"Return of the Hanoi", known as "Hanoi Returns" in the original version is the fifty-ninth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS anime. It aired in Japan on July 11, 2018. It aired on December 1, 2019 on Teletoon. This episode is a clip show.
Baira, one of the masterminds behind the Deleted, is currently locked away in a prison and placed under strict security. A certain man pays her a visit...
Summary[]
In an offshore high-security prison, a security guard swoons over a camera shot of one of the prisoners being held, and is caught on the act by his colleague, who says that the prisoner is a Knight of Hanoi, elaborating that she is the mastermind behind The Deleted, a virus that corrupted people's minds and knocked them out. Hence, she is dangerous enough to be placed in a higher-security cell than other prisoners. The security guard's colleague says they should be thankful that the Knights of Hanoi are no more.
The voices of Specter and Faust mention their sighting of another Ignis, and its human partner they recognize as Soulburner. They also mention that the Cyberse World was destroyed, but not by the Knights of Hanoi. Specter and Faust materialize fully inside Hanoi's base, aware of another anti-Ignis force that they could ally with. Faust doubts that, otherwise they would not have to work secretly. The Knights of Hanoi are still blamed for their attempt to destroy LINK VRAINS. Dr. Genome appears, agreeing with Faust. Finally, Varis appears to his subordinates, declaring that he has uncovered Soulburner's identity as Theodore Hamilton. Dr. Genome claims that it would be the perfect opportunity to seize him and his Ignis. Faust wonders why they didn't do this from the start. Varis says none of them saw the bigger picture, and Soulburner's identity was only discovered through careful tracing of Playmaker's every move.
Varis suggests continuing to monitor Soulburner and Playmaker in case they find the other Ignis. But before that, they need to refresh what they know so far. Faust knows of the new duelist in LINK VRAINS named Bohman, especially what he did to Jin Kolter. Varis claims that what Bohman did was similar to Baira's The Deleted, but Specter says it was more effective. Dr. Genome quips that Specter should be lucky Baira isn't around to hear that. Faust concedes that they don't know much else about Bohman after this. Dr. Genome thinks Bohman must be a very high-quality avatar if it is able to emerge into the real world. Faust therefore concludes that Bohman must be a hacker with comparable skills to the Knights of Hanoi, and might have some connection to the Lost Incident due to specifically targeting Jin.
Varis thinks Playmaker didn't care about the Lost Incident, and only went after Bohman to retrieve Jin's soul. Faust then mentions Bohman's secret weapon: a Skill that lets him activate a Spell directly from his Deck. Faust elaborates that it is a Spell with Link Arrows of its own. Specter thinks it might be an invention of SOL Technologies, and wonders if Bohman is associated. Faust thinks Bohman and his associate would not breach their own security in order to escape. As for SOL themselves, they formed a team of bounty hunters to go after Playmaker, and even recruited The Gore. But Varis knew Playmaker wasn't alone at the time. Soulburner kept Gore occupied so that Playmaker would continue. Knowing of Gore's defeat, Specter is worried about Soulburner's potential as a duelist. Faust, however, brushes off Specter's worries as he reveals that Playmaker and Soulburner went to the dangerous "restricted area" of LINK VRAINS.
Specter laughs instead, saying that no one would risk their accounts for going to a restricted access zone. Varis counters that the restricted area may be the perfect place for duelists to hide. He has analyzed the area's digital signature, and found that it matched the blueprint of an Ignis algorithm. Varis knows that the restricted area was created by an Ignis, and therefore, Bohman has a connection to it. Dr. Genome wants to know what role The Shepherd has, knowing of him as the most successful bounty hunter in recent times. Dr. Genome knows that Shepherd and his mother were involved in an accident caused by a self-driving car. Faust claims that his role was driven by revenge against artificial intelligence. Varis is impressed to hear of Shepherd's ambitions matching those of the Knights of Hanoi. Specter warns against trusting Shepherd, and Faust says it's because he failed to catch Playmaker.
Even Varis knows that Playmaker and Soulburner, upon entering the restricted area, could no longer be tracked. Specter claims the restricted area alone got rid of them, but Varis isn't so sure. He claims that the Ignis are building a new Cyberse World in the restricted area, and if they can do that, they are evolving faster than humans and becoming more dangerous. Varis also warns of Playmaker's skills, for they are also evolving. The way Playmaker defeated Bohman, which was by Ritual Summoning a new monster, is recalled. Playmaker also used the Fusion Summon to defeat Shepherd. Varis claims that no one had combined the Link Summon with other summoning methods before Playmaker did. Specter agrees that they must work together to stop Playmaker once more, but adds that they are missing an important member of their team.
The Knights of Hanoi leave the virtual realm and travel on Ryoken Kogami's speedboat towards the island prison. Having hacked the prison's security system, Aso locates Clarissa Turner's cell on the second floor. Dr. Genome, whose real name has never been identified, quips that he has also disabled the prison's cameras. Ryoken notes that the prison can still see them coming. Aso re-draws the prison guards' patrol routes to allow the Knights to enter and leave the prison without being seen, and also unlocks every gate leading up to Clarissa's cell. Upon docking, they navigate to Clarissa's cell undetected. Aso knows that they have to be quick, because in twenty minutes, their hacking would wear off.
Ryoken frees Clarissa, who manages to have a conversation before they leave. Suddenly, the cameras that the security guard from earlier was looking at, malfunction, revealing that their captive has disappeared. Before the guard can sound the alarm, all five Knights of Hanoi are already outside of the prison grounds. They transform into their virtual aliases and "detonate" the prison.
Meanwhile, Yusaku is walking home. Yusaku tells Ai that they need to be patient, something Yusaku claims Ai lacks. Suddenly, Ai receives a signal from Cal Kolter, and Yusaku hurries over. At Café Nom, Cal shows Yusaku the breaking news feeds regarding Clarissa Turner's escape from prison. Yusaku remembers Varis' parting words after his second defeat at the hands of Playmaker, and realizes that the Knights of Hanoi have returned. Cal is not impressed that three different parties are now after them, and Yusaku agrees, saying that their mission has become more difficult.
Featured cards[]
The following cards appeared in this episode. No cards debuted here.
