After disposing of the three scorched corpses, Ishiki Kujo re-summoned The President.
That treacherous little bastard had bolted the moment Ishiki rushed Yugito.
Now it slithered out like nothing had happened, its turtle face unreadable as ever.
Ishiki didn't even bother arguing.
The thing was weak—if it were stronger, it would've been much more useful.
With Yugito unconscious and Highway Star back at his side, Ishiki dove straight into the ruby-panel door on The President's shell.
The turtle flashed a smug expression—
Then vanished, leaving behind a battlefield scorched and broken.
Since this was technically an unauthorized transfer, Ishiki didn't exit immediately.
Instead, he waited for his shadow clone to perform the next summoning ritual.
He'd instructed it to do so an hour after he first left via Heavenly Transmission.
Which meant: downtime.
And The President's "room" was a comfy enough place to rest.
Like a compact, fully-furnished hotel suite—
Couch. Closet.
TV. Mini fridge.
No bed or bathroom, sure, but otherwise fully stocked.
Even the fridge was cold. Even the tapes in the TV played.
No signals, no channels—just old recordings, but Ishiki didn't care.
He popped open a cold can of cola, took a long, refreshing gulp, and flopped onto the couch.
Highway Star didn't vanish.
Instead, it crouched beside the unconscious Yugito, glowing faintly, like a cat watching a meal that hadn't stopped breathing yet.
Like the White Snake, Highway Star had its own personality.
"You really not gonna just drain her completely?" it asked, voice calm, patient, hungry.
"Why rush it?" Ishiki answered, smirking.
Truthfully, he felt amazing.
If he could run the whole fight over again, he'd crush Matatabi head-on.
That confidence came from the massive influx of chakra Highway Star had absorbed from Yugito and the Two-Tails.
He knew it was temporary.
A post-hunt high.
But once that energy fully integrated into his body, his reserves would probably rival those of a Tailed Beast.
He hadn't expected that when he left the village.
Highway Star was proving to be his lucky charm.
Still…
As he examined his own body carefully, Ishiki realized something else:
He was hitting an absorption limit.
Some of the nutrients weren't fully transferring.
Some of it just… vanished.
Maybe his body couldn't keep up with the volume.
Maybe it was like a sponge already soaked—unable to absorb more without time.
It wasn't unexpected.
Even with unlimited access to chakra from others, his own vessel had boundaries.
And he was only thirteen.
Plenty of time to grow.
Once his body matured, he could feed again.
For now, he'd wait until Matatabi regenerated a bit, then try a second harvest.
Beasts like Matatabi were conceptual—killing them meant nothing.
They'd respawn eventually, born anew in the wild.
Which meant:
Siphoning off some chakra wasn't a big deal.
And it definitely wasn't enough to kill a Tailed Beast.
Hence—his idea: Raise Yugito.
Keep her caged.
Use her like a chakra battery.
Because if he couldn't absorb more now, there wasn't much point keeping her around otherwise.
Matatabi, though… that was useful.
But Ishiki didn't want to babysit her for years just to harvest once more.
Too many variables.
Too risky.
So maybe it was better to extract the beast directly.
With Highway Star nearby, the Tailed Beast wouldn't stand a chance.
Only problem?
Ishiki didn't know any sealing techniques that could contain it.
If he did, he'd shove Matatabi straight into The President.
He'd love to see what happened when a turtle Stand and a flaming spectral cat had to cohabitate.
Would they fight?
Make peace?
Weird idea.
But not impossible.
He didn't know anyone suitable to become the next Two-Tails Jinchūriki either.
He couldn't just release it and let it roam, right?
Then it hit him—
Maybe he could train Matatabi.
Tame it.
Turn it into a cute little housecat.
Raise it right.
It was ridiculous—
But not a bad thought.
Of course, that required learning a sealing technique.
And he couldn't rely on Highway Star forever.
Without chakra nutrients, the Stand's usefulness dropped fast.
Yes, it could grab enemies and suppress them—
But against quick or skilled targets, its speed lagged behind.
Even now, it couldn't keep up in real close-range taijutsu fights.
Once, Ishiki had dreamed of using a Tailed Beast as a reactor inside himself.
Now? He didn't need it.
He had more than enough chakra on his own.
And becoming a Jinchūriki introduced a fatal weakness:
If the beast was extracted—you die.
No thanks.
Yugito's life was stabilized thanks to Matatabi's healing powers.
Even heart failure hadn't killed her.
And honestly, their bond was stronger than Ishiki had expected.
Despite being leeched by Highway Star, the Two-Tails still shielded her.
It wasn't just a host-beast relationship anymore.
There was real emotion there.
But Ishiki didn't give a damn about Matatabi's feelings.
Right now, deep inside Yugito, Matatabi sulked and fumed.
That damned Uchiha brat!
As long as Highway Star stood guard, it and Yugito had zero chance of escape.
Death loomed close.
And while the beast wasn't afraid…
It sure as hell didn't want to die.
After the Waterfall of Truth, it had finally started to accept Yugito.
Letting her die now felt… wrong.
But Ishiki didn't care.
When the timer hit, his shadow clone summoned him back.
He returned to the camp.
The clone, now in The President's realm, remained behind with Highway Star to monitor Yugito.
He wouldn't touch her again for a while.
That harvest had been too rich.
Time to digest it.
Chapter 50: Orochimaru
Over the next two days, Ishiki Kujo continued his usual duties at the camp, performing medical work with the same calm efficiency as before.
There were more wounded coming back from the border than ever. Something big was clearly happening on Kumogakure's side—waves of shinobi were being deployed deep into the Land of Frost.
Orochimaru had swiftly ordered Konoha's forces to retreat temporarily.
On the surface, that meant pulling back from the frontlines. But in reality, it simply meant a shift—less direct combat, more infiltration and intelligence-gathering. The Land of Frost was rapidly descending into chaos.
And Ishiki knew exactly why.
The disappearance of a Tailed Beast jinchūriki wasn't the sort of thing one could hide—especially not when the battlefield bore such obvious scars of the event.
He had only disposed of the three corpses. The cratered land, the scorched trees, the traces of high-temperature combustion—those couldn't be hidden.
Understanding full well what was unfolding, Ishiki threw himself even harder into the care of wounded comrades. Many of them, after all, were victims of the ripple effect caused by his own actions.
His increased attention to patients quickly gained him a reputation.
The Konoha shinobi stationed at the medical camp came to know Ishiki Kujo as a warm, tall, and strikingly handsome young man—capable, gentle, and brilliant at medical ninjutsu.
He had a natural ease in handling patient relationships: polite, approachable, never overly familiar. And with an excellent memory, he remembered the face and name of everyone he treated. Combined with his dedication and skill, Ishiki's prestige in the camp rose quickly.
Some even hoped he would be appointed as the new lead of the frontline medical corps—after all, wounds that would cripple others were easily healed in his hands.
Orochimaru didn't comment on any of it. If anything, he seemed rather pleased to let things develop naturally.
Ishiki wasn't surprised. In fact, he found Orochimaru surprisingly easy to get along with. Their recent interactions weren't exactly heart-to-hearts, but there was mutual understanding—perhaps even a flicker of respect.
Of course, what kind of understanding Orochimaru held about him, Ishiki couldn't say. But from where he stood, their relationship seemed… decent.
Rumors had also begun circulating throughout the camp.
Voices were rising, hopeful whispers that Orochimaru should become the Fifth Hokage and succeed the Fourth. Ishiki didn't comment, but he supported the idea.
Even though he knew how the story was supposed to unfold, part of him truly hoped Orochimaru would take the mantle.
But if Orochimaru truly wanted the hat, then Shimura Danzō would be his biggest obstacle. Unless that old snake was dealt with, Orochimaru had no chance.
Whatever happened with the head Shisui had brought back—no one knew.
If word hadn't spread by now, it either meant Danzō had covered it up, or it had been deliberately suppressed.
If the latter was true, then it confirmed it: Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi were practically wearing the same pair of pants.
Ishiki didn't want to see Konoha as a den of darkness…
But the way things kept playing out, it was hard not to.
Any time something involved Danzō, Sarutobi would inevitably cover, protect, or compromise.
It was… disheartening.
Even that nonsense about the Uchiha "not defending the village on the Night of the Nine Tails"—and the fact that the public believed it—was proof enough.
Ishiki had seen the injured Uchiha brought to the hospital that night. He'd worked the triage himself.
And when he'd dug deeper, he'd discovered something disturbing: of the six students trained by the Second Hokage, only Uchiha Kagami was dead. The others? Still very much alive.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Shimura Danzō.
Mitokado Homura.
Koharu Utatane.
And Akimichi Torifu—Kagami's old partner, whom Ishiki had seen recently escorting his clan's wounded.
Only one had died.
The "inherently evil" Uchiha.
Funny how that worked.
To Ishiki, every single one of the Second Hokage's disciples was problematic. None of them deserved trust.
Orochimaru, meanwhile, remained reclusive in camp.
He didn't seem to care about becoming Hokage.
Despite Kumo's efforts to suppress the incident, news about Yugito's disappearance and the Two-Tails had already reached Konoha.
Orochimaru studied the intel report laid out before him, eyes narrowing in curiosity.
"It wasn't us… So, are we to believe that someone from Kirigakure or Iwagakure was on the battlefield? Have we tracked anything?" he asked.
Across from him, seated with arms folded, was Nara Shikaku, recently transferred to the front to oversee strategic planning and intel coordination. With him were Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza—the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, complete.
Shikaku looked tired.
"There were reports of strange houses appearing in the Land of Frost—paranormal phenomena, some claimed. They vanished after Yugito went missing. Most likely, she was sent to investigate one."
"But despite all the deductions we've made, we still can't determine the perpetrator. There's no sign of any powerful foreign shinobi teams operating there. And whoever captured her—did it through direct combat. That kind of team couldn't possibly have left no trace."
He tapped the desk.
"And the battlefield… it shows signs of Fire Release jutsu.
Which is absurd—using Fire Release to suppress the Two-Tails? It's practically a walking bonfire."
Orochimaru nodded. "Unless they used Water Release to shield someone...?"
"We think that came from Yugito's squadmates trying to protect her," Shikaku replied. "Our best guess is: two attackers. One created the cursed house illusion to lure Yugito. The other handled the capture."
"Two," Orochimaru murmured. "Possibly even one."
He leaned back, golden eyes gleaming. He'd fought Yugito before, and he knew exactly how strong her control over Matatabi was—maybe 60 to 70 percent mastery. Not perfect, but dangerous nonetheless.
If she truly wanted to escape, not even Orochimaru was confident he could catch her.
Someone managed to defeat that?
His interest was… piqued.
"In that case," Orochimaru said softly, "our planned operation can be shelved for now."
Shikaku nodded. "With the Two-Tails gone, Kumo will likely play defensively. But we should still anticipate retaliation."
"A pity," Orochimaru smiled. "I was curious to test the Eight-Tails next."
Shikaku didn't respond.
Only someone like Orochimaru could talk about fighting Tailed Beasts so casually.