Bzzz…
A faint static buzzed through the interdimensional livestream.
Slade Princeton let out a long sigh the moment he saw X-Leader Ganon fall to Chazz. He looked somewhere between crushed and relieved.
Meanwhile, Chazz slapped palms excitedly with Hikaru Amagi, then immediately turned to the camera, launching into one of his signature, over-the-top speeches about protecting the academy. He shouted slogans, dramatic declarations flying fast and loud.
That was Jagger Princeton—absurdly chuuni, and somehow making it work.
Elsewhere, in front of a massive screen, a calm voice broke the silence.
"Turn it off."
"Huh? Big bro, you're done watching? But those Duel Spirits were just throwing hands with Chazz and the others!"
"Hmph…"
The first voice gave a low scoff.
"Now that it's come to this, firepower no longer matters."
"Okay."
A smaller figure walked up and tapped a button.
The single screen fractured, splitting into two… then four… then eight—until the entire wall filled with dozens of live feeds from across various dimensions.
Sitting before them, in a white, imposing uniform, reclining calmly on a leather sofa, was Seto Kaiba—
Still the world's most dominant duelist, the most brilliant mind alive, and the CEO of KaibaCorp, creator of dimensional travel itself.
His sharp gaze swept across the feeds, studying each new parallel world. His face was unreadable—but his mind was racing.
"About what Chazz said earlier—"
His younger brother Mokuba Kaiba hesitated, then continued.
"You know, the matter of Reiji Akaba?"
"Akaba?"
Seto Kaiba finally opened his eyes.
There was a flicker of intrigue.
"As a scientist, he's competent. Not a fool."
"But as a duelist?"
He narrowed his gaze.
"Still leagues beneath me."
Mokuba wasn't surprised. He knew Seto cared little for "scientific merit." In Kaiba's world, Dueling was the only metric that mattered.
"Still… Akaba's up to some pretty shady things, no?"
"Duelists settle things with duels."
Kaiba's hand drifted to the Deck sitting beside him—never out of reach, more sacred than his own life.
"If Chazz's noticed it, and made a choice, then let him act on it."
That single sentence said enough.
Mokuba smiled.
Even if Kaiba didn't show it, he was proud of his disciple.
Today's duel?
It had earned his approval.
"More importantly—what about that Dark Magician Girl sighting?"
"Ah!" Mokuba snapped to attention and opened his intel log.
"According to Duel Academy staff, she appeared briefly during the school festival. Our analysis confirms she's a genuine Duel Spirit."
"She didn't seem to have a motive. Just… hung out with the students during the festivities."
"After that? Vanished. No trace."
He flipped a few pages.
"Interestingly, it was after this that first-years Hikaru Amagi and Bastion Misawa found the coordinates to the Magician's Sanctuary. We think the encounter with Dark Magician Girl led them there."
Mokuba shook his head.
"She must've come from that realm—the magical clan's world."
Kaiba nodded slightly.
That mischievous spirit may have seemed unreliable, but as a top-tier spellcaster, she surely had ways to vanish without a trace.
He leaned back on the sofa.
Mokuba, reading the mood, shut down all the camera feeds, reverting the screen to its original broadcast—
Chazz shaking hands with Ganon, cheerfully chatting with the robots.
Then, with fire in his eyes, Chazz turned back to face the camera—and made a bold declaration.
That he'd someday take control of the Chazz Group itself.
Seto Kaiba's eyes flicked open again.
Mokuba, half-laughing, glanced at his brother.
"Haha… Chad's trying to copy you now, huh?"
Kaiba chuckled—out loud.
That surprised Mokuba.
Was Kaiba… actually happy?
"Interesting."
Seto Kaiba stood.
"Seems the Duel Academy's curriculum is too soft."
"Eh?"
"Mokuba, get ready. It's time to assign some extra classes."
"Oho!"
Mokuba lit up, catching the drift.
If Kaiba was this pleased with his students' progress, then clearly—
He was going to crank up the pressure.
Special duelists.
Real combat trials.
"I'll get on it right away!"
Kaiba said nothing more.
Mokuba left the private chamber—the one only the Kaiba brothers were allowed to enter.
Seto stood alone.
He took a moment to reflect.
Mokuba had grown up.
That pleased him deeply.
He'd worried. What would happen to this world if he ever passed into the afterlife?
He had opened Pandora's Box—dimensional travel was a dangerous gift.
Perhaps… given too soon.
But his brother's growth reassured him.
And his "barely acceptable" disciple… was finally becoming something greater.
Maybe, in the not-so-distant future, he really could entrust this world to someone else.
Still—
How had Chazz grown this fast?
He hadn't experienced death.
Hadn't lost family or friends.
What pushed him to evolve so fast?
Kaiba turned back toward the monitor—
The part of the screen he'd previously ignored.
Ah.
That student.
Hikaru Amagi.
He was chatting so freely with Manjoume.
Kaiba knew Manjoume's backstory well.
The boy had grown up under endless scrutiny—rumors, expectations, scorn.
That he considered Hikaru a true friend said a lot.
Hikaru must be someone who saw through lineage, who didn't care about pedigree.
Kaiba himself didn't care for "friendship" as an abstract concept, but he understood—
Some bonds could change everything.
He remembered something else, too.
Last year, Principal Sheppard had suggested letting students duel representatives from the X-Dimension.
Kaiba had approved it.
And among those chosen… was Hikaru.
The purest Fusion Deck duelist of them all.
A young prodigy who fought with unwavering conviction.
One who upheld Fusion as the noblest summoning method.
Who opposed the corrupted Fusion Military.
Ah…
No wonder Chazz had changed.
He'd been influenced by this guy.
Hmm?
Kaiba's eyes sharpened.
A detail in Hikaru's file caught his attention.
Black Luster Soldier.
Most people thought it was just a rare card.
But Kaiba knew—
You can't pull that card from a pack.
Not unless fate itself allowed it.
"Fascinating."
Maybe this school…
Was far more interesting than he thought.