Just as Kaiba, Mokuba, and Aoi exchanged hurried words—Noah lunged from behind like a mad shadow.
He thrust his hand straight through Aoi's body.
"I'm going to assimilate with your personality—then steal your body!"
"Noah, you bastard—don't you dare touch her!" Kaiba snarled, reaching to tear him away.
A brilliant white light erupted from Aoi's chest.
Noah's eyes widened—and an alien image flooded his mind:
A young priest, kneeling before a stone tablet engraved with Blue-Eyes White Dragon, cradled an unconscious white-haired woman in his arms. Tears ran down his face.
Then a Blue-Eyes spirit manifested—its mouth opening—
A beam of pure white blasted Noah out of her.
Noah staggered back as if struck by judgment itself.
At the same time, Aoi's own vision flickered—Aoi, Kaiba, and Mokuba… all lying inside capsule-like machines, sealed in glass.
Her throat went cold.
"What… is this?"
"Noah—what are you?!" he hissed, demanding answers.
Kaiba moved instantly, stepping in front of Aoi like a shield.
"Aoi—are you hurt?!"
"I'm fine, Seto." She steadied herself, then looked straight at Noah. "Let us out. Now."
Noah's lips curled.
"Hahahaha… haven't you noticed? You're only virtual projections."
He gestured lazily, savoring the shock.
"Your real bodies are somewhere else."
Aoi's eyes narrowed.
"In capsule pods."
Noah's grin widened. "So you did figure it out. Good."
"Then while the three of us were unconscious," Aoi said, voice measured, "you put us into the pods—and dragged our minds into this world."
Above them, the "sky" tore apart. The clouds peeled back like curtains—revealing a middle-aged man's face, expressionless, watching from on high.
Kaiba's blood ran cold.
"No… That can't be."
He shouted up at the image, fury and dread twisting together.
"Why are you here?!"
Gozaburo Kaiba.
A hoarse voice boomed down.
"You disappoint me, Noah."
"F-Father?!" Noah's voice cracked. "Why are you here?! You're dead!"
"Dead?" Gozaburo laughed—dry, contemptuous. "My body is dead. My mind isn't."
He spoke like a man delivering corporate minutes, not confessing to resurrection.
"At the moment of my death, I used the same device that preserved Noah—copied my entire memory into the system. I returned as a virtual existence."
Kaiba clicked his tongue, eyes hard with disgust.
"Stubborn corpse."
Noah's excitement trembled out of him, almost childlike.
"I wanted to see you… I've been alone for so long…"
Gozaburo's response was a blade.
"Noah. You're useless now."
The words hit Noah like a gunshot. His shoulders shook—anger, humiliation, disbelief.
Kaiba cut in, voice brutal.
"Enough theatre. State your objective."
Gozaburo's gaze slid down as if appraising a defective product.
"Very well, Seto. I'll explain everything."
"My original purpose was simple: to keep my son—Noah—alive after the accident. He was born to inherit my will and lead KaibaCorp to dominate the world. His death was… inconvenient."
He continued, calm and clinical.
"I stored Noah's memory in a computer. But a virtual existence has limits. In time, an irreconcilable gap formed between Noah in the virtual world and me in reality—our values diverged."
His eyes narrowed.
"And then you appeared."
Kaiba's voice was ice.
"You adopted me to pit me against Noah. If Noah surpassed me, it would 'prove' virtual could exceed real. I was meant to be his foil—wasn't I?"
"No," Gozaburo corrected, almost amused.
"You were Noah's vessel."
Kaiba froze.
"Vessel…?"
"Yes. Once I understood the limits of the virtual world, I required a living body for Noah's resurrection. That is why I chose you as my adopted son, Seto."
Aoi's nails dug into her palm. The rage in her eyes was clean, lethal.
(No wonder Seto hates him.)
Gozaburo wasn't finished.
"And then you stole KaibaCorp from me. Unforgivable."
His voice darkened.
"So I copied myself into the system. From that moment, you stopped being Noah's vessel—and became my vessel."
Noah dropped to his knees, his world collapsing.
"…So I was used too?"
Gozaburo didn't even spare him a glance.
"I no longer need him a glance.
"I no longer need you, Seto. I can now infiltrate KaibaCorp's systems at will. Nothing escapes my sight."
He paused—then his attention shifted, like a predator finding the true threat.
"…But an unexpected variable appeared."
His gaze locked onto Aoi.
"Aoi Kisaragi. Even if I take Seto's body, I cannot truly control KaibaCorp—because Seto has invested resources, influence, and priority into you."
His mouth formed a thin, satisfied curve.
"So I will control you instead."
"Duel me," Gozaburo declared. "If I control you, I control Seto. And if I control Seto—KaibaCorp belongs to me."
Kaiba snapped forward, placing himself squarely between Aoi and the projection.
"Don't you touch her."
"If you want a duel, you duel me," Kaiba said. "If I lose, I'll abandon KaibaCorp—everything."
Gozaburo's laugh carried no warmth.
"This world is mine. If I refuse your request, you will never leave."
Kaiba's jaw clenched.
Aoi stepped around him—calm, deliberate.
"Seto. I'll take this."
"Aoi—"
"No." She cut him off gently, but firmly. "There's no 'but.' Only 'I will win.'"
She raised her eyes to the sky.
"I accept your duel. But if I win, you release us."
Gozaburo's smile sharpened.
"Agreed."
The sky vanished.
The world snapped, like a monitor switching inputs.
The scenery reconstructed into a KaibaCorp internal duel arena—sleek metal, corporate lighting, sterile polish.
Gozaburo appeared in person-form now, dressed in a crimson suit, stepping onto the duel platform like an executive entering a hostile takeover.
"Begin."
Aoi climbed onto the opposite platform—then, just before she fully turned away, she leaned toward Noah, voice low enough to be private.
"If you want to escape your father's control, start looking for the exit. He won't keep his word. And ask yourself—do you really want to spend eternity under him?"
She walked away.
Noah remained standing in the aftermath, mind in chaos—then slowly, a different emotion surfaced.
Not devotion.
Not fear.
A spiteful, hungry clarity.
"…Seto," Noah muttered, eyes narrowing. "I'll find the real way out."
And he disappeared into the corridors of the simulated KaibaCorp—searching, for the first time in his existence, for something that belonged to him.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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