Duel Academy (ARC-V)


 * For the location in the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, see Duel Academy. For the location in the New Domino City, see Duel Academy (New Domino).

Duel Academy, referred to as the Academy (アカデミア Akademia), is a mysterious school in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime that trains "Duel Soldiers" and is located in the Fusion Dimension. It is an alternate universe version of Duel Academy from the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime (see below). It is run by Leo Akaba under the guise of "The Professor", a man originally from the Standard Dimension, and serves as his base of operations.

The goal of Leo Akaba and as such the goal of the Academy, is to use the power of Fusion to make all the worlds become one. In order to accomplish this, the Academy employs its army of Duel Soldiers in order to conquer the other Dimensions by turning its inhabitants into cards.

Strategies
In Episode 040, Selena mentioned that Barrett is using a "By-The-Books" strategy, a kind of strategy used by the Duel Academy.

History
Three years in the past, Declan had unknowingly traveled to the Academy via an interdimensional transporter. He eventually met Selena, who he helped escape from faculty members who were pursuing her, only to have them both caught by Leo and several members of Obelisk Force, the elite vanguard squad. Declan was confused by the ensuing discussion about alternate dimensions and the Academy, until the squad hauled Selena off and placed a device on Declan's wrist, which sent him back to Standard.

During his Duel with Silvio, Yuto asked about the connection between Leo Duel School and the Academy. However, Yuto soon discovered that most of LDS knew nothing.

After Shay Dueled Sora, it is implied that the latter was affiliated with the Academy, as Declan mentioned they could learn more about it from Sora. During his Duel against Yuya, Yuto revealed that the Academy attacked the citizens of Heartland and sealed them in cards. During this time Sora was transported back to the Academy due to a program on his Duel Disk that activated after revealing his goal of acquiring a powerful Fusion Monster. When Sora came back Leo had his men check Sora's memories as to find out why Sora had been returned since Standard were not their enemies. During this time Leo noticed Yuzu whom he called the "Fourth Piece" he needed and ordered Yuri to bring her to him.

While Sora was recovering in the nursery he protested to go back to Standard since there were Xyz Remnants there, Selena eavesdropped on his demands and planned to go to Standard as to prove her strength to Leo in order to be at the frontlines. Several guards attempted to stop her but failed, but Barrett decided to go with her instead of stopping her since it was his duty to protect her. The two arrive at Standard and Selena watches Dipper perform a Xyz Summon on screen, believing him to be part of the Xyz Remnants, she manages to find him and easily defeats and transforms him into a card. Selena then turns his attention into Yuu Sakuragi a prominent Xyz User, in the Maiami Championship. Unfortunately for her, Declan found about her appearance and correctly deduced she would attack Yuu, so he used him as bait to lure the duo.

Selena and Barrett encountered Yuu, but before they could attack him, Declan appeared and ordered Yuu to leave, while having Nakajima seal the area so the Academy Duo could not escape. Selena attempted to Duel Declan but Barrett offered to Duel instead, since it was his duty to protect her. Selena stood aside and watched. Barrett and Declan Dueled, with Declan noticing that Barrett was a war veteran, as Barrett used burn tactics to rapidly damage Declan. Barrett praised Declan for using his own Life Points to maintain the cost of his "Covenant" cards, mentioning that he deserved a war medal for that. Declan defeated Barrett using a combination of "D/D/D Sniping Overlord Tell" and "D/D/D Oracle Overlord D'Arc". Selena attempted to leave, but Declan stopped her and the two reminisced on their past encounter years ago. A barely conscious Barrett activated his Duel Disk to return to the Fusion Dimension and to give away Selena's location. Declan offered Selena the chance to join him into defeating Leo, but Selena refused, saying that all she wanted was to earn Leo's recognition. She left, but not before Declan declared her an enemy should she interfere with him.

After receiving the transmission, Leo had a meeting with Sora, who requested to be sent back to the Standard Dimension. Leo agreed to Sora's request, but ordered him to look for Selena and make it his priority to bring her back. Sora noted Selena's resemblance to Yuzu and asked why the two looked alike. Leo replied that he did not need to know that and had the Obelisk Force accompany Sora. The Obelisk Force entered the Standard Dimension during the Maiami Championship's Battle Royal, prompting Declan to cut any transmission that featured the Academy. Sora encountered Shay, Yuya and Knight of Duels students. Sora had the Obelisk Force deal with the Knights while he Duels Shay on nearby ruins. The Knights of Duels were then swiftly defeated and sealed into cards. Seeing this, Yuya became infuriated and challenged the three soldiers to a Duel. Meanwhile, Declan sent his Junior Force of Lancers, led by Yuu.

While Yuya Dueled against the Obelisk Force, he was forced to take the damage from their "Ancient Gear Hound Dogs". This caused him to becoming more furious, which, in turn, led to him Summoning "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" to attack them. The trio of soldiers began to panic but they were unable to defeat Yuya, who used "Synthesis Magician" and Antithesis Magician" to Pendulum Summon "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and then used the Pendulum Effects of both his Pendulum Monsters to grant "Dark Rebellion" a Level equal to the Level of "Odd-Eyes". Yuya overlaid his two monsters to Xyz Summon "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" and used its effect to destroy their monsters, inflict effect damage and attack a number of times equal to the monsters destroyed. This defeated all three soldiers in one fell swoop.

More Obelisk Force soldiers entered the Volcano Area and spotted Selena with Dennis Macfield and Yuzu. They escaped, leaving Yuu and the rest of the Youth Lancers to fend off the invaders. However the Youth force was quickly overwhelmed and turned into cards. Before Yuu was defeated, Yugo interfered in the Duel after recognizing the Academy soldiers as people he met before. He defeated the soldiers by using their "Ancient Armageddon Gear" against them with a combination of his "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon" and Synchro Cracker" to destroy all monsters with lower ATK than "Clear Wing". Yuu realized that he could not fight any further and ran away in a panic without thanking Yugo, annoying him. Nakajima expressed his concern to Declan that the Youth Force were unable to repel the invaders and Declan acknowledged the LDS did not have the strength to fight the Academy, but that his plan for the Lancers was for them to master Pendulum Summon as a new power that could give them an edge in battle. He referred to the potential Duelists as the "Yuya Sakaki Generation".

While the battles were taking place, Yuzu and Selena talked, and Selena revealed that the Academy, under orders of "The Professor", plotted to make the Four Dimensions become a single world, calling it an "honorable goal". However Yuzu revealed the truth of the Academy's cruel assaults into other dimensions to Selena and requested for her to seek the truth. Knowing that the Obelisk Force were hunting Selena down, Yuzu suggested they change clothes so that Selena could meet Shay and confirm the truth. Dennis, now revealed to be an agent working for the Academy, eavesdropped on their conversation and met Yuri, telling him of the girls' plan so that he could track Yuzu. During this time, Halil and Olga appeared, mistaking Yuri as an opponent for the Battle Royale, and challenged him to a Duel. Yuri was annoyed, but he accepted their challenge. He easily defeated both of them and sealed them into cards. The Obelisk Force surrounded Yuzu, believing her to be Selena, but Yuri interfered and ordered the soldiers to retreat or he would seal them into cards as well. He threw the cards containing Halil and Olga at them, causing the soldiers to leave. Yuri tried to convince Yuzu to surrender, claiming it was pointless to fight and that "the Professor" needed her. Yuri challenged Yuzu to a Duel, which Yuzu was forced to accept.

Yuya and Gong, who were looking for Yuzu, encountered Dennis and told him of the attacking soldiers, unaware of his true colors. Dennis maintained his facade by agreeing to accompany Yuya and Gong. Meanwhile, Yuzu was forced to run for her life after knowing that she was no match for Yuri, who was in hot pursuit with Dragon. Before Yuri could find her, Yuzu's bracelet activated teleporting Yuri away, due to Yugo's arrival. Yugo mistook her for Rin. Before Yuya could find her, the bracelet shone once more and teleported the two away leaving Yuya, Gong and Dennis unable to find her. Dennis incorrectly believed that Yuri had finished his mission.

Selena, who managed to avoid the Obelisk Force, witnessed Shay being defeated by Sora and thrown downstairs, leaving him injured. Selena activated "Lunar Eclipse" so that the two of them could escape. Sora initially mistook Selena for Yuzu and ordered her to stand aside. Upon recognizing her Duel Disk as being of Academy origin, Sora pursued the pair. The three eventually reached the Volcano Area with Sora requesting to get his "prey". However the two Fuma Ninja students, Tsukikage and Hikage appeared and blocked Sora's path. Hikage decided to face Sora, allowing Selena, Shay and Tsukikage to escape. Dennis, observing from afar, encountered remnants of the Obelisk Force. He told them that Selena was in disguise. The three soldiers asked Dennis if he wasn't coming, but Dennis said he couldn't because there were "too many cameras". The Obelisk Force soldiers then attacked Selena, Shay and Tsukikage, and forcing them into a Battle Royale. Shay wanted to go first, but Tsukikage interfered and fended off the attacks of the three soldiers using "Barrier Ninjitsu Art of Gathering Shadows". Selena decided to go next and Fusion Summoned "Moonlight Cat Dancer". Before it could attack, the Obelisk Force used "Fusion Dispersal" to counter her monster and damage her, as they prepared for her. Michio Mokota and Teppei Tairyobata then joined the Duel, but suffered a 2000 LP penalty. Using a combination of "The Legendary Fisherman III" and "Monster Pie" the two were able to damage the entire Obelisk Force for 2000 LP each one. The Obelisk Force used a combination of "Ancient Gear Reborn", "Ancient Gear Spark Shot", "Ancient Gear Booster" to deal enough damage to defeat Mischio and Teppei, who were weakened by the penalty. Both were sealed into cards afterward. Before Tsukikage could suffer from the same fate, Silvio appeared and used "Flame Guard" to protect him, having heard the situation from Declan, but took the 2000 LP penalty.

Yuya and Gong watched Sora seal Hikage into a card. Gong then saw Selena, who he mistook as Yuzu, in a Duel and left to help her. Yuya was left alone and challenged Sora to a Duel in order to return his smile. Sora agreed, since he did not like having a losing record against Yuya. Gong arrived as Silvio used "Underworld Troupe - Devil Heel" and "Underworld Troupe - Funky Comedian" to Pendulum Summon "Underworld Troupe - Big Star" and used its effect to search and equip it with "Underworld Script - Fantasy Magic in order to return the Obelisk Force's "Ancient Gear Triple Bite Hound Dog" to the Extra Deck and break their combo. However, the Obelisk Force used "Ancient Gear Rebirth Fusion" to Fusion Summon "Ancient Gear Ultimate Hound Dog" and used its effect to halve the Life Points of all their opponents. Gong took his turn, and used a combination of Pendulum Summon and the effects of two of his "Superheavy Samurai Nusu-10" and a copy of "Superheavy Samurai Courier" in order to provide Shay with the Pendulum Cards that Silvio activated previously. Silvio questioned his move because he thought he could break the combination by himself, but Gong said it was fine this way. Shay asked why Gong went so far to give him Pendulum Cards. Gong replied that Shay was the one who would finish the Duel. During his turn, Shay remembered all the people who protected him during this time, and found the notion "laughable". Shay used "Devil Heel" and "Funky Comedian" to Pendulum Summon three copies of "Raidraptor - Wild Vulture" and used them to Xyz Summon "Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon". Shay used its effect to let it attack all the Obelisk Force's monsters. Its other effect allowed Shay to reduce their ATK and DEF 0 during battle. "Revolution Falcon" attacked and defeated the remaining Obelisk Force soldiers, winning the Duel for Shay and his allies.

Meanwhile Sora and Yuya perform their Duel with the two trading blows. Yuya was convinced that Sora had become warped and revealed his intentions to bring him back to his "usual self", but Sora refuted this by saying that the Sora that Yuya knew was never his true self; his true self was a soldier of Academia. Yuya disagreed because he remembered that Sora had fun during their first Duel. Sora retorted that he was not being serious back then, but Yuya claimed his smile was genuine and that the two became friends after that Duel. Sora told Yuya that there were things more important than friendship. Yuya denied this by pointing out that Sora taught Yuzu how to Fusion Summon as a sign of friendship, but Sora claimed he did so merely because Fusion Summon was an honorable mechanic and a power that could make the worlds become one. Yuya argued that fusing the four worlds was wrong, but Sora angrily stated the opposite. Yuya asked Sora if he was aware of the cruelty inflicted into the Xyz Dimension by the Academy, and Sora indifferently stated that it couldn't be helped to achieve the Academy's goals. An infuriated Yuya told Sora that they didn't have the authority to fuse the worlds.

Yuya Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" and used its effect on Sora's "Frightfur Tiger", but Sora used "Frightfur March" in order to negate the effect and Fusion Summoned "Frightfur Sabre Tiger", which subsequently revived the previously destroyed "Frightfur Bear". The effects of both "Tiger" and "Sabre Tiger" boosted the ATK of Sora's monsters to colossal levels. Yuya then used "Synthesis Magician" and "Antithesis Magician" to Pendulum Summon "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". He used the effects of both Pendulum Monsters to make "Dark Rebellion" have the Level of "Odd-Eyes" and overlaid both of his Dragons to Xyz Summon "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon" Yuya used its effect to destroy both "Tiger" and "Bear" since their Levels were lower than 7. Sora used "Fusion Front Base" to avoid the effect damage. At this point, Sora regained the same excited demeanor he had during his first Duel with Yuya because Yuya was able to Summon an Xyz Pendulum Monster, while finally realizing that battling Yuya is fun. Yuya agreed to his statement that Duels were meant to have fun. Yuya used the effect of "Rebellion Dragon" to attack as many times as monsters were destroyed by its effect. Sora activated "Flame Chain" to lower its ATK, but Yuya countered with "Flame Power" to boost its ATK. The two raced for an Action Card, but were unable to catch it since the Battle Royale timer expired, disabling the "Wonder Quartet" Field Spell and ending the Duel without a result. Gong and the others, who witnessed the Duel, caught up to Yuya. Yuya mistook Selena for Yuzu, and Selena revealed she was not Yuzu. Sora, knowing the mission had failed, activated his Duel Disk to be transported back to the Academy.

Technology
Their technology is advanced enough to create brain scanners that can access to one's memory. They are also shown to have interdimensional travel technology, as well as abilities to materialize Duels and technology to seal any human into cards.

Allusions to Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

 * Just as Yu-Gi-Oh GX heavily focused on Fusion Summoning, the members of the Academy use Fusion Monsters.
 * The members of the Academy wear uniforms of the same colors of the dorms from the original Duel Academy: Slifer Red, Ra Yellow and Obelisk Blue.
 * The Academy is located on an island just like the original Duel Academy was, and features a castle-esque base resembling the Obelisk Blue dorm.
 * Most soldiers of the Academy are shown using "Ancient Gear" monsters, like "Hound Dog" and "Knight". The "Ancient Gear" archetype was first used in GX by Vellian Crowler. "Hound Dog" also has two-headed and three-headed fusion counterparts that use multiple copies of it as materials– much like "Cyber Dragon" and its fusion counterparts, all of which debuted ing GX.
 * The Academy includes an elite force of Duel Soldiers called the Obelisk Force, all of whom wear blue uniforms and helmets designed after Obelisk the Tormentor and based on Obelisk Blue.