Yu-Gi-Oh!: I use an Orichalcos deck

Page 319

Yuki frowned; this had disrupted his plans. He had originally intended to counterattack using Sasuke's effect, but now he could only watch helplessly as Serena continued her attack.

Set a card to the back row, turn ends. Serena finished her turn, and the two magical girls on the field watched Sasuke warily.

Yugi draws a card, and his eyes light up when he sees the new card. He activates Sasuke's effect, discarding one card from his hand to destroy one of your Spell/Trap cards! He chooses to destroy your face-down card!

Serena's card was shattered by Sasuke's Chidori, revealing its true form—Magical Girl's Wish, a powerful counter-trap.

"Thank goodness..." Yuuki secretly rejoiced. Then I Normal Summoned Sakura Haruno, activated her effect, and retrieved a Ninjutsu card from the Graveyard. I chose Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Serena's expression turned serious: Has the resource recycling already begun...?

Activate Shadow Clone Technique! Yuuki places the card on the Duel Disk, selects Sasuke on the field, and Special Summons two Shadow Clone Tokens! Then, he activates Sasuke's other effect, Tributing two Shadow Clone Tokens from the deck to Special Summon Uchiha Itachi!

Three Sasukes appeared on the field in an instant, then two of them turned into smoke, and in their place was a cold-looking man wearing an Akatsuki robe.

Chain-activate Itachi's effect! Yuuki's voice rose slightly with excitement. When Itachi is successfully Special Summoned, you can view your hand and choose one to discard!

Serena's eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting this outcome. She revealed her hand—two spell cards and one trap. Yuuki chose the trap card, Magical Girl's End, a powerful field-clearing effect.

Good judgment. Serena sent the card to the graveyard with an appreciative tone, but I still have two Magical Girls with 2000 ATK on my field, while your Itachi only has 1800 ATK.

Battle phase! Yuuki didn't respond directly; Itachi attacked Madoka!

"Suicide attack?" Serena asked, puzzled, but accepted the fight nonetheless. "Xiaoyuan's counterattack effect activates; you will bear the battle damage."

Yuuki's HP dropped by 200, but he smiled: "This is exactly what I wanted. Activating the Shadow Clone Technique in the Graveyard allows me to Special Summon a ninja of the same level when one of my ninjas is destroyed in battle. Come back, Sasuke!"

The black-haired boy reappeared on the field, his Sharingan flashing with a dangerous light.

"Then, Sasuke will attack the player directly!" Yuuki ordered.

"Activate Homura Akemi's effect!" Serena responded quickly, able to redirect attacks to other monsters when the opponent attacks directly. "I redirect the attack to Madoka."

Sasuke's Chidori collided with Madoka's arrow, and both perished.

Set a card face down, end your turn. Yuuki has finished his turn, and the situation on the field has become complicated.

As Serena drew her card, a slight smile played on her lips: "Looks like I need to get serious." She activated the Magical Girl's Awakening card, Special Summoning Magical Girl Mami from her Deck!

A new magical girl appeared on the field, holding a flintlock pistol, and gave an elegant salute.

Mami's effect activates! Serena's voice is full of confidence: when she is successfully Special Summoned, she can destroy up to two cards on the field. I choose your face-down cards and Sasuke!

Yuki's Sasuke and that crucial trap were shattered, leaving the field completely empty.

Then, Madoka and Homura Akemi attacked directly! Serena's attack command caused Yuki's health to plummet to the danger zone.

Yuki gritted his teeth and persevered, looking at his remaining 1000 life points. Serena now had three powerful monsters on the field, while he only had one card left in his hand; the situation looked quite unfavorable.

My turn... Yuuki's fingers trembled slightly as he drew the card. When he saw that card, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Activating the Spell Card "Ninja's Resolve!" Yuuki places the card on the Duel Disk. "When my Life Points are below half of my opponent's, I can Special Summon a Ninja Monster from my Deck. I choose—Might Guy!"

A ninja in a green bodysuit with thick eyebrows and big eyes appeared on the field, giving a thumbs up and revealing his gleaming teeth.

Serena chuckled: A monster with an attack power of only 1500? That won't save you.

Not over yet! Yuuki's eyes gleamed with the light of a duelist as he unleashed the Quick Attack Magic Eight Gates! At the cost of being unable to attack this turn, he boosted Might Guy's attack power to 3000!

Blue chakra erupted from Might Guy's body, instantly making his aura incredibly powerful.

3000 attack power... Serena's expression turned serious, but you can't attack this turn, and next turn I will...

Chain activation of Sakura Haruno's effect in the graveyard! Yuuki interrupted her; when Eight Gates is on the field, she can be banished, negating one of Eight Gates' negative effects! In other words, my Might Guy can attack this turn!

Serena's pupils contracted slightly: What...

Battle! Might Guy attacks Mami Tomoe! Yuuki's command sends a green whirlwind towards the blonde magical girl; the Eight Gates technique activates, causing the opponent to absorb all the damage!

With 3000 attack power against 2500 defense power, the 500 damage dealt significantly to Serena, reducing her health considerably.

Then, Might Guy's effect activates! Yuki continues, "When he destroys a monster in battle, he can launch another attack! The target is Madoka!"

The second attack took away another of Serena's monsters, and her health continued to drop.

"Final attack, Homura Akemi!" Yuki's voice trembled with excitement.

When Might Guy's final blow landed, Serena's health reached zero, and the virtual projection system emitted a victory announcement sound effect.

Yuki could hardly believe he had won. He looked up at Serena, worried she might be angry. But to his surprise, Serena had a bright smile on her face.

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed sincerely. "I never expected that combination of the Eight Gates and Sakura Haruno!"

Yuki scratched his head sheepishly: Actually... this is my first time trying this combination. I didn't expect it to actually succeed.

Serena tidied up her deck, a new interest gleaming in her eyes: "Your Naruto deck construction is really creative, much more interesting than I imagined." She paused, then suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"Yuki... Sugiyama Yuki." He stammered in reply.

"Yuki..." Serena repeated softly, as if savoring the taste of the name. "There's a regional qualifier next month. Will you participate?"

You Ji nodded: Of course, I've already signed up.

"Great!" Serena smiled and stood up. "We'll have another match then." Her voice suddenly softened, a blush creeping onto her face. "Maybe after the match we can grab a coffee and chat about deck building."

Yuki felt his heart was about to leap out of his chest: I...I'd love to!

As Serena turned to leave, she glanced back at Yuuki: "Don't forget to practice your Naruto deck. I'll have a plan." Her tone was gentler than ever before.

Watching Serena's departing figure, Yuuki gripped the card deck in his hand tightly. He never imagined that his beloved Naruto card deck would not only bring him victory, but might also lead him to a precious destiny.

Chapter 392 Jiraiya

After Serena left, Yuuki remained standing there, his fingers unconsciously tracing the face of the Might Guy card at the top of his deck. The ninja in the green bodysuit on the card was giving a thumbs-up, his smile so bright it almost overflowed the card, as if celebrating his master's recent victory—not just a match victory, but some indescribable emotional breakthrough.

Next month... the regional qualifiers... Yuki muttered to himself, his heart still pounding in his chest. He carefully put the deck into his special card case, his fingers touching the slightly worn Naruto Uzumaki card—this was the first core card of his Naruto deck that he had bought three years ago, and the edges were already a bit worn, but he had never been willing to replace it.

Over the next few weeks, Yuuki's training became almost obsessive. Every day after school, he would head straight to the card shop and practice various combos against imaginary opponents. The old shopkeeper had gotten used to this boy who was always the last to leave, and sometimes he would even help him test new decks.

"Is he giving that girl special training again?" the old man joked one day, while wiping the glass counter.

Yuki's face instantly turned bright red: No, no! It's for the preliminaries.

The old man chuckled and didn't press further, but his knowing look only made Yuki more flustered. He really had been thinking about Serena—about her focused expression when she looked at the deck, about her elegant movements when she played, and about her last words: "Let's go get a coffee after the match."

On the day of the preliminary rounds, Yuji arrived at the venue early. This was the regional qualifier for the annual national tournament; the winners would not only advance to the national finals but also receive limited-edition cards. The venue was bustling with people, and virtual projections of various card decks flickered and intertwined in the testing area.

"Yuki!" A familiar voice came from behind.

Yuki turned around and saw Serena walking towards him through the crowd. Today she was wearing a dark blue duelist's coat with delicate silver embroidery on the cuffs, and her ponytail was tied high, making her look exceptionally energetic.

"You really came." Serena stopped in front of him with a smile. "New deck ready?"

Yuuki nodded, holding up the card box in his hand: "I've made some minor adjustments to the deck. You...you look beautiful today." The last few words were almost uttered, but Serena clearly heard them, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.

Thank you. She tilted her head slightly. "I'm in the third division. What about you?"

First Division. Yuji glanced at his number. "If we can all win to the end..."

"Then we'll see you in the finals." Serena replied, her eyes gleaming with a challenge. "This time, I won't easily lose to your Eight Gates combo."

The announcement to start the match came on, and the two had to separate and head to their respective areas. After taking a few steps, Yuki turned back and saw that Serena was also looking back at him. Their eyes met, and they couldn't help but laugh.

In the first few rounds of the qualifiers, Yuuki won quite smoothly. His Naruto deck became more fluid after special training, and he won several key matches with unexpected chains. But during breaks in the matches, he would unconsciously look for that deep blue figure.

During the semifinals, Yuuki faced an unprecedentedly tough battle. His opponent used the newly enhanced Mech Fortress deck, a deck known for its high defense and destructive power, which perfectly countered Yuuki's fast-paced tactics.

Activate the trap for full defense! The opponent triumphantly announces, "This turn, my mech monster will not be destroyed in battle, and all battle damage is halved!"

Yuki frowned as he observed the situation on the field. He only had 800 health points left, while his opponent still had a full 3000. Jiraiya's attack power was only 2400, unable to break through the opponent's mecha fortress with a defense of 2800.

Set one card, end the turn. Yuki was forced into a defensive stance; this was the first time in the match he had found himself in such a passive position.

The opponent's turn unfolds rapidly: Summon a second mech soldier! Then activate the field spell Steel Torrent, increasing the attack power of all mech monsters by 300!

Two monsters with an attack power of 2500 were eyeing the attack menacingly. Yuki's face-down card was a Substitute Technique, which could only protect one monster and could not completely withstand this attack.

Battle phase! The opponent loudly announced, "Mech Soldier A is attacking from Jiraishin Nirwara!"

Yuki responded swiftly: Activating the quick-attack magic Ninja Art: Needle Jizo! This increases Jiraiya's defense by 1000 points this turn!

Jiraiya's white hair suddenly grew longer, forming a protective shield that blocked the mech soldier's attack. But the opponent was unconcerned: Mech Soldier B attacked the player directly!

A direct attack dealing 2500 points! Yuki's health will drop to zero! A gasp rippled through the audience.

But just then, Yuuki smiled: Activating Faceless Chakra – Reversed! When the opponent declares a direct attack, I can Special Summon a Ninja Monster from the Graveyard and redirect the attack to it! Come back, Sakura Haruno!

The pink-haired girl appeared on the field in an instant, taking the hit for Yuuki. Although Sakura Haruno was injured, Yuuki's life was spared.

The opponent clearly hadn't anticipated this response, and their expression turned serious: "Set one card face down, end of turn."

My turn! Yuuki felt his heart pounding in his chest as he drew the card. When he saw the new card he had just drawn, his eyes lit up—it was Nine-Tails Chakra Mode!

Activate Naruto's effect from the Graveyard! Yuuki loudly announces, banishing him to Special Summon Naruto Uzumaki - Nine-Tails Mode from my hand!

Golden chakra erupted instantly, and Naruto appeared on the field, cloaked in the Nine-Tails' cloak, his attack power reaching a staggering 3000 points. Gasps of amazement rippled through the audience.

Not over yet! Yuki continued his actions, activating the Quick Attack Magic Shadow Clone Technique to specially summon two Naruto Shadow Clone Tokens! Then he activated the Nine-Tails Naruto's effect—sacrificing the two tokens to increase his attack power to 4500!

The opponent's face instantly turned pale: 4500?! But my mech fortress has an effect that makes it indestructible in combat...

I know. Yuuki smiled, "So I won't attack the mech fortress. Naruto will attack the player directly!"

"What?!" my opponent exclaimed, but I still have...

Another effect of Nine-Tails Naruto—he can directly attack the player, ignoring monsters on the opponent's field! Yuuki waved his hand and announced, "He's finished, Naruto! Rasengan!"

The golden energy ball struck the opponent directly, and the notification sounded that the opponent's health had reached zero. The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause. You Ji let out a long sigh of relief, only then realizing that his hands were trembling slightly.

As Yuki walked out of the battlefield, he bumped into Serena, who seemed to have been waiting there all along.

"A brilliant comeback victory." She said with a smile, her eyes full of admiration. "That use of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode was ingenious."

"You watched my match?" Yuki asked, somewhat surprised.

Of course. Serena walked naturally beside him, after all, you might be my opponent in the final.

Yuki's heart started racing again: You...you've also made it to the finals?

Serena nodded: "We just won the second half of the bracket final. So..." She stopped and turned to face Yuki. "Now we really are finalists."

Yuki then realized that they had unknowingly walked to the front of the main stage. The huge screen was displaying the final matchup: Sugiyama Yuki (Naruto deck) VS Uehara Serena (Magical Girl deck).

"It seems fate really likes to play jokes," Serena said softly, but her eyes were unusually serious. "I will fight you with all my might, Yuuki. I hope you will too."

You Zheng nodded: Of course.