Chapter 179: Shingo Sawatari vs. Yugo
"So, have you decided to join us?" Yūga Hōzumi said, extending his hand to Crow.
"You really gave me a reason I can't refuse." Crow shrugged, then firmly gripped Yūga Hōzumi's hand. "Since you've put it that way, for the sake of those kids, I'm in!"
"Then, welcome, Comrade Crow," Yūga Hōzumi said with a smile, holding Crow's hand.
With Crow's help, Yūga Hōzumi and his group's work in the Underground went much smoother. The problem that had long troubled them—how to bypass layers of guards and contact their Revolutionary Army comrades on the other side of the Underground Labor Facility—was easily solved.
After all, with Crow's skills, if Kiryu and Yūga Hōzumi hadn't contacted him, he would probably already be on his way to Security to steal his confiscated D-Wheel and Deck.
"We're about ready on our end, too. Now, we're just waiting for that Bruno kid," Kiryu couldn't help but sigh, watching everything proceed smoothly.
"You don't need to worry about that. That kid might just be the best Synchro Summoner in this world right now," Yūga Hōzumi said.
At this, Kiryu recalled the informal duel from the day before their departure, where Bruno had emptied his Extra Deck in a single turn to create an almost invincible field.
Furthermore, according to Crow, who had been sent down, Bruno had already mastered Triangle Accel Synchro, a level beyond Accel Synchro, in a previous match. Hearing this, Kiryu felt relieved.
"Now, we just need to wait for Bruno to light the first fuse."
...
After a full day of repairs, the stadium, which had been damaged by the aftershocks of Sergey Volkov's battle, was restored to its original state, ready for the second day of the competition.
Inside the competitor's channel, things were different from any previous match. Perhaps due to a mutual attraction between jesters, the two duelists, Shingo Sawatari and Yugo, were already chatting and laughing happily during the short wait before entering the arena.
"I watched your last duel! Telling a story through dueling, that's awesome!" Yugo gave Shingo Sawatari a thumbs-up.
"Oh, you flatter me, you flatter me." Facing Yugo's compliment, Shingo Sawatari flipped his hair smugly. "You're not bad either. Your dragon is amazing!"
"Really?" Yugo scratched his helmet. "So, how about we make a deal?"
"For today's duel, could you give me a cooler role?" Yugo raised an eyebrow at Shingo Sawatari.
"Want a cooler role? No problem, leave it to me!" Shingo Sawatari thumped his chest, readily agreeing. "Let's put on this performance for the audience together!"
Just as the two were exchanging playful glances, the Female Commentator's voice rang out at the perfect moment.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after a full day of rest, the second semifinal match of the Friendship Cup can finally begin!"
"Our first duelist for this match is the genius director who staged an extraordinary 'Sawatari Theater' in the last round! Sawatari Shingo!"
"The audience is calling for me! See you in a bit!" Shingo Sawatari pulled down his helmet's visor and said with a smile.
"Hey! Wait a second!" Yugo reached out to stop him, but upon hearing the crowd's cheers, Shingo Sawatari immediately twisted the throttle and sped out.
"Pop!" Dazzling fireworks exploded in the stadium. Riding his D-Wheel, Shingo Sawatari waved to the crowd as he made his entrance.
"Hey, Sawatari, what's the play today?" a fan in the front row shouted.
"I'd love to tell you, but a performance that's been spoiled is no fun at all!" Shingo Sawatari replied with a big smile.
"Next up is the duelist who rode his splendid wind dragon to a clean and decisive victory in his previous match, Yugo!"
As a local duelist, Yugo's popularity was no less than Sawatari's. Amidst a wave of cheers, Yugo arrived at the starting line and stopped beside Shingo Sawatari.
"Seriously, what's the rush? I wanted to ask you how you pulled off that entrance effect," Yugo complained upon reaching the starting line.
"Oh, you mean this?" Shingo Sawatari said, pulling out some special cards from his pocket. "I had the Leo Duel School's card factory custom-make these for me. If you want some, I can give you a couple."
Yugo took the cards Sawatari handed him. It was a Spell Card: "Firework Bomb."
Inflict 23.33333 points of effect damage to your opponent.
"What in the world is this? Can effect damage even have decimals?" Yugo remarked that it was a real eye-opener.
"This is a failed project I made back when I took a card-making course at the LDS. It can't be used in official duels," Shingo Sawatari chuckled. "But after I decided to walk the path of an entertainment duelist, I found this thing surprisingly useful."
"That's awesome!" Yugo exclaimed, then carefully put away the cards Sawatari had given him.
"Naturally!" Shingo Sawatari said proudly.
"Excuse me, duelists, could you please show some respect for the upcoming match?" the Female Commentator said in exasperation, watching the two chat with increasing excitement.
In a duel like the Friendship Cup, which could decide the rest of a duelist's life, previous contestants would at least be on high alert before the match started, if not outright wishing their opponent would drop dead. But these two? The Female Commentator suspected that if she didn't intervene, they would chat all the way through the match and on to deciding where to get a late-night snack.
"Alright, enough chitchat!" Seeing the situation, the Female Commentator quickly snapped her fingers. "Action Field On! High-Speed Acceleration Setting!"
"Riding Duel, Accelerate!" x2
As the countdown began, both duelists instantly turned serious.
The countdown ended, and the two dashed out, one after the other.
With a D-Wheel modified by Yūga Hōzumi and Yugo's own battle-hardened riding experience, Yugo naturally had the advantage in securing the first turn. He firmly maintained his lead through the first curve.
As for the lucky maneuver from last time, Shingo Sawatari admitted he had lost his nerve and decided against trying it again.
"My turn!"
After clearing the first curve, Yugo began his turn.
"Since I have no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon this card!"
"Appear! Speedroid Terrortop!"
"When Terrortop is Special Summoned, I can add one 'Speedroid' monster from my Deck to my hand!"
"I'll add Speedroid Taketomborg to my hand! And since I control a WIND monster, I can Special Summon it!"
"Now I activate Speedroid Taketomborg's effect! By Tributing it, I can Special Summon one 'Speedroid' Tuner monster from my Deck!"
"Come forth! Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice!"
"I tune the Level 3 Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice with the Level 3 Speedroid Terrortop!"
"O magic blade with the stance of a cross, with your power, cleave all enemies! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Hi-Speedroid Maken-Dama!"
(end of chapter)