Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Sixteen

And because I just can't help it, things get super serious again in the very last chapter of Book Five. Also, exposition.



Chapter Sixteen

The Looming Threat;
A King’s Advice

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Fifteen

"And thus AwesomeJohn (or legendhiro, as he is known when authoring Yu-Gi-Oh! stories) posted a chapter which officially declared that he considers Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie canon, forever alienating a majority of whatever feeble fan base he might have."



Chapter Fifteen

John vs. The King of Games;
Divine vs. Divine!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Fourteen

And here it is, the duel that was never to be. When I started writing this, way back when Yu-Gi-Oh! was still in its second season here in the United States, I had one rule: that my characters would only ever meet and fight Yugi if I could think of a genuinely good idea. It couldn't feel forced. It had to fit seamlessly into the story. It had to add something to the story. For years, as I was building this story into what it is now, I thought that I would never come to a point where those criteria would be met, and I decided that Yugi would never appear.

Then the Orichalcos arch of Yu-Gi-Oh! aired, and the Legendary Dragons were introduced, and I loved them. I loved them so much that I had to include them in my books, if only for a very brief time. That would mean bringing Yugi, Kaiba, and Jonouchi into the story, as the dragons were bound to them. But having John fight Yugi still had to contribute something to the story, so I came up with what ends up being the true supernatural climax of this book, which is largely not supernatural. To see what that is, you'll have to read the next chapter. The heavy supernatural elements come kinda out of nowhere, but I think you'll like how it turned out.

Also, Yugi is a BAMF, seriously.



Chapter Fourteen

John vs. The King of Games;
The Fiend Megacyber vs. The Dark Magicians

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Thirteen

Going back to this chapter after some time now, I really like how it turned out. I make it pretty tense and back and forth. I'm running out of ways to make "The Fiend Megacyber" seem more dangerous than it actually is, though. That could be a problem eventually...



Chapter Thirteen

King of the Different Dimension vs. King of O.T.K.;
Battle of the Favorite Cards!

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Twelve

Finally, after so many books and so many duels in so many different situations, John has come to the rematch with his rival, Christopher! When I wrote it, I tried really hard to make this duel special. It is the first duel in this book to be more than one part, for example, and it is also the debut duel for some of John's new cards, cards which he will keep in his deck through the rest of the series, at least as far as it is currently written. I hope I did this monumental encounter due justice.



Chapter Twelve

Eternal Rivalry, Eternal Friendship

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Eleven

Now it's Tucker who gets a chance to prove himself against John's rival. We also get some of his backstory, and it's pretty depressing, if I do say so myself.



Chapter Eleven

Round Two;
Tucker vs. Christopher Johnson

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Ten

The supernatural aspects of this duel will never be explained. Try not to think of this as a screw you to anyone who reads this, and think of it as something more akin to the final episode of Lost okay bad example.



Chapter Ten

Round Two Begin!
Max vs. The Masked Duelist

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Nine

Following what is mostly a lighthearted book up to this point, we get a chapter where John must decide if he will kill a man to save others. Lovely.



Chapter Nine

The Coming Exodus;
The Three Gods vs. Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Eight

Aaaand things suddenly get serious. Good thing you can't sue me for giving you mood whiplash.



Chapter Eight

Marcus, Agent of the Duelists Elite

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Seven

John is still taking this tournament pretty lightly, so he doesn't mind almost losing to his opponent in this chapter, just to help his opponent achieve a change of attitude. It isn't a super exciting chapter, but it does introduce some new cards of John's, and it shows a bit of John's lighter side in the midst of action, something that we don't see often.



Chapter Seven

Round One;
John vs. Level King Evo

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Six

In the thumbnail image for this book you will see "Insect Queen" fighting "Blue-Eyes White Dragon". That scene is based on this chapter. Here Jen fights Seto Kaiba, the rival to Yugi in the original series. It plays out the way you might expect, with Jen's and Kaiba's sheer levels of badassery resonating with each other, elevating this duel to epic proportions.



Chapter Six

Round One;
Jen vs. Seto Kaiba

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Five

More dueling! Lawrence is made a fool of, again, and Tucker proves that a crazy guy is, in fact, crazy. Also spaaaaace!



Chapter Five

Round One;
Tucker vs. Crabtree and Lawrence vs. The Masked Duelist

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Four

We finally get to the action. Max is given a chance to let off some steam at Karen regarding her poor performance against Fiend Ruler in The Dark Duel Force. Meanwhile Sarah attempts to prove herself against her brother's rival.



Chapter Four

Round One;
Max vs. Karen and Sarah vs. Christopher Johnson

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Three

Like the last chapter was an introduction to the other competitors, this one introduces the rules of the tournament, and the couple of competitors who we haven't seen yet. They are...suspicious, to say the least. The competitors and the rules. There is a chance that there is more to this tournament than meets the eye, and John is loving it despite himself.



Chapter Three

The Rules

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter Two

This chapter literally just provides a brief introduction to the other characters competing in the tournament. There are some new faces, and some familiar ones. Some really familiar ones.



Chapter Two

Scoping Out the Competition

Yu-Gi-Oh! DF Book Five: Kaiba Corporation Invitational Tournament - Chapter One

With Blackheart defeated, and the Order on the ropes, what is there left for the DF to do? Participate in a tournament of course! No, seriously, I say all the time that these characters are tournament Duelists, and yet I hardly ever show it. I wanted to show this, have some fun, and ultimately create a connection with the greater Yu-Gi-Oh! canon. This book also establishes some themes and elements which will be important going forward, and sets up for Special #2, which follows it. Anyway, it's different from my previous stuff. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Invitation From Kaiba Corporation