Although Duel Academy is located on a southern island, considering that traveling from the city to the school involves crossing a vast ocean and may be inconvenient due to weather interference, the entrance exam for Duel Academy is held in the city every year.
Domino City, recognized worldwide as the City of Duels. The inaugural Duel City Tournament was held here, attracting global attention and earning the city its title, "Duel City."
During this time every year, Duel Academy temporarily borrows a specific dueling arena owned by the Kaiba Group to conduct practical assessments.
The practical assessment is the second stage of the overall exam, and only students who meet the required scores in the first written exam are eligible to participate in the second assessment.
Examinees need to defeat an examiner using a special exam card deck in the assessment. The ones who win the duel advance, while those who lose will be eliminated.
The exam has already begun.
As the Honorary Principal, Youyu sat with his legs crossed in the VIP seats, watching the young duelists take on the tests one by one, occasionally spotting some familiar and nostalgic faces.
For example, Manjome Jun from GX, who, with a cocky demeanor, was initially perceived to be a main rival but later became a comic relief character.
For example, Mitsuzawa Daichi, who seemed to be a key player early on but later completely vanished.
And of course, Tenjouin Asuka, who at the tender age of fifteen, bore the weight that no one her age should.
Seeing so many old faces was quite nostalgic. To Youyu, the story of GX was events from many years ago, a classic and remarkable tale.
Now, he has become the legendary figure these young people admire. Many of them probably grew up listening to the legend of Duel King Youyu.
But up until now, he hadn't spotted his little jellyfish.
As expected... late again?
Completely within Youyu's expectations.
But it's fine this way. Judai being late and missing the exam provides a reason for arranging a special assessment with Professor Chronos personally attending, unlike any other duel.
That said, watching the new students duel does get a bit dull. Most of the newbies are at the typical level of background characters in the anime, many still using Normal Monsters, which doesn't make for very exciting matches.
Just as he was thinking about it, Youyu's Duel Disc buzzed momentarily.
Upon checking the floating display of the projection, he realized it was a message from the chat group.
This chat group was set up back when Kaiba Company first developed a chat system on the Duel Disc, and the original members were all participants of the initial Duel City Tournament, who are now all "Legendary Duelists."
Over time, more and more newcomers who shone in new KC Cups and Duel City Tournaments joined the group, with some of the top professional league players being added too. Now it has become a gathering place for top duelists.
Youyu almost never speaks in the group, only occasionally lurking to peek at the screen. Today's message popped up because an old acquaintance he followed had popped up.
"Kaiba, you bastard! Come out!"
Even through the screen, the speaker's fury was palpable—it was clearly Jonouchi.
The originally ongoing topic in the group came to an abrupt halt, as a bunch of newbie duelists rushed to show their admiration.
"Whoa, a legendary duelist!"
"Please notice me, legendary duelist!"
Over the years, Jonouchi had become a revered figure in the professional circles, with the nickname "Dice War God," though some call him the "Legendary Mortal."
It's said he personally dislikes both nicknames, though...
"What's up, Jonouchi?"
Mokuba, carrying a small crown symbolizing the supreme group leader status, popped up a message.
This was Youyu's idea. When the system was developed, he suggested adding a small crown before the group leader's name to signify dignity...
"Where's that bastard Kaiba?" Jonouchi continued to ask.
In the group, only he dared to repeatedly refer to the president as "bastard."
"My brother is extremely busy with official duties, so he doesn't have time to respond. You can tell me whatever's going on." Mokuba replied with a smile.
"I accidentally saw the promotional poster for Duel Academy enrollment today. Is this some of Kaiba's personal stash!?"
He said and pasted an image. The image depicted some cool legendary level monsters, with the text: "If you don't want to be a duelist like a Normal Monster, sign up immediately!"
Suddenly, the group chat was filled with laughing emojis, with various legendary figures popping out.
"Laughing? What's so funny?" Jonouchi was immediately displeased, "Marik, what are you doing jumping in here too!?"
Marik Ishtar responded with a standard and polite smiling emoji. Followed by a string of professional duelists paying homage to the legendary figure.
Even though Marik was once a villain, that was all in the past. Now, Marik is one of the "Legendary Duelists" from the initial Duel City Tournament, a presence that the professional world can only hope to achieve.
"Speaking of which, Youyu, aren't you also a principal at an academy? Kaiba is sneaking personal advertisements on your school's promotional posters! Aren't you going to do something about Kaiba?" Jonouchi started poking at Youyu.
"In name only." Youyu popped up a message.
The group erupted instantly, with messages flooding in continuously. A large number of younger professional duelists began paying tribute.
"Whoa, Duel King!"
"Duel King, please notice me!"
Youyu casually sent a 'Worst Player in the Group.JPG' sticker into the chat, causing another uproar.
"The legend really loves to joke around."
"It's said that great figures love pretending to be newbies. Truly living up to their reputation today."
As if someone felt today's commotion wasn't big enough, another big name with a super ID popped up.
This time it was President Kaiba himself.
"Youyu!"
Even though it was across a screen, Youyu seemed to hear the president's distinct voice in his ear.
"Have you returned to Domino City? Good, come to the company and duel with me!" Kaiba poked him.
Jonouchi immediately reacted angrily, "Weren't you swamped with work, Kaiba? How come you show up as soon as Youyu does?"
"Hmph, shut up, mortal." Kaiba replied.
"What? Damn it, do you want to duel, Kaiba?"
"A mortal doesn't warrant my attention. But if you want to fight, I can accommodate." Kaiba said.
The duelists in the chat didn't mind the fuss and started heckling. Some suggested that the three of them just meet up offline for a duel, while others were asking for the location, wanting to watch from the front row.
Today might be the liveliest this group has ever been. A whole bunch of legendary figures made an appearance at once.
And this wasn't even over.
"Speaking of which, isn't today the enrollment exam for Duel Academy?" someone popped up and poked Youyu, "I just ran into your lovely student on the road."
As this message appeared, the younger ones in the group, recognizing the ID, couldn't help but gasp.
Muto Yugi!