Chapter 235: Rare Card Hunter
After losing the duel, Manjoume Shouji knelt on one knee, slamming his fist on the ground in frustration. "Damn it, I was taken down by that disgusting monster again!"
"Hahahaha, who was it just now who was talking big before the duel?" Tristan naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to mock Shouji. "In the end, weren't you still easily defeated by Hayato?"
"It's all the fault of that annoying gambling card!" Manjoume Shouji had a strong personality. Even after losing duels again and again, he still refused to admit that Hayato was stronger than him, and he could always find some excuse.
"If a gust of wind had blown just now, you would have won, right? I knew you'd say that." Hayato retrieved his Duel Disk and saw Manjoume Jun holding a large cardboard box with both hands, handing it to him.
"Mr. Hayato, congratulations on your duel victory. Well, you are the King of Games after all, so the result was completely within expectation." The box Manjoume Jun was holding had the logos of KaibaCorp and the Manjoume Conglomerate printed on it, along with a picture of a Duel Disk.
"Thank you, Jun." Hayato ruffled Manjoume Jun's hair and accepted the real prize from his duel with Manjoume Shouji—this Duel Disk. He then handed it to Joey Wheeler, who had been eagerly anticipating it.
"Oh, oh, oh, so this is a Duel Disk?" Joey Wheeler impatiently tore open the outer packaging and took out the Duel Disk. He felt the weight of the Duel Disk in his hand. "It feels a bit different from Yugi and Hayato's Duel Disks, doesn't it?"
Yugi Mutou looked at Joey Wheeler's Duel Disk. "Kaiba gave Hayato and me our Duel Disks. Maybe there's a difference between the internal use version and the mass-produced version? Also, Hayato's Duel Disk has been modified a second time."
Among their Duel Disks, the one Joey Wheeler had just acquired was the lightest. Even Yugi Mutou's Duel Disk was heavier than his. However, Yugi Mutou was the kind of strong duelist who always carried a pure gold card box for his deck and wore an iron chain with a large gold pendant around his neck, so the weight of a Duel Disk was nothing to him.
But the heaviest was definitely Hayato's Duel Disk. Although many practical functions were added, Mokuba, who modified his Duel Disk, wasn't a genius who surpassed his era, merely a genius.
The automatic shuffle, deck search, and other functions were accompanied by a large number of components packed into the Duel Disk. Unfortunately, with current technology, these devices couldn't yet be miniaturized. It was no exaggeration to say that while Yugi Mutou and the others' Duel Disks had a metal outer layer, they were hollow inside, whereas Hayato's was completely filled in the hollow space.
If you were to use Hayato's thing for close combat, you could cause a big commotion in minutes—either you couldn't lift the Duel Disk and got knocked out, or you lifted it and hit someone, breaking their bones.
Hayato, who could steadily hold this Duel Disk while dueling, had a body that was also monster-level, living up to his 195cm height.
"Ding-a-ling~" Just then, Joey Wheeler's mobile phone rang in his pants pocket. He took it out and answered the call. "Moshi moshi?"
"Huh, really? Tomorrow? That's great!"
"I'll be right there!"
Not talking on the phone for too long, Joey Wheeler excitedly said to Tristan and the others, "Serenity Wheeler just called me. She said the preliminary preparations for the surgery are finished ahead of schedule, and the chief doctor said he can perform the surgery tomorrow!"
"That's wonderful, Joey Wheeler." Yugi Mutou and the others were also happy for Joey Wheeler upon hearing this news. His sister Serenity Wheeler's vision problem had always been a worry for Joey Wheeler, and now that there was hope for a cure, it was only natural for Joey Wheeler to be so excited.
However, while happy for Joey Wheeler, Hayato couldn't help but think of what happened to Joey Wheeler in the original timeline. He was intercepted by the Ghouls on his way to the hospital. Now that he and Kaiba had taken down the card shop base, he wondered if Joey Wheeler would still be targeted.
"Anyway, we're free today. How about we go to the hospital with Joey Wheeler and cheer Serenity Wheeler on?"
As soon as Hayato said this, Yugi Mutou and Téa didn't react much, but Tristan seemed to have been waiting for someone to suggest this and eagerly responded, "Okay, okay, let's go see Serenity Wheeler!"
The others looked at Tristan speechlessly, making him a bit awkward. He quickly said, "Listen to my excuse, no, listen to my explanation. The main thing is, Joey Wheeler and I are best buddies, so I'm just concerned about his sister."
"Is that what you call being concerned about Serenity Wheeler? You just lust after her body, you're despicable," Hayato retorted.
Yugi Mutou smiled and said, "But anyway, we really don't have anything else to do today. Let's go to the hospital together."
Téa naturally agreed with Yugi Mutou.
"Mr. Manjoume, we're heading off." As the group left the commercial street for the hospital, Hayato didn't forget to turn back and greet the Manjoume brothers.
"Oh, goodbye, Mr. Hayato!" Manjoume Jun waved excitedly, only to be headbutted by Manjoume Shouji next to him. "Idiot, he was talking to me! You're just a slacker!"
"Who says I'm a slacker? When it comes to Duel Monsters, I'm clearly 1000% better than you, Second Brother! You should just obediently take over the family business!"
The noisy voices of the comical Manjoume brothers gradually faded into the distance as the group followed Joey Wheeler towards the hospital where Serenity Wheeler was staying. Serenity Wheeler's vision had been getting worse as she got older, and she was on the verge of losing her sight completely. Thanks to the prize money provided by the great philanthropist Maximillion Pegasus, her medical expenses were paid off.
"This place is a bit out of the way, I've never been here before," Tristan said, looking at the unfamiliar roads around them. Although he often rode his motorcycle around Domino City, he usually stuck to the main roads. The path they were taking now was a small path.
Joey Wheeler, however, was familiar with the way. "There's no need for Serenity Wheeler's eyes to be transferred to a big hospital like the Domino City Center Hospital. Considering her eye problem requires her to maintain a good mindset, she's staying at the original hospital."
"Although it looks remote and nobody seems to pass through here, this is the closest small path to the hospital. I can't wait to see Serenity Wheeler!"
"Joey Wheeler, have you ever heard a saying?" Hayato thought for a moment and said, "Taking a shortcut is actually taking the long way around. It seems... we're blocked?"
Two figures wearing black robes emerged from the shadows of the buildings on either side of the small path, their faces obscured by the hoods' shadows. In front of the group, a black-robed person wearing a Duel Disk on their hand blocked their path forward.
"It's regrettable, gentlemen and lady, but this road is impassable," the hooded person said with a sinister laugh.
"Are you Ghouls? Why are you looking for us?" Yugi Mutou's expression also became serious. He held his Duel Disk like a shield in front of his chest, ready to switch with Dark Yugi immediately if the situation turned bad.
"That Rare Card theft organization?" Joey Wheeler recalled the information he had seen in the newspaper. After Kaiba learned from Ishizu Ishtar that the Ghouls still had two God Cards, he, being wealthy and generous, published a bounty on the front page of the newspaper for over a month. Anyone with information about the Ghouls could exchange it for reward money. Because of this, information about the Ghouls became widely known.
"Could it be that you guys are after our rare cards?"
Thinking this, Joey Wheeler nervously protected the deck in his card box at his waist. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon inside was the most valuable thing he owned.
"Heh heh, although your Red-Eyes Black Dragon is also among our targets, Joey Wheeler, you are merely a minor character who can be easily dealt with," the black-robed person said dismissively to Joey Wheeler. "The one we're looking for is you, King of Games Kobayashi Hayato!"
"By order of Master Marik, you have repeatedly disrupted our Ghouls' plans. Allow me—'Rare Card Hunter' Hert—to eliminate you, this troublesome fellow, right here!"
Okay, today's 6k is finished. Work done.
(End of Chapter)