Ishizu Ishtar (manga)

Ishizu Ishtar (イシズ・イシュタール Ishizu Ishutāru), rendered Ishizu Ishutarl in the bunkoban, is a character appearing in the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. This is the original depiction of Ishizu Ishtar.

Ishizu works for the Egyptian supreme council of antiquities and possessed the Millennium Tauk, which gave her the power of foresight.

Ishizu is from a family of Tomb Guardians. She became disconnected from her brother, Marik and the family servant Rishid, after Marik's hatred manifested into the destructive entity, Dark Marik. Ishizu aimed to defeat Dark Marik and save Marik at any cost. As part of her plans, she coerced Seto Kaiba to host to Battle City tournament, with the prospect of him acquiring the God cards, despite foreseeing his failure. However when Kaiba defeated her in the tournament, she became optimistic that the future could be changed.

Childhood
Ishizu's family, as Tomb Guardians, guarded the pharaoh's memories and protected two of the Millennium Items, the Rod and Tauk for generations. They lived in an underground tomb, disconnected from the rest of the world. Her parents needed a male heir to conduct the Rite of the Tomb Guardians and were immensely disappointed when she was born. When she was four, her brother Marik was born and their mother died giving birth.

Ishizu grew up on good terms with Marik and the family servant, Rishid. She and Marik, played Duel Monsters and Ishizu won at least one of their games, using a Deck–Graveyard switching strategy. Ishizu stood nearby and prayed when the Rite of the Tomb Guardians was conducted on Marik.

Marik, having never been outside yearned to see what it was like. He, Ishizu and Rishid made plans for him to sneak out. Marik faked a fever and pretended to be asleep. After their father fell asleep, he and Ishizu snuck outside, after sunrise for two hours, while Rishid stayed behind to take care of things. Ishizu showed Marik a street and explained what a motorcycle was, when Marik saw one in a book. Before returning to the tomb, they bumped into Shadi, who warned them that their fate would be a tragedy splitting their family, which was the will of the pharaoh. Ishizu tried asking Shadi who he was, but he disappeared among the crowd. Marik pointed out how Shadi's Millennium Key resembled the Millennium Items their family was guarding, but Ishizu reminded him that they were not to talk about those items in the outside world and insisted that Marik forget everything he saw outdoors, including Shadi.

When Ishizu and Marik returned to their home, Ishizu noticed a rope device that triggers when the door is opened, which their father had used to notice they had left. They found their father punishing Rishid, but cutting his back with a hot knife. Believing he had killed Rishid, he prepared to similarly cut Marik. However Rishid's impairment allowed Marik's alter ego, Dark Marik, to emerge. Dark Marik took the Millennium Rod and used its power to immobilize their father and pin him against a pillar. When Ishizu attempted to intervene, he similarly pinned her to a pillar. Ishizu realized that this was not Marik's true self and shut her eyes as Marik proceeded to murder their father and cut the skin off his back, which bore the Seal of Memories, and drop it on Rishid's back. Dark Marik was suppressed after Rishid regained consciousness. Ishizu stood by Rishid, as they watched Marik weep over her father's body.

Ishizu regarded Dark Marik as the "devil, who brought tragedy to [their] family" and took it on herself to destroy him, and save Marik, even if it meant playing the bloodletting Shadow Games and using the power of the Millennium Tauk to cheat. For her crimes for which she was prepared to offer her life to the gods as punishment.

Ishizu became the secretary general of the Egyptian supreme council of antiquities. In order to stop Marik's quest of unlocking the power of the pharaoh for himself, she acquired the God Card, "The God of Obelisk" before Marik could.

The Millennium Tauk gave Ishizu the ability to see into the future. She foresaw a turn-by-turn account of her Duel with Kaiba, which resulted in Kaiba's loss due to his use of "The God of the Obelisk".

Battle City
Ishizu traveled to Japan to oversee the dynastic exhibit, The Art of Egypt. This took place in Domino City Museum and showcased stone slabs, depicting ka battles, from which Duel Monsters originated. She invited Seto Kaiba to the museum and showed him the slabs. Kaiba was astonished to see that the depicted nameless pharaoh resembled his classmate, Yugi Mutou. Although Ishizu claimed not to know who Yugi was. She told Kaiba about the God cards and tasked him with retrieving them from the Ghouls, through hosting a Duel Monsters tournament. To bait the Ghouls into coming, she gave him one of the God cards "The God of the Obelisk". Kaiba asked what if he acquired the three God cards, but refused to let them go, to which Ishizu replied that she trusted him. Secretly she gave it to him in anticipation of it leading to his defeat, after which she would reacquire the card and face Dark Marik later in the tournament, which she saw as her last chance to destroy him. She felt bad for deceiving Kaiba, but was willing to do what it took to save Marik.

With the Millennium Tauk, Ishizu predicted Yugi would visit the museum. When Dark Yugi arrived, with Anzu Mazaki, and saw the slabs, she approached him. She told him that a great battle would soon be taking place and that he must gather the seven Millennium Items to regain his memories. Seeing Ishizu's own Millennium Item, Dark Yugi asked if she was an enemy. She denied being an enemy, but said that the enemy who was about to appear possessed the last Millennium Item, Dark Yugi was to encounter.

Ishizu took part in Kaiba's Battle City tournament and was the last to qualify as one of the eight finalists. She abstained from attending lottery selections determining the pairings for the quarterfinals, as she had already predicted their results.

Ishizu did not attend any of the first three quarterfinals, leaving her identity as a finalist a mystery to the other participants. Before the last quarterfinal, Kaiba expressed disinterest in the identity of his opponent, vowing to crush them regardless. However he was surprised when Ishizu was announced as his opponent. Ishizu informed him of the Tauk's prediction of the Duel and claimed Kaiba was inescapably fated to lose. Kaiba laughed at how she urged him to host the tournament to disband the Ghouls and now plans on defeating him, but admired her boldness. Kaiba regarded her claims as superstitious and declared that he would deal an iconic defeat with the power she gave him. Dark Yugi and Anzu also recognized Ishizu from the museum. Anzu wondered if the Tauk's prediction meant Ishizu's victory was guaranteed, but Dark Yugi said he would not succumb to fate, if he were in Kaiba's position. Ishizu's appearance caused Marik's ego to momentarily emerge, before being suppressed again by Dark Marik.

During Ishizu and Kaiba's Duel, Dark Marik recognized Ishizu's strategy as one she had used to defeat Marik. Ishizu glanced at Dark Marik and corrected herself on referring to him as "Marik", calling him "the evil thing that dwells within [Marik]". They silently communed via the Millennium Rod. Ishizu stated her intentions to defeat him and Dark Marik asked if she really believed it was possible.

Ishizu allowed Kaiba to send a large portion of her Deck to her Graveyard, via "Crush Card" and "Virus Cannon", after which she used "Exchange of the Spirit" to switch the contents of each player's Deck with their Graveyard. She continued to predict and counter Kaiba's moves. Finally, she allowed him to use her monsters as Sacrifices to Summon "The God of Obelisk", having secretly planted "Blast Held by a Tribute" in one of them. This would cause "Obelisk" to self-destruct on attacking. Kaiba prepared to attack, but reconsidered on being shown a vision of Kisara and stone slab for The White Dragon. Instead he Sacrificed "Obelisk" to Summon "Blue-Eyes White Dragon", escaping the "Blast Held by a Tribute" and winning the Duel.

Ishizu congratulated Kaiba on changing his future and deemed him to now be the true owner of "The God of the Obelisk". She thanked him for showing her the light of hope. Knowing the future could be changed, she was hopeful that the despairing future shown by the Millennium Tauk may not have to be. Kaiba replied that a person who simply accepts their future has no light.

Worried about Mai Kujaku, who had fallen into a coma in her Duel with Dark Marik, Ishizu asked Yugi and his friends, if she could visit her. In Mai's room Shizuka Kawai was distraught by the suffering she had been witnessing. Ishizu informed her that war and suffering had been common for thousands of years, as past events repeat themselves, but people will still extend their arms eager to see the bright future they are hoping for. Yugi deduced that Ishizu must be Marik's sister and asked her why Marik was trying to kill them.

Ishizu gave the Millennium Tauk to Yugi, claiming that it is no longer necessary as the future it predicts is not infallible and can be changed.

During the finals where Yugi faced Dark Marik, Rishid convinces the real Marik to accept responsibility, freeing him from Dark Marik. Ishizu and Marik are then able to fulfill their duties as Tomb Keepers, by revealing the Pharaoh's memory which had been carved onto Marik's back. Ishizu, Marik and Odion then return to Egypt to start a new life.

Ceremonial Battle
Ishizu, Marik and Rishid lead Yugi and his friends to the tomb of the Pharaoh in order for Pharaoh Atem and Yugi to have a final duel in order to determine if the spirit will move on to the afterlife or remain in the present for another 3,000 years.

When the duel is over and the tomb is destroyed, Ishizu states that her family's duties as the Pharaoh's Tomb Keepers are finally complete since his spirit has returned to the nether world and the Millennium Items have been sealed forever.