Hikaru and Zane t in private to talk about the Number cards.
There were two things Hikaru had never been fully sure of.
First: how Zane got his Photon gear. That wasn't sothing you just "found." At minimum, it was the Tenjo family's technological masterpiece from the Xyz Dinsion, a terrifying system said to freeze ti itself. Precisely because it wasn't easily obtained, Hikaru had hesitated to ask. If it had co from Kite Tenjo or soone on that level, the implications would be… complicated.
Second: Hikaru didn't know how many Numbers Zane, in his current state, could safely hold. After all, Zane was Zane, not Kite Tenjo, and not Reginald "Shark" Kastle. What was his upper limit for withstanding a Number's will? How could Hikaru know? In the original A5 tiline, Zane didn't even show up, Asterand Alexisdid. For uncertain matters, Hikaru preferred to watch first.
Now, with Atticus's help, Zane had even managed to bring out Dark Ard Dragon and seed to no longer need the electric-resistance potion. It felt like the right mont to sit down and be frank.
From their talk, Hikaru learned that the "Photon System" on Zane really had been given to him by Kite Tenjo, but not as a simple gesture of cross-dinsional friendship. It ca with a contract.
As the Number Hunter of the Fusion Dinsion, Zane would collect Numbers and make regular deliveries to Kite in Next Domino City. In return, Kite would outfit him with Photon gear so he could perform Xyz Summons normally outside the Xyz Dinsion, and even send him a few support cards.
"For example," Zane said, fishing in his case, "Kite handed three copies of Galaxy Soldier."
Zane had tried them, but shrugged. The card felt only average to him, less explosive than Cyber Jormungardr in a Cyber-Style build, so he'd cut it from the list.
Hikaru considered that. Jormungardr's ceiling looked higher than Galaxy Soldier inside a tuned Cyber shell. But Jormungardr only Special Summoned itself if the opponent already controlled a monster, no good when you're going first. If Zane ever aid for Cyber Dragon Infinity, then Galaxy Soldier remained a serious option.
Casually, Zane also brought up the oddity of the shared surna between Kite Tenjo and Hikaru. The na Tenjo was rare. For two people from two different Dinsions to share it, it was a coincidence worth raising an eyebrow at.
Following that thread, Zane laid out his arrangent with Kite in more detail. It was strictly professional. Kite cared deeply about Numbers, and when he realized they could manifest in other Dinsions, he'd gotten fired up. After a short discussion, he had his AI robot draft the terms.
In short: besides the Photon gear, each Number Zane hunted would be exchanged for specific cards.
Zane turned the two cards over in his hands and whistled. "Number 85: Crazy Box and Number 24: Dragulas the Vampiric Dragon. As expected of you, Hikaru."
He'd only captured one Number himself so far; Hikaru bringing in two had genuinely surprised him.
"Actually, Kite also gave sothing else," Zane said after a beat. He dug into his pocket and produced sothing like an invitation.
"They're calling it a pass to Heartland City in the Xyz Dinsion," he recalled, then looked back at Hikaru. "You know, right? Our Next Domino City is a cooperative artificial Dinsion, linked with the Xyz Dinsion."
"And besides that," Zane added, "Next Domino City actually has special Dinsional Doors that link to two Dinsions.
If you've got the right clearance, you can use a pass to travel there."
"He's busy and doesn't know how often he can swing by Next Domino," Zane went on, "so he gave a few of these. Said if I want to keep studying Xyz Summoning, I can go to their Dinsion anyti."
"I figured… you might need one right now."
Hikaru turned the pass over in his hands, reading the embossed text.
"Mm."
"Because the Fusion Army attacked the city, relations between the Xyz Dinsion and our side are cracked wide open," Zane said. "I can still work with Kite Tenjo, but other people? It won't be easy.
Maybe the Xyz Dinsion has its own Fusion Monsters, maybe unique Fusion tools, but either way;
One thing's certain. If it's you, you'll want to go to the Xyz Dinsion and take care of Fusion Army business, right? There are a lot of lost spirits over there."
Hikaru nodded. Zane had said exactly what he'd been thinking.
When the Fusion Army's surprise raid on the Xyz Dinsion failed, they abandoned a lot of spirits to cover their retreat, things like Frightfur, who had willingly fought alongside them, and others, like the so-called One-Eyed Fighter, who'd been forced under their control.
Unlike the Synchro Dinsion, which Hikaru had reached thanks to the Duel Dragon, he had no path to the Xyz Dinsion. They had their own dinsional tech, and more importantly, they could seal and shield their world. In that field, the Xyz Dinsion had gone even further than KaibaCorp.
So all Hikaru could do was wait.
Now that Zane had put this pass in his hand, once the tournant eased up, he finally had a way to go.
"Heh. If nothing goes sideways, I'm heading to the Xyz Dinsion after the tournant too," Zane said, handing Hikaru one of the passes. "It's been a while since I dueled Atticus…
But Dueling evolves forever, and so does Cyber Dragon. Maybe I should take a page from you, travel every Dinsion, learn every style, and refine Cyber Dragon the way you refine Fusion."
"Dueling, ideals, everything has to be tested and evolved in the Duel," he laughed, tipping his head back. "Even the convictions I thought were already at their peak… maybe they weren't the limit at all. Just like your 'ultimate Fusion', but Fusion has no ultimate, right? Absolute? Hahahaha..."
"Even if you butter up, I won't go easy on you in the finals," Hikaru said with a soft chuckle.
Zane blinked, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! You too, Hikaru! I'm evolving without end. Don't lose on the way to , see you in the semifinals."
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