The bald man turned toward the sound, and when he spotted Yushin standing in the doorway, his brow furrowed.
“Who’s this kid?” he asked, frowning.
“This is none of your business.” A flash of surprise crossed Uncle Rude’s eyes too, and he quickly waved a hand.
“I’m fine here.
Get going.” One of the Fang Gang lackeys nearby also looked startled at the sight of Yushin, and murmured to the bald man, “Boss, this is the kid I told you about, the one Itagaki lost to and then acted like he’d been possessed, insisting on handing over his whole deck.
He came back talking about turning over a new leaf, and there was no stopping him…” “Oh?” The bald man looked at Yushin, narrowing his eyes slightly, like a predator sizing up prey that had caught its interest.
“I was already wondering about that.
Itagaki was one of my right-hand men, and he ended up in that kind of state.
I was just thinking about when I’d get around to paying you a visit myself, and here you are, showing up on your own first…” He studied Yushin carefully for a good while, seemingly concluding that no matter how he looked at it, this was just some scrawny Satellite kid, nothing special about him at all.
Yushin asked, “So you’re the Old Man Blackrock Itagaki mentioned?” “Correct.
I’m Blackrock, leader of the Fang Gang.” the bald man said.
Yushin said, “Perfect timing, then.
I was actually wondering when I’d get around to paying you a visit too.
How about a bet?” Blackrock grinned.
“Interesting.
Let’s hear it.” “I hear everyone in this gang is a skilled duelist.
Since you’re duelists, you wouldn’t turn one down, would you?” Yushin said.
“Let’s duel.
If I lose, Uncle Rude’s card is yours, and I won’t skip out on the protection fee either.
But if I win, you’ll have to agree to one request from me, Mr.
Blackrock.” As he spoke, Yushin looked the man dead in the eye, as if he could read every ripple of hesitation in his mind just by holding his gaze.
Ever since discovering he seemed to naturally possess some kind of supernatural power, Yushin had been researching it in earnest.
He’d recently started to realize that if he channeled his supernatural authority into a duel to a certain degree, there was a very good chance the other party wouldn’t refuse.
It wasn’t nearly as forceful as when characters in the anime forcibly triggered a Shadow Game, dragging someone into some life-or-death dueling field where only the winner got to leave.
Yushin had a feeling he could probably do something like that himself if he wanted to, but the method he was using right now was much gentler.
It was a little like a limited form of mind control…
no, “hypnosis” was probably the more accurate word for it.
Under its invisible influence, the other party would become more inclined to accept a duel invitation.
It probably counted as some lightweight version of a Shadow Game.
Nowhere near as dangerous or coercive as the high-stakes life-and-death duels in the anime, but it genuinely did carry a thread of the supernatural in it.
A lackey nearby sneered.
“Heh, who do you think you are?
Why would our boss even agree to duel someone like—” But he got immediately shut down by his own boss.
“Interesting.
I accept.” The lackeys stared at their boss in surprise.
What was going on?
Had the boss’s dueling itch just flared up?
Blackrock smiled with confidence.
“I’ve held the top spot in the Fang Gang for quite a while now, and I haven’t run into a real challenge around here in ages.
Since you’re so confident, I don’t mind indulging you a little.” Yushin glanced at Uncle Rude, still catching his breath on the ground.
“This alright with you, Uncle Rude?” “You already decided for me, kid.
Why even bother asking now?” Uncle Rude rolled his eyes.
But after a pause, he lowered his voice and said seriously, “If you’re this confident, go ahead and give it your all.
Just be careful.” Yushin nodded.
“I know.” He stepped forward and strapped on his Duel Disk.
His deck shuffled itself automatically the instant the duel began.
“Duel!” “Duel!” [Yushin, LP 4000] [Blackrock, LP 4000] Blackrock said, “I’ll go first.
Draw!” Blackrock said, “I’ll set one monster face-down in Defense Position, and set one card in the back row.
Turn end!” Yushin said, “My turn, draw.” Even with a set card in the back row, considering they were in the Satellite, high-quality Traps weren’t exactly common, so there was no need to play it too cautious.
Yushin said, “Normal Summon, Assault Pterosaur.” [Assault Pterosaur, ATK 1800] “Assault Pterosaur, attack the face-down monster!” The set card was sliced open by the blades, revealing a small, golden insect.
[Baby Tick, DEF 600] “Baby Tick’s effect activates when it’s destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard.
I can add an Insect-Type monster with 1000 or less DEF from my Deck to my hand.” Blackrock’s mouth curled, and he revealed the card he’d just searched.
“The card I’m searching for is the Insect-Type monster with 0 DEF, Electric Blade Bug.” Yushin said, “At the same time, then, Assault Pterosaur’s effect also activates.
When Assault Pterosaur destroys an opponent’s monster by battle, I can release it to Special Summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard.” Assault Pterosaur dissolved into motes of light, released, and in its place rose a demonic dragon, its black body sheathed in blood-red armor.
Yushin said, “Special Summon Death Magic Dragon from my hand!” [Death Magic Dragon, ATK 2200] Blackrock started.
“A high-Level monster on the very first turn?” “And since this was a Special Summon during the Battle Phase, Death Magic Dragon can still attack this turn too.” Yushin said.
“Death Magic Dragon, direct attack!” Arcane runes rippled along its armor, and a breath of death-laced dragon fire burst from its mouth, striking Blackrock, completely unshielded on the field, dead on.
Blackrock let out a pained grunt, his knees buckling slightly, nearly losing his footing for a moment.
[Blackrock, LP 4000 → LP 1800] “I see.
You genuinely do have some skill.” Blackrock let out a long breath.
“No wonder you managed to beat Itagaki.
I never expected talent like this to pop up quietly on my own Fang Gang’s turf…” He looked up at Yushin, laughing softly.
“Honestly, you’ve got me a little tempted.
What do you say, want to consider joining the Fang Gang?” The lackeys were all taken aback.
None of them had expected their boss to start talking recruitment in the middle of a duel.
Yushin thought it over seriously.
“What are the benefits of joining the Fang Gang?” Blackrock laughed heartily.
“Naturally.
Join up with the Fang Gang, and as long as you’ve got the skill, you’ll be living well, eating and drinking whatever you like.
Better than grinding away miserably at some factory, that’s for sure.” Of course, that was assuming you actually had the skill for it.
The gang’s miserable rank-and-file grunts did plenty of grueling labor too, and their income genuinely wasn’t much better than hauling bricks or turning screws for a living.
Yushin asked, “Do you get access to cards?” “Of course.” Blackrock said.
“This whole area’s under our protection.
Naturally, the best dueling resources around here are all concentrated in our gang’s hands.” Yushin gave a small nod.
Food, drink, and cards on top of it.
That was genuinely worth considering.
Seeing that Yushin genuinely seemed tempted, Blackrock smiled slightly.
“Your build doesn’t exactly meet our usual standards, but your dueling skill’s solid enough.
If you’re willing to join, I could make a special exception and put you in as a dueling squad leader…” “Oh, in that case, never mind.
I have a better proposal.” Yushin said earnestly.
“How about this instead: I’ll be the leader of your gang, and I’ll set you up as the dueling squad leader.
What do you think?” Blackrock: “?”