Battle City, in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and anime series, is the third story arc of the series. The arc is part of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist manga series in the English version, as well as the second story arc in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime series. It also refers to the central plot to the anime, a Duel Monsters tournament hosted by one of the series' antiheroes, Seto Kaiba.

Plot

When Kaiba learns of the God Cards, a set of Duel Monsters cards that were purported to be based on three Egyptian Gods (and thus powerful enough to have never been put into circulation), Kaiba, at the request of Ishizu Ishtar, holds an elite tournament with the intention of winning and acquiring all three cards, while defeating Yugi Mutou in the process. The tournament would be held in the streets of Domino, using a portable duel disk holographic projection system of his own design. For his efforts, Kaiba is given a God Card, Obelisk no Kyoushinhei (Obelisk the Tormentor).

To acquire the God Cards, Kaiba creates the ante rule in the tournament, a rule that the winner of a duel in his tournament could take the rarest card from the loser's deck. It is not mentioned in the series what would happen if the duel was to end in a draw, but it was implied that, although winners were entitled to take the rarest card from their opponent, the winner need not do so. As for the tournament itself, entrants in the tournament were given a special transparent card in the shape of a puzzle piece, known as a locator card. Winners in duels, in addition to the ante rule, would also be entitled to take one such locator card from their opponents. Those without locator cards would be eliminated from the tournament, while the first eight duelists with six cards would move on. The duel disks were also used as a method to prevent cheating, as well as a method of helping Kaiba (himself an entrant) track the progress of other duelists.

In a move ostensibly to promote the real-life Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, the tournament used rules that were, for the most part, identical to the trading card game's rules (unlike the Duelist Kingdom tournament), with the major difference being that duelists would start a game with 4000 life points rather than the 8000 of the real-life game (and the 2000 of the Duelist Kingdom tournament) for the purposes of brevity. As the game plays a large role in the story, knowledge of the game's rules is essential to understanding the rest of the article.

Meanwhile, Yugi and the nameless Pharaoh learn, from Ishizu, of the God Cards and how it may have a connection with the nameless Pharaoh's past. Ishizu warns Yugi of the organization known as GHOULS (in the English anime, Rare Hunters), whose leader, Ishizu's brother Marik, seeks Yugi's Millenium Puzzle and the three God Cards to usurp the nameless Pharaoh of his own powers. Ishizu convinces Yugi that in order to find more about the nameless Pharaoh's past, he must enter and win the Battle City contest. Helping him along is Katsuya Jonouchi (Joey Wheeler in the English anime), who seeks to become a True Duelist. Ishizu would later reveal that, as an Ishtar, a family entrusted to guarding the secrets of the nameless Pharaoh's power, her family were effectively locked away from the outside world, and Marik saw it as a lost cause. When Marik was punished for wandering into the outside world, the dark part of Marik was born, and only Rishid (Odion), their adopted older brother and trusted servant, could hold Marik in check.

Although Yugi would enter the tournament without a problem, Jounouchi, because Kaiba only thought of him in a derogatory manner, was barred from entering the tournament. However, seeing that Jounouchi would ante his Red Eyes Black Dragon card in the tournament, the shop owner, a GHOULS agent, successfully enters Jounouchi into the tournament, with the intention of getting his rare card off his hands. Jounouchi, unfamiliar with Kaiba's "advanced rules", had his card taken away from him before the tournament began, and thus Yugi began the tournament by dueling the Rare Hunter for it. Although Yugi wins (exposing the Rare Hunter's use of forgeries in the meantime), Jounouchi declines to take his card back, saying that he would have to earn it in the spirit of a True Duelist (in the English anime, Joey declines the card as a way to show that Joey would always be supporting Yugi - the True Duelist subplot was eliminated altogether). Instead, Jounouchi stakes his Time Magician (Time Wizard in the English version) in the tournament - the only other card in his possession that is considered to be rare.

Also cheering Jounouchi on is his sister, Shizuka, who had managed to get her eye operation just in time due to the prize money from Duelist Kingdom that Yugi gives to Jounouchi. Although Shizuka was successful, she vowed not to remove her bandages until she saw her brother duel.

Road to the Finals

Throughout the road to the finals, Yugi faces Marik's GHOULS members, each of which is kept in line due to his Millenium Rod's ability to exert mind control over others. Each time, Marik would use his Rare Hunters in an attempt to win Yugi's Millenium Puzzle, and thus claim the power of the nameless Pharaoh for himself. However, Yugi would prevail each time, and acquire a God card, Saint Dragon - God of Osiris (Slifer the Sky Dragon) in the process. He acquires this card in a duel against one of Marik's mind-controlled slaves, the Silent Puppet (Strings), when Marik tries to use a strategy that is thought to have been unstoppable: by combining Osiris with four other cards:

• Infinite Cards - a magic card that allows him to have as many cards in his hand as desired, allowing Osiris to have potentially unlimited attack and defense points (normally, players are restricted to a maximum of six cards in their hand)
• Revival Jam - a monster card which can revive itself when destroyed while in defense mode
• Card of Safe Return - a magic card allowing Marik to draw three cards every time any monster is revived, and thus increasing Osiris' attack every time Revival Jam (among other monsters) is revived
• Jam Defender - a trap card which redirects any attacks to Revival Jam, used in case Osiris' attack is redirected back at itself

Marik believed that Yugi would not be able to stop Osiris. However, by taking control of Revival Jam, Yugi forces Marik to draw repeatedly, due to an effect of Osiris and the Card of Safe Return, until Marik runs out of cards (in which case he loses).

Yugi would earn his final locator card in a tag-team duel with Kaiba (also one short of a complete set of locator cards at this time) against the Mask of Light and the Mask of Darkness (Lumis and Umbra, respectively, in the English anime) atop a skyscraper, with the losers plummeting to their deaths (in the English anime, the losers would fall into the Shadow Realm).

Meanwhile, Jonouchi, in his quest to become a True Duelist, first duels with ESP Roba (Espa Roba), a duelist known for his supposed psychic powers, but in fact cheats to win. As with the Duelist Kingdom tournament before it, Jonouchi would play skillfully, but would ultimately rely on luck in the form of the Roulette Spider to win the duel and Roba's Android Psychic Shocker (Jinzo) card. Next, he battles Insector Haga (Weevil Underwood), who, depite having sneaked a parasite card into Jounouchi's deck, would ultimately fall to Jounouchi's Gearfried the Iron Knight. He would later earn his final two cards against Ryouta Kajiki (Mako Tsunami).

In a desperate move to take the power of the nameless Pharaoh for himself, Marik would attempt to capture Yugi's friends. Although he fails to capture Honda and Shizuka (thanks to Otogi and his dice), he does manage to capture Jonouchi and Anzu, and force Yugi to duel against his friend, in which both were tied to an anchor and the loser would drown from the anchor falling into the water. However, Jonouchi manages to rid himself of Marik's mind control when he declines to take his own Red Eyes Black Dragon from Yugi's hand, and manages to play to a drawn game. Yet, before he can free himself, Jounouchi would plummet into the ocean, where he was saved by Shizuka.

In the end, the eight duelists to qualify for the finals would be Yugi, Jonouchi, Kaiba, Mai, Marik, Rishid (who everyone was led to believe was Marik), Bakura (who had won all his locator cards in one duel, despite being injured), and Ishizu.

Battle City Finals

For the quarterfinal round, the duels were to be staged atop Kaiba's airship, with the draw determined at random. Yugi and Bakura would duel each other first. Although Yugi would get an early advantage, Bakura plays Dark Sanctuary, whose effect allows Bakura to possess one of Yugi's monsters so that when it attacks, the attack would be negated, and Yugi would lose life points. Bakura also plays the Destiny Board cards, which, when all five are played, would give Bakura an automatic victory. In desperation, Yugi is forced to summon Osiris and win the duel, as Osiris is immune to the effects of Dark Sanctuary.

Jonouchi would duel Rishid in the second quarterfinal match. Although Jonouchi was being done in by Rishid's traps, he would come back and tie the match with 200 life points apiece, thanks to the three cards he had won in Battle City. However, Rishid would play the Mystical Beast Serket, which destroys the three monsters and left Jonouchi wide open. However, as Rishid was still posing as Marik, Marik would force Rishid to play his counterfeit God Card, Ra no Yokushinryuu (Winged Dragon of Ra). However, the counterfeit card backfires on Rishid, striking down both duelists in the process. Although Jonouchi would win the duel by virtue of Kaiba's edict, the dark side of Marik was unleashed due to Rishid being unconscious.

Mai would be the first to fall against Marik, as she is put in Marik's shadow game. Although Mai was being done in by Marik's traps, she manages to get the real Ra card from Marik and summon it. However, for Ra to obey Mai (and thus, for Mai to use the card), Mai must recite the hieratic text on the card. With Mai clearly unable to do so, Marik successfully recites the text, and uses Ra to attack Mai and win, leaving Mai critically injured (in the English anime, she is sent to the Shadow Realm).

The final quarterfinal duel saw Ishizu, then an eighth "mystery duelist", face off against Kaiba. Although Ishizu prophesizes that she will win, thanks to the ability of her Millenium Tauk (Millenium Necklace) to see into the future, Kaiba manages to systematically destroy Ishizu's deck using Deck Destruction Virus of Death (Crush Card Virus) and Virus Cannon. Yet, Ishizu manages to play Reversal of Worlds, switching the decks and graveyards of both players, thus leaving Kaiba with only six cards in his deck and Ishizu with her most powerful cards. In desperation, Kaiba attempts to summon Obelisk, while Ishizu, knowing Kaiba's intention, sets up a trap that would force Obelisk to self-destruct when it attacks, causing Kaiba to lose. When Kaiba summons Obelisk, however, he receives a vision of what would happen should he attack, and that he should sacrifice Obelisk to summon his Blue Eyes White Dragon, a less-powerful card but still having sufficient power to win. Kaiba does so and wins.

In Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, the Virtual World story arc would be played out before the semifinal rounds took place.

In the semifinal round, taking place upon a tower atop of Alcatraz (the location is not named in the English anime), the four duelists would take part in a four-way duel, with the first two losers playing in the first semifinal. Both Marik and Kaiba wanted to draw Yugi for their reasons, while Yugi wanted to draw Jonouchi while not letting Jonouchi duel Marik. Jonouchi, however, wanted to draw Marik for what he did to Mai. In the end, Jonouchi (and by extension, Kaiba) got what they wanted.

Like Mai, Jonouchi was subject to a shadow game, with each duelist being drained of life as each monster is destroyed. As Jonouchi is done in by Marik's traps and monster effects, Jonouchi manages to create a short comeback with reviving Android Psychic Shocker after Marik is unable to name it as the bottom card of his graveyard, and later with Gilford the Lightning. However, the comeback was short-lived as Marik revives Ra and uses its Egyptian God Phoenix and One Turn Kill abilities to bring Jonouchi to the brink of defeat. However, Jonouchi, to Marik's surprise, manages to remain standing, and he summons Gearfried the Iron Knight in an effort to attack a wide-open Marik. However, Jonouchi collapses before making his attack, and Marik wins.

With Jonouchi being in critical condition (in the English anime, he is said to be "fighting the shadows" of the Shadow Realm), Yugi is forced to battle Kaiba when more pressing matters were at stake (namely, Jonouchi's health). The duel was evenly-matched, as Yugi's attempt to summon Osiris was countered by Kaiba's attempt to summon Obelisk. The two God cards would be summoned in successive turns, and after more jockeying for power with magic cards, the two evenly-matched God cards would destroy each other. With both God cards gone, Kaiba resorts to summoning his three Blue Eyes White Dragons, while Yugi would have Red Eyes Black Dragon, Jonouchi's "soul card". Kaiba would force the duel to end by making both players discard all but three cards from their decks. Using his three cards, he manages to combine Black Magician (Dark Magician) with Buster Blader to form Black Paladin (Dark Paladin), and, along with Diffusion Wave-Motion, to win the duel. As per the tournament rules, Kaiba is forced to give up Obelisk.

During the duel, as Red-Eyes Black Dragon was being played, Jonouchi manages to regain consciousness. In Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (but not in the manga), he promptly challenges Kaiba to a duel for third place, just for fun. Kaiba declines, believing that dueling Jonouchi would be beneath him, but Jonouchi manages to convince him to duel. Although Kaiba would win, Jonouchi reveals that Kaiba had simply allowed anger to get the best of him in both his duel with Yugi and with Jonouchi (as witnessed by Jonouchi once taking control of Blue Eyes White Dragon in their duel - a card considered to be Kaiba's prized possessions, and Kaiba using another Blue Eyes to destroy it).

Before the final match, however, Kaiba is convinced Yugi cannot win, yet he cannot allow Marik to win, both for his personal reasons and for the greater good. He believes he has the perfect card to defeat Ra, being Devil's Sanctuary (Fiend Sanctuary), which he gives to Yugi. Again, Marik turns the duel into a shadow game, in which the loser must forfeit their alter-ego. Marik discards Ra in his first turn, with the intention of reviving Ra for one turn at a time. Yugi, meanwhile, manages to quickly summon Osiris, but Marik simply revives Ra to deal with it. Marik then tries to use Ra's One Turn Kill against Yugi, but Yugi forces Marik to stop the attack with Devil's Sanctuary, creating a token so that, when attack, would cause Marik to lose. Yugi then quickly turns one token to three with Multiply, summoning Obelisk with them.

Yugi's triumph would be short-lived, as Marik would combine Metal Reflect Slime and Revival Jam to create an indestructible "God Slime". With Yugi unable to attack with Obelisk, Marik revives Ra once again to destroy Obelisk, but Yugi revives Osiris to block the attack. Then Yugi uses Soul Taker to defuse and sacrifice the God Slime, allowing Obelisk to use its special ability, Soul Energy Max, which would give Yugi an automatic victory should Obelisk's attack be successful. The attack fails, but Marik manages to revive Ra once again. This time, Yugi sacrifices Obelisk and another monster for his trusty Black Magician, and along with Black Magician Girl (Dark Magician Girl), activate Dusk of all Gods (Ragnarok), which allows, at the expense of all his monsters, Yugi to finally destroy Ra, and, as Marik was using One Turn Kill at the time, most of Marik with it. The two sides of Marik begin to fight, the good side attempting to take control and allowing Yugi to attack as a way to atone for his actions, while the evil side attempting to stop Yugi's attack. With the help of a strugging Rishid, the good side prevails. When the smoke clears, the good Marik has control of the body, and the Dark Marik is now his sacrifice. Marik forfeits his sole remaining life point, destroying his other self, leaving Yugi the last man standing. Yugi is now the owner of the three God cards, as well as the keys to unlocking the nameless Pharaoh's past.

Aftermath

With the tournament behind him, Kaiba prepares to destroy the duel tower - the supposed place of his victory over the past before Yugi had beaten him, and the place where his hatred now resided. As the airship could not function, everyone were effectively trapped on the island - if it were not for a helicopter that had managed to arrive as Jonouchi was recovering from his duel with Marik. Everyone would part ways soon after, Marik, Ishizu, and Rishid back to Egypt to start a new life, Otogi back to America to sell his Dungeon Dice Monsters game, Kaiba and Mokuba to build their new American amusement park, and the rest to new adventures.