"Unbelievable, Director!"
Kira was now seated in the Sector Security Director’s office. Before him, a flamboyant projection showed a professor in a white lab coat, face contorted with excitement, voice sharp and tinged with mania.
"Ever since you had me monitor Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas after their midnight duel in the Duel Dome, Ener-D’s readings have shot up to unprecedented levels!"
Ener-D, that was the name of the perpetual motion machine at the heart of New Domino City. Hidden beneath KaibaCorp’s labs, Ener-D provided the city with endless, inexhaustible energy.
This was Dr. Zigzix, head of the Research Department, the genius behind all perpetual motion research. He revered the machine so much, he always dragged out the pronunciation—"Ener-D"—whenever he mentioned it.
"Readings have dropped a bit since then, but they’re still beautiful," Zigzix said excitedly. "I have a feeling that our research on Ener-D is about to make a breakthrough!"
"Maybe. The Fortune Cup opens soon," Kira replied calmly.
"Ener-D will probably spike even more then. Watch it closely, and report any fluctuations to me immediately."
Dr. Zigzix snapped to a salute: "Understood, Director!"
Ener-D’s operation was tied to dueling—Signer duels in particular could cause massive surges. Up to a certain point, more energy was good; but if the limit was exceeded, another Zero Reverse disaster could blow up the entire city.
With the Fortune Cup approaching, a handful of Signers wouldn’t be enough. Kira had already tasked his Vice Director, Lazar, to travel around recruiting expert duelists to participate.
Not that he actually expected them to win. Their real purpose was to serve as "experience fodder"—to give the protagonist Signers battle experience and awaken their powers through fierce duels or psychological stress.
Lazar could handle that. Kira himself had spent these last days busy in the development department.
5Ds was a time when Synchro decks were booming, and most card development focused on Synchro monsters and strategies. Many famous Synchro monsters and decks came from this era.
Picking through the R&D junk pile, Kira had found a series with potential.
Scrap.
Despite the name, "Scrap" was anything but useless in the early Synchro era, once ranking as a true meta contender.
Scrap decks specialized in self-destruction combos—they used "Scrap" effects to destroy their own "Scrap" cards, which then triggered further abilities, expanding into aggressive combos.
The poster boy of the deck was the Synchro boss, "Scrap Dragon"—a Level 8 Synchro monster that only needed a Tuner and at least one non-Tuner, with no archetype restrictions. That made it a powerful generic Synchro that could fit into any deck.
With 2800 ATK, once per turn it could select and destroy a card on each field—yours and your opponent’s. Top-tier destruction utility for an early Synchro meta.
Plus, if destroyed by your opponent, you could Special Summon a Scrap monster from the graveyard, granting excellent resilience—a top standalone Level 8 Synchro. Any deck that could make Level 8s usually considered running Scrap Dragon.
While "inspecting" the research lab—for real, more like card-hunting—Kira happily dug through their stock, when suddenly a voice called from behind.
"You know, these days there are so many ’Synchro Monsters’—they all look so useful. Don’t tell me you’ve gotten bored of the rest of us and now only care about your new toys?"
Kira glanced back—it was the floating "Marshmallon."
"Don’t be ridiculous."
He grinned, slipping another card into his deck box.
"To a duelist, every card is unique and irreplaceable.

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