Yuma Tsukumo

"Yuma" redirects here. For the Tag Force character, see Yuma Miyata.

For the other versions of this character, see Yuma Tsukumo (disambiguation)."What reason I have been fighting up until now? If I continue fighting, I will carve open a path to the future. Sacrificing other things will not give people a future." Yuma Tsukumo is the 4th main protagonist in Tag Force Chronicle He is an alternate universe version of the Yuma Tsukumo that appeared in the [https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_ZEXAL Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL] anime. He is a young Duelist who aspires to be the greatest, despite his amateur skills. He finds himself reluctantly partnered with a Dueling spirit called Astral. Together, they pursue the "Numbers" to recover Astral's scattered memories, becoming a Number Hunter while cultivating his Dueling abilities during their adventures. After being victorious in the World Duel Carnival, Yuma became the Duel Champion of Heartland City. He is also the Original Number's other half that was separated from him, during Astral's battle with Don Thousand long ago. He is also the Teammate (Friends) of Yugi, Jaden, Yusei, Yuya, Yusaku, and Clarice.

As Yuma cooperates with Astral and assists him in the gathering of his "Number" cards, Yuma learns the truths that connect him to his destiny through his beloved father, Kazuma Tsukumo, and becomes the most important participant in the Interdimensional War between Astral World and Barian World, bringing an end to the hostilities.

Appearance
Yuma has tan skin, red eyes, and black and red spiked hair that points out and upward. In every outfit he wears, Yuma is always wearing the Emperor's Key around his neck, which is hung by a black string. He owns a white and yellow Duel Gazer with a green lens, matching the color scheme of his ace, "Number 39: Utopia". Yuma bears a striking resemblance to his father, Kazuma Tsukumo, but has inherited his mother's red eyes. In his regular attire, he wears a red vest with a white hood and a purple sleeveless shirt with a green "D" symbol, standing for "Duel". Yuma also wears white pants with designs of three orange moon crescents attached to one another with yellow outlines at the bottom, a white brown-stripe belt, and black with blue streaks shoes with white straps. Other accessories includes a brown fingerless glove on his left hand, a black protective pad on his right elbow and a thick, dark blue bracelet with light blue gems and red outlines on his right wrist.

When in his school attire, he wears a white shirt with red-lined sleeves and collar, a red tie, blue pants and brown shoes. In his nightwear attire, he wears a red-white t-shirt, grey pants, and sometimes green slippers, but Yuma mostly goes barefoot around his house. During the Heartland Academy festival, Yuma wore a "Temtempo the Percussion Djinn" cosplay.

Personality
Yuma is a hasty, energetic, and cheerful young boy who likes to challenge himself to do anything that seems impossible, which he normally fails at. Undaunted by his failures, he states that doing these challenges gets him fired up and will eventually accomplish what he sets out to do. He calls this challenge his "kattobingu" spirit ("feeling the flow" in the dub), which his father taught him. Even Yuma would sometimes doubt himself when depressed, yet he'd still go through with his trials, such when he had shown up for his Duel with Reginald Kastle. Yuma told Astral it was because of his promise to his father is the reason he doesn't do things halfway, believing it was like "betraying" his father if he did so. Yuma greatly loves his parents and treasures the key they gave him, shown when he was depressed when Shark broke it and nearly had a panic attack when he lost it, but really just ran out the house without it. In his house, Yuma sleeps in the treasury attic full with memories and artifacts of his parents' adventures and trips instead of his own bedroom. He looks up to his father and carries on his challenging, never-give-up spirit and catchphrase "kattobingu". It was said that Yuma picked up his personality from his father's spirit and his mother's affection. While he tries to hide it, Yuma quite sensitive on the subject of parents and misses them. Astral says that deep in Yuma's heart, he struggles with the sadness of losing his parents and tries to live up to their teachings. Many have pointed out how similar Yuma is to his father, Charlie McCay told Kari how Yuma had inherited his father's "kattobingu" spirit, and Vetrix and Quinton commented how Yuma and Kazuma shared the same beliefs in bonds and friendship. Dr. Faker has also noted how much Yuma is similar to Kazuma, especially when Yuma assisted Kite Tenjo in trying to rescue him.

Forthright and honest, Yuma is shown to assist others if they are in trouble, despite their protests, as he challenged Shark to reclaim Bronk Stone's Deck. Yuma even challenged Nistro and Dextra to a Duel in order to defend Flip (who cheated other participants), whose punishment is having his Deck confiscated and Nistro planning to physically punish him. Yuma believes Duelists cannot be bad people and believes a Duel to be a clash of souls. Yuma's good-nature appears to make him naive as he believed that Flip really had good intentions, even after his friends had warned him he was a swindler from the start. Even after Vector exploited Yuma's trusting disposition, Yuma resolved that he would not allow this deceit to color his perspective and doubt everyone he meets.

Due to his short-temper and stubbornness, Yuma is easily annoyed, and frequently clashes with Astral. Yuma tends to disobey Astral's instructions when they Duel, which leads to him making mistakes. He only starts obeying when he is about to lose, as he believes the Duels are his and listening to him would mean he needed help to win. As the series progresses, Yuma and Astral start working together, mostly after he called Astral his friend. Although, Yuma still gets upset sometimes when Astral tried to instructed him, and tell him to stay out of his Duel because he has his own "plans". Impetuous and clumsy, Yuma also appears to have a habit of forgetting important things such as the Emperor's Key on his way to school, officially registering for the World Duel Carnival, his invitation to the finals party, and even his Heart Pieces on the day of the finals. Yuma would sometimes even fail to execute any high jumps or dynamics, causing him to trip over his feet. Also, when Yuma is too absorbed in his own mind, he forgets about other actions he did or is performing. Such actions usually make his friends and others regard Yuma as an "idiot", much to the latter's annoyance.

Yuma wants to be a Duel Champion, but tends to sleep and slack off at school, and doesn't generally use strategies during Duels. Unlike Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki, and Yusei Fudo, he was an amateur knowing only the basics, but as the series goes on, Yuma's Dueling abilities are starting to increase. He can Duel opponents like Cathy and Lilly without Astral telling him what to do (though this only happens when he Duels seriously, seeing how he is still defeated with ease in friendly Duels), but he still relies on him to help him out at difficult times. Yuma's skills have improved greatly enough that he was able to hold his own against both Dextra and Nistro until Astral came back to execute the final winning move. Having been tutored by Astral, his skills have grown even more during his one-on-one Duel with Trey. Eventually, Yuma is able to Duel on equal standing against Shark in their third rematch with little to zero advice from Astral. He is able to Duel on equal terms with Kite during their rematch. He is able to Duel on comparable level with people under control by Barian World on his own and even impressing Girag.

He also Dueled with the Barian, Alito, on equal standing without any advice from Astral. While Astral was incapacitated after the forced cancellation of Dark Zexal, Yuma was able to narrowly survive Vector's turn in a situation where all he had was Number 39: Utopia, and a number of monsters in the Graveyard. During that turn he remained calm and focused, to the point where he remembered that he needed to forcibly send the card he needed from his Deck to the Graveyard in order to make use of it. During his mission to save Astral, when he confronted the will of Astral World, Eliphas, and his Double-Rank Up monsters and multiple Shining Draws, through using "Rainbow Kuriboh", gaining the ability to perform his own Shining Draw to create "Rank-Down-Magic Numeron Force" and "Number 39: Utopia Roots", managed to turn his Double Rank-Up strategy against him and emerged victorious. Finally, when Yuma faced off against Astral in their final Duel after gaining all the "Numbers", his full powers and memories, which included all six forms of "Utopia" and "Number 99: Utopic Dragon", through his own non-"Number" deck, the power of his own Shining Draw and "Number F0: Utopic Future", claimed victory and proven himself a top Duelist in his own right.

Yuma seems to have a positive effect on the people he Duels, Mr. Kay claimed that Yuma has a "sun-like" power and that people who have contact with Yuma has their hearts "illuminated" without noticing and usually restoring something they lost in their heart. After his Duel with Shark, he stopped stealing others Decks and the two eventually became friends. After defeating Flip, he gave up his conniving ways and became an honest person. After defeating Nelson Andrews, he helped him repair his relationship with his mother and become his own person instead of living in the shadow of his ESPer Sparrow persona. After defeating Cathy, she began to gain more confidence and started hanging out more with Yuma and his friends instead of always hiding from others. After defeating Kaze, he was able to let go of his anger after being stopped by Yuma from slashing a statue and started studying again under his former teacher.The Barian, Alito, considers him a worthy opponent and establishes rapport with him after being defeated.

Abilities
Yuma has the natural ability to see and hear Astral, and was shown multiple times that he is capable of talking with Astral telepathically. However, Yuma's power seems to come from from his tenacious spirit and perception of "kattobingu", and should he ever lose his will, Yuma would be unable to see and hear Astral or see his Emperor's Key.

After The Door opened for Yuma, he and Astral gained the power of ZEXAL, which caused them to merge their souls, leaving Yuma with most of the body's control. They also gained the ability to create "ZW" cards, among various other cards, all of which have the effects to deal with the situation the power was called for, such as "ZW - Unicorn Spear" and "ZW - Phoenix Bow" through an ability called "Shining Draw". Later, during his Duel against Eliphas, he managed to use the "Shining Draw" to his advantage to save Astral. The reason he can preform this ability is because he was originally a part of Astral, also the reason why they are able to preform ZEXAL. Yuma can also use the Shining Draw to create "Number" monsters, albeit comparatively low-Ranked ones such as "Number 39: Utopia Roots" and later created his own Number, "Number F0: Utopic Future".

During the battle of Sargasso, Yuma and Astral's bonds were increased to the point where ZEXAL was enhanced to create ZEXAL II. When using ZEXAL II, he no longer requires a Duel Gazer, his left eye simply becomes more luminous. Also, Yuma has the ability to use Shining Evolution to bring out the true power of the card he's drawn, as well as the ability to perform a Shining Draw. It is unknown exactly what circumstances are needed to use Shining Evolution, but Yuma was able to use it to turn his duel with Vector around by transforming "Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian's Force" into "Rank-Up-Magic Numeron Force", though this is the only instance of Shining Evolution. When Yuma was reunited with Astral after the latter was injured by Number 96, ZEXAL II was further upgraded into ZEXAL III. When using ZEXAL III, Yuma gains the ability to create a ZEXAL Field, which negates the harmful effects of being inside the Barian Field. He also keeps the ability to perform a Shining Draw and presumably Shining Evolution.

Yuma could sense Don Thousand's awakening. According to Enna, Yuma possesses the power of Chaos and is able to cure Astral World and its denizens with it.

Yuma is also acrobatic as it was shown multiple times as perform several flips and high jumps throughout the series.

Yuma is initially a very poor duelist, requiring help from Astral to simply progress through a game. As his skills develop, Yuma becomes an incredibly strong duelist, surpassing even Astral, who was stated to be the strongest duelist in the Zexal series until that point.

Etymology
Like the protagonists of the previous series, Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo, his name contains the kanji 「遊」 (yu). He is the first protagonist whose surname contains three kanji.

The name Yuma also is of Native American origin, meaning "chief's son".

His surname, "Tsukumo", can be translated as "ninety-nine" which is the amount of "Number" cards he and Astral are looking for. It may also be played on "spider" (kumo), an allusion to "The Spider's Thread" by Ryunosuke Akutagawa given his pacifist personality and his attempts to save his foes from their doom (notably Vetrix and Vector). The name "Yuma" can mean evening or horse, which explains the horse symbol on Yuma's soccer uniform from the "Stadium of Dreams" Field Spell Card and the name of "Dark Horse" by Mr. Heartland.

Voice/Mannerisms
In the English dub, Yuma has a somewhat high-pitched voice.

Astral
uma and Astral, despite having a rocky start, have a very close relationship with each other. Astral is able to tell what Yuma is feeling during duels and helps to calm him down, and Yuma worries and cares for Astral immensely. Regarding each other as both partners and close friends, they make an outstanding team.

When they first met, Yuma had mixed feelings about Astral when all he did was tell him how to Duel during his Duel with Shark. Though Astral was insightful and was always thinking about what his opponent would be capable of doing, Yuma ignored his advice and continued playing his way. Eventually, Astral figured out a way to have Yuma listen to him and over time, Yuma began trusting Astral more and more with each Duel. They are shown on numerous occasions to be able to talk telepathically.

After the Duel with Kite Tenjo, the two realized that they needed the other's skill. They grew closer to one another during the Duel with Fortuno when Yuma admits to Astral that he considered him as his friend and unlocked Number C39: Utopia Ray and eventually gained the ability to overlay their souls together using the power of ZEXAL.

At times, Yuma didn't openly admit that he was worried or cared about Astral, usually feigning anger and yelling at him, which only makes Astral smile because he knew Yuma's true feelings. In dire situations, Yuma openly showed concern and proclaimed he would do anything to protect him from danger. It shown that Yuma deeply cares for Astral as he couldn't believe Astral would leave and as he cried for that. Astral has shown many times how much he cares about Yuma, willing to give up his life for Yuma's safety. Astral has also been seen smiling more since Yuma told him that he is his friend, and encourages Yuma to never give up. Later, it was revealed that Astral has been teaching Yuma how to Duel, since one day he'll disappear and Yuma will have to fight alone. He also said that when he disappears, he would want to leave proof that he exists in Yuma's memory and heart. After Astral came back, Yuma was greatly relieved as he cried tears of joy.

Nearing to the WDC finals, Yuma and Astral converse on what to do with the "Numbers" and their situation with Hart Tenjo. Yuma is torn between helping Astral or healing Hart, but Astral assured Yuma that he will follow whatever path Yuma choose as his partner. During Yuma and Shark's Duel, Yuma was to make a choice between saving him or Shark, but Astral tells Yuma that will let him make the decisions. During this, Yuma told Astral that he is a very important friend to him. When Vetrix told them that the "Numbers" could destroy the world, Astral questioned Yuma about it, Yuma denied this claim, saying he trusts Astral and would let Astral use the "Numbers" for good. During the Duel, Astral told Yuma that he can rely on him to defeat Vetrix and Yuma says he couldn't do it without him.

After Yuma dreams about being warned by The Door that someone is planning to take the most important thing to him, he feared that he will lose Astral. Not willing to put Astral in danger and be taken away from him, Yuma left his key to Tori in order to protect him and goes to Duel with a Barian-brainwashed Fender by himself. During the Duel, Yuma thinks that he the only one that can protect him and reflected how Astral is always the one protecting him. In the key, Astral can receive the damage Yuma takes and knows Yuma is Dueling alone, which disappointed him since they are "partners". Once Astral got to Yuma, Yuma confined to Astral about his dream and states how he couldn't protect him. However, Astral told Yuma that he was proud of him and that he's a true friend, and will not forgive anyone who hurts him. After nearly losing to Mizar and become shaken, Yuma and Astral grew even closer as they reaffirmed their desires to Duel together.

After Vector revealed he was Ray and that Yuma hid this from him, this caused Astral to lose some trust in Yuma, resulting in their inability to turn into ZEXAL and resulting in Astral's corruption, bringing about Dark ZEXAL. They eventually reconciled and reformed their bond, resulting in ZEXAL II.

When Number 96 attacked Zexal II, Astral immediately ended the fusion and saved Yuma's life. As Astral was forced returned to the Astral World, the pair shared a sad goodbye and Astral thanked Yuma for everything he done, leaving Yuma heartbroken. Afterwards, Yuma spent many sorrowful days locked inside his attic and crying. Despite this, Yuma was still willing to protect the "Numbers" that Astral entrusted to him and fight on. While Yuma realized that he can't stay depressed forever, he made many Freudian slips whilst trying to maintained an outward happy demeanor, repeatedly thinking of Astral and accidentally calling out to him. This caused many to worried about him and was eventually pushed by his friends to accept that his partner was dead, but Yuma refused to believe that and was willing to face danger and an eternity searching for his beloved friend.

While Dueling Eliphas, Yuma repentantly reflected on how arrogant and capricious Astral was when they first met, and how he changed over time and became someone with emotions who cared for others. On the brink of losing, Yuma realized how Astral played an important role in his life and became his "everything". When they finally reunited, they embraced each other and Yuma said that he would not let Astral go again and asked him not to leave him again, which made Astral smile. With the happiness of being together again, Yuma's and Astral's bond grew even stronger and upgraded to ZEXAL III. It was later revealed that Yuma and Astral share a much closer connection to each other - Yuma is the "other half" of Astral, that Astral lost long ago during his battle with Don Thousand (the other half was later somehow reborn as Yuma). After their fateful Duel, Yuma and Astral reaffirmed their bond with each other, with Astral being Yuma's most precious thing, and even if they go their different ways, they will never forget each other. Even after Astral went back to Astral World, Yuma often thinks about him. When rogue chaos energy threatens the Astral World, Yuma and Astral grew excited to see each other and were last seen rushing to reunite

Tori Meadows
Yuma has been best friends with Tori since childhood and appears to care for her very much. They have their share of fights sometimes (mostly because of Yuma’s thoughtlessness), but they always make-up. Tori has shown many signs to have a crush on Yuma, such as annoyance at Yuma's adoration with Cathy's Dueling abilities, which she doesn't show towards male Duelists that Yuma admires. She blushes whenever Yuma makes a friendly comment towards her-and is also evidenced when she is worried about Yuma, to which the latter makes a kind gesture by putting a hand on her shoulder, saying he will be all right.

Yuma has gone out of his way to protect Tori many times such as when he thought Cathy had kidnapped her, which also allowed him to Duel without the assistance of Astral or any of the Numbers, winning him the Duel. During the usual scene when Yuma puts on his D-Gazer, he isn't wearing his casual Dueling smile, showing his absolute seriousness for victory so he can find her. When Tori was about to be run over by a truck, Yuma pushed Tori out of the way, placing himself in her position, which if Kite Tenjo didn't pause the time, would have resulted in Yuma being critically injured or causing his death. When he entered the lair of Fortuno, who had kidnapped Tori, Bronk, Flip, and Caswell, he only called out to Tori despite clearly seeing the others held captive as well. Yuma's caringness towards Tori start becoming more obvious during the first day World Duel Carnival, when Yuma helps Tori escape from Cody's Excavation machine and Anna Kaboom's cannon blasts. When Yuma realized that Astral was gone he looked at his friends, but seemingly only believed Tori, showing he takes her word over the others'. He also has a considerable amount of trust in her, as he entrusted the Emperor's Key to her while he went to Duel Fender to protect Astral. At the end of the anime, Tori confessed to Yuma that she loved him and his smile to which left him blushing speechless, but he nevertheless kept holding her hand as they flew to Astral World.

Reginald Kastle
Yuma's relation with Shark starts before they Dueled each other and became rivals, and although they never met before that, Yuma knew that he was the school's bully. He had just defeated Bronk and took his Deck, claiming a weakling didn't need it. Yuma stood up for him and in a twist of events, Shark crushed Emperor's Key and accepted Yuma's challenge. With their Duel underway, Shark was overtaken by "Number 17: Leviathan Dragon" and quickly Summons it to put Yuma in his place. However, with the appearance of Astral and Yuma's new Xyz Monster, Number 39: Utopia, Shark loses the Duel and his "Number".

When Shark fell into the "wrong crowd" and stopped Dueling all together, with persistence from Yuma, Shark agreed to Duel him again. Despite his "Numbers," Yuma loses to Shark, who tells him to never interfere with his life. However, Yuma disobeys this after learning of why Shark was the way he was. The two Tag Duel against Scorch and Chills, who carried "Numbers" that supported each other. Despite that, Shark was able to aid Yuma, who protected him from damage, and give Yuma the final trump card that would defeat the two brothers. As a sign of respect for Yuma, he allowed him to keep the card he won with.

Mr. Kay remarked that Shark had changed due to Yuma's influence and now he sees Yuma as a friend and ally. Although friends, Shark doesn't hang around Yuma as much as his other friends, due to his aloof nature, but is shown to have a soft spot for him, often reflecting on his time with Yuma, and even watching Yuma from afar when he sees him. Despite his distant nature, Shark is willing to open up to him (to an extent), but tends to push him away sometimes. In turn, Yuma admires Shark and worries about him if he does anything he thinks is wrong or dangerous. When knowing things concerning Shark, Yuma focuses his attention on helping him and putting himself in harm's way, even ignoring or lashing out on his friends or Astral if they tried to stop him.

During the World Duel Carnival, their friendship becomes strained as Shark became focused on revenge against Quattro and continually told Yuma "Don't get involved with me" when they meet. When Yuma learned how violent Shark had become, Yuma challenged him to a Duel, in which Yuma made no move to attack, and let Shark take his anger out on him. He was angry at Yuma's persistence and the Number's influence causes him to grow more aggressive. Eventually, Yuma tells Shark he doesn't want to see the way he is now, shocking him, followed by his stomach growling. As Shark watches Yuma and Tori shout at each other, he smiled and the darkness in his heart disappeared. Shark then cancelled the Duel, claiming that seeing Yuma being an "idiot" made him lose his drive. Before walking away, Shark tells Yuma that he would meet him in the finals and they exchanged smiles.

During the WDC party, Yuma tried looking for Shark, showing his concern for Shark, and because he has something to ask him, but couldn't find him. During the finals of the WDC, Yuma stumbles across Shark's Duel with Quattro and stayed to cheer him on. When Shark Summoned "Number 32: Shark Drake", Yuma worried about him due to the "Number"'s influence, and cried out to Shark as he was brutally attacked eight times by Quattro. As the Duel continues, Yuma tried to pull Shark away from the "Number's" influence, but Shark eventually gives into it. After Shark wins the Duel, Shark set his revenge on Vetrix and told Yuma he won't forgive him if got in his way, straining their friendship once again.

In the semi finals, Yuma and Shark were matched-up to Duel each other, with Yuma eager to settle their rivalry. Unknown to Yuma, Vetrix was influencing Shark through the power of his crest, but Yuma does notice how emotionless and different Shark is. During the Duel, Vetrix made Shark think Yuma was the one to hurt his sister, which made Shark hate Yuma and attack him ruthlessly. Yuma tried to make Shark remember the times they Dueled together, how Shark tried protecting his Emperor's Key from Kite, and how much their bond meant to him. Yuma also told Shark that his goal is to be Duel Champion and defeating Vetrix and Dr. Faker wasn't worth losing him. To return Shark to normal, Yuma took control of "Number C32: Shark Drake Veiss" and suffered while the "Chaos Number" tried to control him. Shark was able to regain his senses and begins to worry for Yuma. When deciding to save Shark or Astral, Yuma couldn't choose and said that Shark is a very important friend to him. To save Yuma, Shark got rid of his remaining Life Points to banish "Shark Drake" and give Yuma the victory. Afterwards, Shark told Yuma how during the Duel that he could hear Yuma's voice and thanked Yuma for saving him. Smiling, Shark then encourages Yuma to win and beat Vetrix, with Yuma promising to carry on his will.

Later, when Shark awakens in the hospital and sees that Yuma's Dueling with Vetrix in the Sphere Field, he begins to worry and rushes over to the Duel Coaster Stadium, calling out Yuma's name as he goes.He then enters Heartland Tower to save Yuma and puts himself in danger in the process, showing how much he cares for him. Shark was even willing to team up with Kite and Orbital 7 to rescue Yuma, despite his hostility towards them. When Yuma challenges Dr. Faker to a Duel, Yuma gave back Shark "Shark Drake", asking him to help him, and the latter joins Yuma with a smile. During the Duel, Yuma and Shark supported each other well with their cards, as well as Shark teasing Yuma when he's having doubts. When the Heartland Tower started to crumble, a piece of concrete was about to hit Yuma before Shark pushes him out of the way to protect him, taking the hit instead.

When the Barian World began to target Yuma for the "Numbers", Shark worried for Yuma's well-being, chasing after him when he goes to Duel Fender, even leaving his sister to go after him. When talking to Rio, Yuma learned that Shark often talked about him to her, to his surprise. She told Yuma that she believed it's because of Yuma that her brother hadn't changed and thanked him for being a good influence on Shark. Shark began to spend more time with Yuma as they started to walk home together after school. When Yuma fell towards a cliff ledge, Shark once again put his life in danger to try to save Yuma from falling,. Recuperating in the hospital, Shark was extremely upset at how downhearted Yuma was acting and, in his typical gruff fashion, snapped at him. In order to get through to him, Shark swiped the Emperor's Key and lured Yuma into a Duel. With help from Astral, Yuma got his fighting spirit back, much to Shark's happiness. When Astral told Yuma what Shark's true purpose was, Shark denied it, but Yuma was greatly touched. Trying to show his gratitude, Yuma tried to give Shark a hug, only to be pushed away by him.

After Shark came to accepting his fate as a Barian, he was emotionally shattered at the thought of becoming Yuma's enemy and distraught of breaking his bond and friendship with him. Nevertheless, Shark severed his friendship with Yuma and claimed that it was their fate to become enemies. However, Yuma didn't see him as an enemy, but he was willing to fight him to restore their bonds of friendship. Even now, he still calls Shark by his nickname, despite everyone else and Shark himself knowing him by the name "Nash".

During the their Duel, Shark and Yuma reminisces their friendship, with Shark eventually stating that Yuma and Astral are his best friends before dying and fading away. After the Interdimensional War has ended and the Shark and the other emperors were revived, Shark went back to his old life, attending school with all his friends and watching over Yuma.

Kite Tenjo
As rivals in hunting "Numbers", Yuma and Kite saw each other as enemies. Kite first thought Yuma was a regular "Number" Holder and tried to get his Number. During the Duel, Kite was surprised that Yuma used 2 "Numbers", and identified him as a Number Hunter, but looked happy to have a rival. After their first Duel, Yuma became depressed over his near loss and developed a fear of Kite. However, this was short-lived and Yuma become more confident when facing Kite, despite knowing the dangers. Yuma was shown to respect Kite's Dueling skills, calling him "scary", but strong.

When Yuma interfered in Kite and Astral's Duel, which ended in a Draw, Yuma asked Kite why he is collecting Numbers. Kite only answers that he sold his soul to the devil in exchange of his brother's sake. Determine to Duel Yuma, Kite told Yuma that they will settle their score in the World Duel Carnival. Knowing that Astral helps Yuma, Kite sees Astral as his rival instead of Yuma, whom Kite considered as "just an idiot".

Despite their differences, they joined up to rescue Hart from the Vetrix Family, which resulted is a Tag-Team Duel. Kite seems to have grown to respect Yuma as he begins to call him by his first name, however he still doesn't see him as his rival and still dislikes him. During the WDC finals, Yuma often made an effort to be friendly with Kite and cheered him on in his Duels, and even considered him as a friend. During the finals, Kite seemed to gain greater respect for Yuma, letting him watch his Duel with Vetrix. Kite also appeared to soften up to Yuma due to the many times he showed concern towards Hart, though he never outwardly showed it. During the Duel with Dr. Faker, he began to value Yuma and Shark as his friends. After their Duel against Vector, Yuma proclaimed that his WDC wish was for Kite's family to live happily in peace. Amused and smiling, Kite says it was none of his business, but Yuma then revealed his real wish - to Duel Kite again to settle their score. Kite happily accepted the challenge, addressing both Yuma and Astral, while finally acknowledging Yuma as a rival. Yuma greatly looked forward to Dueling Kite again, and openly showed excitement throughout their Duel. Kite also thought about Yuma's never-give-up attitude and how much he enjoyed Dueling. When Kite was about to surrender due to losing his passion to Duel, Yuma encouraged him to continue, calling Kite his "goal". When Kite won the Duel, Yuma promised to beat Kite one day, which the latter accepted, saying that Yuma can Duel him as many times as it takes to achieve that goal. Ironically, there is some resemblance between Kite's and Yuma's Dueling styles, as both seem to prefer a more offense-based strategy, and their Dueling styles were at least somewhat compatible when they Tag Dueled. This may have some relation about the similarities Yuma and Kite have that Astral himself has observed. At first, Kite denied being compared to Yuma, but seems to have somewhat acknowledged this when he asked Astral for support during their Tag Duel.

Deck
Main article: Yuma Tsukumo's Decks

Yuma uses a "Xyz One Turn Kill" Deck, which is supported by the powerful "Number" cards and focuses on performing Xyz Summons. He has a high number of Trap Cards, which mostly protect his monsters and reduce battle damage. He can support his monsters with some ATK boosting cards, like "Wonder Wand", "Blustering Winds", "Bound Wand", and "Double or Nothing!". His signature card is "Number 39: Utopia". Like his other "Numbers" however, he can only use it when Astral is fighting by his side. His main strategy focuses on bringing out "Utopia" and making it strong enough to beat the opponent.

After his time at the Duel Sanctuary, Roku gave Yuma the "Duel Sanctuary Legendary Deck". According to Roku, the Deck is appropriate for Yuma and should answer his feelings. Yuma combined elements from both this Deck and his first Deck into a single Deck. Also, if Yuma and Astral believe in their possibilities, they gain the power to Chaos Xyz Evolution "Utopia" into "Number C39: Utopia Ray". Using ZEXAL, he can create Zexal Weapons cards which gives "Utopia Ray" extra ATK and abilities.

In the World Duel Carnival, Yuma seems to be focusing on fighting less with his "Numbers", instead he uses normal Xyz Monsters against opponents that lack "Numbers" of their own. This is due to him feeling that it is unfair to use "Numbers" against a non-"Number" user.

Yuma's Deck has parallels with those of Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki and Yusei Fudo. Like Yugi, he uses a Deck which previously belonged to a relative. Like Jaden, he obtains a new Deck which he combines with his original Deck. Like Yusei, he makes extensive use of his series' new mechanic. Like the three of them, his ace card, "Utopia" has 2500 ATK.

Trivia

 * Yuma is the first main protagonist to not use any Normal Monsters in his Deck.
 * Yuma has the following distinctions from the other main protagonists:
 * He is the only one to have any siblings (in this case, an older sister), although Yuto, Yugo and Yuri were Yuya's brothers in the manga.
 * He is the only one to have never successfully performed a Fusion Summon, as well as the only post-GX main protagonist to have never successfully performed a Synchro Summon.
 * He is the only one to never defeat his primary rival in the anime, although he does so in the manga. This is especially odd because one of Yuma's major goals was to defeat Kite in a Duel.
 * He is the only one who regularly switches between his casual clothes and his school uniform.
 * Yuma has several similarities to Yugi.
 * Both wear a golden pendant (Emperor's Key and the Millennium Puzzle) that connects them to their partners (Astral and Yami Yugi).
 * They live with a grandparent (Haru and Solomon) and another female relative (Kari and Mrs. Muto).
 * They have a female friend that they've known since childhood (Tori and Téa) and their best friends used to pick on them (Bronk and Joey).
 * Both have been called hosts for their partners.
 * Both were initially looked down upon by their rivals (Kite and Kaiba), but eventually proved themselves. Their rivals also have many similarities as well.
 * They Dueled against their partners in the final episodes and won. Also before the Duels, their friends offered them their cards to help but refused.
 * Their partners were briefly consumed by darkness.
 * They were separated from their partners after sacrificing themselves, except Yugi sacrificed himself for Yami while Astral sacrificed himself for Yuma.
 * In the final Duel, both used monsters that represented themselves separated from their partners ("Number F0: Utopic Future" and "Gandora the Dragon of Destruction"). They also managed to win using Spell Cards with symbolic meanings to them ("Double or Nothing!" and "Gold Sarcophagus").
 * They both pretended to be evil for an episode, albeit for different reasons. Yuma did it to give Bronk a chance to defeat Number 96, while Yugi did so to help Yami overcome his guilt and inner darkness.
 * Unlike all other main protagonists, Yuma was not a very talented duelist at the start of his series but instead develops into one over time.
 * He also has the most losses of any main protagonist, with 33 confirmed losses (though many of these losses occurred either off-screen or in flashbacks).