Konoha: Naruto will win no matter what choice he makes! Chapter 178

【Preparation Phase】【 30s】

Once a duelist stands on the dueling platform, they must get used to switching states the moment the countdown begins.

Although Darke wasn’t yet a formal duelist, he had already gained considerable experience in this regard.

His ability to control his own emotions already surpassed that of most people.

“Draw!”

Five starting cards!

The instant his fingertips touched the magic card, a ripple of coolness spread.

In a blink of an eye, he had five more magic cards in his hand.

▼

【Fantasy Beast: Eevee】

【Bliss III】

【Sylveon】

【Gatomon】

【Shuckle】

▲

“Seven choose five, with one [Arrogance I] and one [Junk Slime] remaining!”

A thought flickered in Darke’s mind, and he had a plan.

With the five cards in his hand, the safest opening move was undoubtedly [Shuckle].

If Sarah had [Sphinx Cat] in her hand, she would definitely summon [Sphinx Cat] as her opening.

Then he would only be able to summon [Fantasy Beast: Eevee].

To prevent [Fantasy Beast: Eevee] from being instantly defeated, he would have to activate [Bliss III] as quickly as possible to evolve it.

However, the Umbreon evolved with [Bliss III] would inevitably run off the field unless it was subjected to a frontal attack.

Without [Arrogance I] in hand, this was extremely dangerous.

But if he summoned in reverse…

Counting the magic spirits Sarah possessed, aside from the two-star [Anubis Hound], she had almost no strong offensive magic spirits.

Plus, Darke’s summoning speed was much faster than hers…

Sigh, (ｕДｕ〃).

Sometimes having too many choices was also a problem.

…

【Battle Phase】【 30s】

“Tick-tock!”

A notification sound, as if dripping into his heart.

Darke immediately took out [Fantasy Beast: Eevee] and summoned it at the fastest speed!

Summoning a fantasy beast as an opening move was a display of confidence in his own summoning speed.

It was also because his opponent’s summoning speed was slightly too slow.

Eevee-chan landed directly above the magic orb, pressing it firmly onto the ground!

Then, it trotted on the magic orb towards the corner of the arena.

Since “unintentional departure from the field” wasn’t considered a surrender, the corner of the field was actually an excellent defensive position.

But before it could succeed, Sarah had already summoned her first magic spirit, and it was indeed [Sphinx Cat]!

Darke’s lips curved into a smile, and he immediately drew a second magic card—[Bliss III]!

At this point, his normal summoning skill’s cooldown had passed, and he could complete his next summon in just 3.8 seconds!

“Alright, Eevee.”

Before his words finished, Eevee-chan had already put down the magic orb and was scurrying towards the opponent with its short legs.

Its running speed was truly not fast, so much so that students outside the arena couldn’t help but want to pick it up and run for it.

…

“This is…”

Sarah wasn’t surprised by Eevee’s “suicidal” behavior.

Darke had already demonstrated Umbreon’s evolution in their previous match, proving the potential of this fantasy beast!

“Is he trying to use that enhancement card?”

After a brief thought, Sarah immediately commanded, “Sphinx Cat, lock onto it!”

That being said, if Eevee wasn’t “enhanced,” she would unhesitatingly order Sphinx Cat to tear it apart!

The hairless black cat heard the command and immediately sprang into action.

Its speed was far greater than Eevee’s, but starting, accelerating, and approaching still took time.

And during this time, Darke had enough to complete the activation of [Bliss III]’s summon!

A sudden burst of ambiguous light caused Sphinx Cat to be momentarily disoriented. When it recovered, the tiny Eevee had already evolved into a wicked and charming Umbreon!

Unlike ordinary Umbreon’s yellow markings, the Umbreon evolved with [Bliss III] had a hint of pink in both its ring-shaped markings and the faint glow it emitted.

It let out a soft cry, its nose twitching slightly, and then naturally turned its gaze towards Darke on the duelist’s platform.

“Meow~♥!”

Then, an irresistible charm flowed from its eyes.

So much so that it completely ignored Sphinx Cat’s approach.

“Good!”

“Good!”

Both duelists’ faces showed a hint of delight.

Sphinx Cat suddenly stepped its front paw onto Umbreon’s shadow, activating Shadow Stomp!

Dark shadow energy crawled onto Umbreon’s body, completely immobilizing it!

“Luring out Sphinx Cat’s Shadow Stomp with an uncontrollable Umbreon” was not a disadvantage in Darke’s strategy.

But what happened next exceeded Darke’s expectations!

He had originally intended for Umbreon to endure Shadow Stomp, and with Umbreon’s strength far surpassing Shuckle’s, it would surely break free in a shorter amount of time. Then he would be able to use [Arrogance I], drawn in the next turn, to control it.

During this time, he would be able to summon his next magic spirit, which was [Shuckle], faster than Sarah!

By propping the magic orb in the corner, even [Shuckle] could protect the magic orb for a certain period.

And with Sarah’s summoning speed, she could only summon two magic spirits within the first turn.

Aside from [Sphinx Cat], only one remained.

But Sarah didn’t have strong offensive three-star magic spirits like [Bear Spirit] or [Golden Beast].

No matter what she summoned, [Shuckle] would have plenty of leeway.

All he needed to do was wait for the start of the second turn, summon [Junk Slime], and then perform a sacrifice summon.

At that point, with two four-star magic spirits, one for defense and one for offense, and aiming to destroy the blue team’s magic orb without necessarily defeating magic spirits, victory would undoubtedly be achieved.

…

However, reality was.

After Umbreon was bound by “Shadow Stomp,” its expression first stiffened, then its gaze rotated to glare at the Sphinx Cat.

“Meow!” Sphinx Cat cried out, enduring Umbreon’s glare.

But the next instant, an incredibly terrifying evil aura erupted from Umbreon’s body!

Sphinx Cat was corroded by the aura, its fur standing on end in an instant, filled with terror.

However, if it were only this, Sphinx Cat would not release “Shadow Stomp.”

After struggling with its muscles to no avail, Umbreon immediately released “Dark Pulse”!

However, the evil aura had barely begun to spread when it was abruptly suppressed.

Clearly, this type of skill could not be used while in “Shadow Stomp” state.

But Umbreon then forcefully opened its mouth, and another finishing move—“Shadow Ball”—slowly gathered within its mouth!

Even more astonishingly, the shadow energy (Shadow Stomp) binding Umbreon’s body was also converging into its mouth!

Umbreon was, astonishingly, absorbing the energy of “Shadow Stomp” and converting it into “Shadow Ball”!

As the Shadow Ball grew larger and larger, the shadow energy on its body became extremely thin.

The Sphinx Cat desperately gritted its teeth and held on, but its magic power was rapidly depleting, and its output power couldn’t keep up with the “Shadow Ball”’s absorption rate!

“Bang!”

A sound like something breaking echoed.

Umbreon had actually shattered the binds of Shadow Stomp.

It held its head high, looking down disdainfully at the withered Sphinx Cat on the ground, and fiercely blasted out the “Shadow Ball” from its mouth!

“BOOM!”

The explosive blast of air stirred up dust.

Sphinx Cat disintegrated into sparkling dust within the smoke.

…

And at this moment on the field, there was no magic spirit left to impede Umbreon’s advance!

This scene not only exceeded Darke’s expectations, but almost no one present had anticipated it.

Darke instinctively began to summon [Shuckle] after his normal summoning skill’s cooldown ended.

But a slight distraction still made him a little slow.

…

“Cool!”

A male student from the noble academy outside the arena couldn’t help but shout.

If Umbreon attacked the blue magic orb at this opportunity, the match would end immediately!

If…

Perhaps…

It really could.

However, there was no “if”!

After eliminating the annoying obstruction, Umbreon quickly calmed down. It licked its paws, washed its face, and then trotted with light steps towards the red duelist’s platform.

It seemed very happy.

Even though Darke summoned [Shuckle] on the field, it failed to attract its attention.

…

On the blue duelist’s platform.

Although Sarah looked confused, she seized the opportunity to summon her second magic spirit—[Death Mummy]!

This made her heart, which had almost leaped out, return to its place.

The duel was not over yet.

It was not time to give up!

Death Mummy immediately used its bandages to stuff the magic orb into its belly upon appearing.

“Tick-tock!”

The first turn came to an end.

The second turn immediately began.

Both duelists started drawing cards.

Umbreon voluntarily left the field, which was considered “abandoning combat.”

As Darke summoned [Junk Slime] onto Shuckle’s shell, Umbreon had already climbed onto the duelist’s platform, pressing its face against his leg and rubbing against it.

Feeling the soft, smooth touch on his calf, Darke looked blank, mechanically waiting for the cooldown, then performing a sacrifice summon.

The scene erupted in an uproar.

Students were astonished and confused.

Professors, however, discerned something different from it.

If the intelligence displayed by Darke’s magic spirits in previous battles could be explained by “tacit understanding,” then this time, Umbreon undoubtedly showed an intelligence far exceeding that of normal magic spirits!

To most mages, this was incredibly astonishing.

“Claire, did you teach him anything?” Professor Sylvie couldn’t help but ask.

Claire shrugged, “I did teach him some things, but not this.”

…

The duel was still ongoing.

Sarah glanced at the opposite side, but had no time to think too much.

She then summoned [Life Mummy], ordering it to use “Dark Resurrection” to revive [Sphinx Cat]!

“As long as Sphinx Cat is revived, it won’t matter if Darke successfully performs a sacrifice summon.”

“This time, it surely won’t be countered again, right?”

…

…

3000-character chapter!