Observation

"Zzz—"

A soft static sound leaked from the interdimensional stream.

Chazz watched as X-Head Cannon lost to him, letting out a long sigh. He seemed a bit dejected, yet somehow also relieved.

Excited, Chazz high-fived Hikaru, then turned toward the camera and, as if on cue, began shouting his slogan, spouting dramatic lines about defending the school.

Chazz's most defining trait was his unrelenting chuuni spirit, and he pulled it off in an oddly charming way.

In front of a massive screen, a voice rang out, "Switch it."

"Brother? You're done watching? But those Spirits were just exchanging fire with Chazz and the others."

"Hmph—"

The voice snorted. "At this point, the cannon fire is meaningless."

"Understood." A slightly shorter figure stepped up to the massive television and pressed a button. The screen split first two images, then four, then eight, until dozens of tiny screens covered the entire display.

Seated directly opposite the screen, dressed in a billowing white uniform, a man swept his gaze over the many fragmented scenes.

He was the strongest active Duelist in the world, the most brilliant mind alive, the one who created the system for dimensional travel, KaibaCorp's highest authority: Seto Kaiba!

As he surveyed the many discovered alternate dimensions, his face remained expressionless, yet thoughts raced through his mind.

"Brother, about what Chazz said earlier? Regarding Leo Akaba."

"Leo Akaba, huh?" Seto Kaiba opened his eyes, evidently interested enough to comment. "As a scientist, he's no amateur.

But as a Duelist? He's still far too lacking."

Mokuba knew his brother's style well. Kaiba didn't care about research prowess; what mattered to him was the strength shown in a Duel. So he wasn't surprised.

"But it seems like Leo Akaba is up to something dangerous."

"Duelists settle things through Duels." Kaiba glanced at the deck beside him, his most valued possession, never leaving his side. "And if Chazz has made his choice, let them do as they will."

Though his tone remained flat, Mokuba could tell his brother was quite pleased with Chazz's performance today.

"More importantly, what about the trace of the Dark Magician Girl?"

"Ah!" Mokuba instantly caught his meaning and pulled up the relevant intel. "According to interviews with Duel Academy instructors, the Dark Magician Girl did appear on the island for a certain time. Based on our KaibaCorp research, she's definitely a Spirit of a card.

That said, she didn't seem to have any agenda; she just participated in the school festival with the students for fun.

After that, she vanished without a trace."

He then scrolled through an electronic notebook, "From the sequence of events, it seems that first-years Amaki Hikaru and Bastion Misawa later found coordinates to the Village of Spellcasters, likely a lead from the Dark Magician Girl."

He shook his head. "Brother, she must have come from there."

Kaiba nodded.

Though that Spellcaster Spirit girl seemed a bit unreliable, she was a top-tier magician. Naturally, she'd have ways to cover her tracks.

Kaiba nodded again.

He now had a general grasp of the situation as he leaned back into the couch.

Kaiba said nothing. Mokuba, taking the hint, turned off all the displays and restored the original stream.

On-screen, Chazz was already shaking hands with X-Head Cannon, excitedly accepting a card and chatting with the robot Spirits.

And then, Chazz turned around dramatically to face his elder brother and proclaimed that he would seize the helm of the Princeton Group soon!

Hearing this, Kaiba opened his eyes.

Mokuba, still watching the screen, laughed in exasperation: "Haha, does he really need to copy you in everything?"

Seto Kaiba chuckled too.

Mokuba glanced at his brother in surprise.

Was he genuinely happy?

"Interesting." Kaiba stood up. "Seems the Duel Academy curriculum is far too easy."

"Huh?"

"Mokuba, get ready. It's time to give them some extra coursework."

"Oh! Haha, got it, Brother!"

He understood immediately.

Precisely because Kaiba was pleased with his student's growth, he planned to turn up the pressure by sending special Duelists to the island for "field demonstrations."

"I'll get on it right away!"

Kaiba didn't reply before Mokuba hastily exited the room, a place only the brothers were allowed to enter.

Seto Kaiba fell silent, deep in thought.

Seeing his younger brother finally able to stand on his own brought him real joy. He'd once worried: if he truly reached the afterlife, what would become of this world?

He had opened "Pandora's Box."

To him, it wasn't such a big deal. But to the world, interdimensional travel may have come too soon.

Yet his brother's growth pleased him deeply, and the student he once dismissed as mediocre had finally begun to understand himself.

Perhaps, in the not-so-distant future, he could truly entrust this world to others.

Only that…

He couldn't help but wonder:

Why had Chazz grown so fast?

He hadn't faced life or death. Hadn't lost family or friends. So, how had he matured so rapidly?

Kaiba turned back toward a feed he had previously ignored.

'Oh…'

'That student was that Amagi Hikaru?'

'Chatting with Chazz like old friends?'

Kaiba knew all about Chazz Princeton's upbringing under scrutiny. For someone to befriend him meant that Amaki Hikaru truly didn't care about social standing.

Kaiba himself didn't believe in the concept of friendship, but he also understood:

There are some things that only experience can change.

Then he recalled something else.

Last year, Kagemaru had proposed that young Duelists participate in cross-dimensional exchange Duels—he'd approved the idea. Among the participants was this very student.

A Duelist who used the purest Fusion Deck ever known.

It was just a youth tournament, but the unshakable belief shown by that Duelist had left an impression.

At the top of his year, a firm believer in "Fusion is the noblest summoning method," opposing the impure Fusion Army.

No wonder Chazz had changed.

'Hm?'

He suddenly noticed a detail in Hikaru's file.

'Black Luster Soldier?!'

Most people thought it was just a rare card, but someone of Kaiba's level knew that card couldn't be drawn by luck!

'Fascinating!'

Seems that school is far more interesting than he thought.