“Protection money?” Yusuke repeated, momentarily confused before the relevant memories finally clicked into place.
Satellite was technically still subject to the law, and Sector Security even maintained a presence here.
The officers stationed in Satellite, however, had a rather unique interpretation of what “maintaining public order” actually meant.
As a general rule, disputes between ordinary people in the slums were ignored as long as nobody ended up dead.
Because of that, many neighborhoods in Satellite relied on local gangs to keep some semblance of order.
Naturally, those gangs weren’t running charities.
In exchange for their protection, they regularly collected fees from everyone living in their territory.
The rundown house shared by the Fujishiro siblings technically had a lock on the front door, but its usefulness was about on par with the tiny piece of beef pictured on a packet of cheap instant noodles—it was better than having nothing at all, but expecting it to accomplish much was asking too much.
Anyone reasonably strong could probably kick the door open in two tries.
So refusing to answer wasn’t going to achieve anything.
Yusuke got up and opened the door.
A broad-shouldered man with spiky hair stood outside, accompanied by several lackeys.
This was Itagaki, a member of the local gang known as the Fang Gang.
When he saw the siblings, Itagaki grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellowed teeth.
“Like I said, we’re here for the protection money.” He waved a fist nearly the size of a sandbag.
“Don’t try anything clever, and don’t waste our time.
You know Boss Kuroiwa hates people who drag their feet.” “But we already paid at the beginning of the month,” Yukine protested.
Itagaki clicked his tongue impatiently.
“The Scythe Gang from the eastern district has been pushing into our territory lately.
We’ve had a lot more clashes with them, all because we’re keeping this neighborhood safe.
Expenses have gone up, so we’re collecting next month’s payment early.” He glared at them.
“Enough complaining.
Two thousand DP per household.
Not one point less!” “Two thousand DP?!” Yukine’s face went pale.
“Wasn’t it always one thousand?” DP, short for Duel Points, was a currency system introduced by KaibaCorp twenty years earlier.
It had originally been created as a way for duelists to buy and trade cards, but over time it had gradually developed into a general-purpose currency.
The meal Yusuke and Yukine had eaten earlier had cost 42 DP.
Fujishiro Yusuke, meanwhile, earned an average of around 120 DP for a full day of factory labor—and that was only on days when he could actually find work.
Now the Fang Gang wanted two thousand DP in a single payment, after already taking another thousand at the beginning of the month.
How were two poor kids scraping by in Satellite supposed to come up with that kind of money?
At this point, the gang was practically bleeding the neighborhood dry.
Yukine’s face had gone completely white.
“We don’t have that much…” “I don’t care where you get it,” Itagaki said with a sneer.
“But if we can’t collect the full protection fee, Boss Kuroiwa won’t be happy.
And when Boss Kuroiwa isn’t happy…” His grin widened.
“Trust me, you don’t want to find out what happens next.” Yukine shivered and lowered her head, unable to meet his eyes.
Yusuke considered the situation for a moment.
“I don’t have the money right now,” he said.
“But how about this?
Can we settle it with a Duel?” When in doubt, play cards first.
That was practically the first law of the Yu-Gi-Oh!
universe!
“Oh?” Itagaki’s grin grew wider.
“You want to challenge me?” He laughed.
“Fine.
If you beat me in a Duel, I’ll cover your protection money for this round myself.
But if you lose, the amount doubles.
You’ll owe us four thousand DP.” The lackeys behind him immediately burst into laughter.
“He actually wants to challenge Itagaki?” “Perfect!
If there’s one thing Itagaki isn’t afraid of, it’s a Duel!” That was enough to confirm Yusuke’s suspicion.
Apparently, even when dealing with gangsters, challenging someone to a card game was a perfectly legitimate solution.
Now that was Yu-Gi-Oh!.
Satellite’s gangs all followed the same basic principle: dueling ability commanded respect.
In the 5D’s flashbacks, Yusei Fudo and his friends had once formed a group known as the Enforcers.
The four of them had fought their way across Satellite through Duel after Duel until they defeated every rival gang and effectively brought the entire district under their control.
Yukine’s small shoulders seemed to sag under the sheer weight of the words “four thousand DP.” She looked uncertainly at her brother, clearly wanting to suggest that they find some other way to scrape together the money instead of gambling everything on a Duel.
But she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
She knew her brother’s dueling ability.
He wasn’t even as good as she was.
How could he possibly defeat one of the Fang Gang’s enforcers, a man who openly threw his weight around throughout the neighborhood?
They certainly couldn’t afford the two thousand DP right now, but in Yukine’s eyes, a Duel wasn’t really a solution either.
If losing was inevitable, then surely it would be better to beg for another day or two and somehow find a way to gather the original amount.
Before she could make up her mind, however, Yusuke had already answered.
“It’s a deal.” “Good!” Itagaki turned and walked toward the open space behind him.
One of his lackeys handed him a Duel Disk with his Deck already loaded inside, and Itagaki strapped it onto his thick arm.
Yusuke equipped his own Duel Disk as well.
Just before he stepped forward, Yukine couldn’t stop herself from calling out.
“Brother…” Yusuke paused and glanced back at her.
Then he smiled.
“Don’t worry.
This won’t take long.” Yukine fell silent.
For some reason, her brother felt completely different today.
Normally, Yusuke always seemed anxious and exhausted, constantly worried about what tomorrow might bring.
Without Yukine encouraging him from time to time, he often looked as though he might simply collapse under the pressure.
There had never been any hope for the future in his eyes.
But today he seemed calm and completely at ease, as though everything was already under control.
Even that simple smile was strangely reassuring.
Just meeting his gaze made some of the tension in Yukine’s chest fade away.
Yusuke stepped into position opposite Itagaki and activated his Duel Disk.
Both Decks automatically began shuffling inside their respective slots.
“DUEL!” they shouted together.
[Yusuke — LP: 4000] [Itagaki — LP: 4000] As before, the Duel Disks randomly determined who would receive the choice of turn order.
This time, Yusuke’s Duel Disk lit up first.
Naturally, he had no intention of giving away the advantage.
“I’ll go first.
Draw!” He looked over his opening hand and quickly made his play.
“I Set one monster in face-down Defense Position, then Set one card in my Spell & Trap Zone.
That’s it for my turn.” One Set monster and one Set back-row card.
For this era, whether in the physical card game or the anime, it was about as standard an opening as you could get.
“My turn—draw!” Itagaki looked at the card he had just drawn, then once again flashed his yellow teeth.
“Heh.
And I got it on my first turn.
Perfect.
I’ll show you exactly how stupid you were to challenge Itagaki of the Fang Gang.” He revealed a Spell Card from his hand.
“I activate the Spell Card Star Blast!” Itagaki grinned.
“By paying Life Points in multiples of 500, I can reduce the Level of one monster in my hand or on my field by 1 for every 500 Life Points I pay, until the End Phase!” He thrust out his hand.
“I pay 1000 Life Points and reduce the Level of the Level 6 Archfiend of Gilfer in my hand by 2!” [Itagaki — LP: 4000 → 3000] “That makes Archfiend of Gilfer Level 4!”