt, Astral suddenly let out a pained yelp before being pulled into his pendant. The mohawked amnesiac never popped back out again ever since that day.
"He's left you, Yuma." The thing stated. "But I'm still here. I will help you conquer your fears. I will give you strength. I will make dueling fun for you again!"
Make dueling fun for me again? Yuma glanced at the deck of cards that sat lonelily on his desk. Ever since his battle with Kaito and Astral's disappearance, he had lost the courage to even look at his cards.
He once thought that playing Duel Monsters was supposed to be a fun game for people to make friends and understand each other. But recent encounters taught him otherwise.
"Who are you?" Yuma asked the "devil" for its name for the first time.
"I am Number 96. Your guardian angel~" From the shadows, a figure emerged. Its appearance was nearly identical to Astral, except its entire body was covered in jet-black darkness.
The figure extended a hand towards Yuma, who grabbed it after a brief moment of hesitation.
"Let's start by taking revenge on the person who brought misfortune in your life." Number 96 stated.
Yuma's body was now shrouded in a dark aura. He nodded woodenly to Number 96's words. "Yeah…Let's kill Uzumaki Naruto."
When he thought about it, everything in his life went awry after he lost to Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto found himself in quite a dilemma. He was just searching for Numbers with Luna when suddenly a strange man appeared to accost them.
Naruto glared at the man that stood in front of him. The stranger had multicolored hair. The blonde portion was styled up into a curved cone, while the remaining pieces of green hair were styled into the shape of a three-pointed crown.
If this were a less dire moment, Naruto would have sarcastically begged to know which kingdom's king decided to pay him a visit.
"As I suspected, You have a Number too, don't you?" The stranger asked.
Naruto looked around him. He and Luna appeared to have been placed in the middle of a frozen world.
"Hmph!" Naruto huffed. "I may or may not have one, why does it matter to you?"
"You are." The stranger decided for both of them with a tone that allowed no further arguments. "After all, you are able to move inside this specialized domain."
"It's part of my power!" The stranger's robot companion bragged eagerly. It was a short creature with cymbal-like ears. "Inside this space, time is slowed down to 1:10000 of its normal rate. Only Numbers holders can move normally in this zone!"
The robot's explanation made sense to Naruto as both he and Luna had been actively looking Numbers users ever since his second duel with Yuma.
Before Naruto could say another word, the stranger extended his palm and shot out a rope made of bright crimson energy that quickly wrapped around Naruto's wrist.
"What's this?" The Uzumaki teen yelled out in shock.
"It's a Duel Anchor." The stranger explained. "Until we dueled and decided on a victor, this thing will not disappear."
"…" Naruto grimaced. "I see… so it's just like that time with Luna."
"Be careful, Naruto." Luna warned. "I can sense that this guy is dangerous."
Luna's words were worthless to Naruto at this point. Even if this man was as dangerous as Luna claimed, Naruto knew that there was no backing out of the challenge. Especially not with the Duel Anchor stuck to his wrist.
On the bright side, he was glad that it was him who ran into this weirdo instead of Anna — who had forcefully volunteered herself to their Numbers gathering mission.
"Alright. I accept the challenge!" Naruto extended his arm as his D-Pad sprung to life with a series of quick clicks. He tossed on his D-Gazer and watched as a virtual replica of his surroundings took form.
"Just what I wanted to hear!" The stranger let out a wolfish grin. "Let the hunting game begin! I activate Duel Mode, Photon Change!" With a wave of his arms, the stranger's black coat became washed with white light. A mere second later, a strange tattoo stretched from the side of his head until it covered the entirety of his left eye. The pupil of the man's left eye changed into a crimson hue, as if covered by a colored contact lense.
"AR Vision - Link Established."
A robotic voice blared into the air as the world around them stabilized.
From the information screen on his D-Pad, Naruto learned that his opponent went by the name of "Kaito".
"So…" Kaito smirked. "Let the hunt for your soul begin! My turn! Draw!"
T1 Kaito H:5-6 LP: 4000
"I will summon Photon Sabre Tiger!" Kaito spoke as he slammed a card on his crescent-shaped D-Pad.
Besides Kaito, a circular portal opened up, and a luminous sabre tiger that appeared to be made of raw, crackling, electricity came leaping out.
Photon Sabre Tiger LIGHT LV 3 Beast/Effect ATK: 2000
"When Photon Sabre Tiger is summoned successfully, I can add 1 Photon Sabre Tiger to my hand!" A solitary card slid out of place from Kaito's deck which he calmly added into his hand and revealed to Naruto.
It was a copy of Photon Sabre Tiger, just like Kaito claimed.
Photon Sabre Tiger LIGHT LV 3 Beast/Effect ATK: 2000-1200
"If there's only one Photon Sabre Tiger on the field, Tiger will lose 800 Attack Points." Kaito explained as his monster's Attack Points plummeted.
"With this, I will end my turn." He proceeded to declare, all the while glaring at Naruto with an unwavering gaze.
The last Numbers holder that Kaito fought got real lucky. Kaito was just about to deliver the final blow when his little brother collapsed back in their home. But now that his brother's medical condition had been stabilized, Kaito had no intentions of letting this prey go.
Naruto took the moment to survey the situation. His opponent had six cards in his hand, one of which was the recently added Photon Sabre Tiger. Meanwhile, his field had a Level 3 monster with only 1200 Attack Points. There was also no sign of any suspicious Spell or Trap card sitting in the back.
Seeing his opponent make such a flimsy setup, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this Kaito guy was trying to bait him into attacking.
Nonetheless, he drew his card. "It's my turn! Draw!"
T2 Naruto H:5-6 LP: 4000
It appeared that he had drawn into a reliable monster.
"I will summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius*." Naruto placed a card on his D-Pad. "I will then attack Photon Sabre Tiger!"
Spreading its wings amidst a shower of scattered light, the green Raidraptor- Vanishing Lanius soared to its duty.
Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius* DARK LV 4 Winged Beast/Effect ATK: 1300
Just as soon as it appeared, Vanishing Lanius streaked forward, and ripped Photon Sabre Tiger in half with its talon. (Kaito's LP: 4000→3900)
"Then, I activate Raidraptor- Symbol! As a Raidraptor monster I control battled, I can add one Raidraptor monster from my Deck to my hand! I will add another copy of Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius to my hand!" He then placed it on his D-Pad. "Using the effect of the first Vanishing Lanius, I will Special Summon a second Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius from my hand in Defense Mode!"
Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius DARK LV 4 Winged Beast/Effect DEF: 1600
"I will set two cards and end my turn!"
Luna nodded in approval. "Good. Naruto managed to both inflict damage and set up a wall of defense!"
Kaito maintained a poker face as he drew his next card.
T3 Kaito H:6-7 LP: 3900
"I will summon Photon Sabre Tiger!"
The lightning tiger appeared again.
"Per its effect, I can add another copy of Photon Sabre Tiger to my hand!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. What's the point of doing the same thing all over again?
"I then activate Polymerization!"
As the iconic Spell Card flipped into view, Naruto couldn't believe his eyes.
"Polymerization?!" He blurted out before he could stop himself. It had been a while since he saw someone play Polymerization in Heartland City— with the popularity of Xyz Monsters, many of the young ones had considered Fusion Monsters as a relic of an bygone era.
"I will fuse the Photon Sabre Tiger on my Field with the Photon Sabre Tiger in my hand!" A mystical swirl surfaced behind Kaito and drew both of his Tigers towards its center where they promptly disintegrated into light. Fusion Summon! Twin Photon Lizard!"
Twin Photon Lizard LIGHT LV 6 Dragon/Fusion/Effect ATK: 2400
Naruto gazed at the twin-headed behemoth that just appeared in front of him. The fused abomination looked as if someone took half of a red dragon, and half of a yellow dragon, and forcibly joined them together with a black mechanical body.
"Battle!" Kaito pointed at Naruto. "I will attack Raidraptor- Vanishing Lanius with Twin Photon Lizard!"
The two-headed beast let lose twin streams of concentrated light that obliterated Raidraptor- Vanishing Lanius in an instant.
(Naruto's LP: 4000-2900)
Naruto wasn't the type to back down so easily. "Trap card, activate! Raidraptor - Return!" Naruto swung his arm as his Trap Card stood up next to him. "Then, since I took battle damage, I activate Raidraptor - Avenge Vulture's effect from my hand! I will Special Summon this card to the field in Defense Position!"
Raidraptor - Avenge Vulture DARK LV 4 Winged-Beast/Effect DEF: 100
"At this time, Raidraptor - Return's effect resolves and I will add the recently destroyed Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius back to my hand!" Naruto said as he took his monster out of the Graveyard Zone of his D-Pad.
Kaito was hardly impressed. "I activate Quick-Play Spell: De-Fusion!"
"I will return Twin Photon Lizard back into my Extra Deck, and then bring back its Fusion Materials! Appear, my Photon Sabre Tigers!"
In front of their eyes, Kaito's Fusion Monster split into two lightning tigers — both of them looking just as mean as the dragon that they replaced.
Kaito let out a slight, impish grin. "And since this time I control more than one Photon Sabre Tiger, their Attack Points will remain unchanged!"
Photon Sabre Tiger LIGHT LV 3 Beast/Effect ATK: 2000
Photon Sabre Tiger LIGHT LV 3 Beast/Effect ATK: 2000
"Go, my monsters! Attack and destroy the weaklings that stand in our way!"
Both of the Tigers pounced at Naruto's raptors with lightning speed and tore off their heads. Satisfied with his carnage, Kaito placed one card into his D-Pad.
"I will set one card and end my turn!"
T4 Naruto H:2-3 LP: 2900
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I will run into a Fusion user today… Naruto's grip on his cards tightened. If I didn't have Avenge Vulture in my hand, then I would have taken over 3000 points of damage in an instant. But thanks to his own combo, i can now wipe out his Life Points in an instant!
"I will summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius to the field. If Raidraptor- Vanishing Lanius is Summoned Successfully, I can Special Summon another copy of itself from my hand." Naruto said as he flipped over Retrofit Lanius' card in his hand. "And per Raidraptor - Retrofit Lanius' effect, I can make it copy the Name and Level of one Raidraptor on the Field. I will have Retrofit Lanius copy the name of Vanishing Lanius and then Special Summon it to my field!"
Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius DARK LV 4 Winged Beast/Effect ATK: 1300
The imposter Vanishing Lanius followed its leader out into the battlefield.
Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius (Retrofit Lanius) DARK LV 4 Winged Beast/Effect ATK: 800
Naruto's face remained a tight-knit scowl. "When Raidraptor - Retrofit Lanius is used as the Xyz Summon of a Raidraptor monster, I can treat it as two monsters!"
In front of them, Raidraptor - Retrofit Lanius split into two.
"I will then use my monsters to build the overlay network!"
Within the cracking mass of darkness, three afterburner pipes flared with blue mystical fire. A three-clawed metal talon that was once limp quickly sprung to life with a metallic shine. One by one, the creature's six circular eyes lit up with crimson light.
"Obscured falcon, raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, and spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon*!"
Naruto's eyes shone with intensity as he slammed the card onto his D-Pad.
Raidraptor - Rise Falcon* DARK R4 Winged Beast/Xyz/Effect ATK: 100 Xyz Materials: 2
With a resounding screech, Rise Falcon descended upon the battlefield. Surrounding its body was two spheres of darkness.
"You went through all that trouble to summon a 100 Attack Point monster?" Kaito looked mildly amused. "Are you even taking this duel seriously?"
Naruto decided to let his actions speak for themselves. "I activate Raidraptor -Rise Falcon's effect! Once per turn, by detaching 1 Xyz Material, this card gains the combined attack points of all Special Summoned monsters that my opponent controls!"
One of the spheres that rotated around Raidraptor - Rise Falcon burst into a sprinkle of violet light.
"That's more like it!" Kaito said as he thrust his hand forward, causing his face-down card to rise. "But before that, I activate the Quick-Play Spell: Flash Fusion! With this card, I will fuse my two Photon Sabre Tiger to perform a Fusion Summon!"
A mystical swirl once again emerged in the air, sucking both of Kaito's monsters into the center.
"Fusion Summon during his opponent's turn?!" Luna exclaimed in disbelief. Will Twin Photon Lizard appear again?
"Fusion Summon! Descend upon me, Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon!"
The center of the fusion swirl fragmented like glass, and moments later, a muscular arm punched right through as the very reality shattered in front of the mysterious creature's supreme might. Within the resulting rift of time and space, an orange draconian beast flew out, its body covered by black, obsidian scale. Branching from its broad, muscular back, were six bladed wings that grew in a circular formation.
In a way, the wings reminded Naruto of the stylized halo of the sun found in old coloring books.
Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon LIGHT LV 8 Dragon/Fusion/Effect ATK: 2000
"Raidraptor - Rise Falcon's effect now resolves!" Naruto countered as he shook off the effect of the spectacle that he just wintnessed. "Rise Falcon now gains Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon's Attack Points!"
A beam of light shot from Solflare Dragon and poured inside Raidraptor - Rise Falcon's body, empowering the mechanical fowl. Soon, Rise Falcon became shrouded in a veil of blinding fire as its Attack Point began a sharp ascent.
Raidraptor - Rise Falcon R4 ATK: 100-2100 Xyz Materials: 2-1
Luna shook her head. "This is not good. It may not seem like it at first, but he just reduced the damage he would have taken during this turn. If both of his tigers remained on the field, then Rise Falcon's Attack Points would have shot up to 4100. Then, by attacking both monsters once each, Naruto would have dealt out over 4000 points of damage and won the duel. But since he fused them to summon Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon, Rise Falcon's Attack Points only increased by 2000 and will only have one attack target this turn…"
A look of worry was etched on Luna's face as she studied Kaito. "This guy is even tougher than I thought!"
Orbital 7 had grown accustomed to hearing praises hurled Kaito's way. Naturally, his ears picked up on Luna's words as well. He shot up, hyped as if someone told him he just won a million dollars. "That's my Kaito-sama for you! He's a dueling genius!"
But… Did he really do all that just to reduce the damage this turn? Naruto pondered. "I will attack Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon with Rise Falcon! Go, Brave Claw Revolution!"
"Not so fast, I activate Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon's effect!" Kaito cut in. "By discarding one Galaxy-Eyes monster from my hand, I can destroy one Special Summoned monster you control!" Kaito plucked a card from his hand and tossed it inside the Graveyard zone of his D-Pad. "I will discard Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon to destroy Raidraptor - Rise Falcon!"
"Eh…" Orbital 7 sounded puzzled. "Kaito-sama is discarding Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon?"
Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon blocked a kick from Rise Falcon with his robust arms and proceeded to fling the mechanical bird away. He then opened up its mouth and unleashed a large concentrated beam of light that struck Rise Falcon right in the chest. A wave of black smoke obscured the fate of its foe from view.
Suddenly, something burst forth from the smokescreen.
It was Rise Falcon— whose flaming radiance remained unfaded despite Soflare Dragon's assault. It shot down upon Galaxy-Eyes with the speed of a small meteor and slashed off the behemoth's head with one decisive swing of its talon.
(Kaito's LP: 3900-3800)
"I activated Raidraptor - Desperate," Naruto explained as he felt Kaito's gaze on him. "With this card, I negated Rise Falcon's destruction and drew a card instead." As if to prove a point, Naruto held out the two cards that he currently held. Kaito could see Naruto was right. There was one card that shouldn't have been there.
"I will set two cards and end my turn! Then at the End Phase of this turn, Rise Falcon's attack points will return to normal."
Raidraptor- Rise Falcon ATK: 2100-100 Xyz Materials: 1
"Kaito-sama…" Orbital 7 called out worryingly. He suspected that Solflare Dragon's destruction had wounded his master's ego, especially since his master even tossed away Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon for Solflare's sake. "Are you…"
"Shut it. Orbital!" Kaito cut him off rudely. The man's face sported a pure grin of ecstasy— clearly amused by his poor circumstance. "This is getting interesting… It looks like I can finally get serious for a little bit."
A/N: Skipped the Yuma and Kaito duel since it happened the exact same way it happened in the anime. Decided to rework Galaxy-Eyes Solflare Dragon into a Fusion Monster instead of a Link Monster. Which means, when Naruto eventually bust out Raidraptor - Wise Strix, it will be a Fusion Monster too.