"Please decide the wager of the duel," said the black-clad, sunglasses-wearing adjudicator in a deep voice.
"Yugi, you only have one star right now, but I..." Weevil Underwood taunted, shaking his duelist glove adorned with three stars, having won one in his recent duel.
In contrast, Yugi had given one of his stars to Jounouchi, who hadn't been invited to the competition, leaving Yugi with only one star.
"This round will only wager one star," Weevil said as he removed a star from his glove and placed it on the table.
"No, Weevil. I want you to wager three stars," Yugi, who had been silent until now, shocked everyone with his words. "In this duel, it's either you or me."
"Hehehe, why should I wager three stars? What's your stake?" Weevil sneered at Yugi.
"I'll stake my life as a duelist and my deck. I want you to wager all your stars," Yugi declared, slamming his deck on the table, his sharp eyes fixed on Weevil.
"Haha, fine, I'll accept your deck as a stake, but in my eyes, your deck is only worth one star," Weevil retorted, not entirely unjustified. Even though Yugi's deck had defeated Seto Kaiba, it relied heavily on the Exodia. Without it, Yugi's deck had lost its soul.
"Damn," Dark Yugi gritted his teeth. Weevil was unwilling to cut off his own escape route, even though he believed Yugi couldn't win without Exodia.
"Catch, Yugi!" Hoshino's voice suddenly rang out from below the stage.
"Huh?" Yugi caught the object Hoshino threw, holding it tightly in his hand.
"Hoshino, you..." Seeing the star in his hand, Yugi instantly understood, feeling touched as he looked at Hoshino.
"I believe in you, Yugi," Hoshino made a V-sign towards him. She wasn't acting rashly; she was confident Yugi would win the duel.
"Is this enough, Weevil?" Yugi asked, placing two stars on the table.
"Fine. You're going to lose anyway, Yugi. Your dueling career is over!" Weevil placed his remaining two stars on the table without hesitation.
"The duel officially begins!" The familiar synthesized voice announced the life-and-death battle between Yugi and Weevil.
The spectators who had dispersed after Weevil's previous duel began gathering again.
"Is that Yugi Muto?"
"The one who defeated Seto Kaiba? Amazing!"
"Starting with a life-and-death duel between the regional champion Weevil Underwood and Yugi Muto, huh?"
"This is a top-tier battle we can't miss."
The growing crowd recognized Yugi and buzzed with excitement.
"But who are those people with him?"
A random comment drew attention to Jounouchi and his friends.
"Haha," Jounouchi puffed up with pride as the crowd looked their way, "I am the legendary duelist Yugi Muto's close friend, Katsuya Jounouchi, along with his merry companions!"
Thud! Thud! Thud! Hoshino, Anzu, and Honda each delivered a punch to Jounouchi's head. "What kind of introduction is that? How did we get lumped in as 'merry companions' like some background characters?"
...
As the duel heated up, the number of spectators grew.
"Let me see... Oh, it's Yugi and Weevil dueling," a familiar voice said from behind. The four turned to see the sexy older woman, Mai Valentine, who had chatted with Yugi on the ferry.
Her long, beautiful golden hair, paired with a sexy miniskirt, and her impressive figure instantly drew the attention of many males, including Jounouchi and Honda.
"Who are you?" Anzu seemed hostile towards Mai. "Why do you call Yugi so intimately and keep bothering him?"
"I'm interested in Yugi Muto, the duelist who defeated Seto Kaiba," Mai said seductively, licking her lips. "But I also find this cute girl interesting."
She leaned close to Hoshino, blowing into her ear.
Focused on Yugi's duel, Hoshino suddenly felt a tickle at her ear, letting out a soft cry and going weak.
"What are you doing!" Hoshino glared at Mai, scolding her.
"Hehe, what a cute personality. I'm becoming more interested in you," Mai teased, stroking Hoshino's smooth cheek. "For an unknown duelist to beat Yuta Kajiki, that's really interesting."
Watching this near-R-rated scene, the hormonal Jounouchi and Honda almost had nosebleeds.
Anzu glared at the leering Jounouchi and Honda, snorting, "Men are all the same."
"How do you know Hoshino beat Yuta Kajiki?" Anzu questioned Mai. "Were you following us?"
"Hehe, little girl, don't say it like I was a stalker. I was just passing by," Mai smiled, pursing her lips.
"So, little cutie, interested in a duel with me? I have three stars too," Mai said, showing her duelist glove and tracing her finger on Hoshino's face.
Suddenly, Yugi's voice interrupted the scene.
"Activate trap card, Mirror Force!" With Yugi's declaration, all of Weevil's monsters were destroyed.
"It seems becoming Japan's number one was just luck. Let me tell you clearly, Weevil," Dark Yugi's confident smile shattered Weevil's composure, "You're too weak."
"Wow, Yugi is amazing," the crowd murmured.
"But this is just the critical moment. Yugi hasn't dealt any damage to Weevil's life points, and his own life is hanging by a thread," Mai's previously teasing demeanor turned serious. "Once Weevil brings out his ace, Yugi will be in trouble."
"Calling him 'Yugi' so intimately again! What do you know about Yugi?" Anzu stuck out her tongue at Mai. "We believe in Yugi the most. Go, Yugi!"
"Once the duel starts, duelists only believe in themselves. Your pointless cheering will only distract him," Mai lectured.
"No, Mai, you're wrong." Yugi's voice from the stage denied her. "The power of our friendship can be felt no matter how far apart we are."
"Activate the Equip Spell Card, United We Stand, on Dark Magician."
[United We Stand's effect: The equipped monster gains 800 ATK/DEF for each face-up monster on your side of the field.]
"Now I summon Kuriboh, bringing the total to two monsters on my field, increasing Dark Magician's attack by 1600."
[Dark Magician ATK → 4100]
"Dark Magician, direct attack on Weevil Underwood! Dark Magic Attack!"
"Impossible! Defeated in one blow! How could this happen!" With Weevil's scream, his life points dropped to zero, signaling Yugi's victory.
"This is the power of our friendship," Yugi gave a thumbs-up to his friends below.(TL: I thought its plot armor)
Hoshino twitched a smile, "As expected of the King of Games. Though he won with his own skill, he managed to spin it as the power of friendship. Impressive."