Finally! A brand new chapter! Now don't read too much into this. This does not mean this story is out of its hiatus; just that I finally was able to open this and dedicate myself to actually finishing this chapter (wasn't easy, either). So let's skip everything else and get right to it, huh? Ladies and gents, otakus of all ages: Naruto vs. Yu-Gi-Oh!

Disclaimer: I do not own these franchises. Heck, I don't even really like them. I only included them because they were big names, I knew enough about them, and I didn't know about many other anime at the time of starting this project.

Round 3

Night had fallen on the Crossroad of Worlds. Unheard by anyone save its speaker, a voice whispered, "Now it is time for them to battle in the darkness of night. For if they can do that, they can face the darkness of evil incarnate: the Atrocity."

Battle 1
True Power

"Yes!" Naruto almost shouted. "That's two wins for me! I am on a roll!"

"Naruto," Rock said to him, "this is not a contest. It is a training phase for a much bigger battle."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said. "But that doesn't mean I can't take some names while I'm at it, right?"

"I will admit you have a point, Naruto," Kakashi said. Naruto smiled smugly at Rock. "By treating the battles seriously, you fight more efficiently. However, Rock is right; you shouldn't forget our true purpose for being here." Rock returned Naruto's look, to which Naruto simply scowled.

Everyone had noticed that it was getting darker. "Master," Sakura said, "I think we should rest for the night."

Ino was about to speak but Sasuke held her back. "She has a point Ino. Everyone else will most likely be doing the same thing."

"But what if there are some people who don't agree with that idea?" Ino asked.

"I've already been looking around, and I think I have the perfect spot," Sasuke said. He led them to an area covered with trees, all gathered closely together. "It should provide us plenty of camouflage, and even if someone does see us, they won't want to battle in an area where mobility is limited."

Everyone had little argument. Kakashi, however, whispered to himself, "We shall see." He was staring into the distance.

Everyone heard Joey yawn. "Man, am I tired."

"Not me," Jaden said, "I'm ready for some action."

"Perhaps, Jaden," Yugi said, "but we can't assume we'll find any at this time. We should look for a suitable place to spend the night." Everyone spread out and searched through the area.

Alexis glanced among the trees, but her thoughts were elsewhere. "Hey, Alexis," someone called. Alexis turned her head to see Jaden. "Something up?"

She blushed a little. "You could tell, huh? I was thinking about my duel with Zoe."

"What about it?" Jaden asked as he looked around.

"I was playing the card 'A Rival Appears,'" she said, "and suddenly I felt that I made a wrong move; actually, 'impossible' is a better word. That's when I got this funny feeling just by looking at her dinosaurs. I was able to identify them with a level."

"What, you mean like a monster card level?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah. I think the Master put that thought in my head so I could still play that card."

"Come to think of it," Jaden said, "During my duel with May, I was also able to use certain cards and effects that I shouldn't have been able to use. But I didn't think about it much. It went as though I'd done it before."

They both heard a scoff. "Personally, I think you two are just reading too much into it." It was Chazz.

"What would you know, Chazz?" Alexis said. "You haven't even done one battle yet."

"Still, it sounds like a lot of nonsense," Chazz said.

Jaden was about to come back at him when he noticed something. "Hey, someone get the others." Alexis left to find everyone else.

"So, what hardly interesting thing did you find this time?" Chazz asked.

"You know, you're beginning to remind me of Kaiba's attitude toward Joey," Jaden said. Alexis soon returned with the rest of the group behind her.

"What did you find Jaden?" Yugi asked.

"Something comfortable, I hope," Joey said.

"Actually, I think it's a person," Jaden said. Everyone huddled around him to get a better look. The man that Jaden saw looked like he had a mask that covered most of his face.

"Should we just leave?" Mai asked.

"He's looking right at us," Kaiba said. "Let's see what his motives are first." The figure held up a hand moved it in a beckoning motion.

"I think it's safe to say that he knows we're here," Bastion said.

"And it's also safe to say that he wants to battle," Mai said. The figure pointed to his left before he disappeared.

"What should we do?" Alexis asked.

"He already knows where we are," Yugi said. "Now he wants us to find him." He walked to where the man was standing. "And I bet I know what happens when we do."

Everyone was close to completing the structures that would serve as temporary shelters for the night. There were plenty of fallen branches to work with.

Suddenly, everyone heard a rustle. It sounded as though someone was approaching.

"Should we hide?" Rock asked.

"I doubt it would do any good," Sasuke pointed out. "We wouldn't be able to maintain our cover for long, and they'd eventually find us." Everyone resignedly agreed, all except Kakashi, who made little movement.

Everyone looked at the new group that had found them; everyone was in their late teens and had a peculiar device on their left arms.

"Greetings," the leader said. "My name is Yugi Mutou. My friends are Joey Wheeler, Seto Kaiba, Mai Valentine, Jaden Yuki, Syrus Truesdale, Bastion Misawa, Alexis Rhodes, and Chazz Princeton."

Kakashi stepped forward. "I am Kakashi Hatake. These are my students and their friends, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Hurano, Ino Yamanaka, and Rock Lee."

Joey spoke up, "Hey aren't you that guy who led us here?" He pointed to Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Something in his voice suggested he wasn't telling the whole story.

Sakura said, "Our master's been here the entire time. We would have known if he'd brought strangers here."

"Regardless of who or what led us to you," Kaiba said, "it's apparent that they wanted us to meet like this."

"That's fine with me," Jaden said. "At the Dueling Academy, they teach us to battle in any situation."

"'Dueling?'" Ino asked. "What kind of 'dueling,' exactly?"

Yugi pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. "'Dueling' refers to playing a trading card game called Duel Monsters. The creatures depicted on these cards seemingly have the ability to come to life." ("Are we ever going to battle actual people?" Ino whispered to herself.)

"So how do we win, then?" Sasuke asked.

"Each duelist will start the match with 2000 life points," Yugi said. "By destroying our monsters, those life points decrease. When they reach zero, the duelist loses the match."

"Sounds fairly simple," Kakashi said. "You will win when those from our side cannot continue."

"Then let us begin," the Master said suddenly. "For this round, the pairs are: Yugi and Naruto, Joey and Kakashi, Jaden and Ino, Bastion and Rock, and Chazz and Sasuke. Take your places." Everyone walked around the forest floor in search of a suitable battle spot. The thick foliage and near darkness made it difficult for them to see where they were going. Soon, everyone was ready.

"Three…" The duelists drew five cards. "Two…" The ninjas stood in a battle stance. "One! Start the battle!"

"I summon the Queen's Knight in attack mode," Yugi said. A female appeared, dressed in armor and carrying a sword and shield. "You may have the first move," Yugi said to Naruto.

Naruto took out a kunai and threw it at Queen's Knight. She raised her shield, and the knife bounced harmlessly off it.

"Nice defense," Naruto said. "But if she only uses her shield, she won't be able to defend from everywhere." He brought his hands together, forming a cross with his fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto became surrounded in a puff of smoke, and when it dissipated, there were close to ten figures similar, if not identical, to Naruto. They all surrounded Queen and each pulled out one kunai. "Let's see you defend against this!" they all yelled before launching their kunai.

Queen held up her shield and moved her sword in a circular motion behind her. Any kunai that actually touched her, which were few, only touched her armor, minimizing any damage. The kunai bounced off the armor and hit the Shadow Clones, causing them to disperse.

"Man, how does she do that?" Naruto said exasperatingly.

"The Queen's Knight possesses armor that acts as the ultimate defense," Yugi said. "But that says nothing for her attack, the Majestic Sword Swipe!" Queen ran up to Naruto with her sword ready. As she came close, all Naruto could do was try to stop it somehow. Yugi suddenly realized something: his previous opponents, and those of his teammates, had faced against creatures that had natural defenses, so swords and other dangerous weapons were never truly an issue. However, he was now facing a human opponent with no such defenses. He tried to call off the attack, but he was too late; he could see Queen's sword going through Naruto. But as she withdrew her sword, he noticed Naruto's wasn't visibly damaged.

Naruto also found this strange; the sword had literally passed through him as though either he nor she was truly there. Still, he felt a sharp pain as it passed. "What's going on here?"

Yugi thought for a moment before saying, "I believe I know. In our world, our monsters are merely holographic projections. The Master made them solid enough to damage and be damaged, but possibly only so much, as he would not want his warriors to be fatally injured."

"Then why does this still hurt?" Naruto asked.

"My best guess is you're feeling the pain not dissimilar to what we feel when our life points are damaged," Yugi surmised.

Naruto finally regained himself. "Then prepare to feel extreme pain, 'cause I'm ending this battle here and now." He held up his hand as though he was holding an invisible ball within it. A swirling mass of energy began to form inside it. "Queen's Knight," he said, "meet Rasengan!"

"I summon Battle Warrior in attack position." Joey said as he set the card on his duel disk. Kakashi stared at the impressive physique of his opponent. "I'll start this by having Battle Warrior use his Ultimate Battle Fist attack." The warrior ran toward Kakashi with his fist ready. Kakashi made no attempt to move. The warrior punched and Joey felt elated; this battle would be easy.

Unfortunately, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, and two pieces of wood flew apart from one another. "What the heck…?" Joey started, but was interrupted by the sight of shuriken flying at Battle Warrior. Joey told him to block the stars.

As soon as he did, though, they heard Kakashi's voice saying, "It's not wise to leave yourself open." Suddenly, Joey saw a bright, piercing light that hurt his eyes in the darkness. Suddenly, Kakashi ran out of the foliage and thrust his hand toward Battle Warrior. He looked as though he was holding the light in his bare hand. But Joey noticed that it looked more like lightning. It pierced the warrior's armor and he was destroyed almost instantly. Joey's life points fell to 1650.

"What was all that?" Joey asked in astonishment.

"All of it?" Kakashi responded. "Listen carefully then. First, I used a Substitution jutsu to distract you for a bit. The shuriken was extra insurance, simply to let your guard down. When it was, I used the Chidori, or lightning blade, to attack."

"I'm surprised you could see everything," Joey remarked. "That light was so bright, it's a wonder you didn't go blind. And you're blind enough as it is."

"Believe me," Kakashi said, "just using the Chidori is enough to make you go blind. It takes someone with a Sharingan, an all-seeing eye, like mine to use to its fullest potential."

"And if that eye is as powerful as you say it is, it probably protected you from the light as well."

"A safe assumption. Now, are we going to continue?" Kakashi stood in a battle stance.

"In that case," Joey said, pulling another card from his hand, "I summon Alligator's Sword." As the humanoid lizard materialized, Kakashi threw a kunai.

Jaden looked through his hand and pulled out his Elemental Hero Sparkman card, which he placed on his duel disk. Ino looked at her opponent. "That's a monster?" she asked.

"It may look human," Jaden replied, "but no human can do what this guy can do."

"We'll see," Ino said as she ran toward Sparkman. She reached into her pouch and took out a kunai. She threw it at Sparkman.

"Use Static Shockwave to defend," Jaden said. Sparkman's fist lit up with electricity and he fired it at the knife, knocking it off balance. But as he focused on stopping the flying projectile, Ino snuck up behind him and jumped onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and heaved forward. Sparkman lunged in the direction Ino pushed him and he smacked his face into a tree. Ino jumped off Sparkman and kicked him, lodging him further into the tree.

As Ino escaped, Sparkman pulled himself away from the tree. He started looking for Ino, but the ninja trainee had already hidden. Not even Jaden was sure where she was.

"Alright, come on out!" Jaden yelled.

"If you insist," he heard Ino say. But something unnerved Jaden; it seemed to him that there were many voices that sounded like Ino. He soon saw why; coming from all around Sparkman were ten figures that looked exactly like Ino. "If this works," they all seemed to say, "I'll have Sakura to thank for this." Ino and her energy clones surrounded Sparkman in a circle.

Jaden quickly took a card from his hand. "I play the spell card Hero Heart. It takes Sparkman's attack and divides it into two, allowing me to attack two places at the same time. Spark Storm!" At Jaden's command, Sparkman separated his hands at opposite ends of each other and loosed two devastating electric attacks. Jaden was sure at least one would hit the real Ino.

When the attack was finished, there were still four Inos left. The others had vanished. "Missed," the remaining Inos said as they smiled.

"I summon the Element Dragon in attack mode," Bastion said. He put his card on the duel disk and a strange looking dragon appeared on the field. Rock wasted no time in striking first. He ran up to the dragon and moved his leg upward toward its head. The dragon dodged, but Rock would not be discouraged so easily. He jumped up and grabbed the dragon's neck.

Element Dragon tried to shake him off as best it could. But Rock seemed determined to hold on tight. After a while, the dragon slowed its movements. Rock used that as an opportunity to raise his fist and hit it at a weak point on the neck. The dragon roared in pain.

Bastion took a card from his hand. "I play the spell card Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards from my deck." He took the cards from the top of the deck. "Now it's time to send in some backup. I play Fox Fire in defense mode." A small fox with a flame of the end of its tail appeared and stood defensively.

"And how does that constitute as backup?" Rock asked.

"Because when there is a fire monster on the field," Bastion explained, "Element Dragon receives 500 attack points. Now, use Fire Wind!" Element Dragon beat its wings and embers flew out from them. The wind from the wings alone knocked Rock off the dragon while the embers did the actual damage.

"That did hurt," Rock said. "But I can feel that you do not exist on this plane of reality. Therefore, I have no qualms about unleashing my next attack to its full potential." Rock suddenly disappeared. Bastion attempted to locate him and found him on the back of Element Dragon. Despite the immense size difference, Rock was able to spin it like it weighed little.

Bastion quickly took another card from his hand. "I summon Oxygeddon in attack mode!" The minute the gaseous dragon appeared on the field, Rock had succeeded in throwing Element Dragon away from him. Bastion knew this was a kill shot. Still, he smiled.

Before Element Dragon stopped, it flapped its wings one last time, releasing the embers once again. Rock didn't see it in time and got caught in the wave. Element Dragon dissolved soon after.

"I have known many creatures that give one final attack in their last moments," Rock said, "but you did not tell your dragon to attack. Tell me, do they have a consciousness of their own?"

"That point might be debated for some time," Bastion said, "but this was nothing more than another effect of Element Dragon. When I summoned Oxygeddon, there was now a wind monster on the field. When this happens, Element Dragon attacks the opponent automatically if it is destroyed in battle."

"Very clever of you," Rock said. "It seems as though I am dealing with a smart opponent."

"And as you are no doubt well aware," Bastion replied, "that kind tends to be the most dangerous."

"I summon Masked Dragon in attack mode," Chazz said. He placed a card on his duel disk and a large red and white dragon appeared. "Make your move."

Sasuke quickly made two signs with his hands. "Fireball Jutsu!" His mouth began to expel fire that surrounded the dragon in a sphere. Chazz could feel the heat despite the fact that he was well enough away from the battle zone.

The fire ceased and Chazz met a startling sight. Masked Dragon had fallen in exhaustion, but what was really a testament to the power of the fire Sasuke created was the crater the dragon lay in. Masked Dragon dissolved and Chazz's life points went to 1400.

That was a powerful attack, much more than I'd thought, Chazz thought to himself. "But that doesn't mean I'll give up," he said out loud. "You may have defeated my dragon, but another one's coming soon. When Masked Dragon is defeated by battle, he sends another dragon in his place. And that dragon is one of my specialties: Armed Dragon Level 3!" A new dragon appeared on the field in front of Sasuke. Unlike the last one, this dragon looked mechanical, since its entire body was covered in metal plating. However, this one was smaller, barely reaching Sasuke's chest.

"This little thing is going to beat me?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. He reached into his pouch and pulled something out. It looked like a ring with blades folded onto it. Sasuke flipped his wrist and the blades extended, forming a large shuriken. "Let's see how it handles the Shadow Windmill." He threw the weapon at Armed Dragon.

"I play the spell card Fiend's Sanctuary." Chazz held up a card that had an image of a gargoyle on an altar. "With this card, I summon a Metal Fiend Token." The gargoyle on the image appeared in front of Armed Dragon. "And whenever you try to hurt it…" the blade pierced the token… "you take the damage." Sasuke immediately felt a sharp sting in his chest as the token disappeared.

Chazz drew a card. "Now, as for Armed Dragon Level 3, I'll play my Level Up spell card, allowing it to advance to level five!" Armed Dragon glowed and grew in size. When it stopped, its body became more organic and covered in blades. "Now, I'll attack with Infernal Roar!" Armed Dragon opened its mouth and roared loudly.

Naruto ran at Queen's Knight with the Rasengan in front of him. Queen held her shield in front of her. Naruto slammed the energy ball onto it, but the shield successfully blocked it. Still, Naruto was able to force the shield toward her. Queen suddenly thrust her shield forward and up, sending Naruto over her. Naruto landed on his feet behind Queen and connected the Rasengan with her body. Queen convulsed under the immense energy and shattered.

"Yes!" Naruto yelled when the Queen's Knight disappeared. "Naruto Uzumaki, three for three!"

"I wouldn't celebrate too soon," Yugi said. "I summon the Feral Imp in attack mode!" A strange creature appeared next to Naruto, green-furred and decidedly wild

"What the—?" Naruto jumped back in surprise. "What is this? I won, didn't I?"

"You're right," Yugi said, "you didn't. Remember you win when my life points reach zero." He held up his duel disk; the life-point counter read 1500.

Naruto tried to look calm as he said, "Okay, no problem. I can still take this thing out with the Rasengan. It won my last two fights, it can win this. And I've got plenty of energy to use it."

"But all that matters little if you can't actually use it," Yugi returned. With nimble movements, Feral Imp jumped out of the way of Naruto's attack. With the ninja's attack averted for now, Yugi drew a card from his deck.

"I play the spell card Horn of the Unicorn!" The horn on Imp's head grew longer. "Magic Lightning Attack!" A stream of electricity flowed out of the horn and struck Naruto.

"I won't lose," Naruto said as he struggled to regain himself.

"From what you've said earlier," Yugi said, "both of your previous matches have been met with victory. I would also believe that you now think you're unstoppable. Trust me, Naruto, defeat can come to you from anywhere, especially when you least expect it."

"Defeat this!" Naruto yelled. He held up his hand and revealed another Rasengan. He charged forward ready to destroy the Imp. It jumped out of the way with wild and nimble moves. "Let's see you move away from this," Naruto said. He realeased the Rasengan and crossed his fingers again. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Many Narutos appeared in a puff of smoke. All of them held up their hands, each with a Rasengan. One of them jumped at the Imp, but it dodged, only to land near another incoming Naruto.

"Can you find me…" "…when you don't even know…" "…which is the real me?" they asked, with one adding the next part of the previous one's phrase.

"Don't be so sure that your teamwork will get you anywhere," Yugi said, "especially since we're in the Feral Imp's home field." Yugi waited until the Imp stopped jumping. It was growling at the Naruto in front of it. "Magic Lightning Attack!" Electricity shot out of its horn and struck the figure in front of him. The other Naruto clones disappeared and only the real Naruto, the one that was struck, was left.

Kaiba watched Yugi's battle intently. Sakura looked up at him and noticed his unfaltering gaze.

"So, uh," she started, "do you, um, have a thing for Yugi?" Kaiba looked at her. "Well, you do seem to be focused on his battle."

"Yugi and I share a history," Kaiba explained. "I just want to see how he handles his new situation."

"Ah, rivals, I get it," Sakura nodded. She glanced at Ino.

"Based on the battle so far," Kaiba continued, "I would say Yugi will beat Naruto easily."

"Kid does need to be taken down a few notches."

"Oh?"

"He's gotten something of a swelled head lately," Sakura explained. "Yeah, I say 'lately' like it's a new thing," she added sarcastically.

"Yeah, I know the type," Kaiba said. He looked over at Joey.

"Wow," Sakura said after a while. "I can't believe how similar our worlds are."

"'The more things change,' I guess."

"Alligator's Sword, knock that knife outta the way!" Joey yelled. Alligator swung its sword at the incoming kunai, throwing it off course and sticking into the ground. "Heh, I'd like to see you try that again," he said confidently. "But first, I'll play a trap card facedown." A giant card appeared on the field behind Alligator. "Now, Alligator's Sword, attack!" The lizard warrior charged at Kakashi with its blade ready.

Kakashi merely closed his eye and stood there relaxed. As soon as Alligator came up to him and swung its sword, Kakashi leaped out of the way. Alligator slashed again, but Kakashi was moving too quickly. Finally, after a huge swing, Kakashi charged in and struck Alligator while its sword was out of the way. The force of the blow knocked Alligator back to Joey's side of the field.

"Do you understand what I did there?" Kakashi asked. "Or do you have a basic idea?"

"Yeah, I got the idea," Joey replied. "You're a ninja. You guys are supposed to be tricky."

"I prefer to think of it as… smarter than you," Kakashi returned. "Now, you said you wanted to see my Kunai trick again? I should warn you: be careful what you ask for." He reached one hand into his pouch and took out four kunai, one between each finger and thumb. He did the same for the other hand. He raised both hands and whipped them forward, letting go of the kunai.

Surprisingly, none of them actually hit Alligator; in fact, most were lodged into the ground in front of it.

"Bad aim, much?" Joey quipped. Kakashi only waved his finger as if chiding him. Joey looked back at the kunai. He noticed that they all had some sort of tags attached to the handles, unlike the last kunai. "Wait a sec," Joey said. "These aren't supposed to be—?"

"Explosives?" Kakashi finished. "You'd be correct. And your lizard is so big that avoiding them will be an utter impossibility, which will be an issue since he can only use close-range combat. I, however, have no such limits." He started moving his hands in a series of patterns. "Lightning Beast Jutsu!"

He held his hand out and lightning appeared from it. Unlike the Chidori, this didn't seem as bright, though it still lit up the area. The lightning started to twist and morph together into what looked like a dog. Some of the lightning connected the dog to Kakashi's hand. Suddenly, the dog bounded forward, ready to attack Alligator. Its jumps were so graceful, it barely even came near the booby-trapped kunai.

Joey quickly drew a card, praying that his luck would turn. When he saw the image, he immediately said, "I sacrifice my Alligator's Sword!" The lizard disappeared just as the dog was about to make contact. Kakashi, expecting to not need his attack anymore, cut off the electricity before he realized what happened.

"What was the point of that?" Kakashi asked.

"Simple," Joey replied; "not only do I keep my Life Points safe for a few more minutes," he showed his duel disk to Kakashi; it still read 1650, "but now I'm able to summon a more powerful monster: and that monster is Jinzo!" He set a card on his disk and a humanoid being appeared on the field; he was covered in green robes and armor that made him look intimidating, to say nothing of the mask that all but obscured his scarred face.

"Now first," Joey said, "I'll have Jinzo attack with Cyber Energy Shock." Jinzo crossed his hands in front of him. The hands glowed with power. Then, Jinzo brought them in front of him and sent out a shockwave that blasted Kakashi off his feet.

"Now I'll activate my trap card, Kunai with Chain," the giant card flipped up, revealing a blade on the end of a chain, "which I'll equip to Jinzo to raise his attack by 500." The weapon shot out of the card and flew to Jinzo, who caught it and held it like he was ready to use it. "Now Jinzo, attack!" Jinzo ran toward Kakashi, swinging the chain like a lasso. Kakashi was confident that the kunai explosives would stop him, but to his shock, Jinzo ran right past them, none of them going off. Kakashi couldn't defend himself in time and was knocked back by the blade.

When Kakashi stood up, he said, "How did you get past my kunai?"

"Jinzo's special ability is traps," Joey said, "namely to prevent them from ever being a problem."

Kakashi closed his eye and breathed. "But can he handle a more sentient problem." He brought his fingers together to look like a cross. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Jaden looked through his hand to see if he had any cards that could keep the four Inos from gaining any more of an advantage than they had now. Unfortunately, nothing would have helped.

"So, what's your next move?" the Inos said.

Jaden started to panic and drew a card. He looked at the image. Then he turned to his hand. "Okay," he said, "since you seem to be the more-the-merrier type, I'll summon Elemental Hero Wildheart in attack mode." The Inos stopped as another figure appeared beside Sparkman. This one looked like a native wild man who was very muscular and had a large sword strapped to his back.

"Now I'll equip the Cyclone Boomerang, increasing Wildheart's attack power by 500," Jaden continued. The new weapon appeared in Wildheart's hand. "Now, Wildheart, attack with Wild Walloping Boomerang!" Wildheart threw the boomerang toward one of the Ino clones.

Unfortunately, the target jumped out of the way. All four Inos kneeled on the ground. "That's not going to help us," they all said. They held their hands toward Wildheart in an "O" shape. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Suddenly, they all fell limp.

Jaden wondered what was happening. Meanwhile, the boomerang, which had missed all the targets, was coming back to Wildheart, but the warrior didn't make a move to reach for it. Before Jaden realized it, the boomerang struck Wildheart and he disintegrated. The boomerang, however, just kept flying.

"What the—?' Jaden started in surprise as his life points dropped to 1500.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu," the Inos said as they got up. "The real me possessed that thing's actions. Or should I say the lack thereof? I released my hold on him just as the boomerang was closing in."

"Clever," Jaden said. Ino noticed he had a smile on his face. "But there's something I forgot to mention: when Wildheart is destroyed by an opponent's special technique while holding the boomerang, all spell and trap cards are destroyed and damage is done depending on how many were destroyed." Suddenly, the boomerang came back and sliced through one of the energy clones and did the same thing to the other two before finally connecting with the real Ino. She fell backwards and sprawled on the ground.

"Now, Sparkman," Jaden said, "attack with Static Shockwave!" Sparkman charged up his fists and fired electricity at Ino.

Rock stared at the two monsters in front of him: one a fox made of fire; the other a dragon made of clouds. So far, Bastion's life points stood at 1750 after Element Dragon was destroyed. But Rock was still put off by Bastion's quick thinking.

He studied his two opponents again. Fox Fire was standing relatively still, while Oxygeddon was in constant movement, almost like it was waiting for its next command.

Bastion said the Fox Fire is in defensive position, Rock thought to himself, while the Oxygeddon is in offense. Attacking an enemy who does nothing but defend will be a waste of time, so my time will be better spent on the dragon. I cannot say how I will defeat an entity made of air and cloud, but by that same logic, I cannot say how I was able to move the Element Dragon.

Rock reached into his pouch and pulled out several kunai. He focused on his target and threw them at Oxygeddon. The knives flew straight, but when they hit Oxygeddon's body, the dragon only merely jerked while the weapons landed on the other side.

"It'll take more than that to truly hurt Oxygeddon," Bastion said. "I would have figured that a ninja like yourself would have something more… unique in mind."

"Forgive me for disappointing your expectations," Rock returned, "but I am only human, a boy who does not have the ability to perform even the most basic of jutsu techniques. I consider myself lucky to even be considered a trainee for the Hidden Leaf Village. But I do have one thing to compensate: willpower. With it, I can accomplish even the most impossible feats."

"We'll see how your willpower fares against my intellect," Bastion said. He reached for his deck and drew a card. "Interesting," he whispered to himself. "And I already have two of the necessary monsters in play." He changed his volume so Rock could hear him announce his move. "I play one facedown card…" a giant card appeared behind the monsters, "and I'll summon the Trojan Horse in attack mode." A large horse made of wood appeared next to the other monsters.

"First," Bastion continued, "I'll attack with Trojan Horse." The horse galloped toward Rock.

"Wood against my fist," Rock said quietly. "Not a good combination." He closed his eyes as the horse trotted further. When it was almost a foot away, Rock opened his eyes, causing the horse to stop. Even Bastion started becoming apprehensive when he noticed the eyes were blank. "Now you will see how my willpower allows me to do what jutsu cannot, courtesy of the Reverse Lotus technique."

Rock jumped up incredibly high and brought his fist down on Trojan. The horse's wooden body cracked and broke in half, destroying him. Bastion looked at his life point counter: 1050 points left.

Incredible, Bastion thought. None of the other competitors were able to do that much.

Rock said nothing but started running toward Oxygeddon. Bastion called out, "Oxygeddon, attack with Sonic Screech!" Waves of energy flowed out of the wind dragon's mouth. Rock briefly stopped and placed his arms in front of him. The waves surrounded his body, but he was seemingly unaffected. Rock just smirked and started to run again, slower than before, but still at a fast pace.

Bastion looked at his hand again and quickly pulled a card. "I summon Hydrogeddon in attack mode and have him attack with Hydro Gust!" Another creature resembling a dragon made of gasses appeared behind Rock and immediately attacked with a gust of wind. Unlike the previous attack, Rock lurched forward unintentionally and was blown right through Oxygeddon's body.

Rock lied on the ground and panted, apparently out of his berserker phase, but Bastion could tell he wasn't done.

Sasuke wasn't going to admit to being the least bit concerned, but Armed Dragon's roar sent a small chill down his spine. A fireball appeared in front of the dragon's open mouth. Sasuke was still rooted to his spot from what Chazz would have called fear and the fire overtook him. Sasuke was surprised that, while he could feel the pain, it wasn't as excruciating as real fire.

"Not bad," Sasuke said after the attack had faded. "I'm almost impressed."

"Almost, huh?" Chazz returned. "I'll show you impressive." He drew a card and looked at the image; almost immediately, he mentally cringed. You just couldn't stay away, could you? he thought.

Oh, come on, you love me and you know it, a new voice said almost as if answering him.

Chazz looked at his hand. Maybe I could still use this to my advantage. That kid sure won't take this one seriously. "I summon Ojama Yellow in defense mode!" he called out. A new creature, small, yellow, and ugly, appeared alongside Armed Dragon: its eyes looked like antennae; its lips were locked in a permanent smile; and it wore a red, white polka-dotted speedo.

"Oh, yeah!" it said in a high pitched voice. "Ojama Yellow is in the house!"

Sasuke thanked whatever higher power didn't allow him to laugh like an idiot at this scene. "Are you kidding me?" he asked as if he felt betrayed. "How is this… thing supposed to impress me?" ("That hurt," Yellow mumbled.)

"True, it's not much to look at, or even rely on," Chazz responded. ("I get no respect.") But this one has its uses. For now, though, I'll play one trap card face down." A giant card appeared behind the monsters.

Hmph, Sasuke thought, you don't fool me, Chazz. That card is supposed to make that Ojama thing more powerful. Too bad you won't be able to use it. And I'll take out the Armed Dragon in the process.

Sasuke positioned his hands into various signs. "Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" He held his hands out and several small fireballs shot out at the monsters. Armed Dragon, because of his namesake armor, was able to withstand the barrage, but was still damaged. Ojama Yellow, on the other hand, despite its efforts to avoid the attack, was struck by one of the balls and destroyed instantly.

"That puts a cramp on your plans, doesn't it?" Sasuke said proudly.

"Actually," Chazz said, "before you start putting cramps on people's plans, make sure you know what they are first. Otherwise, you might accidentally trigger them." The giant card flipped up. "This is Ojamable," Chazz explained, "and when an Ojama monster is destroyed, it goes into my deck instead of my graveyard." A light shone where Yellow stood before zooming to the deck area of Chazz's duel disk. "In addition, I now draw two cards, but have to discard one." He took out two cards; one of them was his Level Soul card.

May be useless, he thought to himself, but I have learned better safe than sorry. He placed the other card in his graveyard slot.

"No matter," Sasuke said. "Because you'll have no monsters after this." He held his hand out and it began to sparkle with electricity. Chazz blocked his eyes, but could still see Sasuke charging at Armed Dragon. He stuck the Chidori into the dragon's body and it disappeared. Sasuke cut off the electricity when he was satisfied with his work. However, Armed Dragon didn't seem to be completely beaten, just hunched over as if exhausted. Chazz still lost 250 points

"You may have defeated my Armed Dragon," Chazz said, "but this dragon is like a phoenix, rising from the ashes of defeat stronger than before. When Armed Dragon Level 5 is destroyed, he comes back at the next level: Level 7!" Armed Dragon stood back up and gained more armor. "Now, Armed Dragon, attack with Dragon Talon!" The dragon charged in with his arm surrounded in fire.

Sasuke just smirked. "I can handle that." He stood in a battle-ready stance for a couple seconds before running at his attacker. He held out his hand and it, like Armed Dragon's arm, began to catch fire. He continued running and, when the two were close, they both struck each other.

Because Sasuke was so small, he was able to avoid Armed Dragon's attack. The dragon was not as lucky. To Chazz's surprise, Armed Dragon disappeared.

"My Sharingan allows me to see what my opponent is doing," Sasuke said, "as well as do it myself. And this attack was much easier to copy since it didn't require much energy projection."

Chazz just stared is shock: his Armed Dragon, at level seven, was beaten in a single blow.

Alexis chuckled when she saw Armed Dragon fall. "Maybe that'll get him to understand," she said.

"Understand what?" Mai asked.

"Have you noticed that during our battles, we could do things that we couldn't do before," Alexis replied. "Or some things that shouldn't be possible?"

"I guess so," Mai said. "We are in a different world, after all."

"Well, when I talked about it with Jaden, Chazz just wrote it off as my imagination. Hopefully that last move from Sasuke will make him see that this is a whole new game, complete with new rules."

Naruto stood up after being hit by Imp's attack. "How did that thing know where I was?"

"Remember," Yugi said, "I said we were in Feral Imp's natural habitat. Here in the dark forest, Imp's natural abilities as a creature of the night are expanded, sensing past even the most deceptive of illusions."

Naruto growled. He reached into his pouch and took out a shuriken. He threw it at Imp, but it dodged and clung to one of the trees.

Gotta find a way to keep up, Naruto thought. He placed his hands together to form three signs. "Tranformation Jutsu!" A puff of smoke surrounded his body and when it cleared, a creature that looked like Imp took his place.

Naruto jumped after Imp. The real Imp let go of the tree, but Naruto went after it until he managed to catch it with a scratch his claws. The two became locked in close-range combat until Yugi couldn't tell which Feral Imp he was looking at; Naruto had even managed to copy Imp's enhanced horn.

Yugi looked through his hand. None of my cards can help find out which one is the real one. And I can't risk this on a random draw. Only one thing left. "Feral Imp," he said, "attack with Magic Lightning Attack!" One of the Imps' horns started to spark. The other, Naruto, jumped out of the way before Imp fired. This gave Naruto enough time to get behind Imp and slash at its back. He also lowered his head and impaled the Imp with the horn. Imp was destroyed, leaving Yugi's life points at 1250.

Naruto transformed back into his normal body, and Yugi drew a card, wondering if he could turn this around. He looked at the image, then at the rest of his hand. "Perfect," he said to himself. "I play my spell card Monster Reborn, allowing me to summon my Queen's Knight back to the field." The same female warrior from the start of the battle appeared on the field.

"What the—?" Naruto nearly screamed. "Is that even legal?"

"Don't worry," Yugi said. "My life points from her previous defeat are still accounted for, so things are still partially in your favor. I say partially because I now summon a partner of her's: the King's Knight!" A male warrior in armor that was even more regal than Queen appeared near her. King held his sword up and it started to glow.

"What's going on now?" Naruto asked.

"When King's Knight is summoned while his lady is on the field," Yugi explained, "he brings with him the final part of their triune: the Jack's Knight!" Another knight figure appeared between the others; this one was not as regal as the others, but he looked like he possessed more power than them.

"So what if you can create an army?" Naruto challenged, but Yugi could tell he was starting to lose his cool. "I am my own army. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto started creating more clones of himself, more than enough to easily overwhelm all three knights.

The clones all jumped up. Many armed themselves with kunai while others went a step further with Rasengans. "Now feel the full power of…" "…the Uzu—" "—maki…" "…Barrage!" All the clones dropped toward the knights, ready to strike.

"Now, Royal Knights!" Yugi commanded. "Attack as one!" The three knights stood with their backs facing each other, swords at the ready. Jack started the attack by swinging and dispelling the first of the clones to come near them. This was followed by King and Queen in such rapid succession, that the whole attack pattern looked like a three-way dance.

Finally, Jack's blade connected with a Naruto that didn't disappear, but was knocked back. The rest of the clones disappeared as Naruto hit the ground. He still stood up, but he began to wobble on his feet.

"Now for the finishing blow," Yugi said. "Triple Majestic Slash!" The three knights ran at Naruto with their swords out. As soon as they were right next to him, they swung. The swords passed through him as they did before, but this time, Naruto merely kneeled over in exhaustion.

"I believe this battle is over," Yugi said as he shut off the power to his duel disk. The knights disappeared as he walked over to Naruto.

"Man," Naruto said, "real or not, those things can pack a punch."

"It was more than their power that led to your defeat," Yugi said, "but your own belief that you were better than them simply because you won before. But the past, despite what you may have been taught, does not always repeat itself."

Kakashi's body disappeared in a puff of smoke. When the smoke lifted, there appeared to be four more Kakshis standing in front of Jinzo. It took Joey a few seconds to process what he was seeing.

"Wait a second," he whispered. "Five of you? So that's how you did it. That wasn't you leading us here. It was another you."

"Sometimes, in order to be an effective teacher…" one of the Kakashis said. "…You have to be willing to give out a few pop quizzes," another finished.

"I get it," Joey said. "Just looking out for your students, huh? Well, now it's my turn to start my own lesson: Victory 101." He drew a card. "I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in attack mode!" A figure appeared next to Jinzo. It looked like a human covered entirely in black armor with silver highlights. His forearms bore large attachments that looked like a cross between a shield and blade.

"Now, Gearfried," Joey said, "attack with Metal Forearm Thrust!" Gearfried started to run toward the group of Kakashis. Suddenly, one of the clones advanced toward him and jumped onto his chest, forcing him backward. Two more clones joined in and succeeded in knocking Gearfried on his back. Joey became especially worried when he saw that his monster was falling onto the booby-trapped kunai Kakashi had set up. However, there was nothing Joey could do to prevent Gearfried from landing except watch as the impact caused an explosion that engulfed his monster and almost took Jinzo with it.

The explosion cleared and Jinzo was alone on Joey's side. The Kakashi clones had moved back to their comrades before Gearfried fell; all were unharmed. Joey looked at his duel disk; it read 900 life points.

"Crud," Joey said to himself. "The way he's going, I'll lose faster than Kaiba at a popularity contest." All he could do was draw his next card. He looked at the card, then at the rest in his hand. "Actually, this could work out better than I thought." He turned to the field. "I summon two monsters in defense mode: Brigadier and Swordsman of Landstar!" Two small figures appeared on either side of Jinzo; both looked like something drawn by a child. One looked like a woodsman while the other looked like a knight.

The Kakashi's looked at the new additions to the battle. "Don't think me a fool just because they look weak," one said. "Even a new trainee could see that these two may become important players," another continued. "Best to take them out right now before the regrets come later." All five Kakashis charged in.

"Sorry, can't have you doing that," Joey said. "Jinzo, attack!" Jinzo swung his weapon around and threw it in a curve in front of him. The blade connected with all the Kakashis and forced them back.

"You're right, though," Joey said. "I'll need these little guys for my two part plan. First, I'll sacrifice Jinzo and Swordsman of Landstar," the two monsters that were named disappeared, "to summon my best card: Red Eyes Black Dragon!" A new monster, with an appearance that matched its name perfectly, appeared on the field. The Kakashi's all took out some kunai and shuriken and threw them at Red Eyes. However, the dragon knocked them away by covering itself with its wing.

"I did say two part plan, right?" Joey said. "This part of the plan has me use the spell card Red-Eyes Transmigration. With this card, I sacrifice my Red-Eyes and one warrior monster, in this case Brigadier of Landstar," both monsters disappeared, "to ritual summon Lord of the Red!" A new figure appeared on the field that looked like a cross between a human and the dragon that was there just a few seconds ago complete with wings.

"Now I'll play the spell card Pot of Greed," Joey said, "allowing me to draw two cards from my deck." As soon as he took the cards, the Kakashis ran up to Red. "Hold it!" Joey said. Everyone stopped. "Now I play another spell card: Roll of Fate." An impish creature, holding a die, appeared over the field. The creature threw the die as Joey explained. "When that die stops, I draw and discard cards from my deck based on the number." The die stopped tumbling just as Joey finished talking; it landed on two.

As soon as Joey took his cards, he said, "Now I'll be honest, there wasn't much point to that. Still, I did use two spell cards, and when that happens, Lord of the Red automatically destroys all other opponents on the field. Go, Lord of the Red!" Red opened his wings and flew to the group of Kakashis. One of them jumped forward and held out his hand. It started to glow with electricity. Joey could tell he was using another Chidori, but the light from it seemed weaker.

Red brought a clawed hand forward ready to strike. At the same time, Kakashi shoved his hand into Red's. Red stopped flying and concentrated on pushing Kakashi back. Joey looked at the scene in front of him and said, "I hope you're not thinking of trying to hold him back like that. That Chido-thing doesn't look like it did last time."

"True," Kakashi said through a grunt. "With my chakra split evenly among my Shadow Clones, my power is significantly weaker. But let me ask you this: why aren't those same Shadow Clones helping me hold him back?"

Joey suddenly realized the other clones were gone. He didn't need to search very long, though, as they all suddenly charged Red, each with his own Chidori. They struck their attacks into Red's body and the dragon-man roared.

"And that's why," Kakashi said. Suddenly, the clones disappeared, leaving only the real Kakashi standing in front of a severely wounded Red. His Chidori was now much brighter, just as Joey remembered it being earlier. Kakashi wasted no time and thrust the blade into Red's chest. Red stopped moving and fell before disappearing. Joey's life points fell to zero.

Joey turned off his duel disk and walked to Kakashi. He had his hands on his knees and was breathing hard. "Took a lot out of you, huh?" he asked him.

"Let's just say I wish I was you," Kakashi answered. "That way, I would only have to stress my brain figuring out how to fight. Let's face it: I'm just not as young as I once was."

"Hey, you still kicked my butt," Joey replied.

Ino stood up after being hit by Sparkman's attack. As she did, she clandestinely reached he hand into her pouch and pulled out some kunai. When she finally stood up to her full height, she thrust her hand forward, letting go of the knives in it. Jaden was not prepared for a counterstrike, so he couldn't do anything as the kunai pierced Sparkman's body and destroyed him, leaving Jaden with 1400 life points.

Sparkman must have taken a lot of hits, Jaden thought. There's no way that a bunch of throwing knives could kill him easily. Jaden looked at his hand. "I play the spell card Emergency Call! With this, I can add one Elemental Hero from my deck to my hand." He took a card out of his deck. "Now, I summon that hero, Elemental Hero Burstinatrix, in attack mode!" A female clad in red appeared in a burst of flames.

"We'll see how hot you are after this," Ino said. She ran up to Burstinatrix and held her hand out, ready to strike.

"Attack with Flare Storm!" Jaden shouted. Two fireballs appeared in the heroine's hands and she threw them at Ino. Ino was disoriented by the first shot, allowing the second shot to hit her directly. She fell back but got up quickly.

Jaden drew another card. After looking at his hand, a smile came to his face. "Okay, first, I'll play Winged Kuriboh in attack mode." A small puffball-like creature with wings appeared next to Burstinatrix with a playful chirp. "Now, just as a precaution," he continued, "I'll put down two trap cards." Two giant cards appeared behind the monsters.

Ino looked at her opponent's side. The puffball doesn't look too strong. It's risky, but if this game works like I think it does, one shot will bring that boy down. She stood up and shifted her hands. "Clone Jutsu!" Like before, several figures resembling Ino appeared beside her.

"Again?" Jaden interjected.

"You're not the only one who takes precautions," the clones said. "Just try to find me before this happens." They all kneeled down and held their hands in an "O" shape. "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

"Not today," Jaden said. "I reveal my Solemn Judgment trap card." One of the giant cards flipped up, revealing the image of an elderly man with a commanding atmosphere. "By sacrificing half of my life points, I can stop one spell from activating." Jaden's points fell to 700, and Ino suddenly felt her hands being forced apart by something like an electric shock; the other Inos also took their hands apart as well.

"Fine," they all said. "If jutsu won't work, we'll do it the old fashioned way." Everyone got up and started running at Kuriboh.

"Wrong again," Jaden said as another card flipped up, showing a hazy image of a man with two spirits. "When my opponent calls an attack, one their monsters switches to my control." One of the Inos bounded ahead, causing everyone else to stop. The clone stopped next to the other two monsters and stared at Ino's side. "With three on my side, you don't stand a chance. Ino clone, attack!" The clone obediently took out a kunai from her pouch and threw it.

But Ino nor her clones made any attempt to move. The kunai flew right at one of them, but disappeared as it touched her.

"What?" Jaden asked. "What happened?"

"Simple," Ino said as the clones around her disappeared, "what you're controlling is little more than an empty shell. It has no real will or life force of its own. And one hit is all it takes to break apart." She ran at Jaden's side and jumped up toward her wayward clone. As she fell, he put her foot forward. She touched the clone's forehead and it vanished instantly. Jaden quickly looked at his life point counter; unfortunately, they fell to zero.

Jaden lowered his head as he shut off his duel disk. He walked up to Ino, who smiled smugly. "Uh," Jaden started, "nice job."

"I know," Ino replied. "But it was a good try on your part."

Rock grunted as he put his arms under him to support himself. "I'm surprised you're still up," he heard. He looked up as saw Bastion in front of him; he noticed the monsters were behind him. "After your berserker rage and Hydrogeddon's attack, I'm amazed you can even remain conscious."

Rock just smirked. "Willpower," he said. He stood up completely. "I think I should go back to my side of the field," he said. "I trust that you will not attack until I am there?"

"Understood," Bastion replied. Rock turned around and slowly walked past the monsters. He must be more tired than he lets on. He's a strange one, I'll say that much. But one who demands a battle of honor can't be all bad.

Rock stopped a distance from Bastion's monsters and, without turning around, kneeled down. He pulled up his pant leg, revealing his ankle weight to Bastion. What's that doing on his leg? Bastion thought. Rock undid the strap holding the weight in place and threw it away from him. He then switched legs and took off the other weight. He stood up again and turned around.

"Now you may strike," Rock said.

Bastion took a card from his deck. "I play one facedown card," he said. Another giant card appeared next to the first. "Now, Oxygeddon, attack with Sonic Screech!" Oxygeddon opened its mouth and several shockwaves shot out of it. But before they could hit Rock, he moved out of the way almost impossibly fast.

Without those weights, Bastion thought, his legs are faster and stronger than those of any normal human. And he says he can't do any sort of ninja tricks? Is this his willpower in action?

Oxygeddon continued to attack, but no matter where he turned, he missed. Finally, Rock turned toward the monsters and started running in their direction.

With little time to react, Bastion said, "I reveal my trap card, Spirit Barrier!" Rock stopped just before a clear, almost air-like dome appeared between him and the monsters. "This barrier keeps my life points safe; you can destroy my monsters, but you cannot win that way."

Rock looked and saw the flipped card, bearing an image of a warrior trying to attack another warrior. "Then maybe I should do something about that." He ran through the barrier, dodged the creatures' attempts to hit him, and stopped in front of the card. He quickly pulled a kunai from his pouch and brought the blade to the edge of the card. "The power of paper is likely unlimited," Rock said. Suddenly, he slashed the kunai across the card, cutting it in half. "But in the end, it is still no match for that which can cut it."

"Profound indeed," Bastion said. "But while you were focused on eliminating the barrier, I drew another card. And this will prove to be the trump I need to finally take you down."

"Interesting," Rock said. "I would like to hear about this strategy you have in mind."

"I'll do more than that, I'll show you," Bastion returned. "First I summon Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus in attack mode!" A warrior covered with amber-brown armor appeared on the field.

"Now, let me ask you something," Bastion continued. "You study martial arts, correct?" Rock kept a stern face, but nodded. "Have you heard of the Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan? It's a special technique that borrows from the forces of nature. On this field, I have four monsters relating to those forces, as well as the card that will enable me to use them. I reveal my trap card: Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan!" The other giant card flipped up, revealing an image of a samurai warrior in a meditative pose.

"Swift as the wind!" Bastion yelled. Suddenly, a strong gale came out of Oxygeddon's entire body. Rock mentally cursed himself for taking his weights off as he was lifted off the ground. "Silent as the forest river!" Hydrogeddon opened its mouth and a stream of water rushed toward Rock. Rock's body was surrounded in a giant whirlpool that soon sent him upward. "Agile as fire!" Fox Fire started to flare up and, like a comet, jumped up to Rock and collided with him. Rock's body was covered in flames. "And immovable as the mountains of Earth!" Bastion finished. Sigma Plus pointed his palms at the ground. Electricity sparked out of them into the dirt. Suddenly, a large mound of earth shot upward into what looked like a hill and slammed against Rock's burning body.

Everything quieted down as Rock fell to the now flat ground. Bastion shut off his duel disk, knowing the fight had been won. Rock panted hard, possibly even more so than after he used the Reverse Lotus. "Are you alright?" Bastion asked.

"I'll… be… fine…" Rock said between pants.

Chazz looked at his hand, hoping another monster was in it. He didn't see any, however, so he drew another card. "Just my luck," Chazz said. "But I don't have much of a choice in the matter, so I summon Ojama Green!" The new creature that appeared looked similar to Yellow, except he was green, had one eye, and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth.

Sasuke sighed and said, "You must really be desperate, hoping that thing will destroy me."

"He's just here so I don't have to throw that match," Chazz replied. ("That's either compliment or an insult," Green muttered.) "Right now, though," he continued, "I'll play one facedown card."

"And I'll end this battle," Sasuke said. He pulled several shuriken out of his pouch and prepared to throw.

"I play the spell card Lightning Vortex!" Chazz shouted. "All I have to do is discard one card from my hand and watch the sparks fly." A small bolt of lightning flashed in the sky and then turned into a beam that landed on top of Sasuke, causing him to drop his shuriken.

That'll keep him busy for a while, Chazz thought. But did that work because his stars allowed the card's effect to play out normally? Or is it just an actual attack in this dimension. Listen to me, sounding like Jaden and Alexis all of a sudden. But if it is, true… He looked at one of the cards in his hand. Yeah, this just might work out after all.

"I play another card facedown," Chazz announced, "and I'll reveal my first facedown while I'm at it: Level Soul. By removing from play my Armed Dragon Level 7 from my graveyard, I can special summon the next level directly: Armed Dragon Level 10!" Armed Dragon reappeared on the field, looking fiercer than before and with more body armor.

"No matter," Sasuke said. "Even if you could bring it to level 100, I can still take it down."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Chazz said. "I reveal my trap card Ojama Trio!" Three statues, shaped like Ojamas Yellow and Green, plus a black one, appeared around Sasuke. ("Do I really look that ugly?" Green said as he stared at his own copy.)

"This is ridiculous," Sasuke muttered. "But at least you brought the enemy to me." He held up a hand at the yellow Ojama.

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you," Chazz said. "Those Ojama tokens are your allies, so to speak. And if they get destroyed, you take the damage." Sasuke grunted, but brought his hand down. "And keeping those safe may be difficult, because I'm going to activate Armed Dragon's special effect: by sending one card from my hand to my graveyard, I destroy all monsters on my opponent's side." He took one of the cards from his hand and placed it in the graveyard slot. "Now, Armed Dragon, finish this!" Armed Dragon roared and held up a clawed hand; it held a ball of white energy. It threw the ball down at Sasuke's side, causing an explosion. The blast destroyed the tokens, causing Sasuke to scream in pain.

When the blast subsided, Sasuke stumbled for a bit and collapsed. But Chazz could still hear grunts as though he was getting up.

"Um, buddy?" Green said. "I don't think he's done yet."

"I can see that," Chazz responded. "Why don't you handle this?" he said to Green.

"What? Why me?"

"You might as well do something."

Green didn't argue further, instead walking cautiously toward Sasuke. As soon as Ojama was in front of him, Sasuke looked up. Green started acting nervous and simply said, "Uh, hi." Sasuke just groaned and fell again, this time unconscious.

"I didn't even do anything," Green said to Chazz.

"You let him see your face," Chazz replied. "That was enough."

"Why do I bother?" Green asked as Chazz shut off his duel disk.

"So, 'reading too much into it,' huh?" He heard behind him. He turned to find Alexis' smug face staring at him.

"Yeah, well, in my defense," Chazz started, "you didn't really give me enough to work with." Alexis' face shifted to confusion. "Next time, include some examples."

She then flushed with anger. "I did, you arrogant—!"

"Just let it go," Jaden interrupted. He and the others were nearing the battle site. "Let's just focus on other things right now."

"Like sleep," Naruto said. "I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but for once, Sasuke's got the right idea." He pointed to the unconscious Sasuke.

"You are all welcome to stay with us if you'd like," Kakashi offered.

"That would be just fine," Yugi said. "After all, we were just looking for a place to sleep before this whole thing started."

Now, place your bets everyone: how long will it take to give you all the next chapter? A year? Two? Will it even be single digits?

Seriously, though, I will try to update this story when I can. If you're hungry for more, however, look at my other stories. And a new project will be coming tomorrow. Stay tuned.