The Shadow of Shukaku!

Note: Don't Forget to join my Patreon.com/flokixy to get access to +30 Advance Chapters I have to stop if there is no support

Let's rewind time slightly.

After being defeated by the combined efforts of Jiraiya and Maito Gai, the One-Tailed Shukaku had returned to Gaara's body. It was currently rolling on the ground, clutching its stomach in laughter.

"Ahahahaha! What a blast! Too bad that brat Gaara is so weak—I barely got to kill any ninja at all!"

Shukaku rolled around joyfully on the ground before standing up and walking over to the far side of the sealing space. Resting its chin on its hand, it stared thoughtfully at a mysterious mirror in front of it.

"Come to think of it, what's with this thing that showed up here early this morning?" Shukaku muttered as it paced back and forth in front of the mirror. "It looks like some kind of sealing technique. I originally thought those Sand Village guys were behind it, but now it doesn't seem like that's the case."

With nothing better to do while trapped here, Shukaku decided to study the mirror closely. As it continued pacing, however, it began to notice something strange...

The reflection of itself in the mirror wasn't perfectly synchronized with its movements!

Shukaku immediately lunged toward the mirror to investigate further. Staring intently at its reflection with wide eyes, it waved one of its hands. To its shock, while the mirrored version of itself looked equally surprised, it didn't mimic the gesture!

Unlike the other tailed beasts, Shukaku wasn't illiterate. It actively studied ninja techniques, especially sealing jutsu, gaining profound insights into them. This was why Gaara, the Sand Village's Jinchūriki, was the only one among all the Jinchūriki who couldn't sleep due to constant harassment from his tenant.

Thanks to its vast knowledge, Shukaku quickly realized the nature of this sealing technique upon detecting the anomaly—and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"This is bad! This is a seal that splits Yin and Yang energy!" Shukaku exclaimed, slamming its paws against the mirror. "Hey! Can you hear me? My other half! Since you're also me, then you must know what I'm thinking! Work with me to destroy this cursed thing!"

With that, it thrust both claws into the mirror. The reflected Shukaku seemed to understand its intentions and mimicked the action.

Their arms intertwined within the mirror as the separated Yin and Yang energies slowly began fusing back together!

But just then—while everyone's attention was focused on the cataclysmic events unfolding above—the Mujin hiding beneath Gaara, secretly transported there via an Earth Release technique by Karin, furrowed his brow. He sensed an inexplicable resistance disrupting the Two-Instrument Seal he had previously implanted inside Gaara!

Was it Shukaku...?

Mujin tore off his shirt and rapidly began forming hand seals. Then, with a decisive motion, he brought his hands together forcefully.

"Sealing Technique: Eight Trigrams Seal! Two Instruments give rise to Four Symbols! Four Symbols derive Eight Trigrams! Eight Trigrams divide Yin and Yang!"

As soon as his voice faded, a surge of chakra invaded Gaara's sealing space, causing the previously embedded Two-Instrument Seal to undergo a sudden transformation!

The four symbols of Yang—Qian (Horse), Kan (Pig), Gen (Dog), and Zhen (Dragon)—manifested out of thin air, materializing as four beasts that instantly latched onto the Yang portion of Shukaku. These creatures used their inherent traits to bind themselves to it, fiercely repelling the returning Yin energy!

Simultaneously, the four symbols of Yin—Kun (Ox), Dui (Sheep), Li (Monkey), and Xun (Rooster)—appeared within the mirror. They clamped down on the Yin portion of Shukaku, using Yin energy to push out the Yang energy!

Both the Yin and Yang Four Symbols worked in tandem, successfully splitting Shukaku once again into its Yin and Yang components!

Mujin had already prepared this elaborate trap. The Two-Instrument Seal had already divided Shukaku's Yin and Yang energies, and now, evolved into the Eight Trigrams Seal, Shukaku was powerless to resist!

In an instant, the Yin portion of its power was completely torn away, dragged out of Gaara's body by the four Yin beasts!

A channel constructed between Gaara and Mujin allowed the Yin Shukaku to be transferred directly into Mujin's own sealing space.

The Yang Four Symbols acted first, constructing a positive Four Symbols Seal to prevent the Yin Shukaku from escaping. Then, the Yin Four Symbols overlapped atop the Yang ones, converting the leaked chakra from the Yin Shukaku into Mujin's own power.

The dual Four Symbols Seals formed a complete Eight Trigrams Seal, firmly locking the Yin Shukaku inside Mujin's body!

This Eight Trigrams Seal was the same one used by the Fourth Hokage on Naruto.

Judging by Naruto's performance, it was clear that this seal was unparalleled when it came to containing tailed beasts. There was no need for Mujin to use any other sealing method.

With the completion of the Eight Trigrams Seal, the sealing array concealed itself within Mujin's abdomen. The leaked Tailed Beast chakra rapidly filled his entire body, granting him seemingly inexhaustible strength!

With both the Eye of Ido and a fragment of Shukaku's Yin chakra secured, Mujin no longer needed to fear the elders of Grass Village. It was time to return and put their plans into motion.

Having successfully stolen a portion of Shukaku's Yin power, Mujin and Karin slipped away unnoticed while everyone else was distracted by the chaos in Konoha.

The Destruction of Konoha was nearing its conclusion, but to ignite the Fourth Great Ninja War, there was still much to be done.

The two walked leisurely through the tranquil forest, as if the battle that had just unfolded in Konoha were nothing more than an ephemeral dream.

Karin, her curiosity piqued, turned to Mujin. "Oniichan, is the Akatsuki really that formidable? To avoid drawing their attention, we went to such lengths to split Shukaku's Yin chakra. Wouldn't taking all of Shukaku have been far more beneficial for you?"

At her question, an image of a certain earth-natured shinobi defeated by a mere battery flashed across Mujin's mind. He chuckled softly before replying, "Well... it's not entirely impossible to deal with them, but they are incredibly troublesome. Besides, we don't have any direct conflict with the Akatsuki—why bring unnecessary trouble upon ourselves? They'll begin capturing tailed beasts soon enough, starting with Shukaku. Let Gaara take the fall for now; isn't that why we spared his life?"

In truth, Pain—the nominal leader of Akatsuki—shared a similar goal with Mujin: to spark an unprecedented war among the shinobi nations.

However, their motivations differed. While Mujin sought only chaos, Pain aimed to weaken the shinobi world sufficiently so he could unify it under his rule using the tailed beasts.

Still...

Mujin couldn't shake the feeling that Pain might not be entirely rational. Given Akatsuki's strength, they could easily overwhelm the shinobi world without making foolish mistakes. How Madara managed to persuade him to capture tailed beasts remained a mystery.

Take Deidara, for instance. When tasked with capturing Shukaku, he charged alone into Suna, defeating and abducting Gaara—who was serving as Kazekage at the time—in full view of everyone. His C3: Eighteenth Art nearly obliterated half of Sunagakure. That level of power rivaled what it would take to annihilate one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages single-handedly. If Akatsuki sent even a few members together on missions, Mujin doubted any village other than Konoha could withstand them.

As they continued walking, both suddenly paused. Their shadow clones had dispelled themselves, transferring their memories back.

Watching the recorded scenes of destruction, Karin couldn't help but marvel. "I never imagined we'd pull off something this big. Now the entire shinobi world knows about us."

"If your enemy dies without knowing who you are, what difference does it make whether they met a natural death or not?" Mujin remarked casually.

Karin nodded in agreement. "But, Oniichan, how did you know there were so many explosive tags hidden in Konoha?"

"Hmm..." Mujin mused thoughtfully. "About thirty years ago, Konoha fought against a small shinobi village called Kagerō Village. Kagerō sent a ninja named Gen'u to infiltrate Konoha and plant traps filled with explosive tags. However, after completing his mission, Gen'u discovered that his own village had already been wiped out by someone else, leaving the traps unused. Later, during my intelligence gathering, I came across Gen'u and purchased these explosives from him for a reasonable price."

Thus, in reality, neither Mujin nor Karin—not even their shadow clones—were capable of creating a jutsu on the scale of "Heaven-Shaking Earth-Splitting."

The thunderclouds crackling above and the fierce winds ripping through Konoha were merely illusions created by the Eye of Ido. The explosion of the Hokage Monument was triggered by Gen'u's pre-planted explosive tags, while the massive craters appearing beneath collapsed buildings were dug beforehand by Karin's shadow clone. These carefully placed effects made the destruction appear far more devastating than it truly was.

What Mujin actually released were lightning strikes that ignited fires throughout Konoha. Even those were achieved using barrier techniques recently purchased from Granny Cat, enhanced slightly with Yin Release to give the illusion of immense power.

Their final creation—the meteorite—had nearly drained their shadow clones of all chakra.

As they continued walking, Mujin seemed to recall something and abruptly turned to Karin. "This marks the Uzumaki clan's grand return to the shinobi world. You should step forward and say something meaningful."

Karin immediately blushed and shook her head vigorously. "Saying things like 'the vortex of war' or 'the age of great calamity' in front of so many people... it feels so embarrassing."

"..."

Meh...

Mujin remained outwardly calm.

After all, my heart has long since died...

...right?