Yuya Sakaki

Yuya Sakaki (, Sakaki Yūya) is the main protagonist of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He is a born-entertainer who attends the You Show Duel School to advance his Dueling expertise and become a "Dueltainer", a specific type of professional Duelist similar to his father. He is the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning. After winning the Friendship Cup, Yuya became the new Duel King of New Domino City. He is one of the Lancers.

Yuya has three dimensional counterparts: Yuto (Xyz Dimension) Yugo (Synchro Dimension), and Yuri (Fusion Dimension) and is one of Zarc's reincarnations. According to Zuzu Boyle, he and his counterparts are drawn to each other.

Appearance
Yuya is a young teenage boy with crimson eyes, and dual-colored green and crimson hair of average length sticking out in downwards pointing spikes all around his head in a similar manner to Jaden Yuki, with the exception of one short upwards pointing spike of green hair. He wears his good-luck charm pendant on a simple string around his neck, and a buckled choker, and a pair of golden goggles with orange lenses on his forehead, with a blue star obscuring the right lens. Yuya wears a simple orange t-shirt with a thick, silver-buckled brown belt over it, green pants with what appear to be "Deck pockets" on each leg, and magenta shoes, as well as crimson wristbands. He also wears his gold and red lined white school jacket over his shoulders like a cape, in a similar manner to Yami Yugi. After leaving the Xyz Dimension, he wears the rollerblades that Allen Kozuki gave him.

While Awakened, Yuya's eyes begin to glow a luminous red, while his hair becomes frizzled and sticks up on end. When the darkness inside Yuya takes over Awakened Yuya, he continuously emits a dark aura from his body. Yuya is rendered in 3D when he is riding "", any of its evolved forms, or his Duel Runner. His hair and attire's color scheme is based on the Summoning method that he specializes in, in this case Pendulum Summoning; half green and half orange/red.

During Turbo Duels, Yuya wears a Turbo Dueling suit that bears resemblance in form to Yusei Fudo's. He wears a predominantly red jumpsuit with a secondary white trim and orange markings, and with padded knees. The chest of his jumpsuit is grey. Yuya wears a jacket with the same color scheme as his jumpsuit that flares out above the hips, and black-backed white gloves. His helmet is visorless; Yuya's own goggles serve as a substitute.

Later, after absorbing Yuri and being consumed by Zarc, Yuya transforms into a monstrous form resembles a mixture between a dragon-man and a demon. His body turns grey and become bulkier with number of spikes protruding from his shoulders, arms, and ankles while his eyes turn bright yellow. His face become veiny and his ears are replaced by wing-like appendages. In this form, he no longer wears a shirt or rollerblades and has a large pair of black demonic wings on his back.

Personality
A fun-loving and energetic boy, Yuya is very theatrical and loves to entertain people, traits he seems to inherited from his father, Yusho Sakaki. He idolized and loved his father very much and wishes to become an entertainer like him one day. After his father disappeared during an important match, Yuya was left heartbroken and traumatized by the event because his beloved father was labeled as a "coward". As Yoko Sakaki had stated, Yuya acts like a fool merely to beat people for insulting him about his father disappearing. Yuya even joked about his father when Gong brought up the fact that he should act more serious about his Duels like his father.

However, after his Duel with the Sledgehammer, during which he reportedly "reinvented" himself, Yuya displays a more serious demeanor, saving his theatrical persona for his finishing combos. Due to Yuya's initial buffoonery, his friends and other people are often baffled by Yuya's behavior and believes he doesn't take things seriously. Because his father was so famous, his friends and other people seems to have high expectations of Yuya to live up to his father's reputation while simultaneously quick to bring up Yusho's "cowardice" or scold him for his clownish actions. During his Duel with the Sledgehammer, Yuya proved to be quite clever and skilled in Action Duels, having learned everything from his father.

Similar to Yugi Muto, Yuya has a good deal less self-confidence than the protagonists in the previous series. As such, when he finds himself cornered (for example when "" was destroyed in his Duel against Sora Perse), or something happens that breaks his confidence (like when Declan and Sylvio used Pendulum Summoning), he tends to pull his goggles down so nobody can see his eyes. At times like these, he ends up recalling lessons from his father, or relies on support from his friends or mother to regain his confidence and continue the Duel.

Yuya has a habit of putting his goggles over his eyes when he is either upset or embarrassed, something he did since he was young. When Yuya Duels, he announces "Ladies and gentlemen!" when he is about to perform a finishing move. In the dub, his catch phrase is "Swing into action".

Initially, Yuya was more emotionally vulnerable regarding Pendulum Summoning, believing it to be a power granted only to him. When both Declan and Sylvio Pendulum Summoned, he was speechless, but coaching from Skip and the lessons he learned during his Qualification Duels have turned him into a Duelist that enjoys the challenge set before him, and he smiled as he was cornered by Sylvio when he Pendulum Summoned in their rematch. Regardless, Yuya can easily fall into depression due to matters such as witnessing his friends being sent to the forced labor of New Domino City, to conflict as simple as Crow Hogan telling him that he no longer wants to be his friend. Yuya's depression is very prominent in the Synchro Dimension.

Yuya believes that Dueling is for the purpose of making people happy, and he is disgusted when it is used for war. As a spectator, he will protest against any duel conducted with violence, hatred and/or anger. However, confrontations with his dimensional counterparts and learning about the four dimensions as well as the crisis between them start making him doubt his ability to entertain people with Dueling. His Duel against Iggy further hurt his optimism after Awakening and winning brutally using. Yuya also believes that no card in a Deck is worthless. He was given two cards that were deemed worthless by their previous owners, "" and "". Despite the uselessness of the cards, Yuya has managed to come up with creative ways to make use of them and win, as demonstrated in his Duels against Sylvio and Shinji.

As Yuya becomes more involved in the dimensional war, in addition to repeated incidents that Awaken him, Yuya progressively finds it more difficult to entertain with Dueling, and stops using his usual phrases like "Ladies and gentlemen!". He becomes more hostile and impatient, such as when Declan revealed that the Battle Royal was a test to recruit Lancers which led to many of his friends becoming sealed in cards. Even before this, Yuya tends to be impatient and demanding in his attempts to uncover information about the conflict between the dimensions or sensitive topics. After the Duel against his mother, Yuya regained his belief that he could make people smile through Dueling, along with the wish to end the conflict between the Four Dimensions, and he demonstrated this against Sector Security. Despite this, his efforts to entertain with Dueling in the Synchro Dimension are frequently thwarted, and these in addition to other problems such as Declan's treatment of Riley and Jack's comments about his Dueling have greatly increased his frustration. This can cause him to become more aggressive and Duel violently similar to when he Awakened, as shown during his Duel against Duel Chaser 227. Jean-Michel Roget believes this is Yuya's true nature.

The first time he Awakened, Yuya was collected and cold, speaking no more than necessary. However, when witnessing Yuto's memories of Duel Academy's attack on the Xyz Dimension and seeing the Knights of the Duel Disks being turned into cards by the Obelisk Force in front of him, Yuto's hatred towards the Fusion Dimension bleeds into Yuya, making him even more aggressive and ruthless. This is worsened when the darkness inside him consumed him, making him desire to harm his enemies. Subsequent bouts of Awakenings are either triggered by reminders of the invasion of the Xyz Dimension or when Yuya is placed under extreme stress.

Abilities
As an Action Duelist, Yuya is very acrobatic and fit, having participated in physical training regimes at You Show Duel School.

Like his dimensional counterparts, Yuya is able to Awaken, an involuntary ability that activates when he is sufficiently angered, catalyzed by either the influence of the Four Dimension Dragons or his Dimensional Counterparts. This causes him to enter a state of rage that drives him to win the Duel no matter what it takes, and heightens his concentration to the point that he blocks out all sounds except for his opponent's voice. When in this state his own voice becomes deeper and noticeably more menacing. Yuya's awakening can also increase its power from time to time.

After absorbing Yuto's soul and merging with him, Yuto's memories begin to spill over, allowing him to see fragments of his counterpart's past. When triggered, the shock and trauma that comes with them can cause him to awaken and become influenced by Yuto's own hatred, which makes him vulnerable to the control of an unknown darkness that slowly tries to consume both of their souls. After becoming aware of this, Yuya eventually gained a degree of control over his anger and thus Awakening, becoming capable of snapping out of it by force of will. While under the control of the Darkness, Yuya is able to unleash powerful shockwaves via "" that is beyond normal for someone hailing from the Standard Dimension.

Yuya has the ability to synchronize with his dimensional counterparts, though the exact circumstances are unknown. Unlike the apparent synchronization that Yuto and Yugo previously displayed, he has complete sync with his counterpart(s), capable of seeing and experiencing everything that they experience. In this state, Yuya and his counterpart(s) act as if they were one person, speaking, moving, and responding in the exact same manner. When the Duel ends, both of them were unable to understand what had happened in that brief period of time, though both retain the memory of the Duel occurring. Yuya is capable of retaining his own thoughts while in sync though he gradually loses the ability to distinguish between himself and Yugo, as seen when he worried that his victory would send Sylvio to the underground facility when it would have been Yugo's victory that would do the deed. After Yugo's Duel with Celina, Yuya has become aware of this ability. During his Duel with Crow, he synchronizes with Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri after Roget uses the chip he planted in Yuya's helmet at maximum, which also caused all four of them to awaken.

After absorbing Yuto into his body, Yuya can be possessed by him while not Awakened, causing Yuya to feel a rush of pain, followed by his eyes briefly glowing purple before fading to the same color as Yuto's. Eventually Yuya and Yuto became able to fully switch control of the body.

Yuya is immune to The Doktor's Parasite Monsters. When they attempt to attach to his brain they are quickly destroyed, apparently by the Darkness that possesses him when Awakened.

Etymology
Like the protagonists of the other series, Yugi Muto, Yami Yugi, Jaden Yuki, Yusei Fudo, and Yuma Tsukumo, his name contains the character「遊」(Yu). He is the first protagonist whose surname only contains one character.

Yuya was also the name of a Pharaoh, which could possibly allude to the fictional events in Ancient Egypt that heavily influenced the plot of the second series anime.

His given name contains the characters for "game" and "arrow". His surname「」(sakaki) refers to the Cleyera japonica, an evergreen tree that has relevance in Shinto ceremonies, where it acts as a conduit for kami. It is also part of the Shinto creation myth, during the section in which Amaterasu retreats into a cave after Susano'o torments her, where it is strung with jewelry and mirrors as part of a successful plot to draw Amaterasu from the cave and restore light to the world.

History
In his childhood, Yuya sat by himself crying when his father, Yusho Sakaki came in to cheer him up. He gave him advice on laughing whenever he felt down and used Yuya's pendant to explain that if Yuya was happy, the happiness would swing back at him. At another unknown point in his childhood, he lost his Pendant in a park, and cried when he was unable to find it. His father learned of the incident and reaffirmed the statement that Yuya should look up and laugh whenever he felt like crying. Yuya did so, locating his Pendant hanging from a tree branch. At one point, Yuya said that he wanted to be a Duelist just like his father when he grew up, and his father said Yuya's got it a bit wrong. He said instead of being like him, Yuya should always be himself.

He also looked at Gong's purely Monster Card composed Deck at another point, discussing Gong's philosophy of not using Action Cards. Gong explained that Action Cards were too risky if one were to rely on them, though Yuya claimed that that was the exciting part about them.

At a later point, Yuya and his mother, Yoko Sakaki, watched the final Duel between Yusho and the Sledgehammer. When Yusho did not show up, Yuya ran to the bottom of the stands, saying that his father would appear, and challenged the Sledgehammer to a Duel until his father arrived. Yoko pulled Yuya from the stands as he continued to protest. He was bullied for these remarks, even being challenged to a Duel directly by Grizzlepike, one of the disciples of the Strong Dojo who wanted to represent the Sledgehammer, but he was protected by Gong and comforted by Zuzu.

Pre-Arc League Championship
Yuya and Gong were engaged in a Duel in You Show Duel School to recruit future students. As Gong called out to Yuya to Duel in a one-on-one match, he boldly made a stage performance with "" and started to dance. After Zuzu Boyle accidentally broke the ARC System, Yuya fell to the ground, but he managed to make a quick recovery and pulled a funny face after seeing Tate looking concerned. At the lounge, Yuya was frustrated that he couldn't entertain his audience, much to the annoyance of his friends. When Nico Smiley offered Yuya a chance to fulfill his desire of Dueling The Sledgehammer in his father's place, Yuya became upset. Eventually, he left the school and sat by himself, remembering the time when his father told him to stay positive when he felt down. He later made his way to the Dueling arena to participate in the Sledgehammer's Duel, dressed as a clown. Yuya snuck up behind the Sledgehammer and taunted him behind his back before revealing himself, much to the Sledgehammer's shock and anger. Yuya apologized for his actions before commencing the Duel. He put up a good performance with "" and used the Action Cards that were scattered around the battlefield to save himself. Yuya eventually Summoned "" in an attempt to defeat the Sledgehammer's "", which had been weakened by "", but the Sledgehammer managed to counter Yuya's play with his own Action Card, "Miracle". "Odd-Eyes" was then destroyed by "Battleguard King", pushing Yuya to a corner and making him lose hope.

Remembering his father's words, Yuya regained the courage to continue. Suddenly, his pendant reacted with three of his Effect Monsters - "Stargazer Magician", "Timegazer Magician" and "Odd-Eyes Dragon", transforming them into, while "Odd-Eyes Dragon" was transformed into "". Using his Spellcaster-Type Pendulum Monsters, Yuya performed the first Pendulum Summons, Special Summoning "", "" and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon", to the amazement of the audience. Using his new monsters to support "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," he destroyed "Battleguard King" and wiped out the Sledgehammer in a single attack. Afterwards, he was swarmed by people asking about the Pendulum Summon that he'd performed, though he seemed unaware of the details himself and didn't seem to remember exactly what had happened.

The You Show Duel School received a flood of applicants, all eager to learn how to Pendulum Summon. Yuya and Zuzu had an exhibition Action Duel, though Yuya received a swat from Zuzu's fan beforehand for not taking it seriously. He portrayed her as a fan of the Sledgehammer looking for revenge after being put on the spot. On his second turn, Yuya attempted to Pendulum Summon again, but the Summon failed. Theorizing that it might only work when he was in a pinch, he urged Zuzu to attack him with all she had, but the Summon failed again and Zuzu defeated him. He showed Zuzu and the applicants his Pendulum Cards afterwards, annoying the applicants as they thought that Yuya might have cheated against the Sledgehammer and they couldn't use the Summon without the Pendulum Cards (in the dub, the applicants mainly thought Yuya cheated). All of the young kids but Tate, Frederick, and Ally left. Tate believed in Yuya, and Gong encouraged Yuya to support his fans. Yuya agreed, vowing to master Pendulum Summoning. He finally did so, replicating the conditions of his Duel with the Sledgehammer after 291 Duels (247 in the dub) against Gong, though the ordeal left him sleeping through his math class the next day. When asked the answer to a problem, he bolted upright in his seat and began to recite his Pendulum Summon chant, before trying to wriggle his way out of the situation by stating that math didn't "exactly add up to a fun time" which earned him a swipe from Zuzu's fan.

After the day ended, Tate, Ally and Frederick arrived, eager to see the Pendulum Summon. They were interrupted by a student of the Leo Institute of Dueling, Sylvio, who threw three sucker-tipped darts at Yuya. He admitted that he was a big fan of Yuya's Pendulum Summoning, and after learning that they were going to see a Pendulum Summon, offered the use of the Center Field at LID. Sylvio showed them around, and Yuya was impressed by the various courses the school had on different Summoning forms. He was briefly distracted by someone noticing him, and rejoined the others. At the Duel Field, three of Sylvio's friends approached them, and Sylvio asked if he could show them Yuya's Pendulum Cards. Yuya was reluctant, but he agreed, holding out "Stargazer Magician" and "Timegazer Magician". Sylvio swiped the cards and showed them to his friends, then he stated that he was keeping them for himself, suggesting that Yuya Duel to get them back. With Zuzu, Ally, Tate and Frederick held hostage, Yuya had little choice. He took the first turn and used "" to make his way around the "Prison Tower of Darkville," attempting to find Action Cards, but not only were they Traps that reduced the ATK of "Whip Snake," but they also put his friends at risk. Sylvio then proceeded to use the two Pendulum Monsters that he had stolen to Pendulum Summon three monsters himself, much to Yuya's shock. Yuya began to grieve for the sake of his friends, but regained his confidence when he drew "", using it in conjunction with "" against Sylvio to defend himself. Yuya later used "Empty Fishing" to regain his two Pendulum Monsters and used them to save his friends from falling. He then Pendulum Summoned "", "", and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and defeated Sylvio with them. After losing to Yuya, Sylvio sent his friends to take back "Timegazer Magician" and "Stargazer Magician", but they were intercepted by a boy named Sora Perse, who knocked them unconscious with his lollipop stick and declared himself as Yuya's apprentice.

The next day, Yuya woke up after having a dream about being the world champion, only to find that Sora had followed him home. As the day went on, Sora continued to follow Yuya to school, appearing in front of him and calling him "teacher". Later, Sora met Yuya at the You Show Duel School, where Sora wanted to Duel Yuya. Yuya initially refused to Duel him, but after Yuya's friends, and Skip supported Sora, Yuya gave in and reluctantly accepted the Duel. Yuya added two conditions to the Duel: if he won, Sora would stop following him and calling him teacher, but if Sora won, he would continue to follow him. Yuya managed to Pendulum Summon his ace monster, "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" along with his other "Performapal" monsters, but then Sora Fusion Summoned his monster, "". Sora proceeded to destroy and equip "Hip Hippo" to "Frightfur Bear," also effectively slowing Yuya down in mobility and powering up his "Frightfur Bear" so that it was even stronger than "Odd-Eyes." When Yuya tried to retaliate the next turn, Sora had two copies of the same Trap ready for him, "," which bypassed the effect of "Timegazer Magicican," and weakened "Odd-Eyes" to the point that it could be destroyed with ease. Yuya immediately went on the search for an Action Card to protect it, but Sora grabbed it first and also used it to protect his monster from Yuya's Trap. Depressed at the loss of his ace monster, Yuya hid his eyes behind his goggles, believing that he had lost. He then remembered a time from his childhood where he'd lost his pendulum, and his father reminded him to look up and laugh when he felt like crying; Yuya had done so and then found the pendulum. He did so now, much to the surprise of everyone watching, and then he saw an arrow on his Duel Disk that was pointing to his Extra Deck - "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" had been sent to the Extra Deck instead of the Graveyard, and thus prevented Sora from completing his combo. Emboldened by this, Yuya took his next turn, bringing out both "" and "Odd-Eyes" in a Pendulum Summon. Using "Cheermole" and "Sword Fish" to reduce the ATK of "Frightfur Bear," Yuya finished Sora off with an attack from "Odd-Eyes." After the Duel, he reminded Sora of his promise, so Sora instead decided to become his friend (annoying Yuya by using Yuya's first name). Despite Yuya's protests, an enthusiastic Shuzo accepted Sora into the You Show Duel School and went to get the paperwork. Yuya asked Sora where he'd learnt to Fusion Summon, with Sora being evasive by claiming it was normal from where he came from, frustrating Yuya with his evasiveness.

After experiencing a sensation that he was being talked about one day, Yuya was waiting with Frederick, Tate and Sora for Zuzu and Ally to get back with ice-creams; however, only Ally returned, telling Yuya that Zuzu was in danger. Yuya raced to the warehouse where Zuzu had been, finding her unharmed, and she asked if something had been his doing, much to his confusion. Zuzu remained preoccupied next day, leaving Yuya to attempt to prevent Sora from eating in class, which worked futilely. She abruptly asked Skip if their school taught Xyz Summoning, much to Yuya's and Skip's confusion. After it was clarified that they didn't, they heard Gong yelling "that Yuya would never do such a thing". Confused, Yuya found him with Sylvio's friends, who all claimed that Yuya had attacked Sylvio and hospitalized him, much to Yuya's surprise and confusion, and furthermore, Zuzu had also witnessed the incident. Yuya denied that he'd attacked Sylvio, but the conversation only intensified when Henrietta became involved. His friends were convinced that Yuya had not attacked Sylvio, even Zuzu, who had been doubting her own conclusions. Regardless, she stated, Sylvio had lost and their School's name tarnished. The group realized that Henrietta was using the incident as an opportunity to add the You Show Duel School to LID when she proposed a Duel between schools, best out of three. If her Duelists won, she would buy the You Show Duel School. Yuya vowed to fight, refusing to let the Duel School that his father had founded with the intent to teach Entertainment Dueling be taken over by one interested in money and power. He requested to Duel first, despite Sora trying to do so, and ended up facing Dipper, LID's top Xyz-user.

Dipper immediately brought out his "," which he used to counter Yuya's Pendulum Summoning by returning "Odd-Eyes" to Yuya's hand, as well as barring Yuya's way when he attempted to find Action Cards. Dipper's expertise with the Action Field puts Yuya at a disadvantage and purposefully in danger, and even though Yuya manages to withstand "Pleiades" until it runs out of Overlay Units, Dipper simply brings out another, then uses the first one as Xyz Material to Xyz Summon "". Dipper again timed his attacks to hurt Yuya, resulting in a building collapsing around Yuya as he grabbed an Action Card. Yuya was able to survive, commenting that if he had fled, it wouldn't have been exciting, and he countered with the card, inflicting damage to Dipper for the first time. Dipper went into a rage for being damaged for the first time in 40 Duels, and used "" to reduce Yuya to 200 Life Points, raining down meteors on Yuya, who was only just able to dodge them. Yuya proceeded to switch his "Stargazer Magician" and "Performapal Turn Toad" around with "," allowing him to counter "Pleiades'" effect and keep "Odd-Eyes" on the field, then used "" to boost the ATK of all of his monsters by their total Levels. The effect was applied to Dipper as well, but since his Xyz Monsters had Ranks rather than Levels, he received no bonus, and Yuya proceeded to wipe out the rest of Dipper's Life Points.

Zuzu was up next, Dueling the Fusion Specialist, Julia Krystal. Yuya supported Zuzu, telling her to win, but Zuzu was still distracted by recent events and she was defeated by Julia, much to Yuya's horror. He ran over to her after the Duel, and the two ended up embracing until Julia snarkily took note of it. Zuzu quickly and violently shoved Yuya away, much to his surprise. He reassured her that it was all right that she had lost - they just had to win the next Duel, was all. The next Duel was between the Synchro user Kit Blade and Gong, who took Sora's place after Sora bowed out. Skip raised the stakes to ensure that if their Duelists won, LID wouldn't bother them again. During the Duel, Yuya reassured the watchers that Gong was fine despite not going after Action Cards, as this was how he Dueled. He was proven right, as Gong was able to nearly win, but eventually forced the Duel into a draw. Gong apologized to Yuya, who reassured him it was thanks to him they'd been able to get a draw. A furious Henrietta proposed a tie-breaker Duel between Yuya and Julia, the two winners, and Yuya, donning his goggles, prepared to face her, but before they could begin, a mysterious grey-haired Duelist arrived, Declan. He claimed that he would put an end to this.

As they stood in the Duel Arena, Zuzu, noting that Yuya wasn't his normal self, urged him to laugh and smile. Yuya did so, stating that bright and fun entertainment was his motto, realizing that he couldn't forget that. Skip made the Action Field Yuya's favorite, "Acrobatic Circus" after Declan reassured Yuya that the choice did not matter. Declan took the first turn at Yuya's offer, and Fusion Summoned "," but the cost was placing three Continuous Spell Cards that would inflict 3000 damage to him on the field. Yuya attempted to counter with "Whip Snake," but Declan was able to use an Action Card to evade the attack, but now he had four "Dark Contract" that would all inflict 1000 damage to him during his next turn. Declan observed that Yuya seemed to be very kind, though he called such kindness useless on the stage of battle; despite being given the option to end his turn and win, Yuya was hesitating. Yuya Set a card and ended his turn, but Declan nullified the damage he would take by sending the "Dark Contracts" to the Graveyard and drawing a card for each one with "." Yuya admitted that he'd thought it to be too good to be true, and that he wouldn't have liked to win that way, as he wouldn't have been able to show off his Entertainment Dueling that everyone was anticipating. Declan asked Yuya if he meant Yusho's Dueling, much to Yuya's shock. He asked if Declan knew his father, to which Kit and Dipper shouted from the sidelines that of course they knew him; he was the coward that ran away. Declan yelled at the LID Students to be silent, before apologizing for his outburst and explaining to Yuya that of course he knew Yusho, the man who had brought them their current Action Duel, he respected Yusho from the bottom of his heart. Declan then proceeded to Synchro Summon "" and Xyz Summon "". Despite Declan having three powerful monsters, Yuya weathered his attacks with "Hippo Carnival." He complimented Declan on bringing out a Fusion, Synchro and Xyz monster, and he admitted that while he didn't control any of those, he had his own unique power of Pendulum Summoning. Declaring his Entertainment Dueling that only Yuya Sakaki could do, he Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "," using "Mufflio's" effect to allow "Odd-Eyes" to destroy two of Declan's monsters and then using an Action Card to allow it to destroy the third. Declan simply used "Caesar's" effect to revive them all, though at the cost of taking game-ending damage on his next turn, and then he destroyed them all with "" to add two more "D/D" monsters to his hand. Yuya admitted that he was looking forward to whatever Declan had in store for him, then jokingly claimed he was kidding. Declan returned the compliment, and told Yuya to confirm whether Pendulum Summoning was unique to him with his own eyes. Declan proceeded to Pendulum Summon three copies of "", all with 3000 ATK, and devastated Yuya's monsters, leaving him with only 350 Life Points left. Shocked, Yuya demanded to know where Declan had gotten Pendulum Monsters, but Declan refused to answer, and Skip had to get Yuya back in the Duel. He Pendulum Summoned his destroyed monsters back, along with "" and he formed a plan to destroy all three "Hell Armageddons" with "Odd-Eyes," "Fire Mufflerlion" and his Set card. He destroyed the first, but this activated the effects of the other two to gain the ATK of the destroyed monster, boosting the other two to 6000 ATK. He ended his turn in shock - and then the Pendulum Monsters in Declan's Pendulum Zones malfunctioned, reducing the range of their Pendulum Scale to 2 and 5 and destroying the remaining "Hell Armageddons." Declan began to laugh, and he claimed to have seen the possibilities for further evolution in Pendulum Summoning. Before they could continue, Declan received a call from his employee Claude, and he gave Yuya the win. He told Yuya his full name when asked before he departed.

Yuya was shell-shocked that Declan had been able to Pendulum Summon. After Sora's comments that it had been Yuya's efforts alone that had kept the school safe, Tate encouraged Yuya to teach them about his Pendulum Summoning, but Yuya yelled that Pendulum Summoning wasn't his anymore and he tried to run off, only for Skip to stop him. Skip told him off for running, pointing out that reality wouldn't change if Yuya fled from it, despite the fact that other people could Pendulum Summon had shown up. Skip pointed out that one day the world could be overflowing with Pendulum Cards, given Declan's status as the CEO of the Leo Corporation. He ordered Yuya to Duel him, so that he could beat Yuya's pessimistic personality into shape. They Dueled in Yusho Sakaki's signature field, and Skip told him he'd show Yuya what a real Entertainment Duel was like. Yuya protested at his Duels being called fake, and Skip claimed that Yuya's Duels were not comparable to his or Yusho's. Forcing Yuya to reveal his hand, Skip harassed him, and Yuya Dueled for a turn without using his Pendulums, despite having both his Magicians in his hand. When Yuya's attack failed, he claimed that Yusho's Duels were more entertaining than Skip's, a fact that Skip agreed with. Skip pointed out that Yusho's Duels weren't always like that and initially attracted criticism, but eventually, the jeers became cheers. He told Yuya that to open a door to a new world, one with courage had to push it, and Yuya had opened a new door called "Pendulum." But they wouldn't be exclusive to him anymore, soon anyone could Pendulum Summon. To prove it, he took control of the Magicians and used them to Pendulum Summon more monsters. Skip commented that Yusho would have been overjoyed and improved his skills, while Yuya was shocked instead, and encouraged Yuya to set and example and hone his skills. but ended his turn without attacking and returned the Magicians to Yuya (due to his card conditions). Regaining his confidence and taking a step forward with courage, Yuya Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and two new "Performapals", "" and "," and then he used the effects of his monsters and the assorted Action Cards he found to switch Skip's "Guts Masters" to Defense Position and thus prevent them from using their effects, allow "Odd-Eyes" to inflict piercing damage, and attack all of Skip's monsters, allowing him to win. Skip over-dramatically faked a death scene and Yuya responded just as dramatically, until Zuzu smacked her father with her fan. Yuya vowed to train harder and be a Duelist like his father.

The next day, as he messily ate lunch with Zuzu, Sylvio approached them, commenting that he heard Yuya attacked someone again, though he knew Yuya wasn't the culprit, and he called Yuya's Pendulum Summoning cowardly as only Yuya could do it. Sylvio vowed to get his hands on the new Pendulum Cards being developed by Leo Corporation and defeat Yuya, saying that he'd be waiting at the Junior Arc League Championship before departing. Yuya remembered that he couldn't join the Championship, as his win rate was only 56% rather than the required sixty. Yuya tried to find someone to Duel all day, but they all refused. Tate worked out that if Yuya defeated his next four opponents, he'd be able to qualify. Yuya bemoaned the fact that his win against The Sledgehammer was causing people to think he'd get a free pass, something that he didn't want, and then realized that there were four of his friends right there - but they all refused; Ally, Tate and Frederick as they were only in elementary school, and Zuzu because she and Yuya had Dueled many times before and she'd already qualified. Zuzu suggested asking Gong for help, but Yuya decided against it, as Gong had helped him too much in the past and Yuya wanted to get stronger by himself. Zuzu, who also wanted to do so, departed, asking Yuya to tell Skip that she wouldn't be at Duel School that afternoon. When a confused Yuya wondered why she'd left, Ally slyly suggested it was because Yuya had forgotten to thank Zuzu as well. Yuya freaked, but it was too late to fix his mistake. He arrived at You Show to find Nico Smiley there, who offered him a free pass into the Junior Arc League Championship. Yuya declined, not wanted to be given special treatment, but he was able to get Nico to set up his next four Duels. He found Zuzu, Sora and Julia in the warehouse that Sylvio had been attacked in after he was sent there by Skip Boyle. He was immediately interrogated by both Julia and Zuzu, but had no clue what they were talking about. Sora mediated the situation by distracting Julia and explained to Yuya that he'd been teaching Zuzu to Fusion Summon. When he explained that he'd found his next opponents, Sora asked Yuya about entering, and Yuya explained that if he won six Duels in a row, Sora would be able to enter.

After reorganizing his Deck the following day, Yuya noted that his mother was bringing in more stray animals, including Sora, who was eating with them again. They wished each other luck, but Yuya ended up having to skip breakfast since the new recipe his mother was making was taking too long. He arrived at the Flavor Factory School to Duel Reed Pepper, and they Dueled in the "Chaos Kitchen," a field that Reed demonstrated skillful knowledge of. Reed swarmed the field with weak monsters, and Yuya used "Whip Snake" and his own Action Card to counter Reed's, giving Reed the opportunity to place his destroyed "Cookpals" in his "Food Cemetery." This in turn allowed Reed to bring out his "Royal Cookpals," which, when Yuya Pendulum Summoned next turn, force-fed his monsters until they were destroyed, but returned to Reed's hand. In a bind, Yuya was able to take advantage of the damage to add two "Performapals" to his hand, ready to Pendulum Summon the next turn, but which would lock him out from his others for the turn. This in turn allowed Reed to add two more "Royal Cookpals" to his hand. Drawing a Trap card, Yuya knew it couldn't help him and he lept for an Action Card, but his hunger prevented him from reaching it. He tried Pendulum Summoning again, but his monsters were force-fed and destroyed again by the Royal Cookpals, and Yuya reluctantly ended his turn again with the Trap card he'd drawn. Reed then proceeded to bring out all of his "Royal Cookpals" and used their effects to double the ATK of one of them four times, to 4800. Yoko arrived, surprised at Yuya's struggle, citing it due to not having breakfast (Yuya himself was getting slightly distracted by how delicious the monsters looked.) She tossed him Reed's recipe, but wrapped in pancakes, and Yuya eagerly devoured it, and then leapt for the Action Card again, using it in combination with his Trap to survive the attacks. On his next turn, he drew his "" Spell Card and Pendulum Summoned again, Summoning all five of his destroyed Pendulum Monsters from his Extra Deck. Reed returned all of his "Royal Cookpals" to his hand again and destroyed all five of Yuya's monsters, but Yuya had been counting on this, and he used this to trigger "Illusion Balloons," the balloons appearing as the breakfast Yoko had made for him. He excavated the top five card of his Deck, and the final one was his "," which was thus Special Summoned with enough ATK to wipe out Reed's Life Points, winning Yuya the first of the four remaining Duels that he needed to qualify. Reed took the loss gracefully, telling Yuya he'd see him in the Junior Arc League Championship.

Yuya later went to find Zuzu again, unaware that her bracelet had activated just before he'd shown up, having been sent after her again by her father. He wondered why she wasn't coming to Duel School anymore. As he was due to Duel at the Quiz School the next day, after having several of Reed's recipes that had been prepared by his mother, he stayed up late watching quiz shows, but this had a negative effect on his concentration. As he walked down the street, he was suddenly pursued by three LID students led by Curio Sawatari, who still believed Yuya to be the person who had attacked Sylvio. Fleeing, unaware of the reason behind his pursuit, Yuya was saved by the intervention of Shay Obsidian, who proceeded to Xyz Summon that dealt real damage to the LID elites and seal them in cards, while knocking Yuya himself out. Nico Smiley later found Yuya, who babbled about a monster that destroyed the area, but there was no visible evidence of the encounter. Nico asked if Yuya had been sleeping, and Yuya admitted that he'd stayed up all night doing quizzes.

Yuya then Dueled Pierre L'Supérieure from the Clarity Prep School. Yuya had difficulty during the Duel as he was only able to find "Quiz" Action Cards in subjects that he was bad at, while Pierre claimed those in the subjects that Yuya was better at. His LP was quickly drained by the effects "Quiz Monkey", "Quiz Sphinx", and the "Quiz" cards. Despite this, Yuya's humiliation caused the audience to laugh, something that took as a compliment. Using the damage effects of the "Quiz" cards to his advantage, he eventually won using a combo of "Performapal Reborn Force", "Performapal Curtain Call", and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon".

The next day, Ally, Frederick and Tate noticed Yuya seemed bothered and wondered why. Yuya remembered Nico Smiley congratulating him from his two recent Duels. Yuya noted that Nico didn't seem so excited, with Nico replying that it's the Pro Duelists' job to be excited. He told Yuya that the Entertainment Duelists surpassed the wildest imagination of the audience. Yuya took his pendant off his neck and swung it around. He restated surpassing the audience's imagination and how his father stole the hearts of his audience, too. Yuya remembered what Declan said about seeing further evolution in Pendulum Summoning, and was frustrated about how he couldn't see it, though. He went to Skip and asked what he should do, with Skip replying that he should move forward. Yuya commented that if he didn't know which path to take, he couldn't move forward. Later, while reading a magazine, Yuya remarked on how Zuzu was learning Fusion Summoning from Sora. Dipper intercepted him, and they told each other to watch where they were going just before they recognized each other. Kit then reminded Dipper that they had to go. Yuya asked what happened, and Kit replied that Julia found the culprit of the recent attacks. The trio arrived at the crime scene, only to find Julia, Sora, and Zuzu with her cards scattered across the ground. Yuya asked Zuzu what was wrong, and she sobbed, saying she didn't know what's going on anymore. The LID security then arrived, and Julia ran toward them apologizing. Sora told Yuya and Zuzu they should probably go. Kit remarked to Yuya that he still needed two more matches to join the Junior Arc League Championship. Yuya asked how he knew that, and Kit replied that he wanted to say good luck, although it might be difficult for him, and he left. Yuya then noticed Zuzu's "" on the ground, and guessed she accidentally forgot about it.

He was due to Duel Aura Sentia the next day, but slept in and arrived late, bumping his head on his desk and mixing up his cards at his house and cartwheeling down the stairs to land in a position to see up Aura's skirt. Aura whacked him on the head with her crystal apple for that. Yuya's bad luck continued into the Duel, drawing high-Level monsters and low Scales, leaving him with a dead hand and forcing him to pass, allowing Aura to take an early lead with her Flip Effect Monsters, and then her Ritual Monster, "." Fortunately, Yuya was able to draw "Timegazer Magician," allowing him to Pendulum Summon five powerful monsters and boost "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" to 3700 ATK, but his monsters were all frozen in Defense Position by the effects of Aura's Flip Monsters, which "Tarotrei" could freely trigger. Aura then had "Tarotrei" read Yuya's fortune, the Towers card, which indicated a destructive future for Yuya. Aura told him to stop the match to avoid that future. Yuya refused to let his dream be ended there, but Aura used her Flip monsters to set up a combo that wiped the field of his Defense Position monsters and dealt him damage. She continued to urge him to surrender, even sealing Yuya's draw with "Draw Lock," which Yuya would need to dispel with an Action Card. Yuya began to search, eventually finding one as the chandelier of the Duel Field began to collapse around him. Sprinting hard, Yuya was able to grab the card and survive the fall, apparently having changed his future. He drew on the next turn, but he'd drawn Zuzu's "Polymerization," as was disheartened, believing that he couldn't use it. He then received a vision of, and he Pendulum Summoned again, then returned his "Magicians" to his hand and Summoned "Stargazer Magician," then fused it with "Odd-Eyes" to create "Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," which was able to attack multiple times and win the Duel. He returned Zuzu's "Polymerization" to her, and they shared a touching moment that was broken up by the infatuated Aura, inciting swift rebuke from Zuzu. He had to tell Sora that they wouldn't be having a party until Yuya had qualified for the Championship, much to Sora's disappointment.

Waking up the next day, Yuya found both his house and the Duel School empty save Nico Smiley, who took him to the Strong Dojo to Duel Gong. Gong revealed that in order to get a serious match from Yuya, he'd arranged it so that they were both one win away from entering the Junior Arc League Championship, much to Yuya's shock. He didn't know if he could defeat Gong like that, but their Duel commenced on the "Sword's Cemetery" field that Gong had Dueled Kit on. Gong brought out his "Big Benkei" early, and Yuya fought back with "," and Action Cards. But on his next turn, Gong Synchro Summoned "." Yuya was shocked that Gong had Synchro Summoned, and even more so when Gong's father attempted to stop the match, believing that Gong had stolen the technique. Gong revealed that he had instead requested instruction from Kit, and he drove Yuya back with "Susanowo." Yuya assembled a hasty defense by Pendulum Summoning, and he was only barely able to survive the turn. He Pendulum Summoned again, bringing out "Hip Hippo" so that he could Tribute Summon "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon," and was able to use his "" to draw "," thus allowing him to Fusion Summon "Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon." Though he defeated "Susanowo," Gong was able to revive it, so Yuya had to leap for an Action Card to pay the cost of his "Danger Draw," gambling everything on his next draw. He drew "Big Return," which allowed him to re-use his "Trump Witch's" effect to Fusion Summon "," attacking to win the Duel. His friends, who had been secretly watching the Duel, congratulated him afterwards, including Gong, who reassured Yuya that he still had a chance to enter the Championship.

First Round
The day of the Championship, Yuya stood on the bridge looking at the Dueling Arena, while swinging the pendant in front of him. He remembered the day before his father's Duel with the Sledgehammer. After the recollection, Yoko chided Yuya, telling him that she just got a call from Zuzu. She said that Yuya should be worrying there, pointing at the stadium. At the stadium, Yuya arrived just in time, butting heads with Grizzlepike, and he was selected to give the oath of fair play. Though he initially messed up, he composed himself and gave a speech about his father, earning the applause of the stadium. He was shocked to see Shay, the Duelist that had saved him from the LID top team, standing among LID students, who claimed that Shay had always been one of them. Yuya learned that his first match was to be against Sylvio Sawatari the next day. He watched Frederick, Ally, and Zuzu's Duels, supporting them all.

On the second day, a man carrying Gong's sash ran into Yuya, and another man snatched the sash up. Yuya and the first man gave chase, but Yuya had been lured into a trap by the two, who had been sent by Grizzlepike to harm Yuya, thus distracting Gong during the match. Yuya was able to not only defeat them and get the sash back, but also entertain them with his "Hippo" cards. He arrived at the match and threw Gong's sash to him, and watched as Gong proceeded to defeat Grizzlepike.

Yuya was up next against Sylvio, who vowed to defeat him based on false accusations. Yuya was worried when Sylvio claimed that Pendulum Summoning would be Yuya's downfall, remembering Sylvio's promise to obtain Leo Corporation developed Pendulum Cards. Sylvio used his new "Yosenju" cards to prevent Yuya from getting Action Cards, but Yuya was able to Pendulum Summon and counterattack with "" and "." However, true to his words, Sylvio proceeded to Pendulum Summon "" and complete his "Yosen Lost Tornado" combo, using the effects of "" and "" to return Yuya's Pendulum cards to the Deck. Despite being cornered, with Pendulum Summoning being used against him, Yuya was enjoying the Duel, Setting his remaining cards and ending his turn, then dashing off to look for Action Cards, vowing that the Duel had only just begun. He was able to use Sylvio's own card effects against him with his "Amnesia" Trap Card, returning the "Yosenju" to the Deck in the End Phase. He still had to survive the turn, however, but had already located the "Big Escape" card, allowing him to end the Battle Phase, despite initially appearing to have been buried in the rubble of a building. He counterattacked next turn with "Drumming Kong," but Sylvio still had the ingredients to Pendulum Summon Tributes for "Daibak." Yuya was able to survive the turn, and both Duelists enjoyed the match immensely, Sylvio urging Yuya to Pendulum Summon next turn. Yuya was able to rouse the crowd by drawing "Magician Manipulation," replenishing his hand. He brought out "Odd-Eyes" again and boosted it over the ATK of "Daibak", but was unable to destroy it. He then used the effect of "" to Fusion Summon "," and again traded blows with "Daibak." Sylvio obtained an Action Card that would win him the Duel should "Beast-Eyes" be destroyed, but Yuya had found "Miracle," allowing him to use the effect of "Beast-Eyes" to win the Duel. Afterwards, Sylvio generously offered to Duel Yuya any time, and they waved to the crowd as Yuya mused that this was the type of Duel that he'd been wanting, and wondered if he'd gotten closer to his father.

Meeting Yuto
He and Zuzu watched Sora's Duel with Shay worriedly, since they knew Shay to have been the serial attacker on LID. He recognized Shay's from when he'd encountered him, including "," and warned Sora to be careful, proven correct when "Rise Falcon," decimated Sora's field and again created real shockwaves. He watched in horror as the Duel continued and Sora revealed that his people had attacked Shay's homeland to hunt them for fun. As the Duel reached its climax, with Shay claiming victory, Yuya, horrified by the battlefield the Duel had descended into, begged them to stop, as this wasn't Dueling. Sora was injured by a falling building and hospitalized, Yuya desperately trying to reach him.

He remained with Zuzu and Gong at the hospital to keep an eye on Sora, where the three of them compared the facts, and Yuya learned about Yuto, a Duelist who resembled him and the real culprit behind the attack on Sylvio. Yuya mused that the conflict between Sora's people and Shay's seemed to be larger than an inter-school rivalry, but before they could talk further, they overheard the guards looking for Sora, who had escaped. After calling Skip, Yuya headed off to Central Park, finding Sora Dueling Yuto. When Yuto Summoned "", Yuya realized that it could wipe Sora out if it used both of its Overlay Units, but Yuto only used one and attacked, showing mercy. Yuya ran over to Sora, trying to get him to rest, but Sora refused. Angered by Yuto hurting his friend, Yuya joined the Duel. He Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" on his first turn, but to his surprise, he experienced a burning sensation in his chest as it faced off against "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon." He attacked with the intent to destroy both monsters and revive "Odd-Eyes" next turn, but Yuto blocked the attack, playing around the effect of "." Sora angrily told Yuya to get lost, claiming that Yuto was his prey. Yuya demanded answers, and learned that Shay and Yuto were from the Xyz Dimension, and that Sora had been sent from Duel Academy. Before Sora could continue, he was forcibly returned to the Fusion Dimension.

Yuto and Yuya called off the Duel, and Yuto explained about the four Dimensions to Yuya. Yuya was skeptical, but told Yuto that Dueling shouldn't be used for fighting as it was by the other Dimensions. They were interrupted by the arrival of a Duelist on a Duel Runner, who crashed into a streetpost, and revealed that he too resembled Yuya and Yuto. Introduced as a Pawn of Fusion, the Duelist stated that his name was Yugo, and he quickly challenged Yuto to a Duel. Yuya watched the Duel in shock as the Duelists ran around agily, and experienced the same burning sensation when Yugo, a Synchro user, called out "." The sensation intensified when Yuto retaliated with "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon," causing the two Duelists to become possessed and violent. Yuya managed to calm Yuto down, getting him to call off his attack, but was unsuccessful in calming Yugo, who proceeded to claim victory. Yuto saved Yuya from the shockwave, and Yuya ran to his defeated doppelganger, begging him to stay with him. Smiling, Yuto handed Yuya his glowing "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon," asking Yuya to use his power to bring Duels with smiles to the world, and both he and Yugo vanished in a glow of blue light. Yuya sat there in shock, collapsing as Zuzu arrived.

Second Round
Yuya remained unconscious for two days, and when he finally awoke, he was surprised to hear it. Zuzu informed him that the first round of the Arc League Championship was ending today. He learned that Aura had lost in an OTK, and that Frederick had also been defeated by Riley, who had used Synchro Summoning this time. When Zuzu mentioned that he might know all about Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Summoning, Yuya told her what Yuto had told him about the world being made up of four dimensions, and that the Fusion Dimension, where Sora lived, and the Xyz Dimension, where Yuto and Shay lived, were at war. He also told her that he had found Sora Dueling against Yuto, until he watched Sora disappear. Then he told her about Yugo, who also looked like him, and who Yuto had called a "Pawn of Fusion". He theorized that maybe Yugo had been the one who captured Lulu, then went to look at the "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" card Yuto had given him. When Zuzu asked him about it, he said that Yuto had given it to him after saving him from "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon", and that he remembered nothing after that. He also wasn't sure what happened to Yuto, or why he gave him "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon". He expressed his confusion about why both Yuto and Yugo looked just like him, and was surprised when Zuzu told him that Lulu supposedly also looked like her. He realized that Shay may know something about the four dimensions, and they both went to Centre Court to ask him.

When they arrived, Yuya was greeted by Gong, who hugged him, and Skip, who said that both he and Gong were really worried about him. Frederick, Ally and Tate also arrived and were happy to see that he was OK. Frederick apologized for losing his Duel against Riley, saying that he was so shocked by Riley's Synchro Summon that he got the shivers. Yuya consoled him by saying that he should give Riley the shivers next time, until he suddenly remembered Sora claiming that there were no second chances in battle, and froze. Aura then appeared, delighted that he had woken up, and went to kiss him, but he simply dodged her and went to talk to Julia, Dipper and Kit, who were also there. He asked to see Shay, as he had a lot of questions to ask him, but Kit told him that Shay wouldn't even give him the time of day. He suggested that Yuya and his friends should come and watch his next match, and they did. Yuya watched in shock as Iggy Arlo, Kit's opponent, violently attacked him in competition for Action Cards and emerged as the victor. He was further amazed to discover that he would face Iggy in the next round. He reflected that Yuto had told him to make everyone smile with his Dueling, and he resolved to do so against Iggy.

After watching Gong's victory against Trick Tagart, Yuya proceeded to Duel against Iggy. Iggy's violent Dueling method put Yuya at a disadvantage by preventing him from getting any Action Cards. Yuya finally managed to obtain one, but this came at the cost of his Life Points being reduced to 100. Cornered and at the edge of defeat, Yuya once again experienced a burning sensation in his chest and then saw of vision of Yuto, during which Yuto's soul merged with Yuya's. After this vision, Yuya personality drastically changed. He used the Action Card he got to clear his cards and then Pendulum Summon "Performapal Camelump" and "Performapal Silver Claw", which he then used to Xyz Summon "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", much to everyone's shock. Without any hesitation, Yuya used its effect to defeat Iggy, which stunned the whole audience. Once the Duel was over, Yuya returned to normal. Seeing Iggy kneeling in defeat, Yuya tried to help him stand, but Iggy rejected his help. Yuya then turned to his friends and the audience who were shocked by Yuya's actions, making Yuya question himself about what he had done.

The next day, Yuya and the others were watching Zuzu's match. Unlike his friends, Yuya was not very enthusiastic in cheering Zuzu on because he was still depressed with his previous victory against Isao. However, Yuya started to regain his resolve when he saw the smiles on the audiences' faces while watching Zuzu's Dueling and once again remembering Yuto's words to Duel with smiles. Overcoming his depression, Yuya smiled happily at Zuzu when she won, finally regaining his spirit.

Battle Royal
At the final round of the championship, which was a Battle Royal Duel, Yuya was up against two Bandit Warrior Academy Duelists: Nagi and Taka. Like in the Duel against Iggy, their violent Dueling methods not only prevented Yuya from getting Action Cards but also prevented him from attacking them. This quickly put Yuya at a disadvantage until a LID transfer student, Dennis Macfield, saved him and joined the Duel as Yuya's tag partner. Yuya was exasperated by Dennis' admiration for his father. With Dennis' help, the tide turned in their favor. Dennis allowed Yuya to finish the Duel. Yuya Pendulum Summoned "" and "". The moment he Summoned them, "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" appeared in Yuya's mind, which almost caused him to Awaken, if not for Dennis' moral support. Feeling assured, Yuya successfully Summoned "Dark Rebellion" without losing himself and defeated both Nagi and Taka with the help of Dennis' "".

Parting ways with Dennis, Yuya met Shay at the Ancient Ruins. Shay immediately asked Yuya what happened to Yuto and accused the former that he had done something to his comrade since Yuya had Yuto's "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon". Yuya answered that Yuto entrusted the card to him and told him to bring smiles with his Duels. Before Yuya could explain further, they were interrupted by the Knights of the Duel Disks Duelists, who were Dueling each other and purposely surrounded Shay so their attack would hit him without getting penalized. Yuya, who was beside Shay, also got caught in the attack and blown away. Sora and the Obelisk Force then appeared, shocking Yuya. He called out to Sora, but he was ignored.

While Sora took Shay elsewhere to Duel, the Obelisk Force defeated the Knights of the Duel Disks members and sealed them into cards, horrifying Yuya. The event triggered a vision of Yuto's memory when Heartland was invaded. Overwhelmed by the memory, Yuya succumbed to his rage and challenged the Obelisk Force. The enemies' cowardly tactics prevented Yuya from using Action Cards or avoiding their attacks. The Obelisk Force taunted Yuya by mockingly showing the Knight of Duels' Duelists' cards and told him he would share the same fate, enraging Yuya further. As Yuto's memory filled his mind, Yuya and Yuto's souls merged again, causing him to Summon "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" and attack the Obelisk Force. This started to panic the Obelisk Force, and they used their monsters to counterattack, reducing Yuya's LP to 800, but despite the damage he took, Yuya remained unfazed and instead smiled wickedly.

On his turn with 200 LP remaining, Yuya Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and then used the Pendulum effects of "" and "" to make "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" a Level 7 monster. He overlaid "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" to perform a new Xyz Summon, Summoning "" and defeated the Obelisk Force in an instant. However, even after defeating the Obelisk Force, Yuya proceeded to go to where Shay and Sora were, ignoring a falling pillar that would have crushed him had Gong not protected him. Gong and Aura took Yuya to the Jungle area where he was restrained by Gong, Reed, and Trout, while Aura used her crystal ball to see what was inside Yuya's heart. She found that there were two hearts inside him, along with a pitch black darkness. Yuya went unconscious and later awoke without remembering his Duel against the Obelisk Force. He then explained what happened prior to his Awakening state to Gong and the others. Hearing Aura's explanation about the presence of another heart inside him, Yuya realized that the other heart was none other than Yuto, and his anger for what happened during Duel Academy's invasion was what triggered his change. This made Yuya wonder why Yuto, who entrusted him "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" so he could make people smile with his Duels, would let him be overwhelmed by so much anger.

As he was resting, Yuya contemplated of Yuto's memories that he had saw and finally understood Yuto's anger and sadness, believing that Yuto wasn't lying when he said to make everyone and their future smile with his Duels and the one who was trying to consume him is the darkness that also within him. This made Yuya afraid for a moment until he was reminded by his father's encouraging words, making him even more resolute to Duel with the way he believed. Deciding to find his other friends out of worry, he and Gong split up with Reed and Trout. They were then approached by Dennis who informed them where Zuzu was, but Zuzu was transported with Yugo through her bracelet's power just as Yuya arrived.

Yuya and Gong continued their search at the Ancient Ruins, but didn't find Zuzu there and proceeded to the Volcano area, only to find Sora Dueling against Sun Shadow. Yuya immediately asked Sora to stop by shouting at him until Sora finally responded that they would talk after he defeated Sun Shadow, which angered Yuya. Gong stopped Yuya when he was about to interfere and pointed out Celina, whom they mistook for Zuzu, Dueling against the Obelisk Force with Moon Shadow and Shay. Yuya started to be consumed by the darkness when he witnessed Reed and Trout being sealed into cards, followed by Sun Shadow, who lost to Sora. This caused Yuya to be momentarily taken over by darkness, and he angrily confronted Sora, telling him that he was wrong. However, Yuya returned to his senses after hearing Yuto's voice that reminded him of their wish. Determined to bring back Sora's smile, Yuya challenged Sora to a Duel, which Sora accepted. He took Yuya to another side of the area so no one could interfere with their Duel.

Believing that Sora's smile when they first Dueled was genuine, Yuya tried to make Sora see the error of his view about Dueling, but Sora just ridiculed Yuya's belief and persisted that Dueling is to continue fighting. This made Yuya question if they were not friends anymore, which Sora confirmed because to him, his goal and victory was more important than friendship. This didn't stop Yuya from trying to change Sora's mind. He Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" and Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" with "Xiangke Magician" and "Xiangsheng Magician". Yuya hesitated for a moment to Summon "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon", but decided to trust Yuto who told him to bring smile with Duel and Summoned it. The Xyz-Pendulum Monster excited Sora, and Yuya pointed out Sora's excitement to express that Dueling is for fun.

Yuya attacked with "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon", which Sora countered with the Action Card "Flame Chain" to lower its ATK, but Yuya countered back with his own Action Card, "Flame Surge". As the attack of "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" was about to hit, both Yuya and Sora tried to reach an Action Card, but the Battle Royal reached its time limit, dismissing the Action Field and thus leaving the Duel unfinished. Yuya finally noticed that the rest of his friends were present as well before calling out to Celina whom he still mistook as Zuzu until Celina made it clear herself. Thinking that Zuzu might have been turned into a card, he turned to Sora, but Sora returned to his own dimension before Yuya could question him. Declan then arrived, and Sylvio revealed that the Battle Royal served as a test to determine Duelists suitable to fight Duel Academy and the Fusion Dimension.

Friendship Cup
Once Declan revealed that he had been watching the battle and let them fight to determine who could survive the battle against Duel Academy, Yuya broke into tears as he thought about Zuzu, Reed, Trout, and all the Duelists who had been and might have been turned into cards. A furious Yuya blamed Declan for what happened to the others and tried to punch him, but Declan easily caught his fist and instead proposed for them to Duel since they were Duelists, which Yuya accepted. Declan activated "Neo Heartland City" for them to Duel on, which reminded Shay of his homeland tragedy. Declan asked what happened before at Xyz Dimension, but Shay couldn't say it, prompting Declan to tell them what happened. However, before Declan could elaborate any further, both Yuya and Yuto, still in Yuya's body, shouted at him to stop and start their Duel.

Declan immediately performed Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summons at once and inflicted 2000 damage to Yuya with "", slightly injuring him. Yuya asked Declan if he was satisfied with how many people were defeated and how many people survived from the Battle Royal, while declaring that they were not his puppets. Yuya then recalled how Zuzu helped him on his Pendulum Summoning and how she tried hard to become stronger, so he would do the same. He proceeded to FusionSummon "Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Declan revealed that he knew all along that Sora was from Duel Academy and speculated that Yuya's ability to Summon two new Fusion Dragons was possibly from Zuzu, who learned Fusion Summon from Sora, which meant that Yuya gained his Fusion Summon ability from Duel Academy. Yuya replied that he'd learned Fusion Summoning because he'd seen Zuzu learn Fusion Summoning to defeat Julia. He managed to destroy all three of Declan's monsters and inflict 2100 damage to Declan with "Rune-Eyes". However, before Yuya could use "Beast-Eyes" to land the finishing blow, Declan saved himself by activating the Trap Card "" in order to negate the damage.

Declan told Yuya that while he understood how strong Yuya's feelings for Zuzu were, feelings alone were not enough in true battle and he formed the Lancers so they could win without such naïve feelings. Yuya insisted that he had no intention to become a Lancer, but was surprised when Declan asked if he didn't want to save Zuzu, implying that Zuzu wasn't sealed in a card. He further goaded Yuya to fight by telling him to defeat him first before rescuing Zuzu from Duel Academy. Yuya was shocked when both "Rune-Eyes" and "Beast-Eyes" were destroyed by Declan's "D/D/D" monsters. Yuya once again asked what happened to Zuzu, but Declan reminded him of their Dueling conditions. This triggered the memories of when Reed was sealed into a card and the tragedy of Xyz Dimension, causing Yuya to nearly Awaken, but he barely suppressed it. He Pendulum-Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" to destroy Declan's "", but this came at the cost of "Odd-Eyes" that Declan had used to increase his monster's ATK, saving his LP.

Declan counterattacked and successfully destroyed "Dark Rebellion" with "", reducing Yuya's LP to 800 and also injured Yuya further. Gong and Aura intended to help him, but Yuya told them to stay back because this was his, Zuzu's, and Yuto's Duel. He stated his resolution that he would definitely save Zuzu and fulfill his promise with Yuto, declaring he must not lose to someone who would Duel for toying or hurting people. In a last ditch of effort to defeat Declan, Yuya Xyz Summoned "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" and seemingly gained the upper hand. Unfortunately, Declan used the effect of "Kali Yuga" to weaken "Odd-Eyes Rebellion" and increased his monster's ATK to destroy "Odd-Eyes Rebellion", defeating Yuya. Declan reminded Yuya that he couldn't save Zuzu with his naive resolution, but he would let him go since Yuya's mastery of Pendulum Summoning was necessary for Lancers to fight Duel Academy. Frustrated at his loss, Yuya swore that he needed to become stronger to save Zuzu.

After the Duel, Yuya became despondent as he and the other Lancers appeared before the audience and Nico announced the winners of the Battle Royal. He remained in this state even as Henrietta and Declan explained the Lancers' formation. After the announcement, Celina gave Zuzu's clothes to Yuya and left with Declan. At sunset, Yuya, Aura, and Gong met with Yoko, Skip, Ally, Frederick, and Tate. The latter three congratulated Yuya and Celina (who they mistook for Zuzu) for winning the Battle Royale, but he did not return the sentiment. Yuya returned Zuzu's clothes to Skip and sadly explained that he couldn't protect her because she was taken to another dimension. He and Aura revealed that it was not Zuzu who was with them the whole time, but Celina, a girl who happened to somewhat resemble Zuzu. After the explanations, Yoko led Yuya away and told the others to come to an abandoned arcade. There, she ambushed them on a motorcycle, calling herself the leader of the Paradise Queens, "Shooting Star Yoko". She forced Yuya into a Duel with her, but he fled, and Yoko started to chase him and reveal her past. Eventually, Yuya agreed to the Duel. During the Duel, Yoko took control of his monsters with "Road Raven Red Queen" and attacked him with them. Through these attacks, Yoko told her son that his father, Yusho, was the one who saved her years ago. She also reminded Yuya that he was missing the burning passion his father held. Yuya realized what his mother meant, and Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" on his next turn, then used Yoko's "" to power up his monsters and defeat Yoko.

Yoko congratulated Yuya on the victory and he renewed his vow to save Zuzu and Sora. The next day, Declan announced that the Lancers would be departing for the Synchro Dimension to recruit more allies. Using their upgraded Duel Disks and the "Dimensionizer" cards, the Lancers left the Standard Dimension. .

Yuya, Celina, Sylvio, and Riley arrived at the Synchro Dimension, but they were separated from the other Lancers. There, Sector Security ambushed them, as they mistook Yuya and Celina for the wanted Yugo and Zuzu. Yuya tried to reason that they just arrived, but Celina and Sylvio leaped headfirst into the Duel Sector Security forced them into, ignoring his warnings. After Sylvio lost in an OTK, Yuya was forced to join as well and tried his best to protect Riley and get him to smile, despite his introverted personality, in addition to attempting to entertaining Sector Security. Despite Celina's victory, more Sector Security officers arrived and cornered the Lancers. Before Yuya's Duel could continue, a Synchro user and other Turbo Duelists grabbed him and the Lancers and escaped Sector Security.

The Synchro user, Crow Hogan, expressed his admiration for Yuya's defense of Riley, and offered for Yuya and the Lancers to stay at his place until events had calmed down. Yuya was somewhat displeased when Sylvio claimed that Yuya was his apprentice, and after Sylvio revealed where they'd come from, he backed him up. Two of the orphans that Crow took care of, Frank and Tarren, returned with stolen food, and as they were being told off by Crow, the orphans asked why Yuya and Celina had been at a cafe earlier. Yuya and Celina realized that the kids were talking about Zuzu and Yugo, and wanted to go and find them, but Crow explained about the class system of the Topsiders and the Commons and that Sector Security would be looking for them. Crow offered to go and look for them himself. Yuya remained at Crow's house, where Frank and Tarren explained the history of Turbo Dueling to the Lancers. Crow returned empty-handed, so Celina decided to go and look herself after deeming Crow's efforts useless. Yuya protested, since Crow had already done so much for them, but Celina and Sylvio left regardless, though Yuya was able to stop Riley from leaving. He and Riley remained at Crow's place for the next couple of days, Celina and Sylvio heading out each day to look for the Lancers. One of Crow's friends who had assisted in rescuing them, Shinji Weber, arrived with food for the kids, and warned Yuya not to get the kids in trouble. As the kids ate, Yuya and Crow conversed about Riley's timid nature, but the conversation eventually devolved into an argument about what was most important; a full stomach or a smile on one's face, Yuya claiming that a full stomach meant nothing if you couldn't smile. Eventually, he and Crow decided to Duel to settle their argument.

Yuya Pendulum Summoned on his first turn, and in response, Crow swarmed the field with his "Blackwing" monsters and Synchro Summoned "". Their Duel was interrupted by Sector Security, who had tracked the returning Celina and Sylvio back to Crow's hideout. Sector Security arrested all the Lancers save Declan's younger brother, who was nowhere to be found, much to Yuya's panic.

Yuya was taken to the Facility, learning on the way that Moon Shadow had rescued Riley. Shinji, who had been captured as well, explained that there could only be one place that they were going. When they arrived at the Facility, Celina was taken to solitary confinement, and she cautioned Yuya not to make a scene. Yuya's Duel Disk was taken, but he was allowed to keep his Deck. The group were taken to a cell, where they met up with Gong and Dennis, who had been captured the previous day. Gong almost crushed Yuya in a powerful hug, and Dennis explained that Shay was in solitary confinement as well. The newcomers were bullied in the cafeteria and Yuya witnessed prisoners giving away their cards in exchange for preferential treatment. He was shocked to learn that Gong had done so, until Gong's lackeys explained that Gong had done so for them. The group were then taken to the boss of the prisoners, Chojiro Tokumatsu, who ordered them to hand over their cards for preferential treatment, and Yuya refused, given that he wasn't planning on remaining in the prison. Chojiro decided to take them by force and Duel Yuya. He used his "" to damage Yuya when he drew and his "" Continuous Trap Card to prevent Yuya from Pendulum Summoning. Yuya learned that Chojiro's combo prevented him from drawing his own cards, a stark departure from Chojiro's previous philosophy that Crow and Shinji informed the two of them of. In a tight spot, Yuya was able to set up an infinite loop that prevented him from taking damage when he drew, forcing Chojiro to draw cards. Chojiro and the watching prisoners began to enjoy the Duel, driving Yuya into a corner with "", but Yuya was able to destroy Chojiro's Trap Card and set up a combo that allowed him to win. The following day, Damon, a friend of Crow and Shinji's was admitted, and Yuya received better treatment from Chojiro in the prison. Yuya learned that Crow was planning to escape from the prison and he tried to go along, but Crow refused to let him. Shinji and Chojiro convinced Yuya to take place in a Duel Tournament between Yuya, Chojiro and Sylvio, but Yuya was distracted for most of the tournament, until he saw Gong and Crow encouraging him and Dennis leaping into the prison's upper levels. Realizing that they were all going to escape, Yuya continued the Duel with passion, but events went awry when the guards discovered Crow, Damon and Shinji escaping. Yuya aided in restricting the guards with "Hippo Carnival", and was confronted by Chojiro, who was furious that Yuya had used the Duel for such purposes. Yuya explained about Zuzu to Chojiro, and Chojiro attempted to buy time for Yuya, but was saved by his lackies, who tossed rare cards all over the place to distract the guards. Yuya seized his chance to escape through the air duct that Damon had exposed, following Chojiro and Sylvio. The group ended up on the roof, where they were challenged by the Stomptroopers. The group fled after an ineffectual attack by Sylvio, Yuya cushioning their fall with "Performapal Trampolynx". Gong intervened, but his attempted attack lock was broken by the Stomptroopers "". Shay arrived and wiped out the Stomptroopers with "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon". Meeting up with Dennis, Crow, Damon, Shinji and Celina, the escapees began to swim away from the Facility, but they were arrested again by Jean-Michel Roget, the Director of Sector Security. Before they could be returned to the Facility, enforcers from the High Council requested that the Lancers and the accomplices be brought to them. The Council and Jean interrogated them, and Yuya explained their intentions and their origins, in addition to the conflict with Duel Academy. Declan, Riley, and Moon Shadow, who had already been talking with the Council, backed them up. The Council agreed to test the Lancers strength in the Friendship Cup, and Jean suggested that Yuya be the opponent for Duel King Jack Atlas' exhibition match.

The Lancers were separated, though the Council reassured them that they would be unharmed, and Crow urged Yuya to crush Jack, who he called a traitor. Yuya asked Sam, his attendee, about Jack, though Sam was somewhat timid in his response. Yuya apologized for putting him on the spot. He entered the arena as a Turbo Duelist, concerned about Dueling while driving a Duel Runner. Jack entered the arena next, and while Yuya was irritated that Jack predicted how the match would go, he was intrigued by Jack claiming that his Dueling was entertainment. He was relived upon starting the Duel that the autopilot would allow him to Duel as he normally did. Jack brought out "" on his first turn and urged Yuya to come at him with all he had, and Yuya in response, performed both a Pendulum-Fusion and Pendulum-Xyz Summon to bring out "Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon". He used the Action Card "Mirror Barrier" to block Jack's retaliation and dropped him to 300 LP in one shot with "Dark Rebellion". Jack used his own Action Card, "Underworld Evasion", to block Yuya's final attack with "Rune-Eyes" and revived "Red Wyvern" and the Tuner monster "".

Dropping back, Jack told Yuya that his Dueling was only self-satisfactory, and far from entertainment, then he proceeded to Synchro Summon "" and wipe Yuya's field with its effect, then attack directly for the win, blasting Yuya from his Duel Runner. Yuya was furious that Jack had badmouthed his father's Dueling, and he yelled at Jack not to make fun of it before passing out and being taken to his quarters in the penthouse.

Yuya woke up in the penthouse, where he pondered his loss to Jack, who hadn't just won, but had dictated the flow of the Duel. He was greeted by the High Council via hologram. They explained that he would stay in the penthouse as a participant in the Friendship Cup; the Duel with Jack having been only an exhibition match, Yuya was still in the tournament. They cautioned him that this would not be the case if he lost again. Yuya noticed "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" resonating, and he theorized that they were reacting to Yugo's "". Realizing that Zuzu must be in the penthouse as well, he passionately vowed to rescue her, no matter what. Sam then approached the room, sliding a "" through the doorframe and asking Yuya to return it to Jack and defeat him. Sam claimed that Jack's time at the top had made him arrogant to the point of giving Sam the low-ATK, low-Level card and telling him that it suited him best.

Yuya later watched the first Duel of the tournament between Gong and Crow. He was surprised when Gong became the first person to pull off a Pendulum-Synchro Summon, and while he was disappointed to see Gong lose to Crow, he was encouraged to see that the crowd were cheering in unison, as opposed to being up in arms over their differing opinions of Jack. He wondered in horror if Gong would be returned to the Facility, and when the door began to open, he panicked, wondering if it was his turn to Duel next, since he hadn't found a way to Duel without self-satisfaction yet. Fortunately, it was simply Chojiro that had came to visit, having bribed his way out of his room with a rare card. Chojiro explained that he'd heard a rumor that the losers in the Friendship Cup would be sent to the Underground Labor Facility to do forced labor, where captured escapees were also sent and from where no-one had returned. Yuya was horrified by the existence of such a place and worried about Gong. He then learned from the announcements that Riley would be Dueling Shinji next, and he disapproved of Riley Turbo Dueling and even being in the tournament. Riley suddenly burst into the room and tightly hugged Yuya, refusing to Duel against Shinji. Declan entered and Yuya furiously asked him why he was making Riley fight, and why he'd forced Riley to come with them. Declan admitted that he'd told Riley to accompany them, as he needed to gain experience and was necessary in the fight against Duel Academy. Yuya told Declan to shut up, and stated that Riley had been terrified and lonely since they'd arrived in the Synchro Dimension, trying to find Declan. Yuya vowed not to let Riley fight, and to protect him himself if Declan wouldn't. Declan then asked Riley why he wouldn't Duel, and Riley explained that Shinji had been kind to him. Declan realized that Riley didn't want to Duel a friend and ordered Moon Shadow to Duel instead. He left, and Riley panicked and ran after him. Declan explained that he was pleased, not angry, since this meant that Riley's sense of self was growing. Yuya was confused by the term, and he tried to get Declan's little brother to stay with him, knowing that Declan would make him fight in the future, but Chojiro told him to let Riley be, since forcing Riley to stay with Yuya would be contradictory to his original statement of Declan not forcing him, and since Riley probably liked Declan more than Yuya. At Sam's request, Yuya returned to his room, and he turned to confront Declan again in anger, but the door closed and locked him in. He also watched Zuzu's Duel with Chojiro, and realized that Zuzu was trying to reach out to him. He was happy that Zuzu was able to win, but regretful that Chojiro was sent to the underground labor facility. His concerns were renewed after Celina's victory against Tony Simmons, and in disgust he derided the idea of the Friendship Cup.

He Dueled against Duel Chaser 227 in the second day of the Friendship Cup, and his entrance was booed by the crowd. Yuya attempted to protest against the Friendship Cup for sending the losers to do forced labor, but to his utter shock neither the crowd of Commons nor Melissa Trail saw anything wrong with that. 227 urged Yuya to either Duel him or surrender, and Yuya traded blows with the Duel Chaser's "Goyo" Synchro Monsters, but briefly hesitated before making a game-winning attack with "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon", allowing 227 to seal Yuya's attacks with "Battle Lock". To his surprise, 227 brought out a Fusion Monster, "", and took control of most of Yuya's field. The crowd's bloodlust for battle rather than entertainment briefly set Yuya off, causing his eyes to glow while Awakened. Yuya then consciously Special Summoned "", used its effect to destroy "Goyo Emperor", reclaimed control of his monsters, then brutally attacked with "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" for the win, deliberately knocking 227 off his Duel Runner. Initially downcast at the win, Yuya attempted to stop the staff from taking the injured 227 away. He was returned to his room by Sam, and didn't pay attention to the next Duel between Yugo and Sylvio until Yugo Synchro Summoned "". Yuya's "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" began to react to "Clear Wing", and Yuya began mimicking Yugo's moves and words, while during the Turbo Duel, Yugo took on some of Yuya's mannerisms. The effects ended after Yugo was victorious, and Yuya watched helplessly as Sylvio was taken away.

Yuya watched the Duel between Damon and Sergey Volkov, and he was shocked by the sudden and brutal climax that resulted in Damon's defeat. Moon Shadow approached his room, explaining that Declan was not abandoning the other Lancers to the underground and that he had lost to Shinji on purpose to collect information. He then delivered a message from Riley, encouraging Yuya to defeat Jack and ensure that the people of the Synchro Dimension would listen to them, adding that Jack had told Riley not to hesitate when trying to attain a goal. Yuya attempted to pass a message onto Riley, but Moon Shadow explained that he could not, since Riley had returned to the main hall. Yuya instead had Moon Shadow give a letter to Zuzu, reassuring her that he would win the tournament in order to bring smiles to the people of New Domino, and to return home with their comrades.

He was surprised when he realized that the last match of the first round was between two Lancers; Shay and Dennis. Yuya wondered if the purpose of the match was to create internal conflict. He was surprised when Shay vowed to show Dennis's true colors, especially when he realized how similar the Duel was to Shay's Duel with Sora. He was shocked when Dennis revealed that he was from Duel Academy, protesting that it couldn't be true, and suffered an even greater shock when Dennis revealed that he had orchestrated both the Invasion of the Xyz Dimension and Lulu's kidnapping. The reminder of the events Awakened Yuto inside Yuya, and Yuto revealed his anger to Yuya, asking if he understood it. Yuya agreed that he did, and briefly Awakened, but he calmed down and reaffirmed his wish to bring smiles to New Domino. Yuya begged Shay to stop as he brutally beat Dennis down using "".

Friendship Cup Finals
Yuya watched the Duel between Zuzu and Sergey Volkov, cheering for her in his room. He noted that Sergey was up to something with his odd strategy of steadily wearing down his own LP and he was horrified after witnessing Zuzu's brutal defeat.

He angrily wondered whether she was okay and why no-one was searching for her, but he was then called to Duel Shinji. Worried about Zuzu, Yuya tried to talk to Shinji out of the idea of revolution against the Tops, but he was unable to convince him, and Shinji explained that as a loser, Zuzu would be discarded, which was why he wanted to change New Domino's society. He told Yuya to win the Duel if he wanted to get his message across. Yuya was unable to concentrate on his Duel because he was still worried about Zuzu. He tried to end the Duel quickly by using "Gap Power" to strengthen his monsters, but was unable to. Shinji rallied the Commons and chastised Yuya for using the card's effect wastefully. After a few turns Sora called him from a rooftop which surprised Yuya, showing him that Zuzu was okay by showing him her helmet. Trusting in Sora's message that Zuzu was fine, Yuya continued the Duel. Taking a chance with "Match Pump", he drew the "" that Sam had given to him. Shinji and the crowd mocked Yuya's use of the card when Yuya used the effect of "Tuning Magician" to reduce his LP and heal Shinji's, but Yuya replied that no card was useless. He survived Shinji's "Battle Wasp - Hama the Evil-Crushing Bow" for the second time with a last-second Action Card and drew "" on his next turn, wondering what to revive. Seeing "Tuning Magician" in his mind, Yuya decided to trust in "Tuning Magician". This trust allowed him to create "", which he proceeded to Pendulum-Synchro Summon for the first time and use to defeat Shinji by re-using "Gap Power" to use the effect of "Tuning Magician" to his advantage.

After his victory, Sam met Yuya as he returned to the Duel Palace. The Topsiders thanked Yuya as he "stopped" Shinji's drivel about the revolution, while the Commons expressed their hatred for Shinji's defeat. Yuya realized that he put the victory over his Dueltaining so he could reach Jack and that had deepened the commotion between him and the Commons. Shinji returned and at the same time, Jean-Michel Roget approached Yuya as he was impressed by the Duel, especially when Yuya Pendulum-Synchro Summoned. The Commons suspected that Yuya had connections to the Topsiders and Sector Security and that this was why Yuya had been chosen as Jack's opponent earlier despite being unknown in New Domino. Roget defended Yuya saying that he just believed in his potential, due Yuya's Pendulum Summoning.

Roget claimed that it was best for Yuya to test Pendulum Summoning in his Duel with Jack, where Roget expected Jack's victory. Shinji accused the match of being fixed, but Roget put him in his place and sent Shinji to the Underground Labor Facility. Although Shinji was vowing revenge on Yuya, Yuya vowed in turn to rescue Shinji from the Underground, claiming that he wouldn't abandon him. Remembering seeing Sora, Yuya attempted to leave on his Duel Runner to look for Zuzu but a Sector Security officer blocked him. Roget told the officer to let him go. Yuya escaped the Duel Palace and started to call for Sora all over New Domino, not knowing that he was being followed by an officer. Sora found Yuya and the two of them hid.

Sora explained that Zuzu was alive and he kept her in a safe place. He also explained his objectives since the Battle Royal and why he was in the Synchro Dimension: to save Zuzu. Sora had looked unsuccessfully for Zuzu at Duel Academy and had learned that Leo also wanted Zuzu and Celina, so he returned to Standard Dimension only to learn that Declan formed the Lancers, so he came to the Synchro Dimension. After hearing of Dennis' connection in Lulu's disappearance, he sent Dennis back to Duel Academy to protect Zuzu. Yuya told him that since he sent Dennis back, Duel Academy would know that Zuzu and Celina were in the Synchro Dimension, but Sora interrupted that Duel Academy would know anyway since the Obelisk Force may come in the Synchro Dimension soon. Sora proposed to Yuya to bring Celina to Sora while he handed over Zuzu to Yuya. Yuya disagreed because he could not abandon Celina. Yuya swore to defeat Duel Academy and hoped that Sora would open his eyes soon. Yuya saw an officer from a rooftop who attempted to trap Sora in an energy net. Yuya pushed Sora out of the way and got caught instead. Yuya told Sora to protect Zuzu; as Sora left, Yuya wished him luck.

Yuya was brought to Roget's office, where he explained his plans of domination over the Synchro Dimension. Roget admits he admires Yuya, to the point where he states Yuya will make a finer choice as King than Jack; Yuya reluctantly refused. Throughout his explanation, Roget attempted to convince Yuya that his and Yuya's vision of the future were the same. He even tried to get Yuya to turn against Sora, though that fell on deaf ears. When Roget ordered Zuzu's capture, Yuya tried to stop him. Roget then ordered Yuya be sent away, where he will be put under the same mind control program as Sergey.

During his captivity, Yuya noticed "Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon" glowing and began to synchronize with Yugo's mind again after Yugo Summoned "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon" during his Duel with Celina. The two subsequently yelled Yuya's own catchphrase. During the Duel, they mimicked each others' moves, words, and mannerisms again. Near the end of the Duel, Yuya and Yugo Synchro Summoned a new dragon, "" to win the Duel. After their synchronization was over, Yuya started to become aware of the power and thought back to when his, Yuto, and Yugo's dragons were resonating with each other. He was then released from his cell to take part in the next Duel against Crow.

Before their Duel started, Crow apologized to Yuya for suspecting that him and the Lancers were working with the Topsiders. Yuya then told Crow that Roget had captured Declan and Riley and planned to take over New Domino. Crow agreed to help Yuya and they planned to have Yuya escape during the Duel to rescue everyone in the Capital Building. Before Yuya could escape, Roget activated the chip he placed in Yuya's helmet, which tortured Yuya through electrocution. After using it at maximum, Yuya's pain caused him to synchronize with Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri, and caused all four of them to Awaken. This also caused him to Duel ferociously against Crow, who began to doubt Yuya again, and Summon out both "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon". After Crow blocked Yuya's attempt to use the effect of "Dark Rebellion", Yuya brought out "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon", causing power outages across New Domino. This inadvertently endangered Yuya; Roget had attempted to manipulate the track to aid Yuya and the power loss had caused a gap to appear in the track. Yuya was able to pass over by equipping "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" with "Supreme Wing", but the chip in Yuya's helmet was continuously activating and putting his life at risk. After the situation was explained to him by Sora, Crow Summoned "" and managed to destroy "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon", but the effect of "Supreme Wing" defeated Crow. Yuya fell unconscious after the Duel and woke to see Crow urging Yuya to protect Celina from the invaders before Crow was taken to the Underground Labor Facility. Realizing that Duel Academy forces may have begun to arrive, Yuya exited the stadium on his Duel Runner in order to confront them.

Yuya quickly realized that the Obelisk Force had indeed arrived in the Synchro Dimension, and he drove down the streets looking for Sora and Celina. When he saw a signal flare, he realized that it might mark the location of Celina as signaled by the Obelisk Force. He arrived on his Duel Runner just in time to rescue Riley and Celina from three of the Obelisk Force. He defeated the Obelisk Force soldiers with "Dark Rebellion", "Odd-Eyes", and "Enlightenment Paladin" before encountering Barrett. Barrett demanded that Yuya hand Celina over, but Yuya refused. Yuya drew "", the card his mother gave to him before leaving for the Synchro Dimension.

Barrett used his Trap Cards, "Beastborg Medal of the Steel Chain" and "Beastborg Medal of the Crimson Chain", to seal Yuya's attacks and lower his LP. Throughout their Duel, Barrett tried to convince Yuya to give up and divulge Zuzu's location and Celina to return with him. Yuya refused to comply and repeated his resolve and determination to prevent Celina's and Zuzu's capture. When the Obelisk Force tried to capture Celina, Sora saved her but Yuri arrived with three more Obelisk Force soldiers to capture both of them, Yuya was surprised to see his final counterpart. Yugo arrived as well to Duel Yuri and when they Summoned "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon" and "", the presence of the Four Dimension Dragons caused Yuya, Yuto, Yugo, and Yuri to Awaken and synchronize again. While synced, Yuya and his counterparts start shouting that they waited for this time to become one and for a revival. But when Zuzu arrived her bracelet teleported Yuri and Yugo away, and returned Yuya to his senses. Yuya became upset when he realized that Zuzu was with him, knowing that the situation got worse since what Duel Academy wanted is now in front of their eyes. Barrett saw the pointlessness of the Duel and offered to end it, but decided to go on, touched by Yuya's actions and bravery. This also caused Barrett to gain respect for Yuya's resolve. Their Duel got interrupted by Sergey, who trapped Zuzu with his Field Spell Card, "Earthbound Prison".

Yuya was desperate to free Zuzu from "Earthbound Prison" and even got injured while doing so. He was alarmed, but did not leave Zuzu's side as Barrett lost to Sergey and took Celina back to Duel Academy. Zuzu became afraid of Yuya after seeing him Awakened again, upset that she did not want to see Yuya lose himself. With Barrett gone and knowing that he had to end the Duel soon due to his low LP, Yuya understood that he was not in a position to bring smiles to people and made the heartbreaking decision to abandon his smile philosophy. Without hesitation, he sent "Smile World" to the Graveyard to pay for the cost of "Magical Thunder" and destroy "Earthbound Prison". This action surprised Sora, as they were both aware that Yuya would take further damage in destroying that card. The only remnant of Yuya's smile philosophy was to successfully protect Zuzu and make her happy and smile at all costs. Despite Yuya's best efforts, he was eventually defeated by Sergey, who used the effect of "Earthbound Servant Geo Griffon" to destroy "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" after the latter destroyed the former, then had "Earthbound Servant Geo Kraken" attack him directly.

After reuniting with Gong, Sylvio, and Chojiro, Yuya defended Sora from Sylvio's accusations, and explained that Celina and Zuzu were captured by Barrett and Sergey, respectively. He also revealed that Roget was a defector of Duel Academy who planned to use Zuzu as a bargaining chip to protect New Domino and his plans to turn the Synchro Dimension into his own kingdom. Yuya tried to go with Sora and Moon Shadow to get Zuzu back, but was dissuaded by Moon Shadow, who was the most injured out of the three, preventing him from going further. Yuya was shocked to see Yugo out of the tournament and Sergey Dueling Jack. Gong and Chojiro ended up giving in to Yuya, and Gong supported Yuya's body as they began their journey to follow Sora and Moon Shadow. During Jack's and Sergey's Duel, the duo was surprised to see Sergey transform into a Dueling machine. While still on the move, Yuya and Gong notices how Sergey pushes Jack into a corner but continues to hold his own. After watching Jack saved Sergey from falling off the Duel lane, Yuya watched as the Commons cheered Jack on, especially after he defeated Sergey.

After Sergey and Jack's Duel, the Commons continued to riot. During this time, Roget announced martial law throughout New Domino. In the middle of the speech, Zuzu knocked him to the ground and told Yuya how she truly felt about the situation at hand. After hearing Zuzu's words, Yuya intended to go save her, but Gong stopped him and told him to leave the job to Sora and Moon Shadow. Sam appeared and told him that Jack was not impressed with his Duel with Crow. Jack also instructed Sam to tell Yuya, if that wasn't the Duel he truly believed in, to come to the Duel Palace and challenge him to a Duel. Yuya remembered what Zuzu had told him and started to head towards the Duel Palace. Though the rioting Commons were in his way, he eventually reunited with Frank, Amanda, and Tarren and told them that Celina had returned with Barret to Duel Academy. Despite hearing this, they led him to the entry of the Duel Palace, where a group of Commons were rioting trying to get in, with Sector Security holding them back. After hearing Yuya was trying to enter the Duel Palace, the Commons turned against Yuya under the belief he was with the Topsiders. At this time, Gong promised Yuya to put his life on the line in order to get Yuya to the palace. Just then Shay, Chojiro, Sylvio, Declan, and Riley appeared while riding Shay's "Raidraptors". Yuya jumped on and rode with them to the Duel Palace, where Melissa Trail was waiting and started a news report on what was going on. Suddenly, Sylvio snatched Melissa's microphone and handed it to Yuya, telling him to inform the public about how he really felt. Yuya did so and told New Domino that he would Duel Jack and make them smile with their Duel.

Yuya initially mocked Jack for not claiming how many turns he would win, only to be rebuked by Jack. He countered that that he would never surrender because he carried the will and wishes of all the people he defeated, including Shinji and Crow. The two were surprised to hear his declaration. The Duel began with Jack Summoning the same monsters he did during their first Duel. Yuya realized that Jack was asking how much he grew since the eve of the tournament. Yuya responded by Pendulum Summoning "" and "". Using the effect of "Radish Horse", he strengthened "Tiebreaker" and weakened "Red Wyvern" and followed up with "Smile World". During this time, Yuya spoke of his "inheritance" from Yusho, making Jack tut with disapproval and disappointment. Jack blocked the attack of "Timebreaker" with "" and Summoned "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend". However, the Duel was interrupted by a squad of Duel Chasers. Hugely disappointed of his expectations for Yuya and angry and annoyed with Roget's selfishness as well as the attempted interruption of the Duel Chasers, Jack activated the effect of "Scarlight" to defeat the Duel Chasers in an OTK, but Yuya managed to escape with the Action Card, "Acceleration". Jack made it clear to Yuya that he expected him to Duel with his own style, not just copy from his father.

Yuya eventually took a direct attack from "Scarlight", but due to the damage he took, he activated the Action Card "Double Draw" to draw two cards. Jack ordered Yuya to surrender, but Yuya realized if he surrendered now, he would be denying his father's Dueltaining. Refusing to let that happen, he continued the Duel and drew "Tuning Magician." He Pendulum Summoned "Radish Horse" and "Timebreaker Magician" from his Extra Deck and Normal Summoned "Tuning Magician", taking further damage through its effect. Yuya tuned the three monsters to Synchro Summon "Enlightenment Paladin" and used its effect to recover "Smile World". He also revealed that he was grateful for Jack granting him a Synchro Monster but that he could never turn his back on his father's Dueling. Jack continued to observe him disdainfully.

Yuya attempted to destroy "Scarlight" by battle, but failed. He reflected that he knew Jack's words of his style being borrowed were true; Yuya borrowed Yusho's Dueling style, while "Tuning Magician" was borrowed from Sam. In Jack's next turn, he tried to destroy "Enlightenment Paladin", once with its effect, and again by battle, but Yuya protected it with the Pendulum Effects of "" and "". Jack remarked how nice it would have been if Pendulum Effects were his breakthrough. This made Yuya stop and remember Skip's words and lessons that Yuya must be the example of other people for being the pioneer of Pendulum Summoning, just as his father was the pioneer of Action Duels, and in turn, Yuya realized that Pendulum Summoning was his own doing, not borrowed from someone else. This growth and sudden realization of the truth and answer activated his pendant, granting Yuya the image of a new monster. Yuya declared to Jack he found his words and Jack told him to shout it out. On his next turn, Yuya Pendulum Summoned "". To Jack and Melissa Claire's profound shock, Yuya tuned "Enlightenment Paladin" to "Cheermole" to Synchro Summon ", the first Synchro/Pendulum Monster Summoned without a Tuner. Jack's face broke into a secretive knowing, but pleased, smile and called Yuya "interesting." The tide turned to grant Jack the Duel he expected from Yuya at the beginning of their rematch.

Yuya almost successfully managed to destroy "Scarlight" with "Nirvana High", but Jack protected "Scarlight" with "", despite taking damage in the process. Happy with Yuya's growth and the birth of "Nirvana High", Jack jumped off to another Duel lane under construction and flew across the gap like Crow did, while he double tuned "Scarlight" with "King Scarlet and "" to Synchro Summon "". This action further shocked the audience at the Duel Palace, as well as Yuya, Frank, Amanda, Tanner, Sam, and Chojiro. No one expected Jack to actually have a hidden upgrade to his ace monster and the fact that he may have been concealing the true extent of his strength up until now. "Tyrant" managed to destroy all of Yuya's cards with its effect, but the effect of "Nirvana High" allowed Yuya to place it in his Pendulum Zone. Jack attempted to finish off Yuya again, but Yuya attempted to use the Action Card "Evasion" to negate the attack, though "Tyrant" negated it and continued the attack. In response, Yuya Special Summoned "" to protect himself. Its destruction allowed Yuya to place it in his other Pendulum Zone. Jack thought that this was all on Yuya's expectations, but with Yuya's reply that it wasn't and all he was doing was trying his best, Jack became even more pleased and taught Yuya more about the essence of Dueling.

Through Jack's words, Yuya finally learned what it meant not to Duel with self-satisfaction and arrogance and understood what Jack was talking about from the start of their encounter. He grew because of the people he faced and Dueled against and remembered his parents, Skip, Zuzu, Gong, Yuto, Sora, Crow, Shinji, Aura, and all the people he's faced in Duels before. Jack told Yuya to show him that he learned, and Yuya drew "" on his next turn. Through "Acrobat Magician" and "Nirvana High", Yuya performed a full-field Pendulum Summon of five monsters at once with a brilliant rainbow burst: "Odd-Eyes", "Timebreaker", "Radish Horse", "Bubulldog", and "Rubber Mutton". This stupefied the crowd at the Duel Palace to silence and amazed Jack, Melissa, Frank, Amanda, Tarren, Sam, and Chojiro.

Yuya activated "Smile Word" and additionally used the effect of "Radish Horse" to strengthen Odd Eyes" and weaken "Tyrant". Jack responded by activating the Trap Card, "Over the Red" to banish "Scarlight" in his Graveyard, and increase the ATK of "Tyrant" to 10000. Yuya then activated the Pendulum Effect of "Nirvana High", which allowed him to prevent the monster with the lowest Level, "Timebreaker", to not be destroyed by battle, negate the battle damage, and decrease the attack target's ATK by the attacking monster's ATK. "Timebreaker" attacked and Tyrant ended with 8000 ATK. The effect of "Nirvana High" also allowed Yuya to continue decreasing the ATK of "Tyrant" by using the monster with a Level higher than the previous one. By now, the entirety of New Domino becomes focused on the Duel and in Yuya's actions. Helicopters, monorails, and cars raced to the Dueling site with Tops and Commons alike watching it live with their very own eyes. Crow, Shinji, Damon, and Tony also appeared in their Duel Runners and encouraged Yuya. Duel Chaser 227 also came with his colleagues with Lucas Swank handcuffed and riding in a car to watch Yuya's Duel with pride and excitement.

Jack smiled and gave a healthy laugh for the first time and encouraged Yuya to give his all. New Domino, Tops and Commons alike, shouted out in sync with Yuya as they ordered "Odd-Eyes" to attack. Gong, Sylvio, Crow, Shinji, Damon, and Tony further shouted out its effect. The Duel finally ended with Yuya's victory and becoming the new Duel King of the Synchro Dimension. The entirety of New Domino went wild with the event. Yuya and Jack's Duel became the last Duel of the last Friendship Cup. The Council broadcasted via holograms their confession of the true purpose of tournament, resigned and disbanded, and dissolved the Tops and Commons system. Everyone widely clapped and agreed, and celebrations continued. For Yuya, though, the happiness was short-lived when a brutally injured and beat-up looking Sora suddenly appeared on the broadcast from the Public Sector Security building and informed the entirety of New Domino that just as he and Moon Shadow rescued Zuzu, Roget recaptured Zuzu and planned to take her with him to Duel Academy. Sora warned Yuya, Sylvio, Shay, and Gong to stop him and rescue Zuzu before the screen cut off abruptly due to Sora getting caught in another explosion in the room. Yuya called out Sora's name worriedly and was about to get on his Duel Runner again, but the former Council offered him to ride on the helicopter and take him directly to the Sector Security building. Jack joined Yuya on the helicopter and Yuya silently asked Zuzu to wait a little longer and promised to rescue her.

Yuya finally arrived at the Sector Security building and reunited with the other Lancers. After learning about Roget's underhanded Dueling tactics, Yuya decided to help Declan, but could not open the door. Sora, who was nearby, initiated the Hacking System in his Duel Disk to open the door for Yuya. Yuya then rushed to help Declan, only for Declan to stop him. Yuya spotted a distortion in the Dueling Field, and behind the spot stood Roget and Zuzu. Roget, who desperately tried to mislead Yuya, was ignored by Yuya in favor of Declan. When his ruse was discovered, Roget fled for the elevator, but failed as "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend" destroyed it, causing Zuzu to fall. Yuya managed to rescue Zuzu by catching her mid-air and Summoned "Performapal Hip Hippo" to help with their landing. Yuya embraced Zuzu, glad to be reunited with her. After a short moment, Roget activated an Interdimensional Transportation machine, which teleported himself, Zuzu, Yuya, Gong, Shay, and Sylvio away. Yuya, Gong, Sylvio and Shay appeared in a midst of ruin and Shay informed them that this place was his homeland - Heartland City of Xyz Dimension.

Heartland City
Shay split up with his fellow Lancers, leaving them to wander around the destroyed city. When they found a woman, she ran away from them and dropped her supplies, afraid of the Duel Disks equipped to the Lancers. Yuya decided to return the supplies to her, though Sylvio had to be persuaded not to have some. They witnessed a man being sealed into a card by three Duel Academy students and found the woman's house, eventually managing to convince them to take their food back. Yuya finally found the woman, who was still afraid of him and his friends. They unequipped their Duel Disks and helped her. Yuya asked the woman about the Resistance and she replied that most of them were wiped out by Duel Academy. After the question, three Duel Academy Duelists appeared, so Yuya explained his side of the story as he Dueled them. After he and the others won, Sylvio tried to activate the Human Sealing Technology, but Yuya stopped him. The three Duel Academy Duelists ran away, only to run into a Resistance Duelist, who sealed them into cards.

Yuya protested that the Duelist's actions were no better than Duel Academy's. He tried to explain his smile philosophy and expressed relief that Kite was a member of the Resistance, only for the Duelist to demand a Duel to decide whether they were friend or foe. Yuya was dismayed to see Sylvio and Gong join the Duel, but he appreciated Gong's attempts to end it peacefully. During the Duel, Yuya recognized the Duelist's "". Yuya realized Yuto's presence when he named the Duelist as Kite, despite not knowing his name and declared that Gong and Sylvio wouldn't win. Through Yuto, Yuya learned more about Kite and his relationship with Yuto, Lulu, and Shay, and was also able to see the difference between Kite's previous and current states, and he became concerned for the well-being of the Duelists. Once Sylvio and Gong were defeated, Yuya decided to talk Kite out of his anger through a Duel, despite Yuto's warnings. Kite decided that Yuya was an enemy after realizing that Yuya knew his name and quickly brought out "". Yuya Pendulum Summoned "" and "" and attempted to use them to destroy "Galaxy-Eyes", but Kite had learned from his Duel with Sylvio and Gong and blocked the attack. Kite resisted Yuya's attempts to pacify him; too angry to listen to Yuya until Yuya Xyz Summoned "". Yuya almost destroyed "Galaxy-Eyes", but Kite brought out another to double the ATK of the first one, causing it to tie with "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon". Prompted by Yuto, Yuya used the effect of "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" to Set it in a Pendulum Zone and re-Set his Scales. Yuto explained to Yuya that the Dueling that he'd had with Jack worked because they were working for the same goal, but Kite and Duel Academy were not. They thus decided to Xyz Summon "", and Kite mistook Yuya for Yuto. Shay then arrived with two Resistance members and explained that the Lancers were indeed his comrades. Despite this, Kite vanished in a bright flash of light after learning Yuya's last name.

After Kite's retreat, Yuya, Gong, Sylvio, and Shay followed Allen and Sayaka to a new hideout and base of operations for surviving Resistance and Heartland members. After introductions, Yuya and Yuto lamented their inability to open Kite's closed heart. He also saw the mother and children he had saved earlier from the soldiers and learned from Shay that they alerted the Resistance to his earlier location as they wanted to thank him for showing a true Duel, a Duel with smiles. When Allen began to mistakenly assume that Yuya was Yuto before Shay corrected him, Yuya sympathized his counterpart's plight. He wanted to explain to everyone about Yuto's whereabouts and circumstances, but Yuto stopped him, as the Lancers, Allen, and Sayaka would find it hard to believe. Yuya and Yuto were touched when Shay revealed his decision to trust Yuya and Yuto's choice to leave his dragon with Yuya. Allen and Sayaka did not falsely accuse Yuya for having Yuto's card when Shay told them Yuto left "Dark Rebellion" in Yuya's care in hopes of bringing smiles with Duels, which was typical of Yuto. Yuya and Yuto learned of the second major attack Duel Academy launched soon after Shay and Yuto left for Standard. Without any Duels, the soldiers would seal innocent people into cards. Yuya realized that something happened to Kite during this second attack and found out from Sayaka that Duel Academy wiped out Kite's entire family, which devastated Shay and surprised Yuya. Yuya reflected how he tried to forcibly open Kite's heart, which went against his Dueling beliefs and resolved that he wouldn't be able to face Jack or Yusho if he couldn't resolve things peacefully. Sayaka asked Yuya if he was related to Yusho Sakaki, which he confirmed in surprise. Once Allen also revealed he knew Yusho, Yuya begged the two children to tell him more about his father. Sayaka revealed that Yusho was their teacher. She explained that three years ago, Yusho suddenly appeared in the Xyz Dimension, and as if he predicted Duel Academy's eventual invasion, he taught everyone in Heartland about Dueling and to never forget their smiles no matter what happened. Yuya was elated to find out that his father disappeared only to travel across dimensions and fight against Duel Academy, instead of being a coward like many people believed. However, he was upset and hurt when Allen told him that that Heartland citizens hated Yusho and called him a coward for suddenly disappearing as he had come and not helping the dimension with the invasion.

At what seemed to be the former building of Spade Branch, Yuya asked Yuto if he knew his father only for the latter to deny it. Yuya accused Yuto of lying since without meeting Yusho, there was no way for Yuto to make the speech he made in his last moments in physical form. Yuto revealed that his speech was derived from what he heard from Lulu when she was comforting a child back in the early days of the invasion. Yuya learned that Lulu most likely became a disciple of his father's dueling style and philosophy through Sayaka, who was Yusho's student at the Clover Branch. On his way out, Yuya noticed a picture of Shay, Lulu, and Yuto. Yuya and Yuto acknowledged the existence of an unknown darkness that influenced their actions whenever they were Awakened. Yuto recalled the four dragons' desire to become one, and theorized that his current residence in Yuya's body may have had to do with "Dark Rebellion" to Yuya's alarm. Yuya noted that he could now freely communicate with Yuto compared to previous instances ever since his arrival at the Xyz Dimension.

Before they could pursue the subject any further, Yuya confronted an unknown Duelist who immediately attacked him once he heard Yuya's surname. Yuya guessed the Duelist knew his father and begged him to tell what happened between them, but the Duelist refused. To the Duelist's anger, Yuya used "Smile World" and his "Performapal" monsters. Yuya tried to make the Duelist smile and give him information about Yusho but he took huge damage in the process, concerning Yuto. Yuto begged Yuya to stop and prioritize winning. He pointed out to Yuya that the stranger hated Yusho; so even Yusho couldn't make him smile. Determined to protect Yuya and angered by the Duelist’s having likely hunted down his comrades, Yuto forcefully possessed Yuya. Yuya tried to stop Yuto and calm him down, but failed. An alarmed Yuya listened to Yuto listing his convictions that the Duelist was probably responsible for carding his comrades, Kite's family, and his regret for going to Standard and leaving everyone else behind. Despite the forceful nature of the possession the two continued to work well and in sync. Thanks to Yuto having Yuya Xyz Summon "Dark Rebellion" and Rank-Up "Dark Rebellion" into "", Yuya managed to end the Duel in a DRAW. He was knocked into some rubble and was hidden underneath it due to the shock wave of the last attack. Other members of Duel Academy approached and the hidden Yuya learned his opponent's identity as the commander-in-chief of Duel Academy forces in Heartland City.

While returning to the Resistance's hideout, Yuya saw an explosion and Yuto thought it was Duel Academy attacking. He arrived to try to stop Shay and Kite's Duel because they were comrades, only to be told to stay out of it by Allen because he is an outsider. Kite claimed that he didn't need comrades because he had "Galaxy-Eyes". Shay called out to Yuya as well and Yuto told Yuya to leave it to Shay. Yuto explained that Shay was trying to deliver his words to Kite through Dueling. When Shay told Kite what his comrades were to him, Yuya and Yuto began talking about Kite and Shay's past. He then revealed to everyone that Yuto was residing inside of him, something that Shay claimed he had had a hunch about. Yuya was shocked when Kite defeated Shay. When Kite was about seal Shay in a card, Sayaka begged him not to before revealing that she had been present during Lulu's kidnapping, shocking Yuya. Kite decided not to seal Shay before leaving again.

When Sayaka disappeared, Yuya realized that she was looking for Kite. He asked Allen to take him with him, but Allen refused, claiming that Yuya was an outsider and that he wouldn't accept him as a comrade. Yuya sadly mused that Allen still thought that Yusho abandoned everyone. Shay arrived and decided to split the Lancers into two groups to find Sayaka, teaming up with Yuya. While searching, Yuya and Shay heard Sylvio's scream and ran to his location. They arrived and found Sylvio, Gong, Allen, and Sayaka on the ground. Yuya asked Gong what happened, but Gong only gasped, "Amazoness", alerting Shay. When the female Duelists thought Shay was a scared Resistance member who fled from them, Yuto and Yuya replied in unison that if they had stayed in Heartland many of their comrades wouldn't have been sealed into cards. Yuya asked Yuto if he knew the two Duelists and learned that they nearly wiped out the Spade Branch's Resistance. Yuya told Yuto he understood his pain but was worried that the unknown being would possess them if they got angry. Shay asked Yuya to let Yuto do what he wants, Yuya agreed but stated that he would Duel his own way. The Tyler Sisters challenged them to a Tag-Team Duel and Yuya learned that Gong had been at a disadvantage because of the shared Graveyard. When Yuya Pendulum Summoned, he was surprised when they used "Amazoness Audience Room" to gain LP from his and Shay's Special Summoned monsters ATK. Yuya's monsters were destroyed and he tried to calm Yuto and Shay down. The Tyler sister continued to regain LP and prevent battle damage and destroyed Shay's "". Yuya was possessed by Yuto again, who claimed that they would keep fighting until they achieved victory. Yuya urged Yuto to calm down, admitting that he couldn't forget his fallen comrades but his anger would get them possess again by the unknown being. Yuya asked Yuto and Shay to leave it to him and he would answer their feelings. He Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", but the continual Special Summons had increased the Tyler Sister's LP to over 10,000. When Yuto asked him how he would going to bring the Tyler sisters 10,000 LP, he said is going borrow Yuto, Shay, and his father's strength. Yuya activated "Miracle Rocket Show", which would prevent the Tyler Sisters from taking battle damage, and used it and "Smile Wolrd" in combination with "Dark Rebellion" and "Rise Falcon" to attack "Liger" and activated the final effect of "Miracle Rocket Show" to inflict effect damage equal to the prevented battle damage to win the Duel.

After the Duel, Allen accepted Yuya as a comrade before the Obelisk Force arrived. Yuya and Shay decided to Duel them since the others were injured. Shay told Yuya that his Dueltaining wouldn't work on them, but he would still Duel his own way. When the Obelisk Force attempted to attack Yuya before his turn, he found and activated "Big Escape", ending the battle. Yuto told Yuya that he had confidence in Yuya's Dueling to reach people's hearts and watched over him. Yuya brought out "", "", and "Odd-Eyes" and began pushing the Obelisk Force back. They criticized him for not trying to lower their forces, but Yuya replied that he wasn't going to fight dirty and didn't want the Duel to end just yet. Yuya was worried when Shay and Sayaka were caught in the falling debris from the shockwaves created by "". He was shocked when Shay collapsed after getting hurt by the debris. Yuya tried to check on him but the Obelisk Force started to attack him and he used "" to reduce the battle damage to 0 and protect his friends. Yuya tried to find an Action Card but a second shockwave from "Chaos Giant" caused it to fall out of reach. Kite activated the Action Card, "Quick Guard", saving Yuya. He told Yuya to check on Shay while Kite defeated the Obelisk Force. The Commander-in-Chief then showed up with a squad of Duel Academy students and declared that he would defeat Yuya.

Before Yuya could carry Shay away, he was forced into a Duel by the Commander-in-Chief using "Wire Mesh - Chain Deathmatch" so no one could interfere. The Commander-in-Chief introduced himself as Aster Phoenix, and Yuya tried to leave the Duel but Yuto told him that Duel Academy would even Duel injured Duelists and Yuya would have to defeat Aster to save Shay. Yuya was worried about the others when they were cornered by Aster's squad until Kite stepped in to protect them. He accepted Aster's challenge and tried to gain an early lead, but Aster activated the effects of "Dynatag" and "", causing only Yuya to receive damage. Yuya worried about Kite Dueling alone, but Yuto told him to focus on his Duel. Yuya continued to suffer damage until he saw Kite defeat Aster's squad and retreat with the others, allowing Yuya to focus on his Duel. He brought his monsters back and thought about how to get Aster to understand him through Dueling, until Yuto reminded him Aster only believed in his Dueling. Deciding to talk to the Fusion Duelist through Fusion Summoning, he Fusion Summoned "", using its effects to reduce the ATK of "Dystopia". However "Brave-Eyes" was destroyed when Aster activated "Demise Urban" to trigger the effect of "Dystopia". Yuto insisted that Yuya's voice wouldn't reach Aster, but Yuya then noticed a torn "Smile World" card next Aster's foot and he learned that Aster Dueled his father and lost. Yuto again told Yuya that he couldn't make Aster understand through Dueling after hearing the story, but Yuya only smiled and when Yuto asked why, he told him that it was because Aster held on to the torn "Smile World". Aster furiously insisted that Yusho's Dueling was wrong and attacked directly. Despite Aster's attempts to stop him, Yuya was able to save himself with "Evasion". Yuto reminded Yuya that he would need multiple monsters to get past Aster's "Demise Urban" combo, but Yuya still insisted on Dueling his way. Yuto reminded Yuya that not even Yusho could make Aster smile, but Yuya was certain that Aster did in fact smile. Yuya told Aster that his heart was wavering like his pendulum between the Dueling of Duel Academy and that of Yusho. He Tribute Summoned "" and attacked "Dystopia", using "Counterattack Entermate" to dodge the "Demise Urban" combo, but he was unable to destroy "Dystopia". While trying to convince Aster again, he learned that Yusho told Aster that if Duel Academy smiled he would forgive them. Yuya tried to go for another Action Card but Aster prevented him from getting it using "Chain Deathmatch", destroying "Laughmaker" and bringing Yuya to 100 LP. Yuya Pendulum Summoned "Dag Daggerman", "Odd-Eyes", and "Laughmaker" then used "Performance Exchange" to give two of his monsters to Aster and he used "Smile World" to capitalize on the effect of "Laughmaker". Yuya went for another Action Card, using "Chain Deathmatch" to swing for the card, forcing Aster to remove "Chain Deathmatch" from the field, causing Yuya to fail to get the Action Card and "Laughmaker" to be destroyed by the effect of "Dystopia". Yuya brought "Brave-Eyes" back, claiming that he needed his Fusion Monster to talk to Aster, and attacked. Aster declared that he would talk to Yuya using the Lancers' card, and he powered up "Dystopia" through various means including the "Bi-Attack" that he had taken from Yuya, but Yuya countered with "Miracle Fire" to copy the effect of "Bi-Attack" effect and won the Duel. He was able to make Aster smile again, but he and Aster were then surrounded by Duel Academy students called in by Mamoru Noro.

Just as Mamoru ordered them to attack, Aster defended Yuya as he declared his treachery against the Professor to Yuya's shock. Aster convinced the Duel Academy students to stand down and atone for their crimes, and Gloria and Grace joined them, while Mamoru was forced to surrender after Kite returned with the Resistance. They watched the relief effort and Yuya reassured Kite, who was feeling guilty over his actions towards Duel Academy, that he had taken a step forward by forgiving them. Aster then revealed that the cards that people were sealed in were used to harvest life energy and intended to be awoken in the utopia that Duel Academy planned to create. He told Yuya that they hadn't seen any sign of Zuzu and reassured him that they would take care of Shay. Allen also gifted Yuya with his rollerblades and Yuya, Sylvio, Gong and Kite then departed to the Fusion Dimension. Immediately upon arrival in the Fusion Dimension, Yuya, Gong, Sylvio and Kite came upon Zuzu cornered by Duel Academy students under the command of Dennis Macfield. Yuya ran to Zuzu, happily calling her name.

While Zuzu tried to tell Yuya about his father, he was knocked to the ground by Iggy Arlo and was surprised to see him. When the Lancers got surrounded by Duel Academy, he tried to get Iggy to release him but Zuzu told him to focus on his Duel while she was protected. He accepted Iggy's challenge and admitted Yuto that it was his fault anyway. He Pendulum-Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion" at Iggy's urging and used its effect to weaken "Idaten the Conqueror Star", but Iggy blocked him when he activated the effect of "Kaiki the Sky Star" to Special Summon it from the Graveyard. Yuya was surprised by the markings Iggy gained from the effect of "Kaiki" to Fusion Summon "Shura the Conqueror Star". Unlike "Idaten", who was weak against monsters without a Level, the effect of "Shura" was actually stronger against Xyz Monsters. Yuya used the effects of "" and "" to give "Dark Rebellion" a high Level and attacked Shura, attempting to get an Action Card, but Iggy attacked him to get it. The attack still went through but Iggy prevented the destruction of "Shura" with the Action Card. On Iggy's next turn, both Duelist clashed in their attempts to get Action Cards; Yuya received a surprise when Allen's rollerblades activated, but he quickly mastered them and managed to defend himself for the turn. He explained to Yuto that he was doing this one step at a time. Yuya fought back on the next turn with Level manipulation tactics, but Iggy used "Evil-Sealing Flash" to increase the ATK of "Shura" by sealing away his Monster Zones, destroying "Dark Rebellion", and forcing Yuya's monsters into Defense mode. Yuya learned that Iggy swore to defeat him since passing each other eight years ago and that Iggy intended to force the Duel into a DRAW and cause them both to fall into the pit. Yuya used "Acrobat Tower", saving them both and bringing their monsters back from the Graveyard. As all of their monsters turned into balls, Yuya had them draw two cards for the tower of balls to fall on one of them to win. He drew lower-Level monsters, which unbalanced the tower in Iggy's direction and caused him to take damage, winning Yuya the Duel. He offered his hand to help Iggy stand again, and Iggy accepted this time. Everyone applauded both Duelists for their Duel and Iggy admitted that Dueltaining wasn't so bad before departing, with Yuya glad that he was able to change Iggy.

Zuzu took Yuya to the harbor with Gong and Sylvio and she explained that his father was there. However the ship that Yusho had boarded left and they tried to find a boat to catch up with it. They couldn't find a boat, but Celina appeared and told them to follow her. As they set sail on Captain Solo's ship, more Duel Academy soldiers arrived by helicopter and Celina took Zuzu hostage. Yuya tried to follow them but Solo opposed him while Sylvio and Gong were tied up by Solo's crewmates. Solo forced Yuya into a Duel and locked Yuya down with "Captain Lock". Yuya attempted to use Action Cards to turn the situation around, but Solo continuously used the steering of his ship to interfere with Yuya's movements, culminating in knocking Yuya from the mast. Crow saved Yuya with "", and Yuya was surprised to see him and the other Lancers. He asked Crow how they made it to the Fusion Dimension, but Sora reminded him the Duel was still continuing. Sora joined the Duel and was able to bypass the effect of "Lock" and destroy it by Fusion Summoning "Frightfur Kraken". However, Solo brought "Lock" back with its effects negated and strengthened its ATK with "Deadman Pirates". Yuya then used "Performapal Big Support" to equip "Performapal Sword Fish" to "Kraken", increasing its ATK and allowing Sora to defeat Solo. Yuya learned from Declan and Crow that after he left Security had disbanded and New Domino City had become truly equal. They were going to assist with the rebuilding effort, but Shinji and Chojiro had told them to leave New Domino City to them. Yuya dwelled on the reason why Celina kidnapped Zuzu, and Sora explained that the Professor was rumored to have someone who could control people's hearts and minds. After Declan declared that everything would end by the Lancers' hands.

While cruising to Duel Academy, Yuya discussed Zuzu and her counterparts, and he learned from Yuto that Yugo mistook Yuri for him and pursued him instead. He asked Sora why the Professor wanted Zuzu and her counterparts, and he learned they might be connected to the Arc Area Project. Yuya stated that they had to save them as soon as possible. Yuya told Declan that his father was heading towards Duel Academy to talk to the Professor and they had been trying to go after him. He was surprised to learn that Declan traveled to Duel Academy three years ago and asked Yusho for help. Declan explained about Revival Zero, another part of the Professor's plan involving Celina and Yuri. Yuya was shocked to learn that the plan might also involve him as well. Declan told Yuya and the Lancers to believe in their friends' strength and fight to the very end. After arriving on the island, Yuya prepared to climb the mountain to charge into Duel Academy.

After scaling the cliff, they were surrounded by Duel Academy students before utilizing their plan to split into two groups with Yuya, Gong, Sylvio, Crow, and Moon Shadow Dueling the students while Declan's group continued to the lab. When the students retreated, they chased after them but they were captured in energy nets. They were then forced into a Survival Duel by Sanders with five Duel Academy students that would only leave one man standing. He refused to participate until Sylvio asked whether he would rather just stand there and be sealed into a card instead. Crow also tried to explain the situation to Yuya before Moon Shadow went ahead to provide reconnaissance. However, they heard a scream and ran to the location only to find a card containing a Duel Academy student. They then heard something in the bushes and another student emerged in terror; Sylvio and Crow ran after the student, and Yuya and Gong soon lost them. They heard Moon Shadow's scream and ran to his location only to find him sealed into a card and Yuya cried in sorrow for his loss. Gong assumed that the Duel Academy students would really card anyone without care, but Yuya had realized from Moon's last message and his assumption that the students would defeat that Lancers before turning on one another that there was an eleventh Duelist in the arena with them and they decided to find Sylvio and Crow as quickly as possible. Yuya and Gong found another student sealed into a card and he told Gong they had to find Sylvio and Crow quickly due to the danger of staying separated.

They were able to find Sylvio and Crow after Crow activated "Blackwing - Last Will", but the eleventh Duelist, the Battle Beast, sealed Crow into a card right after they arrived. Yuya and Gong challenged him to a Battle Royal Duel. Yuya brought out "Odd-Eyes" and attempt to destroyed "", but the Battle Beast used "Medallion of Gladiator Beast" to prevent its destruction. He wondered what the Battle Beast was planning after the Battle Beast used the effect of "Laquari" to Special Summon "". "Odd-Eyes" was destroyed and Yuya lost LP due to "Pollice Verso". He continued to LP when his cards were destroyed by the effect of "", and Yuya attracted the Battle Beast's attention, as Gong's Heavystrong style would limit his defensive options. He tried going for Action Cards, but the Battle Beast continuously blocked him. He was saved when Gong used the Action Card "Benkei Guard", though at the cost of restricting his Deck. The Battle Beast furiously defeated Gong and prepared to seal him into a card, but then Jack arrived in the arena.

Yuya thanked Jack and learned that Amanda, Frank, and Tarren asked him to come help Crow. Sanders joined the Duel after Jack's first turn, and Yuya prepared himself and he told Jack that something was strange about the Battle Beast. Sanders later revealed that the Professor ordered him to eliminate Yuya specifically, and Yuya was shocked to learn that he was part of Duel Academy's plan. Caught up in his thought, Yuya barely noticed the attack of "Gladiator Beast Tamer Editor" and dodged it with "Evasion". He then returned to musing on what Leo wanted the four of them for to Yuto, and they both discussed the darkness that possessed them. He deduced that Leo might know something, which was why he wanted them eliminated. Jack yelled at Yuya for looking away in a Duel, and urged him to talk about it in a Duel, and Gong and Sylvio encouraged him not to forget their fallen comrades. Yuya used low-Level monsters to deal damage to the Battle Beast, and the Battle Beast activated "Gladiator Beast Assault Fort" to defend himself in response. Yuya noticed something was wrong with him again and he remembered his own bullying as a child for Yusho's disappearance. To his surprise, the Battle Beast used the effect of "Tamer Editor" to destroy itself in the next turn in an attempt to defeat Sanders.

After Battle Beast defeated Sanders, Yuya still thought something was strange about him. When Battle Beast was about to seal Sanders into a card, Yuya ran to stop him only to be knocked back. He then asked Battle Beast that he doesn't want to fight because that's how he feel. He continued to tell him that their both similar due to them protecting their hearts from pain. When Battle Beast still wanted to seal Sanders into a card, he tried to stop him but the rest of the students wanted Yuya to stop interfering because they will learn their instructor's teachings with him sealed into a card. He then watched Sanders tell Battle Beast about the Professor's order and is forced to use "Acceleration" to dodge the effect of "Gladiator Beast Fort". When Battle Beast used the effect of the second "Fort", he tried to find another action card but Jack protected him with "Red Gazer". When the students wanted their instructor to be carded, Yuya begged them to stop but Jack told him shouting won't erase the teachings drilled into their heads but shaking their hearts will. His monsters were destroyed when Jack used the effect of "Tyrant", but was surprised when Battle Beast brought out "Gladiator Beast Great Fortress". Yuya told Jack that Battle Beast was afraid of him since his first Counter Trap. He asked Jack was he alright but was told to focus on what he should be doing. After drawing a card, he told Jack he was going to tear off the thick armor covering Battle Beast's heart. He used "Performapal Pendulum Art and Clean" to Special Summon as many face-up Level 1 "Performapal" Pendulum Monsters from his Extra Deck as possible. He Special Summoned "Performapal Shieldrummer", "Performapal Pararhino", "Performapal Gongato", and "" with their effects negated and can attack directly but cannot Special Summon other monsters this turn. He then summoned "Performapal Undercover Hippo" and attacked Battle Beast directly but he used the effect of "Great Fortress" to Special Summon "Andabatae". However, Yuya activated "Performapal Guard Dance" to prevent his monsters from being destroyed and battle damage. He then sent "Shieldrummer" to attack next while Battle Beast Special Summoned "Gyzarus". His third monster "Odd-Eyes Unicorn" took on "Laquari" and his fourth one "Gongato" battled "Augustus". Yuya sent "Pararhino" to attack directly but Battle Beast activated the effect of the "Gladiator Beast Noxius" in his hand to Special Summoning it in Defense Position. He activated the effect of "Guard Dance" in his Graveyard, banishing it to switch control of all "Performapal" monsters he controls that battled this turn with his opponent's monsters. He told Battle Beast that doesn't have to force his self to fight since Dueling is something you can enjoy. He also tell him to Duel his own way and return "Undercover Hippo" to his Deck to activate the effect of "Pendulum Art and Clean" to destroy all monsters on the field that were Special Summoned this turn. As Yuya monsters were sent to his Extra Deck, the effect of "Great Fortress" was infective against him. He told Battle Beast that he'll be the one who'll tie this up and won the Duel with Jack as the effect of "Great Fortress" wiped out his remaining LP. As blamed himself for hurting so many people, Yuya told him he can atone for it since his true self returned and told him he'll save the people he carded. Yuto reminded him they have to go and he agreed because Leo knew the truth. He went ahead with a student leading him while Jack and Slyvio helped Gong. As he is running, Yuya asked the student did he knew where Zuzu was and learned she was up ahead, running to the laboratory.

Upon arriving up the stairs, Yuya ran into a strange room and saw a girl he thought was Zuzu, but learned she was Lulu from Yuto. They both talked to her in tandem and learned Shay is at Duel Academy but hurt. He followed Lulu to go help him but she suddenly challenged him to a Duel and noticed that she's became another person. He and Yuto promised to return her to normal and accepted the challenge, however, Yuya noticed his Deck turned into Yuto's due to desire to save Lulu. He set three cards and both told Lulu she's far from making people smile and to regain her true self. When Lulu asked who he was, Yuya revealed he's Yuto and even knew the effect of "". However, he was surprised when Lulu Fusion Summoned "Lyrical Luscinia - Independent Nightingale" and took damage from the effect of "Independent Nightingale". Yuya and Yuto both agreed that parasite is controlling her and they vowed to regain her sanity by destroying it until Shay arrived, telling them he already defeated Lulu but nothing changed. They then learned that they probably have to defeat the person controlling her. When he was about to be attacked directly, Yuya activated the effects of two "The Phantom Knights of Lost Vambrace", preventing "The Phantom Knights" monsters he controls from being destroyed by battle and decreasing "Independent Nightingale's" ATK by 600. After activation, the two "Lost Vambraces" Special Summon themselves as Normal Monsters while Yuya still took damage. He then used "The Phantom Knights of Double Badge" to Xyz Summon "The Phantom Knights of Cursed Javelin" and used the effect of "Cursed Javelin" to reduce "Independent Nightingale" ATK to 0. Yuya let Shay go deal with the person controlling Lulu but was surprised when Celina tased him. He asked her where Zuzu was only to be giving a stipulation that if he wins, she and Lulu will listen to him. He used the effect of "Cursed Javelin" again to reduce "Parasite Queen's" ATK, but Celina used the effect of "Parasite Plant" to render it ineffective. "Cursed Javelin" was then destroyed and Yuya tried to make Celina remember she defected from Duel Academy but was shocked that she already knows. He was then shown the insects created and used by the Doktor to control them by placing them in their head. He was also shocked when he learned Zuzu has one in her head now and got angry until Yuto tried to calm him down and completely took over his body. He and Yuto both agreed to defeat to the Doktor and save the girls.

Yuya warned Yuto they were planning something and Yuto knew, starting off with his plan. When Yuto learned about the effect of "Parasite Fusioner", Yuya told him the damage would be higher. When "Dark Rebellion" was equipped by "Parasite Fusioner", Yuya was surprised they were aiming for this and thought they couldn't stop their attack. He regained control over his body when Yuto barely dodged Lulu's attack but was unaware that a Parasite Monster landed on his shoulder. When Celina strengthened "Queen", he went for an Action Card and managed to grab it before her. However, he passed out when the Parasite Monster tried to take over his mind and Awakened for a brief moment, destroying the Parasite Monster in the process. He then used "" to negate the attack of "Queen" and Special Summon "Wrong Magnet Ring" as a monster. He told Yuto he was alright and used the effect of "Wrong Magnet Ring" to equip all "Parasite Fusioners" to it. He Tributed it to draw more cards and used "Odd-Eyes Accel" to Summon "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" without Tributing. He then met the Doktor through a monitor and asked where Zuzu was. When he saw her under control as well, his anger caused him and Yuto to Awaken with a dragon's silhouette, which scared the "Parasite Fusioners". He used "The Phantom Knights of Possession" to give "Dark Rebellion" a Level and Xyz Summon " and used the effect of "Raging Dragon" to negate and destroy all cards on the field, gaining 200 ATK for each destroyed card. He then attacked both Lulu and Celina directly due to "Raging Dragon" being able to attack twice per turn, winning the Duel. He checked on Celina, wanting to know where the Doktor was and checked on Lulu with Yuto. He asked if Shay saw anything, but Celina kicked him in the stomach and fled with Lulu. Yuya was about to help Shay, but Shay told him to go after them. Yuto showed him which way they went and he ran after them, meeting the Doktor in person. He ran toward Zuzu, but was trapped in a cage and kept calling out to her until they left. For the first time in years, Yuya saw his father, who was with Declan and Riley, via another monitor.

Duel Academy
He was surprised that his father knew Leo and learned how they created the ARC System together. He also learned about the Original Dimension and was surprised when he heard Zarc's name. When Yugo and Yuri summoned "Clear Wing" and "Starving Venom" respectively, Yuya started to breath heavily and grabbed his Deck but dropped it while his eyes "Odd-Eyes", and "Dark Rebellion" glowed. When his "" and "" also glowed, Yuya started to chant about "" and shouting to become one. As he kept shouting to become one, his pendant started glowing as well and a sudden wind blew his cards back into his hand. He then entered a synchronized awakening with dark aura and was roaring while the cage was destroyed, which blew Kite and Aster back.

Yuya escaped the Doktor's and made it the Professor's inner chambers where hugged his father. He told him that Zuzu was captured by Duel Academy and told the Professor to give her back. He then saw Zuzu and her counterparts being brought to the room in a tube and demanded they be free. Yuya then saw the Doktor and watched him get carded by the Professor. When the girls were freed from the parasites control, Yuya tried to run to Zuzu but was blocked by the Professor. He and Yuto promised to rescue Lulu and learned how Leo he created four cards that could defeat Supreme King Dragon Zarc but were stolen by his daughter Ray. He also learned how Ray defeated Zarc and Leo being sent to a strange town, where he recreated the ARC System and just met Yusho. He was shocked when Leo revealed that Ray might be somewhere in the Four Dimensions due to his memories coming back. He listened to Declan's past going to Duel Academy to find Leo and was surprised Leo found traces of Ray in Duel Academy. When Declan said Celina's name, Yuya thought Celina was Ray and that Ray had split into Zuzu, Celina, Lulu, and Rin. He was surprised Leo was going to resurrect Ray and when he saw ARC-V, Yuya was shocked that it will bring the back the fifth dimension and Ray. He was also angry and wouldn't allow it to happen. When Declan wondered if Yuri being a reincarnation of Zarc, Yuya and Yuto were shocked. He was surprised when the Professor revealed they were, Yuya told him he's not a demon and that he bring smiles to people. He then teamed up Declan and challenged Leo to a Duel.

When Leo was about to fuse the girls and Four Dimensions back into one using ARC-V, Yuya and Yuto told him he couldn't be forgiven. He asked Declan to help him and told Zuzu, he'll save her. When Yuto told him that Zarc is the evil in their hearts, Yuya told him that as long as they don't get angry, Zarc won't awaken. He then Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes" and told Leo the Arc Area Project and ARC-V won't succeed. He and Yuto were impressed when Declan sealed Leo's Extra Deck. When Leo tried convince Declan again to join him, Yuya told him nothing will be destroyed and he and Yuto won't let Zarc be revived. When Leo still believed that Zarc would revive due to Yuto being absorbed, Yuya told him that even if Yuto is inside of him, they still want to bring smiles to everyone, overcome the evil in them, and protect the four girls. He was surprised when Leo used Pendulum Summon and "'s" Pendulum Scale to increase his. His "Odd-Eyes" was destroyed and took effect damage from the effect of "Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Governor". When ARC-V started to power up around the girls capsule, Yuya was worried and angrily told Leo to stop this, causing him to awaken. When he heard Leo say divided, Yuya asked who caused that, saying he was just meeting expectations for a stronger and violent fight. He then felled to the ground in pain and called out to Declan, telling him its overflowing from his chest. He and Yuto manage to overcome the pain and brought back "Odd-Eyes" while summoning "Performapal Fugolem" and used the effect of "Fugolem" to Fusion Summon "". He then returned to awakened state and used the effect of "Gatling Ghoul" to inflict damage to Leo for each card on the field. He then used the second effect of "Gatling Ghoul" to destroy "Pendulum Governor" and inflict damage to Leo equal to "Pendulum Governor's" ATK.

However, his attack was negated by the Pendulum Effect of "Spirit Reactor" and Yuya set a card. He grabbed his chest, still in pain while Declan tried to defeat Leo. He then used "Twin Big Shield" to protect "Gatling Ghoul" but Leo used the effects of "Master Spirit Tech Force - Pendulum Ruler" and "Spirit Crystal - Silpheed Core" to destroy "Twin Big Shield" and double the damage. "Gatling Ghoul" was then destroyed and when attacked directly Yuya went for action card, surprising everyone and used "Evasion" to dodge "". When Declan tried to get him to snap of it, Yuya was able to make brief contact with him before shouting to become one and regain his original self while threatening to bury Leo first. He brought back "Odd-Eyes" and "Fugolem" and Summoned "Performapal Nightmare Knight", then overlaying them to Xyz Summon "Dark Rebellion". The presence of the Four Dimension Dragons caused Yuya to roar in pain and his dark aura took on form of a dragon's silhouette around him before dissipating. He then used "The Phantom Knights of Possession to give "Dark Rebellion" a level and brought out "Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon". He used the effect of "Raging Dragon" to negate and destroy every card on the field except "Pendulum Ruler" and "Doom King Armageddon", gaining 200 ATK for each destroyed card. Yuya destroyed "Doom King Armageddon" but Declan took the damage and learned that "Dis-Swing Fusion" returned the damage to the monster's original owner. He was about to attack "Pendulum Ruler" due to "Raging Dragon" being able to attack twice per turn but Zuzu wanted him to stop and don't give into anger, still believing that the real Yuya and Yuto are still there and begged him to return. But, when ARC-V powered up even more, Yuya continued his attack and destroyed "Pendulum Ruler". He then used the effect of "Nightmare Knight" to inflict damage to all players who took battle damage this turn but was stopped by his father's "Binding Swords of Impact", which terminated the Duel. While bind to the pillar, Yuya was yelling to be released and continued to roar while trying to break free from "Binding Swords of Impact".

Yuya continued yelling released and break free but ached in pain as his pendant resonated for a moment. He sensed Yugo and Yuri coming to him soon and didn't want to be near them, telling Declan to hurry up. < When Yuri absorbed Yugo, Yuya resonated with him while shouting to become one. He was surprised to see his father sent flying back into the room and shocked when Yuri came in. He was worried when his father was sent flying to the ground and watched him Duel against Yuri. He was surprised to see "" and how his father would destroy Yuri's trump card. When "Sky Magician's" Attribute was changed to Dark, Yuya proclaimed that his father's ace monster will never fall into darkness. He was happy when Yusho countered with the effects of "Sky Magician" and started to break from Zarc. He was surprised and happy at his father's Dueltaining when he correctly guessed Yuri's trump card was "".

After returning to normal, Yuya told Declan that "" could destroy spell cards and "Sky Magician" gains ATK for Continuous Spell Cards. He was happy when Yusho used "Performapal Sky Ring" to negate the second effect of "Seed Cannon Salvo". However, he was worried wen Yuri used "Ivy Bind Castle" to negate the effects of Yusho's cards, prevent him from attacking, and inflict damage for every monster on the field. He told Yuto not worry because his dad was in a situation like this before. When "Sky Magician" escaped from "Ivy Bind Castle", Yuya remembered watching that happen when he was a kid and relieved Yuto's worry. When Yuri drew a card that made him proclaim he's strong, Yuya thought it was a bluff and proclaim his dad won't lose. When Yuri asked him if didn't he want to become one with him, Yuya denied that it would happen. However, Yuri wasn't convinced, since he'll make him crazy for him again and become one like Yugo. When Yuri told Yusho his prediction was wrong and that "Super Polymerization" wasn't his trump card, Yuya called it another bluff. But he was surprised when Yuri's trump card was "", which was used to Fusion Summon "Starving Venom" and Synchro Summon "Clear Wing". He and Yuto started to get jolts of pain after both dragons were Summoned. He yelled at Yuri to stop it when he was going to use the effects of his dragons, "Flower of Destruction" and "Fruit of Destruction" to defeat his father, causing him to awaken again. He watched Yusho get defeated and sealed into a card by Yuri, which caused him to fully awaken after Yuri showed him the card. He then broke free from "Binding Swords of Impact".

He yelled at Yuri to give his father back, releasing a shockwave that pushed Yuri back and sent Declan flying. He accepted Yuri's challenge to get Yusho's card back and felt pain when Yuri Summoned "Starving Venom". He was surprised when Yuri said that he was looking for their dragons. He looked at "Odd-Eyes" and drew "Smile World", remembering his father's final moments. He got angry when Yuri criticized him and noticed "Odd-Eyes" glowing but hesitated to use it as he remembered his father's words. He calmed down and Summoned "Odd-Eyes" and "Performapal Drago Remora", increasing his pain. "Odd-Eyes" attacked "Starving Venom", but Yuri used "Predator Germination" to prevent its destruction and destroy "Odd-Eyes", but the effect of "Drago Remora" prevented the destruction of "Odd-Eyes". Yuto warned Yuya that Yuri might do something with his new "Predaplant Tokens" and they could contain Zarc. He was surprised that Yuri had a tuner monster and his pain intensified when Yuri Summoned "Clear Wing". When Yuri tried to use the effect of "Starving Venom", Yuya used "Starlight Force" to negate the effects of "Starving Venom" and "Clear Wing" and change their Levels to 4. However, his monsters were still destroyed. Yuya contemplated Summoning "Dark Rebellion", but was worried about the darkness. Yuto told him to endure it since "Smile World" would protect him and believed he could do it. Yuya then Pendulum Summoned "Odd-Eyes", "Drago Remora", and "Performapal Dropgallop", using the effect of "Dropgallop" to draw cards equal to the number of "Performapal" monsters Pendulum Summoned at the same time. He then used the second effect of "Dropgallop" to change its Level to 4 and Xyz Summon "Dark Rebellion". His pain increased when all Four Dimension Dragons were out and was worried about Yuto when the darkness absorbed him. He managed to endure the pain and was about to use the effect of "Dark Rebellion", but Yuri used "Dragon Creeping Plant" to take control of "Dark Rebellion". Yuya was surprised when Yuto awakened and shouted to become one when the Four Dimension Dragons resonated with each other, inflicting more pain to him.

Yusho Sakaki
Yusho is Yuya's father. Yuya loves and admires his father immensely and dreams to become a professional Entertainment Duelist like him. It is also through Yusho's Dueling Yuya developed his belief that Dueling is for fun and makes people happy. Despite his father's sudden disappearance, Yuya continues to respect and admire his father, believing there's a reason for his disappearance and dislikes when someone make a fun of his father.

Yoko Sakaki
Yoko is Yuya's mother. Although not as close as Yuya did with his father, Yuya is also in a good relationship with his mother like a normal mother and son. Yoko understood how her son was feeling when Yusho disappeared and is supportive of Yuya's dream to become a professional Entertainment Duelist like his father. She would help and take care of Yuya in any way she can when he is in trouble, as shown when Yuya was unconscious for two days after his meeting with Yuto and Yugo. However, Yuya is sometimes flustered whenever his mother's fondness for cute boys get the better of her.

Zuzu Boyle
Zuzu is Yuya's childhood friend and one of Yuya's closest friends. To Yuya, Zuzu is an irreplaceable figure in his life and he cherishes her greatly. As she is someone who has always been with him. Zuzu is supportive of Yuya and would help him whenever he is was in trouble by defending him when someone may try to insult him. Zuzu also acts as a "straight man" in a comedic act with Yuya, usually beating him with her paper fan whenever he angered her. Behind this however, she harbors romantic feelings for Yuya. These feelings are made apparent when Zuzu blushed when Sora mistook her as his girlfriend, when she accidentally hugged Yuya which caused her to push him away in panic, and jealous whenever Aura makes advances towards him or calling him "darling". Earlier in the series, Yuya was oblivious of her feelings towards him and so far had only thought of her as his close friend, evidenced in that he protested at the prospect of dating a crude strong girl like Zuzu when Sora mistook her as his girlfriend. However, even at this point his feelings for Zuzu were no less caring as he cries when he realizes Zuzu was gone after Duel Academy attacked Paradise City (unaware that she teleported to another dimension with Yugo previously).

As the series has progressed, it has been evidenced that Yuya likely returns Zuzu's feelings and looks at her as more than just a sister/friend. This was best shown in four instances. In the first instance, even as Celina was about to be teleported away back to the Fusion Dimension, Yuya did not move away from Zuzu's side. The second time was Yuya's heartbreaking decision to abandon his Dueltainer/smile philosophy so long has he could successfully protect Zuzu and make her smile. This was especially symbolic as he discarded "" - The symbol of his Ideal, to free Zuzu from Sergey's cards. The third instance was when he passionately fought to rescue her from Jean-Michael and upon doing so, hugging her warmly after reuniting with her in the Synchro Dimension. The four the instance was when he became emotionally shattered and heartbroken after he heard, and then saw Zuzu under the control of the Doktor, which in turn caused him to Awaken. He was happy when Zuzu regained her mind after she was free from the parasites control. Most recently however, whilst Zuzu is kidnapped and being fused with her counterparts in the Revivial Zero project, Yuya tried to fight his overwhelming feelings for her, so as to not Awaken. However after seeing the process begin to intensify, and her hearing pleas for help, he failed to do so.

Her feelings for Yuya is also what drove her to become stronger so she can protect him and the others. Out of all Yuya's friends, Zuzu is the one who is mostly beside Yuya, always being there for him. Yuya is also supportive of Zuzu and is grateful for all her help for years. When she is depressed, Yuya always gives his encouragement to steer her spirit. Yuya's bond with Zuzu is shown to be very deep, as shown during the aftermath of Battle Royal, Zuzu is the one whose well-being Yuya cares the most as he states how Zuzu is the one who is always by his side from the very beginning and it was also thanks to her he was able to grow his Pendulum Summoning. If one of them is depressed, the other is usually the one who gets him/her out of depression.

He witnessed Zuzu and her dimensional counterparts regain their minds when they were free from the parasites control when the Doktor was carded.

Gong Strong
Gong is Yuya's childhood friend and one of his close friends. When Yuya was bullied for defending his father, Gong was the one who protected Yuya from the bullies and is quite protective of him. For years, Gong also helped Yuya on finding an opponent for Duel with his dojo's connection, something that Yuya is very grateful for. His friendship with Gong made Yuya at first hesitated when he has no choice but to Duel with him to enter Arc League Championship out of fear it would make Gong lose his chance to enter as well. Gong is always supportive of Yuya, and often worries whenever something happened to him, usually giving him a hug after he is confirmed to be fine.

Frederick, Tate and Allie
Yuya acts as somewhat an older brother figure for the three of them, who in turn refers to him as "Yuuya-oniichan" (Japanese version only). Yuya always teaches and cheers them in their Duels, serving as emotional support for them when they lost and encourages them not to give up. Frederick, Tate, and Allie admire Yuya and sometimes also like to tease him for his obliviousness about Zuzu's feelings for him.

Sora Perse
Yuya at first was annoyed and flustered when Sora followed him everywhere and insisted for him to make Sora his apprentice, but they eventually get along well. Yuya thinks Sora as a dear friend and cares for his well-being, defending him when he appeared to be in trouble and expressed concern when he was injured. Sora, on the other hand, admires Yuya after he saw his match and insisted to be his apprentice, but then decided to become his friend after he lost in the Duel. Sora has shown great interest towards Yuya for many of his achievements in Duels that he claims to always be beyond his expectations. However, while Sora truly thinks that Dueling with Yuya is exciting, he claimed that he was just playing around as his loyalty to Duel Academy and their goal is more important to him than their friendship. Despite this and seeing Sora change people into cards in front of his own eyes, Yuya still considers Sora as his friend and is determined to make Sora smile and enjoy Dueling like when they first Dueled.

Yuya has so far slowly succeeded in urging Sora to change his ways as Sora has decided to help and protect Celina from the Obelisk Force instead of capturing her and handing her over to Duel Academy.

Yuto
Although they both had only met for a short time, Yuto developed a strong trust towards Yuya who believes that Dueling is for the purpose to make people smile and give them happiness, something that Yuto himself truly wishes for. This is what made Yuto entrusted Yuya with his "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon". Yuya, on the other hand, was initially wary and skeptical of Yuto, but Yuya's kind nature made him concerned for Yuto's well-being when he was injured and he understood that Yuto actually don't want to hurt anyone, protecting him when Yugo started his turn and intended to attack. Even though Yuya doesn't understand what Yuto expected from him, Yuya resolved to make people smile with Dueling like Yuto told him to. Yuto's last words are also what reminds Yuya of his Dueling beliefs twice in the series when he started to lose his confidence. After experiencing the possession caused by Yuto's anger and sadness, Yuya started to understand Yuto's suffering and opted to believe in Yuto who wishes for peace instead of blaming him for the consequence of his brutal Dueling method, which in turn made Yuya even more resolute to fulfill his wish. Their similar goals toward making people smile in Duels and desire to not harm anyone as well end the war peacefully and protect their friends, families, and allies have contributed to Yuya's strong and brotherly relationship with Yuto.

Despite their similar goals and desires, Yuto's personality and experiences are in stark contrast to Yuya's. Even though both wish to make everyone smile with Dueling, while Yuya's persona is entertaining, Yuto's, on the other hand, is dark and cold. It is also his own anger, and not Yuya's, that has driven Yuya into acts of rage; initially, Yuya is afraid of this, though he later decides to believe in Yuto. These differences establish Yuto as a foil to Yuya.

Declan Akaba
During their first Duel, Yuya was respectful and friendly to Declan, and was impressed by his ability to use Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz. He gladly showed Declan his entertainment Dueling and enjoyed Declan's compliments. He was shocked when Declan Pendulum Summoned and suggested Pendulum's evolution, and now considers Declan a rival, and was motivated to face him again.

However, any respect Yuya had towards Declan was immediately lost when Declan revealed that the Battle Royal was a test to recruit Lancers and that he plotted for his friends to fend off the Fusion Dimension invaders which resulted in many of them being sealed in cards. Yuya now held a grudge towards Declan and blamed him for the loss of his friends and Zuzu's disappearance, and even tried to punch him out of anger. Angered by his indifference, Yuya refused to join the Lancers and only accepted to Duel Declan to force him to repent. During the Duel, he played aggressively, neither smiling nor using his entertainment techniques at all.

During their Duel, Declan was indifferent to Yuya's attitude, and did not tell him the truth about Zuzu's disappearance, in their Duel in order to test his abilities. He only told him the truth after their Duel just when they were heading to the Synchro Dimension, where Zuzu also was. Despite having accepted to join the Lancers, Yuya continues to be hostile towards Declan, and his opinion of him further soured when he learned how he treated Riley.

Despite their differences in preferences and methods, Yuya trusts Declan and knows that his actions and intentions in the end were to protect the rest of Paradise City. This trust can be seen when he finds out that Declan and Riley are prisoners under Roget and declines Roget's offer of alliance.

Celina
When he first saw her, he mistook her for Zuzu due to their similar appearance. Yuya and Celina generally get along well, given their shared goal of rescuing Zuzu, but Celina's impatience and hot-headed nature tend to clash with Yuya's more patient and pragmatic nature. He has shown to value her, as he refused Sora's offer to trade her in exchange for Zuzu safety from Duel Academy, showing he cares about Celina's well-being and sees her as an important ally. Once Yuya learns from Crow that the Obelisk Force has appeared based on Sora's information, he races off to find Sora and help Celina. During his duel against Barrett, he did not give up on her. Celina watched Yuya struggle with Barrett and was touched with Yuya's promises that he would protect both her and Zuzu from Duel Academy

.He witnessed Celina and her dimensional counterparts regain their minds when they were free from the parasites control when the Doktor was carded.

Sylvio Sawatari
When he first met Sylvio, it was a setup for their first of two Duels. Yuya was forced to Duel Sylvio as he had been forced into a corner to save Zuzu and the younger You Show students from Sylvio's trap. After he defeated Sylvio the first time, the two became rivals. Their rivalry was renewed when they were set to face one another in the 1st round of the Junior Youth Championship. According to Yuya, the match was a "real" Entertainment Duel because it was capable of exciting the crowd and leaving them on the edge of their seats. The strength of Sylvio's "Yosenju" Deck forced Yuya to give it his all from the get-go of the tournament. The conclusion was entailed with a standing ovation from the audience for their great efforts. This led to Sylvio putting aside his grudges and becoming a friendly rival for Yuya. The match itself had a profound effect on Yuya in addition. Their more friendly relationship is shown later on in the Synchro Dimension when Sylvio told Yuya how excited he was to show off their Entertainment Dueling to the Synchro Dimension during the prelude of the Friendship Cup in front of the Executive Council.

Sylvio further showed that he cares for Yuya as a friend and fellow Entertainment Duelist once he reunites with Yuya only to find him and Moon sporting grave injuries from Sergey and the Obelisk Force's attacks. This lead to his fury with the Obelisk Force and he mistakenly took out his anger on Sora.

Riley Akaba
When Lancers arrived in the Synchro Dimension and were split up, Yuya immediately noticed Riley's concern over Declan's whereabouts and his shyness. Yuya quickly became protective of Riley and made it his goal to make the young boy smile. When Yuya was arrested by Security he was more worried about Riley's safety than his own and was relieved when Celina confirmed that Riley was fine. When Riley was scheduled to Duel Shinji in the Friendship Cup and ran off to Yuya and hugs him, Yuya angrily scolded Declan for forcing Riley to participate in the tournament and demanded to know why he made Riley a Lancer, worried that Riley was too young to face the dangers that being a Lancer comes with.

It was Yuya who comforted Riley and ended Riley's traumatic flashbacks, and Yuya who hugs him to calm him down during the Obelisk Force's attack. Riley shows his deep attachment to Yuya by hugging and clinging to him again, begging Yuya not to leave him alone again when Yuya prepares to follow Sora. Yuya soothes Riley and has him trust Tokumatsu while he and Sora are gone.

Crow Hogan
Crow and Yuya have an uneasy and wary friendship due to misunderstandings of culture and beliefs. They however, have the common ground of valuing friendships, caring for children and bringing happiness (for Crow food, for Yuya smiles), and ending suffering caused by (for Crow) the division between Tops and Commons and (for Yuya) the Dimensional War and deeply care for the other's well-being. When Crow first rescues Yuya, Riley, Celina, and Sylvio, he and Yuya formed a close bond.They value their friendship as Crow attempted to protect him and did not want Yuya to be in trouble if the prison breakout fails and Yuya wanting to have a close relationship despite Crow's intentions. However, differences in society between Synchro and Standard has Crow ridicule Yuya's philosophy and doubt Yuya's story about Duel Academy's impending invasion, which also led Crow to feel hurt and to distrust Yuya when, thanks to Roget's actions after Yuya and Shinji's Duel, a false implication that Yuya is in cahoots with Tops and Security arises.

They renewed their trust and friendship before their Duel and after Crow's interaction with Shay. However, Roget's interference and Yuya's Awakening threatened their alliance once again, with Crow starting to believe that Yuya was with the Tops. Fortunately, Crow finally doubts and discounts the false relationship when both their lives were in danger after a failed change in Duel lanes brought about by Yuya's Summon of "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" and seeing Yuya's eyes. Sora strengthened Crow's friendship with and concerns for Yuya after giving the confirmation that Yuya is not normal and something wasn't right.

Crow displays seemingly permanent trust, friendship, and care for Yuya when he shows relief that Yuya is back to normal after he wakes up and tells him about Sora and the Obelisk Force and alert that Celina's in danger. He urges Yuya to never mind him and go after Sora and Celina. Later on, he defies Shinji, Damon, and Tony, and urges them to stop the revolution and start preparing defenses against Duel Academy, making him the next Synchro ally after Chojiro Tokumatsu.

Jack Atlas
Jack and Yuya have a complex mentor-student relationship. Yuya initially misunderstood and disliked Jack, like Sam and many other Commons, because of Jack ridiculing his father's philosophy and calling his Duel "self-satisfaction". His first Duel and encounter with Jack had deeply hurt Yuya's optimism and belief in Dueling. Nevertheless, Yuya seems to recognize some truth in Jack's words, as during his depression he constantly thought about what Jack told him. It is thanks to Jack that his growth both as a Duelist and Dueltainer takes on another level as the war among dimensions escalates. He slowly starts to understand Jack little by little, shown by his belief that Tuning Magician was a worthy and powerful card and the realization that Jack is the key to making the Synchro Dimension understand Duel Academy's threat.

Jack himself has slowly started to respect Yuya as a fellow Dueltainer when he smiles during Yuya's against Shinji and learns about the birth and power of Enlightenment Paladin. He began to look forward to Yuya's Duels and showed his disappointment in the Duel with Crow. He is akin to a harsh and stern teacher who bluntly tells truths, but deep in his heart he wants Yuya to grow stronger, forge a path independent of any ties with his father, and become a true Dueltainer as well as to cease Yuya's obsessions in following the footsteps of his father. This is best shown by his message to Yuya from Sam and his irritation and anger during the beginning of their rematch in the finals of the Friendship Cup. Despite their short encounters, Jack can immediately discern Yuya's potential, the problems with his style and beliefs, and how his father shaped his Dueling. Jack, in a way, seems to have been waiting for a fellow Dueltainer to Duel with, as he sharply observes Yuya and waits for him.

Yuya in turn sees Jack as a fellow Dueltainer who follows an albeit slightly different philosophy. Yuya makes this realization when he watches Jack's Duel with Sergey, and sees with his own eyes how both Tops and Commons unite and smile just by watching Jack's Duel. This fuels his desire to be seen as a true Dueltainer who doesn't Duel for "self-satisfaction" or arrogance to Jack and he no longer wants to Duel him just for the sake of fulfilling the Lancers' mission in the Synchro Dimension.

Yuya's eventual defeat of Jack earned him Jack's trust, respect, and alliance.

Yugo
Yugo is Yuya's Synchro Dimension counterpart. While they have yet to have a face-to-face confrontation, they have been mentally synchronized. When this happens, Yugo takes on Yuya's mannerisms and Dueling style. While Yugo seems unaware of this, Yuya has his suspicions about this happening after Yugo's Duel with Celina.

Aster Phoenix
Initially, Yuya and Aster has an antagonistic relationship with each other due to the fact that they are on opposing sides and had different beliefs regarding Duel: Yuya believes that Duel is for fun and should not be used to harm anyone, while Aster believed that Duel is symbol of strength. However, the main problem was due to Aster's one-sided hatred towards Yusho, who had defeated him, and this hatred quickly extended to Yuya who not only Yusho's son but also used Dueltaining with the same philosophy like his father. The moment he found out about their blood relation, Aster immediately intended to make Yuya a bait to lure out Yusho and marked him as his target and won't allow anyone other than himself to get him. During their second Duel, despite Aster's firm insistence, Yuya realised that Aster was actually struggling between his loyalty towards the Professor and the philosophy that his father taught him. At this realisation, Yuya determined to remind Aster how fun Duel is, trying his best to speak with Aster by using Fusion Summon like he did. Yuya's efforts to show how fun Duel can be moved Aster's heart who then remembered the joy and happiness he felt when he Dueled Yusho, something that he tried to forget. By the time he lost, any contempt that Aster held for Yuya and his father immediately disappeared, defending and joining Yuya to end the dimensional war, and apologised for what he had done. Able to sense Aster's sincerity, Yuya immediately welcomed Aster as his ally with open arms and gives him his trust.

Deck
Yuya uses a "Performapal/Magician/Odd-Eyes" Deck. The bulk of his Deck consists of "Peformapal" monsters. The "Performapals" represent his passion for entertaining others with their cartoon-like appearance and carnival attire, while his ace monster "" represents the courage he inherited from Yusho Sakaki. They have low attack, but varied and useful battle-related effects such as allowing multiple attacks or manipulating monsters' ATK points. For the majority of the first arc, Yuya's Deck focuses on Pendulum Summoning. He prefers to set the Pendulum Scale with his "Magicians" to Summon monsters of various Levels during these early episodes, but in later arcs starts to make use of narrower Scales. As the series continues, he gains access to Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Monsters and modifies his Deck to accommodate them. His main strategy is to use the effect of "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" to deal lots of damage to his opponent.

In early arcs, Yuya's Deck contains few Spell Cards as he prefers to rely on Action Cards. He uses his high mobility monsters to traverse the Action Field in order to search for them. In later arcs, he includes more Spell Cards in his Deck.

Pre-Arc League Championship
Yuya's Deck focuses on Pendulum Summoning for the majority of this arc. After using Zuzu's "" in one of his Duels, Yuya starts using cards like "" to Pendulum-Fusion Summon Fusion Monsters like "" and "".

Arc League Championship
After his encounter with Yuto, Yuya obtained "", adding Pendulum-Xyz Summoning to his Deck, which he used for the first time against Iggy Arlo when he unintentionally Awakened. After that, he begins to use more Scale 3 or lower Pendulum Monsters to bring out more Level 4 monsters to Pendulum-Xyz Summon "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon". During Yuya's Duel against the Obelisk Force, he gains "" and "", the latter of which allows him to change his Xyz Monster's Ranks to Levels and the former to equalize the two monsters' Levels, enabling him to Xyz Summon the powerful "".

Friendship Cup
Yuya's Deck now includes more ways to Fusion Summon his "Pendulum Dragon" Fusion Monsters and is even capable of using Pendulum Summoning to perform both a Fusion Summon and an Xyz Summon in one turn. His Deck now includes more "Odd-Eyes" monsters, even some that are not Dragon-Type. Though he still uses Action Cards, his Deck contains a larger quantity of Spell Cards than before. He also makes use of narrower Scales more often.

Friendship Cup Finals
Prior to his Duel against Shinji Weber, Yuya added the "" card that Sam gave to him to his Deck. During that Duel he gained the ability to Pendulum-Synchro Summon "", making him the second known Duelist to use all four specialized Summoning methods. Yuya utilizes a larger amount of Action Cards in his Duels compared to the previous arc. He also uses hand traps like "" and "" to make up for his lack of face-down cards. His Pendulum Summons focus more on Summoning a large number of monsters at once (compared to other arcs), and then either Xyz Summoning or Synchro Summoning using those monsters. He also uses "Gap Power" and "" to take advantage of the usually negative effects of "Tuning Magician" in order to show that there are no useless cards.

Performapal
After arriving in the Xyz Dimension, Yuya's Deck seems to focus more on Xyz Summoning. He has gained the ability to Rank-Up Yuto's own "" to "" with "". He also has used "" with increasing abundance during his Duels, and as such he uses cards like "Smile Potion" to take advantage of it if he does not control a monster upon using it.

The Phantom Knights
During his Duel against Lulu Obsidian and Celina, Yuya used Yuto's "The Phantom Knights" Deck, mixed with a few of his own cards. Yuto would continue to use it after taking over for Yuya mid-Duel.

Duels
Before his Duel with Dipper O'rion, Yuya competed in forty-six Duels, with an approximate win rate of 56%. Some of the opponents he Dueled off-screen include the following Duelists: