The shadows

ch64

Yurei was lying down on the ground. This was it. The end for him. he was missing his right arm, and his left leg was blown up below the knee. He was bleeding from countless wounds, and there were bruises and burn marks all over his body.

The only reason he was alive was due to his sage mode and Kurama. There was one last thing to do.

Yurei looked around the battlefield. All he could see was destruction and countless bodies lying everywhere. He could clearly see the carnage from where he freed all nine Biju on the battlefield. There was evidence of jutsu used everywhere.

The Biju were gone by now. Vanished without a trace. To a place, only Yurei knew of. They would be safe. Bodies of B and Gaara were left unconscious on the battlefield purposefully. They were beaten and bloody but would survive.

The two Jinchuuriki wanted to remain in their villages after the war, so after their Biju played their part as rampaging beasts on the battlefield, Shukaku and Gyuki pretended to be defeated and went back to their host's bodies.

The actions would be blamed on the Biju, and the Jinchuuriki could go back to their villages after the whole ordeal.

But the Biju weren't the only ones who fought. They were actually released only in the last part of the battle. Yurei had years to plan the whole thing. In the early stage, he had an army of seal-enforced clones that he spent years gathering enough chakra.

They were the ones who took care of most of the Shinobi and held them back from the main fights. Yurei only released the Biju when the strongest of the forces were close enough. He couldn't fight everyone on his own, so he needed to hold back the forces while he took care of those he needed to.

He also had countless seals of different functionalities everywhere to give him an edge. But it was over now. He played his part, and all his clones and the Biju were gone. Soon, he would be, too. He could see Shinobi running around already.

Medics trying to help those still breathing and those who could still stand collecting the bodies. Many were openly crying. At the loss of friends and family. Their loved ones. It was solemn. It would be a poetic scene if it was raining. He was thankful that it wasn't.

He turned his head to look at the sky. There were black clouds. It would rain soon. He wanted to get up, but he didn't have the energy. He still had some chakra, so he summoned his smallest fox to give him the orders.

Itachi and Shisui soon came to where he was left for dead. He was no longer a threat, so there was no reason to finish him. Suffering was a more suitable ending. Yurei wanted to remove his mask, but he couldn't lift his remaining arm.

So, instead, he opted to turn his head toward them. They were roughed up badly, but it was nothing permanent for the long term. He was glad. While he went easy on all his loved ones to an extent, he couldn't make it obvious.

They both took a moment to assess each other. Yurei didn't have the energy to talk. When it was evident he wasn't going to talk, Itachi broke the silence.

"We heard the request from your summon. I agree to use the genjutsu, but we will have two people on the watch in case of foul play." Itachi said calmly.

Yurei barely managed to nod. Itachi quickly gave a few orders, and Minato and Jiraiya came forward. They stood a few steps away from them. When they were settled, Itachi exchanged a look with Shisui and activated his sharingan.

In a blink of an eye, the trio were pulled into the Tsukuyomi.

They were all standing in a clearing. Yurei was still wearing his mask, which was good. "Well, now that we are here, how do you know about Itachi's ability, and what did you want to tell us?" Shisui asked, taking a step forward protectively.