Chapter 556: The Two-Tails, Matatabi
Ishiro was very relaxed recently. He was happy about his sister Natsuki's promotion, and also pleased with Sakura and Karin's progress in medical ninjutsu.
Shinnō had stayed in Iwagakure for a time but had now departed. He had taught the two all of his medical specialties. Now, he was leaving to prepare for Danzō's Konoha Crush Plan.
Considering Shinnō had been very cooperative in Iwa, Ishiro didn't make things difficult. He paid him the promised "tutelage fee." Beyond that, Ishiro also "assisted" Shinnō with a large quantity of explosive tags.
Shinnō hadn't cared about the small fee—he had expected Ishiro to be stingy, as they weren't true allies. But when he counted the explosive tags... even he, a man who had seen much, was stunned for a moment.
When he asked why, Ishiro's answer was simple: "It doesn't matter if Soragakure throws them or Iwagakure throws them. They're all going to be dropped on Konoha anyway."
Shinnō dazedly accepted. Soragakure was struggling; he couldn't refuse this windfall.
After Shinnō left, Ishiro tested what Sakura and Karin had learned from him. He was very satisfied; both had learned well.
Ishiro told them, "First, teach what Shinnō taught you to Head Medic Nakata. Then, learn the medical ninjutsu on this scroll."
With that, he handed them the scroll containing the Dark Medical Ninjutsu.
The two hesitated. Karin said, "Ishiro-sensei, Shinnō-sensei asked us to keep his techniques a secret, to not pass them on."
Ishiro waved his hand. "Don't worry. Your Shinnō-sensei won't live long. He'll most likely die in Konoha soon. Even if he doesn't this time, we'll probably be enemies in the future. Don't worry about what he said."
Sakura and Karin looked at each other but agreed. One was their village's Kage and long-time teacher; the other was a temporary teacher of a few days. The choice was obvious.
Afterward, Sakura's life returned to normal.
Only, her training schedule was packed. She had to learn medical ninjutsu and study Yin Release with Shion and Yakumo.
Every day, both "Inner" and "Outer" Sakura were too exhausted to even speak.
Ishiro planned to have the three of them—Sakura, Shion, and Yakumo—graduate a year early at the end of the term, just like Neji's group. With Shion and Yakumo, the two laziest students, finally on the right track, all three were in a period of rapid growth. The Academy was pointless for them now.
As for Neji-kun, Kurotsuchi, and Karin, they didn't need much of his attention either.
Neji-kun, after his first "quickening," had become a provisional Jonin. As his strength rapidly increased, he had begun to formally research his own "secret Byakugan technique."
Kurotsuchi had it the worst. She was dragged on various C-rank and even B-rank missions every day by the hyper-energetic Riori Uzumaki.
She had no choice. Although her talent was good, she wasn't a "special" genius, and she had promised Ishiro she would use her own contribution points to redeem new jutsu.
Riori-sensei didn't understand the concept of "gradual progress." She was constantly trying to take Kurotsuchi on A-rank missions. If Ishiro hadn't explicitly forbidden it, she probably would have dragged her student straight into the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning by now.
After a series of harrowing (but successful) missions, Kurotsuchi was slowly maturing.
She had to mature. On missions, she was the one who had to teach her sensei, Riori, how to behave, bearing a pressure she shouldn't have to at her age. She was the one who planned their travel routes and set up the night watch.
Neji-kun occasionally joined them. He needed live combat to develop his Hyūga techniques.
Karin, however, rarely went. Sakura's medical ninjutsu talent was too strong, and she had a head start. Karin didn't dare slack off for a second.
The two were in a fierce competition.
If Sakura was good at bandaging, Karin would practice until she could tie a perfect butterfly knot.
If Karin's sutures were clean, Sakura would find a way to stitch a wound into a flower pattern.
In short, no detail was too small to compete over.
But Karin had an advantage: her sensory ninjutsu training was progressing faster than Sakura's Yin Release training, which gave her more time to focus on medical ninjutsu.
If Kurotsuchi, who couldn't stand Riori-sensei's antics, didn't keep dragging her along on missions, Karin's medical skills might have already surpassed Sakura's.
As for Ishiro's Squad 8—Aono Shinichi, Shizuka Minamoto, and Rion—Ishiro didn't see them often, but from their occasional letters and the results of their negotiations with Danzō, he knew they were growing.
If nothing else, being around Danzō had certainly tempered their minds.
Ishiro felt that their whimsical ideas had recently become much more grounded.
"It's almost time to bring them back," Ishiro thought.
Aside from the children, other village matters were proceeding smoothly.
The Moon immigration plan was nearly complete. With Iwa's help, the immigrants from the Land of Earth, Land of Wind, Land of Snow, Land of Demons, and Land of Bears had finished their move.
The groups from the Land of Waterfalls, Land of Hot Water, and Land of Moon were already en route to the passage in the Land of Snow.
The Iwa base at the space-time passage was complete and garrisoned.
In the Land of Moon, the new Iwa branch was under construction.
Iwa's new high command—Ikura, Megumi, Kawakita, Kitsuchi, Han, and Deidara—had settled into their new roles.
With the handover complete, Ishiro was finally free again.
Ishiro was waiting for Neji-kun's second "quickening," which could happen at any time, and was preparing to finally begin practical experiments on his five-nature fusion.
However, before he could start, he received a secret intelligence report.
The source was the White Zetsu clone, A-Tsuchi.
Ever since Ishiro had Sōkai use Kotoamatsukami on him, A-Tsuchi had not sent a single piece of intel. Ishiro had only contacted him once to make a secret arrangement.
This wasn't because A-Tsuchi had betrayed him; it was because A-Tsuchi hadn't deemed any intel "important" enough to risk contact.
The intel Ishiro received now was one he did deem important.
The message was simple: Kumo had found traces of the Two-Tails, Matatabi, on the border of the Land of Iron and the Land of Moon. Kumo was preparing to recapture it.
Ishiro weighed his options. He was very much looking forward to Danzō's Konoha Crush Plan. He didn't want to interfere in Kumo's affairs and cause some ripple effect that made Danzō's plan fail.
But he also couldn't just sit back and watch Kumo grow stronger. Kumo was, after all, the village best at cultivating Jinchūriki. Ishiro couldn't be sure they wouldn't turn the Two-Tails into a top-tier combatant in a short time.
After much deliberation, Ishiro decided to intervene.
But first, he had to create a fake intel source. He couldn't risk A-Tsuchi.
A-Tsuchi was his only piece inside Orochimaru and Black Zetsu's operation; he could not be exposed. He couldn't even let them become suspicious.
A few days later, under Ishiro's direction, a "major intelligence leak" occurred in Kumogakure.
To make it happen, several veteran Iwa spies who had been embedded in Kumo for over a decade had to be exposed, forcing their emergency extraction.
The incident was huge. Konoha and the other great villages all heard about it, and the shinobi world was buzzing with rumors about what Iwa had stolen.
Some said Iwa had stolen Kumo's latest technology. Others said the secrets to the Lightning Release Armor were gone.
The fifth Raikage, Darui, held an emergency high-level meeting.
At the meeting, Darui asked his intel chief what had been compromised. The chief shamefully admitted he had no idea.
Another high-level ninja asked, "Could it be the Sage Art training methods?"
The head of that project shook his head. "Iwa has their own Sage Art. They'd be more likely to steal the Lightning Release Armor, as the rumors say."
Darui couldn't figure it out.
The first ninja asked again, "What about... the Two-Tails matter?"
Everyone in the room immediately began to check with each other.
"I told no one."
"Me neither. It's a top-secret mission."
They ruled out a leak from the high command.
"What about the ANBU team on the mission?"
Darui shook his head. "They're reliable. Besides, why would Iwa search our village for intel on a mission outside it? They wouldn't need to expose so many agents for that. I have a feeling... Iwa wanted us to find those spies."
No one could understand why Iwa would intentionally cripple its own intelligence network in Kumo. The matter was dropped, unresolved.
Meanwhile, Ishiro had arrived at the border of the Land of Iron and the Land of Moon.
This was a mountainous region separating the two countries.
Ishiro landed on a high peak. He had already located the Kumo search team, but he had not found the Two-Tails.
From the Kumo team's movements, they hadn't found it yet either.
In other words, they were all on the same starting line.
Ishiro was confident his sensory abilities would allow him to find it first.
He stopped paying attention to the Kumo team and used his Light-Heavy Boulder Jutsu and Camouflage Jutsu to fly over the mountain range.
His speed was fast and his sensory range was vast. In less than half a day, he had searched the entire mountain range.
The result baffled him: nothing.
He searched a second time. And a third. Still nothing.
He hadn't just missed the Two-Tails; he couldn't find a single trace of its activity.
This was strange. With a Bijuu's massive body, it was almost impossible to hide from his perception. Even if it did hide, a creature that large would leave obvious tracks.
Does the Two-Tails... clean up its own footprints? Ishiro wondered.
He hadn't found the Two-Tails, but he did find about a hundred White Zetsu clones.
Most of them were swarming around the Kumo team, also searching. Other Zetsu clones were scattered on the perimeter, acting as a dragnet.
It seemed they wanted to find the Bijuu before Kumo did.
Frustrated, Ishiro decided to return to the Kumo team and wait. He would play the oriole watching the mantis.
He had wanted to seal the Two-Tails quietly to protect A-Tsuchi, but that was no longer an option.
After another long wait, Ishiro sensed the White Zetsu clones make a move. They all began moving rapidly in a specific direction.
A split second later, the Kumo team moved in the same direction.
Ishiro blinked. What? My Mind's Eye just scanned that area and it was empty!
He was starting to wonder if he was in a genjutsu.
He followed them, and then he was stunned. Now that he had a clear target, his Mind's Eye finally locked onto the Two-Tails, Matatabi.
"You've... got to be kidding me," Ishiro muttered.
There, the Two-Tails was... the size of a normal house cat, sunbathing lazily in a clearing.
Ishiro rubbed his temples. He'd forgotten. Bijuu could change their size.
They rarely did, as it wasn't intimidating, but they could.
No wonder he'd flown over it three times and found nothing.
Well, now that he'd found it, it was time to act.
He was about to attack, but then he sensed the hundred-plus White Zetsu clones gathering in the ground directly beneath the clearing.
Ishiro stroked his chin. Why not... catch them all? The village's supply of White Zetsu clones is actually getting low. It's been a while since I restocked.
I can't seal the Bijuu quietly anyway, so I might as well make a scene.
He landed quietly and made two shadow clones.
One clone formed seals. "Sage Art: Earth Release: Earthen Ascent!"
The ground erupted, launching all hundred subterranean White Zetsu clones into the air.
The second clone used Water Release, not to attack, but to separate the airborne Zetsu from the ground.
In that instant, Ishiro's main body used Porcelain Release, capturing and sealing every single White Zetsu clone.
White Zetsu, separated from the earth, were pathetically weak. Not one escaped.
This, of course, took a few moments. Both the Kumo team and the Two-Tails noticed.
The Kumo ninja, seeing the Porcelain Release, recognized Ishiro and fled. The mission was a failure. Their priority now was to report that the Tsuchikage had shamelessly stolen their Bijuu.
The Two-Tails's reaction was even faster.
The moment it sensed the Sage Art, the lazing cat tensed up, arched its back, and bolted.
Its speed was incredible, instantly clearing the range of Ishiro's jutsus.
Ishiro wasn't concerned. Those jutsus weren't meant for it. No matter how fast you run, you can't escape my Mind's Eye.
He carefully finished packing up the sealed White Zetsu clones, then located the Two-Tails again, placed the Zetsu on his platform, and gave chase.
The Two-Tails fled in a zig-zag pattern, using the forest and rocks for cover. It wasn't heading for the Land of Moon or the Land of Iron, but for the Land of Fire.
Smart, Ishiro thought. Lots of trees to hide in.
He wasn't in a hurry. He just followed, leisurely.
He even had time to send a clone to find a nearby Iwa team, have them contact the village, and have someone come pick up the sealed Zetsu.
The village was fast. Ishiro had one of Akino's Hiraishin markers. She teleported directly to him, took the package, and teleported back.
Ishiro then continued his pursuit, following the small cat deep into the Land of Fire.
He had originally planned to just kill it, but as he followed it, he changed his mind.
Ishiro knew his own jutsus. His Porcelain flight had a clear chakra signature. His Light-Heavy Boulder Jutsu was much stealthier.
But if he ran on the ground, he would make a lot of noise. Even Kawakita couldn't run at full speed without leaking chakra.
But the Two-Tails... running at full speed... was emitting zero chakra. It was completely silent.
A few times, it ran just a few dozen meters past other ninja, and they didn't even notice.
Ishiro's expression turned grave. He suddenly realized that if the Two-Tails disappeared from his Mind's Eye for just a few seconds, he'd probably never find it again.
He thought back to his earlier search. He'd been looking for a giant Bijuu, which he could understand missing. But... he hadn't even found its Bijuu-level chakra signature.
(End of Chapter)
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