"Oh? So that tail is the proof of your royal bloodline awakening?"
On the top floor of Kaiba Corporation, after learning that Jaden had successfully returned, Atem spent some effort and once again possessed an employee.
Kaiba and Yugi were also present.
Kaiba looked no different from usual.
Yugi, however, circled Jaden several times. Only after confirming that there were no abnormalities-aside from the extra tail-did he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"It's good that you're alright."
Seeing Yugi like this, Jaden smiled.
"If it weren't for the Kuriboh you gave me blocking an attack, things might've been a little troublesome."
"But the Kuriboh you gave me is still with me, so the trouble really wasn't that big."
After saying that, Jaden looked at Yugi.
"But old man, compared to me... you gave me Kuriboh, so what about you-"
Before Jaden could finish, Yugi immediately took out a card box pendant identical to Jaden's.
Inside were also two cards.
The card on the surface was Kuriboh.
But it wasn't the ordinary Kuriboh Jaden had.
It was Winged Kuriboh.
Seeing this, Jaden felt a little strange.
Because according to the original storyline, if he truly were the protagonist, Winged Kuriboh should have been given to him by his old man.
But now, it seemed like things had been switched.
Jaden felt a bit emotional.
At that moment, Kaiba spoke up.
Which was rare.
"Yugi, the card at the bottom of your card box..."
Hearing this, Yugi hung the pendant back around his neck.
"That's right. It's exactly what you're thinking."
"Because this incident required three people to use the gods' power in three different locations, the other me lent me that card."
Kaiba nodded after hearing this.
Then he fell silent again.
Kaiba, Yugi, and Atem clearly knew something.
Jaden, on the other hand, was completely lost.
"Old man, what exactly is going on?"
Seeing Jaden ask, Atem smiled.
"The specific details aren't something that can be carried out yet."
"But Jaden, now that you've inherited the King's legacy, you should already understand the kind of power the King possesses."
The power of the King?
Jaden had to admit that during his trip to the past, he'd received help from the Thirteen Valkyries and the Saiyan power.
But was that what his old man meant?
Seeing that Jaden hadn't quite caught on, Atem closed one eye and gave him a hint.
"Hint, Jaden."
"How did you return?"
How he returned...
Jaden instinctively wanted to answer.
But then, he stopped.
That's right.
He had indeed left by sitting on the throne embedded with thirteen Royal Orbs.
But when he returned...
The throne only seemed to have nine Royal Orbs remaining.
And when he came back, he had simply sat down with the new thirteen Royal Orbs.
A single thought.
That was all it took.
And that feeling at the time...
Jaden suddenly realized that if he sat on the throne again, he might be able to return there with nothing more than a thought.
Seeing this, Atem smiled and continued.
"You've realized it, haven't you?"
"As the King, you possess the ability to travel across timelines."
"And even cross worlds."
"Originally, I had a backup plan in case you didn't awaken the King's power."
"But now that you have..."
"The plan can be executed even better."
As he spoke, Atem crossed his hands and rested his chin on them.
"Jaden, go back and rest for a while."
"The next time I come looking for you, you may need to go to another world."
"To establish a node."
"Another... world?"
Jaden froze slightly.
Although every time he traveled via the throne, the sensation was identical to his first crossing...
He had never actually considered that other worlds truly existed.
Atem had clearly anticipated this reaction.
He began explaining calmly.
"Yes."
"Originally, even I didn't know."
"But because of the problem triggered back then, the source of that problem-trying to avoid falling into the underworld for me to deal with-found another world from somewhere."
"It lodged itself between two worlds."
"Completely isolating itself."
"In the modern era, the age of spirits has ended."
"Although it's not impossible to bring spirits back, only a very small number can return to the human world."
"And that small number doesn't have enough power to confront the source."
"That's why we need a new method."
"And that's when we discovered the new world."
"Our ultimate goal is to completely resolve the source that ended the Duel era."
"And when that time comes..."
"We'll need your help, Jaden."
Hearing this, Jaden smiled.
"If you put it that way, I don't have a problem with it."
"So when do I go to this new world to establish the node?"
"And how long will I be gone?"
Atem shook his head.
"No rush."
"You've gone through too many battles recently."
"Go back and get some proper rest."
"As for establishing the node..."
"That will wait until we gather enough information."
"We need to determine whether the new world is dangerous before sending you there."
Jaden nodded.
Then paused.
"Old man, if you can gather intelligence there, why can't you just establish the node yourself?"
Atem replied calmly.
"We can't."
"Or rather, aside from your special ability, people belonging to one world cannot normally descend into another world on their own."
"Then what about the intelligence gathering you mentioned?"
Atem smiled.
Using the Kaiba Corporation employee's body, he slowly picked up a card.
"We can't go."
"But Duel Spirits are different."
"Although only a very small number of Duel Spirits can cross over..."
"It's more than enough for intelligence gathering."
Jaden nodded.
This time, he had no further questions.
Since his old man said there was no rush, Jaden said goodbye to Yugi.
He visited the children at the orphanage.
Stayed a few days.
Then returned to Totsuki Academy.
There were no further issues.
The world entered a relatively peaceful period.
Meanwhile-
In the other world Atem spoke of.
A game called Duel Monsters was gradually spreading across the globe.
Inside a newly opened card shop, a boy with a small but powerfully built physique sat beside a giant who didn't look particularly old.
The two of them were tearing open card packs together.
"Hanayama-san, look at this card!"
"I pulled a super high-attack rare!"
"Summoned Skull!"
Hearing this, Hanayama Kaoru glanced to the side.
He nodded expressionlessly.
Then opened two more packs.
"Baki."
"I heard the Underground Arena is holding some kind of 'Strongest on Earth Determination Tournament' soon."
"That man will definitely attend."
"Is it really fine for you to be opening card packs instead of training?"
"You're opening packs too, Hanayama-san~"
Hanma Baki spoke calmly.
But the slight tremor in the hand holding the card betrayed him.
Hanayama Kaoru didn't point it out.
He simply fell silent.
And continued opening card packs alongside Hanma Baki.
They didn't know-
That the Duel Spirits inside those cards were watching them closely.
Monitoring their every move.
Gathering intelligence on this other world.
For the Pharaoh.
And for their Prince.