Chapter 412: Arrival!

[TL/N: Read my new work - Detective Conan: I'm a Succubus?!] 

---- 

"I set two cards face-down and end my turn."

Despite being trapped in an unknown, shadowy game space, Mai remained unfazed.

"Let's see how long you can keep up this act of defiance!"

Eagerly anticipating the moment he would hear Mai scream, Marik swiftly drew a card from his deck.

Gazing at the five monsters lined up on the opposing field, he chuckled darkly.

"Are you ready to face true darkness?"

"I activate the Spell Card—[Pot of Desires]! This allows me to draw two more cards from my deck!"

A grotesque pot with a twisted face emerged from the card as Marik added two more cards to his hand.

However, luck did not seem to favor him today. Despite his draws, the divine beast he sought remained elusive.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he placed a Normal Monster card onto his Duel Disk.

"I summon—[Melkido Tetramon]!"

"Next, I activate the effect of [Masked Monster: Death Protector] from my hand..."

"By sacrificing [Melkido Tetramon] along with another monster on my field, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"

"Come forth, the masked fiend that wields the power of darkness!"

From the abyss, two massive claws shot out, seizing the recently summoned [Masked Monster: Death Protector] and a writhing, Regenerator Slime. With a sickening lurch, both creatures were dragged into the shadows.

A moment of eerie silence followed—until the unsettling sound of gnawing and tearing echoed through the darkness.

Then, emerging from the void, a monstrous being clad in a tattered blue mask appeared, its chest grotesquely embedded with a decayed female corpse.

[Masked Monster: Death Guardian – ATK 3300]

Marik sneered.

"Hehehe... Go, Death Guardian! Attack her [Amazoness Trainee]!"

With a sharp flick of his wrist, Marik gave the command, his voice carrying a sinister delight. The battlefield seemed to tremble as the Death Guardian lunged forward, its massive claws slicing through the air like specters of doom.

The Amazoness Trainee stood small and helpless before the overwhelming power of the grotesque entity. If one were to let their imagination wander, a few stray tendrils from the Death Guardian's body could easily lead this scene into territory far beyond the scope of an all-ages duel.

"I won't let you have your way!"

"I activate my set card!"

Mai's voice was steady as she raised her arm, flipping over her concealed card.

"Trap Card—[Ninjutsu Art: Earth-Style Wall]!"

"With this card's effect, when my opponent declares an attack, I can designate a Ninja-type monster on my field. Any attack with lower attack power than twice that monster's will be negated!"

"My [Amazoness Trainee] has 2000 ATK. That means any attack below 4000 ATK is rendered useless!"

"Go, Amazoness Trainee!"

With a swift motion, a burst of light shot forth from the trap card, enveloping the Amazoness Trainee.

The young warrior moved with divine swiftness, forming rapid hand signs before slamming her palms against the ground.

In an instant, a towering wall of hardened earth erupted from the battlefield, cutting across Mai's side of the arena like a fortress.

The Death Guardian's wicked claws struck with tremendous force, piercing into the rock, yet unable to break through.

Marik clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Tch... So you survive another round."

His eyes flickered toward the unyielding wall that had obstructed his assault. Though irritated, he had no choice but to end his turn. Reluctantly, he set two more cards on his Duel Disk and gestured toward Mai.

"I end my turn."

Despite everything, he remained confident—perhaps blindly so.

"My turn!"

As Marik's turn ended, the towering earth wall crumbled into dust, revealing Mai's confident smirk.

"Draw!"

A new card slid into her hand. She glanced at it briefly before her eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I activate the effect of [God Tree Seedling]!"

"Since I have five Ninja-type monsters on my field, I can draw five Ninjutsu cards from my deck!"

Five cards shot out from her deck in rapid succession. The once thick stack of cards in her deck had now visibly thinned, while her hand swelled to a formidable size.

It was as if she were fighting with half a deck in her grasp.

Examining the new additions to her hand, Mai's confidence solidified.

She knew it now—this duel was as good as won.

Due to the unique rules of this world, Nami had not granted her overwhelming Ninjutsu proficiency. Instead, she had been given access to a vast arsenal of techniques.

This meant that while Mai's Ninjutsu lacked the sheer power of the elite shinobi from the Naruto verse, her versatility allowed for boundless tactical ingenuity.

And in the world of dueling—adaptability was king.

"I activate the Spell Card—[Ninjutsu Art: Spirit Summoning]!"

"This card allows me to select any number of Ninja-type monsters on my field. Depending on their combined star level, I can add a monster of equal or lesser level from my deck to my hand!"

"One ninja monster allows me to summon a 4 star or lower. Two ninja monsters for 6 star or lower, and so on..."

"Since I control five Ninja-type monsters, I can add a 12 star or lower monster to my hand!"

Mai drew a card from her deck, holding it up for Marik to see.

A smirk curled at her lips.

"[One-Tailed Shukaku] 10 stars, Beast-Type, Earth Attribute, 5000 ATK, 5000 DEF."

Marik: ???

What the hell!?

Marik's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the card Mai had just revealed.

A 10-star monster… That's already on par with a God Card!

Could her deck actually contain a power capable of rivaling the gods!?

For the first time, Marik felt doubt creeping into his mind.

Yet, Mai paid him no mind. With a calm expression, she put away the card and drew another from her sizable hand.

"Next, I activate the continuous spell—[Ninjutsu: Monster Melting Technique]!"

She smirked as she placed the card on the field.

"Once per turn, I can target a Ninja-type monster I control to destroy one of your monsters. And if the destruction is successful, you take 300 points of damage!"

Her voice carried an air of confidence as she commanded:

"Go, Cyber Harpie Lady! Dissolve everything in your path!"

The Cyber Harpie Lady on her field quickly formed hand seals, puffing her cheeks in an almost comical manner.

Then—

Whoosh!

She unleashed a torrential wave of corrosive liquid, engulfing Marik's monster in an instant.

The viscous acid began to eat away at the Masked Monster Death Guardian, reducing its massive form to nothing in mere seconds.

A wave of pain surged through Marik as his Life Points dropped.

[Marik LP: 1200 → 900]

"Aaaahhhhhh!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore from Marik's throat as searing pain wracked his body.

In this Shadow Game, damage was more than just a number—it was real pain.

The moment his Life Points fell, deep gashes appeared all over his body, fresh blood splattering onto the ground.

This… is the cruelty of a Shadow Duel.

For Marik, losing 300 LP in this state was nothing short of agony.

But then—

The screaming stopped.

Marik, drenched in sweat, let out ragged breaths. His lips curled into a sinister grin as he muttered under his breath:

"It's fine... It's fine... This is nothing… This pain… it just makes it better!"

Suddenly, his quiet muttering twisted into loud, maniacal laughter.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"

His deranged cackling echoed throughout the dark space, his eyes burning with a maddened light.

"Woman, you've done it now! You've actually pissed me off!"

He pointed directly at Mai, his voice booming:

"Now… I'll show you what TRUE divine wrath looks like!!!"

Mai, unfazed by his outburst, merely tilted her head slightly and smirked.

"Oh? Is that so? I doubt it."

She ignored his threats and prepared to continue her turn when—

"At this moment!" Marik roared.

"I activate the effect of [Masked Monster Death Guardian]!"

A dark aura surged from his graveyard as he sneered:

"When this card is sent to the Graveyard, I can equip [Mask of the Accursed] to one of your monsters!"

"The effect of [Mask of the Accursed] allows me to seize control of the equipped monster!"

"Your female warrior is now mine!!!"

Because of the effect of [Ninjutsu: Mist Hidden Technique], the Cyber Harpie Lady could not be chosen, so Marik had no choice but to point his spearhead to Amazon Trainee.

The mask latched onto the Amazon Trainee, causing her to let out a pained cry.

Her delicate features twisted in agony as the mask fused to her face.

Moments later, her movements became sluggish, her body now stiff and unnatural.

Slowly, she turned—and walked onto Marik's side of the field.

"Jie jie jie jie…" Marik let out a bone-chilling laugh.

Mai's eyes darkened.

Losing a monster wasn't the issue.

But seeing the Amazon Trainee in pain—seeing her suffer under that disgusting mask—made her blood boil.

As a woman, she refused to let her monster endure such humiliation.

Her grip on her cards tightened.

"Hold on just a little longer, Amazon Trainee. This will be over soon."

Her voice was calm but carried an undeniable resolve.

Then, without hesitation, she pulled out the card she had just retrieved from her deck, raising it high.

"I activate the spell card—[Ninjutsu: Feather Illusion Jutsu]!"

A golden light shone from her field.

"The effect of this card prevents me from drawing at the start of my next turn..."

Marik narrowed his eyes. What is she planning?

Mai's lips curled into a smirk.

"But in return…"

A powerful aura erupted around her as she slammed a new card onto the field.

"I can Special Summon—[One-Tail Shukaku]!!!"

"COME—SHUKAKU!"

The battlefield trembled.

A fierce wind howled, and dark clouds churned in the sky.

Suddenly—

BOOM!

The earth split open, and an endless stream of fine sand erupted from the ground, swirling like a massive storm.

The sand began to condense, taking form—growing larger—towering over the battlefield.

A thick, muscular tail swung through the air, stirring up a whirlwind of dust and debris.

The sheer force of the summoning was too much for even the Shadow Game to contain.

The oppressive black mist began to recede, allowing the spectators on both sides of the duel to finally see the battlefield.

Jounouchi, witnessing the behemoth before him, could barely stand.

His legs trembled.

His voice cracked as he stammered:

"W-What… what the hell is THAT!?"

But before anyone could react further—

Something unexpected happened.

The towering beast slowly turned its head, its massive eyes locking onto Mai.

Then—

It spoke.

"Woman… you finally let me out!"

Its deep, guttural voice carried a hint of irritation, making the air feel heavy.

Marik's smirk faltered.

"...Wait, what!?"

The two enormous cat-like eyes locked onto Mai, glowing like twin searchlights.

The intensity of the gaze sent a shockwave through the audience.

Even Marik—her opponent—had a look of disbelief on his face.

The duel monster… actually spoke!?

As top duelists, they had all experienced the presence of Duel Spirits to some extent. But this was something entirely different—this was the first time they had seen a monster speak fluent human language, displaying intelligence beyond mere instinct.

Even Seto Kaiba, the architect behind the modern Duel System, stared at the colossal beast in stunned silence.

For the first time, his unwavering faith in science began to waver.

Yet, amidst the sea of shocked faces, there was one person who remained completely unfazed—Nami.

After all, she was the one who had made this happen.

She had already summoned creatures with souls before—Pikachu and Butterfree. While they lacked the ability to speak, they had still interacted with Nami, making this moment far less surprising to her than it was to the others.

But as for Shukaku, Mai had just been summoned…

It was not the real Shukaku.

The true One-Tailed Shukaku still resided within Gaara, bound by his will.

The tailed beast standing before them was a replica, an imitation forged from Shukaku's chakra and original power—a counterfeit, but a formidable one nonetheless.

This imitation carried all of Shukaku's memories, personality, and abilities.

The only real difference?

Its power was merely one-tenth of the real Shukaku's.

Yet—

Even at a fraction of its true strength, it still surpassed the might of a God Card.

Unlike the Egyptian Gods, which required ancient carvings on millennia-old stone tablets to be brought into existence by Maximillion Pegasus, this beast existed within Mai's very soul, fully under her control.

And this—this was why Marik had been unable to draw his God Card.

Mai had been suppressing him all along.

On the battlefield…

As Shukaku loomed over her, its massive frame casting a dark shadow across the field, Mai took a deep breath.

She recalled Nami's words from before.

"Be the master of power. Never let power control you."

She exhaled slowly, steadying herself.

Then—her eyes snapped open, an unwavering determination flashing within them.

With one swift motion, she pulled a card from her hand, pointed it directly at Shukaku, and shouted:

"Shut up, you oversized furball!"

The sudden outburst stunned everyone—including Shukaku.

But Mai didn't stop.

"If you don't want to spend the rest of eternity rotting away in the dark, then you'll obey my commands!"

"Otherwise, I'll erase you from existence and imprison you in eternal darkness!"

Her voice carried no hesitation, no fear.

She was in control.

Shukaku hesitated.

For a moment, it had wanted to flaunt its power, to intimidate its so-called "Jinchūriki."

But then—

Its massive pupils trembled.

Because there, in Mai's hand, was a card that changed everything.

[Ninjutsu: Four Symbols Seal]

Effect:

This card allows you to seal a "Tailed Beast" monster from your hand, equipping it to a "Ninja" monster on your field. The equipped monster gains half of the Tailed Beast's Attack and Defense points and can activate its abilities.

Shukaku knew what this meant.

Mai had the power to seal it away forever.

Silence fell.

Then—

With an exaggerated sigh, Shukaku turned away, pouting.

"...Tch. I never said I wasn't going to fight for you!"

"You're getting all worked up for nothing!"

Then, its enormous tail swayed as it let out a loud huff.

"You want me to crush that scrawny little brat over there? Fine!"

It raised a massive paw and slammed it against the ground, cracking the battlefield beneath its weight.

"Watch me slap him so hard, he'll become part of the scenery!"

With a sharp-toothed grin, it snickered:

"Tailed Beasts and Jinchūriki should get along, after all!"

[Tl/n: 🤣😂🤣]