The day of the new booster pack release arrived at last.
With a loud whirring roar, five or six planes cut through the skies, soaring toward Duel Academy Island from overseas.
A massive crowd of students had already gathered outside the campus shop, their eyes lit up with excitement as they watched the planes descend. The air was buzzing—not just from the engines, but from the thrill. New archetypes. New monster types. Even the girls like Alexis Rhodes were squeezing into the crowd, eager to snag some cards. Whether to strengthen their decks or pull a rare Tuner Monster and use it for trades, it was irresistible for Duel Academy students.
Meanwhile, the representatives of the Fusion-Syncro Integration Department—one from each dorm—had finally elbowed their way to the front.
To be honest, they hated doing this kind of thing.
They'd always followed Reiji Akaba's orders. But lately… doubts had begun to fester. After three years in the Integration Department, cracks were forming. The rep from Obelisk Blue was still enjoying privilege, so he didn't care. But the ones from Slifer Red and Ra Yellow… they were starting to question everything.
Was this really the right way?
But after three years of fear and pressure, they were more like accomplices now. They couldn't just walk away. So even with Reiji's absurd new order, all they could do was grit their teeth and follow through.
Soon, the black-suited KaibaCorp agents arrived with the card packs in tow. Students gazed at the sealed boxes like they were ancient treasure, eyes wide with awe. The agents handed them over carefully to Ms. Tome, the shopkeeper.
She called her staff, had the boxes brought inside, and then hung a big banner outside the store to advertise the new set.
"Whoa, a Tuner Warrior—Level 3 and it's got 1600 ATK!?"
"That Mist Valley Shaman… she's so beautiful… N-no wait, I can't betray my Dark Magician Girl!"
"Hey, wait! 'Psychic-Type'? That's a whole new monster type, right!?"
Students were babbling, squawking, hyped beyond belief as they stared at the new poster showcasing sample cards.
Even without Synchro Summoning, the Tuner monsters and their support were vastly superior to most of the low-level vanilla monsters still used in this world. When half the student body was still playing 1000–1200 ATK beatsticks, these newcomers started at 1500 and often came with effects. Totally worth it—even without Synchro.
That just made the card packs even more desirable.
Then, Tiella materialized beside Hikaru Amagi, pointing toward one of the images. "Hikaru, try to get that card."
Hikaru scanned the display, squinting slightly until he spotted the one Tiella meant.
"Genex Controller," he muttered. A Level 3 DARK Machine-Type Normal Tuner monster. 1400 ATK.
"Genex, huh…" he murmured.
He remembered the lore. In the Duel Terminal storyline, the Genex were engineered by Tiella after she was defeated by Sophia—created to repair the environment and rebuild the world in Tiella's image.
Of course, things spiraled out of control: alien invasions, ancient gods reawakening, chaos. The Genex were swept up and wiped out.
Still, they'd managed to reshape the world in their short time. Their legacy endured.
"That one's got your fingerprints all over it," Hikaru said.
"Exactly. It'll serve as a great base for fusions or other plays," Tiella replied. "And if you end up with extras, pass one to me. I like that little robot."
A loyal little servant, that Genex Controller. She was quite fond of it.
If she ever got fully restored, she'd probably build a statue to it. Maybe crown Hikaru as king while she was at it.
Hikaru waited calmly for the shop to open. He wasn't short on Duel Points anymore—he planned to buy multiple packs, not just for collection, but to stock up on Fusion materials. If he didn't pull the Controller, he could trade for it. No big deal.
After all, it wasn't a super-rare pull. Even for a brand-new Tuner monster with 1400 ATK, it was just a Normal Monster.
He was just about to step forward as the shop opened—when suddenly, chaos erupted near the front.
Shouts. Clattering. A girl's scream.
"What the hell's going on!?"
Jaden Yuki, always the first to act, used his insane reflexes and muscled into the fray. What he found inside made his eyes narrow.
A scuffle. Several students had pinned down two people in purple uniforms. One of them had even thrown a punch.
Jaden rushed to break it up, pulling them apart before it could escalate.
Hikaru slipped in behind him, eyes sharp, watching carefully.
The ones who'd gotten beaten? Integration Department seniors. Hikaru recognized them. Kurama Ame from Slifer, Maruchi Hayato from Ra, and Yamaguchi Kota from Obelisk.
He'd spoken to Hayato before—decent guy, but too scared to leave the Integration Department.
Basically? Lapdogs.
"What happened?" Hikaru asked, looking at the angry students. They were his age—second-years, like him.
What the hell could've made students break the taboo of attacking seniors on this respect-obsessed island?
"That guy just tried to buy every single pack in the shop!" one of them yelled, seething. "What else would you call that but bullying?!"
"WHAT!?"
"Typical Integration Department trash!"
"Disgusting! And they call themselves Duelists?!"
"Professor Akaba's the one teaching them—how shameful!" Even some of the teachers were grumbling now.
The three reps lowered their heads, clearly ashamed.
Hikaru sighed and rubbed his temples.
Seriously?
Buying packs early wasn't unheard of. Even Professor Chronos had once sneakily grabbed all the VWXYZ support cards before release. But even he hadn't tried to buy everything—just the rares.
This was on a whole other level.
And knowing those three, Hikaru was sure they didn't even have the money to do it. This smelled like orders from Reiji Akaba himself.
But… why? What would he need these new cards for? He wouldn't use Synchros, right?
Wait—
Ah.
Of course. The Sacred Beasts.
This new generation of monsters might serve as excellent "fuel" for them. He could see the connection now.
"Why would you do something like that?" Hikaru asked. "Seriously, senpai."
"Professor Akaba said… these monsters are our enemy," Hayato muttered. "The only summoning method the world needs is Fusion. It's the most noble of all!"
The students around them made faces.
Even Jaden was frowning.
Same words—totally different vibe when they said it.
"Ridiculous," Hikaru snapped. "Fusion's nobility lies in its uniqueness. The existence of other summoning styles only highlights Fusion's beauty. That's what makes it shine!"
"Senpai, your mindset needs to change!"
Hayato shrank down, but still muttered, "W-We already paid…"
Hikaru sighed. "Tch."
"No, you haven't," came a cold voice.
Heads turned.
The black-suited agents were still here. For once, they hadn't left after delivery.
From the crowd, Chazz Princeton waved subtly at Hikaru. Hikaru blinked—then it clicked.
Of course. These weren't ordinary deliverymen. They were KaibaCorp's on-site investigators.
Kaiba had anticipated something like this.
The lead agent adjusted his glasses and said, "Our president foresaw that the release of new card types would cause chaos. So he issued KaibaCorp Special Distribution Rules for this event!"
He dramatically unfurled a long scroll of paper.
"Under these rules, each student may purchase a maximum of five boxes. In the event of conflict over the same product, a Duel may be initiated."
Another agent opened a second box of cards.
"If a student fails in such a duel, they lose purchasing rights. The winner, however, will receive a special rare card as a bonus!"
Hikaru looked over, grinning slightly as he glanced at the three student reps.
The Obelisk Blue rep stepped up, straightened his collar, and sneered.
"The Integration Department represents hundreds of students. I'm buying for all of them. So I'll be taking every box."
"Yeah right! Like you've got that kind of pull!" Hikaru retorted. "Then I'll buy for the rest of the school—everyone not in your little cult!"
"Don't push us, Hikaru Amagi!"
"Senpai, you don't push me."
Hikaru raised his left arm and snapped it downward—his Duel Disk sprang open with a mechanical hiss.
"Screw arguing. You're not worth the words. Let's settle this like real Duelists."
He stepped forward, voice like a blade. "You want those rare cards? You're gonna have to duel for them."
The crowd exploded with cheers.
"Yooo! Hikaru's gonna beat the snot outta Integration again!"
A massive circle cleared around the shop—an impromptu arena.
The Obelisk rep was red-faced, furious. "Don't get cocky, Hikaru! The Professor gave us new power! You think you can just win again?!"
Bluster. Pure bluster.
"Enough talk."
"DUEL!"