Chōmei had already been flying over the sea for two days. Although he wasn't tired at all, the boredom was getting to him.
"Chizan... Chizan..."
"So boring..."
You couldn't really blame Chōmei for being this bored. Looking out over the ocean, there was absolutely nothing to see.
Just seawater, and more seawater. Suddenly, Chōmei found himself admiring Isobu—how could that guy stay in the sea for years on end?
What's the point of all this ocean...
Gekko Chizan's voice didn't respond. He was sound asleep at the moment. Who said not having a body meant you couldn't sleep?
He was sleeping like a log.
"Damn it! Chizan, you bastard!"
"You totally tricked me!"
"I—"
"Huh???"
Suddenly, something appeared in Chōmei's vision—a massive object covered in spikes.
Driven by curiosity, Chōmei flew toward the object.
When he arrived overhead, he realized it was much bigger than he had expected.
It was like a floating piece of land.
"Could this be the Island Turtle Chizan mentioned? It's huge!"
"Tsk tsk, is this really a turtle?"
"Chizan! Chizan! Damn, how can you sleep this soundly? Not even shouting wakes you up."
"Whatever, let me, Chōmei-sama, go take a look first."
Curiosity brimming, Chōmei descended toward Island Turtle.
Even though the island's back was covered in spikes, there were still places to land.
"It's actually quite spacious up here. Huh? There are animals too."
"Quite a few species, too. Game on!!!"
These oversized creatures instantly became Chōmei's playthings.
Soon, the green giant dragonfly turned into a predator, charging wildly across Island Turtle. The overwhelming power of a tailed beast became fully apparent. Lions, tigers, and even massive gorillas all became Chōmei's prey.
As Chōmei played, one of his tails kept Two-Tails Jinchūriki wrapped up, maintaining the chakra-induced scale powder to keep her asleep. At the same time, his chakra wrapped around her body to prevent her from weakening due to energy depletion.
"Hmm? Chōmei, what are you doing?"
"Where is this? Land?"
"Holy crap! Is this Island Turtle?"
Suddenly, Gekko Chizan woke up. Mainly because Chōmei was having too much fun—his excitement ended up waking the sleeping Chizan.
Seeing the surroundings through Chōmei's eyes, and the enormous animals, Chizan instantly realized they were indeed on Island Turtle.
"Chizan, nice of you to finally wake up!"
"I flew over this damn ocean for days! Days, you hear me!"
"Nothing but water in all directions! I was bored out of my mind!"
Seeing Chizan awake, Chōmei immediately dropped a large gorilla and turned to rant at him.
The moment the gorilla was freed, it bolted like its life depended on it. One word filled its mind—run!
"Hahaha, haven't slept that well in ages. Sorry, Chōmei."
"Island Turtle, Island Turtle! Hahaha! This place is mine now!"
"Chōmei, hurry, my turn now—I need to investigate the area."
You had to understand—Island Turtle was a precious asset specially cultivated by Kumogakure. If he wanted to steal it, Chizan had to put in more work.
"Alright, I've played enough these past few days. It's all yours now."
"By the way, I topped up scale powder on the Two-Tails Jinchūriki again. She'll probably sleep for another day, but you better get her something to eat."
"Even if I used chakra to protect her body, she's still just a kid."
Chizan nodded, and the man and beast began switching places.
Chōmei's massive form began to shrink, eventually reverting into his human form.
As the Tailed Beast Transformation was undone, Yugito Nii's body fell toward the ground.
Chizan reacted quickly and caught her in time, landing steadily.
"Hehehe... Island Turtle... I wonder if Orochimaru-sensei will drop dead from shock when he finds out I've claimed this land."
"This is a perfect hideout..."
"Sensei... I'm doing this for you. If you ever can't stay in Konoha, this island is way better than the Land of Fields."
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
With a creepy laugh, Chizan created a clone to carry Yugito Nii on his back.
Then, he slowly walked toward the turtle's head.
Island Turtle was a special kind of island. Not only did it have forests and soil, but even the animals were unusually large.
During Chōmei's earlier rampage, the animals had been scared witless.
After all, no matter how big they were, in front of a Tailed Beast they were nothing—easily played with.
As a result, none of the animals dared approach Chizan as he walked across the island.
Along the way, Chizan began contemplating what to do next.
He knew that he himself was now a Jinchūriki, which made him a target of Madara and Black Zetsu in the future.
He had no intention of dying at someone else's hands—so he needed power to protect himself.
Though he wasn't weak now, in front of Madara he was like a newborn baby—fragile and helpless.
Luckily, there was still time. He had plenty of time to prepare.
Island Turtle was his first step. Having his own hidden base was key. Even abducting Yugito Nii was part of this plan.
Though Yugito was a Jinchūriki, she was still just a kid—at the perfect age for brainwashing.
If he played his cards right, she could become his right hand in the future and help him fend off threats from Madara.
Of course, he had considered other Jinchūriki, but right now, Yugito was the only feasible option.
He was even willing to let Orochimaru move into Island Turtle. After all Orochimaru had terrifying skill in brainwashing.
Just look at how loyal his Sound Ninja subordinates were in the original.
Of course, that was something to consider later. He still wanted to try doing it himself. If it didn't work, he could always get Chōmei to talk Yugito into it.
He didn't know how long he walked, but eventually Chizan saw the giant turtle.
The huge turtle's skin looked like grey rock, and it was covered in moss.
"Hehehe... Big turtle, you're mine now!"
"Chōmei, suppress your presence—I'm calling the Ryūchi Cave snake Princess for help."
If he wanted to sever Island Turtle's connection to Kumogakure completely, the first thing that came to mind was using Genjutsu.
That way, Island Turtle would be under his control.
"Alright, suppressing chakra now."
Chōmei withdrew his chakra, and Chizan sat down cross-legged, activating Transparent Release to gather natural energy.
Murmuring softly, he said:
"Coiling Serpent Technique..."
"Tagitsuhime, I need your help..."