The matter of the team punishment duel ultimately was entirely within Youyu's expectations.
As previously mentioned, while the Paradox Brothers have the title of "Legendary Duelists," they are at best second-tier figures and can't be considered real experts. In the original work, Yuki Judai managed to win even with the drag that was Xiang, so it was naturally not an issue here either.
The duel process itself was rather unremarkable. The Paradox Brothers were almost completely overwhelmed by the combination of Judai and Asuka and pushed down. The brothers literally experienced what "righteous retribution" meant today, with their ace card "Gate Guardian" not even managing to find its footing before it was knocked out.
The two were knocked down by Judai and Asuka's mixed doubles effort quickly, almost making them question their life choices.
Honestly, the brothers had considered themselves somewhat knowledgeable about team dueling. Although their title of "Legendary Duelists" was mostly due to having been beaten up by Muto Yugi back in the day, and somewhat inflated, it wasn't like they did not have any skills at all.
But reality hit when they arrived at Duel Academy, where a random teacher who mocked their hairstyles wiped the floor with them one against two before they even touched the stage, where they met two first-year students and got soundly defeated.
Is the depth of Duel Academy's waters this deep?
Why even bother inviting us here if any random teacher or student is this amazing?
At this moment, the brothers felt like clowns, being watched and ridiculed by the entire school's students and staff...
"That's great!"
Judai happily grabbed his "good buddy" Asuka's hand and gave her a high five.
"Asuka is really strong!" he laughed cheerfully.
"Hmm... hmm." Asuka responded with a slightly nuanced expression.
"Oh, right." Judai suddenly remembering something, turned and jumped in front of the Paradox Brothers, striking a classic Yuki Judai pose, "We won! That was quite an interesting duel!"
Paradox Brothers: "..."
Face-to-face teasing, the deadliest kind.
The dueling arena was abuzz with excitement, as everyone was still soaking in the "exciting" duel that had just occurred—after all, students from their own school had beaten the legendary figures, bringing glory to the entire student and faculty body.
It's like a classic proposition.
Our class leader scored first in the grade = I'm truly awesome.
Until an abrupt and untimely voice interrupted the cheers.
"Such petty tricks, and you dare call yourselves 'legendary'?" A cold and blunt voice sounded, "Don't make me laugh! Dueling opponents of this level proves nothing and is completely meaningless!"
The booming voice echoed within the grand dueling arena of the academy, silencing all noise abruptly.
The Paradox Brothers bristled instantly.
They may not be very capable, but given their status and reputation, no one had ever dared to disrespect them like this, much less publicly call them out with such insulting criticism.
Who dares to be so arrogant!?
The brothers jumped up furiously and looked towards the source of the voice at the entrance of the dueling arena... and then collectively gasped.
Oh~ Kaiba Seto!
The brothers immediately shrank back and slumped.
Okay, let it go, that's all.
The big shots are always right.
"Mamma mia!" Professor Chronos in the stands, whose tense face resembled Pot of Greed even more, exclaimed, "President Haima has personally come, no way!"
Principal Samejima also rushed up, "President Kaiba, you came personally today, without any prior notice..."
The principal was somewhat surprised. The academy had been established for years, yet President Kaiba had visited the island only a couple of times—in fact, during the original animation, he never visited even once during the three years Judai was at school.
What wind blew this top-tier big shot here today?
In the audience, Manjome leaned forward, thinking about greeting him, but in the end, he held back and did not speak.
The time isn't right yet.
He must first win against Yuki Judai, before revealing to everyone that he is a student of Kaiba Seto.
Kaiba glanced at the Paradox Brothers disdainfully, "Duelists who can't even defeat a Normal Monster do not deserve the title of 'legendary.' Defeating such weaklings proves nothing."
Samejima wanted to express a different opinion, but after some thought, he decided not to speak.
What can he do? He's just a pitiful helpless little principal, without any say in front of the big shots...
Of course, there was another reason he knew he didn't need to speak up himself.
"Oh, this isn't interesting at all, President Kaiba." A voice sounded from the other side.
The gathered students and teachers turned towards the voice, and couldn't help but again contribute to global warming—
——Oh~ Duel King Youyu!
Judai on the dueling stage looked puzzled, "Mr. Youyu and President Kaiba... why do they seem like they're about to argue?"
He remembered that the teacher and the president were supposed to be very good friends.
"Foolish child." Yubel appeared ghostlike, "They're doing this for you."
"For me?" Judai was even more confused.
Yubel offered no further explanation, just smiled triumphantly.
Ha, my Judai is truly the best!
No matter the dimension, he's always at the center of strong individuals' attention!
Some guardian spirit once again inexplicably fell into fascination and admiration.
"Duel Academy's goal is to nurture true duelists, the top warriors," Kaiba snorted, "If they're always facing these hollow names, it won't have the intended result."
Paradox Brothers: "..."
Uh, President, can we please not be mentioned in this conversation...?
Youyu squinted his eyes, sizing up Kaiba.
Sounding pretty plausible, but since when did you care so much about students' education issues?
Isn't it just because of our Judai?
To be honest, though Yuki Judai from the future walloped the president back then... but that was a whopping six years ago!
President, you're holding a grudge for too long, he's still a kid!
"Students' educational issues are our concern, we will cultivate the best duelists." Youyu said, "That's our teachers' responsibility, it's my job, so there's no need for you to personally worry about it, President."
Kaiba gave a half-smile, showing an expression of "plan successful," as if this turn of events was entirely expected.
"You don't want me interfering with academy affairs? Hmph, that's fine. But..."
Kaiba's gaze sharpened as he raised the Duel Disc on his arm.
"But you must prove with your skills that you're up to the task. Come, You↓yu↑! Duel!"
The audience gasped.
The Duel King Youyu versus Kaiba Seto?
This is a duel of the century!
Youyu was speechless for a while, "Uh... President, right here?"
In front of everyone... isn't this a bit inappropriate?
Though he and Kaiba often sparred from time to time, they hadn't dueled publicly for years.
Their last public duel was several years ago. Countless viewers were curious about how the legendary figures' strength compared now after so many years.
"That's right." Kaiba sneered, "What, are you scared?"
"No... then let's do it." Youyu sighed and said, "But if I win, then matters related to student education will be handled internally by the academy... is that okay with you, President?"
"Fine." President Kaiba did not hesitate, agreeing quickly.
Youyu realized, in fact, the President probably wasn't genuinely worried about "nurturing real duelists." It was likely that his card addiction was acting up and he just needed an excuse to drag Youyu into a duel...