After leaving the underground arena, Jaden returned to his home in the Baki world.
Yes.
Even though he had no family here, he still had a home.
Whenever he descended into a new world, his power of dimensional traversal would arrange a corresponding identity for him. Along with that identity came memories-delivered through dreams-of the life he had lived there.
So Jaden was never an "illegal immigrant" in any world.
The only difference was whether that life was good or bad.
And in the Baki world, at the very least, his basic needs were covered.
Although he was an orphan, he had a house and a certain amount of assets registered under his name. Those assets had existed before he was sent to the orphanage and were meant to be inherited once he reached the age of self-sufficiency.
"It feels like the me in the Baki world actually had a family."
"They even seem... pretty important."
"But it doesn't really matter."
Jaden wasn't experiencing being an orphan for the first time.
He had long since passed the age where he wondered what his parents were like.
What mattered to him now was what he could see.
What he could touch.
It had been that way for many years.
And he had no intention of changing it.
After returning home, Jaden sat down on the sofa.
He reached up and took off the Card Deck that always hung around his neck.
Inside the deck were only two cards.
And the only one visible was Kuriboh.
"Kuriboh," Jaden said calmly, looking at the card. "If there's any way to contact the Old Man's side from this world, it's probably through you."
"You already helped me once."
"So come out again and help me contact him."
Jaden could clearly feel it.
The two cards in his deck were "alive."
Or rather-
Ever since the last time he saw Kuriboh, he had gradually begun to perceive the existence of Duel Spirits.
When he held the deck, he could sense Kuriboh watching him.
He could also sense a faint bond between them.
So the first method he chose to contact the Old Man was-
Kuriboh.
As he spoke, the Kuriboh card in his hand emitted a faint glow.
Then-
A head wrapped in soft brown fur popped straight out of the card.
Only half of its body was visible.
Like a fluffy ball.
Obviously something that would feel very nice to touch.
Kuriboh blinked.
The light around its body gradually brightened, then spread outward, forming a floating light screen in midair.
At first, the screen was slightly transparent.
Then it solidified.
A figure appeared.
The background looked chaotic.
On the screen was someone who resembled a slightly taller, more mature version of the Old Man's younger self.
Because the Old Man-after reverting to his younger appearance-looked far more mature than his manga counterpart, Jaden almost mistook him at first glance.
But this person felt different.
He wore the Millennium Puzzle.
And on his forehead glowed a golden Eye of Wedjat.
"Old Man... Atem?"
Jaden asked tentatively.
The person on the screen nodded.
Then smiled.
It was a confident, composed smile.
Much livelier than his puppet-Yugi-form.
"It's me," Atem said. "Jaden, it seems you've already learned how to communicate with Duel Spirits and use them for simple tasks."
"Well done."
Jaden's King's Blood was a general term.
In truth, he possessed more than one kind of King's Blood.
He wasn't just royalty of the ancient great kingdom.
Not just a co-lord of mankind.
He was also a Prince of Spirits.
And not the kind in name only.
The kind who could ascend the throne at any time.
Atem knew this very well.
So he wasn't surprised that Jaden could communicate with spirits.
If the world hadn't undergone that massive upheaval after he and Kaiba left-ending the era of Duelists-then Jaden should have been able to sense spirits since childhood.
"Jaden," Atem continued, "is your world still safe?"
"When I asked Kaiba, he said the influence required to connect the two worlds has already reached more than one-third."
"What have you been doing over there?"
Hearing this, Jaden smiled and shook his head.
"It's not dangerous."
"And I didn't do anything risky."
"I just fought someone."
"And I won."
"But if a result like this can generate that much influence..."
"Then my mission here might end a lot faster than I expected."
Previously, Jaden had been worried that his actions wouldn't generate enough influence when calculated.
But now he knew-
Defeating Hanma Yujiro.
And using Ki-
No, not Ki.
He only had Saiyan blood, so maybe it should be called Energy-
For the first time in the Baki world had already produced more than one-third of the required influence.
Then all he needed to do was keep fighting people.
-That part, he was very good at.
It also made him quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
He had already prepared several backup plans.
If fighting wasn't enough, he was ready to become a plagiarist novelist in this world.
Then organize Shokugeki.
Or even Duels.
If that still wasn't enough, he could have Brunhilde arrange a Ragnarök-style human-versus-human competition.
Bring out Musashi Miyamoto early.
Bring out Pickle.
Then bring out Yujiro Hanma's father.
Turn it into a full free-for-all.
He had plans.
Many of them.
So hearing that simply fighting was enough made him feel much more at ease.
Atem could tell that Jaden already had his own arrangements.
His understanding of the alternate world was limited, so he didn't interfere further and simply explained the next step.
"Once the influence collection is complete, Kaiba will come to you directly through the connection channel."
"At that time, he'll contact you through the card spirits."
"Oh, and one more thing."
As Atem spoke, he raised his hand toward the screen.
In front of Jaden, a specially designed Deck Box appeared.
"Jaden," Atem said, "Duel Spirits can still remain active in your world."
"That being the case, this deck was originally meant for you."
"Yugi and I picked the cards for you back when you were young."
"I also added one reproduced card that can still use its original power."
"It's a pure Hero deck."
"If you're interested while you're there, you can Duel people."
"Dueling is a lot of fun."
"And Yugi's gift to you is inside as well."
Jaden smiled and shook his head.
But he still accepted the deck.
"Old Man, I know the rules."
"But I've never actually dueled."
Atem didn't seem bothered at all.
He just smiled.
"It's fine."
"I'm sure you'll do well."
They talked a bit more.
Then the connection ended.
Afterward, Jaden looked at Kuriboh, who was clearly exhausted, and let it return to rest.
"A pure Hero deck..."
He smiled faintly.
He casually slotted Super Polymerization into it.
Then flipped through the cards.
They were mostly Hero cards.
The Extra Deck contained only Fusion Monsters.
No Synchro.
No Xyz.
It was all normal.
And to Jaden-who had already seen the Link era-
This deck was ancient.
But then-
He froze.
Inside the so-called pure Hero deck-
Was a Slifer the Sky Dragon card.
"This must be the reproduced card the Old Man mentioned..."
His expression turned subtle.
He flipped to the next card.
A small note fell out.
It had Atem's name on it.
It explained that Slifer was a replica.
And added one more line-
If you duel someone, make sure your opponent feels happy.
Jaden's expression became even more subtle.
He kept flipping.
"Sacred Barrier - Mirror Force."
"Common Charity."
"Marshmallon."
"Marshmallon's Glasses."
After these very out-of-place cards was another note.
This one had Yugi's name on it.
And it read-
True dueling is about making your opponent happy!
Tsk.
Jaden raised an eyebrow.
With a flat, emotionless tone, he sighed.
"...Those two Old Men's opponents must have been very happy."