He looked at the match table.
Fubuki's opponent is...
Caesar!?
Mitsuzawa Daichi pondered.
Does Senior Fubuki think he can't defeat Caesar?
As a duelist, would he really give up so easily?
Tenjo Hikari looked at Fubuki, feeling a bit suspicious upon hearing Fubuki say such things.
What does this mean?
Although Fubuki is a bit unserious, he wouldn't just surrender right away.
Could it be...
Tenjo Hikari frowned.
On the other side, Tenjo Hikari's opponent waved at him, "Yo, congratulations on your victory!"
"Haha, Jim, I didn't expect to face you so soon," Tenjo Hikari responded as well.
That's right—
With fewer unknown duelists left, Tenjo Hikari's upcoming opponents are pretty much people he's familiar with.
And his opponent in the next round is none other than the Fusion Duelist who uses "Fossil Fusion"—Jim Crocodile Cook.
Tenjo Hikari's opponent in the 14 to 7 battle is Jim!
"Ow!" Kallen called out to Tenjo Hikari, who greeted it back.
"Back at our base, Judai said your fusions were really interesting, and that I'd love to duel you," Jim greeted Tenjo Hikari with a smile.
Previously, Jim and O'Brien weren't very lucky, happening to face each other in the second round, so Jim tearfully beat O'Brien—but not really, Jim won quite happily, which made O'Brien somewhat furious.
Tenjo Hikari had watched their duel, which was basically neck and neck. Who would win was really only known at the end.
Jim's Fossil Deck is actually quite intriguing. Tenjo Hikari also quite likes Fossil Fusion cards, especially since the Fusion Conditions for Fossil Fusion monsters are quite flexible.
Jim has a carefree demeanor like a wanderer. Knowing his opponent is Tenjo Hikari, he greeted him with a smile.
Once the GX Tournament ends and the Duel Academy holidays are over, next semester, representatives from their branch school will come to the main school as exchange students for the first half of the year. Having long met main campus students like Judai, Shou, and Tenjo Hikari, he has some admiration for the main school.
The main school students he's encountered so far seem very outstanding, so he's quite happy to be this exchange student.
He chatted with Tenjo Hikari for a bit, not saying anything harsh, just mentioning that he'd go all out in the duel to respond to a friend.
He cherished the word "friend" greatly.
Tenjo Hikari didn't dampen his spirits, simply saying he's looking forward to it as well.
In dueling Jim, he could guarantee that Super Polymerization would definitely imprint some Fusion Card related to Fossil Fusion.
So he's really looking forward to dueling Jim.
Time flashed by, and soon, the next day arrived.
The preparations by Kaiba Company were thoroughly finished as well.
With the appearance of Manjome and Asuka, cheers erupted from both sides of the dueling arena.
Manjome stood in the arena, suddenly feeling the ground beneath his feet shaking vigorously. In no time, the dueling arena began to shake fiercely.
"Ah—" Asuka let out a soft cry of surprise, but soon realized there was no actual danger.
Roar, roar, roar—
The arena began to rise, and finally, the arena floated entirely in mid-air.
Simultaneously, on both sides of the duel, massive three-dimensional models appeared, projecting the images of Manjome and Asuka.
This way, the spectators could clearly see their expressions during the duel.
Not only here, but at the Duelist Hall, the transformation slowly started as well. For a moment, the hall's ceiling disappeared, finally forming into a closer viewing area along the edges of the dueling arena.
Tenjo Hikari just had to lean against the railing to see the duels up close, rather than watching through projectors and televisions.
However, Tenjo Hikari paid more attention to some details.
That is, he noticed that from the beginning until now, the dueling platform was gradually rising.
Meaning that in the finals, the two sides of the duel will be in the highest position of the entire Dimension, feeling the fierce winds and hot blood, allowing everything in the Dimension to witness their duel.
...
No wonder Kaiba Company is known for its grandiose tricks.
Manjome equipped his Duel Disk and calmly prepared to start the duel.
Perhaps due to the wind blowing by, Asuka seemed to have some passionate energy before even dueling, trying to chat with Manjome.
After all, they were both original members of the Fusion Department and friends; catching up before competing in the finals isn't bad either.
"Seems we finally have a chance, Wanzhangmu-san."
"A chance?" Though he didn't say it, Manjome displayed a touch of gentlemanly demeanor, not retorting with "It's Manjome Thunder" because of her calling him Wanzhangmu-san—if it were Judai, he'd have snapped back, "What do you mean by chance."
"Of course, the chance to determine who's the strongest," Asuka smiled.
Below, Fubuki, watching the duel, started shaking his head again.
"We've always been the contenders for first place at Blue Academy, but never had the chance to settle the score before. I'm sure Professor Cronos is watching now too..."
"...Tenjouin-san."
"?"
"You should give up on that idea."
"What?" Asuka suddenly felt a bit angry.
Does that mean I'm destined to lose?
"Are we really participating in the finals just to determine who's the number one at our school's Blue Academy?" Manjome continued speaking with courtesy and style to Asuka about his understanding over this period, "No, our real goal is to become the strongest duelist!"