{{Quoteredirect|Yusaku Fujiki<ref name="ep12"/>Playmaker|Thatthe ''Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL's right. I am the emissary of revenge. I'll crush the [[Knights of Hanoi]].card|""Playmaker"" (card)}}

* Playmaker(プレイメーカー, ''Pureimēkā'')* Unknown(アンノウン, ''Announ'', Japanese version only)<ref name="ep64">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|64|ref}}</ref>

| en_voice = {{voice actors|en|[[Jake Paque]]}}<ref name="Yusaku English VA">[https://twitter.com/jakepaque/status/1033444031815196672 Jake Paque's Twitter]</ref>

'''Yusaku Fujiki''' ({{Ruby|藤|ふじ}}{{Ruby|木|き}} {{Ruby|遊|ゆう}}{{Ruby|作|さく}}, ''Fujiki Yūsaku''), known as '''Playmaker''' (プレイメーカー, ''Pureimēkā'') in [[LINK VRAINS]], is the protagonist of ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS]]''.<ref name="jumpfesta">{{cite web | url = https://ygorganization.com/jump-festa-2017-latest-information-stage/ | title = The Organization {{!}} <nowiki>The Organization | [Jump Festa 2017] </nowiki> Latest Information Stage: 6th Yu-Gi-Oh! Anime</nowiki> | publisher = YGOrganization | date = December 17, 2016 | accessdate = December 17, 2016}}</ref>A victim of the [[Hanoi Project]], he battles against the [[Knights of Hanoi]] in order to avenge his past with the aid of his friend [[Cal Kolter]] and the [[Ignis]] that he has captured, [[Ai]]. He is the Origin of Ai. In the second season, Yusaku becomes entangled in the kidnapping of [[Jin Kolter]]'s soul and the hunt for the people who destroyed the [[Cyberse (world)|Cyberse]], teaming up with fellow Hanoi Project victim [[Theodore Hamilton]] and Theodore's own Ignis, [[Flame (character)|Flame]].

|Yusaku_Normal.png|150177|Yusaku_VR_duel.png|150200|Yusaku's normal in his school uniform, and VR clothinghis Avatar Playmaker.

Yusaku is a rangy teenage boy with fair skin, green eyes, and dark blue hair that spikes outward in the back and contains light blue bangs with pink accents. In the dub, his skinny arms are the source of much mockery, usually from [[Ai]]. His standard attire consists of a slate-colored jacket with light blue trim over a white dress shirt with a blue tie and a pair of black pants and black and white shoes. His casual clothes consist of simple dark clothing; he conceals his identity with a hoodie prior to teaming up with [[Cal Kolter]], and he later wears an apron when manning [[Café Nom]].

While Dueling in [[LINK VRAINS]]As Playmaker, Yusaku wears a black and green bodysuit with a golden stripe going across his body and a grey belt at the waistline. His hair color also changes to yellow and red with pink strips and accents. Occasionally, the golden stripes in his "Playmaker" bodysuit glow when he uses his Skill. They also glow different colors when he uses different Summoning methods; glowing light blue when he [[Ritual Summon]]s and , purple when he [[Fusion Summon]]s, light green when he [[Synchro Summon]]s, and dark blue when he [[Xyz Summon]]s.<ref name="ep54">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|54|ref}}</ref><ref name="ep73">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|73|ref}}</ref><ref name="ep82">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|82|ref}}</ref>

[[File:YoungYusaku.png|thumb|100px|Young Yusaku.]]

{{Quote|That's right. I am the emissary of revenge. I'll crush the [[Knights of Hanoi]].|author=Yusaku Fujiki<ref name="ep12"/>}}Yusaku may be the first ''Yu-Gi-Oh !'' protagonist who is an anti-hero. He is not a bad person, but he can appear cold and apathetic. Yusaku is described as a boy who doesn't like standing out at school, not that he's timid or shy but because he is a hacker. Due to a certain incidentthe trauma of the Lost Incident, he generally tries to avoid contact with others and only seems to trust [[Cal Kolter|Kolter]]. HoweverYusaku is calm and collected most of the time. Outside of Duels he is shown to be intelligent and clever, he gets drawn into encounters but also calculating, standoffish, reserved, and somewhat anti-social. He prefers to distance himself from others and doesn't usually interact with people , not even remembering his classmates' names after a month in school. When [[Naoki Shima]] tried to be friendly with him, Yusaku casually admitted to being a loner and inadvertently irritated Shima with his observations, then didn't react to Shima storming off. In public, Yusaku comes off as rather awkward and often doesn't know how to answer questions, leading others to assume things about him, such as when Shima assumed he wanted to join the Duel Club and Skye assumed he tries out Dueling for oncewanted new equipment from SOL. Despite his aloof and calm demeanor Yusaku can be quite sullen when it comes to dealing with Ai's antics. In the dub, Yusaku is substantially snarkier, particularly when it comes to dealing with Ai.<ref name="jumpfesta" />

Despite his introverted and cold nature, Yusaku is calm both noble and collected most of the timegolden-hearted deep down. Outside of Duels he He is shown to be intelligent and clever, but also calculating, standoffish, reservedon well terms with his best friend, Kolter and somewhat anti-social. He prefers to distance himself from shows sympathy or care for others and doesn't usually interact with people, not even remembering his classmates' names after a month in school. When situations like when he discovers that everything [[Naoki ShimaGeorge Gore|Gore]] tried to be friendly with him, Yusaku casually admitted to being a loner and inadvertently irritated Naoki with does is for his observationsorphanage, then didn't react but he refuses to Naoki storming off. In public, Yusaku comes off as rather awkward and often doesn't know how to answer questions, leading let others get close to assume things about him, such as when Naoki assumed he wanted to and join his fight against the Duel Club and Skye assumed he wanted new equipment from SOL. Despite his aloof and calm demeanor Yusaku can be quite sullen when it comes to dealing with Ai's anticsHanoi out of concern that they may get hurt.

Despite As Playmaker he is shown to have a cold and serious demeanor, but at the same time he displays some noble traits to his introverted and cold naturepersonality, such as saving [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]] when she was about to be attacked by "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". Because of the [[Hanoi Project]] from ten years ago, Yusaku is both noble hates the [[Knights of Hanoi]] and golden-hearted deep downswears revenge against them. He is on well terms with his best friend, Kolter didn't hesitate to capture [[Ai]] and shows sympathy or care threatened to delete him in order to others' situations like when challenge the Hanoi, though he discovers that everything shows more restraint with [[George Gore|GoreAkira Zaizen]] does is , stating that he didn't hate him for his orphanage, but refuses to let others get close to torturing him and join his fight against Hanoi later refusing to attack [[Spectre]] during their Duel out of fear for Zaizen's safety. As pointed out by both Varis and Spectre he has a sense of concern that they may get justice and will help those hurtby the Hanoi. He is also very confident and has lot of faith in his abilities.

As Playmaker Unlike most of the previous protagonists, who enjoy Dueling and see it as fun, Yusaku sees Dueling as a tool to eliminate those who are getting in his way. He is also unique in that his motivations for his actions are for revenge, instead of uniting people via Dueling. According to Kolter, Yusaku doesn't really seem to enjoy Dueling either, as such he tends to reject challenges from other Duelists. That said, when he is shown either forced to have accept a cold and serious demeanorDuel or willingly does so, but at the same time he displays some noble traits to his personalitywill not abandon it, such as saving [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]] when she SOL prevented him from logging out when he was about forced to Duel The Gore and chose to be attacked by "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]"continue it even when Kolter made an escape route for him. Because of the [[Hanoi Project]] from ten years agoFurthermore, Yusaku hates is not above complimenting his opponents, as when he Dueled Gore, he claimed that his Duel style, which was meant to excite both the [[Knights of Hanoi]] crowd and swears revenge against themeven his opponent, was first-rate. He didn't hesitate According to capture [[Ai]] Zaizen, Yusaku sees Dueling as a way of life; winning Duels verifies his sense of self, and threatened to delete him in order lose is to challenge the Hanoi. As pointed out by Varis lose himself, which he has a sense of justice and will help those hurt by believes to be the Hanoi. He is also very confident and has lot of faith in his abilities. He is a determined duelist who never gives upsecret to Yusaku's strength.

Unlike most of the previous protagonists, who enjoy Dueling and see it as fun, Yusaku sees Dueling as also has a tool to eliminate those who are getting in his way. He is also unique in that his motivations philosophy of listing three reasons for his actions are for revengeobservations, instead of uniting people via Dueling. According to Kolter, Yusaku doesn't really seem to enjoy Dueling either, as such something he tends to reject challenges learned from other Duelists. That said, when he is either forced to accept a Duel or willingly does so, he will not abandon it, such as when SOL prevented him from logging out when [[Roken Kogami]] while he was forced to Duel Gore and chose to continue it even when Kolter made an escape route for himin captivity during the Hanoi Project. Furthermore, Yusaku is not above complimenting his opponents, as when he Dueled Gore, he claimed that does this to order his Duel style, which was meant to excite both the crowd thoughts better and even clear his opponent, was first-ratemind when confused or feeling discouraged.

He is generally level[[File:Yusaku Treatment.png|thumb|250px|left|Yusaku receives counseling for his trauma.]][[File:Yusaku PTSD.png|thumb|250px|A horrified Yusaku wakes up from a nightmare due to his PTSD.]]Yusaku's cold anti-headed, serious, aloof and keeps social nature was a stoic expression most result of the timeintense torture he went through during the [[Hanoi Project]]. Despite having undergone years of therapy, though he can give Yusaku still suffers from [[wikipedia:Posttraumatic stress disorder|post-traumatic stress disorder]] from that incident. Yusaku believes his life is already cut short smiles occasionally. He also doesn't seem due to carry animosity towards others, the incident and as such he stated that he didndoesn't hate Akira for his foul torture, making it clear that he only hates the Knights of Hanoineed friends or a future.

Following the events of the first season, Yusaku slowly begins to change, and this is largely due to his interactions with Ai and Varis, who he discovered to be the Ignis based on him and the person who kept up his spirits respectively. He also has and Ai gradually build up a rocky, but trusting relationship, and after learning Varis's true identity, Yusaku casts aside his desire for revenge and attempts to save Varis from himself, expressing a desire to have a habit of listing out three reasons friend for his observationsthe first time. In the dub, this is taken even further, something as Yusaku openly declares that he learned from an unknown individual while is also fighting for his fallen allies and impresses upon Roken the damage that his actions would cause both to the world and to himself. As he was states in captivity when he was younger. his final Duel with Bohman, Yusaku does this comes to order believe that his thoughts better allies expanded his views and clear his mind when confused or feeling discouragedthat there are experiences one can only learn by accepting one's friends. Oddly enoughThough still quiet and anti-social, he becomes far more willing to work with other people; teaming up with [[Theodore Hamilton]] and [[VarisFlame (character)|Flame]] shares , and later even extending an offer to Gore to work together again despite Gore's negative feelings towards him. When his closest friends fall in the war with the Ignis, Yusaku is heartbroken; he is further traumatized after being forced to defeat Kolter, though this habitis eased by Kolter anticipating the scenario and asking him to do so, and infuriated by Soulburner's defeat at Bohman's hands.

[[File:Initially, Yusaku Treatmenthas little knowledge nor care of the battle between humans and the Ignis.png|thumb|left|Once Yusaku receives counseling for his traumadoes learn of the conflict, he is fiercely disbelieving of the Knights of Hanoi's stance on A.I., particularly after learning that these views are based on simulations.]][[File:In the dub, Yusaku PTSDgoes as far as to state that destroying the Ignis because humans believe the Ignis would destroy them makes humanity no better than the Ignis supposedly are.png|thumb|A horrified When he becomes aware of Lightning's plans to destroy humanity, Yusaku wakes up emphasizes the need for peace, as he does not want to see another event like the Lost Incident and he states that he does not want to fight the Ignis, trying to talk down Varis from a nightmare due to his PTSDcrusade.]]It Despite this, he is drawn into the conflict, though he continues to believe in an open future with the Ignis and later shown asks Ai and Flame to hide after the war is over, as he believes that Yusaku's cold anti-social nature was a result other humans would attempt to exploit them. Following the events of the intense torture he went through during Ignis Warfare and the [[Hanoi Project]]. Despite having undergone years downfall of therapyBohman, Yusaku becomes emotionally conflicted by the thought of having to fight against Ai, his former partner and friend. Despite this he still suffers from [[wikipedia:Posttraumatic stress disorder|post-traumatic stress disorder]] from that incidentchooses to fight, believing he could try to reason with Ai. In addition, Yusaku believes becomes more sympathetic towards Ai, understanding the grief Ai went through after losing his life is already cut short due to the incident and as such he doesn't need friends or a futurefellow Ignis.

Yusaku is said to be an intelligent hacker who possesses considerable ability and who solves mysteries in a cool manner. Cool-headed and extremely clever, Yusaku's real skill is in his hacking and cracking abilities. He was able to hack into SOL Technologies' systems to find Ai, which both SOL and the Knights of Hanoi had been hunting, within a few minutes and in the middle of a security scan, and managed to capture it into his Duel Disk while leaving the AI Ignis with no means to escape. He has been fighting the Knights of Hanoi for some time without leaving any trace of his actions as "Playmaker", and keeps a dummy deck to mislead others when in public. Yusaku combines his high intellect with his hacking abilities to quickly come up with plans and think on his feet. An observant individual, he is good at reading people. When Dueling, Yusaku keeps a close eye on his opponent's body language and expressions to know when they're planning something, and as such, he usually isn't surprised when something unexpected happens.

An observant individualWhen in a [[Speed Duel (VRAINS)|Speed Duel]], he Yusaku's [[Skill]] is good "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]", which allows him to randomly access a never-before-seen [[Cyberse]] [[Link Monster]] from a Data Storm when his [[LP]] are 1000 or lower, at reading people. When Duelingthe cost of having to venture into the Data Storm (it would also appear that the more he uses this Skill, the easier it becomes for him to execute it, Yusaku keeps a close eye on as when he used it in his opponent's body language Duels against the Knight of Hanoi and Gore, he struggled greatly, and expressions had to know use his left hand to steady his right arm; however, when theyhe used it in his Duel against Blue Angel, he didn're planning somethingt struggle as much, nor did he steady his right arm). The cards obtained using this ability can then be converted into physical cards outside of LINK VRAINS using appropriate technology; also, and as suchstated by [[Emma Bessho|Ghost Gal]], "Storm Access" is a unique skill that not just any Duelist can use. He can also teleport back to his Duel Board should he usually isn't surprised when something unexpected happensfall off from it during a Duel, though he would first need to stop his fall to do so. During the second season, his Skill evolves, becoming "Neo Storm Access" and in addition to allowing him to add other types of Cyberse Extra Deck monsters to his Extra Deck, it can also be used a second time and allow him to draw a card if it fails and his LP is 100 or less.

When in a [[Speed Duel (VRAINS)|Speed Duel]], Yusaku's [[Skill]] is Storm Access which allows him to randomly access a never-before-seen card from a Data Storm when his [[LP]] are 1000 or lower, at the cost of having to venture into the Data Storm (it would also appear that the more he uses this Skill, the easier it becomes for him to execute it, as when he used it in his Duels against the Knight of Hanoi and Gore, he struggled greatly, and had to use his left hand to steady his right arm; however, when he used it in his Duel against Blue Angel, he didn't struggle as much, nor did he steady his right arm). The cards obtained using this ability can then be converted into physical cards outside of LINK VRAINS using appropriate technology; also, as stated by [[Emma Bessho|Ghost Gal]], "Storm Access" is a unique skill that not just any Duelist can use. He can also teleport back to his Duel Board should he fall off from it during a Duel, though he would first need to stop his fall to do so. Yusaku displays a strange ability to sense and see things in the network world when not logged in called [[Link Sense]]. Yusaku has had this ability since from a young age. Similar to Ai, he can also discern a Knight of Hanoi's presence through their cards, which allowed him to immediately determine that Gore was not a Knight of Hanoi and know when Blue Angel had drawn the card that was affected by Hanoi's influence. He can hear and feel the pulse of his [[Cyberse]] monsters. In the dub, this ability is even stronger, as he was able to briefly perceive the seed of the Tower of Hanoi rather than simply sense its presence when it reacted.

His given name contains the characters "game" (''Yu'' 遊), and "work" (''Saku'' 作). His surname, '''Fujiki''', means "[[wikipedia:wisteria|wisteria]] tree", the blue-and-pink coloring of which matches that of his hair. The kanji of his given name can also be translated as "playing" and "making", which is most likely the pun of his VR name "The Playmaker".

[[File:Young Yusaku loses.png|thumb|left|Young 250px|Yusaku loses in an unknown location with losing a VR mask on.Duel during the Hanoi Project]][[File:Young Yusaku found in a forest.png|thumb|Young 250px|Yusaku is rescued from the Hanoi Project.]]Yusaku was once ran into [[Roken Kogami]], knocking his Deck over. As he picked up the cards, Yusaku and Roken asked one of another if they played ''Duel Monsters'', and Roken offered to show Yusaku his Deck at his house.<ref name="ep58">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|58|ref}}</ref> But once Yusaku arrived at the six [[Kogami family's house]], he was kidnapped children, who were used for as part of the [[Hanoi Project]]. He and he woke up in a white, empty room, with VR goggles. He placed them on, and Yusaku was forced to [[Duel]]continuously for six months, and was penalized for losing with the penalties being electrocuted electrocution and having nothing to eat if he lost. This repeated on for months, as he tried to Duel onstarvation. After six months passed During Yusaku collapsed's imprisonment, a voice told him he should not to give up, and advised him to think of three reasons why to continue fighting. Yusaku asked who the voice was, but the voice told him he'd soon go home. The After six months, the system was disbanded, and while Yusaku was rescued, the incident Incident was covered up and not mentioned in the media. Yusaku developed PTSD after due to the incident torture he suffered during the Incident, and though he received treatment for it and went was treated normally by society, he found himself unable to recover from the tragedies he'd suffered.<ref name="ep19">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|19|ref}}</ref>  Eventually, Yusaku decided to take action and face his own destiny by taking revenge on those who had wronged him, though he still kept the advice to think of three reasons to continue fighting to his heart.<ref name="ep11" /> He learned that the "Lost Incident" that he had been put through was called the "Hanoi Project", and he decided to hunt down the hacker group the [[Knights of Hanoi]], believing them to be responsible for the "Hanoi Project". He worked alone under treatments the alias "Unknown" (in the dub, he simply did not use an alias at all), rescuing another Duelist from the Knights of Hanoi, [[Cal Kolter|Unnamed]]. Unnamed tried to cure it ask if Unknown knew anything about the Lost Incident, but Unknown simply told him to log out. Unknown later rescued Unnamed again, asking why he kept logging in. Unnamed explained that he was fighting for yearshis little brother's sake, but failed and continuously faced Unknown distracted the tragedies Knights of Hanoi to allow Unnamed to get beyond their field that befell prevented himfrom logging out. InsteadUnknown then challenged one of the Knights to a Duel, he took countering his "[[Limiter Removal (anime)|Limiter Removal]]" with "[[Forbidden Lance (anime)|Forbidden Lance]]" and his own "Limiter Removal" to power up "[[Main DeckGaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow (anime)|DeckGaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow]]" and defeat the Knight in a single attack. As he fled from the other Knights, a portal appeared above him and the voice of Unnamed told him to jump into it. The portal logged Unknown out, and Unnamed told him to come to [[Café Nom]] .<ref name="ep64">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|64|ref}}</ref> Yusaku visited the hotdog stand and met with Cal Kolter, who was shocked to confront learn that he was so young and asked if he was a victim of the Lost Incident. He explained that his traumabrother, promising [[Jin Kolter|Jin]], had also been a victim and had been significantly changed by the experience. Kolter offered to team up with Yusaku, describing him as the ultimate spear, while Kolter could act as the ultimate shield, and Yusaku agreed.<ref name="face his destinyep64"/> Yusaku and Kolter quickly became a strong team, defeating several Knights of Hanoi, but making little progress in their goals for revenge. While Yusaku refused wondered if the Knights were hunting the [[Cyberse]] monsters because they were scared of them, and he decided to believe investigate an urban legend of a Cyberse Deck in a secret dungeon. As he and Unnamed explored the dungeon, Unknown had to save Unnamed from a booby trap, and he noted that if one lost their [[Duel Disk]] in LINK VRAINS, they couldn't log out. They managed to find the Deck, but the way was rescued from this projectblocked by a Duel Puzzle that a Knight of Hanoi undertook. Unknown observed the Ancient Ghost's [[Extra Link]] and watched as the Knight of Hanoi attempted to win by attacking with the [[Megamorph (anime)|powered-up]] "[[Update Jammer (anime)|Update Jammer]]", named but was defeated by "[[Chaos Burst (anime)|Chaos Burst]]"and logged out by being devoured by a monster. Unknown then undertook the challenge himself, cautiously observing his cards in his [[Graveyard]] and [[Extra Deck]] as well as in his hand and on his field at Unnamed's suggestion. Another Knight of Hanoi Projectarrived as Unknown realized the solution, and Unnamed chained the Knight up to buy Unknown time. They deduced that destroying five monsters with "[[Thunder Crash (anime)|Thunder Crash]]" and then reviving them with "[[Torrential Reborn (later anime)|Torrential Reborn]]"would inflict enough damage to win,but they controlled a [[Token monster]], as the Knight pointed out, which would not be revived. Unknown was able to assemble the necessary field to trigger the combo, defeating the Ancient Ghost. They sprinted to the sarcophagus, but it was empty, and the Knight mocked them before logging out.<ref name="ep19ep65">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1965|ref}}</ref> though  Yusaku realized that the layout of the field had been a map of Den City, which depicted the location of the Cyberse Deck in the real world. Sure enough, when he still took and Kolter went to the unfinished first bridge of the advice city, they found a room with arrows leading to think it and the "[[Secure Gardna (anime)|Secure Gardna]]" card on the door, with the Cyberse Deck inside the real sarcophagus. Kolter declared that the power of three reasons the Deck would allow them to continue fightingcombat the Knights of Hanoi.<ref name="ep11ep65" />

Yusaku decided to hunt down the [[Knights of Hanoi]], whom he believed to be responsible for With the "Hanoi Project"powerful Cyberse Deck in hand, under Yusaku took up the alias of "Playmaker" with [[Kolter]]'s help. "Playmaker" , and soon became a famous [[Duelist]] within LINK VRAINS, with no one knowing what his real identity is because he and Kolter always deleted his activity logs.<ref name="ep1">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1|ref}}</ref>

===Knights of Hanoi===

[[File:Yusaku and Kusanagi disccussing.png|thumb|left|250px|Yusaku and Kolter talking about the A.I.]][[File:Playmaker Saves The Blue Angel.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker saves Blue Angel.]]Yusaku later met up with [[Cal Kolter|Kolter]] and they discussed how both [[SOL Technologies]] and their enemies, the [[Knights of Hanoi]], were chasing after [[Ai|an A.I. program]] in [[LINK VRAINS]]. Upon learning that SOL Technologies had scheduled a full scan of Link VRAINS that evening to try and find the A.I., they quickly started working on a trap to catch the A.I. themselves. Although Yusaku successfully captured the reluctant A.I. in his Duel Disk, one of [[Number 10 (character)|the Knights of Hanoi]] threatened to destroy LINK VRAINS. Yusaku quickly entered logged into LINK VRAINS as Playmaker and saved [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]] from the Knight's "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". He then challenged the Knight to a Duel, putting the A.I. at stake. The A.I. voiced his doubts that Yusaku's Deck could beat "Cracking Dragon", then and stirred up [[Data Storm]] in Link LINK VRAINS, starting a [[Speed Duel (VRAINS)|Speed Duel]] between Yusaku and the Knight.<ref name="ep1" />

[[File:Knight of Hanoi laughs at Playmaker.png|thumb|left|250px|Playmaker being overwhelmed by the Data Storm.]]

[[File:Playmaker Storm Access.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker uses the "Storm Access " Skill.]]The Knight activated a [[Skill]], which the A.I. hadn't mentioned, irritating Playmaker. The Knight managed to knock Playmaker off his [[Duel Board]], but Blue Angel saved Playmaker by using her whip to throw the Duel Board back at him. The Knight reduced Playmaker's LP to 400, and he was sucked into the Data Storm. Playmaker realized that this was part of the A.I's calculations. Ai revealed that powerful monsters resided within the Data Storm, and that Playmaker's skill "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]" allowed him to obtain those monsters when his LP was below 1000. Playmaker obtained "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]", which he used to win the Duel. As the Knight fell off his Duel Board, Yusaku declared that the Knight had no right to call himself a Duelist.<ref name="ep2" />

Playmaker attempted to interrogate the Knight, only for the Knight to attempt to kill him by self-destructing. The A.I. saved his life by devouring the Knight's avatar. [[George Gore|The Gore]] and Blue Angel appeared and challenged Playmaker, but he simply said he wasn't interested and logged out. Yusaku and Kolter spent the next few days trying to figure out the A.I's programming, giving him the nickname "Ai". Yusaku discovered some video logs that were actually Ai's memories. Ai claimed that he didn't understand those memories because they were damaged when he was reduced to an eye, but he did recognize the Knights of Hanoi's [[VarisRoken Kogami|leader]]. Later that night, messing with Ai caused the Knight's leader to sense their location and travel there; Yusaku asked Kolter to shut down [[Café Nom]]'s power to prevent them from being found, though he caught a glimpse of the Knight's leader and his [[Borreload Dragon (anime)|dragon]].<ref name="ep3">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3|ref}}</ref>

[[File:VRAINS log in.png|thumb|left|250px|Yusaku logs in to into the network.]]

Kolter uncovered Skye Zaizen's identity as Blue Angel, and Yusaku realized that Skye was his classmate. Kolter suggested meeting her in order to find out if her brother [[Akira Zaizen]], the Security Manager at SOL Technologies, knew anything about Yusaku's past or [[Jin KusanagiKolter|Kolter's brother]]. However, he then started teasing Yusaku that talking to Skye would be impossible because of his lack of social skills. Nevertheless, Yusaku managed to track her down with Ai's help, and he followed her to the [[Duel Club]], where Shima caught up to him. He feigned ignorance when Shima inferred that he wanted to join the club, and when [[Hosoda]] invited him in, he nervously tried to opt out until Ai said thanks on his behalf, which upset him. Yusaku introduced himself to the rest of the club, and the other members introduced themselves as well, including Skye. [[Sato]] showed him his Duel Disk, and Yusaku pretended to be interested, commenting on the fact that it was the latest model. Skye remarked that he knew a lot, but he claimed that it was only because Shima had bragged about it earlier. Skye noticed that Yusaku's Duel Disk was a card-loading model, the same as Playmaker's. When she asked to see his Deck, he obliged, but he handed her his dummy Deck instead. Ai later complimented him for doing so, but Yusaku told him to be quiet, as a meeting was in progress.<ref name="ep6">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|6|ref}}</ref>

[[File:VRAINSChurch.png|thumb|250px|Yusaku is caught in "Blue Angel's" trap.]]Playmaker found Blue Angel unconscious while Ai devoured the "Dark Angel" card. He was forced to log out when security bots approached them, and he found Skye comatose on the roof of the school. He answered Skye's phone when Zaizen called, and took Skye to the hospital. There, he met Zaizen in person, who thanked him and asked about his relationship with Skye; Yusaku claimed that they were just classmates. Yusaku, Kolter, and Ai later discussed Skye's condition and a possible cure. Ai explained that he detected that Skye's brain must be infected by a virus when he devoured Hanoi's card, and that the only ones with the appropriate anti-virus would be Hanoi themselves. [[Emma Bessho|"Blue Angel"]] then appeared on the [[Den City|city]]'s]] screens challenging Playmaker to a rematch. Despite knowing that it was an impostor and most likely a trap, Yusaku claimed that it was his responsibility to rescue Skye; if the impostor was a Knight of Hanoi he could get the anti-virus; if it was a SOL agent he could explain them what happened to Skye. After logging in, he identified Blue Angel as a fake, but he was trapped by her as she revealed herself to be "Ghost Gal". Zaizen then logging into LINK VRAINS, and proceeded to torture Playmaker, believing him to be responsible for Skye's condition, despite Playmaker and Ai's claims of innocence. [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] appeared and claimed that he would challenge Playmaker for Ai, threatening that Skye would never wake up unless Playmaker defeated him in a Duel. Zaizen released Playmaker, and Varis departed. Before Playmaker took his leave, Zaizen pleaded with him to save Skye, despite his brutal treatment towards him. Playmaker replied that he didn't hate Akira; he only hated the Knights of Hanoi.<ref name="ep8">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|8|ref}}</ref>

As Playmaker and Varis rode the Data Storm, Playmaker expressed his desire to battle the Knights of Hanoi and uncover their true identities. Varis replied that he didn't care about Playmaker's identity and stated that his only goal was to retrieve the [[Ignis]]; a term that surprised Playmaker. Both sides agreed on the conditions for their Duel: if Playmaker won, they would get the anti-virus, while if Varis won, he would claim Ai. Varis declared his hatred for AIs and his belief that the Ignis would lead everyone to destruction. Varis blamed Playmaker for assisting Ai and swore to eliminate him. Varis then engulfed LINK VRAINS in flames to provide a fitting setting for their Duel.<ref name="ep9">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|9|ref}}</ref> As the Speed Duel progressed, Playmaker defeated Varis's "Cracking Dragon" with "Decode Talker" once more. Varis revealed that he had the same Skill as Playmaker's and Ai's: "[[Storm Access(anime)|Storm Access]]". With it, Varis summoned "[[Topologic Bomber Dragon (anime)|Topologic Bomber Dragon]]", and began to gain the upper hand.<ref name="ep9" /> Fearing they might lose, Ai led Playmaker to another Data Storm, where the two obtained [[Firewall Dragon (anime)|a dragon]]. However, Varis activated the Trap Card, "[[Remote Rebirth (anime)|Remote Rebirth]]", and combined it with the effect of "Topologic Bomber Dragon" by reviving "Capacitor Stalker", ending the Speed Duel in a [[DRAW]].

Playmaker demanded that Varis reveal his true identity and those of the Knights of Hanoi. To his shock, Ai transformed into a monstrous form and devoured Varis's arm in order to get his data back. Varis fled, but he he gave the anti-virus for Blue Angel's coma to Playmaker. Playmaker accompanied Ghost Gal back to the church where Zaizen and Blue Angel were, using the antidote to cure Blue Angel and allow her to log out of LINK VRAINS. Zaizen thanked him for saving Blue Angel, but Playmaker logged out before he could finish. Exhausted from the Duels, Yusaku asked Kolter if Skye was alright before collapsing and falling asleep. Yusaku dreamed about Varis's words regarding Ignis with free will, which caused him to wake up. Kolter sensed he was thinking about what Varis told him. Ai defiantly claimed that he was indeed alive, and he used the program he obtained from Varis to regain his full body. However, Ai's size didn't impress Yusaku and Kolter, who tried to determine if Ai regained some of his memories.<ref name="ep12">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|12|ref}}</ref> As Yusaku was eating hot dogs, he witnessed [[Emma Bessho]] visiting Café Nom, who mentioned that she was interested in Dueling Playmaker, intriguing Yusaku. After Emma left, Yusaku noted how stressed Kolter was and decided to help him delete the files regarding Playmaker. As they were deleting files, Kolter asked where Ai was; Yusaku explained that he left Ai at home because he was annoying. Yusaku mused on the idea of AI with free will, and knowing that Varis had unleashed the attack on the Cyberse and searched for Ai, Yusaku deduced that Varis had destroyed the Cyberse. He wondered if it was wise to seek Varis out for answers about his past and about Kolter's brother. He then inadvertently deleted a big scoop that would have revealed everything Playmaker and Kolter knew involving Ai and the Knights of Hanoi had [[Frog (character)|Frog]] and [[Pigeon]] been able to publish it.<ref name="ep13">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|13|ref}}</ref> At home Yusaku continued to dwell on Varis's words in his hidden room. Kolter called him to Cafe Nom, where he showed him an encrypted message sent to him from Ghost Gal. Kolter explained that he had created a program to help Ghost Gal enter the Data Storm during the Duel with Varis. Ghost Gal had requested a Duel with Playmaker, with Ai as the wager. Yusaku accepted, stating that she offered a backdoor to SOL Technologies' data bank. Ghost Gal soon entered LINK VRAINS, and as Yusaku prepared to log in, Kolter wondered if Yusaku would really Duel her, since she could've set another trap. Yusaku replied he had to uncover the truth behind the Incident, and hoped in that the data bank contained information about Knights of Hanoi. He noted that he sensed some determination in Ghost Gal, despite her weaknesses.<ref name="ep14">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|14|ref}}</ref> Playmaker quickly met up with Ghost Gal, and she showed him the backdoor program she'd set as her stake for the Duel. Playmaker wondered why she wouldn't she access the data bank, and she explained that she wanted Ai so she could sell him to SOL Technologies. She admitted she grew more interested in Playmaker after his latest Duel, and wanted to battle him as a cyber treasure hunter. Despite Ai's warnings, Playmaker accepted her Duel. Ghost Gal blocked Playmaker's attacks with her "[[Altergeist]]" [[Trap Card]]s and "[[Altergeist Kunquery (anime)|Altergeist Kunquery]], and then Link Summoned "[[Altergeist Primebanshee (anime)|Altergeist Primebanshee]]", aiming to defeat Playmaker before he could use his Skill.<ref name="ep14" /> Playmaker was able to block the attack with "[[Lockout Gardna (anime)|Lockout Gardna]]", and Ai attempted to fool Ghost Gal into attacking so that they would be able to use Storm Access, but Ghost Gal refused to attack. Ai was in shock, and Playmaker told him his acting was horrible. On Playmaker's turn, Playmaker attempted to destroy "Primebanshee" with "[[Backlinker (anime)|Backlinker]]", but [[Altergeist Protocol (anime)|Ghost Gal blocked]] his move. Ghost Gal claimed she could anticipate their every move, and prevented Playmaker from [[Striping Partner (anime)|reviving]] "Backlinker". Playmaker Link Summoned "[[Underclock Taker (anime)|Underclock Taker]]" and tried to weaken "Primebanshee", but Ghost Gal countered with "[[Altergeist Camouflage (anime)|Altergeist Camouflage]]", protecting "Primebanshee" from attacks, claiming that Playmaker had reached his limits. Playmaker paid 1000 LP to activate the effect of "Balancer Lord", lowering his LP enough to use Storm Access, but Ghost Gal refused to let him activate the Skill and used her own Skill, Secret Cure to increase both players' LP. Despite this, was able to lower his LP enough with "[[Scan Doll]]", while also copying Ghost Gal's "Altergeist Protocol" to camouflage his "[[Altergeist Silquitous (anime)|Altergeist Silquitous]]". Playmaker used Storm Access, and Ghost Gal pursued him into the Data Storm, but she lost control of her Duel Board and fell off it. Playmaker saved her and reminded her their Duel was not over yet and let her go back on the Duel Board. Playmaker Link Summoned his newly-acquired "[[Excode Talker (anime)|Excode Talker]]", whose effect rendered two of Ghost Gal's Main Monster Zones unusable, and Tributed "Scan Doll" to allow "Excode Talker" attack twice. As all of Ghost Gal's monsters could not be attacked, "Excode Talker" could attack Ghost Gal directly, winning Playmaker the Duel. Ghost Gal gave Playmaker the program to enter SOL Technologies' data bank, and left. Yusaku logged out, and Kolter started to analyze the program as Yusaku fell asleep.<ref name="ep15">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|15|ref}}</ref> [[File:Playmaker in the mother computer.png|thumb|left|250px|Playmaker infiltrates the mother computer system.]]Kolter showed Yusaku the maze-like schematics to the data bank, and they wondered how skilled Ghost Gal was to have managed to hack into SOL Technologies' data bank, and Kolter promised he would finish by the time school was over. While at school, Yusaku wondered where Skye was, and he and Ai deduced that her brother forbade her from entering LINK VRAINS to protect her. Ai commented that Yusaku actually cared about her; Yusaku replied that one should not give up on Dueling this way. After school, Kolter showed Yusaku the path to the data bank, but warned him a lot of traps were set to stop anyone. Yusaku hesitantly noted that Ghost Gal also wanted something if she gave him the program, even if the information Yusaku could find there may not be that important. Regardless, he logged into LINK VRAINS to enter the mother computer system. To protect himself, Playmaker used a device to navigate himself, and a rope to disguise him from security programs. Once the security programs started to go after Playmaker, he launched three "[[Sphere Kuriboh (anime)|Sphere Kuriboh]]" to shatter them without alerting anyone. Passing the first corridor, Playmaker arrived in the second, where a Data Storm was located that drew Playmaker it, breaking his rope and triggering two prototype AI to hunt him down. Playmaker attempted to evade them, but [[Prototype Green-A|one of the AIs]] caught up with him, and initiated a Speed Duel. The AI brought out "[[Tentacluster Nautilus]]", and Tributed his "[[Tentacluster Drillworm]]" to discard Playmaker's hand. [[Prototype Red-B|The other AI prototype]] arrived and started attacking Playmaker, intent on grabbing his Duel Disk. Much to his surprise Blue Angel arrived, using her whip to prevent the AI from grabbing his Duel Disk, and she claimed that she would be the one to defeat Playmaker and started a Speed Duel with the other AI.<ref name="ep16">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|16|ref}}</ref> Blue Angel explained that she had come to repay him for curing her. Playmaker claimed he never indebted her; regardless, Blue Angel started her Duel with the other AI prototype. Playmaker was able to use the cards in his Graveyard to Special Summon several monsters and reduce his LP to 1000 LP, allowing him to use Storm Access to acquire and Link Summon "[[Vector Scare Archfiend (anime)|Vector Scare Archfiend]]", while also summoning "Cyberse Wizard". Using the effect of "Vector Scare Archfiend", he attacked several times, defeating the AI. Playmaker entered the Data Bank, and was surprised to find Zaizen and Ghost Gal waiting for him.<ref name="ep17">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|17|ref}}</ref>  [[File:Playmaker at data bank.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker reaches the data bank.]]Playmaker asked Ghost Gal and Zaizen why they were in the data bank. Ghost Gal explained that they were after the data, and Playmaker realized that he was just used as a decoy for them to enter the data bank. He ordered Zaizen to move aside, but Zaizen refused and informed him that he had learned what happened to Playmaker ten years previously. Zaizen claimed he had the right to know about the Incident and Playmaker asked him to hand the data over. Zaizen instead asked Playmaker to hand over the Ignis and leave, wanting to shed some light over the Incident, but Playmaker claimed that he would be the one to reveal the truth since it didn't personally involve Zaizen. He challenged Zaizen to a Master Duel, betting Ai for the data, and Zaizen accepted, seeing this as the only way to defeat Playmaker.<ref name="ep18">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|18|ref}}</ref> [[File:Yusaku furious.png|thumb|left|250px|Yusaku becoming furious at Zaizen]]Playmaker quickly Link Summoned "Decode Talker", but as he prepared his offence, Zaizen brought out "[[Tindangle Hound (anime)|Tindangle Hound]]" to weaken his linked monsters and used "[[Lemoine Point]]" to prevent Playmaker from attacking face-down monsters. Playmaker countered by Link Summoning "[[Flame Administrator (anime)|Flame Administrator]]", whose effect increased the ATK of "Decode Talker" past that of "Tindangle Hound". Akira flipped "[[Tindangle Angel (anime)|Tindangle Angel]]", reviving "Tindangle Hound" face-down and ending Playmaker's Battle Phase. Zaizen spoke about his and Skye's past, claiming that he knew their pain and asking them to leave fighting the Hanoi to him. Kolter and Playmaker became furious, claiming that Zaizen understood nothing about them. Zaizen [[Flip Summon]]ed "Tindangle Hound", and Set "Tindangle Angel", weakening Playmaker's monsters again and destroying "Flame Administrator". Playmaker used "[[Limit Code (anime)|Limit Code]]" to bring out "Encode Talker", and then he used it to Link Summon "Firewall Dragon".<ref name="ep18" /> Although the effect of "Tindangle Hound" reduced the ATK of "Firewall Dragon", Playmaker destroyed Zaizen's monsters with "[[Linkage Hole (anime)|Linkage Hole]]". "Decode Talker" landed a direct attack, but Zaizen destroyed it with "[[Tindangle Delaunay (anime)|Tindangle Delaunay]]", and brought out his ace, "[[Tindangle Acute Cerberus (anime)|Tindangle Acute Cerberus]]". It attacked "Firewall Dragon", which Playmaker protected with "[[Doppler Phase Coating]]". Zaizen protected his own monster with "[[Gergonne's End (anime)|Gergonne's End]]", and Playmaker noted that Zaizen's Deck was quite difficult to figure out with such complex strategies. Playmaker tried to end the Duel by attacking Zaizen's "[[Tindangle Token]]", but Zaizen prevented the damage with "[[Morley's Shield]]", then used "[[Nagel's Protection (anime)|Nagel's Protection]]" to protect his Tokens. "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" attacked "Firewall Dragon" again, reducing Playmaker to 500 LP. Ai yelled at Playmaker to do something, and wondered if there was anything to be done to get them out of their situation. Playmaker told Ai to stop panicking, and the two traded barbs. Playmaker swore he would not lose, as he wished to uncover the truth. He claimed that his Deck contained his feelings over the past ten years. Playmaker drew a card and Set it. Zaizen asked Playmaker to stop this revenge and cherish his memories, rather than trying to uncover the truth, which Zaizen would reveal. He claimed Playmaker was too conceited in the past, and he would not feel happiness, just as Zaizen himself hadn't. Blue Angel, who had been watching the Duel for a while, revealed her presence and asked to hear about Playmaker's past. Against Playmaker's wishes, Zaizen spoke about the Lost Incident, mentioning that Playmaker had been rescued at its conclusion. Playmaker claimed that he was never rescued due to the trauma that he suffered, and swore that he would uncover the truth for the sake of the families hurt in the Incident, and that he would rescue the person whose voice had encouraged him to fight if he was still trapped. Playmaker noted that even though Zaizen believed revenge was pointless, he had still discovered that the Knights of Hanoi had been involved in the Lost Incident, also known as the [[Hanoi Project]]. Zaizen then revealed that SOL Technologies' data bank contained the name of the mastermind behind the Hanoi Project, much to Playmaker's shock.<ref name="ep19" /> Playmaker demanded the name of the mastermind, but Zaizen refused to reveal it, fearing this would only feed Playmaker's hatred and desire for revenge. Zaizen attempted to conclude the Duel by attacking "Firewall Dragon" with "Acute Cerberus", but Playmaker avoided the defeat by banishing his dragon with "[[Cynet Backdoor (anime)|Cynet Backdoor]]", triggering the effect of "Doppler Phase Coating" to end the Battle Phase. Zaizen turned the tables by preventing Playmaker from attacking "[[Euler's Circuit (anime)|Euler's Circuit]]", which would also allow him to Summon a "Tindangle" monster to Playmaker's field to complete his combo. Playmaker brought out "Link Spider", "[[Recovery Sorcerer (anime)|Recovery Sorcerer]]" and "[[Security Gardna (anime)|Security Gardna]]". Zaizen pointed out the pointlessness of summoning the monsters, as Playmaker was unable to attack. As Playmaker had Summoned "Security Gardna" to the Zone that "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" pointed to, Zaizen used "Gergonne's End" to destroy the monsters that "Acute Cerberus" pointed to, inflicting the ATK of "Acute Cerberus" to Playmaker, but Playmaker survived with the effect of "Security Gardna", which prevented all effect damage during that turn and destroyed "Euler's Circuit", allowing Playmaker to attack. Despite his advantage, Playmaker used "Recovery Sorcerer" to bring back "Security Gardna". Ai questioned this, as Playmaker could simply attack directly with "Firewall Dragon", and Playmaker claimed that a Duel was more than just winning or losing. He used the effect of "Firewall Dragon" to return Akira's "Tindangle Hound" and "Tindangle Angel" from the Graveyard to his hand, reducing the ATK of "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" to 0, before destroying it with "Firewall Dragon", defeating Zaizen. Playmaker walked past the Zaizen siblings and had Ai devour SOL Technologies' data. Before leaving, Playmaker asked Zaizen not to follow him, or else he'd walk the path of darkness. Zaizen asked why Playmaker didn't attack directly with "Firewall Dragon", and he explained "Tindangle Hound" and "Tindangle Angel" represented Akira and his sister, who he believed should turn around and walk to the light rather than remain in the Graveyard. He tansported to his Duel Board and logged out. Outside, Kolter praised Yusaku and Ai. The two hacked into Ai, and found out the Hanoi Project's leader was [[Kiyoshi Kogami|Dr. Kiyoshi Kogami]], an employee from SOL Technologies, who worked on the Project alone in secrecy. The two concluded that SOL Technologies covered up the Incident to prevent the company's reputation from being ruined. Ai doubted that Dr. Kogami could have done this on his own, and suggested that Zaizen was involved, but Kolter reminded him that Zaizen had been 16 back then and not employed at SOL Technologies at the time. Kolter and Yusaku failed to find the Project's goal in the data, but to their shock they discovered Dr. Kogami had died seven years ago.<ref name="ep20">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|20|ref}}</ref> With the food truck positioned at the coast, Yusaku was doing research. Kolter invited him for a break, and gazed upon the ocean. Yusaku pointed out Kolter won't get many customers at that place, but Kolter assured him the famous coast was named [[Stardust Road]], known for the luminous plankton that rarely gather at night, and thought the person living near the coast may have seen that. Kolter failed to gather new info from SOL Technologies' data, and Yusaku saw that data from ten years ago was actually deleted. Still, they knew the company was involved, even if Akira knew nothing about the incident before. Kolter felt a bit relieved that Dr. Kogami passed away, thinking their revenge was over. Yusaku reminded him they still didn't know about the goal of the incident, and Kolter still wanted to rescue his brother from darkness, even if they had no clue where to continue. Yusaku still remembered Varis knew some things. Kolter stated Varis was not seen recently, but Yusaku believed he was not the type that would simply disappear.<ref name="ep21">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|21|ref}}</ref> Playmaker and Ai watched an eclipse blocking the virtual sun in LINK VRAINS. Ai recalled that people in the ancient past were scared of such events, and was surprised that even today people were still afraid. Playmaker replied that people had remained the same, unlike technology that advances. He likened the eclipse to the Lost Incident, vowing that he would not let the incident be buried in darkness and to uncover the truth. Later, Yusaku was at school, remembering the person who saved him. Shima talked to him about the [[Deleted]], and Ai noted the phenomenon's similarities to Blue Angel's coma, but Yusaku shushed him, since Shima could hear him. Shima doubted Yusaku would become a victim, as they were usually promising Duelists, and Yusaku advised Shima to stay away from his Duel Disk. At Café Nom, Kolter showed Ai and Yusaku the footage of a person being Deleted, which happened six minutes before midnight. Kolter told them the person had not recovered yet, and showed them pictures of more Deleted patients in hospitals. Ai and Yusaku knew this was the same condition that Blue Angel had been infected by.<ref name="ep22">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|22|ref}}</ref> Analyzing what the victims had in common, Yusaku and Kolter realized that the victims were all skilled Duelists and hackers with old models of Duel Disk; the perpetrators were looking for Playmaker and Ai. Deciding that they needed to stop more people from being Deleted, they looked at a list of possible targets and Yusaku visited the house of [[Mackendrick Kellenbocker]], but arrived too late to prevent [[Dr. Genome|a Knight of Hanoi]] from Deleting Mackendrick after the Knight realized that he did not have an Ignis. The Gore saved Mackendrick's body, and confronted the Knight, Dr. Genome, who confirmed that he was attempting to draw Playmaker out. Yusaku alerted the paramedics and went with Mackendrick to the hospital, where he heard Gore swear to defeat Dr. Genome. Gore met Yusaku in person for the first time, believing he was concerned for his schoolmate, and Yusaku introduced himself before leaving. That night, the Knights of Hanoi] attacked and Deleted more Duelists, and Yusaku decided to log in and stop them. To their surprise, someone disguised as Playmaker defeated the Knights of Hanoi and drew out Dr. Genome. The imposter revealed themselves as The Gore, claiming he knew Playmaker's identity and betting it on a Duel with Genome in exchange for the cure to Mackendrick's Deleted virus. Yusaku did not know if Gore really knew his identity, but was still frustrated. The group watched as Dr. Genome activated the Data Gale, conjuring black tornadoes for the Speed Duel.<ref name="ep22"/> As the Speed Duel continued, Gore donned a mask and declared himself as "Grim Gore", Ai thought it was tacky, but Yusaku and Kolter realized that Gore changed his battling style to that of a heel. Despite the advantages he gained, Grim Gore was nearly defeated by Genome, and after Ai suggested Yusaku log in and save Gore, Yusaku did so after Grim Gore barely kept himself in the Duel.<ref name="ep23">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|23|ref}}</ref> Playmaker logged in and he motivated Grim Gore in a sarcastic manner, and Grim Gore performed a face turn and defeated Genome. Gore realized that Playmaker hadn't come to mock him, but to motivate him. He suggested an alliance with Playmaker and the watching Blue Angel to defeat the Knights of Hanoi, and Playmaker accepted, though Blue Angel abstained. The next day Yusaku didn't go to school and teamed up with Gore, defeating various Knights of Hanoi. After defeating a Knight, Playmaker and Ai interrogated him about the Deleted removal program, but the Knight was erased before he could explain. Gore then asked Playmaker about Blue Angel's whereabouts, but Playmaker didn't know where she was, and they discussed [[Baira|the creator]] of the removal program. Sometime later Yusaku, Ai and Kolter watched [[Kitamura]]'s public announcement of an army of A.I. Duelists he had developed to confront the Knights of Hanoi.<ref name="ep24">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|24|ref}}</ref> As the Deleted crisis continued, Kolter determined that the Knights of Hanoi would soon find Playmaker if they took over LINK VRAINS, though Yusaku believed they could prevent that by looking into the origins of Deleted virus. Despite their attempts, their work proved fruitless, and it was Blue Angel who ended up finding the virus's creator, Baira. Resuming their search through footage of the Deleted, they spotted Baira present at one of the events,<ref name="ep25">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|25|ref}}</ref> and they managed to determine her real identity; Klarissa Turner, a doctor from Den City Hospital. Yusaku and Ai went to Klarissa's apartment, bypassing her security robot with Kolter's help, and they found her logged into LINK VRAINS as Blue Angel defeated her. Kolter arrived and they witnessed the Deleted being cured and logging out of LINK VRAINS due to Barira releasing the removal program. Baira appeared to log out, and Yusaku and Kolter prepared to interrogate her, but she remained comatose and they saw Varis reaching towards her on her viewscreen, apparently purging her.<ref name="ep26">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|26|ref}}</ref> Despite the Deleted being cured, Yusaku remained worried as he'd only fought the Knights of Hanoi inside LINK VRAINS and there was still one last Commander. At school the next day Yusaku spoke with Shima, who wished to battle the Knights of Hanoi alongside Playmaker and Blue Angel. Yusaku tried to dissuade Shima, who became furious and stormed out, and Ai stated that Yusaku went too far on him. To Yusaku's surprise when he headed to Café Nom that afternoon, Kolter revealed that someone called "The Brave Battler" had played his "Cyberse Wizard" card. Yusaku showed his "Cyberse Wizard", and Ai touched it and sensed that the data from the card was missing. Ai suggested that The Brave Battler was the mastermind they were looking for and that he'd a Knight of Hanoi to lure Playmaker out, but they soon realized that The Brave Battler was Shima. Yusaku feared Shima would be in danger if the Knights of Hanoi learned that he used a Cyberse card. Sure enough, Yusaku and Kolter found The Brave Battler with the Commander in question, [[Faust]], who called out Playmaker to Duel him, while to Yusaku's surprise, The Brave Battler claimed to have received "Cyberse Wizard" from Playmaker. Yusaku went to get his Duel Disk, but found it gone; Ai had gone to search for Shima in the Duel Disk, which Roboppi had modified into a drone. Yusaku realized that Ai knew this would happen, and Ai acted offended that Yusaku was accusing him. Ai showed them the location where Shima was held captive, then returned to Café Nom as it was en route, and Yusaku and Ai logged in to LINK VRAINS.<ref name="ep27">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|27|ref}}</ref> Playmaker assured The Brave Battler that he'd face Faust. Before he did, The Brave Battler returned "Cyberse Wizard" to Playmaker. Playmaker noted that Faust was the final Deleted mastermind, and accused him of stealing the data of "Cyberse Wizard" and giving it to The Brave Battler to lure him out. But Faust claimed that he had not done so, and Ai assured Playmaker that it wasn't important, as they only had to defeat Faust. Faust declared that his mission was to retrieve Ignis, and he used the Data Storm to conjure a stage for their Speed Duel and prevent Playmaker from logging out. Faust went all-out from the start, Link Summoning "[[Motor Worm Spreader Queen]]" and powering it up with "[[Motor Worm Token]]s". Playmaker opposed it with "Decode Talker" and "Cyberse Wizard", but Faust was able to protect "Spreader Queen" from "Decode Talker" with "[[Wormhole Defense]]", though its ATK was lowered enough for "Cyberse Wizard" to defeat "Spreader Queen". Faust simply revived "Spreader Queen" with "[[Worm Revival]]", then used "[[Egg Clutch]]" to turn "Cyberse Wizard" into an [[Insect]] monster and boost the ATK of "Spreader Queen". The presence of only Insect monsters on their field would allow Faust to attack them directly, but Ai pointed out they still had the Cyberse "Decode Talker". Faust destroyed "Decode Talker", then used his Skill "[[Double Bite]]" to allow "Spreader Queen" to attack once more and finish Playmaker off.<ref name="ep28">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|28|ref}}</ref> [[File:Playmaker takes out Powercode Talker.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker uses "Storm Access" in the Data Storm.]]Playmaker was blasted into a building, but barely survived by halving the damage with "[[Urgent Link]]". He attempted to Link Summon, but Faust's "Wormhole Defense" prevented the Insect Tokens from being used as Link Material. Faust declared he would obtain the Ignis on his next turn, but Playmaker turned things around with "[[Cybersal Cyclone (anime)|Cybersal Cyclone]]", allowing him to destroy "Wormhole Defense". Faust declared he still wouldn't lose, though Playmaker made him doubt his words when he went into the Data Storm to use "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]", obtaining and Link Summoning "[[Powercode Talker (anime)|Powercode Talker]]". Playmaker negated the effects of "Spreader Queen" to reduce her ATK, then he prepared to attack. Faust tried to warn him of Ignis being a threat, but Ai told Playmaker to ignore Faust, and Playmaker doubled the ATK of "Powercode Talker", who destroyed "Motor Worm Spreader Queen" and defeated Faust. Before vanishing, Faust tried to warn Playmaker that he may have just doomed the future of humanity. Playmaker repeated Faust's final words, which Ai didn't claim to know anything about. Before logging out, Playmaker told The Brave Battler he should seek his own path if he was brave enough. Yusaku found Shima in the real world, who had been released when Faust lost the Duel. Shima was glad to see that Yusaku came to rescue him, and told him about Playmaker's ordeals. While Shima was talking, Yusaku concluded Faust didn't want Shima to be Deleted, and that Ai could have been the one that sent "Cyberse Wizard" to Shima.<ref name="ep28" /> Despite the defeat of the three Commanders and the conclusion of the Deleted incident, Yusaku still remained uneasy, as Varis remained unaccounted for.<ref name="ep28"/> Yusaku and Ai sensed something wrong in LINK VRAINS on their way to school one day via their Link Sense, and then again after Kolter served a customer at the Stardust Road as Yusaku wondered why Varis hadn't made any recent appearances. (In the dub, they saw visions of an energy sphere.) Yusaku asked Kolter to scan the network, and just as Yusaku and Ai sensed another pulse, Kolter discovered that the LINK VRAINS infrastructure was changing. Yusaku decided to log in, uneasy about Varis's absence and believing that something big was about to happen. As Playmaker searched through LINK VRAINS, Ai tried to convince him that they should return, but Playmaker refused to be dissuaded and they sensed another pulse. Spotting some data fireflies, Playmaker traced them to an alleyway.<ref name="ep30">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|30|ref}}</ref> [[File:Playmaker runs in sewers.png|thumb|250px|left|Playmaker runs from the data monster.]]Ghost Gal arrived, and she wasn't particularly pleased to see Ai and Playmaker present, confirming that the fireflies were hers. Playmaker warned her that the path ahead was dangerous and advised her to log out, but Ghost Gal refused, stating that the reward would thus be greater. The data fireflies opened a path into LINK VRAINS' data sewers, and they came to a fork in the path. Ai suggested they settle the decision of who went what way with a game, which amused Ghost Gal. Playmaker watched Ai and Ghost Gal's game to choose a "lovely" card from her Deck, well aware that the game was rigged so that Ai would chose a wrong card. Sure enough, Ghost Gal won the game and allowed Playmaker to go down the left path. Ai was depressed to learn he'd been cheated, but Playmaker reminded him of the importance of their mission, and they continued on. As they moved through the data sewers, they were attacked by a data monster that chased them through the sewers.<ref name="ep30"/> They eventually came to a dead end, but just as the data monster approached them, it was destroyed by a [[Mirror Force (later anime)|bright light]] that blasted through the floor. Realizing that they must be above the anomaly, Playmaker leaped through the crack and Ai noted it was the path that Ghost Gal had taken. They came to a data processing plant, finding Ghost Gal and Varis Speed Dueling around a sphere of energy, and they two watched as Ghost Gal was defeated by Varis's "[[Topologic Trisbaena (anime)|Topologic Trisbaena]]". Playmaker swore to save her, but Ghost Gal claimed she was too pathetic for a professional and gave Playmaker the data she had acquired on the sphere. Ghost Gal then started disintegrating, and she warned Playmaker Varis's terrifying new card before she disappeared, her data absorbed by the energy sphere. Varis confronted Playmaker, who demanded to know what had happened to Ghost Gal. Varis claimed she had become a foundation for the Tower of Hanoi, which he proceeded to begin. He revealed that the only way to stop it was by defeating him, and fled as the Tower began destroying the plant. Enraged, Playmaker attempted to tear down the bars between him and Varis, forcing Ai to use the emergency logout to save them.<ref name="ep31">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|31|ref}}</ref> Yusaku, Kolter, and Ai watched as the Tower of Hanoi appeared in LINK VRAINS, absorbing data of all kinds, buildings, roads, and even all the Avatar's in the vicinity. Kolter analyzed Ghost Gal's data, showing the Tower of Hanoi. Yusaku remembered Varis's words, and deduced if the Hanoi's game was over, the world would be destroyed. Kolter continued analyzing the data, and he explained that the Tower would craft a ring of data every hour, and when the Tower was completed, it would release a pulse of high-density data that would destroy every piece of technology connected to the network. Ai believed they'd be safe if they didn't enter the network, but Yusaku stated that Varis likely would have thought of this, and Kolter confirmed that the data pulse would also repurpose mainframes into EMP devices that would affect technology even if it wasn't connected to the network. They realized that Varis was going so far just to erase the Ignis. Later, they witnessed Kitamura Dueling a Knight of Hanoi, [[Spectre]], who defeated Kitamura, resulting in Kitamura's data being absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi. Spectre threatened anyone that dared enter LINK VRAINS with the same fate, and Yusaku swore to stop the Knights of Hanoi by shutting down the Tower. Kolter warned him there were no Data Storms in LINK VRAINS, except near the Tower of Hanoi.<ref name="ep32">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|32|ref}}</ref> This did not stop Yusaku, who wished to end his feud with Varis, and he logged in to LINK VRAINS. He quickly met up with The Gore and Blue Angel, who stated that they were fighting for everyone in LINK VRAINS. Playmaker explained that he had come to stop the Tower of Hanoi, rescue Ghost Gal and confront the Varis, and Blue Angel was shocked to hear that Ghost Gal had been defeated. Gore asked about the data Ghost Gal gave to Playmaker, and Playmaker explained that Varis intended to destroy LINK VRAINS using the Tower of Hanoi. Blue Angel realized if the network would be destroyed, then all the people absorbed would be destroyed too, and Ai added it would prevent him from being erased. Gore asked how to stop the tower, and Playmaker explained that they needed to defeat Varis. Ai warned them that they only had six hours before the Tower was completed. Gore and Blue Angel promised to go there, but Playmaker stated it was better if they stayed safe. This actually motivated Gore and Blue Angel even more, and Playmaker claimed not to care, but asked them to be careful. He warned them of Varis's powerful new card, and they promised to meet up against and approached the Tower from different directions.<ref name="ep32"/> [[File:The whirlwind.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker looks at the whirlwind from afar.]]On his way to the Tower of Hanoi, Playmaker rescued a boy dressed as him from a collapsing building, who had believed [[Frog (character)|Frog]] and [[Pigeon]] to be Knights of Hanoi. Playmaker asked the boy to log out while he protected LINK VRAINS, and the boy did so, stating that he believed in Playmaker.<ref name="ep33">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|33|ref}}</ref> Ai recorded the five hour mark before the Tower of Hanoi was completed, and Playmaker swore to end the crises by defeating Varis, prompting Ai to cheer for them. As they continued on, they saw a twister in the distance where Blue Angel had headed.<ref name="ep34">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|34|ref}}</ref> Playmaker and Ai arrived at a bridge that was beginning to be absorbed by the Tower, and Ai noted they had to cross it to get to the Tower. Ai suggested conjuring a Data Storm, but Playmaker warned him that the Tower would just absorb that data too and hasten the tower's completion.<ref name="ep35">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|35|ref}}</ref> Before they could cross the bridge, they were opposed by Spectre. Spectre proclaimed that he would crush them on Varis's orders as he had Blue Angel, shocking Playmaker and Ai, and Spectre boasted that he defeated her without even having to use his full strength. Spectre commented that Blue Angel had talked about "blue love", which Ai did not understand. Spectre showed them data fragments of Blue Angel, claiming that she had no power to save him, and he promised that the same fate would befall Playmaker. Spectre began their Duel by Summoning "[[Sunseed Genius Loci (anime)|Sunseed Genius Loci]]" and using it to Link Summon "[[Sunavalon Dryas (anime)|Sunavalon Dryas]]", and Setting a card. Playmaker recalled Blue Angel's burn tactics, and the speed with which Spectre had defeated her. Ai declared that he was very dangerous too and noted that Spectre's monster did not look very offensive. Playmaker asked Spectre why he fought, and Spectre claimed he fought for Varis. Playmaker tried to persuade Spectre to step down, believing that he did not know about Varis's plan, but Spectre confirmed he knew what Varis intended and that he would stand by his side regardless. Playmaker claimed that Spectre did not understand Varis, and that an outsider of the Lost Incident like Spectre had no reason to be involved. Spectre explained that he did understand the Lost Incident, revealing that he was one of the six children that were kidnapped as Playmaker had been.<ref name="ep35"/> Playmaker was shocked, and protested that the Knights had committed atrocities against Spectre, but Spectre claimed that the Incident entertained him, as it made him feel important, and Varis gave him a place where he could belong among the Knights of Hanoi. Spectre wondered if he was weird, but thought Playmaker's sense of justice made him even stranger. Ai reminded Playmaker that he was nothing like Spectre, and reminded him that the Tower would continue growing while they wasted time. Spectre dared Playmaker to defeat him, and Playmaker Link Summoned "[[Binary Sorceress (anime)|Binary Sorceress]]", "[[Multi Sledgehammer]]" and "[[Binary Blader (anime)|Binary Blader]]", and as he could not attack "Dryas", he attacked Spectre directly with "Binary Sorceress", only for Spectre to replenish his LP by Special Summoning "[[Sunvine Gardna (anime)|Sunvine Gardna]]". Spectre explained about the tree that had protected him when he was a baby, and declared that he began distrusting society when the tree was cut down, and that he now served Varis.<ref name="ep35"/> He proclaimed that as long as the tree was on the field, nobody could defeat him and that Ignis and LINK VRAINS would be erased. Playmaker reminded Spectre that he would be erased too, but Spectre merely wished to fulfill Varis's goal and he claimed that Playmaker would never understand their goals as long as he chased after revenge. Playmaker continued attacking, supporting his other attacks with the effects of "Binary Sorceress", restoring his own LP as well, but Spectre [[Sunavalon Glorious Growth|evolved]] "Dryas" into "[[Sunavalon Dryanome (anime)|Sunavalon Dryanome]]" in the middle of Playmaker's Battle Phase and restored his own LP. Playmaker realized that Spectre's Deck was defense-oriented, and attacked again with "Binary Blader", but once again Spectre's "Sunavalon Glorious Growth" and "Sunvine Gardna" restored his LP and lowered Playmaker's back to 4000. But Playmaker had planned for a single final strike, using the attacks of his monsters to increase the ATK of "Multi Sledgehammer" to 4000.<ref name="ep36">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|36|ref}}</ref> Ai praised Playmaker's brilliant strategy, but Spectre warned them that it wasn't perfect; "Sunavalon Glorious Growth" redirected the attack to "Sunvine Gardna", who reduced the damage and Spectre performed his combo once more. Spectre declared his belief that he had the Duel won as Playmaker fought for revenge while Spectre was helping Varis save the world. Spectre went on the offensive with "[[Sunvine Thrasher (anime)|Sunvine Thrasher]]" and took control of "Binary Blader" to destroy Playmaker's monsters. Ai warned Playmaker that he was losing, but Playmaker explained that Spectre could no longer use the effect of "Sunavalon Dryanome", for all of the zones it pointed to were occupied, but Spectre Link Summoned "[[Sunavalon Daphne (anime)|Sunavalon Daphne]]", expanding his available zones. The bridge began to be erased, but "Dryanome" stabilized it, allowing the Duel to continue. Spectre used "[[Sunavalon Force]]" to render "Dryanome" immune to effects, but Playmaker brought out "Excode Talker" and "Underclock Taker", locking down Spectre's two Main Monster Zones and reducing the ATK of "Sunvine Thrasher". As Ai gloated that they would win, Spectre revealed that Zaizen had been imprisoned in LINK VRAINS, threatening to use his prison to infect him with a virus. Playmaker and were angry that Spectre was cheating by dragging people that weren't even involved into their Duel, but Spectre accused Playmaker of involving man more people in the current crisis, including the Zaizens.<ref name="ep36"/> Although Zaizen and Ai both told Playmaker not to listen to Spectre, Playmaker ended his turn without attacking. Spectre mocked Playmaker over his desire for revenge and his simultaneous virtue, and he counterattacked with "Thrasher", destroying "Underclock Taker" and reducing Playmaker's LP to 900. Ai panicked as the bridge continued collapsing<ref name="ep36"/> and Spectre lamented that he could not defeat Playmaker as the bridge was collapsing. Playmaker manipulated Spectre into stabilizing the bridge again to continue the Duel, though Spectre believed Playmaker would be unable to win and dared him to attack and risk Zaizen's life. Zaizen told Playmaker to attack, else Skye's sacrifice would have been for nothing, but again Playmaker simply Set a card and played defensively, protecting "Excode Talker" with various card effects and refusing to use the offensive effect of his "[[Overload Anchor]]" card. Spectre Link Summoned "[[Sunavalon Dryatrentiay (anime)|Sunavalon Dryatrentiay]]" and used its effect destroy Playmaker's defensive Spell and Trap Cards, then brought out another "Sunvine Thrasher", whose ATK became 4000. Ai was worried by the high ATK, but relieved that Spectre's monsters in the Main Monster Zones could not attack the turn he used "Dryatrentiay's" effect. Playmaker reminded Ai that Spectre had Summoned the high ATK "Thrasher" for a reason, and Spectre commended Playmaker for his observation, as "Dryatrentiay" gained the ATK of the monsters it pointed to when it attacked. But Playmaker had been waiting for that move, and he activated "[[Link Surge Counter]]" to make the ATK of "Excode Talker" equal to that of "Sunavalon Dryatrentiay", and both monsters were destroyed, though the effect of "Sunavalon Force" reduced Playmaker to 50 LP. Ai praised Playmaker for avoiding defeat, and the destruction of "Sunavalon Dryatrentiay" broke Spectre's combo and sent him into a rage. Playmaker stated that it had been difficult to break Spectre's combo until his "Sunavalon" was the one that attacked. The enraged Spectre revived "Dryatrentiay" with "[[Sunavalon Cursed Rebirth]]", and while its effects were negated, its ATK became 4000. Spectre added that any damage he took would also be inflicted to Playmaker, assuring his defeat. Ai claimed this was why they should have ignored Zaizen, and Kolter suddenly attempted to destroy the trap that imprisoned Zaizen, but failed.<ref name="ep37">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|37|ref}}</ref> Zaizen reminded Playmaker that he had to win or Skye's sacrifice would be in vain, and he grasped his prison, infecting himself with the virus and being absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi. Spectre mocked Zaizen for entrusting the future to a man who could not win, but a vengeful Playmaker warned Spectre that his Dueling always won and that his doubts had disappeared now that Zaizen was gone. He Link Summoned "[[Talkback Lancer (anime)|Talkback Lancer]]" and resurrected "Excode Talker", then with "[[Link Atrocity]]", raised its ATK to 4000 to match "Dryatrentiay". Spectre believed that Playmaker was aiming for mutual destruction and that his goal to prevent Playmaker from reaching Varis was complete, Playmaker replied that Spectre's goal was gone, for "Link Atrocity" reduced the ATK of "Dryatrentiay" back to 0. "Excode Talker" destroyed "Dryatrentiay", defeating Spectre. As Specre lamented over allowing Playmaker to live, yet claimed he had no regrets, Playmaker claimed he had no doubts anymore. Spectre told him that doubt and regret were two different things, and Playmaker left him behind as the bridge continued collapsing, but he was unable to reach the other side before it collapsed, plunging into the abyss below.<ref name="ep37"/> To their surprise, a Data Storm suddenly ejected them from the abyss, but Ai hadn't caused it. Realizing that the Tower was already half complete, they resumed their sprint towards the Tower.<ref name="ep39">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|39|ref}}</ref> Frog and Pigeon informed them of a Duel near the Tower, and Playmaker realized that The Gore was Dueling Varis, as Blue Angel and Spectre had both been defeated. He advised Frog and Pigeon to log out before sprinting in the direction they'd indicated. They arrived to see that Gore was indeed Dueling Varis, and Gore told Playmaker that he was late and that he would defeat Varis for him. Playmaker watched the Duel quietly, while Ai enthusiastically cheered Gore on. Although Gore was able to destroy Varis's "Topologic Bomber Dragon" and assemble enough "Gouki" Link Monsters for a finishing attack, Varis countered them with the card that Ghost Gal had warned them about - "[[Mirror Force (later anime)|Mirror Force]]".<ref name="ep39"/> Gore was able to recover from having his monsters destroyed, but Varis continued to drive him into a corner until Gore Link Summoned "[[Gouki The Giant Ogre (anime)|Gouki The Giant Ogre]]" and counterattacked, bringing their LP almost equal. Ai thought Gore would be fine, but Playmaker reminded him that Varis still had four monsters. They thought Varis would Link Summon "Borreload Dragon", but he instead Link Summoned "[[Borrelsword Dragon (anime)|Borrelsword Dragon]]" and defeated Gore. As Gore was absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi, he apologized to Playmaker for being unable to do more, but Playmaker assured him that he knew about Varis's strategies now (specifying in the dub that he now knew about "Mirror Force".)<ref name="ep40">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|40|ref}}</ref>

As Yusaku was eating hot dogs, he witnessed [[Emma Bessho]] visiting Café Nom to order chili dogs and File:Playmaker not Ai friend.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker claims that he never considered Ai a coffeefriend after learning about his deception. She inquired Kolter about a [[Celebrity Duelist]] With The Gore's defeat, Playmaker and mentioned she was interested Varis were left as the only two Duelists in Dueling Playmaker, intriguing YusakuLINK VRAINS. After Emma leftThey Speed Dueled in the debris of the Tower's fifth ring, Yusaku noted how stress Kolter was and decided to help him delete before the files regarding Duel started, Playmaker. As they were deleting files, Kolter asked where Ai wasif Varis really needed to destroy the network just to destroy the Ignis. Yusaku told him that Varis accused Playmaker of causing this when he left didn't give them Ai at home because , and Playmaker vowed to defeat Varis (specifying in the dub that he was annoyingalso fighting for Gore and Blue Angel) and quickly Link Summoned "Decode Talker". Despite this, Yusaku wondered about Varis's words about AI with free will. Knowing Varis unleashed then asked Playmaker why Ai was running from the attack on Cyberse Knights, and searched for Playmaker told him that Ai, Yusaku had claimed to have lost his memory. Varis destroyed then revealed that the Cyberse world. Still, he wondered if it was wise Knights had never been able to seek Varis out for answers about Yusakuobtain Ai's pastmemories, so he still had them and about Kolter's brother. He then inadvertently deleted a big scoop that would have revealed everything had been lying to Playmaker , and Kolter knew involving he revealed that Ai had been created based on Playmaker during the Hanoi Project and that its purpose had been to create the Knights of HanoiIgnis, who had created their own world, which was about to be published by the [[Frog Cyberse (characterworld)|FrogCyberse]] . Ai tried to explain himself, but Playmaker harshly told him that he never considered him a friend, and [[Pigeon]]told Varis that he only cared about defeating him (in the dub, Playmaker was far less harsh on Ai, though still angry with him).<ref name="ep13ep41">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1341|ref}}</ref>

At home[[File:Playmaker loses hand.png|250px|thumb|left|Playmaker's attempt to use "Storm Access" severs his hand.]]They continued the Duel, but Varis only opposed "Decode Talker" with "[[Spin-Headed Behemoth]]" and a Set card, which Playmaker suspected to be "Mirror Force". He attempted to counter it with "[[Fault Tolerlancer]]", Yusaku thought about keeping it in Defense Position to protect his Attack Position monsters, but the effect of Varis's words about AI "Spin-Headed Behemoth" switched all of Playmaker's monsters to Attack Position and "Mirror Force" destroyed them all. Varis then brought out "[[Flash Charge Dragon (anime)|Flash Charge Dragon]]" and powered it up in combination with free will in "[[Blast Powder Dragon]]", reducing Playmaker to 900 LP.<ref name="ep41"/> Playmaker was able to block the attack with "[[Spool Code (anime)|Spool Code]]", Summoning Tokens to Link Summon with on his hidden roomnext turn. Kolter called him He attempted to come counter with "[[Security Dragon (anime)|Security Dragon]]", but the effect of Varis's "Flash Charge Dragon" protected it. Playmaker then attempted to Cafe Nomuse his Skill in the high-density Data Storm surrounding the Tower's core, where Kolter showed despite Ai's protests, but he failed and his arm was severed. Ai grew to human size and saved him an encrypted message on an Internet forum, sent to then boosted Playmaker's Duel Board enough for him from Ghost Gal. Kolter explained that he had created a program to help Ghost Gal safely enter the Data Storm during and obtain "[[Transcode Talker (anime)|Transcode Talker]]", though the Duel with Variseffort apparently destroyed Ai. The two read how she requested a Duel from PlaymakerLink Summoned "Transcode Talker", reviving "Decode Talker" and boosting their ATK high enough to defeat Varis, but Varis was able to [[Chobham Armor Dragon (anime)|survive]] their attacks with 850 LP remaining. Ai as the wager. Yusaku acceptedrevealed that he'd survived, stating that she offered a backdoor but needed time to SOL Technologies' data bankrecover, and Kolter confirmed that factVaris then attempted to use "Storm Access" himself, showing she did send a bit of the data but failed as proofPlaymaker had. Yusaku asked Kolter Dr. Kogami then appeared to reply that Playmaker would accept her challenge. Ghost Gal soon entered LINK VRAINSthem, and Yusaku went to do freezing the same. Kolter wondered if Yusaku would really go Data Storm and Duel hertalking with Varis, since she could've set another trap. Yusaku claimed giving him the energy he had needed to uncover enter the truth behind Data Storm. Declaring that the incident[[Stardust Road]] had shown him the way, Varis Link Summoned his new monster, hoped in "[[Topologic Gumblar Dragon (anime)|Topologic Gumblar Dragon]]", but then he abruptly ended the data bank there was some information about Knights of Hanoi, and sensed some determination Duel in Ghost Gala DRAW by combining its effect to destroy their hands with "[[Drop Draco]]", despite her weaknessesblasting them both out of LINK VRAINS.<ref name="ep14ep42">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1442|ref}}</ref>

Playmaker quickly met up with Ghost Gal [[File:Yusaku Ai and she showed him her program she set as a stake for the DuelKolter meet Roken.png|thumb|250px|Yusaku meets Roken Kogami - Varis - in real life. Playmaker wondered why wouldn't she access ]]Yusaku realized that Varis was near the data bank, and was told Ghost Gal wanted Stardust Road due to his Ai, so she could sell comments about it to SOL Technologies. She admitted she grew more interested in Playmaker after his latest Duel, and wanted he and Kolter drove to battle him as a cyber treasure hunterthe house on the cliff. Despite AiThere they found Roken Kogami with his father's warningsbody, Playmaker accepted her Dueland Roken told them that Dr. Kogami had just passed away. Yusaku asked Roken to tell them the truth, as and Roken explained why the Hanoi Project had been undertaken and revealed that he had been the two rode off on one who alerted the Data Windauthorities. In her first turnHowever, Ghost Gal Summoned "[[Altergeist Marionetter (anime)|Altergeist Marionetter]]" and Set two cards. Playmaker he had regretted this decision due to what happened to his "[[Cyberse Wizard]]" attackfather; he was infected with a virus by SOL Technologies that left him comatose, but was stopped by Ghost Gal's "[[Altergeist Kunquery (anime)|Altergeist Kunquery]]"revived in the network. Despite his attackThe Ignis had created the Cyberse and the Cyberse monsters, Ghost Gal was intrigued how he dared in addition to attack, despite her Set cardsData Material and Data Storms. Dr. Ghost Gal Summoned another "Marionetter"Kogami had then determined through simulations that the Ignis would eventually turn on humanity, Set another card, then Link Summoned "[[Altergeist Primebanshee (anime)|Altergeist Primebanshee]]". She swapped one which was why the Knights of her "Marionetters" for "Meluseek"Hanoi were trying to destroy them. Ghost Gal ended her preparations, and aimed Yusaku attempted to persuade Roken to defeat Playmaker before he could use his Skill. As Ghost Gal initiated stop the Battle Phase and claimed she would win Tower of Hanoi, protesting that Kogami's results were only simulations (in that turnthe dub, Ai laughed, as she would make 2400 LP damage. Both Playmaker and Ghost Gal scolded Ai for such thinking; Playmaker he claimed that they were no Duelist would make better than Roken said the Ignis were if they were willing to destroy them) and that simple math errorthey could take a different path, making Ghost Gal wonder why everyone was after "this dumb AI" which causes Ai to get angry, Playmaker then as Roken - who he realized had been the one who told him to not think of three reasons to get angry when she is telling the truth about fight during his captivity - had taught him. Regardless, Roken then revealed that he had known Yusaku's identity since their first Master Duel when Playmaker spoke of "Meluseekthree reasons" attacked directly , but denied that he was a good person and sent "Cyberse Wizard" still refused to end the GY, allowing "Marionetter" Tower. He challenged Yusaku to attack directlya final Duel, and allowing "Primebanshee" to do so as well. Ghost Gal smiled, feeling her dreams grow larger, and ordered Playmaker to brace himself for Yusaku accepted his defeatchallenge.<ref name="ep14ep43" >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|43|ref}}</ref>

Ghost Gal They logged into LINK VRAINS, Master Dueling atop the Tower of Hanoi, whose sixth ring was almost complete. As Varis had in their previous Duel, he quickly Set "PrimebansheeMirror Force" attack to discourage Playmaker from attacking. Playmaker directly while he attempted to destroy "Mirror Force" with the effect of "[[Special SummonLinkslayer (anime)|Linkslayer]]ed ", but Varis had actually Set "[[Lockout Gardna Mirror Force Launcher (anime)|Lockout GardnaMirror Force Launcher]]". Ai knew they would have enough LP to continue and even use Storm Access, which re-Set itself and exclaimed how then Set the real "badMirror Force" this would be. HoweverDespite the threat of "Mirror Force", Ghost Gal knew Ai was just pretendingPlaymaker Link Summoned "Excode Talker" using "[[Restoration Point Guard (anime)|Restoration Point Guard]]" as Link Material, allowing him to revive "Restoration Point Guard" when "Mirror Force" destroyed "Excode Talker" and decided not to land a direct attack. Ai <ref name="ep43"/> Varis recovered "Mirror Force" and counterattacked with "Topologic Bomber Dragon" on his next turn, but as he'd Link Summoned, "Restoration Point Guard" was in shock, indestructible for the turn and Playmaker told him his acting was horribleable to [[Rescue Interlacer (anime)|minimize]] the damage that he took. He brought out "Transcode Talker" and revived "Excode Talker", triggering the effect of "Topologic Bomber Dragon". On Playmaker's turnhad been waiting for the effect to activate, Ghost Gal swapped and he negated the effects of "MeluseekTopologic Bomber Dragon" with "[[Altergeist Silquitous Shield Handler (anime)|Altergeist SilquitousShield Handler]]", which he then equipped to "Excode Talker" to prevent being destroyed by using card effects. He Link Summoned "Powercode Talker" as well, and the effect of "PrimebansheeExcode Talker", also prevented it and also added an "Altergeist KunqueryTranscode" to her handform being destroyed by card effects. Playmaker attempted to destroy her ace by Tributing "Transcode Talker" attacked "Topologic Bomber Dragon", but Varis protected it with "[[Backlinker Link Turret (anime)|BacklinkerLink Turret]]", but was prevented by Ghost Galamassing five [[Rokket Counter]]s on it. Varis Link Summoned his ace, "Borreload Dragon" on his next turn, which single-handedly dismantled Playmaker's defenses as Varis claimed that they had no new path and that they were prisoners of destiny.<ref name="ep44">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|44|ref}}</ref> Varis then began swarming the field with the effect of "Link Turret" and his "[[Altergeist Protocol Miniborrel Dragon (anime)|Altergeist ProtocolMiniborrel Dragon]]". Ghost Gal claimed she could anticipate their every move: , Tributing Playmaker attempted 's stolen monsters to continually revive "Backlinker" with it. He brought out "[[Striping Partner Borrelguard Dragon (anime)|Striping PartnerBorrelguard Dragon]]", but was stopped by and "Altergeist SilquitosBorrelsword Dragon". Using discarding his "Lockout GardnaMirror Force", both effects were negated, though Ghost Gal had one final trap prepared. She noted how cards to revive Playmaker was an interesting person, as she suspected. Playmaker Link Summoned 's "[[Underclock Taker Code Talker (animearchetype)|Underclock TakerCode Talker]]s" , and tried to weaken Ai was confused that Varis had discarded his trump card. Playmaker noted that Varis had a trump card greater than "PrimebansheeMirror Force". Ghost Gal countered and then realized that with "Varis intended to create an [[Altergeist Camouflage (anime)|Altergeist CamouflageExtra Link]]. Sure enough, Varis Link Summoned "Topologic Gumblar Dragon", and protected completing an Extra Link that unlocked the true power of "PrimebansheeTopologic Gumblar Dragon" from attacks, stating Playmaker had reached his limits. Varis destroyed their hand and inflicted 3000 damage to them with an effect that could not be negated.<ref name="ep15ep45">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|1545|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker smiles.png|thumb|250px|left|Despite the situation, Playmaker paid 1000 LP enjoys the Duel with Varis.]]Playmaker was able to activate survive, quartering the effect of damage with "Balancer Lord[[Drop Frame Wedge]]"and preventing Varis from attacking for two turns. Varis gave Playmaker three reasons to feel despair, making him eligible and Playmaker found himself struggling to use Storm Accessstand. Ghost Gal refused Ai begged him to let keep going for the sake of his friends in the Cyberse (in the dub he also reminded him activate about Blue Angel and Gore), and Playmaker asked Ai what the Skill Cyberse was like. Ai told him that it was a paradise, and used her Skillthat the Ignis had no interest in attacking humans when they had their own world. He managed to continue, Secret Cure but Varis continued to increase both playersrestrict every move they made. Despite their situation, Playmaker actually smiled, telling Ai that it was the only thing they could do in this situation. Although they couldn' LP. t keep cards in their hand due to the effect of "Topologic Gumblar Dragon" , Playmaker Special Summoned managed to draw "[[Scan DollArrow Charge]]", and paid 1000 LP to drew two cards that he could use . He set up a defense with "Protocol[[Secure Gardna (anime)|Secure Gardna]]" on , and then the effect of "SilquitosDrop Frame Wedge"ended, allowing Varis to attack them. HoweverEven though Varis had seven monsters on the field, Ghost Gal believed he simply forgot about Playmaker told him to bring it on.<ref name="Kunqueryep45" she still had in her hand. Playmaker used Storm Access/> Varis attacked on his next turn, but Ghost Gal went with him into using the Data Storm. However, she lost control effects of her Duel Board "Borreload" and fell off of it"Borrelsword" to prevent Playmaker from stopping their attacks, but Playmaker saved her and reminded her their Duel was not over yet and let her go back on able to use the effects of the Duel Board. Playmaker Link Summoned cards in his Graveyard to swarm his field with "[[Excode Talker Congester Token (anime)|Excode TalkerCongester Token]]s", whose effect made two of Ghost Galallowing him to endure until he could activate card effects in response to Varis's Main Monster Zones unusable, and Tributed attacks. He used his "Scan Doll[[Transaction Rollback (anime)|Transaction Rollback]]" to make his copy "code TalkerMirror Force" attack twice. Since all of Ghost Gal, attempting to destroy Varis's monsters could not be targeted for an attack targetExtra Link, but the effect of "Excode TalkerTopologic Gumblar Dragon" attacked Ghost Gal twiceprevented Varis's Extra Linked monsters from being destroyed by card effects, and Varis destroyed all of Playmaker won the Duel. Later, Ghost Gal watched the moon, even if Ai reminded her that was just data. Ghost Gal, as promised, gave Playmaker the program to enter the SOL Technologies' data bank, and left. Yusaku logged out of the network, and Kolter started to analyze it. However, Yusaku was too tired and fell asleeps Tokens.<ref name="ep15ep46" >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|46|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker in the mother computerdeclares three reasons - including that his revenge is over.png|thumb|left250px|Playmaker infiltrates the mother computer systemends his quest for revenge, desiring to save Varis.]]Kolter analyzed Ghost Gal's program, showing Yusaku Varis told Playmaker that the outcome of the schematics, looking like a maze. They both wondered how skilled Ghost Gal Duel was to have managed to hack into SOL Technologies' data bankdecided, and Kolter promised Playmaker in turn told Varis about his current state of being, that he couldn't escape from his current path of loneliness even if he would finish by the time school was over for Yusaku wanted to, but that Varis had crossed that abyss to help him. He vowed to enter the mother computer systemsave Varis as Varis had Playmaker. While at school, Yusaku wondered where Skye Varis believed Playmaker wasbegging for his life, as but Playmaker insisted that he and Ai thought her brother forbade her from entering LINK VRAINSwasn't, nor was he trying to protect her from any dangershow mercy, but show Varis that there was another path. Ai noticed Yusaku actually cared about herHe listed three reasons; Yusaku simply stated one should not give up on Dueling this way. As school his revenge was over, Yusaku went to Kolterhe's van. Kolter showed d overcome the path to the data bank, but warned a lot abyss of traps were set to stop anyone. Yusaku started hesitatingdestiny in this Duel, and analyzed that Ghost Gal also wanted something if she gave him they'd seize a new future together (in the programdub, even if the information Yusaku could find there may not be that important. StillVaris really agreed with his father's plans, he accessed the LINK VRAINS wouldn't have tried to enter the mother computer system - an eeriesave Playmaker ten years ago, dark place. To protect himselfknowing that, Playmaker used a device to navigate himselfcould no longer justify his desire for revenge, so if he could change, so could Varis, and a rope if they were both no longer tied down by their past, the future was wide open for them to disguise him from security programscreate). Once He began his counterattack with the security programs started to go after Playmakersecond effect of "Transaction Rollback", he launched three copying the effect of "[[Sphere Kuriboh Recoded Alive (anime)|Sphere KuribohRecoded Alive]]" to shatter them without alerting anyone. Passing the first corridor, Playmaker arrived to the second one, in which a Data Storm was located. Playmaker was pulled towards it, and his rope brokeGraveyard to bring out "Encode Talker", alerting triggering the security chief, Kitamura. The latter sent two AI prototypes effect of " Topologic Gumblar Dragon" to hunt after Playmaker, who managed to elude them. However, one of the AI-s caught up with him, destroy their hands and initiated a Duel with Playmaker. The AI prototype brought out activating his own "[[Tentacluster NautilusSpam Mail]]", card to draw and tributed his Summon "[[Tentacluster DrillwormSwap Cleric (anime)|Swap Cleric]]", making Playmaker discard all . The second effect of his cards. Playmaker drew a card, but had "Recoded Alive" then allowed him to sent itrevive "Transcode Talker", due to who revived "DrillwormPowercode Talker", ending up with no cards to play. The other AI prototype arrived and started attacking then PlaymakerLink Summoned his own ace monster, "Firewall Dragon", intending on grabbing completing an Extra Link of his Duel Disk. Much to everyoneown with Varis's surprisemonsters, Blue Angel arrived, using her whip and allowing him to grab the AI prototype. Playmaker muttered her name, as she declared she would be use the effect of "Swap Cleric" to draw one to defeat Playmaker, and started a Duel with the other AI prototypefinal card.<ref name="ep16ep46">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|16|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker Yusaku sets Ai free at data banklast.png|thumb|Playmaker reaches the data bank250px|left|Yusaku sets Ai free.]]Playmaker muttered Blue Angel's name, who came to repay him for curing her. Playmaker claimed he never indebted her; regardless, Blue Angel started the Duel with the other AI prototype. Continuing the Duel, Playmaker banished With "[[Dotscaper Zero Extra Link (anime)|DotscraperZero Extra Link]]" and "Linkslayer" to Special Summon "[[Dual Assembwurm (anime)|Dual Assembwurm]]" from , Playmaker boosted the GY, with its ATK halved, and brought of "DotscraperTranscode Talker" to 9200. Varis prevented Playmaker's co-linked monsters form attacking with its effect. Using "[[Cynet Defrag]]" to summon "[[Flick Clown (anime)|Flick ClownLink Short]]" and use the latter's effect, but Playmaker had 1000 LP left to use set his Skill three monsters to grab a Link Monster from the Data Storm. Using his three Cyberse monsters, Playmaker summoned Summon "[[Vector Square Archfiend (anime)|Vector Square Archfiend]]Decode Talker", and summoned "Cyberse Wizard" who inherited the boost from his hand; the two monsters attacked the prototype's "TentaclusterZero Extra Link" monsters, damaging it to 1100 LP. He Tributed "Cyberse Wizard" to use the effect of "Vector Square Archfiend" to revive "Tentacluster Nautilus" and gained another attack. He then attacked and destroyed "Tentcluster NautilusBorreload Dragon" and defeated the AI prototype, who vanished into thin airdefeating Varis at last. Playmaker entered the Data Bank, and Although he was surprised to see Akiradefeated, who expected him to be there.<ref name="ep17">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|17|ref}}</ref> Playmaker questioned Ghost Gal and Akira Varis vowed that he would return as long as to why they were in the data bank. Ghost Gal explained that they Ignis were after the data, and Playmaker realized that he was just used as a decoy for them to enter the data bank. He ordered Akira to move, who refusedthreat, and admitted that he obtained the datalogged out, thus knowing what happened to Playmaker ten years ago. Akira claimed he had the right to know about ending the incident and Playmaker asked Tower of him to hand the data overHanoi as he'd promised. InsteadThe absorbed Duelists were released, Akira asked Playmaker to hand over Ignis and disperse, wanting to shed some light over the incident, and Ghost Gal added Akira was demoted, due to the incident with Varis. Yusaku claimed he would be the one to reveal the truth since it didn't personally involve Akira and challenged him logged out to see Roken fleeing in a Duel. He bet Ai for the data, and Akira accepted, seeing this was the only way to defeat Playmakerspeedboat.<ref name="ep18ep46">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|18|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Yusaku furious.png|thumb|left|Yusaku becoming furious at Akira]]Playmaker Link Summoned "Decode Talker" Later that night, he and used its Link Materials - and "[[Stack Reviver (anime)|Stack Reviver]]" - to revive "[[Cyberse Gadget (anime)|Cyberse Gadget]]" and summon a "[[Gadget Token (anime)|Gadget Token]]"Ai watched the Stardust Road. Playmaker prepared his offenceWith the Knights of Hanoi finally defeated, but Akira tributed "[[Tindangle Base Gardna (anime)|Tindangle Base Gardna]]" for "[[Tindangle Hound (anime)|Tindangle Hound]]" to weaken Yusaku freed Ai from his monsters and activated "[[Lemoine Point]]" to prevent Playmaker from attacking face-down monstersDuel Disk. Playmaker used "Cyberse Gadget" and "Gadget Token" to Link Summon "[[Flame Administrator (anime)|Flame Administrator]]Ai suggested that he say something profound, deciding on ". The latterOne man's effect increased "Decode Talkerfault is another'slesson" ATK, enough to destroy "Tindangle Hound". Akira flipped "[[Tindangle Angel and Yusaku smiled, commenting that they were nice words (anime)|Tindangle Angel]]", reviving "Tindangle Hound" in face-down positionthe dub, and forced Playmaker Ai asked Yusaku not to end contact him in the Battle Phasefuture if he needed him). AkiraAi almost left with the Duel Disk in drone mode until Yusaku gently reminded him to leave it behind, howeverand Ai bid him goodbye, spoke about vanishing into the network. Yusaku returned to Café Nom to get his and Skye's pastbag, and didn't wish telling Kolter that Skye was captured by strangers like Playmaker was. Akira told he would set things straight, 'd let Ai go and asked for trust. Kolter and Playmaker became furious, seeing Akira understood nothing about them. Playmaker trusted that Akira was a good person, but doubted he knew anything about the pain he bore. Akira [[Flip Summon]]ed "Tindangle Hound", and set "Tindangle Angel" into face-down position and gained its attack, plus weakening Playmakerdidn's monsters. Akira attacked Playmaker's "Flame Administrator" and halved his LP. Playmaker used "[[Limit Code (anime)|Limit Code]]" to bring out "Encode Talker"t need a ride back, at the cost of reducing its and "Decode Talker's" ATK. Playmaker saw Akira knew nothing of his goal, as he Link Summoned "Firewall Dragon"walked home alone by the Stardust Road.<ref name="ep18ep46" />

"Tindangle Hound=== Ignis ===[[File:Much to Playmaker's" effect caused "Firewall Dragonshock Ai has returned to him.png|thumb|250px|Ai returns to Playmaker as he pursues Jin's" ATK to be reducedkidnapper.]]Playmaker became hailed as a hero for stopping the [[Knights of Hanoi]], but Yusaku didn't log into [[LINK VRAINS]] for three months, and [[SOL Technologies]] placed a bounty on his head. Using "While [[Cal Kolter|Kolter]] visited [[Linkage Hole (anime)Jin Kolter|Linkage HoleJin]], Yusaku manned [[Café Nom]]", Akira's monsters were destroyedand he was visited by [[Skye Zaizen|Skye]], leaving who teased him that his expression would scare the customers away and thanked him open for direct attackssaving her when she was [[Deleted]]. After Akira got directly hit by "Decode Talker"Yusaku suddenly received a call from Kolter, he destroyed telling him that [[Bohman|someone]] had stolen Jin's consciousness data and escaped into the latter with "new LINK VRAINS. Yusaku quickly logged in, boarding his new [[Duel Board]], but was accosted by [[Tindangle Delaunay (anime)The Shepherd|Tindangle Delaunaya bounty hunter]]. Playmaker told him that he didn't have an [[Ignis]]"anymore and had no reason to be hunted, and immediately brought out but to his aceshock, [[Ai]] had chosen that moment to return, along with "[[Tindangle Acute Cerberus Linkuriboh (animecharacter)|Tindangle Acute CerberusLinkuriboh]]". The latter attacked "Firewall Dragon"Ai summoned a [[Data Storm]] to force the bounty hunter to log out, whom and then Playmaker protected with "challenged the unknown figure who had stolen Jin's consciousness to a [[Doppler Phase CoatingSpeed Duel]]". Akira protected The figure only Set a single card on his first turn, allowing Playmaker to deplete over half his LP. On his own monster next turn, the figure revealed that he had [[Cyberse]] monsters, and Ai suggested that he might have something to do with "the destruction of the [[Gergonne's End Cyberse (animeworld)|Gergonne's EndCyberse]]"; . Playmaker noted Akira's Deck was quite difficult shocked to learn that the Cyberse had been destroyed, but then the figure out with such complex strategies. Playmaker tried to have used his [[Skill]], "Firewall Dragon[[Marker's Portal]]", enhanced with to activate a [[Link Spell Card]] "[[Alert LancerJudgment Arrows]]", attack "Tindangle Token" to finish which doubled the Duel. However, Akira prevented damage with "[[MorleyATK]] of the figure's Shield"[[Flow Hydradrive]]s"to 2000, and their effects allowed them to counter attack Playmaker's strategy, used directly due to the [[WIND]] "[[Nagel's Protection Elphase (anime)|Nagel's ProtectionElphase]]" to protect his Tokenshe controlled. <ref name="Tindangle Acute Cerberusep47" attacked, causing Playmaker's LP to be lowered down to 500. Ai yelled to >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|47|ref}}</ref> Playmaker to do something, and even wondered if there was anything that can be done able to get them out of survive with the situation. Playmaker asked effect of Ai to stop panicking, asking if it even was an AI, making the latter furious why "[[Linkuriboh (anime)|Linkuriboh]]" and he was so calm. Playmaker claimed if Ai was so worried about losingcounterattacked on his next turn by [[Ritual Summon]]ing "[[Cyberse Magician (anime)|Cyberse Magician]]", it should consider about finding a new home. Ai replied he didn't think of that, since he had Playmaker as a friend but his opponent used his "[[Property Spray]]" [[Trap Card|Trap]] to help him out. Playmaker claimed they were not friends, stating Ai should behave like other AI-s. This crushed Ai, seeing Playmaker was colder than AI-sincrease his [[LP]] and survive the attack.<ref name="ep19ep48" >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|48|ref}}</ref>

Playmaker swore he would not loseThe glowing shell covering his opponent shattered, since he wished revealing a long-haired man who appeared to uncover the truthhave amnesia. He looked at After struggling with his decksituation, commenting it contained the man suddenly regained his feelings over composure and introduced himself as Bohman, then continued the past ten yearsSpeed Duel. Playmaker drew a card He brought out two "[[Coolant Hydradrive]]s", then used one to activate the effect of "Property Spray" and set it, while Akira commented that was his destiny. Akira asked change the [[Attribute]]s of Playmaker 's monsters to stop this revenge and go [[WATER]] to school allow "Coolant Hydradrive" to cherish these memoriesattack directly, rather than trying to uncover but the effect of "Cyberse Magician" saved Playmaker by halving the truthdamage. On his next turn, which Akira would reveal. He claimed Playmaker was too conceited in the pastused "Storm Access", acquiring and he would not feel happiness, just like Akira didn't[[Link Summon]]ing "[[Shootingcode Talker (anime)|Shootingcode Talker]]" and using it to defeat Bohman. Blue Angel came Ai attempted to hear the storyeat Jin's data out of him, though Playmaker wished that Akira did not tell the storybut was struck down by an anti-Ignis program. Akira spoke about the incidentBohman's little brother [[Harlin]] then spirited him away on his Duel Board, mentioning that Playmaker was rescued. Playmaker refused calling out two Duelists called [[Bit]] and [[Boot]] to believe he was rescueddelay him, but [[Theodore Hamilton|another Duelist]] suddenly arrived, and swore telling Playmaker that he'd uncover the incident, for the sake of the families hurt in the incident, handle Bit and Boot and wished to rescue the person whose voice that encouraged him to fight may still be trappedgo after Bohman. <ref name="ep48" /> Playmaker claimed even if Akira believed revenge was pointlesspursued them, but he still discovered that was unable to prevent Harlin and Bohman escaping into the Knights restricted area of Hanoi LINK VRAINS, as Harlin left him with a cryptic warning that something unimaginable would happen soon. The Duelist who had involvement in the project. Akira also stated the SOL Technologies' data bank contained the name of the mastermind behind the [[Hanoi Project]]. assisted Playmaker was shockedarrived, and yelled suggested they log out for due to the name of defense system being activated by Harlin's intrusion. Before he logged out, the mastermind, but Akira remained silentDuelist introduced himself as Soulburner.<ref name="ep19ep49" >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|49|ref}}</ref>

Playmaker demanded Once they were back in the name of the mastermindreal world, but Akira refused Kolter rejoined them and Yusaku trapped Ai within his [[Duel Disk]] again for his safety. They noted that their new enemy was formidable given their ability to give out the namedigitize and steal a person's consciousness, fearing and Yusaku promised Kolter that he'd defeat this would only feed Playmaker's desire for revenge new enemy and hatredrescue Jin. Akira decided to conclude At school the next day, Yusaku noticed another student following him, and he followed him into an empty room after the Duel by having "Tindangle Acute Cerberus" attack "Firewall Dragon"student ducked inside. Playmaker avoided The student revealed that he was Soulburner, that his real name was Theodore Hamilton, and that we was also a victim of the defeat by banishing his dragon with "[[Cynet Backdoor (anime)|Cynet BackdoorLost Incident]]" and was partnered with "an Ignis, who introduced himself as [[Doppler Phase CoatingFlame (character)|Flame]]" gone. They went to a Ferris wheel to talk, where Flame revealed that the Ignis had been discussing whether or not to trust humanity, Akira's and Yusaku noted the irony that [[Battle PhaseKiyoshi Kogami]] endedhad been the cause of those discussions. Akira turned Flame explained that before they could decide, the tables Cyberse had suddenly been attacked by using an assailant wielding "[[Euler's Circuit (anime)|Euler's Circuit]]Judgment Arrows", preventing Playmaker from attacking, and allowing one "Tindangle" monster that he was trying to be switched to Playmaker's fieldfind the other Ignis, who had been scattered through the network by the attack. Playmaker was frustratedFlame and Ai revealed that the six Ignis represented the six Attributes, and noted this Yusaku curiously asked which Attribute was a Duel for justicepaired with Jin, but Ai explained that only that Ignis knew. Akira swore Yusaku introduced Theodore to take the data Kolter, and track down caught him up on the ones responsiblesituation. Playmaker doubted he knew anythingKolter stated that Bohman had vanished in LINK VRAINS' Restricted Area, as and that he trusted his own justice that would make him prevail 'd found a shred of an unknown program. Ai and win. Drawing a cardFlame recognized it as an Ignis program associated with the WIND Attribute, and Playmaker used "Draconnet"asked if that meant the Wind Ignis was down there. Ai wasn't sure, "Bitron" and "but either way they needed to go down there. [[Digitron (anime)Emma Bessho|DigitronGhost Gal]]" then sent them info about the Restricted Area and how to bring out "Link Spider"enter it, "[[Recovery Sorcerer (anime)|Recovery Sorcerer]]" and "though Ai protested that it was a trap, Yusaku realized that Ghost Gal must have got the info from [[Security Gardna (anime)Akira Zaizen|Security GardnaZaizen]]". Akira pointed out the pointlessness of summoning the monsters, as Playmaker was unable to attack. Since "Security Gardna" so it was placed on the top link of "Tindangle Acute Cerberus"legitimate, Akira used "Gergonne's End" to nuke all monsters linked to inflict massive damage on Playmaker, believing the latter has lost hope in winningand Kolter warned them that SOL Technology would likely have Bounty Hunters waiting for them.<ref name="ep20ep50">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2050|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker reveals a fusion Spell - Cynet Fusion.png|thumb|250px|left|Playmaker using a Fusion Spell during his Duel with The effect activatedShepherd]]Playmaker and Soulburner logged into LINK VRAINS and headed through the Restricted Area using the stealth program that Ghost Gal had given them, but sure enough, dealing 4500 LP damage to Playmakerthey were ambushed by [[George Gore|Gore]] and [[Kenchi|two]] [[Yozaka|other]] bounty hunters. Akira turned around<ref name="ep51" /> SOL Technologies' traps quickly logged out Kenchi and Yozaka, but was surprised and Gore challenged Playmaker to see a Duel. Playmaker survived as "Security Gardna" prevented all effect damage during stated that turn. This trap destroyed "Eulerhe didn's Circuit"t have time for this, and allowed Soulburner asked Playmaker to attacklet him Duel Gore instead. Despite Playmaker agreed, and he continued deeper into the advantageRestricted Area.<ref name="ep51">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|51|ref}}</ref> As he and Ai descended, they were attacked by The Shepherd, Playmaker used the first Bounty Hunter they'd met.<ref name="Recovery Sorcererep52" >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|52|ref}}</ref> Forced to bring back stay away from the turbulent data in the outskirts of the Restricted Area, The Shepherd chased them into the central shafts, ordering them to surrender or Duel, and Playmaker accepted his challenge. The Shepherd started slowly, his A.I. warning him of "Security GardnaShootingcode Talker". Ai questioned this, as Playmaker which could simply make a direct attack with bypass the defensive effect of Shepherd's "Firewall Dragon[[Drone Pawn]]", but was told a Duel is more than just winning or losing. Playmaker made prepared to Summon "Firewall DragonShootingcode Talker" return Akira, and Shepherd's A.I. claimed that he couldn't activate his Set card when he Link Summoned "Tindangle HoundElphase" and , but when Playmaker Link Summoned "Tindangle AngelShootingcode Talker" from the GY to , Shepherd activated his hand"[[Capture Drone]]" Trap Card, thus forcing sealing "Shootingcode Talker"Tindangle Acute Cerberus. He revealed that he'd made his A.I. lie, and on his next turn, used "Capture Drone" ATK to drop [[Special Summon]] "[[Drone Token]]s" to 0. Declaring Link Summon "Tempest Attack[[Battledrone General]]", .<ref name="Firewall Dragonep53" attacked >{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|53|ref}}</ref> The Shepherd used the effect of "Tindangle Acute CerberusGeneral" and defeated Akira. [[Battledrone Sergeant]]" to launch multiple direct attacks, swiftly depleting Playmaker then walked pass by Akira and Blue Angel, having Ai eat away SOL Technologies' data. Before leavings LP, but Playmaker asked of Akira not was able to follow himsave himself with "[[Cure Conversion]]", or else he'd walk though at the path cost of darknessrestoring his LP and preventing him from using "Storm Access". Akira wanted to know why Instead, Playmaker didn't attack directly brought out "Cyberse Magician" and attacked, but Shepherd reduced his damage with "Firewall Dragon[[Demolition Drone]]". He explained by [[Tribute|Tributing]] "Tindangle HoundGeneral" and . Shepherd [[Assemble Drone|revived]] "Tindangle AngelGeneral" represent Akira and re-established his sisterforces on his next turn, who should rather turn around and walk to attacking with his "Drone" combo again. Although the light. He went on effect of "Cyberse Magician" halved the Duel Board damage this time, Shepherd used his Skill "[[Drone Force]]" to weaken it and logged out increase the ATK of "General", then attacked "[[Cyberse Witch (anime)|Cyberse Witch]]" with his "[[Medicdrone Dock]]" for the mother computer systemend of his count. OutsidePlaymaker was able to make their ATK equal, Kolter praised Yusaku and Aidestroying them both, but triggering the former giving out the data he acquiredeffect of "Medicdrone Dock" to increase their LP, once again preventing Playmaker from using Storm Access. The two hacked into AiDespite this, and found out the Hanoi Project's leader Playmaker was Dr. able to use "[[Kiyoshi KogamiDimension Link]]" to halve his LP and free "Shootingcode Talker" from "Capture Drone", an employee but Shepherd once again prevented his Link Monsters from SOL Technologiesattacking with his "[[Drone Cordon]]" Trap. Playmaker then used his Skill, who alone worked on the project in secrecy. The two concluded SOL Technologies covered up the incident"Storm Access", or else acquiring and Link Summoning "[[Clock Spartoi (anime)|Clock Spartoi]]" using the company'"[[Cynet Token]]s reputation would've been ruined" that were generated by "[[Cynet Ritual (anime)|Cynet Ritual]]". Ai doubted the man could have done this on Via its effects, he added "[[Cynet Fusion (anime)|Cynet Fusion]]" from his Deck to his ownhand, and thought Akira was involved, but Kolter reminded him Akira, back thenrevived his "[[Clock Wyvern (anime)|Clock Wyvern]]", was 16 and was not employed at SOL Technologies at the time. Kolter and Yusaku failed he fused all of his monsters with "Cynet Fusion" to find the project's goal[[Fusion Summon]] "[[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]", but most shockinglywhose effect increased its ATK high enough to obliterate "Battledrone General", they discovered Dr. Kogami died seven years agodefeating The Shepherd.<ref name="ep20ep54"/>

With Afterwards, Playmaker and Soulburner met up again, and they managed to enter the food truck positioned at unknown world through its gate. Immediately after arriving, they were hit by strong winds, which forced Ai and Flame to protect them using Data Storms. At some point, the coastwinds stopped, Yusaku was doing researchand they were able to reach a temple where they finally found the Wind Ignis. Kolter invited him for a breakAfter showing them the world he had built, the Ignis (who decided to call himself "Windy") explained how he did that in order to attract his fellow Ignis, and gazed upon also to lure the oceanresponsible for destroying the Cyberse. Yusaku Despite not knowing who was the responsible, Flame pointed out Kolter wonthey were after Bohman, who not only had stolen Jin't get many customers at s consciousness, but also had the card used to destroy the Cyberse, and suggested he could've escaped to a world inside Windy's world. They then asked Windy to join them, and he promptly refused, claiming that placethose statements had no evidence. However, but Kolter assured him Windy offered to weaken the winds near the famous coast was named [[Stardust Road]]area where Bohman supposedly escaped to, known for under the luminous plankton condition that rarely gather at nightPlaymaker and Soulburner defeat two invaders, Ghost Gal and thought an unknown partner. Upon making contact with the person living near girls, Blue Gal presented herself as actually being Blue Angel. Soulburner was happy to meet another savior of the old LINK VRAINS, but Blue Gal stated they were actually seeking to retrieve the coast may have seen thatIgnis. Kolter failed While both Playmaker and Ghost Gal were willing to gather new info from SOL Technologiessolve the situation without Dueling, Soulburner accepted Blue Gal' datas challenge. Playmaker left the girls to Soulburner and flew off, heading for the edge of the Wind World. Ai asked him if this was all right, and Yusaku saw Playmaker reassured him it was.<ref name="ep55">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|55|ref}}</ref> As Ai celebrated the prospect of revenge on those who had fed him a virus, Playmaker reminded him that data from ten years ago they might not be there, as Windy had only said there was actually deleteda chance they were present. StillHowever, they knew the company was involveddid indeed find Bohman, even if Akira knew nothing about the incident beforenow armored and ready to Duel. Kolter felt He challenged Playmaker to a bit relieved that DrMaster Duel atop stone statues, and Playmaker accepted his challenge. Kogami passed awayTo his surprise, Bohman chose to go first and used the same "[[Hydradrive]]" Deck, Link Summoning "[[Twin Hydradrive Knight]]", activating "Judgment Arrows", thinking their revenge was overand Setting two cards that he claimed would decide the Duel. Yusaku reminded him they still didnPlaymaker and Ai discussed Bohman't know s strategy and that one of his Set cards was likely his "[[Property Spray]]" Trap, but Playmaker sensed something different about Bohman and decided to uncover it during the goal Duel. He combated the effect of the incident"Judgment Arrows" with "[[Update Jammer (anime)|Update Jammer]]", destroying "Twin Hydradrive Knight", and Kolter still wanted prepared "[[Arrow Break]]" to rescue negate "Property Spray". However, when he did, Bohman claimed he'd anticipated their counter and replenished his brother from darknessresources with "[[Hydradrive Cycle]]", even if they had no clue where re-Summoning "Twin Hydradrive Knight" with different Attributes and allowing its effect to continue. Yusaku still remembered Varis knew some thingsnegated the matching-Attribute "Update Jammer". Kolter stated Varis Playmaker was not seen recentlypushed into a corner, but Yusaku believed and Bohman called him a fake and told him to fight the Duel until the end. He claimed that he was not the type true Playmaker, and that would simply disappearPlaymaker was really a digital backup that had accidentally been switched with the real one during the Lost Incident, and vowed to reclaim his body.<ref name="ep21ep57">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2157|ref}}</ref> [[File:Playmaker smiles after hearing Bohman claim that he was kidnapped by Dr Kogami.png|250px|thumb|Playmaker smiles after hearing Bohman's claim that he was kidnapped by Dr. Kogami, knowing this proves he is a fake.]]Playmaker stated that the true Playmaker would be the victor, and continued the Duel, Link Summoning "[[Detonate Deleter (anime)|Detonate Deleter]]" to bypass "Judgment Arrows" and prepare for a final strike, but Bohman was able to remain in the Duel with "[[Half Shut (anime)|Half Shut]]". Bohman then talked about being left behind after the Lost Incident and claimed that he would never forgive Playmaker and that he was the emissary of revenge. He darkened the sky and was struck by lightning, then he created a Data Storm after lowering his LP to 650. Playmaker realized that Bohman somehow intended to use "Storm Access", and Bohman was able to use the Skill during the Master Duel, Link Summoning "[[Trident Hydradrive Lord]]". He made it FIRE, WATER, and WIND, and these Attributes allowed it to be completely protected from Playmaker's effects via "[[Hydradrive Accelerator]]", allowing it to attack and destroy "Detonate Deleter". Playmaker was able to hang on with "[[Link Ration]]", and Bohman praised his fighting spirit, stating that he was definitely Bohman's copy. Playmaker asked Bohman who kidnapped him, and when Bohman claimed it was Dr. Kogami, Playmaker smiled, realizing that Bohman had been given fake memories as it had really been [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] who kidnapped him. Although he admitted that there was no way to truly know which was the real one, he recalled Roken's advice to remember three reasons, and declared that he would win the Duel, retrieve Jin's data, and uncover Bohman's identity and [[Lightning|the one]] controlling him. Declaring that he'd win that turn, Playmaker revealed that he'd sent "Clock Wyvern" to the Graveyard on his second turn, claiming that a fake couldn't anticipate his plans, and he Fusion Summoned "Cyberse Clock Dragon". Bohman attempted to negate its effects by Summoning a FIRE "Hydradrive Token" to Playmaker's field and targeting it with "Hydradrive Lord" to make "Clock Dragon" the same Attribute, but the presence of the revived "Linkuriboh" prevented Bohman from targeting monsters other than "Clock Dragon", which destroyed "Trident Hydradrive Lord" and defeated Bohman. Before Playmaker could reclaim Jin's data, the Wind World began to destabilize, and Bohman and Harlin vanished beneath the clouds, Harlin claiming that Bohman would return. Soulburner and Flame arrived and suggested they log out, and as Ai urged Playmaker to do so, Playmaker wondered just who Bohman was and who controlled him.<ref name="ep58"/>

===Tower of Hanoi===Playmaker Yusaku and [[Ai]] watched an eclipse blocking wondered why the virtual sun in gate had vanished and if something had happened to Windy. Kolter then sent them a message, and they rushed to Café Nom to learn that [[LINK VRAINSBaira|Klarissa Turner]]had escaped from prison. Ai remembered people in the ancient past were scared of such eventsYusaku realized immediately that Varis was responsible, and was surprised people, even today, reflected that this would be a difficult battle now that they were still afraid. Playmaker replied people remain the samefighting Bohman, unlike technology that advances. The latter proclaimed the light was blocked by darknessGore, The Shepherd and confirmed to Ai he meant about the Lost IncidentKnights of Hanoi. He would not let the incident be buried in darkness<ref name="ep59">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|59|ref}}</ref> Later, he explained to Kolter, Theodore, and would uncover Flame that Bohman had the truth. Later, Yusaku was at schoolsame memories as him, and remembered how someone spoke dismissed their concerns as he stated that they needed to find Bohman to him during the Lost Incident projectget Jin's data back. [[Naoki Shima|Naoki]] called out He apologized to YusakuKolter for his failure, reminding but Kolter reassured him the class it was over, fine and thought he was one of the "Athnoers". just happy Yusaku walked away, and Naoki told him "Athnoers" were people trapped in LINK VRAINS, noting Theodore had returned safely. Kolter revealed that he'd added a lot of students haven't attended the school. He believed it was due room for Theodore to cursed [[Duel Disk]]slog in from, which, at midnight, emit white hands and noted that drag people into LINK VRAINS, leaving since the people's bodies "hollow". He thought no person would return back to their old-selvesgate was closed, even if they were taken 'd have to the hospital. Ai thought this had relations wait for it to [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Angel]], but Yusaku shushed him, since Naoki could hear himopen again. Naoki doubted Yusaku would become a victimAt school the next day, since they were usually people met with promising Dueling future. Yusaku advised him to stay away from the Duel Disk Skye and walked away from Naokipolitely greeted one another, who wished Playmaker would set things straightTheodore introducing himself and later gushing about his Duel with her. Before leaving, Yusaku corrected reminded him the term was "[[Another]]s"that he couldn't talk about it, not "Athnoers", which made Naoki furious, since Yusaku and Theodore reassured him that he knew everything already. Inside the van, [[KolterNaoki Shima|Shima]] showed Ai then approached them, telling Skye off for not being at Duel club and boasting about being Playmaker's best friend, reminding Yusaku the footage of a camera, when a person turned into an Anotherthey battled, which happened six minutes before midnight. Ai noted there were no white hands taking the person into LINK VRAINS. Kolter told them the person had not recovered yet, and showed pictures of more Another patients in the hospitals. Ai and though Yusaku knew this was the same accident with Blue Angel, who was infected by a virustied to brush it off.<ref name="ep22ep60">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2260|ref}}</ref>

Kolter believed someone wanted people to be turned into mindless peopleThe gate soon reappeared, but has not find out what happened to their this time in a disused island at the top of LINK VRAINS' avatars, and Playmaker and Soulburner quickly logged in and headed for it. Kolter showed more dataBut as they approached, and Yusaku analyzed all of the Anothers were great Duelists it began sucking Playmaker in with old-type Duel Diskswinds, and all of them were hackers, too. Playmaker spotted The trio realized Playmaker, or Ai, were Shepherd in the targetsgate. Yusaku reminded the importance Soulburner pushed him out of uncovering the truth behind Lost Incidentway, and as noted by Aithe gate trapped him and Flame inside, they leaving Playmaker unable to help them.<ref name="ep60" /> Playmaker circled the sphere that the gate had transformed into, explaining to stop people from becoming AnothersKolter that The Shepherd was responsible. Ai noted Yusaku was a cool hero of justice, even He asked if Kolter could open the latter claimed gate, and Kolter admitted that was unnecessaryit wouldn't be easy. Playmaker told Kolter showed a list of possible targetsthat he was the only one who could do it, from which the first was [[Makoto Kimishima]]and Ai spotted Kenchi and Yozaka approaching. Yusaku traced the person Playmaker decided to his house, hold them off and saw lights at his windowgive Kolter time to work. Yusaku broke through into his room<ref name="ep61">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|61|ref}}</ref> Ai asked if Playmaker was sure he wouldn't need to log out, and saw he became Playmaker told him that they couldn't abandon Soulburner. Ai unleashed a victim. In additionData Storm that logged Yozaka out, he and Ai watched Makoto's avatar inside LINK VRAINS being confronted by Playmaker Speed Dueled Kenchi alone. Kenchi used a "[[Dr. Genome|a personGouki]]" Deck, who wished to know if he was Playmaker and had bringing out "[[IgnisGouki The Blade Ogre (anime)|Gouki The Blade Ogre]]. Yusaku " and Ai saw the person casted some glitter, causing Makoto powering it up to fall asleep and fall off the cliff, but was saved 3000 ATK with two "Gouki" monsters backing it up. Playmaker defeated Kenchi in one turn by combining "[[George GorePentestag (anime)|the GorePentestag]]" with "[[Cyberse Annihilation]]. Playmaker watched " as the he had against Gore confronted the person, Dr. Genome, who placed the virus into Makoto, only to draw Playmaker logging him out. Yusaku came to the hospitalHe asked Kolter for a status update, where he heard Gore swear to defeat Dr. Genome. Gore saw Yusaku and realized he Kolter told him that it was also concerned about Makoto, who attended slow progress given the complexity of the same schoolIgnis program. Yusaku gave his name to GoreYozaka then logged in again, and leftPlaymaker took him on as well. At the van<ref name="ep62">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|62|ref}}</ref> Yozaka put up a better fight than Kenchi, Kolter Link Summoning "[[Gouki The Solid Ogre (anime)|Gouki The Solid Ogre]]" and Yusaku watched the bolstering it with "[[Knights of HanoiGouki Unity]] Dueling people, and turning them into Anothers. Yusaku decided " to go into LINK VRAINSmake his monsters indestructible, even if Kolter believed he would be at a disadvantage, and Ai wished to feel secure. Surprisingly, they saw "but Playmaker" battling got around this via the Knights effects of Hanoi, by stopping their programs "[[Security Dragon (anime)|Security Dragon]]" and tossing them away from their "[[Duel BoardFirewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]", returning Yozaka's. Dr. Genome confronted monsters to his hand before defeating him with "[[Dual Assembwurm (anime)|Dual Assembwurm]]" and "PlaymakerFirewall Dragon", who revealed himself to be Gore. The latter stated After he came to save Makotodefeated Yozaka, and knew PlaymakerKolter launched the rescue program he's identityd been working on, but it failed. Eventually, the program worked, which displeased Yusaku and Kolterreleasing Soulburner. Yusaku did not know if Gore really knew his identityPlaymaker quickly approached Soulburner, but admitting he was glad Soulburner was still frustratedokay. The group watched as Dr. Genome activated the [[Data Gale]]Soulburner complained that they'd rescued him before he could win, conjuring black tornadoes for the [[Speed Duel]]but Playmaker suggested they log out.<ref name="ep22ep63">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|63|ref}}</ref>

After school one day, Theodore met up with Yusaku, asking him if he was going to see Kolter . Shima then interrupted, asking to talk to Yusaku and Ai watched the Gore confronting Drclaiming to know his secret. Genome. Since Gore claimed <ref name="ep64" /> Yusaku suspected that Shima had deduced his identity as Playmaker, so he followed Shima to have known Playmakerthe [[Duel Club]], but Shima was actually talking about Yusaku's identitypart time job at Café Nom, Kolter remembered as Den City High did not permit them. Shima promised to keep Yusaku did run into Gore at the hospital's secret if he helped him sign cards for a Blue Angel handshake event, but Yusaku claimed it was impossibleleft as soon as he realized Shima wasn't talking about anything important, ignoring Shima's threats to snitch him to Playmaker. Once Gore equipped himself with a mask and declared himself as <ref name="Dark Onizukaep65"/> Another day, he came out of his room to see Ai thought that was a tacky thing to do. Yusaku and Kolter realized Gore changed his battling style Roboppi talking, and as Roboppi tried to a heeltell him, and would not hold back. Ai was surprised claimed that they were checking on his popularity, finding a post from someone claiming to see Gore actually had his "be the [[Gouki Riscorpio (anime)EARTH|Gouki RiscorpioEarth]]" attack "[[Helixx Marmotroll]]", causing Ignis. They showed the former post to be destroyedKolter, since who expressed doubt that it had less ATKwas genuine, though Yusaku pointed out that few knew about the Ignis. However, Ai noticed this was sent the Earth Ignis a message asking where to have Gore gain meet using an advantage, as 500 LP was inflicted on GenomeIgnis algorithm, and Yusaku added that was how received a heel fightssimilar one in return, which Ai claimed were coordinates. Ai noticed Gore started using his brain to winKolter suspected it could be a trap laid by The Shepherd, while but Yusaku noted Gore still wanted stated they had to win, investigate any chance at finding Jin's consciousness data. He and Ai logged in his own way. Just as Gore was and went to winthe coordinates, Genome played "[[Regeneration Cure]]" to stop staying on the lookout. Playmaker asked Ai about the damageother three Ignis they hadn't met, and everyone saw Genome had Ai described the advantage. As Genome tributed "[[Helixx Necro DarwinLightning|Light Ignis]]" to defeat Goreas calm and collected, Yusaku became displeased. Ai suggested he could enter LINK VRAINS to save Gore. Yusaku who saw Gore barely saving himself with the effect of "[[Gouki Octostretch Aqua (animecharacter)|Gouki OctostretchWater Ignis]]"as someone who liked him and who could tell truth from lies, and the Earth Ignis as no-nonsense an honest, decided pulling the Earth Ignis randomly out of the air to take Ai's advicedescribe him.<ref name="ep23ep66">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2366|ref}}</ref>

Yusaku and The Earth Ignis, who Ai logged into LINK VRAINS and nicknamed "Earth", took them to another world to talk. He challenged Playmaker motivated the Gore in to a sarcastic mannerDuel, which made him claiming that he wanted to defeat Genomeverify the true nature of humanity. After Gore defeated Genomethey decided to name the Water Ignis "Aqua", Earth asked Ai why he then approached was with Playmaker , and realize that though Ai claimed it was because they were friends, Playmaker didn't come did not acknowledge his claim and asked if Earth knew anything about Bohman. Earth told them to mock Duel himif they wanted their answer. InsteadEarth created an avatar out of a log to Duel with, he came to motivate him but and Playmaker didnrealized that Earth't give s partner was [[Spectre]]. Earth took a straight answer. Gore then told him while to announce that he wanted to team up was going second, and stated that humans had likely destroyed the Cyberse and asked why Ai still sided with them. Playmaker noted that Earth's partner was likely Spectre, and defeat HanoiAi wondered if this was why Earth hated humans. They saw Blue AngelPlaymaker asked Ai how Earth Dueled, and Gore also offered her to join forces with them. The next day Yusaku Ai admitted he didn't go remember as Earth hadn't really stood out. Earth Link Summoned "[[G Golem Invalid Dolmen (anime)|G Golem Invalid Dolmen]]" and destroyed Playmaker's defending "[[Poisoning Blocker]]", inflicting piercing damage, and Ai chose that point to school and teamed up remember that Earth was a great Duelist. Playmaker attempted to counter with Gore"[[Zombie Prosaber]]" to take control of "Invalid Dolmen", defeating various Knights but the effect of Hanoi"Invalid Dolmen" negated the effect of "Zombie Prosaber" once it was destroyed. After defeating another KnightPlaymaker ended his turn there, despite Ai protesting he knew lots about Earth. Playmaker reminded him that he'd struggled to remember anything about him, prompting Ai to borrow Earth's catchphrase and claim he was socially awkward himself. Earth then Link Summoned "[[G Golem Crystal Heart (anime)|G Golem Crystal Heart]]", which filled the area with vibrant life, something Playmaker observed to be more than a monster effect. Ai then interrogated told him about it was one of Aqua's monsters, and wondered why Earth had it.<ref name="ep66" /> Earth revived "Invalid Dolem" with "Crystal Heart" and boosted its ATK, destroying "Zombie Prosaber". Playmaker counterattacked with "Cyberse Clock Dragon", attempting to end the removal program that can cure Duel in one attack by attacking "Crystal Heart", but the victims effect of Another. However"Invalid Dolmen" redirected the attack to it, before then negated the Knight could explaineffect of "Clock Dragon" once it was destroyed. Ai then told Playmaker that Earth hadn't liked how close he was to Aqua, and had claimed he would protect them himself. Playmaker asked why he needed to hear this, and Ai explained that this meant that Earth's Deck was erased by full of his feelings for Aqua. Earth revived "Invalid Dolmen" again and destroyed "Clock Dragon", reducing Playmaker to 100 LP, but Playmaker [[Kyoko TakiSpool Code (anime)|someoneblocked his second attack]]. Gore Earth then revealed that he was aware that Ai was overacting, much to Ai's embarrassment. Earth then asked Playmaker why he was with Ai, as Ai seemed to hold him about Blue Angelback, and Ai claimed that they were partners. Playmaker claimed he's whereaboutsd never thought of Ai as such, but Playmaker stated three reasons why; that they shared goals, enemies, and were willfully with one another, so he didn't know where she mind being labeled as partners, much to Ai's joy. Playmaker brought out "[[Clock Lizard (anime)|Clock Lizard]]" and "Security Dragon" and attempted to return "Invalid Dolmen" to Earth's hand, but Earth revealed that "Invalid Dolmen" was unaffected by monster effects while it wasco-linked. Playmaker and Ai claimed they were just getting warmed up, and remembered she left all re-Fusion Summoned "Cyberse Clock Dragon" using the effect of a sudden"Clock Lizard". The two Earth countered by destroying "Invalid Dolmen" himself to negate the effect of "Clock Dragon" and then discussed about revived it to protect "Crystal Heart", but Playmaker had predicted his move, and he was able to reduce its ATK to zero with the creator effect of removal program. Sometime later Yusaku"Clock Lizard", Ai allowing "Clock Dragon" to destroy it and Kolter then watch [[Kitamura]] making a public announcement that defeat Earth in the same manner as he'd defeated Spectre. As promised Earth revealed what he developed an army of AI Duelists knew about Bohman, which turned out to be nothing. He returned them to confront LINK VRAINS, and as Ai complained over Dueling Earth for nothing, Playmaker wondered what Aqua had meant by the Knights of HanoiCyberse breaking apart, as it troubled him.<ref name="ep24ep67">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2467|ref}}</ref>

At [[File:Playmaker perceives the van, Kolter analyzed that if the Knights of Hanoi took over LINK VRAINS, they'd soon find Cyberse using his Link Sense.png|250px|thumb|left|Playmakersearches for Ai. ]]Roboppi later informed Yusaku believed they could prevent that by looking into the origins of Anothers virus. The next dayAi had gone missing, at the van, Kolter woke and Yusaku uptook it and his Duel Disk to Café Nom for analysis, reminding he had introducing Roboppi to go to school, Kolter and promised he'd continue workingTheodore. After Yusaku returned, Kolter found nothing new. Yusaku let Kolter restthat Ai and Roboppi had been browsing a website with a crossword offering an Ai pin as a reward, who went which hid an Ignis algorithm that led to cook some fries and cheese dogsa gate. Yusaku and asked Kolter ate to connect the foodgate to LINK VRAINS to allow him to enter, but he asked Theodore to remain behind as he didn't trust Windy and watched Blue Angel confronting Baira. Ai noted Blue Angel was cornered, but Yusaku shushed him, since they were still workingworried it could be a trap. Kolter Playmaker logged in and Yusaku analyzed found himself in a replica of the videosCyberse, and the latter saw Baira behind one of the Anothers victims.<ref name="ep25">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|25|ref}}</ref> Yusaku and Kolter then hacked into Bairahe used his [[Link Sense]] to find Ai inside Windy's profile palace. Playmaker found Ai talking with Windy and found out her real identity as [[Kyoko TakiLightning]], a doctor who works at the [[Den HospitalLIGHT|Light]] and Ignis, who stated that they were able to find out her home address. Yusaku then went into her apartment and wanted Ai warned him it could be Hanoi's headquarter as he went inside he was greeted by a security guard robot, who asked him who does he want to visit. But, Yusaku remained silent as help in rebuilding the Cyberse and that Ai told him to say something before anything get suspicious the robot then threatened him if he doesnshouldn't answer he would be held under suspicionwith humans. When Kolter took control of the guard and guided him Lightning asked if Playmaker believed them to Kyotobe humanity's roomsuccessors, Yusaku found her in LINK VRAINS and watched Blue Angel defeat herPlaymaker stated that whether they were or not, sudden change would only hurt many people. He Ai then attempted to leave with Playmaker, asking Lightning and Windy to give them time to find a way to coexist with humans, but Lightning and Kolter also witnessed Windy promptly imprisoned them. Playmaker protested that they didn't intend to fight the victims of Another getting cured Ignis, but Lightning and logging out of LINK VRAINSWindy didn't want to take the chance. As Baira suddenly disappearedHe realized that Windy had been the one who removed Ai's lock on his Duel Disk, they thought she logged out and decided to interrogate her about that the removal program but witness her getting purged by VarisIgnis had anticipated all of their moves.<ref name="ep26ep68">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2668|ref}}</ref>

Despite Another victims being purged from the virus, Yusaku was still worried, since he only fought the Knights of Hanoi inside LINK VRAINSBefore Lightning and Windy could rewrite Ai's personality, Varis arrived and Kolter confirmed one last mastermind left to be fought against. The next day, Yusaku spoke with Naokidispelled Windy's Data Storm, who wished vowing to battle kill the Knights of Hanoi alongside Ignis.<ref name="ep68" /> Playmaker and Blue Angel. Naoki pointed out tried to dissuade Varis from attacking the [[Duel Club]] forbade entering LINK VRAINS. Yusaku warned him Ignis, as there was would be no turning back from a website war with the list of Anothers, them otherwise and he urged him not to live by hatred and since Naoki had no planrevenge, he would instantly failas Playmaker knew better than anyone that it prevented them from moving forward. Yusaku also sensed fear inside Naoki Varis claimed that his father's ideals were what moved him forward, and felt heWindy challenged him to a Duel. Playmaker begged Varis not to be tied down by his father's ideals, but Varis spurned his statements given Playmaker'd ask Yusaku s own history of revenge and threatened to join bury Playmaker if he opposed him. Naoki was furious Helpless to stop them, Playmaker watched Varis and stormed outWindy's Master Duel, and Ai noted Yusaku went too far on himVaris's use of "[[Magic Cylinder (later anime)|Magic Cylinder]]", commenting that Varis always surpassed their expectations. When Yusaku came He noted to Ai that neither outcome of the vanDuel was desirable, Kolter showed him someone has played his as both Windy and Varis wanted to harm Ai and the conflict between humans and Ignis would simply escalate. Varis Link Summoned "[[Cyberse Wizard Borreload Dragon (anime)|Cyberse WizardBorreload Dragon]]". Kolter identified him as Lonely Brave, which Ai thought as a cool name. When Yusaku showed his allowing Windy to steal "Cyberse WizardMagic Cylinder", Ai touched though Playmaker noted that Varis could block it and sensed with the data from the card was missingeffect of "Borreload Dragon". Ai thought Lonely Brave Windy was able to [[Stormrider Turbulence|negate the mastermindeffect]] of "Borreload" and force it to attack, bringing Varis down to 300 LP with "Magic Cylinder".<ref name="ep69">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|69|ref}}</ref> Windy offered to spare Varis if he surrendered, but Varis rejected Windy's offer and defeated revealed that Windy had caused a car crash to kill his partner rather than steal his consciousness data as had been done with Jin. Varis asked Playmaker if he understood the Knight true nature of Hanoi the Ignis, before making a comeback against Windy and reducing him to lure Playmaker out900 LP. They soon found Naoki was Lonely BraveThis allowed Windy to use "Storm Access" during the Master Duel, who changed and Playmaker realized that Windy had given Bohman the name power to "Brave Max"use it himself and that the Ignis were responsible for kidnapping Jin. Despite this, Yusaku feared Naoki Windy told them he'd reveal where Jin was in dangerafter defeating Varis, should and reduced him to 100 LP with the mastermind find out new monster he used the 'd acquired "[[CyberseStormridership Bahamut Bomber]] card", though Playmaker noted that Varis would fight to the end. Not long after, Yusaku and Kolter found Brave Max, with The [[Faust|Commanders]], [[Dr. Genome|of the mastermind]] Knights of Hanoi arrived, who called out and then Spectre and Soulburner entered Windy's palace. Soulburner and Flame were shocked to see that Playmaker and Ai had been imprisoned, and Ai told them that it had been Windy and Lightning who had imprisoned them, not the Knights. Lightning then attempted to come imprison Soulburner, Flame, and Duel Spectre as well, but Flame blocked himwith data that Kolter had created, and proceeded to free Playmaker and Ai. The former claimed he received Varis then Summoned "Cyberse Wizard" from Playmaker, which surprised Yusaku. Yusaku went to grab his [[Duel DiskRokket Synchron (anime)|Rokket Synchron]]", but saw and Playmaker realized that it was gonea [[Tuner monster]]. Ai logged on the screen, and showed he was on the Duel Disk, which Varis then [[Synchro Summon]]ed "[[RoboppyBorreload Savage Dragon (anime)|Borreload Savage Dragon]] modified ", equipping "Borreload Dragon" to it with a droneand defeating Windy. While Yusaku noted Varis immediately ordered the device felt heavier, Ai explained he was searching for NaokiKnights of Hanoi to erase Windy despite Playmaker's protests, though the data of "Cyberse Wizard"Lightning rescued Windy from their virus. Yusaku realized Ai even knew this would happenTo Playmaker's shock, which offended AiBohman and Harlin arrived, seeing Yusaku was even accusing himand Playmaker immediately asked what they had done with Jin. Regardless, Ai showed the location, where Naoki Lightning then revealed that Jin was captured. Yusaku called out to him, his partner and Ai returned to had been present the van. Yusaku grabbed the Duel Disk and left Kolter to rescue Naoki, while Yusaku logged entire time in to LINK VRAINSan illusion.<ref name="ep27ep70">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2770|ref}}</ref>

Playmaker arrived to LINK VRAINStold Jin that he'd save him, but Lightning explained that Jin was trapped deep within his own consciousness and assured Brave Max hecouldn'd face Faustt respond. Before He revealed that he had kidnapped Jin to prevent him from affecting him as Ai and Playmaker didfor one another with their Link Sense, Brave Max returned "and that he had been responsible for the destruction of the Cyberse Wizard" . Lightning claimed that he had done so to Playmaker. Playmaker placed clarify where the card in his Deck, and noted Faust was Ignis stood after the final Another mastermindKnights of Hanoi attacked them, who stole despite the data existence of "Cyberse Wizarderror codes" and gave it that still wanted to Brave Max, to lure him outcoexist with humanity. Faust did Varis accused Lightning of not know what trying to solve matters peacefully, and Lightning claimed that he had, though Playmaker snapped that there was talking nothing peaceful aboutkidnapping Jin. Lightning then declared war on humanity, since and he did not do that. Ai assured Playmaker that wasn't importantfled with Bohman, Harlin, and only had Windy to defeat Faust. Faust declared save his mission was to retrieve fellow Ignis, and used from the Data Gale to conjure a stage for their battleHanoi's virus. Playmaker noted it was just like during Blue Angel , Ai, Soulburner and Gore's DuelsFlame pursued them, and Ai noted this prevented Soulburner tossed them from returning home. Playmaker raced with Faust and jumped a program that Kolter had made to allow him to check on their Duel Boards to start their Speed Duelthem. Faust started As they chased Lightning, he revealed that he had been the one controlling the Speed Data Storm that saved them after their Duel with summoning three "[[Motor Worm TokenSpectre]]s", and Ai sensed Faust was going all-out from as Lightning had needed them to defeat Varis while Lightning destroyed the startCyberse. Playmaker went to confront FaustThe Shepherd and Gore's "[[Motor Worm Spreader Queen]]", by Link Summoning "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]". Faust smirkedfellow Hunters arrived, and protected his queen by destroying the "Motor Worm Token", using "[[Wormhole Defense]]". Since the token was destroyed, the queen's ATK fell down, allowing "Cyberse Wizard". Faust was inflicted additional damage, yet revived his queen Lightning summoned a swarm of Bits and Boots to deal with "[[Worm Revival]]"them before unleashing a Data Storm at them from Windy. Bohman suddenly approached them and challenged Playmaker found out Faust wanted him to destroy the queen, as Faust used "[[Egg Clutch]]" to turn "Cyberse Wizard" into an [[Insect]] monster, thus boosting the queen's ATKa Speed Duel. Ai wondered asked if there Bohman remembered who he was nothing they could dotoday, and repeated this to Playmaker when Bohman declared that he ended his turndid. Faust played "[[Motor Worm Gate]]"Ai was pleased for Bohman, but then Bohman revealed that he was an A.I. created by Lightning to allow his queen to attack directly if unite the Ignis and serve as their successor. Although he accepted Playmaker only controlled Insect monsters. and Ai pointed out they still had [[Cyberse]] "Decode Talker", which his queen destroyedhe refused to coexist with humanity, inflicting 1700 damage likening it to the relationship between humans and animals. Playmaker. Faust used his Skill, [[Skill#Double Bite|Double Bite]]found himself unable to answer, so Bohman challenged him to have a Duel with himself and Ai on the queen attack once more and finish Playmaker offline.<ref name="ep28ep71">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|2871|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker takes out Powercode TalkerVrains 073.png|thumb|250px|Playmaker goes through the Data Gale, using uses "Neo Storm Access Skill."]]As they broke back into Windy's Cyberse, Ai lamented seeing the copy of his homeworld burning, not helped by Bohman confirming that he had destroyed the original Cyberse. Bohman suggested that they race around the Ignis Tower to determine who chose who went first, and Playmaker was forced to dodge the debris of one of the outerlying towers on the way, barely survived losing his race with 50 LP and crashing into a buildingBohman, who chose to go second. Warned by halving the damage Ai of Bohman's "Judgment Arrows", Playmaker set up a defense with "Cyberse Magician" and "[[Urgent LinkGrid Rod (anime)|Grid Rod]]". Despite this, Playmaker told Ai it and he was still enough able to battle. He also went to Link Summon, but Faust's survive the attack of "Wormhole DefenseTrident Hydradrive Lord" prevented the Insect tokens to be used as Link Materialthrough minimum damage. Faust declared he would obtain Ignis on On his next turn, but Playmaker hoped there was still a way to turn things around. He used drew "[[Suspend Wand]]" and equipped "Cyberse Magician" with "[[Cybersal Cyclone (anime)|Cybersal CycloneResume Mace]]" , intending to use it to banish power up "Decode TalkerCyberse Magician" enough to destroy the queen"Trident Hydradrive Lord", though Faust had a token destroyed in her stead. Playmaker smiled, since the card he played allowed but Ai urged him to destroy also use "Wormhole DefenseSuspend Wand", claiming that something inside him was telling him that they needed to defeat Bohman now. Faust declared he still wouldnFollowing Ai't loses advice, though Playmaker made him doubt his words when he went into equipped "Cyberse Magician" with "Suspend Wand" as well, combining their effects to vastly increase the black Data Storm ATK of "Cyberse Magician" and destroy "Trident Hydradrive Lord", reducing Bohman to 700 LP. He attempted to use finish Bohman off with "[[Skill#Storm AccessCyberse Witch (anime)|Storm AccessCyberse Witch]] skill", but Bohman was able to block the attack and he angrily asked Playmaker why he had attacked so uncharacteristically. Bohman then realized that Playmaker had attacked on Ai's suggestion, and Link Summoned he explained that Ai had been driven by instinct that monsterthe other Ignis lacked.<ref name="ep72">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|72|ref}}</ref> On his next turn, Bohman used "Storm Access"to obtain and [[Powercode Talker (anime)|Powercode TalkerSpecial Summon]]". Reviving his "[[Space Insulator (anime)|Space InsulatorRousing Hydradrive Monarch]]", then used its "Judgment Dice" effect to clear Playmaker also negated the queen's effects, thus making her ATK return to 1000field. Before Playmaker went was able to attack, Faust tried to warn him combine the effects of Ignis being a threat. Ai told Playmaker his cards in his Graveyard to ignore Faust - revive "Powercode TalkerLinkuriboh", who doubled its and reduce the ATK by tributing of "Space InsulatorHydradrive Monarch", destroyed "Motor Worm Spreader Queen", and defeated Faustsurviving the turn. Before vanishingAi apologized for his instinct putting them in this situation, Faust tried to warn but Playmaker he may have just doomed the humanityclaimed that it wasn's future. Playmaker repeated Faustt Ai's final wordsfault, though as Playmaker was the one making the decisions. Ai didnoffered him a secret weapon; an upgrade to his Skill that he't know anything d just finished. Playmaker noted the convenience of the timing, and Ai admitted thatit had always been available, much to Playmaker's amusement. Before logging outWith this new Skill, Playmaker told "Brave Max[[Neo Storm Access]]" he should seek his own path out, if he Playmaker was brave enoughable to enter the high-density Data Storm that surrounded the Ignis Tower and obtained the [[Synchro Monster]] "[[Cyberse Quantum Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Quantum Dragon]]". Yusaku, who logged outAs he prepared to Summon it, came Bohman attempted to Naokidisrupt him with the "Judgment Dice" effect of "Hydradrive Monarch" again, who was actually released when Faust lost successfully rolling the Dueloutcome he needed, at though this time Playmaker was able to protect his monsters with the warehouse districteffect of "[[Cyberse Wicckid (anime)|Cyberse Wicckid]]". Naoki was glad He Synchro Summoned "Cyberse Quantum Dragon" and used its effect to see Yusaku came return "Rousing Hydradrive Monarch" to rescue him, and told about PlaymakerBohman's ordeals. While Naoki continued talkingExtra Deck and then attack again, Yusaku concluded Faust didn't want Naoki but Bohman was able to be turned into an Anotherend the Duel in a DRAW and escaped, vowing that he would defeat them in a new stage. He also thought Although Ai could've been scoffed at Bohman saying such when he was the one fleeing, Playmaker admitted that sent "Cyberse Wizard" to Naoki, believing the Ignis put him in dangerBohman's growth had exceeded his expectations.<ref name="ep28ep73" />

Since Yusaku felt uneasySoon afterwards, Roken visited Café Nom and he could not sleep and went gave Yusaku a program to Kolter's van. Ai smiled at protect him from having his soul stolen by the Ignis, which Yusaku, thinking how cute installed without hesitation once he knew what it was. Roken departed, but commenting that the enemy of his enemy was his friend and bid Yusaku ordered him to be quiet. Regardless, he also agreed with Yusaku something bad would soon begin, as Yusaku believed Varis would make his move soonsurvive the coming battle so that they could settle matters between them.<ref name="ep28ep73"/> Yusaku decided to inform [[Akira Zaizen|Zaizen]] of Lightning and Bohman, and he sent a message to Zaizen to meet him at the harbor, remaining out of sight and using hoodie and a voice modulator to conceal his identity, and Aito confirm that he was Playmaker. He told Zaizen about the other Ignis and that they wanted to conquer humanity, in real life, sensed something wrong in and asked him to protect LINK VRAINSif the need arose. LaterAfterwards, after Kolter served a customerthey decided to search for Earth and Aqua, believing that they would likely be in danger from Lightning. Following Yusaku noted that the Knights and Kolter's map of Hanoi have been purged from Earth's movements, Playmaker and Soulburner logged into LINK VRAINSand split up to search for Earth. Kolter noted Anotherssoon contacted them and told them Earth was in danger, sending them Earth' incident has been resolveds coordinates, but also reminded Varis was still out there. though Playmaker and Ai thought Varis had retreated, but Yusaku doubted thatwere the only ones close enough. Instead, Yusaku questioned why Varis didnThey found Earth about to Duel one of SOL Technologies't make an appearanceBounty Hunters, thinking he had a reason who revealed himself to do sobe The Gore, but now thinner and strangely dissonant. SuddenlyPlaymaker and Ai watched the Speed Duel uneasily, having sensed something strange about Gore, Yusaku and Ai felt they were shocked when Gore activated a pulse within LINK VRAINSnew power, [[A.I. Dueling Chip|Brain Hack]] and the latter noted Yusaku had Fusion Summoned "[[Link SenseDinowrestler Chimera T Wrextle (anime)|Dinowrestler Chimera T Wrextle]]". Yusaku asked Kolter <ref name="ep74">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|74|ref}}</ref> Gore revealed that he had implanted an A.I. chip in his brain to scan through gain the network. Kolter worked on scanningskills to defeat Playmaker, but Earth was able to counterattack, destroy "Chimera T Wrextle", and just as Yusaku and Ai sensed another pulse, Kolter saw the LINK VRAINS infrastructure was changingthen activate his "[[Stalactite Spear]]" Skill to inflict enough damage to defeat Gore. Yusaku decided to visit LINK VRAINSHowever, even if Ai felt a bad omen aheadGore intensified his Brain Hack and negated Earth's Skill with his newly-created "[[Anti Skill]]". Yusaku noted Varis acted always in publicBlue Gal also arrived, but this reassuring Playmaker that she wasn't the case recently. Yusaku promised here to find Duel himand that she only wanted to protect the Ignis, and sensed something big would happen soonshe asked about the status of the Duel. Inside LINK VRAINS, Playmaker rode noted that Earth held the Data Windadvantage, but Gore Synchro Summoned "[[Dinowrestler Giga Spinosavate (anime)|Dinowrestler Giga Spinosavate]]" and began to press Earth back. Ai tried Earth was able to convince Playmaker things would go bad and they should return homeprotect "[[G Golem Crystal Heart (anime)|G Golem Crystal Heart]]" from Gore's effects, but Playmaker Gore was focused on finding the cause. Once again, they sensed the pulse coming from the network. Finding some data fireflies, Playmaker traced them able to a spot. As the data fireflies stopped, Ai thought they were taking a break. The two were visited by attack it with "Giga Spinosavate" and destroy [[Emma BesshoGravity Protection|Ghost Galthe card that protected]]"Crystal Heart", who defeating Earth and capturing him. Playmaker ordered Gore to free Earth as he wasn't particularly pleased Ai their enemy, but Gore didn't care and challenged Playmaker were presentnext despite their previous alliance. Before another Duel could start, Gore was logged out by SOL Technologies, toothough he vowed to defeat Playmaker the next time they met.<ref name="ep30ep75">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3075|ref}}</ref>

Roken visited Yusaku and Ai at the [[File:Playmaker runs in sewers.png|thumb|left|Playmaker runs away from the data giant.Stardust Road]]Ghost Gal admitted the data fireflies lead her to treasure, next day and were reliable, tooinformed them that SOL Technologies had decompiled Earth into an imperfect source code that they could understand. Playmaker warned her Yusaku asked if the path ahead was dangerousKnights of Hanoi had a spy in SOL Technologies, but Roken simply smiled and advised her told them to log outbe careful as he left. Ghost Gal thought Playmaker would steal her treasureAi was horrified by Earth's death, explaining the greater the dangerand he admitted that he was starting to hate humans himself, the greater the rewardmuch to Yusaku's shock. <ref name="ep76">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|76|ref}}</ref> The data fireflies opened a pathnext day, Kolter found security footage depicting Blue Gal and Aqua fleeing from The Shepherd, and though which Ghost they weren't sure why Aqua was with Blue Gal entered, Yusaku and Playmaker joined Theodore quickly logged in, tooto rescue Aqua from The Shepherd. The two walked in a data sewerThey found Ghost Gal alone, through which many unimportant data flew to a reprocessing plant. and Playmaker asked where The Shepherd was surprised . Ghost Gal knew of this, who explained she was a treasure hunter that visited many virtual worlds. Finding a fork in the pathhe'd logged out, and as Soulburner and Flame asked where Blue Gal and Aqua were, Ghost Blue Gal saw revealed herself with Aqua in her data fireflies went Duel Disk. She changed her Avatar to Blue Maiden, and noted that it was time for them to the path on the rightfight together again. Ai thought Playmaker agreed, and they affirmed their goals and declared that they could settle this would fight.<ref name="ep77">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|77|ref}}</ref> They headed to the location where Aqua had been imprisoned with a game, which amused Ghost Galto search for any traces of Lightning's log, who credited the AI. Ai explained he but Lightning had a name, covered his tracks well and Ghost Gal thought his left no traces.<ref name was just a pun. Finding ="ep78">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|78|ref}}</ref> Further searches proved fruitless until Kolter detected a fork portal in LINK VRAINS and sent the pathcoordinates to Playmaker and his team. The portal led to Lightning's palace, Ghost Gal saw her data fireflies went where he was Dueling The Shepherd through Jin. Lightning revealed that he intended to defeat the path on weakest of them first, and Playmaker watched the right. Ai thought they could settle this with a gameDuel, which amused Ghost Gal, who credited recognizing "[[Armatos Colosseum]]" as the AIlocation where he had Master Dueled Bohman. Since <ref name="ep79">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|79|ref}}</ref> Ai chose a wrong cardwondered who they should support, Ghost Gal declared herself as the victor and let Playmaker go on suggested that Shepherd would likely free Jin if he won. He watched the left path. Ai was displeased he chose Duel grimly, surprised when Lightning discarded his negated "Judgment Arrows"to activate [[Fake Trap (anime)Armatos Legio Magica Alcum|Fake Trapan effect that cleared Shepherd's field]]". Lightning defeated Shepherd, but and Playmaker knew learned that Ghost Gal cheated, by using a Deck filled with bad cards. Ai was even more depressed he was cheated off once more, but Playmaker reminded the importance of their mission, and continued on. They The Shepherd were ambushed by a siblings before Shepherd's data giant, who went after them, making Ai even panicwas erased and Lightning escaped.<ref name="ep30ep80">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|80|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker continued running away from enters the Data Storm again to use his Skill a second time.png|thumb|left|250px|Playmaker uses his Skill a second time against The Gore.]]Afterwards, Yusaku, Theodore, Ai and Flame discussed the data giantDuel and Lightning's skills. They were interrupted by Kolter picking up Earth's signal in LINK VRAINS, and Ai told Yusaku and Theodore logged in to protect Earth before SOL Technologies could find him to run faster. When they reached Earth's location, they were attacked by The two ran Gore, now even more malnourished than before, who challenged Playmaker to a dead endDuel. Playmaker attempted to convince Gore to instead fight Lightning alongside them, but Gore refused, insisting that he had to defeat Playmaker to regain his pride. Playmaker accepted Gore's challenge, and just as he tried to end the data giant went to attack themDuel quickly, it disappeared in a veil but Gore easily blocked his attacks and accused him of being scared of lightGore and his "Anti Skill". Ai was glad they were savedTo Playmaker's shock, while Playmaker noticed another abnormalityGore Link Summoned "G Golem Crystal Heart" and revealed that Earth's decompiled data had been added to his A.I. chip. Playmaker jumped in realized that Earth's signal had come from Gore and that the crackDuel had been a trap, and he agreed with Ai noticed that was the path that Ghost Gal took's vow to defeat Gore as Gore brought out "Dinowrestler King T Wrextle". They came <ref name="ep81">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|81|ref}}</ref> Playmaker attempted to combat the light"Crystal Heart"-boosted "King T Wrextle" by returning it to Gore's hand with first "Security Dragon" and then "Firewall Dragon", where they saw Ghost Gal but Gore countered both of his efforts and Varis facing each other offforced Playmaker to destroy "Firewall Dragon". The two watched as Ghost Gal Playmaker was defeated by Varisable to fend off Gore's attacks, and he planned to force Gore to use "Anti Skill" to defeat him with "[[Topologic Trisbaena Draw Discharge (anime)|Topologic TrisbaenaDraw Discharge]]". Gore was able to counter that move as well, reducing Playmaker swore to save her, but Ghost Gal claimed she was too pathetic for a professional100 LP and blasting him off his Duel Board. InsteadAs Playmaker and Gore faced off, she gave Playmaker the data she acquired. Ghost Gal glowed with a red lightData Storm began to blow again, and started vanishing. She warned Ai revealed that "Neo Storm Access" had another effect that could be used when Playmaker of Varis had 100 or less LP and his new card before disappearinghad failed to gain a monster the first time he'd used the Skill. Ai and This time Playmaker were terrifiedwas successful, and were soon visited by Varis behind bars. Varis confronted Playmakerhe obtained and [[Xyz Summon]]ed "[[Firewall eXceed Dragon (anime)|Firewall eXceed Dragon]]", who demanded reviving "Firewall Dragon" to return "King T Wrextle" to know about Ghost GalGore's whereaboutshand. Varis simply proclaimed she became a foundation for Gore was able to block the Tower of Hanoimove and force "Firewall Dragon" to attack, which but Playmaker was activated. He stated should Playmaker wish able to stop it, he'd have destroy "[[World Dino Wrestling (later anime)|World Dino Wrestling]]" to confront him. With attack more than one time a turn again and reduce the purplish sphere emitting tentacles that destroyed the placeATK of "King T Wrextle" to zero, Varis jumped awayallowing "Firewall eXceed Dragon" to destroy it and defeat Gore. Playmaker yelled at Varis, while As Ai pointed out the place was collapsing, and they swore to protect Ghost Galdevoured Earth's datafrom Gore, a capture unit briefly trapped them, but was dispelled when Gore was logged out. Playmaker ignored Ai, who forced had Playmaker to log out give Blue Maiden and joined KolterAqua "Crystal Heart", and watched hundreds Soulburner noted that Gore was another victim of tentacles wrapped a beam their fight. Playmaker agreed that was shot in the sky and destroyed LINK VRAINS' cyberspacethey had to end it quickly.<ref name="ep31ep82">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|31|ref}}</ref>

Yusaku, Kolter, and Ai watched as the tower appeared in LINK VRAINS, causing the cyberspace to be absorbed. Since Yusaku obtained Ghost Gallater sent them footage of Earth's datafinal moments, Kolter promised to look into and after watching it. Ai noticed the avatars were being absorbed, Yusaku bitterly remarked that SOL Technologies saw both Ignis and not just buildings or roads - Yusaku knew this was Varis's doing. Kolter analyzed Ghost Gal's data, showing the Tower Duelists as tools and walked out of HanoiCafé Nom. Theodore followed Yusaku remembered Varis's words, out and deduced asked if the Hanoi's game he was overokay, the world would be destroyedhanding him his Duel Disk. Kolter continued analyzing the data, seeing the link between the top, where the LINK VRAINS network was, with the underground erasing systemHe reassured Yusaku that what had happened to The Gore and Earth wasn't his fault, as they had been Duelists with the center being the core of the latter systemtheir own ideals. Ai was shocked, seeing how much data has been absorbed, as Kolter noted that speed has not decreased. Kolter counted six rings war between humans and Ignis would be crafted from this systemlikely escalate according to Varis and Lightning's positions, one per each passing hour. He realized that once every ring is crafted, a pulse would be sent with high-density data, affecting every machine or program - every piece of technology existing in the world would cease function, as if the world has no computers and Yusaku asked Ai what he and Lightning had discussed prior to his arrival at allWindy's palace. Ai thought it was safe as long as they did not enter the network, but Yusaku was certain Varis thought of explained Lightning's belief thathumanity would eliminate them, and made something Varis's discovery that would still erase AiWindy had attempted to eliminate his own partner. Kolter continued his analysis, seeing even devices not connected Yusaku noted that humanity had underestimated what it meant to the network would also be affected, as give an electromagnetic pulse would be sent out, even to erase AiA.I. While Ai was frustratedfree will, Kolter was overwhelmedgiven the Ignis' advantages, knowing Varis and that it made all of this just to erase an Ignishumans fear them. The trio watched Kitamura - AkiraYusaku admitted that he wasn's successor in SOL Technologies - battling t sure if there was a Knight of Hanoi, named [[Spectre]]. They saw how Spectre erased Kitamuraway for them to coexist, but Ai and the former threatened Flame urged him not to do this to anyone lose faith in that dared entering LINK VRAINSidea. Yusaku swore agreed and smiled, but stated that after their final battle was over, the Ignis had to stop the Knights of Hanoihide to prevent themselves from being used and live their lives, by shutting down somewhere isolated from the core. Kolter warned him there were no Data Storms in LINK VRAINS, except near that towernet.<ref name="ep32ep83">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3283|ref}}</ref>

This did not stop Varis left a message for Yusakuat Café Nom disguised in the form of "[[Borreload Dragon (anime)|Borreload Dragon]]", who wished asking to end this feud with Varismeet in LINK VRAINS. Ai, Flame, Playmaker, and Soulburner logged in into LINK VRAINS. He quickly and met up with the Gore and Aqua, Blue AngelMaiden, and Ghost Gal in the latter explaining she was fighting for everyoneupper levels. He explained that Varis wanted to meet with them, as those people look up much to her. The Gore exclaimed the samecollective shock of his allies, since he was the hero that needed to protect LINK VRAINS. save Ai noted how full of energy Gore was. Gore noted Varis eventually arrived, erecting a barrier to ensure a secure conversation, and requested an alliance against Lightning, explaining that was the Ignis, who yelled out he had initially attempted to recruit The Shepherd. To Playmaker's shock, Soulburner refused and challenged Varis to a Duel to avenge his parents' deaths.<ref name, ="ep83" /> Ai. wondered if it was all right; Playmaker explained he came that they needed to Duel to be able to stop the Tower of Hanoiwork together. Varis passed his turn, rescue Ghost Gal and confront the mastermind, Varis. Blue Angel Soulburner was shocked unable to hear Ghost Gal had vanished toofinish him off, at ending the hands of Duel inconclusively. Varis. Gore asked about the data Ghost Gal gave revealed his identity to Soulburner, and Playmaker, who reported added that Varis intended to destroy LINK VRAINS, using had actually saved them from the towerLost Incident. Blue Angel realized if Varis assured them that they would fight over the network would be destroyedremaining Ignis after defeating Lightning, then all and asked them to follow him. He took them to the people absorbed would be destroyed, tooold LINK VRAINS, hence why Playmaker exclaimed where the importance Tower of stopping the tower's completionHanoi still stood, and Ai added explained that he intended to modify it would prevent him from being erased. Gore asked how into a scan program to find Lightning, asking them to stop help create the towerprogram to do so. Playmaker agreed, and was but told Varis had that a new future might come to be defeatedlight as they battled, something that Varis claimed he would keep in mind. Ai warned Yusaku and Kolter worked on the time limit was six hours before the tower was completedprogram that night, while Theodore and Flame stepped out for some air. Gore <ref name="ep84">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|84|ref}}</ref> Kolter told Yusaku that Lightning would likely use Jin against him, and Blue Angel promised admitted that he wouldn't be able to refuse helping Lightning for Jin's sake. He asked Yusaku to promise to go there, but defeat him if this happened as Playmaker replied it was better if they stayed homethe hope of many within LINK VRAINS, in safetyand Yusaku agreed that he would. This actually motivated Gore and Blue Angel to protect <ref name="ep93">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|93|ref}}</ref> They finished the children and program the absorbed peoplenext morning, including Ghost Gal. Playmaker did not careand Kolter asked if Yusaku wanted him to accompany them, but Yusaku asked of them him to be carefulremain behind. He reminded Kolter gave them one of them had a program that would continually broadcast their status, and Yusaku vowed to defeat Varisbring back Jin. They joined Blue Maiden, whoAqua, according to Varis and Spectre at the Tower of Hanoi; Blue Maiden explained that Ghost Galwas keeping an eye on LINK VRAINS, wielded while Spectre stated that the other Knights were backing them up from the real world. They activated the Tower's scan program, revealing that Lightning was hiding in a mirror world; "[[Mirror LINK VRAINS]]", and headed into a powerful card. The trio promised portal to meet up against and went in different directionsthe mirror world.<ref name="ep32ep84"/>

[[File:The whirlwindPlaymaker and Ai begin to fall due to the lack of Data Material.png|thumb|right|250px|Playmaker looks at and Ai fall from their Duel Board after Lightning cuts off the whirlwind from afarData Material.]]As they travelled through the path, Playmaker continued his way towards saved Blue Maiden from turbulence, and he checked on the Tower status of HanoiLINK VRAINS when they arrived, asking Kolter to keep him updated. A kid confronted BitBoots then accosted the frog group and pigeon when a building started collapsingengaged them in Speed Duels. <ref name="ep85">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|85|ref}}</ref> Playmaker saved defeated one with "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]", but then Mirror LINK VRAINS realigned with LINK VRAINS and cut off the kidData Material flow, causing the team to fall from their Duel Boards. Playmaker and Ai found themselves trapped in a water-covered area and watched as footage of Lightning and asked him to log out while Spectre appeared above them; Lightning claiming that he would protect LINK VRAINSdefeat them one-by-one. The kid did soPlaymaker watched as Spectre claimed to have felt the death of Earth and noted that Spectre had felt the loss of a part of himself, stating though he believed in Playmakerdenied feeling the same way about Ai. Ai noted Playmaker wanted They watched as Lightning used an [[Extra Link]] to do something coollock down Spectre's Deck, but Spectre was able to steal "Judgment Arrows" and counterattack. After Spectre Link Summoned his signature mother tree monster, "[[Sunavalon Dryas (anime)|Sunavalon Dryas]]", Playmaker noted that the outcome of the latter silenced itDuel was up for grabs.<ref name="ep33ep86">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3386|ref}}</ref> Ai counted five hours left before the Tower Despite Spectre's continued advantage, Playmaker remained wary of Hanoi was completedLightning's unrevealed tactics. He Spectre was not amused by this gameable to create his own Extra Link and even an Ultimate Extra Link, which Playmaker swore but managed to end by defeating Varis. anger Lightning, a state Ai cheered Playmaker, for he bears that name for such purposesclaimed to have never seen Lightning in. When Blue Angel was defeatedLightning brought out "[[Armatos Legio Magnus Dux]]" and reclaimed "Judgment Arrows", Playmaker destroying Spectre's Extra Link and Ai saw a whirlwind from afar as he realize that Spectre then defeating Blue Angelhim, taking his data.<ref name="ep34ep87">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3487|ref}}</ref> Playmaker The broadcast shut off, but soon started again, showing Soulburner and Flame opposing Windy. After silencing Ai continued on towards when he claimed the other Ignis thought he was the Tower strongest of Hanoithem, as the surroundings continued Playmaker watched Soulburner and Windy's Duel silently.<ref name="ep88">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|88|ref}}</ref> Soulburner was able to be defeat Windy, and Flame absorbed as Windy's data into the tower itself. <ref name="ep89">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|89|ref}}</ref> Playmaker continued runningnoted that Lightning wasn't giving any second chances, and went to he watched as the bridge, which also broadcast started to vanishagain, as Ai showing Blue Maiden Dueling Bohman. Playmaker noted they had to cross it to get to the tower. Ai thought effectiveness of conjuring Blue Maiden's "[[Marincess]]" Deck in bringing out a Data StormLink-3 monster without reducing her hand size, but was apprehensive when Bohman forsook 5000 points of direct damage from his three "[[Coolant Hydradrive]]s" in favor of a new "Hydradrive", "[[Cubed Hydradrive Lord]]". Playmaker asked him not learned that Blue Maiden was trying to do save of of the other victims of the Lost Incident, [[Miyu Sugisaki]], and he realized that, since he and Soulburner weren't the tower would continue absorbing only ones fighting to save someone. He was surprised to see Blue Maiden summon "[[Marincess Crystal Heart (anime)|Marincess Crystal Heart]]"; Ai explained that data, too, which it would hasten the towercarry on Earth's completionmemories. On their wayBohman then demonstrated his power, causing Mirror LINK VRAINS to quake and claiming to have become one with LINK VRAINS. Blue Maiden decided to combat Bohman with effect damage; Playmaker noting that she had given up attacking for the two faced Spectreturn in order to do so, who came but Bohman was able to nullify it.<ref name="ep90">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|90|ref}}</ref> Bohman brought out of a portal. Spectre introduced himselfnew ace monster, and explained he would not let them pass through. He told these were Varis's orders"[[Tesseract Hydradrive Monarch]]", and they would be crushed, too, like though Blue Angel Maiden wasable to dodge its deadly effects and destroy it, which shocked Ai Bohman revived "Tesseract" and Playmaker. Spectre informed them he defeated forced Blue Maiden into a loop, defeating her without even having to use his full strength.<ref name="ep35ep91">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3591|ref}}</ref>

Spectre confirmed he did defeat Bohman absorbed Blue AngelMaiden, but he remembered she spoke something about "blue love"Aqua and Earth's data, which then transported to Playmaker and Ai did not understand about's location. Spectre showed them bits of data of Blue AngelHe warned Playmaker that his next Duel would test him emotionally, stating she had no power to save and Playmaker asked Bohman why he was telling himthis. Bohman admitted he wasn't sure, but vowed to defeat Playmaker the next time they met and promised departed. Their surroundings were changed into a replica of the same fate would befall Den City plaza, with Kolter present, and Playmaker. When realized that the moment Kolter had warned him about had come; Kolter confirmed that he intended to Duel startedPlaymaker to save Jin. Kolter began passionately, Spectre again began by using Summoning "Sunseed Genus Loci[[Codebreaker Zero Day (anime)|Codebreaker Zero Day]]" to and Setting a card, and Playmaker Link Summon Summoned "Decode Talker" away from "Sunavalon DryasZero Day", reflecting that he and setting a cardKolter had acquired it together and that it symbolized their will to fight. Playmaker remembered Blue Angel's tactics were about burning He ended his turn without attacking, but to his shock Kolter Summoned "[[effect damageCodebreaker Virus Swordsman (anime)|Codebreaker Virus Swordsman]]" to the zone "Decode Talker" pointed to, increasing its ATK, though Kolter then Summoned a "Zero Day" to Playmaker's field and knowing used its effect to reverse the ATK gain. Kolter allowed "Decode Talker" to survive so he defeated her quicklycould continue inflicting damage to Playmaker, Ai proclaimed he though Playmaker was very dangerousable to bring himself some reprieve with the second effect of "Decode Talker", too. However, Ai noticed Spectregetting rid of all of Kolter's monster did not look very offensive. monsters, but Kolter revived them at the end of the turn and Playmaker asked Spectre why does admitted that he couldn't fightKolter.<ref name="ep92">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|92|ref}}</ref> He attempted to stall with "[[Link Satellite]]", but Spectre claimed he fought for VarisKolter brought out "[[Codebreaker Virus Berserker (anime)|Codebreaker Virus Berserker]]" and destroyed it, reducing Playmaker to 600 LP. Ai begged Playmaker tried to persuade Spectre stop hesitating as Lightning and Bohman arrived. Kolter attacked, but Playmaker used "[[Link Cancel]]" to step down, if return "Decode Talker" to the Extra Deck and Summon the monsters he did not know about Varis's mastermind plan. Spectre replied he knew that d used to Summon it, then endured the data around attack with the world would be destroyedeffect of "[[Protocol Gardna (anime)|Protocol Gardna]]". Kolter told him to remember his promise, and with a wild cry, but he nevertheless would stand by Varis. Playmaker claimed Spectre did not understand Varismade his decision and Link Summoned "[[Decode Talker Extended (anime)|Decode Talker Extended]]", whose plans have been continuing since ten years ago, in an incident many people were harmed. He claimed an outsider like Spectre had no reason then combined it with "[[Decode Destruction (anime)|Decode Destruction]]" to be involved in thisdefeat Kolter. Spectre claimed Kolter congratulated him as he understood the Lost Incidentwas erased, and Playmaker ran to his friend, trying to catch his data and was one of the six children sobbing his name. Lightning taunted Playmaker, until Playmaker revealed that were involved in Kolter had anticipated Lightning's plan, defiantly stating that eventKolter had been proud of him, just like Playmaker wasbefore collapsing, overwhelmed by the trauma despite his victory.<ref name="ep35ep93"/>

[[File:Urged by Kolter Playmaker finally wakes up.png|thumb|left|250px|Playmaker was surprised, and pointed out the atrocity of the Lost Incident that befell Spectrewakes up after falling unconscious. Spectre did not understand, ]]Lightning demanded Playmaker get up and explained the incident actually entertained Duel him, since he never felt livelierhaving Jin throw around his unconscious Avatar, but Playmaker remained unconscious. He explained if one had a happy life before the Lost Incident<ref name="ep94">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|94|ref}}</ref> Ai attempted to wake him up, the event mustbut it was Kolter've been hard for them. Spectre explained he was found by Varis at the site of the Lost Incidents spirit who finally coaxed Yusaku from his restless dreams, despite Yusaku wanting to sleep longer and claiming that he gave Spectre a place where he could belongdidn't care, among the Knights of Hanoi. Spectre wondered if but Kolter reminded him he was weird, but thought Playmaker was even stranger for still had to fulfill his sense of justicefinal request. Playmaker reminded due woke to that incident, time stopped moving for himfind Soulburner Dueling Bohman, but Spectre replied it started moving for him since then. Ai noticed Playmaker the Flame was distantattacked from within by Windy, who attempted to consume and reminded he was nothing alike SpectreSoulburner, and pointed out the tower would continue growing as long as they waste time. to Playmaker understood's shock and anger, while Spectre dared Playmaker Flame was forced to sacrifice himself to defeat himstop Windy. Playmaker Link Summoned "Enraged by Flame's death, Soulburner Super [[Reincarnation Link Disciple (anime)|Link DiscipleSummon]]" and ed "[[Link Devotee Salamangreat Pyro Phoenix (anime)|Link DevoteeSalamangreat Pyro Phoenix]]" by linking them. Playmaker tributed "Link Devotee" to draw a card and swap one into his Deck, then Special Summoned two "[[Link Token]]s" and Normal Summoning "Cyberse Gadget", whose he managed to roll the right Attribute to avoid the negative effect revived of Bohman's "[[Latency (anime)|LatencyJudgment Roll]]" from his GYTrap and launch a final attack. Using these monstersHowever, Playmaker made three Link Summons: "[[Binary Sorceress (anime)|Binary Sorceress]]", "[[Multi Sledgehammer]]" and Bohman changed the Attribute of "[[Binary Blader]]Pyro Phoenix". Since his tree could not be attacked, Spectre took allowing the attack negative effect of "Binary SorceressJudgment Roll", only to replenish his LP by Special Summoning "Sunvine Gardna"defeat Soulburner. Spectre explained the tree protected him when he was a babyPlaymaker watched in shock as Soulburner, Flame and when the tree Windy's data was cut downabsorbed by Bohman, who declared that he began distrusting society, and was ready to battle Playmaker now served Varis.<ref name="ep35ep95">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|95|ref}}</ref>

Spectre proclaimed as long as As Playmaker bitterly remarked that Soulburner had known the tree was on the fieldpotential sacrifice he'd been making, nobody could defeat himhe felt himself shaking with rage. He anticipated Ignis would be erasedThe broadcast started again, showing Lightning Dueling Varis, along with LINK VRAINS. and Playmaker reminded him Spectre would be erased, tooand Ai quickly took advantage of the destroyed barrier to fly to Varis's island. Spectre counted on thatBohman arrived at the same time they did, since he merely wished to fulfill and Varisrevealed Lightning's goalcrimes to them. PlaymakerHe explained that his father's noted simulations had been incomplete; they truly showed that Spectre woukd sacrifice Lightning himself for Varishad no future with humanity and that he would corrupt that of the other Ignis. Spectre merely replied Playmaker would never understand their goalswas shocked by the revelation, as long as he chased after revengebut concluded that this was likely the complex that Spectre had mentioned during his Duel with Lightning. Since As Varis made his moves, Playmakernoted how the effect of Lightning's "[[Armatos Gloria]]" restricted several of Varis's attack failedbest counters, he had though Varis simply Link Summoned "Borreload Dragon".<ref name="ep96"Binary Sorceress>{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|96|ref}}</ref> Although " share half her attack to Borreload Dragon"Binary Bladerdestroyed ", who could attack twice per [[Battle PhaseArmatos Legio Plumbum Trident]]", this allowed Lightning to place it in his Spell & Trap Zone as Ai noted Spectre would take 2000 LP damage. Spectrea ''new'' Link Spell and search out "Judgment Arrows", and despite Varis's efforts to destroy it with "Sunvine Gardna[[Mind Crush (anime)|Mind Crush]]" protected him by reducing , Lightning was able to activate the Spell and claimed that a monkey like Varis couldn't destroy it. Ai realized that damage by 800Lightning was talking just like Windy, and that damage healed to Playmaker's shock, due to "Binary SorceressVaris revealed that Lightning had rewritten Windy'" effects personality. To speed things upAs Varis began Summoning monsters, Playmaker realized that he had two Level 4 monsters, and as he had anticipated, Varis Xyz Summoned, Spectre used bringing out "[[Sunavalon Glorious GrowthBorreload eXcharge Dragon (anime)|Borreload eXcharge Dragon]]" to summon a Sunvine Token, and use it with reviving his destroyed "Sunvine GardnaBorreload Dragon" , assembling an attack that would allow him to defeat Lightning. But before Varis could make his tree evolve into final attack, Lightning released Jin from his control and revealed that he had linked their consciousness data; if Varis attacked, he would destroy them both.<ref name="Sunavalon Dryanomeep97">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|97|ref}}</ref> After Lightning revealed that he had linked Spectre's data to his own as well, even in the middle of Playmakerbegged Varis not to attack, not only for Jin's battlesake but also for his own, fearing Varis would revert to how he had previously been. Ai sensed they could be in big troubleVaris pointed out that Playmaker had defeated Kolter, unless but Playmaker tried harder. In additionstated that Kolter had been willing to sacrifice himself, Spectre neutralized Playmakerwhile Jin wasn's efforts by returning t. Lightning was amused at the LP count to 4000. notion of Playmaker noticed saving him, and he revealed that is a defense-oriented deckhe had tormented Jin during the Lost Incident, causing the more intense trauma he suffered from. Varis ended his turn without making his final attack, and Blue Angel must've fallen to Bohman then took Jin and Spectre's tricksdata from Lightning to force him to Duel fairly. Spectre announced Lightning also revealed that he had created the tree could not be attackedcomputer virus that had infected Dr. Kogami, and Ai knew Spectre anticipated these attacksrather than SOL Technologies. "Binary Blader" made its second attackVaris was able to survive Lightning's turn, giving Spectre 2600 LP damage and replenishing Playmaker noted that Varis would win the following turn using the same strategy he had previously. But to Playmaker's LP by shock, Lightning ended the Duel in a DRAW with the same amount. Spectre repeated effect of his combo, summoning another "Sunvine Gardna[[Armatos Legio Eques Flamma]]". Playmaker ran to Varis's side as he was erased, leaving the rest to Playmaker and "Sunavalon Glorious Growth" raised his LP back and lowered PlaymakerAi. Lightning then revealed he had survived by converting some of Jin's consciousness data into LP back to 4000. In an attempt , but he gave himself to finish thisBohman, Playmaker removed all granting Bohman the powers of five of the Counters "Multi Sledgehammer" received when other monsters attacked, raising its ATK to 4000Ignis.<ref name="ep36ep98">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|3698|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker vows to believe in an open future.png|thumb|right|250px|Playmaker vows to believe in an open future with the Ignis.]]Declaring that it was time for their final battle, Bohman brought Playmaker and Ai praised to Mirror LINK VRAINS Central Station courtyard and claimed that the door to a new world would open after their Duel, creating an Ignis algorithm and building a new Deck using the powers of the other Ignis. When the Duel began, the algorithm activated and Playmakerand Ai both heard screams, while Spectre noted all of these insignificant attacks which Bohman explained they were just hearing due to power up their Link Sense, and he commented that Playmaker could have been the bridge between humans and A.I. Bohman's strategy initially seemed to remain the same, as he brought out four different "Multi SledgehammerHydradrive" for Link Monsters, but instead of Summoning a final strike[[Link 4 Monster Cards|Link-4 monster]] he continued to Summon monsters until he hand five "Hydradrive" Link-1 Monsters with different Attributes. Playmaker wondered if Bohman intended to Summon a monster with five Attributes, though Ai claimed it was skeptical as there were no [[Link 5 Monster Cards|Link-5 monsters]] in LINK VRAINS. Bohman then activated a brilliant strategySkill, but Spectre told it was not perfect; "Sunavalon Glorious Growth[[Master Storm Access]]" redirected , creating a Data Storm from the algorithm and creating the attack to Link-5 "Sunvine Gardna[[Chimera Hydradrive Dragrid]]". Bohman revealed that the algorithm was called a [[Neuron Link]], who reduced that it was using the brains of thousands of trapped humans in LINK VRAINS to create the Data Storm, and that he intended to absorb the consciousness of all humans to become the damagesole entity in existence. Once moreUnfazed by the Link-5 monster, Yusaku Synchro Summoned "Cyberse Quantum Dragon", Spectre summoned a intending to return "Sunvine GardnaDragrid"to Bohman's Extra Deck, regained but he activated his Skill again.<ref name="ep99">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|99|ref}}</ref> Playmaker heard the screams of the LP Neuron Link's victims as Bohman obtained and made swapped out "Dragrid" for "[[Chimera Hydradrive Draghead - Aqua]]", negating the effects of "Quantum Dragon". Bohman claimed he had known Playmaker's LP back would Summon "Quantum Dragon" due to 4000. Ai realized Spectre has the advantage voices of the people trapped in here, the Neuron Link who confirmed these wordsidolized Playmaker, for and that Playmaker was walking towards his defeateffectively fighting all of LINK VRAINS. Spectre smirked, showing Ai claimed that his tree Bohman only had no weaknesses. Spectre explained they both experienced the Lost Incident. Howevera limited number of people to use, but to Playmaker was obsessed with revenge's horror, while Spectre helped Varis in saving the worldBohman revealed that more people were logging into LINK VRAINS. The latter pointed He thanked Playmaker for serving as the battle was decided from the startbasis for his heart, and offered to give him happiness within him if he surrendered. Playmaker doubted thatrefused to accept a world built on the sacrifices of others, while Spectre told it were moments before Playmaker's defeat. Spectre went on offensedisappointing Bohman, reviving "Sunseed Genius Loci" with who used his Skill to bring out "[[Sunvine ShrineChimera Hydradrive Draghead - Flame]]" and using it to Link Summon destroy "Sunvine ThrasherQuantum Dragon". Playmaker was able to save "Sunvine ThrasherQuantum Dragon", with 3200 ATK, attacked from the effect of "Binary BladerDraghead - Flame", who absorbed half by using the ATK effect of "Multi SledgehammerCyberse Synchron". Spectre repeated his combo, just like with Blue Angelbut he was unable to save it from "Draghead - Flame's "friends", by taking "Binary Blader" and have it attack Playmaker's monsters. Ai warned Playmaker As Bohman talked about the voices he heard within him and claimed that he was losingwould make an ideal world, but Playmaker was glad considered that Spectre could no longer use the effect Bohman had described himself as an evolution of "Sunavalon Dryanome"Playmaker and he realized that Bohman was lonely as Playmaker had been, for all impressing on him the value of the zones its Link Markers were pointing listening to one's friends. Refusing to were occupiedlet Bohman sacrifice everything, Playmaker Fusion Summoned "Cyberse Clock Dragon" and believed increased its ATK high enough to have a chance at winning the next turn. Ai noted that's why Playmaker has that namebeat "Dragrid".<ref name="ep36ep100">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|100|ref}}</ref>

Spectre explained someone said Faust then contacted Playmaker, warning him not to reply to avoid alerting Bohman and explaining that the Commanders were working alongside Zaizen and Ghost Gal to attack the Neuron Link when Bohman used his Skill. Bohman then activated his Skill, and as Playmaker and Ai watched, he realized who was behind the attacks and subsequently claimed that Zaizen and Ghost Gal had been assimilated by the same thing earlierNeuron Link, asking if Playmaker had been depending on a miracle. He Normal Summoned "Sunseed Genius Loci"Playmaker replied that he had believed in his allies, and used it with the Neuron Link suddenly stopped. Bohman regardless attempted to activate the effect of "Sunvine GardnaDragrid" , but failed to Link Summon a "[[Sunavalon DaphneChimera Hydradrive Draghead|Draghead]]". Ai and Playmaker realized this just expanded Spectre's zones for its effects. quickly destroyed "Sunavalon DaphneDragrid" sent with "Binary BladerClock Dragon" , bringing Bohman's LP equal to return his. Bohman then attempted to rebuild the two "Sunvine Gardna" to SpectreNeuron Link, but Ai left Playmaker's Extra Deck. SuddenlyDuel Disk, urging him to remember the bridge began bonds he'd formed with his friends and not to be afraid to break, make new ones as he sacrificed himself to stop the data was being erasedNeuron Link. However, SpectreBohman called Ai's tree reformed sacrifice useless, infuriating Playmaker, but Bohman was able to briefly reactivate the bridgeNeuron Link anyway, letting using Mirror LINK VRAINS itself as data just for the Duel continue onchance to defeat Playmaker. Using He revived "Dragrid" and activated "[[Sunavalon Force]]Judgment Arrows", Spectre made his tree immune to effects, while Ai reminded Spectre could simply summon more then used "SunvineDragrid" monsters to protect himself. Playmaker made three consecutive Link Summons to bring out Summon another Link-5 monster, "[[Excode Talker (anime)|Excode TalkerPerfectron Hydradrive Dragon]]" and "[[Underclock Taker (anime)|Underclock Taker]]", preventing Spectre from using two Main Monster Zones and reducing . Playmaker was able to reduce the ATK of "Sunvine ThrasherDragrid" to 900. Spectre was displeased, since he could not use his combo to protect himself, while Ai gloated they would win. Spectre snapped his fingers, showing Playmaker that Akira was captured. Spectre explained Akira went to rescue his sister, and promised to touch him zero with the vines, which would corrupt him with a virus. Spectre threatened if he were to be injuredeffect of "Linkuriboh", but the vines would expand and eventually infect Akira. Ai effect of "Perfectron" destroyed "Clock Dragon" and reduced Playmaker were angry that Spectre was cheating and playing dirty, by dragging people that weren't even involvedto 100 LP. Spectre chuckled, reminding how many people Playmaker actually got involved in this crisis. He noted Blue Angel became a victim, and Akira Bohman declared the Duel was captured, tooover, who told but Playmaker vowed not to worry about himlose for Ai's sake.<ref name="ep36ep101">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|101|ref}}</ref>

Ai reminded [[File:Playmaker not to listen to this villaintakes hold of the power of the Ignis. However, png|thumb|left|250px|Playmaker ended his turnis granted the power of the Ignis.]]Ai then returned, surprising Ai and AkiraPlaymaker commented that he'd come back faster than he usually did. Spectre laughedAi explained that he'd left a backup in [[Roboppi]], for and that he discovered Playmaker's intended to use the weakness: virtuein the Neuron Link to rescue the other Ignis from within Bohman, believing that they needed their power to defeat Bohman. He noted Playmaker wanted revengewarned Ai to be careful, but he would Ai was unable to save the other Ignis, returning with the last of their power. Playmaker vowed not to let innocents be hurt. For amidst that revenge, Spectre knew Playmaker would think of virtue power go to keep on fightingwaste, which was what Spectre considered weakness. With the ATK and he began a chain of Summons bolstered by "Sunvine Thrasher[[Cynet Codec (anime)|Cynet Codec]]" restored, Spectre pointed out the Ritual Summoning "undefeatableCyberse Magician" Playmaker would soon experience his first and final defeat. Xyz Summoning "Sunvine ThrasherFirewall eXceed Dragon" slashed , but immediately used "Underclock TakereXceed Dragon", and with to Link Summon "Sunavalon Force[[Transcode Talker (later anime)|Transcode Talker]]", . Bohman was confused by Playmaker's LP were reduced to 900. Ai panickedgoals, as the bridge continued collapsing.<ref name="ep36"/> Spectre lamented and Playmaker claimed that he could not defeat Playmaker, considering hear the bridge was collapsing. Playmaker smiledvoices of everyone in LINK VRAINS, for Spectre's efforts did but that Bohman could not because he had not defeat him. Spectre frowned, while Playmaker thought Varis would be disappointed desire to hear those newsconnect with others. When Playmaker fell, Spectre's tree reformed He used the power of the bridge, just Ignis to continue on the Duel. Spectre became angrycreate his own Link-5 monster, "[[Firewall Dragon Darkfluid (anime)|Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]]" and promised powered it up to finish Playmaker off by ending the Duel. Still, Spectre was confident Playmaker could not win, not only because of Spectre's comboits maximum counters and ATK, but due using its effect to Playmaker's sense of justice, which would not let Akira be infected by the virus. Akira yelled out Playmaker should ignore him, else draw "Perfectron" into a loop that would make Skye's sacrifice worthless. Spectre ended his turndepleted its Hydradrive Counters and prevented it from destroying "Darkfluid", daring Playmaker to risk Akira by attacking himdefeating Bohman at last.<ref name="ep37ep102">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|37102|ref}}</ref>

Ai pointed at Spectre for cheating and dirty playDefeated, who took those words as a compliment. Spectre was happy, considering this foul play let him gain the advantage. Bohman congratulated Playmaker set a card, despite Spectre daring and bid him to attack. Spectre was slightly disappointedfarewell, as was though he warned Ai. Spectre that he had "Sunvine Thrasher" attack "Excode Talker", who was protected by Playmaker's "[[Overload Anchor]]". Ai claimed they were just getting started, so Spectre let his opponent do whatever they wanted. Ai reminded Playmaker about closed the other effect future of "Overload Anchor", which could decrease the ATK of "Sunvine Thrasher" to mount an attack. Playmaker remained silent, which Spectre noted Ignis and hoped he truly was a champion of justice. Ai reminded Playmaker if they lose, the tower would be completed, and everyone would be erased. Spectre continued mocking Playmaker, who activated "[[Link Processing Failure]]" to stop Spectrewouldn's Link Monsters from attackingt regret it. Spectre claimed that Mirror LINK VRAINS was nevertheless a pointless movedestroyed along with Bohman, and Playmaker could not do anything, unless he attacked. and Ai voiced Spectre's words, telling him were returned to forget AkiraLINK VRAINS, else where they observed the world would be plunged into chaos. Ai named Playmaker as bodies of the worldNeuron Link's last hope. Spectre did not want to watch Ai and Playmaker quarrelvictims, and he Link Summoned the Link-4 "[[Sunavalon Dryatrentiay]]". He tributed "Sunavalon Daphne" to destroy Playmaker's Spell and Trap Cards. Next, he revived "Sunseed Genius Loci" and used it to bring out another "Sunvine Thrasher", whose ATK became 4000. Ai became worried, but sighed, hearing stated that Spectre's monsters in Main Monster Zones could not attack the turn he used his tree's effect. Playmaker doubted that, since Spectre cost of their victory had a reason to summon that been too high ATK monster. Spectre commended Playmaker for that observation, as his tree attacked and gained ATK, equal to the ATK of the monsters it pointed to.<ref name="ep37ep102"/>

The tree went to make As Ai lamented the finishing move, but Playmaker anticipated this. Using "[[Link Surge Counter]]", the ATK loss of "Excode Talker" became equal to that of "Sunavalon Dryatrentiay"their friends, making both monsters destroyed in battle. Spectre claimed it was still pointless, for "Sunavalon Force" shaved PlaymakerBohman's LP victims began to 50. reawaken and Ai praised Playmaker for avoiding defeatrealized that he had freed everyone. Just Soulburner, Blue Maiden and The Shepherd reappeared as Spectre went to mock Playmaker's efforts, he saw "Sunavalon Dryatrentiay" fallingwell, and was reminded of the tree he [[Akira Zaizen|Zaizen]] and [[Emma Bessho|Ghost Gal]] met them as they saw cut from his childhood. Without Spectre's tree, the cards on his field became destroyedfinal remains of Mirror LINK VRAINS crumble. As Playmaker noted commented that it was very difficult to break Spectre's combofinally all over, until his tree was the one that attacked. Ai started Soulburner asked what had happened to mock Spectre that "his mommy could not protect him". Spectre yelled out for his sacred tree, startling Ai and Playmaker. Spectre revived the tree with "[[Sunavalon Cursed RebornFlame (character)|Flame]]", and while its effects were negated, its ATK became 4000. Ai was scared, while Spectre exclaimed due to the effect, any LP damage he would receive would also be taken to Playmaker, assuring that defeat. Ai noted this was why Akira should've been ignored. Kolter completed the code, causing Akira to vanish. However, the trap was too complex, apologized and the attempt failed. Akira reminded the importance of winning, else Skye's sacrifice would've been fled in vain, and all of this would lead to more victims. He asked for Playmaker's conviction, reminding even with these sacrifices, he has to bear this burden and continueshame.<ref name="ep37ep103">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|103|ref}}</ref>

[[File:Playmaker Yusaku found that Roboppi had also deactivated, and Ai fall down.png|thumb|left||Ai and Playmaker fall down a significant amount of time passed with no word from the bridgeeither.With [[LINK VRAINS]]Akira smiled for a bit, and grasped shut down due to the vinesevents that had happened there, taking damage and vanishing. Spectre laughed Yusaku continued filling in at Akira, Café Nom for Kolter when he entrusted the future went to a man, who could not winvisit Jin. Playmaker, who became vengeful, made Spectre doubt Kolter explained that Jin's memories of the Lost Incident had vanished and Yusaku speculated Lightning's use of his wordsdata as LP had been responsible. Skye greeted him one day, reminding expressing surprise that Yusaku was still working there and Yusaku explained his Dueling always wins, and with Akira gone, situation. Skye told him she had visited due to his doubts have disappearedproximity to the hospital as she had been visiting someone as well. Playmaker Normal Summoned "They talked about the [[ROM Cloudia (anime)|ROM CloudiaSOLtiS]]" and revived "[[Latency (anime)|Latency]]"', using Skye suggesting that Yusaku might not have to work at the latter for Link Summoning of "[[Talkback Lancer (anime)|Talkback Lancer]]"food truck anymore before bidding him goodbye. Tributing "ROM Cloudia"Theodore arrived as Skye left, Playmaker resurrected "Excode Talker"commenting that she would be surprised to learn their identities, and with "[[Link Atrocity]]", raised the latterthough Yusaku believed Skye didn's ATK t need to 4000, matching that of Spectre's tree. Spectre noted Playmaker aimed for a mutual destructionThey talked about Jin, Ai and yelled out his goal was completeFlame, for Playmaker would never reach Varis. Playmaker replied SpectreTheodore suggesting Ai's goal was gone, backup had affected Roboppi. Yusaku apologized for "Link Atrocity" caused the treeFlame's ATK was lowered back to 0. With a final slashdeath, "Excode Talker" crushed the tree, causing Spectre to fall down in defeatthough Theodore reassured him it wasn't his fault and noted that Ai likely felt responsible too. Spectre started shaking, for As Theodore admitted he could not believe 'd never expected to work with the [[Knights of Hanoi]] and he had lost, thinking he should've let Playmaker fall down and Yusaku discussed the bridgedifferences between humans and A. He didn't expect his loyalty to Varis would backfire, but had no regretsI. Playmaker claimed he had no doubts anymore, yet Spectre told doubt Theodore suggested that it might be impossible for humans and regret were two different thingsA.I. to coexist. As Yusaku himself believed there was still hope given the bridge continued collapsingbonds they'd formed with Ai and Flame, Playmaker but then Roken and Spectre arrived, warning them that they would continue to monitor the network for any problems, including Ai continued towards the tower. However, Yusaku protested that the bridge collapseddanger had been due to Lightning's schemes and that he wanted Ai to live happily, making though Roken still didn't trust Ai and he warned the two fall downHanoi would show no mercy if they got in his way.<ref name="ep37ep103"/>

===Ai===Yusaku visited [[Cal Kolter|Kolter]] at [[Café Nom]] and told him of his theory regarding [[Jin Kolter|Jin]]'s memory loss, something Kolter called a blessing in disguise. Yusaku admitted that he didn't think [[Ai]] would return, and Kolter suggested his life could begin again as another advertisement for the [[SOLtiS]] came on. That night, Yusaku returned home and looked at [[Roboppi]]'s empty body.<ref name="ep104">{{Incompleteepisode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|104|ref}}</ref>

The next day after school, [[Theodore Hamilton|Theodore]] tried to tell Yusaku something, but then dismissed it as nothing. Kolter then called them to Café Nom, explaining that [[Akira Zaizen|Zaizen]] had asked to meet with him. Playmaker, Soulburner and Unnamed logged into the defunct Central Station and met with Zaizen and [[Skye Zaizen|Blue Maiden]], though Zaizen waited until [[Emma Bessho|Ghost Gal]], [[The Shepherd]] and [[George Gore|The Gore]] arrived before explaining why he had called them. Playmaker asked Gore if he had recovered, and Gore confirmed that he had, thanking Playmaker, but refusing to elaborate. Zaizen explained that [[Queen]], the CEO of [[SOL Technologies]], had been attacked and her code key stolen; if the culprits obtained Zaizen's, they would be given control of the company. Zaizen showed them the message the culprits had left identifying themselves; two SOLtiS who identified themselves as Ai and Roboppi, stating that they would be coming for Zaizen in three days. Playmaker was utterly floored by the revelation that Ai was now opposing humanity and The Shepherd accused him of knowing Ai's location, though Soulburner, Zaizen and Gore defended Playmaker, noting he would have gone after Ai himself had he known his intentions. Empathetic to Playmaker's position, Zaizen agreed to give him time to make his decision. That night, Yusaku and Theodore discussed whether or not they would fight, and Theodore revealed he intended to return home after stopping Ai. Yusaku visited the [[Stardust Road]], remembering setting Ai free after stopping the [[Tower of Hanoi]], but still hadn't made a decision by the next day. After school, [[Naoki Shima|Shima]] approached him looking for Playmaker, as Skye had asked him to, though he ran off to check the forums before Yusaku could compromise himself. As he headed to Café Nom, he saw Zaizen and Skye in the plaza, and they reconvened with him to a playground; Zaizen had finally realized that Yusaku was Playmaker. Zaizen thanked Yusaku for saving Skye from the [[Deleted]] virus and them both from the Tower of Hanoi and Bohman, though Yusaku claimed that their thanks were not needed, as he would have done so regardless. Zaizen was called away by work, but stated he was glad to have met Yusaku. Afterwards, Yusaku sat with Skye, who asked him not to fight against Ai, as she didn't want him to have to fight his own partner and she asked what [[Aqua (character)|Aqua]]'s final moments were like. Yusaku admitted he hadn't been present, but according to Ai, Aqua had given him the last of her power and urged him to stop Bohman, which Skye agreed was something Aqua would do. She asked to shake Yusaku's hand, telling him she was grateful for everything he had done for her and her brother, before departing.<ref name=== Neo Link VRAINS ==="ep105">{{Incompleteepisode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|105|ref}}</ref>

After defeating [[Blood Shepherd]]Although he did not initially link up with Soulburner and their other allies, Yusaku came to the conclusion that it was his responsibility to prevent his partner from committing further crimes. Playmaker logged into the defunct Central Station, approaching it as Zaizen's defenders moved into position, and he noted that it would be a difficult battle.<ref name="ep105" /> Playmaker met up with Soulburner and [[SoulburnerRoken Kogami|Varis]] met againoutside Central Station, and they soon detected three enemies, wondering if Ai and managed to enter Roboppi had a third ally. Playmaker quickly engaged Ai, who stated that his desire for coexisted had caused the deaths of the unknown world through its portalother Ignis and that he was following Lightning's wishes as a result. Immediately after arrivingAs he claimed he'd made his decision and his mind couldn't be changed, Soulburner and Varis also encountered Ai, and they were hit by strong winds, decided to Duel the three Ai to determine which forced was the original. Ai and swiftly [[Link Summon]]ed "[[Flame Fire Phoenix @Ignister (characteranime)|FlameFire Phoenix @Ignister]] to protect them using Data Storms. At some point, the winds stopped, " and they were able to reach a temple where they finally found used "[[Windy|the wind IgnisA.I. A.I. Wall]]. After showing " to prevent them from attacking, and his copies did the same in the world other Duels. Ai confirmed that he had build, and the other two were simply copies and that the Ignis (who decided to call himself real Ai was advancing towards Zaizen.<ref name="Windyep106") explained how he did that in order to attract his fellow Ignis>{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|106|ref}}</ref> As they Dueled the copies, Kolter contacted them and also asked them to lure the responsible for destroying the Cyberse World. Despite not knowing who was the responsiblehurry, Flame pointed out they were after as [[BohmanBaira|the]], who not only had stolen Jin's consciousness, but also had [[Judgment ArrowsDr. Genome|the card used to destroyother]] Duelists were in bad shape, though Playmaker was still hesitant to fight the Cyberse Worldcopy of Ai, and suggested who warned Playmaker that he couldwouldn've escaped t be able to help his friends unless he broke his lock.<ref name="ep107">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|107|ref}}</ref> Kolter contacted Playmaker to a world inside Windywarn him of Gore's world. They then asked Windy to join them, which he promptly refused, defeat as those statements had no evidence. However, Windy said he could weaken the winds near the area where Bohman supposedly escaped to, under the condition that Playmaker and Soulburner defeat defeated the two invaders, Ghost Gal and Ai copy with "[[Blue GirlCyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|an unknown partnerCyberse Clock Dragon]]", and the copy admitted he couldn't have defeated Playmaker, though they had been successful in stalling him.<ref name="ep108">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|108|ref}}</ref>

Upon making contact with Playmaker, Soulburner and Varis entered Central Station, but found it empty; Varis explained that the girls, Blue Girl presented herself as actually being Blue AngelZaizens had been broadcasting from another location that Ai wouldn't be able to reach. Soulburner <ref name="ep108" /> Varis informed them that Pandor was happy to meet another savior of Dueling Ai on the Zaizen's plane and had the old Link VRAINSadvantage, but Blue Girl stated they were actually seeking to retrieve noting that she was almost as capable as the Ignisthemselves. While both Playmaker asked Varis what would happen to Ai if he lost, and Ghost Gal were willing Varis replied that he would not show any mercy to solve the situation without Dueling, Soulburner accepted Blue Girl's challengeAi.<ref name="ep55ep109">{{episode|Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS|55109|ref}}</ref>

===Cal Kolter===Kolter is one of the very few people Yusaku actively interacts with. The two are close friends and work together to fight The the Knights of Hanoi. Yusaku shows trust in Kolter's hacking abilities and even gave a brief smile when talking to him. Likewise, Kolter hopes Yusaku can one day enjoy Dueling again. Kolter also teases Yusaku about his poor social skills.

===Naoki Shima (The Brave MaxBattler)===When they met, Naoki Shima tried to befriend Yusaku and Duel him, but Yusaku showed little interest and irritated Naoki Shima by criticizing his Dueling and analyzing him, despite Yusaku saying Naoki Shima isn't a bad person. Despite their initial encounter, Naoki Shima continues his attempts to befriend Yusaku and he often sits with Yusaku during class, much to the latter's annoyance. Naoki Shima is a big fan of "Playmaker", unaware that he's Yusaku. Yusaku has a tendency to forget NaokiShima's name repeatedly and keeps ignoring Naoki Shima due to his belief that he doesn't need friends. However, when Naoki Shima was kidnapped by [[Faust]], Yusaku showed genuine concern for him.

Yusaku holds a deep grudge against the Knights of Hanoi and believes they're the culprits of the Hanoi Project. He swears revenge against the Hanoi and fights them whenever they make an attack. The Hanoi consider "Playmaker" to be a threat and plan to defeat him in order to retrieve Ai which "Playmaker" had captured.

[[Ai]] sees Yusaku as a partner, but Yusaku considers initially considered Ai to be nothing more than an object he needs to gain the upper hand against the Knights of Hanoi. He threatened to delete Ai in order to challenge a Knight, and ignored his pleas not to go back to VRAINS. Yusaku has little patience for Ai's antics and often doesn't let him talk. Nevertheless, Ai supports Yusaku in his Duels, though he claims to do so out of a desire for survival. Ai also seems to enjoy teasing Yusaku, but knows when things get serious. Likewise, Yusaku follows Ai's advice when needed. Despite being rude to Ai most of the time Yusaku slowly grows to care about him to some extent; this was seen when Ai was affected by [[Roken Kogami|Varis]]'s "[[Fire Prison (anime)|Fire Prison]]". Ai seems to have gradually warmed up to Yusaku and is keen on treating him like a friend, though the feeling is not mutual. In the dub, Yusaku is less harsh to Ai, denying his claims less coldly and often snarking gently at him rather than outright insulting him. When Yusaku learns that Ai was based on him and that he had been lying to him, he coldly claims that Ai isn't his friend and that he never cared about him. (In the dub, Yusaku implies that he claims this for Varis's benefit, though he is still angry with Ai.) Despite this, Ai still saves Yusaku during their Speed Duel with Varis, and Yusaku continues to oppose the destruction of the Ignis. During his Master Duel with Varis, he and Ai have a heart-to-heart talk, and Yusaku directly asks Ai what the Cyberse is like. Despite this, he claims that he doesn't have a friend to Varis (despite Ai's clear irritation at such a claim) and Yusaku and Ai do not agree on the topic of Roken. Once he defeated Varis and the Knights of Hanoi, Yusaku released Ai, lightly joking with him before he left and seeming regretful that Ai had. Once they reunite in the second season, Yusaku and Ai's relationship is far more positive and they work together better. Yusaku no longer insults or demeans Ai as he previously did, though he still rebukes him when needed. The two of them continue to grow closer in the ensuring Ignis War. Following their victory over Bohman, Ai parted ways with Yusaku again, grief-stricken over losing his fellow Ignis By the third season, their relationship has become strained due to Ai's defection and agenda against SOL Tech. Yusaku is emotionally hurt by Ai's apparent betrayal, and is conflicted about whether or not to trust Ai or fight him. He ultmately decides to oppose Ai in the hopes of stopping him and saving him. Yusaku also displays sympathy for Ai as he could understand how hurt Ai felt over the loss of his Ignis friends. Yusaku and Ai serve as foils to each other as while both started out as happy individuals, both were subjected to an immense emotional trauma that hurt them severely, while Yusaku started out as cold and anti-social, Ai was a happy and friendly individual with friends he cared deeply for. As the series progresses, Yusaku begins opening up and is able to make friends with others, while Ai loses his Ignis friends in the Ignis War and turned against humanity. During his duel against the Zaizens, Ai echoed Yusaku's statement from Season 1 during his duel against Akira, claiming that time has stopped moving for him and that he can't move forward unless he defeats all who stand in his way.

Skye and Yusaku are classmates, though Skye is not aware of his alter-ego but she seems be suspicious of his identity as Playmaker after noticing he has the same duel disk Duel Disk as him and asked to see his deck Deck in order to confirm his identity. As "Blue Angel", Skye is shown to develop an interest in Yusaku's alter-ego, "Playmaker", after he saved her from a "[[Cracking Dragon (anime)|Cracking Dragon]]". She is shown to be grateful for "Playmaker" for saving her and she even saved him in return after he fell from his Duel Board.

After hearing about In the dub, Yusaku's traumatic past, shows somewhat more of a connection with Skye felt a great feeling of sympathy ; openly declaring that he is fighting for Blue Angel during his second Speed Duel with Varis and stammering awkwardly when he tries to downplay calling the hospital for himher and accidentally implies that she may not be special.

At first, Yusaku was indifferent to Gore who considers his alter-ego, "Playmaker", to be his rival. Gore was mad at Playmaker for stealing his spotlight and this grew worse when the children at the city orphanage, which he volunteered and donated to, started seeing Playmaker as a hero instead of him. After defeating him, Yusaku acknowledged Gore as a worthy opponent and started to respect his Dueling style, and even admitting to have enjoyed Dueling him. When Kolter suggested recruiting Gore for their fight against Hanoi, Yusaku objected by saying that he did not want Gore to face this kind of danger.After Gore defeated [[Dr. Genome]], Yusaku became more willing to let Gore fight against Hanoi in the wake of the [[Deleted]] crisis and they formed an alliance. After his defeat at Varis's hands in the dub, Yusaku goes as far as to claim that he is also fighting for Gore's sake when he confronts Varis during their Speed Duel. By Season 2, Gore developed a grudge against Playmaker for being the one to defeat Varis and save LINK VRAINS, and became a SOL Tech bounty hunter in order to duel and defeat Yusaku. Yusaku had no interest in fighting Gore, instead believing they could still be allies. After Gore implanted the AI chip into his brain and defeated and captured Earth, Gore once again reaffirimed that he only cared about defeating Playmaker, forcing Yusaku to accept that Gore was no longer his ally, and was now a dangerous enemy. By the time of their second duel, Yusaku intially attemped to reason with Gore again but to no avail. After learning Gore had implanted Earth into his chip, Yusaku showed no heasitation in dueling Gore or any concern when Ai attemped to reterive Earth's data from him after deafeating Gore. By Season 3, the two of them are once again on friendly terms after Gore had the AI chip removed

After Gore defeated [[Dr===Akira Zaizen===Despite having a brief interaction with Yusaku at the hospital Zaizen was grateful to him for locating his sister and informing him about her comatose status. Genome]], He questioned Yusaku became more willing about his relationship to let Gore fight against Hanoi in Skye and the wake of the [[Another]] crisis and latter responded they formed an allianceare only classmates.

===Akira On the other hand, Zaizen===Despite dislikes Yusaku's alter ego "Playmaker" for having stolen Ai. Zaizen grew to utterly hate Playmaker after his Duel against Blue Angel which resulted in Skye falling comatose. Zaizen immediately assumed that Playmaker was the culprit for Skye's predicament and worked with Ghost Gal to turn all of LINK VRAINS into a brief interaction with Yusaku at the hospital he trap to capture Playmaker. Zaizen then mercilessly tortured Playmaker and refused to believe Playmaker's explanation that it was grateful to him Hanoi's fault for locating Skye being comatose. However, upon being informed of his sister mistake by Varis, Zaizen reluctantly freed Playmaker and informing was surprised that Playmaker didn't hate him about her comatose statusfor what he did. He questioned Yusaku about was grateful to for Playmaker for saving Skye from the virus. In their next encounter inside SOL Technology's database, Akira displayed pity for Playmaker after discovering the data he was after, even insisting that Playmaker trust him to reveal the truth in his relationship stead. Compared to their previous encounter, Zaizen even demonstrates sadness for Playmaker, especially when he realized that Playmaker was Skye 's age. Zaizen felt that Playmaker shouldn't waste his youth chasing after the Hanoi Project and wanted to handle the latter responded they are situation himself, only classmatesfor Playmaker to immediately refute Akira's claims and maintain that he deserved to learn the truth himself.

On the other handWhen Zaizen is captured and threatened by Spectre during his Duel with Playmaker, Akira dislikes Yusaku's alter ego "Playmaker" for having stolen Ai. Akira grew refuses to utterly hate Playmaker after his Duel against Blue Angel which resulted in Skye falling comatose. Akira immediately assumed that Playmaker was the culprit attack Spectre out of fear for SkyeZaizen's predicament safety and worked with Ghost Gal instead plays defensively, despite Zaizen continually urging him to turn all of LINK VRAINS into a trap to capture Playmakerattack without worrying about him. Akira then mercilessly tortured Playmaker and refused Zaizen eventually takes it upon himself to believe Playmakersacrifice himself so that Skye's explanation that it was Hanoiprior loss to Spectre wouldn's fault for Skye being comatose. Howevert be in vain, upon being informed of and his mistake absorption by Varisthe Tower of Hanoi enraged Playmaker, Akira reluctantly freed Playmaker and was surprised that Playmaker didn't hate him for what he did. He was to grateful for Playmaker for saving Skye from the virussubsequently vengefully defeated Spectre.

In their next encounter inside SOL Technology's database, Akira displayed pity for ===Roken Kogami (Varis)===When first informed about a hacker named "Playmaker after discovering the data he " who was afterdefeating Hanoi members, even insisting that [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] initially suspected Playmaker trust him was an agent from SOL Technologies but rejected the idea because SOL would act more publicly and reveal the truth in his steaddismissed Playmaker. Compared to their previous encounter, Akira even demonstrates sadness for It wasn't until Playmaker, especially when he figured out captured Ai that Playmaker is around Skye's ageVaris became interested in him. Akira felt that Varis then switched all his efforts into defeating Playmaker shouldn't waste his youth chasing after before SOL did, as doing so was the Hanoi Project and wanted to handle the situation himself, only for Playmaker way to immediately refute Akira's claims and mantained that he deserved to learn the truth himselfcapture Ai.

===Playmaker, on the other hand, hates Varis===When for being Hanoi's leader and vowed to defeat him and discover his true identity. During their first informed about a hacker named "Duel, Varis claimed that he wasn't interested in Playmaker" 's identity and considered him to be just another of the many people who was defeating hates the Hanoi members. However, during their second Duel, Varis initially suspected recognized Playmaker 's speech pattern of listing out three reasons and was an agent from disturbed when Playmaker mentioned about a certain incident that happened ten years ago. He chides Playmaker for siding with SOL Technologies but rejected without knowing the idea because SOL would act more publicly truth and dismissed , after the Duel, is eager to uncover Playmaker. It wasn't until Playmaker captured Ai that Varis became interested in him. Varis then switched all s true identity, to the extent of requesting more time from his efforts into defeating Playmaker father before SOL didthe completion of Hanoi's program, as doing so was in which the latter agrees under the only way to capture Aicondition it did not take too long.

PlaymakerAfter they learn one another's identities, on the other hand, hates Varis for being HanoiYusaku and Roken's leader and vowed relationship changes substantially. After realizing that Roken not only saved him, but also talked to defeat him while he was captured and discover taught him his true identity. During their first Duelthree reasons philosophy, Yusaku became determined to save Varis claimed from himself, wishing to become his friend. He threw aside his desire for revenge and stated that he wasn't interested in Playmakerwished to create a new future with Roken. Despite Yusaku's identity efforts, Roken rejected his offer and considered him continued to be just another of oppose the many people who hates HanoiIgnis. HoweverNevertheless, during their second Duel, Varis recognized Playmaker's speech pattern of listing out three reasons Yusaku still trusts Roken deeply and was disturbed when Playmaker mentioned about a certain incident continues to hope that happened ten years agothey can become friends. He chides Playmaker for siding with SOL Technologies without knowing the truth andbelieves fiercely in his capacity to change, after the Duel, is eager begging him not to uncover Playmakerdestroy Jin's true identity, data in order to defeat Lightning as this would revert Varis back to the extent of requesting more time from his father before the completion of Hanoi's program, in which the latter agrees under the condition it did not take too longold ways.

Emma showed an interest in Playmaker. After witnessing his Duel against Blue Angel, Ghost Gal caught him in a trap under AkiraZaizen's orders to interrogate him about Skye's condition. Her interest in him continued to grow after watching him defeat Varis and Dueling him herself , even admitting that he exceeded her expectations. The two then explored Link LINK VRAINS underground, though Ghost Gal continued to deceive Playmaker by letting him go in the wrong direction which led to him and Ai being chase chased by a Data Giantdata monster. Before being turned into data absorbed by the Tower of Hanoi, Ghost Gal entrusted Playmaker with the data for the Tower of Hanoi and attempted to warn him about Varis's dangerous card. Playmaker in turn was angry for not being able to save her and vowed to do so, passing on her advice to Blue Angel and The Gore.

====Knights of Hanoi====[[File:Yusaku and his monsters.png|thumb|250px|Yusaku (as Playmaker) with "[[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]" and "[[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]".]]Yusaku uses a '''[[Cyberse]] Beatdown Deck''', which he initially found after solving an urban legend.<ref name="ep64" /><ref name="VRAINSED3">''Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS'' Ending 3: [[BOY]]</ref> His main strategy involves using methodically calculated moves to overwhelm the opponent with [[Link Monster]]s. His early turns are usually slow, with him setting up his bigger combos for later while analyzing the opponent's strategies. Once his field is set up, he [[Link Summon]]s multiple weak Link Monsters at once to then use them as Materials for his stronger ones such as the "[[Code Talker (archetype)|code Code Talkers]]", and "[[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]". His other Link Monsters can also act as support for his primary ones. Yusaku also makes regular use of cards which banish themselves or other cards from the [[Graveyard ]] or hand to activate effects, granting him access to a steady stream of resources even with an empty field or hand. [[File:Decode Talker materializing.png|thumb|left|"Decode Talker" materializing into a real card.]]After capturing [[Ai]] and unlocking the "Storm Access" [[Skill]], he can obtain new [[Link Monster]]s when his [[LP]] are 1000 or below during a Speed Duel when a [[Data Storm]] is near. To this end, he usually allows himself to drop below 1000 LP. The Link Monsters gained this way expand his arsenal of monsters for the current Duel and future Duels alike and typically help turn a disadvantageous situation in his favor. As shown with "Decode Talker", the data of the Link Monsters added by his Skill can materialize into real cards with the proper equipment. In case the opponent tries to prevent "Storm Access" from activating by not dealing damage, Yusaku also uses cards with effects that require him to pay LP to get around it.

[[File:Decode Talker materializing.png|thumb|left|250px|"Decode Talker" materializing into a real card]]After capturing [[Ai]] and unlocking the "[[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]" [[Skill]], he can obtain new Cyberse [[Link Monster]]s when his [[LP]] are 1000 or below during a Speed Duel when a [[Data Storm]] is near. To this end, he usually allows himself to drop below 1000 LP. The Link Monsters gained this way expand his arsenal of monsters for the current Duel and future Duels alike and typically help turn a disadvantageous situation in his favor. As shown with "Decode Talker", the data of the Link Monsters added by his Skill can materialize into real cards with the proper equipment. In case the opponent tries to prevent "Storm Access" from activating by not dealing damage, Yusaku also uses cards with effects that require him to pay LP to get around it. During his Duel with The Gore, spectators likened this strategy to Gore's habit of letting his opponent take the lead, then making a comeback from a pinch.

Yusaku also used three copies of "[[Sphere Kuriboh (anime)|Sphere Kuriboh]]" as shields during his inflitration infiltration of [[SOL Technologies]]' data bank. Whether or not they are in his Deck is unknown.<ref name="ep16"/>

{{Decklist|Knights of Hanoi| skill = [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]

* [[Rescue Interlacer (anime)|Rescue Interlacer]]

* [[Binary Blader (anime)|Binary Blader]]

* [[Decode Talker (anime)|Decode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="decode">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 002|episode 2]].</ref>* [[Encode Talker (anime)|Encode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="encode">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 007|episode 7]].</ref>* [[Excode Talker (anime)|Excode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="excode">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 015|episode 15]].</ref>* [[Firewall Dragon (anime)|Firewall Dragon]]<ref group=Notes name="firewall">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 010|episode 10]].</ref>

* [[Link Bumper (anime)|Link Bumper]]<ref group=Notes name="link">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 005|episode 5]].</ref>

* [[Powercode Talker (anime)|Powercode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="powercode">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 028|episode 28]].</ref>

* [[Transcode Talker (anime)|Transcode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="transcode">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 042|episode 42]].</ref>

* [[Vector Square Scare Archfiend (anime)|Vector Square Scare Archfiend]]<ref group=Notes name="vector">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 017|episode 17]].</ref>

* [[Transaction Rollback (anime)|Transaction Rollback]]

====New LINK VRAINSIgnis====Prior to the events of this season, Yusaku added other support for Summoning methods to his Deck, including [[Ritual Monster]]s , [[Fusion Monster]]s, [[Synchro Monster]]s, and [[Fusion Xyz Monster]]s to his Deck, in addition to support cards like "[[Cyberse Witch (anime)|Cyberse Witch]]". He also acquires "[[Linkuriboh (anime)|Linkuriboh]]"from [[Ai]], and continues to acquire new Link Monsters like "[[Clock Spartoi (anime)|Clock Spartoi]]" through "Storm Access". His Skill later evolves, becoming "[[Neo Storm Access]]", which not only allows him to add other Cyberse Extra Deck monsters to his Deck from the Data Storm, but can be used again if it was unsuccessful and he has 100 or less LP, while also allowing him to draw another card. He focuses less on his "[[Code Talker (archetype)|Code Talker]]" monsters and more on other Link Monsters and his new Summoning methods.

During his final Duel with [[Bohman]], Yusaku acquires one of the first [[Link 5 Monster Cards|Link-5]] Link Monsters, "[[Firewall Dragon Darkfluid (anime)|Firewall Dragon Darkfluid]]". Subsequently, Yusaku combines his two strategies; allowing him to build a steady field through use of multiple Summoning methods and beginning to use his "Code Talker" monsters again. {{Decklist|Ignis| skill = * [[Storm Access (anime)|Storm Access]]* [[Neo Storm Access]]| normal monsters =

* [[Digitron (anime)|Digitron]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon67">This card is [[sent]] from the top of his [[Main Deck|Deck]] to the [[GY]] via the [[card effect|effect]] of "[[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]" in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 067|episode 67]].</ref>

| effect monsters =

* [[Flick Clown (anime)|Flick Clown]]<ref group=Notes name="linkback">This card is [[sent]] from the top of his [[Main Deck|Deck]] to the [[GY]] via the [[card effect|effect]] of "[[Link Back (anime)|Link Back]]" in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 067|episode 67]].</ref>* [[Grid Sweeper (anime)|Grid Sweeper]]* [[Launcher Commander (anime)|Launcher Commander]]<ref group=Notes name="clockdragon67" >This card is [[sent]] from the top of his [[Main Deck|Deck]] to the [[GY]] via the [[card effect|effect]] of "[[Cyberse Clock Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Clock Dragon]]" in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 067|episode 67]].</ref>

| tuner monsters =* [[Cyberse Synchron (anime)|Cyberse Synchron]](later played with [[Cyberse Synchron (later anime)|a different effect]])| ritual monsters =

| fusion monsters =

| synchro monsters =* [[Cyberse Quantum Dragon (anime)|Cyberse Quantum Dragon]]<ref group=Notes name="monarchcyberse">This card is obtained via [[Skill|Neo Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 073|episode 73]].</ref>|xyz monsters =* [[Firewall eXceed Dragon (anime)|Firewall eXceed Dragon]]<ref group=Notes name="xceed">This card is obtained via [[Neo Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 082|episode 82]].</ref>| link monsters =

* [[Clock Spartoi (anime)|Clock Spartoi]] <ref group=Notes name="spartoiclock">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 054|episode 54]].</ref>* [[Code Talker (anime)|Code Talker]]

* [[Shootingcode Talker (anime)|Shootingcode Talker]]<ref group=Notes name="shootingcode">This card is obtained via [[SkillStorm Access (anime)|Storm Access]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 048|episode 48]].</ref>* [[Transcode Talker (anime)|Transcode Talker]]* [[Tri-Gate Wizard (anime)|Tri-Gate Wizard]]

| spells =

* [[Cynet Mining(anime)|Cynet Mining]]* [[Cynet Optimization (anime)|Cynet Optimization]]

* [[Grid Rod (anime)|Grid Rod]]* [[Link Back (anime)|Link Back]]* [[Link Bound (anime)|Link Bound]]<ref group=Notes name="AI">This card is shown when he adds "[[Linkuriboh (anime)|Linkuriboh]]" to his [[Main Deck|Deck ]] in [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 047|episode 47]].</ref>

* [[Spool Code (anime)|Spool Code]]

| traps =

* [[Break & ReverseReuse]]

Prior to obtaining the his [[Cyberse]] cardsDeck, Yusaku played a mash-up Deck that focused on swarming the the field with monsters to be used as [[Link Material|material]] for [[Link Summon]]s. The Deck was shown to have been quite reactive to his opponent's plays, including cards like "[[Forbidden Lance (anime)|Forbidden Lance]]".<ref name="ep64" />

| [[Knights of Hanoi|Knight of Hanoi]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 064|64]] || Win(flashback)

| [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 009|9]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 010|10]] || [[DRAW]]

| [[Roken Kogami|Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 010|10]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 012|12]] || Win

| [[VarisRoken Kogami|Ryoken Roken Kogami/Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 041|41]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 042|42]] || DRAW

| [[VarisRoken Kogami|Ryoken Roken Kogami/Varis]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 043|43]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 046|46]] || Win

| [[Kengo Dojun|Blood The Shepherd]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 053|53]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 054|54]] || Win

| [[KenmochiKenchi]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 062|62]] || Win

| [[YoroizakaYozaka]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 063|63]] || Win

| [[Bohman]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 072|72]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 073|73]] || DRAW|-| [[George Gore|George Gore/The Gore]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 081|81]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 082|82]] || Win|-| [[Bit]][[Boot]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 086|86]] || Win|-| [[Cal Kolter]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 092|92]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 093|93]] || Win|-| [[Bohman]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 099|99]]-[[DRAWYu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 102|102]] || Win|-| [[Ai]] copy || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 106|106]], [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 108|108]] || Win|-| [[Ai]] || [[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 117|117]]-[[Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS - Episode 120|120]]|| Win