Kyoji Yagumo

Kyoji Yagumo is one of the major antagonists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL manga. He is a Numbers Hunter, and was raised in an orphanage together with Ryoga "Shark" Kamishiro.

Appearance
Kyoji's pupils are vertical, and his eyes are light brown. He has raised, gray colored hair with one wick of green colored hair falling over his forehead, and green hair near his neck as well. In the past, his hair was lowered down to his neck and was much shorter, and he wore less extravagant clothing. The embroidery in Kyoji's attire is shaped like a spider, and the orbs accentuating his collar resemble its eight eyes.

Personality
In the past, Kyoji appears to have been very happy, sharing a trophy with the other orphans and Shark. However, even then he also had a dark side, as his determination to win led him to cheat in a Duel tournament (for which Shark took the blame). At some point, Kyoji had a little brother who he claims "died by his own hand," resulting in his fall from grace and drastic change of outlook.

In the present Kyoji displays a calm and confident demeanor. However, he is also menacing, ruthless, and extremely cruel, punishing his subordinates with harsh penalty games for failure. During his Duel with Heartland, he frequently made use of courtroom jargon, saying "objection" when activating traps and calling himself as a "witness."

He later shows himself to be nihilistic, claiming that he believes that the world is deserving of destruction and there is no value in its existence.

Abilities
Kyoji can control spiders as he wants, and calls them his "pets". He can implant small spiders into the hearts of other Duelists in order to perform a Mind Crush, use spiders for spying and create clones of spiders. He can also build huge spider webs and fly with spider legs growing out of his back.

Kyoji has also shown a very unique ability: when a blank "Number" makes contact with a human, it takes form after its owner according to their desires; however, Kyoji himself claims that he has no "desire" of any sort. This allows him to mold his blank "Numbers" freely in response to his needs, making Kyoji himself unaware of the extent of the power of his "Numbers".

Etymology
"Yagumo" is written with the kanji for "cloud" (雲, Gumo), which has the same pronunciation of "spider" (グモ/くも, Gumo/Kumo); puns involving the two words are very common in Japanese. This could be a reference to Koji Nagumo, who besides having a very similar name, also had the nickname "The Spider".

History
Kyoji was raised in an orphanage together with Shark. He and Shark were like light and shadow there, but they weren't on bad terms. The duo often competed in Duel Monsters tournaments, with Kyoji winning every tmie and Shark coming second, often losing on purpose as he believed Kyoji was the hopes and dreams of the other orphans.

Once, both he and Ryoga entered the Duel Monsters Regional Cup. At there, Kyoji wanted to steal the Deck of the person who was most likely to win the tournament, but failed, and Shark took the blame for it for the same beliefs that he had previously held.

Kyoji later revealed more about his history when Shark asked him what caused him to fall that far. He revealed that his family was an average happy family, but five years prior to the Numbers War, Kyoji and Yuji's parents died in an airplane crash. Kyoji ended up in a facility, while Yuji was sent to a foster home.

Wanting to meet Yuji again, Kyoji decided to become Duel Champion, so that Yuji would eventually see him again. One year prior to the Numbers War, Kyoji had become Far East Duel Champion. Then, six months prior to the Numbers War, he received an e-mail on his D-Pad from his brother, Yuji, and the brothers finally were able to meet each other once more.

Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL
Kyoji later reappeared when he became a Number Hunter, hired by Mr. Heartland. He supported Dr. Faker's plan, stating that it was time this world met its end.

At the conclusion of Yuma Tsukumo's Duel with Eviluder, Kyoji appeared supported by spider webs, introducing himself to Yuma, Shark and Kaito Tenjo as the commander of the "Numbers" collecting operation and that he'd soon be taking their Numbers. He told Eviluder that the moment he became Kyoji's subordinate, his "pet" already haunted his heart. Saying he must punish the loser, he uses the spider he had planted in Eviluder's heart to perform a Mind Crush. Yuma complains to Kyoji, who tells him he should worry about himself before others. He asks Yuma if he really thought he could survive that fight, the "Numbers War", against him, Shark and Kaito, and said he is certain to win. Shark asked what he had become and Kyoji replied that Shark's gotten rude since last time they met, asking away personal questions already. He then tells him hope and despair are two sides of the same coin - the more hope a person has, the deeper their despair will be. He ends by saying that Shark's important to him, and that someday he would teach him what that means. Spider legs then grow from Kyoji's back and he flies away.

Kyoji anticipated Kaito taking his brother Haruto to safety, so he set up a spider web trap for Kaito. He then contacted his second Numbers Hunter, Hishakaku, and told him it was his turn to go out and hunt the Numbers. Kyoji then appeared to Kaito after he fell for his trap. He was then challenged by Kaito to a Duel, but instead of accepting said challenge, summoned Hishakaku to Duel Kaito. He then spectated their Duel and watched as Hishakaku committed suicide and tried to take Kaito with him.

After Hishakaku's defeat, Kyoji dispatched his third Numbers Hunter, Shadow to deal with both Kaito Tenjo and Ryoga Kamishiro by allowing both Numbers Hunters to defeat him, allow each of them to take a Number from him, and then pit the two against one another.

After Shadow's failure, Kyoji decided to betray his employers, Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartland. He told Mr. Heartland that he'll be following his own plan to destroy the Astral World, which angered Mr. Heartland to the point of them Dueling each other. During the Duel, as Kyoji activated his "Court Battle" card, he claimed that Mr. Heartland was to be prosecuted for his "sins" and that Dr. Faker was already dead.

As his and Mr. Heartland's Duel continued, he elaborated on his earlier claim by calling "himself" to the stand. He then revealed a clone made up of small spiders ejected by "Number 70", which he was able to link his vision with. He explains that over the past year, no one had been allowed to see Dr. Faker in person, leading him to suspect something was amiss. He used his spiders to infiltrate Faker's lab and found a video recording made by the doctor as part of his research logs. In it, Faker remarked that after 1 year and 15 days since he began his attack on Astral World, he had made no progress, and his health was in rapid deterioration. Like his son, Faker was beginning to succumb to his own incurable illness and recognized that he did not have long to live. He claimed his only regret was that without him, no one would be left to cure his youngest son.

From this, Kyoji realized that Faker was nothing more than a "pitiful father trying to save his sick son" and his natural death was being used by Heartland. Heartland continued to resist these charges claiming that he had nothing to gain. However, Kyoji explained that Heartland's real goal was to steal the valuable limitless energy machine Faker was developing, in order to amass wealth for himself. Thus, Heartland hid Faker's death from everyone– even Faker's own children.

Heartland maintained that Kyoji's charges were baseless, and used the effect of his "Number 82: Heart Monster Heartlandraco" to make his monsters deal lethal damage to Kyoji when destroyed. Heartland's Mind X-Ray ability revealed Kyoji's power Deck as a simple brute force Deck which he felt posed no threat to him and passed the turn to Kyoji. Kyoji then revealed his Rank-Up Spell Card, using it to Summon "Number 14: Greedy Sarameya" which made short work of Heartland's monsters. Heartland reacted in surprise, as that "Number" had not previously existed in Kyoji's Deck. He scanned once more, again finding no threats. Heartland responded by Summoning his "Number 52: Diamond Crab King", which failed to destroy "Sarameya."

Heartland then asked Kyoji how exactly he "used" Faker. As Kyoji drew, he explained that Faker had relied on a special medication to prolong his life. Heartland had used his connections with Faker to hack the databases of the pharmaceutical company that made this medication to find other victims to swindle. He called Heartland out as a common con man who made his living by working his way into the confidence of those near the end of their lives to take their fortunes– with 689 victims total.

Kyoji then asked Heartland what he promised Faker to gain his confidence; whether it was that he would take care of Haruto when he died or if the boy would be cured if he did as Heartland said. At this point Heartland revealed his true colors with a menacing grimace, telling Kyoji that he knew too much and couldn't be allowed to live. In response, Kyoji revealed a spider on Heartland's shoulder that had revealed Heartland's "Mind X-Ray" as a dishonest trick made possible via an X-Ray camera.

Kyoji then activated "Rank-Up Spider Web" a final time, choosing to Summon a Blank "Number". He revealed that all "Numbers" take forms that fit the desires of the Duelists who hold them. However Kyoji's only desire was to see the world destroyed– a desire he called "a wish as insubstantial as a single spider's web drifting on the wind." Thus all of Kyoji's "Numbers" remained blank as long as he held them, only taking form when Summoned in a Duel. His "Numbers" evolved to fit whatever situation Kyoji found himself in– he always has whatever card he needed in a Duel. He then transformed the blank card into "Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice", which destroyed all of Heartland's Defense Position monsters. Kyoji also used the effect of "Court Battle" to win the Duel. Kyoji finally exclaimed that Heartland's real sin was not that he had merely deceived the Duelists in Faker's employ, but that he had stopped the attacks on Astral World for fear of the destruction of Earth. Kyoji insisted that the world deserved destruction and there was no value in its existence.

Another day, Kyoji is seen besides a bed, where Haruto is sleeping. While looking at Haruto, Kyoji remembers about his brother, which causes him to fall on his knees, panting. Later, Kyoji sent a clone of spiders to capture Kaito, who was being looked after by Orbital 7 after falling in Shadow's trap. Orbital 7 entered in fight mode and attacked Kyoji's clone, but Kyoji used a spider to enter inside Orbital and damage his cables, causing him to stop the attack. Kyoji then took Kaito to Dr. Faker's lab, where Kaito woke up and found Dr. Faker's corpse. Kyoji then appeared in a huge screen near Kaito. After discussing about Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartland, Kaito asked Kyoji where Haruto is, with Kyoji saying that Haruto was with him. Kaito then challenged him to a Duel, with Kyoji asking if that was a Duel putting Haruto at stake, and saying that it was fine if that was what he wanted. Kyoji showed up from a door in the other side of the room. Kaito asked him where Haruto was; Kyoji said that he would appear soon, and said that in case Kaito lost the Duel, he would have to cooperate with him obtaining the "Numbers", but in exchange, if he won, he would be able to see the true Haruto again. Kaito asked "The true Haruto...?", with Kyoji explaning that was the Haruto he knew, before losing his feelings; he further explained that Haruto's soul was dragged in the Astral World, and that right now he is an empty shell which you can't even tell if it's dead or alive. Finally, he said that he sympathized with Kaito, regarding the pain and sorrow for losing his small brother. Angry, Kaito yelled that Kyoji knew nothing about his pain, but Kyoji said that he was the only one who did know, and they begin their Duel.

Kyoji started and ended his turn by Setting a monster and a card. Kaito quickly Summoned his "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" by using "Photon Sanctuary", and equipped it with "Photon Strike"; he attacked Kyoji's Set monster, "Beetle Gardna", which was destroyed; due to the effect of "Photon Strike", Kyoji took 2000 damage. With the shockwave, spiders fell off from Kyoji's face and body, revealing he was actually Haruto. The true Kyoji then showed up from another spot in the room, saying that was the one and only Haruto, that's why he told Kaito Haruto would appear soon, and explains that Kaito would be Dueling Haruto instead of Kyoji himself.

Kaito tried to talk to Haruto, but he wouldn't listen, and entered his turn. Kaito asked Kyoji what he had done to Haruto, with Kyoji saying that he would give him a hint: Haruto could only see Kaito as an enemy right then, and commented that was a pity. He explained that the "empty shell" Haruto wasn't even able to recognize his only blood relative, but that if Kaito became his subordinate, he would be able to meet the true Haruto again. Kaito declined, asking who would be crazy to help Kyoji, with Kyoji telling him to fight then, as much as he wanted to. The Duel then went on, with Haruto acting as if he had "burnt" all the memories he had with Kaito. Kyoji explained to Kaito that it seemed all of Haruto's beautiful memories had turned ugly, and telling Kaito to go on with his turn. Kaito then manages to pull a victorious combo with "Galaxy Shot"; Kyoji praises Kaito, noticing that the combo would make him win the Duel, and told him to go on and blow off him and Haruto with his attack; however, he asked Kaito if he knew what would happen if a "Number" holder lost on a Duel of "Numbers", and explained that Haruto would vanish from this world along with him. Kaito then fell on his knees saying that he couldn't hurt Haruto, and forfeiting the Duel. Kyoji then smiles, saying that Kaito has now become his ally. Kaito asked Kyoji what he planned by forcing him to be his ally, with Kyoji answering that he planned to drag this world into the final festival.

With Kaito working for him, Kyoji gathered Yuma, Kaito, Shark and himself in the Heartland New Tower to finish the Numbers War as they were the only remaining "Numbers Hunters". He arranged a double Duel with Yuma and Kaito in the Red Stadium while he faced Shark in the Blue Stadium. Although Shark quickly Summoned "Bahamut Shark" and "Number 47: Nightmare Shark" on his first turn, Kyoji molded "Number 23: Lancelot, Ghost Knight of the Underworld", which easily took out both monsters and halved Shark's Life Points in the process.

Kyoji then explained to Shark about the effects of "Lancelot", saying that it was easy for him to surpass Shark then. Before going on with his turn, Shark asked Kyoji what caused him to fall that far, with Kyoji agreeing, explaining that he did want Shark to know what happened to him. Joking, Shark said that it should be good, and asking if it was hell; trembling, Kyoji said that yes, it was indeed hell, and explained that his brother died by his own hand.

Kyoji then explained to Shark about the history involving him and his brother. Meanwhile, Luna found Haruto stuck in Kyoji's device, in the monument of the tower. She asked everyone to stop the Duels, since the device was collecting "Numbers" energy to open the gate to another world; however, Kyoji explains that the device is also keeping Haruto alive, so should it stop, Haruto would die.

Number Hunting
Prior to the events of the the series, Kyoji came into contact with the Dark God and acquired "Number 70: Deadly Sin" and eight blank "Numbers".

During the Duel with Mr. Heartland, he revealed that he could mold his blank "Numbers" to by sheer force of will, creating "Number 14: Greedy Sarameya", "Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice". After defeating Mr. Heartland, Kyoji procured his "Numbers"; it is unknown how many "Numbers" Kyoji picked from Mr. Heartland, however, Mr. Heartland was confirmed to have at least two: "Number 52: Diamond Crab King" and "Number 82: Heart Monster Heartlandraco".

When Kyoji captured Haruto and set him up to Duel Kaito, he gave Haruto one of his blank "Numbers", which Haruto molded into "Number 28: Titanic Moth".

When Kyoji Dueled Shark, he was shown molding another blank "Number", which took the form of "Number 23: Lancelot, Ghost Knight of the Underworld".

After Kyoji forced Kaito to cooperate with him, he gave Kaito another of his blank "Numbers", which Kaito molded into "Number 95: Galaxy Eyes Dark Matter Dragon".

During his Duel against Shark, Kaito, and Yuma, he was shown molding two more blank "Numbers" in his possession into "Number 35: Ravenous Tarantula" and " Number 84: Pain Gainer". Later in that Duel, he molded his last blank "Number" into "Number 77: The Seven Sins".

Deck
Kyoji plays a mixed "Number" Deck. According to Mr. Heartland's Mind X-Ray, Kyoji's Deck is very simple and relies only on brute force to win. However, Kyoji's true strategy is to constantly Rank-Up his "Numbers", which take form according to Kyoji's wish, so that he has the specific counter for every situation. He also utilizes several methods to swarm monsters to easily Xyz Summon.