The Numbers War is on, but the powers and the players have shifted. Kaito, now thoroughly lost to Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartlands' goals, attempts to flee with Haruto. Meanwhile, Shark’s still on a mission to save his old friend, Yagumo, who has lost his mind under mysterious circumstances. Now sharing Dr. Faker’s yearning for cosmic ruin, Yagumo has replaced Kaito as his top enforcer. With such powerful villains aiming for the complete destruction of the multiverse, there’s never been a greater need for these heroes to join forces. Unfortunately, teamwork’s not exactly on their minds...

Not Your Friendly Neighborhood...

Yagumo doesn’t mess around when showing how he’s one step ahead of everybody. Recapturing Haruto from under Kaito's nose, he dispatches his own henchman, Hishakaku, to make sure Kaito never bothers him, or anyone, ever again. Meanwhile, Cathy hasn't let the breakup of the Numbers Club stop her from gathering info on Numbers duels, so when her scanner spots Kaito and Hishakaku, Yuma and Astral come swinging to the rescue before you can say "For Great Justice!" 

Enemies of My Enemies

Meanwhile, another servant of Yagumo enters the game. Calling himself Shadow, he kidnaps Kotori and holds her as ransom to Yuma’s fight. Kaito arrives in time to fight him in Yuma's place, thereby repaying his debt for Yuma’s rescue… and, of course, to possibly net himself another Number in the process! Shadow is, apparently, a glutton for punishment since his next target Shark is ready to take a bite out of him...

Yuma and Astral realize that Dr. Faker and Yagumo are the only ones in the Numbers War that can truly be considered an enemy. While the rest may disagree about the method, everyone else prefers the world stay very much alive. Yuma thinks that they'd be much more effective if they just teamed up, but Kaito and Shark have different plans in mind. Aiming to trim the number of rivals through force rather than teamwork, they declare a duel against one another—winner takes all Numbers! It's a clash between two of the strongest Duelists out there with no clear-cut winner...but is there more to this duel than anyone else thought?

Bonus Card!
Number 72: Shogi Rook

This volume's bonus card is Hishakaku's Number 72: Shogi Rook! As with most real-life cards, its effect is a bit different, but here that difference just makes it stronger and it no longer relies on certain cards being placed in certain Zones. By itself, it packs a decent 2500 ATK value, but if you detach two Xyz Materials from Shogi Rook (the same number as required to Summon it), you may destroy one Face-Up Monster and one set Spell/Trap card! Even though any battle damage your opponent takes is halved for the rest of the turn, chess masters and Duelists alike will agree that one move at the wrong time can leave an opponent completely cornered!

The epic tale of duels and destruction continues in Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal. The stakes are as high, the monsters are as epic and the art is as awesome as ever. The story takes on a lot of twists and turns as the tale continues to unfold... and I personally can't wait to see where the spider thread leads next!

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal Vol. 5 is available here!

by Chris Turner