Episode 9

"Judgment of the Stars! Xyz User 'Hokuto Shijima'" (星々の裁き！エクシーズ使い「志島北斗」 Hoshiboshi no Sabaki! Ekushīzu Tsukai "Shijima Hokuto"), known as "Dueling with the Stars" in the Dub version, is the ninth episode of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime.

Synopsis
In order to get rid of the disgrace inflicted by the one responsible for attacking Shingo, LDS and You Show Duel School kick off a Dueling War against one another. The first match is Yūya, who is eager to fight for You Show Duel School, and one of LDS's representatives, Hokuto Shijima. Hokuto, from the very start of the Duel, brutally attacks Yūya with overwhelming power. Yūya suppresses his feelings towards Entertainment Dueling, and while he tries to fight back using Pendulum Summoning to win, he finds himself incapable of one-upping Hokuto…

Summary
Yuzu narrates the events that have occurred before Yūya's Duel against Hokuto Shijima. A Yūya look-alike ambushed Shingo Sawatari and defeated him in a Duel. Because of this, the Leo Duel School chairwoman, Himika Akaba, used Shingo's defeat as an excuse to take over You Show Duel School. As the Duel starts, Yūya declares that he will not let LDS buy You Show. Himika notes that Yūya is an energetic boy and wonders how long he can keep it up. She urges Hokuto to show his abilities. In a corner of the room, Reiji Akaba lingers in a disguise. Hokuto says, "Understood, chairwoman," and goes first. He Normal Summons "Sacred Gredi". Hokuto activates its effect, Special Summoning a Level 4 "Sacred" monster from his hand. "Gredi" releases a burst of blue light from its staff as Hokuto Special Summons "Sacred Kaust". Hokuto activates the effect of "Kaust", increasing or decreasing the Level of a "Sacred" monster he controls by 1. "Kaust" forms an arrow in its hand and fires it from its bow into the air. It explodes and particles shower "Gredi", increasing its Level to 5. Hokuto uses the effect again on "Kaust", making it Level 5. He overlays his two Level 5 monsters for an Xyz Summon. Hokuto chants, "Light of the stars, come descend and shake this very earth!" as he Xyz Summons "Sacred Pleiades" in Attack Position. Yūya mutters, "This is the Xyz..." Tatsuya wonders why "Pleiades" has a Rank instead of a Level. Sora asks if Tatsuya did not know that much. He explains the mechanics of Xyz Summons. Multiple monsters of the same Level can be used to Special Summon an Xyz Monster of an equivalent Rank from the Extra Deck. Ayu asks what the lights orbiting around "Pleiades" are. Sora says these are Overlay Units, which can be used to activate that Xyz Monster's effects. Hokuto ends his turn. Himika wonders about Yūya's reaction of seeing Xyz Summons if he truly was the one who attacked Shingo. Yūya begins his turn. He places "Timegazer Magician" in the left Pendulum Zone and "Stargazer Magician" in the right. Reiji starts to glance at the Duel. Yūya Pendulum Summons "Entermate Sword Fish" and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" in Attack Position. Yūya's friends cheer at the Pendulum Summons, while Himika is intrigued that she witnessed Pendulum Summoning for the first time. Hokuto asks Yūya if he is Xyz Summoning. Yūya insists he was not the one who attacked Shingo; he never Xyz Summoned before. Yuzu thinks that Yūya is fighting for You Show and it would do her no good if she does not believe in him. Hokuto says Yūya will not be much of a challenge regardless and he will lose. Yūya maintains his confidence and thinks he will win. He activates the effect of "Sword Fish", reducing the ATK of "Pleiades" by 600 until the End Phase. Gongenzaka exclaims that "Odd-Eyes" is now the stronger monster. Yūya declares the start of his Battle Phase and hops on to "Odd-Eyes". He attacks "Pleiades", as Hokuto smugly calls the attack within his expectations. He activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return a card on the field to its owner's hand. As "Pleiades" absorbs an Overlay Unit into its fist, "Odd-Eyes" is enveloped in orange light and disappears, causing Yūya to fall to the ground. Tatsuya is surprised that "Odd-Eyes" disappeared. Yūya hits the ground and Yuzu screams his name. Yūya gets up and Hokuto says everything he does is within his expectations. From the sidelines, Sora mutters, "As are you". Hokuto asks Yūya what he will do next. Yūya curses and mutters that he cannot beat "Pleiades" with "Sword Fish". He takes "Sword Fish" with one hand and looks around the field. He sees multiple shooting stars from above. One of them hits a nearby building, revealing the location of an Action Card. Hokuto speculates that Yūya is looking for an Action Card and explains that they appear where shooting stars fall. Before Yūya can reach the card, "Pleiades" blocks his path. A frustrated Yūya turns to Hokuto, who chuckles and holds up the card he was after. Yūya asks where Hokuto got the card and the LDS student replies that this field is his specialty. He memorized the timing and locations of every Action Card. Yūya turns and runs to look for another Action Card, which reveals itself to be in another building. Once again, "Pleiades" cuts him off. Hokuto calls Yūya's efforts futile. Gongenzaka says this is bad, since Hokuto knew everything around the field. Yuzu states that Hokuto was not lying about specializing in that field. Himika smirks in satisfaction, while Shūzō yells at Yūya to forgive him while encouraging him to fight with a hot-blooded spirit. Hokuto reminds Yūya that he will be disqualified if he spends another minute without playing a card. If Yūya chooses to continue, he will have to play a card or end his turn. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Yūya Sets a card and ends his turn. The ATK of "Pleiades" returns to 2500.

Himika comments that Yūya must have a bad opponent to face. Hokuto tells Yūya that he won 40 Duels in a row since mastering Xyz Summons. Defeating Yūya will make this his 41st win. Hokuto immediately starts his Battle Phase after drawing. He commands "Pleiades" to destroy "Sword Fish". "Pleiades" brings its sword down on "Sword Fish", destroying it and reducing Yūya to 2100 Life Points, horrifying his friends. Hokuto chides Yūya for not resisting the attack and adds that Shingo must have been lazy to let Yūya ambush him. Once again, Yūya asserts that he did not do it. Hokuto reasserts that he does not care; Yūya will lose anyway and You Show will become part of LDS. Yūya yells that he will not let this happen. Hokuto beckons Yūya to try and stop him. He Sets a card and ends his turn.

Yūya thinks that as long as "Pleiades" is on the field, it will return one of his monsters to his hand regardless of ATK. But it has only one Overlay Unit left. After drawing, Yūya Pendulum Summons "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" and "Entermate Turn Toad". Sora encourages Yūya to be more entertaining, since this is boring. Yūya yells at Sora that this isn't the time for that, causing the young boy to pout. Yūya mutters that he cannot afford to lose before seeing a shooting star reveal the location of another Action Card. He mounts "Odd-Eyes" and goes after the card. Himika calls Yūya a bold Duelist for showing his back against his enemy. As "Odd-Eyes" jumps across a dune and continues forward, Yuzu and Gongenzaka take notice of Yūya's protectiveness of You Show; this may hinder him from winning. Yuzu recalls the masked Duelist's resemblance to Yūya and wonders if they could be one and the same. Back at the Duel, Yūya and "Odd-Eyes" are almost to the card's location, which is on the tip of a roof. Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yūya's hand, causing him to fall out of reach of the card. Gongenzaka realizes that Hokuto timed the activation of the effect to cause Yūya to fall. As Yūya slips from the roof, his friends scream his name. Yūya quickly activates his Set "Entermate Revival", as a monster he controlled left the field, letting him Special Summon a "Entermate" monster from his Graveyard. He Special Summons "Sword Fish", grabs its hilt and drives it into the roof's edge, saving himself from falling. From the ground, Hokuto praises Yūya for the save, but Ayu angrily criticizes him for the danger he put Yūya in, while Tatsuya calls him out for doing anything to win; Futoshi calls this a dirty tactic. Yūya swings to the top of the roof and Hokuto calls him persistent. Yūya manages to take the card, but Hokuto activates the Action Card, "Cosmo Arrow". This destroys the Action Card Yūya picked up, since he added it to his hand outside of drawing. Hokuto calls this too bad, since his opponent just got the card. Out of options, Yūya ends his turn, knowing that "Pleiades" is out of Overlay Units.

Hokuto takes the next turn and draws "Sacred Sombres". He subsequently Summons it and activates its effect, banishing a "Sacred" monster from his Graveyard to add another "Sacred" to his hand. "Gredi" rises from a Graveyard portal and vanishes, while "Kaust" rises from it as Hokuto adds its card to his hand. Hokuto continues that if he activated this effect this turn, he can Normal Summon another "Sacred" monster. He Summons "Kaust". Yūya realizes that with two monsters of the same Level, Hokuto is ready for another Xyz Summon. Hokuto interrupts with "not yet!" and activates the effect of "Kaust" twice to increase its Level and the Level of "Sombre" by 1. Yūya understands what's coming and Hokuto overlays his two Level 5 LIGHT monsters to Xyz Summon another copy of "Sacred Pleiades" in Attack Position. Yūya confirms his suspicions as Hokuto says he figured out his opponent's plan of depleting the Overlay Units of "Pleiades", all within his expectations. Sora mutters that Hokuto's plan is also within his expectations. Hokuto says the requirements are met as he takes a card from his Extra Deck. He explains that the card he is about to Summon can be Summoned by using "Pleiades" as an Overlay Unit. Yūya exclaims, "Another Xyz?!". Hokuto uses the "Pleiades" without Overlay Units to Xyz Summon "Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7". As Yūya looks on in determination, Himika notes that You Show receiving his gift of Pendulum Summoning is a coincidence. No matter what, joining with LDS is within their interests. A shooting star reveals another Action Card and Yūya rides on "Turn Toad" in an attempt to reach it. Hokuto calls Yūya stubborn; when will he ever learn? He activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Turn Toad" to Yūya's hand. This causes Yūya to fall into an abyss between two floating stones, but he manages to grab hold of a stone just in time. He hoists himself up and continues for the card. Hokuto starts his Battle Phase, attacking "Sword Fish" with "Pleiades". The sword of "Pleiades" glows purple and extends, allowing it to not only destroy "Sword Fish", but to also cleave away the pillars supporting the building the card is in. Yuzu and the other You Show students scream Yūya's name as debris rains down on him. Yūya steels himself and remembers his father's words of gathering courage and pressing on. He yells, "press forward!" and runs in. The building collapses entirely, as Hokuto is satisfied that Yūya did not appear to make it outside. To his surprise, Yūya survived, as he holds up the card he got triumphantly. Yuzu and Gongenzaka are relieved that Yūya made it out. Hokuto calls Yūya's feat impossible; he should have fled while the building collapsed. Yūya tells him that if he did what he should have done, the Duel would not be exciting. Yuzu says this is typical of Yūya. Gongenzaka calls his feat a burning one, while the young students call it cool. Hokuto says that even though Yūya got the Action Card, he will still lose. He attacks directly with "Messier 7". As "Messier 7" prepares its attack, its wings glow gold, but Yūya activates the Action Card he picked up, "Twinkle Comet". It reduces an opponent's monster's ATK by 1000 and inflicts 500 damage to the opponent. A meteor strikes "Messier 7" on the chest, reducing its ATK to 1700. The attack continues, with Yūya being blown back and reduced to 400 Life Points. Hokuto curses Yūya for damaging him for the first time out of his 40 consecutive Duels. Sora calls Hokuto's attitude within his expectations as well. In a rage, Hokuto activates the Continuous Magic Card, "Sacred Tempest". Since he controls two Xyz Monsters, Hokuto can halve Yūya's Life Points during the End Phase. Hokuto laughs maniacally and yells "Crush him!" Meteors rain down from the sky, all aimed at Yūya. Yūya frantically dodges them, but a meteor's explosion strikes Yūya from behind, bringing him down to 200 Life Points. The ATK of "Messier 7" returns to 2700. Still in a maniacal state, Hokuto says he will take down Yūya in the next turn, no matter what. Futoshi and Ayu criticize Hokuto for his actions, but the LDS Duelist snaps at them to shut up. To him, a Duel is a fight; in order to win, one cannot be picky about their tactics. Yūya yells at Hokuto that he is wrong; he does not want anyone to get hurt.

Yuzu remembers the masked Duelist telling her the same thing, increasing her suspicion of him being Yūya. With newfound confidence, Yūya yells "Ladies and gentlemen!" and draws "Entermate Trampolynx". He Summons it and activates its effect to return a card he controls to his hand. He returns "Stargazer Magician". Tatsuya and Futoshi wonder why he pulled off that move, since this will disable Pendulum Summoning. He replaces the empty Pendulum Zone with "Turn Toad", to the surprise of everyone watching. Yūya tells them to watch closely as he sets the Pendulum Scales. Using the new Scales, he Pendulum Summons "Stargazer Magician".

Reiji wonders why Yūya would use it as a monster instead of a gate for Pendulum Summons. Yūya continues his act, Pendulum Summoning "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon". Hokuto immediately activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yūya's hand, adding that showtime is over. Yūya corrects him; the main event always goes on. He activates the effect of "Stargazer Magician", as a Pendulum Monster left his field; Yūya can Special Summon that monster. "Stargazer" glows with a blue aura and positions its staff in front of it. Yūya Special Summons "Odd-Eyes" back to the field. Futoshi exclaims that "Odd-Eyes" can defeat "Pleiades" with its double damage effect, but Sora reminds him that Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of Levels. He further explains that the effect does not double the ATK of "Odd-Eyes" when it attacks, only the battle damage it deals when battling Level 5 or higher monsters. Ayu asks if Yūya can't win, but Sora reminds her that Yūya said it himself: the fun has just started. Yūya announces his climax and activates the Pendulum effect of "Turn Toad", swapping the ATK and DEF of a Pendulum Monster he controls. "Turn Toad" leaps up and releases several stars, switching the ATK and DEF of "Stargazer Magician". Yūya follows up with "Magical Star Illusion", since he controls "Stargazer Magician". It increases the ATK of all monsters each player controls by the total Levels they control x100. Tatsuya adds up the Levels of Yūya's monsters: "Odd-Eyes" is Level 7, "Stargazer" is Level 5 and "Trampolynx" is Level 2, totalling to 14. Gongenzaka notes that Yūya's monsters gain 1400 ATK as a result. Futoshi asks if Hokuto's monsters gained ATK too, but a slightly annoyed Sora starts to remind him this is not the case. Before he can continue, Tatsuya says he understands; Xyz Monsters have Ranks instead of Levels. Ayu finishes his sentence; the ATK of Hokuto's monsters stays the same. Hokuto exclaims, "What did you say?!", tears streaming from his eyes in disbelief. Yūya hops on to "Odd-Eyes" and commands it to attack "Messier 7" with "Spiral Strike Burst". This reduces Hokuto to 2300 Life Points. He commands "Stargazer Magician" to attack "Pleiades" with "Horoscope Cutter". "Stargazer" forms a constellation with its staff, then sends it forward. It shatters "Pleiades" into many pieces, bringing Hokuto to 1000 Life Points. Yūya finishes the Duel by attacking directly with "Trampolynx". As "Trampolynx" makes a move towards Hokuto, he mutters, "My 41st win..." "Trampolynx" pounces backward on Hokuto, catching him by folding its trampoline back on him. It unfolds itself, causing Hokuto to spring up and hit the ceiling. His Life Points fall to 0. Yūya and his friends cheer over the victory. Shūzō cries tears of joy and calls the Duel hot-blooded. Himika smiles behind her fan, while Reiji looks on, unnoticed. Yūya's friends continue to cheer for him. Yuzu remembers what Yūya said to Hokuto; he did not want anyone to get hurt. Then she remembers what the masked Duelist said to her: he did not want Yuzu to get hurt.

Yūya Sakaki vs. Hokuto Shijima
Duel continues from the previous episode.

Yūya has 4000 LP remaining, 5 cards in his hand, and controls no cards. Hokuto has 4000 LP remaining, 5 cards in his hand, and controls no cards.

Turn 1: Hokuto

Hokuto Normal Summons "Sacred Gredi" (CG Star 4/1600/1400). He then activates its effect, letting him Special Summon a Level 4 "Sacred" monster from his hand. He Special Summons "Sacred Kaust" (CG Star 4/1800/1700) in Attack Position. He activates the effect of "Kaust", allowing him to either decrease or increase the Level of a "Sacred" monster he controls by 1 up to twice per turn. He increases the Levels of both "Gredi" and "Kaust" by 1 ("Gredi": CG Star 4 → 5, "Kaust": CG Star 4 → 5). Hokuto overlays his two Level 5 LIGHT monsters to Xyz Summon "Sacred Pleiades" (Rank Star 5/2500/1500/2 ORU) in Attack Position.

Turn 2: Yūya

Yūya places "Timegazer Magician" (Left Pendulum Scale 8) and "Stargazer Magician" (Right Pendulum Scale 1) in his Pendulum Zones. Yūya Pendulum Summons "Entermate Sword Fish" (CG Star 2/600/600) and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (CG Star 7/2500/2000), both from his hand in Attack Position. He activates the effect of "Sword Fish", decreasing the ATK of an opponent's monster by 600 ("Pleiades": 2500 → 1900/1500) until the End Phase. "Odd-Eyes" attacks "Pleiades", but Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit ("Pleiades": 2 → 1 ORU) to return a card on the field to its owner's hand during either player's turn. "Odd-Eyes" is returned to Yūya's hand. Yūya attempts to get an Action Card, but Hokuto intercepts him. He attempts to get another, but is blocked by "Pleiades". Yūya Sets 1 card.

Turn 3: Hokuto

"Pleiades" attacks and destroys "Sword Fish" (Yūya: 4000 → 2100 LP). Hokuto Sets a card.

Turn 4: Yūya

Yūya Pendulum Summons "Entermate Turn Toad" (CG Star 2/0/800) from his hand in Defense Position and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (CG Star 7/2500/2000) from his hand in Attack Position. Yūya attempts to get an Action Card, but Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit ("Pleiades": 1 → 0 ORU) to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yūya's hand, thus putting Yūya out of reach of the card. As a monster he controls left the field via a card effect, Yūya activates his face-down "Entermate Revival", letting him Special Summon a "Entermate" monster from his Graveyard. He Special Summons "Sword Fish" (CG Star 2/600/600) in Defense Position. Yūya finds an Action Card, but Hokuto activates the Action Card "Cosmo Arrow" as Yūya added a Magic Card to his hand without drawing it, destroying the card.

Turn 5: Hokuto

Hokuto's hand contains "Sacred Tempest", "Super-Rebirth of the Sacred" and "Sacred Spica". Hokuto draws "Sacred Sombres" and subsequently Normal Summons it (CG Star 4/1550/1600). He activates its effect, banishing a "Sacred" monster from his Graveyard to return another "Sacred" monster from his Graveyard to his hand. He banishes "Gredi" and returns "Kaust". The effect of "Sombres" also lets Hokuto Normal Summon another "Sacred" monster this turn if this effect was activated, so he Normal Summons "Kaust" (CG Star 4/1800/1700). He activates the effect of "Kaust" twice, increasing the Levels of "Sombres" and "Kaust" by 1 ("Sombres": CG Star 4 → 5, "Kaust": CG Star 4 → 5). He overlays his two Level 5 LIGHT monsters to Xyz Summon another "Sacred Pleiades" (Rank Star 5/2500/1500/2 ORU) in Attack Position. Hokuto overlays the "Pleiades" with no Overlay Units to Xyz Summon "Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7" (Rank Star 6/2700/2000/1 ORU) in Attack Position via its own effect. He activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit ("Pleiades": 2 → 1 ORU) to return "Turn Toad" to Yūya's hand. "Pleiades" attacks and destroys "Sword Fish". "Ptolemys Messier 7" attacks directly, but Yūya finds and activates the Action Card "Twinkle Comet", reducing the ATK of "Ptolemys Messier 7" by 1000 ("Ptolemys Messier 7": 2700 → 1700/2000) and inflicting 500 damage to Hokuto (Hokuto: 4000 → 3500 LP). The attack continues (Yūya: 2100 → 400 LP). As he controls two "Sacred" Xyz Monsters, Hokuto activates the Permanent Magic Card "Sacred Tempest", halving Yūya's LP at the End Phase (Yūya: 400 → 200 LP).

Turn 6: Yūya

Yūya Normal Summons "Entermate Trampolynx" (CG Star 2/300/300). He activates its effect, returning a card he controls to his hand. He returns "Stargazer Magician". He then places "Turn Toad" (Right Pendulum Scale 3) in his right Pendulum Zone. He Pendulum Summons "Stargazer Magician" (CG Star 5/1200/2400) and "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" (CG Star 7/2500/2000), both from his hand in Attack Position. Hokuto activates the effect of "Pleiades", detaching an Overlay Unit ("Pleiades": 1 → 0 ORU) to return "Odd-Eyes" to Yūya's hand. As a Pendulum Monster he controls has left the field, Yūya activates the effect of "Stargazer Magician", letting him Special Summon that monster. He Special Summons "Odd-Eyes" (CG Star 7/2500/2000). Yūya then activates the Pendulum Effect of "Turn Toad", swapping the ATK and DEF of a Pendulum Monster he controls ("Stargazer Magician": 1200 → 2400/2400 → 1200). As he controls "Stargazer Magician", Yūya activates "Magical Star Illusion", increasing the ATK of both players' monsters by the combined Levels of the monsters they control × 100 until the end of the turn. The combined Level of Yūya's monsters is 14 ("Odd-Eyes": 2500 → 3900/2000, "Stargazer Magician": 2400 → 3800/1200, "Trampolynx": 300 → 1700/300). Since Hokuto only controls Xyz Monsters and they do not have Levels, his monsters are unaffected. "Odd-Eyes" attacks and destroys "Ptolemys Messier 7" (Hokuto: 3500 → 2300 LP). "Stargazer Magician" attacks and destroys "Sacred" (Hokuto: 2300 → 1000 LP). "Trampolynx" attacks directly (Hokuto: 1000 → 0 LP).

List of Featured Cards
The following cards appeared in this episode. Cards in italics debuted here.