Achet was a small country located south of the Empire.
At least, it was called small.
Since the world entered the Superpower Era-after the Economic Era and the Light Firepower Era-many nations that were once considered "small" had already been absorbed by emerging superpowers.
Among the countries that still maintained independent national systems, aside from island nations like Novacelic and the Far East, only those that had never truly been small survived.
In the present world, the Empire stood in the west, a colossal behemoth.
Across the divided Pangea supercontinent, directly opposing it, was another giant-the Northern Country.
And to the east of the Northern Country lay the oldest continuously existing ancient civilization, the Xia Kingdom.
Excluding the Empire, which had evolved from Rome, the Northern Country, which unified multiple nations, and the long-standing Xia Kingdom, there were no more than twenty other countries in the world that could still be called "small."
And if island nations like Novacelic were excluded, the number dropped to fewer than ten.
More importantly, all of these so-called small countries were clustered around the three superpowers.
From another perspective, the current world only truly had three countries.
The rest merely maintained their national systems in name.
They were, in practice, super-provinces.
Achet, located in the southern region of the Empire, was officially classified as a small country.
But with its population size, land area, and economic scale, it was anything but insignificant.
Thanks to the Empire's support, Achet's level of development was extremely high.
It also possessed a distinct regional culture and local characteristics, making it a popular destination for tourists.
Jaden and Erina landed at a helipad on the outskirts of Menes, Achet's capital.
Totsuki had business interests across the world, so upon landing, the manager of Totsuki's Menes branch personally drove them into the city.
This trip had been arranged partly as tourism.
Jaden and Erina both expected to experience Achet's regional culture after arriving.
They just hadn't expected to experience it the moment they stepped out of the car.
"KaibaCorp is hiring! Requirement: Attack Power around 3000."
Huh?
The recruitment advertisement was extremely eye-catching.
The two of them saw it the instant they got out of the car.
They both froze.
Erina stared at the sign, completely confused.
She couldn't understand it at all.
Jaden, on the other hand, felt a strange sense of familiarity.
After seeing the advertisement, he was suddenly certain he hadn't come to the wrong place.
KaibaCorp.
Attack Power around 3000.
Blue-Eyes White Dragon level.
Who else but Kaiba would set a recruitment requirement like that?
With standards like these...
Even Jounouchi's Red-Eyes Black Dragon wouldn't qualify.
As Jaden was silently complaining in his head, Erina tugged lightly on his sleeve.
Her expression was a little odd.
"Jaden," she whispered, "do all people in Achet have Attack Power values?"
"...Maybe."
Jaden didn't really know how to explain it.
So he didn't.
At that moment, the regional manager from Totsuki in Achet spoke up.
"Director-General, Yuki-san, it's not that the people of Achet have Attack Power values."
He paused, then continued.
"Recently, KaibaCorp posted a high-paying recruitment notice. They installed a machine at the recruitment site that looks similar to a punch-power tester."
"They said that as long as someone punches the machine and the displayed Attack Power reaches around 3000, KaibaCorp will hire them with a generous salary."
As he spoke, the manager shook his head.
"But that's just the claim."
"In reality, ordinary people can barely register even 1 point when they punch it."
"Even famous martial artists from all over the world have come to test it. The highest value I've personally seen was only 10."
"And that was after several days of repeated testing and dozens of attempts."
"If we take the average..."
"That martial artist's Attack Power was probably around 8."
After hearing this, Jaden suddenly smiled.
He turned to look at Erina.
"I'm a little interested."
"Want to go take a look?"
Erina wasn't surprised.
Jaden's main goal for this trip had always been the KaibaCorp Building.
Now that Kaiba had put something like this right in front of them, there was no way Jaden would ignore it.
She nodded immediately.
"Okay. Let's go take a look."
-
The KaibaCorp Building was easily the most eye-catching structure in Menes.
By the time the manager led Jaden and Erina there, a large crowd had already gathered outside the surrounding wall.
At the center of the crowd was the punch-testing machine.
Most people were just watching.
Only one person was actually testing it.
This was no longer the initial period when KaibaCorp had first unveiled the machine.
By now, most people understood they had no chance of hitting 3000.
So they treated it as entertainment.
Bang!
A well-built martial artist stepped forward and threw a punch.
The large screen above the machine flickered.
A big "5" appeared.
The martial artist froze.
Then he collapsed to his knees.
Five Attack Power.
This was the highest value he had ever achieved.
Damn it.
Disappointment washed over him, followed by resignation.
And at that moment, Jaden and Erina stepped out from the crowd and walked toward the machine.
The KaibaCorp employee stationed there stood quietly to the side.
He didn't say anything.
Jaden spoke first.
"Excuse me."
"I might need to test multiple times."
"Is that okay?"
The employee glanced around.
After confirming that no one else was waiting, he smiled and nodded.
"If there's no one else in line, then of course."
"That's good-"
Jaden didn't even finish his sentence.
Bang!
The sound exploded.
Jaden hadn't powered up.
He hadn't even used full strength.
It was just a fast, clean jab.
The martial artist who had been kneeling on the ground looked up at the screen.
His eyes widened.
The displayed value-
1520.
1521.
Before this, the highest value anyone had ever recorded was 10.
The martial artist was completely stunned.
The surrounding spectators erupted into whispers.
The KaibaCorp employee froze.
Even the Totsuki manager stared in shock.
Only Jaden shook his head.
"It seems a jab alone isn't enough."
He drew one arm back.
Stepped slightly backward.
His upper body twisted as his center of gravity shifted, half his weight transferring through the motion.
His back acted as a brace.
All of his strength flowed into his fist.
Bang!
Another explosion.
The number on the screen refreshed.
2324.
2325.
"A bit interesting."
"The higher the value, the harder it is to increase."
"And this material..."
Previously, in Novacelic, Jaden could shatter battlefields that even missiles couldn't damage.
But now, even using more force, he hadn't left a single scratch on the machine.
So this was Dark Power.
Jaden smiled faintly.
He clenched his fist.
Twisted his body.
And punched again-without holding anything back.
Weight.
Grip strength.
Speed.
And Armament Haki.
Bang!
The sound this time drowned out everything else.
The noise of traffic.
Voices from the street.
All of it vanished beneath the impact of Jaden's punch.
Yet despite the overwhelming force, the surrounding area remained completely intact.
No cracks.
No damage.
Nothing.
That made him smile.
And the value on the screen-
3129.
3130.
Jaden didn't attempt another punch.
He didn't test the limits of the machine.
Instead, he pointed at the screen and looked at the KaibaCorp employee.
"This value..."
"Is it enough for you to take me to see your boss?"
The employee snapped out of his daze and nodded rapidly.
"Enough. It's enough!"
"Sir, please follow me."
He immediately led them forward.
Erina turned and told the Totsuki manager to head back first.
Then she followed Jaden into the courtyard beneath the KaibaCorp Building.
But before they could enter, a voice rang out.
It sounded familiar.
Yet at the same time, it felt strangely new to Jaden.
"I was wondering who could hit that value."
"So it was you, Jaden."
"And the one beside you must be Nakiri Erina."
"I didn't expect the two of you to come together."
Jaden turned.
Yugi walked toward them, smiling.
"I'm relieved to see that you're doing well, Jaden."